JlIAP. IV. 



Moral Sense. 



1*3 



A man cannot prevent past impressions often repassing through 

 his mind ; he will thus be driven to make a comparison between 

 the impressions of past hunger, vengeance satisfied, or danger 

 shunned at other men's cost, with the almost ever-present 

 instinct of sympathy, and with his early knowledge of what 

 others consider as praiseworthy or blameable. This knowledge 

 cannot be banished from his mind, and from instinctive sympathy 

 is esteemed of great moment. He will then feel as if he had 

 been baulked in following a present instinct or habit, and this 

 with all animals causes dissatisfaction, or even misery. 



The above case of the swallow affords an illustration, though 

 of a reversed nature, of a temporary though for the time strongly 

 persistent instinct conquering another instinct, which is usually 

 dominant over all others. At the proper season these birds 

 seem all day long to be impressed with the desire to migrate ; 

 their habits change ; they become restless, are noisy, and con- 

 gregate in flocks. Whilst the mother-bird is feeding, or brooding- 

 over her nestlings, the maternal instinct is probably stronger 

 than the migratory ; but the instinct which is the more persis- 

 tent gains the victory, and at last, at a moment when her young- 

 ones are not in sight, she takes flight and deserts them. When 

 arrived at the end of her long journey, and the migratory 

 instinct has ceased to act, what an agony of remorse the bird 

 would feel, if, from being endowed with great mental activity, 

 she could not prevent the image constantly passing through her 

 mind, of her young ones perishing in the bleak north from cold 

 and hunger. 



fined as hatred of another for some 

 excellence or success; and Bacon 

 insists (Essay ix.), " Of all other 

 " affections envy is the most im- 

 " portune and continual." Dogs are 

 very apt to hate both strange men 

 and strange dogs, especially if they 

 live near at hand, but do not belong 

 to the same family, tribe, or clan ; 

 this feeling would thus seem to be 

 innate, and is certainly a most per- 

 sistent one. It seems to be the 

 complement and converse of the 

 true social instinct. From what 

 we hear of savages, it would appear 

 that something of the same kind 

 holds good with them. It' this be 

 so, it would be a small step in 

 tny one to transfer such feelings to 

 \qv member of the same tribe if he 



had done him an injury and had 

 become his enemy. Nor is it pro- 

 bable that the primitive conscience 

 would reproach a man for injuring 

 his enemy : rather it would re- 

 proach him, if he had not revenged 

 himself. To do good in return for 

 evil, to love your enemy, is a height 

 of morality to which it may be 

 doubted whether the social instincts 

 would, by themselves, have ever led 

 us. It is necessary that these in- 

 stincts, together with sympathy, 

 should have been highly cultivated 

 and extended by the aid of reason, 

 instruction, and the love or fear of 

 God, before any such golden rule 

 would ever be thought of ami 

 obeyed. 



