This is only a sort of mechanical memory which
has nothing in common with the most elementary intelligence. But
behold, one fine day, without any perceptible transition, he
seems to know the meaning of a host of words which possess no
interest for him; which represent to him no picture, no memory;
which he has never had occasion to connect with any sensation,
agreeable or disagreeable. He handles figures, which even to man
are nothing but obscure and abstract ideas. He solves problems
that cannot possibly be made objective or concrete. He reproduces
letters which, from his point of view, correspond with nothing
actual. He fixes his attention and makes observations on things
or circumstances which in no way affect him, which remain and
always will remain alien and indifferent to him. In a word, he
steps out of the narrow ring in which he was made to turn by
hunger and fear--which have been described as the two great
moving powers of all that is not human--to enter the immense
circle in which sensations go on being shed till ideas come into
view.
22
Is it possible to believe that the horses really do what they
appear to do? Is there no precedent for the marvel? Is there no
transition between the Elberfeld stallions and the horses which
we have known until this day? It is not easy to answer these
questions, for it is only since yesterday that the intellectual
powers of our defenseless brothers have been subjected to
strictly scientific experiments.
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