60 
FIRST CLASS OF THE VERTEBRATED ANIMALS. 
Ws own motions and those of -the Horse. At first, it is only by a great effort of tho 
Mind, that he can perform any one of the requisite movements ; afterwards he is able 
to execute two motions at once, and at length he performs them all simultaneously. 
But after a little practice, the effort of the mind becomes less necessary, he ceases to 
pay any attention to the act. In a word, it is no longer an Intelligent action, but it 
becomes Instinctive. If the Horse make a movement in opposition to the Bridle, 
instantly the motion of the Horse communicates to the body of its liJer that counter- 
motion proper to restore the equilibrium. This is done also without the slightest re- 
fiection, like the winking of the eye, or the turn of the head when a blow is threatened. 
The power of Hefiection would arrive too late for the desired purpose, and it is there- 
fore supplied by an action purely Instinctive. 
These differ from the other kind of Instinctive actions only in their orl^n, being 
acquired by Habit, Instead of being imparted by Nature. 
The transformation of Intelligence into Instinct is capable among many animals of 
being transmitted to their descendants. We are assured that when Rabbits are kept 
for a long course of years in places where they are unable to burrow, they give birth 
to races which are not naturally disposed to form these subterranean retreats. Leroy 
informs us that young Foxes, bom in countries which are thickly peopled, show, even 
before quitting their kennel, a much greater degree of cunning and prudence than 
those living in countries uninhabited by Man, and where they have few enemies to fear 
or to avoid. Certain races of Dogs are naturally adapted for Hunting, to which they 
betake themselves Instinctively, and writhout any training, while other kinds of Dogs, 
such as tho Bull-dog, do not course naturally, hlorc instances of occasional habits 
being transformed into permanent Instincts, and transmitted as such to their descend- 
ants, might here be enumerated. But having treated of animak as individuals, we 
must now view them in those societies which they form among themselves, and trace 
the various forms of the Social Instinct. 
GENERAL REVIEW OF THE MAMMALIA CONTINUED. 
The Social Instinct — Occasional attachments of the Unsociable species — Social 
habits of a herd or troop of wild animah — All the domestic animals are 
naturally sociable. 
It has long been admitted, that the love of Society is an original principle of tho 
Human Mind, one which precedes all reflection and all knowledge. “ Man,*' says 
Montesquieu, ** is bom insocietVr and there he remains.” A kind of Instinct over- 
powers him, and prevails as well in the most savage hordes as among the most culti- 
vated nations. ** Send I^Iah to the solitude of the desert, he is a plant tom from 
his roots. The form remains, it is true, but every faculty decays ; the human per- 
sonage and character alike cease to exist.” 
This Instinctive feeling is equally prevalent among the low'cr animals as with Man, 
and it is equally an original principle. It can neither be regarded as an intelligent phe- 
nomenon, nor as the result of habit. We find but slight traces of the love of Society 
ih many species which possess a very high degree of inteUigenco, and it would seem 
that the greatest as well as most remarkable instances of it are found in the lower 
classes of animals, such as the Insects. 
The proofs that it is not the result of habit are equally convincing. If it pro- 
ceeded from Education, or from the inflaence of parents over their young, these 
causes would act with equal force upon all animals which are dependent for the same 
period of timo upon their parents. The Bears, which tend and bring up their young 
equally as long as the Dogs, and with the same tenderness and solicitude, ought then 
to be equally sociable. Yet the Bear is essentially a solitary animal. Further, we 
find with all IMammalia that tho influence of Habit never can prevail over the Instinct 
of Nature, that the Social Instinct lies dormant in some species of animals, although 
they have never had an opportunity of exercising it, and that it disappears in those 
species which are not intended for a permanent state of society, although the utmost 
care be taken to preserve its existence. The uniform experience of the lilenageric 
proves that IVIammalia, naturally sociable, are always ready to form attachments, al- 
though brought up from their earliest moments in solitude. M. F. Cuvier observed 
this fact on comparing Dogs with very ferocious Wolves, both kinds being reared in 
the strictest solitude. The Social Instinct showed itself in the Dogs as soon as they 
had recovered their liberty. Oh the other hand, young Stags, which, in the first 
years of their Uves, formed herds and lived together in society, separated permanently 
from each other when they had arrived at the age of puberty. The early habits 
and the social Instinct of the last mentioned anima l? became equally effaced by time. 
A great number of Mammalia form connexions which are necessarily of a very 
temporary kind, as they are founded only upon those appetites which disappear when 
gratified. With these species, the males and females seek each other's society only 
during the rutting season. The female attends her young with the utmost affection, 
and defends their lives at the peril of her own, from the moment of their birth ; and 
this affectionate regard continues on her part as long as her breasts arc capable of 
secreting milk. Also the attachment is reciprocal on the part of the offspring, as 
long as they require her to provide for their wants. But as soon as the rutting sea- 
son is over, tUe males absent themselves ; as soon as tho breasts of the mother cease 
to secrete milk, and the young can procure their own food, all attachment is at an end ; 
the temporary union is dissolved, and they live apart in the most perfect state of es- 
trangement. Then the slight trace of social habits which they had contracted in their 
infancy is effaced, each animal becomes a solitary individual, and shifts fur itself. The 
wants of the one animal form the principal obstacle to a neighbour in satisfying its 
own. This opposition of interest brings on enmity and war, which is the habitual 
state of all solitary animals in respect to their own species. Among them, force is 
the only law. The feeblor animal avoids the stronger, and dies in its turn if it can- 
not find a still more feeble animal to destroy, or another solitude to inhabit. This is 
the order of things which prevails among all the species of the Cat tribe, among 
the Martins, the Hyienas, and the Bears. We find ifc in all those animals which have 
no other wants than such as tend cither to the preservation of the individual, or to 
the continuance of the species; and these passions, so far from being the causa of the 
Social Instinct, as some philosophers have imagined, are manifestly opposed to all social 
intercourse. 
