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BIOLOGY LIBRARY 
 
THE EVOLUTION AND FUNCTION OF 
 LIVING PUKPOSIVE MATTER 
 
The International Scientific Series 
 THE 
 
 EVOLUTION AND FUNCTION 
 
 OF LIVING PURPOSIVE 
 
 MATTER 
 
 BY 
 
 N. C. MACNAMARA, F.R.C.S. 
 
 i 
 
 AUTHOR OP 
 
 "HUMAN SPEECH, A STCDY ix THE PURPOSIVE ACTION OF LIVING MATTBK. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 
 1910 
 
8IOLOGT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OOLOGY LIBRARY 
 
PREFACE 
 
 IN a previous volume of the International Scientific 
 Series I described the fundamental properties of living 
 protoplasm, and gave an outline of the development 
 of the sense organs of the body and the functions 
 performed by them, in their relation to those parts 
 of the central nervous system by which we gain 
 ideas concerning the external worlds, and are able to 
 express our thoughts in intelligent speech. 
 
 The object of the following work is to endeavour 
 to explain the evolution of, and functions performed by 
 those elements of protoplasm which are essential for 
 the manifestation of purposive, instinctive, and psychical 
 phenomena. I believe that knowledge to be derived 
 from the study of this subject, is capable of helping 
 us to realise the importance of heredity in determining 
 the personal character of individuals, and the influence 
 which the environment exercises in modifying the innate 
 qualities handed down to us by our progenitors. 1 
 
 I hold the opinion that the protoplasm of even the 
 simplest organism, such as that which constitutes 
 
 1 With confidence we recommend those persons who are inter- 
 ested in this subject to study Mr and Mrs Whetham's able and 
 interesting work, '*The Family and the Nation." 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 the body of an amoeba, in response to various stimuli, 
 discharges a part of its potential energy which, through 
 the action of certain of its constituent elements, is 
 transformed into purposive movements, or work adapted 
 to promote the well-being of the organism. Beyond this, 
 there is evidence to prove that the living substance of 
 an amoeba retains impressions made upon it by appro- 
 priate stimuli, and that these impressions may be 
 re-excited by similar, or it may be by other, stimuli 
 than those which produced the original impression. 
 So that the movements of these minute particles of 
 protoplasm are not only purposive, but are to some 
 extent guided by memory and experience. 
 
 In unicellular organisms the purposive elements 
 appear to be equally diffused throughout the living 
 substance of their bodies, but in all the higher classes 
 of beings these elements have become differentiated, 
 and constitute a part of the protoplasm of their gang- 
 lionic nerve cells. These cells send out amoeboid -like 
 processes in the form of nerve fibres which communicate 
 with one another and form structures, the basis sub- 
 stance of which receives -and retains impressions made 
 upon it by appropriate stimuli, responding by the 
 discharge of energy which becomes manifest in definite 
 movements of the body. 
 
 I maintain that the purposive elements of proto- 
 plasm undergo evolution pari passu with those elements 
 which constitute the structures and organs of the bodies 
 of the ascending classes of animals, and trace the 
 
PREFACE Vll 
 
 development of these elements through their various 
 stages, showing that this specialised form of matter 
 has come to occupy a definite part of the cerebrum, its 
 functions being to elaborate the instinctive and 
 emotional faculties displayed in the movements made 
 by animals. I adduce evidence to prove that the 
 psychic nervous substance of the brain has been de- 
 veloped from matter possessing instinctive functions. 
 It is through the orderly working of such a system 
 that mental phenomena are brought into operation. 
 
 In a well-balanced brain energy derived from psychic 
 nervous matter, to a large extent, controls the action 
 of those parts of the cerebral substance by means of 
 which inherited, instinctive, and emotional processes 
 are elaborated, nevertheless, in the majority of human 
 beings these faculties exercise a paramount influence 
 over their personal characters. In the first part of this 
 volume I have given biological and anatomical evidence 
 to demonstrate the nature of the living matter out of 
 which the hereditary qualities possessed by individuals 
 are elaborated. In the second part of this book the 
 soundness of these conclusions are put to the test, by 
 giving the outline of the leading characteristics displayed 
 by a long line of individuals, who lived under con- 
 ditions well adapted to show the power which their 
 inherited qualities exercised on the actions of many 
 succeeding generations, and on the destinies of the race 
 to which they belonged. I thus emphasize the import- 
 ance of heredity in determining individual character. 
 
Vlll PREFACE 
 
 My sincere thanks are due to Mr R. H. Burne, M.A., 
 F.Z.S., for the never failing and able assistance he has 
 given me in preparing the first part of the following 
 work, much of its contents being based on material 
 contained in the Physiological Series of the Museum 
 of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 
 
 N. C. MACNAMARA. 
 CHORLEY WOOD, 
 
 January 1910. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART I 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Chemical and physical forces being insufficient to account for 
 the adaptative movements displayed by the simplest known 
 forms of living organisms, it is reasonable to suppose that 
 such movements result from Avork performed by a peculiar 
 organization and combination of elements inherent to living 
 matter, described as purposive and memorial elements, the 
 latter retaining and reproducing impressions made upon 
 them by various stimuli, the former transmuting nervous 
 energy into work adapted to promote the well-being of 
 the individual and of its species 1-29 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The purposive elements in unicellular beings are diffused 
 throughout their living substance ; in the loAvest^ classes 
 of multicellular animals these elements become conspicuous 
 in the form of ganglionic nerve-cells, connected, on the one 
 hand, with sensory organs, and, on the other, with motor 
 cells. Through the transforming power exercised by the 
 purposive elements of this system, directing energy derived 
 from external stimuli, movements are effected by the 
 animal's body which tend to promote its well-being. Pass- 
 ing from the simplest to the higher orders of invertebrates, 
 ganglionic nerve-cells become aggregated into a central 
 nervous system, and pari passu with the evolution of the 
 structures and organs constituting the bodies of these 
 animals, their purposive elements become developed into 
 nervous matter possessing instinctive functions rendered 
 necessary for the preservation of these orders of beings in 
 their struggle for existence ...... 30-54 
 
 ix 
 
X CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 PAGES 
 
 111 the case of certain insects, such as antsand bees, stimuli derived 
 from the olfactory organs on reaching the nervous substance 
 of those areas of the brain in which the olfactory nerves 
 originate, bring its memorial and purposive elements into 
 action and become manifest in the emotional and instinct- 
 ive activities these insects display. Action of this kind 
 is hereditary 55-73 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The structure and functions are described of those parts of the 
 brain which, in the two lower classes of vertebrates, con- 
 stitute the central transmitting and receiving station for 
 out-going and in-coming streams of energy derived from 
 sensory organs ; this portion of the brain being known as 
 its basal ganglia. One of the functions of the nervous 
 matter of these ganglia is to associate the energy it receives 
 and transmute it into those hereditary, instinctive, and 
 emotional movements of the lower classes of vertebrates 
 which indicate their individual (or personal) characters . 74-92 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 The basal ganglia form prominent structures of the brain in 
 reptiles, birds and the mammalia, an important part of 
 their work being, as in the lower animals, the control of 
 their hereditary, instinctive, and emotional movements. 
 In this way the living matter of these ganglia form the 
 basis-substance which governs the hereditary personal 
 characters of vertebrates. In reptiles we find the earliest 
 indications of that form of nervous substance whose func- 
 tion it is to elaborate psychical processes . . . 93-106 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 From the living substance of its basal ganglia, the mammalian 
 brain has developed a mass of psychical nervous substance, 
 which is proportionate in structure and functions to the 
 intellectual requirements of the various orders of this class 
 of animals in their struggle for existence ; their personal 
 hereditary character being still to a large extent directed 
 by the nervous iiiattt-r of their basal ganglia . . 107-123 
 
CONTENTS XI 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 PAGKS 
 
 The structure and functions performed by the psychical areas 
 of the cerebrum (known as the neopallium) of apes and 
 human beings are described, as also the mechanism of the 
 neopallial nervous centres, by means of which stimuli 
 derived from sensory organs are transmuted into sensations, 
 ideas, and intellectual processes. Stress is laid on the 
 important part which the growth in man of nervous matter, 
 adapted to formulate ideas into silent and spoken language, 
 has exercised in promoting the development of his mental 
 powers 124-153 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A summary of the contents of the preceding seven chapters is 
 given, showing that man has gained his commanding 
 position in the world by means of the great development 
 which has taken place in the nervous matter of his cere- 
 brum, as compared with that of any other animal. At the 
 same time the emotional and instinctive faculties of men 
 exert a decided influence in forming the personal hereditary 
 characters of individuals, and on the destinies of the race 
 to which they belong ...... 154-187 
 
 PART II 
 CHAPTERS I IV 
 
 To substantiate the conclusions, derived from knowledge 
 acquired by a study of comparative biology, regarding the 
 influence which hereditary personal characters exercise on 
 the destinies of individuals, and of the race to which they 
 belong, an outline is given of the origin and racial character 
 of a tribe of Celts who, about the year A.D. 450, settled 
 in the West of Ireland, their descendants remaining on 
 the same lands, an unmixed race, in a fairly constant 
 environment, until the early part of the seventeenth 
 century 191-288 
 
 INDEX , 289-298 
 
PAKT I 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 THE object of the following work is to establish the fact, 
 that action excited in living protoplasm by various 
 modes of energy, is transmuted by certain of its elements 
 into movements adapted to promote the well-being of 
 the organism. We term the elements constituting this 
 kind of matter " purposive," and show they are sufficient 
 to effect all the movements necessary to maintain the 
 existence of the lower classes of living beings. 1 But as 
 in the ascending orders of animals the structures entering 
 into the formation of their bodies become more com- 
 plicated, the purposive elements which direct their 
 movements undergo a corresponding evolution, and 
 become developed into matter possessing instinctive 
 and finally psychical functions. 
 
 In our previous volume on " Human Speech," we 
 gave an outline of the fundamental properties possessed 
 by living protoplasm, its sources of potential energy, and 
 its adaptation to the action of the environment, through 
 means of which the e^yes, ears, and other sensory organs, 
 together with a nervous system had become developed. 
 In order to illustrate the working of this system we. 
 referred to its power, in human beings, of elaborating 
 and giving expression to intellectual processes in spoken 
 language. Following on these lines in the present work 
 
 1 Purposive " a word to express the adaptation of means to an 
 end, whether involving consciousness or not." " Enc. Brit.," vol. 
 xx. p. 73. 
 
 A 1 
 
OP.PUEPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 we apply the'teachmg'of comparative biology to elucidate 
 the origin and nature of hereditary instinctive matter, 
 and to show that in the case of human beings it exercises 
 a paramount influence on their personal characters and 
 on the race to which they belong. 
 
 Throughout the following pages we employ the term 
 individual or personal character to signify those heredi- 
 tary instinctive and emotional processes which, as we 
 conceive, form the substratum of our actions, and to a 
 large extent rule our whole life. 1 
 
 We hold that purposive matter consists of certain 
 elements of living protoplasm which transmute specific 
 modes of energy into action adapted to promote the well- 
 being of the organism ; the supply of energy necessary 
 for this work is derived from the reaction of living 
 matter to various forms of stimuli. 
 
 The agent or form of energy which excites living matter 
 to action is known as a stimulus ; movements or other 
 work thus effected by living matter is described as a 
 response or reaction to a stimulus. 
 
 For instance, the substance which forms the body of a 
 unicellular being known as the Bacterium Photometricum, 
 consists of a minute speck of protoplasm, from which a 
 number of fibrils or cilia project outwards through the 
 delicate cell wall of the organism ; these form the motory 
 
 1 Professor Villa states, that which determines our actions, rules our 
 whole life, and represents consequently better than any other mental 
 activity our personality, is what we call our " character." When 
 the latter coincides with our ideas, the mental life is harmonious, 
 and we have the illusion that it is they that regulate our actions, 
 whereas we are really only obeying our nature. And of this we have 
 an evident proof when there arises a discrepancy between our ideas 
 and our character, for in that case it is always the character which 
 conquers. The intelligence is a superadded element. " Con- 
 temporary Psychology," p. 180. 
 
THE ACTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 3 
 
 structures of the cell, and by their lashing movements 
 propel it through the water. As before explained, under 
 favourable conditions the living matter forming the body 
 of a being of this kind is charged with potential energy 
 derived from chemical action and other sources. 1 If a 
 Bacterium of this kind is kept in the dark it remains 
 almost stationary, but directly the water in which it is 
 floating is exposed to the stimulus of sunlight its cilia 
 commence to work and the cell moves rapidly through 
 the water ; thus bringing the organism within reach of 
 food. Movements of this kind, we hold, are purposive, 
 being adapted to promote the well-being of the organism. 
 
 We shall endeavour to show that movements such as 
 those above referred to result from energy acting on the 
 living matter constituting the cilia of the organism : we 
 call such energy purposive, and the form of matter from 
 which it proceeds purposive elements. Our theory is, 
 that in the case of a Bacterium Photometricum a portion 
 of the potential energy of its protoplasm is discharged 
 by the action of energy it receives in the form of sun- 
 light ; a part of the potential force thus released is trans- 
 formed by the purposive elements of the cell, into energy 
 which directs the action of its cilia as above described. 
 The work thus performed by the purposive elements of a 
 bacterium might be referred to as being analogous to 
 that of the central nervous system of the higher classes 
 of animals, in that these elements constitute the 
 guiding apparatus of the motary substance of the 
 organism. 
 
 For some years past it has been recognised as an 
 established fact, that movements made by the simplest 
 kinds of organisms were effected by the response of their 
 1 " Human Speech," p. 28. 
 
4 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 living substance to various forms of external stimuli. As 
 far back as the year 1878 Professor Strasburger (and in 
 1879 Professor Stahl) employed the word Phototaxis to 
 designate the position taken by an organism with 
 reference to the direction of the incident rays of light. 
 He refers to certain of the Desmids. This elongated 
 cell attaches itself by one end, then swings itself over 
 and attaches itself by the other end : each time this is 
 repeated the organism moves the length of its body. 
 This movement, Stahl observes, is due to a periodical 
 reversal of position, such that, for a time, one end of the 
 cell is directed towards the source of light, and then 
 the body is swung over like a pendulum, so that the 
 other end comes to be directed towards the source of 
 light. When, however, the light is intense, these beings 
 place their long axes perpendicularly to the direction 
 of the incident rays. As already shown (" Human 
 Speech," p. 51) the position of chlorophyll-corpuscles are 
 influenced by light, they collect on the cell-wall which 
 is perpendicular to the direction of the incident rays. 
 
 In the case of zoospores the intensity of the light to 
 which they are exposed directs their movements either 
 towards or from the source of light ; but such movements 
 depend on the sensitiveness of the living matter of the 
 organism, and this will be largely influenced by its supply 
 of potential energy due to the perfection or otherwise of 
 its nutritive and metabolic processes. ' ' Again, suppos- 
 ing that at a certain medium temperature zoospores move 
 away from light of a given and considerable intensity ; 
 if now the temperature be raised several degrees, the 
 zoospores will move towards the source of light, that is, 
 at the higher temperature they are less sensitive to light." 
 The sensitivity of these organisms is affected by the 
 
THE ACTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 5 
 
 supply of free oxygen, and is also increased by their 
 age, so that when young they move towards light, from 
 which when they are older they move away. 1 
 
 Professor Jacques Loeb holds that the movements of 
 the higher animals like those of the simpler orders of 
 beings, result from the response of their living substance 
 to the direct action of light and other natural forces ; 
 he maintains that these beings have no power of directing 
 or of resisting the action of these forces. The movements 
 of both plants and animals, he states, depend, "first, upon 
 the specific irritability of certain elements of the body- 
 surface, and, secondly, upon the relation of symmetry of 
 the body." Symmetrical elements at the surface of the 
 body have the same irritability ; unsymmetrical elements 
 have a different irritability. Those nearer the oral 
 pole possess an irritability greater than that of those 
 near the aboral pole. These circumstances force an 
 animal to place itself towards a source of stimulation in 
 such a way that symmetrical points on the surface of 
 the body are stimulated equally. In this way animals 
 are led without will of their own either towards the 
 source of the stimulus or away from it. 2 
 
 1 " Physiology of Plants," S. H. Vines, pp. 520, 525; also Fischer, 
 " The Structure and Functions of Bacteria," p. 81. 
 
 2 " Comparative Physiology of the Brain and Psychology," pp. 7, 
 181, by Professor J. Loeb, who is of opinion that the central nervous 
 system is nothing more than a protoplasmic medium of communica- 
 tion between the skin and the muscles. (Somewhat similar opinions 
 have been promulgated by Dr Kronthal, his idea being that the 
 conducting paths of nbrillse constitute the only essential nervous 
 mass, and that the remaining parts of the nerve cell thatus, the 
 protoplasmic and chromatic masses, nucleus and nucleolus belong 
 to wandering cells, which bear the same relation to the neuro- 
 fibrillse that a drop of oil does to a number of threads at whose 
 intersecting points the drop has become entangled. Brit. Med. 
 Journ., May 29, 1909, 'p. 1303. 
 
6 THE ACTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 As an example, Professor Loeb refers to the move- 
 ments of a moth in the presence of a lighted candle. 
 He states that if a moth be struck by the light on one 
 side, those muscles which turn the head towards the 
 light become more active than those of the opposite 
 side, and correspondingly the head of the animal is 
 turned towards the source of light. As soon as the head 
 of the animal has this position, and the median-plane 
 comes into the direction of the rays of light, the sym- 
 metrical points of the surface of the body are struck by 
 the rays of light at the same angle. The intensity of 
 light is the same on both sides, and there is no more 
 reason why the animal should turn to the right or left 
 away from the direction of the rays of light. Thus it 
 is led to the source of light. Animals that move rapidly 
 get into the flame before the heat of the flame has time 
 to check them in their flight. Animals that move slowly 
 are affected by the increasing heat as they approach the 
 flame ; the high temperature checks their progressive 
 movement, and they walk or fly slowly about the flame. 
 The more refractive rays are the most effective in animals, 
 just as in plants, in producing these movements. 
 
 Dr G. Bohn is a strenuous advocate of Loeb's ideas, 
 but is under the impression that the " tropisms," or the 
 action of natural forces on irritable living matter, are 
 not sufficient alone to insure the well-being and repro- 
 duction of unicellular or other organisms. He holds 
 that action of this kind is insufficient in itself to 
 insure the preservation of the life of the animal ; he 
 therefore supplements the action of tropisms by what 
 he terms " sensibilite differentielle," that is, sensitiveness 
 to changes in intensity, or the power organisms possess 
 of responding to the action of different degrees of energy 
 
PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 7 
 
 received from stimuli. It is through this form of 
 sensibility, in Dr Bohn's opinion, that when an organism, 
 under the stimulus of light, is attracted in a certain 
 direction, and reaches a shaded spot, it rotates on itself 
 and moves away from the shadow. 1 
 
 Professor F. Darwin, in his address to the British 
 Association (September 1908), when referring to the 
 movements of plants, is disposed to adopt Professor H. S. 
 Jenning's teaching on this subject, and states that we 
 must take into consideration what he calls physiological 
 conditions of the organism as distinguished from per- 
 manent anatomical conditions. External stimuli are 
 supposed to act by altering this physiological state ; 
 that is, the organism is temporarily transformed into 
 what, judged by its reactions, is practically a different 
 creature. This may be illustrated by the behaviour of 
 a unicellular being known as Stentor, one of the Infusoria 
 (Jennings, " Behaviour of the Lower Organisms," p. 170, 
 1906). If a fine jet of water is directed against the 
 disc of the creature, it contracts " like a flash " into its 
 tube. In about half a minute it expands again and the 
 
 1 We must refer the reader to Dr G. Bohn's work, " La Nais- 
 sance de 1' Intelligence," for the full meaning and the evidence 
 on which he bases his ideas regarding " tropisms " and their relation 
 to Differential Sensibility. He appears to hold with Professor 
 Loeb that all biological processes could be explained on physico-chemi- 
 cal bases and that life is to be regarded as a chemical function. He 
 describes how, working with the eggs of marine animals, he attempted 
 to discover the physico-chemical nature of fecundation. He found 
 that extracts of the male seed of homologous animals failed to fertilise 
 the eggs, but that of a foreign species was capable of doing so. He 
 further found that the process acts in two stages and each stage can 
 be initiated chemically. First the sperm cell acts by partially dis- 
 solving the external layers of the egg, and, secondly, the process 
 called formative stimulation proceeds by the penetration of a sub- 
 stance of high tonicity. 
 
8 THE ACTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 cilia resume their activity. Now we cause the current 
 to act again upon the disc. This time the Stentor does 
 not contract, which proves that the animal had been 
 in some way changed by the first stimulus. This is a 
 simple example of " physiological state." " When the 
 Stentor was at rest, before it received the first current 
 of water, it was in state 1, the stimulus changed state 
 1 into state 2, to which contraction is the reaction. 
 When again stimulated it passed into state 3, which 
 does not produce contraction. We cannot prove that 
 the contraction which occurred when the Stentor was 
 first stimulated was due to a change of states. But it is 
 a fair deduction from the result of the whole experiment, 
 for after the original reaction the creature is undoubtedly 
 in a changed state since it no longer reacts in the same 
 way to the repetition of the original stimulus. Jennings 
 points out that as in the case of plants, spontaneous 
 acts are brought about when the physiological state 
 is changed by unknown causes, whereas in other cases 
 we can point to an external agency by which the same 
 result is effected." l 
 
 Professor Berthold compares the movements of 
 amoebae and of swarm-spores to the drops of oil in an 
 emulsion, or to a piece of camphor floating in water, 
 the movements always occurring towards the side of 
 least surface-tension. But as Professor Ewart remarks, 
 this statement is misleading. In the case of a piece 
 of camphor floating on water the surface-tension is 
 lowered unequally as the camphor dissolves irregularly. 
 The fragment is drawn to the side where the surface- 
 tension of the water is greater ; for the surface-tension- 
 
 1 Professor F. Darwin's Presidential Address to the British 
 Association, 1908. 
 
DEPENDS ON IONS 9 
 
 film moves in that direction and drags the camphor 
 after it. In the particles of an emulsion, however, a 
 diminution of the centrally-directed surface-tension 
 pressure on one side, or an increase on the opposite 
 face, causes the particle to move to the side of least 
 surface-tension, and this movement will continue as 
 long as the potential difference is maintained, and 
 will cease as soon as equilibrium is reached. 1 
 
 With reference to the movements made by proto- 
 plasm in response to the various forms of energy which 
 act upon it, we must, as Professor B. Moore states, 
 recognise the fact that the living cell receives its supply 
 of energy from organic compounds capable of yielding 
 energy in the process of oxidation in the cell, provided 
 its protoplasm is in working order. He states, 
 that the integrity of the living matter of the cell 
 is just as completely dependent upon the presence of 
 ions of certain simple organic salts in its substance 
 and in the surrounding fluid, as upon the supply of 
 energy it receives from the organic compounds of 
 the cell. 2 In point of time the physiological activity 
 
 1 " On the Physics and Physiology of Protoplasmic Streaming in 
 Plants," by A. J. Ewart, p. 112. 
 
 2 If a lump of common salt is dissolved in water, and bits of metal 
 joined to a copper wire are dipped into the solution, an electric 
 current is started. A solution of this kind is known as a conducting 
 solution, and any substance which, when dissolved, produces a con- 
 ducting solution is termed an electrolyte (to set free). It is held 
 by most scientists that when an electrolyte is dissolved in water 
 its molecules undergo to a greater or less extent dissociation or 
 separation into electrically charged atoms, which Farady called 
 ions (that which goes). These either positively or negatively charged 
 atoms have an independent existence in the solution, and have their 
 specific properties and reactions behaving, therefore, as independent 
 molecules. When two electrodes (poles) are placed in a solution 
 of an electrolyte and connected with a battery, the positively charged 
 
10 THE ACTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 of the cell is more rapidly destroyed by removing or 
 altering the supply of inorganic ions, than it is by inter- 
 fering with the supply of food stuff. The latter can 
 to some extent be supplied by the combustible materials 
 present in the cell ; but when the inorganic ions forming 
 a constitutional part of the living cell are altered, and 
 the equilibrium between the protoplasm and ions thus 
 destroyed, the cell activities immediately come to 
 rest. 1 The ions form an intrinsic and indispensable 
 part of the cell structure in the absence of which it 
 can no longer utilise its food supply ; it " is the ions 
 which act." 
 
 Professor Moore refers to the influence which the 
 ions have on the work performed by living muscles, 
 as for instance on the muscular structure of the heart. 
 If an animal's heart is isolated, and fluid containing 
 a solution of food stuff be passed through it, the muscular 
 structure will at once cease to act and the heart stops 
 beating. If, however, a solution of common salt be 
 used in the same way, the heart will continue to beat 
 
 electrode attracts the negatively charged ions ; and the negatively 
 charged electrode attracts the positively charged ions. These 
 atoms move in opposite directions through the solution, and give 
 up their charges at the electrodes ; it is their movement through the 
 solution that constitutes the electric current in the solution. When 
 a salt ionises a solution, the metal part forms the positive (cat-ions) 
 and the acid part the negative (an-ions). In the case of acids 
 hydrogen forms the positive, thus hydrochloric acid gives the positive, 
 H ions, and the Cl the negative. It is, indeed, to the presence of 
 the hydrogen ions that so-called acid properties are to be ascribed. 
 In the case of alkalies, such as sodium hydroxide (NaoH), the 
 negative ions are formed of the hydroxyl group. 
 
 1 " Further Advances in Physiology." Edited by Leonard Hill. 
 Article by Professor B. Moore, pp. 1, 2, " The Equilibrium of Colloid 
 and Crystalloid in Living Cells." 
 
INFLUENCE of IONS 11 
 
 for some time and then stops, the solution having 
 gradually washed out the potassium salts from the 
 muscular structure of the heart, it then ceases to act. 
 If a definite small percentage of potassium and calcium 
 salts are added to the solution of common salt, and 
 the solution is passed through a freshly isolated heart, 
 its muscular fibres will continue to work for hours 
 and even days in a regular and automatic manner ; thus 
 demonstrating that inorganic potassium and calcium 
 ions are essential factors in promoting the action of 
 the specialised living substance of muscle fibres. 
 
 These inorganic ions also possess a remarkable in- 
 fluence on other processes of living matter ; for instance, 
 if the ova of the starfish are exposed to the action of 
 hydrogen ions, that is, if they are placed in a proper 
 acid solution, they undergo developmental changes, 
 and produce a multitude of cells. The ova of cha3top- 
 terus undergo developmental activities when placed 
 in a solution containing potassium ions, i.e. the addition 
 of any potassium salt causes the development of the 
 egg ; but other salts, which do not yield potasssium 
 ions are without any such influence. 1 Without ions 
 or the bearers of electricity in the living substance 
 of the cell, and in the fluid surrounding it, it cannot 
 respond effectively to the action of the forces that 
 play upon it. Our object is to endeavour to form ideas 
 regarding the substance which directs movements 
 thus excited into orderly and purposive action. The 
 movements effected by the simplest kinds of beings 
 are as well adapted for their needs as those of the higher 
 classes of animals possessing an elaborate nervous 
 system, and complicated structures and organs. The 
 
 1 Fiiidlay, p. 39. 
 
12 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 physico-chemical forces which initiate the movements 
 are the same in every form of living matter, but the 
 materials acted on differ in each order of beings, that 
 is, the structural arrangement and motion of the 
 elements constituting the protoplasms of the various 
 classes of beings has a special architecture of its own, 
 and consequently definite action. 
 
 We fully appreciate the fact that the movements 
 made by living protoplasm in response to the action 
 of stimuli depend upon its elements being placed under 
 favourable conditions, but we hold that the move- 
 ments of even the simplest forms of plants and animals 
 cannot be wholly interpreted in chemical and physical 
 terms. On the other hand, we conceive that the move- 
 ments of the living matter of organisms excited by 
 external and internal stimuli, are directed by elements 
 which form part of all living matter, each after its own 
 order. We cannot place our fingers on these elements 
 and separate them from the other constitutents of 
 living protoplasm, and must, therefore, in studying 
 their nature depend on the series of phenomena they 
 produce in the various classes of animals. 
 
 That unicellular organisms possess inherent powers 
 of directing their own movements in a purposive 
 manner is an idea supported by some of the ablest 
 and most accurate scientists of the present time. Thus 
 Professor A. J. Ewart, when referring to the movements 
 of organisms which possess definite locomotory organs, 
 such as flagellae or cilia, states there can be no doubt 
 that they have " acquired the power of directing and 
 controlling the natural forces for their own benefit." 1 
 
 1 " On the Physics and Physiology of Protoplasmic Straining in 
 Plants," by A. J. Ewart, p. 112. 
 
MOVEMENTS OF UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS 13 
 
 Professor W. B. Hardy, when discussing the nature 
 of the movements made by an Amoeba, observes " the 
 tiny animal manifests discrimination, imperfect no doubt, 
 but clearly recognisable. And the choice is beneficial, 
 it contains an element of purpose." l Again, Professor 
 Calkins, when discussing the movements of certain 
 unicellular animals, remarks, " it appears the organism, 
 as a whole, is endowed with a set of motor responses 
 which might be identified as instinctive. Stimulation 
 at one point induces a local response, but a reaction of 
 the entire organism is poorly explained by the assump- 
 tion of a machine-like organisation of the cell, or by 
 the statement that these responses are merely the 
 expression of chemical and physical forces." 2 
 
 We may now proceed to give the evidence on which 
 we base our ideas regarding purposive matter, and in 
 the first place refer to movements habitually made 
 by some of the simplest classes of organisms. 
 
 If we place a multitude of ciliated bacteria, in pure 
 distilled water, into which only filtered air can pass, and 
 thus prevent these beings obtaining any food, we find after 
 a few days many of them disappear, others become 
 languid and under the microscope appear shrivelled 
 and transparent, they are in fact on the verge of starva- 
 tion. If we then introduce into the fluid in which 
 these bacteria have been kept some finely divided 
 particles of organic and inorganic matter, we see some 
 of the bacteria moving up to the particles of inorganic 
 matter round which they hover for a brief space of time, 
 and then reversing the action of their cilia they move 
 
 1 " The Physical Basis of Life," by H. W. Hardy. Science Progress, 
 October, 1906, p. 182. 
 
 2 Professor Gary N. C. Calkins on the " Protozoa," p. 301. 
 
14 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 away to another part of the field ; if in their course 
 they meet with an organic particle of matter they seem 
 to imbibe nutriment from its substance, for after a 
 time their protoplasmic contents contain granules 
 of what we take to be food, and the organism at the 
 same time becomes plump and active. This process 
 of starving and feeding bacteria may be repeated over 
 and over again, and under similar conditions the result 
 is always the same. 
 
 If a number of bacteria are placed in water containing 
 particles of carmine their protoplasmic bodies absorb 
 this colouring matter, but after a short time extrude 
 it ; this process may be repeated for some five weeks ; 
 after which the bacteria cease to take up any more 
 of the carmine particles. But if sepia is substituted 
 for carmine these same bacteria will absorb it into their 
 bodies for a time, and then, as in the case of carmine, 
 discontinue to absorb the particles of sepia, which, like 
 the carmine, are useless substances either for nutritive 
 or other purposes of these beings. 1 
 
 Not unfrequently we find a flagellum at the anterior 
 and another proceeding from the posterior end of the 
 cell ; the former draws the being along at the same 
 time that it rotates about its axis ; while the latter 
 exerts a directive and modifying influence on the move- 
 ments of the Infusorian, serving also as an anchor, 
 and sometimes as a spring, promoting a rapid jerking 
 movement of leaps and bounds. 
 
 An Amoeba proteus consists of a minute particle 
 of nucleated protoplasm ; when its outer surface is 
 gently touched by the point of a glass rod, the living 
 matter of the organism responds to the stimulus by pro- 
 
 1 " La Naissance de 1'Intelligence," par Dr G. Bohn, p. 103. 
 
MOVEMENTS OF AMCEBA 15 
 
 truding a portion of its substance in the form of a 
 pseudopodium, by means of which it clings to the rod. 
 But if the point of the rod is roughly pushed against 
 the surface of the amoeba the organism moves away 
 as if to avoid injury. 
 
 Amoebse ordinarily crawl, aided by their pseudopodia, 
 over the surface of solid substances in search of food. 
 If, then, one of these beings becomes isolated, at 
 first it floats about in the water in an aimless manner ; 
 but after a time if it meets with no solid substance on 
 which to anchor, the animal thrusts out a number 
 of long slender pseudopodia ; these processes of living 
 matter spread out in all directions from the body until 
 its substance becomes little more than a meeting point 
 of the pseudopodia. So soon, however, as one of these 
 feelers cornes in contact with a solid body it attaches 
 itself to it, the whole animal follows on, and resumes 
 its normal method of locomotion. 1 Professor H. J. 
 Jennings is disposed to think that amoebae retain the 
 effects of impressions made upon them by stimuli, 
 and that these impressions may be brought into action 
 by fresh stimuli ; in other words, the living matter of 
 these, the simplest forms of nucleated living beings 
 possess what we call memory, and further, their actions 
 are voluntary and prompted by what they remember. 
 For instance, Mr Jennings on one occasion watched a 
 large amoeba seize a small one by one of its pseudopodia, 
 which it then retracted and thus. nearly enclosed its 
 prey, but leaving an opening in its encircling embrace 
 the small amoeba escaped and moved away. The 
 larger animal, however, reversed the course it had 
 
 1 H. J. Jennings on " The Behaviour of Lower Organisms," p. 8. 
 See also " The Animal Mind," by M. F. Washburn, p. 41. 
 
16 THE ACTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 been following, pursued, and again seized its prey ; 
 the small amosba again broke away and made good 
 its escape. Referring to action of this kind Mr 
 Jennings remarks that, in his opinion, "it is difficult 
 to conceive each phase of action of the pursuer to be 
 completely determined by simple present stimuli," 
 but rather that to some extent the amoeba's movements 
 were governed by the experience it had acquired from 
 former possession. 1 
 
 The class of Protozoa known as the Paramoecia 
 differ from the amoeba in that they preserve a definite 
 form. These animals are spindle-shaped, one extremity 
 being pointed, the other is rounded and forms the 
 anterior end, which in the movements of the animal 
 through the water is always foremost. On the under 
 surface of this unicellular being there is a groove passing 
 from the anterior end backwards to a depression leading 
 into the soft protoplasm of the body. The -outer surface 
 of the Paramoecium is covered with cilia arranged in 
 definite rows ; their attached ends pass through 
 the outer delicate membrane which encloses this uni- 
 cellular animal's body and enters its ectoplasmic layer, 
 within which is the softer endoplasm with its large 
 and small nuclei. 2 
 
 The movements of these animals are effected by the 
 action of their cilia, which also line the groove leading 
 to the opening into the endoplasm and by their action 
 direct a current of water containing nutrient matter 
 into the body of the Paramcecium. The movements 
 of a Paramoecium through the water, as seen under the 
 
 1 Washburn on " Animal Mind," p. 46. 
 
 2 ' Heredity and Variation in the Simplest Organisms," by Pro- 
 fessor H. S. Jennings, American Naturalist, June 1909. 
 
ON UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS 17 
 
 field of a microscope, appear to be rapid ; the animal 
 darts about in all directions if unopposed, but if in its 
 course it meets with an obstacle it reverses the action 
 of its cilia and moves backwards, coming to a momentary 
 halt. The Paramoecium then again reverses the action 
 of its cilia, moving at an angle to its original course. 
 So long as the animal is unable to pass the impediment 
 it repeats these tactics, but when it has turned the 
 flank of the obstacle it resumes its original passage 
 onwards. 1 
 
 In another Family of these unicellular organisms, 
 we find a group which includes among its members 
 the Didinium nasutum, and the Actinobolus radians. 
 The former of these beings in form may be compared 
 to a diminutive cask, rounded off at one end and ter- 
 minating at the opposite extremity in an almost level 
 surface from the middle of which rises a conical pro- 
 jection ending in an opening which leads into the endo- 
 plastic layer of the animal's body ; the cortical layer 
 of this projection contains a multitude of spindle- 
 shaped structures (trichocysts), which the Didinium 
 has the power to discharge, either for defensive or 
 offensive purposes. The outer or cortical layer of the 
 animal's body possesses two sets of cilia disposed in rows, 
 which always act in unison during locomotion, and the 
 direction which the animal gives them determines the 
 course it follows. In the movement forward, all the 
 cilia are directed towards the anterior part of the body, 
 when it swims backwards their action is reversed. 2 
 
 A Didinium moving through the water in search 
 of food, when it comes within a certain distance of its 
 
 1 Washburn on " Animal Mind," p. 46. 
 
 2 " The Psychical Life of Micro- Organisms," by A. Binet, p. 50. 
 
 B 
 
18 THE ACTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 prey extrudes a number of its trichocysts, which are 
 aimed at the being it desires to capture. These dart-like 
 filaments penetrate and paralyse the prey, the Didinium 
 extends its conical process which it fastens upon its 
 victim, and then retracts and so draws its prey in to its 
 body, where it is soon converted into nutrient matter. 
 This unicellular animal appears to have its likes and 
 dislikes as regards food, for it is said to prefer a Para- 
 moecium for a meal, and rejects the Kotatoria which 
 abound in the water Didiniae inhabit. 
 
 The outer surface of an Actinobolus radians is covered 
 with cilia ; it also possesses a number of retractile pro- 
 cesses or tentacles armed with trichocysts. When at 
 rest the opening which leads into the interior of its 
 body is directed downwards, and its tentacles are 
 stretched out in all directions forming a number of 
 protoplasmic filaments. Various kinds of small ciliates 
 and flagellates may become entangled in these tentacles 
 without injury to themselves or producing any re- 
 action on the part of the animal. But if one of the 
 Halteria happens to come within a short distance of 
 an Actinobolus the latter discharges its trichocytes 
 at its prey which it seizes, and aided by its retractile 
 tentacles passes into its mouth. 
 
 Another of the Infusoria (Stentor rseselia), when 
 attached by its stem to some solid substance and irritated 
 by being roughly stroked with a glass rod, first tries 
 to withdraw from injury by contracting its proto- 
 plasmic substance at the point irritated, and next 
 reverses momentarily the direction in which its cilia 
 are whirling. If these movements are not effective 
 in getting rid of the cause of irritation the animal con- 
 tracts its whole body substance upon its stem, and 
 
ON UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS 19 
 
 remains in this position for some time ; should this 
 movement not effect its purpose, the Stentor loosens 
 hold of its anchorage and swims away from the cause 
 of irritation. 
 
 If a Vorticella is placed in such a position as to be 
 removed from all possible sources of irritation, its 
 movements of contraction and expansion continue 
 spontaneously, due to energy derived from chemical 
 changes effected through the agency of its living matter, 
 movements which closely resemble those made by the 
 animal in response to mechanical stimuli. Many of 
 the unicellular organisms do not possess either flagella, 
 cilia, or other organs of locomotion, their movements 
 being effected by processes of a mechanical, but none 
 the less of a purposive nature. Thus the Radiolaria 
 (Thalassicolla) responds to only two forms of external 
 stimuli vibration and heat. 1 Under the influence 
 of wave-action a Thalassicolla sinks till a calm stratum 
 is reached, and then after a time ascends to the surface. 
 Towards small variations of temperature it remains 
 inert, as also towards all conditions of illumination 
 that have been tried ; but a long-continued application 
 of temperature above 30 C. or below 2 C. induces a 
 descent from the surface of the sea water, and this is 
 followed by the death of the animal. The onset of 
 maturity is also correlated with a descent into deep 
 water. Professor Gamble explains that the vertical 
 movement of this animal is due to the formation 
 and expulsion of fluid lodged in the spaces or 
 vacuoles contained in its protoplasmic body. In 
 
 1 " The Protozoa, Radiolaria," by Professor F. W. Gamble. " A 
 Treatise on Zoology," edited by Sir Ray Lankester, pp. 96, 111, 
 115, part i. first fascicle. 
 
20 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 calm weather, and through a considerable range of 
 temperature, the interchange of fluid between the 
 vacuole and the sea is gradual, and the slight wave- 
 motion reinforces the calymena by acting as a stimulant. 
 Thus the balance of loss and gain, and with it the sur- 
 face position, are maintained. But the movements of 
 larger waves, or extremes of temperature, cause con- 
 traction of the calymenal plasma. The pseudopodia 
 are withdrawn, the vacuoles burst, and the animal 
 descends until the calmer zone enables it to reform 
 its calymena and recharge its vacuoles, upon which 
 it ascends. 1 
 
 It seems to us that the movements of unicellular 
 beings such as those to which we have referred, taken 
 as a whole, are but " poorly explained by the assump- 
 tion of a machine-like organisation of the cell " (p. 13). 
 The living substance of these cells exhibit well-defined 
 fundamental processes including purposive action ; it 
 also possesses memory and the power of reproducing 
 its like. And further, as we have shown, under the 
 action of energy derived from its environment it under- 
 goes molecular changes which, in the course of time, 
 permanently modify its functions (" Human Speech," 
 p. 71). As far back as the year 1874 Professor Huxley, 
 in his address to the British Association, stated that 
 there could be no doubt, that by continued repetition, 
 stimuli came to be impressed on corresponding areas 
 of living nervous matter, and that these impressions 
 
 1 The calymena consists of a frothy mass of mucilaginous and 
 vacuolated substance secreted by interstitial cytoplasm, which 
 surrounds the centrally placed nucleus, embedded in a layer of 
 cytoplasm. The calymena is thus a peculiar secretion specialised 
 for contact with the outer world and also for performing functions 
 such as those above indicated. 
 
THE ACTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 21 
 
 might be excited by various stimuli so as to reproduce 
 movements which had resulted from the original im- 
 pression. Action of this description, he argued, formed 
 the basis substance of memory. We have now come 
 to learn from Professor Jennings that the elements form- 
 ing the basis substance of memory are not confined 
 to the living matter of nerve-cells, but that they exist 
 in the simplest forms of beings whose bodies are con- 
 stituted of what we term undifferentiated protoplasm. 
 We have, as an example of the existence of memorial 
 impressions in an amoeba, referred to the move- 
 ments of one of these beings as described by Professor 
 Jennings. This amoeba left the course it had been 
 following and turned back in pursuit of its prey. Having 
 captured the small amoeba, the presence of this foreign 
 body acted as a stimulus to the protoplasm of the 
 captor's body, which in consequence produced pseudo- 
 podias, and these processes of living matter displayed 
 purposive action in that they surrounded and for a 
 time secured the prey. As Mr Jennings states, the 
 amoeba's movements seem to have been governed by 
 the experience it had acquired from former possession 
 that is, the present stimulus re-excited impressions 
 previously received by the living matter of the organism. 
 The response to this action became manifest in the 
 purposive movements made of the living substance of 
 the amoeba ; in other words, its living protoplasm, 
 on being stimulated, brought past impressions into 
 action. 
 
 This animal seems also to have evinced purposive 
 action in that it changed the direction of the course 
 it was following in order to capture its prey. Again, 
 in the case of the Stentor raeselia, after effecting various 
 
22 THE ACTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 movements calculated to protect itself from injury, 
 it gave up further attempts of this kind, and deliber- 
 ately detached itself from its base and moved away 
 from the source of trouble. And so again, the move- 
 ments and choice of food displayed by Actinobolus 
 are attributable to a purposive or guiding apparatus 
 which constitutes a part of the animal's body substance. 
 
 Mr G. J. Komanes, when discussing the subject of 
 the " purposive determination on the part of unicellular 
 organisms," states, "it is of course unquestionable that 
 all the activities in question are highly suggestive of 
 intelligence ; but, to say the least, it is equally possible 
 to suppose that all these activities may be due to 
 special endowments which have been gradually con- 
 ferred by natural selection on highly specialised, though 
 wholly unintelligent cells, for the purpose of more and 
 more efficiently discharging their special functions." 1 
 
 Each species of unicellular being has a specific 
 hereditary molecular structure, and a definite locomo- 
 tory apparatus ; so that if their living substance is 
 in good working order, and they are placed in a like 
 environment, their movements should be identical ; 
 but the individuals forming a crowd of any one species 
 hustle and bustle about in all directions. Isolated 
 beings are propelled here and there, by means of their 
 celia, apparently in search of food, which if they cannot 
 secure in one place, the action of their locomotory organs 
 are reversed and the organism follows some other course. 
 
 The question is from what source is the energy de- 
 rived which directs these movements. In the higher 
 animals we know their movements are controlled by 
 nervous energy derived from a specialised form of matter 
 
 1 " The Open Court," July 11, 1889, p. 1718. 
 
IN PLANTS 23 
 
 located in their central nervous system. The uni- 
 cellular beings have no differentiated nervous or any 
 other structures, but that is no reason why their living 
 substance should not contain elements capable of 
 transforming energy into action, tending to serve the 
 needs of these simple forms of living beings in their 
 struggle for existence. We have shown that out of 
 what appears to be homogeneous living protoplasm 
 germinal matter is developed under certain conditions 
 of the environment. Doubtless, it is difficult to realise 
 the existence in the living elements of a bacterium of 
 purposive, guiding elements of matter ; indeed, the 
 complex nature of the forces at work in effecting the 
 simplest biological processes are well-nigh unthinkable ; 
 and to grasp the idea of processes such as those entailed 
 in purposive action, requires not only the full exercise 
 of our thoughts but also of our powers of imagination. 
 But processes of this kind seem quite possible when we 
 are dealing with matter which, from a minute particle 
 of its substance produces a thinking, speaking, being. 
 
 If, however, the combination and mutual action 
 of certain elements of living matter constitute the 
 basis substance out of which sensitivity, memory, and 
 spontaneous purposive action are elaborated, it is 
 reasonable to suppose that the protoplasm of plants, 
 as well as that of unicellular animals, should manifest 
 phenomena of a similar kind. 
 
 The sensitivity of plants to various modes of energy 
 is such a well-established fact that it is unnecessary 
 for us to dwell on this subject. 
 
 Professor S. Vines, in his Lectures on the Physiology 
 of Plants, refers to the motility of their various structures 
 in relation to what he terms phototaxis ; a term which, 
 
24 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 as before stated, Strasburger has employed to describe 
 the action produced by light on the movements of 
 plants. Vines states that, in addition to the periodical 
 
 FIG. 1 (after Stahl). Sections of the phylloid stem 
 of Lemna trisulca A, Position of the chlorophyll- 
 corpuscles when the stem is exposed to intense light. 
 
 B, Position of the corpusc'es in diffused daylight. 
 
 C, Position of the corpuscles in darkness. (" Physio- 
 logy of Plants," by S. H. Vines, p. 300.) 
 
 movements of plants, the changes in the position of 
 chlorophyll bodies are the result of phototaxis, and he 
 dwells on the influence which heat, chemical energy, 
 and other forces exercise on the movements of plants 
 (Fig. 1).' He attributes this action to the transmutation 
 
ITS ACTION IN PLANTS 25 
 
 of energy effected by the molecular structure of their 
 living protoplasm. 1 The kind and degree of these 
 movements depending on differences in the sensitivity 
 possessed by their protoplasm, which in its turn depends 
 on the store of potential energy it has acquired, and 
 continues to gain, from the chemical energy it receives 
 from the environment. 2 Professor Vines goes on to 
 contrast these movements with those which, as he 
 states, result from spontaneous action, and describes 
 the living structures by means of which such move- 
 ments become manifest, the transformation of energy 
 by the living molecules of their protoplasm becoming 
 apparent in the form of motility, heat, etc. 3 As an 
 instance of such action reference is made to the scatter- 
 ing of pollen by Stylidium adnatum, and to the move- 
 ments of the foliage leaves of Leguminosse. Professor 
 Vines adds that these " spontaneous movements," 
 from constant repetition on the molecular structure 
 of the protoplasm, mould it into such a form that its 
 movements come to be habitual. 4 We have referred 
 to the fact, that the living matter of the simplest forms 
 of organisms naturally responds to specific modes of 
 energy ; much the same state of affairs is manifested 
 by the protoplasm of plants. Thus the tentacles of 
 the Drosera rotundifolia require to be touched several 
 times before any movements occur, and they react 
 better to the continued contact of small bodies than 
 to coarser impacts. These tentacles, however, re- 
 spond readily to chemical stimuli. The tentacles of 
 Drosera become inflected much more rapidly when 
 bodies placed on their leaves contain nitrogenous sub- 
 
 1 Vines, p. 525. 2 Idem, p. 525. 
 
 3 Idem, pp. 536, 507. 4 Idem, pp. 536, 567. 
 
26 THE EVOLUTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 stances which can be absorbed by the plant, such as 
 raw meat, fragments of insects, etc. (see p. 18). 
 Ammonia gas is one of the most powerful chemical 
 irritants ; exposure to it induces movements in all 
 irritable motile organs ; on the other hand, the vapour 
 of chloroform inhibits these movements, producing 
 chemical changes in the molecular action of the living 
 protoplasm, and so interfering with its supply of potential 
 energy or working power. 
 
 The memory of plants consists essentially of the 
 trace or record of a stimulus left on certain elements 
 of its living protoplasm, a memorial impression, built 
 up by modes of energy which for the time being may 
 cease to act. Thus if a sleeping plant is placed in a 
 dark room after it has gone to sleep at night, it will 
 be found next day in the light position, and will assume 
 the nocturnal position as evening comes on we have, 
 in fact, what seems to be a habit built into the living 
 protoplasm by the alternative of night and day. The 
 plant normally drops its leaves at the stimulus of dark- 
 ness and raises them at the stimulus of light. But 
 here we see the leaves rising and falling in the absence 
 of the accustomed stimulus. Since this change of 
 position is not due to external conditions, it must be 
 the result of the internal conditions which habitually 
 accompany the movements. This is the characteristic 
 par excellence of habit, namely, a capacity, acquired by 
 repetition, of reacting to a fraction of the original 
 stimulus : 1 a process which becomes easier and 
 more rapid by repetition, and in the higher organisms 
 is recognised as the phenomena of memory, association, 
 habit-formation, and learning. 
 
 1 President's Address to the British Association, 1908. 
 
ITS ACTION IN PLANTS 27 
 
 Professor F. Darwin goes on to observe, " it is impos- 
 sible to know whether or not plants are conscious ; but 
 it is consistent with the doctrine of continuity that in 
 all living things there is something psychic, and if we 
 accept this point of view we must believe that in plants 
 there exists a faint copy of what we know as conscious- 
 ness in ourselves." 
 
 We concur in this opinion, if we may be allowed 
 to interpret the term " something psychic " to mean 
 the inherent property possessed by the living matter 
 of unicellular beings, of performing work directed by 
 purposive elements that is, by action adapted to 
 control the movements of these organisms for their 
 own benefit : matter which, as we have before re- 
 marked, like the nervous system of the higher animals, 
 guides the action of their motory substance. 
 
 From the above facts we learn that the difference 
 between the phenomena presented by the living matter 
 of animals and of plants is one of degrees ; their funda- 
 mental properties are identical, and among these we 
 recognise memory-like and purposive qualities. The life 
 cycle of plants do not require a high development of 
 their purposive living elements, such as is necessary 
 to ensure the existence of the various classes of animals. 
 Plants take in from the soil and the atmosphere all 
 that is necessary for their maintenance, growth, and 
 reproduction, and have no need, therefore, for instinctive 
 or intellectual processes to enable them to hold their 
 own in the struggle for existence ; their power of adapta- 
 tion to their environment is, however, remarkable. 
 Darwin, in his later years, freely admitted that the 
 hereditary character of changes of structure and func- 
 tions were effected not only in plants, but also in 
 
28 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 animals, as a result of the direct action of their 
 environment. He wrote as follows to Professor Moritz 
 Wagner : l 
 
 " The greatest mistake I made was, I now think, that 
 I did not attach sufficient weight to the direct influence 
 of food, climate, etc., quite independently of natural 
 selection. When I wrote my book, and for some years 
 later, I could not find a good proof of the direct action 
 [i.e. in producing definite variations] of the environment 
 on the species. Such proofs are now plentiful." 
 Leaves of a beech tree developed in the deep shade 
 of the middle of the tree are so different in structure 
 from leaves grown in full sunlight that they would 
 unhesitatingly be described as belonging to different 
 species. Professor Henslow has for the last forty 
 years insisted on the fact that the origin of function 
 and of structure in plants results from the inherent 
 responsiveness of their living matter to the environ- 
 ment, and he has brought forward incontestable evidence 
 to prove that structural changes thus induced in the 
 course of time become hereditary characters. 2 Pro- 
 fessor Henslow remarks, " I will here pause to repeat 
 that my object in giving all the preceding details 
 is not to propose any theory whatever, but to show on 
 what facts the two conclusions are based, viz.: (1) 
 that all structures arise by direct adaptation to response ; 
 and (2) that they may or may not be hereditary. The 
 condition for the latter is solely a question of time 
 in the number of generations which have been sub- 
 jected to the same conditions of life." 3 The reader 
 
 1 " Life and Letters," vol. iii. p. 159. 
 
 2 " The Heredity of Acquired Characters," by the Rev. Professor 
 G. Henslow, pp. 21, 49. 
 
 3 Idem, pp. 22, 78. 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 29 
 
 is referred to this author's work on " Alpine and Arctic 
 Plants," as well as to his book from which we have 
 quoted, for the details concerning the evidence upon 
 which he relies in making the above statement. The 
 facts on which he bases his conclusions, so far as we 
 can ascertain, are incontrovertible, and in our opinion 
 are sufficient to establish the truth of his reasoning on 
 this subject. 
 
 The evidence we have adduced in the preceding 
 pages appears to us sufficient to prove the influence 
 which various fprms of stimuli or energy exercise on 
 the simplest forms of living matter ; and we may add, 
 from long- continued and careful observation of the 
 movements of these beings, we have arrived at the convic- 
 tion that they are directed by purposive energy. The 
 protoplasm of the simplest known forms of organism 
 contains somatic and germinal, and we believe, pur- 
 posive elements. The somatic elements carry on the 
 work of nutrition, the repair of the substance of the 
 organism, and the protection of its germinal substance ; 
 the latter perpetuates the species ; and the purposive 
 elements transmutes energy derived from the response of 
 the living matter to various stimuli, into action tending 
 to promote the well-being of the organism. The somatic 
 elements become progressively developed under the in- 
 fluence of the environment and natural selection into 
 complex structures. With this structural development 
 there is a corresponding evolution of the purposive 
 elements, first into matter having instinctive functions, 
 and finally, in the mammalia, into psychical matter, 
 a fact we shall endeavour to demonstrate in the follow- 
 ing chapters of this work. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 WE have shown that the movements of unicellular 
 organisms are attributable to the action of their living 
 protoplasm when charged with potential energy, de- 
 rived from physico-chemical processes. A portion 
 of this energy is released in response to various 
 stimuli received by the living matter from external 
 and internal sources, and becomes manifest in pur- 
 posive action tending to promote the well-being of the 
 organism. Matter possessing these properties is capable 
 of retaining impressions made upon it by repeated 
 stimuli received from various sources, and these im- 
 pressions may be re-excited and brought into play by 
 the action of similar, or by other forms of stimuli to 
 those which had produced the original impression. 
 We have now to show that in animals purposive 
 elements become evolved simultaneously with their 
 increasing structural complexity arising out of 
 their struggle for existence. It seems desirable, 
 therefore, in the first place, to give a brief account 
 of the development of the nervous system of various 
 classes of animals, for it is in the living substance of 
 their ganglionic nerve-cells that we find the clearest 
 evidence of the action of purposive matter. 
 
 Sponges probably represent a divergent branch 
 sprung from an ancestral stock, from which they, and 
 other families of multicellular organisms were derived ; 
 
 30 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 31 
 
 but the sponges appear only to possess a limited range 
 of evolutionary capacity. They constitute, however, 
 
 FIG. 2. Diagram of a ganglionic nerve-cell (neuron). 
 d d d, dendrons; n, nucleus and nucleolus ; ac, axis-cylin- 
 der; m, medullary sheath; *, neurilemma ; t, terminal 
 branches. 
 
 the simplest existing family of multicellular animals, 
 built up of cell-units which are less specialised than in 
 other forms of multicellular beings, and therefore able 
 
32 THE EVOLUTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 to perform a variety of functions either simultaneously 
 or at different times during their life cycle. 
 
 The sponges for the most part remain fixed to rocks 
 or other solid materials beneath the surface of the 
 sea ; their food is contained in the surrounding water 
 which percolates through the substance of the organism, 
 consequently sponges do not require the aid of sensory 
 organs or prehensile and other structure to enable 
 them to secure their supply of nutriment. 
 
 The simplest form of sponges may be compared to 
 a hollow vase or sac, its walls being formed of a mass 
 of living cells, the bulk of which are perforated 
 by a passage or canal, one end opening externally, 
 the other into the animal's central body cavity. 
 The surrounding water passes through these passages 
 which are lined with the living substance of 
 the cell. The supply of water entering these canals 
 is regulated by the action of contractile fibrils which 
 surround the external openings of the canals, and also 
 by the sensitive living matter which constitutes the 
 walls of the canal system. 1 
 
 The living protoplasm of this, the simplest class of 
 multicellular animals, forms as it were a link between 
 that of the unicellular beings, and the next higher 
 class of multicellular animals (Polyps) in that the outer 
 layer of cells contains living matter, which produces 
 somatic and germinal elements. 
 
