ON LAUGHTER. 357 



(p. 146). 'Play ceases to be pure play just as soon as the end, for 

 example conquest, begins to be regarded as a thing of consequence to 

 the player' (p. 147). Karl Groos also makes much of this theory, 

 saying, for instance, that 'joy in conquest' is the end of play com- 

 bats (' Play of animals.' pp. 291-2). 



I do not deny that there are some play-activities into which 

 there enter pretence and make-believe, but it may be remarked at 

 the same time that such plays are very poor play. In studying the 

 phenomena of play two standpoints must be strictly observed, name- 

 ly, the subjective and the objective. Subjectively the player, if he 

 plays in earnest, that is to say if it is the best type of play, resem- 

 bles closely in his activity the so-called serious occupations of life. 

 If it were not so it would not be a useful training for after-life. 

 Play is in many ways modeled after social life, and is the social life 

 for the child. It is desperately real to him, and he wonders often 

 why adults are living such a miserable, artificial life, making money 

 and spending wearisome laborious days for ends which are hardly 

 worth the while. The boy who 'monkeys' or 'fools' at practice games 

 is warned off the field by the coach. No pretence or make-believe is 

 wanted. They play and play to win something outside the play- 

 impulse itself. My psychology students tell me that when they play 

 on the football field all their psychological knowledge about play 

 being a preparation for life drops away from them and they play to 

 win their way to the goal line. It is a serious but withal a joyous 

 occupation to them. Such psychological knowledge may injure to 

 some extent the complete engrossment in these preparatory occupa- 

 tions. The true player drops the word preparatory and simply be- 

 lieves these activities to be serious occupations in which he is tre- 

 mendously interested. The same is true of plays of a more youthful 

 age. The doll, for the time, is a student in school, is sick, naughty, 

 etc. The tin horse with fore legs longer than the hind legs has 

 longer legs ; these crass adults who talk differently are talking of 

 another world of horses. The myths and legends of the child's 

 world are very real worlds to him. 



