54 



In 1879 George John Romanes issued a work on "Animal 

 Intelligence," 1 prefacing the same with the remark that "with 

 the exception of Mr. Darwin's admirable chapters on the 

 mental powers and moral sense, and Mr. Spencer's great work 

 on the Principles of Psychology, there has hitherto been no 

 earnest attempt at tracing the principles which have been 

 probably concerned in the genesis of mind." 2 The author's 

 expressed object is to "pass the animal kingdom in review in 

 order to give a trustworthy account of the grade of psycho- 

 logical development which is presented by each group." 3 

 For in his view the phenomena of comparative psychology 

 "have as great a claim to accurate classification as those 

 phenomena of structure which constitute the subject-matter 

 of comparative anatomy." 4 By comparative psychology is 

 understood to be the delineation of what are the psychological 

 phenomena on the basis of the physical and physiological data 

 furnished by organic structures. The second task which 

 Romanes sets himself is that of "considering the facts of animal 

 intelligence in their further relation to the theory of descent." 5 



The plan which Romanes adopts in this work is hardly any 

 more than a classification of numerous narratives of the actions 

 of animals, for the purpose of illustrating according to the 

 criterion of the ability to learn by experience the existence 

 of mind, variously manifested at the different stages of the 

 evolutionary process. 'Evolution' justifies him in this pro- 

 cedure, it is affirmed, for, according to the evolutionist there 

 must be a psychological, no less than a physiological continuity 

 extending throughout the length and breadth of the animal 

 kingdom. 6 



One instance will suffice to indicate the character of 

 Romanes' treatment of his subject. In dealing with fish he 

 states: "Although we here pass into the sub-kingdom of ani- 

 mals, the intelligence of which immeasurably surpasses that 

 of the other sub-kingdoms, it is remarkable that these lowest 

 representatives of the highest group are psychologically in- 

 ferior to some of the higher members of the lower groups." 

 "Fish display," he tells us, "emotions of fear, pugnacity; 

 social, sexual and parental feelings; anger, jealousy, play and 

 curiosity. So far the class of emotions is the same as that 



*D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1890. 



*>.. Preface, p. vi. 



3 Ibid. 



4 Ibid. 



8 Ibid. This second task, however, Romanes does not take up until he 

 writes the sequel to the present work, namely, "Mental Evolution in 

 Animals", 1884. 



O.C. p. 10. 



