The Sense of the Beautiful in Brutes [pp. 126-142]

BEAUTIFUL IN BRUTES.
indusltry than its own. Its instinct is a particular instrument,
adapted to a special end. The bird is fashioned not to construct
niests in general, but to lay the ground-work of and rear into
shape p'rticular nests. Each species of spider spins a a web of
certain kind, an'i can spin no other.
in short, the animual, destined to a special life, ILas a particular
work. Free from hesitation, ignoring progress, since it succeeds
ct thile fist attempt, the animal need not foresee, nor compare,
nor generalize; it does not choose. Its instincet directs it infallibly into a paLa previously maxrkied out. Aristotle, Pascal, and
ma-.ny obcrs-, hatd proclaimed these characteristics of instinct.
Mlodern seience proclaims them likewise, and Mr. Darwin has
not proved that they are so many errors. If by more serious
snalyses and psychological comparisons he hiad been convinced
that this umod-e of comnprehending instinct is the only true one,
he would have seen that in presence of the beautiful the animal
remains as it is, to wit, a being which is interested only in that
which is peculiar to itself. This simple remark would have
cleared up and perhaps profoundly modified his theory of the
mental faculties of ani mals. To these the English zoiologist
adds the sentiment of admiration. I know that he denies them
the power of admiiring that wh-ich excites lofty emotions, as a
starry night, a beautiful landscape, fine music; but he maintains as certa,in that many inferior animals a(dmire the same
sounds anid tile same colors as ourselves. Even reduced to
these terms, his system does not appear to us tenable. If he
were correct, the animal would not only relish the same tunes
and the sam,e -'ariations of color as man, but it would love them,
it would enrjoy them everywhere and always, it would have the
faculty of enjoying them universally. The female of the chaffinch. for example, wihiclh, it is said, of a hundred males will
choose the best musician, would show itself sensible to the song
of other birds, to that of man, to the music of a good violin.
On th'e other hand, the spider and the lizard seem to be susceptible to musical sounds, and the hlorse is inspired with a warlike
ardor by the music of the regiment. Nevertheless, besides that
w-e do not know whether these animals experience anything more
than a nervous delight or a purely physical excitement, we
should recall the mournful howlings which certain sounds, even
musical, extract from our dogs. Another very important point
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