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CRCTELTJ‘ TO A.WSfALS--A STUDY I.V SOCIOLOGY. 2?7
the 1-t permanent injury ; buc it would still be cruel on the
aociologiotrl ground.
The psychoIogica1 clement in crnclty has regard to the
degree in which the pain of the animal is mode apparent to
the spectator, and forced upon his imagination. Them is a
curious instance to this effect iu tho life of William Roscoe,*
who tells us that in early life ho spent many hours in strolling
along the shore of the Mersey, or in fishing. But on one
occasion, as he says in his own words, ‘‘ I dstorminod to
become a sportsman; and having procured a gun, nnd found
an nnfortunsto thrush perched on R branch of n tree, I brought
him to the ground with fatal nim ; but I wn~
so horrified and
disgusted with tho agonies which I saw him enduro in dcath,
that 1 havo never sinco rcpentcd tho cxperiment.” William
Roscoe, then, rfrcw tho line of cruclty between fish and fowl,
Tho helpless flopping and struggling of the hooked fish
did not impress upon him tho aenso of pain with sufficient
acuteness to overpower tho satisfaction of BUCCCSS. But the
writhing of a tortured bird was an expression of suffering t,oo
strong to boar. I bclievo that much of tho obloquy 50
wrongly cast upon Dr. Ferrior arose from his operating upon
monkeys, whosc grimaces, as described by him, approached
t.oo nearly to a human form. That this is so we may perhaps
infer from the indignation expended upon the awe of t,ho
unfortunate patient experimented on by an American medical
man, as described in The 8pctator of March 20th, 1875,
and discussed in subsequent numbers. The womnn mas dying
of a mortal disease, her brain mas already exposed, she consented
to the experiments, which wore a150 painless. Yet the
idea of sticking needles into her brain and exciting spasmodio
movements and grimaces by electricity was held to bo 80 cruel,
although painless, that the operator left the country. Cruelty,
then, doe0 not necessarily involve the infliction of any appreciable
pain ; it may consist in the production of expreesions
which merely suggest ideas of pain. The psycholo&al
element of cruelty may, then, become so important as itself
e “The Life of William aoSm,” by hie Ron, Henry Roacoe. 1833.
Vol. i. p. 11.
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