28 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



untenable. A sacrifice it may be, but not a self-sacrifice as we 

 understand that phrase at the present day. 



In like manner, also, the beautiful gold-tail moth (Porthesia 

 chrysorrhcea), so well known for the soft downy plumage of its 

 wings, and the large round tuft of golden hairs xipon the end of 

 its body, robs itself of the latter adornment after it has laid its 

 eggs, and shelters the future brood with an elegant thatch, com- 

 posed of those downy hairs. Yet there is no self-sacrifice in- 

 volved in the act, which is as purely instinctive as that of laying 

 the eggs ; and I do not believe that the insect has the least idea 

 of the future prospects of the eggs, or possesses any foreknow- 

 ledge of the snow and bitter frost of the coming winter. Even 

 if she did know that she was depriving herself of a natural 

 adornment for the sake of her offspring, the act would lose little 

 of its instinctive character, and may find a parallel in humanity, 

 when a fond mother devotes the once-cherished robes of her 

 bridehood to her babe, and feels the keenest enjoyment in wrap- 

 ping the costly furs and sheeny satins around its little limbs. 



So with the ordinary incubation of birds. Didactic writers 

 are in the habit of holding up for our admiration the conduct of 

 the bird who leaves all her accustomed pleasures, and submits 

 to a voluntary imprisonment in her nest until her eggs are 

 hatched. These writers are entirely wrong, inasmuch as they 

 assign to the lower animals certain attributes which belong 

 only to man. I do not intend to depreciate in any way the 

 faculties of the animal creation. On the contrary, I believe that 

 the lower animals are endowed with gifts more extended than 

 we generally suppose. But, as has already been remarked, we 

 must not judge them by our own standard ; and, instead of ele- 

 vating them to our position, we should try to lower ourselves to 

 theirs. By doing so there is nothing derogatory to the pre- 

 eminence of human nature. We know that the best school- 

 master is not merely he who is the best scholar, but he who 

 possesses the faculty of descending from his lofty elevation, of 

 identifying himself with his pupils, and, for the time, sharing 

 their ignorance, and so placing himself in their position. In 

 like manner, the best naturalist is not necessarily he who has 

 read the most about animals, nor he who attributes to them the 

 feelings which he himself would experience in similar situations ; 

 but he who can divest himself, for the nonce, of his superiority. 



