THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT 323 
his whole life is brought to bear on the question immediately - 
before him. 
The general bearing of these facts is obvious. Play, as a 
means of animal education, is varied, and has for its end all- 
round training of the animal mind in its sphere of operation. 
Although there are some specific propensities, certain observ- 
able trends of behaviour, as in hunting-play, courtship-play, 
and the like, we must not expect, nor do we find, anything 
like stereotyped definiteness of conative activity. We find that 
freedom and elasticity in animal education which is, perhaps, 
more often advocated than carried into practice in human 
education. 
The second point arising out of the examination analogy 
is, that its range determines the level of preparation therefor. 
It is, for animals, a practical examination, not a theoretical. 
Not a single question is set demanding an explanation. The 
problems are such as can be solved by intelligence, not such 
as require the exercise of reason, as we have used the term in 
foregoing pages. These higher problems are only set when 
the sixth form is reached, and there is no conclusive evidence 
that any animals get into the sixth. This, however, is entirely 
a question of evidence, and many of us will be glad to welcome 
them there, if proved ability to deal reflectively with ideational 
questions justifies their promotion. 
If any of them do belong to this form, they have probably 
got there through play. For in the stress of the actual exa- 
mination there is not much time for reflection. Or perhaps 
‘we may rather say that, not in actual struggle, and not in 
‘active preparation for it in play-time, but in intervals of 
leisure between both, when the animal lies quietly turning 
over in his mind we know not what, will experience be re- 
viewed, and generalizations drawn as to the why of events in 
this strange world. Probably the animal accepts things as 
they are, and does not trouble about their explanation. But 
it may not be so. At any rate, if animals lack the means of 
descriptive inter-communication, and have no words as con- 
crete pegs on which to hang abstract ideas, their explanations 
