CHAPTER IV 



Monkey Ethics — Sense of Color — Monkeys Enumerate — First 

 Principles of Art 



MONKEYS have a simple code of ethics. It is not 

 by any means to be supposed that their sense of 

 propriety or appreciation of color, form, dimension, or qual- 

 ity is of a high order ; but that they have the rudiments 

 upon which the higher cults of human society are based 

 there is no doubt. Among the experiments that I per- 

 formed along this line were some designed to ascertain 

 the strength of these latent faculties or the degree to which 

 these have been developed. 



In order to ascertain whether or not monkeys have any 

 choice of colors, I selected some bright-colored balls, mar- 

 bles, candies, and bits of ribbon. Taking a piece of paste- 

 board, I placed on it a few pieces of candy of different 

 colors. This was offered to a monkey to see if he would 

 select a certain color. In order to avoid confusing him, I 

 used only two colors at a time, but frequently shifted their 

 places. This was to determine whether the color was 

 chosen merely for convenience or for the sake of the color 

 itself. By repeating this with a series of bright colors and 

 frequent changing of their order it was ascertained in many 

 instances that certain monkeys had a distinct choice of 

 color. It was found that all monkevs do not select the 



