128 THE DESCENT OF MA N 



A man cannot prevent past impressions often repassing 

 tlirougli his mind; he will thus he driven to make a com- 

 parison 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 

 hlameable. 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 balked 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 in- 

 stinct, 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 congregate in flocks. While 

 the mother-bird is feeding, or brooding over her nestlings, 

 the maternal instinct is probably stronger than the migra- 

 tory; but the instinct which is the more persistent 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 



as hatred of another for some excellence or success; and Bacon in- 

 sists (Essay ix), ** Of all other affections envy is the most importune 

 and conthiual." 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 persistent 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. If this be so, it would be a small step in any 

 one to transfer such feelings to any member of the same tribe if he 

 had done him an injury and had become his enemy. Nor is it 

 probable that the primitive conscience would reproach a man for in- 

 juring his enemy; rather it would reproach 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 instincts, together with sympathy, should have 

 been highly cultivated and extended by the aid ot reason, instruc- 

 ti(m, and the love or fear of God, before any such golden rule would 

 ever be thought of and obeyed. 



