filass 
 
 DV-,S1 
 
 Rnnk 
 
 Pgg, 
 
 fiopyrightN" 
 
 
 COPyRIGHT DEPOSm 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/textbookofpsychoOOputn 
 
A TEXT-BOOK 
 
 OF 
 
 PSYCHOLOGY 
 
 FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
 
 / 
 
 BY 
 
 DANIEL PUTNAM, LL. D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY IN THE MICHIGAN STATE 
 
 NORMAL COLLEGE 
 
 NEW YORK :. CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 
 AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 
 
THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 CON SR ESS, 
 Two CopiEa Received 
 
 APR, 16 1901 
 
 |,— .Copyright entry 
 HcLASS «^XXp. N«. 
 COPY B. 
 
 
 ^i^-^ 
 
 ^ 9^-^ 
 
 Copyright, 1901, 
 
 BY 
 
 DANIEL PUTNAM 
 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London. 
 
 Putnam's Text-book of Psychology. 
 
 w. p. I 
 
 c c , c t 
 
 ( C '^ ( c c c C f 
 
 c c c c c c c c 
 c cc c^ccc 
 
 r < c e 
 c c c 
 
 c c c 
 
 c < c c 
 
 c c c 
 
 c c c c c 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Several years ago the present writer prepared a small 
 work upon elementary psychology, which was published 
 just before the large number of elementary books on the 
 subject made their appearance, and before the new 
 psychology, so-called, had taken on any very definite 
 form. That work had a special purpose in view, made no 
 claim to originality in matter, and naturally followed, in 
 its arrangement of material, the usual order of the so- 
 called old psychology. 
 
 Since that time many changes have occurred in the 
 department of mental science. New theories have been 
 advanced, new modes of expression have been adopted, 
 and new arrangements of matter have come into favor in 
 many quarters. The progress of discussion and further 
 study and investigation have modified, to some extent 
 and in some directions, the opinions of the author. The 
 present work is the result of these modifications and 
 changes. 
 
 The fact is recognized that theories are still in an un- 
 settled condition, and that other and further advances 
 will be made, and consequently other modifications and 
 changes will become necessary in the future. 
 
 Meanwhile it seems the part of wisdom to gather up, 
 select, and adopt such new doctrines as appear to be 
 
 3 
 
4 PREFACE 
 
 tolerably well established. The new is in most, if not all, 
 cases a natural evolution from the old ; and there can be 
 no real conflict between them. It is folly, or worse, to 
 cast aside the old simply because it bears the marks of 
 age; it is equally foolish and absurd either to adopt or to 
 reject the new because it has an aspect of novelty and a 
 certain appearance of strangeness. Truth should be wel- 
 comed and gladly accepted, from whatever source it may 
 come. 
 
 It is believed that the chapters treating of the moral 
 nature will give additional value to the work, since the 
 most effective ethical instruction can be given only in 
 connection with the general study of the laws of mind. 
 The true basis for moral teaching and training must be 
 found in the soul itself, and in the intuitive principles of 
 right and righteousness. 
 
 The book is designed to meet the wants of students in 
 normal schools, in high schools, and in other institutions 
 of a secondary character, and also to be of service for 
 private reading, especially to teachers in elementary and 
 intermediate schools. 
 
 When properly taught, psychology has a very high 
 practical value for parents, teachers, and for persons of 
 all professions and employments concerned with human 
 character and the forces and conditions which give direc- 
 tion to human conduct. This is especially true of the 
 psychology of the feelings, of volition, and of the moral 
 powers. The teaching should be made as practical as 
 possible. 
 
 In the use of this work the teacher should remember 
 that it professes to be only a text-book. And while it 
 
PREFACE S 
 
 contains as much matter as can be thoroughly mastered 
 by ordinary classes in the time usually allotted to the 
 subject in the schools, yet supplementary instruction 
 should be added, when time and circumstances permit, 
 to topics selected according to the judgment and taste 
 of the instructor. 
 
 The subjects of attention and interest have been treat- 
 ed in Chapter III., out of deference to the most common 
 order of arrangement. They may, however, be studied 
 with fully equal advantage after Chapter IV., or possibly 
 even later. 
 
 Some suggestions in relation to apparatus and experi- 
 ments for illustration have been reserved for an appendix. 
 This has been done for two reasons. First, the value of 
 experimentation, in the teaching of psychology in the 
 ordinary school, has not yet been fully determined; and 
 the comparative value of different forms of experiment 
 is still largely a matter of individual opinion. The sug- 
 gestions, being placed separately, can be readily changed, 
 subtracted from, or added to, as experience shall prove 
 to be desirable. 
 
 Secondly, some teachers will prefer to omit most of the 
 experiments ; others will place higher value upon experi- 
 ments of their own than upon those suggested. With 
 the present arrangement omissions and selections can be 
 made by teachers according to their own judgment and 
 preferences, without causing confusion in their classes. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 1. Introductory 7 
 
 II. The Nervous Systems 21 
 
 III. Attention and Interest 35 
 
 IV. Presentative or Perceptive Activities — Sensation 
 
 AND Perception 51 
 
 V. Representation AND Reproduction — Imagination.. 74 
 VI. Representation and Reproduction, continued — 
 
 Memory ; Laws of Association 88 
 
 VII. The Thinking Activities — Conception ; Judg- 
 ment 112 
 
 VIII. The Thinking Activities, continued — Reasoning.. 128 
 
 IX. The Feelings ; Sensations 145 
 
 X. The Feelings, continued — the Emotions 161 
 
 XL The Feelings, continued — the Sentiments 188 
 
 XII. Desire ; the Will 211 
 
 XIII. The Moral Nature and Moral Law 231 
 
 XIV. Instinct ; Habit 249 
 
 XV. Sleep, Dreaming, Somnambulism, Hypnotism 269 
 
 Appendix — Suggestions as to Experiments and Ap- 
 paratus 283 
 
 Index 297 
 
 6 
 
TEXT-BOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY, 
 
 Psychology defined. — The simplest definition of psy- 
 chology is that which defines it as the science of the mind 
 or soul ; or the science of the phenomena of mind or of 
 consciousness. A phenomenon, as the term is here used, 
 denotes anything which appears either to the senses or in 
 consciousness. 
 
 Professor Ladd, indorsed by Professor James, defines 
 psychology as *^ the description and explanation of states 
 of consciousness as such.'* States of consciousness are 
 any and all forms of psychical activity, sensations, emo- 
 tions, volitions, and so on through the whole list. 
 
 Psychology is divided into several kinds, more or less 
 distinct from one another in their character and mode of 
 treatment. 
 
 Physiological Psychology, as described and limited by 
 Ziehen, "deals exclusively with those psychical phenom- 
 ena to which concomitant physiological processes of 
 the brain correspond.'* Material processes, according to 
 this view, correspond to psychical processes or phenomena 
 
 7 
 
8 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 in such a way that one of these cannot exist without the 
 other. The material processes have their origin in the 
 brain, except such as are purely reflex. Of necessity, 
 therefore, physiological psychology must, in its discus- 
 sions and explanations, *^ ignore all psychical processes 
 for which no corresponding physiological processes in the 
 brain are conceivable/* Consequently physiological 
 psychology by itself can deal with none of the higher in- 
 tellectual activities, such as imagination, judgment, and 
 reason, nor with any of the higher feelings, such as the 
 feelings of beauty, sublimity, and reverence. Physio- 
 logical psychology affords a natural introduction to the 
 study of psychology as a complete science. 
 
 Empirical Psychology, as described by Lindner, '' has 
 set itself the task of proceeding from the particular facts 
 of consciousness, and, in accordance with the method of 
 induction, of basing upon them an explanatory theory of 
 soul life.'' It may be called the method of experience. 
 Its sources of knowledge are '* the facts of inner expe- 
 rience,'* and these are learned by observation of self and 
 of others and by experiments. Lindner says, '' Self- 
 observation is the most important source of psychological 
 investigations." 
 
 Another division of psychology is into the old and the 
 new. 
 
 The Old Psychology is sometimes defined as '' rational 
 or speculative psychology." One writer says, '' The old 
 psychology is a s}!^stematic knowledge of the soul through 
 introspection and observation. The student turns his 
 attention, first of all, upon the phenomena of conscious- 
 ness in his own mind. He assumes that this is the 
 
THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY 9 
 
 primary and only way of acquiring original knowledge of 
 mental phenomena. He studies manifestations of psy- 
 chical action in others. He seeks thus to know the exact 
 nature and the universality of the action' of the mind.*' 
 
 The New Psychology, according to Dr. Scripture, *' is 
 entitled to its special adjective because it employs a 
 method new in the history of psychology, although not 
 new in the history of science. . . . The psychologist 
 of the new dispensation must see every statement proven 
 by experiment and measurement before he will commit 
 himself in regard to it. Every alleged fact, every state- 
 ment, must be brought as evidence before the Court of 
 Reason.'* The new psychology is especially the method 
 of studying and investigating the facts of consciousness, 
 as far as this is possible, by experiment. It is a difference 
 in method rather than in matter. It deals with the same 
 phenomena, the same facts, as the old psychology, but 
 deals with them in a different way, and from a different 
 starting point. The two psychologies are, after all, only 
 one. 
 
 President Hall, of Clark University, says, *' For me, the 
 new psychology does not mean dropping any of the 
 old. . . . The new psychology adds accuracy, a vast 
 body of new facts, a better method of introspection, has 
 got into fruitful, instead of negative, relations with 
 science." 
 
 The real relations between the old and the new psychol- 
 ogy are easy to comprehend. The new methods are 
 the natural and necessary complements of the old. They 
 have appeared by evolution and not by revolution. 
 Everything in them which experience proves to be use- 
 
10 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 ful, will be accepted and adopted cheerfully by all stu- 
 dents and teachers of psychology. The old psychology 
 starts from the standpoint of self-observation ; that is, it 
 begins with consciousness and its deliverances. The new 
 methods supply consciousness with assorted material 
 upon which to exercise its activity. Experiments are 
 made at one time upon the sense of sight, at another 
 upon the sense of hearing, and so on. These experiments 
 affect the sensory nerves ; the nerves report to the great 
 nerve center. So much and so far we have physiology 
 alone ; this is physiological psychology. The products 
 are sensations ; sensations have been excited, and the mind 
 must do the rest. The experiment is in reality a question 
 put to consciousness ; and no answer can be made until 
 consciousness is aroused, and sends back an answer over 
 the fibers of a motor nerve. There is in this no conflict 
 between the old and the new psychology ; the new fur- 
 nishes material and conditions by means of its laborato- 
 ries and apparatus, and the old makes them effective 
 through the reaction of the soul to the external stimulus. 
 The first general definition, that '* psychology is the science 
 of the mind," embraces all the psychologies just named. 
 The following quotation from Professor Le Conte states 
 the different methods of psychological investigation very 
 clearly : '* We have in psychology at least three methods 
 of research : namely, the method of experiment, the 
 method of comparison or the evolution method, and the 
 method of introspection. The relative domains of these 
 have not yet been adjusted. The experimental method 
 is, I believe, limited in its application to the lowest phe- 
 nomena, that is, to those allied to physiology. Introspec- 
 
THE MIND OR SOUL II 
 
 tion, on the other hand, is limited to the higher phenom- 
 ena, that is, to the distinctively human. The method of 
 comparison, or the evolution method, is probably without 
 limit in its application.'* 
 
 The Mind or Soul. — Mind may be defined as the Ego, 
 the I myself ; that which knows, feels, and wills. We as- 
 su7ne, at the outset, that there is a soul, that it is imma- 
 terial, that, though intimately associated with matter, it is 
 distinct front matter. Such assumption appears reason- 
 able. We cannot escape the conviction that where action 
 is manifested, there must be something to act ; where 
 movement is discovered there must be something to 
 move, and some force to cause the movement. It seems 
 equally reasonable to believe that when knowing, feeling, 
 and volition manifest themselves, there must be some- 
 thing to know, feel, and will. A psychology without a 
 soul would be much like a science of physics without 
 matter. 
 
 Of the substance of the soul we have no knowledge. 
 Dr. Davis says, '' The mind is commonly thought of as a 
 substance. Matter is extended substance. Mind is con- 
 scious substance. Matter and mind are known to us only 
 under two totally distinct series of phenomena or quali- 
 ties. Matter manifests extension, solidity, etc. Mind 
 manifests knowing, feeling, and willing. Now no quality 
 can be conceived as existing apart, by itself, in absolute 
 independence, per se. We necessarily think it the quality 
 of something in which the quality inheres. That which 
 manifests the phenomenon we call substance/' 
 
 Mind is called the inner world as distinguished from 
 the outer world. Knowing, feeling, and willing are func- 
 
12 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 tions of the mind, not the mind itself. The mind is by 
 one called the Thinker ; and this writer proceeds to in- 
 quire, what is the thinker? '' Is it the passing state of 
 consciousness itself, or is it something deeper and less 
 mutable? The passing state is the very embodiment of 
 change. Yet each of us spontaneously considers that by 
 ' I ' he means something always the same." 
 
 The object of our study is, not the substance of mind, 
 but the phenomena of mind ; not so much what mind is 
 as what mind does, the states and activities which it ex- 
 hibits. 
 
 Consciousness. The term consciousness has been 
 freely used in the previous discussion ; it is necessary to 
 determine what meaning is to be attached to the word. 
 Compayr^ says: '' Consciousness is the immediate knowl- 
 edge which we have of whatever takes place in any given 
 part of our being." 
 
 Psychology might be defined as the science which 
 treats of the states of consciousness. States of con- 
 sciousness include all forms of mental activity, and all 
 conditions of feeling. We may define consciousness as 
 the mind knowing itself and its own states and activities, 
 or as the mind being aware of its own activities while 
 they are taking place. We are, therefore, conscious only 
 of the present, and only of the conditions of our own 
 minds. The question, are we conscious of all our own men- 
 tal activities ? is an interesting one, but cannot be discussed 
 here. There are evidently varying degrees of conscious- 
 ness, and it is possible that a region of the subconscious 
 may exist in the mind ; that impressions may be made 
 of which, at the time, we are dimly, or not at all, con- 
 
 ^ 
 
STUDY OF SELF 1 3 
 
 scious. In our present study, however, we are concerned 
 only with those states and activities of the soul of which 
 we are clearly and distinctly conscious. 
 
 Subjective and Objective. As matter of study, psy- 
 chology may be divided into subjective and objective. 
 As subjective it is the study of self, or of one's own con- 
 sciousness by introspection ; that is, by looking into the 
 operation of our own minds. As objective it is the study 
 of persons and things outside of ourselves, outside of 
 consciousness. This is observation, and may also be ex- 
 perimentation. It includes the study of children, of 
 adults, of people of all classes and conditions, and also, 
 at some times and for some purposes, of animals. 
 
 Begin with Study of Self. — As just stated, we study 
 ourselves by introspection, by attending to what is going 
 on in consciousness. We thus know that we ourselves 
 think and feel and will ; that we see, hear, taste, and 
 smell. This is the mind looking, so to speak, into itself 
 and observing its own activities. In this way we can in- 
 vestigate, to a certain extent, all the states and acts of 
 our minds. By such careful self-observation we discover 
 as much as it is possible for us to comprehend of the proc- 
 esses by which we learn of form, color, distance, size ; 
 of odor, flavor, and other characteristics of the great 
 multitude of objects all about us. We gain some insight 
 into the wonderful processes of retaining and recalling 
 what we have once learned, of imagining, judging, and 
 so forth. Of all these things we get no knowledge ex- 
 cept by the study of consciousness. 
 
 Connection with the Body. In this introspective 
 study of self we soon discover that the states and activi- 
 
14 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 ties of our minds are closely associated with states, con- 
 ditions, and movements of the body, especially of what 
 we call the nervous system. We discover under what 
 conditions, both of mind and body, we have feelings of 
 pain and pleasure, of joy and sorrow, of good will and ill 
 will, of pity and indignation, and of the marvelous variety 
 of other feelings. We discover the external causes 
 which excite these feelings in our consciousness ; the 
 circumstances under which they arise, and the means by 
 which they may be controlled, allayed, or entirely re- 
 moved. We learn, also, something of the relation be- 
 tween our thinking and our feeling and willing. We 
 discover that if we think in a certain way, we have a par- 
 ticular sort of feeling; if we think in a different way, we 
 have a different kind of feeling. These and many other 
 things in relation to the movements of the mind and of 
 the relation of mind and body we learn by this study of 
 ourselves. 
 
 We discover, moreover, that many of the inner activi- 
 ties of consciousness are followed by outer activities of 
 body, usually called motor activities. For instance, the 
 feeling of anger is generally followed by certain move- 
 ments of the limbs, by vigorous movements of the 
 muscles of the face, by a peculiar appearance of the eyes, 
 and often by a rough and harsh mode of speech. 
 
 The inner feeling of kindness and good will is followed 
 by outer manifestations which indicate the state of the 
 soul. At this point we are not studying the causes of these 
 states of consciousness ; these causes will be considered 
 further on. It is sufificient here to say that the inner 
 condition and the outer manifestation soon become 
 
STUDY OF OTHERS 1 5 
 
 thoroughly associated with each other. Of necessity, 
 in the study of self, we begin with that which is within, 
 and proceed to discover how it affects the outer man, the 
 physical organism. This necessarily leads to the study 
 of the body ; that is, especially to the study of the 
 nervous system. 
 
 Study of Others. In the objective study of children 
 or of adults, the order of study is reversed. We cannot 
 directly look into the mind of another. Consequently 
 we must begin with a careful examination of the condi- 
 tions and appearance of the body, of the muscles of the 
 face, of the eyes ; indeed, of the whole physical organ- 
 ism. The mode of speech must also be studied. These 
 outer manifestations indicate the inner state of the 
 mind. Our conclusion is that the state of consciousness 
 which produces certain motor and other manifestations 
 in us will produce the same or similar manifestations in 
 others. 
 
 Children can be studied almost anywhere. They are 
 all about us. They can be observed and studied in the 
 home, on the .playground, on the street, in the school. 
 An intelligent observer may commence this form of 
 study at the very beginning of a child's life, watching 
 for the first indications of intelligence in the infant, and 
 noting when and how the senses, one after another, 
 exhibit signs of activity. The observer may, in this 
 way, discover what forms of mental activity first mani- 
 fest themselves, and what the order of development is, 
 and what is the rate of progress. The mind of the 
 young child may thus be learned to a certain extent, and 
 also the relation of the development of the mind to the 
 
l6 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 growth of the body. The external indications, the 
 movements of the limbs, of the hands, the head, and the 
 eyes, and of the whole body, — these indications of mental 
 states and acts can be detected and described. Such 
 observations may be kept up through the whole period 
 of childhood and youth, and even into the period of 
 maturity. All the steps of a child's progress in physical, 
 mental, and moral development may be noted and regis- 
 tered, together with the apparent influence of times, 
 circumstances, and environment generally. In the school 
 such observations may be made by any teacher who has 
 made mind, especially her own mind, a subject of careful 
 study. The effects upon the mind of pursuing different 
 objects and topics of study, the results of different 
 methods of instruction and management can be com- 
 pared. From such comparisons valuable practical con- 
 clusions may often be derived. 
 
 Experimental Study. An experiment may be de- 
 scibed as a carefully conducted series of observations, 
 having a special end in view, and carried on under 
 prepared and somewhat artificial conditions. The ** New 
 Psychology " deals very largely with experiments. These 
 belong mostly, if not altogether, within the province 
 of physiological psychology, and deal with manifesta- 
 tions of mind in very close connection with the action of 
 the special nerves of sense. Experiments made by com- 
 petent observers with necessary apparatus are of much 
 interest and considerable value. For further suggestions 
 as to experiments, refer to the appendix. 
 
 Some Obstacles in Study of Self. Introspection re- 
 quires the mind to observe its own states while they 
 
OBSTACLES IN STUDY OF THE MIND 17 
 
 exist, and its own activities while they are going on, or 
 else it must study these through memory. As soon as 
 the mind pauses, so to speak, to examine and analyze its 
 own states and acts, these must be, to some extent, 
 interrupted, and, consequently, cease to be entirely 
 natural. If the observation is made through memory, 
 after the states and acts have passed, some elements will 
 probably escape notice. Experience, however, will enable 
 one to avoid these difficulties to a considerable extent, 
 and to observe without interrupting very seriously the 
 movement of the ^* stream of consciousness." 
 
 In the Observation of Others. One of the chief diffi- 
 culties in the way of reaching trustworthy conclusions con- 
 cerning the phenomena of mind by the study of others 
 is the limited field open to any one observer. Moreover, 
 the contents of the minds of young children, and the 
 direction of their mental activities, must be determined 
 very largely by their immediate environment. Given 
 the surroundings of a child, it will be comparatively easy 
 to tell, with a good measure of accuracy, the ideas which 
 he must have and the general direction which the current 
 of his thinking must take. The observation, therefore, 
 should have for its main purpose, not so much to discover 
 what children know at a particular stage of development, 
 since that may be determined, to a large extent, before- 
 hand, as to ascertain what use they have made of the 
 material of knowledge about them ; what effect it has 
 produced upon them ; what influence it has had and is 
 having upon their mental and moral life. The purpose 
 is to discover the nature of the mental and moral activi- 
 ties of childhood, the processes and the rate of their 
 
l8 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 development, and the conditions most favorable to healthy 
 growth. 
 
 Such study should not be confined to young children ; 
 every age and condition of life affords material for profit- 
 able observation. For parents and teachers especially, 
 the mental and moral characteristics manifested during 
 the period when the physical organism is approaching 
 maturity furnish matter worthy of particular attention. 
 Going beyond the province of ordinary observation, the 
 study of the psychical peculiarities of savages, of partially 
 civilized peoples, of the neglected and criminal classes, 
 and of the insane, supplies valuable material for the stu- 
 dent of psychology. 
 
 In the study of adults we shall frequently be in danger 
 of drawing wrong conclusions from the fact that they 
 have become accustomed to conceal their states of mind 
 to a considerable extent. Most of these difficulties can 
 be avoided if the observer is skillful and has had a good 
 deal of experience. 
 
 In addition to study by introspection and observation, 
 much study of mental phenomena can be had in connec- 
 tion with our reading, especially in the reading of biog- 
 raphies and histories. We should also compare the re- 
 sults of our own investigations with the conclusions given 
 in books treating of psychology. All these methods of 
 study should be combined. 
 
 Connection of Mind and Body. In our study of self 
 by introspection and of others by observation, we dis- 
 cover a very close connection between mind and body, 
 especially between the mind and the nervous system ; 
 consequently, in order to understand the activities of 
 
CONNECTION OF MIND AND BODY I9 
 
 mind, its states and acts, we must become acquainted 
 with the nature and organization of this system, which, 
 while it forms one great whole, is usually, for conve- 
 nience of treatment, subdivided into two parts or lesser 
 systems, one being called the sympathetic system and 
 the other the cerebro-spinal system. 
 
 The sympathetic system consists of chains of nervous 
 ganglia lying along the sides and in front of the spinal 
 column, connected with one another and also, at some 
 points, with the spinal nerves. This system influences 
 the muscles of the vital organs, those of the heart and of 
 some of the other organs. The action of these muscles 
 does not affect consciousness to any considerable extent, 
 nor volition. In the study of mind, therefore, it will not 
 be necessary to give much attention to the sympathetic 
 system. 
 
 The cerebro-spinal system consists of the brain, the 
 spinal cord, the medulla oblongata, and the nerves branch- 
 ing off from these. The close connection of the various 
 parts of this system with mental action, makes it neces- 
 sary to study these parts and their relations to the activ- 
 ities of mind very carefully. The next chapter will be 
 given to this study. 
 
 TOPICS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Psychology defined. 
 
 2. Definition of Ladd and James. 
 
 3. Physiological psychology ; what it embraces, 
 
 4. Empirical psychology ; Lindner. 
 
 5. The old psychology. 
 
 6. The new psychology. The relation between the two. 
 
20 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 7. Quotations from President Hall and others. 
 
 8. Methods of the new psychology. 
 
 9. Professor Le Conte's opinion. 
 
 10. The mind or soul defined. 
 
 11. Dr. Davis's view of substance. 
 
 12. The object of our study. 
 
 13. Consciousness defined. 
 
 14. Subjective study of psychology. 
 
 15. Objective study ; how extensive. 
 
 16. Begin with self; why, etc. 
 
 17. Connection of mind and body. 
 
 18. Some things which v:e learn. 
 
 19. Study of others ; how pursued. 
 
 20. Study of children. 
 
 21. Experimental study. 
 
 22. Some obstacles in the study of self. 
 
 23. Obstacles in the study of others. 
 
 24. What we should study in children. 
 
 25. Study in reading. 
 
 26. Connection of mind and body. 
 
 27. Nervous systems ; which to be studied. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS. 
 
 Nerve Matter, or nerve tissue, is of two kinds, the 
 white and the gray. The white naatter is composed of 
 very minute fibers, varying in diameter from y^Vo" ^^ 
 h)^\qq of an inch. These fibers may be compared to 
 exceedingly fine threads. A large number of the fibers 
 united form a cord called a nerve. 
 
 The gray matter is composed of nerve cells of a great 
 variety of forms, and varying in diameter from -g^^ 
 to g^Vo" ^f ^^ inch. A collection of these cells forms 
 a nerve center. The gray matter of the brain is the 
 largest collection of such cells, and the spinal cord the 
 next largest. The small centers are called ganglia, the 
 largest of which constitute the sympathetic nervous sys- 
 tem. The nerve cells generate nerve force, and also 
 receive such force from other cells and transmit it again. 
 The nerve fibers connect the various nerve centers and 
 convey the nerve force in all directions. They perform 
 in the body an office similar to that performed by the 
 telegraph and telephone wires in a great city, conveying 
 information and orders from one point to another, and 
 from the central station to the most distant parts^of the 
 organism. In the great nerve center, the brain, the white 
 matter is within, and the gray matter on the outside. 
 
 21 
 
22 THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS 
 
 In the nerves the arrangement is reversed, the gray mat- 
 ter being within and the white matter on the outside. 
 
 Two Nervous Systems. There are two nervous sys- 
 tems, the sympathetic, or ganglionic, system, and the 
 cerebro-spinal system. The sympathetic system consists 
 of two rows of internal ganglia, one row on each side of 
 the spinal column. Nerves go from these ganglia to the 
 various internal organs, but not to the skin or to the 
 organs of the special senses ; they are not under the con- 
 trol of the will. The processes of digestion, circulation, 
 respiration, and absorption are controlled by this system. 
 The ganglia are connected together by small nerve 
 fibers, and they are also connected in the same way with 
 the cerebro-spinal system. As this system has little 
 direct relation to manifestations of mind it is unnecessary 
 to give it further attention. The cerebro-spinal system 
 consists of the brain, taken as a whole, and the spinal 
 cord, with the nerves which have their origin in these 
 central organs. 
 
 The Brain itself, disregarding some of the smaller parts, 
 is subdivided into the cerebrum, called the large brain, 
 the cerebellum, called the little brain, and the medulla 
 oblongata, which is an enlargement of the spinal cord 
 after it enters the skull. It is presumed that students of 
 psychology have at least an elementary knowledge of 
 the brain and the nervous system generally, so that much 
 of minute detail will be unnecessary in this connection. 
 It is recommended that, while studying this chapter, some 
 brief work upon the nervous system be carefully reviewed. 
 
 In a restricted sense, the term brain is sometimes con- 
 fined to the cerebrum, on account of its size and its 
 
RELATIVE WEIGHT OF BRAIN AND BODY 23 
 
 probably superior position in connection with psychical 
 phenomena. 
 
 The weight of the brain will usually, but not always, 
 bear a natural relation to the weight of the body as a 
 whole. Among adult Americans and Europeans, the 
 average weight of the brain of the male is from 49 to 50 
 ounces, and of the female from 44 to 46 ounces. The 
 weight of the brain, as compared with the weight of the 
 body, is essentially the same in both sexes, but this rela- 
 tive weight of brain and body varies greatly at different 
 periods of life. 
 
 Relative Weight of Brain and Body. Dr. Caldwell, in 
 his work on Mind and Brain, gives the following table : 
 At birth (male), i to 5.85. 
 At birth (female), i to 6.50. 
 At 10 years of age, i to 14. 
 At 20 years of age, i to 30. 
 At later periods, i to 36. 
 
 In maturity the proportion varies from i to 36 to I to 
 40, according to some other authorities. 
 
 The brain reaches its maximum size before the fifteenth 
 year, but the processes of internal development go on till 
 the age of thirty and perhaps to a later time. Late in 
 life there is a slow decrease in the weight of the brain. 
 As a rule great intellectual power is associated with a 
 large brain. The brain of Cuvier, the great naturalist, 
 weighed a little over 64 ounces ; the brain of Daniel 
 Webster, the great statesman, weighed 63^ ounces. 
 There have been, however, many noted men with com- 
 paratively small brains. Evidently quality is of as much 
 importance as quantity. 
 
24 
 
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS 
 
 A healthy development of the brain in a child is a 
 necessary condition of the exhibition of intellectual en- 
 ergy. The immature brain should be only lightly taxed, 
 and precocious mental activity should be wisely and cau- 
 tiously checked rather than encouraged and intensified. 
 No regular and severe psychical labor can be safely im- 
 posed upon a child until the brain has attained nearly its 
 maximum size. The teachings of physiology and ex- 
 perience are in perfect accord upon this point. 
 
 Divisions of the Cerebrum. The cerebrum is divided 
 into the right and left hemispheres by a deep fissure. 
 
 Fissure of Rolando 
 
 Parietal 
 lobe 
 Frontal 
 lobe 
 
 Occipital 
 lobe 
 
 Fissure of Sylvius 'Temporal lobe 
 
 Figure I. — Side View of Cerebrum. (Kirke's Handbook.) 
 
 This figure shows the fissures of Rolando and Sylvius and the location of the lobes. 
 From the text (p. 26) the motor region and some of the sensory regions can be located. 
 
 The outer surfaces of both hemispheres are again sub- 
 divided by fissures into lobes, four of which are of im- 
 portance in our study. The most prominent of these 
 fissures is the fissure of Rolando, which separates the 
 upper portions of the hemispheres transversely into two 
 parts ; and the fissure of Sylvius, which divides the sides 
 of the hemispheres. These fissures and the lobes formed 
 by them are shown in Figure I. A model of the brain 
 
THE CEREBRUM 2$ 
 
 will show them more clearly. The frontal lobe includes 
 the brain surface anterior to these great fissures ; tfie 
 parietal lobe lies behind the fissure of Rolando, and is 
 bounded below by the occipital lobe. The occipital lobe 
 forms the rear portion of the brain. The temporal lobe 
 is situated on the side of the brain. The lobes are all 
 subdivided into lesser parts by smaller fissures. 
 
 Division of Labor. In all large business establishments 
 there is a careful division of labor. Each person em- 
 ployed has his own special work to perform ; each piece 
 of machinery has its own function to execute. By such 
 division much more and much better work is done. 
 
 It would seem probable, even if no observations or ex- 
 periments had been made, that the different functions of 
 the brain are, for certain purposes, assigned to different 
 portions of that organ. Observations and experiments 
 have proved that, to a certain extent, such is the fact. 
 Thus far, however, the brain activities correlated with the 
 higher manifestations of mind, such as imagination, judg- 
 ment, and reason, have not been localized in any particu- 
 lar part of the cerebrum. Notwithstanding this division 
 of duties, it seems probable that, as one sense can, to a 
 considerable extent, take up the work and supply the 
 place of another sense, so one portion of the brain may, 
 under some conditions, perform the usual functions of 
 another portion which has, by an accident, been dis- 
 abled. 
 
 Professor Hering says, upon this matter, *^ The different 
 parts of the hemispheres are like a great tool box with a 
 countless variety of tools. Each single element of the 
 cerebrum is a particular tool. Consciousness may be 
 
26 THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS 
 
 likened to an artisan whose tools gradually become so 
 numerous, so varied, and so specialized that he has for 
 every minutest detail of his work a tool which is espe- 
 cially adapted to perform just this precise kind of work 
 very easily and accurately. If he loses one of his tools 
 he still possesses a thousand other tools to do the same 
 work, though under disadvantages both with reference to 
 adaptability and the time involved. Should he happen 
 to lose the use of these thousands also, he might retain 
 hundreds, with which to do the work still, but under 
 greatly increased difficulties. He must needs have lost a 
 very large number of his tools if certain actions become 
 absolutely impossible." 
 
 Some Localizations. That part of the brain concerned 
 in producing movements of the body, or of some portions 
 of it, called the motor region, is located on both sides of 
 the fissure of Rolando. The existence of this motor 
 zone seems to be established by satisfactory evidence of 
 various kinds. Those parts of the brain which receive 
 impressions through the senses are called sensory por- 
 tions or regions. The visual center is located in the oc- 
 cipital lobes; the center for hearing is situated, according 
 to Professor James, in the upper convolution of the tem- 
 poral lobes ; according to another authority, '' probably 
 in the rear two-thirds of the first and second temporal 
 convolutions.'* Centers for the other senses have not 
 been definitely and clearly located. No centers have been 
 determined for the higher mental processes. It is gen- 
 erally believed that the frontal lobes are concerned in 
 these higher forms of psychical activity. The cortex, or 
 outer envelope of gray matter, is supposed to be espe- 
 
CEREBELLUM; MEDULLA OBLONGATA 2/ 
 
 cially the seat of mental action. The interior of the cere- 
 brum is composed mostly of nerve fibers which connect 
 intimately the various portions of the organ. 
 
 The Cerebellum, or little brain, lies between the cere- 
 brum and the medulla oblongata. It is the center of 
 many reflex actions, and coordinates muscular movements 
 such as the movements in walking. When the cerebellum 
 has been seriously injured, w^alking and some other mus- 
 cular movements become impossible or very irregular and 
 uncertain. Actions, such as playing the piano and other 
 musical instruments, which at first require close attention 
 and the service of the cerebrum, become nearly automatic 
 and are taken in charge by the cerebellum, thus leaving 
 the larger brain free for the performance of higher duties. 
 In consequence of this arrangement, walking, running, 
 playing on instruments of music, and other similar activ- 
 ities can be carried on, and at the same time the mind 
 may be occupied with other subjects, not appearing to 
 give any attention to the physical movements. 
 
 The Medulla Oblongata. As previously stated, the 
 medulla oblongata is an enlargement of the spinal cord 
 within the cranium, just below the cerebellum. It is the 
 center, or contains numerous minor centers, of important 
 reflex activities. It has some connections with the sym- 
 pathetic nervous system, and thus has something to do 
 with the movements of the vital organs whose regular 
 action is necessary to the preservation of life. Experi- 
 ments upon animals have proved that the nerve centers 
 between the cerebrum and the spinal cord have each a 
 specific function to perform. It is reasonable to suppose 
 that the same is true with the human being. 
 
28 
 
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS 
 
 The Spinal Cord in persons of average height is about 
 seventeen or eighteen inches in length, nearly circular in 
 form, and a little more than half an inch in diameter. It 
 is protected in the canal of the vertebral column. Two 
 deep fissures, one on the ventral and the other on the 
 dorsal side, nearly divide the cord into right and left 
 halves. In the cord the white matter is on the outside, 
 surrounding the gray. The shape of the cord, the fis- 
 sures, and the attachment of the nerves are shown in 
 Figures II and III. 
 
 Figure II. — Transverse Section of the Spinal Cord. (Landois.) 
 The butterfly form is the gray matter, surrounded by the white. A R, anterior roots, and 
 PRy posterior roots, of a pair of nerves. 
 
 The Nerves. The general form and structure of the 
 nerves have already been described. The nerve cells 
 have a variety of forms and differ considerably in size, 
 varying in diameter from -^-^ to -^-^-q of an inch. The 
 nerve fibers also vary in size from y^Vo ^^ i o o^o o o ^^ ^^^ 
 inch in diameter. 
 
THE NERVES 
 
 29 
 
 Afferent and Efferent Nerves ; Sensory and Motor 
 Nerves, The nerves are of two kinds, called afferent 
 and efferent. The afferent nerves convey impressions, 
 excitements, or irritations from the outer surface, or from 
 some other part of the body, to the nerve centers. The 
 efferent nerves transmit nervous excitation or stimulus 
 from the nerve centers to the muscles at the surface and 
 other parts of the body. The most important of the 
 
 Figure III. — Segment of the Spinal Cord. (Landois.) 
 
 This figure shows the origin of the roots of the nerves. ^, anterior, and/, posterior, 
 median fissure ; ar^ anterior, and /r, posterior, roots of the nerves; «, nerves beyond the 
 union of the roots. 
 
 afferent nerves for the psychologist are the sensory 
 nerves, which connect the organs of sense with the great 
 nerve center, the brain, and transmit sensations or the 
 stimuli which result in sensations. The most important 
 of the efferent nerves are the motor nerves, which are the 
 means of conveying orders from the nerve centers, and 
 thus producing movements of the muscles in the various 
 parts of the body. 
 
