8 Social Enmronment 



The first of these tendencies aided in the reduc- 

 tion of mere bulk. For a time nature had spe- 

 cialized in giant sauropods and dinosaurs, great 

 masses of armored flesh, but lacking in wits. 

 Less pretentious creatures, acquiring that cun- 

 ning which was the outward expression of the 

 developing brain, or in other ways becoming 

 better adapted to a changing environment, 

 gradually surpassed their bulky competitors. 

 The second tendency — that toward coopera- 

 tion — was a secondary result of the improve- 

 ment in brains, or perhaps some would prefer 

 to call it the cause of that improvement. Some 

 of the early experiments, however, failed by 

 too complete success. The communistic socie- 

 ties of the bees and ants attained a practical 

 perfection in cooperation, but, lacking a pro- 

 gressive force, they continued on the same plane 

 as an example of arrested development. 



Among the higher animals cooperation as- 

 sumed a freer and looser form. The beasts 

 of the field learned to take advantage of the 

 herd as a means of protection, and the carniv- 

 orous animals discovering the advantages that 

 lay in cooperative hunting became used to the 

 law of the pack. For both these reasons the 

 primitive half-man who roamed the forests 



