This simian world . Goodfellowship is common, but unchanging affectionis not. We like those who like us, as a rule, anddislike those who dont. Most of our ties haveno better footing than that; and those who havemany such ties are called warm-hearted. The super-cat-men would have rated cleanli--19- This Simian World ness higher. Some of us primates have learnedto keep ourselves clean, but its no large pro-portion; and even the cleanest of us see nograndeur in soap-manufacturing, and we dontlook to manicures and plumbers for social pres-tige. A feline race would have honored suchoccupations. J.
This simian world . Goodfellowship is common, but unchanging affectionis not. We like those who like us, as a rule, anddislike those who dont. Most of our ties haveno better footing than that; and those who havemany such ties are called warm-hearted. The super-cat-men would have rated cleanli--19- This Simian World ness higher. Some of us primates have learnedto keep ourselves clean, but its no large pro-portion; and even the cleanest of us see nograndeur in soap-manufacturing, and we dontlook to manicures and plumbers for social pres-tige. A feline race would have honored suchoccupations. J. de Courcy Tiger would have felt that nothing butmaking soap, or beinga plumber, was com-patible with a highsocial position; and therich Vera Pantherbiltwould have deigned todine only with mani-cures. None but the lowestdregs of such a racewould have been law-yers spending theirspan of life on thismysterious earth study-ing the long dusty records of dead and gonequarrels. We simians naturally admire a pro-— 20 —. This Simian World fession full of wrangle and chatter. But that isa monkeyish way of deciding disputes, not afeline. We fight best in armies, gregariously, wherethe risk is reduced; but we disapprove usuallyof murderers, and of almost all private the great cats, it would have been just theother way round. (Lions and leopards fighteach other singly, not in bands, as do monkeys.) As a matter of fact, few of us delight in reallyserious fighting. We do love to bicker; and webox and knock each other around, to exhibitour strength; but few normal simians are keenabout bloodshed and killing; we do it in waronly because of patriotism, revenge, duty, feline civilization would have cared nothingfor duty or glory, but they would have taken afar higher pleasure in gore. If a planet of super-cat-men could look down upon ours, they wouldnot know which to think was the most amazing:the way we tamely live, five million or so in acity, with only a few police to k
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