we proceed to apply it, with as much attention as possible, to similarity of circumstances. A person sees another man, made to all appearance like himself; he does not think him, perhaps, quite so good-looking, but it is the same sort of animal; and when he sees him walk, - presuming that like effects are produced by like causes, he believes that he is not moved by any principle of mechanism, but that the gentleman walks because he chooses to walk: but the same person puts his foot upon a stone, and falls on a sudden, flat upon his face; that, says the observer, must be involuntary motion, because I have experienced the same myself upon similar occasions. In the same manner, he perceives a horse running after his food, playing with other horses, avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. Upon the same principle, that similar effects are produced by similar causes, he determines that the horse has sensation, and consciousness, and will; still determining the matter by a reference to his own previous experience, which, whether it be a good or a bad guide, is the only one that can possibly be resorted to in such conjectures. By a reference to the same principle, we believe that a stone, let loose from the hand, does not fall to the ground by choice, but by necessity; and between the two clear and extreme points of motion produced by external agency, and motion produced by will, delicate cases must occur, where the opposite analogies are so equally balanced, that it is impossible to determine whether the subject thinks or not. For instance, does the sensitiveplant think, when it contracts its leaves upon being touched? does it really feel danger or pain? or is it a mere involuntary contraction, such as takes place in the human body when a nerve is stimulated? When a plant in a dark cellar turns round to drink in a ray of light let in, is this the action of a reasoning being, that knows what is its proper food, and seeks it? or is it a mere case of chemical action, in which there is no

interference of the will? Opposite analogies seem to be so balanced, in these sort of questions, that it is very difficult to resolve them: but to comparison alone we can resort for it; and comparison shows us, that animals cannot possibly gain some of their knowledge as we gain ours; and it makes it also probable, that they do gain a very considerable part precisely as we do.

Before I proceed to speak of the faculties of animals, I wish to anticipate an objection which has been made to my use of the word faculty. Some friends of mine have asked me, whether animals had the religious faculty; and whether I meant to say, in stating they had the rudiments of our faculties, that they had the rudiments of this faculty also. Such sort of questions evince, more than anything else, the necessity of a little candour and moderation on these topics, and of proceeding to explanation, before we proceed to blame. I never before heard religion called a faculty: a knowledge of religion is acquired by our faculties, and it is the highest proof of the degree in which we possess them; but if the power is to be confounded with the object of that power, -if all those things that we acquire by means of our faculties are to be called our faculties, — then, navigation, commerce, and agriculture are faculties! Any man is perfectly free to use the word in this sense if he pleases; only let it not be made an objection to me, that I have not followed such an example, and that I have used words as they always hitherto have been used. I shall now proceed to the specification of my authorities.*

Respecting the faculties of animals, I shall translate from "Lettres sur les Animaux," by Bailly, two anecdotes respecting brutes, which Mr. Stewart quotes in his "Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind."

"A friend of mine," says Mr. Bailly, "a man of "understanding and strict veracity, related to me these "two facts, of which he was an eye-witness. He had a

* Locke, pp. 59, 60, 61. 213. 330.; Hartley, 247.; Reid, 114.

very intelligent ape, to whom he amused himself by giving walnuts, of which the animal was extremely "fond. One day, he placed them at such a distance "from the ape, that the animal, restrained by his chain, "could not reach them: after many useless efforts to

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indulge himself in his favourite delicacy, he happened "to see a servant pass by with a napkin under his arm; "he immediately seized hold of it, whisked it out beyond his arm, to beat the nuts within his reach, and "so obtained possession of them. His mode of breaking the walnut was a fresh proof of his inventive powers; he placed the walnut upon the ground, let a

great stone fall upon it, and so got at its contents. "One day, the ground on which he had placed the "walnut was so much softer than usual, that, instead of "breaking the walnut, the ape only drove it into the "earth: what does the animal do? he takes up a tile, places the walnut upon it, and then lets the stone fall, "while the walnut is in this position."

