230 THE PHILOSOPHY OF BIRDS' NESTS. 



faculties at all approaching in variety and extent to 

 those of man. I simply hold that the phenomena 

 presented by their mode of building their nests, when 

 fairly compared with those exhibited by the great mass 

 of mankind in building their houses, indicate no essen- 

 tial difference in the kind or nature of the mental facul- 

 ties employed. If instinct means anything, it means 

 the capacity to perform some complex act without 

 teaching or experience. It implies innate ideas of a 

 very definite kind, and, if established, would overthrow 

 Mr. Mill's sensationalism and all the modern philosophy 

 of experience. That the existence of true instinct may 

 be established in other cases is not impossible, but in 

 the particular instance of birds' nests, which is usually 

 considered one of its strongholds, I cannot find a par- 

 ticle of evidence to show the existence of anything 

 beyond those lower reasoning and imitative powers, 

 which animals are universally admitted to possess. 



