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XIX. DOGS AND MASTERS.
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Probably the most forlorn and abject1 creature to be seen on the face of the earth is a masterless dog. Slouching and slinking along, cringing2 to every human being it chances to meet, running away with its tail between its legs from smaller dogs whom under other circumstances it would accost3 with a gruff who-the-dickens-are-you sort of growl,—it forms the very picture of utter humiliation4 and self-abasement. Grip and I have just come across such a lost specimen5 of stray doghood, trying to find his way back to his home across the fields—I fancy he belongs to a travelling show which left the village yesterday—and it is quite refreshing6 to watch the air of superior wisdom and calm but mute compassionateness with which Grip casts his eye sidelong upon that wretched masterless vagrant7, and passes him by without even a nod. He looks up to me complacently8 as he trots9 along by my side, and seems to say with his eye, 'Poor fellow! he's lost his master, you know—careless dog that he is!' I believe the lesson has had a good moral effect upon Grip's own conduct, too; for he has now spent ten whole minutes well within my sight, and has resisted the most tempting10 solicitations to ratting and rabbiting held out by half-a-dozen holes and burrows11 in the hedge-wall as we go along.

This total dependence12 of dogs upon a master is a very interesting example of the growth of inherited instincts. The original dog, who was a wolf or something very like it, could not have had any such artificial feeling. He was an independent, self-reliant animal, quite well able to look after himself on the boundless13 plains of Central Europe or High Asia. But at least as early as the days of the Danish shell-mounds, perhaps thousands of years earlier, man had learned to tame the dog and to employ him as a friend or servant for his own purposes. Those dogs which best served the ends of man were preserved and increased; those which followed too much their own original instincts were destroyed or at least discouraged. The savage14 hunter would be very apt to fling his stone axe15 at the skull16 of a hound which tried to eat the game he had brought down with his flint-tipped arrow, instead of retrieving17 it: he would be most likely to keep carefully and feed well on the refuse of his own meals the hound which aided him most in surprising, killing19, and securing his quarry20. Thus there sprang up between man and the dog a mutual21 and ever increasing sympathy which on the part of the dependent creature has at last become organised into an inherited instinct. If we could only thread the labyrinth22 of a dog's brain, we should find somewhere in it a group of correlated nerve-connections answering to this universal habit of his race; and the group in question would be quite without any analogous23 mechanism24 in the brain of the ancestral wolf. As truly as the wing of the bird is adapted to its congenital instinct of flying, as truly as the nervous system of the bee is adapted to its congenital instinct of honeycomb building, just so truly is the brain of the dog adapted to its now congenital instinct of following and obeying a master. The habit of attaching itself to a particular human being is nowadays engrained in the nerves of the modern dog just as really, though not quite so deeply, as the habit of running or biting is engrained in its bones and muscles. Every dog is born into the world with a certain inherited structure of limbs, sense-organs, and brain: and this inherited structure governs all its future actions, both bodily and mental. It seeks a master because it is endowed with master-seeking brain organs; it is dissatisfied until it finds one, because its native functions can have free play in no other way. Among a few dogs, like those of Constantinople, the instinct may have died out by disuse, as the eyes of cave animals have atrophied25 for want of light; but when a dog has once been brought up from puppyhood under a master, the instinct is fully18 and freely developed, and the masterless condition is thenceforth for him a thwarting26 and disappointing of all his natural feelings and affections.

Not only have dogs as a class acquired a special instinct with regard to humanity generally, but particular breeds of dogs have acquired particular instincts with regard to certain individual acts. Nobody doubts that the muscles of a greyhound are specially27 correlated to the acts of running and leaping; or that the muscles of a bull-dog are specially correlated to the act of fighting. The whole external form of these creatures has been modified by man's selective action for a deliberate purpose: we breed, as we say, from the dog with the best points. But besides being able to modify the visible and outer structure of the animal, we are also able to modify, by indirect indications, the hidden and inner structure of the brain. We choose the best ratter among our terriers, the best pointer, retriever, or setter among other breeds, to become the parents of our future stock. We thus half unconsciously select particular types of nervous system in preference to others. Once upon a time we used even to rear a race of dogs with a strange instinct for turning the spit in our kitchens; and to this day the Cubans rear blood-hounds with a natural taste for hunting down the trail of runaway29 negroes. Now, everybody knows that you cannot teach one sort of dog the kind of tricks which come by instinct to a different sort. No amount of instruction will induce a well-bred terrier to retrieve28 your handkerchief: he insists upon worrying it instead. So no amount of instruction will induce a well-bred retriever to worry a rat: he brings it gingerly to your feet, as if it was a dead partridge. The reason is obvious, because no one would breed from a retriever which worried or from a terrier which treated its natural prey30 as if it were a stick. Thus the brain of each kind is hereditarily31 supplied with certain nervous connections wanting in the brain of other kinds. We need no more doubt the reality of the material distinction in the brain than we need doubt it in the limbs and jaws32 of the greyhound and the bull-dog. Those who have watched closely the different races of men can hardly hesitate to believe that something analogous exists in our own case. While the highest types are, as Mr. Herbert Spencer well puts it, to some extent 'organically moral' and structurally33 intelligent, the lowest types are congenitally deficient34. A European child learns to read almost by nature (for Dogberry was essentially35 right after all), while a Negro child learns to read by painful personal experience. And savages36 brought to Europe and 'civilised' for years often return at last with joy to their native home, cast off their clothes and their outer veneering, and take once more to the only life for which their nervous organisation37 naturally fits them. 'What is bred in the bone,' says the wise old proverb, 'will out in the blood.'

