INSPIRATION 166 INSTITUTE OF FRANCE INSPIRATION, in scripture and the- ology, an extraordinary influence exerted by the Holy Spirit on certain teachers and writers so as to illuminate their un- derstandings, raise and purify their moral natures, and impart a certain di- vine element to their utterances, whether oral or written. The chief New Testa- ment passages on which the doctrine rests are two. The first is thus rendered in the Authorized Version : " All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine," etc.; in the text of the Revised Version this is, " Every Scripture inspired of God [is] also profitable for teaching," etc., and in the margin, " Every Scripture [is] in- spired of God and profitable," etc. The second is II Pet. i: 21, " For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost " (Authorized Version). "For no proph- ecy ever came (margin, was brought) by the will of man; but men spake froni God, being moved by the Holy Ghost " (Revised Version). The "Scriptures" were, of course, the Old Testament. The great majority of Christians hold what is termed " plenary inspiration " — viz., that the influence of the Holy Ghost on the sacred speakers and writers was such as absolutely to pervade their mind and heart, making their utterances as divine as if they had come from God without human creation. A minority be- lieve that the Scripture writers were preserved from all error only when they uttered moral and spiritual teaching, while in numbers, unimportant points of history, etc., they might err. A few re- duce the inspiration of the sacred writ- ers to that possessed by Shakespeare, Milton, Cowper, etc., in other words, iden- tify it with what is termed genius. See Bible. INSTALLATION, the act of install- ing; the act of investing with an office, charge, or rank, with customary cere- monies; as, the installation of a minister or presiding officer of some deliberative or social body; the state of being in- stalled. INSTERBURG, a city of Germany in the Province of East Prussia. It is on the left bank of the Angerap river. Be- fore the World War it had important manufactures of linen, machinery, stoves, fertilizers, etc. It has several old churches, a seminary, and a museum. Pop. about 32,000. INSTINCT, according to Hamilton,
- ' an agent which performs, blindly and
ignorantly, a work o-f intelligence and knowledge." Brougham says that in- stinct is distinguished from reason, in that " it acts without teaching, either from others — that is instruction, or from the animal itself — that is experi- ence "; "it acts without knowledge of consequences; it acts blindly, and ac- complishes a purpose of which the ani- mal is ignorant." In general, we find that instinct and reason prevail in an animal in the inverse ratio to each other. Hence, in man, whose reasoning powers are highly developed, the instincts are few, and manifest themselves principally in children and barbarians. An instinct- ive action is performed without any con- sciousness, on the part of the agent, of the end which it serves; it is effected as perfectly the first time as at any subse- quent period; and is unsusceptible of any adaptation to particular emergen- cies; while a reasonable action, on the contrary, is one which always implies a consciousness, on the part of the agent, of the end in view — which becomes only progressively perfect, and which is cap- able of being variously modified accord- ing to existing circumstances. Three classes of theories have been proposed to account for the instinctive actions: 1. The physical, which makes them depend on the structure and or- ganization of the animal. 2. The psychical, which regards them as the re- sult of mental powers or faculties possessed by the animals, analogous to those of the understanding in man. 3. The supernatural, which views them as workings of an intelligence superior to man, or the Supreme Being. INSTITUTE, a scientific body; a so- ciety or body established under certain rules or regulations for the promotion or furtherance of some particular ob- ject; a literary or philosophical society or association; in France, applied to the principal society of this kind, formed in 1795 by the union of the four exist- ing royal academies. INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, the official name for a group of five learned socie- ties in France which have for their ob- ject the encouragement of the liberal arts and the sciences. The five societies comprising the institute are (1) Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Let- tres; (2) Academic Francaise; (3) Academie des Sciences; (4) Academie des Beaux Arts; (5) Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. The present organization of the Institute dates from the time of Napoleon I. who was himself a proud member of it. Each of the five societies retains its iden- tity, has charge of its own funds and
