382 Animal Life and Intelligence, 



drive us to actions by which they shall be annulled, and 

 the performance of which shall give us the pleasures of 

 gratification. Dr. Martineau regards a felt want as a 

 mainspring of our energy. " Life," he says,* " is a cluster 

 of wants, physical, intellectual, affectional, moral, each of 

 which may have, and all of which may miss, the fitting 

 object. Is the object withheld or lost? There is pain: 

 is it restored or gained ? There is pleasure : does it 

 abide or remain constant? There is content. The two 

 first are cases of disturbed equilibrium, and are so far 

 dynamic that they will not rest till they reach the third, 

 which is their posture of stability and their true end." 

 To this I would only add that the content which follows on 

 the keen pleasure of satisfaction is evanescent, and ere 

 long lapses into indifference, on which in due time follows 

 the dull pain resulting from the recurrent pressure of the 

 want or desire. 



It is clear that, in introducing these wants and desires, 

 we are entering the sphere of the emotions, and it is some- 

 times said that the emotions have their basis in pleasure 

 and pain. If by this it is meant that the emotions often 

 exhibit more or less prominently one or other of these two 

 aspects of feeling, we may agree with the statement. It 

 will be well, however, to lead up to our consideration of 

 the emotions by taking a general review of the manner in 

 which the organism responds to external stimuli. 



A dog is lying dreamily on the lawn in the sunshine. 

 Suddenly he raises his head, pricks his ears, scents the 

 air, looks fixedly at the hedge, and utters a low growl. 

 Place your hand upon his shoulder, and you will find that 

 his muscles are all a-tremble. He can restrain himself no 

 longer, and darts through the hedge. You follow him, 

 look over the hedge, and see that it is his old enemy, the 

 butcher's cur. They are moving slowly past each other, 

 head down, teeth bared, back roughened. You whistle 



and retain there ; pain, as a feeling which we seek to get out of consciousness 

 and keep out. 



* " Types of Ethical Theory," vol. ii. p. 350. 



