Reason and Instinct. 2337 



certain end are called rational actions ; and the end in view is the 

 motive to their performance. Instinctive actions have a cause, viz., 

 the internal impulse by which they are spontaneously performed ; but 

 they cannot be said to have a motive, because they are not done with 

 any view to consequences. Thus a man gives charity in order to re- 

 lieve a person from want : he fights for his country in order to repel 

 its enemies. Each of these actions is performed from a motive, and 

 therefore they are rational actions. An infant is impelled to suck the 

 breast, but he knows not that it is necessary for his preservation. It 

 is an action that has no motive, and therefore is not rational ; but as 

 it is performed by a spontaneous exertion of the infant it is not to be 

 attributed to mere mechanism : * it is therefore an instinctive action." 



The first question, then, is, Do the brutes, or any of them, in addi- 

 tion to their " instinctive actions," perform others which may rightly 

 be termed " rational actions f " Do they ever, in any part of their 

 conduct, afford instances of actions — over and above those performed 

 in virtue of that internal impulse w T hich causes their spontaneous ac- 

 complishment — that give evidence of their having been done with 

 some end in view as a motive to action ? Do they ever appear to 

 judge of or draw conclusions from things self-evident ? And, in answer 

 to these questions, I think abundance of instances may be alleged 

 which will fully warrant an unqualified affirmative reply. Take the 

 dog, the horse, the elephant, the pig, — even the ass and the goose, 

 creatures whose names are proverbs for stupidity and simpleness, — 

 and hosts of examples may be produced of actions performed by them 

 that are clearly rational, inasmuch as they are characterized by regard 

 to an end, by connexion of effect with cause, by evident judgment on 

 matters of fact. 



With respect to the dog, so many are the tales on record, which 

 would amply serve our purpose, that one is at a loss to select from 

 them. I will, however, instead of selecting from any that may be al- 

 ready before the public, rather mention one or two instances which 

 have occurred under my own observation, or been narrated to me by 

 a late officer of the Indian army, who w T as fully assured of the entire 

 truth of his narrative. To begin : I was one day fishing in the Wye, 

 accompanied by a Scotch terrier, the property of a neighbouring 

 clerical friend. While I was engaged in my pursuit, Pepper was busy 

 hunting a narrow bed of reeds just below me. In a few moments I 



* " The action of breathing is mechanical, being performed without either motive 

 or spontaneous exertion." 



