It is not necessary, however, to seek for biological advantages in erotic dances, pantomimics, and poems. The strong emotional tension which accompanies pairing must of itself give rise to some mode of seeking relief by sound or movement. These manifestations, on the other hand, will by association revive the pleasurable feelings with which they have been connected. As, moreover, among primitive men sexual exaltation is one of the strongest—in peaceful tribes even _the_ strongest—feeling which occurs in their life, any other rapture will borrow the form of its expression from this elementary passion. It is well known that even in civilised nations intense delight tends to express itself in erotic gestures. In some cases, as, _e.g._, that of abnormal religious exaltation, one might think that a state of high-strung emotion, by suspending all intellectual life, does in fact leave a man at the mercy of overwhelming animal impulses. The exaggerated devotion of all emotional religions sets at liberty the _bête humaine_, which can be kept under control only by the continuous competition with the higher faculties. In other instances, such as those when people who have received some good news feel an inclination to embrace or kiss each other, it is more natural to assume a process of association. In either case the psychology of civilised man enables us to understand why erotic dances are so generally used by primitive tribes, even on occasions when they seem least appropriate. It would be superfluous to undertake an ethnological review of erotic motives in art. As we have already remarked in the preceding chapter, there are tribes which, according to the reports of travellers, not only are completely devoid of erotic art in the sense of love-propitiation, but do not even allow love any place as a subject of art. It seems, however, safest to draw no conclusions from this deficiency of data. Erotic art, as everything else connected with sexual life, has too often been overlooked by ethnological authors. Savage, W. Ellis, Wyatt Gill, Romilly, and many others, consider themselves bound by modesty to pass over such pantomimes as are “too indelicate and obscene to be mentioned.”[374] Even the brothers Sarasin, who otherwise have aimed at the greatest possible completeness in their account of the Veddas, candidly say that they have observed no “Lusttänze,” but also never inquired about them.[375] It would not be surprising, therefore, if some less discreet traveller should at some future time describe hitherto unknown erotic dances and songs from, say, the Bushmen or the Andamanese. And there is the more reason to anticipate that a closer intimacy with primitive man may bring to light illustrations of erotic art, as in many savage tribes sexual matters are hedged in by taboo, and are especially concealed from white visitors.[376]