Volume 1

A history of the earth, and animated nature / By Oliver Goldsmith. With an introductory view of the animal kingdom, tr. from the French by Baron Cuvier. And copious notes embracing accounts of new discoveries in natural history: And a life of the author by Washington Irving. And a carefully prepared index to the whole work.

  • Oliver Goldsmith
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A history of the earth, and animated nature / By Oliver Goldsmith. With an introductory view of the animal kingdom, tr. from the French by Baron Cuvier. And copious notes embracing accounts of new discoveries in natural history: And a life of the author by Washington Irving. And a carefully prepared index to the whole work. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    possesses the power of combining and arranging them, to form a new creation of its own], this is called imagination, and it may be accompanied by agreeable or painful associations. Man being endowed with superior privileges, possesses the faculty of connecting his general ideas with particular signs. These are more or less arbitrary, easily fixed in the memory, and serve to suggest the general ideas, which they Avere intended to represent. We apply the term symbols to designate these signs when associated with our general ideas, and they form a language when collectively arranged. Language may be addressed either to the ear or to the eye; in the former case it is termed speech, in the latter, hieroglyphics. Writing is a series of images, by which the ele- mentary sounds are represented to the eye [under the form of letters\ By combining them [into words\ the compound sounds of which speech is composed are readily suggested. Writing is therefore an indirect representation of our thoughts. This power of representing general ideas by particular signs or symbols, which are arbitrarily associated with them, enables us to retain an immense number of distinct ideas in the memory, and to recall them with facility. Innumerable materials are thus readily supplied to the reasoning faculty and to the imagination. The experi- ence of individuals is also communicated by written signs to the whole human spe- cies, and by this means the foundation is laid for their indefinite improvement in knowledge through the course of ages. The art of printing, by multiplying copies, has insured the permanence of knowledge, and has afforded a powerful aid to the intellectual progress of the species. This capacity for indefinite improvement forms one of the distinguished characters of human intelligence. The most perfect animals are infinitely below Man, in respect to the degrees of their intellectual faculties; but it is nevertheless certain that their understandings perform operations of the same kind. They move in consequence of sensations re- ceived; they are susceptible of lasting affections; and they acquire by experience a certain knowledge of external things, sufficient to regulate their motions, by actually foreseeing their consequences, and independently of immediate pain and pleasure When domesticated, they feel their subordination. They know that the being who punishes them may refrain from doing so if he Avill, and they assume before him a supplicating air, when conscious of guilt, or fearful of his anger. The society of man either corrupts or improves them. They are susceptible of emulation and of jealousy; and, though possessed among themselves of a natural language, capable of expressing the sensations of the moment, they acquire from man a knowledge of the much more complicated language through which he makes known his pleasure, and urges them to execute it. We perceive, in fact, a certain degree of reason in the higher animals, and conse- quences resulting from its use and abuse, similar to those observed in Man. The degree of their intelligence is not far different from that possessed by the infant mind, before it has learned to speak. But, in proportion as we descend in the scale of creation to animals far below man in organization, these faculties become more languid; and, in the lowest classes, they are reduced to certain motions obscurely indicating some kind of sensation, and the desire of avoiding pain. The degrees of intellect between these extremes are infinite. Dogs, cats, horses, birds, and other animals, may have their original faculties modified by personal experience; and they are accordingly trained to the performance of those extraordinary feats which in all countries form a favourite amusement of the people. “ By experience,” says Mr. Hume, “ animals become acquainted with the more obvious properties of external objects; and gradually, from their birth, treasure up a knowledge of the nature of fire, water, stones, earth, heights, depths, &c. The ignorance and inexperience of the young are here plainly distinguishable from the cunning and sagacity of the old, who have learned by long observation to avoid what hurt them, and pursue what gave ease and pleasure. A horse that has been accustomed to the field, becomes acquainted with the proper height he can leap, and will never attempt what exceeds his force and ability. An old greyhound will trust the more fatiguing part of the chase to the younger, and wiU place himself so as to meet the hare in her doubles; nor are the conjectures which he forms on this occasion lounded on any thing but his observation and experience. This is still more evident from the c