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. 108 
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 
