DARWIN CRITICISED 263 



musical tones in a certain order and rhythm give 

 man and other animals pleasure, we can no more 

 give the reason than for the pleasantness of certain 

 tastes and smells." 



It is on the contrary very easy to give the reason, 

 since it lies on the very surface. What we find good 

 for us, what makes us feel comfortable and happy 

 inside, when it has been absorbed, is good to smell 

 and taste, and, I may add, to see, so that even 

 an object ugly in itself a roast goose for example 

 not only smells nice, but looks beautiful if we 

 are hungry. 



And he says too: "As neither the enjoyment nor 

 the capacity of producing musical notes are faculties 

 of the least use to man, in reference to his daily habits 

 and life, they must be ranked among the most 

 mysterious with which he is endowed." 



How the faculty and capacity came about we have 

 seen plainly enough, and as to their uselessness they 

 are no doubt just as useless as many other faculties 

 and capacities which are a part of us, and are not 

 concerned with food-getting and so on, and, we may 

 add, just as useful from another point of view. As 

 useless (and as useful) as the instinct of play for 

 example, of running and leaping and climbing and 

 paddling and swimming and diving, and of basking 

 in the sun, and rolling on the grass, and shouting 

 when there's nothing to shout about. Or, let us say, 

 of the sensation of well-being, of contentment with 

 life, of overflowing gladness and the actions and 

 sounds that express it. What then is the precise 



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