THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



187 



for it sometimes does ; its actions, therefore, being elec- 

 tive and conditional, are in a measure the result of calcu- 

 lation. 



The mistakes and variations of instinct are indications 

 that animals have something more — a limited range of 

 that principle of Intelligence so luminous in Man. No 

 precise line can be drawn between instinctive and intel- 

 ligent acts ; all we can say is, there is more freedom of 

 choice in the latter than the former ; and that some ani- 

 mals are most instinctive, others most intelligent. Thus, 

 we speak of the instinct of the Ant, Bee, and Beaver, 

 and the intelligence of the Elephant, Dog, and Monkey. 

 Instinct loses its peculiar character as intelligence becomes 

 developed. Ascending from the Worm and Oyster to 

 the Bee, we see the movements become more complex in 

 character and more special in their objects ; but instinct 

 is supreme. Still ascending, we observe a gradual fading- 

 away of the instincts, till they become subordinate to 

 higher faculties — will and reason. We can predict with 

 considerable certainty the actions of animals guided by 

 pure instinct ; but in proportion as they possess the power 

 of adapting means to ends, the more variable their actions. 

 Thus, the architecture of Birds is not so uniform as that 

 of Insects. 102 



We must credit brutes with a certain amount of obser- 

 vation and imitation, curiosity and cunning, memory and 

 reason. Animals have been seen to pause, deliberate, or 

 experiment, and resolve. The Elephant and Horse, Dog 

 and Monkey, particularly, participate in the rational nat- 

 ure of Man, up to a certain point. Thinking begins wher- 

 ever there is an intentional adaptation of means to ends ; 

 for that involves the comparison and combination of ideas. 

 Animals interchange ideas : the whine of a Dog at the 

 door on a cold night certainly implies that he wants to 

 be let in. Bees and Ants, it is well known, confer by 