 Passing from the sponges to the next higher class 
 of animals (Ccelentera) which constitute the most 
 important branch of the original stock from which 
 multicellular animals are derived, and which include 
 among its members such well-known beings as the 
 
 1 " Human Speech," p. 103. 
 
INTO MUSCLE AND NERVE CELLS 33 
 
 Polyps (Hydroids), and also Jelly-fishes (Medusoids). 
 The small yellow or green polyps afford us an ex- 
 ample of this order of animals ; their bodies consist of 
 an outer layer of cells (ectoderm), and of an inner layer 
 (endoderm), between these we find a thin lamina 
 (mesoglcea), which affords support to the soft structures 
 of the animal's body substance. One end of the polyp 
 terminates in an opening which communicates with the 
 central cavity of the animal's body. Surrounding 
 this opening a number of 
 hollow arms or tentacles 
 project outwards, forming 
 free and movable members. 
 The living substance of 
 some of the sensitive ex- 
 ternal layer of cells of the 
 animal's body and tentacles, 
 
 is prolonged from the FIG. 3. Tactile sensory-cell of 
 
 , , , . Hydroid, its protoplasm being pro- 
 
 attacnea SUrtace OI tne longed into contractile muscle- or motor- 
 
 ,, . cell. (After Lendenfeld.) 
 
 cell into what is known 
 
 as a muscle- cell. From these contractile muscle- 
 cells protoplasmic processes pass to become con- 
 nected with the middle layer (mesoglcea), and by 
 their action on this layer they cause movements 
 of the animal's body and tentacles to take place 
 (Fig. 3). 
 
 From some of the outer layer of cells of the bodies 
 and tentacles of polyps, upstanding protoplasmic 
 filaments may be seen ; these processes grow out from 
 the living substance of these cells. From the opposite 
 or deep surface of these cells processes of living matter 
 pass into the subjacent structures and there develop 
 into nerve-cells (Fig. 4). The nerve-cells send off 
 
34 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 branches which communicate with neighbouring muscle- 
 cells, and also with fibrils passing from other nerve-cells. 1 
 A stimulus or cause of excitation acting on the free 
 outstanding filament of a system such as that referred 
 to, is conducted to the living substance of the cell, 
 
 FIG. 4. B, Sensory-cell connected with ganglionic nerve-cell. <7, Protoplasmic 
 fibre of a tactile sensory-cell forming nodular enlargements (nerve-cells ?). Z>, Cnido- 
 blast connected with ganglionic nerve-cell by a protoplasmic fibre (Medusoid). 
 
 and by it is transformed into energy which passes to 
 the purposive elements of subjacent nerve- cells, becom- 
 
 x The constant excitation of definite functions gradually effects 
 certain structural modifications. Accordingly these paths of con- 
 duction become anatomically differentiated from their surroundings, 
 and the nerves develop into independent anatomical tissue. In the 
 protoplasmic structures of plants under the action of stimuli 
 fibrillar strands may be produced, which represent the channels 
 along which energy is more readily transmitted than through the 
 general protoplasm. "Introduction to Study of Physiological 
 Psychology," by Dr T. Ziehen, p. 7 ; and Professor A. J. Ewart, 
 " Streaming in Plants," p. 102. 
 
INTO NERVOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 35 
 
 cL 
 
 ing manifest in movements effected by the animal's 
 body and tentacles. The outstanding process has been 
 compared to the trigger of a gun, which, by the action 
 of external force, sets free a portion of the potential 
 energy of the substance contained in the cartridge, and 
 leads to the discharge of the bullet, by force comparable 
 to that of the nervous energy which becomes manifest 
 in the movements of a polyp's body and tentacles. 
 It is to be noticed that the stimulus or energy acting 
 on the protoplasmic 
 trigger is derived from 
 the environment, and 
 that the purposive action 
 comes into play and 
 directs this force into 
 appropriate movements. 
 
 In addition to the 
 free projecting tactile 
 filaments we have re- 
 ferred to, other pro- 
 toplasmic processes may 
 be seen especially on a 
 hydroid's tentacles. These 
 filaments pass outwards on Zoolo e>''" P art ij - P- 17 > The Hydro- 
 
 1T16UUS6. ) 
 
 from the living matter of 
 
 cells known as cnidoblasts, each of which contain a 
 barbed filament, the living substance of the cnidoblast 
 being connected by means of a protoplasmic fibre with 
 a subjacent nerve- cell. Under certain conditions the 
 animal can discharge a multitude of these barbed 
 fibres with force, employing them as weapons of offence 
 or of defence as its circumstances may require (Fig. 4). 
 The Jelly-Fishes (Medusoids) differ from polyps in 
 
 FIG. 5. Diagram of a Medusoid (Sarsia). 
 ;, manubrium ; es, external surface of 
 bell ; sb, subumbral surface ; v v, velum ; 
 SM, subumbral cavity; cl, curcular canal ; 
 t tl, tentacles. (After Lankester's" Treatise 
 
36 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 form ; they may be represented by a little animal with 
 a very long name, the Gomonemus murbachii. These 
 jelly-fish have been compared in form to an umbrella 
 having a short handle, or to a bell with a clapper ; the 
 upper convex surface is known as the ex-umbrella, the 
 lower concave surface is the sub-umbrella, and the 
 handle is the manubrium (Fig. 5). 
 
 The margin of the umbrella or bell is fringed with 
 tentacles, and a shelf-like layer projects inwards from 
 
 the lip of the bell ; this layer 
 is known as the velum. The 
 free extremity of the manu- 
 brium forms the animal's 
 mouth ; it communicates 
 with a passage leading to 
 the gastric cavity, from 
 which four canals radiate 
 through the body of the 
 animal to open into a canal 
 which passes round the cir- 
 cumference of the bell. 
 
 Beneath the layer of cells which line the surface 
 of the manubrium, velum, and the under surface of 
 the bell, we find an intricate meshwork of nerve-fibres, 
 derived for the most part from two rows of ganglionic 
 nerve-cells which form a chain encircling the margin 
 of the bell (Fig. 6). At the base of the tentacles and 
 margin of the bell there are a multitude of various 
 descriptions of sensory organs, each of which has become 
 structurally adapted to receive the different forms of 
 stimuli which act upon them from without, and to 
 transmute such forces into energy capable of effecting 
 a discharge from the subjacent nerve-cells, which be- 
 
 FIG. 6. 
 
IN THE ECHINODERMS 
 
 37 
 
 comes manifest in work performed by the muscular 
 fibres of the animal whereby its various movements 
 are effected. 
 
 Passing from the Hydromedusse to the next higher 
 class of animals known as the Echinoderms, which 
 include the starfish with its body and five radiating 
 arms and their numerous ambulacral feet or muscular 
 tubes which end in 
 a plate or suckers. 
 By means of these 
 suckers the feet 
 cling to any solid 
 substance that 
 comes within reach 
 of the animal's 
 arms. The nervous 
 structure of these 
 Invertebrata con- 
 sists mainly of a 
 central system 
 which always re- 
 tains strong'indica- J^'-^'S, totZTSJKi V 
 
 tionS Of its epithelial moil , th; 6 > Peripheral nerves of the arms. (J. Loeb, 
 f p. 61.) 
 
 origin. It forms a 
 
 ring surrounding the animal's mouth from which 
 nerves radiate to each of the arms and gives off 
 branches to the various muscular structures, including 
 those of the ambulacral feet (Fig. 7). 
 
 In the snake-armed starfish (Ophiocoma echinata) 
 a second or deep system of motor nerves exists, the 
 superficial system at the same time being sensory in 
 function. 
 
 The sensory organs of this class of animals are but 
 
38 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 \ a 
 
 ill developed, and like the nervous system are derived 
 from differentiated forms of the outer sensitive layer 
 of living matter. Pigment cells exist in elevations of 
 the ends of the tentacles and are known as eye specks, 
 they lie on separate points of the " optic pad " and are 
 connected to subjacent ganglionic cells by means of 
 nerve fibres, and in this way also with the general 
 nervous system of the animal. 
 
 The flat worms (Platy- 
 helmia) are mostly para- 
 sitic, their nervous system 
 as a rule consists of a 
 number of single ganglionic 
 nerve cells in front of the 
 pharynx or opening which 
 leads to the animal's diges- 
 tive organs (Fig. 8). 
 
 The nervous system, 
 although less immediately 
 a part of the outer (ecto- 
 derm) layer of cells than is 
 the case with polyps and 
 jelly-fish, is nevertheless 
 clearly derived from the 
 living matter of this layer. 
 
 Leading, as most of the flat worms do, a parasitic 
 existence, they do not require the aid of a high order 
 of sensory organs to enable them to procure their 
 nourishment ; some of them, however, possess " eye 
 spots " situated near the anterior end of their bodies, 
 from these organs protoplasmic fibres can be traced to 
 the central ganglionic" nerve cells. 
 The segmented group of worms (Chsetopoda) which 
 
IN THE CH^ETOPODA 
 
 39 
 
 includes among its different species the common earth 
 worm, and the sea-mouse (Aphrodite aculeata) which 
 abounds on our shores, and after storms are frequently 
 washed on to the beach. The central ganglia or brain 
 of the sea-mouse, as compared with that of one of the 
 flat worms, is a complex structure, which for anatomical 
 purposes may be divided into a fore and mid-brain ; 
 between these masses of nervous substance a third 
 
 6.N. 
 
 GL. 
 G.C. 
 
 r c 
 
 S:T - F!B. 
 
 FIG. 9. Transverse section through the brain of Aphrodite aculeata. 
 x50. C, root of O3so;ihageal connective; FB. fore-brain; GC, gan- 
 glion cells; GL, glomeruli ; GN, ganglionic nuclei; MB, mid-brain ; 
 /&', stalk of fungiform body; ST, snpporting tissue. (Copied from Fig. 6, 
 Cat. Roy. Coll. Surgeons, Physiological Series, p. 10.) 
 
 aggregation of nerve cells and fibres exists, from which 
 a pair of stalk-like processes project and expand into 
 two cellular bodies known as " fungiform masses," 
 which form a conspicuous part of the brain of bees 
 and other insects. Nerves (0, Fig. 9) pass from 
 the fore-brain round the animal's gullet to the ventral 
 nerve cord, from which sensory and motory nerves 
 are given off to each segment of the animal's body 
 (Fig. 10). 
 
40 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 c.n. 
 
 n.c. 
 
 The next higher class of invertebrate animals is 
 known as the Arthropoda of which the Crustacea form 
 a large order and include crayfishes, crabs, lobsters, 
 
 shrimps, etc. The 
 first named of these 
 animals affords a 
 good example of a 
 crustacean animal so 
 far as its sensory 
 organs and central 
 nervous system are 
 concerned. 
 
 Fig. 11 represents 
 a section made 
 through the brain of 
 one of these animals 
 magnified 50 diame- 
 ters, it gives an idea 
 of the complex ar- 
 rangement of the 
 nervous structures 
 entering into the 
 formation of a cray- 
 fish's brain. 
 
 TJ. j. i , j 
 
 * 1S ^O D6 nOtlCCQ 
 
 .~L. 4. o.r 
 
 tliau Wie nerVCS pro- 
 
 sub-o3sophageal ganglion; xg, segmental ganglia aa j- *_.. +1 ~ 
 
 giving off nerves to the corresponding segments of ^ eeuing irom tne 
 
 animal's eyes and 
 
 from its olfactory sensory organs terminate in the 
 nervous substance of the middle segment of the 
 brain. In this area of the brain two descriptions 
 of nerve cells may be recognised in some of the 
 larger Crustacea, the one set of cells are of small size 
 
 FIG. 10. Diagram of nervous system of a Chteto- 
 pod. B, brain; en, cephalic nerves to supply 
 sense organs of anterior end of the worm; nc. 
 nerve cord passing from the brain to seg, the 
 
INTO SENSORY AND MOTOR CELLS 41 
 
 and polygonal in form, the other are large pyramidal 
 cells ; the former we recognise as constituting the 
 sensory receptive station for afferent or incoming energy 
 passing to it from the sensory organs. The large 
 pyramidal cells we have reason to hold contain the 
 motory elements from which energy is despatched to 
 the muscles of the animal's body. This part of the 
 brain therefore corresponds with that which in the 
 higher classes of animals is known as the basal ganglia. 1 
 This area of the brain constitutes the central station 
 for lines of communication passing from the principal 
 sensory organs of the animal's head and body, and its 
 office is to co-ordinate this energy and direct it into 
 forms of activity calculated to promote the well-being 
 of the organism. 
 
 It will be noticed on referring to the figure that the 
 fungiform matter (GN, ganglionic nuclei of Fig. 11) 
 is more highly developed in the crayfish than it is in 
 the brain of the sea-mouse, and that it passes into 
 direct connection with the middle segment of the brain. 
 We have reason to think that this nervous substance 
 is in some way related to the amount of intelli- 
 gence displayed by the various orders of this class of 
 animals. 
 
 The eyes of the crayfish are highly complex organs 
 formed of a multitude of visual rods isolated by pig- 
 ment cells, one extremity of the rod is turned to the 
 external world, while the other end encloses' the end 
 of one of the fibres of the optic nerve. The rod forms 
 the instrument by which the refracted rays of light 
 are brought to bear on the specialised kind of nervous 
 matter at the base of the rod, which transmutes energy 
 
 1 " The Origin of Vertebrates," by Professor W. H. Gaskell. 
 
42 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 it receives into a form capable, through the action of 
 the central optic ganglia, of exciting the sensation of 
 light. In front and above the animal's mouth are a 
 pair of long antennae or feelers, these are kept in per- 
 
 PC..U. 
 
 O.T. 
 \ 
 
 .C.RC.L 
 
 .61. 
 
 .GB. 
 
 $?* 
 
 C.'GB. 
 
 T.C. 
 
 FIG. 11. Horizontal section through the brain of Astacus fluviatilis. x 40. 
 CC, corpus centrale; COB, commissure of globuli; CPCL, commissures of proto- 
 cerebral lobes; DC, deutocerebrum; GB, globulus; GL, glomeruli; QN, ganglionic 
 nuclei; OD, decussating bundle of optic tract; OT, optic tract; PCL, proto- 
 cerebral lobe; TC, tritocerebrum. (Cat. Physl. Series, Museum Roy. Coll. Surgeons, 
 vol. ii. p. 22 ) 
 
 petual motion and form delicate organs of touch ; they 
 are supplied with nerves proceeding from the middle 
 segment of the brain. 
 
 We may now proceed to describe some of the move- 
 ments made by the animals to which we have referred, 
 
INTO INSTINCTIVE MATTER 43 
 
 in order to demonstrate that these movements depend 
 on something more than a chain of reactions to external 
 stimuli, although these latter are all important in the 
 evolution and the working of the system through means 
 of which these movements are effected. 
 
 Mr G. Wagner has made a careful and interesting 
 set of observations on some of the movements and 
 reactions of the polyp known as Hydra viridis, and 
 we have been able to confirm the conclusions he has 
 arrived at from experiments carried out on the lines 
 he followed. If one of these animals is placed in a 
 position so as to prevent its being disturbed by 
 mechanical or other stimuli, it nevertheless makes 
 quite an extensive series of movements, so as to explore 
 the surrounding space in quest of food. Many of these 
 movements are, as Mr Wagner states, " the result of 
 internal physiological changes, these may very properly 
 be termed spontaneous." l The animal effects its 
 purpose by bending its body over to one side and then 
 stretching out a tentacle in advance and clinging by 
 it to a fixed spot, it then loosens its foothold and brings 
 its body up to the spot to which the tentacle had become 
 fixed ; this movement is repeated and the animal thus 
 passes from one place to another in search of a new 
 feeding ground. 
 
 With regard to the response which the body of a 
 polyp makes to localised mechanical stimuli, it is to 
 be noticed that as a whole, to whatever part of the 
 body or tentacles the stimulus is applied, " there takes 
 place a series of general movements of flexion as if 
 
 1 Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, Feb. 1905, p. 598. 
 George Wagner, M.A., on " Some Movements and Reactions of 
 Hydra." 
 
44 THE EVOLUTION OF PUEPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 the animal wishes to make itself smaller, and offer 
 less surface to the pain " (of the prick). 1 
 
 A like movement is made under similar conditions 
 by an amoeba ; the polyp in contracting becomes 
 more clearly spherical, and so reduces its exposed 
 surface to the source of irritation. It is this reduction 
 of the surface of the body, and thus the chance of escap- 
 ing from injury, which constitutes the adaptative value 
 of the contraction in Hydra. There is no movement to, 
 or from the point irritated, the animal's substance 
 contracts as a whole, and beyond this, if after repeated 
 movements of this kind the animal cannot rid itself 
 of the stimulus, it abandons its foothold and moves 
 away from the source of irritation. 
 
 If a morsel of raw meat be placed on one of the ten- 
 tacles of a polyp the limb contracts, at the same time 
 its other tentacles move up to the food which is thus 
 grasped and carried to the animal's mouth ; the ten- 
 tacles then leave the meat, and return to their former 
 position. Action of this description only takes place 
 in response to the irritation excited by food; a 
 mechanical stimulus alone will not call forth a food 
 reaction. Mr Wagner therefore arrives at the con- 
 clusion that reactions of this description are the result 
 of chemical energy derived from the food substance, 
 combined with mechanical energy the result of the 
 contact of the foreign substance with the living matter 
 of the tentacle on which it rests. We concur in his 
 opinion, but it seems to us the action of the other ten- 
 tacles, and their contortions and contractions so as to 
 bring the food to the animal's mouth, have only to be 
 watched in order to convince us that the purposive 
 
 1 Wagner, p. 598. 
 
INTO INSTINCTIVE MATTER 45 
 
 action of the living matter is clearly a quantity to be 
 reckoned with in determining the cause of movements of 
 this kind. 
 
 If the surface of a polyp is irritated at a number of 
 points, as for instance, by a brush of fine bristles, or of 
 spun glass, a discharge of its nematocysts takes place ; 
 a result which would seem to depend on a release of 
 energy from the living matter of the cnidoblast (p. 35) 
 guided by its purposive action on the motory elements 
 of the cell. 
 
 The sensory organs, nervous system and general 
 structural arrangement of a jelly-fish are of a higher 
 order than those of a polyp. In like manner its move- 
 ments are more complicated, and that they are co- 
 ordinated by impressions received through the sensory 
 organs and the chain of ganglionic nerve-cells which 
 surround the margin of the bell, is proved by the follow- 
 ing experiment. 
 
 If the entire margin of the bell of a jellyfish is re- 
 moved so that the excised portion consists of an un- 
 broken ring to which the animal's tentacles are attached, 
 and which contains the bulk of its sensory organs, and 
 the whole of its double chain of ganglionic nerve cells ; 
 mechanical and chemical stimuli applied to the surface 
 of the tentacles or to the excised margin of the bell, 
 induce the same kind of movements of the tentacles 
 as those which can be produced by stimulating these 
 parts of the body of an uninjured animal. But after 
 the removal of the margin of the bell, stimuli applied 
 to the cut surface or any other part of the swimming bell 
 fails to elicit any response in the way of movement 
 or otherwise. This state of affairs tends to confirm 
 the idea regarding the controlling influence exercised 
 
46 THE EVOLUTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 by specialised elements of the living substance of the 
 combined sensory organs and corresponding ganglionic 
 nerve cells, over the purposive movements of the simplest 
 class of the Coelentera. 
 
 If medus88 are kept without food for some days, 
 and a small piece of raw meat is then held some three 
 inches from the animal, its tentacles are stretched out 
 towards the food, and if they fail to reach the meat, 
 the animal's body moves to the food, several of its 
 tentacles then twine round the morsel of meat which 
 they carry up to its mouth ; the manubrium and sub- 
 stance of the bell assist in this movement. The 
 tentacles having deposited the food in the animal's 
 mouth, leave it there and return to their original 
 position. 
 
 With reference to these movements Mr Romanes 
 observes I conclude that in the margin of all naked- 
 eyed medusae which I have examined, there is situated 
 an intensely localized system of centres of spontaneity, 
 having at least for one of its functions the organisation 
 of impulses to which its contraction under ordinary 
 circumstances are exclusively due. Confirmed by the 
 behaviour of the severed membrane which continues 
 its rhythmical contractions with vigour and pertinacity 
 not in the least impaired by its severance from the main 
 organism, so that the contrast between the perfectly 
 motionless swimming bell and the active contraction 
 of its severed margin is as striking a contrast as it is 
 possible to conceive. Hence if the margin be left in 
 situ while other portions of the swimming bell are 
 mutilated to any extent, the spontaneity of the animal 
 is not at all interfered with. He adds, when nerve- 
 cells are collected into ganglia, they often appear to 
 
INTO INSTINCTIVE MATTER 47 
 
 discharge their energy spontaneously ; so that in all 
 but the very lowest animals whenever we see apparently 
 spontaneous action we infer that ganglia are present. 1 
 
 The explanation of the co-ordinate action of the 
 muscle fibres above referred to appears to us to depend 
 on the fact that in the ganglionic nerve-cells of Medusoids, 
 purposive elements, such as those which exist in the 
 living matter of the Protozoa, have become more highly 
 specialised. The ganglionic cells are in communication 
 with one another and with corresponding sensory organs ; 
 when the latter are stimulated their released energy 
 passes to the subjacent nerve- cells, and through the 
 medium of its purposive elements becomes manifest 
 in the contraction of definite sets of muscle fibres, and 
 in this way the various movements of the animal are 
 effected. 
 
 Mr Romanes states thatjtf a sea-anemone is placed in 
 an aquarium tank and allowed to fasten upon one side 
 of the tank near the surface of the water, and if a jet 
 of sea water is made to play continuously and forcibly 
 upon the anemone from above, the result is that the 
 animal becomes surrounded with a turmoil of water 
 and air bubbles. After a short time the anemone be- 
 comes so accustomed to this turmoil that it will expand 
 its tentacles in search of food, just as it does when 
 placed in calm water. If now one of the expanded 
 tentacles is gently touched with a solid body, all the 
 others close around that body in just the same way as 
 they would were they expanded in calm water ; al- 
 though the solid stimulus is clearly less intense than that 
 offered by the bubbles. 
 
 1 The International Scientific Series. " Jelly-fish, Starfish, and 
 Sea Urchins," by G. J. Romanes, pp. 28, 25. 
 
48 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 We pass on from the Hydromedusse to the Echino- 
 dermata which include the starfishes among its mem- 
 bers (p. 37). If a starfish is laid on its back, the 
 tube feet of its arms are extended and moved about 
 in all directions until the tips of one or more of them 
 turns over and touches the underlying surface upon 
 which the animal is laid, its ventral tube feet cling 
 to this surface, and acting from these fixed points the 
 animal is able in the course of a few minutes to turn 
 and assume its normal position. If, however, before 
 placing the animal on its back, the nerves passing 
 from the central nervous system to the arms are divided, 
 no co-ordinate action of the limbs is possible, but each 
 limb moves on its own account ; movements of this 
 description can be accounted for by the presence of 
 ganglionic nerve- cells located among the tissues con- 
 stituting the arms ; it is for the same reason that pur- 
 posive movements of an amputated starfish's limb 
 takes place and will right itself if laid on its dorsal 
 surface. 
 
 Starfish can not only crawl about by aid of their 
 tube feet along the bottom of an aquarium, but also 
 up its vertical glass surfaces. If a piece of raw meat 
 is placed some six inches from a starving starfish, the 
 animal at once, and with precision, crawls up to the 
 food, and if on reaching it the meat is withdrawn, 
 the animal follows it, and can thus be led about from 
 one place to another. 
 
 These animals are extremely sensitive to light, but 
 if their eye spots are removed they no longer respond 
 to this form of stimuli. 
 
 W. Preyer states that he selected a starfish belonging 
 to a species having slender arms, and slipped a piece 
 
INTO INSTINCTIVE MATTER 49 
 
 of rubber tubing over the middle part of one of these 
 limbs. The starfish tried to get rid of the ring by 
 rubbing the arm against the ground, shaking it by 
 holding it aloft and waving it pendulum-like in the air, 
 holding the ring against the ground with a neighbouring 
 limb, and putting the affected arm out while pressing 
 the other limbs against the ring and so endeavouring 
 by all manner of movements to get rid of it. Should 
 all these efforts fail, as a last resource the animal casts 
 off the limb. Preyer ascribes action of this kind to 
 intelligence, holding that it was a new experience to 
 the starfish to have one of its arms enclosed and thus 
 pinched continuously, and that in adapting means to 
 free itself from this state of things it evinced intelligence. 1 
 It would seem that some of the simplest orders of 
 worms possess what we may best describe as memories ; 
 for example, on certain parts of the coast green masses 
 may be seen floating on the surface of the sea, on closer 
 inspection these masses are found to consist of ciliated 
 worms (Convoluta). These beings, as the tide recedes, 
 are left on the sand, and they instantly proceed to bury 
 themselves in its substance. The Convolutse remain 
 in the sand until the returning tide, when they emerge 
 from it and take up their position again on the surface 
 of the water. The animal thus acquires a habit ; 
 and if then removed from the sea and placed in the still 
 water of an aquarium it continues to float on the surface 
 for a time and then to sink to the bottom of the vessel, 
 thus continuing their periodical action independently 
 of tidal influences. 2 They rise and fall, as they and 
 their ancestors had been accustomed to do with the 
 
 1 " The Animal Mind," by M. F. Washburn, p. 215. 
 
 2 " La Naissance de 1'Intelligence," par Dr Bohn, p. 150. 
 D 
 
50 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 rise and fall of the tide, and having acquired this habit 
 or memory which is distinctly purposive in its action, 
 it continues in operation when placed in different 
 conditions ; because the elements constituting a portion 
 of their living substance had become moulded into a 
 specific form, its work becoming manifest in the move- 
 ments made by the animal. 
 
 The careful way in which worms plug the openings 
 leading to their burrows attracted Darwin's attention. 
 In the first place he found quite young worms followed 
 this practice, which was therefore more or less an 
 inherited habit. In a large percentage of trials it 
 was found that worms draw leaves and pieces of paper 
 into their holes by their narrowest ends, in this way 
 the leaf or other substance could most readily be carried 
 into the burrow. Worms excavate their burrows 
 either by pushing away the earth on all sides, or by 
 swallowing it. The burrow is invariably lined with a 
 thin layer of fine dark-coloured earth voided by the 
 animal, this lining becomes very compact and closely 
 fits the worm's body. The mouths of the burrows are 
 in addition often lined with leaves quite apart from 
 those employed to plug the opening. Pine leaves 
 may be used to form this lining and are then plastered 
 over and made to cohere to one another. The object 
 of this seems to be to form a smooth and warm lining 
 to the upper part of the burrow where the worms are 
 accustomed to remain for a long time. If the burrow 
 passes far into the ground it usually terminates in a 
 little enlargement or chamber, where the worm remains 
 during the winter rolled up in a ball. 1 
 
 1 " The Formation of Vegetable Mould," by Charles Darwin, 
 pp. 84, 104. 
 
INTO INSTINCTIVE MATTER 51 
 
 The common crayfish (Astacus fluviatilis) is a well- 
 known denizen of many of our streams in this and 
 other countries, where it may be seen during the warm 
 weather walking along the bottom of the shallow water 
 by means of its four pair of pointed limbs in search of 
 food. At other times we see it at the mouth of the 
 burrow it has made in the banks of a stream, barring 
 the entrance with its great claws, and with protruded 
 feelers keeping watch on passing larva, insects, water- 
 snails and other objects, which it seizes by means of 
 its anterior powerful limbs, and carries to its mouth. 
 
 The compound eyes of a crayfish are admirably 
 adapted to appreciate the movements of objects passing 
 before them. The animal makes use of its claws to 
 seize these moving objects, showing that it sees them 
 and can appreciate their distance from its body. 
 
 From experiments made by Professor Yerkes, and 
 J. B. Hugins, on the crayfish (Cambarus affinis) it 
 appears that these Crustacea have, to some extent, the 
 power of learning from experience, or as these scientists 
 hold, the animal after passing through a series of re- 
 actions drops those movements that are unsuccessful, 
 so that the animal, " on being after an interval of 
 time placed in the same situation, the unsuccessful 
 movements are fewer, and further repetition causes 
 them to be dropped off entirely." l Whether this is the 
 method by which a crayfish learns, or whether it acquires 
 knowledge by the registration of useful impressions 
 made on its nervous system by external stimuli, which 
 are re-excited by appropriate modes of energy and 
 
 1 See Professor H. S. Jennings, Jour. Comp. N enrol, and Psychol., 
 1906, p. 343, on " trial and error" in his paper on " Behaviour of 
 the Lower Organisms." 
 
52 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 become manifest in movements such as those to which 
 we have referred, must be left as an open question ; 
 the fact however remains, that if a crayfish is placed 
 in a box one end of which communicates with an 
 aquarium in which the animal's food is kept, and " half- 
 way down the length of the box a partition put longi- 
 tudinally divides the box into two passages, one of 
 which is closed at the end by a glass plate ; in sixty 
 trials, the crayfishes which had originally chosen the 
 correct passage 50 per cent, of the times, came to choose 
 it 90 per cent, of the times. A second series with a 
 single animal upon which more tests per diem were 
 made, resulted in the formation of a perfect habit in 
 two hundred and fifty experiments. The glass plate 
 was then shifted to the other passage, and the crayfish 
 was naturally completely baffled for a time, but suc- 
 ceeded in learning the new habit." In more compli- 
 cated labyrinths the animals were at fault, each followed 
 a habit of its own, one moving directly towards the food, 
 hunting for an opening near it, and then going to the 
 middle where the opening was ; the other always 
 following the edge of the screen all the way round 
 until it came upon the opening. 1 
 
 Movements such as those above referred to are in- 
 stinctive in character, that is, are accomplished by 
 natural hereditary impulses, performed without de- 
 liberation, and which tend more or less directly to 
 secure the safety and well-being of the animal. Such 
 for instance as that which leads the duckling untaught 
 into the water, the beaver to build its hut, the bee its 
 comb, the hen to incubate her eggs, etc. Among 
 these instinctive faculties we include the Emotional, 
 1 " The Animal Mind," by M. F. Washburn, p. 220. 
 
INTO INSTINCTIVE MATTER 53 
 
 the expresssion of anger, pain, pleasure, and so on, 
 are bodily manifestations which constitute a natural 
 language of the feelings, and are of a uniform 
 character in each order of animals. The same may 
 be said of the Imitative faculty, among which we may 
 mention the song of birds, and the barking of domesti- 
 cated dogs. 
 
 The evidence we have referred to in the preceding 
 pages shows that in unicellular organisms the body 
 substance as a whole responds to the action of the 
 various modes of energy which act upon it, and is trans- 
 muted into a form capable of exciting movements 
 tending to the well-being of the organism. In the 
 simpler classes of multicellular animals the elements 
 which in the lower class of beings were purposive, 
 have become differentiated, and form a part of the 
 living substance of certain nerve cells which on the 
 one hand are in direct communication with the sensory 
 organs or receptors of energy, and on the other hand 
 with motor cells which discharge energy to various sets 
 of muscles. 
 
 Following up the development of nerve cells, we 
 find that in the lower classes of invertebrates they have 
 become gradually concentrated into a central nervous 
 system, which increases in its complexity pan passu 
 with the structures forming the animal's sensory organs 
 and the other structures of their bodies. In the cray- 
 fish we find this system has advanced so far that we 
 come to recognise the development of a central nervous 
 station which receives, and may become impressed 
 by energy passing to it through the sensory organs. 
 From this sensory centre motor impulses pass to the 
 muscles of the body and limbs. Many of the move- 
 
54 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 ments made by these animals come under the category 
 of instinctive actions. Work of this kind we judge 
 to depend on a specific arrangement of the molecules 
 of nervous matter, because, if this matter is destroyed, 
 although other organs of the body may continue to 
 work, all instinctive actions are abolished. Beyond 
 this the same kind of activities are effected by widely 
 dispersed but similar species of animals, they are there- 
 fore hereditary in their character, and must depend 
 on the action of one and the same description of ele- 
 ments. We hold that this matter has, therefore, been 
 evolved out of simpler purposive elements, being adapted 
 to the requirements of a higher order of beings than those 
 in which simple purposive action was sufficient to direct 
 the forces acting on their living substance, into move- 
 ments capable of providing for their nourishment and 
 reproduction. We conceive that those orders of beings 
 which have come most completely into harmony with 
 their environment, through means of their various 
 sensory organs, are those which survive and improve 
 in their struggle for existence. 
 
 In the following chapter we propose illustrating 
 our ideas on this subject by referring to the instinctive 
 processes displayed by various species of insects. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE central nervous system of insects consists of a 
 brain (cerebral ganglia) and of a chain of ganglia which 
 extend along the ventral part of the animal's body, 
 and in many instances are found to have undergone 
 concentration longitudinally : in some insects these 
 ganglia become completely fused together. From this 
 chain of nervous matter sensory and motor nerves are 
 given off to the animal's body. This chain of ganglia 
 is continued upwards into the cephalic ganglia or brain, 
 which for anatomical purposes is described as the fore- 
 brain, mid-brain, and hind-brain. 
 
 The fore-brain in insects consists of the optic ganglia 
 together with two masses of nervous substance which 
 are united in the mid-line by communicating fibres. 
 In connection with these lobes we find well-developed 
 masses of nervous substance, which we have referred 
 to as existing in the Crustacea under the name of " fungi- 
 form bodies." In the sea-mouse rudimentary structures 
 of this description exist, in the crayfish they are more 
 highly developed ; they reach their highest state of 
 perfection in insects. For instance, in the working 
 bee, the fungiform bodies form two deeply concave 
 masses of nervous matter, situated near the dorsal 
 surface of the brain. On section they are found to consist 
 of ramifications of the terminal fibres of nerve-cells, 
 these cells being for the most part on the outer surfaces 
 of these structures. Numerous fibres may be traced 
 
 55 
 
56 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 from the fungiform bodies to form connections with 
 centres or nuclei of nerve-cells located in the lobes of 
 the brain ; so that these structures bear some re- 
 semblance to the cortical matter of the cerebral hemi- 
 spheres of the lower vertebrates. It may be well, 
 therefore, to state that within the same order of beings 
 the size of the fungiform bodies increase in proportion 
 to the intelligence of the insect, and among social 
 forms they may even vary in development between 
 the persons of the society ; being, for instance, 
 proportionately larger in the worker bee than in the 
 drone or queen. 1 
 
 The nervous structures connecting the lobes of the 
 fore-brain may be separated into two bands, from one, 
 nerves supply the eyes, the other band, which lies in 
 the centre of the brain is the meeting-place of fibres 
 from the fungiform bodies, and from the optic and 
 antennary lobes. 
 
 The mid-brain constitutes the antennary lobes, they 
 are two in number united by transverse fibres. These 
 lobes give off the larger part of the antennary olfactory 
 nerves. 
 
 Each half of the hind-brain gives off a bundle of 
 nerve fibres which meet in the mid-line to form a tri- 
 angular ganglion from which a median nerve runs 
 posteriorly along the alimentary canal. This ganglion 
 also supplies nerves to the sensory organs of taste. 2 
 
 1 Mr R. H. Burne, Cat. Phys, Series of Comp. Anatomy, R.C.S. 
 Museum, p. 35 ; also M. Dujardin, An. d. Sci. Nat. t. xiv. p. 195, 
 1850. 
 
 2 The above description of the brain of an insect is taken from 
 Mr E. T. Newton's models. See specimen D 27, Phys. Series, 
 R.C.S. Museum, also the Museum Cat. p. 34, and the Quart. Journ. 
 Micr. Sci., vol. xix. 1879, p. 340. 
 
IN INSECTS 57 
 
 We may now turn our attention to the sensory organs 
 of insects, which consist of structures derived for the 
 most part from the epidermis, specially modified either 
 in the form of single or groups of cells which act as 
 the receptors of energy derived from visual, auditory, 
 olfactory, and tactile impressions. 1 
 
 The visual sensory organs of insects consist of com- 
 pound eyes, in which, what superficially appears to be 
 a single eye is in reality an aggregate of many eyes, 
 each with its own retina and dioptric apparatus 
 separated from its neighbour by pigment-cells. 2 
 
 J. Miiller in the year 1826 taught that inasmuch 
 as definition of the image, i.e. the localisation of the 
 luminous rays, depends on the co-ordination of the 
 impressions made through the facets on the nervous 
 apparatus of the eye, the degree of definition therefore 
 varies with the number of facets. We can understand 
 why this should be the case, and that the co-ordination 
 of stimuli received from different parts of an object 
 which reach the nervous structures at the base of the 
 
 1 It is probable that the non-nervous elements of the various 
 sensory organs that first receive the external stimulus act like a 
 sieve, arresting certain qualities of the exciting energy and per- 
 mitting certain other qualities to pass on, so as to act on the specialised 
 living nervous substance of the various sensory centres. These 
 receptors of energy have thus a certain power of selection or natural 
 fitness developed by means of the action of their environment or 
 struggle for existence. (Professor T. Ziehen, " Introduction to 
 Physiological Psychology," pp. 40. 42.) As we have shown after 
 leaving a sensory organ by nerve paths, energy becomes subjected 
 to further selection through the action of an interrupted system 
 of dendrons, so that by the time it reaches the living matter of the 
 cerebral ganglionic cell it may be said to have assumed a specific 
 form. 
 
 2 R. H. Burne, Asst. Curator, Roy. Co. Surgeons of England, 
 Cat. R.C.S. Museum, Physiol. Series, vol. iii. p. 302. 
 
58 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 visual rods, is the work of the ganglionic cells of the 
 optic lobes of the brain. 1 
 
 The motions of ether that produce light do not act 
 directly on the retinal termination of the optic nerve, 
 but produce chemical changes, or motions in the retina. 
 It is the result of these chemical processes that act as 
 stimuli upon the distribution of the optic nerve in the 
 retina. 
 
 Professor Graber, from experiments made on some 
 of the lower invertebrates, came to the conclusion, that 
 after he had removed the eyes of these beings they 
 still responded to the influence of light, for when thus 
 mutilated they move from the chemical to the calorific 
 spectrum. Graber therefore concludes, that these 
 animals perceive light by means of the skin, and that 
 in their natural condition the action of light reaches 
 their brains through the cutaneous surface of their 
 bodies. There can be no question as to the existence 
 of the response of the surface of living beings to the 
 stimulus of light, but that is a very different thing from 
 distinguishing for instance a blue from a red object. 
 The dermatropic sensations referred to by Graber, 
 as A. Forel remarks, do not enable the eyeless animal 
 to see by the skin ; it only feels the light, its degree, 
 and length of its waves. 2 These experiments, however, 
 emphasise the importance which sun-light exercises 
 not only on the lower, but on the metabolic processes 
 of every form of living matter. 
 
 The visual power of insects depends largely on the 
 form and the number of facets possessed by the outer 
 
 1 " The Senses of Insects," by A. Forel, pp. 69, 129, translated 
 into English by Macleod Yearsley, F.R.C.S. 
 
 2 Idem, p. 69. 
 
IN INSECTS 59 
 
 surface of the eye ; for instance, the prominent convex 
 eye of the dragon-fly is said to contain from 12,000 to 
 17,000 facets. We can form an idea of the acuteness of 
 vision possessed by these insects if we try to catch one of 
 them hovering over a pond. The dragon-fly will allow 
 us to approach our net j ust near enough to miss catching 
 it, when off he darts, seeming almost able to measure 
 the length of the handle of our net, for the insect re- 
 peatedly flies off just out of reach of the net in spite 
 of all the trouble we take to hide it. Butterflies and 
 flies are evidently able to measure the distance from 
 them of near objects. 
 
 Wasps can judge the size and colour of inert objects 
 by the aid of their eyesight. Thus if some dead flies 
 are placed together with other insects on a table in a 
 room where there are wasps, a wasp will soon fly 
 down and without hesitation alight on a dead fly, which 
 he will carry off, and this process will be repeated over 
 and over again without the wasp taking any notice 
 of the surrounding dead insects. On the other hand, 
 ants and bees have defective vision for small moving 
 objects at a distance, because the facets of their eyes, 
 on whose axis such an object is projected, receive addi- 
 tional rays from too many other surrounding objects. 1 
 Insects possessing compound eyes direct their flight 
 by sight, distinguishing colours, objects and distances 
 by means of their visuo-sensory apparatus. 
 
 The olfactory sensory organs of insects consist of 
 adaptations of epidermal living matter to receive and 
 transmute a special form of energy into one, which on 
 reaching certain cerebral centres becomes manifest in 
 the sensation we designate as odours. By the sense 
 
 1 Forel, pp. 11, 13. 
 
60 THE EVOLUTION OP PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 of smell therefore we mean the response made by a 
 specialised system of living matter to definite modes 
 of energy (stimuli) derived from certain bodies. 1 
 
 The olfactory sensory organs of insects are located 
 on their antennae, where they exist among the stiffer 
 tactile setae ; they are supplied by terminal branches of 
 the antennary nerves which arise from ganglionic cells 
 located in the olfactory lobes of the animal's brain. 
 These sensory organs are not situated on precisely 
 the same part of the antennae in all orders of insects, 
 but as a rule they are to be found on its terminal free 
 portion, in the form of structures which have been 
 shown to consist essentially of modified hairs. 2 
 
 It has been demonstrated by Lord Avebury and 
 A. Forel that the different genera of ants, who under 
 ordinary conditions are natural enemies and light to 
 the death when they meet, after having had their 
 antennae excised may be kept together in the same 
 box where they live on friendly terms. Having no 
 antennae, and therefore no sense of smell, they fail to 
 recognise their diversity of genera, they can in fact 
 no longer distinguish friend from foe. Male insects 
 after their antennae have been removed do not recog- 
 nise the female, they will pass close to their favourite 
 food without noticing it ; they guide themselves by the 
 sense of smell, and when their antennae are removed, 
 fail to retrace their way home from a distance, or to 
 
 1 There are hardly any metallic or other bodies which do not mani- 
 fest, especially on friction, odours of their own. Berthelot calculates 
 that one gramme of iodof orm only loses the hundredth of a milligram 
 in a hundred years, though continuously emitting a flood of odor- 
 iferous particles in all directions. "The Evolution of Matter," 
 Le Bon, p. 237. 
 
 2 " The Senses of Insects," Forel, p. 94. 
 
IN INSECTS 61 
 
 recognise their companions when they reach their 
 nests. 
 
 If an ant is smeared with fluids pressed from the 
 bodies of its nest companions, and then put back among 
 them, they take no notice of the stained insect. But 
 if an ant is smeared with fluids pressed from the bodies 
 of a hostile nest, and then returned among its com- 
 panions, they at once attack and kill it. Evidently 
 it is of the odour of the fluids in the two cases which 
 affect the actions of the ants through impressions 
 made on their olfactory sensory organs, which pass 
 through the antennary nerves to the olfactory lobes of 
 the insect's brain and re-excites impressions previously 
 established in its nervous substance. 
 
 The antennae of insects are remarkably mobile, so 
 that the organs of smell can be readily turned in all 
 directions, this fact leads one to suppose the sense of 
 smell in these beings may give them ideas of space and 
 of direction. We can thus account for the fact that 
 ants distinguish the right and the left side, the front 
 and back, and know when following a track, in what 
 direction they are following. " Finally, pursuant to 
 the laws of association, it allows in insects an olfactive 
 memory of places such as relational sense alone 
 possesses." l 
 
 In order to substantiate the fact that the organs 
 of smell are located on the antennae of flies and other 
 insects, we may refer to one among the numerous 
 experiments which A. Forel has made in order to gain 
 accurate knowledge concerning this point. 2 He placed 
 the body of a dead decomposing mole under a hemi- 
 spherical wire gauze cover. A fly (Sarcophaga vivipara) 
 1 Forel, p. 98. 2 Idem, p. 90. 
 
62 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 soon arrived and tried to gain access to the dead animal. 
 Forel caught the fly, and after destroying its eyes, let 
 the insect go. It flew about his room, knocking itself 
 against the ceiling and walls, and finished by falling 
 on the floor in a helpless state. He then removed one 
 of the fly's wings and afterwards placed it near the 
 mole which he uncovered. The fly went directly for 
 the dead animal and began to feed on its substance, 
 and quickly recurved its ovipositor and laid three or 
 four eggs. Forel then removed the insect's antennae. 
 From that moment, despite oft-repeated trials, the 
 fly paid no more attention to the mole than to a piece 
 of stone or a bit of wood. Placed close to the stinking 
 mole the insect no longer sought to direct itself towards 
 the carcase. Other flies were treated in the same way, 
 except that their eye-sight was not destroyed, but after 
 removal of their antennae they invariably ran about, 
 and although placed on the mole they were indifferent 
 to it, and without exception when mutilated in this 
 way failed to lay any eggs ; so much impressed was 
 Forel with this fact that he is inclined to think that the 
 desire to lay is, with these insects, a " general sensation 
 which can be compared to a sexual appetite, and which 
 is provoked by an olfactory sensation ; for it ceases 
 immediately after the suppression of the antennae ; 
 whilst other lesions, even the removal of the eyes, which 
 is more dangerous, do not hinder it." 
 
 Taste. There can be no question as to the fact that 
 insects as a rule possess the power of distinguishing 
 between the quality of certain non-volatile substances 
 before swallowing them. For instance, if morphia 
 or strychnine are mixed with honey, ants attracted 
 by the smell of their favourite food begin to eat the 
 
IN INSECTS 63 
 
 mixture, but after taking it into their mouths they 
 leave the tainted honey. If the antennae and palpi 
 of wasps are removed and the animal's mouth is then 
 brought in contact with honey mixed with quinine, 
 after tasting it the insect immediately turned from the 
 honey. 
 
 From experiments of this kind it appears certain 
 that in insects the sensory organs of taste are located 
 within the animal's mouth, and consist in all probability 
 of a series of cup-like depressions connected with the 
 terminal distribution of subjacent ganglionic nerve- 
 fibres. These pits are numerous on the surface of the 
 tongue of most insects, and are well marked especially 
 near the tip and the base of this organ. These gang- 
 lionic nerve- cells are brought into connection with 
 nervous centres located in the subcesophageal ganglion, 
 and possibly with nuclei situated in the hind-brain. 
 
 Touch. The sensory organs of touch in insects essen- 
 tially consist of structures similar to those possessed by 
 the Hydromedus83 (p. 33), being formed of sensorial 
 hairs or bristles which are connected with the living 
 matter of certain epidermic cells and subjacent nervous 
 structures. Modifications of this mechanism have come 
 into existence in the case of insects in consequence of 
 the rigid hard materials by which the bodies of many 
 of them are enclosed. The tactile sensory organs of 
 insects are fairly well dispersed over the whole surface 
 of their bodies, but are specially well developed on their 
 mobile antennae ; their palpi, trochanters, and tarsi, 
 are also regions covered with tactile nerve terminations 
 and are therefore peculiarly sensitive to touch. 
 
 Vibrations of various kinds, but especially those pro- 
 duced mechanically, affect these tactile sensory organs, 
 
64 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 and become manifest in a sensation which we call 
 touch or feeling ; and which, as is the case with the 
 other sensory organs, brings previously registered 
 impressions of the central nervous centres into play, 
 whereby relational motory actions are brought into 
 operation. 
 
 If we carefully watch the various actions of spiders, 
 it seems evident that they depend on the mechanical 
 vibrations of their webs, the tension and the resistance 
 of which guides them. Their vision is imperfect, 
 but mechanical vibrations affect the whole of their 
 bodies through its action on their tactile sensory organs, 
 resulting in tactile sensations, and particularly the 
 muscular sensation, and corresponding muscular tension 
 destined to re-establish equilibration. 1 
 
 Hearing. With the exception of crickets and a few 
 other insects, we have no evidence to show that this 
 class of animals possess the sense of hearing. They 
 are extremely sensitive, as already stated, to mechanical 
 vibrations ; but to auditory waves insects give no 
 response. We may make as much noise as we like close 
 to a bee engaged in pillaging flowers, but if we protect 
 the animal from the mechanical vibrations of our breath 
 or movements, he takes no notice of the noise we are 
 making. 
 
 From the preceding statement it is evident that 
 insects possess visuo-sensory organs, and organs of smell, 
 touch, taste, and the muscular or kinaesthetic sense ; 
 some few of them have the power of hearing. Leading 
 directly from each of these receptors of energy or sensory 
 organs, nerve fibres pass to corresponding ganglionic 
 nervous centres located in definite lobes of the brain. 
 
 l Forel, p. 111. 
 
IN INSECTS 65 
 
 These cerebral nervous centres are in intimate com- 
 munication with one another by means of protoplasmic 
 processes, and the whole of this system of sensory 
 organs and cerebral centres are brought into close relation 
 with the nervous matter we have described as the 
 " fungiform bodies," that is a mass of nervous substance 
 which reaches its highest state of development in insects, 
 or that class of invertebrates in which instinctive pro- 
 cesses are most perfectly developed. 1 
 
 Through the various sensory organs a flow of visual, 
 olfactory, tactile and other forms of energy are con- 
 stantly passing during an animal's working hours 
 to the living matter of the ganglionic nerve cells, which 
 constitute the cerebral centres for vision, smell and touch ; 
 impressions are thus made on this living matter by 
 these various stimuli. These impressions become more 
 or less permanently fixed on this matter according to the 
 hereditary structure of its elements, and their ability 
 to effect its metabolic processes in a satisfactory manner. 
 
 Impressions thus made on the living matter of certain 
 brain-cells are, by means of nerve fibres, brought into 
 intimate relation with one another, the system thus 
 formed constituting the basis substance of memory ; 
 
 1 Professor W. James, in his " Text-Book of Psychology," pp. 370, 
 381, 391, defines Instinct " as the faculty of acting in such a way as 
 to produce certain ends, without foresight of the ends, and without 
 previous education in the performance." He adds, " every instinct 
 is an impulse." An Emotion, Professor James states, " is a tendency 
 to feel, and an instinct a tendency to act, characteristically, when 
 in presence of a certain object in the environment emotions are 
 sensational processes due to inward currents set up by physical 
 happenings ; they have their bodily expression, which involves strong 
 muscular activity, and it becomes a little hard in many cases to 
 separate the description of the ' emotional ' condition from that of the 
 ' instructive ' reaction which one and the same object may produce." 
 
66 INSECTS' MEMORY 
 
 in that these impressions are reproduced and co-ordinated 
 by energy received from like stimuli to those which 
 produced the original impression or, it may be, by 
 energy derived from other sources. Memorial im- 
 pressions in their turn play on specific nervous elements 
 whose action becomes manifest in instinctive movements. 
 
 That insects possess memories is demonstrated by 
 their actions, for instance Professor J. Loeb states 
 that a wasp (Ammophila) had made a hole in a flower- 
 bed in his front yard. Towards noon he saw a wasp 
 running along the side walk of the street in front of 
 his yard carrying a caterpillar in its mouth ; the weight 
 of the caterpillar prevented the wasp from flying. The 
 yard was separated from the street by a cemented 
 stone wall up which the wasp repeatedly made an 
 attempt to climb, but kept falling back. The insect 
 failing to scale the wall then ran round the bottom of 
 it until it reached an opening through which it crept 
 into the yard. Then crawling through the fence which 
 separated the two yards it dropped the caterpillar 
 near the foot of a tree, and flew away. After a short 
 zigzag flight it alighted on a flower bed in which were 
 two holes. The wasp soon left the bed and flew back 
 to the tree, stopping twice on the road. It then landed 
 on the caterpillar it had left and dragged it into its 
 hole which it then covered with sand. In this train 
 of action we have clear evidence as to the fact that the 
 wasp was guided by memory. 1 
 
 Again, if some honey was placed on a disc of white 
 paper on a table, a wasp soon appeared and settled 
 down on the disc to eat the honey ; having taken all it 
 
 1 " Comparative Physiology of the Brain and Psychology," by 
 Professor J. Loeb, p. 225. 
 
MEMORY OF INSECTS 67 
 
 wanted it flew away, but soon returned and went directly 
 to the disc for more food ; having satisfied herself she 
 again flew away. This disc was then replaced by a 
 similar one without honey, and another disc of the same 
 size as the former one was placed near it with honey 
 on it. The wasp returned and flew directly to the 
 small disc, but rinding nothing on it, raised herself a 
 little in the air and alighted on the disc on which honey 
 had been placed. 
 
 Honey was then smeared on white paper cut into 
 the shape of a cross which was put near a disc without 
 honey. The wasp returned and soon found the honey, 
 and having fed on it flew away. The cross was then 
 removed, and on one side of the spot on which it had 
 lain, a white disc was placed, and on the other side a 
 strip of paper with honey on it. The wasp returned 
 and flew straight to the white disc ; and finding no 
 honey flew away, but soon returned, and after much 
 searching found the honey on the white strip. 
 
 Another band without honey was now substituted 
 for the band with honey, and a cross with honey on it 
 was placed the same distance from the spot where the 
 wasp had been accustomed to feed. The insect re- 
 turned and flew direct to the new band ; finding nothing 
 on it she found her way to the cross. Forel remarks 
 that the wasp remembered the form of the paper on 
 which, at each visit, she had found a supply of food, 
 and she flew directly to the paper having the size and 
 shape of that off which she had fed on her previous 
 visit. 
 
 Forel, continuing the description of his experiment, 
 states that the following day the wasp returned 
 twice to eat at the cross left in the same place as on the 
 
68 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 previous day. He then removed both the insect's 
 antennae ; she flew away and returned in half an hour 
 to eat of the honey on the cross. After her departure 
 a similar cross without honey was substituted for the 
 first; the wasp returned and alighted directly on this 
 cross hoping to find honey there as usual. Then, 
 although deprived of antennae, she began to search, 
 doubtless recollecting that the white papers on which 
 the honey was, had already often changed in place 
 and aspect. The insect had lost its sense of smell, but 
 the impressions made on its central nervous matter 
 by the former exercise of its olfactory sensory organs 
 remained, and were brought into play by visual and 
 tactile stimuli ; the instinct existed in a latent state, 
 and was put in motion by other forms of energy than 
 those which first produced the impression on the central 
 nervous matter. 
 
 Forel, in discussing the nature of the instincts of 
 insects, observes that their purposeful movements are 
 not merely reflex or simply automatic, but very well 
 co-ordinated ; almost all prompted by the combinations 
 of instinctive reasoning by the aid of sensorial impressions, 
 and admirably adapted to their object. He adds, we 
 speak here of the directive acts of the individual and 
 social life of insects, of their " will" very inferior 
 no doubt to that of vertebrates, but not essentially 
 different. 1 
 
 As an example of the outcome of processes above 
 described in insects we may mention the slave-making 
 ants (Polyergus rufescens) ; these insects are incapable 
 of tending their young and even of feeding themselves. 
 At a particular period of the year when the nests of the 
 1 Forel, pp. 117, 118. 
 
INSTINCTIVE PROCESSES IN INSECTS 69 
 
 black ants contain the neuter brood at a given signal 
 made by certain of the leaders of a nest of red ants, 
 an army of these insects leave their nest, and advance 
 in fairly straight lines, the vanguard which consists 
 of eight or ten ants, continually falling back to the 
 rear. In some cases the whole army separates in search 
 of nests of black ants (Formica fusca or rufibarbis). 
 At last a nest of these latter species having been found, 
 a signal is given by striking the forehead of a neighbour ; 
 this signal is passed from one red ant to the other, and 
 .the army re-forms. On arriving at the black ants' nest 
 a desperate conflict ensues, which ends in the defeat 
 of the negroes ; and the red ants then enter the nest, 
 and leave it almost instantly, each insect holding a 
 larva or pupa in its mandibles, which they carry home 
 with all speed. In the return of the army there is 
 never any hesitation ; the olfactory and visual memory 
 of the outward journey is sufficient to make known 
 to each ant the exact road. Having reached home 
 the red ant hands over the stolen larva to a slave, and 
 as a rule sets off immediately to the pillaged nest if 
 it still contains more larvae, or they may put off the 
 return journey until the following day. Forel states 
 this return journey is never made if the pillaged nest 
 has had the whole of the larvae removed ; he remarks 
 " the fact appears to me to furnish irrefutable proof 
 of their memory. They must remember if the pillaged 
 nest still contains pupae or not, that is to say, if there 
 are many or few. Neither reflexes, nor odour, nor 
 polarised tracks can explain the thing." l 
 
 The stolen pupae are treated by the red ants with 
 great care, and when grown up spend their lives in 
 
 1 Forel, p. 239. 
 
70 INSTINCT IN INSECTS 
 
 excavating passages, collecting food, carrying larvae, 
 etc., for their masters as if this had been their original 
 destination, in fact they fulfil the offices of slaves. 
 
 Weismann states that the red ants cease to build 
 their own dwellings and in great measure to care for 
 the young, or even search for their own food, all work 
 of this description being performed by their slaves. 
 In the course of time, he argues, the instinct to search 
 for food became unnecessary, was neglected by the 
 selective power of nature, and gradually passed away. 
 He adds, " no instinct, no organ of the body has per- 
 manency unless absolutely requisite to the preservation 
 of the species. Panmixia, or, if you will, the remission 
 of natural selection, brings it about that the superfluous 
 is reduced to the absolutely necessary in the end the 
 organ which is no longer indispensable to life is entirely 
 removed, and a complete equilibrium is again established 
 between the structure of the body and the work it has 
 to perform. In this aspect, retrogression is a part of 
 progression. 1 
 
 Many insects guide themselves essentially by vision, 
 as for instance the dragon fly ; their antennae are rudi- 
 mentary and the sense of smell imperfect. By night 
 these insects are motionless. Ants and many other 
 genera of insects depend on energy received through 
 their olfactory sensory organs to guide them from one 
 to another place. It is by the sense of smell that 
 one family of ants recognise another and the male 
 knows a female ; having wandered from its home in 
 search of food, the ant retraces his footsteps by means 
 of his olfactory sensory organs. For if its antennae 
 are removed it fails to find its path, to distinguish 
 1 " The Open Court," pp. 1855, 1857, vol. for 1889. 
 
