Facts and Thoughts about Spiders. 197 
employed against wolves, bears, and tigers. And 
the spider is here even worse off than man, since his 
enemies are winged and able to sweep down in- 
stantly on him from above ; they are also protected 
with an invulnerable shield, and are armedwith deadly 
stings. Like man, also, the spider has a soft, unpro- 
tected body, while his muscular strength, compared 
with that of the insects he has to contend with, is 
almost nil. His position in nature then, with relation 
to his enemies, is like that of man ; only the spider 
has this disadvantage, that he cannot combine with 
others for protection. That he does protect himself 
and maintains his place in nature is due, not to 
special instincts, which are utterly insufficient, but 
to the intelligence which supplements them. At 
the same time this superior cunning is closely related 
with, and probably results indirectly from, the web 
he is provided with, and which is almost of the 
nature of an artificial aid. Let us take the 
imaginary case of a man-like monkey, or of an 
arboreal man, born with a cord of great length 
attached to his waist, which could be either dragged 
after him or carried in a coil. After many accidents, 
experience would eventually teach him to put it to 
some use ; practice would make him more and more 
skilful in handling it, and, indirectly, it would be 
tlie means of developing his latent mental faculties. 
He would begin by using it, as the monkey does 
its prehensile tail, to swing himself from branch to 
branch, and finally, to escape from an enemy or in 
pursuit of his prey, he would be able by means of 
his cord to drop himself with safety from the tallest 
trees, or fly down the steepest precipices. He would 
