SIXTH day's siTTma. 147 



though so familiar with it, it is not wonderful that he 

 should fail yet more signally in attempting to show that 

 " there is no fundamental difference between man and the 

 higher mammals in their mental faculties." By anunfortu- 

 nate omission he does not tell us what, in his view, would 

 constitute such a difference. Now, not to refer again to 

 the question as to the difference between reason and instinct, 

 it may be fairly maintained that, whatever mental faculties 

 the higher mammals may possess — even granting that they 

 possess all Mr. Darwin would contend for — if it be the case 

 that man possesses, besides those faculties, other higher 

 mental faculties of which they exhibit not the slightest 

 trace, here we have a difference that is both fundamental 

 and vital. But, on Mr. Darwin's own admission, this is 

 the case. While he fails to show that any one of the lower 

 animals exercises self-consciousness, or possesses the power 

 of abstraction, or is able to form general ideas, or is capable 

 of progressive ■improvement, or has "man's large power of co?i- 

 necting definite sounds with definite ideas," he does not omit 

 to tell us that " no one supposes that any one of the lower 

 animals reflects on whence he comes and whither he goes, 

 what is life, and what is death, and so forth." But why do 

 not the lower animals exercise such reflection ? Clearly 

 because no one of them possesses those mental powers by 

 which man is able so to reflect. This power of reflection, 

 and of taking action as the result of such reflection, is one 

 of the grand distinguishing characteristics of man. Mr. 

 Darwin thus contradicts himself He first tells us that 

 "there is no fundamental difference between man and the 

 higher mammals in their mental faculties," and then he 

 points us to where such a difference lies ! " Such a dif- 

 ference has no existence," he says ; "none whatever ;" then, 

 after a vain attempt to throw^a veil of mist over the point, 