INSTINCT IN INSECTS 71 
 
 between friend and foe, or to appreciate the difference 
 between the sexes. 
 
 When referring to the structure of the fungiform 
 bodies of insects we stated that their size was found 
 to increase roughly in proportion to the intelligence 
 displayed by various orders of insects, for instance 
 these bodies are proportionately larger in the working 
 bees and wasps than in the male insects. The males, 
 however, have more highly developed eyes and antennae 
 than the working bee ; in spite of their being the most 
 unoriginal stupid beings, their sensory organs and the 
 corresponding cerebral nervous centres are fully de- 
 veloped. Their brains, however, as compared with 
 the working insect, are deficient in respect to the size 
 of its fungiform bodies, or in that part of the cerebral 
 nervous substance in which, as we hold, their instinctive 
 processes are perfected. 
 
 With regard to bees there can be no question that 
 they are capable of receiving impressions from their 
 fellows which excite in them emotions they are able to 
 communicate to their companions. 
 
 If a queen bee is removed from her hive, the workers 
 soon discover their loss and raise a prolonged, acute, 
 and plaintive sound. The queen having been secured 
 in a wire cage was placed in the upper tier of working 
 bees ; almost immediately their buzz was changed 
 from a doleful to a joyful sound, which was taken up 
 and repeated by bees in the most distant part of the 
 hive. 
 
 A remarkable fact demonstrating the exercise of 
 the instinctive power of bees is afforded us by their 
 action in swarming. Before the queen is allowed to 
 leave the hive, scouts are sent out to seek a suitable 
 
72 INSTINCT IN INSECTS 
 
 locality for the swarm to settle on. After having 
 chosen a spot the scouts return and conduct the swarm 
 to the place they have selected, showing not only a 
 memory of places but a remarkable display of instinctive 
 action in their movements. 
 
 Among invertebrates instinctive movements have 
 probably reached their highest point of perfection in 
 ants and bees, and we find a corresponding order of 
 structural organisation of their brains. If there is one 
 organ more than another which increases in complexity 
 as evolution proceeds which is the most essential 
 organ for upward progress ? surely it is the central 
 nervous system, especially that portion of it called the 
 brain. 1 
 
 Assuming that Professor Bellonci is correct in his 
 ideas as to the existence of an area of nervous matter 
 in the mid-brain of insects, which corresponds to that 
 of the basal ganglia of vertebrates, we may assign to 
 this nervous substance the function of directing their 
 instinctive movements, aided by energy received from 
 the nervous matter of their fore brain. Beyond this 
 we cannot overlook the fact of the existence of the 
 fungiform bodies which constitute so prominent a 
 feature of the fore and mid-brain of insects ; and 
 which bear a direct relation to their movements. 
 
 The energy which directs the instinctive movements 
 of insects or any other beings, cannot arise ex nihilo, 
 it must be derived from work performed by some kind 
 of hereditary nervous substance, because the same 
 kind of movements are effected, or it may be restrained, 
 by the same species of insects through numberless 
 generations in all parts of the world, when exposed 
 
 1 Professor Gaskel on " The Origin of Vertebrates," p. 65. 
 
INSTINCT IN INSECTS 73 
 
 to similar conditions. Instinctive, therefore, without 
 doubt, but none the less, in its natural state, brought 
 into action through work performed by stimuli received 
 through the sensory organs and their corresponding 
 cerebral nervous centres. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 IN previous chapters we have shown that the simplest 
 known forms of living matter manifest purposive 
 action, and that with an increasing complexity of the 
 structures and organs of the bodies of progressively 
 advancing orders of animals, their purposive actions 
 have become developed into instinctive movements. 
 No hard and fast line, therefore, can be drawn 
 between purposive and instinctive actions ; the latter 
 have come into operation in response to the action of 
 the environment on elements which in the lower 
 forms of beings were manifest as simply purposive 
 movements. 
 
 We pass on to show that in vertebrates evidence 
 exists confirming the idea of the evolution of purposive 
 into instinctive matter, and also that from this latter 
 substance matter is evolved having psychical or 
 intellectual functions. We conceive that these three 
 forms of matter consist of like elements which have 
 been structurally modified through the action of the 
 environment, and under the laws of natural selection 
 have become perfected or brought into harmony with 
 the forces acting upon them. To illustrate our 
 meaning we might compare purposive matter to the 
 root of a tree, instinctive matter to the stern, and 
 psychical matter to its branches. 
 
 A family of animals known as the Protochordata 
 has been held to constitute the link between 
 
 74 
 
THE AMPHIOXUS 75 
 
 invertebrate and vertebrate animals. This family is 
 represented by a small creature the amphioxus which 
 is to be found on our coast and that of many parts 
 of Europe. The animal is some two inches in length, 
 is fish-like in form, and swims rapidly through the 
 water by sinuous movements of its body. The 
 amphioxus, however, spends most of its time buried 
 in the sand, the anterior end of its body projecting 
 into the water. An opening exists on this extremity 
 of the animal which is closed by the contraction of 
 muscular fibres encircling it, and is further protected 
 by twelve tentacles provided with sensory epithelial 
 structures. 1 The amphioxus feeds upon minute 
 organisms contained in the surrounding water which 
 passes through its mouth and out by the animal's gill- 
 slits ; in its passage the nutrient matter it contains 
 comes in contact with rows of cilia lining the gullet 
 and by their action is directed into the intestine. 
 
 An animal leading a life of this kind requires 
 nothing higher than purposive action to direct its 
 movements ; and we find, with the exception of tactile 
 sensory organs, the amphioxus only possesses a single 
 median eye-spot, and near it a ciliated slit which is 
 supposed to be olfactory in function. 
 
 The animal's central nervous system consists of an 
 unsegmented tubular cord of nervous matter, which 
 narrows to a point at either end, and terminates 
 anteriorly in the median eye-spot, it gives off two 
 pairs of sensory nerves to the snout. From the rest 
 of the nervous cord a series of nerves arise, correspond- 
 
 ' Comparative Anatomy of Animals," by Gilbert C. Bourne, 
 vol. ii. pp. 172-202 ; also E. Haeckel's work on " The Evolution of 
 Man," vol. i. p. 416, Plate xL 
 
76 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 
 
 ing in number and position to the myotomes or 
 sections of the animal's body. The central canal 
 of the nervous system is lined by a supporting 
 epithelium, outside which is a layer of glanglionic 
 nerve-cells, and external to these non-medullated 
 nerve-fibres. In front the central canal forms a 
 vesicle ; from the nervous matter forming the walls 
 of this vesicle protoplasmic processes pass into relation 
 with the structures forming the eye-spot and olfactory 
 sensory organs. 
 
 Passing on to the simplest of the true vertebrata, 
 the cartilagenous fishes, which include such animals 
 as the lampreys (Petromyzon marinus), we find a 
 vertebral column forming a support to the other parts 
 of the animal's body, this cartilagenous structure 
 together with a skull are an efficient protection to 
 the central nervous system. These animals possess 
 no trace of limbs, and may be regarded as represent- 
 ing a remnant of an old and simple class of 
 vertebrates, which are far below the structural stage 
 reached by genuine fish. 1 
 
 It is well in this place to give a general outline of 
 the structures which enter into the formation of the 
 brain of this, the simplest class of vertebrate animals, 
 especially in relation to the development of its two 
 corpora striata, and optic thalami, for it is largely upon 
 work performed by the nervous substance of these 
 parts of the brain that the hereditary character of 
 animals depends. As we shall proceed to show, 
 neither in fishes nor amphibia do we find even 
 rudimentary cortical or psychical nervous areas in 
 connection with their cerebral hemispheres, so that 
 1 " The Evolution of Man," by E. Haeckel, vol. ii. p. 102. 
 
OF THE LOWER VERTEBRATA 77 
 
 the traits of character evinced by this vastly 
 numerous, ancient, and important class of animals 
 
 Telencephalon. Forebrain. 
 
 Dlencephalon, ' E 4 / Interbrain. 
 
 Mesencephalon. \ ol Midbrain. 
 
 Metencephalon. ( r/% Cerebellum 
 
 Myelencephalon. B / Medulla oblongata 
 
 \ 
 
 Medulla Spinalis. 
 
 FIG. 12.1 A, The spinal cord, is prolonged upwards into B, the medulla oblongata 
 (myelencephalon). In this region the spinal cord seems to widen out into a thin 
 membranous roof covering the central canal (fourth ventricle). The lateral walls of 
 the medulla oblongata contain aggregations of ganglionic nerve-cells, which form the 
 nuclei or place of origin of some of the most important nerves of the body. C, The 
 metencephalon forms a short section'of the brain, its roof is known as the cerebellum, 
 the arms of which encircle this section of the brain (Pons Varolii). D, the Mid-brain 
 (mesencephalon) consists of ventral and lateral walls of nervous matter enclosing a 
 narrow canal (Aqueduct of Sylvius). Its dorsal wall forms the two optic lobes. 
 E. the Inter-brain (diencephalon) constitutes, by means of its thickened lateral walls, 
 the optic thalami; the dorsal wall is also thickened at one point by fibres which 
 connect the two knot- like portions of nervous substance known as the nuclei 
 habenulae.'-J F, the Fore-brain (telencephalon) consists of paired lateral lobes from 
 the anterior end of which processes pass to the olfactory lobes. A membranous roof 
 connects and covers the lateral lobes of the Fore-brain ventricle, which divides 
 anteriorly into a Y-sh a P<3d cavity and ia continued into the olfactory bulbs. The 
 common cavity with that of the inter-brain (dtencephalon) constitute the third 
 ventricle of the brain; the lateral or olfactory portions are comparable with the 
 lateral ventricles of the mammalian brain. 
 
 1 "The Nervous System of Vertebrates," by Professor J. B. 
 Johnston, pp. 14, 25. 
 
 2 Cat. Roy. Col. Surgeons Museum, p. 87, vol. ii. Phys. Series. 
 
78 THE BASAL GANGLIA 
 
 consist of work performed by purposive and in- 
 stinctive living nervous matter. 
 
 In the fully formed vertebrates the brain for 
 anatomical purposes is divided into five sections, as 
 follows (Fig. 12). 
 
 The latero-ventral walls of the fore-brain are thick 
 and include in their substance two masses of nervous 
 matter known as the corpora striata (forming one pair 
 of the four basal ganglia) ; they are connected in the 
 mid-line by nerve-fibres. 
 
 The optic thalami (which form the second pair 
 of the basal ganglia) are included in the nervous 
 substance of the lateral walls of the inter-brain, 
 consequently in the lowest class of vertebrates we 
 find that four masses of nervous substance exist 
 within their brain, that is the right and left corpora 
 striata, and the right and left optic thalami ; these 
 four nervous centres constitute together the basal 
 ganglia. 
 
 If we examine properly prepared sections of the 
 nervous substance of the basal ganglia of a lamprey we 
 find it consists of an intricate mass of ganglionic nerve- 
 cells and fibres. Among these cells, especially in the 
 corpora striata, large pyramidal cells with well-defined 
 axions may be seen (Fig. 2) ; these fibres pass into 
 the medulla and spinal cord, and convey motor energy 
 from the living substance of these cells to the muscles 
 of the body. Besides these motory cells a multitude of 
 smaller sensory granular cells enter into the formation of 
 the basal ganglia especially of the optic thalami. Nerves 
 passing from the olfactory, visual, and tactile organs of 
 the animal's head and body terminate in connection 
 with the living matter of these sensory cells. 
 
AS RECEIVING STATIONS 79 
 
 The point to which we wish to draw special 
 attention is, that in the lowest, that is, the simplest, 
 existing class of vertebrates, four masses of cephalic 
 ganglionic nervous substance constitute the foundation 
 on which the other parts of the animal's nervous 
 system rests. For we find innumerable fibres or 
 lines of communication passing to and from the 
 ganglionic nerve-cells of the basal ganglia, to nerve- 
 cells located in the olfactory and visual lobes of the 
 brain, and to the nuclei of the nerves originating in 
 the medulla oblongata and spinal cord. So that the 
 basal ganglia form the central receiving station for 
 energy passing from all the sensory organs of the 
 animal's body. As we shall subsequently show, 
 energy thus passing into the nervous substance of the 
 basal ganglia plays on matter previously impressed by 
 stimuli, and re-excites such impressions which becomes 
 manifest in the movements we speak of as instinctive. 1 
 
 The lampreys are eel-like in shape, they vary 
 greatly in size from a few inches to three feet and 
 upwards. These animals have a circular mouth 
 armed with numerous hard tubercles which perform 
 the purpose of teeth ; the tongue acts like a piston. 
 The animal thus attaches itself to a fish and sucks its 
 blood ; it also eats soft animal matter. The upper 
 and lower jaws, and a double nostril, which appear 
 in all the higher vertebrates, are absent in the 
 lamprey, their nasal organs consisting of a single 
 cavity situated in the dorsal mid-line slightly in front 
 of the plane of the eyes. A short passage leads from 
 
 1 Cat. Phys. Series, Roy. Col. Surgeons Museum, vol. ii. p. 67 ; 
 see also Proceed, of Zoolog. Society, Oct. 1909, " The Anatomy of 
 the Olfactory Organs of Teleostean Fishes," by R. H. Burne. 
 
80 BRAIN OP CARTILAGENOUS FISHES 
 
 the nostril to a globular olfactory chamber, the posterior 
 wall of which lies close in front of the brain, and is 
 lined with folds of the olfactory membrane. The 
 lower part of the sac is prolonged into a blind pouch 
 which shares in the alternate expansion and contraction 
 of the branchial cavity, and is thus a mechanism for 
 the production of currents of water into, and out of 
 the olfactory chamber. The passage of the incoming 
 water through the olfactory chamber is ensured by 
 a suitable arrangement of valves situated at the lower 
 end of the first segment of the nasal passage. 1 (See 
 Specimen E 85, Phys. Series, RC.S. Museum.) 
 
 The auditory organs of the lamprey consist of a 
 single chamber and two semi-circular canals. The 
 auditory nerve supplies terminal branches distributed 
 to the saccular appendage of these canals ; this nerve 
 originates in an aggregation of ganglionic cells located 
 in the lateral walls of the medulla oblongata. Fibres 
 passing from this nucleus enter into relation with those 
 proceeding from the nerve-cells of the optic thalami. 
 
 The next higher class of fishes (Elasmobranchii) 
 include sharks, dogfish, etc. The brain of these 
 animals is remarkable on account of the great develop- 
 ment of its olfactory lobes ; the optic lobes are also 
 conspicuous. The medulla oblongata or hind-brain of 
 many genera of these animals is of large dimensions, 
 containing the nuclei or ganglionic cells from which 
 important nerves originate and supply of various organs 
 of the body. 
 
 The structural arrangement of the nervous matter 
 of the brain of the cartilagenous fishes is complicated, 
 
 1 This description is taken from Mr R. H. Burne's Cat., rol. iii. 
 p. 73, Phys. Series, Roy. Col. Surgeons Museum. 
 
NO NEOPALLRTM 81 
 
 and contains well-developed basal ganglia, its walls 
 however consist of a relatively thin outer and a thick 
 cellular layer surrounding the ventricles ; there is not 
 a vestige of cortical structures, that is of specialised 
 living matter having psychical functions. 1 
 
 The olfactory organs of these fishes consist of a 
 passage which is open externally and extends back- 
 wards into an olfactory chamber. The walls of this 
 chamber are lined by a membrane in which the olfac- 
 tory sensory organs are located, the nerve fibres passing 
 from these organs terminate in relation with those 
 of the ganglionic cells of the olfactory lobes of the 
 brain. 
 
 A shark's eyes consist of a cartilagenous outer case 
 into which the muscles directing the movements of the 
 eyeball are inserted. The outer transparent layer of 
 the eye is flat and thus adapted for aquatic locomotion ; 
 the lens has a sharp anterior curvature to compen- 
 sate for the loss of a refracting cornea. A muscular 
 diaphragm or iris with a central, often contracted 
 opening (the pupil), is located between the lens and 
 cornea in the space known as the anterior chamber of 
 the eye, which is full of fluid. Behind the lens is 
 another space (the vitrious chamber) lined posteriorly 
 by a pigmented vascular layer (choroid), which is con- 
 tinued forwards into the iris. 2 External to the 
 choroid the retinal or nervous sensory elements of the 
 eye are spread out ; these elements are derived from an 
 
 1 Cat. of Boy. Col. Surgeons Museum, Physiological Section, 
 vol. ii. p. 68. 
 
 2 This vascular pigmented layer serves to absorb surplus light 
 passing to it through the transparent media of the eye, and it also 
 supplies nourishment to all the structures enclosed within the outer 
 or sclerotic tunic of the eyeball. 
 
 F 
 
82 THE SENSE ORGANS 
 
 outgrowth of the brain, whereas the lens and other 
 parts of the eye are produced from an invagination of 
 the epidermis. The retina consists of a complicated 
 arrangement of rods and cones. 
 
 The organ of hearing in the Elasmobranchi consist of 
 a membranous labyrinth buried in the cartilage of 
 the animal's skull, as a rule it has an external opening 
 leading to a cavity formed by an invagination of the 
 epidermis. This organ is divided into two chambers, 
 one of which is more directly the organ of hearing, 
 the other with alterations in the position of the 
 animal. 1 Fishes can hear, but have no power of 
 discriminating between different qualities of sound. 2 
 
 Taste. The lips, tongue, mouth and gullet of fishes 
 are covered with aggregations of sensory cells, which 
 are supplied with nerves whose component fibres 
 belong to a special visceral sensory system, and are 
 probably sensory organs of taste. 
 
 Touch. Sensory tactile organs are distributed 
 over the surface of the body of fishes, and certain 
 parts, especially the head in the gurnet, is provided 
 with stiff barbels, which are constantly in use when 
 the animal is feeding at the bottom of the water, 
 and which when swimming about they completely 
 conceal in a groove beneath the head. 
 
 The brain of fishes possessing a bony skeleton differs 
 from those to which we have referred, in that their 
 structures are more concentrated, and are remarkable 
 for the strong development of their optic lobes. The 
 cerebrum is represented by a pair of rounded basal 
 
 1 Cat. Roy. Col. Surgeons Museum, vol. iii. Phys. Series, p. 144. 
 
 2 Lee, Journ. of PhysioL, vol. xv. 1894, p. 311, and vol. xvii. 1895, 
 p. 192. Am. Journ. Phys., vol. i. 1898, p. 128. 
 
OF CARTILAGE NOUS FISHES 83 
 
 ganglia, roofed over by an epithelial non-nervous 
 structure. 
 
 Sharks and rays (Elasmobranchii), constitute the 
 living representatives of the primitive form of 
 fishes, their existence in Devonian strata being a 
 well-ascertained fact ; that is to say, the progenitors 
 of the existing sharks lived on the earth before any 
 land animals had come into existence. The remains 
 of these fishes increase greatly in the deposits of the 
 Coal and Permian periods. The air-breathing or land 
 vertebrates, unlike their water-breathing progenitors, 
 developed lungs and consequently a modification of 
 the circulation of the blood and the organs connected 
 with this system. Other modifications in structures 
 and organs of the bodies of these animals afford us 
 examples of the power which the environment exer- 
 cises in gradually effecting changes of this kind. 1 
 
 The mud-fishes of Southern Australia, Africa, and 
 South America, retain the earlier mode of breathing 
 through gills in addition to the newly acquired lung- 
 respiration. During the rains they swim in the 
 water like fish and inhale through their gills, but in 
 the dry season they burrow in the mud as it dries up, 
 and breathe air through lungs like amphibians and 
 the higher vertebrates. Their skin is covered with 
 large fish-like scales, their skeletons are soft and 
 cartilagenous. The structure of the brain of these 
 animals (see D 120, Mus. E. Col. Surgeons, Phys. 
 Series, Cat., p. 105) resembles that of primitive fishes, 
 its highest development being in the cerebral hemi- 
 spheres which resemble those of the amphibia, their 
 walls however are very thin and contain no vestige 
 1 Haeckel, pp. 115, 118. 
 
84 THE BRAIN OF THE AMPHIBIA 
 
 of the layers of nerve cells characteristic of the cerebral 
 cortex of the higher classes of animals. 
 
 From experiments made by J. Steiner we learn, if 
 the head of a shark is amputated, the animal's body 
 for some time continues to make swimming move- 
 ments, in the same way as the body of a salamander 
 or of an eel would do under similar conditions. 
 These movements are due to reflex actions, that is, the 
 surrounding water stimulates the tactile sensory organs 
 of the surface of the body, nervous energy is thus 
 released and passes to the animal's spinal cord, where 
 it re-excites previously existing impressions which 
 pass to motor elements and become manifest in the 
 swimming movements of the body. 
 
 The next higher class of animals (the Amphibia) 
 are represented by the Urodeles and the bull frog ; 
 their cerebral hemispheres appear to be of compara- 
 tively large size, but their walls are thin and show no 
 signs of a cortical layer of cells such as that which 
 forms the neopallium of the higher classes of animals. 
 The hemispheres are oval in shape and project back- 
 wards to some extent over the lateral parts of the 
 fore-brain so as to form imperfect occipital lobes. The 
 brain of the bull frog (Eana catesbiana) is remarkable 
 for the size of its optic lobes which form prominent 
 oval bodies separated in the mid-line by a deep fissure. 
 
 In fishes, and more distinctly in the amphibia, the 
 free ventral layer of grey nervous matter of the 
 corpora striatas contains a layer of pyramidal cells 
 known as the Epistriatum. 
 
 This layer of cells sends out protoplasmic processes 
 having a peculiar knobbed structure ; many of these fibres 
 come into relation with the ganglionic nerve-cells of the 
 
ITS EPISTRIATUM 85 
 
 t 
 
 olfactory centres, others pass downwards to communicate 
 with bipolar and unipolar ganglionic cells of the optic 
 thalami, which are connected with visual and gustatory 
 impulses. The hemispheres of the brain in this class of 
 animals may be shown to be formed by a folding-over 
 of the lateral walls of the fore-brain, and the layer of 
 pyramidal cells of the epistratum pass on into the super- 
 ficial layer of what is known as the hippocampal lobe. 
 This fact demonstrates the intimate connection that exists 
 between the structures forming the corpora straita and the 
 centres for olfactory and gustatory impulses, and affords 
 us a type on which the nervous substance of the neopallium 
 in mammals is built up. 1 
 
 The sensory organs of the amphibia are more 
 highly developed than in cartilagenous or bony fishes, 
 for instance, in the case of the bull frog (Rana 
 catesbiana) in addition to a membranous labyrinth 
 such as exists in fishes, rudiments of structures known 
 in mammals as the cochlea are developed, which 
 play an essential part in the appreciation by the 
 animal of differences in sound. Between the 
 tympanum of the frog's ear and the membrane of the 
 cochlea, a small bone extends, through which vibrations 
 affecting the tympanum are transmitted to the mem- 
 brane of the cochlea. From experiments made by 
 
 1 See Johnston, pp. 297, 303, 304, 308, 315 ; also Cat. Roy. Col. 
 Surgeons, p. 213, and Fig. 33, p. 123 ; also " Further Advances in 
 Physiology," edited by Leonard Hill, article by J. Shaw Bolton, 
 p. 315. In the higher orders of beings, including man, the cerebral 
 hemispheres are composed of white and grey nervous matter, the white 
 pervading nearly the whole of the middle of each hemisphere, where 
 it forms the medullary centre, and extending into the convolutions ; 
 the grey forming a covering of some thickness over the whole surface 
 of the convolutions (cortex), and occurring also at the base of the 
 hemispheres in the so-called basal ganglion (corpus striatum). Quain's 
 Anatomy, vol. iii. pt. i. p. 163. 
 
86 THE SENSE ORGAN IN AMPHIBIA 
 
 Professor Yerkes on frogs, it appears that these 
 animals appreciate differences in sounds not only by 
 their movements, but also by alterations in the rate of 
 their breathing when exposed to alterations of range 
 of auditory vibrations. 1 That these movements de- 
 pended on the action of the auditory apparatus was 
 shown by dividing the auditory nerves of these animals, 
 that is, the connection between the ear and the auditory 
 cerebral centres ; after this operation is performed 
 movements in response to vibrations of sound are 
 abolished. 
 
 Having adopted in part a terrestrial mode of life, the 
 olfactory organs of the amphibia have become modified 
 in response to the altered nature of their environment, 
 and afford a direct passage for air to enter the lungs, 
 and also contain the specialised sensory organs of 
 smell. These organs are adapted to receive impres- 
 sions made on them by odorous elements, and to 
 transmute this energy into a form capable of exciting 
 the sense of smell in corresponding areas of the brain. 
 
 The amphibia depend to a large extent upon the 
 organs of vision for their supply of food, and to warn 
 them of approaching danger. These animals appear 
 capable of discriminating between red and white 
 colours ; this is demonstrated by forcing a frog to 
 follow a certain track in a simple labyrinth in order 
 that he may obtain a supply of food. 2 At the point 
 where a choice between the right arid wrong paths 
 occurred, " a red card was placed on one side and a 
 white card on the other. When the frog had learned 
 to take the correct path towards the white, the cards 
 were exchanged, without any other alteration in the 
 
 1 Jour. Comp. Neur. and Psych., vol xv. p. 279. 2 Idem. 
 
THEIR INSTINCTIVE FACULTIES 87 
 
 conditions, and the decided confusion of the animals 
 indicated that they had discriminated between the red 
 and white cards, and had learnt to react with refer- 
 ence to this discrimination." * The small green tree 
 frog after a hundred trials learnt without a fault to 
 follow the right path by which to obtain its food in a 
 simple labyrinth. 
 
 Professor Elourens found that after he had re- 
 moved the cerebral hemispheres of a frog the animal 
 continued to swim when thrown into the water. 
 Movements of this kind, as in the decerebrated shark, 
 are due to stimuli received by the tactile sensory 
 organs of the animal's body, which pass to the nerve 
 cells of the spinal cord and through their motor fibres 
 to the muscles concerned in the act of swimming. 
 The neuro-muscular system of these animals has 
 acquired the power of executing these movements 
 in virtue of the hereditary structural arrangement of 
 its elements, which had been exercised, and thus 
 improved, during the previous lifetime of the animal. 
 But, as Professor Goltz and Schrader have shown, if 
 together with the cerebral hemispheres the basal 
 ganglia are destroyed the animal loses all power of 
 spontaneous or instinctive action ; a frog thus muti- 
 lated will, if left to itself, remain motionless until in 
 the course of time it dies. But if the toes of the 
 brainless frog are pinched the animal withdraws the 
 limb, reflex action remains, but all instinctive move- 
 
 1 " The Animal Mind," by M. F. Washburn, p. 142. 
 
 Professor Schrader concludes from the result of his experiments on 
 frogs that their central nervous system can be divided into a series 
 of sections, each of which is capable of performing an independent 
 function. 
 
88 FUNCTION PERFORMED BY THE 
 
 ments are abolished with the removal of the cerebrum, 
 including the basal ganglia. 
 
 If, however, the cerebrum of a frog is removed 
 exclusive of the optic thalami, instinctive actions are 
 retained ; if an obstacle is placed in the path of the 
 animal, and it is then excited by a prick on its foot, 
 it moves away and either bounds over or avoids the 
 obstacle. The mere act of leaping away may possibly, 
 in case of necessity, be regarded as a complicated 
 reflex action ; but the fact that the frog avoids the 
 obstacle shows that its instinctive elements are still 
 at work, and are located in the nervous substance of 
 the optic thalami. 
 
 It is evident that the basal ganglia are more com- 
 pletely developed in the bony than in cartilagerious 
 fishes ; and with this more perfect development of 
 the nervous structures of this part of the brain we 
 find its functions are of a corresponding higher 
 order. For instance in the case of the sticklebacks 
 (Gasterosteus trachurus) during the nesting and 
 spawning season the male fish becomes a metallic 
 green colour, the lower part of his throat a bright 
 crimson, and the back is ash-green. He proceeds to 
 construct his nest on the soil at the bottom of the 
 water he inhabits. The fish collects a quantity of 
 grass-stalks and other fibres, which he cements with 
 mucus that exudes from the surface of his body ; in 
 order to accomplish this, he passes backwards and 
 forwards over the materials he has collected. In 
 this way a dome-like hollow structure is reared, at 
 the side of which a small hole is left, its edges being 
 strengthened and rounded off with great care. The 
 fish then seeks a mate, and conducts her to the nest 
 
BASAL GANGLIA IN AMPHIBIA O\) 
 
 he has made ; she enters at the hole, and in a few 
 minutes has laid some eggs, after which she bores a 
 hole on the opposite side of the nest to that by which 
 she had entered and makes her escape. The nest 
 having two openings, a stream of water can pass 
 through it and the eggs are thus kept at a normal 
 temperature. This process is repeated day by day 
 until the nest contains a considerable number of eggs. 
 The male then takes up his position to defend the 
 nest from invaders, a period lasting for a month. 
 During this time he has frequently to fight many 
 battles with often larger fish than himself ; in making 
 these attacks the little creature seizes their fins and 
 strikes furiously at their head and eyes. As the 
 young fish appear and grow they are apt to stray ; 
 the male brings them back to his allotted precincts 
 until such time as they are able to protect themselves, 
 when he ceases his guardianship and returns to freedom 
 of action. 1 
 
 The action taken by salmon in the preparation of 
 spawning-beds and the care of their young is remark- 
 able ; after passing from the sea a pair of fish select 
 a gravelly shallow. The female deposits her eggs in 
 shallow furrows in the gravel, to which they adhere 
 by a thin coating of glutinous matter, the male at the 
 same time shedding his milt over them. The trenches 
 in the sand, according to Mr J. Shaw, are made by 
 the female throwing herself at intervals of a few 
 minutes upon her side, and while in that position, by 
 a rapid action of her tail, she digs a receptacle for her 
 eggs, a portion of which she deposits and turning on 
 
 1 " The Angler Naturalist," by H. Cholmondeley-Pennell, pp. 
 81, 84. 
 
90 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 her side, covers them over with sand. The male 
 seems to take no part in this work, but after it is 
 completed he takes up his place as sentry over the 
 eggs, for which he has at times to fight fiercely, for 
 other male fish are anxious to appropriate his charges. 
 He is thus kept incessantly on the alert until the 
 eggs are hatched and the fry able to take care of 
 themselves. 
 
 Mr Pennell states that in company with Mr Bartlett, 
 Superintendent of the Zoological Gardens, Eegent's 
 Park, he visited the house in which perch are kept, 
 the keeper of these fish was also present. So long as 
 the keeper walked about in front of the aquarium 
 occupied by the perch they took no notice of him ; 
 but on Mr Bartlett directing this man to walk away 
 from the tank towards the cupboard where the net 
 was kept by which food was introduced into the tank ; 
 the instant the keeper made this movement the fish 
 became intensely excited, and rushed to and fro across 
 their enclosure erecting their fins and exhibiting un- 
 mistakable emotional movements. 
 
 Further evidence of this kind might be adduced in 
 order to demonstrate the kind of instinctive and 
 emotional movements effected by animals through 
 means of the nervous substance localised in a definite 
 part of their brain ; if this substance is removed 
 during the animal's lifetime all such movements 
 cease. 
 
 The emotional characters of these classes of animals 
 vary as much as their instinctive qualities, some of 
 them are pugnacious, bold, cunning brutes, others 
 timid, harmless creatures. But they all have one 
 character in common, which is, that their instinctive 
 
INTO INSTINCTIVE MATTER 91 
 
 and emotional qualities are passed on from one to 
 succeeding generations of beings. 
 
 Starting from the rudimentary mid -brain of the 
 crayfish (p. 42) and other invertebrate animals, we 
 trace a gradual evolution and concentration of the 
 nervous matter forming the brain and spinal cord 
 which, in the lowest class of vertebrates, has become 
 developed into a system such as we have indicated. 
 A system by which the various receiving and trans- 
 mitting stations of in-coming and out-going streams 
 of energy are brought into co-ordination, through 
 means of the living matter contained in the ganglioriic 
 nerve cells of a definite area of the brain. The result 
 of this action in the classes of animals we have 
 referred to becomes manifest in instinctive and 
 emotional movements such as those we have described ; 
 for we repeat, if this matter is destroyed although 
 other parts of the brain may be spared, and the 
 animal continues to live, all its instinctive and 
 emotional activities are abolished. 
 
 It is on these grounds we base our opinion 
 regarding the instinctive action of living elements 
 contained in the basal ganglia of the lowest classes 
 of vertebrates ; and in the nervous substance of the 
 mid-brain in the higher orders of invertebrate 
 animals. A system of this kind depends in the first 
 place on the nature of the hereditary arrangement of 
 the elements of which it is formed ; secondly, on the 
 efficient supply of materials, and the performance of 
 the fundamental processes appertaining to this matter ; 
 thirdly, on the kind of exercise the system has re- 
 ceived from the dawn of its existence onwards. It is 
 by means of proper training that the various parts of 
 
92 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 the system come to work together in harmony for the 
 benefit of the individual and species as a whole. 
 
 We defined living protoplasm to be a form of matter 
 which acts as a specific transformer of non-vital into 
 vital modes of energy ; in like manner certain 
 constituents of the nervous substance located in the 
 basal gaoglia consist of a specialised arrangement of 
 elements which act as a transformer of energy derived 
 from the sensory organs into instinctive movements. 
 
CHAPTEE V 
 
 PASSING from amphibians we come to the next 
 higher class of animals, the reptiles ; before pro- 
 ceeding to consider those parts of their brain with 
 which we are more directly concerned, it is well to 
 state that there are other lobes of the brain than those 
 to which we have referred, considering it well not to 
 overburden a complicated subject with details which 
 do not directly bear on the line of investigation we 
 are following. But it is necessary to state that, in the 
 classes of animals we have described, the nerves 
 proceeding from their olfactory and gustatory sensory 
 organs pass to ganglionic cells located in what are 
 known as the Pyriform and Hippocampal lobes. The 
 exposed surfaces of these lobes on the median and 
 inferior parts of the brain consist of nervous 
 matter which is described as the cortex, mantle 
 pallium or covering of these lobes. The cortex of the 
 Hippocampal lobe contains a layer of cells derived from 
 those of the basal ganglia, but does not contain layers 
 of ganglionic cells such as those which characterise the 
 pallium of the hemispheres of the brain in the higher 
 orders of animals. It is only when we reach the class 
 of reptiles that we find indications of the develop- 
 ment of a layer of ganglionic nerve-cells in the cortex 
 or pallium of the cerebral hemispheres, derived, we 
 believe, from the instinctive matter of the basal 
 ganglia (p. 84). To distinguish this new development 
 
THE NEOPALLTUM 
 
 of nervous matter from the pre-existing Pyriform and 
 Hippocampal pallium, Dr G. Elliot Smith has given 
 it the name of the Neopallium. 1 This layer of cells 
 is of importance to us, in that we hold the functions 
 performed by its living substance to be psychical in 
 
 Superficial layer of ' nerve 
 fibres, " molecular" layer. 
 
 Small, medium, and large 
 pyramidal cells. 
 
 Granular or stellate cell layer. 
 
 Inner layer of nerve fibres 
 with large solitary cells. 
 
 Inner .layer of polymorphic 
 cells. 
 
 I. Molecular layer of cells. 
 
 II. Supra-granular layer, 
 Pyramidal cells. 
 
 III. Granular layer. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Infra-granular layer. 
 
 Diagram showing approximately the relative depth of the cerebral cortex or 
 neopallium of an adult human brain. (After J. S. Bolton.) 
 
 character, arising, as we have said, out of the in- 
 stinctive matter of the basal ganglia. 
 
 In reference to this subject Dr J. S. Bolton states, 
 that in the higher classes of animals that part of the 
 cerebral cortex known as the neopallium is derived 
 from the polymorphic or inner granular layer of the 
 cortex. He " suggests that in the earliest attempt 
 at evolution of structures which come to be of any 
 
 1 Prof. Elliot Smith has demonstrated that the neopallium the 
 " organ of mind " is evolved from the hippocampal system. The 
 Lancet, The Arris and Gale Lectures, delivered at the Royal Col. 
 Sgns., Jan. 1, 15, and 22, 1910. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OP THE NEOPALLIUM 95 
 
 considerable functional value, 1 the neopallium follows 
 the plan of the cortical architecture long previously in 
 the phylogenetic scale laid down in the Hippocampus, 
 which plan in the latter situation has -become fixed, 
 and, as a plan, permanent. The earliest and lowest 
 grade of neopallial representation is thus, as regards 
 structure, a repetition of the hippocampal type, granular 
 and infra-granular cortex. By the accrescence of a supra- 
 granular layer of varying depth and complexity of its 
 component nerve-cells, different grades of representa- 
 tion may be reached, and are reached to some extent 
 in the same animal, even if this occupies a lowly place 
 in the mammalian phylum, and to a greater extent 
 the higher is the position in the scale to which the 
 animal belongs " 2 (p. 84). 
 
 Although in reptiles, such as the ringed snake 
 (Tropidonotus natrix), the layer of cells in the 
 cerebral cortex is very limited in extent, and it is 
 doubtful if cortical tracts pass from its cells into other 
 parts of the cerebrum, nevertheless it is particularly 
 noteworthy as indicating the commencement of another 
 order of faculties than those we included under the 
 term instinctive. 
 
 In addition to the development of a rudimentary 
 cortex the reptilian brain is larger in proportion to the 
 
 1 " Further Advances in Physiology," edited by Leonard Hill, 
 p. 315, article by J. S. Bolton on " Recent Researches on Cortical 
 Localisation and on the Functions of the Cerebrum." 
 
 2 For further details on this subject refer to Dr Elliot Smith's paper 
 in the Journ. Anal, and Phys., vol. xxxv. p. 431, and to Professor 
 J. B. Johnston's work on " The Nervous System of Vertebrates," 
 pp. 297, 303, 311, 315, Fig. 154, Diagram, Fig. 151, p. 308. See 
 also Figs. 53, 54, p. 173, Cat. Roy. Col. Surgeons Museum, vol. ii. 
 Phys. Series. F. W. Mott and W. D. Halliburton on "Lemur's 
 Brain," Proceed. Roy. Soc. B., Vol. Ixxx., 1908. 
 
96 SENSORY ORGANS OP REPTILES 
 
 rest of the nervous system, and more highly differ- 
 entiated than that of amphibians or fishes. With this 
 increase in the size and structure of the reptilian 
 brain we find a corresponding development of their 
 sensory organs. 
 
 The eyes of reptiles resemble those of the 
 amphibia in structure, but in addition possess a 
 mechanism by means of which they have the power 
 of adjusting the focus of their refractive media to 
 near and distant objects. This more perfect power 
 of accommodation is a distinct advance beyond the 
 visual apparatus of any of the lower classes of animals. 
 The auditory organs also of reptiles are more highly 
 developed than they are in the amphibia and 
 approximate to that of birds. 
 
 Professor Yerkes has made experiments on turtles 
 and other reptiles in order to ascertain how far they 
 were capable of learning by experience. His plan is 
 to place these animals when starving in a labyrinth 
 which ended in a tank containing food. The test 
 was to see how many times it took the animal to find 
 the nearest path to its food, or in other words to 
 successfully overcome the obstacles placed in its way 
 before it could reach its food. In the early stages of 
 their education it was found turtles took thirty-five 
 minutes to complete their passage through the 
 labyrinth to the tank ; but in the course of time these 
 same animals became so thoroughly acquainted with 
 the obstacles placed in their path, and so apt at 
 avoiding them, that they passed through the labyrinth 
 in some three or four minutes. 
 
 Not only did turtles come to learn and to remember 
 their way through the labyrinth, but on reaching the 
 
THE MEMORY OF PLANTS 97 
 
 edge of the tank, in place of moving down to the 
 water on an inclined plane made for this purpose, 
 the animals discovered a more expeditious mode of 
 reaching their food was to throw themselves over 
 the side of the tank into the water. 1 
 
 From experiments of this kind we obtain evidence as 
 to the existence in reptiles of a faculty, by which certain 
 elements of their living substance are able to retain and 
 utilise former impressions made upon them by various 
 form of stimuli. With reference to this power of 
 memory as before stated we know that certain flowers 
 close with the setting sun and open with the dawn 
 of day, and we attribute movements of this kind to a 
 response of the living matter of the flower to energy 
 received from the sun. But if flowers of this kind 
 are removed from the light and heat of the sun, and 
 shut up in a dark cool place, they continue for some 
 days to open and close at the same time as when 
 exposed to sunlight. We account for these latter 
 movements in plants by assuming that one of the 
 inherent properties of living protoplasm is, not only 
 to respond but also to retain impressions made upon 
 it by frequently repeated and appropriate stimuli ; 
 and that through the constant operation of energy of 
 this kind, the molecular structure of its germinal matter 
 becomes modified so as to transmit these characters to 
 succeeding generations. Matter possessing properties 
 such as those to which we have referred continues 
 to produce movements for a time without receiving 
 a further supply of solar energy, and thus con- 
 stitutes what we take to be the basis substance of 
 memory or the power of retaining for future use 
 1 " The Animal Mind," Washburn, p. 222. 
 
 a 
 
98 MEMORY OF REPTILES 
 
 impressions received by the action of various modes of 
 energy. 
 
 In some of the simplest descriptions of unicellular 
 beings we have evidence showing that they act on 
 impressions they have previously acquired for 
 instance the amoeba, referred to by Professor Jennings, 
 appears to have been guided in its endeavours to 
 capture its prey, as he remarks, by former experiences, 
 or in other words by its memory. The amoeba acted 
 by energy derived from impressions it had thus 
 acquired and reversed the course it had been following 
 in order to effect its object. 
 
 We may therefore best describe the basis substance 
 of memory as living matter impressed by action pre- 
 viously derived from appropriate modes of energy, and 
 which may be rendered active by the same form of 
 stimulus to that which originally produced the im- 
 pression, or by other modes of energy. The movements 
 thus effected in unicellular organisms are, as a rule, 
 purposive, being directed by the same form of energy 
 as that which controls movements made on their living 
 substance in response to the direct action of stimuli. 
 
 In the class of birds which follow the reptiles in 
 the ascending scale of animal life, we find that the 
 neopallium or outer surface of their cerebral hemi- 
 spheres consists of a superficial strata of granular 
 matter containing two layers of polymorphic cells ; 
 from the inner surface of these cells nerve-fibres pass 
 to and from all parts of the animal brain, some of 
 them extending through the "medulla oblongata into 
 the spinal cord (Fig. 13). 
 
 After removing the outer layer of the cerebral cortex 
 or neopallium of a bird's brain, we see the large corpora 
 
CEREBRAL CORTEX OF BIRDS 99 
 
 striata projecting into the lateral ventricles, and behind 
 them a part of the optic thalami, a considerable portion 
 of these ganglia are extra-ventricular and lie em- 
 bedded in the cerebral hemispheres. 1 The substance 
 of the corpora striata consists of aggregations of gray 
 nervous matter with numerous bundles of white fibres, 
 
 VA 
 
 FIG. 13. (A) Bird's brain. PC, position of excitable areas; Cff, cerebral hemi- 
 spheres ; cer, cerebellum ; o//, olfactory bulb ; ol, optic lobe. (B) represents the path 
 followed by energy derived from E, the internal ear which passes to an, the sensory 
 auditory nucleus, and from thence to bg, the basal ganglia ; from these ganglia part 
 of the released energy passes directly to mn, the motor nucleus of the muscles con- 
 trolling VA, the vocal apparatus; part of the energy from bg passes to p, the 
 psychical cortical area, from which energy extends to mn, and so to VA. The second 
 nervous arc starts from an, and giving off energy to bg, passes direct to p, and from 
 p to mn, giving off energy in its path to bg. 
 
 which latter may be traced to and from all parts of 
 brain, including the ganglionic nerve-cells which con- 
 stitute the essential part of the cerebral cortex. It is 
 evident from a structural point of view that, as in the 
 lower classes of animals so also in birds, the basal 
 ganglia constitute the central receiving and transmitting 
 station for impressions received from the whole of the 
 
 1 The intra-ventricular part of the corpora striata is separated 
 from the extra- ventricular part by a layer of white substance (internal 
 capsule) and forms what is known as the nucleus lenticularis which 
 can only be seen by sections made down to it through the hemi- 
 spheres of the brain. 
 
100 CEREBRAL CORTEX OF BIRDS 
 
 sensory organs of the head and body of these animals. 
 In addition to this, fibres pass between the cerebral 
 cortex and the basal ganglia. 
 
 We have already stated our reasons for considering 
 it probable that the living matter of some of the cells 
 of the cerebral cortex originate in differentiation of the 
 substance derived from the basal ganglia. But what- 
 ever the origin of the cerebral cortex in birds may have 
 been, we find it extends in this class of animal so as 
 to form incipient occipital and temporal lobes ; and 
 definite areas of this layer of nervous substance con- 
 stitute sensori-motor and memorial centres. Thus if 
 certain areas of the surface of the cerebral hemispheres 
 are stimulated by means of a weak electric current, 
 definite groups of muscles of the animal's limbs and 
 other parts of its body contract, followed by a move- 
 ment of the part. If other areas of the surface of the 
 cerebral hemispheres, are irritated, no such movements 
 are induced. We have reason to believe it is in these 
 latter areas that the nervous substance has become 
 specialised, and constitutes what we term psychic or 
 consciousness matter, very limited in quantity and 
 rudimentary in structure in a bird's brain, but becoming 
 progressively developed in the next higher order of 
 animals, the mammalia, and reaching its highest state 
 of development in civilised human beings (Figs. 13 
 and 14). 
 
 In the pseudo-occipital lobes of a bird's brain 
 an area or centre of nervous substance exists in 
 which fibres from their visual system terminate, and 
 from which fibres originate which pass into relation 
 with living matter located in the central receiving 
 station or basal ganglia. If the nervous matter form- 
 
SENSORY ORGANS -OF BIHDS^ ','*' ',' J , 
 
 ing the right and left visuo-sensory cortical centres are 
 destroyed, the animal may still have some amount of 
 sight, but its power of appreciating the nature of 
 objects is wellnigh abolished. The same result 
 follows if the fibres forming the lines of communica- 
 tion between the visual centres and other parts of the 
 cerebrum are destroyed. In the natural condition of 
 the visual system, if the animal's retina is stimulated 
 by means of luminous impressions, a part, of its 
 potential energy is released and conducted by nerve- 
 fibres to the optic lobes, and so to the visual nervous 
 centres. The result being a more or less accurate 
 appreciation of the nature of the thing which has given 
 rise to the impression or to definite adaptative responsive 
 movements. 
 
 The Sensory Organs of Birds. In addition to the 
 tactile organs contained in the cutaneous surface of the 
 body, in some birds special organs of this kind exist 
 along the margin of their beaks, and upon the surface 
 of their mouths and tongues, which assist the animals 
 in their search for food. 
 
 The Olfactory system of birds has an external open- 
 ing leading into a space which is divided into a lower 
 respiratory passage passing to the lungs, and an upper 
 or olfactory chamber over the surface of which the 
 sensory organs of smell are scattered. The olfactory 
 nerves pass from the brain and terminate in these 
 sensory organs. In some birds such as the albatross 
 the olfactory bulbs are of a remarkable size, but as a 
 rule this system in birds is not of a high order. 
 
 The organs of Hearing in birds, which include those 
 of equilibration, are formed from invaginations of the 
 epidermal layer, which becomes differentiated to form 
 
1G2 I^STSTIVE AND EMOTIONAL 
 
 the various parts of the animal's ears. The tympanum 
 lies below the level of the skin at the bottom of a 
 short canal. The tympanitic cavities probably act 
 as resonators ; internal to this cavity is the cochlea, 
 over the surface of which the sensory organs of hear- 
 ing are distributed. These organs receive the terminal 
 fibrils of the auditory nerves which arise from aggrega- 
 tions of ganglionic cells located in the walls of the 
 medulla oblongata. From these nuclei other fibres 
 may be traced to the grey matter of the optic thalarni 
 and the corpora striata ; it is still an open question if 
 fibres pass from what is probably an auditory centre 
 in the basal ganglia to a sensori-motor auditory centre 
 in the cortex of the temporal lobe of a bird's cerebrum. 
 
 The Visual apparatus of birds reaches a high order 
 of efficiency. The eyes of these animals are large, and 
 in consequence of the wide curve of their posterior 
 wall a considerable expanse of retinal surface is 
 obtained. Provision is also made for a great range of 
 distant and near vision. A special arrangement of 
 the globe of the eye has been developed so as to enable 
 nocturnal birds to see in the dark. With this highly 
 specialised organ of vision a corresponding increase 
 in the size of the optic lobes of the cerebrum takes 
 place, and they become marked features of a bird's 
 brain. 
 
 We need not dwell on the instinctive, emotional, and 
 mimetic characters of birds their skill in building 
 their nests, care of their young, pride, jealousy, pugnac- 
 ity, love of home, migration, are familiar to us all. 
 Every one of these processes are abolished if the 
 animal's basal ganglia are destroyed, although after 
 being thus mutilated the bird may continue to live. On 
 
CHARACTER OP BIRDS 103 
 
 the other hand, in the natural state, these processes 
 which form such marked features of a bird's character 
 exist with highly developed basal ganglia. 1 
 
 We have in our previous volume described the 
 results produced on the movements of birds by re- 
 moving their cerebral hemispheres duiing life ; but 
 as these results are important in their bearing on 
 our ideas it may be well to refer to them in this 
 place. 
 
 Professor Schrader states that after he had excised 
 the cerebral hemispheres of a pigeon, and subsequently 
 allowed the opening he had made in the skull to heal, 2 
 if the bird is placed a few feet above the ground in 
 the centre of a room, he probably remains there for 
 some time as if asleep, but then rouses up and hops 
 down on to the floor, wandering about the room all 
 day and sleeping throughout the night. If a chair is 
 placed in the room the pigeon will fly up and seat 
 itself on one of the arms of the chair. But a pigeon 
 under these conditions must be fed by placing peas 
 well back into his throat, when he will swallow them ; 
 the bird would otherwise die of starvation, having lost 
 all desire to take food spontaneously. 
 
 From numerous experiments of this kind, Professor 
 Schrader arrived at the conclusion, that after the 
 complete removal of a bird's cerebral hemispheres the 
 animal loses his intellectual capacity or consciousness. 
 A female bird, after excision of her cerebral hemi- 
 spheres, makes no response to the coo of the male bird 
 or to the rattling of peas in a bag, or to the whistle 
 
 1 Pfl tiger's Archiv; Professor Max Schrader, " Zur Physiologic 
 Vogelshirns," Bd. xliv. 1889. 
 
 2 Pfl tiger's Archiv, Bd. xliv. 1889. 
 
104 INSTINCTIVE CHARACTERS DEPEND 
 
 which previous to the removal of the hemispheres, 
 made the same bird hasten to her feeding place. 
 
 For instance, a falcon some time after the cerebral 
 hemispheres had been removed was shut up in a cage 
 with a mouse. The falcon when the mouse moved 
 pounced down from his perch and caught the mouse 
 in its claws, but made no attempt to devour it. The 
 mouse crawled away from the bird, and when it again 
 moved about the cage the falcon again seized the 
 animal. This process was often repeated until one 
 day the mouse attacked the bird, which made no 
 effort to defend himself, and appeared indifferent to 
 what happened. The movements of the mouse in 
 the falcon's cage excited visual impressions which 
 passed to the bird's optic lobes, and produced move- 
 ments through the optic thalami leading to the capture 
 of the mouse. But the falcon having seized its prey, 
 had no idea what to do with it. 
 
 The movements, therefore, of a falcon mutilated 
 in this way, like those of a pigeon under similar con- 
 ditions, were to some extent instinctive. The 
 impulses started in the bird's retina, passed to the 
 optic lobes, and through them affected the nervous 
 elements of the optic thalami. The excitation of 
 certain nerve-cells in these ganglia caused a 
 discharge of nerve energy which became manifest 
 in movements terminating in the bird seizing the 
 mouse. If the hemispheres of the animal's brain 
 had not been removed, the excitation of the nerve- 
 cells of the basal ganglia would, in part, have extended 
 to the bird's visual cortical centres, and thus produced 
 conscious visual sensations by means of the connection 
 of these centres with those of the psychical nervous 
 
ON THE WORKING OF BASAL GANGLIA 105 
 
 apparatus located in other parts of the cerebral cortex 
 (Fig. 14). 
 
 The evidence given in this and the preceding 
 chapters seems to us sufficient to substantiate the 
 following statement. 
 
 Purposive action, and modifications in the structural 
 arrangement of the elements of living matter in 
 response to energy derived from its environment, are 
 fundamental properties of every description of this 
 substance (animal or vegetable). If the action of 
 the environment which first produces a structural 
 modification of the elements of living matter be con- 
 tinued for many generations, such changes become 
 hereditary characters. Fixed changes in the struc- 
 tural arrangement of the elements of living matter 
 produce modifications in its functions. 
 
 The whole of the living substance of the simplest 
 forms of beings exercises purposive action, but as the 
 elements of this matter undergo differentiation under 
 the influence of their environment, its purposive 
 elements likewise become developed, so that in each 
 succeeding higher class of beings we find evidence 
 of the differentiation and evolution of these elements. 
 
 In the lowest classes of multicellular animals 
 purposive matter is connected with the living 
 substance of nerve-cells which are in direct relation 
 with the various sensory organs. We have given an 
 outline of the development of this system, and 
 established the fact that from simple purposive, 
 instinctive matter has been developed, and in birds 
 has attained a high degree of perfection. With 
 this order of perfection we find a corresponding 
 increase in the size and structural arrangement of 
 
106 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 those parts of the central nervous system in which 
 these elements of living matter have become located. 
 
 In fine the evidence we have given establishes 
 the presumption that, in the various classes of animals 
 we have referred to, their movements are directed by 
 purposive and instinctive living elements ; and that 
 these movements are all-sufficient for the preservation 
 and reproduction of these classes of beings, and are 
 directed by specialised elements of well-defined areas 
 of their brains. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 WE have hitherto been engaged in establishing the 
 fact that the instinctive, emotional, and mimetic 
 actions displayed by invertebrates, and the lower 
 classes of vertebrates, depended on work directed by 
 nervous elements located in a well-defined part 
 of their brain. Movements directed by purposive 
 and instinctive elements of this description are 
 sufficient for the maintenance and reproduction of 
 these classes of animals ; and are of no less importance 
 in the higher or mammalian orders of beings, in that 
 these elements form the basis substance out of which 
 the hereditary characters of these as well as the 
 lower animals are elaborated. But in each ascending 
 order of animals the struggle for existence becomes 
 more intense, and their members must meet these con- 
 ditions either by following some eminently safe mode 
 of life, or else producing some special protective 
 apparatus by means of which they may avoid extinc- 
 tion. Evolution, as a rule, follows the latter path, 
 and under the action of the environment, has in the 
 case of mammals developed from instinctive elements a 
 higher order of matter endowed with psychical functions. 
 We thus find a gradual increase of the neopallium 
 from the lower to the higher orders of the mammalia, 
 that is, of intellectual or consciousness matter, 
 culminating in the brain of man and thus securing to 
 him the commanding position he holds in the world. 
 
 107 
 
108 THE EVOLUTION OF PURPOSIVE MATTER 
 
 As we have already shown, the rudiments of the 
 cerebral cortex exist in reptiles, in birds they are more 
 highly developed. But even in the lowest classes of 
 mammals there is a decided increase in the dimensions 
 and the complexity of this layer of nervous substance, 
 which spreads so as to separate the visual, auditory, 
 a.nd other sensory areas of the cerebrum, and thus 
 comes to modify its anatomical character. Among 
 other changes effected in consequence of the growth 
 of the cerebral hemispheres is the development of a 
 vast multitude of inter-communicating fibres which 
 bring the two hemispheres into co-ordinate action. 
 The growth of this mass of fibres displaces some of 
 the internal structures which exist in the lower 
 vertebrates, otherwise the conformation of the mam- 
 malian brain does not essentially differ from that of 
 the lower classes of vertebrates. This remark is 
 strictly applicable to the basal ganglia, for these 
 important nervous structures are present in the mam- 
 malian, as in every other description of vertebrate 
 brain. 
 
 Dr Gustav Mann describes the thalamus of the 
 mammalian brain as consisting of two oblong masses 
 of nervous matter which " for convenience of descrip- 
 tion " he divides into eighteen segments. 1 It is 
 beyond our purpose to attempt to follow Dr Mann's 
 account of the structure and relation of the various 
 parts of the thalamus to one another, but his work 
 on this subject indicates the complexity which the 
 structural arrangement of the nerve-cells and fibres 
 have reached in this part of the mammalian brain. 
 
 1 British Med. Journ., vol. i. 1905, p. 289 ; see also Professor 
 Johnston on " The Nervous System of Vertebrates," p. 265. 
 
