CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 60, Issue 4235, 24 January 1940, Page 9

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

THE INSTINCT OF SEIZURE It is one of the most powerful of the instincts. Familiarity attaches to the theory that within the first seven years of its existence the child displays, briefly but definitely, the Characteristics of each stage through which the human race itself has passed in its evolution towards the level of civilisation it has now reached. If the theory is postulated, the basic nature of the instinct of seizure is established. Within a few days of its advent the infant firmly grips what comes within its clutch. The primitive human seized upon everything that promised to be food. He was instinctively self-preserva-tive, not studiedly selfish. Fear of future luck, however, prompted the seizure of food stored by any weaker neighbour. Thus the valid instinct to seize degenerated into the doctrine of hight against right; it inaugurated the struggle of the survival of the fit. In its primary and derivative phases it continues to operate. From time immemorial it has been the one constant throughout all variants in civilisation and economic systems. It is aphoristically summed up in Wordworth’s reference to “The good old rule. . .the simple plan, That they should take who have the power, And they should keep who can.*’ The instinct has, of course, its impersonal and commendable aspects. Down the centuries man has, not unsuccessfully, striven to make seizure of the powers of Nature. A mighty host of scientists and inventors', from Archimedes to Marconi, has seized upon natural forces and harnessed them to man’s service. Some of the greatest leaders in history have been men endowed with such powers as have enabled them to seize upon the mass emotions of their fellows and to impel these in worthy directions.

The story' of many a nobly successful life has often been simply that of an individual swift to observe and seize opportunities. Civilisation owes some debt to individuals who had force of character sufficient to give effect to the instinct of seizure over others less enterprising. The tendency, however, is apt to be productive of that unattractive type which is the last to overlook and the first to make use of any chance for- self-aggrandisement. Both the process and the person were at one stage useful. But as society evolves the process becomes unnecessary; in clearer ethical light the person is seen to be unlovely. The original legitimate seizure of food led on to the more dubious seizure of the land, the source of food. By subsequent enslavement of the physical and economic energies of the many the few became wealthy. So equipped, the seizure of countless indefensible privileges was at one time easy. In ordinary life the cruder forms of seizure are nowadays practised mainly 'by the petty thief and burglar. But, even in the case of the respectable, the instinct does not become instinct; its manifestations merely beteome more subtle. Modern social history has consisted largely in trying to persuade certain individuals and classes to surrender privileges they should never have possessed. Persuasion frequently failed, and incidents such as the French Revolution were the ugly alternatives.

Man, arrogantly over-ridden, made seizure of force in order to abolish privileges that cancelled out other people’s rights. The moral content of each act of seizure is necessarily determined by the nature of the objetetive towards which it is directed. Ini bygone generations it has been concentrated largely on things material. But it may not be ignored that a commendable althuistic spirit is perfectly compatible with strenuous activity in seeking one’s own personal welfare. The instinct, when successfully exercised even towards wealth, means an expanded life and a diversity of experience which may contribute to mental enlargement and spiritual enlightenment. All seizure is, therefore, not selfish. The seizure of opportunities to serve and to aspire will evoke no censur. Both in its material and human aspects Nature is an enormous reservoir of energy, much of which is never brought into activity. To seize upon any part of it and make it purposive is to bestow a boon upon humanity. In this present generation Lord Baden-Powell has provided a striking demonstration. The Boy Scout movement is a mass of youthful vitality and intelligence benevolently seized upon with incalculable benefit to scout and society alike. The world is in dire need of some similar process in all age groups. For most of the world’s corporate troubles and much of its human sorrow have, in bygone years, been due to this single instinct being misused. The promotion of social harmony and the solution of countless economic international difficulties are now largely dependent on the same instinct being sublimated and redirected. For- the instinct is ineradicable and it must find outlet. It is, indeed, a vital element in the Christian ethic. Throughout Scripture, in its own appropriate diction, the injunction to “lay hold on” is emphatic and frequent.

In the transference of the seizure instinct from one set of objects to another lies the magic of the Christian message. “Hold fast that which is good; lay hold on eternal life.” In such seizures are life’s only satisfying and abiding pleasures. The assertion is no mere distum of religion; it is a matter of human experience. Many a hand has grasped greedily on the rose and lias relaxed remorsefully on the thorn. King Solomon, renowned for his wisdom, had a considerable knowledge of human nature and abundant facilities for exercising the instinct of seizure. He has recorded that: “Whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy , and, behold, al! was vanity and vexation of spirit.” It is simply an instance, conspicuous but perfectly familiar, of grave misuse of the instinct of seizure.