MAN AND OTHER ANIMALS 



" feeling " which agitate the man when he thinks 

 of the incident. 



In this connection I would quote some lines by 

 Kipling, which throw the flashlight of genius on 

 the subject. He is describing one of those sudden 

 panics to which even British troops are liable, and 

 he makes one of the fugitive soldiers say: 



" Till I 'eard a beggar squealin' out for quarter as he ran: 

 An' I thought I knew the voice an' it was me!" 



No one can fail to be struck by the absolute, 

 inexorable truth of the picture of the soldier 

 automatically fleeing for his life and automatic- 

 ally calling out for mercy as he did so, just as a 

 frightened dog would run and yelp; while the 

 conscious human being in the soldier's body was 

 in complete ignorance, as it were, of his proceed- 

 ings until he recognized his own voice! 



Now, this admirably illustrates the point which 

 I wish to make clear; namely, that our own be- 

 havior in moments of terrible crisis enables us to 

 catch just a glimpse of the distinction between 

 the conscious human being and his animal self. It 

 is only at such times that the shock, as it were, 

 throws human consciousness out of gear, and for / 

 a moment we see man acting by instinct only like/W^ 

 any other animal. ^2^*^, 



If Kipling's soldier had been shot through the 



[7] 



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