THE OPTIC THALAMUS 109 
 
 Dr Mann holds that the functions performed by the 
 living substance of the thalafnus are mainly sensory, 
 and the corpora striata are motory. In his opinion, 
 therefore, the basal ganglia form two great sensori- 
 motor centres. In fishes sensory impulses pass from 
 the sensory organs to the corresponding nuclei of the 
 thalami, and being correlated with motor areas of the 
 corpora striata become manifest in instantaneous 
 muscular actioli ; in the mammalia; in consequence of 
 a large share of the sensori-motor work of the thalmo- 
 striatum centres being connected with the cortical 
 nervous centres, the responses to visual, auditory, and 
 other impressions are slower than in the lower classes 
 of animals, but they gain in associative precision of 
 action. 
 
 The progressive development of the central nervous 
 system, from the simpler to the more complex form of 
 mammalia, has been so recently described by Professor 
 Johnston in his work on " The Nervous System of 
 Vertebrates," that it is unnecessary for us to enter into 
 its details. 1 We propose, therefore, to pass on at once 
 to consider the central nervous system of one of the 
 higher orders of mammalia in so -far as it bears on our 
 subject. 
 
 In the case of domesticated dogs and other car- 
 nivora, the brain attains much larger dimensions in 
 proportion to the size of the animal's body than is the 
 case in birds and the lower orders of mammals. 2 
 This increase in the size of the brain is attributable 
 
 1 The collection of specimens to be seen in the Museum of the 
 Royal College of Surgeons may with the greatest advantage be 
 studied by persons interested in this subject. 
 
 2 Cat. Roy. Col. Surgeons Museum, vol. ii. Phys. Series, pp. 237, 
 263. 
 
110 THE CEREBRAL CORTEX 
 
 almost entirely to the increase in the growth of the 
 animal's cerebral hemispheres. In birds and in the 
 simpler orders of mammalia the surfaces of the cerebral 
 hemispheres are almost smooth, but in the carnivora 
 certain fairly constant depressions or furrows are 
 found, known as sulci or fissures, which are produced 
 by an infolding of the cerebral cortex, thus allowing 
 a large amount of its substance to be packed within 
 the narrow compass of the unyielding walls of the 
 skull. 
 
 Not only is the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres in 
 the carnivora more extensive both in superficial area 
 and depth, in proportion to the rest of the brain 
 than it is in birds, but the number of layers of cells 
 forming the cortex and their complexity of arrange- 
 ment, is distinctly of a higher order in the dog than it 
 is in a parrot's brain. 
 
 The cortex of a dog's cerebral hemispheres consists 
 of several layers of cells which differ in form, and 
 which with certain modifications are to be found in 
 all parts of the cortex ; the large cells of certain of 
 the motor areas point to the functions performed by 
 the living matter of these cells, and the existence of 
 a polymorphic granular layer of cells is a sure sign 
 of sensory functions. 1 We know that bundles of 
 medullated nerve fibres pass in vertical streaks through 
 the deeper layer of cells ; some of these fibres jconvey 
 impulses derived from the cortex downwards to the 
 basal ganglia, the medulla oblorigata and the spinal 
 cord, other fibres pass upwards from these regions to 
 the cortex. In addition to this system of fibres 
 
 1 Dr F. W. Mott and Professor W. D. Halliburton, " Proceedings 
 of the Royal Society," B, vol. 80, p. 140. 
 
AND ASSOCIATION FIBRES 
 
 111 
 
 numerous strands of association fibres pass between 
 the cortical sensori-motor centres ; and lastly all the 
 sensory organs of the head and body are brought into 
 communication in the substance of the basal ganglia, 
 and terminate in the sensori-motor areas of the 
 cerebral cortex (Fig. 14). Not only can we demonstrate 
 the existence of this intricate system of nerve-fibres 
 
 s.c. 
 
 FIG. 14. Diagram to illustrate the course followed by some of the nerve fibres 
 which pass upwards from the spinal cord rnd downwards from the brain into the 
 cord, represented by the black lines, other lines indicate the course of some of the 
 principal bundles of association fibres. The dots represent the cortex (neopallium) 
 of the cerebral hemispheres. 
 
 and cells by aid of the microscope, but also from 
 experimental and clinical experience, for if any one 
 or more of the cortical nerve centres are destroyed by 
 injury or disease the functions performed by its living 
 matter are at once interfered with ; and the nerve- 
 fibres originating in the cells of the part destroyed 
 degenerate, in this state they may be traced throughout 
 
112 FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY 
 
 their course to other parts of the central nervous 
 system. 
 
 We may now proceed to study the nature of the 
 functions performed by the different parts of a dog's 
 cerebrum. If the surface of the animal's cerebral 
 hemispheres is exposed daring life, and a weak electric 
 current applied to definite areas of its surface, certain 
 sets of muscles of the animal's head and limbs 
 are brought into action ; extirpation of the nervous 
 matter of these areas produces a corresponding paralysis 
 of these sets of muscles. Under the former condition, 
 energy released from the nervous substance stimulated, 
 passes by motor tracks to the basal ganglia, medulla 
 oblongata, and spinal cord, and thus brings definite sets 
 of muscles into play. Excitation of the same motor 
 central areas is always followed by similar muscular 
 action in the same animal or class of animals to which 
 it belongs. 
 
 If however an electric current is applied to the 
 greater part of the surface of a dog's cerebral cortex, 
 muscular movements are not excited ; and from the 
 results of experiments to which we shall allude, .it 
 appears that these areas of the cortex correspond to 
 those through means of which psychical processes are 
 elaborated. Ideas, or mental images of external objects 
 which are formed in the sensori-memorial cerebral 
 centres of vision, hearing, and so on, are in the 
 psychical or association areas of the cortex brought 
 into connection with one another, the result being a 
 more or less accurate appreciation of the nature of the 
 thing which had given rise to the impression on the 
 nervous matter of the sensory centres, and thus to 
 definite responsive movements. 
 
CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES 113 
 
 Professor Goltz removed the whole of the cerebral 
 cortex and subjacent fibres from the brain of a living 
 bitch, and kept her alive after being thus mutilated for 
 some eighteen months. After the animal's death he re- 
 moved the remainder of the brain from the skull and 
 found it to consist of the hind-brain (medulla oblongata) 
 with the nuclei of the nerves originating in its substance, 
 also of the cerebellum and mid-brain with the optic 
 thalami and a part of the corpora striata, especially 
 that of the right hemisphere. Professor Goltz however 
 states that the substance forming these ganglia (basal) 
 was in a condition of " brown softening," but to what 
 extent the living nervous substance forming these 
 ganglia was able to perform its functions during the 
 animal's lifetime must remain an open question. We 
 may however be certain that the movements made by 
 this bitch from the end of June 1889, when Goltz 
 commenced proceedings for the removal of her cerebral 
 hemispheres, . until her death in 1891, were effected 
 independently of the cerebral cortex. This fact is not 
 only demonstrated from the detailed account which 
 Professor Goltz gives of his method of operating and 
 its result on the movements and character of the 
 animal, but also by the coloured drawings which 
 accompany his paper. These drawings show that the 
 thalami and part of the corpora striata remained in 
 situ up to the time of the animal's death, the left 
 measuring 1'7 cm. and the right 3 cm., although, 
 Professor Goltz states, they had undergone pathologi- 
 cal changes. 1 
 
 1 " Der Hund ohne Grosshirn Siebent Abhandlung iiber die Ver- 
 richtunge des Grosshirns," Pfliiger's Archiv, Bd. li. 1892. The basal 
 ganglia on the left side measured 1'7 cm., and on the right side 
 H 
 
114 FUNCTIONS PERFORMED 
 
 Professor Goltz describes the behaviour and char- 
 acter of the movements made by this bitch after she 
 had been mutilated to the extent above mentioned. 
 He states that the animal as a rule remained curled 
 up, as if asleep, in the corner of the cage in which she 
 was confined. If a horn was blown in a room separ- 
 ated from the one in which she was sleeping, she would 
 rouse up, stand on her legs, and not unfrequently put 
 her paws up to her ears as if something unpleasant 
 had happened. If a current of air was blown through 
 a tube on to the animal's skin she would rise up and 
 shake herself in the same way as an uninjured dog 
 would do under like conditions. When not asleep the 
 dog was restless, if kept without food she performed 
 continuous movements about her cage, or stood up on 
 her hind legs with her forepaws on the front bars. 
 The animal growled and snapped if its paws were 
 pinched. 
 
 When this animal was removed from its cage to be 
 fed, she snapped and snarled like an angry brute, and 
 resisted and struggled to be free and return to her 
 cage ; on these occasions she showed her anger by 
 emotional signs such as lowering her head, bristling 
 her hair, retracting her ears and upper lip, and 
 growling, biting and snapping. If one of the animal's 
 feet was placed in cold water she at once removed it. 
 In a dark room the animal closed her eyes when a 
 strong light was suddenly allowed to enter the 
 chamber. 
 
 To make the bitch eat it was necessary to hold the 
 food near her muzzle ; it was then taken into the 
 
 3 cm., after the brain had been removed from the skull the cerebral 
 cortex had been completely abolished. 
 
BY INSTINCTIVE MATTER 115 
 
 mouth and masticated and swallowed. If pieces of 
 meat were soaked in a solution of quinine and given 
 to the animal, it refused to eat the meat. The dog 
 was unable to seek for its food. It recognised neither 
 its master nor other dogs. It could not discriminate 
 between scolding and petting. The bitch behaved 
 almost like a blind animal with respect to obstacles 
 placed in her path, rarely turning out of the way. 
 
 It is well known that a definite area of the occipi- 
 tal lobes of a dog's brain contains a specialised form of 
 nervous substance, through means of which visual 
 impressions received from external objects become 
 realised. For instance, if these regions of the brain 
 are removed during a dog's lifetime, the animal is no 
 longer afraid of a burning match, or of the whip. 
 H. Monk is of opinion that the image of memory and its 
 power of recognition are lost with the destruction of 
 the areas of the visual cerebral cortex ; but the animal 
 is by no means blind. 
 
 Again, this mutilated animal, we are informed, when 
 hungry, was in the habit of rising on her hind legs 
 and with her fore-limbs pawing the bars of her cage 
 in order if possible to obtain her freedom. The sense 
 of hunger brought into play pre-existing impressions 
 of those parts of her cerebral sensori-memorial nervous 
 apparatus which remained in working order, and 
 became manifest in her efforts to gain her liberty. 
 In these efforts, and her repeated snarling and snapping 
 when restrained, we recognise the exercise of memory, 
 of desires, and instinctive processes together with 
 emotional actions, which in conjunction form the basis 
 of personal character in the higher order of beings. 
 
 What, then, it may be asked, had this animal lost 
 
116 FUNCTIONS OF NERVOUS MATTER 
 
 by the destruction of her cerebral cortex ? She could 
 no longer recognise her former master nor distinguish 
 her friends from strangers. Her memory of every- 
 thing she had learnt during her lifetime was obliter- 
 ated together with her intelligence. 
 
 We cannot tell what would have been the behaviour 
 of this bitch, had it been possible to have destroyed 
 her cerebral cortex without injuring her basal ganglia 
 or other parts of her brain. But we know that large 
 classes of vertebrate animals do not possess a cere- 
 bral cortex, but nevertheless evince distinct traits of 
 hereditary character, which in some cases are capable 
 of improvement under a proper system of training. 
 
 Doubtless the intellectual powers of a dog are of 
 a far lower order than those possessed by civilised 
 human beings, but this difference, as pointed out by 
 Darwin, is one of degrees rather than of kind for 
 instance, his well-known anecdote of a retriever 
 illustrates this point. He states that two wild 
 ducks having been shot, fell on the other side of a 
 stream from that on which the sportsman was stand- 
 ing, his retriever tried to bring over both birds at 
 once, but could not succeed ; she then, though never 
 before known to ruffle a feather, deliberately killed 
 one bird, brought over the other, and returned for 
 the dead bird. Again, two partridges were shot at 
 once, one being killed, the other wounded ; the latter 
 ran away and was caught by the retriever, who on 
 her return came across the dead bird. She stopped 
 evidently puzzled, and after one or two trials, finding 
 she could not take it up without permitting the escape 
 of the winged bird in her mouth, she deliberately 
 killed it, and then brought both birds away together. 
 
OF CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES 117 
 
 This was the only known instance of her ever having 
 wilfully injured any game. 1 
 
 It is actions such as these which indicate the 
 intellectual powers possessed by dogs. Powers it is 
 true which, as compared with those of human beings, 
 are rudimentary in their nature, emerging, as it seems 
 to us, out of an evolution of that form of matter 
 which has produced complex instinctive processes in the 
 lower orders of beings. When discussing this subject, 
 Darwin observes, " the more complex instincts seem to 
 have originated independently of intelligence " ; and 
 " some have thought that the intellectual faculties of 
 the higher animals have gradually developed from 
 instincts." 2 
 
 We may, therefore, with advantage endeavour to 
 ascertain the nature of the work performed by the 
 nervous substance of the basal ganglia as manifested 
 by a dog or other carnivora. Professor Pagano has 
 obtained some remarkable results by injecting fluids 
 containing curare into various parts of the basal 
 ganglia of living dogs. " From his experiments he 
 concludes that in the basal ganglia are found, at birth, 
 the physiological pre-organised mechanism of emotional 
 reactions. The cerebral cortex not being functional 
 at birth is, therefore, not indispensable for these 
 emotions. He injects O'l c. cm. of 2 per cent, solution 
 of curare, coloured with thionine, into various parts of 
 the caudate (intra-ventricular) nucleus (of the corpora 
 striata). The results obtained are as follows : excita- 
 tion of the anterior third and of the middle third 
 of the caudate nucleus, especially in their inner half, 
 
 1 " The Descent of Man," by Charles Darwin, vol. i. p. 48, 1871. 
 
 2 Idem, p. 37. 
 
118 FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY 
 
 provokes the emotional phenomena of fear. They 
 are characterised by the attitude of the body, the 
 physiognomy, the cardiac and respiratory phenomena 
 (intestinal and vesical), the state of the pupils, and 
 menacing noises which exaggerate considerably these 
 manifestations of terror. Excitation of the anterior 
 extremity of the caudate nucleus produces phenomena 
 of psycho-motor agitation of the same kind, and 
 expresses a mingling of the two emotions of fear and 
 anger." 1 Stimulation of the anterior third of this 
 nucleus produces excitation of the genital organs, 
 As a whole these experiments confirm the opinion 
 we have arrived at concerning the important functions 
 performed by the nervous substance of the optic 
 thalami. 
 
 Professor Halliburton describes the basal ganglia 
 as being subsidiary centres of movement and sensation. 
 He states that centres of this kind may be compared 
 to the subordinate officers of an army, the principal 
 centre to the commander-in-chief. The highest 
 officer gives a general order for the movement of 
 a body of troops in a certain direction ; we may 
 compare this to the principal motory centre of the 
 cortex sending out an impulse for a certain movement 
 of a limb. But the general does not give the order 
 himself to each individual soldier, any more than the 
 cerebral cortex does to each individual muscle ; but 
 the order is first given to subordinate officers, who 
 arrange exactly how the movement shall be executed, 
 and their orders are in the end distributed to the 
 individual men, who must move in harmony with 
 
 1 " Two Lectures on the Physiology of the Emotions," by Dr 
 F. W. Mott. Delivered at King's College, London. 
 
MATTER OF BASAL GANGLIA 119 
 
 their fellows with regard to space and time. So the 
 subsidiary nerve centres or positions of relay (basal 
 ganglia) enable the impulses to be distributed to 
 various sets of muscles which contract harmoniously, 
 and effect the required movements of the head and 
 body. 1 
 
 The sensory organs possessed by mammalia are of a 
 distinctly high order ; in not a few of them the sense 
 of smell is well developed. Dr G. Mann removed the 
 olfactory bulbs of recently born rabbits, and found it 
 impossible to rear these animals in consequence of 
 their inability to appreciate the difference between 
 wholesome and unwholesome food. The aural and 
 visual sense organs of dogs have reached a high 
 state of development, their nervous elements being in 
 intimate relation with ganglionic nerve-cells of the 
 basal ganglia. 
 
 We can therefore explain the movements and 
 emotions displayed by a dog after the removal of the 
 cortical substance of his cerebrum, by assuming that 
 energy passing from the various sensory organs reaches 
 his optic thalami and becomes transmuted by its nervous 
 substance into a form which brings motor elements of the 
 corpora striata into play, its action becoming manifest 
 in certain instinctive and emotional movements. The 
 animal's instinctive movements, such as that of taking 
 her food when brought close to her mouth, and her 
 emotional snarl and bark when disturbed, demonstrate 
 the fact that actions of this kind may be effected inde- 
 pendently of the cerebral cortex. The animal's memory 
 for all she had acquired during her lifetime was 
 abolished with the destruction of her cerebral cortex, 
 
 1 " The Handbook of Physiology," pp. 680, 681. 
 
120 FUNCTIONS OF THE 
 
 but her hereditary character continued to manifest 
 itself in her instinctive and emotional movements, 
 blunted, it is true, in consequence of the damage her 
 basal ganglia had received in the removal of her cere- 
 bral cortex. 
 
 The animal mutilated by Professor Goltz was at 
 the time fully grown, and her nervous system had 
 been moulded into the form possessed by her through 
 sensory impressions operating on the nervous elements 
 of many pre-existing generations. Structural modi- 
 fications in the nervous elements of her basal ganglia 
 had thus been established, to be called into action by 
 stimuli of a similar nature to those which had led to 
 these impressions on the living nervous substance of 
 her central nervous system. 
 
 For instance, this mutilated animal refused to eat 
 meat which had been soaked in a solution of quinine, 
 its actions showing disgust at the taste of the bitter 
 meat. As Dr Mott observes, the refusal of the animal 
 to swallow the doctored food was an instinctive act in 
 that it was protective to the alimentary canal and the 
 vital organs of the body, just as pain protects the 
 external surface of the body. 
 
 That action of this kind depends on inherited in- 
 stincts is shown by the fact stated by Professor 
 Sherrington. After separating the brain of a nine week's 
 old pup from its connections with the heart and 
 viscera, he offered the animal some dog's flesh as food, 
 which the pup absolutely refused to touch. Professor 
 Sherrington remarks, " this aversion to dogs' flesh was 
 due to olfactory impressions, and that ' dog will not 
 eat dog' may, in the long procession of the ages, have 
 led to the establishment of a pre-organised mechanism 
 
BASAL GANGLIA 121 
 
 by which disgust at dogs' flesh might occur reflexly in 
 the medulla. 1 
 
 Darwin has given us his reasons for believing that 
 domesticated dogs are descended from two species of 
 wolves and several species of jackals. The habits of 
 domesticated dogs in North America and the wolves 
 of that part of the world are very similar, and the 
 same remark applies to the pariah dogs of India and 
 jackals. 2 The habit of barking, however, is an excep- 
 tion to this rule, a habit which is almost universal 
 with domesticated dogs, but is not known to exist 
 in a single natural family of these animals, although 
 the Canis latrans of North America utter sounds 
 which closely resemble a bark ; and our domesticated 
 dogs are said to lose the habit of barking when they 
 pass back into a wild state, But they regain this power 
 when they again return to their former environment, that 
 is, to the society of their barking companions, showing 
 that their mimetic faculties are still in operation. 
 
 It is useless for us to speculate as to how or when 
 dogs learnt to bark, but as this was a useful habit to 
 man he doubtless cultivated those species of dogs 
 best able to warn him of approaching enemies. In 
 the course of time the power to bark, like that of the 
 vocal powers of birds, became an hereditary character. 
 
 The different barks of dogs with which we are 
 familiar, are the product of long-continued civilisation. 
 Some of the peculiarities of the several breeds, as 
 Darwin observes, have been effected by selection, both 
 
 1 " Two Lectures on the Physiology of the Emotions," by Dr F. 
 W. Mott, p. 19. 
 
 2 " Animals and Plants under Domestication," by C. Darwin, 
 vol. i. pp. 44, 45. 
 
122 DARWIN ON THE CHARACTER 
 
 methodical and unconscious, of slight individual differ- 
 ences, the latter kind of selection resulting from the 
 occasional preservation, during hundreds of generations, 
 of those dogs which were the most useful to man 
 under certain conditions of life. 1 
 
 The skulls of the wild species from which our 
 domesticated dogs are supposed to have been derived, 
 retain a marked uniformity of form and size, whereas 
 in domesticated animals great diversity in this respect 
 exists, as for instance between the form of the skull of 
 a bloodhound and a greyhound. Much of this differ- 
 ence is attributable to the fancy of the breeder ; thus 
 collies in their natural state are remarkably sagacious 
 animals, but it having become the fashion to produce 
 long narrow-headed collies by cross breeding, this has 
 been accomplished, but at no less a sacrifice than the 
 loss of character and mental capacity which dis- 
 tinguishes the stock from which these animals were 
 derived. For with the small skull there is a small 
 brain as compared with the body, attended with a 
 corresponding loss of intellectual power. 2 
 
 Darwin was probably correct in his idea that our 
 domesticated dogs are derived from wild species ; if 
 this be the case, it indicates the influence which various 
 modes of energy have exercised in moulding certain 
 elements of the cerebrum into harmony with the 
 action of an altered environment. That a great change 
 has taken place in the characters displayed by wolves 
 and foxes and our domestic dogs is evident ; many of 
 the latter are man's devoted friends, and yet show 
 clearly that their hereditary instincts continue to 
 
 1 See note on this subject, " Human Speech," p. 240. 
 
 2 Idem. 
 
OF DOMESTICATED DOGS 123 
 
 influence some of their movements, with a tendency 
 after a few generations to lose their acquired characters 
 and revert to the habits of their progenitors. This 
 point is admirably portrayed in Jack London's story of 
 " The Call of the Wild." 
 
 We may capture and bring up a cub by hand ; he 
 will take to romping over the lawn with our dogs, 
 and appears to be on the road to becoming a domestic 
 animal ; but as soon as he is fully grown he deserts 
 our home and returns to the woods and his natural 
 state of life. The animal's hereditary instincts assert 
 themselves and overrule all he has learnt while under 
 our care. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 IN the previous chapters of this work we have 
 endeavoured to show that the hereditary character of 
 the various classes of animals we have referred to is 
 the result of work directed by purposive and instinctive 
 elements ; in addition to which we find in the lower 
 orders of mammals indications of psychical activities. 
 These intellectual processes become more pronounced 
 as we pass from the lower to the higher orders of this 
 class of beings, culminating, as we have elsewhere 
 shown, in man's power to express his thoughts in 
 intelligent language. We have now to explain how 
 psychical elements come into operation. 
 
 In this enquiry we cannot overlook the fact that 
 the law of recapitulation clearly indicates that in their 
 past history man and apes are structurally united 
 with the rest of the animal world. It must be borne 
 in mind that man originates by the same physical 
 processes with the animals immediately below him in 
 the scale, that he is identical with them in the early 
 stages of his formation, identical in the mode of his 
 nutrition before and after birth, and that their adult 
 structures exhibit a marvellous likeness of organisation. 1 
 The main factor in the evolution of each class of animals 
 has been effected by an increase in the organisation 
 of the central nervous system, and this increase has 
 
 1 " Evidence of Man's Place in Nature," by J. Huxley, p. 67. 
 
 124 
 
ANTHROPOID APES 125 
 
 been determined by the action of the environment 
 acting through the sensory organs. 1 
 
 The man-like or anthropoid apes to which we refer, 
 consist of the gibbons, orangs, chimpanzees and 
 gorillas, as, according to Professor A. Keith, their struc- 
 tures as a whole are most nearly related to those which 
 form the bodies of human beings. The chimpanzee 
 and gorilla are natives of Africa, the former attains 
 a height of nearly five feet when in the erect position ; 
 and the latter as much as five feet, with a circum- 
 ference round the chest of four feet four inches, its 
 weight being about 180 Ibs. 
 
 The usual mode of progression of these apes is 
 effected by resting the knuckles of their hands on the 
 ground, they thrust their arms forward, and then give 
 the body a half-jumping half-swinging motion between 
 them. These apes however at times assume the 
 erect position in walking, their bodies being much 
 inclined forwards, and balanced by their arms and 
 hands thrust backwards so as to meet either behind 
 their head or their loins. 
 
 Both chimpanzees and gorillas build platforms 
 consisting of small branches and twigs which they 
 entwine together and secure between the branches of 
 a tree on which they rest during the night. In the 
 daytime they wander in groups through the forest in 
 search of fruit and such-like food. The powerful 
 canine teeth of these apes indicate carnivorous 
 propensities, but in no state save that of domestication 
 do they manifest them. At first in confinement they 
 reject flesh, but easily acquire a fondness for it. 2 
 
 1 " The Origin of Vertebrates," by W. H. Gaskell, p. 498 ; and 
 " Human Speech," p. 140. 2 Huxley, p. 44. 
 
126 EMOTIONAL CHARACTERS 
 
 The chimpanzee is a peace-loving animal who 
 prefers flight as a means of escape from enemies, 
 rather than acting on the defensive ; he seldom if ever 
 acts on the offensive. On the other hand the male 
 gorilla is a ferocious brute, and an object of terror to 
 the people of the country in which he lives. When 
 disturbed in his native forest he is said to utter a 
 prolonged shrill cry ; his enormous jaws are widely 
 opened, his lips are retracted displaying his formidable 
 array of teeth, the hairy ridge of his scalp is contracted 
 upon the brow, and altogether presents a ferocious 
 aspect. 
 
 Other emotions such as those of sorrow are marked 
 features displayed by various orders of primates. 
 Thus, the author was out shooting among the hills 
 near Colgong on the Ganges. Returning home in the 
 evening, we came across a number of Bengal macaques. 
 Among them was a female seated on a ledge of rock 
 with a young one close to her. One of our party, 
 without a moment's thought, fired, and killed the 
 young monkey. Its body rolled down the rock, and 
 after it sprang its mother ; when she reached the dead 
 body, she took it up in her arms and fondled it in the 
 way a human mother would handle her sick child, at 
 the same time uttering the most piteous wail, which 
 drew around her a crowd of her companions. The 
 actions of this animal indicated her intense grief at 
 the death of her young feelings which she expressed 
 in movements closely resembling those of a human 
 being under like circumstances. 1 Our party were 
 one and all much impressed by what they witnessed 
 
 1 As Darwin remarks, the principle of action is the same in the 
 two cases. " The Descent of Man," vol. i. p. 40. 
 
IN ANTHROPOID APES 127 
 
 and returned to camp feeling and expressing no small 
 resentment towards the individual who had been the 
 cause of so much anguish to the mother of the young 
 macaque. 
 
 From the action taken by the troop of monkeys 
 to which we have referred, it would seem they evinced 
 a distinct sympathy with their bereft comrade in her 
 grief. Beyond this they moved in a body round her, 
 thereby showing social instincts. 
 
 Numerous facts are recorded of the services to each 
 other displayed by apes when members of their tribe 
 are threatened by enemies. Brehm states that when 
 in Abyssinia on one occasion he encountered a great 
 troop of baboons which were crossing a valley : some had 
 already ascended the opposite mountain, and some were 
 still in the valley ; the latter were attacked by dogs, 
 but the old male baboons immediately hurried down 
 the rocks, and with mouths wide opened roared so 
 fearfully, that the dogs retreated before them. The 
 dogs were again encouraged to the attack, but this time 
 all the baboons had reascended the heights, except a 
 young one, about six months old, who, loudly calling 
 for aid climbed on a block of rock. Now one of the 
 largest males came down again from the mountain, 
 slowly went to the young one, coaxed him, and 
 triumphantly led him away. 1 
 
 Darwin gives a curious account of the instinctive 
 dread which monkeys exhibit towards snakes. He 
 introduced a live snake in a paper bag with the mouth 
 loosely closed into one of the larger compartments of 
 the monkey house in the Zoological Gardens. One 
 of the monkeys immediately approached, cautiously 
 
 1 " The Descent of Man," by Charles Darwin, vol. i. p. 75. 
 
128 MIMETIC FACULTIES 
 
 opened the bag and peeped in, but instantly dashed away. 
 Monkey after monkey, with head raised high a,nd 
 turned on one side, peeped into the bag, and seeing 
 the snake fast asleep at the bottom started back 
 and bolted to a distant corner of the cage. This 
 instinctive dread of snakes is however not confined to 
 monkeys. The author has seen large birds and various 
 carnivorous animals assume a demeanour of abject fear 
 when brought into a room in which a live cobra was 
 confined in a glass case. 
 
 The mimetic faculties of apes are proverbial, and 
 one has only to watch their actions when under 
 proper training to be sure that they learn by 
 experience, and by imitating the movements of their 
 instructors. Their power of attention varies even 
 among members of the same species. Mr Bartlett 
 states that a man who was in the habit of training 
 monkeys was willing to pay five pounds for some of 
 them ; but he offered to give double the price, if he 
 might keep three or four monkeys for a few days, in 
 order to select one. When asked how he could 
 possibly so soon learn whether a particular monkey 
 would turn out a good actor, he answered, that it 
 all depended on their power of attention. If, when 
 he was talking and explaining anything to a monkey, 
 its attention was easily distracted, as by a fly on the 
 wall or other trifling object, the case was hopeless. 
 If he tried by punishment to make an inattentive 
 monkey act, it turned sulky. 
 
 The instinctive, emotional, and mimetic actions and 
 the power of attention possessed by apes, are referable, as 
 is the case with the lower classes of animals, to work 
 performed by the nervous substance of their basal 
 
OF ANTHROPOID APES 129 
 
 ganglia, in response to impressions received by its living 
 substance from the various sensory organs of the 
 body. The actions we refer to are hereditary in 
 character, such, for instance, as building resting places 
 in trees so as to escape from the attacks of their 
 enemies during the night ; the loving timid nature of 
 some, and ferocity of other species, their affection for 
 their young and mode of expressing their grief, the 
 sympathy shown to their companions in distress are 
 traits of hereditary character displayed by apes of the 
 same species scattered over widely separated areas of 
 the globe. 
 
 These characters may be improved by judicious 
 training, but they cannot be eradicated, unless, per- 
 haps, by an alteration of the environment extending 
 over many generations. The power possessed by apes 
 of learning to accomplish certain complex movements, 
 such as those necessary to enable them to take a part 
 in a play, is hereditary, the knowledge they have 
 gained by learning is non-hereditary. 
 
 It is true that birds and dogs may be taught to 
 perform various tricks, and reptiles learn by experi- 
 ence to select the most direct of devious paths by 
 which to reach their food. Birds possess a rather 
 higher development of cortical matter than reptiles, and 
 they are capable of reaching a higher order of learning 
 than a turtle. In dogs the cerebral cortex is still 
 more perfectly developed than it is in birds, and their 
 basal ganglia and sensory organs are not inferior to 
 those of apes ; it is well known that these animals 
 may be trained to perform acts of a complicated 
 character, and some of them exhibit rudimentary 
 intellectual powers. This latter power, we hold, con- 
 i 
 
130 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 sists in the association of impressions which by 
 repetition have become fixed in the living matter of the 
 cerebral nervous centres, and which the animal has 
 by practice learned to link together and employ to 
 his own advantage. In apes we find the development 
 of the cerebral cortex, and other parts of the brain 
 and sensory organs, are inferior only to those of human 
 beings, and with this high order of nervous organisa- 
 tion their instinctive, imitative, emotional, and 
 intellectual powers are of a higher order than those 
 possessed by dogs. 
 
 We trace therefore in these classes of animals a 
 progressive capacity to learn, extending from lower to 
 higher classes of beings, and this power bears a direct 
 relation to the development of the cortical substance 
 or neopallium of their cerebral hemispheres. With 
 the destruction of this substance the hereditary 
 character possessed by the animal may continue, but 
 all that he has learnt during his lifetime is abolished. 1 
 
 This fact explains our meaning in referring to the 
 hereditary character of animals, including the primates, 
 as being something apart from their intellectual 
 acquirements. 
 
 In the first part of this work (Human Speech) we 
 referred to the development and structural arrange- 
 ment of the nervous substance of the spinal cord arid 
 brain, so that it is unnecessary for us to recur to this 
 
 1 The term Neopallium is employed to signify the " pallium " 
 or cortex of that part of the cerebral hemispheres with which we are 
 mainly concerned, as being distinct from the pallium of other lobes 
 or regions of the brain. The term is well chosen by Professor G. Elliot 
 Smith, because this cortex or pallium consists of superadded nervous 
 structures to those which exist in the lower classes of vertebrates 
 (see p. 91). 
 
IN LOWER VERTEBRATES 
 
 131 
 
 subject ; but in order to explain the commanding 
 psychical powers possessed by human beings as com- 
 pared with those of the lower animals, we must allude 
 to the increased complexity and to the great develop- 
 ment of the neopallium or cortical areas of the cerebral 
 hemispheres in man 1 (Fig. 15). 
 
 The cortical substance or neopallium of an educated 
 
 Brocas Convolution 
 or senso motor 
 speech ttnlrr. 
 
 tsuo- 
 stnsoru 
 area. 
 
 a-u.di.tory 'centre 
 or area. 
 
 FIG. 15. Diagram of left cerebral hemisphere (outer surface; of human brain 
 (From Halliburton's " Handbook of Physiology," p. 688.) 
 
 Englishman's brain averages, in its exposed and sunken 
 surface, about 200,000 square mm. ; its thickness 
 varies, but averages about 2 mm., and is formed of 
 five strata or layers of cells, together with a mass of 
 nerve fibres with their supporting structure (neuroglia), 
 blood vessels and lymphatics. 
 
 With regard to the layers of cells which constitute 
 the outer gray substance of the cerebral cortex, they 
 
 1 " Human Speech," p. 154. 
 
132 
 
 GANGLIONIC NERVE CELLS 
 
 may be described as forming five strata, from which 
 fibres proceed to other parts of the nervous system, 
 and in which fibres terminate passing from all parts 
 of the body. These five layers of cortical nerve-cells 
 and fibres may be represented in a diagrammatic form 
 (Fig. 16). 
 
 Superficial layer of nerve 
 fibres, "molecular" layer. 
 
 Small, medium, and large 
 pyramidal cells. 
 
 Granular or stellate cell layer. 
 
 Inner layer of nerve fibres 
 with large solitary cells. 
 
 Inner layer of polymorphic 
 cells. 
 
 J. Molecular layer of cells. 
 
 II. Supra-granular" layer, 
 Pyramidal cells. 
 
 III. Granular layer. 
 
 Infra-granular layer. 
 
 FIG 16. Diagram showing approximately the relative depth of the cerebral 
 cortex or neopallium of an adult human brain. (After J. S. Bolton.) 
 
 The II, or pyramidal layer, to which may be added 
 the outer fibre lamina, I, are the prominent feature of 
 the human cortex, and constitute a " higher level " 
 basis for carrying on cerebral functions. 1 It is the 
 last cell layer of the cortex to be evolved, and the first 
 to undergo retrogression. This layer " subserves 
 the psychic or association functions of the cerebrum ; 
 
 1 J. Shaw Bolton, on " Recent Researches on Cortical Localisation 
 and on the Functions of the Cerebrum," p. 295, " Further Advances 
 in Physiology," edited by Leonard Hill. 
 
OF THE NEOPALLIUM 133 
 
 it is functionally correlated with educability and 
 general intelligence which appears in an increasing 
 degree in the various orders of the mammalian scale. 
 
 This supra-granular layer, IT, so poorly developed in 
 human beings at birth, and so slow in reaching 
 maturity, is well nigh absent in the lower orders of 
 mammals. When fully matured the living substance 
 of the pyramidal cells of this layer directs those 
 activities which the animal has acquired during his 
 lifetime, and with behaviour which may arise in relation 
 to some new situation, and so indicating intelligence 
 as apart from instinctive acts. 
 
 The III, lamina (granule or middle layer) is de- 
 veloped after the V, or inner layer. This lamina 
 " primarily subserves the reception' or immediate 
 transformation of afferent impressions, whether these 
 arise directly from the lower sensory neurones or 
 indirectly through other regions of the cerebrum." 
 
 " The V, polymorphic, or inner cell lamina of the 
 cortex cerebri, is the first to become differentiated 
 during the process of lamination. In human beings, 
 in association with the inner fibres, this layer " sub- 
 serves the lower voluntary and instinctive activities 
 of the animal economy, and thus forms a lower basis 
 level for the carrying on of cerebral functions." 1 
 This layer of cells may be traced back to instinctive 
 matter out of which it has become developed; the 
 superimposed layers, constituting the great association 
 area of the human brain has, in its turn, been evolved 
 from this lower instinctive stratum of living nervous 
 matter which constitutes the polymorphic or granular 
 layer of the cortex. 
 
 1 Dr J. S. Bolton, p. 297, " Further Advances in Physiology," 1909. 
 
134 DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 We thus come to learn that the inner layer of the 
 neopalliutn in human beings is derived from living 
 instinctive elements located in the basal ganglia, and 
 that from this layer of the cerebral cortex the outer or 
 psychical elements of the brain have been developed, 
 in other words the nervous substance by means of which 
 the intellectual faculties are elaborated, have been 
 evolved out of matter possessing instinctive and emo- 
 tional qualities. 
 
 It is to be noticed that the cerebral cortex of the 
 human brain is to a large extent constituted of the 
 inner or instinctive layer of living matter, and to- 
 gether with the layers of psychical elements forms 
 the large mass of nervous substance which characterises 
 the human cerebrum. We can thus realise the 
 important part which the hereditary instinctive and 
 emotional faculties take in ordering the likes and 
 dislikes, the pleasure and pain, and many other 
 emotional activities which, to a large extent, influence 
 the personal character and the life-long career of 
 human beings. 1 
 
 The cranial capacity of an adult male gorilla 
 amounts to about 600 c.c., that of tertiary man to 
 950 c.c., and of an educated Englishman to about 
 
 1 Charles Darwin lays stress on the idea that almost all motions 
 of expression are the result of inherited qualities, and have been 
 evolved from a common source. The facial expression of rage and 
 hate, for instance, in man consists in the retraction of the lips and 
 the exposure of the teeth ; particularly of the corners of the upper 
 lips, so that the canine teeth become visible. In the same way 
 dogs, cats, and apes expose the canine teeth when angry, a fitting 
 preparation in their case for battle. In man the advantage of this 
 movement no longer exists ; but the movement has been retained 
 as the expression of the specific emotion which accompanies the 
 sight of an enemy. 
 
THE NEOPALLIUM 135 
 
 1485 c.c. This great difference in the cranial 
 capacity of these orders of beings represents the 
 difference that exists between the dimensions of the 
 cortical substance of their cerebral hemispheres. 
 The area occupied by this specialised form of nervous 
 matter is greatly increased by means of the fissures 
 or foldings into which it extends. 
 
 According to Dr E. Dubois, there is a more or less 
 intimate relationship between the extent of the cortex 
 or the weight of the brain and the extent of the 
 surface of an animal's body. Since the year 1897, 
 when Dubois promulgated his ideas on this subject, 
 they have been confirmed by independent observers. 
 
 The following is a summary of Dr Dubois observa- 
 tions on this subject : x 
 
 Dr Dubois starts with the assumption that the brain 
 consists entirely of the central parts of reflex arcs, the 
 function of which is to bring sensory and motor nerves into 
 relation with each other, and concludes that in animals 
 presenting the same degree of psychical development, the 
 number and weight of these reflex arcs would be propor- 
 tional, approximately, to the number of sensory nervous 
 fibres. In two animals in the same stage of psychical 
 evolution, but of different bulk, the number of sensory 
 nervous fibres will then be proportional to the total extent 
 of the perceptive surface, that is to say, to the extent of 
 the surface of the body. On the other hand, in two animals 
 in very different stages of psychical evolution, but of the 
 same bulk and having therefore approximately the same 
 number of sensory fibres, the animal in whom the central 
 parts of the reflex arcs attain the greater degree of com- 
 plexity will have the heavier brain. Now it appears that 
 the cube root of the square of the weight of an animal 
 
 1 British Mad. Jonrn. for Nov. 5, 1905. 
 
136 DUBOIS ON TACTILE 
 
 multiplied by a constant which varies with each species 
 expresses with fair accuracy bhe relative size of the surface 
 of its body. If S and s be the weight of the body of two 
 animals, then the surfaces will be 
 
 ,^/ 
 
 S 2 and ,s 2 or S and s 
 
 In two animals of the same degree of mental evolution 
 and the same bulk the weight of the brains would be equal. 
 But if the mental development differs, then we have a 
 variable factor, and the problem is fco find this, which will 
 express what Dubois calls the relative cephalization, or 
 relative amount of brain corresponding to the difference 
 in intelligence in -the physiological sense of the word. In 
 practice the factor by which S is to be multiplied is not 
 exactly 0'6, because in an animal with a yery small body a 
 part of the perceptive surfaces of its sensory organs is 
 relatively more extensive, and consequently the termina- 
 tions of the sensory fibres in the brain are denser, and the 
 extent of the cortex relatively increased. Dubois took a 
 series of animals of similar form, and, in his judgment, of 
 similar intelligence, but differing very much in size, choosing, 
 of course, adult animals of average weight and bulk ; by 
 an equation which we need not reproduce, he calculated 
 the value of the factor by which S should be multiplied in 
 each case. He found it to be almost constantly 0'56, the 
 extremes being 0'54 and 0*58. He thus got the equation 
 
 where E equals the weight of the brain, S the weight of 
 the body, and c the factor of cephalization indicating the 
 degree of intelligence. Dubois found that the results 
 obtained by calculation in the case of a large number of 
 animals were concordant. Thus the factor of cephalization 
 in man was 2'8186, in the monkey from 0'7607 to 0'4636, 
 in the donkey 0'4390, the horse CK380, the cat 0'3284, and 
 the mouse 0*0770. The only obvious defect in his table is 
 that the dog (0*3586) comes below the horse, which is not 
 
SENSE ORGANS 137 
 
 quite in accord with popular experience. Lapicque and 
 Girard l have recently afforded striking confirmation of the 
 accuracy of Dubois's criterion by a series of observations 
 on birds. They found that the factor of cephalization in 
 the various groups corresponded with the accepted opinion 
 as to the degree of intelligence. The parrot was at the 
 head of their list, the barndoor fowl, surely one of the most 
 foolish of birds, at its tail. Crows, magpies, and jays stood 
 very nearly as high as parrots. 
 
 Another very suggestive result of these observations is 
 that the equation given above is found to be true not only 
 for the total weight of the brain as a whole but for its 
 several parts, for the cerebral hemispheres, the cerebellum, 
 and the corpora quadrigemina. 
 
 There can be no question as to the effects which 
 stimuli received through the tactile and other sensory 
 organs have upon the development of corresponding 
 areas of the cerebral cortex, the living matter of 
 which receives and retains many of these impressions. 2 
 But the cerebral cortex of civilised human beings 
 contains a vast amount more nervous matter than 
 is necessary to accomplish these processes. It is the 
 extent and organisation of this matter which dis- 
 tinguishes the human brain from that possessed by 
 the lower animals. This excess of cortical substance 
 is employed to associate the sensori-memorial images 
 elaborated by sensory centres, and to transform them 
 
 1 Comptes rendu de I' Academic des Science, 10th April 1905. 
 
 2 In this way we explain the far greater size of an elephant's brain 
 than that possessed by human beings. The surface of an elephant's 
 body being very much more extensive than a man's, his tactile sense 
 organs are likewise more extensive, and consequently the size of his 
 cerebral hemispheres are considerably larger than those of a human 
 being, its cortical substance being the ultimate receptive organ of 
 tactile and other sensory impressions. 
 
138 THE GREAT EXTENT OF 
 
 into the psychical processes which pass to motor 
 areas of the cerebrum, and become manifest in intel- 
 lectual activities. 1 
 
 We may form some idea of the amount of cortical 
 cerebral substance which is necessary for the reception 
 of tactile and other sensory impressions in human 
 beings, by comparing it with that of an average male 
 gorilla's brain. The weight and extent of the surface 
 of the bodies of an average-sized man and that of a 
 full-grown gorilla do not differ to any great extent. 
 But a gorilla's brain is never more than half the size 
 of the smallest adult human brain. Nevertheless the 
 total volume of the ape's brain is represented by 
 600 c.c., and is sufficient to receive and respond to 
 the animal's tactile and other sensory impressions. 
 It follows, therefore, that a similar amount of nervous 
 matter would suffice for the same purpose in a human 
 being; but his brain actually contains some 900 c.c. 
 more cerebral substance than is necessary to receive 
 and respond to his sensory impressions. The greater 
 part of this excess of living nervous matter is contained 
 in his cerebral cortex, and the work it performs 
 becomes manifest in his psychical activities. 
 
 Professor Elliot Smith, referring to this subject, 2 
 states, that as the neopallium assumes importance 
 and becomes a condition of survival for the first time 
 in the mammalia, in each successive epoch it is only 
 those mammals whose nervous system has effectually 
 
 1 Psychical processes are those which effect modifications of 
 motion through the agency of intercurrent specialised modes of 
 energy derived from mental images (ideas). Psychical and conscious 
 processes are identical. 
 
 2 Cat. Roy. Coll. Surgeons Museum, Phys. Series, vol. ii. p. 465. 
 
HUMAN NEOPALLIUM 139 
 
 responded to its environment, or have developed 
 special protective structures, who continued to sur- 
 vive. In the higher mammalia the development 
 of a large neopallium as the organ of associative 
 memory, enables them to acquire the skill to evade 
 danger and yet adequately to preserve themselves and 
 reproduce the species to which they helong. Jn 
 many of the Eocene Mammalia (Dinoceras crania, for 
 example) the neopallium is reduced to such diminutive 
 proportions that the brain resembles the reptilian 
 type ; and in each successive generation the neopallium 
 or cerebral cortex becomes more extensive and com- 
 plicated in structure, or the creature is compelled to 
 adopt some safe mode of life. The hippopotamus 
 and the sirenia are examples of mammals which 
 have not kept pace in the fierce race for neopallial 
 supremacy, but survive by adopting habits of life 
 which are eminently safe. The condition of the 
 human brain represents the other extreme. Here 
 the neopallium has attained its maximum develop- 
 ment, yet its possessor has not had to seek refuge 
 either in a retired mode of life or by any protective 
 specialisations of structure either for offence or defence, 
 but has attained a dominant position in the animal 
 kingdom whilst retaining much of the generalised 
 structural features of a primitive mammal. 
 
 Each of the sensory organs is adapted to receive a 
 special form of energy derived from the external 
 world or from muscular movements, and to transmit it 
 by nerve fibres which terminate in the living matter 
 of corresponding nervous centres, these areas form 
 the visual, auditory, tactile, and other sensori- 
 memorial nervous centres, their living substance 
 
140 SENSORI-MEMORIAL 
 
 transmutes a part of the energy it thus receives into 
 what we term a sensation, and part of it becomes 
 impressed on the nervous matter to be subsequently 
 released by similar or other impressions made upon it. 
 How excitation of the living matter of the nerve cells 
 forming the visual and other sensori-memorial centres 
 should excite what we call a sensation in us, is 
 neither more nor less unaccountable than any other 
 ultimate fact of nature. But it is clear from evidence 
 to which we have referred, that if the nerve tracts 
 between the receptors of energy and the sensori- 
 memorial centres are divided, or if the living substance 
 of the centre is destroyed, the sensations, which it is 
 the function of this area of nervous matter to 
 elaborate, are abolished. 1 
 
 Not only do the nervous centres for vision respond 
 to the stimulus of light, but certain parts of them are 
 specialised so as to recognise the various colours. 
 Thus in a case we have referred to in our eighth 
 chapter, the individual, as a result of disease affecting 
 definite portions of his visual centres, entirely lost the 
 power of distinguishing one colour from another, but 
 in other respects his vision was normal. Again, in the 
 case referred to (" Human Speech," p. 214), the patient 
 as the result of disease of both areas of her cerebral 
 cortex in which the auditory centres are located, 
 became completely deaf, and also speechless in conse- 
 quence of the loss of the memory impressions she had 
 
 1 For the sake of clearness we write concerning the visual, auditory, 
 and tactile sensori-memorial centres, but it is always to be borne in 
 mind that the brain contains a right and a left hemisphere, and that 
 each hemisphere possesses a visual, auditory and tactile centre ; 
 if one is destroyed the other may act. 
 
CEREBRAL CENTRES 141 
 
 previously gained of word sounds ; in fact her entire 
 auditory mnemic nervous substance had been de- 
 stroyed, and with it her power to form sensations out 
 of word sounds, or receive new impressions of words to 
 supply those which had been destroyed by the loss 
 of her auditory cerebral centres. 
 
 Memorial impressions made on the living substance 
 of specialised nervous matter appear to exist in a 
 latent state for years, and may then not only be re- 
 excited by external stimuli, but also from energy 
 derived from chemical or other sources within the 
 organism. Mr Brudnell Carter describes a remark- 
 able instance of this description which came under his 
 notice some years ago. A lady whose father was 
 English, but her mother of mixed English and French 
 descent, was born in France, and lived there until she 
 was nearly nine years old, speaking only French, and 
 in the care of a French nurse. She then came to 
 England, went to an English school, and the French 
 language lost its hold upon her. As a young woman, 
 she retained a native accent, but she had taken pains 
 to master the English language and to increase her 
 vocabulary, and never spoke French if she could avoid 
 it, being in fact almost aggressively proud of her 
 English nationality. She married, and during her 
 first pregnancy she had a severe illness. She became 
 unconscious. A dead child was born. A day or two 
 after, she began to speak, and constantly repeated, in 
 a sing-song tone, the words " Quand les canards," to 
 which no meaning could be attached. A day or two 
 later she began to recite bits of English verse, and 
 showed evidence of distress when she was unable to 
 continue them for want of the right word. She knew 
 
142 SENSOBI-MEMORIAL 
 
 no one around her, and made no other attempt to 
 speak than by these recitations, which were mostly 
 from Lalla Kookh. In time she perfectly re- 
 covered, and then her old French nurse came to see 
 her, and on hearing of what had happened at once 
 began to chant 
 
 " Quand les canards s'en vout par deux 
 C'est quil's ont a causer entre eux," 
 
 and so went on with the old nursery rhyme which she 
 had sung a hundred times to this lady, when as an 
 infant she lay in her cradle, and which had remained 
 latent in the lady's memorial auditory nervous sub- 
 stance until re-excited probably by impressions derived 
 from chemical stimuli engendered by processes con- 
 nected with her pregnancy. 
 
 Each of the sensori-memorial cortical centres is 
 surrounded by a zone of psychical nervous substance, 
 possessing the power of transmuting impressions re- 
 ceived as sensations into ideas or mental images of 
 the form, substance, or the motion of the various 
 objects or organs of the body from which the 
 stimulus causing the sensations are derived. These 
 parts of the nervous system become matured at an 
 early period of child life, in fact long before the 
 corresponding cortical association areas have been fully 
 developed. Young children, therefore, can form ideas of 
 things before they reach the age when their brains are 
 fully developed so as to associate these ideas, and thus 
 enable them to think. The part taken by the living 
 substance of the cells forming the sensori-memorial 
 centres has been compared to gas-pipes used for an 
 illumination. The ganglionic cells of these cortical 
 
NERVOUS CENTRES 143 
 
 nervous centres are charged with energy, but it is not 
 until a spark (stimulus) is applied which brings out 
 their latent form and makes the figure a reality. 1 
 
 Anatomical, pathological, and clinical evidence 
 demonstrate the fact that between the sensori- 
 memorial zones of the human cerebrum a vast mass 
 of cortical nervous matter exists which, when fully 
 developed, forms the association areas of the brain. 
 Ideas passing into, or influenced by energy derived 
 from these psychical areas by constant practice, and 
 the employment of symbols or words, enables us to 
 express our thoughts in intelligent speech. It is the 
 clearness, the tone, the grouping, and the associative 
 relations of the ideas which constitute our thoughts. 2 
 The following diagram may help to explain our 
 meaning (Fig. 17). 
 
 We may illustrate our subject by the complex 
 sensation produced, for instance, by a rose. On 
 seeing a rose, the nerve ends of the retina are stimu- 
 lated, the excitation passes from its nervous elements 
 
 1 Ziehen, " Introduction to the Study of Physiological Psychology," 
 pp. 156, 158. 
 
 2 Mr G. J. Romanes remarks, " because we see that a great many 
 objects present a certain common quality in common, such as redness, 
 we find it convenient to give this quality a name ; and having done 
 this we speak of redness in the abstract, or standing apart from 
 any particular object, and having made this symbolical abstraction 
 we can compound it with other abstractions so that as in mathe- 
 matics the symbols which are employed contain, in a manipulated 
 form, the whole meaning of a long calculation, so in all other kinds 
 of reasoning the symbols which we call words contain, in an abbre- 
 viated form, vast bodies of signification." The ideas contained in 
 words become associated in the psychical substance of the brain. It 
 is this principle " which renders possible all the faculties of mind, 
 memory, judgment, reason, volition." The Nineteenth Century, 
 October 1878, p. 654, article on " Animal Intelligence." 
 
144 SENSORI-MEMORIAL 
 
 to corresponding visual cortical centres, and releases a 
 portion of their energy, producing a visual sensation 
 of the rose, other portions of this energy assume the 
 form of a memorial impression of the flower. Not 
 only does a rose produce these visual sensations and 
 impression, but its fragrance acts in the same way 
 on the olfactory centres ; and its leaves, by touch, on 
 
 FIG. 17. E represents an auditory sensory organ which receives, sifts, and transmits 
 wave scunds to the auditory cortical centre A, where sensori-memorial impressions 
 are formed in the shape of ideas or mental images of the sounds which have 
 produced the sensation. These mental images may be brought into action by 
 various modes of stimulation, and in this form pass to B, a psychical cortical area of 
 nervous matter. In areas of this description, ideas become associated and moulded 
 into conscious processes, thoughts, and judgments, and as such come to play upon 
 the living substance of if, a motory word centre, and thus become manifest in the 
 action of VA, the vocal apparatus, or other groups of muscles. 
 
 the tactile centres. So that at least three mental 
 images of the rose, different in quality, are deposited 
 in the memory cells of these cortical centres. The 
 ganglionic cells of these centres are closely connected 
 by associative fibres, and having been often incited 
 simultaneously the three component ideas or mental 
 images are thus associated with one another, and 
 constitute the mental picture of a rose, which acts on 
 the nervous elements of the organ of speech and be- 
 
AND ASSOCIATIVE AREAS 145 
 
 comes manifest in the expression of our ideas in the 
 word " rose." 
 
 The association of ideas is therefore accomplished 
 by the co-operation of two kinds of impressions ; the 
 new sensations received from the external world, and 
 the mental images produced in the living substance of 
 memory cells. It is the re- excitation of these latent 
 ideas which form so important a part in intellectual 
 processes. To further illustrate this point Professor 
 Ziehen remarks we see a dark cloud, i.e. a stimulation 
 has been transmitted from the retina to the sensory 
 living matter of the visual cortical centre, and in 
 conjunction with the surrounding psychical area, has 
 produced a mental image or idea of a dark cloud. A 
 series of related ideas are connected with this idea by 
 association ; for example, among them, the idea of 
 rain. The material excitation in the memory-cells of 
 the association areas of the cortex, corresponding to 
 this idea of rain, had been formed by former visual 
 sensations of rain ; and the appearance of the cloud 
 brings these memorial impressions into play, and thus 
 the idea of rain becomes associated with the cloud. 
 In the same way this one idea is followed by 
 numerous others ; latent images of memory are con- 
 stantly being brought into play and produce those 
 processes of ideation upon which our thoughts and 
 beliefs are based. 
 
 Each idea reproduces as its successor either an idea 
 that is similar to it in significance, or an idea with 
 which it has often appeared before simultaneously. 
 We have elsewhere insisted on the importance of 
 training the association memorial cells of the cerebral 
 cortex in young persons through means of the various 
 K 
 
146 THE DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 sensory organs. The child asks " what is that," and 
 in answer may be told, " a tree," in this way a visual 
 idea and an auditory idea are established. These 
 ideas are wholly unlike each other, but by virtue of 
 constant simultaneous appearance they become closely 
 associated. Professor B. Moore states that " it is the 
 linking of one reaction with another, and the using 
 of the free energy of one to run another, that specially 
 characterises the cell," and so it is with the memory 
 cells of the cerebral cortex, it is the using of 
 one to run the qualities latent in another which 
 constitutes the power of the human brain, and is 
 provided for in the size and complex nature of its 
 neopallium. 
 
 Professor Halliburton remarks that the importance 
 of the association of ideas which have for their 
 anatomical basis the association of cortical centres, 
 will be at once grasped when we consider such com- 
 plex actions as reading aloud or writing from dictation. 
 The position of the main centres involved is shown in 
 Fig. 17. In reading aloud, the impressions of the words 
 enter the eyes, reach that portion of the cerebral 
 cortex known as the visual word centre, travel by 
 means of association fibres to the auditory word 
 centre, where the memory of their sounds is revived ; 
 a tract of association fibres connects this to the sen- 
 sori-motor area of Broca's convolution, whence motor 
 impulses originate which reach the muscles concerned 
 in pronouncing the word originally seen. 1 Again in 
 writing from dictation the course of the impulse is by 
 the auditory channels to the auditory word centre, 
 
 1 " Introduction to the Study of Physiological Psychology," by 
 Professor T. Ziehen, pp. 244, 246. 
 
