1885.1 
Physiology and its Opponents. 
601 
tat , than let them overrun our fields; and it 
mes to be a question between breeding for slaughter and 
extermination on the other. . . All round then we 
1mm- ,! Ur i°e"’ n needs and interests our guides in dealing’ with 
S’lC 5 0l ^P that the >’ feel as a breach of ‘natural 
fn? 1 i l 1 1 d , be a breach of tb at felt by a man. We 
bv for/ed T 6 a b ,. Urden ’ We CaStrate & e - vivise «)> we kill 
thi d n 'f ertl ° n ’ We klU for food: on what grounds 
then shall we deny ourselves the ‘ right ’ to give animals 
pain with the objedt of furthering knowledge ? ” 
l his is the inconsistency argument very forcibly put — the 
aigument out of whose meshes Bestiarians have never suc- 
ceeded in wriggling. Hence Mr. Robertson is fully justified 
as it appears to us, in writing : I am not aware of any 
aigument on the (Bestiarian) side which can be pretended 
o meet that question, and their case, therefore, seems to ms 
o bieak down as far as the appeal to our sense of 
goes. 
right 
He next undertakes the difficult task of enquiring into the 
origin of the Bestiarian fallacy which he has just dissedted. 
I he question of the origin of Bestarianism in general is 
aoout as difficult as, and is ciosely analogous to, the question 
of the origin of small-pox, syphilis, or leprosy. We cannot 
point out the social “ microbe ” who first originated this 
epidemic of irrationality. But upon the state of mind of 
some of the persons infedted Mr. Robertson throws clear 
„ cross lights.” He quotes from a pamphlet written by 
‘ that wrathful controversialist Miss Frances Power Cobbe,” 
the following charadteristic passage : — 
‘‘The vivisection of dull (sic!) reptiles and wild rats and 
rabbits wherewith the elder generation of students contented 
themselves is not alone in question, nor even that of heavy 
beasts in our pastures; but by some strange and sinister 
fatality the chosen vidtims at present are the most intelligent 
and friendly of our domestic favourites— the cats who purl- 
in love and confidence as they sit beside us on the hearth, 
the dogs whose faithful hearts glow with an affedtion for us 
1 1 u ci and fondei than we may easilv find in any human 
breast, &c., &c.” 
It must of course be remembered that there are here mis- 
statements not a few; rabbits, guinea-pigs, and frogs are 
undoubtedly more frequently seledted for physiological ex- 
periments than cats and dogs. “ Heavy beasts in our pas- 
tures ” are too expensive and too bulky. It may also be 
asked whether the purr of the cat is an expression of “ love 
VOL. VII. (THIRD SERIES) 2 5 
