CHAP. XIV.] ITS NATURE AND ORIGIN. 225 



more involved : if the organization of the species is so far 

 developed as to be impressible by these terms in close 

 succession ; then, an inner relation corresponding to this 

 new outer relation will gradually be formed, and will, 

 in the end, become organic. And so on in subsequent 

 stages of progress." 



This clustering together and mutual dependence of the 

 organic representatives of certain impressions and acts, 

 might be expected to take place more especially in con- 

 nection with an animal's search after, capture and dis- 

 posal of, food ; with the construction of their habitations, 

 or the seeking out of places of shelter ; also, in reference 

 to the successive incidents of their amours, to the best 

 disposal of their eggs (with possible migrations to effect 

 this object), or to the proper care of their young till they 

 are capable of looking after themselves. This, however, 

 covers the ground of most of the so-called Instincts, 

 which, as H. Spencer says, are to be regarded as " or- 

 ganized and inherited habits" of a more or less intricate 

 character. 



In all the more complex Instinctive Acts, we have in 

 fact to do with a more or less prolonged series of impres- 

 sions and interpolated muscular movements associated 

 very closely, and following one another with a regularity 

 only a little less marked than that which characterizes 

 the sequence of impressions and movements in those 

 ' reflex acts ' described in a previous chapter. Instincts 

 are therefore very correctly regarded as serial aggregations 

 of such reflex acts, and accordingly they have also been 

 named by Herbert Spencer ' compound reflex actions.' 



Although each of the component acts may (like reflex 

 acts in general) present purposive characters, and, though 

 they may be all combined so as to lead to a definite 

 end, there is no reason for believing that such ' ends ' are, 



Q 



