Page:The Philosophy of Creation.djvu/363



But little observation is required to reveal that animals are born into the knowledge common to them. A chicken just from the egg, and so without experience, will distinguish a wasp from a worm. The young of animals know their enemies and their proper food. The bee, without instruction, will make the hexagon cell, gather honey for the winter, and make provision for the young. Birds know how to build their nests, rear their young, flee before the approaching winter, and return in the spring. These and all things of their life they are led to do not by forethought and calculation, but by their instincts.

Man at birth is born into no knowledge whatever. He does not know his enemies or his food, nor can he correctly use his senses. He is as to ability and self-thought lower than any animal. Animals of every class know equally well how