Education Is Both A Proof And A Promoter Of Reason In All
Animals.
This removes them from their natural or instinctive
position, and brings forth the full development of the mental
powers.
This is exhibited in the performance of well-trained
dogs, especially among pointers and setters. Again, in the feats
performed by educated animals in the circus, where the elephant
has lately endeavored to prove a want of common sense by standing
on his head. Nevertheless, however absurd the trick, which man
may teach the animal to perform, the very fact of their
performance substantiates an amount of reason in the animal.
Monkeys, elephants and dogs are naturally endowed with a larger
share of the reasoning power than other animals, which is
frequently increased to a wonderful extent by education. The
former, even in their wild state, are so little inferior to some
natives, either in their habits or appearance, that I should feel
some reluctance in denying them an almost equal share of reason;
the want Of speech certainly places them below the Veddahs, but
the monkeys, on the other hand, might assert a superiority by a
show of tails.
Monkeys vary in intelligence according to their species, and may
be taught to do almost anything. There are several varieties in
Ceylon, among which the great black wanderoo, with white
whiskers, is the nearest in appearance to the human race. This
monkey stands upward of three feet high, and weighs about eighty
pounds. He has immense muscular power, and he has also a great
peculiarity in the formation of the skull, which is closely
allied to that of a human being, the lower jaw and the upper
being in a straight line with the forehead.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 199 of 334
Words from 53168 to 53454
of 89475