PSYCHICAL NERVOUS MATTER 147 
 
 then by association tracts to the visual word centre, 
 where the shape of the letters composing the words 
 are recorded ; another association tract carries on the 
 impulses to the sensori-motor area connected with the 
 movements of the hand, and finally the movement of 
 writing is accomplished. The conscious phenomena 
 depend on sensations by means of which we become 
 aware that the motion has been executed. We see 
 the arm moving, we feel the object seized, and finally 
 the sensory nerves in the interior of the arm inform 
 us that the muscle has contracted. This sensation is 
 known as the kinaesthetic sensation or sensation of 
 motion. 
 
 The totality of component ideas when associated 
 with one another constitute the mental image of the 
 object. Beyond this human beings have acquired the 
 power of naming these associated ideas, that is, of 
 uniting them in the form of definite symbols or words 
 which they employ to enable them to think, reason, 
 and to express their thoughts in intelligent language : 
 the materials necessary to form a nervous and muscular 
 system adapted for this purpose are inherited, but the 
 efficient employment of such a mechanism can only be 
 gained by individual practice. 
 
 Young children imitate the sounds which they 
 hear ; for example, let us suppose the sound to be 
 that of the word " rose." In making an effort to repeat 
 this word a child brings the muscles and ligaments of 
 his vocal apparatus into a definite form of action, 
 thereby exciting the sensory organs of these structures, 
 a part of their potential energy is consequently released 
 and passes to corresponding sensori-motor nervous 
 elements located in the cerebral cortex ; a motor 
 
148 THE FUNCTIONS PERFORMED 
 
 memorial image of the word is thus formed in the 
 living matter of this motor centre. By practice a 
 system of this kind becomes perfected, and we con- 
 ceive that if those motor elements which contained 
 this impression were directly stimulated they might 
 discharge nervous energy which would re-act upon the 
 structures that had led to the impression, and so 
 induce a repetition of the vocal sound " rose." Action 
 of this kind would be independent of any psychical 
 influence, the word would possess no more meaning 
 than the sound made by a parrot who had been taught 
 to repeat the word " rose." 
 
 As the child grows older the cortical psychical ele- 
 ments of his cerebrum become more fully developed, and 
 he then begins to comprehend the meaning of the words 
 of which he makes use. Sensations excited by sounds 
 such as the word " rose," pass from his ears to corre- 
 sponding auditory nervous centres, and become there 
 registered in the form of ideas or the mental images 
 of this word. If this nervous matter is stimulated by 
 energy derived from auditory impulses similar to those" 
 which produced the impression or from other sources, 
 a part of its working power is released and passes 
 to the motor nervous centres in which the word 
 " rose " exists. By constant practice a system of 
 this kind comes to act with unfailing precision, 
 provided its living matter is in working order, 
 and it possesses a constant supply of potential 
 energy. 
 
 By processes such as those to which we have briefly 
 referred we seem to comprehend how the ideas of 
 form, colour, and odour become associated and em- 
 bodied in the word " rose," which we are enabled to 
 
BY PSYCHICAL MATTER 149 
 
 employ either in silent or articulate speech. Language 
 thus becomes the most powerful instrument for the 
 development of thought, serving by means of the 
 association of ideas to represent the object or fact 
 described. 
 
 We base these conclusions, as we have elsewhere 
 stated, on the fact that if definite areas of a human 
 being's sensori-motor centre are destroyed, such a person 
 may continue to hear and understand the meaning of 
 words, and may be able to answer questions by writing 
 his reply on paper or on .a slate, but he has lost the 
 power of articulation, although he may be able to hear 
 and to think. If a dog, while under the influence of 
 an antesthetic, has the sensori-motor area of his cerebral 
 cortex stimulated which controls the action of his 
 vocal apparatus, the animal barks, that is, utters a 
 sound which he has learnt from hearing other dogs 
 bark. 
 
 If a definite part of the auditory cortical nervous 
 matter of the cerebral hemispheres is destroyed the 
 individual may still be able to hear word sounds, but 
 he has lost the power of comprehending their meaning, 
 a specialised psychical portion of the auditory centres 
 having been abolished. Under these conditions 
 word sounds passing through the individual's ears 
 do not produce mental memorial images of the 
 words he may hear ; nor can this power be restored 
 because the psychical nervous matter on which 
 sensations produce the image of word sounds no 
 longer exists. 
 
 If an individual is born deaf and blind his brain 
 may be well developed, and its various parts capable 
 of performing their functions, but visual or auditory 
 
150 THE ASSOCIATION AREAS 
 
 energy cannot pass in its natural form to the corre- 
 sponding cortical nervous centres mental, visual and 
 auditory ideas cannot therefore be formed, and the 
 individual is unable to learn to speak, unless these 
 nervous centres can be brought into play through 
 sensations passing to them from other sensory organs. 
 Such paths as we have explained may be opened up by 
 means of the efficient training of the tactile and 
 kinaesthetic sense organs. 1 
 
 The association areas of the human brain are 
 divided into three principal fields (Fig. 15, p. 131). 
 
 The Anterior Psychical or Association field is located 
 in the frontal lobe of the brain ; its nervous matter is 
 brought into close relation with that of the basal 
 ganglia and motor centres of the cerebral cortex. 
 Bundles of fibres likewise bring this field of nervous 
 matter into relation with the visual auditory and 
 other centres ; the functions performed by its nervous 
 matter is directly related to the grade of self-con- 
 trol exercised by individuals, and collectively by the 
 order of men to which they belong. The full apprecia- 
 tion of the self in relation to those by whom we are 
 surrounded, has probably been the last and highest 
 factor in the development of individual social conduct, 
 and is 'as yet only dimly recognised by the numbers 
 of human beings who are apt to pride themselves on 
 their high standard of civilisation. 
 
 Disease or injury of the anterior psychical field is 
 in man often attended with loss of appreciation of 
 individual personality, and of the value of things 
 to him necessary for moral and aesthetic judgment ; 
 uncertainty of action and lack of will are common in 
 
 1 "Human Speech," chap. xiii. 
 
OF THE CEREBRUM 151 
 
 such people. Their self-control suffers, and under the 
 influence of excitement their conduct often becomes 
 immoral or even criminal. 1 
 
 The Middle Psychical field coincides with that portion 
 of the cerebrum known as the Island of Eeil, and is 
 situated between the auditory sensory area and that 
 of Broca's centre for speech. We have already 
 referred to the functions performed by the nervous 
 living substance of these cortical centres and their 
 association areas, so that we need not recur to the 
 subject in this part of our work. 2 
 
 The Posterior Psychical field is located in the parieto- 
 temporal region of the cerebrum ; its functions " are to 
 construct external objects from the several kinds of 
 sensory impressions, and to form ideas concerning the 
 relation of objects and psychic processes to one another 
 and to the self. In a word, the objective relation of 
 the individual and all those processes which we 
 commonly call ' intellectual.' " 3 
 
 While we fully appreciate the fact that a human 
 being possesses a far more extensive and complex 
 cerebral cortex, as compared with the other parts of 
 his nervous system, than any other animal, and has 
 therefore at his command a high order of mental 
 capacity, we nevertheless hold, that as in the lower 
 classes of beings, his instinctive, emotional, mimetic, 
 and other hereditary characters are the result of work 
 performed by the nervous matter of the basal ganglia 
 and their extension into the inner granular layer of 
 the cerebral cortex. 
 
 1 Johnston, p. 352, " The Nervous System of Vertebrates." 
 
 2 " Human Speech," pp. 196-201. 
 
 3 Johnston, 352. 
 
152 INHERITED CHARACTERS 
 
 Mr E. H. Lock in his recent work on Heredity 
 and Evolution, when discussing Sir Francis Galton's 
 ideas regarding the science of Eugenics observes, that 
 you may educate generation after generation, and 
 yet the starting-point from which each individual has 
 to begin his struggle upwards may remain the same, 
 even though each may struggle a little further than 
 the one who came before him. On the other hand, we 
 have all of us met happy people to whom it seemed 
 second nature to do the right thing, and for whom the 
 difficulties of life appear to have no menace. These 
 qualities are those of nature and not of nurture, and 
 their children inherit them (the italics are our 
 own). Important as education, sanitation, and the 
 like may be, their effects are strictly limited. 1 
 
 Men, notwithstanding their mental capacities, are 
 animals, they still possess instinctive and hereditary 
 characters, which because they are inherited are more 
 difficult to influence than their acquired intellectual 
 attainments, the latter are comparatively unstable and 
 pass away with the life of the individual, but the 
 hereditary characters continue in operation and to a 
 large extent influence the actions of individuals 
 throughout their lives. 
 
 In the second part of this work we endeavour to 
 employ the teaching of biology as a means of throwing 
 light on historical science, and thus to ascertain how 
 far it is possible to trace the existence, and the 
 influence which hereditary character has had in mould- 
 ing the destinies of individuals and of the race to 
 
 1 " Recent Progress in the Study of Variations, Heredity and 
 Evolution," by Robert Heath Lock, M.A., Fellow of Gonville and 
 Caius College, Cambridge, Second Edition, pp. 287, 288. 
 
INHERITED CHARACTERS 153 
 
 which they belong. It seems however, desirable before 
 considering the historical evidence bearing on this 
 subject, to summarise the facts and conclusions we 
 have arrived at biologically, regarding the nature and 
 evolution of the living matter out of which our 
 hereditary and mental capacities are elaborated. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 
 
 IN a previous volume of the International Scientific 
 Series we described the nature and functions performed 
 by those parts of the living matter of our bodies by 
 means of which we gain ideas concerning the external 
 world, and are enabled to formulate and to express our 
 thoughts in intelligent speech. The lines we followed 
 in this investigation led us, in the first place, to con- 
 sider the fundamental properties possessed by living 
 matter, and then, by the aid of comparative biology, 
 to explain the higher functions performed by the 
 nervous matter of the brain culminating in human 
 speech. 
 
 In the preceding chapters of the present work we 
 have endeavoured to establish the fact, that action ex- 
 cited in living protoplasm by various modes of energy is 
 transmuted by certain of its elements into movements 
 adapted to promote the well-being of the organism. 
 We term the elements constituting this kind of matter 
 " purposive," and show they are sufficient to effect all 
 the movements necessary to maintain the existence of 
 the lower classes of beings. But as in the as- 
 cending orders of animals the structures entering 
 into the formation of their bodies become more 
 complicated under the action of the environment, so 
 the purposive elements which direct their movements 
 
 154 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 155 
 
 undergo a corresponding evolution, and become 
 developed into matter possessing instinctive, and finally 
 psychical functions. The details on which our conclu- 
 sions are based necessitated the use of technical terms 
 with which persons who have not studied the science 
 of biology are unfamiliar. We have therefore thought 
 it advisable to summarise in as clear and concise 
 language as we can command, the evidence and 
 the main line of argument we have employed in this 
 and in our previous volume ; hoping thus to make 
 clear our meaning to those who may perhaps have 
 had some difficulty in following our line of reasoning. 
 
 The physical basis of life, or protoplasm, is made up 
 of a semi-liquid jelly-like or colloidal substance, a form 
 of matter known as protein, with the addition of a 
 small percentage of sulphur, phosphorus and iron. 
 Professor B. Moore states that we are unable to com- 
 bine the elements forming these substances into any 
 of the proteins of the cells or body fluids, and still 
 less to build them up into living protoplasm, but we 
 have obtained much insight as to the general character 
 of the constitution of proteins, and the main plan 
 upon which details are still to be worked out lies 
 before us. 1 
 
 The proteids or albumenous substances form an 
 extensive group, the different members of which it is 
 believed vary to a large extent through means of altera- 
 tions in trie structural arrangement of their component 
 elements. To illustrate this point we refer to the 
 diversity of properties exhibited by two chemical com- 
 pounds resulting from alterations in the relation to 
 
 1 " Further Advances in Physiology," edited by Leonard Hill, 
 p. 6. 
 
156 THE NATURE OF 
 
 one another of their elements. For example, the 
 molecules of the two compounds known as Benzonitrile 
 and Phenylisocyanide, each contain seven atoms of 
 carbon, five of hydrogen, and one of nitrogen, but on 
 account of a slight difference in the arrangementof 
 their atoms, one of them is a harmless aromatic 
 fluid while the other is a stinking poison. In like 
 manner we assume that the different kinds of living 
 protoplasm such as that which forms the basis sub- 
 stance of the various animal structures, while chemically 
 identical, possess varied physiological properties, that 
 those material processes that properly belong to living 
 matter. It is not so much the nature of the con- 
 stituent elements, as the way these elements are 
 arranged, which effects differences in the kind of work 
 they perform. 
 
 The bodies of unicellular and of multicellular 
 beings consist of minute particles of protoplasm or 
 cells, which, with the exception of the simplest 
 forms, contain one or more vesicular bodies or 
 nuclei ; and as a rule nucleoli, centrosomes and so 
 on (Fig. 18). The nucleus of the cell is enclosed in 
 a membrane during the greater part of its existence ; 
 the substance of the nucleus being formed of a 
 nieshwork of differentiated protoplasm or linin, holding 
 in its meshes granules of a substance known as 
 Chromatin which many biologists consider constitutes 
 the basis substance of hereditary characters. But as 
 we have explained, the bacteria and lower algas, which 
 form vast and most important classes of beings do not 
 possess either a nucleus or fully formed chromatiu, 
 nevertheless they constitute the most numerous and 
 prolific classes of beings on the face of the earth. 
 
LIVING PROTOPLASM 
 
 157 
 
 Under the microscope the jelly-like protoplasm of 
 a dead cell appears to be formed of a network of 
 granular fibrillse ; but the details of the structure of 
 living protoplasm is not so obvious ; and any attempt 
 to gain an insight into the mode of its physiological 
 activities from its apparent structure is useless. We 
 must seek the source of these activities in its ultra 
 
 cerilrosome. 
 
 -microsom.es, 
 
 Ivacuolef 
 
 FIG. 18. Diagram of a cell. 
 
 microscopic organisation, accepting the fact, that what 
 appears to be an homogeneous substance is a complex 
 mixture of elements, which within certain limits, 
 undergo structural re-arrangement through the action 
 of various forces. Modifications of the structural 
 arrangement of the elements of living matter thus 
 induced are accompanied by modifications in its 
 functions, which in the course of time become 
 hereditary characters. 
 
158 THE NATURE OF 
 
 It is generally admitted that the changes in form 
 and function of living protoplasm such as those to 
 which we have referred, are attributable to the great 
 size and complexity of its proteid molecules. 1 Each 
 of these molecules are supposed to contain from ten 
 to thirty thousand atoms, whereas the most complex 
 molecule known to the organic chemist consists of 
 less than a hundred atoms. The units or cells of 
 animals are built up of these large proteid molecules. 
 The biogen or chemical unit of living matter is 
 not a fixed unit like the molecule of dead proteid, 
 it maintains itself in virtue of a continual flux of 
 matter and energy. 2 It is necessary to appreciate 
 this fact in order that we should be prepared to accept 
 the otherwise almost incomprehensible nature of the 
 work which is performed by the living substance of the 
 various parts of the central nervous system, especially 
 in the higher classes of animals. 3 
 
 1 Professor M'Kendrick refers to figures which may perhaps assist us 
 to realise to some extent the magnitude and complex nature of the 
 elements which form animal cells. He finds that a human female 
 germ cell or gamete measures about ^ mm. in diameter, and the 
 male gamete or spermatic cell about ^^ mm. Professor M'Kendrick 
 states that when the male cell combines with the female cell 
 this fertilised cell would, according to his calculations, contain 
 20,000,000,000,000 proteid molecules, one half of which consist of 
 water. He considers this number of organic molecules sufficient 
 to account for the transmission of hereditary peculiarities, and for 
 the development of all parts of a highly complicated organism. 
 
 2 Science Progress, No. 2, pp. 197, 198. 
 
 3 From a study of the simplest forms of plants and animals we arrive 
 at the conclusion that their living protoplasm exhibits the same 
 fundamental processes and have therefore presumably been derived 
 from a common ancestral form of matter. Their protoplasm could 
 not have arisen ex nihilo, or out of something entirely different from 
 itself, and as we do not meet outside living organisms with matter 
 presenting a like combination of phenomena to that manifested by 
 
LIVING PROTOPLASM 159 
 
 The theory which seems to us best adapted to 
 explain the phenomena presented by living matter, 
 assumes that it consists of a specific numerical and 
 structural arrangement of elements, which act as a 
 transformer of non-vital into biotic or living energy. 
 The result of this action becomes manifest in certain 
 phenomena which collectively we call life. Life, 
 therefore, is the result of chemical and other modes 
 of energy acting on a specific form of matter. 1 
 
 By a transformer of energy we mean a substance 
 which through means of the structural arrangement 
 of its constituent elements, is specially adapted for 
 promoting certain energy exchanges. Thus some 
 energy transformers possess only the property shared 
 by all forms of matter of acting as general transformers, 
 although varying in degree, while in others the property 
 is specific, and associated with some special arrange- 
 ment of matter. Thus the metals possess electrical 
 conductivity, and in inverse proportion act as trans- 
 formers for the conversion of electrical energy into 
 heat energy. The chlorophyll of green plants, on the 
 other hand, has specific powers of converting light 
 into chemical and thus acts as a peculiar energy- 
 transformer. Again, the soluble ferments or enzymes 
 consist of chemical substances secreted by living 
 protoplasm, which may be extracted from the cells 
 in which they have been formed, as for instance the 
 pepsine of the gastric juice. In their capacity as 
 
 living matter, we conclude, therefore, that this substance consists 
 of a peculiar structural arrangement of elements proceeding from a 
 common and simpler combination of atoms. 
 
 1 Professsor B. Moore, " Recent Advances in Physiology and Bio- 
 Chemistry," edited by Dr Leonard Hill, p. 135. 
 
160 FUNCTIONS OF 
 
 energy transformers they break up complex albumenous 
 products into simpler substances, and thus prepare 
 them for digestion. They effect this change by their 
 presence alone, without appearing in the final product 
 of the action. We have come also to learn that some 
 enzymes possess the power of rebuilding the molecules 
 others have broken down ; by processes of this order 
 an extract of almonds (amygdaline) may be broken up 
 into compounds, which another ferment will put 
 together again and so reconstruct the original 
 compound. 
 
 The living protoplasm of animal cells when placed 
 in favourable conditions appropriates the elements 
 prepared by enzymes to replace its worn-out materials, 
 these latter products in conjunction with those left 
 by the enzymes after completing their work, are 
 broken up by the free oxygen of the cell aided by 
 the action of its living matter, and are converted 
 ultimately into carbonic acid, water, and heat, and so 
 pass away from the cell. Processes of this description 
 release a considerable amount of energy which con- 
 stitutes a supply of potential working power to the 
 living matter of the cell. If, therefore, the proto- 
 plasm of the cell is insufficiently or imperfectly 
 supplied with nutrient matter, its potential energy or 
 working power fails ; on the other hand if the 
 ordinary play of its molecules are hindered by the 
 action of an anesthetic or other poison, its power as 
 a transformer of energy is hindered and its functions 
 are thus impaired. 
 
 We laid stress on the fact that all forms of living 
 protoplasm, animal and vegetable, possessed certain 
 fundamental properties, and were therefore probably 
 
LIVING PROTOPLASM 161 
 
 derived from a common ancestral stock. Among 
 these fundamental processes, we referred to the 
 metabolism, reproduction, respiratory and other 
 properties, including those of sensitivity, as well as 
 to its purposive action, and its power of retaining 
 impressions made upon it by certain modes of energy. 
 Through means of its irritability, living matter 
 responds to impressions made upon it by energy 
 derived from chemical and other sources, through 
 means of its purposive elements the action thus 
 excited is employed to promote the well-being of the 
 living substance, through means of its power to 
 register impressions made on it, it comes to form the 
 basis substance of memory, upon which the mental 
 powers of the higher animals, including human beings, 
 depend (p. 65). 
 
 The meaning we attach to the term purposive 
 action may be understood by referring to the changes 
 which take place in the substance of some of the 
 simplest known forms of organisms. The living 
 matter of a bacterium consists of what appears under 
 the highest powers of the microscope to be a minute 
 particle of homogeneous protoplasm. In response, 
 generally to unfavourable conditions of the environ- 
 ment, definite movements are excited in the substance 
 forming the body of the organism, by means of which 
 it separates into germinal and somatic elements. 
 The somatic substance nourishes and protects the 
 germinal elements until they are matured and reach 
 favourable conditions for their development, the 
 somatic matter then perishes, and from the germinal 
 substance a new being is produced. The energy 
 required to bring about changes of this description 
 L 
 
162 PURPOSIVE MOVEMENTS 
 
 in the living substance of a bacterium is derived from 
 various sources, but the ordering or regulating of the 
 action thus brought into play, is we conceive, 
 accomplished through means of the purposive elements 
 of the living matter, which are adapted to promote 
 the well-being of the organism and of the species 
 to which it belongs. It is well to note that action 
 of this kind is common to bacteria in all parts of the 
 world, and is at once suppressed by an anaesthetic or 
 by any conditions which interfere with the normal 
 metabolic activity of the living matter of the cell, and 
 so of its supply of potential or working energy. 
 
 Professor A. J. Ewart, in his work " On the Physics 
 and Physiology of Protoplasmic Streaming in Plants," 
 has given an admirable account of the forces brought 
 into action in effecting movements of this kind in 
 living matter. He states " that a direct physical 
 explanation can however, hardly apply to organisms 
 which possess definite locomotory organs, such as 
 fiagella or cilia. It is undoubtedly often the case 
 that physical forces such as surface tension, osmosis, 
 imbibition etc., when intense, may overpower the 
 organism, but there can equally be no doubt that 
 the latter has acquired the power of directing and 
 controlling these natural forces for its own benefit, so 
 that a simple direct physical explanation can hardly 
 be postulated for phenomena which may be due to 
 a multiplicity of interacting factors." x 
 
 Mr W. B. Hardy, in his paper on " The Physical Basis 
 of Life," states that if we watch the movements of an 
 amceba crawling amid sand, fragments of decayed 
 
 1 On the Physics and Physiology of Protoplasmic Streaming in 
 Plants, by A. J. Ewart, p. 112. 
 
OF ORGANISMS 
 
 163 
 
 leaves, and living diatoms, we notice that of the 
 particles which it takes into its substance some are 
 nutritious food, some are innutritions and absolutely 
 useless. But there is a decided balance in favour of the 
 nutritious particles. Like Autolycus, it is a picker-up 
 of unconsidered trifles, guided by a decided preference 
 for things useful to itself. " Therefore, the tiny 
 animal manifests discrimina- 
 tion, imperfect no doubt, but 
 clearly recognisable. And 
 the choice is beneficial, 
 it contains an element of 
 purpose." l 
 
 In the year 1878, Pro- 
 fessor Strasburger described 
 the movements made by the 
 zoospores (motile spores) of 
 Ulothrix (Fig. 19), and other 
 algae, and showed that their 
 power of locomotion resulted 
 from various external forces 
 acting on their irritable living 
 protoplasm. 
 
 Professor J. Loeb holds that movements such as 
 those to which we have referred in the lower algae, not 
 only occur in animal organisms but are referable to 
 the same causes or tropisms. He believes these 
 movements depend, first,- upon the specific irritability 
 of certain elements of the body surface, and secondly, 
 upon the relations of symmetry of the body. In 
 his opinion symmetrical elements at the surface of 
 
 1 " The Physical Basis of Life," by W B. Hardy, Science Progress, 
 October 1906, p. 182. 
 
 19. B, Fully developed 
 spore of Ulothrix. a, small spore 
 with two cilia; 6, small spores 
 uniting to form a fertile being. 
 
164 MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 the body have the same irritability, unsymmetrical 
 elements have a different irritability. Those nearer 
 the oral pole or anterior end of a being possess an 
 irritability greater than that of those near the opposite 
 pole. These conditions force an animal to place 
 itself towards a source of stimulation or away from it. 
 Professor Loeb rightly maintains that these move- 
 ments in the lower forms of plants and animals are 
 identical in their nature, as we assume, because the 
 fundamental properties possessed by animal and 
 vegetable protoplasm are identical, both having in all 
 probability arisen out of a common simpler ancestral 
 stock. 
 
 Professor Loeb, in order to illustrate the principle 
 he advocates, refers to the movements of a moth in the 
 presence of a lighted lamp. He states that if the 
 insect be struck by the light of the lamp on one side of 
 its body, those muscles which turn the head towards 
 the light become more active than those of the opposite 
 side, and correspondingly the head of the animal is 
 turned towards the light. As soon as the head of the 
 animal assumes this direction and the median-plane 
 (or plane of symmetry) comes into the direction of the 
 rays of light, the symmetrical points of the surface of 
 the body are struck by the rays of light at the same 
 angle ; and the animal is rapidly drawn into the flame 
 of the lamp. This action, Loeb remarks, is " nothing 
 more than the chemical and indirectly the mechanical 
 effect of the light, an effect similar to that which 
 forces the stem of the plant at the window to bend 
 towards the source of light." Again, this author states 
 that the same cause which prescribes the course of a 
 falling stone or determines the orbit of planets, namely, 
 
OF ORGANISMS 165 
 
 gravitation, determines also the path which a butterfly 
 follows that has just emerged from the pupa case. 
 The geotropic irritability is at this time especially 
 strong ; the newly-hatched animal remains restless 
 and is compelled to run about until it comes to a 
 vertical wall, on which it can put the longitudinal 
 axis of its body vertically, its head upwards. Here it 
 remains quietly until its wings are unfolded. 1 
 
 Dr Georges Bohn is a recent and strenuous advocate 
 of Professor Loeb's ideas. With reference to Lamarck's 
 views concerning the movements of the inferior 
 animals being due to external causes, such as the 
 action of the environment, of light, and so on, Dr 
 Bohn states that action of this kind, or Tropisms, 
 result from the attraction of living beings to exterior 
 forces which they are unable to resist : he, however, 
 holds that as tropism alone cannot insure the preserva- 
 tion of the life of the animal, other modes of acting 
 are necessarily associated with it, and probably take 
 predominance. Among these modes of action he 
 describes " sensibility differentidle " as being of great 
 importance ; he uses this term to express variations in 
 the environmental agents as causes of reaction. 2 For 
 instance, if a cloud passes between the sun and a 
 number of organisms placed in a basin of water, the 
 organisms turn round actively, and then take up 
 their original position. He holds it is through their 
 power of differential sensibility that the lower animals 
 
 1 " Comparative Physiology of the Brain and Comparative 
 Psychology," by J. Loeb, M.D.; also " Studies in General Physiology," 
 by J. Loeb, Professor of Physiology in the University of California, 
 vol. i. pp. 37, 112. Chicago : The University Press, 1905. 
 
 2 The, American Naturalist, vol. xliii., p. 624, Article by Professor 
 H. S. Jennings. 
 
166 PURPOSIVE ELEMENTS 
 
 avoid noxious or harmful movements. We must 
 however refer the reader to Dr Bonn's work in order 
 to become fully conversant with his views on the 
 subject we have referred to, and on tropisms in 
 general. 1 
 
 We consider that movements such as those above 
 alluded to, are directed by energy derived from the 
 purposive elements of the organism ; a form of energy 
 which controls the movements of the contractile ele- 
 ments of the living substance. Our difficulty in 
 completely establishing this theory consists in our 
 inability to place our finger on purposive and instinctive 
 elements, so as to separate them from other forms of 
 living matter ; as this is impossible, we can only judge 
 the qualities and potentialities of this matter by 
 observing the phenomena it is capable of producing in 
 living beings. 
 
 It appears that in the simplest forms of unicellular 
 animals purposive elements are disseminated through- 
 out the protoplasm of their body substance, being 
 however most pronounced in the outer layer of 
 living matter. Thus in a volvox, stimuli applied to 
 its cilia excites a reaction in its protoplasm and 
 releases a portion of its potential energy, which 
 acting on purposive elements, becomes manifest in 
 the movements of the cilia ; their action is rythmical, 
 because when a discharge of potential energy has 
 taken place from the protoplasm, a pause is necessary 
 to enable the living substance to become recharged 
 with working power (Fig. 20). 
 
 In the Porifera, and in the polyps (Hydroids), 
 among the Coelentera we find that a differentiation of 
 
 1 " La Nassiance de 1'Intelligence," par Dr G. Bohn, p. 26. 
 
THEIR DIFFERENTIATION 
 
 167 
 
 the purposive elements of the protoplasm has taken 
 place. From the sensory living matter of the external 
 surface of their bodies and tentacles disseminated 
 ganglionic nerve cells are formed, the living elements 
 of these cells, among other functions, direct a certain 
 portion of their potential energy into purposive action, 
 so that the animal's contractile fibres or muscle- 
 cells are brought into 
 play. Action of this 
 kind would appear to 
 be an amplification of 
 that which brings the 
 cilia of a volvox into 
 operation. 
 
 In jelly-fishes 
 (Medusoids) the nerve- 
 cells form a chain 
 passing round the 
 margin of the bell, 
 which on the one hand 
 receive impressions 
 
 unrip nn thpm tVirnno-h & Wilso ". " The Cell in Development and 
 On tnem tniOUgn inheritance," p. 123.) 
 
 the various sensory 
 
 organs, and on the other hand transform this energy 
 into force, which passes to the animal's muscular 
 apparatus and bring it into co-ordinate purposive 
 action, thus giving us the first inkling of a central 
 nervous system. 
 
 In the next higher class of animals (Echinodermata), 
 which include star-fishes, the ganglionic nerve- cells 
 have become aggregated into a central nervous organ 
 which forms a circumaxial ring with radial cords of 
 nervous matter passing outwards to supply the muscles 
 
 FIG. 20. Volvox showing the small ciliated 
 somatic cells and seven large germ cells. 
 (Drawn from life by J. H. Emerton. See E. 
 
168 THE EVOLUTION OF 
 
 of the animal's limbs with motor impulses, and to 
 receive impressions passing from the various sensory 
 organs to the central nervous organ. The action of 
 the purposive elements of the central nervous system 
 of these animals is conspicuous in the efforts they 
 make to assume their natural position when they have 
 been turned over on their dorsal surface, and in their 
 action in getting rid of a harmful source of irritation, 
 which extends so far as to cause them to cast off 
 an offending limb ; which however is soon regenerated 
 (p. 49). 
 
 In the worms (Annelida) there is a more complete 
 co-ordination of the brain than in the Medusoids, a 
 nervous system capable of initiating actions. The 
 central nervous system has assumed a bilateral 
 symmetrical form ; it consists typically of a pair 
 of prseoral (cerebral) ganglia situated in front of 
 the mouth, and of a series of post-oral ganglia, 
 arranged segmentally in pairs along the ventral mid- 
 line of the body, and united together by transverse 
 commissures and longitudinal connections 1 (Fig. 1 0, 
 p. 40). In this class are included the lug- worm 
 and sea-mouse, to which we have referred as possess- 
 ing a more complicated central nervous system than 
 those of the lower classes of animals. In some 
 members of this class of beings, such as the poly- 
 chseta, definite cephalic sensory organs are de- 
 veloped from the outer sensitive layer of living 
 matter of their bodies, and from these sensory organs 
 nerve fibres pass to ganglionic cells located in the 
 animal's brain. Like other structures these aggrega- 
 
 1 Mr R. H. Burne, Phys. Series, Roy. Coll. Surgeons Cat. vol. 
 ii. p. 5. 
 
PURPOSIVE ELEMENTS 169 
 
 tions of cerebral nervous matter increase in dimension, 
 and in perfection of function, in proportion to the 
 extent and kind of energy which is brought to bear 
 upon them through means of their corresponding 
 sensory organs. 
 
 As regards the Arthropodia, we referred to the 
 nervous system of the cray-fish and of ants and bees, 
 and dwelt on the fact that as the cephalic sensory 
 organs became more highly developed, a reciprocal 
 increase could be traced in the amount and complexity 
 of their central nervous system. 
 
 The cray-fish remains at the mouth of its burrow, 
 barring the entrance by means of its protruding head 
 and long antennae. In this position the animal is 
 able to feel, and to see the various objects passing 
 within reach of its claws, with which it seizes its food. 
 In order to form an idea of the processes which enable 
 a cray-fish to initiate and carry on a series of move- 
 ments such as those we have mentioned, it is necessary, 
 in the first place, to bear in mind the fundamental 
 qualities possessed by living matter, and then, that 
 the existing species of cray-fish are derived from a 
 line of ancestors extending over long periods of time, 
 and that in far distant ages this order of animals 
 was probably gradually developed from simpler 
 forms of beings. In each stage of their evolution the 
 living substance forming this order of animals must 
 have become adapted to changes imposed on it by 
 variations of climate, and other conditions to which it 
 had been exposed, otherwise the species would have 
 ceased to exist. 
 
 The hard external covering of the head and body 
 of the Crustacea however, renders the result of 
 
170 THE EVOLUTION OF 
 
 experiments on their brains unsatisfactory, and the 
 central nervous system of ants and bees are so small 
 that to remove definite parts of them during life, so 
 as to watch the results produced on the animal's 
 movements, is wellnigh impracticable. It is therefore 
 desirable to consider the conditions under which these 
 instinctive processes are effected by certain of the 
 cartilaginous fishes, that is, by animals forming the 
 lowest class of vertebrates. 1 
 
 The vertebrates, as is well known, are characterised 
 by the presence of a cord of nervous matter extending 
 along the length of their bodies (spinal cord) which 
 is enclosed in a canal formed of either cartilage or of 
 a number of bones (vertebras), and of a brain which is 
 a continuation upwards of the spinal cord, and is en- 
 closed by the skull (Fig. 14, p. 1 1 1). This sub-kingdom 
 of animals is divided into a number of classes, orders, 
 and species. Without exception, from the lowest 
 cartilaginous fishes, up to human beings, their brains 
 are in part formed by four masses of nervous matter, 
 known collectively as the basal ganglia (the right 
 and left optic thalami and corpora striata). 
 
 In the three lower classes of animals the elements 
 contained in the nerve-cells of the basal ganglia 
 constitute the central receiving station for energy 
 passing from the visual, auditory and tactile sense 
 organs. It is from the substance of these ganglia 
 that the nervous energy which directs the purposive 
 
 1 Instincts, according to our definition of the term, consisting of a 
 chain of acts which have become formed through means of continual 
 repetition of the same actions following on the same stimuli, so as to 
 become finally fixed into the physiological organisation. The object 
 of these movements being in the main directed to the preservation 
 and reproduction of the species. 
 
INSTINCTIVE MATTER 171 
 
 movements of the animal's body and limbs is 
 derived. 
 
 It is to be specially noticed in the vast multitude 
 of beings which form these three out of the five 
 classes of vertebrate animals, that their brains do not 
 possess what we term a neopallium or that part of 
 the cerebrum in which psychical or intellectual pro- 
 cesses are elaborated. 1 Nevertheless, fishes, amphibians 
 and reptiles exhibit instinctive movements, which it 
 has been shown may, in some of these animals, be 
 improved by judicious training (p. 96). If in the 
 classes of animals we have referred to their basal 
 ganglia are destroyed during their lifetime, the 
 creature so mutilated completely loses all instinctive 
 and emotional powers ; it may, however, be kept alive 
 for a time and performs simple reflex movements. 
 For instance, if the basal ganglia of a fish are removed, 
 the animal will continue to swim about in an aimless, 
 sightless manner, the surface of its body being 
 stimulated by the surrounding water, and thereby 
 exciting habitual reflex muscular action ; but the fish 
 fails to seek food or to exercise any instinctive 
 movements. 
 
 It is the existence of emotional and instinctive 
 movements in the three lower classes of animals 
 when the nervous matter of their basal ganglia 
 are in working order, and the abolition of these 
 movements when these masses of nervous substance 
 are destroyed, which leads us to assume that the 
 living matter through means of which instinctive and 
 
 1 Psychical processes are those which effect modifications of 
 motion through the agency of intercurrents of a specialised mode of 
 nervous energy, derived from mental images or ideas. 
 
172 THE EVOLUTION OF 
 
 emotional actions are effected is located in these 
 ganglia. 
 
 The living nervous substance of the basal ganglia, 
 therefore, in fishes, amphibians and reptiles, not only 
 constitutes the receiving and dispatching centres for 
 energy reaching them through the sensory organs ; 
 but, in addition between the incoming and out- 
 going energy, instinctive elements are brought into 
 operation, and these direct the motor elements into 
 co-ordinate purposive and emotional actions. The 
 perfection of the muscular movements thus brought 
 into play depends on the living matter of the nervous 
 system being adequately supplied with potential or 
 working power, on the inherent structural arrangement 
 and development of its molecules, lastly on the kind 
 of training they have undergone. Our theory is that 
 the instinctive and emotional actions accomplished by 
 the three lower classes of animals cannot result from 
 psychical or intellectual processes because they do not 
 possess any psychical nor " consciousness matter "; they 
 have no cerebral cortex or neopallium through means 
 of which alone such processes are elaborated (see 
 p. 107). The mode of life of these classes of animals 
 is such that they do-not require the aid of intellectual 
 powers, their hereditary instincts being sufficient 
 to meet their requirements in their struggle for 
 existence. 
 
 We have already described what we mean by the 
 term neopallium, and attributed t'he origin of this 
 important part of the brain to the instinctive elements 
 of the basal ganglia (p. 94). We also discussed the 
 action of the basis substance of memory in plants 
 and in unicellular organisms. In the higher classes 
 
INSTINCTIVE MATTER 173 
 
 of animals the living elements which constitute 
 this memory substance become differentiated and 
 forms structures located in definite areas of the 
 central nervous system. These areas of nervous 
 substance are connected by protoplasmic fibres with 
 the various sensory organs of the animal's head and 
 body. Stimuli received through these receptors of 
 energy when constantly repeated are registered in 
 the nervous matter of these areas, and thus form 
 what we term the sensori-memorial, visual, auditory, 
 tactile, and other centres. These centres are sur- 
 rounded and influenced by psychical cortical matter ; 
 they are also intimately connected to one another by 
 nerve fibres, the whole constituting an extremely 
 complex system. 
 
 The brains of birds are remarkably constant in form, 
 and are distinguished by the great development of the 
 basal ganglia. The hemispheres cover the thalamus 
 and optic lobes, and possess rudimentary occipital and 
 temporal lobes ; their outer layer contains two strata 
 of ganglionic nerve-cells. Nerve fibres may be traced 
 from the living matter of the simple cortical layer of 
 cells which constitute a bird's cerebral cortex, to and 
 from the nerve-cells of the basal ganglia, and also to 
 the nuclei of the auditory nerve situated in the 
 medulla oblongata, and onward to the spinal cord. 
 Nerve fibres may also be traced from the nervous 
 elements of the eyes of birds to their cerebral optic 
 lobes and from thence to a certain area of cortical 
 nerve-cells located in the occipital lobes ; if these 
 areas or cortical nervous centres are destroyed, the 
 bird will continue to see surrounding objects, but he 
 can no longer recognise what he sees ; he has com- 
 
174 EVOLUTION OP 
 
 pletely lost his power of memory, that is, of acting on 
 visual impressions gained during his lifetime (see 
 "Human Speech," p. 178). 
 
 If the outer surface of a bird's brain is exposed 
 during the animal's lifetime, and a weak electric 
 current applied to definite parts of it, certain muscles 
 of the bird's eyes are thrown into action, the other 
 muscles of the head and body remaining at rest. 
 Nerve fibres or conductors of energy may be traced 
 from these centres through the basal ganglia to the 
 nuclei of the nerves of the medulla and spinal cord 
 (Fig. 14, p. 111). 
 
 These cortical nervous centres are brought into 
 direct relation with the various sensory organs by 
 means of which they receive a constant stream of 
 energy from the outer world, aud also from muscular 
 and other forms of stimuli ; some of the elements 
 of these centres retain certain of the impressions 
 made on them by various forms of energy ; and in this 
 way definite, visual, auditory, and other sensori-motor 
 memorial centres have become established in the 
 substance of the cerebral cortex of these animals. 
 
 It is however to be noticed that although certain 
 areas of a bird's brain when stimulated excite definite 
 groups of muscles, by far the larger portions of the 
 cortex when stimulated produces no visible effect on 
 the muscles of the animal's head, face, or any part of 
 its body. It is in those portions of the cerebral cortex 
 which intervenes between the sensory and the motor 
 areas of the brain of birds that we have reason to 
 believe psychical processes are elaborated. In con- 
 sequence of the rudimentary nature of the cerebral 
 cortex in birds their psychical faculties are very 
 
PSYCHIC MATTER 175 
 
 limited ; but their instinctive actions are remarkable, 
 depending, as we have shown, on the great development 
 of the nervous substance of their basal ganglia. In 
 support of these ideas, it has been shown, that if a 
 bird's cortical substance is removed during the lifetime 
 of the animal, the creature ceases to notice sounds, or 
 the sight of objects which had attracted its attention 
 before its cerebral cortex had been destroyed ; in fact, 
 birds thus mutilated lose whatever consciousness they 
 possess. But these birds, when placed on the floor of 
 a room, will fly up and perch on the arm of a chair, 
 and perform other instinctive acts so long as the 
 nervous substance of their basal ganglia remains in- 
 tact (p. 105). 
 
 With a nervous system of this kind in working 
 order, it is possible to conceive how a bird comes in 
 the course of time to repeat word sounds which have 
 been taught him. We know that, in their natural 
 state, birds learn to sing, and some of them to repeat 
 the cry of various other animals. The utterance of 
 word sounds by birds is acquired in like manner, and 
 probably means nothing more to the bird than its 
 natural song, or other sounds it has learnt to repeat ; 
 and which seem as a rule directed to attract the 
 attention of beings he has come to recognise. Thus, 
 the parrot we have referred to was constantly in the 
 room with its mistress, who fed and took the greatest 
 care of her pet. She repeated over and over again, in 
 the same tone of voice, short sentences, which after 
 the bird had learnt he remembered for many years. 
 
 Birds therefore possess the power of receiving 
 energy derived from wave-sounds which pass through 
 their ears, and in a modified form reach their 
 
176 EVOLUTION OF 
 
 auditory sensori-memorial cortical centres. Through 
 the medium of the living substance which 
 forms these centres, and the adjoining rudimentary 
 psychical matter, auditory impulses are transmuted 
 into sensations, and mental images of the auditory 
 waves which produced the primary excitation. By 
 the frequent repetition of such modes of excitation, 
 the basis substance of memory is established for a 
 particular mode of stimulation, and a combination of 
 such impressed nervous matter would form an auditory 
 sensori-memorial centre, the impressions it has re- 
 ceived being re-excited by similar modes of stimuli to 
 those which produced the impression, and also by other 
 forms of energy. 
 
 As a result of the re-excitation of impressed 
 nervous matter of this kind, or by the direct excitation 
 of the living substance of the auditory centre, a part of 
 its potential energy is released and passes along nerve 
 fibres to the basal ganglia, and to the nuclei of the 
 nerve fibres which pass to the bird's muscles of respira- 
 tion, and his vocal apparatus. The result of this 
 action is the repetition of the sound which had been 
 directly received, or had been previously impressed, 
 on the substance of the auditory memorial centre 
 (p. 100). 
 
 The essential point to bear in mind with regard to 
 the cerebral nervous system of birds is, that unlike 
 the lower classes of animals, energy passing from 
 their senso-memorial centres before it reaches their 
 muscles ^comes into relation with psychical ele- 
 ments, and is thus in part transformed into psychi- 
 cal energy. In birds, from the very limited 
 extent and rudimentary character of the cortical 
 
PSYCHIC MATTER 177 
 
 elements of their cerebral hemispheres, the influ- 
 ence of their psychical matter on energy passing 
 from the memorial centres is necessarily insignificant. 
 But still there is evidence in favour of the idea that 
 parrots possess a low order of intellectuality. 1 
 
 Thus, the parrot we have referred to had been 
 taught by its mistress when dressed for her afternoon 
 drive to repeat the words " grannie going out." By 
 frequent repetition the bird's auditory nervous centres 
 had become impressed with these word-sounds, and its 
 mistress's dress at the time she taught it these words 
 had become registered on the bird's visual memorial 
 centres. No sooner therefore did this lady appear 
 dressed in a bonnet and shawl, than the bird's previously 
 impressed visual centres were excited into action by 
 the sight of its mistress's dress, and association fibres 
 brought its auditory centres into play, the result being 
 the vocal sound " grannie going out." If during life the 
 cerebral cortex of this bird's brain had been removed, 
 its basal ganglia being left intact, all that the animal 
 had learnt during its lifetime would have disappeared, 
 but its instinctive or automatic actions would have con- 
 tinued in operation, that is, all those actions inherited 
 by the animal, and which were performed independ- 
 ently of psychical processes. 
 
 It seems to us that the specific form of nervous 
 matter contained in the ganglionic cells of the 
 mammalian neopallium, were originally derived from 
 purposive or instinctive substance contained in the 
 basal ganglia, and may be traced back through the 
 class of birds to reptiles (see p. 95). We conceive 
 that this form of matter has been evolved like the 
 
 1 " Human Speech," p. 192. 
 M 
 
178 THE EVOLUTION 
 
 other structures and organs of the body in response to 
 the demands made on it by the environment, and like 
 other organs it has become specialised, and thus able 
 to elaborate various forms of psychical energy. Psy- 
 chical matter was not made what it is, but has grown 
 with ascending orders of animals into what it is ; 
 those orders of animals which have developed the 
 most perfect neopallium, not only surviving but gradu- 
 ally improving under the strain to which they are 
 exposed in their struggle for existence. 
 
 We may now pass on to the Mammalia and consider 
 the nature of the living substance by means of which 
 psychical processes are elaborated. 
 
 It is to be noticed that the cortex of the cerebral 
 hemispheres, or that part of it we have described as 
 tfie neopallium (p. 94), assumes important functions, 
 md becomes a condition of survival, for the first 
 time in the mammalia, and in each successive geological 
 epoch it has been incumbent upon every mammal, 
 either, on the one hand to adopt some eminently safe 
 mode of life or some special protective apparatus to 
 avoid extinction, or on the other hand, in response to 
 the environment to develop a larger neopallium, 
 which as an organ of associative memory would 
 enable it, through means of its psychical properties, 
 to evade danger, and devise means to maintain 
 its own in the struggle for existence. For instance, 
 the hippopotamus is an example of a mammal which 
 has not kept pace in the race for neopallial supremacy, 
 but survives by adopting habits of life which are 
 eminently safe, and has produced an extremely 
 effective protective covering. The condition of the 
 human brain represents the other extreme. Here the 
 
OF PSYCHIC MATTER 179 
 
 cerebral cortex has attained its maximum development, 
 and its possessor has not had to seek refuge either in 
 a retired mode of life or any protective specialisation 
 of structure, either for attack or defence, but has 
 attained a dominant position in the animal kingdom, 
 while retaining much of the generalised structural 
 features of the lower animals. 1 
 
 In adult human beings energy derived from 
 various sources, passes through their respective sensory 
 organs "to nervous centres located in the cortex of 
 the neopallium, where it becomes manifest as a 
 sensation, and by its action upon the surrounding 
 psychical nervous matter an idea is elaborated ; 
 that is, a mental image of the object, or of the 
 muscular movement which has produced the sensa- 
 tion. 2 Energy in the form of the idea passes 
 to the strictly psychical or association areas of the 
 cortex of the neopallium, and is there transmuted 
 into consciousness or psychical processes, which in 
 
 1 Professor G. Elliot Smith, Cat. of Roy. Col. Surgeons Museum, 
 Physiol. Series, vol. ii. p. 465. 
 
 2 The reasons which have considerable weight with us regarding 
 the connection which exists between sensations and ideas rests on the 
 fact that young children form ideas of things and movements at an 
 early age, and long before they can reason or form correct opinions 
 regarding them. This state of affairs may be explained by the 
 condition of development of the nervous system in which ideas 
 and intellectual processes are formed ; in childhood, the former has 
 become completed at an early age and so able to perform its functions 
 and elaborate ideas. But the real psychical areas of the cortex are 
 not fully developed and connected with areas of ideation until much 
 later in life, and until their growth is completed their functions are 
 more or less imperfectly performed. With the destruction of the senso- 
 motor and surrounding zone of nervous matter the power of forming 
 ideas is lost, and with the removal of the psychical areas or their 
 extensive damage by disease the reasoning power of mammalia is 
 abolished. 
 
180 FUNCTIONS PERFORMED 
 
 their turn bring various groups of muscles into action. 
 We have described at length in our work on " Human 
 Speech " the mechanism by which psychical energy 
 comes to play on Broca's speech organ, and determines 
 our power of silent speech or cogitation, as well as 
 the utterance of our thoughts in intelligent language. 
 We attempted to illustrate this process by means of 
 a diagrammatic form. 
 
 In this diagram the letter E represents the nervous 
 apparatus of one of the sensory organs, which receives 
 
 energy from the external 
 world, and transmits it 
 to A, a sensori-memorial 
 centre located in the 
 cerebral cortex. In this 
 centre the sensation pro- 
 duced by the stimulus, 
 or mode of energy 
 received from A, takes 
 
 VA the form of an idea or 
 
 mental image of the 
 
 object that produced the sensation. In the form of 
 ideas energy passes from the centre A to B, where 
 ideas are associated, and by practice elaborated into 
 psychical processes which pass to M, the motor area 
 for word-ideas and becomes manifest in intelligent 
 speech, VA. 
 
 The above statement gives nothing more than a 
 bald outline of this truly wonderful and complex 
 system, but it claims our attention for the following 
 among other reasons. 
 
 In the first place there is no difficulty, in properly 
 prepared specimens, in demonstrating the paths by 
 
BY PSYCHIC MATTER 181 
 
 which energy is conducted from the sense organs 
 to the cortical nervous centres, and onward to various 
 groups of muscles. Further, we can show that the 
 cortical nervous centres are all intimately connected 
 to one another, and to the basal ganglia and other 
 important structures contained within the cranium 
 and spinal canal (Fig. 14, p. 111). 
 
 With reference to the path followed by energy in its 
 passage through the sense organs and cerebrum to its 
 discharge in the various groups of muscles, we are 
 struck by the number of interruptions and transmuta- 
 tions it has to overcome before it reaches its destination. 
 Not only does the form of energy become as it were 
 sifted in its passage through its appropriate sensory 
 organ, .but it must undergo modifications at each stage 
 of its progress through the cerebrum. We conceive 
 that this system is in some way adapted to facilitate 
 special modes of energy reaching their destination in 
 living elements of the psychical areas of the neopalliiim, 
 and is there transmuted into forms capable of 
 promoting the weilbeing of the individual and of the 
 race to which he belongs. Action of this kind must 
 depend largely on the inherent nature of this living 
 matter,, and the training it has undergone especially 
 during the early years of life. 
 
 We find^ clearly defined differences in the form, 
 and probably therefore in the functions performed by 
 the various strata of cells which constitute the cortical 
 layer of the neopallium (see p. 94). Beyond this the 
 character of these cells differs in the various lobes 
 and convolutions into which the pallium has been 
 divided for descriptive purposes. With few exceptions 
 the form and structural arrangement of the cells of 
 
182 FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY 
 
 cerebral cortex are precisely similar in the various 
 families of men scattered over the face of the earth. 
 The exceptions to this rule, so far noticed, consist in 
 a reversion, in the case of the brains of certain Egyptians 
 and natives of Australia, to a type of neopallium 
 similar to that which is found in the man-like apes 
 and certain idiots. 
 
 The living substance of a well-recognised pyramidal 
 form of cortical cells has evidently become specialised 
 for motory purposes, being the medium through 
 means of which energy received from the psychical 
 elements is transmuted into energy capable of acting 
 upon various groups of muscles. 1 
 
 By way of hypothesis we assume that the living 
 elements having definite functions may elaborate the 
 various psychical processes, but until we have further 
 evidence bearing on the physiological properties pos- 
 sessed by these various forms of matter, it seems 
 premature for us to dwell on this subject. 2 
 
 1 After amputation of either an upper or lower limb, it is found that 
 the cortical nerve-cells which have supplied nervous energy to this 
 limb before amputation become atrophied, their living substance for 
 some time previous to death not having been used had dwindled away. 
 Dr A. W. Campbell, Abstract of Paper read before the Royal Society, 
 Dec. 3, 1903. 
 
 2 In the English translation of Professor T. Ziehen's work of " Intro- 
 duction to Physiological Psychology " the reader will, as the translators 
 remark, find an excellent account of the field of physiological psychology 
 in general, based on the English interpretation of the psychology of 
 association in particular. The work, though small in comparison with 
 most books on this subject, embraces within a limited compass the 
 essentials of the science. The author defines clearly the province of 
 this science, and finds the limits that separate it from other related 
 sciences. Throughout the entire work it has been his aim to develop 
 all explanations as far as possible from physical or physiological data, 
 and to account for the presence of certain functions by an application 
 
SENSORI-MEMORIAL CENTRES 183 
 
 That certain areas of the cortex possess limited but 
 well- defined functions, is established by cases such as 
 those we have referred to ("Human Speech," p. 214), in 
 which the memorial auditory centre for words was 
 obliterated in both hemispheres of the cerebrum. 
 As regards vision Dr George Mackay has reported 
 the following case, demonstrating not only that the 
 visual cortical centre is located in the occipital lobe, 
 but that it has become differentiated into living 
 matter possessing separate visual functions. This 
 individual, who was sixty-two years of age and whose 
 appreciation of colours such as those of flowers and 
 other objects had been perfect up to this time of life, 
 suddenly lost this power, and became what is known 
 as completely " colour-blind," but he could still see 
 to read, in fact his near and distant vision for objects 
 was perfect, but he had lost all perception of their 
 colour. The patient died suddenly in April 1897, 
 and after death it was found that the part of the 
 cerebral cortex which forms the centre for colour 
 sense had been destroyed by disease of this area of 
 the occipital lobes. 1 
 
 It is, we repeat, through the action of energy 
 received by the sensori-memorial cortical centres that 
 sensations are produced and are elaborated into ideas 
 by the surrounding psychical elements. The idea 
 denotes the thing from which the sensations are 
 
 of the laws of evolution. In fine, the author treats physiological 
 psychology, as it should be dealt with, as a natural science. See 
 Translator's Preface, p. viii., "Introduction to Physiological 
 Psychology," by Dr Theodor Ziehen, Professor in Jena. 
 
 1 From the Laboratory of the Royal Col. of Phys., Edinburgh. 
 See also the Bradshaw Lecture for 1909 by F. R. Cross, F.R.C.S., 
 Brit. Med. Journ., December 18, 1909. 
 
184 THE NEOPALLIUM 
 
 derived, and any sensation in the idea means a 
 feature of the thing. The tone, the smell, colour, as 
 sensations, can thus be communicated indirectly by 
 reference to the sounding, smelling, luminous physical 
 objects, and any degree of exactness can be reached 
 by the increasingly accurate description of the physical 
 side. 1 In the same way we conceive, ideas, the result 
 of work performed by specialised elements of living 
 nervous matter, become manifest through the action 
 of the psychical cortical matter into psychical 
 processes. For instance, the idea of an orange is 
 formed by the association of the memory centres of 
 taste, touch, smell, and vision, aided by the muscle 
 sense in handling an orange. Each sensation has 
 been acquired by its particular sensory centres through 
 means of a course of training which has been going 
 on from the early years of childhood. But it is 
 through the action of the memory and psychical 
 elements of the cerebral cortex we are enabled to 
 think of an orange, that is, to form a complete mental 
 image of it when it is not present to our senses, 
 and to recognise it instantly when it is present 
 (see p. 65). 
 
 If any one of the sensori-motor centres or the chain 
 of communication between them is destroyed, the 
 process above described is hindered if not lost, pro- 
 vided both hemispheres of the cerebrum are in like 
 manner affected. Cases of aphasia demonstrate this 
 fact, the power to see the words may continue in 
 operation, but the aphasic person, though he under- 
 stands their meaning and hears them when repeated, 
 cannot pronounce the words because the region in 
 
 1 " Psychology and Life," by H. Miinsterberg, p. 50, 
 
THE NEOPALLIUM 185 
 
 which the motor idea of words is located is out of 
 gear. 
 
 The mass of the neopallium has increased in pro- 
 portion to that of the rest of their brain or of their 
 bodies, from the anthropoid apes up to man of the 
 tertiary period, and onwards through the glacial and 
 post-glacial times to that of men now existing on the 
 earth. With this increase in the amount of living 
 substance of the cerebral cortex there has been a 
 corresponding increase in man's psychical powers. On 
 the other hand, human beings born with imperfectly 
 developed neopallia, or those whose cerebral cortex 
 has been damaged severely by injury or disease, 
 experience a corresponding diminution in their mental 
 capacities. 
 
 There can be no question as to the influence which 
 the work performed by the nervous substance of the 
 neopallium exercises over the destinies of the human 
 race ; it is not by physical strength or by his in- 
 herited instinctive character that man has attained 
 his predominant position in the world, this position 
 he has gained by means of the evolution of the 
 living purposive elements of his cerebrum into the 
 mass of psychical material which he above all 
 animals possesses in the form of a highly-developed 
 neopallium. 
 
 Philosophers, however, of the highest rank (Schopen- 
 hauer, for instance) have arrived at the conclusion 
 that human beings may " be endowed with acumen 
 and culture, and perceive what is wrong and disapprove 
 of it ; but if the personal character of the individual 
 is inclined to wrong-doing the intelligence cannot 
 prevent or even correct his reprehensible inclinations. 
 
