ADOLESCENCE 



IT is impossible to refrain from continuing the line of 

 thought from the adolescence of animals to that of 

 man, but in so doing we must admit that there are great 

 differences. We have to remember that man is by nature 

 on a higher platform than that occupied by any of the 

 animals a platform marked by language, reason, and 

 morality. We have also to remember that the human 

 environment differs very markedly from that of animals, 

 because of the rich external heritage expressed in social 

 institutions, historical records, literature, art, and so on. 

 Therefore, one should be very careful in carrying into a 

 discussion of human problems the conclusions that have 

 been reached by a study of animal life. 



This cautious position is obviously sound, but it is apt 

 to become obscurantist. For it must not be forgotten that 

 there is an all-pervading unity among animal organisms, 

 including men ; there is essential similarity in structure, 

 in everyday functions, in manner of development, in the 

 nature of growth, in the punctuation of life, in the funda- 

 mental springs of conduct, and so on. It is therefore to 

 be expected that a study of animal life embryonic, young, 

 adolescent, mature, and old will have some light to throw 

 on human infancy, childhood, adolescence, maturity, and 

 old age. At the same time, it is a commonplace of scientific 

 method that every conclusion formulated in regard to a 

 particular order of facts let us say the behaviour of birds 



