individuals of the same species, and which come under the present head
of antithesis, it is extremely doubtful, whether any of them were at
first deliberately invented and consciously performed. With mankind the
best instance of a gesture standing in direct opposition to other
movements, naturally assumed under an opposite frame of mind, is that
of shrugging the shoulders. This expresses impotence or an
apology, something which cannot be done, or cannot be avoided. The
gesture is sometimes used consciously and voluntarily, but it is
extremely improbable that it was at first deliberately invented, and
afterwards fixed by habit; for not only do young children sometimes
shrug their shoulders under the above states of mind, but the movement
is accompanied, as will be shown in a future chapter, by various
subordinate movements, which not one man in a thousand is aware of,
unless he has specially attended to the subject.
Dogs when approaching a strange dog, may find it useful to show by
their movements that they are friendly, and do not wish to fight. When
two young dogs in play are growling and biting each other s faces and
legs, it is obvious that they mutually understand each other s gestures
and manners. There seems, indeed, some degree of instinctive knowledge
in puppies and kittens, that they must not use their sharp little teeth
or claws too freely in their play, though this sometimes happens and a
squeal is the result; otherwise they would often injure each other s
eyes. When my terrier bites my hand in play, often snarling at the same
time, if he bites too hard and I say GENTLY, GENTLY, he goes on biting,
but answers me by a few wags of the tail, which seems to say Never
mind, it is all fun. Although dogs do thus express, and may wish to
express, to other dogs and to man, that they are in a friendly state of
mind, it is incredible that they could ever have deliberately thought
of drawing back and depressing their ears, instead of holding them
erect, of lowering and wagging their tails, instead of keeping them
stiff and upright, &c., because they knew that these movements stood in
direct opposition to those assumed under an opposite and savage frame
of mind.
Again, when a cat, or rather when some early progenitor of the species,
from feeling affectionate first slightly arched its back, held its tail
perpendicularly upwards and pricked its ears, can it be believed that
the animal consciously wished thus to show that its frame of mind was
directly the reverse of that, when from being ready to fight or to
43