LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 21 



remove above his neighbour, the brute. His supe- 

 rior magnitude of brain, therefore, (if he possess it,) 

 and his superior ratiocinative faculties, are both 

 alike the consequence of his vocal organs. 



But it is not true that he has a larger brain than 

 other animals. The ox has a larger than he. I 

 know it will be said, that the brain of the ox, though 

 absolutely larger, is yet relatively smaller that is, 

 relatively to their respective bulk. But this is 

 futile. If a larger brain has a capacity for acqui- 

 ring more knowledge than a smaller one, I see no 

 reason why its attachment to a larger body should 

 hinder it from doing so. He (the ox) would, in- 

 deed, be relatively where he was, in respect to saga- 

 citythat is, relatively to his bulk ; but he would 

 be absolutely wiser. The larger the animal, the 

 wiser he would be. But this is not true: my 

 lady's poodle is as wise as my lord's coach-horse. 



There is a difference, I conceive, nevertheless, be- 

 tween the human brain and that of the brute. If an 

 ox were endowed with the faculty of speech, although 

 it would lift his ratiocinative powers to an eleva- 

 tion nearly equal to the grandeur of man's, it would 

 not quite equal it. But this difference is to be 

 sought for, not in superior magnitude, but in supe- 

 rior delicacy, elaborateness, and intricacy of struc- 



