INSTINCT. 



laying of a ftick, with all the other nefts of the fame fpe- 

 eies. It cannot be reafnn ; for were animals endued with 

 it to as great a degree as man, their bviiidings w«uld be as 

 different as cur's, according to the different conveniences 

 that they would propofe to thtmfelves." Seme birds dif- 

 play a wonderful fliare of fagacity in the protels of incu- 

 bation and in rearing their yoimg. Without attentive and 

 cautious obfervation, one woidd be a!moft pofitive, that in 

 .every ftep they are guided by reafon. But it is eafy to 

 fliew that this is not the cafe. Let us take a very familiar 

 inltance : a hen feeks a lllcnt and an unfrequented place for 

 her neit ; when fhe has laid her eggs and began to cover 

 them, ftie takes care to turn tiiem frequently, that the vital 

 warmth may be communicated to all parts of them. When 

 fhe is obhge.i to leave them, in order to procure food, fhe 

 is fureto return before they have time to cool, which would 

 j*ender tliem incapable of producing chickens. In fumnier 

 ihe will often flay away for two hours ; but in winter, when 

 the cold would deflroy the principle of life, fhe flays away 

 a much fliorter tim-.-. When the birth approaches, with 

 how much nicety and attention does fhe help the little ones 

 to break their prifon. When brought forth, how cauti- 

 oufly does {he cover them from tlie injuries of the weather, 

 provide them proper nourifhment, and teach them to help 

 themfelves. It deferves alfo to be remarked, that fhe forfakes 

 the neft if, after the ufual time of reckoning, the young do 

 not begin to make their appearance. Can any thing have a 

 greater appearance of reafon and fagacity than all this. 

 '» But, at the fame time, the hen that has all this fecniing 

 ingenuity (which is indeed abfohitely neceffary for the pro- 

 pagation of the fpecies), conlidered in other refpefts has 

 not the leafl glimmering of thought or common fenfe. 

 She miltakes a piece of chalk for an egg ; and fits upon it 

 in the fame manner ; fhe is infenllble of any increafe or di- 

 minution in the number of thofe fhe lays ; fhe does not 

 diftinguifh between her own and thofe of another fpecies ; 

 and when the birth appears of ever fo different a bird will 

 cherifh it for her own. In all thefe circuniilar.ces, which do 

 not carry an immediate regard to the fubliftence of herlelf 

 pr her fpecies, fhe is a very idiol." None of thefe inllances 

 juftifies the doftrine, '• that animals, in all their natural ope- 

 rations, acl with a view to confequences." To confirm our 

 reafoning and opinion flill farther, out of the numberlefs 

 examples afforded us by Natural Hidory, we fliall content 

 ourfelves with one, which, if we miftake not very mucli, is 

 decifive of thisquflion. This we take from the operations 

 of the bee, as it feems to aft with a view to confequences, and 

 to be, as was faid of the ant, " baud ignara et non incauta 

 futuri.' Let us attend a little to the iliructure of a honey- 

 comb. The cells of the bees are equal and fimilar ; and of 

 the three pofTible ways in which this can be etfetled, they have 

 chofon the befl for holding their honey and rearing their 

 youpg. The cells are built on both fides : they may then 

 be placed exadly oppoliie one another, fo that two wou'd 

 lefl upon the fame bottom ; or tliey may be fo placed, that 

 the bottom of one will relt upon the point where the par- 

 titions meet on the oppolite fide. Tiiis latter mode gives 

 them more llrength^ and they nre accordingly built thus. 

 Further, the bottoms of tiie cells are not planes perpendi- 

 cular to the fides, but conlilV of three planes meeting in a 

 folid agk-in the centre, exaftly where the partitions on the 

 oppofite fide crofs one another. And it has been demon- 

 j;rated, that this makes tlie ceils fimilar without Infs of room, 

 and confiderably fpares both labour and materials. Thus, 

 then. It IS fhewn, that bees build their cells fo as as lofe no 

 room ; to liave no ufelefs partitions ; in the flrongell polfi- 

 Vle Bianuvr ; aod willi the Kail polFible expe .ce of labour 



and materials. All this, as far as geometry and mathemav 

 tics can fhew it, has been rigoroufly demonflrated by Mt. 