186 PERSONAL HEREDITARY 
 
 Well-doing or wrong- doing do not therefore depend 
 on the intellect, but on the character." 1 
 
 We cannot fully concur in this opinion, but we do 
 maintain that the personal character or inherited 
 instincts of human beings form a kind of substratum 
 (unconscious) to their mental life, and constitute the 
 real cause of most of their actions. It is this sub- 
 stratum of feeling of each individual and race which 
 forms the individual or national character, and may 
 be traced back more or less clearly to their ancestors. 
 In our opinion these characters result from work 
 performed by the living instinctive elements of the 
 basal ganglia and the inner cortical lamina of his 
 cerebral hemispheres. We conceive it hardly possible 
 that this form of matter made its appearance suddenly 
 in some far distant progenitor of the human race, and 
 through him (and her) came to endow with instinct 
 this order of animals. As we have attempted to 
 show, it seems more probable that the evolution of 
 this matter has been effected gradually, and reached 
 its present stage of development in the various classes 
 of animals by means of natural selection. 
 
 From early childhood onwards, by constant practice 
 of the maturing chain of nervous structures which 
 constitute our sensory organs, sensori- memorial centres, 
 association areas, and motor centres, we learn to form 
 and to connect ideas, and thus acquire the power to 
 think, and to give expression to our thoughts in 
 intelligent language. We have endeavoured to eluci- 
 date the nature of the materials concerned in these 
 processes. 
 
 1 " Contemporary Psychology," by Professor Guido Villa, pp. 
 219-295. 
 
CHARACTERS 187 
 
 In our work on " Human Speech " we dwelt on the 
 nature of the organic materials which forms the basis 
 substance of living matter and described its funda- 
 mental properties, and its development under the 
 action of its environment into sensory organs and 
 corresponding cerebral centres. We thus arrived at 
 the conclusion that it was through the systematic 
 training of the nervous substance of the sensory organs 
 and their cerebral centres, that we could best hope to 
 develop the psychical cortical substance in young 
 people. 
 
 Starting upon this basis, we have shown in the 
 preceding pages that the actions of human beings 
 throughout their lives are, to a large extent, controlled 
 by their inherent personal characters, as distinguished 
 from their intellectual acquirements, and that these 
 hereditary qualities depend on work performed by a 
 definite area of their brain. 
 
 In order to substantiate the conclusions arrived at 
 on this subject from a study of comparative biology, 
 we have, in the second part of this work, given 
 the outlines of the history of a tribe of men which 
 demonstrates, not only the existence of inherited 
 personal characters, but also the important part they 
 take in ordering the lives of individuals and the 
 destinies of the race to which they belong. 
 
PART II 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 BEFORE commencing to portray the hereditary traits of 
 character which, to a large extent, ruled the conduct of 
 the people we are about to study, it is advisable to 
 refer to the nature of the locality in which they ex- 
 isted, and to the laws and social condition under which 
 they lived from the dawn of the historical period until 
 the close of the sixteenth century. 1 
 
 These people dwelt in a well-defined part of Ireland 
 now known as County Clare. The southern and eastern 
 boundary of this county is formed by the river Shannon, 
 which in the time to which we refer was fordable at only 
 one place below the existing town of Killaloe. To the 
 east the county is bounded by the Atlantic ocean, and to 
 the north by Galway Bay, and a strip of bog-land, 
 together with the range of Echtye hills, which in 
 former times were covered by dense almost impene- 
 trable forests. This district therefore in ancient times 
 was almost completely isolated from the rest of Ireland 
 and from the outside world. 
 
 We have still, in what is known as the Brehon Code, 
 the laws and regulations which governed the lives of 
 the inhabitants of County Clare for many centuries. 
 In this code we find prescribed the regulations which 
 ordered the position of the various classes of the 
 
 1 Much of the following pages is taken from a work published by 
 the author, " The Story of an Irish Sept," which has been out of 
 print for some ten years past. 
 
 191 
 
192 THE ENVIRONMENT 
 
 ancient Irish, the management of their lands, 
 dwellings, and in fact of all their family and social 
 relations. 1 It was not until the year A.D. 432 that 
 St Patrick proposed to revise and commit the Brehon 
 Laws into the form of a written code, expunging from 
 them what was contrary to the teaching of Christianity, 
 " for the laws of nature had been quite right except 
 the faith and its obligations, and in harmony of the 
 Church and the people." 
 
 Until the time therefore of the introduction of 
 Christianity into Ireland the Brehon Code had been 
 passed on orally from one to another generation 
 by a class of men known as Brehons, who had to go 
 through a course of some twelve years' training before 
 they were allowed to enter the lowest ranks of their 
 calling. The Brehons attempted to meet every possible 
 variety of case by rules, leaving no discretion as to the 
 amount of damages to be awarded, for the award 
 rested upon some previous decision given in an actual 
 or in a hypothetical case laid down by the Code. There 
 was no appeal from the decision of a Brehon unless 
 on the ground of " sudden judgment." Each province 
 had a chief Brehon who was the King's adviser. 
 
 There was, however, no direct power of enforcing 
 the law, and this entailed a process known as that of 
 Distress, which consisted in the intervention of some 
 extraneous influence to arbitrate between persons who 
 were otherwise unable to settle their own differences. 
 This was a complicated matter in many cases because, 
 
 1 Mr Basil Kennett in his work on " The Law of Nature and 
 Nations," p. 73, states that the Brehon Code in some respects nearly 
 resembles the Visigothic Code, the Forum Judicum, or the Fuero 
 Juzgo of Spain. 
 
AND HEREDITY 193 
 
 as a rule, individuals had no personal property ; it was 
 from the common family stock that the payment of 
 all fines had to be met. 
 
 If an offender refused to submit his case to the 
 arbitration of a Brehon or declined to meet the award 
 given against him, the injured person proceeded under 
 the law of distress to seize a certain number of the 
 cattle or other effects of the defaulter, after having 
 given due notice of the action he was about to take. 
 If cattle were seized they were placed in a pound and 
 properly cared for. The parties concerned in the 
 action appeared before a Brehon, with witnesses, and 
 all that was necessary to prove the claim. The 
 arbitrator having heard the case on both sides gave 
 judgment in accord with precedence laid down by the 
 Code. This judgment was final, and unless the person 
 against whom it was given, or his family, conformed 
 to the decision, he was excluded from the tribe to 
 which he belonged ; if low in the social scale he might 
 be handed over to the creditor as a slave for a specific 
 term of years, or for life. 1 
 
 If a poor man made a claim against a landowner 
 which the latter declined to notice, the plaintiff pro- 
 ceeded to fast upon his more powerful neighbour ; that 
 is, he seated himself at the door of the rich man's 
 dwelling and remained there without food until he 
 received satisfaction. " He who does not give pledges 
 to a fasting person is an evader of all ; he who dis- 
 regards all things shall not be paid by God or man." 
 A system of much the same kind still prevails in 
 certain parts of India. 2 
 
 1 Senchus Mor, " Brehon Code of Laws," vol. i. p. 107. 
 
 2 Sir H. Maine, " The Early History of Institutions," p. 297. 
 
 N 
 
194 . THE ENVIRONMENT 
 
 Homicide under the Brehon laws was punishable 
 by a fine, such as the Brehon considered was sufficient 
 to compensate the family of the murdered man for the 
 loss they had sustained. But cases of homicide were 
 divided into two classes, those committed with fore- 
 thought, and those without malice. One of the chief 
 difficulties St Patrick experienced in revising this 
 Code was his demand to kill the murderer ; and 
 although he prevailed in words, the people declined 
 to follow his teaching, and so murder remained 
 punishable by a fine, and this state of things was one 
 of the chief charges brought against the Code by 
 English lawyers of Queen Elizabeth's time. 
 
 One of the volumes of the Brehon Code is given to 
 the subject of Bee Judgments or the rights of persons 
 to swarms of bees which had settled on their lands ; 
 honey in these early times was a valuable article, 
 being used in place of sugar until well into the 
 sixteenth century. Questions arising out of bee 
 swarming were complicated, and gave rise to all 
 manner of hypothetical and actual judgments, which 
 fill many pages of the Brehon law tracts. 
 
 The Tribe and Sept in the Brehon laws, the word 
 " fine " is used for the family, that is, for the children 
 of the same parents; by the term sept (which is the same 
 as the conjoint family in India) is meant the combined 
 descendants of an ancestor long since deceased, who 
 had been one of the sons of the original chief or head 
 of the tribe. The tribe consisted of a group or 
 aggregate of septs. To each sept a specific portion of 
 territory or tribal and common lands was assigned. 
 
 The chief of the tribe was elected to office by the 
 free men of the tribe from the " next in blood that 
 
AND HEREDITY 195 
 
 was eldest and worthiest." The head of the sept was 
 elected to office in the same way, and was under 
 certain military and financial obligations to the chief 
 of his tribe ; the latter in his turn was in later times 
 subject to the King of the Province in which certain 
 tribes and sept were located. The principle under- 
 lying this system was that the title to nobility 
 depended entirely on the known character of the man as 
 testified by his fellow-tribesmen. But it was evident 
 that under a system of this kind the tribe or sept 
 might have been left in the midst of a battle or other 
 emergency without a proper leader. To obviate this 
 difficulty when the chief was chosen the tribe or sept 
 also elected a Tanist or substitute chief, who as a 
 rule was one of the elder sons of the chief ; but " he 
 must be the most capable member of the family," no 
 other claim was allowed. In the case of competitors 
 arising among the tribesmen for the office of leader, 
 the dispute was settled in a speedy and practical 
 fashion by the contending parties meeting, and in 
 combat testing which was the strongest. 
 
 The chiefs of tribes and septs had in proportion to 
 their social position, certain areas of land allotted to 
 them which they held in virtue of their office ; they 
 also received tribute and cesses from the freemen of 
 their tribe or sept, which were paid in stock. They 
 were in return bound to practise hospitality, to pro- 
 vide, and be ready themselves with their followers to 
 defend their lands and province from external foes. 
 
 The family or sept consisted of kinsmen combined 
 for social purposes, its members shared their goods 
 in common, their home was the centre of the family 
 life, and was governed under a system of unwritten 
 
196 THE ENVIRONMENT 
 
 laws by an elected head, who was answerable for the 
 good conduct of the members of the family, for the 
 safe keeping of its stock and other goods. There was 
 no executive authority to enforce order, the head of 
 the family was supreme within the precincts of his 
 home and lands, and in case of necessity could expel 
 a member, who thus became an outlaw or in most cases 
 a serf. 
 
 It is evident that under a system such as this a 
 man and his wife would, with their children and 
 grandchildren, soon overstock the parental home ; 
 and as the lands allotted to a family were limited, it 
 was necessary to restrict the number of sons entitled 
 to become landholders. If there were more than the 
 prescribed number of sons, the excess had to become 
 retainers on the estate or to shift for themselves ; on 
 the death of one of the sept the chief made a re- 
 partition of the land belonging to the family, everyone 
 receiving his share according to his position in the 
 family. In this way, and by the method of restricting 
 the partition of the land as above mentioned (gavel- 
 kind), the descendants of the original head of the 
 family claiming land were kept within due limits. 
 
 The ownership of land was the centre round which 
 the whole social and political life of the early Irish 
 revolved. It was the possession of land and the 
 means of cultivating it that constituted a freeman, in 
 contradistinction to the landless person, who was a 
 bondsman or serf, and possessed no social position or 
 rights whatever ; he could be bought or sold in the same 
 way as cattle, and was evidently in many instances 
 even less cared for than his master's horses. 
 
 From the Brehon laws we learn that " persons are 
 
AND HEREDITY 197 
 
 of equal rank when they have the same quantity of 
 land "-that "what a man had not bought he cannot 
 sell " " a man was bound to keep his lands during his 
 life perfect, and leave them with no greater debt than 
 he received with them" "he must leave his share in 
 the land to the common possession of the family to 
 which he belongs." 
 
 Landlords and landholders, as freemen, were divided 
 into classes according to the quantity of land and 
 cattle they possessed ; each class being entitled to 
 definite privileges. Thus, the head of a family could 
 only claim admission to the lowest class of freemen if 
 for three generations the family had possessed a certain 
 amount of land, a plough, an ox and harness, a kiln, 
 hand-mill, cooking cauldron, and various other articles ; 
 a larger amount of land and stock raised a man a 
 step in the social scale, and so he might rise to the 
 sixth grade, in which class of society the landholder, 
 among other articles, must possess " a head-bathing 
 basin," and other articles described with minuteness 
 in the Brehon Code. The landlords were likewise 
 divided into classes, according to the amount of land they 
 owned. Besides many other things mentioned which 
 a landlord must possess, were beds and bedding, and a 
 kitchen boiler " in which a cow would fit, or a pig in 
 bacon." l 
 
 A family could thus rise if they acquired and held 
 sufficient lands for three generations to enable its head 
 to qualify for a higher class ; on the other hand the loss 
 of property entailed forfeiture of position and with it 
 social privileges. 2 There was no hereditary claim to 
 
 1 O'Curry, " Manners and Customs of the Early Irish," vol. iii. p. 29. 
 
 2 " Brehon Laws," vol. iv. p. 227. 
 
198 THE ENVIRONMENT 
 
 property, and every man was enabled by hard work and 
 skill to raise his family in the social scale. 
 
 A landlord having more tribal lands than he 
 required, might hand over the surplus to his relations 
 on condition of receiving tribute, and providing food 
 for the landlord and his servants, as well as military 
 duty when required. Tribute consisted in one case 
 of " a calf, a salted pig, a sack of wheat or malt, and 
 a handful of rushlights." This class of landholder, 
 and those who farmed the private estates of large 
 landowners, soon grew to form an important element 
 in the country, principally because their landlord 
 could at all times demand military service, and the 
 number of his retainers was thus augmented, and as 
 most of these retainers were in debt to their landlord, 
 he compelled them not only to fight for him, but also 
 to build his forts, and construct roads over his estate. 
 But if the landholder had given "food, rent, and 
 service " for seven years, on the death of the landowner 
 the stock on the occupied lands passed to the holder ; 
 on the other hand, if the landholder died his family 
 were to a great extent relieved from the obligations 
 which the deceased had incurred. 1 
 
 According to Brehon laws a father was obliged to 
 provide for his daughters either in their own home, or 
 more commonly in the home of foster-parents, until the 
 girl had attained the age of seventeen when she was 
 marriageable. A father was bound to marry his 
 daughters to men of equal rank to his own. He was 
 also obliged to support his daughters if necessary in 
 old age, sickness or trouble. Mothers had to provide 
 for their sons, who had reciprocal obligations. 
 
 1 Sir H. Maine, " Early Institutions," p. 163. 
 
AND HEREDITY 199 
 
 The laws relating to marriage carefully protected 
 the rights of married women. Unlike the Eoman law 
 the Brehon Code demanded for the mother of a family 
 a position equal to that of the father, and when they 
 possessed equal property the one could not enter into 
 any contract concerning it, without the consent of the 
 other. We know little regarding the ceremony of 
 marriage, if any, as practised by the ancient Irish 
 people. A divorce seems to have been a matter of 
 mutual understanding even as late as the eleventh 
 century ; for instance, Brian Born took to himself a 
 wife who had two other husbands, and when he found 
 her too hot-tempered to be agreeable he parted from 
 her without ceremony. 
 
 The subject of Fosterage formed an important part 
 in the family life of the early Irish people ; it was 
 held by them that discipline, obedience and respect for 
 their superiors, and the work which boys and girls 
 would have to follow in their after lives, was best 
 learnt away from their own homes. Parents con- 
 sequently sent their children when about seven years 
 of age to a relative, or someone belonging to their own 
 grade of society, to be nurtured and instructed so as 
 to fit them for their future calling in life. The 
 person to whom a child was entrusted was called his 
 foster-father. As the young person's work in life was, 
 in addition to physical exercise and the use of arms, 
 connected with the soil, the cultivation of the land 
 and that which grew and fed upon it was what the 
 boy had to learn. The girls in the same way were 
 instructed " in discipline, the use of the quern, 
 kneading, and all descriptions of domestic work." We 
 hear nothing of the intellectual acquirements of these 
 
200 THE BREHON CODE 
 
 young people ; in truth no instruction of the kind was 
 possible until well after St Patrick's time. Up to that 
 period the education of the hereditary characters of 
 young persons was the aim of foster-parents, together 
 with training their powers of endurance and prepara- 
 tion for war. To enable the foster-father to fulfil his 
 trust he was, under the Brehon Code, allowed to 
 chastise his foster-son, but never to the extent of 
 drawing blood or leaving a mark on a lad ; heavy 
 penalties were imposed for a breach of this law. 
 In case of illness, inability to learn his duties, or 
 for gross misconduct, the foster-father was allowed to 
 send the lad back to his parents ; on the other hand, 
 if a foster-father kept a boy until he was seventeen 
 years of age, when the lad was under obligation to 
 return to his home, and it was then found he was riot 
 efficient in the use of arms and for the work of his 
 future calling, obedient, and in fact properly instructed, 
 the foster-father was heavily fined. The amount 
 of the fine was to be made over to the lad, because, as 
 the Brehon Code states, it was " upon him the injury 
 of the want of learning had been inflicted." 1 While 
 under the care of a foster-father it was prescribed by 
 law that a lad's food should consist of porridge flavoured 
 with salt butter and milk. Among the upper classes 
 honey was added to the porridge. There was an 
 abundance of fish and meat to be had, but these 
 articles were riot included in the diet-roll of young 
 people reared in ancient Ireland. 
 
 The sons of the higher classes, in addition to the 
 use of arms and the care of land and stock, were 
 
 1 " The Brehon Code of Laws," vol. ii. p. 155. A system which 
 many parents would at the present time gladly see enforced. 
 
THE FENIA 201 
 
 taught horsemanship, chess-playing, and swimming. 
 They rode their steeds bare-backed and with only a 
 piece of rope in the animal's mouth to guide him. 
 
 The after-training of these youths, up to end of the 
 third century of the Christian era, may be learnt from 
 the descriptions that have come down to us concerning 
 the training of the Fenia or Militia of ancient Ireland. 
 Before a lad could enter this corps he was subjected 
 to an examination, in order to show that he was able 
 to defend himself with a shield and hazel stick, from 
 javelins thrown at him from a distance of twenty 
 yards. It was necessary for him to be a good runner, 
 to leap over a bar up to the height of his chin, and 
 stoop under one as low as his knees. He had to be 
 strong of arm as tested by the use of the sword, 
 battle-axe and mace. Having qualified in these sub- 
 jects he had to give security that, if killed in battle 
 none of his family should attempt to avenge his death, 
 " the affair of his death must be left wholly in the 
 hands of his comrades, who should take care to do 
 him justice." l 
 
 The Fenia are described as being keen sportsmen, 
 and after a day's hunting, they sent the game to a 
 convenient spot and roasted part of the venison on 
 spits, baking the remainder after having bound it round 
 with ropes of grass. They ate but once a day ; 
 before feeding they stripped, bathed, and dressed 
 their hair. " They then began to supple their thews 
 and muscles by gentle exercise, loosening them by 
 friction, until they relieved themselves from stiffness 
 and fatigue, after which they took their meal, and 
 then constructed booths and prepared their beds of 
 
 1 Keating's " History of Ireland," O'Connor's Edition, p. 271. 
 
202 THE BREHON CODE 
 
 brushwood placed on the ground, and over that moss 
 and fresh rushes." 
 
 We find references in the Brehon Code to an insti- 
 tution or office known as the Public Hospitaller, which 
 existed in Ireland from the earliest times until the 
 sixteenth century. The functions of this individual 
 were to keep open house on the part of his sept, and 
 to receive distinguished visitors, or strangers passing 
 through his district when the chief of the sept from 
 any cause was prevented from entertaining such people. 
 To enable the hospitaller to perform these functions 
 he was allowed five hundred acres of free land, besides 
 other privileges. The hospitaller's house was in truth 
 a kind of public hall, and in it assemblies were held for 
 various purposes connected with the interests of the sept. 
 The dwelling occupied by this official was built at the 
 meeting of cross-roads, and he was bound to keep a 
 light burning over his residence throughout the night, 
 so as to direct wayfarers to the house. The hospitaller 
 was precluded from taking presents from persons who 
 sought his hospitality, for he was supplied with stock 
 for the purpose by the surrounding landlords. He 
 possessed considerable powers over those who abode in his 
 premises and attempted to injure the public property. 1 
 
 These people long before the Christian era made 
 provision for the poor and sick ; officers were appointed 
 to discharge these functions. He had large powers, and 
 was allowed under the Brehon Code to levy a rate in 
 kind on landowners for the " wretched and wandering 
 poor." This officer is. described as a " pillar of endur- 
 ance," a truly Irish idea of a relieving officer ; he 
 was further to suffer " the reddening of his face with- 
 1 " Brehon Laws," vol. i. p. 47 ; vol. iv. pp. 311, 313, 315. 
 
THE BREHON CODE 203 
 
 out insult to his tribe," or in other words was not to 
 account himself as being disgraced because he was 
 abused by beggars. Each tribe was chargeable for 
 the maintenance of its own " sick men and women, 
 and for the keep of those who were incurable." We 
 also learn " with respect to sick maintenance " that 
 it included the attendance of " a physician and for 
 providing food, bedding and lodging, and in guarding 
 the sick from things prohibited by the physician." 
 Careful provision was also made for persons of unsound 
 mind, of the blind, and of orphans. 
 
 The physician was much esteemed, and we learn 
 from the Brehon Code that it was not uncommon for 
 a tribe to make him a grant of land, so that he was 
 prevented from " being disturbed by the cares and 
 anxieties of life, and enabled to devote himself to his 
 profession." 1 It is stated that if an unlawful " phy- 
 sician " removes a joint or sinew without obtaining an 
 indemnity against liability to damage, and with notice 
 that he was not a regular physician, he is subject to a 
 penalty with compensation to the patient." 2 If a man 
 was maliciously wounded it was the duty of the physician 
 to certify the same and on his judgment compensation 
 was awarded. 
 
 These doctors appear to have appreciated the value 
 of cleanliness, pure water and free ventilation in the 
 treatment of the sick and wounded. The physician's 
 house was the appointed place where sick and wounded 
 people, including chiefs and freemen, were to be cured, 
 a practice which was continued up till the fifteenth 
 
 1 Keating' s "History," pp. 131, 138, 143; "Annals of Four 
 Masters," A.M. 3922. 
 
 2 " Brehon Laws," vol. iii. p. 323. 
 
204 THE CELTIC BARDS 
 
 century in County Clare. The house was in every case 
 to be built either on the bank of a running stream, or 
 with a stream passing through the precincts of the 
 house. The building in which the sick were treated 
 was to be provided with four doors, with the object of 
 " allowing all that took place within it to be open to 
 inspection, and to permit one door being left open 
 whichever way the wind blew." The hot air bath 
 was much employed for rheumatism, and shampooing 
 is highly extolled. 
 
 The Bards played an important part in the early 
 history of Ireland ; they fixed the social and political 
 relations of the- ruling and of the tribal chiefs, and 
 recorded the deeds of each and of the sept to which 
 they belonged. The early Irish warriors received no 
 titles or reward from the state, or from their leaders 
 for services rendered in the field, their reward con- 
 sisted in having their names honourably mentioned by 
 the bards in the annals of the country. Their deeds 
 were sung by the bards and afforded a never-ending 
 source of delight to their families and retainers. It is 
 true the chiefs were "assigned by the bards a dis- 
 tinguishing coat-of-arms, not as a mark 6f honour, but 
 whereby they might be known from other chiefs, and 
 recognised in the field of battle or at their place of 
 residence." l The language of the ancient Celtic bards, 
 when translated 'into English, seems inflated, in many 
 cases absurd, but at the time it was employed it was 
 highly appreciated. For instance, we are informed that 
 about the year A.D.960 a labourer, having been employed 
 for a year in Galway, received for wages " a cow and a 
 cloak." Keturning home over the hills of Echty he met 
 1 Keating's " History," p. 143. 
 
AND DRUIDS 205 
 
 on the road a well-known bard, and having entered 
 into conversation with him and told him the tribe to 
 which he belonged, the bard then and there com- 
 posed some verses in favour of the tribe, which so 
 much pleased the labourer that he at once handed 
 over his year's wages to the poet, and returned home 
 empty-handed, but still remembering the lines he had 
 heard. This action, and the gracious words contained 
 in the verse, so much delighted the man's fellow-tribes- 
 men, that they made him a present of " ten cows for 
 every quarter of the cow he had bestowed on the bard.'' 
 
 The Druids formed another class of men who 
 exercised a potent influence on the ancient Irish, 
 claiming as they did power to control the spirits 
 presiding over the elements of nature as well as those 
 of men. We find that the Irish Druids were consulted 
 regarding almost every action men and women undertook, 
 and their advice was strictly followed in all private or 
 public affairs ; they acted as arbitrators in disputes, 
 and were in the habit of " placing a rod upon a person, 
 and through means of their wand could discover his 
 history." 
 
 The old Irish legends are full of the wonders per- 
 formed by Druids, but in all this literature we read 
 nothing of human sacrifices ; they raised mists and 
 storms to confound the enemies of the chiefs they 
 were attached to. They believed and taught the idea 
 of the transmigration of the spirit of a man in order 
 that it might arrive at a state fit to become a part of 
 the all-pervading Spirit of the Universe. 1 
 
 1 " Silva Gadelica," by Standish H. O'Grady, p. 98 ; also " Pagan 
 Ireland," by W. G. Wood-Martin, p. 99 ; and O'Curry's " Manners 
 and Customs of the Early Irish," vol. ii. p. 208. 
 
206 ORIGIN OP THE 
 
 As late as the year 1644 the inhabitants of the 
 island of Aran in Galway Bay, worshipped with 
 idolatrous superstitions an idol or image of their God, 
 Mac Dara (Dara meaning "oak"). It was in vain 
 the Catholic clergy called on them to desist from this 
 practice and from swearing by Mac Dara rather than 
 on the Bible. 
 
 It is however certain that as far back as the year 
 A.D. 266 influences of a higher order than those 
 referred to as existing in Aran had come into opera- 
 tion in other parts of Ireland. Thus Cormac Mac Art, 
 one of the rulers of the country and a distinguished 
 warrior, having sustained an injury to one of his eyes, 
 determined to resign his position and devote the 
 remainder of his life, as he stated, " to meditation and 
 the worship of God, the Creator of Heaven, and also 
 of a place in which the souls of the wicked should be 
 justly punished." He further states " that it was 
 beneath the dignity of a rational being to adore any- 
 thing in the form of an idol, but that his prayers 
 should be directed to the living Supreme Being who 
 created all things." Keating remarks these were this 
 chief's own words, recorded by himself in a work 
 which existed in the historian's time ; but which, like 
 so much other valuable material, has since disappeared, 
 a prey to the fire and sword which has destroyed so 
 many of the ancient records of that country. 1 Cormac 
 had been brought up by a Druid, and he practised 
 their art, for he undertook to cure one of his friends 
 of leprosy by means of magic. 
 
 In connection with Cormac Mac Art the following- 
 anecdote gives us an idea of the times in which he 
 
 1 Keating's " History of Ireland," O'Connor's edition, p. 283. 
 
CELTIC RACE 207 
 
 lived (A.D. 227 to 266); when a youth he was at his 
 uncle's court at Tara. It appears that sheep had 
 strayed into the Queen's garden and eaten some of the 
 vegetables; the case was brought before the King and 
 he adjudged the sheep to the plaintiff in lieu of the 
 trespass and damage done. Young Cormac hearing 
 the sentence came forward and stated openly, that 
 the judgment would have been more equitable if the 
 shearing of the sheep had been ordered in damage of 
 the green stuff cropped ; for he said the stuff will 
 grow again, and so will the wool upon the sheep. 1 
 
 The soil had evidently been prepared by St 
 Ailbe, Declan, and Palladius, for the coming of 
 St Patrick who arrived in Ireland about the year 
 A.D. 432. The place of his birth is uncertain, but he 
 had been carried a prisoner into Ireland as a youth 
 and employed by his master to tend sheep. He 
 remained in this service for six years, and during that 
 time must have learnt the language spoken by the 
 people ; he then escaped from Ireland, and after much 
 suffering and a long probation he returned to that 
 country as a bishop. 2 He appears to have built up 
 the Irish Celtic church on the tribal and family 
 system he found in Ireland ; and so long as the 
 superstitions and ideas of the people were not at 
 variance with the spirit of Christianity he seems to 
 have wisely left them alone. 
 
 We have now, in order to ascertain the nature of 
 their instinctive or hereditary dispositions, to deter- 
 mine the race or races of people from which the 
 
 1 " Silva Gadelica," p. 367. 
 
 2 " The Tripartite Life of St Patrick," by Whitley Stokes, Intro- 
 duction, p. cxli. 
 
208 THE CELTS 
 
 Irish Celts were derived ; if we can arrive at a 
 reliable conclusion on this subject, it will be our 
 object to show that the conduct of these people for 
 a long period of time was dominated by their inherent 
 personal characters. 
 
 The earliest human inhabitants of Ireland, like 
 those of the southern and central part of Europe, 
 consisted of what is known as the Iberian or Mediter- 
 ranean stock. They were a long-skulled (dolecho- 
 cephalic), small, brunet people, with brown or grey 
 eyes, and dark curly hair, a type to be still found in 
 considerable numbers among the inhabitants of County 
 Clare. 1 The chipped flint instruments used by these 
 people are found in post-glacial deposits over various 
 parts of Ireland, and some of their skulls and other 
 parts of their skeletons have been discovered in that 
 country, as well as in England and many parts of the 
 continent of Europe. 2 These people are probably 
 best represented at the present time by the inhabitants 
 of the coast line of Catalonia northward along the 
 Gulf of Lyons and the valley of the Rhone. The 
 predominant features in their character is its marked 
 instinctive qualities, the emotional side of their nature 
 being very pronounced ; they are frequently referred 
 to in the ancient legends of Ireland as being a 
 treacherous race ; when we first meet with them in 
 the west of Ireland they had emerged from their 
 primitive state and developed into tribes under the 
 leadership of a chief, who for long resisted the Celtic 
 invaders of Ireland. 
 
 1 " A Short History of the Irish People," by Professor Richey, p. 26. 
 
 2 " Origin and Character of the British People," by N. C. Mac- 
 namara, p. 183 ; also " The Races of Europe," by Z. Ripley, p. 53. 
 
THE CELTS 209 
 
 The question is, who were these so-called Celts and 
 where did they come from ? Our opinion is, they 
 were an offshoot of the ancient Aryan stock, doubtless 
 modified to some extent by climate and the intermixing 
 with other races of men during their slow migration 
 from Asia into the west of Europe. The home of this 
 race was probably on the mountain ranges which 
 extend north and south of Kokan. These Aryans 
 spread east and west, the latter branch ultimately 
 reaching the British Isles, and the south-eastern 
 branch extending into India. 
 
 The Aryans were a vigorous hardy race, tall, fair, 
 and evidently originally reared in a bracing atmosphere. 
 They possessed, like the Iberiaus, long skulls (dolecho- 
 cephalic), they buried their dead chiefs in the long 
 dolmens or temple tombs scattered over Ireland, 
 England, and most of the other countries of Europe, 
 where their skeletons and the stone implements they 
 used are still found. They spoke an inflected language, 
 the vestiges of which exist in the Erse, Manx and 
 Gallic tongues. 
 
 The Aryans appear to have been an imaginative 
 race of beings, given to the study of astronomy ; they 
 worshipped a Supreme Being, a power more or less 
 manifest to their senses in the various phenomena of 
 nature. The spirits of the departed, they held, 
 possessed power over the actions of the living. It 
 was in this belief they placed their dead in tombs 
 in which sacrifices could be made to propitiate the 
 departed spirit of the dead. 
 
 The Aryans, when they entered India, were led by 
 their king and rulers of their tribes; each tribe 
 having its own chief, who, like the king, was elected 
 o 
 
210 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 from among the living descendants of the progenitor 
 of the tribe. The tribe consisted of a number of 
 families, each of them having its own head, and all 
 bound to the chief of the tribe by consanguinity. 
 Each tribe, therefore, formed an organised society in 
 itself, and for all practical purposes was independent, 
 making war or peace with its neighbours according 
 to its own will. But in times of national danger the 
 king, as head of an assemblage of tribes, could command 
 the services of a large following. The whole system, 
 from the king to the head of the family, tended 
 to promote particularisation of individuals, and this 
 led to rivalry and to constant war among the various 
 chiefs and tribes. This fact was manifested among 
 the Celts of India, for they had no sooner overcome 
 the aborigines of the country than they divided the 
 Jand into tribal and personal estates, and then com- 
 menced to fight with one another, each chief claiming 
 possession of his neighbour's property. 
 
 It would appear from the ancient legends of Ireland 
 that the country was invaded in pre-historic times by 
 a people who answer to the description of the Aryans. 
 They were said to have arrived in vessels from the 
 south-west of Europe, and to have landed in the south 
 of Ireland, but they were defeated and driven out of 
 the country by its Iberian inhabitants. 
 
 At the close of what is known as the neolithic 
 period we find a race of broad-skulled (brachy- 
 cephalic) people had passed from Asia into Europe and 
 had settled among its Iberio-Aryan population. With 
 the advent of this race in the west, bronze implements 
 came into use, and supplanted in the course of time 
 stone implements. This broad-skulled race was of a 
 
OF THE CELTS 211 
 
 Mongoloid type ; they had discovered how to make 
 bronze out of a mixture of copper and tin. This latter 
 metal as an alluvial deposit was rare in Europe but 
 abundant in parts of Asia, the consequence was this 
 Mongolian race became indispensible as traders in 
 bronze to the rest of Europe, and ultimately formed an 
 important element in the constitution of the people 
 inhabiting central and eastern Europe. They spread 
 through the south of France to the Atlantic, and 
 were largely dispersed throughout the south of England 
 and Ireland. From an anthropological point of view 
 these people constitute the only true Celts, but this 
 term had before the year 1865 been almost invariably 
 applied to the tall blonde people, who as we have 
 stated, were of Aryan descent, and it is now very 
 difficult to break away from this terminology. We 
 shall therefore still continue to apply the term Irish 
 Celt to this latter race represented at the present time 
 in considerable numbers among the inhabitants of the 
 French districts of Dordoyn, Geronde, and Charente. 
 Caesar seems to have referred to the progenitors of 
 these people as " those who in their own language are 
 called Celts, in ours Gauls." Monsieur Thierry, the 
 historian of the Gallic Celts, and Professor Mommsen 
 in his " History of Rome," from a close study of the 
 history of this race have arrived at the following 
 conclusions regarding the hereditary character possessed 
 by these people. 
 
 MOMMSEN. THIERRY. 
 
 1. " The whole ancient world 1. " Personal bravery un- 
 presents no more genuine knight." equalled among ancient nations." 
 
 2. " Incapacity to attain or 2. " Marked dislike to the idea 
 even to tolerate any organisation, of discipline and order." 
 
 either military or political." 
 
212 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 MOMMSEN. THIERRY. 
 
 3. " Laziness in culture of the 3. " Want of perseverance." 
 fields." 
 
 4. " Love of ostentation." 4. " Extreme ostentation." 
 
 5. " Extravagant credulity." 5. " Open to all impressions." 
 G. '" Inclination to rise in re- 0. " Perpetual dissensions." 
 
 volt under the first chance 
 leader." 
 
 7. " Irresolute and fervid." 7. " Extreme susceptibility ; 
 
 impetuous, and excessively vain." 
 
 8. " Clever." 8. " Remarkably intelligent." 
 
 9. " A delight in singing and 9. " A free spirit." 
 a talent for poetry and rhetoric." 
 
 10. " In a political point of 10. " As a nation the personal 
 view thoroughly useless as a sentiment, the idea of self, far 
 nation." too much developed." 
 
 Mommsen adds that the Celt was remarkable for 
 " his childlike piety, unsurpassed fervour of national 
 feeling, and the closeness with which those who are 
 fellow-countrymen cling together, almost like one 
 family, in opposition to a stranger." l 
 
 Dr Richey, who was Professor of Feudal and English 
 Law in the University of Dublin, and to whose 
 admirable " History of the Irish People " we are so 
 much indebted for our knowledge on this subject, 
 states that, in his opinion, the admitted failure of the 
 Celtic race is not so much attributable to the inferiority 
 of their organisation, as to the fact of their possessing 
 a highly organised and sensitive disposition. They 
 are therefore extremely susceptible of emotions and 
 perceptions, and apt to arrive at rapid conclusions, 
 which are not always lasting. They shrink against 
 the staying power of the Teutonic race, the Celt's ideas 
 being too often matured before the Saxon has mastered 
 even the premises on which his opinions are founded. 
 1 Mommsen, " History of Rome," vol. iv. p. 280. 
 
OF THE CELTS 213 
 
 The stolid, persevering, and fixed purpose of the Saxon 
 has and must prevail over the light-hearted, sensitive, 
 and comparatively indolent Celt. 1 Dr Richey, like 
 Mommsen, dilates on the remarkably tenacious feeling 
 which the Celt has for his fellow-countrymen, his 
 family, and, when they existed, for his chiefs ; and 
 the Rev. Dr Todd, in his ''Life of St Patrick," observes 
 that the " keynote of Irish history is the spirit of 
 clanship among Irishmen, together with adhesion to 
 ancient traditions." 
 
 From a general description of the kind to which we 
 have above referred, we may give an example of the 
 character displayed by 'a Celtic chief, who must have 
 flourished in Gaul about the time of the second inroad 
 of Ireland by people of this race. 
 
 Cnesar having invaded Gaul from the south, and the 
 Germans from the east, the Celts were almost com- 
 pletely subjugated. In the year B.C. 53 there was 
 little left of them beyond Brittany, and there, under 
 the leadership of one of their chiefs, Acco, they for 
 some time resisted the Romans. But at length their 
 last stronghold, Veneti, fell ; Acco was taken prisoner 
 and executed by the Romans. This act was sufficient 
 to rouse the whole Celtic people to revolt, and they 
 elected Vercingetoria as their chief. He, despairing 
 of defeating the Romans in the open field, determined 
 to mobilise a large force of cavalry, and by its means 
 destroy the enemy's supply of food, and to cut off his 
 means of communication with Italy. Vercingetoria 
 abandoned all weak places of defence and concentrated 
 his efforts on strengthening those points he believed 
 he could hold with success. In this way he defended 
 1 A. G. Richey, pp. 30, 32. 
 
214 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 Bourges, inflicting terrible losses on the Eomans. For 
 some time Caesar's position in Gaul was extremely 
 precarious. He failed to capture Gergoria, although 
 he was himself in command of the siege operations. 
 This defeat, the first Csesar in person had ever suffered, 
 gave great encouragement to the Celts. On the other 
 hand, the Eomans became disheartened, and, at a 
 Council of War, Cassar was advised to retire into 
 Italy. This he refused to do ; and, by a rapid con- 
 centration of his army and enormous personal exertions, 
 he at length succeeded in shutting up Vercingetoria 
 and a large portion of his army in the fortified town 
 of Alesia. The Eomans invested the place for ten 
 miles and completely cut off the supplies of the 
 80,000 men within its walls. Vercingetoria dismissed 
 his cavalry, and they managed to make their way 
 through the Roman lines, and although 250,000 
 Celts collected for the relief of Alesia, the Eomans had 
 in the meantime rendered their position impregnable. 
 Alesia fell, and with it the Celtic nation. The 
 defeated Celts were allowed to disperse because 
 Vercingetoria refused to take flight, but decided in a 
 Council of War, that, since he had not succeeded in 
 breaking off the alien yoke, he was ready to give 
 himself up as a victim, and to avert as far as possible 
 the destruction of his people, by bringing it on his own 
 head. This was done. The Celtic officers delivered 
 their chief the solemn choice of the whole nation 
 to the enemy of their country for such punishment as 
 might be thought fit. Mounted on his steed, in full 
 armour, the Chief appeared before the Eoman pro- 
 consul and rode round his tribunal ; then he sur- 
 rendered his horse and arms, and sat down in silence 
 
OF THE CELTS 215 
 
 at Caesar's feet. Five years afterwards he was led in 
 triumph through the streets of Rome, and while his 
 conqueror was offering solemn thanks to the gods on 
 the summit of the capital, Vercingetoria was beheaded 
 at the base of the hill. Mommsen adds, " as after a 
 day of gloom the sun breaks through the clouds at its 
 setting, so destiny bestows on nations in their decline 
 a last great man. The whole ancient world presents 
 no more genuine knight than Vercingetoria, the Celtic 
 Chief." 1 
 
 1 Mommsen, " History of Rome," vol. iv. p. 280. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 As we have explained in the previous chapter, the 
 earliest inhabitants of Ireland were derived from an 
 Iberian stock ; subsequently people known as Celts 
 invaded that country. It was not, however, until the 
 end of the fourth century that the Celts under a 
 leader named Lughaid Menn subjugated the Iberian 
 inhabitants of that part of Ireland, then known as 
 Thomond, but which is now included in County 
 Clare. 
 
 Tradition states that Lughaid Menn was directly 
 descended from a Celtic chief named Angus, who with 
 his followers had passed over from Gaul into the 
 south of Ireland. According to our theory, therefore, 
 Lughaid should have inherited to the full the traits of 
 personal character which we have described as being 
 common to the Celtic race (p. 211). In the following 
 chapter we have to ascertain if the actions displayed 
 by this chief and by his direct descendants substan- 
 tiate our theory, and demonstrate the existence of 
 these characters in the lives and conduct of these 
 individuals and of their followers. 
 
 It may be well, however, in the first place, to show 
 how Lughaid came to be the leader of the Celtic tribe 
 known as the Dalcasians ; the legends concerning him 
 also afford us an insight into the character and the 
 conditions under which the people of the West of 
 Ireland existed in the fourth century of our era, 
 
 216 
 
THE IRISH CELTS 217 
 
 The Province of Minister was governed by the chief 
 above mentioned, named Angus, from about the year 
 184 A.D. to 234 A.D., his eldest son, Eoghan, and six of 
 his brothers were killed in a battle fought against their 
 half-brother Mac-Con, in spite, as the historian states, of 
 their having all been " nursed on the same knee, and 
 at the same breast." Mac Con appears to have been a 
 delicate, peevish child, and, when nothing else would 
 pacify him, those under whose care he was, brought 
 the boy to Angus' favourite wolf-hound, who was so 
 tender and fond of children that young Mac Con and 
 the hound became fast friends, so much so that he 
 received the name of Mac Con (son of a hound). 
 When Mac Con had grown to manhood he was 
 entrusted with certain duties by his step-father, and, 
 having failed in his trust, he was banished by the 
 king from Minister. He sought refuge with the 
 King of Scotland without revealing his name and 
 position, and was received on friendly terms. One 
 day some Irishmen arrived in the Scotch king's 
 presence while he and Mac Con were engaged in a 
 game of chess ; Mac Con questioned the strangers as 
 to the state of affairs in Ireland, and then turned the 
 conversation to that of his own family in Minister. 
 "Oh ! " said the strangers, " with them nothing goes 
 well ; they are under the bondage of women ; " upon 
 hearing this remark, Mac Con seized some of the 
 heavy chessmen he was playing with and flung them 
 at the strangers. " A fit of affection," exclaimed the 
 King of Scotland ; " it is evident to whom you belong." 
 Mac Con then related his history to the king, and 
 sought his help to regain his position in Ireland. 
 The king accepted this obligation, and, having obtained 
 
218 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 help from Britain, they assembled " what there were 
 of ships and galleys and barges in the coast of Britain 
 and Saxonland, so that they filled the King of 
 Scotland's ports." l The troops on board these 
 vessels were placed under the command of Mac Con, 
 and Beine, a Prince of Wales. The army landed in 
 Ireland near the site of the present town of Galway. 
 The monarch of Ireland, hearing of the invasion of 
 his country, joined his forces with those of Angus, 
 and the allies, led by Eoghan (Angus' eldest son) 
 and six of his brothers, marched to resist their step- 
 brother Mac Con and his allies. In the battle 
 which ensued, not only was the King of Ireland killed, 
 but also Eoghan and his brothers. So crushing a 
 defeat was at once taken advantage of by Mac Con, 
 who proceeded to Tara and caused himself to be 
 proclaimed monarch of the country. He adopted the 
 son of the former king, and this lad subsequently 
 became the famous Cormac Mac Art. 
 
 Before his death Angus appointed, with the consent 
 of his tribe, one of his remaining sons, Cormac Cas, 
 as his tanist or successor. At the time Angus made 
 this arrangement he did not know that his eldest son 
 had married the daughter of a Druid the night before 
 the battle in which he was killed, and that the result 
 of this marriage was a son. So soon as Angus was 
 assured of this fact he revoked his former decision, 
 and arranged that Cormac Cas should succeed him ; 
 but he decided that, as Eoghan had a son, he or his 
 heirs must succeed Cormac as Chief of Minister, the 
 province being thus governed alternately by the 
 family of Eoghan and then by the heirs of Cormac 
 1 " Silva Gadelica," by Standish Hayes O'Grady, p. 352. 
 
OP THE IRISH CELTS 219 
 
 Oas " without quarrel or dispute." l The descendants 
 of Eoghan formed the tribe of Eoghanists, and the 
 descendants of Cor mac Gas formed the tribe of the 
 Dalcasians. 2 
 
 From this history we can understand how the 
 Dalcasians came into existence ; they were a division 
 of the original tribe, of which Angus was head, into 
 the Dal-Cas, or sons of Gas, forming one branch, and 
 the descendants of Eoghan the other branch of the 
 Dalcasians. 
 
 Lughaid Menn left a son called Connal whose 
 foster-father was known as Crimthan, at that time 
 ruler of Ireland ; he belonged to the Eoghanist division 
 of ruling families, and came to occupy his high 
 position in consequence of the rightful heir being at 
 the time too young to fill that office. Crimthan was 
 an intrepid soldier and carried the Irish arms not 
 only into Scotland and England, but also into the 
 heart of France, and from all these places he took 
 hostages and great booty. He had no children, and 
 the succession to the throne was therefore an open 
 question, a fact which Crimthan's sister hoped to turn 
 to the advantage of her son. To compass her end 
 she determined to poison her brother, though "it 
 should cost her her own life in doing this." Crimthan 
 therefore was invited to Connaught by his sister, 
 and while there she poisoned his wine ; having first 
 drunk some of this wine, she passed the cup to her 
 brother. They both died. This deed made a deep 
 impression on the Irish, and there can be no mistake 
 
 1 Keating's " History of Ireland," O'Connor's edition, 1G30, 
 p. 234. 
 
 2 O'Curry's " Manners and Customs of the Early Irish," p. 387. 
 
220 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 as to the fact or the year of Orirnthan's death, A.D. 
 378. 1 
 
 Connal, who was of the Dalcasian tribe, being a 
 foster-son of Crimthan, lived with his uncle from boy- 
 hood, and the king became so fond of him that he 
 offered to have him inaugurated as Chief of Munster. 
 The men of that province however declined to accept 
 as their ruler a nominee of the King of Ireland in 
 place of one elected by themselves, they rather in- 
 clined to select Core, a wise and brave prince, as their 
 Chief. Connal agreed to submit the question to 
 arbitration, and the case being decided against him he 
 resigned all claim to be ruler of Munster, and betook 
 himself to govern his own tribe, the Dalcasians of 
 Thomond. Crimthan had such confidence in Connal 
 that he handed over to his care the many hostages he 
 had taken, because, we are told, he felt that he could 
 " rely on the integrity of a prince who delivered up 
 the possession of a crown that he was able to defend, 
 for no other reason but because he had no right 
 to it." 
 
 Connal's eldest son was named Cas, and on the 
 death of his father he was elected Chief of the Dal- 
 casians ; he had twelve sons who became heads of 
 Septs. The lands constituting the province of Thomond 
 was allotted to these chiefs in proportion to their 
 importance ; a part of the territory being reserved for 
 freemen ; another part to maintain the poor and the 
 old and infirm of the tribe ; and a part was retained 
 as common land which under certain provisions every 
 member of the tribe was entitled to use. 
 
 Cas's second son, called Caisin, became the first of 
 1 " Silva Gadelica," p. 375. 
 
OF THE IRISH CELTS 221 
 
 the chiefs of the section of the Dalcasian tribe known as 
 the Clancuilein Sept. Until Brian Boru's time, family 
 names were not employed by the Irish, they were 
 recognised by names derived from some peculiarity of 
 their features, but not unfrequently from some marked 
 trait of their personal character. 
 
 Cas therefore was the immediate progenitor of the 
 Clancuilein Sept in the same way as Cormac Cas was 
 of the tribe of the Dalcasians ; from his time the office 
 had passed in unbroken succession through seven 
 generations, Cas being the last of the seven. The 
 territories conquered by Gas's father and grandfather 
 from the aborigines or Iberians were sufficient to 
 
 O 
 
 allow of their being partitioned among his sons as 
 tribe lands ; and in this way the district we now call 
 County Clare came to be subdivided among the members 
 of a Celtic tribe. As time went on the four eldest 
 sons of Cas migrated from their father's home and had 
 lands assigned to them under the provisions of the 
 Brehon laws within the boundaries of Ui-Cas. 
 
 During the three centuries following the death of 
 Cas we hear very little of Clare in the annals of 
 Ireland, it would seem that during this period the 
 province enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity, 
 which was only seriously broken by an invasion of 
 Danes in the ninth century. But it is evident the 
 chiefs of the Clancuilein Sept maintained their position 
 as second only to the head of the Dalcasians (O'Briens) 
 in Thomond. Thus we find in the year A.D. 847 the 
 head of the Sept filled the post of Marshal of the 
 Province, his office was to inaugurate the head of the 
 tribe as King of North Munster or Thomond. The 
 office of Marshal, we are told, " was a highly honour- 
 
222 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 able one and was hereditary/' l and so far as the 
 province of Thomond was concerned had been held for 
 many generations by the chiefs of Clancuilein. 
 
 In the year A.D. 877 an individual called Flan was 
 ruler of Ireland and demanded a tribute from the 
 Dalcasians which they refused to give. In spite of 
 the warning given him by his Bard, Flan marched into 
 Thomond and pitched his camp on the sacred spot of 
 Magh Adhair. Having challenged one of his followers 
 to a game of chess they commenced to play, but were 
 not allowed to complete the game for the Clancuilein 
 Sept, headed by Sioda their chief, with a strong force 
 attacked Flan ; the King however escaped with some 
 of his followers into the neighbouring forests ; after 
 three days' fighting he had to surrender to Sioda, 
 who, we are informed, treated Flan courteously, fed his 
 followers abundantly, and then escorted them on their 
 way homewards as far as the Shannon. 
 
 The chief of South Munster had selected Sioda to 
 be his successor, and the two were on the most 
 friendly terms. Upon a certain occasion, however, 
 Sioda proceeded to Cashel to visit the chief, but on 
 arriving there, declined to enter the King's house until 
 he had received a formal invitation to do so. It is 
 by casual references to incidents of this kind that we 
 gain ideas as to the personal character of the early 
 Irish Celtic chiefs. 2 
 
 1 Joyce's " Short History of Ireland," p. 63. 
 
 2 Matthew Arnold remarks that Irishmen are distinguished by an 
 " organism quick to feel impressions, and feeling them strongly ; 
 a lively personality, therefore keenly sensitive to joy and sorrow. 
 Quick and strong perception and emotions are to the soul what the 
 senses are to the body ; it means genius. But sensitiveness must 
 not be allowed with impunity to master the mind ; balance, measure 
 
OP THE IRISH CELTS 223 
 
 Keating, writing of this period, observes, that the 
 great prosperity of the people of Ireland towards the 
 close of the eighth century led many of them to adopt 
 " corrupt manners, vice, and profaneness principally 
 among the landowners," from which they were sud- 
 denly roused by the cruel hand of the Danes. 
 
 The expulsion of the Norsemen from Ireland was 
 the work of Brian (Boru) chief of the Dalcasian tribe. 
 In his career, therefore, we obtain further evidence 
 regarding the hereditary traits of character possessed by 
 one of the Celtic chiefs of western Ireland ; characters 
 precisely similar to those displayed by his progenitors. 
 
 The two first expeditions which the Danes made 
 into the west of Ireland took place A.D. 795 and 801 ; 
 on both occasions they were repulsed by the Irish. 1 
 But from A.D. 812 to 835 a great number of Norsemen 
 flocked into Ireland, pillaging and committing every 
 conceivable cruelty on the inhabitants of the country. 
 
 Turgesius, the leader of the invaders, became the 
 acknowledged King of the north of Ireland ; he hoped 
 to establish a strong government and so to overcome 
 the discord arid anarchy which existed in the country ; 
 he also desired to banish Christianity from Ireland ; 
 he placed his wife to rule over Clonmacnois : we are 
 told that she was accustomed to preside at the high 
 altar of the principal Church of the monastery, and 
 work the oracles of her religion from that position. 2 
 In the year A.D. 879 the Irish rose against Turgesius, 
 
 and patience, are necessary, and these the Celt does not possess. 
 He is ever chafing against the despotism of facts, straining under the 
 effects of emotion ; eager to enlist in the fray, but ' always to fall.' " 
 See " Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish," vol. ii. p. 101. 
 
 1 Keating's " History of Ireland," O'Connor's edition, p. 470. 
 
 2 Introduction to the " Wars of the Gaedhil with the Gael," p. xlviii. 
 
224 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 and having killed him drove most of his followers out 
 of Erin. 1 
 
 The Norsemen however soon returned, and the 
 west of Ireland, from the year A.D. 890, was overrun 
 by them ; we are informed that they occupied the 
 homes of the Irish, so that the owners had not even 
 power to " give milk or eggs to the sick or infirm 
 man ; the foreigners claimed the right over every- 
 thing." The Norsemen were better armed than the 
 Irish. It was in circumstances of this kind Mahon 
 and his brother Brian, chiefs of the Dalcasian tribe, 
 appeared on the scene. From its geographical position, 
 and in consequence of the dense woods which covered 
 its hills and plains, Clare was not so completely 
 occupied by the Norsemen as other parts of Ireland. 
 At any rate from the account given in the wars of the 
 Gaedhil with the Gael, we learn that Mahon and Brian, 
 with the greater part of the Dalcasians living east and 
 south of the Shannon, crossed the river into Clare so 
 as to escape from the invaders of their country ; and 
 they " dispersed themselves among the forests and 
 woods situated between Loch Durge and the Fergus " ; 
 from this locality the Irish proceeded to sally forth and 
 kill all the foreigners they could lay their hands on. 
 The effect of these tactics was to compel the Norse- 
 men to concentrate their forces on the Shannon, where 
 they built a fort in the district of Tradraighe, which 
 was the subsequent site of Bunratty castle. In these 
 operations Brian's forces suffered terribly from constant 
 lighting and want of food ; and his brother Mahon, 
 hearing of his condition, urged submission to the 
 Norsemen. 
 
 1 Keating, p. 440. 
 
OP THE IRISH CELTS 225 
 
 The Celtic records state that Brian absolutely de- 
 clined to follow this advice, and taunted his brother 
 with cowardice ; he is said to have asked him if he 
 thought their father or their grandfather would 
 have made peace while an enemy occupied Ireland. 
 Mahon admitted all this, but argued that if they 
 had not the power to resist the invaders it was 
 useless holding out against the foe; he asked Brian if 
 he wished to see the whole of his tribe in the same 
 state as his own followers. To this Brian replied 
 " that such an argument was bad, because it was 
 hereditary for him to die, and for the whole of the 
 Dalcais likewise, as their fathers had passed away so 
 must they ; but it was not natural or hereditary for 
 the Dalcais to submit to insult or contempt, their 
 forefathers had never submitted to this, and no power 
 on earth would make him do so." 1 The tribe on 
 hearing this assembled to resist the invaders, and met 
 them at Sulcoit in Tipperary. In this battle the Norse- 
 men were defeated and fled to Limerick, which town 
 Brian took, and destroyed its fortifications, inflicting 
 great loss and injury to the enemy, A.D. 968. 2 This 
 victory added greatly to the prestige of the Dalcasians, 
 so much so that the Eoghanites (p. 218), or rather 
 their chief Malloy, murdered Mahon (A.D. 976). Brian 
 was not slow to avenge his brother's death ; he first 
 sent a challenge to Malloy to meet him in single 
 combat, and directed his messenger to add, that noth- 
 ing short of the death of one of them would suffice. 
 Keceiving no satisfactory answer, Brian inarched his 
 followers into South Munster and met Malloy, a battle 
 
 1 " Wars of Gaedhil and the Gael," p. 61. 
 
 2 " Annals of Innisf alien " (MS., British Museum), 
 P 
 
226 THE HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 ensued, in which that chief was killed by one of Brian's 
 sons. In the year A.D. 977, Brian, assisted by the 
 Clancuilein Sept, stormed the Island of Scattery, 
 driving the Norsemen he found there into their ships, 
 and completely cleared the district of Thomond from 
 the invaders. 
 
 Brian 1 was now proclaimed King of Minister, but 
 Malachy, who at the time was King of Leinster, seeing 
 the rising power of Brian, determined to assert his 
 own position as monarch of the country ; he therefore 
 entered Thomond and pitched his camp on and around 
 Magh Adhair, he uprooted the sacred oak-tree which 
 grew on this mound (A.D. 982). 2 This was followed 
 by a succession of battles between Brian and Malachy 
 until at length the latter solicited help from the 
 Danes who still occupied Dublin. Brian however 
 overcame the confederates and then sacked Dublin, 
 carrying off a vast amount of treasure to his home at 
 Kincora. 
 
