184: THE PLAY OF ANIMALS. 



well as in the others that we have considered. The de- 

 light in being able to say " I can," which we found in 

 simple experimentation, becomes the joy of " I can too " 

 in playful imitation, and under faA^ourable conditions 

 goes on to the pleasure of " I can do better " in rivalry. 



Since playful imitation is often stigmatized as mim- 

 icry (N'achaffen), it seems peculiarly appropriate to be- 

 gin with an example from the monkeys (Affen). The 

 ancients were familiar with the imitativeness of mon- 

 keys, as their designations of them prove — the Greek 

 fjAfiw being one who imitates, and the Latin simius 

 sounding much like similis. 



The Egyptian word for monkey, though signifying 

 rather the baboon in particular — an, anin, anan — like- 

 wise signifies imitator.* During the later Greek and 

 Eoman Empires monkeys were favourite pets because 

 of their drollery. Their natural propensity was culti- 

 vated by teaching them all sorts of tricks, such as dan- 

 cing, riding, driving a coach, playing the flute and the 

 lyre, ^lian relates that monkeys had been known to 

 scald little children in mistaken imitation of the nurse. 

 According to Philostratus, who, it must be admitted, 

 is not always trustworthy, the Indians employed mon- 

 keys in harvesting pepper. " They collected a small 

 quantity of the fruit in a place prepared for it under 

 a tree or at the foot of a hill, and then tossed it away 

 as if worthless. The monkeys who attentively watched 

 this proceeding came back at nightfall and, obeying 

 their imitative impulse, made collections as the men 

 had and left them. Next morning the Indians came 

 and carried away the pepper thus harvested for them." f 



* 0. Keller, Thiere des classischen Alterthums, 1887, pp. 5, ?,23. 

 t Ibid., p. 4. 