 Maclaurin, and proves them, on the fuppofition that they act 

 with a view to confequences in this inltance, more (killed in 

 both thefe inftances than the moft philofophical and learned 

 men ; and that too from the earliefl ages. But as this is a 

 doftrine too improbable to be infilled upon, we muft rather 

 conclude, that the bees, although they act geometrically, 

 underfland neither the rules nor the principles of the 

 arts which they pradife with fuch accuracy ; but that the 

 geometry in this inflance is in the Maker of the bee, 

 " that Great Geometer, who made all things in number, 

 weight, and meafure." ( Reid's Aftive Powers of Mas, 

 and the London Philofopiiical Tranfadions.) Were a man 

 to conltrucl fo nice a piece of workmanfhip as a honey- 

 comb, we should immediately conclude, that he worked 

 according to rule, and underftood the principles upon which 

 he proceeded. Is it neceffary to remark, that we have no 

 reafon whatever for thinking, that bees underfland one or the 

 other I In the moft complicated works of human con- 

 trivance, a man of equal knowledge and ll<ill will compre- 

 hend tfie principles and general deiign of the artill : but 

 to uncferftand the rules and principles, which are fo rigo- 

 rouflv adhered to in the conllrutling of a honeycomb, is,, 

 and will always be, beyond the comprehenfion of the far 

 greatell part of mankind. The few inllances of animal 

 in/IinSive operations, which we have now briefly detailed, 

 will, we hope, be fufficient for the prefent : they corre- 

 fpond fully with our notion and explanation of inftinft, and 

 fcrve our purpofe, as well as a million of inftances crowded 

 together. But it is objefted, that this inftindl, which we 

 call a limple, original principle, accommodates itfelf to cir- 

 cumftances ; that it is improved by experience and imita- 

 tion ; that no fuch accommodation to circumftances can 

 take place without reafoning, or a comparifon of ideas ; 

 and, therefore, that tliis principle of the conftitution of the 

 lower animals is not injlinff, but rettfon. The inftances to 

 prove that inftincf accommodates itfelf to circumftances are 

 numerous. Birds ftay away from their eggs longer in warm 

 than cold weather. Theollrich in Senegal, where the heat is 

 great, negledts her eggs during the day, but fits on them 

 during the night : but at the Cape of Good Hope, where 

 the heat is lefs, flie fits on them both night and day. In 

 countries infefted with monkies, birds, which in other cH» 

 males build iii buflies and clefts of trees, fufpend their nefls 

 upon flender twigs, and thus elude their enemies. The 

 fame fpecies of birds build their nefts differently, when cli- 

 mate and circumftances require it. We have numberlefs 

 inllances of this accommodation to circumftances in the 

 pairing inlliiKls of animals. None, it has been obferved, 

 ever pair, except thofe whofe young require the nurfing 

 care of both the parents. The extent and continuance of 

 the parental care are in the proportion of the wants and help. 

 lefliiefs of the young. When the wants of the young 

 ceafe, the mother withdraws her fondnefs, and leaves them 

 to provide for themfelves ; but the love of the parent may 

 be lengthened out beyond iis ufual time, as we fee in birds, 

 which continue to feed their young, if they are tied to the 

 neil, or confined within a ca,;e, or by any other means ap- 

 pear to be out of a condition of fuppKing their own ne- 

 celfities. This Ml inftance, whilft it very iinely exemplifies 

 an accommodating inftinft, affords the happiell proof of 

 the guiu-dian care of a kind and parental Providence. In 

 aiifuer to the objedlion which thefe fatts contain, it may be 

 firll obferved, that taking inllinft, as it is generally de- 

 fined, to be a principle in the conftitution of animals, given 

 them by their Maker, for the purpofe of preferving the 



individuals 



