The inheritance of most of our expressive actions
explains the fact that those born blind display them, as I hear from
the Rev. R. H. Blair, equally well with those gifted with eyesight.
We can thus also understand the fact that the young and the old of widely
different races, both with man and animals, express the same state
of mind by the same movements.
We are so familiar with the fact of young and old animals displaying
their feelings in the same manner, that we hardly perceive how remarkable
it is that a young puppy should wag its tail when pleased, depress its
ears and uncover its canine teeth when pretending to be savage,
just like an old dog; or that a kitten should arch its little back
and erect its hair when frightened and angry, like an old cat.
When, however, we turn to less common gestures in ourselves,
which we are accustomed to look at as artificial or conventional,--
such as shrugging the shoulders, as a sign of impotence, or the raising
the arms with open hands and extended fingers, as a sign of wonder,--
we feel perhaps too much surprise at finding that they are innate.
That these and some other gestures are inherited, we may infer from
their being performed by very young children, by those born blind,
and by the most widely distinct races of man.
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