288 THE FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS 
have survived in which, on the average, agreeable or desired 
feelings went along with activities conducive to the maintenance 
of life, while disagreeable and habitually avoided feelings went 
along with activities directly or indirectly destructive of life, 
and there must ever have been, other things being equal, the 
most numerous and long-continued survivals among races in 
which these adjustments of feelings to actions were the best, 
tending ever to perfect adjustment.” And he safeguards the 
position by adding: “ It is frequently taken for granted that 
the beneficial actions secured must be actions beneficial to the 
individual ; whereas the only necessity is that they shall be 
beneficial to the race.” 
This aspect of the consonance is now quite familiar ; but 
let us carefully note how completely dependent it is on natural 
selection. Mr. Herbert Spencer’s testimony is especially valu- 
able, since he has always laid much stress on the hereditary 
transmission of acquired characters and still holds * “ that the 
inheritance of functionally-caused alterations has played a 
larger part than Darwin admitted even at the close of his life ; 
and that, coming more to the front as evolution has advanced, 
it has played the chief part in producing the highest types.” 
Now, in these types we certainly find a wide range of consonance 
between the psychological and the biological ends of behaviour ; 
of which the phenomena of play may again be adduced as an 
example. Hence the special value of Mr. Herbert Spencer's 
testimony to the part played by natural selection in establish- 
ing the consonance. ‘Only those races of beings,” he says, 
“can have survived in which, on the average, agreeable feelings 
went along with activities conducive to life ;” and again, “‘ The 
most numerous survivals must ever have been among races in 
which these adjustments of feelings to actions were the best.” 
The stress is here laid on the survival of those in which the 
consonance has obtained ; the elimination of those in which it 
was absent: that is to say, on natural selection. And where 
else can it be laid? It is not the sort of thing which could be 
acquired. Suppose that, as we suggested above, an animal were 
* “Principles of Biology,” revised and enlarged edit. (1898), p. 560. 
