CHAP. V.] DUTY AND PLEASUEE. Ill 



or wrong and every other kind of mental act. Mr. Darwin 

 goes on to say : 



&quot; Moreover, an action repeatedly performed by us, will at last be 

 done without deliberation or hesitation, and can then hardly be dis 

 tinguished from an instinct ; yet surely no one will pretend that an 

 action thus done ceases to be moral. On the contrary, we all feel that 

 an act cannot be considered as perfect, or as performed in the most 

 noble manner, unless it is done impulsively, without deliberation or 

 effort, in the same manner as by a man in \\hom the requisite qualities 

 are innate.&quot; Vol. i. p. 88. 



To this must be replied, in one sense, &quot; Yes ;&quot; in another, 

 &quot; No.&quot; An action which has ceased to be directly or indi 

 rectly deliberate has ceased to be moral as a distinct act, but 

 it is moral as the continuation of those preceding deliberate 

 acts through which the good habit was originally formed, 

 and the rapidity with which the will is directed in the case 

 supposed may indicate the number and constancy of antece 

 dent meritorious volitions. Mr. Darwin seems to see this 

 more or less, as he adds : &quot; He who is forced to overcome his 

 fear or want of sympathy before he acts, deserves, however, 

 in one way higher credit than the man whose innate disposi 

 tion leads him to a good act without effort.&quot; 



Mr. Darwin gives as an illustration of the genesis of 

 remorse, 



&quot; of a temporary though for the time strongly persistent instinct 

 conquering another instinct which is usually dominant over all others,&quot; 

 the case of Swallows, which &quot; at the proper season seem all day long 

 to be impressed with the desire to migrate ; their habits change ; they 

 become restless, are noisy, and congregate 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 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 ceases to act, what an agony of remorse each bird would feel, 

 if, from being endowed with great mental activity, she could not 

 prevent the image continually passing before her mind of her young 

 ones perishing in the bleak north from cold and hunger.&quot; Vol. i. p. 90. 



Let us suppose she does suffer &quot; agony,&quot; that feeling would 

 be nothing to the purpose. What is requisite is that she shall 