 Cerebral Nerves, There are twelve pairs of cerebral 
 nerves. Some of these have their origin in the upper 
 lobes of the brain, and others in the medulla oblongata. 
 A part of these nerves terminate in the organs of the 
 special senses ; of the others some are sensory and some 
 are motor. The nerves of the special senses will be 
 
30 THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS 
 
 noticed, as far as necessary, in connection with the 
 descriptions of the various senses. 
 
 Spinal Nerves. Of spinal nerves there are thirty-one 
 pairs. Each of the trunk nerves has two roots, called 
 respectively the anterior or ventral root and the posterior 
 or dorsal root. The anterior root consists of motor or 
 efferent fibers, and the posterior of afferent or sensory 
 fibers. If the motor root of a particular nerve were 
 destroyed it would be impossible to move that part 
 of the body to which this nerve extends, however much 
 pain there might be from the action of the sensory por- 
 tion of the nerve. If the sensory root were severed, no 
 pain would be felt, however much injury might be 
 inflicted. If the spinal cord is broken the part of the 
 body supplied with nerves by the portion of the cord 
 below the break becomes paralyzed. 
 
 After extending a little distance from their origin in 
 the cord, the trunk nerves begin to divide and subdivide, 
 and continue this process until the motor fibers are dis- 
 tributed to the various voluntary muscles, and the sensory 
 fibers, in tlie same way, especially to the surface of the 
 body. The skin is so abundantly supplied with sensory 
 filaments that even the point of the finest needle is sure 
 to touch some of them if thrust into the skin. 
 
 Reflex Action is action answering back to some sort of 
 previous action. Strictly reflex action does not affect 
 consciousness. Such action results from the activity of 
 certain nervous ganglia. Nervous energy is discharged, 
 in reply to some provocation, from these "little brains." 
 Illustrations of reflex movements are very abundant. 
 Touch with a feather the sole of the foot of a person 
 
REFLEX ACTION 3 1 
 
 asleep, and the foot is instantly jerked away. Here the 
 action is purely reflex, and consciousness is not disturbed 
 in the least. In case of a person awake, there is con- 
 sciousness of the tickling of the foot, but the jerking 
 away takes place before volition can order the movement 
 to be made. 
 
 Reflex actions are altogether mechanical ; that is, 
 the nerves concerned act as a machine would act under 
 like conditions. By this mechanical sort of activity the 
 mind is saved much time and trouble ; it is relieved from 
 giving attention to a great number of little, commonplace 
 matters, and, consequently, can give its time and energies 
 more exclusively to the higher intellectual activities. 
 Some acts, like swallowing, are both reflex and auto- 
 matic from the very beginning of life. Some other acts 
 become nearly automatic by being constantly repeated. 
 Walking is an example. Such acts are sometimes called 
 secondarily automatic, to distinguish them from those 
 which are automatic from the first, or primarily automatic. 
 
 The processes by which forms of activity, originally 
 voluntary, become automatic, may properly enough be 
 called nervous and muscular education. After such edu- 
 cation and training have been acquired, a long series of 
 acts may be performed with accuracy, ease, grace, and 
 rapidity, without any exercise of volition except the 
 slight act necessary to start the series. The mechanism 
 required to produce reflex acts is very simple and very 
 easily understood. It consists (i) of an afferent nerve 
 with its filaments terminating in or near a sensitive sur- 
 face; (2) a minor nerve center, that is, a ganglion with 
 which the afferent nerve is connected ; and (3) an efferent 
 
32 THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS 
 
 or motor nerve connected with this center and also with 
 muscles by which movements can be made. The action 
 commences by some irritation or impulse upon the outer 
 extremities of the afferent nerve; this irritation is con- 
 veyed along the fibers of this nerve to the minor nerve 
 center, and is there changed into another impulse which 
 passes along the efferent nerve and produces the move- 
 ments by its action in the muscles. In some sense an 
 efferent impulse is a transform.ed afferent impulse, but it 
 is not always simply that. The efferent impulse may be 
 either greater or less than the preceding afferent im- 
 pulse. This is illustrated in coughing and sneezing and 
 some other familiar acts. 
 
 The movements produced by the action of the motor 
 nerves have their origin in one of three sources : They 
 may be (i) purely automatic, caused by the spontaneous 
 discharges of nervous energy or force from some minor 
 nerve center. These movements are of several kinds, 
 such as the random and the instinctive. They may (2) 
 be reflex, that is, they may be responses to previous sen- 
 sory irritations. This division includes the reflex actions 
 which have been made such by the processes of train- 
 ing. They may (3) be voluntary, caused by an act of voli- 
 tion, quite independent of any previous sensory or other 
 external activity. 
 
 Upon this matter Professor Ladd says, in his Descrip- 
 tive Psychology, '* Some writers on psychology strive to 
 explain all the movements, not only of the simpler 
 amoeboid bodies, but even of the most complex organ- 
 isms, as falling somehow under the term reflex. But he 
 who has watched even the amoeba under the microscope, 
 
CONCLUSION 33 
 
 and noted the unexpected, inexplicable, self-originated 
 character of much of its motor activity, will probably be 
 gravely dissatisfied with such easy-going explanations. 
 The more careful and unprejudiced our study of the be- 
 havior of microorganisms becomes, the more difficult do 
 we find it to bring all the phenomena of their movements 
 under terms of a molecular mechanism that is excited to 
 react solely by the application of stimuli to its periphery. 
 As the student of physiology rises higher in the scale of 
 life, he finds the number and complication of the phe- 
 nomena that baffle explanation by way of merely reflex 
 motor hypotheses greatly increased.'* It is evident to 
 one who is inquiring only for facts and the truth, that 
 all motor activity does not have its origin in sensation. 
 There is something of self-determining power in the 
 human soul which can, when occasion requires, set the 
 physical organism in motion. 
 
 Conclusion. — The discussions and conclusions of this 
 chapter may be briefly summed up as follows : Nervous 
 matter is of two kinds, the white and the gray. The 
 peculiar property of the white nerve fibers is to receive 
 impressions from stimuli of various sorts and transmit 
 these to and from the nerve centers. The cellular gray 
 centers are reservoirs and producers of nervous energy 
 and give direction to the various forms of external activ- 
 ity. The medulla oblongata controls most of the auto- 
 matic activities, and the spinal cord is the chief center of 
 reflex actions, both original and acquired. The cere- 
 brum is concerned with the higher functions of the mind, 
 and may be called the servant of the intellect, the will, 
 and the moral activities. 
 3 
 
34 THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Nerve matter ; two kinds. 
 
 2. The sympathetic system ; its functions. 
 
 3. The cerebro-spinal system. 
 
 4. The brain ; its subdivisions. 
 
 5. Presumption as to knowledge. 
 
 6. Weight of brain compared with weight of body. 
 
 7. Relation between size of brain and intellectual power. 
 
 8. How early the brain may be taxed with labor. 
 
 9. Divisions of the cerebrum ; fissures, lobes. 
 
 10. Division of labor ; its advantages. 
 
 11. Professor Hering's statements. 
 
 12. Some localizations of functions. 
 
 13. The cerebellum ; its functions. 
 
 14. The medulla oblongata ; its offices. 
 
 15. The spinal cord ; length, size. 
 
 16. The nerves ; afferent and efferent ; sensory and motor. 
 
 17. Cerebral nerves. 
 
 18. Spinal nerves ; the two roots. 
 
 19. Results of destroying the roots. 
 
 20. Divisions of the nerve fibers. 
 
 21. Reflex action ; illustrations ; advantages. 
 
 22. Automatic acts ; primary, secondary. 
 
 23. Nervous and muscular education. 
 
 24. The mechanism required to produce reflex acts. 
 
 25. Origin of the movements produced by the motor nerves, 
 
 26. Professor Ladd's opinion. 
 
 27. Conclusions from the discussion. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 
 
 Attention defined. Attention is one of the most es- 
 sential conditions of effective mental work. It is not a 
 distinct power of the mind, nor a specific mode of psychic 
 action, like perception, or representation, or imagination. 
 Any activity of the mind, intensified and concentrated 
 upon some object, involves that condition which we call 
 attention. 
 
 Attention may be defined as that state of the mind in 
 which its energy and activity are concentrated upon some 
 particular object of observation or of thought. It may 
 also be defined as any form of psychical activity intensified 
 and directed to some particular object. The mental ac- 
 tivity is focused upon something to the total or partial 
 exclusion of everything else from consciousness. 
 
 Extension and Intension. The action of attention 
 may be compared to that of a microscope. An object 
 glass of high power concentrates the light so as to bring 
 out with great distinctness even the most minute features 
 of that part of the object within the field of view. But 
 this field of view is very limited. The work done by the 
 instrument is most thorough and effective, but is confined 
 to a narrow space. A glass of less power allows the eye 
 
 35 
 
36 ATTENTION AND INTEREST 
 
 to traverse a wider field, but the resulting knowledge 
 lacks in definiteness and completeness. 
 
 Effects of Concentration. Attention may be called 
 the microscope of the mental eye. Its power may be 
 high, that is, the energy of the mind may be thoroughly 
 concentrated. The intension is great, but the field of 
 view is very limited. There is no extension. When the 
 intension is high, attention is confined within very 
 narrow limits, but its action is exceedingly intense 
 and absorbing. It sees but few things, but these few are 
 seen ** through and through," and most thoroughly 
 learned. The resulting knowledge is perfectly clear, 
 sharply defined, and available for use. Mental energy 
 and activity, whether of perception or thought, thus con- 
 centrated, act like the sun's rays concentrated by a burn- 
 ing glass. The object is illumined, heated, finally set on 
 fire. Impressions are so deep that they can never be 
 effaced. This sort of attention is the prime condition 
 of effective and productive mental labor. 
 
 Varieties of Attention. Hamilton, with his usual 
 acuteness of analysis, makes three varieties of attention. 
 He says, *' I am persuaded that we are frequently deter- 
 mined to an act of attention, as to many other acts, in- 
 dependently of our free and deliberate volition. At- 
 tention is of three degrees or kinds. The first is a mere 
 vital and irresistible act ; the second, an act determined 
 by desire, which, though involuntary, may be resisted by 
 our will; the third, an act determined by a deliberate 
 volition." The first of these is the attention of the child, 
 who is so strongly drawn by the allurements that he is 
 utterly unable to resist them. He gives attention be- 
 
ATTENTION EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL 37 
 
 cause he cannot avoid it. The second may be illustrated 
 by this example: The pupils of a class, seated before. a 
 teacher, are told that presently some strange person, or 
 strange object, will come in at the door of the school- 
 room, and are urgently requested not to turn their heads 
 so as to look at the object or person. Suppose the per- 
 son enters with a loud noise and some violent demonstra- 
 tion. There is, on the part of the 'pupils, an intense 
 desire to look in the direction of the door, but hav- 
 ing been previously warned they can, by a vigorous 
 effort of will, resist the urgent promptings of desire. 
 The third variety, the voluntary, needs no explana- 
 tion. 
 
 Two Varieties. Most writers recognize only two kinds 
 of attention, the voluntary and the involuntary. The 
 involuntary is better called non-voluntary or reflex. 
 
 Mr. Sully remarks : *^ When the mind is acted upon by 
 the mere force of the object presented, the act of atten- 
 tion is said to be non-voluntary. It may also be called 
 reflex (or automatic), because it has a striking analogy to 
 reflex movement, that is to say, movement following 
 sensory stimulation without the intervention of a con- 
 scious purpose. On the other hand, when we attend to 
 a thing under the impulse of a desire, such as curiosity or 
 a wish to know about a thing, we are said to do so by an 
 act of will or voluntarily. These two modes of attention 
 are very properly distinguished. In early life non-volun- 
 tary attention is predominant ; in later life, voluntary 
 attention." 
 
 Attention External or Internal. Attention may be 
 directed to external objects. This is purposed observa- 
 
38 ATTENTION AND INTEREST 
 
 tion. In this case the perceptive activity is in an excited 
 state, and exerts itself through some one or more of the 
 organs of sense. We may be intent in watching or ex- 
 amining an object of sight ; we may hsten intently to 
 catch some sound ; we may seek eagerly to detect the 
 peculiar character of some odor or flavor. We may do 
 these things of set purpose, because we desire to learn 
 something ; then the attention is voluntary ; — or we may 
 be allured by something in the objects about us; then 
 the attention is reflex. 
 
 The attention maybe directed inward, may be internal. 
 In this case the mind is absorbed and occupied by proc- 
 esses of thought, or in the examination of these proc- 
 esses. When internal attention becomes exceedingly 
 intense so that ordinary impressions upon the senses are 
 unnoticed, a person is said to be absent-minded or in a 
 state of abstraction. Amusing examples are given of 
 such complete absorption in study or meditation. New- 
 ton sometimes forgot the hour and the need of his din- 
 ner, and men are said to have forgotten the day and the 
 hour of their own weddings. 
 
 Condition of the Body. In external attention the ap- 
 pearance and posture of the body frequently indicate the 
 greater or less degree of concentration of mind upon 
 objects of perception. The whole body is bent forward ; 
 the head is turned to one side and often inclined ; the 
 neck is sometimes stretched to its full length ; the eyes 
 are wide open and fixed, and frequently the mouth is 
 opened without the knowledge of the person. Tlie 
 entire nervous and muscular systems are highly excited. 
 In case of internal attention the eyes may be open with- 
 
L 
 
 STIMULI 39 
 
 out seeing, and the sense of hearing and even that of 
 feeling may appear to be lost for the time. 
 Upon what the Degree of Attention depends. The 
 
 degree of attention which can be exercised at any time, 
 depends (i) upon the condition of the body. If there is 
 an abundance of nervous energy, attention can be easily 
 secured. If the body has become fatigued, continuous 
 attention is nearly impossible. It can be given only in 
 response to some violent stimulus, or in forced and pain- 
 ful obedience to the imperative demands of the will ; the 
 effort to give attention, under such conditions, is ex- 
 tremely irritating and exhausting, and to require it of 
 children is hardly less than cruelty. 
 
 The degree of attention depends (2) also upon the 
 mental condition. If the- mind is fatigued and exhausted, 
 effective attention is absolutely impossible. At such a 
 time the student cannot afford to make heavy requisi- 
 tions upon himself, nor can a teacher afford to make them 
 upon his pupils. The expenditure of vital and psychical 
 force is too great for the meager returns secured. Con- 
 sequently work which calls for much concentration of 
 psychical energy, and for close and protracted attention, 
 should be undertaken at that period of the day when 
 both body and mind are most fresh and vigorous. 
 
 Attention produced by Stimuli, etc. — Non-voluntary 
 attention, and to some extent even voluntary, is secured 
 by allurements, incitements, and stimuli of some sort. 
 The attention is said to be caught, to be arrested, fas- 
 tened, or commanded. 
 
 External Stimuli. — These enticements are either ex- 
 ternal or internal. In case of non-voluntary attention 
 
40 ATTENTION AND INTEREST 
 
 and with children, they are mostly external. They are 
 the characteristics and qualities of objects and acts which 
 strongly impress and excite the senses. A very bright 
 light, a brilliant color, some strange peculiarity of form 
 or movement, an unusual stir of some sort, lay hold upon 
 the sense of sight and compel attention. A loud noise, 
 a peculiar combination of sounds, an unexpected burst of 
 song or of musical instruments, a clap of thunder, strike 
 the ear and arrest attention. Among the external stimuli 
 are all the various devices of parents, teachers, and others, 
 employed to attract, hold, divert, and occupy the atten- 
 tion of young children. 
 
 Internal Stimuli include all things which appeal to the 
 representative and thinking powers, and those which ex- 
 cite the feelings through these activities. In older stu- 
 dents the mental representations of the pleasures and 
 advantages resulting from the acquisition of knowledge 
 stimulate the student and fix attention upon the subjects 
 of study. The real or imagined advantages supposed to 
 follow the possession of wealth, or power, or influence of 
 any nature, constitute a strong allurement to many minds 
 and concentrate attention upon the means necessary to 
 attain these. The pleasure springing out of the mere ex- 
 ercise of any form of mental activity, when the exercise 
 is proper in degree and amount, is a constant stimulus to 
 attention. Affection for parents, love of friends, desire 
 of approval are so many internal stimuli to the young 
 pupil. The most effective internal, as well as external, 
 stimuli vary with age, with habits, and with degrees of 
 development and culture. 
 
 Natural Stimuli. Stimuli to attention, like stimuli to 
 
STIMULI 41 
 
 appetite, or to physical or mental exertion of any sort, 
 may be natural, agreeable, and wholesome, or they may 
 be unnatural, disagreeable, and unwholesome in their 
 ultimate effect. Natural stimuli allure and entice the 
 attention, lay hold upon it with a gentle grasp and pro- 
 duce no sudden and violent movements. The mind is 
 not forced and dragged along like an unwilling and strug- 
 gling animal, or like a resisting child. The activity ex- 
 cited is steady and grows in intensity. The interest and 
 the attention reach their highest pitch by gradual incre- 
 ments and not by a single unnatural and painful effort. 
 Among such stimuli are the forms, features, qualities, and 
 characteristics of external objects properly presented ; 
 and also customary acts, movements, modes of address, 
 and management. Of this kind are the pleasurable feel- 
 ings of the soul, the emotions, affections, and desires 
 when not unduly excited, and, indeed, all forms of men- 
 tal activity within proper limits. 
 
 Unnatural Stimuli. Among the unnatural stimuli, 
 which are usually harmful, are all harsh and violent in- 
 citements, strange and frightful objects suddenly pre- 
 sented, strange sights, sounds, and actions ; so also are 
 the uncouth, senseless, and almost barbarous devices 
 sometimes resorted to by unskilful teachers and sensa- 
 tional orators. Such stimuli compel attention for the 
 moment ; they produce, for a short time, an intense but 
 painful and exhaustive concentration and activity of 
 mind, followed, of necessity, by weariness, weakness, and 
 often disgust. The frequent use of stimuli of this char- 
 acter renders the mind insensible to the influence of 
 milder and more healthful incitements, just as artificial 
 
42 ATTENTION AND INTEREST 
 
 stimulants and highly seasoned food destroy the relish 
 for plain diet and wholesome cooking. The natural 
 appetite is destroyed in both cases. Children accus- 
 tomed to the government of objurgations and blows soon 
 become deaf to requirements expressed in quiet tones 
 and mild words. So pupils whose attention is demanded 
 by loud and angry talking, by violent gesticulations, by 
 rappings with a ferule, and stampings of the foot, become 
 blind and deaf to all natural and healthful stimuli. 
 
 Influence of Surroundings. The power to secure atten- 
 tion of others or to give attention one's self is very greatly 
 affected by the immediate surroundings. This is espe- 
 cially observable in case of children, but even pupils of 
 considerable maturity and culture are conscious of the 
 influence of environment in this matter. Anything un- 
 usual in the room or about the house distracts the atten- 
 tion. Familiarity with the place, with the furniture and 
 its arrangement, with the tables, books, papers, and other 
 articles used in the preparation of lessons, or in the pros- 
 ecution of any form of literary or scientific labor, con- 
 tributes to increase the power of attention. An approach 
 is made here to the domain of habit. 
 
 Influence of Association. The ordinary influence of 
 environment is greatly increased by the power of asso- 
 ciation in giving direction to mental activity. When the 
 associations are in harmony with the objects of observa- 
 tion or thought to which the attention is solicited, they 
 are most valuable and effective aids in producing perfect 
 concentration of psychical energy. A room set apart for 
 study, pleasantly associated with books, lessons, teachers, 
 and instruction ; with quietness, good order, agreeable 
 
LIMITATION OF TIME 43 
 
 companions, and industry in literary pursuits, makes 
 attention comparatively easy. On the other hand, a 
 building or room associated with enticing games and 
 sports, with exciting representations of any kind, with 
 musical or theatrical entertainments, or with anything 
 peculiarly attractive and out of harmony with books, 
 study, and school work generally, renders it difficult to 
 fix attention upon lessons, or any kind of mental labor. 
 The surroundings, the associations, and the occupation 
 must be in accord in order that attention may be had 
 without painful effort, and that mental activity may be 
 most fruitful. 
 
 Limitation of Time. Very vigorous activity of either 
 body or mind can be kept up for only a limited time. 
 The more intense and absorbing the activity, the shorter 
 its duration. The attention of young children should be 
 asked for only a very brief period. Let it be made as com- 
 plete as possible while it is held, and let it be followed 
 by a period of entire relaxation and repose. As age in- 
 creases and habit begins to exert its power and lend its 
 assistance, the periods of tension may be gradually 
 lengthened, and those of relaxation may become shorter 
 and less frequent. The child should be taught and 
 trained to study with the utmost possible vigor during 
 the periods of study. Great care should be taken to 
 save pupils from falling into the habit of ''dawdling" 
 over books and lessons. Nothing is more fatal to real 
 scholarship or to effective work than this habit, into which 
 children are sometimes driven by unreasonable demands, 
 and by unwise methods of training. 
 
 Professor James writes: ** There is no such thing as 
 
44 ATTENTION AND INTEREST 
 
 voluntary attention sustained for more than a few sec- 
 onds at a time. What is called sustained voluntary at- 
 tention is a repetition of successive efforts which bring 
 back the topic to the mind. The topic once brought 
 back, if a congenial one, develops ; and if its develop- 
 ment is interesting it engages the attention passively for 
 a time. This passive interest may be short or long. As 
 soon as it flags, the attention is diverted by some irrele- 
 vant thing, and then a voluntary effort may bring it back 
 to the topic again ; and so on, under favorable conditions, 
 for hours together. During all this time, however, note 
 that it is not an identical object in the psychical sense, 
 but a succession of mutually related objects forming an 
 identical topic only, upon which the attention is fixed. 
 No one can possibly attend continuously to an object 
 that does not change.*' 
 
 A Condition of Memory. Attention is the most essen^ 
 tial subjective condition of retentioji and reproduction, A t- 
 tention and memory are inseparably connected. Things are 
 forgotten because no real, intense attention was bestowed 
 upon the process of learning. Mechanical repetition is 
 often relied on to supply the place of genuine concentra- 
 tion of mental activity. Repetition is necessary, espe- 
 cially for young pupils, and is of great value in many 
 cases, but it can never be made a substitute for attention. 
 The one merely touches the surface, the other pene- 
 trates to the very heart of things. 
 
 Can attention be given to more than one thing at the 
 same time ? This is an old question, and has been much 
 and eagerly discussed. The question is not of practical 
 importance, but rather of theoretical interest. It is cer- 
 
ATTENTION TO TWO THINGS 45 
 
 tain that several things may appear at the same time in 
 consciousness. We are in a general way conscious of 
 them. But whenever the attention is concentrated upon 
 any one of these, the others disappear for the time. The 
 attention can be transferred very rapidly from one ob- 
 ject, or one group of objects, to another object ; but they 
 are not in the focus of attention at the same instant. 
 
 Possible Explanation. It is possible that this old 
 problem has its solution in the well-known fact of the 
 persistence of impressions upon the senses and upon the 
 mind. Sensations produced by impressions upon the 
 nerves of sight, hearing, or taste persist for an appreci- 
 able period of time after the exciting causes have ceased 
 to act. Why may not this be true of the products of 
 other forms of mental activity ? For example, I am 
 comparing two objects placed before me. I am unable 
 to look intently upon both objects at the same instant ; 
 the attention is directed in turn to one and then the 
 other. The change from one to the other may be said 
 to be instantaneous ; nevertheless it occupies an appreci- 
 able portion of time. Is it not altogether beyond doubt 
 that the image of the one object persists on the retina 
 and in the mind until the image of the other is formed ? 
 In this case the second image is superimposed, so to 
 speak, upon the first, and the two are thus brought into 
 the most favorable position for comparison. May not 
 the same be true of the mental products or images of 
 two successive acts of representation ? It may also be 
 true when one of the psychical products is a recalled 
 picture and the other a present impression upon one of 
 the senses. 
 
46 ATTENTION AND INTEREST 
 
 Importance of Attention. The importance of the 
 power to concentrate all the mental energy upon some 
 one object can hardly be overestimated. ^* The differ- 
 ence between an ordinary mind and the mind of a New- 
 ton consists principally in this, that the one is capable of 
 the application of a more continuous attention than the 
 other.'* Newton himself said that if he had made any dis- 
 coveries, it was owing more to patient attention than to 
 any other talent. Genius has been called '* a continued 
 attention,'* and also '^ a protracted patience." ''The 
 command of one's faculties by the power of attention is 
 more or less perfect in proportion to the natural strength 
 of the will, which varies in individuals, and to the devel- 
 opment of its energy under the Law of Habit, namely : 
 Our powers acquire facility and strength by exercise.'* 
 
 Interest. The most natural incentive to voluntary 
 attention is interest. In the child what we call curiosity 
 takes the place of interest. The term interest is em- 
 ployed in connection with a great variety of affairs, and 
 with widely different meanings. We are here concerned 
 only to inquire what interest is when spoken of in con- 
 nection with school affairs and the study of psychology. 
 
 Interest as Feeling. In strictness of speech interest 
 is not definable ; it can be fully known only by personal 
 experience. In the child and, to a considerable extent, 
 but not exclusively, in the mature person, interest is feel- 
 ing ; that is, a more or less excited state of mind, the ex- 
 citement varying in intensity from a movement so gentle 
 as to be hardly observable in consciousness to a disturb- 
 ance of a most violent character. In its mildest form 
 
INTEREST MORE THAN FEELING 47 
 
 the feeling is a simple emotion, a gentle ripple upon the 
 surface of the soul, most frequently pleasurable, but 
 sometimes painful, drawing or urging the attention to- 
 ward that which excites the feeling. When interest 
 grows more intense the soul is stirred more and more 
 deeply, and the feeling may become exceedingly com- 
 plex ; emotion, affection, and desire being mingled to- 
 gether. In many cases, pleasure, pain, hope, fear, antici- 
 pation, expectation, and even dread and terror, may be 
 combined in various degrees to produce interest. The 
 interest is pleasurable or painful according to the nature 
 of the feeling. Usually when we speak of ^^ being inter- 
 ested " in some topic or subject, we mean that the con- 
 dition aroused is of the agreeable sort. *^ A thing which 
 fully interests us excites the w^ill to a deliberate concen- 
 tration of the attention with the view either to prolong 
 or gain some pleasure or satisfaction, or to get rid of or 
 avert some pain. And since the positive end of volun- 
 tary action is pleasure or happiness, the term interest 
 naturally comes to point to those objects and related 
 activities which are immediate sources of enjoyment, or 
 w^hich are connected with, or have a bearing on, these.'' 
 
 Interest more than Feeling. So long as interest is 
 only some form of feeling it can last but for a short time. 
 Continued interest involves something more than mere 
 feeling. As intellectual development goes on we come 
 to be interested in objects, in courses of life, in men and 
 things, not because they excite emotion, but because 
 they appeal to the judgment, the reason, the imagination, 
 and other mental activities. In all these cases there is 
 no doubt that feeling follows or accompanies the Intel- 
 
48 ATTENTION AND INTEREST 
 
 lectual action. There is pleasure in mere activity when 
 this is not too protracted or too intense. 
 
 Two Things Necessary. Experience arid observation 
 unite in testifying tliat any new object of study, or any new 
 purposes and plans of action, in order to excite interest i7t 
 us and draw attention, must possess two apparently oppo- 
 site characteristics. The object, or purpose, must have 
 some degree of familiarity, must bear some resemblance 
 to one or more known things ; must have some points 
 by which it can, without too much difificulty, be attached 
 to the present content of the mind. An object entirely 
 new, strange, and unusual repels the mind and prevents 
 attention. 
 
 But while complete strangeness must be avoided, the 
 object must have something of variety and novelty. 
 With its likeness there must be a considerable measure 
 of unlikeness. The mind refuses to be interested in 
 sameness and in the mere repetition of the old and 
 familiar. It will not give attention to these for any 
 length of time. 
 
 Expectation or Expectant Attention. Voluntary at- 
 tention in order to be continued for any appreciable 
 length of time must have behind it or connected with it 
 the feeling of expectation. The mind must be put into 
 the attitude of watching for something which has not yet 
 appeared ; the feeling is a mixed one ; the pain of un- 
 satisfied curiosity is mingled with the pleasure of eager 
 anticipation. In order to induce this sort of attention 
 the matter to be presented to a class or an individual 
 must be unfolded Httle by little, step by step, each step 
 opening the way for the next, each fact or truth pointing 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER 49 
 
 forward to something not yet reached, and every advance 
 evidently bringing the mind nearer and nearer to the 
 thing which is to be finally attained. A writer says : '^ In 
 expectation the attitude of the mind is one of strenuous 
 activity. It stretches forward in anticipation of the 
 coming event. This expectation may be of different 
 degrees of perfection. Thus we may know only the 
 time of the impression, but not its nature. In listening 
 to a new poem, or a new musical composition, we antici- 
 pate the succeeding sounds in their regular recurrence. 
 This anticipation of a new impression, or series of im- 
 pressions, after a regular interval is a condition of the 
 pleasurable effect of an orderly rhythmic sequence of 
 sounds or sights. The mind not only adjusts itself to 
 each new impression, but has a continued satisfaction of 
 nascent expectation." This sort of attention is of the 
 utmost importance to the teacher and to the public 
 speaker. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Importance of attention ; not a faculty. 
 
 2. Definitions of attention. 
 
 3. Extension and intension ; comparison with the microscope. 
 
 4. Effects of mental concentration. 
 
 5. Varieties of attention ; Hamilton. 
 
 6. Illustration of Hamilton's second variety. 
 
 7. The two varieties ; Sully's remarks. 
 
 8. External and internal attention. 
 
 9. Condition of the body in giving attention. 
 
 10. Degree of attention depends (i) upon condition of the body ; 
 
 (2) upon the mental condition. 
 
 11. Attention produced by stimuli ; external ; internal. 
 
 4 
 
50 ATTENTION AND INTEREST 
 
 12. Natural stimuli ; unnatural ; effect of the unnatural. 
 
 13. Influence of surroundings. 
 
 14. Influence of association. 
 
 15. Limitation of time. 
 
 16. Professor James's views. 
 
 17. Attention a condition of memory. 
 
 18. Attention to more than one thing at the same time. 
 
 19. Possible explanation. 
 
 20. Importance of attention. 
 
 21. Newton's testimony. 
 
 22. Interest ; the natural incentive. 
 
 23. Interest as feeling ; kinds of feeling ; degrees of feeling. 
 
 24. Action of the will ; pleasure anticipated. 
 
 25. Interest more than feeling ; sources of this. 
 
 26. The two things necessary in an object in order to secure at- 
 
 tention. 
 
 27. Expectant attention or expectation. 
 
 28. Attitude of the mind in such attention. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PRESENTATIVE OR PERCEPTIVE ACTIVITIES — SENSATION 
 
 AND PERCEPTION. 
 
 Position of the Child. With the nervous organization, 
 partially described in a previous chapter, the child finds 
 himself in the midst of a world of material objects, and 
 of influences and forces. These act upon the sensitive 
 nervous organization, particularly upon the nerves of the 
 special senses. At every turn some object or force 
 stimulates, excites, or irritates, or in some way im- 
 presses the nerves of smell, taste, touch, hearing, or sight. 
 The impressions or irritations, made upon the outer 
 extremities of the afferent nerves, are conveyed, by some 
 action of the nerve fibers, inward to the nerve centers, 
 and, finally, in some mysterious and unknown way, to 
 the center and seat of intelligence, the mind. They 
 produce peculiar states of mind, which can be named, 
 but cannot, in any full sense of the word, be defined. 
 The states of mind are known only by consciousness. 
 
 Sensation is a state of mind, or of consciousness, 
 caused by impressions made upon a sensory nerve. It is 
 the simplest mental state. 
 
 First Conscious Psychical Activity. Conscious psy- 
 chical life, without doubt, begins with sensations. The 
 soul becomes aware of a change of state ; a new ex- 
 perience takes place, and this experience causes other 
 
 SI 
 
52 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 activities of soul to manifest themselves. One of these 
 is discrimination and comparison. Sensations are re- 
 peated, and different sensations appear through the 
 various senses, sensations of touch, taste, smell, sound, 
 and sight. These sensations, in a very imperfect way 
 doubtless, are examined, compared, and recognized as 
 alike or unlike, similar or dissimilar. The resemblances 
 and differences, the likenesses and unlikenesses, are very 
 slowly and gradually noted and distinguished, and by 
 degrees are fixed in memory, so that a sensation, when 
 repeated, is recognized as having been previously experi- 
 enced. These early activities of discrimination, com- 
 parison, reproduction, and recollection, are undoubtedly 
 very feeble and imperfect, but that such activities have 
 a beginning here is beyond question. A sensation of the 
 present moment could not be compared with one experi- 
 enced a short time ago, unless this last sensation could 
 be recalled into consciousness with sufficient distinctness 
 to be recognized. 
 
 Sensations not Knowledge. Properly speaking, sensa- 
 tions are not real knowledge, but only raw material out 
 of which, by other psychical processes, knowledge can be 
 produced. Sensations are altogether within, simple 
 states of consciousness, giving us by themselves no 
 acquaintance with the world outside ourselves. It is 
 true that the causes of sensations are material, things 
 external which, in some way that we do not yet under- 
 stand, affect the sensory nerves and create an excitement 
 which is propagated along the nerve fibers to the great 
 center, the brain. It is not until perception takes place 
 that knowledge really begins. 
 
CHARACTERISTICS OF SENSATIONS 53 
 
 Sensibility is the mind's susceptibility to be affected 
 or acted upon by the excitement of a sensory nerve. 
 This characteristic of mind is to be carefully distin- 
 guished from the susceptibility of the body to be im- 
 pressed by outward agencies and influences. These 
 agencies modify, in some manner, the sense organs, and 
 produce some form of motion, but sensation is not mere 
 physical movement. It is true, also, that such impres- 
 sions do not always cause conscious sensations. The 
 impressions may be too weak, or the attention may be 
 too completely turned in some other direction. Soldiers 
 are sometimes severely wounded in battle without being 
 aware of the injury at the time. 
 
 The Conditions of Sensation are three, and are read- 
 ily noticed: (i) a physical organ, a nerve, capable of 
 conveying excitement or irritation to the great nerve 
 center; (2) some object or influence to stimulate or 
 excite this nerve ; (3) some conscious agent, some self 
 to receive and interpret this excitement in conscious- 
 ness. 
 
 Further on it will be seen that our senses can give us 
 only a comparatively small part of the characteristics 
 and qualities of the world about us. There are limita- 
 tions to the power of the eye and ear, and beyond these 
 limits they can give us no information. If we had more 
 senses, or the capacity of our present ones were in- 
 creased, our knowledge might undoubtedly be greatly 
 extended. 
 
 Characteristics of Sensations. Sensations have sev- 
 eral obvious characteristics. The most important of 
 these are : (i) Quantity or Intensity ; (2) Quality, the 
 
54 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 characteristic by which sensations are recognized as 
 coming through different senses, and by which, also, 
 they are rendered more or less agreeable and pleasing; 
 (3) Duration, denoting the time occupied by both the 
 physical and the psychical processes. 
 
 Quantity or Intensity of Sensations. Differences in 
 intensity are readily recognized, but not easily measured. 
 Flavors and odors are strong or weak, agreeable or dis- 
 agreeable ; sounds are loud or low ; lights are bright or 
 dim ; pressure is heavy or light. 
 
 Intensity Absolute or Apparent. The intensity of 
 sensations should be distinguished into absolute or real, 
 and apparent. The absolute varies with the variation 
 of the stimulus ; the apparent varies, not alone with the 
 variation of the stimulus, but as much with the variation 
 of surrounding circumstances and with the variation in 
 the conditions of the individual affected. The ticking of 
 a clock, scarcely noticed during the day amid the con- 
 fused multitude of mingled sounds, is heard with great 
 distinctness in the stillness of night. A burning gas jet, 
 affording no appreciable light at midday, appears brilliant 
 in the darkness of midnight. A moderately bitter sub- 
 stance fails to excite a bitter sensation if the nerves 
 of taste have just been affected by a substance much 
 more intensely bitter. Very pungent odors render the 
 nerves of smell insensible to the presence of the same 
 sort of odors of a less degree of pungency. Sensations of 
 heat and cold depend very much upon accidental and tem- 
 porary conditions. Water which feels warm to one hand 
 may feel cold to the other, if one hand has been held for 
 a little time in ice-water and the other in water of a pretty 
 
THRESHOLD OF CONSCIOUSNESS 55 
 
 high temperature. It is well known that one who is 
 greatly excited, or whose attention is entirely absorbed 
 by some object or purpose, may be severely injured 
 without being conscious, at the time, of pain. Such 
 examples make it evident that any law concerning the 
 relation between the observed intensity of a sensation 
 and the known intensity of its external cause must be 
 subject, in the conditions of real life, to important limita- 
 tions and exceptions. 
 
