# XIII: How Doctor Heraclius Gloss Found Himself in Exactly the Same Position as Good King Henry IV Who, Having Heard Two Leading Counsel Plead Their Case, Was of Opinion That Both Were Right explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

## What happens

Doctor Heraclius Gloss, confined indoors by heavy rain, spends the morning in his study philosophically observing his monkey and dog, Pythagoras. He reflects on the gradations of intellect in declassed men, comparing instinct in the dog to reason in the monkey. A playful attack by the monkey on the dog's tail leads to a counterattack, and the doctor intervenes, left pondering whether the dog displayed more cunning than the monkey.

## Themes in this chapter

### Obsession and Delusion

The doctor's intense, philosophical scrutiny of his animals' behavior reflects a preoccupation with abstract hierarchies of intelligence.

### Illusion vs. Reality

The monkey's apparent cunning is undercut by the dog's strategic stillness, blurring the line between instinct and reason.

## Character check-ins

### Doctor Heraclius Gloss

Observes his monkey and dog, philosophizing on instinct versus reason, and intervenes in their scuffle.

## Key lines

> “In the dog,” said the Doctor to himself, “instinct still dominates, whilst in the monkey reason prevails. The former smells, hears, and sees with those marvellous organs which for him are a good half of his intelligence; the latter, connecting one fact with another, cogitates.”

The doctor muses that the dog relies on instinct and keen senses, while the monkey uses reason to link ideas.

_Highlights the doctor's philosophical comparison between the two animals._

> But the latter, motionless up till that moment, had followed every movement of the monkey. His stillness was only a trap to lure his hitherto unassailable adversary within reach.

The dog's stillness was a deliberate ruse to draw the monkey close enough to attack.

_Reveals the dog's cunning, challenging the doctor's initial assumptions._

## Links

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