But the instinct of preservation of individual life is equally strong. "All that a man hath will he give for his life," saith the writer, and while it is not strictly true of the developed man, it is sufficiently true to use for the purpose of illustrating the principle of self-preservation. And this instinct is not of the Intellect, but is found down among the foundation stones of being. It is an instinct which often overrules Intellect. It makes a man's legs "run away with him" when he had firmly resolved to stand in a dangerous position—it causes a shipwrecked man to violate some of the principles of civilization, causing him to kill and eat his comrade and drink his blood—it has made wild beasts of men in the terrible "Black Hole"—and under many and varying conditions it asserts its supremacy. It is working always for life—more life—for health more health. And it often makes us sick in order to make us healthier—brings on a disease in order to get rid of some foul matter which our carelessness and folly has allowed to intrude in the system.
This principle of self-preservation on the part of the Vital Force, also moves us along in the direction of health, as surely as does the influence within the magnetic needle make it point due north. We may turn aside, not heeding the impulse, but the urge is always there. The same instinct is within us, which, in the seed, causes it to put forth its little shoot, often moving weights a thousand times heavier than itself, in its effort to get to the sunlight. The same impulse causes the sapling to shoot upward from the ground. The same principle causes roots to spread downward and outward. In each case, although the direction