 The Threshold of Consciousness. A stimulus must 
 reach a certain degree of intensity before it affects the 
 sensory nerves sufficiently to cause a sensation. A light 
 may be so remote or so dim as not to excite the optic 
 nerves, and a sonorous body may vibrate too slowly to 
 excite the sense of hearing. Let the light or the vibra- 
 tions of the sounding body be gradually increased, and 
 a point will be reached where the nerves of the eye or 
 the ear are sufficiently affected to produce a just percep- 
 tible sensation. This point in the intensity of the stim- 
 ulus at which the slightest sensation is distinctly felt is 
 called the threshold of consciousness and also the thresh- 
 old of affective stimulus. 
 
 The sensibility of some persons being much more acute 
 than that of others, the threshold of consciousness will 
 not be the same for all, nor will it be exactly the same 
 for any individual at all times, since the acuteness of sen- 
 sibility is affected by the general condition of the body, 
 by the state of the health, and also, to some extent, by 
 mental conditions. 
 
 Summit of Consciousness. There is an upper as well 
 as a lower limit to sensibility, — a point beyond which no 
 
$6 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 amount of increase of the stimulus will affect the sensa- 
 tion. However much the intensity of a light is increased, 
 after a certain point is reached, the corresponding sensa- 
 tion remains unaffected. The same is true of sounds, 
 tastes, and smells. The distance between the threshold 
 and the summit of consciousness constitutes the range of 
 sensibility. This range is considerably more extensive 
 in some persons than in others, and it may, by the use of 
 proper means, be extended somewhat in both direc- 
 tions. 
 
 Relation of Stimulus and Sensation. Common ex- 
 perience testifies that the intensity of sensation increases 
 and diminishes with the increase and diminution of the 
 intensity of the stimulus. But such experience cannot 
 determine whether or not the sensation increases and 
 diminishes in the same ratio as the stimulus. Experi- 
 ments have been made upon the sensations produced by 
 pressure, sound, and light, to ascertain the relation be- 
 tween the increase of the stimulus and the corresponding 
 increase of the sensation. It is proved that after the 
 threshold of consciousness is passed, a slight increase in 
 the stimulus produces no appreciable result. But the 
 less the intensity of the original stimulus the less the 
 increase necessary to cause a conscious change in the 
 sensation. For example, a slight addition to a dim light 
 will be observed; an equal increase in a much more 
 intense light will not be noticed. The same is true of a 
 weight pressing upon the hand, or of a sound, or an odor. 
 In all cases, the increase required to produce an appre- 
 ciable effect must be directly proportionate to the inten- 
 sity or quantity of the original stimulus. When, how- 
 
QUALITY IN SENSATIONS 57 
 
 ever, the intensity of the stimulus has reached a certain 
 height, any additional increase produces no effect upon 
 the intensity of the sensation. 
 
 Weber's Laws. The experiments of Weber, fol- 
 lowed by Fechner, established, in substance, the follow- 
 ing: In order that the sensations may increase in an 
 arithmetical ratio of 1,2, 3, 4, and so on, the stimulus 
 must be increased in a geometrical ratio of I, 2, 4, 8, 
 16, and so on. This general law is regarded as only ap- 
 proximately correct, and it will hold only when the 
 stimuli are of medium intensity. 
 
 Experiments upon the sensations of pressure show 
 that any weight laid upon the hand must be increased by 
 one third to produce a conscious change in the sensation. 
 If the original weight is one ounce, a third of an ounce 
 must be added ; if the original is three ounces, a full 
 ounce must be added, and so on for any original weight. 
 The sensibilit}^ to weight in lifting is much greater than 
 in pressure, an addition of six hundredths or one seven- 
 teenth being sufficient to change the intensity of the sen- 
 sation. A sound stimulus must be increased one third 
 and a light stimulus about one hundredth to cause a per- 
 ceptible change in the corresponding sensation. These 
 figures indicate only how much the stimulus must be 
 increased to produce a just perceptible change in the 
 sensation, but do not show the relation between the in- 
 crease in the stimulus and in the correlated sensation. 
 
 Quality in Sensations. Quality in a thing is that 
 which makes it of the sort or kind which it is, and dis- 
 tinguishes it from other sorts of things. The sensations 
 experienced through each of the senses have their own 
 
58 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 peculiar qualities. The eye gives one kind, the ear an- 
 other, taste another, and so on. Sensations received 
 through the different senses are not comparable with one 
 another, since only things which have something in com- 
 mon can be compared. Some of these senses make us 
 acquainted with but few different qualities, others with 
 a very large number. 
 
 Touch, Taste, and Smell. Touch, combined with 
 sensations produced by muscular movements, pres- 
 sure, and temperature, reveals to us the rough and 
 the smooth, the hard and the soft, the light and 
 the heavy, the hot and the cold, and something of 
 extension, form, distance, and direction. These qual- 
 ities will appear in different degrees, but will be es- 
 sentially of the same sort. Taste and smell give a 
 considerable number and variety of qualities. Tastes are 
 sour, sweet, bitter, and saline, in many degrees. Smells 
 are agreeable, disagreeable, pungent, nauseating, dis- 
 gusting, exhilarating, etc., in varying degrees. 
 
 Hearing affords an almost infinite variety in the quality 
 of sensations. Musical sounds are distinguished from 
 mere noises, the former being produced by regularly re- 
 curring vibrations and the latter by irregularly recurring 
 vibrations. Changes in pitch are caused by changes in 
 the rate of vibrations. Different musical instruments 
 and different human voices have each a quality of 
 its own. Besides these there are the peculiar qualities 
 of overtones, and many other combinations having their 
 own peculiar characteristics. 
 
 Sight. Sensations experienced through sight are prob- 
 ably more numerous than those derived from any other 
 
DURATION OF SENSATIONS 5^ 
 
 sense. The number of colors is almost beyond compu- 
 tation or conception when account is taken of shades and 
 tints. Color impressions form regular series as in the 
 solar spectrum. There is harmony of colors as well as 
 of sounds. In both cases the term harmony simply 
 means that the qualities of the sensation resulting from 
 the combinations of sounds and colors are agreeable to 
 the ear and the eye. 
 
 Duration of Sensations. Common experiences, as well 
 as careful experiments, prove that some sensations con- 
 tinue for an appreciable time after the stimulus has 
 ceased to act. In such cases it is evident that the exci- 
 tation of the nerve fibers does not stop instantly when 
 the cause of the excitement is removed. This is espe- 
 cially true of sensations of light and color. If the eyes 
 are fixed intently, for a little time, upon a very bright 
 object and then suddenly closed, an after-image appears 
 which at first exactly resembles the object, but which 
 passes rapidly through various changes. The after-image 
 of a bright-colored object shows the complementary 
 color. All are familiar with the fact that a glowing coal 
 or a red-hot piece of iron, swung round at a tolerably 
 rapid rate, leaves a complete circle of light. A disk of 
 alternate sections of black and white, revolved with con- 
 siderable rapidity, presents the appearance of a uniform 
 gray. In all these cases, the result comes from the tem- 
 porary persistence of the impressions upon the optic 
 nerves, and the consequent persistence of the sensation. 
 
 Two Aspects of Sensation. Sensations have two 
 aspects, the one the aspect of knowledge, the other that 
 of feeling. The two can hardly be separated in fact, but 
 
6o SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 may be partially, at least, in discussion. As previously 
 stated, sensations are only the raw material of knowl- 
 edge ; they are, at the same time, the sources of many 
 feelings. Sensations are by some writers divided into 
 two great classes of agreeable and disagreeable, while 
 some others think a third class may be made, called the 
 neutral. We have here been considering them only in 
 relation to knowledge ; further on the aspect of feeling 
 will be discussed. 
 
 Two Steps of Progress. Sensations, being merely 
 states of soul, internal experiences, give the child, at first, 
 no knowledge of the external world. He is aware of a 
 change of consciousness ; something has happened, but 
 this change, this happening, is altogether within. Ac- 
 quaintance with things outside himself has not yet begun. 
 There is cognition of sensations, and presently compar- 
 ison of these and discrimination. This is the first step 
 towards knowledge ; the raw materials are being gath- 
 ered. This condition can last but a short time, and can 
 never be experienced in mature life. The second step, 
 called perception, follows immediately. 
 
 Perception. Very soon after experiencing sensations, 
 ■ — how soon, it is impossible to determine, — the mind 
 commences to attribute sensations to external objects 
 and influences as their cause. This is the beginning of 
 perception. The nature of the process we do not know; 
 but we do know that in some way, through the organs 
 of sense, the soul becomes acquainted with the existence, 
 position, distance, size, form, color, and other qualities 
 and characteristics of material things, of the world of 
 matter. 
 
A PERCEPT 6l 
 
 Definition of Perception. Professor James says, '' The 
 consciousness of particular material things present to 
 sense is nowadays called perception.'* This definition 
 extends the sphere of consciousness to the external 
 world ; it is better to confine it to an awareness of the 
 effect of the external world upon the inner world. 
 
 Dr. J. M. Baldwin says, ^' It is the process of the con- 
 struction of our representation of the external world." 
 
 Dr. Davis writes, *^ Perception is the immediate knowl- 
 edge of an external object." The form of the definition 
 is not of special importance if the substance is embraced. 
 We may adopt the following : Perception is the mental 
 act of knowing immediately and directly external things. 
 It consists essentially in localizing sensations, or in group- 
 ing sensations together in some object of which we re- 
 gard them as qualities. The mind can know of the ex- 
 ternal world, its objects and forces, only those qualities 
 and characteristics which impress some one or more of 
 the senses, and thus cause sensations. It is not sub- 
 stance which is perceived, but the qualities of substance. 
 
 A Percept. The complete psychical product of the 
 act of perceiving is called a percept. Perception is a com- 
 plex process and the resulting percept is also exceedingly 
 complex. It contains not only the qualities and charac- 
 teristics discovered through the present sensations, but 
 also a great number of qualities, associated with these, 
 which are now recalled by the power of association, and 
 mingled with the sensations experienced at the present 
 time. A familiar example will illustrate this complex 
 process. A peach is placed before me, but at such a dis- 
 tance that I discover it only by the sense of sight. The 
 
62 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 sensations of sight reveal to me an object of a familiar 
 form, size, and external appearance. By these I recognize 
 the object as probably a peach. But with the qualities 
 with which sight now makes me acquainted, the qualities 
 learned through the other senses are mingled. I have 
 the sensations of taste, of smell, and of touch. The 
 character of the rind, the pulp, the pit, indeed of every 
 peculiarity associated with the peach, is present. All 
 these things enter into the percept, giving a most com- 
 plex and possibly confused mass of present and past sen- 
 sations. All percepts of common objects are of this sort, 
 composed as largely of representative as of presentative 
 qualities. 
 
 The Conditions of Perception are (i) a physical or- 
 ganism susceptible of receiving impressions from external 
 objects and influences and transmitting these inward to 
 the great nerve center ; (2) objects and influences to im- 
 press or excite this organism so as to produce sensations ; 
 (3) an intelligence immediately conscious of the sensa- 
 tions and able to translate them into percepts. Two of 
 the conditions are physical, and the third is psychical. 
 Sensations are the necessary antecedents of perception, 
 and, with the mature mind, perception is, in most cases, 
 the necessary and immediate result of sensation. It is 
 possible for the mind to be so preoccupied that sensa- 
 tions go unnoticed and perception does not follow. 
 
 Perceptions through the Different Senses. It is im- 
 possible to give anything like a complete discussion, in 
 an elementary work upon psychology, of the subject of 
 perception or of its relation to the higher psychical 
 activities. Consequently only brief statements can 
 
PERCEPTIONS THROUGH THE DIFFERENT SENSES 63 
 
 be made of the knowledge derived through the various 
 senses. 
 
 Perceptions of Taste. Taste and smell are the lowest 
 of the senses ; their activities relate rather to the phys- 
 ical than to the psychical life. Taste distinguishes sen- 
 sations of flavor: the sweet, the sour, the bitter, and the 
 salt, and various others of a complex nature. For certain 
 commercial purposes the sense of taste is cultivated 
 to a very high degree, in connection with that of smell. 
 
 Perceptions of Smell. The sensations of smell cannot 
 easily be described or classified. They are grouped to- 
 gether under the name of odors, and can be known only 
 by personal experience. Odors are called agreeable and 
 disagreeable, pleasant and pungent, and so on. One 
 most important function of the sense of smell is to de- 
 tect the presence of things harmful to health and unfavor- 
 able to physical enjoyment. Odors are associated with 
 the objects which emit them and are, in many cases, 
 named from these objects. In a few cases of the deaf 
 and blind the sense of smell has been cultivated to a 
 marvelous degree, so that they distinguish persons and 
 articles of clothing by the odor. Some of the lower 
 animals, especially the dog, greatly surpass man in the 
 acuteness of the sense of smell. 
 
 Touch and Muscular Movements. Touch is one of 
 those indefinite terms whose meaning it is difficult to 
 limit satisfactorily. Passive touch indicates that we re- 
 ceive impressions, are ourselves touched. Active touch 
 means that we put forth effort, that we touch other 
 things. Moving the fingers over a surface, we learn 
 whether it is rough or smooth, hot or cold. Pressing 
 
64 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 upon the surface, we discover whether it is hard or soft, 
 elastic or rigid. Lifting an object, we learn by the 
 muscular effort put forth, whether it is heavy or light. 
 We get the same knowledge by allowing the object to 
 press upon the hand when the hand is lying on the 
 table. The mere movement of portions of the body by 
 muscular contraction gives local sensations, and sensa- 
 tions of greater or less massiveness. 
 
 Perception of Extension, Direction, etc. At first a 
 child appears to have no idea of distance ; he reaches for 
 objects at the further side of the room, or at any other 
 distance, as readily as for things near at hand. Probably 
 the idea of distance comes at first in consequence of 
 movements of the hands and arms in reaching for objects ; 
 and a little later from the movement of the whole body 
 in creeping and walking to get possession of things. 
 Touch alone affords the idea of short local distances. 
 The points of a pair of compasses, touching the skin at 
 different distances apart, give the perception of short 
 distances, and of the comparative sensitiveness of the 
 skin on various parts of the body. 
 
 The size or extent of small objects is learned by mus- 
 cular movements. The hands are passed over and around 
 the object, marking its outlines and limits. The amount 
 of muscular effort necessary to execute the movements 
 affords the idea of size. The perception of the three 
 dimensions is obtained in the same way. In estimating 
 greater distances touch gives but little assistance even 
 when aided by muscular action. 
 
 The notion of space seems to be necessarily associated 
 with the knowledge of the existence of material objects. 
 
PERCEPTIONS OF SIGHT 65 
 
 The objects are somewhere, and that somewhere we agree 
 to call space. The extent of objects suggests the exten- 
 sion of space to a limited degree. The idea of infinite 
 or unlimited space is obtained by a different process, so 
 far as it can be comprehended. 
 
 Perceptions of Sight. Primarily sight gives percepts 
 of color, and, by the aid of color, form is learned, and 
 limited extension. 
 
 The location or position of objects near by is learned 
 through sight by the aid of muscular movement and 
 touch. The eyes are turned up and down, to the right 
 and left, by the proper muscles, and at the same time 
 the hands and arms are moved. Beginning with the 
 knowledge derived through touch and muscular effort, 
 we learn by experience and observation to judge of dis- 
 tance by sight. After sufficient experience, the differ- 
 ences in the effort necessary to focus the eyes to see near 
 and remote objects aids in determining their distance 
 with a moderate degree of accuracy. Some of the usual 
 means of helping to form estimates of the distance of 
 remote objects are the following: 
 
 (i) The sharpness or dimness of the outlines of objects. 
 These outlines are marked by light and shade. 
 
 (2) The intensity of the sensations if the objects are 
 bright in color, or have other peculiar features. 
 
 (3) The number of intervening objects and the distinct- 
 ness or dimness of these objects. It is important that 
 the objects be of the familiar sort. 
 
 (4) The rate of the real or apparent movement of ob- 
 jects across the field of vision. A common example of 
 such movement is experienced in watching objects from 
 
 S 
 
66 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 the window of a rapidly moving railroad coach. The 
 power to judge correctly of distance by sight alone is 
 acquired only by careful observation and training. 
 
 Perceptions by Hearing. The primary office of the 
 ear is to make us acquainted with sounds. By hearing 
 we distinguish pitch, quality, intensity, harmony, and all 
 other characteristics of sounds. By quality the source or 
 cause of sounds is known, so that the voices of different 
 persons and the tones of the various kinds of musical 
 instruments are recognized. 
 
 After considerable experience we are able to locate 
 sounds, or rather their sources, in space, with a fair 
 degree of accuracy. Direction is determined by turning 
 the head in different directions and listening with first 
 one ear, and then the other. We judge of the distance 
 of the source by the intensity of the sound if we are sure 
 of the origin of it ; if we are uncertain of this we are very 
 liable to error. 
 
 Another interesting office of the ear is to enable us to 
 measure time or to judge of time relations. This in- 
 volves a knowledge of rhythmic movements, the ear 
 noting the regular recurrence of accented and unaccented 
 sounds. 
 
 Acquired Perceptions. Each of the special senses 
 has original or native power to furnish a kind of knowl- 
 edge peculiar to itself and not given originally by any of 
 the other senses. An important fact with which we are 
 all familiar remains to be noticed. We find, in many 
 cases in practical life, one sense doing the work of another 
 by an acquired power. The possibility of the acquisition 
 of such power is a most beneficent provision ; without 
 
LAURA BRIDGMAN AND OTHERS 6/ 
 
 this the loss of any sense would be an irreparable 
 misfortune. As things are, touch and hearing come to 
 the aid of the blind ; touch and sight to the help of the 
 deaf. 
 
 Examples of such acquired power are so common that 
 they will readily occur to any one. We say an object 
 looks rough or smooth, light or heavy, hot or cold, 
 judging by sight of qualities originally learned by touch 
 and muscular exertion. We tap lightly with a ham- 
 mer on the wall of a room and pronounce it hollow 
 or solid ; we strike the end of a barrel with a stick or the 
 foot to determine whether it is full or empty, employ- 
 ing the ear to gain information which the eye gave us at 
 first. The physician taps the chest of his patient, or uses 
 on it an instrument adapted to the ear, and decides upon 
 the condition of the lungs. 
 
 Laura Bridgman and Others. One of the most re- 
 markable and interesting examples of the ability of one 
 sense to supply the place of another, and even of two or 
 three others, is found in the story of the life and educa- 
 tion of Laura Bridgman. At a very early age she was 
 deprived of the senses of sight and hearing and almost 
 entirely of the sense of smell. Through the sense of 
 touch alone she mastered all the common branches of 
 study. She recognized her friends by touching their 
 hands or their clothes. Her biographer says : ^' She 
 knows how different people laugh, and often speaks of 
 the sweet smile of one and another. It may be thought 
 that she must be always feeling of the face, and thus 
 make herself disagreeable; but this is not so; she rarely 
 touches it, and yet judges correctly.** It is said that she 
 
68 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 would recognize, '' after a year's interval, the hand of a 
 person who had but once taken hers." 
 
 Julia Brace affords another wonderful example. It is 
 stated that she was able to sort out the clothes of the 
 inmates of the Hartford Asylum, when brought from the 
 laundry, by the sense of smell. 
 
 The more recent example of Helen Keller is, if possible, 
 more extraordinary still. At the age of about nineteen 
 months she lost the senses of hearing and sight. No 
 special efforts were made for her education until her 
 seventh year. Placed then in charge of a very compe- 
 tent teacher, her progress was almost beyond belief. 
 Within four months she learned ^* more than four hundred 
 and fifty common words which she could use correctly 
 and spell with perfect accuracy." Miss Keller has mas- 
 tered the higher branches of a college education, and is, 
 in many respects, a most wonderful woman. 
 
 Other Psychical Activities with Perception. A mo- 
 ment's reflection shows that several other activities 
 cooperate with perception in the formation of percepts. 
 We decide that a present sensation is similar to one 
 experienced some time ago. Here is an act of memory 
 to reproduce the previous sensation ; an act of com- 
 parison and of judging, requiring the help of judgment 
 and reasoning. Other illustrations will readily suggest 
 themselves. 
 
 Perception of One's own Body. The child does not 
 at first recognize the parts of his body as belonging to 
 himself, or as being a portion of himself. He bites his 
 finger or his toe, and is surprised that he feels a sensation 
 of pain, that he is hurt. It seems probable that the 
 
ILLUSIONS, ETC. 
 
 69 
 
 perception of his body, with all its parts, as being his 
 physical self, comes through the repetition of the experi- 
 ence of pain. Gradually organic sensations are localized 
 and the place of the sensation is fixed by experience. The 
 child examines his own body for a considerable time just 
 as he does any external object. 
 
 Illusions, etc. We trust our senses, especially the 
 sense of sight. But the old adage, '' seeing is believing," 
 
 needs to be received with caution. 
 Sight is probably more liable to 
 report falsely than any of the 
 other senses. 
 
 An illusion is a false percep- 
 tion, or a false report of some 
 sense. There is a real object, 
 something to be seen, for example, 
 but the truth is not told about 
 it. Professor James affirms '' that 
 in every illusion what is false is 
 what is inferred, not what is im- 
 mediately given." This statement 
 is open to doubt. Many illusions 
 are so familiar that we refuse to 
 be cheated by them. A straight 
 stick, put halfway and aslant into 
 the water, appears crooked ; but. 
 
 The lines AB and BC are of 1 ^1 i. ^1 i. 
 
 _ .1 1^ ,1, . , , as we know the truth, we are not 
 
 equal length m each case, but ' 
 
 they do not appear so. What is dcceivcd. The rails ou the rail- 
 
 the explanation of this illusion ? 
 
 road bed seem to converge in the 
 distance, but we are not cheated by the appearance. 
 One of the most common illusions is the mistaken 
 
 B 
 
 Ad) 
 
 Figure IV. — III 
 Length, 
 
76 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 judgment in respect to distance. A small object on 
 the window pane is transformed into a large bird 
 or some other large object several miles away. The 
 wire screen at the door or window is projected across the 
 
 FiGURB V. — Parallel Lines made to appear not Parallel. 
 
 street or rods away, and the meshes are enlarged in 
 proportion to the distance. The figures on pages 69, 70, 
 show some of the various forms of illusion. The usual 
 explanations are not in all cases satisfactory. 
 
 Hallucinations are false reports of the senses when 
 there are no external objects of the sort reported. Some- 
 thing is seen where there is nothing to see ; some sound 
 is heard where there is nothing to produce the sound. It 
 is probable that in such cases the internal, mental con- 
 
CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTION 7I 
 
 cept or idea is so vivid that it appears projected outward 
 into space. The common belief that hallucinations are 
 confined to insane persons is not correct ; many people 
 in sound health experience them, sometimes for long 
 periods of time. 
 
 Cultivation of the Perceptive Activity. It is of the 
 highest importance that perception should be cultivated 
 in childhood. At this period the senses are peculiarly 
 active ; children do little else than to see, hear, taste, smell, 
 and feel. They should be taught to see what there is to 
 be seen about them, the trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, 
 birds, and animals of all kinds. The work is largely the 
 cultivation of external attention. The studies and exer- 
 cises of the primary school should be such as to exercise 
 the perceptive activity as fully as possible. The natural 
 and physical sciences are best for the exercise of the 
 senses. Among these are botany, entomology, orni- 
 thology, and geology ; one of these is about as good as 
 another. 
 
 Suggestions as to the Cultivation of Perception. 
 
 (i) Supply children with the necessary material, but 
 do not give too much at one time. Too many things at 
 once distract the attention. 
 
 (2) Teach children to begin with a single part of a 
 complex object, and to examine the parts successively in 
 a natural order. The trouble with most of us is that we 
 look at an object as a confused whole, and do not ex- 
 amine carefully the details. 
 
 (3) Having taught your pupils to observe accurately 
 and systematically, train them to observe rapidly. So 
 much is to be learned and done that an economy of time 
 
"JZ SENSATION AND PERCEPTION 
 
 and effort is desirable. Methods of doing this will readily 
 suggest themselves to a live teacher. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Position of thecliild ; influences acting. 
 
 2. Sensation detined ; tirst conscious mental activity. 
 
 3. Sensations examined, compared, etc. 
 
 4.. Sensations not knowledge, only material. 
 
 5. Sensibility defined ; distinguished from bodily characteristics. 
 
 6. Conditions of sensation. 
 
 7. Characteristics of sensations ; quantity or intensity ; quality ; 
 
 duration. 
 
 8. Intensity absolute or apparent ; examples. 
 
 9. Threshold of consciousness ; range of sensibility. 
 TO. Summit of consciousness. 
 
 11. Relation of stimulus and sensation ; common experience. 
 
 12. Weber's laws. 
 
 13. Ratio of increase necessary. 
 
 14. Quality of sensations ; examples. 
 
 15. Touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight. 
 
 16. Duration of sensations ; common experience. 
 
 17. Two aspects of sensation. 
 
 18. Two steps of progress towards knowledge. 
 
 19. Perception, beginning of knowledge. 
 
 20. Definitions of perception ; Baldwin ; Davis ; ours. 
 
 21. A percept ; how formed; complex; the illustrcLtion. 
 
 22. Conditions of perception ; physical ; psychical. 
 
 23. Perceptions through the different senses ; taste ; smell. 
 
 24. Touch and muscular movements ; qualities revealed. 
 
 25. Perception of extension, direction, etc.; how learned. 
 
 26. Perceptions of sight ; location of objects ; distance; means of 
 
 estimating. 
 
 27. Perceptions of hearing. 
 
 28. Acquired perceptions ; importance ; examples. 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER 73 
 
 29. Laura Bridgman ; Julia Brace ; Helen Keller. 
 
 30. Other psychical activities with perception. 
 
 31. Perception of one's own body. 
 
 32. Illusions ; definition ; examples. 
 ^;^. Hallucinations. 
 
 34. Cultivation of the perceptive activity ; importance ; time for. 
 
 35. Suggestions as to the cultivation of perception. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION — IMAGINATION. 
 
 Office of the Presentative Activities. The present a- 
 tive powers supply us with a large part of the materials 
 out of which well-defined knowledge is elaborated. These 
 powers bring the outer, material world within the grasp 
 of the activities of the mind. In studying perception 
 we found certain other forms of mental action mingled 
 with it in its work. These forms now claim attention. 
 
 Retention and Reproduction. The materials of knowl- 
 edge would be of no lasting service if they were not re- 
 tained, and could not be reproduced when wanted, 
 and in some way so represented as to be recognized. 
 
 Hence the necessity of a group of activities to per- 
 form these offices. They are named the Representative 
 and Reproductive powers. Their functions are to bring 
 into consciousness something which shall represent to us 
 the things with which we have become acquainted, the 
 material of knowledge which we have acquired, and to 
 hold this for examination and use. 
 
 Reproduction is especially assigned to memory, but, in 
 fact, reproduction and representation cannot be separated. 
 Every perfect act of memory includes representation, 
 and representation, of necessity, involves reproduction. 
 They may, however, be treated, to some extent, sepa- 
 
 74 
 
EARLIEST REPRESENTATIONS 75 
 
 rately. The special representative power is the imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 Imagination defined; an Image. The imagination 
 may be defined as the image-making power. An image 
 is a mental representation of anything not present to the 
 senses, but particularly of past experiences. Visual 
 images form the larger portion of our mental represen- 
 tations ; in speaking of images we usually refer to these. 
 But the recalled percepts of the other senses receive the 
 same name. The name is not a fortunate one, but no 
 better has been suggested. 
 
 The term imagination is used in a very broad and also 
 in a limited sense. Upon this point Baldwin says : 
 ** First, imagination is often used to denote the general 
 representative function of mind, the power of repre- 
 senting by images, thus including memory and associa- 
 tion, as well as the constructive working up of images. 
 Second, the word is often more properly restricted to 
 this last process, that whereby the material of represen- 
 tation at the disposal of the mind is combined in forms 
 of ideal construction, which are independent, in a meas- 
 ure, of the arrangements of external objects.*' The 
 last is the function generally attributed to the imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 Earliest Representations. The recognition of objects 
 previously seen by the child affords the earliest example 
 of representation. An object previously seen is brought 
 again before the child. The recognition of this object 
 involves a comparison of the present sensations and per- 
 cepts with the previous ones recalled and imaged, or in 
 someway represented in the mind. The present percept 
 
"jG REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 of a white rose, for example, must be mentally placed 
 alongside the reproduced percept of the same rose, seen 
 at some previous time. The percept and the image are 
 examined and compared and if they agree the rose is 
 said to be recognized. The same process, quite uncon- 
 sciously it may be, goes on when the child recognizes his 
 mother and other persons about him. The same mental 
 activities are involved in the recognition of objects and 
 persons at every period of life, but the processes go on 
 so rapidly that they are hardly observed. 
 
 Recognition by the Name. A little more difficult 
 exercise of the representative power is manifest when the 
 child becomes able to recognize objects by their names 
 when the objects themselves are not present. In this 
 case, an image, or representation, of the object is brought 
 into consciousness by the force of association, when the 
 name is pronounced. For illustration, a child who has 
 been taught the primary colors and their names, is 
 directed to go to another room and bring a red card, 
 selected from a number of cards of various colors. In 
 order to select the right card, the child must represent 
 to himself mentally the red card by recalling the image 
 of a former percept. This image is compared with the 
 present percept. The same processes are involved in recog- 
 nizing fruits, flowers, and all other objects when these 
 are similarly named. 
 
 Representation in Reading, A similar but somewhat 
 more complicated and extended process of representa- 
 tion takes place when a person reads or listens to reading. 
 As the reading goes on the pictures or images previously 
 associated with the words are mentally reproduced and 
 
REPRODUCTIVE IMAGINATION 7/ 
 
 represented. A succession of psychical images passes 
 rapidly along before the mind. It sees a living panorama 
 of objects, events, places, and persons moving before the 
 mental vision. 
 
 Real Representation ; Reproductive Imagination. In 
 the cases here described, and in all similar cases, the rep- 
 resentations or images brought into consciousness are 
 intended to be as perfect reproductions as possible of the 
 objects, events, and persons represented. The imaging 
 in memory is of this sort. The act of memory is not 
 perfect unless the recalled image is like the original per- 
 cept, or as near to a real likeness as can be. This kind 
 of representation is, for convenience, called real repre- 
 sentation. The image will, in most cases, be defective 
 in some parts ; it will not be an exact representation of 
 the real object. But there are no purposed additions, or 
 subtractions, or combinations. This is the representation 
 used mostly in the schoolroom. Every lesson, to a 
 greater or less extent, exhibits this work of the imagina- 
 tion. A map drawn upon the blackboard from memory 
 affords an illustration ; the drawing of figures for the 
 solution of mathematical problems is another example of 
 the same sort of representation. In the studies of history 
 and geography the imagination finds abundant room for 
 profitable and important work. Mountains, rivers, val- 
 leys, cities, villages, and, indeed, everything which appeals 
 to the eye, are imaged as clearly and completely as possi- 
 ble. The progress of a pupil in some branches of study 
 depends very largely upon his power of imagination. 
 
 Ideal Representation ; Constructive Imagination. The 
 work of constructive imagination will be best understood 
 
78 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 through a common illustration. An artist purposes to 
 paint an ideal landscape. He selects accurate pictures 
 or images of individual objects and scenes from widely 
 separated localities. From one locality he selects a 
 mountain, from another a valley, from a third a grove, 
 from a fourth a lake and river, and so on until he has all 
 the materials he desires. These materials he proceeds to 
 combine to form his ideal landscape. When the picture 
 is finished it may be said that every feature of this ideal 
 painting is true to nature. Some features may have 
 been comparatively enlarged and others diminished to 
 render the whole more harmonious, but there have been 
 no essential changes. What has been the real work of 
 the artist ? What has he created, if he has created any- 
 thing? Not the material which he has used. That he 
 has merely selected and gathered. He has created an 
 Ideal plan or combination ; he has grouped arnd combined 
 :and arranged his material according to this plan or design. 
 This is an example of ideal representation ; that is, 
 representation in harmony with the idea or image in the 
 mind of the artist. 
 
 Another Illustration. A writer gathers accurate de- 
 scriptions of places, events, persons, from various sections 
 of a country, and even from different countries. These 
 places, events, and persons had originally no connection 
 or relation to one another. But out of this material, the 
 writer produces a consistent and entertaining story, in 
 which every part appears to sustain a natural relation to 
 all the other parts. Each person, each event, each scene, 
 falls into its own proper place, and the whole story pro- 
 ceeds as naturally as if it were a narrative of real life. 
 
CONSTRUCTIVE IMAGINATION 79 
 
 This IS an ideal literary production ; it is ideal representa- 
 tion. As in the other case, the ideal of the artist has 
 determined the construction of the story. 
 
 Some Varieties of Constructive Imagination. The 
 constructive activity takes different directions and makes 
 use of various kinds of materials. It also subserves 
 different purposes. 
 
 (A) The Esthetic Imagination. The purpose of this 
 form of constructive imagination is to afford pleasure and 
 enjoyment. It appeals to the sensibilities ; it gratifies the 
 taste, and excites the emotions. The illustrations just 
 given of the painter and novelist are examples of the 
 work of the sesthetic imagination. It manifests its power 
 chiefly in the realm of poetry, of painting, of sculpture, 
 of architecture. Sometimes it comes down into the 
 province of real life, and aids in adorning and decorating 
 our homes with its beautiful and tasteful creations. 
 When the imagination is spoken of without any special 
 designation this form is usually in mind. 
 
 (B) Scientific Imagination. Imagination is of great 
 service in the domain of science. It constructs theories 
 in accordance with which the scientist directs his efforts. 
 He gathers up isolated and apparently disconnected facts, 
 scattered here and there, without order or value, and 
 combines them into ingenious hypotheses ; out of such 
 hypotheses he constructs bridges across the gulf between 
 the known and established and the problematical and 
 possible. By and by many of these hypotheses are trans- 
 formed, by the students of science, into plausible theories, 
 and later into accepted scientific knowledge. ' 
 
 Constructive imagination is of the greatest service in 
 
8o REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 the realm of discovery and invention. Working in this 
 region it might be called practical imagination. The 
 image-making power is always present whenever invent- 
 ive activity is exerted. In writing, one pictures or 
 images the word before it is written. I stretch forth my 
 arm, but the movement is imaged before it is performed. 
 I move across the room, but the movement was ideal 
 before it became practical. 
 
 The following is borrowed from Sir Benjamin Brodie, 
 at one time president of the Royal Society in England. 
 ** Physical investigation, more than anything besides, 
 helps to teach us the actual value and right use of the 
 imagination — of that wondrous faculty, which, when left 
 to ramble uncontrolled, leads us astray into a wilderness 
 of perplexities and errors, a land of mists and shadows ; 
 but which, properly controlled by experience and reflec- 
 tion, becomes the noblest attribute of man, the source of 
 poetic genius, the instrument of discovery in science, 
 without the aid of which Newton would never have in- 
 vented fluxions, nor Davy have decomposed the earths 
 and alkalis, nor would Columbus have found another con- 
 tinent.'' 
 
 Passive and Active Imagination. Another division of 
 the imagination is into the passive or receptive and the 
 active or creative. When reading a prose work of the 
 imagination written by another, or a poem of an imagi- 
 native character, the scenes, events, and personages de- 
 scribed are imaged by our own imagination. The pic- 
 turing goes on as the reading proceeds, and the process 
 IS entirely directed and controlled by the contents of the 
 story or the poem. The will of the reader is in abeyance ; 
 
IMAGINATION LIMITED 8l 
 
 there is no positive exertion of power, nor any purpose 
 or end of his own to be attained. This process is of 
 some service provided it be not too long continued ; it 
 serves as a preparation for the active exercise of the 
 imaginative power. The child passes through this stage, 
 but very early begins to make combinations and images 
 of his own. This form of image-making activity, if it can 
 properly be called activity, is very nearly related to rev- 
 erie, though in reverie there is no creation of a consistent 
 whole, while here there is such a whole, although it is a 
 borrowed one and built altogether by another. 
 
 The active imagination has already been sufficiently de- 
 scribed, since every variety of constructive imagination 
 must necessarily be of the active kind. Voluntary exer- 
 tion and positive putting forth of conscious activity are 
 always involved. The direction which the active imagi- 
 nation shall take in its creations will depend upon the 
 original nature of the individual, upon his environment 
 and upon the materials with which his education and 
 training have furnished him. The images created, how- 
 ever complex and curious, must be fashioned from the 
 materials which have been collected ; and this collection 
 is made chiefly, though not exclusively, by the perceptive 
 powers. 
 
