THE RELIGION OF NATURE 



instinct to do the best for itself, because this habit 

 has worked down through its ancestors for the 

 good of the race. The animal is, of course, quite 

 unconscious of the meaning of its conduct. With 

 all our learning we, human beings, could not 

 understand it until Darwin unlocked the door of 

 knowledge of evolution. 



But although the affection of domestic animals 

 for man may ordinarily be limited as above, all 

 readers who are really fond of horses, dogs, or 

 cats know that sometimes it seems to go much 

 further. They see nobility of character in the 

 horse which, though a timid animal by nature, will 

 brave any peril in its master's service. They see 

 even greater nobility in the character of the dog, 

 which, in spite of ill-usage often, will follow its 

 owner faithfully to the end, even refusing per- 

 haps to leave his grave. In the cat, too, they see 

 pathetic devotion when it returns over long dis- 

 tances, footsore, weary, and hungry, to its old 

 home. 



Yet it is only because we insist upon looking at 

 the actions of animals from the human point of 

 view that such conduct appears to transcend the 

 limits of mere animal instincts. Scientifically re- 

 garded, it furnishes us instead with evidence of 

 instinct's limitations. 



Take the case of the horse, for instance. As a 

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