cing, what not, as 'Good hunting,' 'Good
old--'[naming a tribal God], or in former times '_Now_ we shall
be but a short while,' or '_Woemma!_' Now and then, too, an
individual begins a song and is answered by the rest in
chorus--such as

For he is an estimable person
Beyond possibility of gainsaying.

The chorus twice repeats this and asseverates that they
are following a custom common to the flotilla, the
expeditionary force, and even their rude seats of learning.

And Dr Gummere, or somebody else, comments: 'As the unprejudiced
reader will see, this clear and admirable account confirms our
hypothesis that in communal celebration we have at once the
origin and model of three poems, "The Faerie Queene," "Paradise
Lost" and "In Memoriam," recorded as having been composed by
members of this very tribe.'

Although we have been talking of instincts, we are not concerned
here with the steps by which the child, or the savage, following
an instinct attains to _write_ poetry; but, more modestly, with
the instinct by which the child _likes_ it, and the way in which
he can be best encouraged to read and improve this natural
liking. Nor are we even concerned here to define Poetry. It
suffices our present purpose to consider Poetry as the sort of
thing the poets write.

But obviously if we find a philosopher discussing poetry without
any reference to children, and independently basing it upon the
very same imitative instincts which we have noted in children, we
have some promise of being on the right track.

V

So I return to Aristotle. Aristotle (I shall in fairness say)
does not anticipate Dr Gummere, to contradict or refute him; he
may even be held to support him incidentally. But he sticks to
business, and this is what he says ("Poetics," C. IV):

Poetry in general seems to have sprung from two causes, and
these natural causes. First the instinct to imitate is
implanted in man from his childhood, and in this he differs
from other animals, being the most imitative of them all. Man
gets his first learning through imitation, and all men delight
in seeing things imitated. This is clearly shown by
experience....

To imitate, then, being instinctive in our nature, so too
we have an instinct for harmony and rhythm, metre being
manifestly a species of rhythm: and man, being born to these
instincts and little by little improving them, out of his early
improvisations created