 Imagination Limited. As previously stated, the imag- 
 ination creates none of the material with which it does 
 its work. It is in the condition of an architect who must 
 use such material as his employer chooses to furnish. As 
 just remarked, much the larger part of this material is 
 supplied by the senses, the perceptive activities. The 
 more active and the better trained the senses are, the 
 
82 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 larger in amount and richer in kind the gathered matter 
 will be, and the better fitted for the use of the imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 Since so much of the material is obtained through the 
 sense of sight, it follows that one always blind can form 
 no visual images ; one always deaf will be unable to 
 form images of sound. The same would be true of the 
 other senses. 
 
 // is impossible to imagine conditions entirely unlike 
 those by which we have been surrounded. We may enlarge 
 or diminish objects and combine them at our pleasure^ but 
 we shall find it out of our power to create any absolutely 
 new material. The descriptions of another world and 
 another life, in books like *^ Gates Ajar," illustrate this 
 truth. The landscapes are earthly landscapes ; the skies 
 are earthly skies ; the gardens, the fruits, the flowers, the 
 trees, the cities, the houses, the employments, the amuse- 
 ments and recreations are all essentially of the earth. 
 Everything is painted to appear as beautiful and charm- 
 ing as language can make it ; but the language itself is 
 the old, familiar language to which our eyes and ears 
 have always been accustomed. This limitation of the 
 imagination has not, in all cases, been kept in mind by 
 those who have longed for a revelation which shall de- 
 scribe things that cannot be made known to the human 
 understanding in its present stage of development. 
 
 Fancy and Imagination. The term fancy, or phan, 
 tasy, is frequently used as synonymous with imagination. 
 There is good authority for such use, but yet it seems 
 desirable to make a distinction. Imagination, although 
 its scope IS almost boundless, is still subject to law. It 
 
ABUSE OF THE IMAGINATION 83 
 
 selects, combines, and arranges within the limits of possi- 
 bility. On the other hand, fancy works according to its 
 own will without regard to law. It unites the fantastic, 
 the absurd, the impossible. It revels in the wildest and 
 strangest scenes, and amid the most grotesque and ridicu- 
 lous surroundings. It joins the head of a man to the 
 body of ahorse ; the head and trunk of a woman to the 
 body of a fish ; it creates centaurs, and mermaids, and 
 other marvelous things, some monstrous and some beauti- 
 ful. 
 
 The so-called imagination of children, at the earliest 
 period, is more properly fancy, though the line separating 
 the two modes of mental activity is not always entirely 
 distinct. In their plays children find a free field for the 
 flights of fancy. The fancy of the girl transforms the 
 doll into a living child ; the fancy of the boy changes a 
 rough stick into a horse. Perhaps fancy contains the 
 germs of imagination in the child, and only right develop- 
 ment is needed to change the one into the other. 
 
 Abuse of the Imagination. While imagination is one 
 of the most useful of the psychical activities, it is pecul- 
 iarly liable to be abused. The reading of certain kinds 
 of fiction is to be condemned, not so much for their evil 
 moral influence, as for the injurious effect which the habit 
 of reading such works has upon the mind itself, and later 
 on upon the character. The habitual novel-reader is in 
 danger of becoming an indolent, nerveless day-dreamer. 
 He comes, after a time, to live, if such an existence can 
 be properly called living, in an unreal world. The actual 
 world becomes irksome and distasteful to him. He loses 
 both the disposition and the power to accomplish any- 
 
84 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 thing of value or importance, and becomes a burden to 
 himself and a drone in society. 
 
 It is not the intention here to condemn the reading of 
 fiction of all kinds indiscriminately. Many works of fic- 
 tion are of great practical value to the careful and judi- 
 cious reader. It is worth while for the hard-working 
 student and the weary teacher, occasionally, to read a 
 good novel ; but let the book be a good one, one not only 
 to be enjoyed, but adapted to cultivate the best and 
 highest elements of the imagination and the taste. 
 
 Cultivation of the Imagination. When the culture of 
 the imagination is spoken of, reference is usually had to 
 some form of constructive imagination. Passive imagina- 
 tion scarcely needs to be cultivated ; fancy requires tam- 
 ing and curbing usually, but both aesthetic and scientific 
 imagination are susceptible of culture and improvement. 
 The improvement will consist chiefly : (i) In developing 
 the power to select and gather, with rapidity, good taste, 
 and judgment, the material which it desires to use. 
 Material is everywhere, and is abundant, but much of it 
 is crude and worthless. It is important to select wisely 
 and readily. (2) In developing the power of forming ideals 
 or images which shall be full of beauty and excellency 
 when they have been wrought out and filled up with ap- 
 propriate matter. Many ideals lack in symmetry ; one part 
 is beautiful, another part is commonplace and destitute 
 of any charm. This want of symmetry and completeness 
 in the ideal is frequently seen in the plan of a fictitious 
 work. Some characters and some chapters are strong 
 and well-developed ; other characters and other chapters 
 are weak and insipid. Now and then a work is found 
 
CULTIVATION OF THE IMAGINATION 85 
 
 which exhibits an ideal of almost perfect harmony and 
 beauty. (3) In developing the power of rapid and 
 fitting combination of the material in filling up the ideal 
 or plan. It is of high importance to be able to see at a 
 glance what objects will fit into and easily and naturally 
 unite with other objects, what scenes and events will fol- 
 low one another in a narrative in such a way that the 
 whole course of events shall appear to move along sponta- 
 neously, so that the fiction has all the naturalness of real 
 life. 
 
 This culture of the imagination is secured, as the cul- 
 ture of every other mental activity is secured, (i) first of 
 all, by appropriate exercise wisely directed. This exercise 
 should, in order to produce the best results, begin in early 
 childhood. As already stated, the fancy is naturally 
 active in most children. This will soon pass over 
 into imagination proper if rightly directed. The 
 training of the child should be regular and progressive. 
 Begin by telling short stories adapted to the age and the 
 degree of development. After a little time require the 
 child to reproduce the story, first in your language, and 
 soon in his own language. It must be kept in mind that 
 the child's vocabulary is, at this stage, very limited, and 
 not much of originality can be expected. As develop- 
 ment goes on, longer and more complex stories will be 
 told, and more care will be required in the reproduction. 
 Later the child will reproduce in writing, and will read 
 stories for himself. Later still material will be furnished 
 and the child will construct a story for himself. Further 
 detail is unnecessary, as methods of working will suggest 
 themselves. 
 
86 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 (2) Next, care should be taken to secure an abun- 
 dance of the best possible material. This material will be 
 obtained by the regular and continued training of the 
 senses. Children should be taught to use their own eyes 
 and ears, and to remember what they see and hear. 
 
 Children's hterature of the best kind should be fur- 
 nished for reading. Stories and fables, if the fables are 
 well selected, will supply material. The character of the 
 literature should change with the progress of the child. 
 For advanced students the very best works of the imag- 
 ination will be of great service. Good books are so 
 abundant and so cheap that no teacher should recommend 
 poor ones. 
 
 (3) Encourage the formation of high ideals, not merely 
 for the purposes of the development of power and exer- 
 cise in composition, but for the '' conduct of life.'' It is 
 often of great value to a young person to form a noble 
 and pure ideal of character and conduct. The imagina- 
 tion may do most excellent service in this direction. 
 The life will never be better than the ideal. ^* The early 
 visions of hope and the romance of reverie build ideals of 
 excellence towards which we longingly struggle, to which 
 we aspire to conform. What a man most admires in 
 character is a sure index, if not of what he is, at least of 
 what he would become. If his ideal be pure and true, 
 then it is his guardian angel, ever leading him to some- 
 thing higher and better. The ideal is ever higher than 
 achievement. It flies before the real like a shadow, never 
 to be overtaken ; it is the unattained and unattainable 
 paradise of our despair. * Continually receding as we 
 approach, it expands at last to the infinite, to God ; 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER 8/ 
 
 for the true, the absolute, and the complete is God him- 
 self/ " 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Office of the presentative activities. 
 
 2. Need of retention and reproduction. 
 
 3. The representative and reproductive powers. 
 
 4. The processes not separable in fact. 
 
 5. Imagination defined ; an image. 
 
 6. Quotation from J. M. Baldwin. 
 
 7. Earliest representations. 
 
 8. Recognition, object present. 
 
 9. Recognition by the name ; example. 
 
 10. Real representation ; reproductive imagination ; memory 
 
 images. 
 
 11. Ideal representation ; constructive imagination ; illus- 
 
 trations. 
 
 12. Some varieties of constructive imagination. 
 
 13. (A) The aesthetic imagination ; examples. 
 
 14. (B) Scientific imagination ; illustration of its use. 
 
 15. Quotation from Dr. Brodie. 
 
 16. Passive and active imagination ; value of the passive. 
 
 17. Nature of the active ; direction it will take. 
 
 18. Imagination limited ; illustrations. 
 
 19. Fancy and imagination ; distinction. 
 
 20. Imagination in young children. 
 
 21. Abuse of the imagination; reading of fiction, etc. — not con- 
 
 demned. 
 
 22. Cultivation of the imagination ; consists in three things. 
 
 23. Cultivation secured by exercise ; training of children's im- 
 
 agination. 
 
 24. Children's literature. 
 
 25. Formation of high ideals ; value of these. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION Continued— 
 MEMORY ; LAWS OF ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Memory defined. The power of the mind to retain, to 
 recall, and to recognize previous acquisitions is called 
 memory. It is also defined as ^* the knowledge of a 
 former state of mind after that state has already once 
 dropped from consciousness." 
 
 Retention. Strictly speaking, retention is not an ele- 
 ment of memory, but it is convenient to treat it in this 
 connection. Retention is a fact ; so much we know. If 
 a past experience were not in some way retained, it could 
 not be reproduced. How the retention is accomplished 
 has not yet been satisfactorily explained. Various 
 theories have been put forth, but they are only theories. 
 
 Herbart and some others teach, in substance, that an 
 idea once in consciousness remains in the mind, but, when 
 not needed for use, sinks down below the region of im- 
 mediate consciousness, and does not appear again until 
 it is brought up by some law of association. This is 
 essentially the theory that any form of mental activity, 
 once started, goes on and on without limit of time. 
 When this activity, by some means, rises into conscious- 
 ness, we are said to recall or remember it. 
 
 Another theory is that what we call an idea, or a psy- 
 chical image, is only a form of mental, or nervous, activ- 
 
FACTS OF EXPERIENCE 89 
 
 ity. When the activity ceases, the idea, so-called, en- 
 tirely disappears. By this theory memory is simply the 
 mind working again in the same way in which it has 
 worked before. These and other theories are of very 
 little value. All that we are absolutely sure of is that 
 retention is a fact of experience. 
 
 Importance of Reproduction. It would be quite im- 
 possible to overestimate the importance of this power of 
 reproduction. Acquisitions, however great and varied, 
 would be of no service to us unless they could be recalled 
 into consciousness, with readiness and accuracy, when- 
 ever desired. Consequently it very much concerns us to 
 know how this process of recalling and reknowing can 
 be made immediate, sure, and reasonably easy. 
 
 Facts of Experience. We are conscious that in a few 
 cases the reproduction of a past acquisition is apparently 
 instantaneous and without serious effort. A question is 
 put to memory and the answer comes at once. Only a 
 single mental effort, and that an easy one, has been nec- 
 essary. We recall our own names, the names of our 
 most intimate friends, the name of the place where we 
 dwell, our occupation, the names of the letters of the 
 alphabet in their order, and many other familiar matters, 
 by a single psychical impulse. 
 
 But in other cases, indeed in most cases, the answer is 
 delayed for a longer or shorter period of time. Several 
 successive efforts are put forth before we reach the de- 
 sired result. The process is a roundabout and com- 
 plicated one. Observing our mental movements closely 
 in an effort to recall some past acquisition, we notice that 
 one idea, image, fact, or circumstance of some sort, comes 
 
90 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 into consciousness, then another, then still others, and 
 finally, if our work is successful, the thing hunted for 
 appears. On reflection we discover that the ideas, 
 images, events, circumstances have followed one another 
 in a regular order ; we cannot escape the conviction that 
 they were bound together by some potent, though un- 
 seen, relations or bonds. These relations are named 
 laws, principles, or conditions of association. They are 
 the means or instruments employed by memory in the 
 performance of its work. 
 
 Upon this point James Mill says, *^ There is a state of 
 mind familiar to all men, in which we are said to remem- 
 ber. In this state it is certain we have not in mind the 
 idea which we are trying to have in it. How is it, then, 
 that we proceed, in the course of our endeavor, to pro- 
 cure its introduction into the mind? If we have not the 
 idea itself, we have certain ideas connected with it. We 
 run over those ideas, one after another, in hopes 
 that some one of them will suggest the idea we are in 
 quest of ; and if any one of them does, it is always one 
 so connected with it as to call it up in the way of asso- 
 ciation.'' Illustrations of this process will readily occur 
 to every student. 
 
 The Laws of Association are conveniently divided 
 into primary or objective and secondary or subjective. 
 The primary are the relations existing between different 
 thoughts or ideas, and also between different things 
 themselves. The secondary are certain conditions of 
 body or mind which contribute to fix the associations 
 more thoroughly and permanently, and consequently to 
 facilitate greatly both retention and reproduction. 
 
PRIMARY OR OBJECTIVE LAWS 9I 
 
 Primary or Objective Laws, In an ultimate analysis, 
 the primary laws may, perhaps, be reduced to two, the 
 law of similarity and the law of contiguity. Most 
 writers, how^ever, agree to recognize three, the third being 
 the law of contrast. In Ufers's Pedagogy of Herbart, 
 four are named. The writer says: *Tf I look upon a 
 mountain scene, which has a similarity to one previously 
 observed, the image of the latter will soon stand before 
 my soul again : The Law of Similarity. The want and 
 poverty of the Prodigal suggested to him the comfort 
 and abundance of his father's home : Law of Contrast. 
 After Pharaoh had released the butler from prison, the 
 latter soon forgot what Joseph had urged upon him when 
 he interpreted his dreams. Pharaoh's dream subse- 
 quently reminded him of his own and its interpretation, 
 and then he recalled also Joseph's request made at the 
 same time: Law of Co-existence or Synchronism. If 
 we have thoroughly learned in their sequence the (Ger- 
 man) prepositions governing the genitive case, one word 
 will draw into consciousness the next immediately follow- 
 ing, because in committing them, it has always appeared 
 in that order: Law of Succession or Sequence." 
 
 (i) Law of Similarity • Similar things and thoughts 
 are mutually suggestive. This law is very familiar and 
 its value is well understood. It is capable of very wide 
 application in the schoolroom and elsewhere. Illustra- 
 tions are very abundant. For example, I saw yesterday 
 a specimen of a peculiar kind of flower. To-day another 
 specimen of the same variety is given to me. This 
 causes me at once to recall the appearance and odor of 
 the one I saw yesterday by exciting a repetition of the 
 
9^ REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 former psychical activity, and thus brings about the re- 
 production of the percept of yesterday. This law acts 
 regardless of place or time, with only the exception 
 which is common to all the laws of association, — that the 
 lapse of a long period of time weakens the power of sug- 
 gestion. One face often suggests another, though that 
 other may not have been seen for years. One landscape, 
 mountain, valley, lake, river, or tree, frequently calls to 
 mind another, even though thousands of miles intervene 
 between the two. The solution of one mathematical 
 problem suggests the solution of other similar problems. 
 One principle of science recalls other related principles. 
 All comparisons in writing and speaking are based upon 
 this or upon the subordinate law of contrast. 
 
 External Resemblances. In speaking of similarities 
 and resemblances, we are apt to have in mind only exter- 
 nal resemblances, such as are obvious to one or more of 
 the senses, similarities of color, form, taste, odor. Cities 
 resemble each other in location, climate, population, in- 
 dustries, and architecture. States are similar in products, 
 in employments, and in the character and origin of the 
 people. Similarities like these are obvious even to chil- 
 dren and afford a basis for some grouping in the study of 
 geography. 
 
 Resemblances of Influence. There are other more 
 subtle resemblances not discoverable by the senses, and 
 still recognized as effective in causing association and 
 suggestion. The most potent of these is the resem- 
 blance of influence or effect, generally connected with 
 emotion or some other strong feeling ; this similarity has 
 been called the ** analogy of feeling.'* 
 
PRIMARY OR OBJECTIVE LAWS 93 
 
 A writer says : '' My brethren have dealt deceitfully as 
 a brook, and as the streams of brooks they pass away/* 
 Friends and water brooks have no resemblances which 
 strike the eye or the ear. The summer brook, in the hot 
 climate of the desert East, dried up, and thus cheated 
 the expectations of the tired and thirsty traveler. The 
 brook failed him when he needed it most sorely. In like 
 manner false friends, or fair-weather friends, cheat the 
 soul longing for pity and sympathy. The study of litera- 
 ture shows great numbers of examples of this sort of 
 similarity, and they add much to the interest of the com- 
 position. 
 
 (2) Law of Contrast. This is not so much a separate 
 law as a special case under the general law of similarity. 
 A careful study of likenesses always brings to notice the 
 marked contrasts and sets them over against each 
 other. The law may be stated thus : Contrasted things 
 and thoughts are mutually suggestive. Illustrations are 
 abundant. Sweet suggests sour ; the rough suggests the 
 smooth ; the beautiful suggests the ugly ; the strong, the 
 weak. An individual with some marked peculiarity puts 
 us in mind of another person with a peculiarity of just 
 the opposite nature. Starving men are said to be tor- 
 mented or tantalized with mental visions of tables loaded 
 with richest abundance; and freezing men are haunted 
 with recollections of oppressive heat. 
 
 This law suggests that in many cases contrasted ob- 
 jects, forms, qualities, and general characteristics should 
 be taught in connection. In geography and history the 
 principle of contrast does most important service. 
 
 (3) Law of Contiguity. This law may take the fol- 
 
94 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 lowing form : Things and thoughts coexistent or imme- 
 diately successive are mutually suggestive. 
 
 A more Fundamental Law. The law of contiguity 
 may be regarded as a special case under a broader and 
 more fundamental law, sometimes called the law of 
 Redintegration. It is stated in various forms: The 
 presence of any part of a complex thing or thought, pre- 
 viously known, suggests the whole. Referring to the 
 mind itself we may say : The revival of any portion of a 
 complex state or activity, previously experienced, tends 
 to revive the whole. 
 
 Dr. Davis writes : ** Mental modes occurring together or 
 in close succession, adhere, so that the after-recurrence of 
 any of them tends to suggest the others. The suggesting 
 and suggested states are dissimilar, but have previously 
 occurred at the same time. This law of redintegration 
 frequently involves the action of the law of similarity, as 
 the law of contiguity also does.** 
 
 The law of contiguity is of extremely wide application, 
 and embraces a large number of related but pretty dis- 
 tinct cases. The following are some of these cases : 
 
 (A) The Relation of Time. Events are naturally as- 
 sociated because they occurred upon the same day, or 
 within the same week, month, year, or century. Men 
 born at about the same time, or living during the same 
 period, or active in the same events, are naturally grouped 
 together, and the name of one of the group calls up the 
 names of others. Usually, in such cases, some one man, 
 more prominent than the others, is the center of the 
 group. The events and the men of the same age are 
 linked together and are mutually suggestive, especially 
 
LAW OF CONTIGUITY 95 
 
 if the men were actors in the same events. Columbus, 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, the discovery of America, and 
 the year 1492 are so united in the minds of students of 
 history that the mention of any one of them recalls all 
 the others. In this and in most similar examples, other 
 relations exist and are operative besides that of time. 
 The number of events and persons who can be gathered 
 into a group with the ^* Fourth of July '' as a center is a 
 matter of interest and wonder. 
 
 (B) Relation of Place. Men are associated with their 
 birthplaces, with places where they have lived, where 
 they have performed important acts, and where they died 
 and were buried. Events are associated with the places 
 where they occurred ; industries with the localities where 
 they are carried on, and natural productions with the 
 countries which produce them. Associations of place are 
 of the first importance in connection with the study of 
 geography and history. Very frequently the two rela- 
 tions of time and place are united, and the strength 
 of the association is thus largely increased. 
 
 (C) Relation of Cause and Effect. It is probable that 
 the abstract idea of cause and effect is of intuitive origin. 
 But when two events occur regularly, and the same one 
 invariably precedes and the other just as invariably fol- 
 lows, either will suggest the other, even though the rela- 
 tion between them were only that of time. But in such 
 a case, the mind can hardly escape the conviction that 
 the relation is deeper and closer than that of time alone. 
 The more intimate the connection is believed to be, the 
 stronger becomes the bond of mental association. The 
 appearance of one event not only suggests the other, but 
 
96 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 puts the mind to searching for it, if it is not readily dis- 
 covered. This principle of association is, for this reason, 
 peculiarly valuable and fruitful in results. It finds its 
 most obvious field of activity in the study of the physical 
 and other experimental sciences. The rise and fall of the 
 mercury in the tube of the thermometer and barometer 
 is naturally and almost unavoidably associated with both 
 the cause and the events likely to follow. 
 
 (D) Relation of Wholes and Parts. As previously 
 suggested, it is possible that the relation of wholes and 
 parts, or the principle of redintegration, includes all the 
 cases grouped under the head of contiguity, so far as the 
 psychical activities are concerned. Practically, however, 
 in the work of learning and teaching, the subdivisions 
 given are found desirable in the case of elementary 
 students. 
 
 The external relation of wholes and parts is proved, in 
 the school and elsewhere, to be very fruitful in sugges- 
 tions and associations. A single initial letter suggests 
 the whole word ; a single line or angle recalls the entire 
 figure ; a single movement of the foot or hand brings to 
 mind the whole series of movements however complex ; 
 a note or two repeated enables the singer to recover the 
 whole of along piece of music; oftentimes the hesitating 
 pupil repeats the whole problem, or gives the complete 
 statement, or makes a correct answer, if he can get only 
 the first word. Abundant illustrations of a higher value 
 will readily suggest themselves. 
 
 (E) Relation of Sign and Thing signified. It is rec- 
 ognized universally that '* the sign and the thing signified 
 are mutually suggestive," but the importance of this 
 
SIGNS 97 
 
 relation in early education is not fully appreciated. In 
 the earliest period of his life the child is doing little else 
 than learning what may be called signs. He asks the 
 names of things, but these names are only signs used for 
 convenience. All language consists of collections of signs 
 and symbols. These signs may be divided into natural 
 and artificial. 
 
 Natural Signs. Among the natural signs, indicating 
 feelings, are some of the cries of young children and also 
 of animals, usually indicating discomfort and pain ; some- 
 times comfort and satisfaction are denoted. Peculiar 
 movements of the limbs and of the muscles of the face 
 suggest pain or pleasure. Certain movements of the head, 
 the hands, limbs, and other parts of the body appear to 
 have a natural association with certain ideas and feelings. 
 The sign is instantly interpreted, and always in the same 
 way, by all persons, whether instructed or not. Educa- 
 tion has little to do with the association of natural signs 
 and their meanings. 
 
 Artificial Signs. The greater part of all developed 
 languages is artificial. Spoken words, with possibly a 
 few exceptions, are artificial signs ; written and printed 
 words are entirely so. In learning to talk, the child, 
 aside from the action of the physical organs of voice and 
 speech, is striving to form a permanent association of 
 certain combinations of articulated sounds with persons, 
 objects, acts, and other things which impress the senses. 
 In learning to read, a double association is formed. 
 Written and printed characters are associated both with 
 the spoken words and also with the objects which these 
 signify. A book cannot be used by the child for the 
 
98 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 purpose of reading or studying until most of the words 
 found in it have been so associated. 
 
 Subjective Laws or Conditions of Memory. As pre- 
 viously stated, the subjective laws are conditions of body 
 or mind, or conditions under our control, which render 
 retention more certain and recall easier. The following 
 are the most important of these conditions. 
 
 (A) Fixed Attention. Experience proves that the 
 power to retain and reproduce depends very largely upon 
 the kind and degree of attention given in the acquisition. 
 Two things are necessary to make retention sure : (i) a 
 deep and distinct mental impression, and (2) the largest 
 possible number of natural associations. Attention, being 
 the concentration of the whole effective energy of the 
 mind upon one object, seems to act upon the percept, 
 image, or idea, in the same manner as a concentrated and 
 intensified physical force acts upon a material object. 
 The effect is like that of a heavy blow as compared with 
 the effect of a light one, rendering the impression deep 
 and permanent. External attention should become ob- 
 servation in the true sense of the word, and should be so 
 directed that the impression will be not only deep and 
 distinct, but also accurate and truthful. 
 
 Attention selects. Every object or event has its sur- 
 rounding and related objects, events, and circumstances. 
 Of these there will often be a large number, some of 
 greater and others of less importance. The attention 
 cannot be given to all these, and it must consequently 
 select some things and disregard others. The selection 
 made by different persons will not be the same, and, as a 
 
REPETITION 
 
 99 
 
 necessary consequence, the facts reproduced by different 
 observers will often be very unlike. This accounts for 
 the varying, and sometimes apparently contradictory, 
 reports given by different witnesses of the same occur- 
 rence. The observers may be equally intelligent, equally 
 truthful, and equally attentive ; but the attention of each 
 one took its own direction, made its own selection and 
 its own peculiar associations, and these determine future 
 reproduction. The importance of attention, in its relation 
 to retention and recollection, can hardly be overestimated. 
 
 (B) Repetition. Some prejudice exists in the minds 
 of many teachers against employing repetition, from the 
 fact that it has been too exclusively used at some times 
 in the past. But in the case of the young child repetition 
 is an absolute necessity. AH the child^s early efforts at 
 learning, from his first effort to speak the name of his 
 mother until he can pronounce words readily at sight, 
 are made successful only by a continued series of repeti- 
 tions. No effective substitute has been found. But the 
 process should be so managed that it shall not become 
 irksome to the learner. 
 
 The impressive force of earnest attention acts like a 
 single vigorous blow ; the impressive force of repetition 
 may be compared to a succession of feeble strokes. 
 Attention determines, at the beginning, what objects and 
 what ideas shall be brought together and by what relation 
 they shall be associated. Some repetition is usually re- 
 quired to render the union permanent. For example, if 
 two objects or two persons are seen together once only, 
 under very extraordinary circumstances to which the 
 attention is strongly and intently directed, the association 
 
 LofC. 
 
lOO REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 may be thoroughly fixed. But usually a tendency only 
 to such association begins to be formed in the first in- 
 stance, and several repetitions of the observation will be 
 needed to complete the work of uniting, so that the sight 
 of one of the objects or persons will be sure to cause an 
 image of the other to appear in consciousness. The same 
 fact is observable in other forms of mental activity. 
 Under the spur of necessity an actor may commit a new 
 part of considerable length within a few hours by concen- 
 trating the whole energy of his mind upon the work. It 
 is simply a supreme effort of attention, and this gives 
 immediate but temporary success. The part will soon 
 be entirely forgotten, unless this work of forced attention 
 is supplemented by repetition in the form of review. 
 Review is generally conceded to be of prime importance, 
 but review is only a repetition of the original act of 
 learning. 
 
 The effect of lapse of time is well known. An im- 
 pression made yesterday is easily recalled to-day, with more 
 difficulty to-morrow, with much more of difficulty at the 
 end of a week or a month. It is important, therefore, 
 that repetitions, in the form of reviews, begin soon after 
 the first impressions have been made. After a good 
 many iterations, longer and still longer intervals may be 
 allowed between reviews. 
 
 (C) Associated Feeling. This topic might have been 
 treated under the head of contiguity, or the whole and 
 its parts, since the influence of feeling upon reproduction 
 depends upon the tendency of the mind to recall the 
 whole of any previous act or state when any part has 
 been recalled. 
 
EFi^ECtS OF FEELINC lOt 
 
 Most psychical acts and states of the adult mind are 
 highly complex. In most cases, perhaps in all, acts of 
 knowing are accompanied by states of feeling. The acts 
 and the states become intimately and strongly associated, 
 so that a particular act of knowing is habitually attended 
 by a certain state of feeling. The more vivid the emo- 
 tion, the stronger the association. 
 
 Two Effects of Feeling. Feeling exerts influence in 
 two directions. In the first place, it produces an effect 
 upon the mind which may be compared to the effect pro- 
 duced upon iron by heat. It appears to render the soul 
 more impressible, so that the same force produces more 
 effect than it would under other circumstances. It also 
 intensifies attention ; and this increases very greatly the 
 energy and effectiveness of the force itself. Attention 
 corresponds in degree with the degree of feeling. The 
 natural result is a more rapid and more permanent ac- 
 quisition of knowledge so long as a proper equilibrium is 
 maintained between the knowing processes and the feel- 
 ing. 
 
 Retention Easy ; Associations Lasting. Acquisi- 
 tions made under such conditions are ordinarily easily re- 
 tained and readily reproduced. Under the influence of 
 very intense, but not overwhelming, feelings, an impres- 
 sion so deep and well defined may be made that no repe- 
 tition will be necessary. A day, a place, or a scene of 
 very strong and peculiar pleasure or pain, of joy or sor- 
 row, may be vividly recalled, even years afterwards, 
 although none of the attending circumstances has ever 
 been revived by repetition of any sort. 
 
 Probably no associations are more lasting or more con- 
 
102 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 stantly active in the reproduction than those into which 
 feeling enters as a prominent or predominant element. 
 A little memento, worthless in itself, calls up at once the 
 home of one's childhood, the scenes and circumstances 
 of early life, the forms and faces of those long dead. The 
 interest with which places are visited often has its origin 
 wholly in this kind of association. Reverence and affec- 
 tion for Washington make sacred his home and his last 
 resting place, and deeper feelings of a similar nature are 
 associated with Nazareth and Bethlehem. 
 
 Advantage should be taken of the principle of associa- 
 tion in the instruction of young children. The power of 
 voluntary attention is so weak that it needs to be reen- 
 forced by the energy of appropriate feeling. Anecdotes 
 and short stories about persons, places, books, poems, in- 
 ventions, articles of furniture, and other objects of study, 
 are of great service in exciting and keeping alive such 
 feelings. Care should be taken that only agreeable feel- 
 ings are associated with processes of learning as far as 
 this is possible. It is no slight misfortune when some- 
 thing good and beautiful in science, art, literature, or 
 life is associated with emotions of pain, disappointment, 
 anger, or some still worse feeling. 
 
 (D) Condition of Body and Mind. This is a subjective 
 condition with which we are all well acquainted. At some 
 times it is very difficult to fix the mind upon any matter 
 of study, or to recall anything which has been previously 
 learned. With some persons this condition is the natural 
 result of bad mental habits, and indicates no peculiar 
 temporary state of either body or mind. These persons 
 have never acquired the power to control the psychical 
 
CONDITION OF BODY AND MIND IO3 
 
 activities, and to concentrate them upon any object or 
 purpose. So far as attention is concerned, they are in 
 the condition of children ; they are examples of chronic 
 cases of self-produced mental imbecility. 
 
 The state of mind or body to which reference is here 
 made refers to students and others who are supposed to 
 have a fair degree of control over themselves, and over 
 their psychical powers. With them this state of inability 
 is exceptional. Efforts to do mental work at such times 
 and under such conditions are usually melancholy failures. 
 
 Sometimes the immediate cause is obvious. The mind 
 may be preoccupied with other objects of observation or 
 thought which cannot, for some reason, be dislodged ; or 
 it may be overburdened with cares or anxieties which 
 cannot be laid off by an act of will ; or it may be over- 
 whelmed with some sorrow, or may be exhausted by too 
 long>continued labors. At such a season the only thing 
 to be done is to rest ; it is no time for work, y 
 
 The cause may be altogether bodily ; may be in the 
 derangement of the physical organs or their functions. 
 The processes of digestion may be deranged ; the nerv- 
 ous system and especially the great center, the brain, 
 may be exhausted ; some nerve may be tormented by 
 acute pain, or general lassitude and weariness may affect 
 the whole physical organism. Under such conditions of 
 body and mind very little mental work can be accom- 
 plished. The feebleness of attention prevents the pro- 
 duction of deep and well-defined psychical impressions, 
 or the formation of effective associations. Previously 
 formed associations seem to have lost all their suggestive 
 power. 
 
I04 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 Differences and Varieties of Memory, Under the 
 previous head of subjective conditions affecting retention 
 and reproduction, peculiarities of mental constitution are 
 sometimes reckoned. These peculiarities are so radical, 
 so permanent, and so slightly affected by volition or by 
 temporary circumstances or states of body and mind, that 
 they constitute, in effect, original varieties of memory 
 itself. Some persons remember colors and forms ; they 
 have an eye memory. Others remember sounds, have an 
 ear memory. In a few cases the memory attaches itself 
 to the other senses. There may, consequently, be as 
 many varieties of memory as there are senses. 
 
 In some cases the differences are merely variations of 
 degree in the general power of memory. Some persons 
 are able to retain and reproduce acquisitions of all kinds, 
 relating to all subjects, much more surely and readily than 
 others. This may be called general memory. 
 
 More commonly the difference is not one of general, 
 but of special power ; the memory is called special. 
 Some things and some classes of things are recalled with- 
 out difficulty, perhaps with unusual facility, while other 
 things are retained and reproduced only with extreme 
 difficulty ; or there may be an entire inability to recall 
 them. Such special differences manifest themselves in 
 childhood, and should be considered in the demands made 
 upon pupils, especially in the primary grades. 
 
 Causes of Differences, For original disparities of 
 memory, or of other psychical activities, no causes can be 
 assigned except natural and inherited peculiarities of 
 mental constitution. For differences appearing in mature 
 life reasons can usually be discovered. If the differences 
 
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE REPRODUCTION 105 
 
 are specific, as is usually the case, their causes are found 
 in employments, professions, peculiar surroundings, the 
 attention given to particular studies, and other manifest 
 conditions. Mental activity has been concentrated, much 
 of the time, upon special objects or subjects ; other things 
 have been neglected ; the mind has been constantly filled 
 with one class of impressions until it has become pecul- 
 iarly susceptible to these, and comparatively unable to 
 be affected by those of a different nature. Illustrations 
 will readily occur of the influence of occupations and 
 professions. The physician observes and remembers one 
 class of things ; the lawyer, the clergyman, the teacher, 
 the journalist, the scientist, naturally notice and recall 
 other classes of things. The same is true of men engaged 
 in all the various departments of business and mechanical 
 activities. These variations in the power and direction 
 of memory are the result of the general law of habit. 
 
 Active and Passive Reproduction, In ordinary cases 
 of reproduction there is a conscious directing effort of 
 the will. A desire is felt to recall some particular past 
 acquisition, and the reproductive energies are exercised 
 according to this desire. This is active reproduction. It 
 is true that previously formed associations will limit the 
 total amount of matter which can be recalled by volun- 
 tary effort, but, in most cases, it is only a small part of 
 that which relates to any subject that is wanted at any 
 one time and for any one purpose. The directed activity 
 of recollection seizes upon such matter as is desired and 
 rejects everything else. 
 
 At times, however, the reproductive and representative 
 processes go on without interference or control by the 
 
I06 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 will. This is sometimes called simple remembrance ; one 
 image follows another without the intervention of will. 
 The mind is passive ; it exerts no positive directing 
 effort. Some passing object or event '' starts a train " of 
 images or ideas, which come and go according to some 
 law of association, the mind being passively conscious of 
 their presence, and allowing them to crowd and jostle one 
 another as- they please. The result is apparent chaos ; 
 and the temporary combinations of images and ideas are 
 generally incongruous and often amusing from their ab- 
 surdity. This state of mind frequently passes into what 
 is called reverie. Individuals of certain temperaments 
 easily fall into this dreamy condition of mind, particularly 
 during the time when youth is changing into maturity. 
 The state may even become habitual, in which case irrep- 
 arable injury is inflicted upon the mental activities. All 
 continued and vigorous psychical action becomes distaste- 
 ful, if not impossible. The power of voluntary attention 
 is weakened ; the force of the will is broken, and the 
 whole mental fabric is undermined. 
 
 Improving the Memory. The cultivation and improve- 
 ment of the memory are little else than the cultivation of 
 right methods of study. That which is thoroughly and 
 properly learned is usually securely retained and readily 
 recalled. The suggestions under this head will relate 
 mostly to the processes of learning. 
 
