INSTINCT.

“Instinctus, impulsus,” impulse; but what power impels¹ us?

All feeling is instinct. A secret conformity² of our organs to their respective objects forms our instinct. It is solely³ by instinct that we perform numberless involuntary movements, just as it is by instinct that we possess curiosity, that we run after novelty, that menaces terrify us, that contempt irritates us, that an air of submission⁴ appeases⁵ us, and that tears soften⁶ us.

We are governed by instinct, as well as cats and goats; this is one further circumstance in which we resemble the mere⁷ animal tribes — a resemblance as incontestable as that of our blood, our necessities, and the various functions of our bodies.

Our instinct is never so shrewd and skilful⁸ as theirs, and does not even approach it; a calf⁹ and a lamb, as soon as they are born, rush to the fountain of their mother’s milk; but unless the mother of the infant clasped it in her arms, and folded it to her bosom¹⁰, it would inevitably¹¹ perish.

No woman in a state of pregnancy¹² was ever invincibly¹³ impelled¹⁴ to prepare for her infant a convenient wicker cradle, as the wren¹⁵ with its bill and claws prepares a nest for her offspring. But the power of reflection which we possess, in conjunction with two industrious¹⁶ hands presented to us by nature, raises us to an equality with the instinct of animals, and in the course of time places us infinitely¹⁷ above them, both in respect to good and evil — a proposition condemned¹⁸ by the members of the ancient parliament and by the Sorbonne, natural philosophers of distinguished¹⁹ eminence²⁰, and who, it is well known, have admirably promoted the perfection of the arts.

Our instinct, in the first place, impels us to beat our brother when he vexes²¹ us, if we are roused into a passion with him and feel that we are stronger than he is. Afterwards, our sublime²² reason leads us on to the invention of arrows, swords, pikes, and at length muskets²³, to kill our neighbors with.

Instinct alone urges us all to make love — “Amor omnibus idem;” but Virgil, Tibullus, and Ovid sing it. It is from instinct alone that a young artisan stands gazing with respect and admiration²⁴ before the superfine gilt²⁵ coach of a commissioner²⁶ of taxes. Reason comes to the assistance of the young artisan; he is made a collector; he becomes polished; he embezzles²⁷; he rises to be a great man in his turn, and dazzles the eyes of his former comrades as he lolls at ease in his own carriage, more profusely²⁸ gilded²⁹ than that which originally excited his admiration and ambition.

What is this instinct which governs the whole animal kingdom, and which in us is strengthened by reason or repressed by habit? Is it “divin? particula aur??” Yes, undoubtedly³⁰ it is something divine; for everything is so. Everything is the incomprehensible effect of an incomprehensible cause. Everything is swayed, is impelled by nature. We reason about everything, and originate nothing.

1 impels   

v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The development of production impels us continuously to study technique. 生产的发展促使我们不断地钻研技术。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Instinct impels the cuckoo to migrate. 本能促使杜鹃迁徒。 来自辞典例句

2 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

3 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

4 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

5 appeases   

安抚，抚慰( appease的第三人称单数 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）

参考例句：

• Have tough-minded boy only, ability appeases billows, hoist the sails Yuan Hang. 只有意志坚强的小伙子，才能平息波澜，扬帆远航。
• Hong Kong white-collars when work often appeases hunger by between-meal snack. 香港白领在工作时就常以零食充饥。

6 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

7 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

8 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

9 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

10 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

11 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

12 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

13 invincibly   

adv.难战胜地，无敌地

参考例句：

• Invincibly, the troops moved forward. 这支军队一路前进，所向披靡。 来自互联网

14 impelled   

v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He felt impelled to investigate further. 他觉得有必要作进一步调查。
• I feel impelled to express grave doubts about the project. 我觉得不得不对这项计划深表怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

16 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

17 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

18 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

19 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

20 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

21 vexes   

v.使烦恼( vex的第三人称单数 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me. 她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His continuous chatter vexes me. 他唠叨不休，真烦死我了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

23 muskets   

n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The watch below, all hands to load muskets. 另一组人都来帮着给枪装火药。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• Deep ditch, single drawbridge, massive stone walls, eight at towers, cannon, muskets, fire and smoke. 深深的壕堑，单吊桥，厚重的石壁，八座巨大的塔楼。大炮、毛瑟枪、火焰与烟雾。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

24 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

25 gilt   

adj.镀金的；n.金边证券

参考例句：

• The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
• The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。

26 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

27 embezzles   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

28 profusely   

ad.abundantly

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。

29 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

30 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。