244 Instinct. 



second class, by which the progress of the race is 

 mainly secured. Society is, certainly, a necessary 

 condition for the exercise of some of the instincts 

 of this class, as will be readily seen, when they are 

 mentioned. 



Prominent among the desires which belong to 

 this second class, that secure progress, are the de- 

 sire of knowledge, the desire of property, of power 

 and of esteem. The desire of knowledge, of prop- 

 erty, and of power, in a certain degree, may be ne- 

 cessary for securing life, or the best conditions of liv- 

 ing. But in man, the impulse in each of these de- 

 sires, certainly, goes beyond what the preservation 

 of life demands ; and plainly points to progress of 

 the individual and the race, as its final cause. That 

 desire of knowledge w^hich leads to study and in- 

 vestigation for its own sake, prepares the way by 

 years and ages of toil, observation and experiment, 

 for those grand discoveries in science and practical 

 applications of science, that now make the globe 

 and all its forces, the servant of man. The steam- 

 boats, telegraphs, and other marvels of our age, 

 come to us as the fruit of study, that had no prom- 

 ise of reward when the work was done. Love of 

 knowledge led men in the past, and is still leading 

 them, where there is no prospect of gain. But on 

 the other hand, the desire of property obeyed in 

 other individuals, has given that accumulation of 

 capital which makes these grand enterprises of our 

 day possible. Love of esteem in man, seems main- 

 ly for the benefit of society in securing from each 