 Consciousness and observation unite in affirming that 
 our ability to retain, recall, represent, and reknow pre- 
 vious acquisitions depends mainly upon three conditions : 
 (i) Upon the thoroughness of the learning. If the mat- 
 ter is presented to the senses, the percepts must be 
 
IMPROVING THE MEMORY IO7 
 
 distinct, complete, and accurate. The cultivation of the 
 visualizing power is of the highest importance. If the 
 matter is presented by descriptions or readings, the 
 images or concepts must be clear and distinct. No part 
 of the subject presented to be learned should be left in a 
 hazy, uncertain, and poorly defined state. (2) Upon 
 proper associations and combinations. The parts or 
 elements of the new matter must be rightly arranged so 
 that they follow one another in a natural and logical order, 
 the first thing necessarily leading to the second, the 
 second to the third, and so on to the end. Then, by the 
 process of apperception, the new matter must be 
 thoroughly united, associated, combined with former ac- 
 quisitions, with kindred material already digested in the 
 mind so that the old and the new become an assimilated 
 mass of integrated knowledge. The law of contiguity 
 will be of very great service in the study of history and 
 geography. (3) Upon the regular and constant exercise 
 of the memory. The memory, like the other powers, 
 can be improved only by appropriate and constant 
 exercise. Make proper use of repetition, not simply the 
 repetition of words, but of the processes of thinking and 
 reasoning. 
 
 Some Practical Suggestions. A few practical sug- 
 gestions may be of value to young students, (i) Rec- 
 ognize the fact that memory is of different kinds, and do 
 not expect that your memory will be equally good in all 
 directions, although it will be wise to seek to improve 
 that which is naturally defective. Some persons have an 
 excellent eye memory ; they recall easily faces, forms, 
 places, colors ; they seem to themselves to see the form 
 
I08 REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 of a word they wish to write, or the page of a book on 
 which a rule is printed, or a mathematical problem is 
 stated, or a historical fact is recorded. Others have an 
 ear memory, and easily remember names, notes of music, 
 rhymes, and snatches of poetry. Such persons, if in 
 doubt as to the spelling of a word, repeat it aloud or 
 half-audibly to themselves. Some have excellent verbal 
 memories ; others readily master and reproduce facts, 
 principles, arguments, courses of reasoning, but always 
 clothe these in language of their own. A few have 
 extraordinary power to retain and recall dates, columns 
 of figures, and mathematical problems and formulas. 
 
 (2) Do not attempt too much, or require too much of 
 pupils. Begin with easy tasks and let these be increased 
 gradually. Verbal memory may be greatly improved by 
 committing, for some time, a single line of poetry or a 
 single sentence of prose every day, and repeating each 
 day, as the days go on, from the beginning of the se- 
 lection. After a few weeks, the daily lessons may be in- 
 creased to two lines, and then to three and four. In all 
 cases perfect accuracy should be required in the repro- 
 duction. 
 
 The memory of facts, principles, and so forth, may be 
 improved by reading carefully histories and scientific 
 works, and recalling and repeating, sometimes orally and 
 sometimes in writing, the facts and principles in their 
 right order. Persons who have some skill in drawing and 
 sketching can improve visual memory by making draw- 
 ings and sketches of places and scenes which they have 
 visited. Be regular and persistent in all such exercises. 
 Irregular and intermittent efforts amount to very little. 
 
SOME PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS IO9 
 
 The end desired is the creation of a permanent mental 
 habit which shall make such labor a genuine pleasure 
 instead of an irksome task. 
 
 (3) Aim to retain, in all studies and readings, the es- 
 sential and valuable. Cultivate the habit of careful 
 selectioUo Only a limited amount of new material can 
 be digested and assimilated at one time. An effort to 
 master too much ends in mastering nothing. It is harm- 
 ful to the memory to read a large amount of matter 
 which one does not care to remember, and from which no 
 selections are made for memorizing. 
 
 (4) Infuse into every subject learned as much of 
 genuine interest as possible. This interest, in many cases, 
 may be only varying degrees of emotion. But when a 
 higher kind of interest can be secured it will be of more 
 permanent value. 
 
 (5) A few artificial devices may be employed to aid the 
 memory, but such devices should be used sparingly, and 
 only such should be selected as exert an influence in 
 harmony with some natural law of mindo Most of the 
 artificial schemes for helping and improving the memory 
 are useless, to say the least, and some are worse than 
 useless. There is in human nature an inborn fondness 
 for rhythm and for rhythmical movements. Such ar- 
 rangements of words and sounds are very easily retained 
 and recalled. Not seldom they insist on " running in the 
 head,'* much to our annoyance. An example is found in 
 the oft repeated 
 
 '• Thirty days hath September, 
 April, June, and November," etc. 
 
 At a period not very remote it was a common practice 
 
no REPRESENTATION AND REPRODUCTION 
 
 to sing the multiplication table ; and useless lists of 
 geographical names were mastered in the same way. 
 Such devices have been compared to *' pegs " or '' hooks " 
 upon which acquisitions of certain kinds may be hung 
 ready for use. Do not make much use of such ''hooks." 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Definitions of memory. 
 
 2. Retention ; some explanations. 
 
 3. Importance of reproduction. 
 
 4. Facts of experience ; processes. 
 
 5. James Mill's theory. 
 
 6. Laws of association. \ 
 
 7. Primary or objective laws. 
 
 8. Quotation from Herbart's Pedag-o^v. 
 
 9. Law of similarity ; illustrations. 
 
 10. External resemblances ; resemblances of influence. 
 '11. Law of contrast; illustrations. 
 
 12. Law of contiguity. The more fundamental law : redin- 
 
 tegration. 
 
 13. Relation of time; of place; of cause and effect ; of wholes 
 
 and parts: examples ; of sign and thing signitied. 
 
 14. Natural signs ; artificial signs. 
 
 15. Subjective laws or conditions of memory. 
 
 (A) Fixed attention ; attention selects. 
 
 (B) Repetition ; illustrations. 
 
 16. Effect of lapse of time. 
 
 17. (C) Associated feeling ; two effects of feeling. 
 
 18. Retention easy ; associations lasting. 
 
 19. Use to be made of laws of association. 
 
 20. (D) Condition of body and mind. 
 
 21. Differences and varieties of memory; general memory; 
 
 special memory. 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER III 
 
 22. Causes of differences ; some natural ; others acquired. 
 
 23. Active and passive reproduction ; reverie. 
 
 24. Improving the memory ; by (i) Thoroughness of learning ; 
 
 (2) Proper associations and combinations ; (3) Regular and 
 constant exercise. 
 
 25. Practical suggestions ; i, 2, 3, 4, 5. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES — CONCEPTION; JUDGMENT. 
 
 Use of Term Thinking. In common speech, the term 
 thinking is employed to denote almost any form of men-, 
 tal action. The effort to recall some past experience is 
 called thinking. We speak of '^ thinking over " the 
 events of a day or a week. Even the processes of im- 
 agination are referred to as thinking. 
 
 What it is to think. In its restricted sense, thinking 
 includes only those forms of psychical activity by which 
 the materials of knowledge, gathered up by the present- 
 ative powers and held by memory in readiness for use, 
 are examined, compared, transformed into the condition 
 of real knowledge, and properly classified. Briefly, think- 
 ing is the classifying of knowledge. It includes several 
 processes which follow one another in a natural order, 
 and which appear to go on spontaneously. 
 
 Illustration. A crude illustration of tlie thinking 
 processes may be borrowed from the action of the di- 
 gestive organs in converting the raw material of food 
 into a nutritive condition. Materials to be used for 
 building up and nourishing the physical organism are 
 gathered from all sources, and, after the preliminary 
 operation of mastication, are deposited in the stomach. 
 These materials, at this stage, are not, strictly speaking, 
 food, but merely the substances out of which food is to 
 
 112 
 
THINKING BEGINS EARLY II 3 
 
 be manufactured. By the processes of digestion, circu- 
 lation, and assimilation, they are transformed into real 
 nourishment and converted into blood, bone, muscle, 
 and nerve matter. Thinking does for the crude products 
 of the acquisitive mental powers what these digestive 
 processes do for the raw materials of food. It mentally 
 transforms and assimilates them. It converts them into 
 forms of classified knowledge. They become mental 
 blood, bone, and muscle. 
 
 Thinking begins Early. The thinking activities must 
 begin to manifest themselves very early in the life of a 
 child, as soon, evidently, as materials are furnished for 
 examination and comparison. When a child says men- 
 tally to himself, ^* This sensation is like one which I had 
 a short time ago," he performs an act of decidingor judg- 
 ing. This act must have followed a previous exercise 
 of the power of comparison and discrimination. When 
 the child concludes that he shall suffer pain if he puts 
 his finger in the gas flame or on the hot stove, because 
 these acts have previously caused him pain, he is reason- 
 ing ; he believes, partly from experience and possibly in 
 part from intuition, that the same cause will continue to 
 produce the same effect. The early thinking of the 
 child is, of course, exceedingly crude ; the activities of 
 judging and reasoning are very feeble, scarcely more 
 than faint inceptions. But that they are the real begin- 
 nings of the highest and most complex of all the psy- 
 chical activities, is abundantly proved by the questionings 
 of childhood. At the same time it is evident that the 
 thinking powers attain their full maturity and strength 
 
 at a comparatively later period. 
 8 
 
114 TPIE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 First Step in Thinking ; Formation of the General 
 Concept. The thinking processes embrace three nat- 
 urally successive steps. Classification cannot begin un- 
 til a basis has been found. The concept affords this 
 basis in the activities of thinking. Consequently the first 
 step will consist of the formation of concepts. The term 
 notion is sometimes used to denote the same thing as 
 concept, and even the word idea is loosely employed in 
 the same way. These general concepts or notions are 
 named by such terms as animal, man, horse, flower, fruit, 
 and others of similar nature, designated usually as com- 
 mon names. When these terms are so employed, no par- 
 ticular individual horse, man, or fruit is meant. Abstract 
 ideas, which closely resemble general concepts in some 
 respects, are named by such words as virtue, vice, good- 
 ness, purity, honesty, and similar terms commonly called 
 abstract nouns. Although general concepts and abstract 
 ideas resemble each other, as already stated, they differ 
 in some important features, as will be seen further on. 
 
 Formation of Concepts ; Analysis, I have before me 
 a number of apples. They differ somewhat in form, very 
 much in size, color, and taste. I examine them one by 
 one with great care, noting the qualities and character- 
 istics of each. At the conclusion of the examination I 
 discover that some qualities and features have been 
 marked as found in every apple. These are called com- 
 mon characteristics. It is discovered, also, that each 
 apple, or each variety of apples, has certain qualities 
 peculiar to itself, and not found in any of the others. 
 These are called special and individual characteristics. 
 This process of careful examination is named analysis, 
 
THE GENERAL CONCEPT II5 
 
 and IS the first step in the formation of a general con- 
 cept. 
 
 Abstraction or Separation* By reviewing the work of 
 analysis, I discover that I have been able to select any 
 one quality of an apple, separate it for purposes of ex- 
 amination from all other qualities, and devote my whole 
 attention to this alone. I discover, further, that I have 
 been able to select any one of the characteristics common 
 to all the apples, devote attention to it, and think of it, 
 not as belonging to any particular apple, but to all apples. 
 I find I have been able thus to separate all the common 
 characteristics. This process of selection and separation 
 is called abstraction. In this case, abstraction is nothing 
 more than concentrating the attention upon some partic- 
 ular thing or things and entirely disregarding, for the 
 time, all other things. 
 
 The General Concept* All the common qualities or 
 characteristics which have been discovered in the exam- 
 ination can be combined or supposed to be combined in 
 a single apple. This supposed apple is a representative 
 of all apples. It contains only the qualities common to 
 all apples. It is neither sweet nor sour ; neither red nor 
 green in color ; neither hard nor mellow ; neither early 
 nor late ripening. No such apple actually exists, or ever 
 did exist, or ever will exist. It is purely a mental prod- 
 uct. It is the general concept or notion to which the 
 common name apple is applied. A general concept may 
 be defined as the mental notion of a class or genus of 
 objects. It stands to the mind as the representative of 
 the class. 
 
 Generalization, After the concept has been formed, 
 
Il6 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 all the objects having characteristics embraced in the 
 concept are grouped together, and designated by a com- 
 mon name. This is sometimes called denominating or 
 marking off the class. Under this name are gathered all 
 objects which have the proper qualities ; or, changing the 
 form of expression, the name is extended over and made 
 to embrace all these objects. This is generalization, 
 which may be defined as the application of a common 
 name to a large collection of objects because they all have 
 certain like characteristics. This collection is named, ac- 
 cording to the purpose immediately in view, a class, a 
 genus, a family, and so on. We have thus the concept 
 and name, tree, fruit, flower, lily, animal, horse, house, 
 table, chair, and all other things to which common names 
 are applied. 
 
 Conception, The complex mental activity which per- 
 forms all these various processes of analysis, abstraction, 
 and generalization, is called conception. The process of 
 forming concepts here described is that employed by 
 mature minds in their investigations in science and in all 
 studies requiring careful and thorough classification. The 
 classifications of botany and zoology afford good ex- 
 amples. In the study of these branches the student finds 
 the general concept, as the basis of his classifications, 
 already provided for him by those who have put the mat- 
 ter of these sciences into its present form. Time would 
 not permit the ordinary scholar to form the concepts 
 needed for his work. He does only enough in the pro- 
 duction of these to become thoroughly familiar with the 
 processes. 
 
 How the Child forms his Concepts* The young 
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMAGES AND CONCEPTS 11/ 
 
 child forms his first general concepts in a very different 
 way and by a method which may be called elimination. 
 An example will best describe the process. Suppose the 
 child for the first time sees a cat. This cat is of medium 
 size and black in color. The name cat means to the 
 child now this one black animal. The term is not a gen- 
 eral one in any sense ; it includes only a single cat. An- 
 other cat is brought before the child, similar to the other 
 in all respects except the color, which is white. At first 
 the child will hesitate to call this new specimen a cat ; 
 but noticing the resemblances, he finally consents to apply 
 the name. The word cat now means to the child these 
 two. He has, half consciously, concluded that color is 
 not an essential thing in the cat, and consequently he 
 eliminates or abstracts it from the notion of the animal. 
 A similar process leads him to eliminate the notion of 
 size and other special individual characteristics, until 
 finally his concept becomes general enough to embrace 
 all the cats of his acquaintance. Essentially the same 
 process of elimination goes on in the formation of his 
 concepts of man, boy, girl, horse, chair, table, and in- 
 deed of all the objects about him. Most of our every- 
 day concepts, in actual life, are formed in much the same 
 way, and consequently they are subject to frequent 
 changes. 
 
 Difference between Images and Concepts. Images 
 denote individuals; the image maybe very complex, but 
 still it embraces only one thing ; it may be a person, an 
 event, an object of any sort. The image usually con- 
 tains a large number of elements or particulars. The 
 image of a particular man embraces his size, height, 
 
Il8 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 color of his eyes and hair, cut of his clothing, manner of 
 speech and movement, everything which distinguishes 
 him from other men, as well as everything which he has 
 in common with them. 
 
 On the other hand the concept embraces only a com- 
 paratively small number of elements, and those only such 
 as are common to a whole class of objects of some sort. 
 A concept cannot be pictured. A visual image ap- 
 pears as a mental picture or representation of that for 
 which it stands. In some cases we seem to ourselves to 
 form a dim and shadowy mental picture of a general 
 concept ; but as soon as an effort is made to render this 
 shadowy and confused picture clear and distinct, with 
 outlines well defined, it is transformed into an image of 
 some individual of the class represented by the concept. 
 It is no longer a concept in the proper sense of the term. 
 
 Intension and Extension. A concept may contain 
 a greater or less number of qualities, elements, or 
 particulars. If it contains a large number, it is said to 
 have intension. But the greater the number of qualities 
 in the concept, the less the number of individuals or of 
 related classes which can be included under it. For ex- 
 ample, if we were to put into the concept man the quality 
 of color, all races of men of other colors would be ex- 
 cluded ; if into the concept rose the quality white were 
 introduced, all roses not white would be excluded. 
 
 When the concept embraces but very few qualities or 
 characteristics, it is said to have extension. Extension 
 is just the opposite of intension, ^he fewer the number 
 of qualities contained in the concept, the greater the num- 
 ber of objects which it will embrace. The concept 
 
CONCEPTS AND ABSTRACT IDEAS II9 
 
 flower contains only a very few elements, but it embraces 
 a vast number and variety of individual flowers and of 
 sub-classes of flowers. Generally as intension increases, 
 extension decreases. 
 
 Difference between Concepts and Abstract Ideas, Ref- 
 erence has been made to certain resemblances between 
 general concepts and abstract ideas. Let us notice here 
 the differences. The concept always contains several 
 qualities, and thus forms a sufficient basis for classifica- 
 tion. The abstract idea or notion consists of only a 
 single quality ; and consequently it would be useless for 
 purposes of classification. Its extension is so great that 
 it would embrace things altogether unlike in most re- 
 spects. The notions indicated by such terms as virtue, 
 vice, goodness, beauty, loveliness, and others of the same 
 kind, are called abstract ideas. These words denote a 
 single intangible and indefinable quality, regarded as the 
 essential and predominating characteristic of a great 
 number of material objects, or of many different acts 
 and states of sentient beings. By the process of abstrac- 
 tion this single quality is mentally separated from the 
 various objects, acts, and states in which it is supposed 
 to be found, and is designated by a name usually derived 
 from an adjective descriptive of these objects and acts. 
 Examples are abundant. From a number of objects 
 called hard, we obtain in this way the idea named hard- 
 ness. From many objects regarded as beautiful, the 
 notion of beauty is derived. From tough objects, tough- 
 ness ; from brittle objects, brittleness ; and so on indefi- 
 nitely. 
 
 From acts and states of sentient beings called virtuous 
 
I20 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 we get the abstract idea of virtue ; from benevolent acts, 
 benevolence ; from kind acts, kindness ; from vicious acts 
 and states, vice ; from selfish acts, selfishness. Illustra- 
 tions might be multiplied to any extent. These abstract 
 ideas are mere creations of the psychical powers, and have 
 no characteristics by which they can be described or 
 directly made known to the senses. Ideas expressed 
 by abstract terms can be learned only through concrete 
 examples of objects, acts, and states in which such ideas 
 are embodied and to which they give character. The 
 idea of hardness can be comprehended only by becoming 
 acquainted with hard objects through the senses ; the 
 idea of goodness only by knowing good beings, good 
 actions, and good things of various sorts. 
 
 Nature of Many Definitions. In this connection it is 
 a matter of interest to notice the nature of a definition. 
 In most cases the definition is simply a brief statement 
 or enumeration of the contents of a general concept. If 
 the concept contains a large number of particulars, the 
 definition will be very long, unless the least important 
 elements are omitted. For some purposes a definition 
 consists of the name of the class or genus to which the 
 object belongs, with a brief statement of its specific 
 characteristics. For example, a rectangle is defined as 
 *' a four-sided figure having only right angles." '' Four- 
 sided " names the class of figures to which the rectangle 
 belongs ; '' having only right angles " states how it differs 
 from other four-sided figures, or names its species among 
 the great variety of figures with four sides. 
 
 Descriptions. It is interesting to observe that our 
 familiar descriptions of objects frequently take the form 
 
JUDGMENT DEFINED 121 
 
 of classification. € am asked to describe the contents of 
 a basket placed before me. I say the basket contains 
 fruit. This statement, if correct, puts the contents into 
 the great class of fruits, and separates them from all 
 other products of the earth. I sa)/, further, that they 
 are grapes. This puts them into a genus, or particular 
 sub-class of fruits, and distinguishes them from all other 
 subdivisions. I add, still further, that they are Catawba 
 grapes. This completes the description, and also com- 
 pletes the classification, by placing them in a particular 
 species or variety of grapes, thus separating them from 
 every other variety. It is, of course, presupposed that 
 the meanings of the terms employed are fully understood. 
 The descriptions by which absent objects are to be 
 named in a game of guessing are often tolerably correct 
 definitions, and the objects are frequently fairly well 
 classified. 
 
 Judgment. The second step in the thinking processes 
 consists in the formation of judgments by the special 
 psychical activity called the judgment. The judgment is 
 necessarily active in the formation of concepts, and, 
 indeed, it appears to be found in connection with every 
 form of the activities of knowing. We have not, how- 
 ever, yet studied or particularly described it. 
 
 Judgment defined. Judgment is the mental activity 
 which examines, compares, and decides in respect to the re- 
 lation between things or ideas. It places objects or ideas, 
 literally or figuratively, alongside one another, discovers 
 their agreements and differences, and makes decisions in 
 respect to these. Objects of sight may be thus compared 
 
122 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 in respect to form, size, color, and all other characteristics 
 discoverable by the senses. The resulting decision may 
 be that two objects agree in form, differ in color, are 
 of equal weight, but of different material. In the 
 ordinary affairs of everyday life we are more familiar 
 with this mode of mental activity than with almost 
 any other. We are constantly comparing things, discov- 
 ering resemblances and differences, coming to con- 
 clusions, making decisions, affirmations, and denials. 
 All our real thinking takes essentially this form. Even 
 in questioning, little else is done except to inquire what 
 can be affirmed or denied in respect to some object 
 of observation or thought. 
 
 A Judgment, The psychical product of the act of 
 judging is called a judgment. When expressed in words 
 this is composed of two parts, — a subject, the name of 
 that of which the affirmation is made, and the predicate, 
 the words making the affirmation. 
 
 Consequently every judgment must embrace two ideas 
 or two mental products of some sort ; in many cases two 
 concepts. These two are compared and a decision is 
 pronounced in respect to them ; it is stated that they are 
 in agreement and can be united ; or that they are not in 
 agreement and cannot be united. If they can be put 
 together, the judgment is called affirmative. Iron is hard ; 
 snow is white, are examples of affirmative judgments. If 
 they are out of harmony and cannot be united, the judg- 
 ment is called negative. Iron is not soft ; snow is not 
 black, are illustrations of negative judgments. Such 
 simple and direct affirmative and negative decisions are 
 often called Categorical judgments. 
 
CONCEPTS AND JUDGMENTS COMPARED 123 
 
 Singular and Universal Judgments, For some pur. 
 poses judgments are divided into Singular and Universal. 
 Singular judgments are those made concerning individuals 
 or single things, as, ** John is industrious ; '* '' This horse 
 is valuable/' Universal judgments relate to classes, as, 
 " Honest men are trusted ; " '^ Birds are animals," '' Books 
 are useful/' 
 
 Concepts and Judgments compared, A concept is a 
 simple notion more or less complex, standing apart from 
 all other notions. The concept rose, or flower, or dog, or 
 animal affords an example. On the other hand, judgment, 
 in its own peculiar activity, must in all cases deal with 
 at least two distinct objects, ideas, or representations. 
 These objects or ideas may themselves be comparatively 
 simple, or they may be very complex, composed of a 
 number of qualities or elements. They may be percepts, 
 images, or general concepts. Judgment does not create 
 them ; it takes them as it finds them and uses them for 
 its own purposes. In this respect the judgment resembles 
 the imagination. Taking two such objects or representa- 
 tions it ascertains by examination and comparison what 
 relation exists between them. If the relation is one of 
 likeness, if they agree in all essential qualities, it unites 
 them by an affirmative judgment. But this union is such 
 that each remains a distinct object or perception or 
 thought. The combination bears no resemblance to that 
 found in the concept, in which the elements are insepara- 
 bly mingled together as in a chemical compound. When 
 spoken of, concepts are expressed by single words ; judg- 
 ments by complete sentences or propositions in which the 
 copula joins the subject and predicate. 
 
124 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 If the examination and comparison reveal the fact that 
 the relation between the two things is one of unlikeness, 
 of dissimilarity, the judgment pronounced is a negative 
 one; the two are declared to be incompatible; they are 
 separated by the word not, or some word of similar signi- 
 fication. But here, as in the positive judgments, there 
 are the two distinct parts. 
 
 Belief and Doubt, A judgment may be correct in 
 form, but, at the same time, not true in fact. In the 
 formation of judgments, however, the mind, dealing 
 honestly with itself, intends that they shall be true. The 
 statement of the judgment is accompanied by a condition 
 of mind called belief. Belief is partly intellectual and 
 partly emotional. We feel as much as we knov/, and 
 oftentimes it is quite impossible to determine which 
 element predominates. 
 
 A judgment is true when its affirmation or denial is in 
 accord with the facts. *' Truth is the correspondence 
 between the representation of an object in thought or 
 words and the object itself.*' Aristotle says, ^' Truth is 
 agreement of knowledge with reality.** While we are 
 often influenced by our feelings and desires, and things 
 appear to us to be true or false, according as they please 
 or displease us, according to desire or aversion, yet it may 
 be affirmed that there is in men a natural, a necessary, 
 love of truth. They may speak and act the false, but in 
 their hearts they do homage to the true. 
 
 Doubt is that state of mind in which the judgment is 
 in suspense. The data given are not sufficient to enable 
 the judgment to reach a satisfactory conclusion. This 
 state of suspense must continue until additional material 
 
APPERCEPTION I25 
 
 for examination shall be obtained from some source. 
 Doubt can be resolved only by evidence ; it cannot be 
 removed by an act of will or by the feeling of desire. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 Apperception. The term apperception is used occa- 
 sionally in our discussions. As the word is employed 
 very frequently by some writers, and not always with the 
 same signification, it may be desirable to state here the 
 meaning which the term is intended to express when 
 used in this work. 
 
 Apperception^ in our use, denotes tlie whole of the com- 
 plex mental process by which nezv facts, ideas, and ele^nents 
 of knowledge of all sorts are taken into the mind, assorted, 
 assimilated, and thoroughly united with the knowledge 
 which we already have. 
 
 It is the uniting of the new with the old in such away 
 that a consistent and harmonious whole is the result. 
 
 The term, though not absolutely necessary, is a con- 
 venient one and will without doubt continue to be em- 
 ployed, although the common word ^^assimilation'* 
 expresses pretty nearly the same idea. The process 
 denoted is that of the complete mental assimilation of 
 the old and the new. 
 
 Lange says : '' Apperception is that psychical activity 
 by which individual perceptions, ideas, or idea-complexes 
 are brought into relation to our previous intellectual and 
 emotional life, assimilated with it, and thus raised to 
 greater clearness, activity, and significance.** 
 
 The old doctrine of the association of ideas, treated 
 of in connection with memory, is nearly the same thing 
 
126 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 as apperception. The essential difference is that apper- 
 ception implies a more complete union of ideas, percepts, 
 and other related elements, than simple association 
 requires. It is association and something more. Dr. 
 Harris writes : '* The association of ideas looks merely to 
 their connection, which may be a matter of accident. 
 But apperception looks to the modification of ideas one 
 through the other, and hence leads to the process of for- 
 mation of ideas, which is the central point of interest in 
 psychology and education.** The apperceptive process 
 is a very familiar one when put into its simplest form, 
 and described in everyday language. 
 
 What one perceives in a new object will of course be 
 determined very largely by what he already knows : by 
 his previous experiences, by his general character, by his 
 habits of thought and action, by his native or acquired 
 tastes, and by his immediate purposes and intentions. 
 
 A peculiar mental condition occurs when new facts 
 and ideas are presented to consciousness which are incon- 
 sistent with those already possessed and accepted. It is 
 impossible for the old and the new to be assimilated and 
 combined : they are out of harmony, and not only refuse to 
 be united but are quite unable to dwell together in peace. 
 A deadly warfare springs up between them ; one or the 
 other must give way, and yield the possession of the mind 
 to its rival. The idea that the earth is an extended 
 plain and the idea that it is a globe cannot both be en- 
 tertained at the same time. The man who is, by nature 
 and habit, strongly conservative is likely to cling fast to 
 the old and shut the door in the face of the new ; he is 
 troubled when old, familiar ideas and beliefs are disturbed 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER 12/ 
 
 and discredited. He insists that the new must be false 
 from the mere fact that it disagrees with the old. 
 
 On the other hand, the man who is, by constitution and 
 habit, radical and inclined to discard the old simply because 
 it is old and has long been accepted, will throw the doors 
 wide open to the new and give it most cordial welcome, 
 even though its claims to acceptance are not yet well 
 substantiated. 
 
 SUxMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Common use of the term thinking. 
 
 2. What it is to think. 
 
 3. Illustration ; digestive organs. 
 
 4. Thinking begins early ; imperfect. 
 
 5. First step in thinking ; formation of the general concept. 
 
 6. Processes of the formation ; analysis. 
 
 7. Abstraction or separation. 
 
 8. The general concept. 
 
 9. Generalization. > 
 
 10. Conception. 
 
 11. How children form concepts. 
 
 12. Difference between images and concepts. 
 
 13. Intension and extension. 
 
 14. Difference between concepts and abstract ideas. 
 
 15. Nature of many definitions. 
 
 16. Descriptions ; examples. 
 
 17. Judgment; defined. 
 
 18. A judgment ; affirmative; negative. 
 
 19. Singular and universal judgments. 
 
 20. Concepts and judgments compared. 
 
 21. Belief and doubt. 
 
 22. How doubt is resolved. 
 
 23. Apperception. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES Co7ttinued—K^A'^0'^l^G. 
 
 Comparison in all the Steps. In the formation of 
 concepts, in the first steps of the thinking processes, qual- 
 ities are examined, compared, and united, if they will 
 bear uniting. A single complex whole is thus made 
 which serves as a basis for classification. 
 
 In the second step concepts are compared and joined 
 to form affirmative judgments, or disunited to form nega- 
 tive ones. The process of comparison still predominates ; 
 only the things compared have changed. We come now 
 to the third, the final step, in these psychical activities. 
 
 Reasoning defined. Reasoning is the process of com- 
 paring judgments. The result of the comparison is the 
 production of new judgments. An example will illus- 
 trate the process. We say : (i) All articles of gold are 
 valuable; (2) This ring is made of gold; (3) Therefore, 
 this ring is valuable. The following is an everyday ex- 
 ample : We shall have cooler weather, because the wind 
 has changed to the north. This statement contains two 
 judgments ; one of them, '' The wind has changed to the 
 north,'* IS a fact of observation; the other, '^ We shall 
 have cooler weather," is an inference of experience, ap- 
 parently based upon the fact first stated. Really, how- 
 ever, it is based upon another judgment, not expressed, 
 but tacitly understood, namely, *^ When the wind changes 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
INDUCTIVE REASONING 1 29 
 
 to the north the weather is usually cooler/' Written in 
 full, this example gives a regular series of judgments : 
 
 (i) When the wind changes to the north, the weather 
 is usually cooler ; (2) The wind has now changed to the 
 north ; (3) Therefore, the weather will probably be 
 cooler. 
 
 This last example, and others which might be given, 
 show that we are constantly reasoning in the common 
 affairs of life by a series of judgments, either implied or 
 expressed. Usually one of the judgments is not ex- 
 pressed. When the grounds for the conclusion are not 
 fully stated, one of the judgments being suppressed, the 
 reasoning is called implicit. When the judgments are all 
 formally expressed, the reasoning is termed explicit. Our 
 everyday reasoning is generally implicit. The omission 
 of that which is understood and admitted by all con- 
 cerned, saves time, and the conclusion is as satisfactory 
 as it would be if the whole process were given. 
 
 Inductive Reasoning. Two forms of reasoning are 
 usually recognized, the inductive and the deductive. 
 The mind has a natural tendency to pass from a number 
 of particular judgments to a more general judgment, 
 which expresses a law or principle embracing not only the 
 few cases named, but also all other similar cases. Induc- 
 tion is the mental operation in which we infer that what is 
 true in the limited number of cases examined, will also 
 be true in all cases which agree with those in the respects 
 or characteristics now under especial consideration. For 
 illustration, we observe that all the material things about 
 us fall to the ground when not supported. We infer that 
 all material things, in all places upon the earth, will do 
 
I30 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 the same. We observe that all perfect apples examined 
 by us have five seed cells; we infer that all perfect apples 
 everywhere will have the same number. We notice that 
 dogs, cats, and all other animals coming under our ob- 
 servation, having a certain kind of teeth, eat flesh. We 
 conclude that all animals with similar teeth will eat flesh. 
 Examples might be multiplied to any extent. 
 
 The process is a natural 07ie ; it does not have to be 
 learned or taught. Children go through the process spon- 
 taneotisly. But the tendency among children, and even 
 among some older people, is to make their conclusion too 
 hastilv. The individual facts observed are not numerous 
 enough to justify the inferring of a general law. Among 
 such hasty inductions are the statements that *^ all men 
 are liars,'* that *^ every man has his price," and other 
 similar careless affirmations. 
 
 The basis of inductive reasoning is the natural inclina- 
 tion of the mind to believe that whatever is true of a 
 considerable number of individuals, will be true of the 
 whole class to which these individuals belong. It is 
 sometimes said that the basis of this kind of reasoning is 
 our belief *' in the uniformity of nature." 
 
 Deductive Reasoning, Deduction is the opposite of 
 induction. Having reached general or universal laws and 
 truths by induction, we naturally apply these laws or 
 truths to individual cases. This tendency of mind is as 
 spontaneous as the tendency to induction. 
 
 Induction is reasoning upward from the individual to 
 the class or the general truth; deduction is reasoning 
 downward from the class or the general truth to the in- 
 dividual. Deduction may be defined as the process of 
 
DEDUCTIVE REASONING I3I 
 
 applying a general truth or law to individuals ; or the 
 process of gathering individuals into classes. The basis 
 of deductive reasoning is the belief that *' whatever can 
 be affirmed of an entire class can be affirmed of every 
 individual of that class/* 
 
 Deductive reasoning takes the following form, which 
 has already been illustrated in the examples given. We 
 say : 
 
 (i) All men are fallible. 
 
 (2) John Smith is a man ; that is, one of the *^ all 
 men.'' 
 
 (3) Consequently, John Smith is fallible. 
 
 Such a combination of judgments is called a syllogism. 
 In analyzing these judgments, it will be observed that 
 the first makes an affirmation in respect to a whole 
 class of persons or objects. The second asserts that a 
 particular individual belongs to this class. 
 
 The third, the conclusion, declares that what has been 
 affirmed of the class may be affirmed of the individual, 
 because he is included in the class. The first two judg- 
 ments are called premises; the judgment which affirms 
 something of a class is the major premise ; the one which 
 affirms something of an individual is the minor premise. 
 The third, as already stated, is the final conclusion of the 
 reasoning process in any particular case. 
 
 Demonstrative and Probable Reasoning. Demonstra- 
 tive reasoning is that in which the conclusion is abso- 
 lutely and unquestionably true. This can be the case 
 only when the premises are true beyond question. An 
 example of this is found when the premises are mathe- 
 matical axioms or other self-evident truths. 
 
132 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 In all practical affairs, and even in applied mathematics, 
 the premises are never axioms or propositions which 
 depend for their validity upon definitions alone, but 
 statements touching matters which may or may not be 
 true. Such statements are called probable truths ; they 
 are supposed to be true and are believed. But the con- 
 clusions in all such syllogisms will be, like the premises, 
 only probable truths, and the reasoning is termed prob- 
 able. The degree of probability will vary, in judgments 
 of this sort, from the barely probable to a strength of 
 probability which practically amounts to absolute cer- 
 tainty. 
 
 Proof and Proving. In many, probably in most, cases 
 of reasoning upon practical affairs, we announce only the 
 conclusion. If this is questioned, we then go on to give 
 what we call our reasons for the assertion. These rea- 
 sons are merely the suppressed premises from which the 
 conclusion has been drawn. This process is called prov- 
 ing or making proof. In our own minds the premises 
 preceded the conclusion, though perhaps nearly or quite 
 unconsciously. 
 
 Fallacies. A fallacy is an argument, usually in the 
 syllogistic form, which, on its face, appears valid, while 
 in reality it is not so. If such an argument is employed 
 with an intention to deceive, it is called a sophism. A 
 very common form of fallacy is illustrated by the follow- 
 ing syllogism : 
 
 (i) Office-holders are corrupt. 
 
 (2) This person is an office-holder. 
 
 (3) Consequently this person is corrupt. 
 
 The fallacy here is perpetrated by employing the term 
 
INTUITIVE JUDGMENTS 1 33 
 
 " office-holders/' in the major premise, as if it included all 
 the members of the class office-holders, while, in fact, it 
 embraces only a part of them. This is a very common 
 kind of fallacy in political discussions. Other forms of 
 fallacies will readily occur to the student who is familiar 
 with school debates. 
 
 With what Reasoning must begin. In all discussions 
 and debates it is necessary that there be as a starting 
 point some common ground, principle, or truth in respect 
 to which all parties are in agreement. Otherwise the 
 discussions come to nothing. So in all reasoning there 
 must be some propositions used as premises, which are 
 universally accepted. These are the fundamental judg- 
 ments upon which all other judgments are based, or out 
 of which they are evolved. These truths and judgments 
 must be such that the human mind assents to them as 
 soon as they are pronounced. The mind accepts them 
 as true because, from the nature of the mind, it cannot 
 do otherwise. These truths are the ultimate basis of 
 reasoning, and of all correct thinking. 
 
 Intuitive Judgments. Men are not agreed as to the 
 origin of these fundamental propositions. Some regard 
 them as inferences from experience, or conclusions from 
 the half-conscious workings of the higher powers of the 
 soul. Others regard them as intuitive truths or intuitions 
 of the mind. They are, as already stated, truths of such 
 a nature, are so obvious, that the mind recognizes them 
 as true whenever they are affirmed, and assents to them 
 instantly without reserve or hesitation. 
 