Admitting these facts to be true, - and they appear to be well authenticated, it is impossible to deny that there passed in the mind of this animal, all that customary process of invention that would take place in our own minds, when we were engaged in similar undertakings. If a man were to drop his hat in the water, and by means of a stick to get it out again, he would have done much the same sort of thing as this animal did. When Mr. Bramah invents his patent locks, I can tell him what passes in his mind: he first pauses intensely upon the idea of what he wishes to accomplish, - an outside ward or wards, that revolve with the key, or some of the mysteries of locksmithery: after he has paused some time, all the ideas anywise related to this first idea, flock into his mind, and, among these, he discovers some relation which one bears to the other, that he did not know before, and which will lead to the end he has in view. Exactly so Condillac's ape: his object

was to obtain the walnut; he dwelt upon that idea; a thousand related ideas occurred to his mind; he put out one foot, then another; laid himself down upon his back, to lengthen the extent of his foot as much as possible; and then, when he was dwelling upon these ideas, the relation that subsisted between the napkin and the attainment of the nut, rushed across his mind, and he availed himself of it: and precisely by the same process of understanding he made use of the tile, to lay over the soft earth. When an old greyhound, that has been accustomed to follow the hare fairly, begins to run cunning, or when two greyhounds are in pursuit of a hare, and one of them runs to a gap in the hedge, which it had known before, and through which it is probable the hare will pass, in what does this latter greyhound differ, in his way of acting and reasoning, from an old sportsman, who is too lazy to follow the hounds outright, and cuts across to save time and labour? I have reason to believe that somebody is lost in a snow-storm; - I mark the track of his feet, distinguishing it carefully from other footsteps; all of a sudden, I lose the track, what does common sense point out to me to do? I go all round in a circle at the very spot where the signs were first deficient, to see if I can recover the thread of my pursuit. A little boy, whom I have with me, is perpetually mistaking every mark he sees for the true one, and calling out he has found it; I pay no sort of attention to what he says, for I know that he is young and volatile, and I continue the search myself; but if I hear the voice of a trusty servant, at a distance, exclaiming that he has rediscovered the track, I immediately repair to the spot, with a strong belief that this will turn out to be the fact and it is so. Now, during all this time, have I not been exercising my reasoning? have I not been applying my previous experience to the new cases before me? and could not the reasons upon which I have acted, be drawn out into so many syllogisms?

And do not hounds, in the pursuit of their game, conduct themselves in a manner similar to this? They go on straightforward as far as the scent lasts; when it fails them, they cast round in a circle to recover it. The old hounds pay not the smallest attention to the yelping of the young ones; they know they are not to be trusted; but the moment an old experienced hound gives tongue, the whole pack resort to him, without the least hesitatation, and consider their object as gained. I confess I am quite at a loss to decide what difference there is between the faculties employed on both these occasions. A hunted stag will return again upon the line it has been running, then give three or four strong bounds, scarcely touching the ground, and make off in a lateral direction: sometimes he will run in among other deer and cattle, and endeavour to elude the sagacity of the dogs by these means; at other times he will hide himself up to the nose in reeds and water. All this implies a vast deal of previous observation, a fund of experience, and a ready application of that experience to new cases. The artifices of a gentleman pursued by bailiffs, and the artifices of an animal pursued for his life, are the same thing, call them by what name you please. Of all animals, the most surprising stories are told of the docility of elephants. The black people, who have the care of them, often go away, leaving them chained to a stake, and place near them their young children, as if under their care: the elephant allows the little creature to crawl as far as its trunk can reach, and then gently takes the young master up, and places him more within his own control. Every one knows the old story of the tailor and the elephant, which, if it be not true, at least shows the opinion the Orientals, who know the animal well, entertain of his sagacity. An eastern tailor to the court was making a magnificent doublet for a bashaw of nine tails, and covering it, after the manner of eastern doublets, with gold, silver,