ticated by the forms of language, as well as by the prevalent practice and sentiments of mankind. §. 99. The principles, based upon desire, susceptible of a two-fold operation. There is one important remark, which is applicable to all the principles, with the exception of the Instincts, which now present themselves for examination. It is, that, with the exception just mentioned, they all have a two-fold action, INSTINCTIVE and VOLUNTARY. This statement of course will not apply to the pure Instincts; for the very idea of their being instincts, in the proper sense of the term, seems to imply an absolute exclusion of their being voluntary. But as we advance from the Instincts to the Appetites, and still upward to the Propensities and Affections, we find each and all of these important principles susceptible of being contemplated in this two-fold aspect. Each, under circumstances of such a nature as to preclude inquiry and reflection, is susceptible of an instinctive action; and each, under other circumstances more favorable to the exercise of reasoning, is susceptible of a deliberate or voluntary action.This remark is important in our estimate of these principles, considered in a moral point of view. CHAPTER SECOND. INSTINCTS. §. 100. Of the instincts of man as compared with those of the inferior animals. IN proceeding to examine that part of our sensitive constitution, which is comprehended under the general name of Desires, we naturally begin with instincts, which are nothing more than desires, existing under a particular and definite modification.It is generally conceded, that there are in our nature some strong and invariable tendencies to do certain things, without previous forethought and deliberation, which bear that name. The actions of men are not always governed by feelings founded on reasoning, but are sometimes prompted by quick and decisive impulses, which set themselves in array, before reason has time to operate. It is from this circumstance that these mental tendencies or desires are termed instinctive; a word, which implies in its original meaning a movement or action, whether mental or bodily, without reflection and foresight. Although such instinctive tendencies are undoubtedly found in men, it must be admitted, that they are less frequent, and in general less effective, than in the lower animals. And in truth, it could not be expected to be otherwise, when we remember, that the brute creation are wholly destitute of the powers of abstraction and of reasoning, or at most possess them only in a small degree. The provident oversight of the Supreme Being, without whose notice not a sparrow falleth to the ground, has met this deficiency by endowing them with instincts, the most various in kind, and strikingly adapted to the exigencies of their situation. We find the proofs of this remark in the nests of birds, in the ball of the silk worm, in the house of the beaver, in the return and flight of birds at their appointed seasons, and in a multitude of other instances. §. 101. Of the nature of the instincts of brute animals. So abundantly has the great Father of all things provided by means of their instincts, for the preservation and enjoyment of the inferior animals, that they even, in some respects, seem to have the advantage over man, with all his high and excellent capacities. In the early periods of the human race, men looked abroad upon the great ocean with timidity; they launched their frail vessels, and directed their course by the heavenly bodies; but with all their care and wisdom they were often baffled, and obliged to put back again into the place of their departure, or ran perhaps upon some unknown shore. But flocks of migratory birds are frequently seen navigating the boundless fields of air, passing wide tracks of unknown land and water, and returning again at the set time, and with scarcely making a mistake, or wandering a league from their course; and yet they are without any histories of former voyages, without chart or compass, and without the ability, so far as we are able to determine, of reading the way of their flight in the bright letters of the stars. This is only one of the facts or classes of facts, which illustrate this subject; but it shows very clearly the unerring guidance, the fixed and definite adaptation to a particular end, which is the characteristic of instincts. "Who bade the stork Columbus-like explore "Heavens not his own, and worlds unknown before? "Who forms the phalanx, and who points the way? The ways, in which this unerring tendency, this divine guidance shows itself, are almost innumerable. The philosopher Galen once took a kid from its dead mother by dissection, and before it had tasted any food, brought it into a certain room, having many vessels full, some of wine, some of oil, some of honey, some of milk, or some other liquor, and many others, filled with the different sorts of grain and fruit; and there laid it. After a little time the embryon had acquired strength enough to get up on its feet; and it was with sentiments of strong admiration that the spectators saw it advance towards the liquors, fruit, and grain, which were placed round the room, and having smelt all of them, at last sup the milk alone. About two months afterwards, the tender sprouts of plants and shrubs were brought to it, and after smelling all of them and tasting some, it began to eat of such as are the usual food of goats. The cells, constructed by the united efforts of a hive of bees, have often been referred to, as illustrating the nature of instincts." It is a curious mathematical problem, says Dr. Reid, at what precise angle the three planes, which compose the bottom of a cell in a honey-comb, ought to meet in order to make the greatest saving, or the least expense of material and labor. This is one of those problems belonging to the higher parts of mathematics, which are called problems of maxima and minima. It has been resolved by some mathematicians, particularly by the ingenious Mr. Maclaurin, by a fluxionary calculation, which is to be found in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London. He has determined precisely the angle required; and he found, by the most exact mensuration the subject could admit, that it is the very angle, in which the three planes in the bottom of the cell of a honey-comb do actually meet. Shall we ask here, who taught the bee the properties of solids, and to resolve problems of maxima and minima? We need not say, that bees know none of these things. They work most geometrically, without any knowledge of geometry; somewhat like a child, who, by turning the handle of an organ, makes good music without any knowledge of music. The art is not in the child, but in him who made the organ. In like manner, when a bee makes its comb so geometrically, the geometry is not in the bee, but in that great geometrician who made the bee, and made all things in number, weight, and measure." §. 102. Instincts susceptible of slight modifications. We usually speak of the instincts of animals, as fixed and inflexible; and they undoubtedly are so, in a considerable de gree. Of this inflexibility, or fixed and particular direction which is appropriate to them, a multitude of facts might be brought as proof. Mr. Stewart, speaking of a blind old beaver, that had been taken and kept for a number of years in a pond by itself, asserts, that the animal showed no inconsiderable degree of sagacity and mechanical contrivance in accomplishing particular ends; but these ends were in no respect subservient to its accommodation or comfort in its actual situation, although manifestly parts of those systematic instincts, which belong to it in its social state. The animal seemed, he further observes, like a solitary wheel of a machine, which exhibits in its teeth marks of a reference to other wheels, with which it was intended to co-operate. It must be admitted, however, whatever may be the correctness of this general view, that instincts are not always found in a pure and unmixed state, but are susceptible of being modified from observation and experience. The consequence is, that the naturally invariable tendency of the instinct, is frequently checked and controlled; and it acquires, in that way, an appearance of flexibility, which does not belong to it in its pure state. Hence there is often seen in old animals a cunning and sagacity, which is not discoverable in those that are young; a difference, which could not exist, if both old and young were governed, in all cases, by an unmixed instinct. It is necessary that this remark should be kept in view, in considering the subject of instincts, if we are desirous of possessing a proper understanding of it. §. 103. Instances of instincts in the human mind. But it is not our design to enter particularly into the subject of the instincts of animals in this place, although this topic is undoubtedly one of exceeding interest both to the philosopher and the Christian. Such inquiries are too diverse and remote from our main object, which has particular, if not exclusive reference to the economy of human nature. There are certain instinctive tendencies in man, as well as in the inferior animals; but they are few in number; and compared with the other parts of his nature, are of subordinate importance. Some of them will now be referred to. I,-The action of respiration is thought to imply the ex |