 The following are some of the fundamental truths : 
 The idea of what we call space springs up in the mind 
 
134 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 as soon as we become aware of the existence of material 
 things. We ask for no proof of this ; we cannot do 
 otherwise than accept the idea. There is no process of 
 reasoning ; none is needed. The intuitive power of the 
 soul gives us the notion when there is occasion for it. 
 
 The concept or idea of time is also intuitive. During 
 our waking hours, we are conscious that thoughts, mental 
 notions of one sort and another, are constantly coming 
 and going in consciousness. This process of change is ever 
 repeating itself within us. In the world about us changes 
 are constantly taking place. Clouds appear and disap- 
 pear above us; day and night follow each other; the 
 seasons have their regular order. Thus both by con- 
 sciousness and perception we become familiar with the 
 facts of change and succession. Thoughts within and 
 events without are ever chasing one another. Under 
 such conditions the idea of time, of succession and dura- 
 tion, appears in the mind. It comes as the idea of space 
 comes ; we accept it, not as a conclusion of reason, but 
 as an intuition of the soul. 
 
 The idea of cause and effect has the same origin. We 
 see a movement of some body ; we do not ask that some 
 one shall prove to us that this movement had a cause ; 
 an attempt at proof would be an impertinence. 
 
 The mathematical axioms are intuitive propositions. 
 We accept at once the declarations that the whole is 
 greater than any of its parts ; that a straight line cannot 
 enclose space ; that things equal to the same thing are 
 equal to each other. 
 
 The idea of personal identity, that is, that I am the 
 same person that I was yesterday, or last year, is doubt- 
 
INTUITIVE JUDGMENTS I35 
 
 less intuitive ; we cannot prove this identity ; we do not 
 require proof. That one cannot be in two places at the 
 same time is clearly intuitive and axiomatic. Other ex- 
 amples might be presented, but these are sufficient for 
 our present purpose. The fact that no precise limit can 
 be fixed to intuitive ideas and judgments, and that some 
 ideas now regarded as intuitions may not be such, is no 
 valid argument against the truth of the doctrine. Many 
 modern philosophers reject the theory of intuition, but 
 nevertheless one may be pardoned for still accepting its 
 teachings. 
 
 The following are usually given as the most important 
 characteristics of intuitive truths: 
 
 (i) They are simple ; that is, they cannot be resolved 
 into other and m^ore elementary truths. The propositions 
 in which they are expressed cannot, by any possible 
 analysis, be made clearer or more simple. 
 
 (2) They are necessary ; that is, a denial of them in- 
 volves an absurdity. 
 
 (3) They are universal ; that is, we can conceive of no 
 time or place in which they are not true. 
 
 (4) They are, consequently, primary and fundamental ; 
 they admit of no proof ; there are no other truths beneath 
 them more fundamental and necessary. 
 
 In writing upon this subject Dr. Davis says : " Knowl- 
 edge must have an ultimate basis. By a thorough anal- 
 ysis of our cognitions we must finally come to primitive 
 truths beyond which we cannot and need not go. These 
 primary cognitions are simple facts of consciousness. 
 As merely given, they are presentative, they are imme- 
 diate ; as seen face to face, they are intuitive/' 
 
136 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 Reasoning, therefore, rests upon the ultimate basis of 
 immediate and intuitive judgments. Upon this basis 
 all sane minds rest and are in agreement. All other 
 judgments are mediate, derived by some psychical proc- 
 ess from previous judgments. The validity of these 
 mediate judgments, when employed in the matters of 
 ordinary life and in courts of law, depends upon the evi- 
 dence of testimony ; that is, upon the evidence given by 
 men, or upon the evidence of circumstances or conditions. 
 Although our senses are sometimes cheated, the most 
 satisfactory evidence is the testimony of personal expe- 
 rience. It is difficult to persuade us that our own 
 experiences, the evidence of our own senses, are not 
 reliable. 
 
 Direct Evidence. Next to one's own experiences, 
 the most satisfactory testimony is the direct evidence 
 of other men. Direct evidence may be defined as the 
 testimony which men give in respect to what they have 
 themselves seen, or heard, or, in some way, known per- 
 sonally and immediately. 
 
 In considering and estimating the weight of such direct 
 evidence, two or three things are assumed : 
 
 (1) That the senses are to be trusted ; that men see 
 and hear what they think they see and hear. Illusions 
 are ruled out here. 
 
 (2) That men generally will tell the truth unless they 
 have, in particular cases, some special motives for testify- 
 ing falsely. The assumption is in favor of truthfulness. 
 
 (3) That the influence of motives over human speech 
 and conduct is uniform ; that is, that the motives which 
 influence one man will influence all other men, or men 
 
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE 
 
 137 
 
 generally, in the same way. This is not strictly and ab- 
 solutely true, but it is so near to the truth that the 
 assumption is justifiable. 
 
 Circumstantial Evidence is the kind of testimony 
 that is derived from an accumulation or a concurrence 
 of conditions, circumstances, events, and acts, no one of 
 which alone would be regarded as sufficient to establish 
 the truth of a proposition. Such evidence, when sub- 
 jected to proper rules, is as reliable and trustworthy as 
 direct testimony. In the nature of things, such evidence 
 must be depended upon in most cases of murder and 
 other great crimes committed in darkness and secrecy. 
 Some rules have been established by the courts in rela- 
 tion to evidence of this kind. If these rules are regarded 
 there is little danger of injustice from its use. The fol- 
 lowing are the most important of these rules. 
 
 (i) The fact or event to be accounted for must be es- 
 tablished by direct evidence. Before any person can be 
 convicted or punished for the crime of murder by circum- 
 stantial evidence, for instance, it must be proved directly 
 that a murder has been committed. 
 
 (2) The existence of all the conditions, circumstances, 
 events, or acts used in evidence, must be established by 
 direct testimony. 
 
 (3) The circumstances, or the hypothesis based upon 
 the circumstances, must fully account for the thing to be 
 proved. There must be no *' missing link " in the chain 
 of circumstances. 
 
 (4) There must be no other circumstances, or hypoth- 
 eses, by which the crime can possibly be accounted for. 
 These rules, as well as the assumptions in respect to 
 
138 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 direct evidence, are in accordance with the demands of 
 the mind. Consequently they come within the scope 
 of any discussion of the thinking activities and processes. 
 
 Analogy. In some cases, a species of reasoning is ern- 
 ployed called reasoning by analogy. This process of 
 reasoning is not peculiar; the peculiarity lies in the source 
 from which the premises are derived. This reasoning is 
 based upon certain kinds of resemblances. It is assumed 
 that, when things resemble one another in a considerable 
 number of points, especially if the points are important 
 ones, they will probably resemble one another in other 
 points concerning which we have no positive knowledge. 
 Analogical reasoning is closely allied, in some directions, 
 to inductive reasoning. In other directions it is related 
 to reasoning from conditions and circumstances. From 
 analogy we infer that similar conditions will produce 
 similar results ; that similar acts are intended to secure, 
 and will secure, similar effects. Jevons says : '* The planet 
 Mars possesses an atmosphere, with clouds and mists 
 closely resembling our own ; it has seas, distinguished 
 from the land by a greenish color, and polar regions cov- 
 ered with snow. The red color of the planet seems to be 
 due to the atmosphere, like the red color of our sunrises 
 and sunsets. So much is similar in the surface of Mars 
 and the surface of the earth, that we readily argue there 
 must be inhabitants there as here. All that we can cer- 
 tainly say, however, is that if the circumstances be really 
 similar, and similar germs of life have been created there 
 as here, there must be inhabitants. The fact that many 
 circumstances are similar, increases the probability." 
 
 We infer similarity of functions or uses from similarity 
 
ANALOGY 139 
 
 of organs. The wings of the bird are used for flying; 
 we should infer, if we did not know, that the wings of the 
 butterfly were employed for the same purpose. The dog 
 reasons by a sort of analogy when he runs upon perceiv- 
 ing that a boy is picking up a stone. He has observed 
 that a previous similar act was followed by another act, 
 which caused him pain ; he infers that the second act will 
 follow the first in the present case. 
 
 Development of the Reasoning Powers, As previously 
 stated, the thinking processes must begin to manifest 
 themselves very early in the child's life. First, sensations 
 are discriminated and compared and decisions made re- 
 specting them ; then, percepts and the objects which have 
 occasioned them. Later, images and concepts and all other 
 psychical products. All these efforts at thinking will be, 
 for some time, crude and exceedingly imperfect. The 
 power of judging and reasoning correctly and safely is of 
 slow growth, and reaches maturity much later than the 
 powers of perception, reproduction, and representation. 
 A great amount of material must have been accumulated 
 for examination and comparison before the decisions of 
 the judgment can be trustworthy. There must have 
 been much personal observation, and enough experience 
 to correct the natural tendency to come to conclusions 
 as to resemblances and differences and to put objects 
 together into classes without having studied with care a 
 sufficient number of individual cases. The proneness to 
 draw hasty and unwarranted inferences from faulty prem- 
 ises must be cured by the discovery of repeated and 
 ludicrous blunders committed in previous processes of 
 reasoning, and sometimes by suffering the ridicule and 
 
I40 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 mortification to which one who persists in the perpetra- 
 tion of such blunders is necessarily exposed. 
 
 Suggestions. Specific rules for the development and 
 culture of the reasoning activities are of little value. The 
 best method of dealing with one child or with one class 
 of children may not be the best method of dealing with 
 another child or another set of children. Nevertheless, 
 as the psychical powers and modes of action are essen- 
 tially the same in all cases where the degree of develop- 
 ment is the same, some general suggestions may be of 
 service. 
 
 (i) Exercise children in framing judgments and draw- 
 ing conclusions concerning matters with which they are 
 familiar. Formal reasoning upon abstruse subjects, or 
 upon subjects which have no relation to their everyday 
 interests, will be of little value, and may be injurious, since 
 a distaste for the exercise will be pretty sure to be created. 
 
 (2) Allow children to test in practice to some extent 
 the validity of their own reasonings. This suggestion 
 touches one of the questions which is constantly occur- 
 ring, and to which it is not easy to give a satisfactory 
 answer. How far shall children be required to submit to 
 absolute authorit}^ in their behavior and employment ; and 
 how far shall they be allowed to follow their own wishes 
 and the conclusions of their own reasonings ; how far 
 may they be permitted to depend upon their own judg- 
 ment ? Whatever theories may be entertained by some 
 excellent and enthusiastic advocates of '' children's 
 rights,'* it remains true that the undeveloped and igno- 
 rant child must be controlled by older and wiser heads 
 and hearts, and must learn the lesson of obedience to 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF REASONING POWERS I41 
 
 regularly established authority justly administered. At 
 the same time it is true that the child will never become 
 self-reliant and wisely self-directing unless he is allowed 
 to do his own reasoning, to draw his own conclusions, 
 and to act upon his own decisions within reasonable 
 limits. The practical difficulty is met when these limits 
 are to be fixed. The extent of the liberty granted must 
 be determined largely by the disposition of the individual 
 child, and by the consequences which will result, in any 
 given case, from following the conclusions of an imma- 
 ture judgment. The child must be saved from the danger 
 of doing himself serious harm, while he may be permitted 
 to run some risks of personal discomfort and temporary 
 suffering. 
 
 Touching another aspect of this question, a recent 
 writer says : '^ Everywhere the same willingness to do 
 what the public likes, and nowhere the question what the 
 public ought to have. And this spirit must slowly under- 
 mine every public function. We see how the churches 
 are filled and sermons made attractive by sensational and 
 trivial matters ; we see how the kindergarten method 
 creeps under the mantle of the elective system into all 
 our educational institutions and conquers the schools. 
 The pupils learn what they like to learn, till the go-as- 
 you-please system paralyzes the feeling of obligation and 
 lowers the tone of the whole community.*' 
 
 (3) Encourage the acquisition of good material for 
 reasoning and judging in the more advanced periods of 
 education, and in the employments and professions of 
 real life. 
 
 Like the imagination, the judgment must use such 
 
142 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 material as it can find ; it may create the form but not 
 the nature of its structure. Students should be encour- 
 aged to read much and thoughtfully ; not necessarily a 
 large quantity, not a great number of books, but the 
 books which contain much, and suggest much which they 
 do not contain. They should read outside of their own 
 particular specialty. The present tendency to study 
 special branches and special departments, and to become 
 specialists, is unfortunate in some respects, although it 
 may be a necessity of the conditions of the times. It 
 prevents that broad culture which is essential to the 
 highest success even in any special department. The 
 scientist is a better scientist because his education has 
 embraced courses in language and literature. The lawyer 
 must know a good deal besides that which belongs strictly 
 to the profession of law. He must have an acquaintance 
 with history, language, literature, and even science, if he 
 expects to attain a hi^^h rank in his vocation. The same 
 IS true, though in a little less degree, of the physician. 
 The specialist in medicine will be a wiser and safer prac- 
 titioner if he has known something of what is called 
 *^ general practice.'* A friend of mine, a specialist in 
 nervous and mental diseases, sometimes affirmed that the 
 number of men sane in all directions is very small. 
 Many specialists illustrate the familiar saying that *^ we 
 usually find what we look for." Students should be 
 warned to guard against this unfortunate tendency, and 
 should be incited to make their culture as broad and as 
 deep as possible. These suggestions will be sufficient to 
 indicate some of the directions which the culture of the 
 reasoning powers should take. 
 
REASONING ON MORAL QUESTIONS I43 
 
 Reasoning on Moral Questions. In discussing the 
 topic of children's judging and reasoning, Mr. Sully says, 
 "It would not do to allow a young child with his limited 
 experience to decide what is possible or probable in a 
 given case ; and still less to permit him to pronounce on 
 the Tightness or wrongness of an action." The prime 
 difficulty with the reasoning of a child upon moral ques- 
 tions is that he has, at his period of life, no proper stand- 
 ard by which questions of right and wrong can be justly 
 decided. In actual life many persons are, in this respect, 
 very much in the condition of children. It is a part of 
 the legitimate business of the schools and of teachers to 
 inculcate right views and right principles in relation to 
 questions of morals, and especially in relation to the 
 judgments which shall be pronounced, not only upon the 
 people of our own age, but also upon the men and women 
 who lived and acted in other times and under conditions 
 very unlike those in which we are living. In the teach- 
 ing of history the instructor will find frequent occasions 
 for calling attention to the differences between the moral 
 standards of former generations and the present. The 
 men who hung their neighbors that were accused of witch- 
 craft, were not necessarily greater sinners than the men 
 of to-day who disbelieve in witchcraft. One of the great- 
 est men in the religious history of the world declared, in 
 all sincerity, that he had lived in good conscience before 
 God, although he had caused men and women to be put 
 to death for holding a belief different from his own. His 
 standard was that of the age in which he lived and of the 
 people by whom he was surrounded. This was an ex- 
 treme case and illustrates very strongly the point under 
 
144 THE THINKING ACTIVITIES 
 
 discussion. Possibly children will be helped to restrain 
 their inclination to pass severe judgments upon their fel- 
 lows upon moral questions by fastening in memory the 
 wise saying — '' Judge not, that ye be not judged. For 
 with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged ; and 
 with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you 
 again." 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Comparison in all steps of thinking. 
 
 2. Reasoning defined ; examples. 
 
 3. Reasoning in common affairs. 
 
 4. Explicit and implicit reasoning. 
 
 5. Inductive reasoning ; examples. 
 
 6. Deductive reasoning ; definition. 
 
 7. The syllogism ; premises, major, minor. 
 
 8. Demonstrative and probable reasoning ; examples. 
 
 9. Proof and proving. 
 
 10. Fallacies ; examples. 
 
 11. With what reasoning must begin. 
 
 12. Intuitive judgments. 
 
 13. Some fundamental truths ; axioms. 
 
 14. Characteristics of intuitive truths. 
 
 15. Validity of mediate judgments ; how established. Testimony. 
 
 16. Direct evidence ; assumptions as to it. 
 
 17. Circumstantial evidence. 
 
 18. Rules as to such evidence. 
 
 19. Analogy ; examples ; Jevons. 
 
 20. Development of the reasoning powers ; slow development ; 
 
 mistakes, etc. 
 
 21. Suggestions for their culture. 
 
 22. Restraint and liberty for children. 
 
 23. Quotation relating to present conditions. 
 
 24. Effects of specializing; need of broad culture ; illustrations ; 
 
 lawyer, physician. 
 
 25. Reasoning on moral questions; need of instruction as to this. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE FEELINGS ; SENSATIONS. 
 
 Relation of Feeling to Cognition. The activities of 
 mind thus far studied are all concerned in sonne of the 
 knowing processes, and when grouped together are called 
 the intellect. Associated with the psychical processes of 
 perceiving, conceiving, remembering, and thinking, we 
 are conscious of certain peculiar states of mind. We see 
 a friend in deep affliction, and have a state of conscious- 
 ness which we call sympathy. We see a person, or even 
 an animal, suffering pain ; we have a state of mind called 
 pity. We see some one exposed to danger, and we ex- 
 perience a state which we call anxiety. We see or hear 
 of some great act of injustice, or of the perpetration of a 
 monstrous crime, and are filled with indignation. We 
 think ourselves to be greatly wronged and injured by the 
 deliberate purpose of some one ; we have a state of mind 
 which we name resentment, or perhaps by a stronger 
 name, anger. We see, or hear, or read of noble deeds 
 done for humanity, and we are filled with admiration. 
 
 Experience proves that feeling is the correlative of 
 knowing. Every mental activity combines the two. 
 Feeling is the subjective side ; cognition the objective ; 
 that is, feeling is a matter of consciousness alone ; cog- 
 nition has reference to something external. For ex- 
 ample, sensation, iri one aspect, is feeling ; perception is 
 lo 145 
 
146 THE FEELINGS ; SENSATIONS 
 
 cognition. That is, in perception we are conscious of 
 the qualities of objects about us which affect the senses; 
 sensation is the consciousness of the agreeable or dis- 
 agreeable feeling which is associated with the act of 
 knowing. In the exercise of the thinking activities, we 
 are conscious, on the one hand, of the discovery and 
 acquisition of knowledge ; on the other hand, we are 
 conscious of a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment accom- 
 panying this discovery. In an exercise of the imagination 
 we are conscious of the intellectual operation of forming 
 the ideal representation, and also of the feeling of satis- 
 faction resulting from the gratification of the taste. 
 
 Importance of a Due Proportion of each Element. 
 Although cognition and feeling are coexistent and cor- 
 relative, they are not necessarily proportional ; that is, 
 the one is not always present in just sufficient quantity 
 and intensity to exactly balance the other, and thus 
 produce an efficient and harmonious psychical activity. 
 When each is present in proper proportion mental action 
 IS vigorous, productive, and agreeable. The cognition 
 excites the emotion ; the emotion quickens the activity 
 of thought. The influence, under these conditions, is 
 reciprocal, desirable, and healthful. The current of 
 thought and the current of feeling flow along in the same 
 direction and in the same channel. The two currents 
 mingle together in beautiful accord, and acquisition 
 becomes rapid and pleasurable. Study, to the student, 
 under these conditions, is so far from being irksome that 
 it is a positive delight. The practical problem for both 
 student and teacher is to learn how to bring about this 
 happy commingling of the elements. 
 
FEELINGS DIFFER I47 
 
 In Opposition. At times the current of thought and 
 the current of feeling seem to take opposite directions. 
 If they have any relation, it is one of antagonism and 
 opposition. The source of the emotion is foreign to the 
 matter of study. Thinking, under such circumstances, is 
 Hke rowing upstream against a strong downward current. 
 Progress is difficult, painful, slow, and sometimes quite 
 impossible. At times thought, upon some subjects, 
 becomes so absorbing that a condition of abstraction 
 comes on ; or emotion becomes so intense as to over- 
 whelm judgment and reason, and the soul is stirred as by 
 a tempest. In this case thought excludes feeling, or 
 feeling destroys temporarily thepower of thought. This 
 state of affairs is altogether unnatural and harmful, and 
 should be avoided as far as possible. 
 
 Feelings differ, first of all, in quality. A general 
 division of the feelings has been made into the pleasurable 
 and the painful. The first of these divisions has an 
 agreeable quality ; the pleasurable feelings contribute to 
 our enjoyment and satisfaction. The painful feelings 
 have a disagreeable quality ; they produce dissatisfaction, 
 discontent, and are harmful, when long continued, to the 
 tone of the mind and to the physical organism. Some 
 physiologists affirm that '^ pain is always the result of a 
 change in the nerve cells of the brain." This is possible, 
 but not susceptible of absolute proof. It makes pain an 
 effect, and not a cause. 
 
 This very general division of feelings into those which 
 have the quality of pleasure and those which have the 
 quality of pain, has very little practical value. The same 
 feeling sometimes gives pleasure, and at other times 
 
148 THE FEELINGS ; SENSATIONS 
 
 pain ; it affords pleasure to some persons, and apparently 
 gives pain to others. Feelings often become so mingled 
 together that it is not easy to determine whether pleasure 
 or pain predominates. 
 
 Change from Pleasure to Pain, etc. ; Activity. Certain 
 laws or principles are observable in the production of 
 feelings of pleasure and those of pain. One of the most 
 obvious of these is the law of exercise or activity. Ap- 
 propriate exercise, either physical or mental, produces a 
 pleasurable feeling. This is especially the case with 
 children, and with young animals. In the healthy child 
 there is an accumulation of nervous force in the nerve 
 centers. The '^working off " of this surplus energy in 
 sports and games causes a feeling of exhilaration, and 
 produces much positive enjoyment. If the activity con- 
 tinues too long, or is too violent, it ends in exhaustion 
 and fatigue, and a painful feeling follows. The law of 
 ** pleasurable activity " is in substance this: ''Activity 
 produces pleasure when the energy to be expended is 
 greater than the resistance to be overcome." As soon 
 as the resistance equals or exceeds the surplus energy the 
 pleasure ceases and pain begins. Consequently moderate 
 exercise, or exercise within proper limits, is a natural 
 source of enjoyable feeling. This is true of the activity 
 of all the senses. Sight and hearing give pleasurable 
 feeling, often in a high degree, when the excitation of 
 these senses is produced by a moderate amount of light 
 and sound ; but when the light is intensely brilliant or 
 the sound is very loud or extremely piercing, the pleasure 
 speedily gives place to pain. 
 
 Repression. The repression of accumulated energy is 
 
OBSTRUCTIONS I49 
 
 as productive of pain, in various degrees, as the over- 
 working of this energy. An -active child is restless and 
 uneasy when forced to remain quiet for any considerable 
 time. Muscular action is absolutely necessary to his 
 comfort. He prefers the pain of positive fatigue to the 
 discomfort of ''sitting still.'* Few things are more in- 
 human than requiring a young child to remain quiet or 
 in the same position for any length of time. The mental 
 activities seem subject to the same law as the physical. 
 Ennui, resulting from mental idleness, produces mental 
 discomfort as real and positive as any physical discomfort. 
 Psychical activity, either too long continued or too in- 
 tense, results in the pain of mental fatigue. 
 
 Obstructions. Obstructed activity, even when the ac- 
 tivity is not excessive or protracted, produces a peculiar 
 feeling of pain. We do not like to be baffled in our 
 efforts, either physical or psychical. It pains one to be 
 compelled to acknowledge, even to himself, that he is 
 unable to accomplish something which he has attempted 
 or desires. The boy whose strength is unequal to the 
 effort of lifting a weight which his companion has lifted, 
 is afflicted with the painful feeling of defeat. The 
 student who has failed to solve a mathematical problem 
 experiences the pain which follows thwarted efforts. The 
 politician who has missed an election to some coveted of- 
 fice, experiences a similar, but, probably, a deeper feeling 
 of chagrin. The joy of success is the correlative of the 
 pain of failure in every department of activity. The 
 conclusion seems to be that the exercise of a proper 
 amount of unimpeded activity yields a pleasurable feel- 
 ing, varying in degree according to conditions, and ac- 
 
150 THE FEELINGS; SENSATIONS 
 
 cording to the temperament of the individual. When 
 the activity is too intense, or too protracted, or is seri- 
 ously hindered, the result is a painful feeling, varying in 
 degree according to circumstances and the temperament 
 of the person. 
 
 Change. Another important principle in the produc- 
 tion of feelings of pleasure and pain is the law of change ; 
 the change may be either in the degree or in the form of 
 the activity. This change sometimes approaches to ab- 
 solute contrast. Examples are abundant. One walking 
 over level ground and with a regular measured step, will 
 experience relief and find more enjoyment by going now 
 a little faster and now a little slower, and by having oc- 
 casionally some moderate ups and downs in the pathway. 
 Long-continued movement, with no variations in degree 
 or kind, becomes irksome. The same impression, re- 
 peated over and over again, loses its power to affect us ; 
 we become nearly or quite unconscious of its influence. 
 When so-called pleasuresassume the character of a '^con- 
 tinuous round," they cease to be pleasures unless the 
 variety is sufficient to offset the continuity. In common 
 affairs, we enjoy plenty only after we have experienced 
 want. We enjoy health only after suffering from sick- 
 ness. The enjoyment of good news comes, to a consider- 
 able extent, from contrast with bad news. Hobbes is 
 quoted as saying, '* Sense, properly so called, must neces- 
 sarily have in it perpetual variety of phantasms, that 
 they may be discerned from one another ; it being almost 
 all one for a man to be always sensible of one and the 
 same thing, and not to be sensible of anything." 
 
 Novelty. Change involves, or should involve, novelty. 
 
EFFECTS OF HABIT 151 
 
 We desire not simply a variation in degree ; we wish for 
 a change in kind, and not merely a change from one fa- 
 miliar kind to another equally familiar, but to something 
 new. The child desires a new plaything ; the boy longs 
 for new kinds of sport; early manhood asks for new 
 forms of activity. New scenes, new modes of life, new ex- 
 periments, new inventions, new methods of doing old 
 things, — these are all sought after ; their novelty affords 
 pleasure. 
 
 Effects of Habit. Human nature is full of apparent 
 contradictions. These, however, are mainly on the sur- 
 face ; a deeper examination reveals the fact that there is 
 essential harmony in spite of the apparent contradiction. 
 We long for change ; we are delighted with novelty ; we 
 seek the new and the strange ; a too long continuance of 
 even the agreeable and delightful produces an insensibil- 
 ity to their charms. At the same time we cling to the 
 common and familiar ; we are not quite at ease when we 
 break entirely away from that to which we have been 
 long accustomed. This disposition to hold fast to the 
 customary is not equally strong in all men, nor is it 
 equally strong at all periods of life. But it is general 
 enough to be regarded as a native characteristic of the 
 mind. The fondness for the old and the love of the new 
 are not, after all, hostile affections ; when rightly under- 
 stood and interpreted they come into harmony. The 
 force of habit which attaches us so strongly to the famil- 
 iar, never ceases to make its power felt ; we cannot 
 escape its grasp if we would. But this does not forbid 
 our loving the new, when the new bears a natural rela- 
 tion to the old. The new must not insist in breaking the 
 
152 THE FEELINGS; SENSATIONS 
 
 continuity of life ; it must consent to unite itself with 
 that which has already become habitual. In this way 
 the old life continues and is constantly enriched by ab- 
 sorbing and assimilating new elements. It is only by 
 this process that life broadens and deepens and con- 
 stantly increases in quality and intensity. The pleas- 
 urable feelings having their origin in the familiar, blend 
 with the equally pleasurable feelings springing from the 
 new. 
 
 Knowledge of the Feelings Important. For several 
 reasons a knowledge of the feelings is of great impor- 
 tance, especially to the parent and the teacher. In the 
 first place, their close connection with cognition, which 
 has already been considered, renders them of the highest 
 value as aids and incentives to study. The feeling which 
 is called interest, wisely excited by proper means, trans- 
 forms the work of the student from a task into a positive 
 delight. 
 
 The Motive Powers. In the second place the feelings 
 are the motive powers of the soul ; we act, not simply 
 because we know, but because, connected with this know- 
 ing, is the impulsive force of some emotion. Mingled 
 with, or immediately following, the cognition, the emo- 
 tion excites desire and influences the will. It intervenes 
 between the knowledge and the volition. The easy con- 
 trol of children depends very largely upon the power one 
 has of exciting the right emotion at the right time, and 
 of giving the impelling force of the feeling the desired 
 direction. It is important, also, to know how to allay 
 and to remove emotions, and to change one feeling for 
 another. Feelings are allayed or transformed, not di- 
 
RELATION TO MORALS 1 53 
 
 rectly, but by skillful indirection. Only one strong 
 emotion can find place in the soul at a time ; one is 
 driven out by the introduction of another. Enkindle a 
 vivid emotion of good will, and the demon of ill will flees 
 at once. The mind cannot remain empty ; and if it is full 
 of the good, the evil finds no roorn. 
 
 Enjoyment. Furthermore, the pleasures and enjoy- 
 ments of life, and its pains and sorrows, are chiefly found 
 in the realm of feeling. While enjoyment is not to be 
 sought' for its own sake, it is lawful and even praiseworthy 
 so to live and so to perform the duties belonging to us, 
 that enjoyment shall come spontaneously and dwell in 
 the soul. 
 
 Consciousness of right purpose and intentions, of kindly 
 feeling towards all with whom we have to do, of a desire 
 that the little world in which we have our being shall be 
 a happier and more cheerful world because we are living 
 and acting in it, — this is sure to bring genuine pleasure, 
 and a feeling of profound satisfaction. 
 
 Relation to Morals. Still another reason for seeking 
 to understand the nature and character of the feelings is 
 their intimate connection with the moral nature, with 
 questions of right and wrong, with practical ethics. The 
 motives to action are feelings of one kind or another. A 
 predominant mode of feeling determines character. What 
 we really are is the sum of our emotions, desires, and 
 purposes. Any cherished feeling gives color and tone to 
 living. To a large extent the character of an act is deter- 
 mined by the emotions which prompted it. Neither 
 children nor men in active life can be justly and wisely 
 dealt with without some knowledge of the hidden springs 
 
154 THE FEELINGS; SENSATIONS 
 
 from which behavior originates, and which gives volume 
 and quality to the current of daily living. 
 
 As to Classification. A satisfactory classification 
 of the feelings is a matter of much difficulty, for several 
 reasons. The feelings are very numerous, and many of 
 them very complex in character. Several classifications 
 have about equal value. Almost every writer adopts a 
 classification of his own, growing out of his peculiar views, 
 or adapted to the end for which he writes. Hamilton 
 makes first the common division into pleasures and pains. 
 He then separates them into sensations and sentiments, 
 subdividing the latter into contemplative and practical, 
 placing desires under the practical. One author divides 
 feelings into immediate, prospective, retrospective. Mr. 
 Spencer has classifications peculiar to himself, and too 
 philosophical for practical use. 
 
 The Classification adopted. Following generally a 
 few other writers we adopt the following classification : 
 
 (i) Sense-Feelings or Physical Feelings: with proper 
 explanations, these may be called sensations. 
 
 (2) Emotions : these are mental feelings or states 
 which spring up in consciousness spontaneously under 
 appropriate conditions. 
 
 (3) Sentiments : these are mental feelings or states 
 having their origin in r(^/^*(?;^^/ considerations. 
 
 The desires, while closely related to the feelings, have 
 some peculiarities which make it, on the whole, best to 
 put them into a special class or division. Their connec- 
 tion with the will renders them of peculiar interest. 
 
 Sense-Feelings or Sensations have their origin in the 
 physical organism, either in the internal condition of the 
 
SENSE-FEELINGS OR SENSATIONS 1 55 
 
 organism itself, or in the condition produced temporarily 
 by the action of something external to the organism. 
 The immediate product of these agencies is sensation. 
 Sensations have two aspects; one aspect looks inward, 
 is subjective, is feeling. The other aspect looks outward, 
 is objective, results in perception. These two aspects are 
 correlative ; but they do not often exist in the same 
 degree ; one or the other predominates. In one case 
 there is an excess of feeling ; in the other cognition is the 
 main element. Let us study briefly the two aspects in 
 the activities of the various senses. 
 
 (A) Sensations of Taste. In taste the element of 
 feeling is very marked. We have the agreeable tastes of 
 sweetness, of acidity in a moderate degree. Various 
 kinds of drinks and foods afford a pleasurable taste. On 
 the other hand the disagreeable or painful feelings con- 
 nected with tastes are abundant. We have the bitter, 
 the excessively acid, the strongly saline, and the fiery, as 
 in mustard, pepper, and some alcoholic liquors. 
 
 (B) Sensations of Smell. The sense of smell is prob- 
 ably more strongly subjective than any of the others ; 
 and affords a very great variety of feelings both of pleas- 
 ure and of pain. The varieties of odors are nearly without 
 limit. We have the sweet and fragrant odors of flowers, 
 the enticing odors of some foods and of many fruits, and 
 the exhilarating odors of the garden, the field, and of the 
 pine forest. The opposites of all these are found, and 
 their odors give feelings more or less disagreeable and 
 painful. 
 
 (C) Sensations of Hearing. The sensations of hearing 
 and sight are more objective than subjective ; but the 
 
156 THE FEELINGS; SENSATIONS 
 
 ear gives moreAof feeling than the eye. There are feel- 
 ings of pleasure or pain produced by differences in vol- 
 ume, differences in pitch, and differences in quality. The 
 harmony of sounds produced by the human voice, and by 
 musical instruments, gives peculiar pleasure. Noises and 
 discords, especially if harsh and grating, excite most 
 painful feelings. 
 
 (D) Sensations of Sight. The sensation of light, 
 when not too excessive or intense, is decidedly pleas- 
 urable. Its influence is similar to that of a fitting degree 
 of warmth, or of quiet rest after fatiguing exertion, or of 
 a gentle breeze at evening when the day has been too 
 warm for cpmfort. The effect of a well-lighted room 
 upon the spirits and upon the physical organism is very 
 marked. This is proved in hospitals and other places 
 occupied by the sick. In case of mental diseases the sun- 
 shine, in a moderate degree of intensity, exerts a curative 
 power. The sensation produced by a glaring and ex- 
 ceedingly intense light is painful. The sensations of 
 some colors are agreeable and pleasing, of others dis- 
 agreeable and painful. The sensations of green are 
 generally regarded as agreeable and healthful, of blue a 
 little less agreeable than green. Sensations of red are 
 exciting and pleasurable for a time, but become painful 
 if too long continued. The neutral colors generally af- 
 ford a mild degree of pleasure. There are harmonies of 
 color as well as of sounds, and discords also Avhich give 
 pain to a cultivated taste. The feelings of beauty and 
 sublimity, to which both hearing and sight contribute, are 
 not sensuous in their nature, to any considerable extent, 
 and belong among the sentiments. 
 
SENSE-FEELINGS OR SENSATIONS 15/ 
 
 (E) Sensations of Touch. The sensntions of touch, 
 employing the term in its widest signification, are of the 
 most various kinds. A moderate degree of warmth is 
 pleasurable; increased beyond a certain point, it becomes 
 painful. Muscular exertion gives enjoyment when the 
 effort is in proper proportion to the nervous energy ; contin- 
 ued until fatigue comes on, it gives pain. The sensation 
 of soft clothing is usually pleasing; the sensation pro- 
 duced by stroking with the hand, or rubbing with some 
 soft substance, is soothing and refreshing and conse- 
 quently pleasing. A sharp stroke of the hand, of a stick, 
 or of a whip, gives acute pain. The effects of other sen- 
 sations of touch can be readily tested by the student 
 or the teacher. 
 
 (F) Organic Sensations. The normal action of the 
 organs of digestion, circulation, and assimilation, is at- 
 tended with a mild degree of pleasure. In the young 
 child, and in the young of some of the domestic animals, 
 the degree of pleasure seems to be pretty high. This is 
 indicated by the disposition of the child to engage in 
 sports and games in which bodily exercise predominates, 
 and by the frolicsomeness of young animals ; evidently 
 there is much pleasure in *' working off '' accumulated 
 nervous energy ; and when the fatigue point is reached 
 there is a sort of negative pleasure in resting. 
 
 Whenever the functions of any part of the physical 
 organism are disturbed, or badly performed, the sensation 
 of pain follows. Probably we give in mature life more 
 attention to the painful organic sensations than to the 
 pleasurable ones. In themselves the organic sensations 
 are not of great importance, except as they indicate the 
 
158 THE FEELINGS; SENSATIONS 
 
 condition of the bodv. But the connection between the 
 body and the mind, between the physical and the psy- 
 chical, is so intimate that the condition of the one seriously 
 affects the other. The behavior of a child is often deter- 
 mined by the state of his body ; he may be fretful, ill- 
 natured, and bad-tempered in his conduct because he is 
 distressed by indigestion, or tortured by improper cloth- 
 ing, or is suffering pain from being forced to remain in 
 an uncomfortable position. On the other hand, if his 
 food and drink are of the right kind, if his clothing 
 is comfortable, if he is permitted to change his position 
 and move about freely according to his own wishes, he is 
 usually cheerful, contented, happy himself, and inclined 
 to make others so. Careful attention should be given by 
 parents and teachers to the influence of the physical or- 
 ganism upon the emotional nature of the child and upon 
 his temper and disposition. 
 
