The Washington times., 1922-04-09

TT is a distressing fact, but Il is true
that even the most high-minded men
and women sometimes have thoughts
and desires which are unworthy. This fact
has long been recognized by science, and
is now understood.
While 1t is true that men and women Of
noble character have impulses which are
unworthy of them and which come through
perfectly natural channels, the explanation
does not excuse us for yielding to these de
grading impulses. History from the most
ancient times to the present holds conspic.
ruous instances of personages who yielded
to these impulses, and the world is shocked
by such revelations as have stained the
name Of that great divine, the Rev. Henry
Ward Beecher, of Brooklyn. The same i'm.
pulses must have caused the unfortunate
lapse at an earlier time in her life of such
distinguished woman as Madame Curie,
the world authority on radium.
And why all this should be so is now
understood by science.
The seat of intelligence Of morality, OF
character is in the brain. The artistic,
aesthetic, humanitarian, reasoning and
moral qualities which distinguish man
from the animals are a comparatively re-
cent growth.
All animal life began in the oceans
The fish was the first creature to develop a
brain. He needed few and crude brain quail.
tiles, limited practically to the four senses
OF smell, sight, taste and hearing-some
fish had very little of any Of these senses
But it was from these crudely developed
senses, with their correspondingly crude
brain centres, that the brains of all animals
have been built. The reptile emerged from
the water and had opportunity for better
development of sight, feeling, touch and
smell; and his brain grew to be little
better than the fish. The bird is OF a
higher order of intelligence than the rep
tile and has a better brain. The monkey,
with four hands and habits somewhat re-
sembling mankind, has the best brain Of
the lower animals. And man himself with
the best brain Of all, has developed a sense
Of right and wrong and moral and aesthetic
qualities not achieved by the monkey.
-- But, unfortunately, all growth of brain
of all creatures has been by building on
top of the old original brain of the fish
The human senses pass through the old
brain to reach the new and higher brain
centres.
Mans finer qualities of mind and char
acter and culture are in the upper stories
of his brain-house. Mankind has built his
splendid rooms of culture and morality in
the upper stories, but to reach these re-
finements he must enter and leave
through the same crude, primitive door
way which he has inherited from the days
when his ancestors were fish.
In the earliest ages OF mans animal
existence, when he was far down in the
scale of animal life, he needed little be-
sides food and sufficient sight, smell or
<aste to guide him to his food. He was a
glutton when he had the food he was
ruthless in seizing his prey, he had no
sense of morality or decency. And II is
through these same crude rudiments Of
the old, low-grade brain Of the beasts that
man still receives the sense impressions
which pass from the trunk nerves of the
spine up through the old brain to the
newer rehnements Of his cultured brain. II
is these primitive impulses coming through
the old brain which bring thoughts and
desires which are natural enough for the
beasts, who are our ancestors, but are un-
worthy of our higher brain.
The "old brain" can learn by experience,
but 1t cannot perform abstract reasoning.
The "old brain" can act Independently,
but the new brain" is dependent on It.
In the surface Of the new brain" lie
speech and memory with its wealth OF
stored experiences. Here arise the cool
deliberations Of the man Of science, the
dreams and aspirations OF the poet the
passion OF the religious enthusiast and
, when abnormalities intervene, the raw