228 ELEMENTS OF SCIENCE 



we know as "attention." This implies that the animal 

 possesses a certain power of memory, though no one 

 supposes that the cat notices its own recollections, as 

 such, or ever sets itself to try and recall something 

 temporarily forgotten. Similarly, though the animal 

 does not note that objects are of certain shapes and 

 sizes, that they are few or many, that they are in a 

 particular place or that they move and so change their 

 relative positions, nevertheless, its faculties enable it to 

 practically respond to the different feelings induced 

 by all such external relations which exist between 

 it and surrounding things. The cat acts differently 

 according as only one mouse or two mice are present, 

 and according as a mouse is still or is running away, 

 and it regulates its movements of pursuit according to 

 the changing relations which the mouse's flight gives 

 rise to, between the mouse itself and the pieces of 

 furniture in a room through which it tries to escape. 

 The cat may also experience surprise, feel ' puzzled 

 and have its attention strongly excited, without being 

 aware of those experiences as such. Similarly it will 

 with amazing rapidity take means to effect a desired 

 end,* sometimes by jumping to undo the latch of a door ; 

 but it does this without recognising that it is, in fact, 

 taking means to effect an end. By such movements it 

 really acts as a cause producing an effect, but it does not 

 regard itself as a cause or recognise effects produced by 

 it as being what they are. 



Again the experience of some slight sensations which 

 have often before occurred as preliminaries to other 

 vivid ones, and have so become associated therewith as 

 a jingle of cups preliminary to the experience of a saucer 



* See "The Cat," pp. 365-371. 