 The Appetites. Appetites are either natural or ac- 
 quired by force of habitual indulgence. Natural appe- 
 tites are cravings caused by some want in the physical 
 organism. They- may be called physical desires. In a 
 state of health the cravings recur with a good degree of 
 regularity, the frequency depending, to a considerable 
 extent, upon habit. The feeling is allayed when the 
 want has been supplied. The desire for food is regarded 
 as the typical appetite ; this is occasioned by a condition 
 of the digestive organs. The craving causes a peculiarly 
 uncomfortable sensation ; when very intense it produces 
 positive pain. Thirst, the longing for drink, is another 
 typical appetite. Several other conditions of body are 
 reckoned as appetites by some writers, while others do 
 
APPETITES 159 
 
 not consider them such. Among these are the craving 
 for fresh air for breathing ; the longing for sleep when 
 drowsiness comes over us ; the desire for rest when weary ; 
 and many others of similar nature. These are all natural 
 cravings and have reference to the well-being of life, and 
 to the pleasure of Hving. The gratification of the natural 
 appetites, within proper limits, is clearly a demand of 
 nature, and such gratification involves no question of pro- 
 priety or morals. 
 
 Artificial Appetites. As previously stated, these ap- 
 petites are created by the habit of self-indulgence. They 
 are usually morbid in their character, indicating a diseased 
 condition of some parts of the physical organism. The 
 tendency to the formation of such habits is sometimes 
 inherited, but not the appetite itself. Among the most 
 common of these acquired and morbid appetites are the 
 cravings for liquors, for tobacco, and for opium in some 
 of its numerous forms. 
 
 Acquired appetites differ from natural ones in several 
 particulars. They are more intense and exacting in their 
 demands, they cause more irritation and discomfort ; and 
 their occurrence is more frequent and less regular. Tliey 
 are never fully satisfied ; the craving becomes constant, 
 and the more they receive the more they demand. They 
 usually grow stronger as age advances, whereas the 
 natural appetites become weaker and less imperative in 
 their cravings. 
 
 The creation and gratification of such morbid appetites 
 involve moral considerations. No m.an has a moral right 
 to debase and destroy his native powers of either body 
 or mind, or to waste upon filthy and disgusting habits 
 
l6o THE FEELINGS ; SENSATIONS 
 
 the means needed for higher and nobler purposes. The 
 natural relationship between the physical appetites and 
 the intellectual desires will be noticed when the desires 
 are under discussion. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Relation of feeling- to cognition ; examples. 
 
 2. Experience proves a combination to exist. 
 
 3. Importance of a due proportion of each element. 
 
 4. The two acting together ; in opposition. 
 
 5. How feelings differ ; pleasure, pain. 
 
 6. Change from pleasure to pain. 
 
 7. Law of activity ; ** pleasurable activity." 
 
 8. Effect of repression ; obstruction; examples. 
 
 9. Effect of change ; contrast; novelty. 
 
 10. Effect of habit. 
 
 11. Relation of the old and the new. 
 
 12. Importance of a knowledge of the feelings ; the motive powers. 
 
 13. Sources of enjoyment. 
 
 14. Relation to morals. 
 
 15. As to classification ; difficulties. 
 
 16. The classification adopted : (i) Sense-feelings or sensations ; 
 
 (2) Emotions ; (3) Sentiments. 
 
 17. Desires by themselves. 
 
 18. Discussion of the sensations; sensations of taste ; of smell ; 
 
 of hearing ; of sight ; of touch. 
 
 19. Organic sensations ; influence upon a child. 
 
 20. The appetites ; natural, examples ; artificial, how produced. 
 
 21. How the artificial differ from the natural. 
 
 22. Moral considerations. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE EMOTIONS. 
 
 What the Emotions are. Emotions are feelings which 
 spring up in the soul spontaneously when certain appro- 
 priate conditions are presented. They differ from the 
 sensations previously considered in that they are not 
 merely sensuous ; they differ from the sentiments in that 
 they are not rational ; that is, they do not result from a 
 process of reasoning, or from any action of the judgment. 
 They are not irrational ; that is, they are not, when mod- 
 erate, opposed to reason, but are simply non-rational. 
 Emotions greatly intensified become passions, of which 
 violent anger is an example. In this they are irrational, 
 urging one on to conduct of the most unreasonable char- 
 acter, regardless of consequences. 
 
 We see a person suffering extreme pain, and the emo- 
 tion of pity springs up ; we see some act of injustice or 
 cruelty perpetrated, and the feeling of indignation is felt ; 
 insulting words are addressed to us, and the feeling of re- 
 sentment or anger immediately appears. These are all 
 illustrations of emotion. 
 
 The Animals. The lower animals evidently experi- 
 ence many of the emotions, but it is doubtful if they are 
 capable of experiencing the sentiments, unless it be the 
 
 sentiment of gratitude and possibly one or two others, 
 n i6i 
 
l62 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 Differences in Susceptibility to Emotions. It is a 
 
 matter of common observation that some persons are 
 much more susceptible to emotions than others. Some- 
 thing of this difference may be set down to the credit of 
 the habit of self-control acquired by continued effort, but 
 undoubtedly much depends upon the original constitu- 
 tion of the individual. Certain differences are found in 
 the physical and mental make-up of men, which render 
 some much less susceptible than others. 
 
 The Temperament. Among these differences one of 
 the most influential is that of temperament. The term 
 temperament is employed to indicate certain character- 
 istics of the physical organism which produce or are ac- 
 companied by certain mental characteristics. The phys- 
 ical and the psychical appear to act and to react upon 
 each other. 
 
 The theory of temperaments is a very old one, and 
 four temperaments have been generally recognized, the 
 names used to designate these varying somewhat. They 
 are most commonly named the sanguine, the melancholic, 
 the choleric, and the phlegmatic. The mental traits cor- 
 responding to these are the hopeful, despondent, iras- 
 cible, and inactive or insensitive. Four periods of life are 
 sometimes said to correspond to the four temperaments: 
 '^childhood is sanguine, youth melancholic (sentimental), 
 manhood choleric, age phlegmatic." Certain physical 
 characteristics mark each temperament, when the tem- 
 peraments are so obvious as to be typical. Persons of 
 choleric and sanguine temperaments are much more sus- 
 ceptible to emotions than those of phlegmatic, or even of 
 sentimental, temperaments, though the sentimental are 
 
EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONS 163 
 
 somewhat peculiarly susceptible to certain kinds of emo- 
 tions. 
 
 Moods and Dispositions. Moods are mental peculiar- 
 ities usually of a temporary nature, produced, in most 
 cases, by some condition of the body. Moods are called 
 cheerful and sad, lively and serious, frank and reserved, 
 good-natured and irascible, and by many other names. 
 Generally the mood manifests itself in appearance of the 
 body, the tones of the voice, the features, and the move- 
 ments. It is evident that the susceptibility of an in- 
 dividual, at any particular time, will be largely influenced 
 by the dominant mood. 
 
 Disposition is a psychical characteristic, native gener- 
 ally in its origin, but frequently created and made per- 
 manent by habit. The same terms which describe moods 
 may be employed to describe dispositions. 
 
 Disposition determines to a considerable degree the 
 sort of emotion to which a person will be peculiarly sus- 
 ceptible. An individual of gloomy and morose disposi- 
 tion will not be stirred by cheerful and lively emotions ; 
 one of a cheerful and pleasant disposition will not exhibit 
 emotions of a sad and melancholy nature. In the study 
 of individuals, and in pronouncing judgment upon them, 
 temperaments, moods, and dispositions must be taken 
 into account. 
 
 Expression of Emotions. The effect of some partic- 
 ular emotions upon the body will be referred to in con- 
 nection with the description of these emotions. The 
 effects of the emotions in general will be only briefly 
 touched upon at this point. Mr. Darwin, in his work 
 upon *^ The Expression of the Emotions in Man and 
 
164 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 Animals," writes : '* In all the exhilarating emotions, the 
 eyebrows, the eyelids, the nostrils, and the angles of the 
 mouth are raised. In the depressing passions it is the 
 reverse." This general statement can be verified by a 
 careful observer. 
 
 Grief and ill humor always draw down the corners of 
 the mouth ; on the other hand, joy and good nature draw 
 the corners upward. Contempt and strong aversion are 
 indicated by raising the upper lip and the nostrils. 
 
 Dr. Davis, in his ^^ Elements of Psychology," says: 
 **The effects of feeling in physiognomic expression are 
 largely through the facial nerve. Different fibers of its 
 motor branches determine different movements of the 
 face in response to specific feelings. The lifted or frown- 
 ing brow, as in supercilious pride, or in anger, pain, doubt, 
 or embarrassment, is very expressive, and easily read. 
 The common elevation of the lip and nose gives expres- 
 sion to disdain or disgust. There are nine muscles mov- 
 ing the mouth, making it the most expressive feature, far 
 more so than the eye. The power of expression is seen 
 in smiles, pouting, the curled lip of scorn, the depressed 
 corners in sadness, the open mouth in wonder, and many 
 others. The tones of the voice correspond. Next to the 
 facial, the respiratory nerves are most susceptible, as in 
 sighing, breathless surprise, and panting eagerness. The 
 organic effects of feelings are those produced on the 
 glands, lungs, heart, stomach, kidneys, and viscera gen- 
 erally, and on the skin. Effusion from the lachrymal 
 gland is an accompaniment of grief, but there are also 
 tears of merriment, of joy, and of anger. Cheerfulness 
 promotes digestion, while all depressing feelings tend to 
 
REFLEX INFLUENCE OF CONDUCT 165 
 
 arrest the healthy action of the stomach, liver, bowels, 
 and kidneys. In fear, the mouth is parched by a sup- 
 pression of saliva, and a cold sweat breaks out on the 
 skin. The disturbed action of the heart under emotion 
 is a remarkable instance of the influence of feeling on the 
 movements of an organ supplied by nerves of the sym- 
 pathetic system. This influence is so great that the heart 
 is popularly spoken of as the special seat of feeling, as 
 the brain is of intelligence/' 
 
 Reflex Influence of Conduct. Experience and observa- 
 tion prove this to be a psychological law : Conduct^ that is^ 
 movements of the body, react upon the mind, and tend to 
 produce the mental states and feelings of which the behavior 
 is the natural index and outward expression. This lazv 
 is as true of language as of action. Every feeling has 
 its own peculiar and legitimate mode of expression in 
 tones of voice, words, gestures, and positions, and if free- 
 dom of expression is refused the feeling soon begins to 
 subside. The mastery of passion is attained by reso- 
 lutely stifling its expression. Like fire securely covered, 
 it dies. The old adage to ^' count two before speaking if 
 you are angry, and a hundred if very angry *' is based 
 upon a fundamental principle of psychology. 
 
 On the other hand, one can become angry by talking 
 and acting like an angry man ; the feelings of kindness, 
 courtesy, politeness, and good-Avill spring up in the soul 
 when the speech and conduct indicate these feelings. 
 In the management of childrejt, it is of the highest impor- 
 tance to check and prevent the external expression of the 
 evil passions, aiid to require the conduct and language to 
 be the natural expression of the best feelings of the soul. 
 
l66 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 By tills ineaits the developtnent of tlie bad is, to a large 
 degree, prevented, and the development of the good encour- 
 aged and promoted. The dispositions and tendencies of 
 mind, which constitute character, are thus fashioned by 
 modes of action which have their origin in compulsion, 
 and are continued, to a considerable extent, by the force 
 of habit. Not only does the inner man form the outer 
 one, but the outer man reacts to fashion the inner one. 
 
 Professor James well says : ^^ Sit all day in a moping 
 posture, sigh and reply to everything with a dismal 
 voice, and your melancholy lingers. There is no more 
 valuable precept in moral education than this, as all who 
 have experience know; if we wish to conquer undesirable 
 emotional tendencies in ourselves, we must assiduously 
 and, in the first instance, cold-bloodedly, go through the 
 outward movements of those contrary dispositions which 
 we prefer to cultivate. The reward of persistency will 
 infallibly come, in the fading out of the sullenness or 
 depression, and the advent of real cheerfulness and kind- 
 ness in their stead.'' 
 
 Subdivisions of the Emotions. It is very difficult to 
 make satisfactory subdivisons of the emotions. They 
 may be grouped in several different ways, and one way 
 will prove about as good as another. They may be sep- 
 arated into two great divisions: (i) the egoistic and 
 personal, and (2) the altruistic and social. 
 
 The Egoistic and Personal Emotions are feelings 
 of which self is the center. The soul is excited and 
 aroused into a state of greater or less pleasure or pain ; 
 but self alone is concerned in the feelings. The feelings 
 of childhood are largely of this nature. Emotions of this 
 
EGOISTIC AND ALTRUISTIC EMOTIONS 167 
 
 sort are sure to spring up spontaneously ; they are intui- 
 tive and need little cultivation, excepting repression and 
 softening in the interest of good-fellowship. 
 
 Within proper limits the egoistic feelings are neces- 
 sary and useful. In society, as it is, and as it has been 
 in past ages, there is need of care for one's own interests. 
 The important consideration is that care for self shall 
 not lead to a disregard for the well-being of others. Self- 
 love, so called, is allowable, and may even be worthy of 
 commendation, when it does not go beyond a proper 
 regard for one's reputation, happiness, and prosperity in 
 business and other matters. 
 
 Among the offensive and unfortunate personal emo- 
 tions are inordinate self-esteem, pride, envy, jealousy, 
 and malice. Love of approbation, of society for one's 
 own pleasure, and of superiority, are personal feelings 
 which sometimes become very disagreeable to others. 
 Fear is egoistic, but is so instinctive that it cannot be 
 sharply condemned, if not excessive and unreasonable. 
 
 The Altruistic and Social Emotions. The altruistic 
 feelings are those which go out towards others with the 
 desire and purpose to do them good. Those feelings 
 which are named the beneficent affections are altruistic in 
 their nature. Many of these are instinctive, such as 
 parental love ; others have their origin in the relations 
 which men sustain to one another, such as friendship. 
 Sympathy is more than an emotion, but it is highly al- 
 truistic, and yet contributes in a large degree to the en- 
 joyment of the sympathizer. This division into egoistic 
 and altruistic emotions has no necessary connection with 
 the groupings which follow. 
 
l68 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 Some Groups of Emotions. It will not be possible 
 to consider the emotions in the order of their develop- 
 ment, but it will be natural to notice first some which 
 manifest themselves very early in the child*s life ; beyond 
 these the treatment will have no reference to the period 
 of their appearance. 
 
 Simple Emotions. The earliest mental feelings are so 
 closely related, in their origin, to the physical feelings 
 that the two can hardly be separated. Some of these 
 simple emotions are joyousness, sadness, irritability, fret- 
 fulness, and many others both of a pleasurable and of a 
 painful nature. 
 
 The babe in arms exhibits a mild form of pleasure when 
 Its natural desire for food is gratified, and it shows plainly 
 that it enjoys an agreeable temperature, soft clothing, and 
 proper care. It answers back the smile and caressing 
 tones of the mother by at least the semblance of a smile. 
 A little later the child manifests a buoyancy of spirits, an 
 overflow of pleasurable emotion, when the functions of 
 the bodily organs are properly performed and everything 
 about him seems to contribute to his comfort. The kit- 
 ten and the young lamb give evidence, by their sportive 
 actions, of similar feelings. The physical and the psy- 
 chical in the child are here so mingled that it is not easy to 
 separate them by any acuteness of analysis ; nevertheless 
 the simplest emotions must have their beginning at this 
 point. 
 
 Both the young animal and the child are subject to 
 feelings directly opposite to these joyous ones. They 
 exhibit the instinctive emotion of sadness and depression. 
 This is of the same mingled character as the others. 
 
EMOTIONS OF JOY AND SORROW 169 
 
 Among the early emotions are those of fretfulness, irrita- 
 bility, petulance, and ill-temper. These feelings are not 
 indications of a permanent disposition of mind, of charac- 
 ter in the usual sense of the word ; they are rather the 
 answer of the soul to the uncomfortable condition of the 
 physical organism. Children will not be justly treated 
 unless this fact is taken into account. They should not 
 be harshly dealt with for this purely instinctive behavior. 
 At the same time it is of great importance to check, in 
 all suitable ways, and at as early a period as the develop- 
 ment of the child will permit, manifestations of ill-humor 
 and irritability, and to insist upon self-control. Other- 
 wise the law of habit will create a permanent tendency 
 to such disagreeable manifestations when there is no 
 adequate cause for them. These early emotions are, with 
 very slight exceptions, egoistic ; the altruistic appear 
 with more development and culture. 
 
 Emotions of Gladness and Joy and their opposites. 
 Sadness and Sorrow. The feelings of gladness and sad- 
 ness in the mature mind are the developed and ripened 
 emotions of the child. They have passed through various 
 successive stages, becoming less and less dependent upon 
 physical conditions and more and more purely psychical 
 in character. Different degrees of essentially the same 
 feeling receive different names. The steps of increase in 
 intensity cannot be accurately indicated, but this arrange- 
 ment has been suggested ; gladness, joy, bliss, rapture, 
 ecstasy. Each of these emotions has different degrees 
 which can be experienced in consciousness, but not 
 described in words. Simple gladness is the lowest de- 
 gree of the pleasurable group of emotions ; rapture and 
 
I/O . THE EMOTIONS 
 
 ecstacy afford the highest degrees. Bliss is more re- 
 strained in its expression than rapture, less intense, and 
 consequently more enduring. Joy usually quickens the 
 action of the heart, gives the eyes a sparkling appearance, 
 sometimes filling them with tears, and spreads over the 
 whole countenance an animated and smiling expression. 
 When excessive and unrestrained, it causes lively gesticu- 
 lation, with shouting and other manifestations which oc- 
 casionally border on the absurd and ridiculous. 
 
 Of the opposite emotions, simple sadness indicates the 
 lowest degree, and positive woe the highest. Between 
 these extremes there are very many varying degrees. 
 Grief produces ^^ violent agitation of the whole frame, 
 convulsive movements of the features," and in some cases 
 sighs, sobs, and pitiable lamentations. It weakens the 
 muscular action, and enfeebles the activity of the whole 
 physical organism. Woe deepens all these modes of ex- 
 pression, but sometimes produces such a state of depres- 
 sion that all activity ceases and the bodily organs refuse 
 longer to perform their functions. This, however, is 
 more properly the condition of despair. 
 
 Emotions of Good Will, of Love. This group of emo- 
 tions is often named the "beneficent affections.'* They 
 are feelings of good will, of affection, of kindness, which 
 go out towards others, and, in some degree, towards ani- 
 mals. Among these feelings are the domestic affections, 
 instinctive in their origin, but approaching to the nature 
 of sentiments in their higher manifestations. We have 
 parental love, filial love, fraternal love, and love for 
 remote kindred. The love of a parent for a child, 
 while instinctive, is, or should be, subject to judgment 
 
EMOTIONS OF GOOD WILL, OF LOVE 171 
 
 and reason in its modes of manifestation. It bears, in 
 its lowest degree, a close resemblance to the feelings 
 exhibited by many animals for their young ; it dif- 
 fers in some important features. The affection of 
 animals for their young is usually only temporary. It 
 continues, so far as one can see, only so long as the 
 young have need of special care and protection. In 
 many cases the animal mother abandons her young 
 before such need ceases. The fondness occasionally 
 manifested by animals for grown-up offspring, and which 
 the latter seem to reciprocate, appears not to differ in 
 its character from that manifested at times by animals 
 of the same species which have no relationship to each 
 other. It is unnecessary to say that the affection of the 
 human mother has no such limitations. Generallv her 
 love increases in depth and strength with the passage of 
 years. 
 
 Filial love must be the earliest affection of which a 
 child is conscious. This feeling is usually regarded as 
 instinctive. It is, however, mainly rational, and thus re- 
 sembles a sentiment. It appears to spring up, at first, in 
 consequence of care and kindness received from the 
 mother, and grows stronger as the relation between 
 parent and child becomes better understood. In the 
 majority of children of school age, filial love is suffi- 
 ciently developed to be one of the most active and effi- 
 cient motives in the production of good conduct and in- 
 dustry in study. The proper cultivation of this emotion 
 is essential to the formation of right character and good 
 habits. Only in the most extreme cases should the con- 
 fidence of a child in the wisdom and goodness of his 
 
172 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 parents be weakened, or his regard for their commands 
 and wishes be treated as of little consequence. 
 
 Fraternal love is mainly of rational origin, springing 
 up in consequence of daily intercourse, of giving and re- 
 ceiving favors and kindnesses, and from a knowledge of 
 common relationships, interests, obligations, and duties. 
 It beautifies family life, and is a source of mutual enjoy- 
 ment and protection. There is no satisfactory evidence 
 of the existence of this affection in animals. The herd- 
 ing and flocking together result from an instinct of a 
 different nature. Undoubtedly individual cases of strong 
 mutual affection between animals are found, but these 
 do not appear to spring from blood relationship. 
 
 The altruistic social affections belong in this group, so 
 far as they are emotions ; but most of these partake of 
 the nature of sentiments. Among these are friendship, 
 gratitude, and patriotism, all of which have something of 
 the emotional character, although in origin they are 
 largely rational. The sources of friendship are often dif- 
 ficult to trace. It sometimes originates apparently from 
 proximity of residence in early life. Sometimes it be- 
 gins from the natural sympathy between individuals of 
 similar tastes and dispositions, or between persons en- 
 gaged in the same pursuits, either of study, or business, 
 or pleasure. 
 
 Not seldom it manifests itself between persons of op- 
 posite dispositions, tastes, and temperaments. Friend- 
 ship does much to adorn and beautify human life, and its 
 healthy development should be helped in all suitable 
 ways. Without this affection and the results which 
 usually flow from it, the intercourse between men would 
 
EMOTIONS OF ILL WILL, OF HATE 1/3 
 
 be only such as self-interest and mutual advantage might 
 seem to demand. They would unite to resist attacks of 
 enemies, and to overcome obstacles too formidable to be 
 removed by single individuals or by the members of one 
 family or of a single clan. But such unions would be 
 scarcely higher and nobler in character than the herding 
 together of cattle or the flocking together of sheep or 
 birds. They would be much like the occasional combi- 
 nations of hungry beasts of prey to secure some common 
 booty, or the crowding together of weak and timid ani- 
 mals for mutual protection and safety. 
 
 Emotions of 111 Will, of Hate. The emotions under 
 this head are the opposite of those just described. They 
 are feelings of ill will of various degrees, beginning with 
 a mild degree of prejudice and ending with malice and 
 revenge, the most violent forms of hate. 
 
 Prejudice is sometimes a passive rather than an ac- 
 tive condition of mind, and exists almost unconsciously, 
 without seeking expression either in speech or in action. 
 Its influence in such cases is rather negative than 
 positive. It shuns its object and refrains from doing 
 possible good instead of seeking to do positive evil. It 
 is often extremely difificult to trace this feeling to its 
 source. In some instances it seems instinctive or inher- 
 ited. Sometimes it springs from family or party connec- 
 tions; sometimes from religious faith and sectarian 
 animosity. It may even extend to places of birth and 
 education, to employment and professions. The inquiry 
 *' Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ?" illustrates 
 the power of prejudice, perhaps mingled with a little of 
 contempt, over even a good man. In its strongest form 
 
1/4 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 prejudice amounts to an unfavorable pre-judgment in 
 respect to a person or a case, and unfits one for the 
 position of judge or juror. It is a very subtle feeling, 
 often existing and working unobserved and unsuspected. 
 For this reason there is the more need to guard against 
 its influence, both in one's self and in others. 
 
 Anger bears a close resemblance, when in a mild form, 
 to resentment, but it has no reference to personal pro- 
 tection or safety. Its natural tendency is to pass at once 
 beyond proper control, and to become a violent and dan- 
 gerous passion. It is one of the emotions which produce 
 most marked effects upon the physical organism. '' Under 
 moderate anger the action of the heart is a little increased, 
 the color is heightened, and the eyes become bright. 
 The respiration is likewise a little hurried, the mouth is 
 commonly compressed, and there is almost always a 
 frown on the brow.** When the feeling becomes rage, 
 '' the countenance reddens, the eyes flash indignant fire, 
 and the aspect speaks horror ; muscular strength is 
 abundantly increased, and powers of exertion are acquired 
 unknown to cooler moments." 
 
 The condition borders upon that of temporary and 
 violent insanity. The victim of the passion is dangerous 
 to himself and to all about him. Outbreaks of anger may 
 sometimes find palliations and mitigating conditions, but 
 very seldom any sufficient excuse. The plea of '^ quick 
 temper'* may be accepted from a child, but not from a 
 man. Manhood implies self-control and self-restraint; 
 childhood is forced to learn these by the teachings of 
 hard experiences. In the management of children it is 
 of the utmost importance to avoid vexing and irritating 
 
EMOTIONS OF ILL WILL, OF HATE 1/5 
 
 them needlessly. They should be aided in acquiring the 
 habit of self-control at the earliest possible time. It 
 hardly needs to be said that an irritable, ill-tempered, 
 easily angered person is altogether unfit to deal with 
 young children either in the home or in the school. 
 
 Envy is an emotion of ill will excited usually by the 
 good fortune and prosperity of others. By their pros- 
 perity and good fortune they have become superior in 
 some respects, and envy prompts to efforts to reduce them 
 to the common level, or even below such level. The Im- 
 mediate influence of envy is manifested in modes of speech 
 intended to belittle their attainments, possessions, and 
 character. Sneers, innuendoes, and derogatory insinua- 
 tions are freely employed. But's and if s are liberally 
 used whenever they are subjects of conversation. In 
 these and other kindred ways envy makes its presence 
 known. When it becomes dominant in the soul, as it 
 sometimes does, it is one of the basest of passions ; it 
 then degrades and destroys all real nobility of character. 
 
 Envy frequently accompanies and enters into the state 
 of mind called emulation. Emulation is one of those 
 feelings which are good or bad according to the definition 
 given of them. If emulation is defined as the feeling 
 which prompts to efforts to excel others merely for the 
 sake of excelling them, regardless of the means employed 
 to secure the desired end, it must be reckoned among the 
 evil emotions. If, however, it is defined as the feeling 
 which inspires one to strive for the highest possible degree 
 of excellence by all honorable means, then it should be 
 regarded as among the praiseworthy emotions. The 
 term emulation is sometimes used with the meaning of 
 
lyS THE EMOTIONS 
 
 imitation. When emulation is unduly stimulated, as it 
 sometimes is by artificial and unwholesome means, it is 
 very likely to be closely associated with envy or with the 
 baser feeling of jealousy. No incentives to study, or to 
 any other form of activity, which have a tendency to 
 create or foster this malignant passion, should be tolerated 
 in any institution for the education and training of 
 children. True manhood and moral uprightness are of 
 too much value to be sacrificed for the attainment of 
 some temporary advantage, however great it may appear. 
 
 Jealousy is the feeling which takes possession of the 
 soul of an individual when some other person has ob- 
 tained, or seems likely to obtain, some object which he 
 strongly desires, and to which he thinks, or imagines, he 
 has a just claim. To the feeling of envy, jealousy adds 
 the idea of supposed personal injury or affront. Another 
 has come in between the individual and some object of 
 affection, has carried off some prize for which he has con- 
 tested, has gained a position which he coveted, or has 
 thwarted his plans and wishes in some direction. 
 
 Jealousy appears at a very early period in human de- 
 velopment. The young child appears jealous when some 
 other child is caressed and fondled by the nurse or 
 mother. Even a pet dog is offended if another dog 
 receives too much attention. Jealousy is apt to manifest 
 itself wherever there is strong competition of any kind. 
 It arises among children in the school and among men in 
 business. It finds especial room for exhibition in the 
 relation between the sexes, and is often most intense and 
 bitter between those who have previously been strongly 
 attached to each other. When it takes full possession of 
 
EMOTIONS OF ILL WILL, OF HATE I// 
 
 the soul, it becomes the most terrible of the passions, 
 impelling to the perpetration of the most fearful and 
 revolting cruelties and crimes. 
 
 Malice, Hatred, Revenge. Malice is one of the most 
 malignant forms of ill will. It is a feeling which finds 
 delight in the misfortunes of those towards whom it is 
 directed, and seeks to do them harm in all possible ways, 
 and by all possible means, without reference to their 
 character or deserts. 
 
 Hatred is a deep-seated and permanent feeling of ill 
 will. Anger flashes up, burns intensely, and dies out ; 
 but hatred makes for itself a dwelling place in the soul. 
 It has no one specific mode of manifestation, but enters 
 into envy, jealousy, malice, and every other evil emotion. 
 
 Revenge is one of those lurking passions which burrow 
 in the human soul. It does its work in darkness and 
 secrecy as far as possible, and takes advantage of times 
 and circumstances. It waits and watches like a wild 
 beast for its prey, and pounces upon its victim when 
 least expected. It seeks to inflict pain and harm under 
 the pretense of '' paying back *' what has been received, 
 of '' giving as good as has been sent," of returning to one 
 the coin which hehas paid out. It is a demoniacal passion 
 when it ripens into full maturity. And is the more dan- 
 gerous from the fact that it often attaches itself to the 
 milder feeling of legitimate resentment and pretends to 
 be what it is not. 
 
 Just Punishment not Revenge. Just and deserved 
 punishment is sometimes wrongly called revenge. The 
 infliction of such punishment is not revenge, even though 
 the penalty should be death. When society has reached 
 
 12 
 
178 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 a highly civiHzed condition and has become fullv and 
 
 * <» 
 
 regularly organized, the State, that is, the people as a 
 collected body, assumes the right to make all necessary 
 laws for regulating the conduct of its citizens, and also 
 assumes the duty of defending and protecting their prop- 
 erty, persons, and rights. It appoints officers to admin- 
 ister and execute its laws. Such officers are merely the 
 servants and agents of the State. 
 
 In ordinary cases neither the jury, the judge, nor the 
 executive officers are influenced by personal feelings. 
 They bear no personal ill will, no hatred, no malice, no 
 revenge, toward the violators of the law. The jury may 
 pity while they are compelled, by '' the law and the evi- 
 dence,*' to convict ; the judge may be full of compassion 
 while he pronounces the severest penalty which the law 
 provides ; and the sheriff may feel intensest pity while 
 he commits the criminal to prison or conducts him to the 
 scaffold. In all this there is no element of malice or 
 revenge ; it is justice doing its legitimate work. 
 
 Sympathy, Compassion, etc. We have a small group 
 of feelings of which sympathy may be taken as the type. 
 Sympathy is much more than an emotion, but for con- 
 venience it is treated in connection with the emotions, as 
 it has an emotional aspect. 
 
 Sympathy is a fellow-feeling, a state of mind in which 
 one enters into the feelings of another so freely that he 
 literally suffers and enjoys with him. With a little 
 exaggeration a writer says, "' It is a mental contagion, a 
 spontaneous, unreflecting, irrational impulse, one that 
 sets aside our own personality, and moves us to partake 
 of the pleasure or pain, the happiness or misery of others." 
 
SYMPATHY, COMPASSION, ETC. 1/9 
 
 In order to sympathize with another we must have ex- 
 perienced a condition similar to that which the other is 
 now experiencing. We must have known personally 
 similar pleasures or similar pains, similar feelings of joy 
 or sorrow. Persons living under entirely different con- 
 ditions, moving in different grades of society, find it im- 
 possible to enter into full sympathy with one another ; 
 they can sympathize only so far as humanity is the same 
 in all conditions of life. One who has always had an 
 abundance of everything which could be desired, cannot 
 enter into the feelings of the very poor and destitute. 
 But two mothers who have each lost a beloved child, can 
 sympathize even though one is very rich and the other 
 very poor. In this case the sorrow is of a kind common 
 to humanity everywhere. 
 
 The aged can sympathize with the young, because they 
 themselves have had the experiences of youth ; but the 
 young cannot, to any great extent, sympathize with the 
 old, because they have had no like experiences. 
 
 We enter into sympathy with our friends and with 
 members of our own families more completely than with 
 strangers or with those with whom our acquaintance is 
 very limited. At the same time we sympathize to some 
 extent with all members of the human family. Much 
 that goes by the name of human sympathy is scarcely 
 more than egoistic emotion. It expends itself altogether 
 in the soul in which it rises. True sympathy prompts to 
 appropriate words and acts, and expends itself upon 
 others rather than upon one's self. 
 
 There is a species of what may be called contagious 
 sympathy which manifests itself in public meetings and 
 
l8o THE EMOTIONS 
 
 in crowds assembled for almost any purpose. A '' mag- 
 netic '' speaker, who understands human nature generally, 
 and especially the character of his immediate audience, 
 can touch and kindle their sympathy and sway them 
 almost at his will. The contagion beginning with a few, 
 finally runs through the whole multitude and sets them 
 on fire. 
 
 Pity is the emotion excited by the sight of any one in 
 suffering and distress. It may be excited also by vivid 
 descriptions. So far as the feeling is instinctive, no ac- 
 count is taken of the occasion or cause of the misery ; 
 it IS sufficient to know that a human being is suffering. 
 The feeling is somewhat modified by the knowledge that 
 the victim is reaping the natural fruit of his own sowing, 
 or is suffering just punishment for crime ; but even then 
 it does not entirely disappear. The judge may pity while 
 he pronounces the severest penalty of the law, and the 
 officer of the law may pity while he inflicts it. Pity is 
 especially strong when the sufferer is weak and helpless. 
 Our pity for a young child in severe pain is deeper than 
 that for a stalwart man under similar conditions. Pity 
 partakes of the nature of a sentiment. 
 
 Compassion is a more profound emotion than pity. 
 There is in it an element of fellowship in suffering. It 
 manifests itself towards those who are weak and com- 
 paratively helpless, and whose sufferings and miseries are 
 exceedingly severe. It prompts to the breaking of fetters 
 and the unbinding of chains. It pleads for the remission 
 of even just punishment, when the remission can be safely 
 granted. It is not, however, that maudlin sentimentality 
 which confounds crime with misfortune, and the criminal 
 
ALARM, FEAR, ETC. l8l 
 
 with the merely unfortunate. It would gladly turn aside 
 the descending stroke of justice, but it does not palliate 
 guilt nor make heroes of the guilty. The practical work- 
 ing of true compassion is beautifully pictured in the story 
 of the man who fell among robbers in his journey from 
 Jerusalem to Jericho. 
 
 Surprise, Wonder, etc. There is a group of emotions 
 of which surprise and wonder may be taken as types. 
 They manifest themselves most fully during the period 
 of childhood. The young child is constantly wondering. 
 Surprise is produced by the sudden appearance of some- 
 thing unusual and unexpected. Wonder is a stronger 
 and deeper emotion. When very intense we are over- 
 come, speechless, incapable of movement. The child 
 stands with open mouth and staring eyes. 
 
 The order of intensity in this group is given as ^' sur- 
 prise, admiration, wonder, amazement, astonishment." 
 These emotions sometimes afford pleasure and some- 
 times pain, but usually the pleasure or pain is slight in 
 degree. 
 
 Alarm, Fear, etc. Fear may be considered as a type 
 of a large group of emotions of a personal nature. In in- 
 tensity these emotions fall into this order : apprehension, 
 alarm, fear, dread, terror. It is impossible to draw a 
 sharp line of distinction between them, as one degree of 
 a common feeling easily passes into another. In all cases 
 there is anticipation of evil or danger, either near at hand 
 or approaching, accompanied by a doubt as to one's 
 power to avert it, or to escape from it. When the evil is 
 indefinite, and is supposed to be remote, the feeling is 
 apprehension ; the mind is uneasy, but not seriously 
 
l82 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 disturbed, and the external appearance is not very much 
 affected. 
 
 When the evil is believed to be close at hand, and its 
 greatness is magnified by uncertainty, the feeling be- 
 comes alarm. The appearance and conduct of a person 
 under the influence of this emotion exhibit evidence of 
 great perturbation of mind and frequently of the absence 
 of judgment and reason. 
 
 Fear is a general term to denote any degree of the 
 feeling which springs up when there is serious anticipa- 
 tion of evil, danger, pain, or suffering, either near or 
 remote. 
 
 Dread is a deeper and more permanent feeling ; and 
 terror is an exceedingly intense and violent form of fear. 
 It usually produces great agitation of body and mind, and 
 renders anything like sound judgment impossible. Like 
 every other form of excessive feeling, it can continue but 
 a short time in its highest intensity. These are only a 
 few of the emotions which might be grouped under this 
 head. 
 
