242 Instinct. 



the appetite for food, which, in the animal, will 

 take care of itself, — in man, becomes the occasion 

 of study, of experiment, and of discussion. It not 

 only aids in building up the body, but it calls upon 

 the mind for counsel, as to how it may best perform 

 its work. 



In all that relates to the sexes, we recognize 

 strong impulses from Appetite and Instinct, but in 

 every direction see the need of control and restraint 

 from some power entirely distinct from the appe- 

 tite, or the instincts connected with it. 



To say nothing of the mistakes of marriage, 

 where even Reason and Pride are not strong enough 

 to prevent wretchedness, we often see the instinct- 

 ive love of parents ruining their children, in its 

 blind efforts to secure their good. Conjugal, pa- 

 rental, and filial affections are as purely instinctive 

 in men as in the brutes, and belong primarily to the 

 animal nature — have their first impulses from that. 

 But in man, they may be the source of suffering and 

 degradation, defeating the end for which they were 

 given, or they may extend much farther than it is 

 possible for them to, among animals, and be lifted 

 up into a sphere of beauty and permanence, un- 

 known to animal life ; mingling with all the in- 

 stincts and powers of that higher nature, by which 

 they must be controlled, if at all. 



Husbands and wives, parents and children ! 

 We have but to look abroad in the world to see 

 that the relations which these words suggest, pro- 

 duce the greatest blessings and the greatest suffer- 

 ings which this world knows, — and that all the suf- 