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1 abject joVyh     
adj.极可怜的,卑屈的
参考例句:
  • This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
  • He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气,为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。
2 cringing Pvbz1O     
adj.谄媚,奉承
参考例句:
  • He had a cringing manner but a very harsh voice.他有卑屈谄媚的神情,但是声音却十分粗沙。
  • She stepped towards him with a movement that was horribly cringing.她冲他走了一步,做出一个低三下四,令人作呕的动作。
3 accost BJQym     
v.向人搭话,打招呼
参考例句:
  • He ruminated on his defenses before he should accost her father.他在与她父亲搭话前,仔细地考虑着他的防范措施。
  • They have been assigned to accost strangers and extract secrets from them.他们被指派去与生疏人搭讪从并从他们那里套出奥秘。
4 humiliation Jd3zW     
n.羞辱
参考例句:
  • He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
  • He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。
5 specimen Xvtwm     
n.样本,标本
参考例句:
  • You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
  • This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。
6 refreshing HkozPQ     
adj.使精神振作的,使人清爽的,使人喜欢的
参考例句:
  • I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
  • The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼,特别解乏提神。
7 vagrant xKOzP     
n.流浪者,游民;adj.流浪的,漂泊不定的
参考例句:
  • A vagrant is everywhere at home.流浪者四海为家。
  • He lived on the street as a vagrant.他以在大街上乞讨为生。
8 complacently complacently     
adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地
参考例句:
  • He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
  • "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装,"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
9 trots b4193f3b689ed427c61603fce46ef9b1     
小跑,急走( trot的名词复数 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句:
  • A horse that trots, especially one trained for harness racing. 训练用于快跑特别是套轭具赛跑的马。
  • He always trots out the same old excuses for being late. 他每次迟到总是重复那一套藉口。
10 tempting wgAzd4     
a.诱人的, 吸引人的
参考例句:
  • It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
  • It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。
11 burrows 6f0e89270b16e255aa86501b6ccbc5f3     
n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘(洞穴),挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 );翻寻
参考例句:
  • The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
  • A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句
12 dependence 3wsx9     
n.依靠,依赖;信任,信赖;隶属
参考例句:
  • Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
  • He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。
13 boundless kt8zZ     
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
  • His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。
14 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
15 axe 2oVyI     
n.斧子;v.用斧头砍,削减
参考例句:
  • Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利,你要当心。
  • The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。
16 skull CETyO     
n.头骨;颅骨
参考例句:
  • The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
  • He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去,跌裂了颅骨。
17 retrieving 4eccedb9b112cd8927306f44cb2dd257     
n.检索(过程),取还v.取回( retrieve的现在分词 );恢复;寻回;检索(储存的信息)
参考例句:
  • Ignoring all, he searches the ground carefully for any cigarette-end worth retrieving. 没管打锣的说了什么,他留神的在地上找,看有没有值得拾起来的烟头儿。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • Retrieving the nodules from these great depths is no easy task. 从这样的海底深渊中取回结核可不是容易的事情。 来自辞典例句
18 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
19 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
20 quarry ASbzF     
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找
参考例句:
  • Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
  • This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。
21 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
22 labyrinth h9Fzr     
n.迷宫;难解的事物;迷路
参考例句:
  • He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
  • The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。
23 analogous aLdyQ     
adj.相似的;类似的
参考例句:
  • The two situations are roughly analogous.两种情況大致相似。
  • The company is in a position closely analogous to that of its main rival.该公司与主要竞争对手的处境极为相似。
24 mechanism zCWxr     
n.机械装置;机构,结构
参考例句:
  • The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
  • The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。
25 atrophied 6e70ae7b7a398a7793a6309c8dcd3c93     
adj.萎缩的,衰退的v.(使)萎缩,(使)虚脱,(使)衰退( atrophy的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Patients exercised their atrophied limbs in the swimming pool. 病人们在泳池里锻炼萎缩的四肢。 来自辞典例句
  • Method: Using microwave tissue thermocoaqulation to make chronic tonsillitis coagulated and atrophied. 方法:采用微波热凝方法使慢性扁桃体炎组织凝固、萎缩。 来自互联网
26 thwarting 501b8e18038a151c47b85191c8326942     
阻挠( thwart的现在分词 ); 使受挫折; 挫败; 横过
参考例句:
  • The republicans are trying to embarrass the president by thwarting his economic program. 共和党人企图通过阻挠总统的经济计划使其难堪。
  • There were too many men resisting his authority thwarting him. 下边对他这个长官心怀不服的,故意作对的,可多着哩。
27 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
参考例句:
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
28 retrieve ZsYyp     
vt.重新得到,收回;挽回,补救;检索
参考例句:
  • He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
  • The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。
29 runaway jD4y5     
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的
参考例句:
  • The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
  • He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
30 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
31 hereditarily ec9b6bf80c2adefb37573b00a4b94d8d     
世袭地,遗传地
参考例句:
  • The De Courcy's were hereditarily shortsighted. 德库西家的人祖传下来全是近视眼。
  • Moreover an analogous result of hereditarily normal weakly submetacompact is obtained. 进一步还得到了遗传正规的遗传弱次亚紧性的类似结果。
32 jaws cq9zZq     
n.口部;嘴
参考例句:
  • The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
  • The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。
33 structurally b9ab462aabf667bfba00ea360ed6c929     
在结构上
参考例句:
  • The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶(结构)不牢固。
  • Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。
34 deficient Cmszv     
adj.不足的,不充份的,有缺陷的
参考例句:
  • The crops are suffering from deficient rain.庄稼因雨量不足而遭受损害。
  • I always have been deficient in selfconfidence and decision.我向来缺乏自信和果断。
35 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
参考例句:
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
36 savages 2ea43ddb53dad99ea1c80de05d21d1e5     
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
  • That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。
37 organisation organisation     
n.组织,安排,团体,有机休
参考例句:
  • The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
  • His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。


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