ANATOMY NO GUIDE 



can crystallize, if they prove useful to the race, 

 into instinctive habits. 



Man, in his lowest type, goes a little further 

 only than this. His connections of ideas do not 

 necessarily end in action, like those of other ani- 

 mals. One connection leads to another, and thus 

 he follows a train of thought which leads his mind 

 away from matters of the moment and away from 

 his bodily needs or desires. Thus he is constantly 

 being reminded of his own individuality as the 

 central point to which his wandering thoughts in- 

 variably return. 



When he is pleased or when he is hurt he thinks 

 about his sensations, and is happy or unhappy in 

 consequence. It is the marvel and beauty of natu- 

 ral evolution that great results grow gradually 

 from such very slight beginnings ; and at first, no 

 doubt, man's power of abstract thought went very 

 little beyond that futile wandering of mind which 

 is often apparent on the face of a monkey when it 

 sits alone, apparently oblivious for a while of its 

 surroundings, with a far-away look in its eyes. 

 But the mind of the monkey returns from its 

 wanderings empty-handed, so to speak or, rather, 

 drops its gain on the threshold because there is no 

 conscious personality at home to receive it 

 whereas the mind of man eagerly grasps new 

 knowledge from each excursion of its thoughts. 

 [145] 



