62 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



modern civilization and the consequent demands made upon the child 

 to meet that pressure. This work-and-worry attitude may become a 

 habit both in the individual and in the nation, producing weakness, 

 irritability, undue nervous tension, over-conscientiousness and a gen- 

 eral lack of finished artistic product. The true artist is the master, 

 and the master is he whose work is play to him, whose work is a 

 matter of delight and Joy because of the power and mastery in him 

 over the materials of his occupation. The play-activity must con- 

 tinue through life and become the habit of the nation. 



Deprivation of play is one of the chief causes of poverty and 

 degeneracy, inasmuch as the adult who has never played fails to 

 acquire as many of the reactions attainable as he otherwise would, 

 and hence does not possess the adjustahility requisite for a high posi- 

 tion in a society so intricate and complex as it is to-day. A man is, let 

 us say, promoted to be foreman of some works ; he lacks habits of 

 careful foresight, prudence, leadership, organization, quick, decisive 

 action in an emergency, etc., which he could and should have 

 acquired in play ; hence he fails to meet the needs of his environ- 

 ment and sinks to a lower level. A study of the slum districts of a 

 city substantially confirms these facts and emphatically asserts the 

 need of municipal action in this matter. Play is one of the most 

 important factors of a school curriculum and should be one of the 

 chief cares of any municipality. The recreation -element in play is 

 only a small factor in the enormous problem, although it is generally 

 regarded as the chief, if not only, factor. 



Herbert Spencer was, I believe, the first author to attribute the 

 origin of play to instinct. ^ This theory has, however, been carried 

 out much more elaborately by Karl Groos.^ According to Groos, 

 the play of animals is a manifestation of the instincts peculiar to the 

 species to which the animal in question belongs. It is not only an 

 out-practicing of instincts, but it is also an in -practicing or develop- 

 ment of the complete adult instincts. "All plays of youth rest upon 

 instincts. These instincts are not so perfect, not so thoroughly 



'Spencer, Principles of Psychology, Vol. 2, Chap, on Aesthetic Sentiments. 

 ''Karl Groos, The Play of Animals, Appleton. N. Y., 1898. German ed. 1896. Die Spiele der 

 Menschen, Fischer, .Jena, 1899. 



