"  Now  where  do  we  find  instincts  falsified  in  the  plan  of  nature  ?
"Where  do  we  see  an  instance  of  a  creature  endowed  with  an  instinct
craving  a  certain  kind  of  food  in  a  world  where  no  such  food  can  be
found  ?  Are  the  swallows  deceived  by  their  instinct  when  they  fly
away  from  clouds  and  storms  to  find  a  warmer  country  ?  Do  the}'-
not  find  a  milder  climate  beyond  the  water  ?  When  the  May-flies
and  other  aquatic  insects  leave  their  husks,  expand  their  wings,  and
soar  from  the  water  into  the  air,  do  they  not  find  an  atmosphere  fitted
to  sustain  them  in  a  new  stage  of  life  ?  Certainly.  The  voice  of
nature  does  not  utter  false  prophecies.  It  is  the  call,  tke  invitation


CHAPTER    III. RATIONALISM.  47

of  the  Creator  addressed  to  his  creatures.  And  if  this  is  true  with
regard  to  the  impulses  of  physical  life,  why  should  it  not  be  true  with
regard  to  the  superior  instincts  of  the  human  soul?"

Confidence  in  such  reasonings   as  these  was  the  charac-
teristic of  popular  philosophers  in  the  eighteenth  century.
