208 LIFE AND HABIT. 



their peaceful and gradual extinction as living faiths ; 

 they are also instances of the difficulty of breaking 

 through any cant or trick which we have long practised, 

 and which is not sufficiently troublesome to make it a 

 serious object with us to cure ourselves of the habit. 



" If it does not remain perfectly invariable, at least it 

 only varies within very narrow limits ; and though this 

 question has been warmly debated in our day, and is 

 yet unsettled, we may yet say that in instinct immuta- 

 bility is the law, variation the exception." 



This is quite as it should be. Genius will occasion- 

 ally rise a little above convention, but with an old con- 

 vention immutability will be the rule. 



" Such," continues M. Eibot, " are the admitted char- 

 acters of instinct." 



Yes ; but are they not also the admitted characters 

 of actions that are due to memory ? 



At the bottom of p. 15, M. Ribot quotes the following 

 from Mr. Darwin : — 



" We have reason to believe that aboriginal habits are 

 long retained under domestication. Thus with the com- 

 mon ass, we see signs of its original desert-life in its 

 strong dislike to cross the smallest stream of water, 

 and in its pleasure in rolling in the dust. The same 

 strong dislike to cross a stream is common to the camel 

 which has been domesticated from a very early period. 

 Young pigs, though so tame, sometimes squat when 

 frightened, and then try to conceal themselves, even in 

 an open and bare place. Young turkeys, and occasion- 

 ally even young fowls, when the hen gives the danger- 

 cry, run away and try to hide themselves, like young 



