8 THE MINDS AND MANNERS 



can observe many new traits of wild animal character, as they 

 are brought to the surface by captivity. There will some indi- 

 viduals reveal the worst traits of their species. Others wfll 

 reveal marvels in mentality, and teach lessons such as no man 

 can learn from them in the open. To study temperament, 

 there is no place like a zoo. 



Even there, however, the wisest course, — as it seems to 

 me, — is not to introduce too many appliances as aids to men- 

 tal activity, but rather to see what the animal subject thinks 

 and does by its own initiative. In the testing of memory and 

 the perceptive faculties, training for performances is the best 

 method to pursue. 



The reader has a right to know that the author of this 

 volume has enjoyed unparalleled opportunities for the obser- 

 vation and study of highly intelligent wild animals, both in 

 their wild haunts and in a great vivarium; and these combined 

 opportunities have covered a long series of years. 



Before proceeding farther, it is desirable to define certain 

 terms that frequently will be used in these pages. 



The Animal Brain is the generator of the mind, and the 

 clearing-house of the senses. As a mechanism, the brain of 

 man is the most perfect, and in the descent through the mam- 

 mals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes, the brain pro- 

 gressively is simplified in form and function. 



Thought is the result of the various processes of the brain 

 and nervous system, stimulated by the contributions of the 

 senses. 



Sanity is the state of normal, orderly and balanced thought, 

 as formulated by a healthy brain. 



Insanity is a state of mental disease, resulting in disor- 

 dered, unbalanced and chaotic thought, destitute of reason. 



Reason is the manifestation of correct observation and 

 healthful thought which recognizes both cause and effect, and 

 leads from premise to conclusion. 



