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CHAPTER VII. 



THE BRUTE. 



&quot; The highest psychical powers of animals resemble the lower psy 

 chical faculties of man. The brute is devoid of reason, and instinct 

 is a peculiar function of the material organism, automatic and blind.&quot; 



IN the preceding chapter the nature of man, the rational 

 Necessity of animal, could not be investigated without by im- 



Bome recapit- , . . . , . 



ulation. plication, and indeed more or less directly, treating 

 of the irrational creation considered in contrast with him. 

 Here, where our purpose is to endeavour to gather what 

 lesson we may from a consideration of the highest activities 

 which brutes manifest, it will be necessary to reconsider 

 some of the matters already treated of in our examination of 

 the nature of man. Thus some recapitulation is unavoidable 

 save at the sacrifice of clearness and cogency. 



The highest activities of irrational animals are those 

 sensitive and emotional ones which constitute the functional 

 exercise of their nervous system, and especially characteristic 

 of animal nature is that form of nervous activity called 

 &quot; Instinct.&quot; 



The question as to the true nature of &quot; Instinct &quot; is one 

 instinct, which has been much discussed of late, and is 



mode of . 1 



studying it. considered by many persons to be peculiarly 

 difficult. It is, in fact, attended with some peculiar 

 difficulty, because not only are we unable to make brute 

 psychosis a part of our own consciousness, but we are 

 also debarred from learning it by any process similar 

 to that which enables us to enter into the minds of our 

 fellow-men -namely, rational speech. The instincts of 