 Brian (A.D. 1002), became the supreme ruler over 
 Ireland arid received tribute in the form of live stock 
 and agricultural produce from all the chiefs of his 
 country ; their order was fixed at Brian's table, and 
 behind each seat we are told the chief's arms were 
 suspended. 3 The tables were covered with gold- 
 mounted cups ; the food consisted of beef, pork, game, 
 fish, oat- cakes, cheese, curds, onions and watercress ; 
 
 1 Brian received the name Boru or Boroimhe because he revived 
 the payment of the tribute or tax known as the Boromean Tribute 
 which had been abolished since A.D. 680. See " Manners and Customs 
 of the Ancient Irish," p. 231. 
 
 2 " Annals of Innisf alien," and " Annals of the Four Masters." 
 
 3 O'Curry, " Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish," vol. ii. 
 p. 127. 
 
OP THE IRISH CELTS 227 
 
 wine, beer, and mead, together with the bilberry-juice. 
 The food seems to have been cooked in the dining- 
 hall. 1 
 
 Brian also gave surnames to the principal families 
 of Ireland with the object of " avoiding confusion, and 
 that their genealogies might be better preserved." 
 The family name given to the members of the 
 Clancuilein Sept was Mac-con-mara. 
 
 Kincora became Brian's place of residence situated 
 on the heights overlooking the Shannon from the 
 Clare side of the river ; a wooden bridge at this time 
 crossed the site of what had been a ford. The houses 
 were built of timber and clay and extended along the 
 bank of the river ; there were two churches one of 
 which still exists. It is unnecessary for us to do 
 more than refer to the fact that Brian took to wife a 
 female called Gormnaith, who had already been mar- 
 ried, first, to the leader of the Norsemen and then to 
 Malachy. This marriage on the part of Brian therefore 
 would seem to have been of a political character ; 
 however this may be, Brian and Gormflaith quarrelled, 
 and she fled back to Dublin to incite the Danes and 
 Norsemen to rise against Brian. 
 
 Although in his seventy-third year of age, Brian was 
 still vigorous enough to make the necessary arrange- 
 ments to meet his enemies ; and he determined to 
 stake his cause, and that of his country, on the issue 
 of a single battle ; Brian however felt it beyond his 
 power to do more than collect and take his army into 
 the field, for a commander in those days had not 
 only to lead his men, but also to fight hand to hand 
 
 1 " Killaloe," by T. J. Westropp (Journ. Ry. Ant. of Ireland, 1892, 
 p. 404). 
 
228 THE HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 in the thick of the battle, especially at weak points, 
 Brian therefore left the command of the army to his 
 son Morrogh. 
 
 Every man of Brian's family marched with him 
 towards Dublin, among them his grandson Turlough, 
 a youth of sixteen years of age, who was his father's 
 (Morrogh) standard-bearer. 
 
 These leaders were surrounded by Dalcasians, " the 
 children of Gas," Clancuileins, led by their chiefs, 
 among them Keating mentions Menma Mac-con-mara, 
 From the " Annals of the Four Masters " we learn 
 that Menma died A.D. 1015, so that he must have 
 been one of the few chiefs who survived the battle of 
 Clontarf. 
 
 On the morning of Good Friday, April 23, 1014, 
 the Irish army took up their position on the field of 
 battle ; the Dalcasians with Morrogh as their leader 
 held the van, the centre was formed of South Munster 
 Septs, and the rear by those from Connaught. The 
 Norsemen and Danes under their leader, together with 
 their Irish allies, formed a line extending along the 
 shore of Clontarf with their backs to the sea. Many 
 of the Danes were clad in armour, but the Irish were 
 dressed in their linen tunics, and were armed with 
 spears, swords and axes. No horsemen were engaged 
 on either side, and each army numbered about 20,000 
 men. Every man appears to have fought on his own 
 account, those in the rear taking the place of those in 
 front who were killed or disabled. And so they fought 
 throughout the day without interruption. Towards 
 the evening the Irish made a final effort and carried 
 all before them ; the Danes and their allies were com- 
 pletely vanquished and fled from the field of battle. 
 
OF THE IRISH CELTS 229 
 
 Brian, although unable to lead his army, watched 
 its movements from a distance throughout the day. 
 We are told that his attention was constantly fixed on 
 the standard of his son Morrogh, for as long as he saw 
 it carried aloft he felt sure all was well with the Irish. 
 Towards evening Morrogh's banner disappeared. At 
 first Brian tried to persuade himself that it was his 
 faulty sight and anxious watching that prevented him 
 from recognizing his son's standard, but when the 
 truth came home to him the old man's grief was 
 extreme, he could no longer watch the battle ; he was 
 urged to retire but refused to leave the spot, for he 
 declared that Aoibhel of Cragliath had appeared to 
 him the night before and told him this was to be his 
 last day. Some of the Danes in their flight from 
 Clontarf came to the spot where Brian was, and 
 recognising him, overpowered and killed the old 
 man. 
 
 Morrogh after fighting throughout the day, found 
 his hands so much swollen that he was unable any 
 longer to grasp his battle-axe, in this condition he 
 was wounded mortally in the side, and died the fol- 
 lowing day. 
 
 Young Turlough fought with his father, and after 
 the latter had received his mortal wound, seems to 
 have pursued the Dane who inflicted the blow to the 
 banks of the river, where the lad's body was found, his 
 hands entangled in the long hair of his enemy. 
 
 There is reason to believe that not less than a 
 quarter of the Irish army were left dead on the field 
 of Clontarf, and among their number were included 
 many Dalcasian chiefs. The result of this action, 
 however, was the complete annihilation of the power 
 
230 THE EARLY IRISH CELTS 
 
 of the Danes and other Norsemen in Ireland, a power 
 they never again attempted to regain. 
 
 After the death of Brian Bom dissensions arose 
 between two of his sons as to the right of succession, 
 which ended in the election of a grandson of Brian's 
 named Donough to be the ruler of the Province of 
 Munster. During succeeding years we read of nothing 
 but fighting between the various rulers of Ireland, 
 and of the plunder and burning of towns and monastic 
 establishments. In all this turmoil the Clancuilein 
 Sept and their chiefs are frequently referred to as 
 taking a leading part in repelling attacks made by 
 the rulers of Leinster and Connaught on Munster. 
 Donough at length became weary of the strife, and 
 was too old to take part in it ; he consequently retired, 
 and proceeded to Koine where he died in the monastery 
 of St Stephen, A.D. 1064. He had indeed been beset 
 with difficulties, for we are informed that in con- 
 sequence of " much inclement weather in Ireland, its 
 corn, milk, fruit, and fish were destroyed, and the 
 people grew dishonest, there was no safety for any 
 one." In these circumstances a council was assembled 
 at Killaloe, and we are told that laws were then 
 enacted " to restrain every injustice, great and small ; 
 and in consequence God gave peace and favourable 
 weather." 
 
 A petition was presented to Anselm, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, A.D. 1070, by the inhabitants of Waterford 
 asking him to consecrate a monk of Winchester to fill 
 the office of bishop of that city. It appears the 
 Celtic Church in Ireland up to the eleventh century 
 depended on their own bishops, native^ of the country, 
 to administer the affairs of their Church, which, as 
 \ 
 
AND LAND TENURE 231 
 
 before stated, had been established by St Patrick and 
 his immediate followers upon the tribal system. 
 Bishops, however, were changed without order or regu- 
 larity, and multiplied to such an extent that at one 
 time, it is said, there were 700 bishops living in 
 Ireland. The Irish monks, like their tribal chiefs, 
 were constantly fighting with one another. Lanfranc, 
 referring to these and other irregularities of ecclesiastics 
 in Ireland, states that men in Ireland left their wives 
 without any canonical cause, married others, although 
 near in blood to themselves or to the deserted wives. 
 They even exchanged wives. Holy orders, he states, 
 were given to Celtic bishops for money, infants were 
 not baptized, nor matrimony nor consecration per- 
 formed according to the Roman canon. The Archbishop 
 affirms that all this wrong was done in Ireland because 
 the Celtic Church was independent in matters of dis- 
 cipline of the Roman Pontiffs. St Malachy, some fifty 
 years before the invasion of Ireland by Henry the 
 Third, describes the Irish as " unbelieving in religion, 
 Christians in name, but Pagans in reality" 1 (see p. 206). 
 The Brehon laws were in full force by which a 
 freeman, that is a person holding a certain amount of 
 land, had a right to seek protection from wrong, his 
 social status was ruled by the amount of land and 
 cattle he held. Neither the chief or anyone else could 
 raise a member of the sept in the social scale, for it 
 was the unalterable right of the humblest freeman 
 by patient industry to raise himself and his family 
 from one grade of society to a higher one by acquiring 
 land, and cultivating it to advantage ; but this industry 
 and perseverance had to be the work of more than 
 
 1 Morrison's " Life of St Bernard," p. 242. 
 
232 THE IRISH CELTS OF 
 
 one generation, the process was a gradual one ; thrift 
 and industry were consequently the stimulants, the 
 road and only way to advancement in life. Each rise 
 in the social scale was attended with corresponding 
 privileges. 
 
 Crimes were considered as wrong committed by one 
 individual against another, and might, therefore, be 
 condoned by the person who was judged to be the 
 aggressor, giving compensation for the damage he had 
 inflicted on the injured party. 
 
 It is not difficult to picture to ourselves the con- 
 ditions under which the members of a sept, such as 
 the one we have referred to, existed in Clare from the 
 fifth to the eleventh century. These people held 
 lands covering a space as large as the county of 
 Middlesex. In this area (Ui-Caisin) the sept or 
 family of Casisin, son of Cas, were absolute masters, 
 the Iberian aborigines had been reduced to the 
 condition of slaves. The members of the founder 
 of the sept multiplied, but as they were all de- 
 scended from a common ancestor, the tie of hereditary 
 character and of consanguinity bound them to one 
 another ; their social life depending on their share 
 of the soil, it was by means of its produce they 
 lived, their privileges as freemen depended on the 
 land. At one end of the social ladder was the Chief 
 of the Sept, who with the headmen had the power of 
 making war or peace, of controlling the redistribution 
 of the tribal lands, and guided by his Brehons had 
 almost unlimited freedom of action over the sept. At 
 the other end of the ladder was the bondsman, who, so 
 far as freedom was concerned, was on a par with the 
 cattle he tended. Unless we appreciate this fact it 
 
THE TWELFTH CENTURY 233 
 
 is impossible to comprehend either the ancient or the 
 modern history of the Irish Celts. Their hereditary 
 qualities, and dependence on the soil, were of far 
 greater antiquity than their history, these qualities 
 were borne by their remote ancestors through numer- 
 ous generations back to their Aryan home ; characters 
 which had grown to be as fixed a part of these people 
 as their physical formation. 
 
 We must here pause to refer to the manner in 
 which Ireland was absorbed by the King of England, 
 as this act had a marked effect on the character and 
 destinies of the people of that country. 
 
 We have shown that up to the middle of the 12th 
 century the inhabitants of the west of Ireland, now 
 included in the limits of County Clare, had retained 
 their absolute independence, and still held the lands, 
 and were governed by the laws and usages bequeathed 
 to them by their ancestors. They spoke Celtic, a 
 " member of the Aryan family " of languages. 1 
 
 In the year A.D. 1155 Matthew Paris states that 
 Henry II. of England cast in his mind the conquest 
 of Ireland, for he saw it was commodious for him, 
 and considered that they were but a rude and savage 
 people, " whereupon in his ambitious mind he sent to 
 Adrian, Bishop of Eome, one John Salisbury with 
 others, delivering his suit to that effect." Adrian, 
 being a man of English birth, heard England's am- 
 bassadors the more willingly, and granted the king 
 his request, as follows : after the usual mode of saluta- 
 tion the Pope wrote to Henry that he had " been very 
 careful and studious how he (Henry II.) might enlarge 
 the Church of God here on earth as for Ireland and 
 
 1 O'Curry, " Manners and Customs of Early Irish," vol. i. p. Ixvii 
 
234 INVASION OF IRELAND 
 
 all other lands where Christ is known and the 
 Christian religion received, it is out of all doubt, and 
 your Excellencie well knoweth, they do all appertain 
 and belong to the right of Saint Peter, and of the 
 Church of Rome you have advertised and signified 
 unto us that you will enter the land and realme of 
 Ireland to the end to bring it to obedience into Law, 
 and under your subjection root out from among them 
 their foul sinnes and wickednesse, as also to yeeld and 
 pay yearly out of every house, a yeerly pension of one 
 penny to Saint Peter, and besides also will defend 
 and keep the rites of those churches whole and in- 
 violate. We, therefore, well allowing and favouring 
 this your godly disposition and commendable affection, 
 doe accept, ratifie and assent unto this your petition ; 
 and doe grant that you doe enter to possess that land, 
 and thereto execute, according to your wisdom, what- 
 soever shall be for the honour of God, and the safety 
 of the realrne ; and further also we doe strictly charge 
 and require, that all the people of that land doe with 
 all humbleness, dutifulness, and honour, receive and 
 accept you as their Liege Lord and Soveraigne, re- 
 serving and accepting the right of holy Church to be 
 inviolably preserved : as also the yeerly pension of 
 Peter's pence out of every house, which we require to 
 be truly answered to Saint Peter and the Church of 
 Koine." 1 
 
 We thus see that Ireland was made over by 
 one foreign power to another foreign potentate ; the 
 remarkable circumstance being that neither of these 
 powers had the slightest right to the country they 
 thus disposed of. The Celtic Church had in matters 
 1 Dr Hanmer's " Chronicle," p. 216. 
 
BY HENRY THE SECOND 235 
 
 of discipline been independent of Eome, but surely 
 this was no reason why Adrian IV. should have made 
 a gift of the country with all its lands and inhabitants 
 to Henry II. of England. 
 
 Henry the Second at the time of receiving Adrian's 
 sanction to assume the government of Ireland was 
 engaged in Normandy, and had neither men nor 
 money with which to enter on the conquest of Ireland, 
 for he was perfectly well aware that the Irish would 
 not submit tamely to the Pope's Bull. But in the year 
 1166 he was invited by Mac Murrogh, King of 
 Leinster, to send a force of English over to help him 
 regain the position from which he had been expelled 
 by his own people. Henry II. recognized the 
 advisability of taking advantage of this invitation so 
 as to obtain a footing in Ireland. The King therefore 
 issued orders from Normandy conferring powers on 
 certain Anglo-Norman barons to go to the aid of Mac 
 Murrogh ; among them was Robert Fitzstephen who 
 passed over to that country with his retainers and 
 landed at Wexford AD. 1169. He at once joined 
 forces with Mac Murrogh, and some of their first 
 acts were to pillage and burn ecclesiastical establish- 
 ments such as Kells, Slane, and Clonard. 
 
 Dermot Mac Murrogh died in the spring of the 
 year 1171, and the Earl of Pembroke, who had 
 married Dermot's daughter, according to English law 
 succeeded to the title and estates of Chief, or King of 
 Leinster. This however was going rather faster than 
 suited Henry of England, he therefore recalled Strong- 
 bow, and determined to proceed himself to Ireland. 
 
 King Henry landed at Waterford (November 1172) 
 accompanied by Strongbow, De Burghs and other 
 
236 RESISTANCE OF IRISH CELTS 
 
 barons, and was met by the various Irish Chiefs, who 
 made submission to the King, among them was Donald 
 O'Brien chief of Thomond, who however returned to 
 his province and carried on the government exactly on 
 the old lines. King Henry on the other hand gave 
 away the whole of Ireland to some ten of his Anglo- 
 Norman barons, who were to take possession of their 
 lands, if necessary by conquest. 
 
 King Henry took no steps whatever to maintain 
 authority over Ireland, nor did he make an effort to 
 establish English law in that country, as Sir J. 
 Davis observes the King " neither left behind him 
 one true subject more than he found there at his 
 coming over, which were only English adventurers," l 
 Before leaving the country however (A.D. 1172) the 
 King issued a decree that " near kinsfolk should not 
 marry, children must be baptised, and the bodies of 
 dead Christians buried within the precincts of a 
 Church." 
 
 Strongbow, finding that Donald O'Brien openly 
 scoffed at the idea of a King of England ruling 
 Thomond, marched with a strong force (A.D. 1174) 
 as far as Thurles, intending to pass on westward, but he 
 was at this place met by Donald and completely de- 
 feated with the loss of a number of his men. Another 
 attempt was made by the English to enter Thomond 
 (1192) but without success; the Dalcasians in 
 conjunction with the Clancuilein sept defeated the 
 invaders and drove them eastward across the Shannon 
 at Killaloe. 2 
 
 1 Sir J. Davis, " A Discovery of the True Cause why Ireland was 
 never subdued," p. 110, also Geraldus Cambrensis, book i. chap, 
 xxxiv. 2 " Annals of the Four Masters." 
 
 
TO ENGLISH INVASION 237 
 
 Donough O'Brien subsequently seems to have entered 
 into some kind of arrangement with Henry III. by 
 which he was to obtain and hold full possession of his 
 own lands on paying tribute to the King. Directly 
 this compact became known to the Clancuilein and 
 other septs they rose to a man and drove Donough 
 their chief out of Thomond " because he seemed to 
 be favourably disposed to their enemies." 
 
 Donough O'Brien was succeeded by his eldest son 
 Conor who was inaugurated on Magh Adhair as Chief 
 of Thomond, by Sheeda Mac-con-mara A.D. 1242. 
 Conor married a daughter of Sheeda O'Brien, an event 
 which had an important influence on the destinies of 
 Thomond, as it brought the chiefs of Clancuilein and 
 of the O'Briens into more intimate relations than had 
 lately existed between these Celtic families. Through 
 many years of terrible strife this friendship was 
 faithfully maintained against a rival section of the 
 O'Briens, supported by the Anglo-Norman Earl De 
 Clare and his followers. The King of England had 
 granted De Clare possession of Thomond so soon as 
 he could conquer the inhabitants and bring them 
 under the subjection of the English crown. 
 
 Conor O'Brien's sister married the Chief or King of 
 Connaught, and having thus gained his aid, and that of 
 the Clancuilein sept,he felt himself sufficiently strong to 
 attack the English. "He did this with such success that 
 we are told he did not suffer one of the English nation 
 to inhabit the size of the meanest hut in the kingdom 
 over which he was chief." l 
 
 1 Macgrath's " Triumphs of Turlough," Standish Hayes O'Grady's 
 translation, p. 2. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 IN the year 1258, a council of chiefs of the four 
 provinces of Ireland was convened in order to take 
 united action against the English throughout Ireland ; 
 after a long and fruitless discussion as to which of 
 the four rulers was to be supreme, the council broke 
 up without arriving at any decision on this, to them, all 
 important point. Thus ended the last chance of 
 effective union for National defence among the native 
 Celtic chiefs of Ireland. Conor O'Brien was repre- 
 sented at this Council by his son Teige, who died 
 soon afterwards. His father seems to have been 
 crushed by this double blow to his hopes, for we are 
 told that " he refused to drink, or take comfort, and 
 to such a depth, and for so long was his grief pro- 
 longed, that his tribe rose against him ; his sorrow they 
 respected, but when it passed into settled gloom " they 
 led their chief to understand that he must make way 
 for some one else, if he desired to indulge in 
 inordinate grief. " The Four Masters " inform us that 
 during the latter part of Conor O'Brien's reign, 
 Thomond was not only at peace, but that the seasons 
 were favourable and the people consequently pros- 
 perous. The inhabitants however became over-ricli 
 and turbulent, refusing to pay their cesses. Sioda 
 Mac-con-mara seems to have speedily quelled this in- 
 subordination throughout the east of Thomond ; but 
 Conor in attempting to put down the insurrection in 
 
 238 
 
THE IRISH CELTS 239 
 
 Barren lost his life, together with that of his third son 
 and a daughter. 
 
 Conor O'Brien was buried in the Abbey of 
 Corcornroe, where his tomb is still to be seen in 
 good preservation in the north side of the chancel. 
 
 Conor was succeeded by his second son Brian Koe 
 who was inaugurated King or Chief of Thomond by 
 his uncle Sioda Mac-con-mara ; but his elder brother 
 had left a son called Tur lough, who at the time of 
 his grandfather's death was only nine years of age, 
 and consequently too young to succeed to the Chieftain- 
 ship of Thomond. Brian Koe therefore reigned at 
 Clonrod for nine years "and fought the English, 
 governing with a strong hand," but in the year 1277, 
 Turlough revolted against his uncle, and his cause 
 was espoused by the Clancuilein sept, his grand- 
 mother having been the daughter of their Chief, Neil 
 Mac-con- rnara, and because he was the rightful heir 
 to the position held by Brian Eoe ; the latter was 
 therefore driven out of Clonrod, and fled to Limerick 
 and placed himself under the protection of the Anglo- 
 Norman, Earl de Clare, who undertook to assist Brian, 
 provided he would assign the lands between Limerick 
 and Athsollus to him and his heirs. 1 These terms 
 
 1 Thomas de Clare, Governor of London, was the second son of 
 Richard Earl of Gloucester, and he (Thomas), having borne arms 
 against the king at the battle of Lewes, eventually came over to the 
 king's side, and with his brother Gilbert arranged a plan by which 
 Edward the king's son escaped from custody. This brought them 
 pardon, and Henry III. made Thomas his secretary ; Gilbert was 
 married to the Princess Joan of Acre, and Thomas de Clare got 
 licence to settle in Ireland (1269), but he did not go there until after 
 Edward's return from the Holy Land. He married a daughter of 
 Lord Desmond, and got a grant of his lands in trust from Prince 
 Edward. De Clare had a nominal right to part of Thomond, for 
 
240 RESISTANCE OF CELTS 
 
 having been agreed to, De Clare obtained help from 
 the Fitzgeralds and other Anglo-Norman barons, and 
 together with Brian Roe's followers sallied forth 
 to attack Torlough O'Brien with the intention of 
 placing Brian Eoe at the head of affairs in Thomond. 
 Thus we have a repetition of the old story, mutual 
 jealousy between Celtic chiefs, one of whom to 
 strengthen his position called in the aid of foreigners 
 to assist him in overcoming his adversary. The 
 Anglo-Normans were probably better trained soldiers 
 than the Irish, but the latter with their shields, 
 lances, and swords, their half naked bodies and long 
 matted hair tied with thongs over their eyes, fleet 
 of foot and enduring as the beasts of their forests, 
 were men which the more heavily armed Anglo- 
 Normans had to contend with. 
 
 De Clare advanced as far into Ui-cas-ein as Quin, 
 at which place he strengthened the fort which existed 
 in that place, erecting flanking towers, which still 
 remain, and also part of the massive walls of the fort 
 which form a part of walls of the existing Quin Abbey. 
 
 The Clancuilein sept not being strong enough to 
 give battle to De Clare, retired northward to the hills 
 of Echty ; in the meantime Tuiiough passed into the 
 district of Burren and was joined by some of the 
 retainers of the De Burghs's (Bourkes) of Galway, he 
 
 Robert de Musegros, a former grantee, had surrendered Tradree to 
 the king (p. 99). The king subsequently granted Thomas de Clare 
 in fee the province of Thomond, including Tradree. Thus De Clare 
 was established, so far as Edward King of England could secure him, 
 in the south of co. Clare, in the angle made by the rivers Fergus 
 and Shannon, north of which lay the Ui-Caisin lands (T. J. Westropp's 
 " Normans in Thomond " : " Journal of the Royal Society of Anti- 
 quaries of Ireland," 1890, pp. 285-286.) 
 
TO THE ANGLO-NORMANS 241 
 
 then joined the Clancuilein sept and the combined 
 forces at once commenced offensive warfare against 
 De Clare and the other Anglo-Normans who had 
 fixed their headquarters in the district of Tradree. In 
 the year 1277, Turlough and Sioda Mac-con-mara 
 felt they were sufficiently strong to meet the enemy 
 in the open, and they gave battle to De Clare at 
 Mongressan. De Clare was completely beaten, and his 
 brother-in-law and other Norman knights were slain. 
 Brian Roe and De Clare escaped to the Castle of 
 Bunratty, where the Earl's wife denounced Brian as 
 a traitor, and as having been the cause of her 
 brother's death. The unfortunate Irish chief was 
 seized and brought into the castle yard, where he 
 was " bound to a strong steed " and dragged to death, 
 his body was then suspended by its feet from the 
 gallows. This murder was perpetrated by De Clare 
 notwithstanding having entered into a sacred alliance 
 with Brian, upon which occasion they swore by the 
 most solemn oath to support one another, and mixed 
 their blood in token of friendship. The details of this 
 crime are recorded by the " Four Masters," and were 
 also transmitted by certain Celtic chiefs to Pope 
 John XII. 
 
 De Clare endeavoured to come to an arrangement 
 with Turlough, but the latter declined so much as to 
 listen to words of peace after what had happened to 
 Brian Roe. 
 
 Turlough proceeded with his victorious army to 
 Magh Adhair and was proclaimed ruler of Thomond 
 by Sioda Mac-con-mara. No mention is made of any 
 religious or other ceremony on this occasion, the 
 same form seems to have been observed in the year 
 Q 
 
242 RESISTANCE OF IRISH CELTS 
 
 1276 as that followed on similar occasions from the 
 earliest days of the Celtic conquest of the west of 
 Ireland. 
 
 Many of the facts given in the preceding and in 
 the following pages are drawn from a work by 
 John Macgrath who wrote an account in the year 
 1459 of the "Triumph of Turlough." A copy of this 
 Celtic manuscript and a translation of it exist in the 
 Egerton Collection of the British Museum Library. 
 The original is in Dublin, and has been translated by 
 Mr Standish H. O'Grady, who kindly allowed us to 
 consult his work. Macgrath states that he wrote this 
 history from information given him by persons who 
 had witnessed the scenes he describes. Professor 
 O'Curry remarks that the " Wars of Thomond stand 
 unrivalled, the style and composition is extremely 
 redundant ; nevertheless it possesses a power and 
 vigour of description which independently of the 
 exciting incidents it describes, will amply compensate 
 the reader's study." l 
 
 De Clare having failed to induce Turlough to come 
 to an agreement, felt that the charter he had received 
 from the King of England granting him possession of 
 Thomond was about as valuable as the paper on which 
 it was written ; but he still hoped to gain his end, not 
 so much by direct conquest as by inciting the jealousy 
 of the Celtic chiefs against one another, and through 
 their mutual destruction to step into the position he 
 so much coveted in Clare. His next move therefore 
 was to induce Donough the son of Brian Eoe to join 
 the English, and Donough consented to co-operate with 
 
 1 " Lectures on Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," 
 p. 235. 
 
TO ENGLISH INVADERS 243 
 
 his father's murderers in their efforts to destroy the 
 power of his relation Turlough O'Brien. The con- 
 federates started off on a raid through the west of 
 Clare, and then suddenly turned eastward and appeared 
 before Clonrod ; Turlough was taken by surprise and 
 with difficulty made his escape and sought refuge with 
 Sioda Mac-con-mara ; he was followed by a portion of 
 De Clare's forces led by Donough, who that night 
 encamped at Quiu. Macgrath states that Sioda Mac- 
 con-mara with a small force of retainers determined 
 to attack Donough 's force, hoping during the confusion 
 produced by a sudden onslaught to reach Donough 
 and engage him in single combat. So desperate was 
 this attack that Sioda penetrated into the midst of the 
 enemies' camp, but he and his followers were surrounded 
 and were overborne, the whole party including their 
 chief being killed. 
 
 After the death of Sioda, Clancuilein assembled at 
 Magh Adhair and elected his son Coveha as their 
 chief ; the historian remarks that in this choice 
 Clancuilein had not exchanged a stone for an egg, but 
 had taken gold in place of silver, for he adds now 
 the Cu or Wolf-dogs anger rose against those that 
 bordered on his confines. Coveha married Sheila, 
 daughter of O'Carroll the Celtic Chief of Ely. It 
 seems that the author of the records from which 
 Macgrath compiled his history had strong feelings in 
 favour of Coveha, and of his son Lochlain, and grand- 
 son MacCon ; he constantly refers to their prowess 
 and feats of arms, although he is by no means sparing 
 in his commendation of other Dalcasian chiefs. 
 
 Turlough O'Brien and Coveha failing to obtain aid 
 from MacCarthy of Desmond or from other sources 
 
244 RESISTANCE OF IRISH CELTS 
 
 came to the decision that they must in future depend 
 on their own resources if they were to get rid of 
 the Anglo-Normans. They consequently set about 
 organising their forces, over which Donald, a brother of< 
 Turlough's, and Coveha Mac-con-mara were chosen 
 leaders. De Clare was not slow in making counter 
 preparations, and the opposing forces met on the plain 
 near Tulla ; the Delcasians, by a dexterous flank move- 
 ment, broke in on the main body of the Anglo-Norman 
 forces and completely overcame them. Coveha ordered 
 the arms of the enemy who had been killed to be 
 collected and sent to Turlough, who at the time was 
 occupied east of the Shannon ; but the " spurs of the 
 knights and their shields and armorial bearings he 
 directed should be defaced and sent to De Clare. 
 Turlough followed up this victory by marching through 
 Tradee up to the walls of Bunratty Castle, and com- 
 pelled De Clare to banish Donough Brian Eoe. But 
 in the following year for the sake of peace Turlough 
 agreed to make over the western part of Clare to 
 Donough, retaining the eastern portion. This arrange- 
 ment was hardly likely to lead to permanent peace, and 
 in fact complications soon arose between the two chiefs. 
 In the year 1284 Donough and Turlough agreed to 
 meet and settle their quarrels ; the former chief, we 
 are told, came to the appointed place sufficiently well 
 drunk to make him noisy, and he abused Turlough in 
 no measured terms ; the consequence was that a fight 
 between the followers of the respective chiefs took 
 place, from which Donough escaped, but being pursued 
 and wounded, he plunged into the river Fergus and 
 was drowned. Turlough was thus left the undisputed 
 ruler of Thoraond. 
 
TO THE ANGLO-NORMANS 245 
 
 On the 29th August 1287 Thomas Earl de Clare 
 was killed with some of his principal knights in an 
 encounter with the Dalcasians, and was succeeded by 
 his brother Kichard de Clare. 1 
 
 Turlough built the beautiful Abbey of Ennis, the 
 ruins of which are still in good preservation ; he died 
 on the 10th of April 1306, and was buried in the 
 church he had so lately completed. His son Donough 
 was inaugurated ruler of Thomond in his place. 
 
 Coveha Mac-con-mara survived his chief for two 
 years ; he died a natural death, and was buried close to 
 the grave of Turlough in the Abbey of Ennis. The 
 Clancuilein Sept elected Donchadh, son of Coveha, as 
 their chief. Macgrath states the Sept " honoured him 
 for his flawless integrity, his perfect chivalry, valour 
 and loyalty to the head of the province." He further 
 states that Donchadh was always ready to help any 
 man in trouble whose cause was good, his hospitality 
 and generosity were proverbial, " he was gentle and 
 winning with women, and a handsome purveyor of the 
 wine-feast." 2 We refer to these traits of character as 
 given by the historian, because they indicate the 
 qualities possessed by a Celtic chief living in the 
 early part of the fourteenth century, which gained for 
 him the respect and obedience of his retainers and 
 other members of his Clan. 
 
 In the following account of the Clancuilein Sept 
 we have quoted extensively from Macgrath's history, 
 which he states was compiled in the year 1459, from 
 documents belonging to the families of the men who 
 took an active part in the scenes to which he refers. 
 
 1 State Papers, Ireland, No. 1301. 
 
 2 Translation of " Triumphs of Turlough," p. 34. 
 
246 MACGRATH'S HISTORY 
 
 The author of this work was descended from a long 
 line of the official Dalcasian bards. In his history, 
 therefore, we possess not only glimpses of the personal 
 characters displayed by Celtic chiefs living in the 
 early part of the fourteenth century, but also an 
 example of the Celtic literature of this and a some- 
 what later period which demonstrates the spirit of 
 the age, and of the environment which prevailed 
 among the inhabitants of County Clare up to the 
 year A.D. 14? 5 9. If we compare the account given by 
 Macgrath of the Dalcasian chiefs of the period com- 
 prised in his history, we find the qualities he describes 
 as belonging to these men are identical with those 
 which M. Thierry and Mommsen state, characterised 
 their progenitors, the inhabitants of ancient Gaul 
 (p. 211). 
 
 From the date of Earl de Clares' death in August 
 1287 until the year 1310, the peace and prosperity 
 of Thomond was almost undisturbed ; the jealousy of 
 the Irish septs among themselves was then the cause of 
 a small war which broke out in the north-eastern part 
 of the province. The Anglo-Normans still living in and 
 around Bunratty were not slow to avail themselves of 
 the weakness caused by the strife that was raging 
 amongst the neighbouring Celtic Septs of Clare; Richard 
 de Clare at once formed an alliance with Dermod 
 Brian Koe. Clancuilein in the meantime had elected 
 Lochlain, brother of Donchadh Mac-con-mara, as their 
 chief, who Macgrath describes as being " a favourite 
 with his retainers for his courage, with his hospitallers 
 for his good-nature and justice, with little children 
 for his mildness, and with ladies for his affable 
 temper." We are informed that the English and 
 
OF WARS OF THOMOND 247 
 
 their confederates made several attempts during the 
 year 1312 to possess the lands owned by Clancuilein, 
 but that in each attempt the leader of the raid re- 
 turned to his home " altogether penitent." 2 This 
 constant conflict was carried on to such an extent 
 that the country was brought into a condition of 
 abject wretchedness, and Lochlain Mac-con-mara at the 
 request of his Sept, having received a safe conduct 
 from De Clare, proceeded to Bunratty Castle with the 
 object of entering into negotiations with the Earl re- 
 garding the questions at issue. On arriving, however, 
 at De Clare's castle, Lochlain was seized, and carried 
 away to Lough Colmen, where he was beheaded, 
 together with his nephew, and their bodies were then 
 thrown into the lake. 
 
 Dermod Brian Eoe was at this time taken seriously 
 ill. Macgrath states that " after he (as a matter of 
 habit) had been let blood, he never nursed the in- 
 firmity, but rashly persisted to run, hunt, ride, and 
 practise sword and spear exercises. All of which 
 combined oppressed him greatly, and the ailment 
 grew exceedingly, until from its intensity he took to 
 his bed, arid died." 
 
 After the murder of Lochlain by De Clare, the 
 Clancuilein Sept elected his brother MacCon as their 
 chief. Overtures were at once made to MacCon by the 
 Anglo-Irish confederates to the effect that he should 
 join them and thus restore peace to the country. He, 
 however, declined so much as to listen to any such 
 overtures or to desert the cause of Mortough O'Brien, 
 and so throughout the years 1314 and 1315 there 
 was perpetual fighting, not only between the various 
 
 2 " Triumphs of Turlough," p. 54. 
 
248 RESISTANCE OF IRISH CELTS 
 
 sections of the Dalcasian tribe, but also with the 
 Anglo-Normans led by Earl de Clare with his ally 
 Donald Brian Roe, who had succeeded his father 
 Dermod. In one of these encounters Mortough with 
 his friends of Clancuilein completely routed De Clare 
 and Donald Brian's forces, and the latter chief with 
 his brother were expelled and had to take refuge in 
 Connaught, where they entered into negotiations with 
 King Robert Bruce, and urged him to bring an army 
 over from Scotland for the conquest of Ireland. 
 Bruce willingly accepted this invitation, hoping there- 
 by to weaken his enemies the English ; he therefore 
 despatched his brother Edward with a well equipped 
 army into Ireland. The Scots with the followers of 
 Donald Brian Roe passed southward from Ulster, 
 ravishing and burning the country " like a black cloud 
 with vapour creeping offshoots and dark mist, hard to 
 meet." Edward Bruce ultimately reached Cashel, 
 where he was joined by King Robert Bruce. Brian 
 Roe urged them to attack Thomond and sack Limerick ; 
 and so we are informed, the Scots, with the intent of 
 entering Thomond, arrived on the Shannon's banks 
 at Castleconnell, the Dalcasians under Mortough 
 O'Brien being encamped on the opposite bank of the 
 river ; some skirmishing ensued between the two forces, 
 and we are informed by Macgrath that " as for such as 
 were hurt of the Albanachs, they are not the gentry 
 to bemoan ; but on this hither side was wounded an 
 imp of the genuine stock, Hugh Mac-con-mara." 1 
 
 At this critical moment the English and Irish 
 chiefs met at Limerick and determined to combine 
 their forces, the whole of which were placed under 
 
 1 " Triumphs of Turlougk," p. 84. 
 
TO THE SCOTS 249 
 
 command of Mor tough O'Brien, and they at once 
 marched against the enemy. The Bruces, however, 
 retired, and soon afterwards King Eobert gave up the 
 idea of conquering Ireland and returned home, his 
 brother Edward being subsequently defeated and killed 
 in an engagement with the English at Dundalk. The 
 " Four Masters " referring to the Scottish invasion of 
 Ireland observe : " Edward Bruce, the destroyer of the 
 people of Ireland, both English and Irish, was slain 
 by the English. No achievement had been performed 
 in Ireland for a long time before from which greater 
 benefit has occurred to the country than from this ; 
 for during the three and half years Bruce spent in 
 Ireland a universal famine prevailed to such a degree 
 that men were wont to devour one another." We 
 cannot overlook the fact that the English, who had 
 assumed the right to govern Ireland, stood by for 
 three years, while the Scotch destroyed the inhabi- 
 tants of the greater part of the country County 
 Clare escaped much of this suffering, for we learn that 
 neither the invader nor the plague reached the people 
 of that province. 
 
 Brian Roe, who had already brought so much 
 trouble and distress on his country, having in the year 
 A.D. 1316 heard that his friend Richard de Clare had 
 failed in his attempt to persuade the English Council 
 to recognise his claims as Chief of Thomond, deter- 
 mined again to try what he could do by an appeal to 
 arms ; he therefore called on his former supporters, 
 and the chiefs of western Clare, to assemble on 
 the hills of Burren above Bally vaughan. 
 
 Mortough O'Brien was away in Dublin, and his 
 brother Dermod therefore summoned the landholders 
 
250 HEREDITARY CHARACTER 
 
 of his territory to meet him in council ; among them 
 we are informed came Mac-con-mara. The council 
 determined to raise all the Septs of eastern Clare in 
 order to oppose Donough Brian Roe. Each member 
 of the council, therefore, returned to his home " to get 
 on with all that was needed for the emergency of that 
 formidable encounter, on which, towards the recovery 
 of their patrimonial rights, they were resolved ; and 
 the place of meeting which was appointed for the last 
 muster before the march was Ruane, of the grass-clad 
 caves." 
 
 All preparations having been completed, Macgrath 
 states that these devoted " Gael of the true breed, with 
 new standards and burnished arms with a sound 
 appetite for the fray, they covered the distance to 
 Ruane, where cheerily the contingents welcomed each 
 other. Not a man of those present but longed to fall 
 to, and among them cordial words of welcome passed 
 without failure they kept that tryst, and were moved 
 as it were by the spirit of one man." 
 
 Mac-con-mara with few words addressed the 
 assembly as follows : " A hard and fierce battle ye 
 will have this time : one such as for long has not been 
 fought, but one which will end in the final triumph of 
 our cause. The head and chief of our enemies will 
 fall, among them Donald their leader, and far famed 
 Teige of Limerick. My favourite mailshirt, which 
 Donald now holds, 1 will bring home again. In order 
 to back up which good forecast I will be the first to 
 join battle." 
 
 " With such words his followers were rejoiced, and 
 northward as straight as an arrow urged their way 
 towards the enemy, until they reached the Abbey of 
 
OF THE IRISH CELTS 251 
 
 Corcomroe, in Burren, within the precincts of the 
 monastery they secured their cattle. During the 
 night many of them slept on the floor of the church, 
 others in the more comfortable cubicles, where 
 they enjoyed soft luxury and secured deep sleep ; 
 others passed the night in mirth, although on the 
 morrow they might die or lose the soul of some dear 
 friend." 
 
 Donald Roe and his forces in the meantime had 
 assembled on the hills west of Corcomroe ; he told his 
 men to remember that the purpose with which they had 
 come on this perilous expedition was to gain the battle, 
 and so make an end once and for all of the long dispute 
 for the lands of the tribe, a matter which must be 
 decided either by your antagonists' destruction or your 
 own death, one and all. Macgrath repeats that Donald 
 explained to his men that friends and foes were 
 children of Gas, so that they were of the same blood 
 " with whom your close embrace of kinship will be 
 that of steel to steel." 
 
 At the dawn of day the army resting round 
 Corcomroe were awakened by the report of the 
 advance of the enemy with colours flying, and with 
 gilt spears. MacCon issued from the abbey, and 
 Macgrath observes, " a strange sight it was to see those 
 Clancuileins come tumbling out and wriggle on their 
 harness as they ran ; nor ever, out of any monastery 
 whatsoever had there streamed an order more grimly 
 bent on fighting for their lands" We are informed 
 that " the septs ranged themselves each under their 
 own individual lord apart, and they then closed order 
 under Dermod." Macgrath states that MacCon got 
 himself into his armour, hard mail of proof, over which 
 
252 TRAITS OF HEREDITARY 
 
 was a tunic, in which garb, as the chief was a-harness- 
 ing, his attendants in haste put it back in front upon 
 him ; he bade them return it carefully, and said : 
 " We shall all the better be for this oversight, which 
 portends some gain still [even greater than that 
 looked for]. Now steadily hook on the tippet and 
 clasp the mail, fasten my helmet on my head, for this 
 armour I will not change until as its price from 
 yonder folk I win a better set." 
 
 " Here Clancuilein's phalanx fell in about their lord, 
 and the leading gentlemen of the attack were Nicol 
 Mac Coveha, extreme particular spear point on all 
 onset, special shield of deadly retreat ; he was a 
 ruddy youth of open countenance and handsome 
 features, red-lipped, close bearded, stalwart, and 
 staunch, whose lot it was in this affair to take his 
 brother and chief's right shoulder ; nor surely we may 
 pity one that at this juncture hath a shoulder prop 
 such [as this of MacCon's] in battle. Young Hugh also, 
 bushy and curly-headed, a genuine heir of Clancuilein, 
 who stepped to his kinsman's other shoulder to be his 
 guard." i 
 
 They advanced with spears to the fore, and colours 
 flying. Macgrath inform us that MacCon proclaimed : 
 " In this field we will, if it so please you, have no 
 precedence of kindreds, but every man that wishes 
 to be to the fore let him for the first onfall race even as 
 I will race ; he that prefers the centre or is satisfied 
 with the rear, according to his fancy, let him hang 
 back and do such service as he may. MacCon further 
 called on the chosen one hundred of his sept that had 
 
 1 " Triumphs of Turlough," translated by Standish H. O'Grady, 
 p. 96. 
 
CELTIC CHARACTER 253 
 
 vowed to fall with him to come to the fore ; but these 
 words were hardly uttered before the " whole of 
 Clancuilein answered witR one voice, and rushed to 
 surround their chief." 1 
 
 And so the opposing forces reached the plain, 
 whose face was scored with irregular seams ; the fore- 
 most ranks let fly their stones and javelins, darts and 
 arrows. The two sides then met hand to hand with 
 ringing cheers, and spears well to the fore. Macgrath 
 gives a detailed account of the battle and of the 
 valour shown by the chiefs of the various septs 
 engaged, which may best be read in Mr O'Grady^ 
 translation of Macgrath's history. As regards 
 Clancuilein, he states that on MacCon " fell the 
 task of keeping the battle braced together ; there 
 he stood rooted and held the key of the position, 
 dealing death to his enemies. For out of the West 
 hardly was there come champion or great chief's son, 
 chieftain or noble captain of Clan Brian Roe but con- 
 tinually and wildly cried out for MacCon " and in 
 response to them his chiefs, one after the other, sprang 
 to meet his challengers. MacCon had no easy game 
 to play, as he found himself planted in the centre 
 of the fight, encircled with a trusty band of his Sept, 
 who parried many a blow for him among these, 
 Nicol fought desperately and the feats that he 
 performed, which, but for his shield, that proved his 
 salvation, could never have been carried through. 
 Hugh likewise did doughty service, though but a 
 stripling, and so on with other members of the sept. 1 
 At length Donald Brian Roe was slain and his 
 followers were completely defeated by Dermod O'Brien 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 98. 
 
254 TRAITS OF HEREDITARY 
 
 and the Clancuilein and other septs of the Dalcasian 
 tribe under his command. 
 
 Dermod addressed his soldiers, urging them not 
 to be overcome by grief for the friends that had been 
 slain. 
 
 The Sept of Clancuilein suffered severely. Twenty- 
 one of their leaders were killed, and among their slain 
 chiefs was the lad above referred to. 
 
 The bodies of Donough Eoe and his chiefs were 
 carefully buried by the Dalcasians, side by side of 
 their own dead, " branches of the parent vine who had 
 ceased to strive for the chiefry." After this Macgrath 
 states, " hastily binding up their wounds, fathers, with 
 weak steps, were tending their sons, or sons their 
 fathers, or in bearing them to their abiding places of 
 clayey mould." He adds : " So the army after toil 
 and travail had respite : some of the victors counting 
 their own successes ; others bewailing their own losses, 
 etc. Mac-con-mara was taken to Cloriroad to be 
 cured of his wounds, and his other standard bearer 
 was brought to Ennis where " his body, though it 
 recovered not, yet his soul's cure was the result." 
 
 In the following summer, under a guarantee 
 given by De Clare's wife and son, MacCon, as represent- 
 ing Murtough O'Brien, went to offer the Earl and his 
 party terms of peace. Eichard de Clare, however, 
 rejected these proposals ; and endeavoured to lure 
 MacCon into accepting terms to his personal advantage, 
 in fact he offered him " all sorts of privileges and 
 great wages," if he would only turn and join the 
 Anglo-Normans, who would protect him and his 
 people. MacCon at once replied that he would not so 
 much as listen to such proposals, but to those only of 
 
CELTIC CHARACTER 255 
 
 which Mortough O'Brien approved, " seeing (he said) 
 that whether for peace or war by him he would stand." 
 MacCon then took his leave of De Clare and went 
 home to confer with O'Brien and the chiefs of 
 Thomond. Macgrath states that MacCon observed " at 
 the hands of yonder abominable perverse English 
 gang, cruel and insatiable, overbearing, surly, sullen, 
 full of spite and ill design, never except as by virtue 
 and bravery and skilful conduct in battle, will you 
 expell them from our lands, or have freedom or true 
 peace and goodfellowship. Hence we must act on the 
 defensive against De Clare." x 
 
 De Clare on his part determined to make a last 
 effort to overthrow the Celtic chiefs of Clare ; he had 
 played one faction against another for years without 
 success, and it seemed to him necessary now to rally 
 all the Anglo-Normans he could collect, and in con- 
 junction with such of the Irish as would follow him, 
 to do his best to crush the chiefs who had for so long 
 stood between him and the possession of the land we 
 now know as county Clare. Having mustered all his 
 forces he marched to Quin, where he rested for 
 the night, and then passed over the river Fergus 
 westward to attack the stronghold of the O'Deas. 
 That chief was, however, on the lookout for De Clare, 
 and had placed a number of his followers in some 
 woods near a causeway and ford, over which it was 
 necessary for De Clare to advance. On the following 
 morning, De Clare, having detached a part of his 
 troops to make a flank movement, so as to attack 
 O'Dea in the rear, advanced with his main body on 
 Dysert. O'Dea sent a number of his retainers to 
 
 1 " Triumphs of Turlough," p. 120. 
 
256 EXPULSION OF ANGLO-NORMANS 
 
 appear as though engaged in driving cattle over the 
 ford. De Clare attacked them ; and as they turned 
 to defend the causeway De Clare and his knights rode 
 to the front. The O'Deas retreated, and were followed 
 by De Clare over the ford, and so became separated 
 from the main body of his followers, when he was 
 suddenly set upon by the Irish previously hidden 
 among the bushes on the side of the road leading from 
 the ford ; and before his men could come up to his 
 help De Clare and sixteen of his bravest knights were 
 killed. 
 
 Too late to save their leaders, the main body of the 
 English force made their way with difficulty across 
 the stream and beset the survivors of the O'Deas in 
 the wood. Just then O'Conor and his troops appeared 
 on a hill above ; they charged down the slope, and 
 fell on the English. These stood their ground bravely 
 headed by De Clare's son, who fought hand to hand 
 with O'Conor ; but the brave youth was overcome, 
 gallantly dying on the field of battle, as became the 
 the heir of so noble a race as the De Clare's. 
 
 Lady De Clare, directly she heard of the death of 
 her husband and son, placed her belongings in boats, 
 and passed over the Shannon ; before leaving Bunratty 
 she ordered the place to be set on fire. This was 
 the last of the Anglo-Normans in Clare ; they had 
 absolutely failed, after fifty years' fighting, to obtain 
 possession of a single acre in that part of Ireland. 
 
 The O'Briens, Clancuileins and other Dalcasian Septs 
 had manfully and with success resisted, first the in- 
 vasion of Thomond, by the Norsemen, they had turned 
 back Robert Bruce and the Scots and lastly, had 
 expelled the Anglo-Normans from that part of Ireland, 
 
FROM THOMOND 257 
 
 and thus succeeded in preserving their lands from the 
 intrusion of strangers ; a condition of affairs which 
 they maintained until as late as the year A.D. 1654. 
 
 The opinion of the best informed Irishmen as to 
 the social and political position of their countrymen 
 during the earlier half of the fourteenth century is to 
 be found in a document which they drew up and for- 
 warded to King Edward the Third, of England. Accord- 
 ing to this document the leading Celtic chiefs urged the 
 King to adopt one of two courses : either to govern 
 Ireland by English law, or else to leave the country 
 to govern itself according to her own laws and customs. 
 The King referred this petition to his advisers in 
 Dublin, and they determined that action in the matter 
 was unnecessary. Sir John Davies, Attorney-General 
 for Ireland in the time of James the First, in his able 
 work on the " True Cause why Ireland was never 
 subdued," refers to this appeal of the Celtic chiefs. 
 He observes : " I note a great defect in the policy of 
 England ; in that for the space of many years after 
 the so-called conquest of Ireland, the English laws 
 were not communicated to the Irish, nor the benefit 
 and protection thereof allowed into them, though they 
 desired and sought the same." Sir John states that 
 no true idea can be formed of Irish history unless full 
 weight is given to this fact. This may be true, but 
 the real cause of the discontent and disaffection of the 
 Irish arose from a far more potent cause than the 
 administration or enactments contained in a code of 
 laws prevailing in the country ; this fact is clearly set 
 forth in a petition they sent to the Pope on the subject. 
 This communication details, in the first place, all that 
 the inhabitants of Ireland had suffered since Henry the 
 
258 THE IRISH CELTS 
 
 Second had entered the country ; they inform the Pope 
 that the English " are incessant in their pursuit after 
 us, endeavouring to chase us from among them ; they 
 lay claim to all our lands, and allege that the whole 
 country of right belongs to them. From these causes 
 arise the implacable hatred and dreadful animosity of 
 the English and the Irish towards each other." 
 
 This memorial states that the system established 
 by the English in Ireland may be summed up as 
 follows: 
 
 1. " Every man who is not Irish, may, for any kind of 
 crime go to law with any Irishman, while neither layman, 
 nor ecclesiastic who is Irish can under any cause of pro- 
 vocation resort to any legal measure against his English 
 opponent." 
 
 2. "If any Englishman kill an Irishman perfidiously 
 and falsely, noble or plebeian, innocent or guilty, including 
 the clergy, the crime is not punishable before our English 
 tribunal." 
 
 3. " If any Irishwoman marry an Englishman, on the 
 death of her husband she becomes deprived of one-third of 
 the property and possessions which he owned." 
 
 4. " If an Irishman fall beneath the blow of an English- 
 man, the latter can prevent the vanquished from making 
 any testamentary deposition, and may likewise take posses- 
 sion of his wealth." 
 
 The Sovereign Pontiff was sufficiently impressed by 
 these and other usuages complained of, to forward this 
 document to King Edward III., with the observation that, 
 having " considered the matter maturely, we behest your 
 majesty that you remove the cause of these misfortunes 
 by fulfilling the duties of lord and master you may afford 
 no subject for complaint, by which means the Irish, guided 
 by a wise administration, may obey you as lord of Ireland " ; 
 advice which, unfortunately, King Edward neglected, 
 although he was distinctly warned by the Pope that " those 
 
HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS 259 
 
 complaints should not be neglected in the beginning, lest evils 
 increase by degrees, and the necessary remedies be applied 
 too late." l 
 
 Wiser advice was never given, or more conspicuously 
 neglected, until it was indeed " too late." 
 
 Sir John Davies, writing two centuries later regard- 
 ing the state of Ireland, observed that "so long as 
 the Irish were out of the protection of the law, so that 
 every Englishman might oppress, spoil, and kill them 
 without control, how was it possible they should be 
 other than outlaws and enemies of the Crown of 
 England ? If the King would not admit them to the 
 condition of subjects, how could they learn to acknow- 
 ledge and obey him as their Sovereign, when they 
 might not converse or trade with any civil man, nor 
 enter into any town or city without peril of their 
 lives ; whither should they fly but to woods and 
 mountains, if the English magistrate would not rule 
 them by law which doth punish treason, and murder, 
 and theft with death, but leave them to be ruled by 
 their own laws and lords, why should they not 
 embrace their own Brehon laws which punisheth no 
 offence, except by an eric or fine." 
 
 It was to preserve their tribe and people from 
 untold misery created by such a state of society as 
 that described by Sir J. Davies, that impelled the 
 Celtic Dalcasian chiefs to fight so obstinately and so 
 effectively during the twelfth, thirteenth, and following 
 centuries ; their object from first to last was possession 
 of their tribal and common lands, their own laws and 
 social usages, and to this end prevent the English 
 
 1 "The History of Ireland," by the Abbe Macgeoghegan 
 translated by Patrick O'Kelly, pp. 324-326. 
 
260 CHARACTERISTICS OP THE 
 
 from gaining possession of Thomond. All the misery 
 and hardships these people had undergone for cen- 
 turies had only tended to rivet more firmly than ever 
 their inherent yearning for their own lands. This 
 clinging to the soil had grown to be a part of 
 their nature or hereditary character, something inde- 
 pendent of intellectual acquirements, and as much a 
 part of their being as the form of their skulls or 
 features. 
 
 With reference to the family life of the chiefs 
 inhabiting the West of Ireland during the middle of 
 the fourteenth century, we find it very difficult to obtain 
 any reliable information, but it would not appear to 
 have been of a lower order than that prevailing at 
 this period in England ; for instance Gerald Fitzgerald, 
 Earl of Desmond, had been taken prisoner in an 
 engagement fought with the Dalcasians in July 1369 ; 
 he was taken by O'Brien to his residence at Clonroad 
 in the centre of Clare (Ennis), and was detained there by 
 Brian O'Brien and his wife, who was a Mac-con-mara. 1 
 Desmond was at this period the representative of the 
 King of England in Ireland, and was versed in the 
 manners and customs of the English Court. 2 It is a 
 remarkable fact that we find this nobleman some years 
 later (1388), forwarding a request to Richard the 
 Second, asking the King to allow him to send his 
 son James (subsequently the famous Earl of Desmond) 
 " to be brought up and educated " at Clonroad by 
 
 1 O'Brien's " Memoirs," p. 134. 
 
 2 Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond and Kerry, was granted the County 
 Palatine, formed of nine counties and called the Irish Pale. The 
 lord who ruled the Pale had power to make peace or war ; he held 
 royal courts, created barons and knights, and appointed judges and 
 administered laws. 
 
IRISH CELTS 261 
 
 O'Brien, Ruler of Thomond. 1 This request was 
 granted, and the lad was reared in the Celtic chief's 
 household, in the centre of Thomond, which, if we are 
 to believe the accounts given by some historians, was 
 in the fourteenth century inhabited by a set of 
 inhuman, bloodthirsty barbarians ; this was evidently 
 not the opinion of the Earl of Desmond, who must 
 have known them well when detained among them as 
 a prisoner of war. + 
 
 It is evident that although the Brehon laws were still 
 in force in Clare that the tenure of land had under- 
 gone change by the middle of the fourteenth century ; 
 a deed, for instance, bearing date A.D. 1365, enters 
 into details as to the debts due to Teige Mac-con-mara's 
 children. Reference is made to rents due for twenty 
 years, with interest on the same ; and we have also the 
 decision of the Brehon respecting a mortage on these 
 lands. 2 We possess also a copy of the lands held 
 under the lordship of Mac-con-mara, A.D. 1375. 
 This rent roll was made by the stewards and shows 
 that the Chief of Clancuilein then received tribute 
 from some 130 town lands, and that his wife received 
 tribute " exclusive of the lord's rights." 3 This tribute 
 amounted to about 1820 ounces of silver, which in 
 practice was paid in cattle. This amount did not 
 include rents and profits arising from the chiefs own 
 estates. Beyond this the head of the Sept still 
 possessed the right of " food in the towns lands (over 
 which he was lord) once a year/' which meant he could 
 
 1 O'Brien's "Memoirs," p. 139; also Patent Roll, dated 1388, of 
 Richard II. 's reign. 
 
 2 Trans, of Roy. Soc. of Ant. of Ireland, vol. xv. p. 20. 
 3 Idem., p. 45; also Frost's "Clare," p. 182. 
 
262 THE IRISH CELT 
 
 every twelve months billet himself and his servants free 
 of charge, on those landholders who farmed or occupied 
 the lands above referred to. In this way a chief of such 
 a Sept as that of Clancuilein would have possessed a 
 large income, and his power over his retainers was 
 technically without limit, but practically he had to con- 
 form to the will of his tribesmen as a body, for he was 
 not only elected to office by them, but would speedily 
 have been made to yield had he attempted to violate 
 public opinion. There is no reason to believe that the 
 Celtic chiefs abused their right to " coyne and livery " 
 or billeting their retainers on their landholders, as their 
 English neighbours within the Pale certainly did, for 
 in the preamble to a Bill passed by the Dublin Parlia- 
 ment of 1449, we read that "in the time of harvest 
 companies of English soldiers were in the habit of 
 going with their wives, children, servants, and friends, 
 sometimes to the number of hundreds, to the 
 farmers' houses, eating and drinking, and paying for 
 nothing." They " many times rob, spoil, and kill the 
 tenants and husbandmen, as well by night as by day," 
 and their horses were turned out to graze in the 
 meadows and in the ripe corn, ruining all the harvest, 
 and if there was any show of resistance, they burn, 
 rob, spoil, and kill, and for the most part the land is 
 wasted, and destroyed. 1 We have no evidence what- 
 ever of practices such as these in that part of Ireland 
 which was governed by the native chiefs under the 
 Brehon laws. 
 
