THE ANIMAL VIEW OF CAPTIVITY 249 



The question is not very easily answered. The 

 abstract idea of liberty certainly does not enter 

 into it in the case of the greater number ; they 

 cannot, like the man who has consciously sought 

 a life in the wilds in order to enjoy the sense of 

 freedom from social restrictions, say, * I am free, 

 and my own master, and therefore I possess one 

 element of happiness/ What the happiness of wild 

 creatures consists in can perhaps be best judged by 

 their daily habits. Within certain limits they are 

 free to choose their life, and presumably they choose 

 that which pleases them best. In nearly every case 

 this is one of pure routine. It consists in the daily 

 repetition of a very limited series of actions, the 

 greater number of which seem to give them satis- 

 faction rather than pleasure, but make up in the 

 aggregate the sum of animal happiness. Unlike the 

 domesticated dog, which welcomes any break in the 

 monotony of life, they never, except in the courting 

 season, seem to seek change, or adventure, or ex- 

 citement. It may be doubted whether, if the food 

 supply were plentiful and constant, animals or birds 

 would ever care to move beyond the circle in which 

 they can find enough for their daily wants. The 

 probable whereabouts of deer at any time in the 

 twenty-four hours, and their occupation, whether 

 feeding, sleeping, or resting, are known with the 



