PSYCHOLOGY 275 



the sense of touch in the body as a whole, and especially in the 

 extremities, while birds possess a bill whose tip is richly supplied 

 with nerves. Man in his primitive state knows no other scale 

 than his own limbs can provide. The use of the span from the 

 tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle ringer, the finger and its 

 individual phalanges for measuring, is as old as the human race 

 itself and has not yet died out. The ell and foot for greater 

 lengths, and the pace for estimating distance, have come down 

 from primeval ages. It is only within recent years that all 

 these old standards, after thousands of years had established 

 their independent value as absolute standards, have been 

 elaborated into the decimal system of modern civilisation. 



Speech. Most modern scientists and natural philosophers, 

 provided they are not committed to the anthropocentric doc- 

 trine, are convinced that not only men but animals also are 

 capable of a language of some sort. Haeckel l attributes to 

 many animals a language for imparting their sensations, 

 endeavours and thoughts in the form of pantomime (gesture), 

 touch or vocal speech. 



In early times Aelian (De Nat. Animal., 'v., 51) had with 

 sublime naivete placed the various languages of beasts on a 

 line with human speech ; and Lucretius, who denied that speech 

 was a marvellous gift to man alone, voiced his opinions thus : 



Postremo quid in hac mirabile tantoperest re, 



Si genus humanum, cui vox et lingua vigeret, 



Pro vario sensu varia res voce notaret ? 



Cum pecudes mutae, cum denique saecla ferarum 



Dissimilis soleant voces variasque ciere, 



Cum metus aut dolor est et cum iam gaudia gliscunt. 



Quippe etenim licet id rebus cognoscere apertis. 2 



" But are we to believe that animals have a language 

 although they know nothing and can therefore have nothing to 

 say ? " ask the critics. The Answer is quickly given. Animals 

 know more than proud man is aware ; they always have plenty, 

 a very great deal, to say. The old folk-lore had an inkling of the 

 truth when in legend it was given to men to learn the language 

 of the beasts. Aye, man must learn the language of the beasts 



1 Haeckel, The Natural History of Creation, 8th ed., bk. ii., p. 716. 



2 Lucretius, De rerum Nat., bk. v., 1. 1056 et seq. Munro, 4th ed., London, 

 1905. 



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