THE NATURAL 



Caress, charming movements, grace, tenderness, we do 

 all these things of necessity, not because we are men, but 

 because we are animals. Their aim is to liven the sen- 

 sibilities, to dispose the organism to accomplish with joy 

 its supreme function. They are, very probably, agreeable 

 to the individual and they are perceived as pleasure only 

 because they are useful to the species. This character 

 of necessity is naturally more apparent in animals than in 

 man. In animals the caress has fixed forms, of which 

 the kiss, however, gives a good example; the caress is an 

 integral part of the cavalage. A prelude, but a prelude 

 which can not be omitted without compromising the essen- 

 tial part of the drama. It happens, however, that man, 

 able to overexcite himself cerebrally, may abridge, or even 

 neglect the prologue to coition: this is also noted in cer- 

 tain domestic mammifers, the bull and stallion. The mere 

 sight or smell of the other sex is doubtless enough to 

 produce a state permitting immediate union. This is 

 not the case with dogs, who are still more domestic, 

 the two sexes give themselves up to play, to explorations, 

 they demand each other's consent, courtship continues, 

 sometimes the male, despite his condition, retreats; more 

 often the female lowers the draw-bridge of her tail, and 

 closes the fortress. One knows the provocations of birds. 

 M. Mantegazza has agreeably recounted the sexual play 

 of two vultures, the female shut in the carcass of an al- 

 most devoured horse, interrupted her pecking of carrion, 

 to groan deeply, turning her head to look up into the 

 air. A male vulture soared above the larder, replying to 

 the groans of the female. However, when the overexcited 

 male descended toward the supposedly willing vulturess, 

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