This simian world . fferent times about us human-beings: some-times I get pretty indignant when we are at-tacked (for there is altogether too much abuseof us by spectator philosophers) and yet at othertimes I too feel like a spectator, an alien: buteven then I had never felt so alien or despairingas Potter. I cast about for the probable cause ofour difference. Lets remember, I said, its asimian civilization. Potter was staring disgustedly at some vaude-ville sign-boards. Yes, I said, those for example are distinc-tively simian. Why should you feel disappoint-ment at something inevitable? And I
This simian world . fferent times about us human-beings: some-times I get pretty indignant when we are at-tacked (for there is altogether too much abuseof us by spectator philosophers) and yet at othertimes I too feel like a spectator, an alien: buteven then I had never felt so alien or despairingas Potter. I cast about for the probable cause ofour difference. Lets remember, I said, its asimian civilization. Potter was staring disgustedly at some vaude-ville sign-boards. Yes, I said, those for example are distinc-tively simian. Why should you feel disappoint-ment at something inevitable? And I went onto argue that it wasnt as though we were de-scended from eagles for instance, instead of(broadly speaking) from ape-like or monkeyish-4- This Simian World beings. Being of simian stock, we had simiantraits. Our development naturally bore themarks of our origin. If we had inherited ourdispositions from eagles we should have loathedvaudeville. But as cousins of the Bandarlog, weloved it. What could you expect?. •eiMtU^ Imm Ul»4h TWO If we had been made directly from clay, theway it says in the Bible, and had therefore in-herited no intermediate characteristics,—if a god,or some principle of growth, had gone that wayto work with us, he or it might have molded usinto much more splendid forms. But considering our simian descent, it hasdone very well. The only people who are dis-appointed in us are those who still believe thatclay story. Or who—unconsciously—still let itcolor their thinking. There certainly seems to be a power at workin the world, by virtue of which every livingthing grows and develops. And it tends towardsplendor. Seeds become trees, and weak littlenations grow great. But the push or the forcethat is doing this, the yeast as it were, has to workin and on certain definite kinds of material. Be--6- This Simian World cause this yeast is in us, there may be great andundreamed of possibilities awaiting mankind;but because of our line of descent there are
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