Habit and Instinct, 421 



intellect and reason ; but these brilliant qualities would be 

 sorely perplexed, and the machinery would soon come to a 

 standstill, but for certain unobtrusive, habitual activities 

 which are already as well trained in the routine work of 

 life as are the permanent clerks in the routine work of a 

 Government office. 



The importance of the establishment of these habitual 

 activities is immense. As the muscular and other re- 

 sponses of ordinary everyday life become habitual, the 

 mind is, so to speak, set free from any special care with 

 regard to their regulation and co-ordination, and can be 

 concentrated on the end to be attained by such activities. 

 The cat that is creeping stealthily upon the bird has all 

 her attention rivetted on the object of her appetence, and 

 has not to trouble herself about the movements of her 

 body and limbs. When the swallows are wheeling over 

 our heads in the summer air, their sweeping curves and 

 graceful evolutions are not the outcome of careful planning, 

 but are just the normal exercise of activities which from 

 long practice have become habitual. To swim, to skate, 

 to cycle, to row, to play the piano] or the violin, — all these 

 require our full attention at first. But with practice they 

 become habitual, and during their performance the atten- 

 tion may be devoted to quite other matters. This is a 

 great gain. Without it complex trains of activities could 

 not be performed with ease by man or beast. 



When once habits have been firmly established, their 

 normal performance is accompanied by a sense of satisfac- 

 tion. But if their performance is prevented or thwarted, 

 there arises a sense of want or dissatisfaction. The pining 

 of a caged wild animal for liberty is a craving for the free 

 performance of its habitual activities. In an animal born 

 into captivity the craving is probably less intense, though, 



I for reasons which will presently become evident, it is 

 presumably by no means absent. Animals are, to a very 

 large extent, creatures of habit. Much of the pleasure of 

 their existence lies in the performance of habitual activities. 

 Our zoological gardens, interesting as they are to us, are 



