but lately introduced to any fort of decent com merce. The doctor enjoyed a reputable profes fion, a patrimony of five thousand pounds, and an extenfive family-intereft; the officer had ten pounds in his pocket, was one hundred and fifty in debt to his taylor, and enjoyed a lieutenant's commiffion; which, by the bye, he owed to the intereft of the physician's father. The doctor wore a fair perriwig, and a plain suit of clothes; the officer his own hair in a bag, an embroidered coat, a cockade in his hat, and ftone-buckles in his fhoes; and these were the particulars that, in the lady's opinion, eclipfed all the qualities of the phyfician. I fhall conclude this comparison with obferving, that the doctor, had he been fo minded, could at any time have rivalled the officer, both in his finery and rank in the service; but it was by no means in the lieutenant's power to attain the merit and real importance of the physician. ESSAY ESSAY VII. WH HETHER the inftinct of brutes be a fubordinate species of reason, or an innate faculty impreffed by nature for the prefervation of the individual, is a question which has been long contested among philofophers. That reason and instinct are effentially different, appears from the following confiderations: reafon is the refult of ideas acquired, and must be improved by exercise and cultivation. The inftinct of brutes feems perfect as foon as the animal is produced; the chick, by a furprising instinct, picks a way for itself through the shell into the world, and begins to feed immediately, before it can poffibly have reeeived any ideas from obfervation. The fame faculty is obfervable in blind puppies, and all quadrupeds, which curiously search for the dug in order to fuck the mother. Throw one of these blind puppies into a pond of water, and it will swim with amazing dexterity. This is likewise the safe with all aquatic fowls, from the moment they they are hatched; and all the birds of the air naturally fly without being inftructed. All animals, without prescription, choose that kind of food which nature has allotted them, and, in the exercife of this choice, carefully avoid thofe things which would prejudice their health, even when they seem to be folicited by their fenses: for example, a hog will greedily devour an apple ; but by no means will touch the fruit of the manzanillo tree, which is poisonous, although it refembles an apple in colour, fhape, and odour. One beast, as if it knew by intuition the strength of its own organs, or the peculiarity of their conftruction, shall eat and digest those herbs which would prove fatal to the other animals that graze upon the fame common. Nay, if we may believe the history of medicine, the virtues of many fimples have been discovered to mankind by the beafts of the field, which, from the fame principle, had recourse to their efficacy, when difordered by accident or diftemper. Among other inftances of inftinct we ought also to mention the Eron, or natural affection, though it is common to the human species as well as to brutes. That this is inftinct, totally different from reason, we may conclude from the different effects it produces in human creatures, and among the brute creation. The Eropyn of a beaft ceafes from the very inftant that that it becomes unneceffary to the preservation of the young offspring; and among birds is fucceeded by fuch averfion and animofity in the breaft of the mother, that the commonly drives her progeny into immediate exile: this feems to be the admirable difpofition of Providence, that one particular place may not be overstocked, and animals of the fame species diftrefs one another by creating a scarcity. In the human fpecies the Eropyn is protracted and improved into the charities, by intercourfe and continuation of good offices, and the exercise of reafon; and this in proportion to the strength of reflection and the delicacy of fentiment. The lefs enlightened the mother happens to be by human understanding, the more fhe conforms to this blind inftinct: an ideot fondled her own child with all the care, tenderness, and fkill, which the Eropy seems to inspire in the brute animal, till it could fubfift without the mother's milk, then refigned all affection and attention to it, and no longer diftinguished it as her own offspring. Obferve the lower clafs among the vulgar, who, in point of fentiment, are but one degree raised above the level of the beafts, with what eagerness, and even rapture of affection, a mother will carefs her bantling: behold the fame mother and the fame child two or or three years after, the Eropy is entirely vanifhed; fhe looks upon the child as a troublesome incumbrance laid upon her by the law: she fairly wishes it at the devil, beats it with the utmost barbarity, and, instead of being the pledge of her love, it becomes the object of her execration. The cafe is no more than this: natural instinct vanished at its usual period, and there was no fentiment to take its place. BUT in nothing does inftinct appear more amazing, than in thofe curious nefts fo judiciously contrived, and fo wonderfully executed by the birds, as receptacles for their young. It has been often obferved, that in this refpect they not only furpass all human art, but defy all imitation. It may alfo be remarked, that the nest conftructed by any bird in the first year of its exiftence, is as uniform and perfect as thofe which. are built after many years experience. This is another strong reafon for fuppofing that instinct neither depends upon ideas acquired, nor improves by exercise and obfervation; confequently, is a power or faculty altogether diftin&t from reafon, which is undoubtedly acquired from obfervation and extended by practice. It may be asked then, If the instinct of brutes is produced with the animal in full perfection, how come they to exhibit fuch evident marks of docility? Many animals. |