THE RELIGION OF NATURE 



scious than another, I am glad to believe that 

 those who fear that animals other than man share 

 man's consciousness of suffering must be mis- 

 taken. 



It is difficult to realize the all-important differ- 

 ence in happiness or unhappiness which this con- 

 scious power of realizing one's sensations makes 

 between man and other animals ; because, although 

 the mind of man is to some extent independent of 

 his body, it is still to a greater extent dependent 

 upon it. Human consciousness is in fact the 

 quintessence of man's mental power, but it is 

 situated within the great nerve center of his 

 brain, and is still informed, and dominated to a 

 great extent, by his nerves. 



Perhaps the best and most natural explanation 

 of the matter is to be found by comparing the 

 nervous system of the higher animals with a com- 

 plete telegraph service, the brain being the re- 

 ceiving center of all messages from the nerves 

 and the distributing center whence all messages 

 are sent out to the muscles. By this machinery 

 the actions of an animal automatically corre- 

 spond to its sensations ; and in the long process 

 of evolution every species of animal has acquired 

 a set of rules for doing instantly that which the 

 experience of past ages has shown to be the right 

 thing to do in any given circumstances. 

 [10] 



