32 INTERNAL ANATOMY OF INSECTS. 
that instinct is purely intellectual. I have already given 
you my opinion a , that it is not the effect of any imme- 
diate agency of the Deity ; nor am I prepared to assent 
to the doctrine of a writer, who has in some respects 
written ably on the subject in question, who says, that 
" the Divine Energy does in reality act not immediately, 
but mediately, or through the medium of moral and in- 
tellectual influences upon the nature or consciousness of 
the creature, in the production of the various, and in 
many instances truly wonderful, actions which they per- 
form b ." The same objection applies to this as to so 
many other metaphysical theories, that it is not adequately 
supported by facts ; and all theories not so supported 
are injurious to science in proportion as their plausibi- 
lity is greater, by leading the student to relax in that 
observation of nature and attentive study of the instincts 
of animals, on which alone sound hypothesis on this 
subject can be ultimately founded. 
I shall conclude these remarks on the nature of in- 
stinct with a few observations as to the circumstances in 
which insects may be supposed to be guided by this fa- 
culty, and those in which intellect seems to direct them. 
The bee, when it takes its flight to a field where flowers 
abound, is governed by intellect in the use of its senses ; 
for these are given to it as guides : and when it arrives 
there, they direct it to the flowers, and enable it to as- 
certain which contains the treasures it is in search of; 
but having made this discovery, its instinct teaches it to 
imbibe the nectar and load its hind legs with pollen. — 
Again : its senses, aided by memory, enable it to retrace 
■ Voi... II. p. 463, 5. b Zoological Journal, n°. i. 5. 
