CHAP. VII.] THE BEUTE. 239 



them, whereas now it is recognised that there is no such 

 filament, but that the walls of such tubes are simply, in fact, 

 but spirally thickened. Similarly, nerve and connective tissue, 

 bone and cartilage, tendon and muscle, are now recognised 

 as imperceptibly graduating one into the other, and being 

 actually continuous nay, even the very blood merges with, 

 and is merged with, the solid portions of the body where the 

 latter are in process of assimilating and increasing. All this, 

 however, is but natural, seeing that the whole of these parts 

 are but various differentiations of the primitive germinal 

 substance. 



Once more then, instinct appears to be a faculty of the 

 feeling, imagining, operating organically, remem- Defl nitionof 

 bering and automatically acting animal soul, which T 

 faculty is in most intimate connection with the organisation 

 of each species, so that upon the recurrence of certain sensa 

 tions, external or internal, a definite series of actions is 

 initiated, which, from the beginning of its existence, each 

 species is specially destined to perform, and for the perform 

 ance of which its organisation is specially developed. In 

 short, it is action like reflex action, but which takes place in 

 consequence of feelings or imaginings. Such instinct, like 

 the soul, of which it is a faculty, emerges from potentiality to 

 actuality pari passu with the assumption by matter of the 

 proximately fit condition ; and if it were possible for us 

 artificially to construct any given kind of animal, we should 

 necessarily give rise to the instinct in giving rise to the 

 structure. 



But some of my readers may exclaim Can such wonder 

 ful powers be latent in mere brute matter? Is Energ yof 

 it conceivable that the arrangement of matter, in n 

 whatsoever conditions, should be the occasion of evoking from 

 potentiality to act a power not only of living and reproducing, 

 but of feeling, of sensibly cognizing, of forming associations 

 of sensible images, of connecting therewith various emotions, 

 and be capable of exhibiting the complex instincts of the ant, 

 the fidelity of the dog, and the simulation of reason of the 