The examples which have just been adduced are afforded by animals presenting 
habits of the most solitary kind. Nature, however, does not pass at once to tho truly 
Social species. Other animals possess the Social instinct in different degrees, and mo- 
dified more or less by o her instincts. We find traces of a permanent union in that 
attachment which exists between the Wolf and his female, even beyond the rutting 
time. Tho same pair appear to be remotely connected to each other during their 
entire lifetime, although they only form an intimate union during the rutting season. 
At other times they go aliout alone, each seeking it? own food, and If they be some- 
times seen to bunt in company, it is more from their having the same pursuit than 
from any Social feebng. The influence of these casual meetings in developing the 
Social instinct is but slight, and hence the Wolf easily bears a complete separation 
from bis companion. 
The Roe-bucks (^Cervus Capreolus) are an instance of a higher degree of Social 
Instinct, but still not in its full extent. Among these animals, the male and female 
continue always together; they share the same retreat, feed in the same pastures, and 
run the same chances of fortune. If one of them perish the other does not survive, 
unless it can find consolation in another individual of a different sex, and in the same 
solitary condition. But the affection of those animals for each other is exclusive ; 
they do not differ from the solitary animals in respect to their young, an<l they 
always separate from the latter as soon as their presence is no longer indispensable for 
their preservation. 
In a union such as that last described, the mutual influence of the two individuals 
is very limited. There is neither rivalry nor subordination, and they acquire habits of 
the most perfect harmony. 
It is different with those numerous animals which are naturally sociable, and live 
together in bands or troops, although their individual interests are often at variance. 
We here see the Social principle in its full extent, and to a degree which may almost 
be compared to human societies. It is not merely confined to tho union of individuals 
in a family ; but it holds together numerous families, and maintains peace among 
hundreds of individuals of either sex and of every age. All tho individuals of the same 
herd know each other, and are mutually attached according to the relations which cir- 
cumstances and their individual qualities have established among them. Harmony 
reigns until some foreign cause appears. But this mutual feebng exists only for tho 
other individuals of the same herd. A stranger is at first refused admittance, almost 
always they fall upon him as an enemy, and ill-treatment usually compels him to fiy. 
On the other band, with every isolated individual the love of society is a want which 
must bo satisfied. At first he follows them at a distance, he gradually approaches, 
and for the sake of being admitted, gives up his natural will to that point where the 
instinct of self-preservation urges him either to defend himself or to fly. 
We may be able to exhibit the state of society which prevails in the troops of wild 
animals by tracing the life of a young individual from its birth until it becomes the leader 
of the herd. From the moment that it ceases to be nourished entirely by milk, and 
to venture out of the ring under the conduct of its mother, it begins to recognise tho 
surrounding localities, its food, and the features of the other members of the herd. 
The mutud relations of the latter had been previously determined by tho incidents of 
their growth and education, and these same causes exercise a similar influence upon 
the young animal, whose progress we are now tracing. It can neither fight with the 
older animals to establish its superiority, nor can it avoid them by deserting tho herd: 
it is not strong enough for the foivner course, and is prevented from the latter by tho 
Social Instinct. Submission is therefore its only resort. Whenever any circumstance 
arises which places its interest in opposition to that of the others, tlic most feeble 
animal is of course sacrificed. In this case, it roust either yield to necessity or escape 
by stratagem. This is, in fact, the situation of all young Mammalia in the middle 
of the herd. They arc very soon taught both the extent of their liberty and of their 
strength. If they be in a troop of Carnivora, such as tho Wild Dogs, when a prey 
has been bunted down, each individual shares in it, according to the authority which 
ho has been able to exercise over the others. The young animals are left to feed 
only upon the remains of the feast, or upon such bits as they can carry off by stealth. 
They attempt to appropriate a few fragments, or to slip in behind the others, happy if 
they can escape the blows which the older animals deal unsparingly. In this manner, 
they feed largely if the prey be abundant, but if scarce they die of hunger. By this 
continual exercise of authority wbi(;h the older animals sway over the younger, the 
obedience of the latter is confirmed, and becomes with them a fixed habit. 
Meantime, the young animals increase in age and strength. Other things being 
tho same, they do not prevail in a battle with those which have preceded them by one 
or two years, but they are more nimble and vigorous than tho younger individuals 
which have have just made their appearance. If force alone prevailed iu these socie- 
ties, the last-mentioned animals would have to yield obedience to the former, but this 
does not usually happen. Tho relations which custom has established are preserved, 
and if the society be conducted by a leader, it is tho oldest animal which possesses the 
greatest power. His authority, which originated in force, preserves itself by that 
habit of obedience which tlm others have acquired through time. HU influenco ob- 
tains a kind of moral force, founded as much upon confidence as on fear. It ceases 
to be contested ; and it is only those single or combined authorities which are in course 
of being established that meet with opposition, which they always encounter when 
the object is one that does not admit of being shared. A joint or combined author- 
ity of several animals requires only an equality of strength, aided by a strong social 
instinct, and the habit of living together in the same course of life. Tho wild 
sociable animals do not fight oxcapt when excited by some violent passion ; and if 
except the cases where they have to defend their lives, the possession of their females, 
or the latter the safety of her young, they feel no mutual rivalry. The absolute 
superiority of one animal over another is assorted only when it becomes impossible t® 
share the object : then contests begin, especially during the rutting season. Indee i 