 1 " A Short History of Ireland," by P. W. Joyce, LL.D., p. 337 ; 
 Gilbert's " Viceroys," p. 355. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE " Four Masters " inform us that in 1428 the 
 " Chief of the Clancuilein died a charitable and truly 
 hospitable man, who suppressed robbery and theft, and 
 established peace and tranquillity in his territories. 
 Again in A.D. 1444 we are told that Sioda Mac-con-mara 
 died, "he was the chief protector of the men of Ireland," 
 and he is also referred to in the Annals of Ulster and of 
 Munster as having been renowned for his hospitality. 
 We take these posthumous observations at their pro- 
 bable value, but as they are recorded in the Annals of 
 Ireland, we are therefore justified in making use of 
 them as evidence of traits of character of Celtic chiefs 
 of the fifteenth century. 
 
 This century was not destined to close in peace so 
 far as the inhabitants of Clare were concerned. Sir 
 James, a natural son of the sixth Earl of Ormond, 
 arrived in the West of Ireland, claiming to be the heir 
 to the title and lands of his father. Sir James was 
 received by the O'Briens, Clancuileins, and the 
 Clanricardes. These families being closely connected 
 by marriage with the late Earl, were glad to support 
 an Ormond in opposition to the Earl of Kildare, who 
 since Ormond's death had assumed paramount power 
 over Ireland, and had been appointed Lord Deputy of 
 that country by Henry the Seventh. Kildare, how- 
 ever, had been recalled to England by the King, and 
 while there married the sister of the lawful heir to the 
 
264 CONFLICT BETWEEN 
 
 Ormond estates in Ireland. On the Lord Deputy's 
 return to Dublin he quarrelled with the O'Briens, his 
 real motive being to punish them for the support they 
 had afforded to Sir James Ormond. Kildare marched 
 into Clare with a considerable force and surprised and 
 took one of the strongest of the Clancuilein fortified 
 dwellings. Leaving a garrison in this place he moved 
 on to Quin, where he was met by O'Brien, the 
 Clancuilein and other Dalcasian Septs, and was utterly 
 defeated (A.D. 1499). Kildare with difficulty made 
 good his retreat across the Shannon. 
 
 The result of alliances made through the inter- 
 marriage of the O'Briens and Mac-con-maras with 
 the neighbouring Anglo-Norman noblemen, produced 
 in the end disastrous results to the Celtic chiefs. 
 The head of the Clanricardes at this time was Ulick 
 Bourke, whose first wife had been a daughter of Sioda 
 Mac-con-mara ; after her death he married a daughter 
 of the Lord Deputy Kildare ; but he was accused of 
 ill treating this lady. At any rate, she left him, and 
 so angry was Kildare that he determined to be 
 revenged on his daughter's husband ; and at the same 
 time he hoped by weakening the Clanricarde's power 
 in the West of Ireland to enable the English more 
 effectually to humble the O'Briens, and other Septs of 
 Thomond. 
 
 Kildare persuaded the chiefs of the North of Ireland 
 to espouse his cause. On the other hand, the Clan- 
 ricardes and the O'Briens obtained the aid of the 
 southern chiefs ; so that the whole of the Irish of the 
 northern part of the country were brought into battle 
 array against the natives of the southern half of the 
 island. What is more remarkable, the commander of 
 
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN CELTS 265 
 
 the Irish of the north was the Earl of Kildare, and the 
 commander of the southern Irish army was Clanricarde, 
 a nobleman of Anglo-Norman descent. It is hardly 
 possible to conceive a more desperately hopeless 
 condition of things than that the Celtic Irish or any 
 other people should have been thus divided, and 
 brought into the field of battle by commanders who 
 belonged to a different and hostile race, and whose 
 object was to urge on the natives to destroy one 
 another, so that the English might profit by this act 
 of national suicide. Kildare no doubt to some extent 
 made Clauricarde's treatment of his daughter the 
 ostensible cause of the conflict ; but in the battle he 
 withdrew his English troops from the field, and allowed 
 the Irish of the north and south to slaughter one 
 another ; which they did most effectually. Not a 
 single Englishman was even wounded in this battle. 
 
 O O 
 
 The two armies met at a place called Knocktow, 
 near Galway, on the 19th August 1504. The "Four 
 Masters " state that a victory was gained over Clanri- 
 carde and the army of the South of Ireland ; only a small 
 number of their fighting men survived. The northern 
 Irish also suffered so terribly that they were unable to 
 follow up their victory, but collected their scattered 
 forces and retired from the field. It is said at this 
 moment Lord Gormanston proposed to Kildare that 
 the English should "consummate their good fortune 
 by slautering the remains of the Northern army who 
 had fought for them." 1 
 
 The Earl of Kildare does not seem to have taken 
 advantage of the weakened state of the Dalcasians 
 
 1U Memoirs of the O'Briens," p. 156; Macgeoghegan's "History 
 of Ireland," p. 378. 
 
266 INTRODUCTION OF FIREARMS 
 
 after the battle of Knocktow ; but in the year 1510, 
 having overcome the Irish of South Munster, he 
 determined to destroy their power in the West of 
 Ireland. The Lord Deputy, therefore, marched an 
 army westward, and reaching the Shannon at Killaloe 
 he destroyed the wooden bridge over the river, and 
 then marched northward east of the river, intending 
 in the first place to attack the O'Carrolls of Ely. 
 Torlogh O'Brien, with Clancuilein and other Dalcasian 
 Septs, forded the Shannon, and coming up on Kildare's 
 rear completely overcame the English ; they slew the 
 Barons Kent and Barnewall and many other men of 
 distinction. "The English only escaped by flight, 
 and the army of O'Brien returned home in triumph 
 and with great spoil." 
 
 In the year 1522 we learn that Teigie O'Brien, 
 while leading an attack was killed " by a shot of a 
 ball." l And from another notice we find that artillery 
 had come into use in Ireland ; it was gunpowder and 
 cannon that sealed the fate of the Irish Celts, for the 
 native chiefs had no means of obtaining firearms, and 
 as opposed to such weapons their swords and spears 
 were useless. The last battle had been fought under 
 the old system of warfare employed by the Dalcasians 
 against the English, and as on so many previous 
 occasions, physical strength and courage, with such 
 weapons as they had, enabled them to drive back 
 their foes, and to preserve their lands and homes in 
 Clare. In the long run, however, it is not to the 
 swift and strong, but by science and brains that the 
 victory was won. 
 
 We learn something of the condition of Ireland at 
 
 1 " Annals of Four Masters." 
 
INTO IRELAND 267 
 
 this period from the State Papers of the reign of 
 Henry VIII. Ireland was then ruled by some sixty 
 chief Captains or Princes, each one of them " only 
 liveth by the sword, and obeyeth unto no temporal 
 person but only to himself that is strong " ; the son 
 of such a chief " shall not succeed to his father 
 without he be the strongest of the tribe, and by 
 election." There be "also petty captains, and every 
 one maketh war and peace for himself, without 
 licence of the chief captain." The English folks in 
 Ireland " be of Irish habit, of Irish language, except 
 in the cities and walled towns." But the English, 
 it is argued, would gladly accept the King's laws, and 
 protection were it not for the " Irish enemies." No 
 tribute could be collected. There were no bishops, 
 priors, or vicars to preach the word of God ; only 
 " poor friar beggars." Every semblance of English 
 government had passed away from Ireland. " The 
 King had no envoy or ally, native or English, in 
 Ireland, outside its walled towns." 
 
 The Celtic chiefs must have felt weary of constant 
 internal wars and that it was useless, if desirable, 
 to oppose King Henry VIII., in fact the time had 
 arrived for something approaching a settlement of 
 their troubles, if only their lands could be preserved 
 to them and their tribesmen ; which they were led 
 to believe it was the King's intention to secure to 
 them and their heirs. 
 
 In the year 1542 St Leger, who was Lord Deputy 
 of Ireland, summoned a Parliament to meet at 
 Limerick with the object of legalising an agreement 
 with the Chiefs of Thomond regarding the tenure of 
 the land, and for other questions concerning the legal 
 
268 HENRY VIII. SETTLEMENT 
 
 government of that part of the country. Morrogh 
 O'Brien and Sioda Mac-con-mara came to Limerick to 
 meet the Lord Deputy with documents which they 
 had prepared, stating the terms upon which they were 
 willing to hand over their lands to the Crown, the 
 basis of this undertaking being that the landlords 
 of Clare should receive their lands back with titles 
 drawn up according to English law and procedure. 
 These title deeds are still in existence, dated December 
 10th, A.D. 1542, after being confirmed by a Patent, 
 35 Henry VIII., A.D. 1543. 
 
 When Henry VIII. accepted the terms proposed by 
 the landowners of Clare, he directed the Lord Deputy 
 to take special care that " neany of them suffer any 
 displeasure nor damage hereafter for their submission, 
 but you are to aid them and see the same revenged 
 as the case shall require." 1 Nevertheless, under this 
 agreement it was assumed, in spite of immemorial 
 usage, that the land was to become the absolute 
 hereditary property of the chiefs who agreed to Henry 
 VIII. 's terms, to the detriment, therefore, of their 
 tribesmen and the real occupiers of the soil, and was 
 therefore a great and irreparable injury to the humbler 
 classes. 2 So far, however, as the leaders of the 
 Clancuilein Sept were concerned, it seems clear that 
 they urged the ruling powers to extend English 
 land tenure into the West of Ireland. They under- 
 stood the nature of the agreement they were entering 
 into with the Crown on " behalf of themselves and all 
 the rest of the gentlemen and freeholders of the said 
 Sept in the baronies of Bunratty." It was in that 
 
 1 State Papers, vol. iii. p. 476. 
 
 2 Lecky's " History of Ireland," vol. i. p. 16. 
 
WITH IRISH CELTS 
 
 area that the Sept originally obtained their tribal 
 lands in the fifth century, and they were in possession 
 of these same lands in the year 1654, or a century 
 after entering into their agreement with Henry VIII. 
 The object of that arrangement was to bring the titles 
 of the landed property from under the Brehon laws, 
 into such form that they could be held in conformity 
 with English law. The King thoroughly appreciated 
 the difficulty that existed in granting negotiable titles 
 to the owners of the old tribal lands on equitable 
 terms, but whatever the technical difficulties, his 
 Government were emphatic in their orders as regards 
 the parties concerned, who were to lose nothing that was 
 essential to their interests or customs ; the King had 
 no idea of making the transfer of land from the old to 
 the new system a means of confiscation or damage to 
 the landowners. But the question at once arose as to 
 how the land in Clare, which was freehold, a part of 
 the old tribal lands, could be brought under English 
 law. As Edmund Spenser remarked, the " lawes ought 
 to be fashioned into the manners and conditions of 
 the people for whom they are meant, and not to be 
 imposed upon them according to the simple rule of 
 right, for then, instead of good, they might work ill, 
 and pervert justice to extreame injustice." l It would 
 have been well for Ireland had Henry VIII. 's policy 
 been adhered to by his successors. 
 
 Among other things the King determined to 
 establish courts of justice in Ireland, which were to be 
 constituted of the bishops of the dioeese and some of 
 the principal landowners. The officers forming these 
 courts were to be charged with extensive powers, 
 
 1 " View of the State of Ireland," by Edmund Spenser, p. 17. 
 
270 COUNTY CLARE 
 
 embracing military operations ; at the same time 
 sheriffs were appointed, and a nucleus formed from 
 which a regular judicial system might have developed 
 to enforce order and law in the province. Beyond 
 this, schools were to be established and maintained by 
 local cesses raised for the purpose. But there was no 
 adequate provision made for enforcing these salutary 
 reforms ; they were mostly arrangements the outcome 
 of good intentions, but wanting in material support to 
 carry them into effect. For instance, Sir E. Fitton 
 had been appointed President of the province of 
 Connaught, and in A.D. 1570 he proposed holding a 
 court of eighteen days' duration, in the Monastery of 
 Ennis, County Clare, " to administer justice " and to 
 reduce Clancuilein and other Dalcasian Septs to order. 
 Teigie O'Brien was appointed the first sheriff of Clare, 
 and he placed a quantity of food and drink in the 
 monastery for the use of the President ; and seems to 
 have considered this to be all that was necessary. 
 
 For on the day following when Sir Edward arrived, 
 he sent off a message to the Earl of Thomond and 
 summoned him to Ennis. On receiving this message, we 
 are told, the Earl came to the resolution of making a 
 prisoner of the President and his officers. Sir Edward 
 Fitton finding his position rather uncomfortable, 
 escaped from the monastery on foot, and was fortunate 
 in finding a guide to conduct him over the narrow 
 passes and intricate paths of the district. 1 Queen 
 Elizabeth, who had come to the throne, would not 
 tolerate this kind of thing, and the Earl of Ormond 
 was directed to proceed at once with a sufficient force 
 into Clare to bring the Earl of Thomond into order. 
 1 " Annals of Four Masters," A.D. 1570. 
 
IN THE YEAR 1570 271 
 
 He accomplished this purpose, and in the following 
 year the President of Connaught came to Ennis, 
 accompanied by a strong force and " established laws 
 and rules, and abolished injustice and lawlessness." 
 To secure obedience to these laws he carried hostages 
 from among the Clancuileins and other Septs of 
 Thomond along with him to his headquarters in 
 Athlone. The " Four Masters " state it would be diffi- 
 cult " to calculate the hundreds of cows given to the 
 President of Connaught by the men of Thomond 
 during the two years he remained in the territory," 
 in other words, he took such large bribes that, even in 
 those lax times, the Government were compelled to 
 recall him to England. 
 
 Edmund Spenser refers to these corrupt practices 
 in Ireland as very prevalent in his day. Writing of 
 military commanders he observes : " the captaine, 
 halfe of whose souldiours are dead, and the other 
 quarter never mustered, nor scene, conies shortly to 
 demand payment of the whole accompt, where by 
 good meanes of some great ones, and privy shareing 
 with the officers and servants of other some, he re- 
 ceiveth his debt, much less perhaps than was due, yet 
 much more indeede than is justly deserved " ( " View 
 of the State of Ireland," by Edmund Spenser, p. 154). 
 
 The Lord Deputy Sidney made an official visit to 
 Clare in the year 1571 ; he states he there met " two 
 Lords of Thomond called Mac Nemarroes, who came 
 lamentinge the ruyn and wast of their countries " ; 
 the Lord Deputy adds " they were cheife gentlemen 
 of that countrey, which, if it were quiet, they might 
 lyve lyke principal Knights of England." Sidney 
 states, of all the chief men he met with in his tour he 
 
272 CELTS OP IRELAND A PURE 
 
 " could not find one descended in English race. They 
 all complained of the Obryens for the ruyne of their 
 countrey ; and truly in such desolation and waste it 
 is." The Lord Deputy remained for some time in 
 Galway, and bound the O'Briens " by bonds of great 
 sommes," and further he carried off the Earl's brother 
 with him to Dublin, where he " still deteined hym in 
 iron." Sir H. Sidney states that " the root and 
 origine of all this trouble was the uncerteine grannte, 
 and unstable possession of their landes, whereupon 
 grewe their warres." He further informs the English 
 Government that " I brought them to agree to 
 surrender into the Queene's handes, and to take it 
 of her Highness agayne, and yeilde both rent and 
 service, and therefore I have confidence to make a 
 good reckninge for the Queen" 
 
 The Lord Deputy proposed, therefore, in place of the 
 cesses and other charges formerly paid by the land- 
 holders to their landlords and chiefs, that they should 
 pay a fixed rent to the landlord, and that the latter 
 were to yield to the Crown a definite amount per 
 annum in proportion to the extent and value of their 
 landed property. This, however, was an altogether 
 different arrangement to that the landholders had just 
 before made with the Crown ; it substituted the 
 system of land tenure of England for that which had 
 existed from time immemorial in Ireland, and for which 
 its people had striven through so many generations to 
 maintain. 
 
 In the year 1570 the "Four Masters" refer to the 
 death of " Mac-con-mara, Chief of Clancuilein, a most 
 noble and majestic man," who was followed as head of 
 the Sept by his tanist, so that not only was this form 
 
RACE IN THE YEAR 1570 273 
 
 of succession in force among members of the Sept at 
 the latter part of the sixteenth century, but also the 
 old system of the chieftainship of the clan was also 
 a recognised condition of their social system. We 
 further discover from a deed dated January 27, 1585, 
 relating to property held by a certain John Mac-con- 
 mara who had recently died, that although a large 
 landowner he could not give any account of his rental 
 during his lifetime to the appointed governor of the 
 province. Sir R. Bingham states that "neither the 
 owner of the lands, nor anyone else, knew for certain 
 how much rent they had or ought to pay on any of 
 these lands." The estates referred to belonged to the 
 son of the Chief of Clancuilein who had signed the 
 agreement with the Crown in Henry VIII.'s time on 
 behalf of himself and the other landlords of his Sept. 
 They had in truth never received rent as understood 
 by Englishmen. The excess of land which the 
 possessor did not require for his own purposes, he 
 made over to various members of the family to 
 cultivate, they supplying him with a certain quantity 
 of stock to enable him to keep open house, and also 
 with personal service. The management of the 
 property was still a conjoint family affair. The out- 
 turn of the soil was consumed by man and beast 
 living on the land which produced the stock and grain. 
 In the deed above referred to we find that the 
 " Borome " tax was still collected in Clare. This tax 
 consisted of a certain number of cows which had to 
 be handed over by landholders every year to their 
 chief. Besides this, upon " {he marriage of his eldest 
 daughter the number of xx cows was received from 
 the barony," and further, " that the towns and 
 
274 HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 villages named (they form a long list) were bound to 
 keep and beare the said Mac-con-mara's horses and 
 horse-boys, with sufficient horse-meat and boys-meat 
 every Christmas and Easter, when he kept any of the 
 said feast at his house or town of Dengen and not els." 
 This tax might be compounded by a yearly payment 
 of sixteen pecks of oats. The landlords, kearntyes, and 
 huntsmen had " dutys upon certain quarters of lands 
 in the barrony always freely acquitted and discharged 
 free of all demands." The contents of this document 
 therefore proves that cesses instituted by the early 
 Celts of Clare were in force at the close of the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 The arrangement concerning the tenure of land by 
 Sir H. Sidney and other Elizabethan officials, beyond 
 destroying the old system of land tenure was attended 
 with the intrusion of the middleman or land agent 
 into Ireland. These individuals were the instigators 
 of rack-rent, and of a large part of the land passing 
 into the hands of non-resident landlords, who cared 
 nothing for their property, or the tenants and 
 labouroughs on their lands. As far back as the year 
 1596, Lord Burghley complained that the Englishmen 
 who succeeded to the estates of the ancient Celtic 
 landowners, made over their lands to " deputies, who 
 take greater rents than that allowed by Her Majesty, 
 and so they are forced to re-let the ground to the 
 Irish without maintaining any English on the pro- 
 perty." 1 Lord Burghley corroborates the accuracy of 
 the statement made by the Earl of Kildare, that the 
 middleman demanded extraordinary cesses over the 
 whole country, a practice which rapidly developed and 
 
 1 State Papers of 1596-7, p. 182. 
 
OF THE FIRST CELTS 275 
 
 caused infinitely greater hardships than the cesses 
 enforced under the Celtic customs and laws. 
 
 For our purposes it is unnecessary to follow the 
 history of members of the Clancuilein Sept through 
 the reigns of James the First, and of Charles the First, 
 until they were for the most part dispossessed of their 
 lands and dispersed by Cromwell. We have in 
 another work given an account of some of the 
 descendants of the members of this Celtic family from 
 the commencement of the seventh century up to the 
 present time. 
 
 Goethe observes, that the history of a people is their 
 character ; it was from a study of the history of the 
 early Celts in Europe which led M. Thierry, and 
 Mommsen to form the opinions we have referred to 
 (p. 211) as to the hereditary character possessed by 
 this race of human beings. By comparing the con- 
 clusions arrived at by these historians on this subject, 
 with those to be derived from the history of the Irish 
 Celts, it is evident that the traits of hereditary 
 character which governed the conduct and career of 
 the progenitors of these people, also ruled the cgnduct 
 of individuals and the destinies of the Irish Celts. 
 For we find them to have been 
 
 A chivalrous people (p. 220), that is, a generous, high- 
 minded and brave set of men ; as an instance in point, 
 we may refer to the action of one of their remote 
 ancestors, Connel. As the historian observes, " his 
 integrity was such that he delivered up possession of 
 a crown which he was able to defend, because he had 
 no other right to it." It must be remembered this 
 was the action of a man who lived in times previous 
 to the introduction of Christianity into Ireland. 
 
276 HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 Another example of the chivalrous conduct of these 
 people is afforded by the action of Sioda, who, in the 
 eighth century, having with his Sept been deeply 
 injured, and the sacred mound of Magadhair desecrated 
 by the King of Ireland, after three days' fighting 
 Sioda took the King prisoner. But so far from 
 torturing or punishing the vanquished chief, we are 
 told that Sioda treated him sumptuously, and con- 
 ducted him, and the remains of his forces homewards 
 across the Shannon. 
 
 If we pass on to the fourteenth century we find 
 De Clare attempting to bribe Mac-con-mara to desert 
 the cause of his chief O'Brien. Mac-con, however, and 
 his retainers, without hesitation refused to listen to 
 overtures of this nature, and he and Clancuilein 
 remained staunch supporters of their lawful ruler ; in 
 fact it was through their assistance that Mortough 
 O'Brien retained his position as Chief of Thomond. 
 This incident occurred at a period when, according 
 to Mr Freeman, an English Ealdorman not only 
 deliberately betrayed his country to the .invader, but 
 tbat " to do so now became the regular course on the 
 part of royal favourities." x 
 
 In the year 1370 we find the Earl of Desmond in 
 command of a force of English troops, bent on reducing 
 the Dalcasians of Clare to submission to his rule ; the 
 Earl however was defeated, taken prisoner, and 
 conducted to the residence of the O'Briens at Clonrode. 
 Desmond was so strongly impressed with what he saw 
 of the life and training of the Celtic O'Briens that he 
 sent his son James to be reared among them. We 
 might refer to other examples illustrating the chivalrous 
 
 1 " History of the Norman Conquest of England," p. 139. 
 
OF THE IRISH CELTS 277 
 
 character of the leaders of the Dalcasians. Shortly 
 before their expulsion from their homes, we have 
 evidence bearing upon this subject given by 
 English officials, who had no love for the men they 
 refer to. The first of these, we may mention, is that of 
 the Lord Deputy, dated A.LX 1543 ; he wrote to Henry 
 VIII. suggesting that Sioda Mac-con-rnara should be 
 created Baron Clancuilein, " because he and his ancestors 
 have in those parts alwayes borne a great swynge, and 
 one that for himself is of honest conformatie, whose 
 lands lye holy on the farsyde of the Shannon." l 
 
 Brave to a fault were the members of this Sept, 
 foremost among a tribe, whose pride it was to lead 
 the van of an advancing force, and who claimed 
 equally as their right the honour of protecting it, and 
 forming the rearguard in time of disaster and retreat ; 
 and so we find them at Clontaf, and in many another 
 hard fought battle. O'Donovan and others well 
 versed in the history of Thomond, assert that had 
 it not been for the personal bravery and devotion of 
 the Chiefs of Clancuilein, the O'Briens could not have 
 held their own in Clare or prevented the Northesrnen, 
 and subsequently the English, from taking possession 
 of their lands in the tenth and fourteenth centuries. 
 The leaders of Clancuilein placed their lives absolutely 
 at the service of their leaders ; they were ready to 
 fight and to die in defence of his interests ; and in 
 these old times war made men staunch and true to 
 one another. We could hardly have a better instance 
 of this than in the case of S. Mac-con-mara, who, 
 when a hostile force approached Quin in the year 
 1278, with a small band of retainers entered the 
 
 1 Patent 34, Henry VIII., Dec. 10, 1542. 
 
278 HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 enemy's camp at daybreak, with the object of 
 engaging the leader of the hostile force in single 
 combat. He fought his way onwards until overpowered 
 and he and his followers were all slaughtered. Then 
 again in the account of the battle of Corcomroe, 
 Macgrath dilates on the conduct of the leader's youthful 
 relative who came to his support in a critical moment ; 
 we have a similar instance in the case of the lad 
 Turlough O'Brien, who was his father's standard- 
 bearer and fought by his side throughout the day, 
 dying in the grasp of one of the enemy. In the 
 description the historian gives us of the after scene 
 of the battle of Corcomroe there is nothing of slaughter 
 of the wounded, but rather that " they were no longer 
 foes but brothers in trouble." War was one of the 
 duties of life among these people, the serious side 
 of the subject did not afflict the soul of these light- 
 hearted Celts. 
 
 Loyal were the head of this Sept and their followers 
 to their own chiefs and to their province, patriotism 
 in its true sense was one, if not the most potent 
 influence in guiding their actions. However desperate 
 the venture the head of the Sept could at any moment 
 command the devoted services of a thoroughly trained 
 body of his relations and dependants, who were 
 prepared to accompany him in any warlike expedition 
 his leaders had determined to carry out. When the 
 split took place in the thirteenth century among the 
 O'Briens, it became necessary for the Clancuilein 
 Sept to choose which faction they should support, 
 and they determined to throw in their lot with 
 Turlough O'Brien because he had married the daughter 
 of their chief ; and so in other cases their hereditary 
 
OF THE IRISH CELTS 279 
 
 qualities bound them to one another and to their 
 ruler, qualities inherited from a common ancestor, 
 and having a common aim, the freedom of their homes 
 and lands. This bond of union was the keystone on 
 which their actions were based. Their chiefs were 
 elected by the members of their Sept as being by 
 birth and personal prowess the fittest man to rule and 
 to lead them, and so far as the history of Thomond 
 goes, there is no evidence of tyrannical or unjust 
 dealings recorded of any one of the Clancuilein leaders. 
 The members of the Sept were not only loyal to their 
 chiefs, but also to themselves ; they did their duty 
 and were content to leave the issue to be judged of 
 by its results, and in the hands of the bards. 
 Gentlemen at heart, that is having a tender regard for 
 the feelings of those with whom they were brought in 
 contact, unselfish, and reserved as to their own 
 acquirements and actions. 
 
 Light -hearted and hospitable. These qualities seem 
 to have been marked features in the character of the 
 Celts and were conspicuous in members of the 
 Clancuilein Sept ; frequent references are made to 
 members of the clan, who are described by the " Four 
 Masters " and other writers as being " charitable and 
 a truly hospitable man," of another as being 
 " renowned for hospitality," of a third as " being a 
 favourite of women and children, by reason of his 
 gaiety and pleasantry," and so on. In selecting these, 
 out of the many references made of a similar nature 
 to members of the Sept, we have not chosen those 
 favourably noticed and excluded unfavourable references 
 to members of the family ; the latter, if they exist, do 
 not appear in the various annals of Ireland, 
 
280 HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 The love of money was a snare to which the early 
 Irish Celts were never exposed or into which they 
 were likely to fall ; not that they were improvident, 
 but the members of a Sept like that of Clancuilein 
 existed without money until the middle of the 
 sixteenth century, The Pope's Nuncio, in one of his 
 remarkable reports on the people of the West of 
 Ireland in the year 1648, observes that these people 
 " rarely touch money, and as rarely quarrell about it." 
 
 Imaginative. Mr Lecky states that Irishmen are 
 endowed in an extraordinary degree with retrospective 
 imagination, which quality, he remarks, is characteristic 
 of these people. Too many of them live habitually 
 in dreams, largely drawn from the past, and of future 
 honour and glory, to which they have not sufficient 
 perseverance to attain by steady application and hard 
 work. If we refer to any of the writers who attempt 
 to portray the character of Irish men and women, 
 we are struck with the frequent references they make 
 to the scenes and customs of the ancestors of those 
 who play a part in these narratives. The bards were 
 versed in this ancient lore, and nothing so much 
 pleased the Celts as to listen to their tales, concerning 
 the part taken by their ancestors in the struggles 
 through which their country had passed. 1 There are 
 no people in which the past plays so important a 
 part in their daily life as the Irish. 
 
 x Mr A. J. Balfour has well expressed this fact when he stated, 
 " Anybody who had not realised that the whole history of Ireland 
 consisted of memories, not only of 250 years or 500 years old, he 
 would venture to say had not begun to understand the history of 
 that country " (speech delivered in the House of Commons, June 7th ? 
 1895, in opposition to Mr Morley's proposal to raise a statute to the 
 memory of Oliver Cromwell). 
 
OF THE IRISH CELTS 281 
 
 Sir J. Davis has recorded an interesting example of the 
 devotion of the Brehons to their employers, and the great 
 value they set upon the ancient documents committed to 
 their care. Sir John writes, A.D. 1603, as follows : " Touch- 
 ing the certainties of the duties and provisions yielded to 
 McGrath out of these lands, they referred to an old parch- 
 ment roll, which was in the hands of one O'Brislau, a 
 chronicler and principal Brehon of that country ; where- 
 upon O'Brislau was sent for, who lived not far from the 
 camp, who was so aged and decrepid, as he was scarce able 
 to repair to us ; when he was come, we demanded of him a 
 sight of this ancient roll. The old man seemed to be much 
 troubled with this demand, made answer that he had such 
 a roll in his keeping before the wars, but that in the late 
 rebellion it was burnt among other papers and books by 
 certain English soldiers. We were told by some present 
 that this was not true, they affirmed that they had seen 
 the roll in his hands since the wars. Thereupon my Lord 
 Chancellor being present with us did minister an oath to 
 him, and gave him a very serious charge to inform us truly 
 of what had become of the roll. The poor old man, fetching 
 a deep sigh, confessed that he knew where the roll was, 
 but that it was dearer to him than life, and, therefore, he 
 would never deliver it out of his hands unless my Lord 
 Chancellor would take the like oath that the roll should be 
 restored to him. My Lord Chancellor, smiling, gave him 
 his hand and his word that he should have the roll re-de- 
 livered unto him if he would suffer us to take a view and 
 copy thereof. And with tears in his eyes the old Brehon 
 drew the roll out of his bosom, where he did continually 
 bear it about him. It was not very large, but it was 
 written on both sides in fair Irish characters ; howbeit, 
 some part of the writing was worn and defaced with time 
 and ill-keeping. We then caused it to be translated into 
 English, and perceived how many vessels of butter, and 
 how many measures of meal, and how many porkers, and 
 such gross duties did arise unto McGrath out of the lands." l 
 
 1 " Tracts relating to Ireland," by Sir J. Davies. 
 
282 HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 Credulous. It has been said with truth that the 
 Celt is endowed with intuitive appreciation of all that 
 touches the mystical and supernatural. Their implicit 
 faith in their druids, and the deep and lasting 
 impression they entertain concerning " banshees " and 
 other superstitions which play a very real and impor- 
 tant part in their lives. 
 
 The emotional disposition of Celtic Irish men and 
 women has above all other obstacles barred their 
 progress as a people, and prevented them from co- 
 operating in that long and steady pull necessary for 
 the firm establishment of a nation. The preponderance 
 of the emotional processes over the intellectual leads 
 the Celt to form rapid conclusions, which are by no 
 means always lasting, and so he too frequently lends 
 himself to schemes which upon mature consideration 
 would prove to have but little to recommend them. 
 He is thus apt to be carried away by words flowing 
 from a fluent tongue to follow political and other 
 phantoms, rather than by persevering effort to ensure 
 success in life. It has been fairly said the creed of 
 the Celt is that " it ought to be it must be it is," 
 and so for no better reason, they too often waste their 
 talents and mental powers in efforts wide of the mark 
 at which they have aimed. 
 
 As an individual, the over-sensitive Celt easily takes 
 affront, and is apt to consider himself injured by 
 persons possessing a more stable mental basis ; the 
 advancement of another person in life thus becomes 
 tantamont with failure on the part of the less 
 fortunate individual, and so jealousy and unreal 
 grievances are apt to add trouble and bitterness to the 
 other burdens of an Irishman's life. The sensitive Celt 
 
OP THE IRISH CELTS 283 
 
 is seldom able to bear the hard blows endured by a 
 tougher race, and is apt to shrink within himself under 
 the strain ; he is often therefore shy and reserved, 
 especially in the presence of strangers ; he cannot 
 bear ridicule, a weakness the bards of old realised ; 
 for their taunts were the severest punishment a chief 
 or any other man could be exposed to in former times. 
 The Celt cannot forget a wrong, real or imaginary, 
 especially if perpetrated by one who has been his 
 friend ; for the bond of friendship with the Celt is 
 something real, and so in proportion is the offence of 
 one who breaks this tie. Among his own people, and 
 in polite society, where the genius, wit, and vivacity of 
 the race has full play, the Celt is seen to the greatest 
 advantage from a social point of view. Beyond the 
 confines of his own home his intense love of nature, 
 deep sympathy, and yearning for comradeship not 
 unfrequently attract men strongly to him. As 
 soldiers and the leaders of men, this quality, now, 
 as of old, is often invaluable ; we could hardly have a 
 more apt example of this than in the person of India's 
 Viceroy, Lord Mayo, the devotion and respect he gained 
 from the native princes was very remarkable. 
 
 The brightness of the Celt, both in men and women, 
 is the result of their inherited emotional natures, and 
 is eminently calculated to endow life with a charm 
 which has marked influence for good in this careworn 
 age. There is, however, another side to the picture ; 
 the qualities which render Celtic Irishmen light- 
 hearted, renders him terribly alive to the pain and 
 grief suffered by others. The anguish of mind thus 
 produced he is apt to keep to himself, and the greater 
 his grief the more he conceals his feelings in silence ; 
 
284 HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 his sensitive nature too often shuns sympathy, and 
 turns for relief to its own bitterness. 
 
 The old Irish Celts held their women in tender 
 regard, and so females were treated by them with 
 consideration such as they then received among few 
 other nations. Especially in the case of the lower 
 classes, Irishwomen were never held to be the slaves 
 of men ; they were employed in attending to their 
 children, in weaving, looking after the domestic 
 creatures belonging to the family, and such like 
 occupations. " These women were chaste as girls and 
 as wives, and when young endowed with taste, and 
 an amount of refinement and manner to be met with 
 among few other classes in any part of Europe." 
 
 It is difficult to realise a state of society such as 
 that which existed among the members of the 
 Clancuilein Sept until the middle of the seventeenth 
 century. Money was still practically unknown to 
 these people, there was no such thing as wealth outside 
 the possession of land and stock ; no tenant, no tithes, 
 or taxes, beyond a fixed tribute on the land ; no titles, 
 the social scale being regulated by the amount of land 
 a family possessed ; there was no central government, 
 no army, navy, or police; no poor laws, but the aged 
 and sick were nevertheless cared for, as they are under 
 the conjoint family system in India at the present day. 
 The land was all in all to these people, not only was 
 their social position ruled by it, but it had supplied them 
 and their forefathers for many generations with the 
 necessaries of life in the way of food and garments, 
 and they had come to love it, and cling to it with 
 an intensity of feeling such as that referred to by 
 Mr W. R. Le Faun, in his excellent retrospect of a 
 
OF THE IRISH CELTS 285 
 
 long and genial life spent in Ireland ; he remarks, 
 " that it is impossible for one who has not resided in 
 Ireland, and been on intimate terms with the .people, 
 to realise the intense longing which animates them for 
 the possession of land, no matter how small the 
 holding." 
 
 The conditions under which their progenitors lived 
 for centuries in dependence on the soil for their 
 existence, and their social and political status had 
 engendered hereditary characters or impression on the 
 living substance of iheir central nervous system which 
 to a large extent influence, their conduct throughout 
 their lives. It is in this way we can best account for 
 that intense longing for the possession of land by the 
 Irish to which Mr Le Faun refers. 
 
 We can thus perhaps to some extent realise the 
 intense bitterness of feeling which must have been 
 excited in the minds of the Celtic Irish at the loss 
 of their lands under the ruthless confiscation carried 
 out by Englishmen during the Elizebethan and 
 Cromwellian periods. This bitterness has also become 
 habitual, and can only be appeased by means which 
 tend to restore the lands of Ireland to those who 
 with their families will, as of old, live upon their own 
 holdings, and cultivate it for their own advantage. 
 
 M. Thierry and Professor Mommsen have both 
 arrived at the conclusion that the Celts as a nation 
 are too emotional to form a stable form of govern- 
 ment (p. 212). Without entering on a discussion as to 
 the political condition of Ireland at the present time 
 or of the treatment her people have received by their 
 English rulers, we find incontrovertible evidence in 
 the history of these people of the inability of their 
 
286 HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 Celtic chiefs to sacrifice their own interests for that of 
 their country. From the third century onwards we 
 find their leaders inviting foreigners into Ireland to 
 help them to enforce their own claims. When first 
 the Anglo-Normans entered on the conquest of Ireland 
 her provincial kings were so deeply engrossed in thier 
 own quarrels that they failed to resist the common 
 enemy. Again, in the year A.D. 1258, the four Pro- 
 vincial Chiefs of Ireland met in order to settle on a 
 common line of action of defence for the country ; the 
 meeting broke up because these four men could not 
 determine which of them was to take precedence at their 
 council. Almost the last battle fought by the Irish 
 Celts under the old order of things was the culminat- 
 ing point of the nation's madness ; for in this fierce 
 engagement the inhabitants of the North and South of 
 Ireland were brought into the field by Anglo-Norman 
 commanders, with a force of armed Englishmen 
 standing by to watch the Celts destroy one another. 
 
 In the preceding pages we have brought together 
 sufficient evidence to demonstrate the nature of the 
 hereditary characters possessed by the men of a Celtic 
 tribe, who lived in a fairly constant environment for 
 many centuries ; and if historians are correct in their 
 ideas regarding the early Celts of the Continent of 
 Europe, \ve find a striking affinity between their 
 inherent characters and those possessed by their 
 descendants in Ireland. The emotional and instinc- 
 tive qualities displayed by the Irish Celts depended 
 mainly, according to our theory, on their heredi- 
 tary characters rather than on the result of what 
 they learnt or their intellectual acquirements, which 
 were hardly of a higher order than those of the 
 
OF THE IRISH CELTS 287 
 
 wild animals who roamed through the forests of 
 Thorn ond. 
 
 In applying this principle to the members of the 
 Clancuilein Sept we have the advantage of knowing, 
 that until the early part of the last century many of 
 them remained pure Iberio-Celts, for they did not inter- 
 marry with other races. This fact is proved by referr- 
 ing to the pedigrees of some of these families which 
 have been carefully preserved, and we find from the 
 earliest times, that as a rule, the principal landholders 
 of the Sept always married into Celtic families ; as Sir 
 H. Sidney observes, he " could not find one descended in 
 English race." Further, these people for many cen- 
 turies lived the life of agriculturists, and their 
 surrounding varied but little throughout this long 
 period. They were never conquered until Cromwell's 
 time, and their physical and hereditary characters at 
 present are similar to those possessed by their ancestors, 
 who took possession of Clare in the fifth century. 
 
 We hold that rightly to appreciate the actions of 
 human beings we should become acquainted with the 
 nature of the materials through means of which these 
 actions are elaborated. It is on these lines we have 
 proceeded in this, and in our previous book on 
 " Human Speech," endeavouring to test the operation 
 of the principles we advocate by reference to the 
 history of a certain tribe of individuals. Led by the 
 same reasoning, in the year 1899, we ventured to 
 predict, what in our opinion would be the ultimate 
 relation existing between the English and Boers in 
 South Africa. It is hardly necessary to observe at 
 the time when the following opinion was published, we 
 were in the midst of a severe struggle with the Boers, 
 
288 CONCLUSION 
 
 and that national feeling on both sides was strained 
 to the uttermost, it therefore required firm faith in 
 our opinions to enable us then to write as follows on 
 this subject. 1 
 
 " If the inhabitants of the Transvaal and Orange 
 Free State had been thoroughly acquainted with the 
 English language, and so with our real sentiments 
 and ideas, they would never have been led into the 
 terrible conflict in which they are now engaged. The 
 Boers are of the same Teutonic stock as the Anglo- 
 Normans, having less of the Iberian element in them 
 than the majority of the inhabitants of the British 
 Isles. Nevertheless, like ourselves the Boers are 
 derived from a Teutonic branch of the human family. 
 It remains for our Government, when the time comes 
 to re-settle the revolted provinces of South Africa, to 
 bear in mind the racial character of the people with 
 whom they have to deal. A brave, self-reliant, 
 freedom-loving, independent race, who under just laws 
 and with a strict regard to their prejudices arid heredi- 
 tary characters, will in time fraternise with Anglo- 
 Saxons. They have fought hard, like the Aryans of 
 India (Sikhs) for their country, but when fairly beaten 
 they are bound, as education spreads among them, and 
 they learn to comprehend our language and modes of 
 thought, to become a strong and important element in 
 the British Empire." 
 
 1 " Origin and Character of the British People," by N. C. Mac- 
 namara, pp. 224, 225 (Smith, Elder & Co.). 
 
INDEX 
 
 A 
 
 Actino bolus radians, its purposive action, 17. 
 Amoeba proteus 14. 
 
 memorial impressions, 21. 
 
 ,, ,, experiences, 16, 21. 
 
 Prof. Berthold on movements of, 8. 
 
 Amphibia, structure of brain in, 84. 
 
 no evidence of a neopallium, 84. 
 sensory organs of, 85. 
 Anthropoid apes, their hereditary characteristics, 125. 
 
 instinctive and emotional characters, 125. 
 
 power of imitation, 128. 
 
 ,, cranial capacity of, 134. 
 
 Ants, defective vision of, 60-62. 
 their emotions, 71. 
 olfactory organs, 60. 
 ,, instinctive actions, 71. 
 ,, as slaves, 71. 
 
 Arthropoda, arrangement of their nervous system, 40. 
 Aryans, their hereditary characteristics (Part II.), 209. 
 Association areas in human brain, 150. 
 
 their function, 146. 
 
 Associative cortical substance, 137. 
 
 its area in man, 138. 
 
 importance, 146. 
 
 
 
 Bacteria, their purposive action, 14. 
 Basal ganglia, rudiments of, in insects, 72. 
 cray-fish, 41. 
 
 in the lamprey, 79. 
 
 ,, cartilaginous fishes, 81. 
 
 functions of, 117, 118. 
 
 289 
 
290 INDEX 
 
 Basal ganglia in lower vertebrates, 88, 170-172. 
 
 amphibians and reptiles, 88, 172. 
 birds, 99, 105, 173. 
 
 carnivora, 115, 117. 
 
 primates, 128. 
 
 relation to instinctive movements, 90. 
 Birds, their basal ganglia, 99, 173. 
 
 ,, cerebral cortex, 99. 
 
 auditory centres, 176. 
 visual 102. 
 
 ,, ,, emotional characteristics, 102. 
 
 functions of their cerebral hemispheres, 103, 174. 
 
 ,, organs of special sense, 101. 
 
 ,, psychic cerebral substance, 176. 
 
 ,, sensori- memorial cerebral centres, 100. 
 Bohn, Dr G., on movements of unicellular beings, 6. 
 ,, of worms, 49. 
 
 ,, ,, tropisms, 165. 
 
 " sensibilite differentielle," 165. 
 
 Bolton, Dr J. S., on the structure of the neopallium, 94. 
 Brain in amphibia, 84. 
 
 ,, cartilaginous fishes, 80. 
 
 the lamprey, 78. 
 
 lower vertebrates, 76, 78, 83. 
 
 ,, reptiles, 95. 
 
 birds, 98. 
 
 mammalia, 108. 
 
 functions of cerebral hemispheres, 112-152, 174- 
 
 187. 
 Brehon Code (Part II. ), 193, 198, 202. 
 
 Calkins, G. N., on movements of unicellular beings, 13. 
 Carnivora, their cerebral development, 109. 
 
 functions, 112, 119. 
 
 Goltz's experiments on dogs, 113, 120. 
 their instinctive movements, 119. 
 basal ganglia, 108, 115, 117. 
 Carter, Brudnell, on case of latent memory, 141. 
 Cells, their structure, 31, 157. 
 Celts, their origin (Part II.), 211. 
 
INDEX 291 
 
 Celts, influence of their Bards, 204. 
 
 their hereditary characteristics, 211, 213, 225, 232, 240, 250. 
 , s social position and land tenure, 195. 
 ,, they expel the Norsemen from Ireland, 229. 
 ,, ,, Anglo-Normans from Thomond, 255. 
 Cheetopoda, nervous system of, 39. 
 Character, personal, definition of, 2, 154 (see Purposive matter). 
 
 hereditary, 129 (see Part II. p. 191). 
 summary of, 275 to 287. 
 
 Chlorophyll bodies, movements of, 24. 
 Clancuilein Sept, its origin, 221. 
 
 characteristic displayed by leaders of, 222. 
 
 Convoluta, habitual movements of, 49. 
 Cortical substance of neopallium, 130. 
 
 ,, associative, 137. 
 
 derived from instinctive matter, 134. 
 
 ,, influence on psychic processes, 130, 137. 
 
 its five layers of cells in the primates, 132, 178. 
 
 Cray-fish, nervous system of, 41. 
 movements of, 51. 
 mid-brain and basal ganglia, 41. 
 
 Dalcasian Tribe (Part II.), its origin, 219. 
 Darwin, F., on movements in unicellular beings, 7. 
 
 ,, Stentor, 8. 
 
 plants, 8. 
 
 psychic action, 27. 
 
 G., of worms, 50. 
 
 ,, on instincts and intelligence, 116. 
 
 on domesticated dogs, 121. 
 
 Didinium nasutum, its purposive action, 17. 
 Druids, their influence, 205. 
 Dubois, E., on tactile sense organs and cerebral cortex, 135. 
 
 E 
 
 Echinus esculentus, movements of, 48. 
 Emotional character of apes, 127. 
 ants, 71. 
 
 lower vertebrata, 171. 
 
 birds, 102. 
 T * 
 
292 INDEX 
 
 Emotional character of carnivora, 115, 117. 
 
 ,, in human beings, 65, 94, 132, 282. 
 
 Emotions in relation to basal ganglia, 115. 
 
 definition of term, 65. 
 Energy transformers, 159. 
 
 Environment, effect on personal characteristics, 192. 
 Enzymes, 159. 
 
 Epistratum in relation to cerebral cortex, 84. 
 Evolution of instinctive from purposive matter, 74, 90. 
 
 purposive into psychical matter, 94, 110, 134, 174, 184. 
 
 Ewart, A. J., on purposive action in organisms, 12, 162. 
 unicellular movements, 8. 
 
 Fish, absence of neopallium, 81 
 
 instinctive action of, 88. 
 Forrel, A., on memory in insects, 67. 
 
 olfactory organs in ants, 60. 
 purposive and instinctive movements, 68. 
 Frogs, effects of removal of cerebral hemispheres, 87. 
 
 ,, instinctive action of basal ganglia, 88. 
 Fungiform bodies, in brains of Crustacea, 42. 
 insects, 65. 
 
 and psychical capacities, 41, 55, 71. 
 
 Hardy, W. B., on purposive action, 13. 
 Hemispheres of the brain, 85, 131. 
 
 their functions in birds, 103. 
 
 in man, 150, 134. 
 
 in dogs, 113. 
 
 comparative capacity of, 134. 
 
 various lobes of, 93. 
 
 association fibres of, 111. 
 
 cortical layers of neopallium, 94, 174. 
 
 Heredity as determining personal character, 2, 192. 
 effects of environment on, 192. 
 importance of, 134, 151, 185 (see Part II.) 
 Huxley on memorial impressions, 20. 
 
INDEX 293 
 
 Hydra, their sensory organs, 33. 
 nerve, and muscle cells, 32. 
 ,, their movements purposive, 43. 
 
 Iberian aborigines of Ireland (Part II., p. 208). 
 
 conquest by Celts, 210. 
 
 Ideas or mental images, 142. 
 ,, reproduction of, 145. 
 how acquired, 147. 
 
 in relation to psychic processes, 148, 184. 
 colour sense, 148. 
 
 evolution, 183. 
 
 ,, in connection with words, 147, 184. 
 
 Inner layer of the neopallium, instinctive and emotional, 134. 
 Insects, their nervous system, 55, 64. 
 
 eyes, 57. 
 
 olfactory organs, 59. 
 ,, hearing, 64. 
 
 taste, 62. 
 
 ,, tactile impressions, 63. 
 
 instinctive and purposive movements, 68, 71. 
 ,, memory, 66. 
 Instinctive matter, definition of, 2. 
 
 its evolution, 90, 106. 
 
 ,, ,, into psychic matter, 177. 
 
 and the neopallium, 133. 
 
 cerebral cortex, 134. 
 
 inherited, 123-4. 
 
 action (see note, p. 65, also pp. 105-6). 
 in the cray-fish, 54. 
 
 insects, 54, 68. 
 
 fishes, 88, 171. 
 apes, 126, 128. 
 
 carnivora, 115-6. 
 
 depends on substance of basal ganglia, 88, 90, 171. 
 
 Intellectual processes, evolution of, 124. 
 
 in relation to the neopallium, 130, 139. 
 
 Ions, their action on living matter, 9. 
 
 Irish Celts, their hereditary characteristics, 211, 213, 225, 232, 240, 250 
 ,, summary of, 211, 275-287. 
 
294 INDEX 
 
 J 
 
 James, W., on instincts, 65. 
 emotions, 65. 
 
 Jelly-fish, nerve and muscle cells in, 35. 
 
 sense organs of, 36. 
 Jennings, H. S., on physiological conditions, 7. 
 
 in Stentor, 7. 
 
 movements of amoeba, 15. 
 
 Paramcecium, 16. 
 
 memorial impressions, 21. 
 
 ,, " trial and error " in movements, 51. 
 
 Johnston, J. B., on nervous system of vertebrates, 77, 85, 109, 151, 
 
 Land under the Brehon Code (Part II., p. 197). 
 
 its importance socially, 196. 
 Light, action on movements of plants, 25. 
 Living matter, influence of ions on, 28. 
 Lobes of the brain, 93, 94, 150. 
 
 Lock, R. H., on hereditary personal character, 152. 
 Loeb, J., on memory in insects, 66. 
 ,, tropisms, 5, 163. 
 
 M 
 
 Macgrath's history of Thomond (Part II., pp. 242, 245, 250). 
 Mammalia, their psychic elements, 178. 
 Mann, Dr G., on the optic thalami, 108. 
 Medusoids, nerve and muscle cells in, 35. 
 
 movements of, 45. 
 
 Romanes, G. F., on, 47. 
 
 Memorial impressions on living matter, 20, 172. 
 Memory, its basis substance, 65, 97, 172. 
 
 in insects, 66. 
 
 reptiles, 97. 
 
 plants, 97. 
 
 latent condition of, 141. 
 Mental images or ideas, 142. 
 
INDEX 295 
 
 Mommsen and Theory on hereditary Celtic character, 211. 
 
 Moore, B., on the action of ions, 9. 
 
 Mott, Dr F. W., on instinctive movements in dogs, 120. 
 
 lectures of the physiology of the emotions, 121. 
 
 Movements of plants under effects of light, 25. 
 
 purposive, 27. 
 of Stentor under stimuli, 7. 
 
 N 
 
 Neopallium, 94. 
 
 its five layers of cells, 94, 132, 178, 181, 182. 
 
 evolution, 107. 
 
 dimensions in man and apes, 131, 134. 
 
 rudimentary in reptiles, 95. 
 
 developed from instinctive matter, 133, 177. 
 
 its relation to psychic processes, 139, 174, 178, 181. 
 
 Nerve cells, ganglionic, their structure, 31. 
 
 in Hydroids, 33. 
 
 ,, medusoids, 35. 
 
 Echinoderms, 37. 
 
 of the neopallium, 94. 
 
 Norsemen invasion of Celtic Ireland (Part II.), 223. 
 
 
 
 Olfactory organs of insects, 59. 
 ,, lamprey, 79. 
 
 fishes, 81. 
 Ova of chaetopterus, action of ions on, 11. 
 
 Pagano, Prof., on functions of basal ganglia, 117. 
 
 Paramoecium movements of, 16. 
 
 Personal character, definition of term, 2. 
 
 Phototaxis, 4. 
 
 Plants, sensitivity of their living matter, 23. 
 
 ,, movements effected by light, 25. 
 
 touch, 25. 
 
 ,, their memory, 26, 97. 
 
 purposive action, 27. 
 Platyhelmia, arrangement of nervous system, 38. 
 
296 INDEX 
 
 Polyps nerve and muscle cells, development of, 33. 
 
 Proteids, 155. 
 
 Protochordata, nervous system of, 75. 
 
 Protoplasm functions and molecular structure, 158. 
 
 Pryer, W., on the movements of starfish, 48. 
 
 Psychic matter in evolution, 107, 177. 
 
 absent in lower vertebrata, 172. 
 
 its relation to instinctive matter, 134. 
 
 ,, area of, in mammalian cortex, 143. 
 
 ,, illustration of its action, 143. 
 
 function of, in birds, 175. 
 
 mammalia, 178, 181. 
 
 processes, development of, 148. 
 in relation to language, 149. 
 
 Purposive action, definition of, 2, 3, 22. 
 ,, in plants, 27. 
 
 in unicellular beings, 53, 166. 
 
 Ewart, A. J., on, 12, 162. 
 Hardy, W. B., on, 13. 
 Calkins, G. N., on, 13. 
 
 Forrel, on, in insects, 68. 
 
 in medusoids, 167. 
 
 in invertebrata, 169. 
 
 in vertebrata, 170. 
 
 matter, 3, 105, 161, 166. 
 of bacteria, 14, 23. 
 
 ,, of amoeba, 15. 
 
 movements of, in unicellular beings, 16, 17, 18, 
 
 29, 54. 
 
 diffused, in unicellular beings, 30. 
 
 becomes differentiated in nerve cells, 30, 32, 33. 
 
 B 
 
 Reaction, 2. 
 Reflex movements, 84. 
 Reptiles, their central nervous system, 95. 
 ,, rudimentary neopallium, 95. 
 
 ,, memory, 97. 
 
 Romanes, G. J., on purposive action, 22. 
 
 movements of jelly-fish, 47. 
 
 use of words (note), p. 43. 
 
INDEX 297 
 
 Schrader's experiments on birds, 103. 
 Sensations, 140. 
 
 and ideas, 142. 
 
 Sensori- memorial centres in birds, 100. 
 
 organs, their relation to the neopallium, 139, 140. 
 Sharks, movements after decapitation, 84. 
 Smith, Elliot, Prof., on the neopallium, 94. 
 
 ,, on cerebral cortex, 94. 
 
 Sponges in relation to purposive action, 32. 
 Starfish, nervous structure of, 37. 
 
 movements of, 48. 
 
 Stentor raeselia in relation to purposive action, 18. 
 Sticklebacks and salmon, instinctive action of, 88. 
 Stimuli, 2. 
 Summary and conclusions, 154. 
 
 Tactile sense organs in relation to cerebrum, 135. 
 Tribe and Sept, their social position (Part II. , p. 194). 
 Tropisms, Prof. Loeb on, 5, 163. 
 
 Dr Bohn on, 6, 165. 
 Turtles, their power to learn, 96. 
 
 Unicellular beings, movements of, 5, 6, 8. 
 
 purposive, 12. 
 
 F. Darwin on, 7. 
 
 Vertebrata, basal ganglia in lower classes of, 170. 
 
 and instinctive movements, 171. 
 
 W 
 
 Wagner, G., on movements of Hydra, 43. 
 Washburn, Miss M. F., on " animal mind," 15. 
 
 movements of starfish, 49. 
 
298 INDEX 
 
 Word, sensori- motor centres, 143, 179. 
 Worms, arrangement of nervous system, 38. 
 
 ,, movements of, 49. 
 
 G. Darwin on, 50. 
 
 Yerkes, Prof., on memory of Crustacea, 51. 
 
 ,, on auditory apparatus in amphibia, 86. 
 
 ,, on discrimination of colour in amphibia, 86. 
 
 ,, frogs power to learn, 86. 
 
 turtles power to learn, 96. 
 
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