Psychic Integration 223 



bj the present fact of inlKrunt activity of tlie animal, hut 

 by their inherent preparedness for acting to meet new and 

 more or less unusual situations. This action and action- 

 readiness are the real meaning of the neuro-muscular syst( ni. 

 All biotic organization is anticipatory in various ways, hut 

 ainmals are almost exclusively anticipatory in action. 



It IS just these attributes that lloyce recognizes as com- 

 mon ground between certain of the highest psychic activi- 

 ties of man and tropistic activities. With this over})lus, 

 and in some cases useless or even injurious activitv (in- 

 stanced by the flight of the moth toward and around the 

 fiame), let us now pass to the uj)])er end of the gamut of 

 animal activity for illustrations. A very few must suffice. 

 The first chosen is one of exalted creativeness in art. 



From the vast domain of art a more instructive illustra- 

 tion of over-wealth of self-activity can hardly be found than 

 is afforded by William Shakespeare. A recent investigation 

 of his works undertaken with a view to finding what they 

 tell about the "native endowments of the author" and prose- 

 cuted with that love for accurate, exhaustive knowledge 

 which is the very soul of modern science, leads to the result 

 that of these endowments "the most outstanding perha])s is 

 his exuberant vitality." This characteristic of the man i."> 

 exhibited in the "reckless volubility of almost every cliar- 

 acter, the piling up of fancy upon fancy, of jest upon jest, 

 the long embellishment of humor and foolery and h()rse])lay 

 for no other reason than the delight thev afford." ' And 

 incidentally, the strict individualism of this sort of thing is 

 exemplified by one of these same Shakes])earian characters: 

 "Come, come," says Mercutio to l^cinolio, "thou art as hot 

 a Jack in thv mood as anv in Italv. . . . Nav, an thrre 

 were two such, we should have none shortly, for one would 

 kill the other." "What has Queen Mah to do with tiu- ac- 

 tion of the play of Rojnro and Juliet? Nothing; l)ut Mcr- 

 cutio mentions her, and before any one can stop lu'ni he has 



