THE ERA OF HELPLESSNESS 57 



tive or only potential, becomes active when stimu- 

 lated by the wasp's catching sight of that kind of 

 caterpillar. 



But the teaching of a habit to a creature, by many 

 repetitions of a series of accidents is a very different 

 matter. This has neither infinite time to work in nor 

 infinite variety to work with, but is limited in its 

 educational possibilities: to the lifetime of the 

 creature it works on ; to the narrow capacity of that 

 brute's intelligence ; to the vicissitudes of its stolid- 

 ity and inattention ; and to the infinitely great im- 

 probability of a series of natural accidental induce- 

 ments being frequently repeated exactly alike in 

 quality and in the order of their occurrence, under 

 similarly adjusted environing circumstances. 



But one of these two-footed upright brutes, in an 

 effort at climbing, might grab a branch for support, 

 and then this branch might accidentally break off 

 and remain in the brute's hand. Would not that 

 teach him the use of a stick ? By no means ! To 

 begin with, the chances are many times many that 

 the branch on account of branchlets would not be 

 suitable for a stick. Then what should make the 

 brute retain it in his hand? Not any intellectual 

 expectation of making use of it. That is incon- 

 ceivable in advance of experience, and to assume 

 antecedent experience is to beg the question. And 



tractions will be interpreted as propulsions toward the points 

 of meeting, yet since this view, without lengthy explanations, 

 would leave the argument somewhat obscure, therefore the 

 word "attraction*' has been retained. See Appendix, Xote IV. 



