PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL ASPECTS. 



245 



maintenance of the association for a lengthened period. There may- 

 even be cooperation in work, as in dung- rolling beetles such as 

 Ateuchus, where the two sexes pursue their somewhat disinterested 

 labors together. The male and female of another lamellicorn beetle 

 (Lethrus ephalotcs) inhabit the same cavity, and the virtuous 

 matron is said greatly to resent the intrusion of another male. As 

 degenerate offshoots from the path of psychic progress, or as illustra- 

 tions of the predominance of merely physical attraction, one must 

 regard such prolonged associations of the two sexes as are seen in the 

 formidable parasitic worm Bilharzia, where the male carries the 

 female about, or in some parasitic crustaceans where the positions 

 are reversed (see figs. pp. 15 and 67.) 



Among the cold-blooded fishes, the battles of the stickle-back 

 with his rivals, his captivating manceuvers to lead the female to the 

 nest which he has built, his mad dance of passion around her, and 

 his subsequent jealous guarding of the nest, have often been observed 

 and admired. In one of the sunfishes the male and female alternate 

 in guarding the ova. The monogamous habits of the salmon, and the 

 frequently fatal contests between rival males are well known. Car- 

 bonnier has beautifully described the elaborateness of sexual display 

 and the ardency of passion in the male butterfly-fish, and also in the 

 rainbow-fish of the Ganges. 



The amatory croaking of frogs, the love-gambols of some newts, 

 the curious paternal care of some male amphibians mentioned in the 

 preceding chapter, and the like, illustrate the continuance of more 

 than crude physical attraction between the sexes. It is indeed only 

 in sexual and reproductive relations that the amphibians seem to wake 

 up out of their constitutional sluggishness. 



In regard to reptiles, little is known beyond the exhibition of 

 sexual passion and the jealous combats of rival males. Yet Romanes 

 refers to the interesting fact that when a cobra is killed its mate is 

 often found on the same spot a day or two afterwards. 



Among birds and mammals, the greater differentiation of the 

 nervous system and the higher pitch of the whole Hie is associated 

 with the development of what pedantry alone can refuse to call love. 

 Not only is there often partnership, cooperation, and evident affection 

 beyond the limits of the breeding periods, but there are abundant 

 illustrations of a high standard of morality, of all the familiar sexual 

 crimes of mankind, and of every shade of flirtation, courtship, jealousy, 

 and the like. There is no doubt that in the two highest classes of 

 animals at least, the physical sympathies of sexuality have been 

 enhanced by the emotional, if not also intellectual, sympathies of 

 love. Those skeptical on this point should consult such a work as 