 Mr. Darwin's description of the influence of fear is full 
 of interest, and will bear reproducing. 
 
 *' Fear is often preceded by astonishment, and is so far 
 akin to it that both lead to the senses of sight and hear- 
 ing being instantly aroused. In both cases the eyes and 
 mouth are widely opened and the eyebrows raised. The 
 frightened man at first stands like a statue, motionless 
 and breathless, or crouches down as if instinctively to 
 escape observation. The heart beats quickly and vio- 
 lently, so that it palpitates or knocks against the ribs ; 
 but it is very doubtful if it then works more efficiently 
 
DEFENSIVE EMOTIONS 1 83 
 
 than usual, so as to send a greater supply of blood to all 
 parts of the body, for the skin instantly becomes pale 
 as during incipient fainting. In connection with the 
 disturbed action of the heart the breathing is hurried. 
 The salivary glands act imperfectly ; the mouth becomes 
 dry and is often opened and shut. I have also noticed 
 that under slight fear there is a strong tendency to yawn. 
 One of the best-marked symptoms is the trembling of all 
 the muscles of the body ; and this is often seen first in 
 the lips. From this cause, and from the dryness of the 
 mouth, the voice becomes husky or indistinct or may 
 altogether fail. As fear increases into an agony of terror, 
 we behold, as under all violent emotions, diversified re- 
 sults. The heart beats wildly or fails to act, and faintness 
 ensues ; there is a deathlike pallor ; the breathing is 
 labored ; the wings of the nostrils are widely dilated ; 
 there is a gasping and convulsive motion of the lips, a 
 tremor on the hollow cheek, a gulping and catching of the 
 throat ; the uncovered and protruding eyeballs are fixed 
 on the object of terror, or they roll restlessly from side to 
 side. The pupils are said to be enormously dilated. All 
 the muscles of the body may become rigid or may be 
 thrown into convulsive movements. The hands are alter- 
 nately clenched and opened, often with a twitching move- 
 ment. The arms may be protruded as if to avert some 
 dreadful danger, or may be thrown wildly over the head." 
 Defensive Emotions. The feelings of resentment and 
 indignation are placed by some among the emotions of 
 ill will, and resentment is regarded as the ultimate source 
 of some of the worst passions of the human soul, such as 
 retaliation and revenge. It is freely admitted that re- 
 
l84 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 sentment bears some relation to these evil passions, and 
 readily gives place to them, so that, in some cases, it is 
 difficult to draw a distinct and well-marked line between 
 them. But the same thing is true in respect to gen- 
 erosity and prodigality. Things are not necessarily the 
 same in nature because they touch one another or ap- 
 proach so near as to be apparently mingled together. 
 Many forms of evil are little else than good perverted and 
 debased. 
 
 Resentment is a feeling which prompts to self-defense 
 and self-protection, and partakes of the nature of an 
 emotion, and also of a sentiment, in so far as it is partly 
 rational. It springs up in the soul when we believe our- 
 selves to have been insulted, injured, or wantonly wronged 
 by deliberate intention, and when the injury or wrong 
 may work serious harm to us in person, reputation, or 
 property. As the world now is, an emotion of this sort 
 seems necessary for the preservation of life, and for the 
 retention of self-respect and the respect of others. 
 
 It does not, in its legitimate form, urge him who feels 
 it to return injury for injury and wrong for wrong. It 
 proposes to prevent the commission of further injury and 
 to secure proper reparation when this is possible. It is 
 not inconsistent with the spirit of forgiveness and good 
 will, even to enemies. It is true kindness to save a per- 
 son from doing evil, either to another or to himself, pro- 
 vided the means employed are the mildest which will 
 secure the result. 
 
 Indignation is the feeling excited in view of injustice, 
 injury, and wrong done to others, and prompts to 
 their protection and their defense. Like resentment, 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER 185 
 
 it looks primarily only to the prevention of wrong- 
 doing, but it does not disapprove when deserved pun- 
 ishment is inflicted upon deliberate perpetrators of 
 injustice and crime. It leads one to defend his family, 
 his friends, and neighbors; one state to aid another un- 
 justly attacked ; philanthropists to seek to deliver men 
 everywhere from oppression and tyranny. 
 
 Usually injustice and wrong inflicted upon others, 
 especially if distance separates them from us, touch us 
 less keenly than similar acts inflicted upon ourselves. 
 There is, consequently, need that the feeling of just in- 
 dignation receive proper cultivation and right direction in 
 the minds of the young. It will be allowable to arouse 
 and direct indignation against the strong who oppress 
 and abuse the weak, Avhether the example be that of a 
 strong nation wronging and oppressing a weak one, or 
 that of a big, strong boy abusing and illtreating a younger 
 and weaker companion on the playground ; against those 
 who take advantage of the ignorance or necessities of 
 others to obtain property for much less than its value ; 
 against those who inflict acts of wanton cruelty upon 
 animals. Examples of real occurrences will usually be 
 more effective than imaginary ones. Care, of course, should 
 be taken that indignation is not expressed in a wrong 
 manner or in an excessive degree. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER.^ 
 
 1. What emotions are ; how they difter from sensations and senti- 
 
 ments ; examples. 
 
 2. When emotions become passions. 
 
1 86 THE EMOTIONS 
 
 3. The lower animals. 
 
 4. DifferePxCe in susceptibility to emotions. 
 
 5. The temperament ; what temperament is. 
 
 6. Names of the temperaments ; corresponding mental traits. 
 
 7. Moods and dispositions ; names ; effect of habit. 
 
 8. Expression of emotions ; Mr. Darwin's statement ; quotation 
 
 from Dr. Davis. 
 
 9. Reflex influence of conduct ; general law. 
 
 10. Management of children. 
 
 11. Character fashioned by such training. 
 
 12. Quotation from Professor James. 
 
 13. Subdivisions of the emotions. The egoistic and personal emo- 
 
 tions ; necessary within proper limits. 
 
 14. Some of the offensive personal emotions. 
 
 15. The altruistic and social emotions ; examples. 
 
 16. Some groups of emotions. Simple-emotions ; some examples ; 
 
 in early childhood ; relation of the physical and psy- 
 chical ; the feelings opposite to the joyous ones ; knowl- 
 edge needed in order to treat children justly. 
 
 17. Emotions of gladness and joy and their opposites in the mature 
 
 mind. 
 
 18. Order of increasing intensity ; lov^est ; highest. 
 
 19. Opposite emotions ; effect of grief ; of woe. 
 
 20. Emotions of good will, of love ; some of the most important of 
 
 these ; parental, filial, and fraternal love. 
 
 21. Value of friendship ; origin ; influence on life. 
 
 22. Emotions of ill will, of hate. Prejudice ; influence ; sources ; 
 
 when very strong. 
 
 23. Anger; general character ; effects upon the body ; rage; bor- 
 
 ders upon temporary insanity ; plea of " quick temper " ; 
 management of children. 
 
 24. Envy ; usual origin ; how manifested ; accompanies emula- 
 
 tion ; definitions of emulation ; when good, when bad ; 
 effect of undue stimulation. 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTEk 1^7 
 
 25. jealousy ; origin ; differs from envy ; appears early ; in ani- 
 
 mals ; becomes a passion. 
 
 26. Malice, hatred, revenge ; each described. 
 
 27. Just punishment not revenge ; condition of affairs in a state ; 
 
 feeling of ofhcers of justice. 
 
 28. Sympathy, compassion, etc. ; sympathy more than emotion ; 
 
 v^^hat it is ; experience necessary ; who cannot sympathize 
 and who can ; the aged and the young ; sympathy with 
 friends, etc. ; contagious sympathy in a crowd. 
 
 29. Pity ; origin and manifestations. 
 
 30. Compassion; how differs from pity; how manifests itself; 
 
 does not confound misfortune and crime. 
 
 31. Surprise, wonder, etc. ; surprise and wonder types of this 
 
 group ; in childhood »; description of each ; effect of won- 
 der ; order of intensity. 
 
 32. Alarm, fear, etc. ; fear the type of the group ; order of inten- 
 
 sity ; description of each emotion ; fear a general term ; 
 dread ; terror ; effect of terror. 
 
 33. Mr. Darwin's description of the effects of fear. 
 
 34. Defensive emotions ; resentment described ; its office ; origin ; 
 
 necessary. Indignation ; origin ; office ; does not disap- 
 prove just punishment ; need of cultivation. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE SENTIMENTS. 
 
 Not Separable. As previously stated, the emotions 
 and sentiments cannot be separated by any distinct line. 
 The most that can be said with certainty is that the 
 spontaneous emotional element predominates in the one 
 class, and the rational element in the other. The emo- 
 tions verge into the character of sentiments ; the senti- 
 ments partake of the emotional character when they 
 become more intense. 
 
 What Sentiments are. The sentiments are feelings 
 which have their origin in rational considerations. They 
 are usually the result of processes of judging and reason- 
 ing. They are one side of an activity of the intellect in 
 some form. The activity may be perception, or it may be 
 representation, or imagination, or judgment, or reason. 
 They are almost always highly complex, and frequently 
 difficult to analyze in any satisfactory manner. A being 
 without reason is incapable of experiencing sentiment. 
 Hence the brutes, though subject to various emotions and 
 passions, are destitute of sentiment. 
 
 As to Classification. Various classifications of the 
 sentiments have been made, but no one is entirely satis- 
 factory. The following is adopted here, as being on the 
 
 whole as good as any proposed : 
 
 1 88 
 
THE SENTIMENT OF TRUTH 1 89 
 
 1. The Intellectual Sentiments. 
 
 2. The ^Esthetic Sentiments. 
 
 3. The Ethical or Moral and Religious Sentiments. 
 
 THE INTELLECTUAL SENTIMENTS. 
 
 The center or core of all intellectual sentiment is the 
 love of the discovery of truth, and of the acquisition of 
 knowledge. 
 
 The Sentiment of Truth is one of the deepest and 
 strongest of which the soul is conscious. It rises at times 
 to the highest pitch of enthusiasm. Men cheerfully suf- 
 fer for the truth ; endure the loss of property, of social 
 position, of political preferment, and of life itself. The 
 martyr rejoices to die for the truth. It does not matter 
 if the martyr is in error; if what he has embraced and be- 
 lieves to be truth, is in fact not truth. Subjectively his faith 
 is the truth ; objectively it may have no suflficient foun- 
 dation. The subjective is to him the only real and true. 
 
 Several elements enter into the complex sentiment of 
 truth. There is, first, the pleasure of search, of pursuit, 
 of striving to attain. The chase is more than the game ; 
 the anticipation seems often to afford more joy than actual 
 possession. United with the pleasure of the search is 
 the still richer pleasure of discovery. As the search pro- 
 gresses, one new fragment of truth after another is grasped, 
 one new principle after another, and even one new method 
 of search and effort after another. The student enjoys 
 the labor involved in the solution of mathematical prob- 
 lems, and rejoices in the final victory over all obstacles. 
 He discovers new applications of principles and finds in- 
 tense pleasure in the discovery. 
 
IQO THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 Acquisition and Possession, The pleasure of acquisi- 
 tion and possession has already been touched upon, but it 
 deserves a few words more. The desire to acquire and pos- 
 sess material things makes itself felt as soon as a child 
 becomes acquainted with external objects, and has 
 strength enough to grasp them. At first, the egoistic ele- 
 ment so predominates, that the child regards everything 
 as belonging to himself ; others have no rights which he 
 is '' bound to respect." At this period the pleasure seems 
 to be that of possession alone, with little or no reference 
 to use or value. Simply to have and hold is enough. 
 Later the idea of value appears. 
 
 In a few singularly constituted minds this pleasure of 
 mere possession appears to continue into mature years. 
 The miser hoards money, not to use it, but for the enjoy- 
 ment of hoarding and holding. The pleasure of the pos- 
 session of knowledge is not less than that resulting from 
 the possession of money, or lands, or '^ stocks and bonds." 
 
 The Sentiment of Superiority assumes almost an infi- 
 nite variety of aspects. It sometimes seeks power and 
 influence. Even children find gratification in controlling 
 inanimate objects, and in exercising dominion over animals. 
 By an easy transition the child finds pleasure in master- 
 ship over other children. The boy prefers to be '' driver " 
 rather than '* horse " on the playground, and to bean offi- 
 cer instead of a private when he acts the part of a mimic 
 soldier. 
 
 This sentiment does not always or necessarily have re- 
 gard to the exercise of dominion over other men. It 
 urges to efforts to attain superior excellence, superior 
 knowledge, superior rank and position, but not for the 
 
SENTIMENTS OK THE LUDICROUS, ETC. I9I 
 
 purpose of making others subordinate or subservient. 
 The sentiment may only urge one to make the most and 
 best of his own abilities, resources, and opportunities, to 
 reach the highest possible degree of personal excellence. 
 
 Superiority over the forces of nature, and over the 
 obstacles which material things present, affords a high 
 degree of gratification of this feeling. Control over what 
 we call nature and over the animal creation is necessary 
 to the progress of civilization and to the full development 
 of the powers and capacities of the human race. Even 
 the dominion of man over his fellows against their desire 
 may sometimes be productive of good ; but the right to 
 such dominion is doubtful, and the result is, in most 
 cases, tyranny and despotism, with all their terrible evils. 
 Ambition is a word of ambiguous meaning, but is most 
 generally employed to denote the sentiment of superiority 
 when it prompts to the seeking for honor, place, and 
 power, with no regard for the interests, rights, or good of 
 others. It is, however, often used with a good significa- 
 tion. We speak of individuals as being ambitious to be- 
 come excellent, to become learned, to be useful, to do 
 good, and to render others happy. 
 
 Sentiments of the Ludicrous, Wit, Humor. The sen- 
 timents of the ludicrous, of wit and humor, etc., are in- 
 tellectual with a considerable admixture of emotion. 
 These feelings arise mostly from the sudden and unex- 
 pected discovery of certain resemblances between things 
 very unlike in other respects, or from temporary relation- 
 ships between things, places, or situations which are 
 altogether incongruous. A dog in the church or in the 
 schoolroom excites a laugh on account of the supposed 
 
192 THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 incongruity between the animal and the place. An 
 elegantly dressed fop splashed with mud, or fishing for his 
 hat in a puddle of dirty water, excites the same feelings 
 and same modes of expression. In these cases the senti- 
 ment is entirely of the ludicrous ; wit and humor find 
 no place. It is impossible to find any adequate or satis- 
 factory definition of wit or humor. They are related and 
 yet have marked differences. Wit is usually a single 
 brilliant utterance, coming suddenly like a flash. Its 
 essence may be found in a single word, or in a play upon 
 words similar in sound but dissimilar in meaning. 
 Humor does not flash for an instant merely, but shines 
 for a longer time, usually with a sort of mellow and cheer- 
 ing light. Genuine humor is good-natured even in its 
 sharpest attacks, while wit often bites and stings. Wit 
 sometimes passes into sarcasm and satire. Some one says, 
 " Wit laughs at things ; humor laughs with them. Wit 
 is abrupt, darting, scornful, and tosses its analogies in 
 your face ; humor is slow and shy, insinuating its fun into 
 your heart." Unfortunately wit and humor, as commonly 
 cultivated, have a tendency downward. Frequently vul- 
 garity is mistaken for wit and senseless drivel for humor. 
 In such cases the true sentiment of wit and humor is 
 exchanged for the fitting feelings of contempt and 
 disgust. 
 
 Sentiment of Freedom. A feeling of restraint is always 
 painful. It may be the repression of superabundant nerv- 
 ous energy, it may be the denial of liberty of physical 
 movement, it may be the forbidding of freedom of speech, 
 it may be the closing and barring of the entrance to some 
 occupation or profession, it may be exclusion from polit- 
 
PERSONAL SENTIMENTS I93 
 
 ical, social, or religious rights and privileges. The re- 
 straint may be in any one, or in several of these forms, 
 but in whatever form, it is irksome, painful, depressing. 
 Long and severe repression disheartens, unmans, results 
 either in the lethargy or in the desperation of despair. 
 The love of liberty and the hatred of fettering tyranny 
 have always been among the strongest incentives to brave 
 deeds and noble efforts in behalf either of self or of hu- 
 manity. The higher character of the sentiment of freedom 
 is sometimes tarnished by making it responsible for the 
 excesses and crimes of unbridled license and anarchy. 
 
 Personal Sentiments are very numerous and of great 
 variety. Some are elevated and noble ; others are low and 
 debasing. Only a few can be named here ; the student 
 may be required to enlarge the list. Among the senti- 
 ments which are offensive, in a greater or less degree, are 
 pride, haughtiness, superciliousness, undue self-esteem, 
 self-confidence, self-conceit, and vanity. Some of the 
 opposites of these are humiliation, mortification, self- 
 abasement, self-depreciation. Humility is one of the 
 noble sentiments and should not be classed with humilia- 
 tion. The feeling of humiliation is experienced when one 
 has, in some way, been dishonored, degraded, and sub- 
 jected to insult by another. Mortification results from 
 some act, or some failure to act, for which our judgment 
 condemns us. The student is humiliated when he is 
 compared unfavorably with a classmate of less ability than 
 himself ; he is mortified at a failure in the performance of 
 some task in which he might have succeeded if he had 
 made proper effort. 
 
 Personal honor is one of the noblest and most power- 
 13 
 
194 THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 ful of the personal sentiments. It often has more bind- 
 ing force than any legal obligation. It forbids indulgence 
 in anything low, mean, or degrading ; it is exceedingly 
 sensitive, sometimes apparently over-sensitive. This sen- 
 timent is not incompatible with true humility, though it 
 will not submit to humiliation or patiently endure insult. 
 It bears no relationship to self-conceit or overmuch of self- 
 esteem. It regards self as sacred, but recognizes and re- 
 spects nobility and honor in others. It demands no more 
 than it is ready to grant to others. 
 
 ESTHETIC SENTIMENTS. 
 
 When they arise. The aesthetic sentiments arise 
 in connection with the intellectual perception and con- 
 templation of what is called beautiful in nature, in art, in 
 language, especially in the poetic form. We have here 
 no concern with theories as to the original source of 
 the idea of beauty. It is sufficient for our purpose to say 
 that some objects and some ideas and combinations of 
 objects and ideas, either presented or represented, excite 
 certain peculiarly agreeable feelings which we name sen- 
 timents of beauty or of the beautiful. Objects are called 
 beautiful when they cause such sentiments to arise. 
 
 Taste. The ability of the mind to perceive and judge 
 of the beautiful, and the capacity to enjoy it, are called 
 taste. It is a native endowment of the soul, susceptible, 
 like other endowments, of development and cultivation. 
 Good taste perceives at once the fitness of things, and 
 how to make proper combinations and arrangements of 
 these. It also perceives fitness and propriety of conduct 
 and speech, and how to behave and speak accordingly. 
 
BEAUTY 195 
 
 Standards of Taste, It is sometimes affirmed that 
 there is no standard of taste ; that individuals differ, that 
 nations differ, and that agreement in respect to the beau- 
 tiful has never been secured, and, in the nature of things, 
 never can be secured. It is readily admitted that the 
 standard of good taste cannot be an absolute and unvary- 
 ing one ; that provision must be made for individual pe- 
 culiarities and for variations within certain limits. The 
 standard of taste among rude and uncultivated tribes, 
 and among partially civilized peoples, will not be the 
 same as among highly cultured and refined nations. And 
 in the same country there will be some variations in taste 
 growing out of different degrees of education and out of 
 local conditions and peculiarities. 
 
 It is true also that differences of taste will appear in the 
 same community and among persons of equal intelligence 
 and experience. But these differences are not usually 
 radical ; there is still substantial agreement upon all im- 
 portant points. 
 
 The received standard of aesthetics is the concurrent 
 opinion or judgment of the great majority of the intelligent 
 people of any community, or of any country, or of any 
 period in history. Some things will be considered in 
 good taste anywhere and everywhere, and other things 
 will be regarded as in bad taste just as universally. 
 Great changes in literary taste take place from age to age. 
 The style of Cooper's writings is not the approved style 
 of to-day ; even Irving and Bancroft belong to a former 
 period. The reasons for changes in literary style cannot 
 be inquired into in this connection. 
 
 Elements of Sensuous Beauty. The feelings of 
 
196 THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 beauty experienced through the activity of the senses are 
 called sensuous. These feelings arise when natural ob- 
 jects are presented or are represented. Only the senses 
 of sight and hearing give occasion for the production of 
 aesthetic sentiments to any appreciable extent. In ob- 
 jects of sight the elements of beauty are color, form, and 
 symmetry of parts and arrangement. Motion contributes 
 to the same result. Isolated figures and bodies are more 
 beautiful when bounded by curved or wavy lines and sur- 
 faces. In symmetrical combinations straight lines and 
 plane surfaces are found to give equal pleasure. The 
 movements of single objects, either animate or inanimate, 
 are more pleasing when in curved or wavy lines ; but 
 when numbers of objects move together according to 
 some definite plan, so that the movements become 
 mingled and bear harmonious relations to one another, 
 the movements of individuals may be in straight- lines, 
 and still produce an effect equally agreeable. The influ- 
 ence of color upon the sentiment of beauty depends upon 
 the proper arrangement and combination of similars and 
 contrasts. 
 
 In natural objects, like trees, the elements of form and 
 color are often united. This combination heightens the 
 effect. In the tree there is usually an adaptation of part 
 to part, giving symmetry of form and outline. There is 
 also a variety of tints and shades in color produced by 
 the reflection of light from the foliage as it moves in 
 different directions. 
 
 Pictures and other works of art appeal to the sense of 
 sight by essentially the same qualities as natural objects. 
 In this case, however, we have representation instead of 
 
SENTIMENTS OF THE SUBLIME, ETC. I97 
 
 presentation, but representation different from that given 
 in language, being more vivid and approaching nearer to 
 reality. Consequently the effect is deeper and more 
 pleasing. 
 
 Influence of Music and Poetry. The influence of 
 music upon the feelings is due partly to the tones them- 
 selves and partly to the power of association. A simple 
 air, associated with the scenes and friends of childhood, 
 often seems more full of beauty than the most artistic 
 compositions of the great masters. 
 
 In poetry, also, association is as potent a factor as the 
 rhythm and harmony of the words and the beauty and 
 brilliancy of the thoughts. 
 
 Language, whether in poetry or prose, is properly called 
 beautiful when it so appeals to the representative power 
 of the imagination as to fill the mind with successive and 
 vivid pictures, which, by their character, excite and keep 
 alive a feeling agreeable and pleasing, but not too intense 
 or overpowering. 
 
 Sentiment of the Sublime, etc. It is as dif^cult to 
 define the sublime as the beautiful. Some of the elements 
 of sublimity are vastness, power, and strength. A lofty, 
 precipitous, and craggy mountain is called a sublime 
 object. A mighty cataract, the ocean in violent commo- 
 tion, a terrific thunderstorm, a roaring tornado, and 
 other similar natural objects and events are sublime. 
 The sublime in literature generally consists of vivid descrip- 
 tions of the sublime in nature, or of representative pictures 
 involving the same elements. Ideas of grandeur, im- 
 mensity, of the boundless and unlimited in space, time, or 
 might, are properly regarded as sublime. Most sublime 
 
I9S THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 objects and ideas suggest something still greater, grander, 
 and mightier beyond and above them, and thus touch the 
 mysterious and incomprehensible. 
 
 Sentiments of Beauty and Sublimity differ. While 
 the sublime is kindred with the beautiful and is aesthetic 
 in its nature, its influence upon the soul is quite unlike 
 that of beauty. The beautiful charms, soothes, quiets, 
 fills the mind with peaceful delight. It often stirs deeply 
 but not violently ; it excites, but the excitement is 
 not tumultuous. It never alarms or terrifies or causes 
 pain. 
 
 On the other hand, the sublime, in some of its forms, 
 excites fear and even terror and other painful feelings. 
 Usually the sentiment of sublimity is more intense and 
 absorbing than that of the beautiful. However, it does 
 not always. alarm and terrify. In some forms it excites 
 awe, reverence, and even adoration. It naturally turns 
 the thoughts from the vast finite to the vaster infinite ; 
 from the power of finite elements and forces to the Infinite 
 force and might. 
 
 The Influence of Association has been incidentally re- 
 ferred to in another connection. This influence is uni- 
 versally recognized, and by some is regarded as the orig- 
 inal source of the sentiment of beauty itself. Without 
 accepting this theory we may cheerfully admit the depth 
 and strength of its power. An object which has no 
 " form or comeliness " is beautiful in our eyes because it 
 belonged years ago to some one dearly loved. Some 
 locality, rough, barren, unsightly, is beautiful to us because 
 it was the home of childhood, and near by rest the mortal 
 remains of generations of ancestors. A book is sacred 
 
FEELING OF UTILITY AND ADAPTATION I99 
 
 and beautiful, though torn and worn, because it was the 
 valued treasure of a mother or some other dear friend. 
 We admire the scenery of the Rhine or the Hudson, be- 
 cause of its association with literature, history, and 
 legend. 
 
 The influence of association goes beyond the element of 
 mere beauty. It touches the sentiments of patriotism 
 and reverence, penetrating into the realm of the moral 
 and religious feelings. Plymouth, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, 
 Yorktown, and scores of other places, when visited, kindle 
 feelings of patriotism in all those whose ancestors were 
 actors in the events which have rendered these places 
 memorable. We call the soil of Palestine sacred because 
 it was trodden by the feet of the Christ and his apostles. 
 Further illustrations of the influence of association are 
 unnecessary. 
 
 Feeling of Utility and Adaptation. There is a decid- 
 edly pleasurable sentiment connected with things useful 
 and with those showing peculiar adaptation to some pur- 
 pose, but it is not the sentiment of beauty in the proper 
 sense of the term. A complicated machine made of the 
 finest material and fashioned by the most exquisite skill, 
 performing its work with marvelous rapidity and pre- 
 cision, and with an appearance of almost human intelli- 
 gence, is called beautiful, and its functions are said to be 
 executed beautifully. But the feelings excited by the 
 machine and its work are not like those felt when one 
 views a beautiful landscape or some beautiful piece of 
 sculpture or some painting of a great master. The useful 
 and the beautiful are not correlative. A thing may be 
 useful, like a spade, without being beautiful ; and a thing 
 
200 THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 may be beautiful, as the rainbow or the falls of Minnehaha, 
 without being useful. 
 
 ETHICAL OR MORAL SENTIMENTS. 
 
 In another chapter the moral nature will be more fully 
 considered. At this point we are concerned only with 
 one aspect of it, the sentiments. 
 
 Occasion and Basis of Moral Sentiments. The moral 
 feelings are excited by the contemplation of human con- 
 duct and human character, the character being indicated 
 by the conduct. That in the conduct which causes the 
 sentiment to appear is its rightness or wrongness. 
 
 The idea of right or wrong in conduct presupposes some 
 law or rule of behavior to which conduct should conform. 
 This law is known as the moral law ; in this we have the 
 basis of moral sentiment. With the origin of moral law 
 we are not now concerned ; the existence of such a law is 
 suflficiently attested by experience. 
 
 Relations implied, etc. Conduct implies social rela- 
 tions ; out of these relations grow obligations and duties. 
 Conduct should recognize and meet these obligations and 
 perform these duties. In view of law and relations and 
 obligations, the feeling of oughtness, of necessity, arises. 
 We feel that this should be done, and that that should be 
 avoided. 
 
 Sentiments of Approbation and Disapprobation. When 
 conduct, either our own or that of others, conforms to 
 moral law, meets obligations, performs duties, we are 
 conscious of a feeling of approbation. When the conduct 
 is our own we experience a feeling of satisfaction, of self- 
 
FREE WILL, MOTIVES, ETC. 201 j 
 
 approval, of peace and rest of soul. We approve the 
 parent who performs well the duties of parenthood ; the 
 child who regards the will and wishes of his parents ; 
 the friend who denies self to meet the needs of a friend ; 
 the citizen who sacrifices property or life for his country. 
 
 On the other hand when conduct is out of harmony 
 with moral law, feelings of disapprobation, of condem- 
 nation arise. If the conduct is ours, we condemn ourselves. 
 If the violation of law and obligation is flagrant, our self- 
 condemnation is correspondingly severe. It passes into 
 reproach, shame, and sometimes into remorse. If the 
 conduct is that of others, our disapprobation becomes 
 condemnation and indignation. In extreme cases punish- 
 ment is demanded. 
 
 Free Will, Motives, etc. In order that an individual 
 may be approved or disapproved for his conduct^ one must 
 knozv that the conduct is the choice of the person, that he is 
 doing what he prefers to do, that no compulsion is piit 
 upon him. The conduct which is com^pelled, zvhich could 
 not have been otherwise, is the conduct of a machine or of 
 a?i auto7naton ; it is destitute of moral character ; it mer- 
 its neither approval nor disapproval. 
 
 We are conscious, also, of going behind the conduct in 
 many cases, and of inquiring why the behavior is such as 
 it is, what motive prompted it, or what purpose was in 
 view. The soul refuses to approve itself or others for 
 deeds, however good in themselves, which are done for 
 impure or selfish reasons. The condemnation is directed 
 rather against the motive than against the conduct. This 
 brings us to a consideration of character rather than of 
 conduct. The motives, purposes, intentions, indicate the 
 
202 THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 nature of the inner man, the real man ; they make known 
 the character. 
 
 Some Special Sentiments. Only a few of the moral sen- 
 timents can receive special notice. Friendship and sym- 
 pathy, which have much of the nature of sentiments, have 
 already been considered. Beginning with the affections 
 of the home, we go out to the neighborhood, to the 
 State, to the country, and finally to all humanity. 
 
 Patriotism is the sentiment which embraces one's 
 country and one's countrymen. It is a sentiment which 
 commands approval ; it has always been regarded as 
 praiseworthy to love one's own country above other coun- 
 tries. Not that we love other lands less, but our own 
 more. This sentiment may be perverted and turned to 
 the accomplishment of the basest purposes. Great crimes 
 have been committed in the name of patriotism and lib- 
 erty. But naturally men love and cherish their own fam- 
 ilies in preference to the families of others ; they care 
 more for their immediate neighbors than for people living 
 at a distance. Ethical questions are not here under con- 
 sideration ; the fact is as stated. The inhabitants of the 
 same country are neighbors as compared with men upon 
 the opposite side of the earth. They have common 
 interests, needs, history, language. All these bind them 
 together, and create mutual regard, esteem, and affection. 
 
 Philanthropy goes beyond patriotism ; it is the sen- 
 timent of good will which embraces all mankind ; it re- 
 gards the human race without reference to questions of 
 time or place, of color or condition. The sentiment of 
 philanthropy does not appear in human character and 
 conduct until much of development has taken place. It 
 
gratitude:, justice 203 
 
 scarcely made itself felt in the childhood of the race. It 
 could not take on its highest form until something of a 
 common nature was recognized. With the progress of 
 civilization, with the increase of intercourse between 
 nations and peoples, with the growing demands of com- 
 merce, the sentiment of philanthropy has been more and 
 more developed. It will never supersede patriotism, but 
 will rather supplement it, as the love of friends supple- 
 ments the love of kindred. 
 
 The Sentiments of Admiration, Reverence, Adoration, 
 etc. Moral worth inspires respect ; when manifested in 
 a high degree respect passes into admiration ; in a still 
 higher degree it creates the profounder sentiment of rev- 
 erence. Reverence readily leads to adoration when moral 
 excellence is combined with superhuman power. At this 
 point moral sentiment becomes mingled with religious 
 sentiment, involving trust and confidence and approacji- 
 ing to the nature of faith. 
 
 Gratitude, Justice. The sentiment of gratitude arises 
 when some good has been received and accepted ; the 
 greater the good, the more profound is the gratitude. 
 The feeling is still deeper if the favor bestowed has cost 
 the giver inconvenience and self-denial. Gratitude makes 
 no account of position or character, or of the opinions 
 held by others of the benefactor. It looks only at the 
 kindness done and received, and, for the time, sees noth- 
 ing else. Real gratitude may be felt and honestly ex- 
 pressed towards a person who could not be loved as a 
 friend, or even esteemed as a worthy member of society. 
 This sentiment combines with filial love and tends to 
 render that emotion deeper and more permanent. In 
 
204 THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 some cases it becomes an element in friendship. But if 
 it enters largely into this, the purity of the friendship is 
 impaired from the fact that one of the parties cannot 
 avoid the feeling of obligation, and the freedom which 
 comes from the idea of equality is necessarily lost. Under 
 such conditions some degree of painful restraint is sure 
 to be felt by the person receiving the favor. Friendship; 
 in the highest sense of the word, cannot exist in connec- 
 tion with a feeling of obligation and dependence. 
 
 Ingratitude is universally and rightly regarded as an 
 indication of a base and despicable nature. It has no 
 excuse or palliation, and finds no defenders. Benefactors 
 may, ^and probably sometimes do, mar the beauty of 
 noble deeds by expecting too large returns in way of 
 acknowledgment and feelings of obligation ; but even 
 this, although it may render the relation between giver 
 and receiver irksome, will not justify the withholding of 
 that which is due. 
 
 Gratitude, being a rational feeling, is only slightly felt 
 by the young. It can take no strong hold upon the mind 
 until the higher intellectual powers and the moral nature 
 are considerably developed and matured. The young 
 child cannot be expected to comprehend relations and 
 the obligations which grow out of them. Disappoint- 
 ment is often felt by parents and teachers at the apparent 
 ingratitude of children, while the fact is they are really 
 incapable of experiencing the feeling to the extent de- 
 manded. The grace of gratitude should be cultivated by 
 all appropriate means. 
 
 Sentiment of Justice. Justice bears a close relation 
 to gratitude. The essence of justice is that every man 
 
SENTIMENT OF MORAL BEAUTY AND SUBLIMITY 20$ 
 
 should receive his due, should have that which belongs 
 to him. Gratitude belongs to the benefactor ; receiving 
 it, he has only that which is rightly his. But justice goes 
 beyond this ; it requires that much should be given when 
 nothing has been received. The parent has received 
 nothing from the young child, yet simple justice requires 
 from the parent care and protection for the child. The 
 province of justice is exceedingly broad ; it embraces 
 most of the ordinary relations of domestic, social, and 
 civil life. Justice requires of the man obedience to the 
 laws of the state, of the state itself obedience to the laws 
 of nations. In the ordinary relations of life justice de- 
 mands honesty, uprightness, integrity, truthfulness be- 
 tween man and man in all affairs of business, in '^ buying 
 and selling and getting gain." Justice requires that one 
 care for the good name, the reputation, the comfort and 
 convenience of his fellows. 
 
 In another aspect justice asks that the evil-doer suffer 
 the proper penalty for his evil-doings ; that the thief re- 
 store the stolen goods with manifold addition ; that the 
 robber and murderer be made to pay the penalty appro- 
 priate to their crimes. The sentiment of justice approves 
 all this, but does not refuse to permit mercy to find place 
 when the safety of society allows. 
 
 Sentiment of Moral Beauty and Sublimity. We 
 discern in the characters and conduct of some individuals 
 of our acquaintance, and of others of whom we hear or 
 read, certain qualities which may be appropriately called 
 morally beautiful. We perceive the same qualities in 
 many actions considered apart from the actors. We find 
 ourselves drawn by a natural attraction towards such in- 
 
206 THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 dividuals and such actions, as we are drawn towards a 
 beautiful landscape, a beautiful picture, or any beautiful 
 work of art. A feeling is excited called the sentiment of 
 moral beauty or moral sublimity. 
 
 The characters which cause the feeling of moral beauty 
 are usually marked by quiet, unaffected, unostentatious, 
 and apparently unconscious goodness. The acts are ex- 
 pressive of love, pity, kindness, tenderness, and sympathy. 
 There is no exhibition of peculiar power or strength. 
 
 The acts which excite the sentiments of moral sublimity 
 are such as show goodness combined with great energy 
 and might. Courage and heroism are united with tender- 
 ness and devotion to right and duty. Examples of such 
 characters and such deeds are abundant in biographies and 
 histories, and they are not infrequent in the records of 
 common, daily life. The familiar story of *^ the Good 
 Samaritan " appeals to the sentiment of moral beauty. 
 So also do the words and conduct of Sir Philip Sidney 
 when wounded and dying on the battlefield. *^ Being 
 thirsty with excess of bleeding, he called for drink, which 
 was presently brought him ; but as he was putting it to 
 his mouth, he saw a poor soldier carried along, mortally 
 wounded, casting his eyes at the vessel of water ; which 
 Sir Philip perceiving, he took the water from his own 
 lips, before tasting, and gave it to the poor man with these 
 words: * Thy necessity is greater than mine.'** The 
 sight or description of a strong, determined man, holding 
 steadily on in the pursuit of some grand purpose, or of 
 some imperative duty, never hesitating, never faltering, 
 though surrounded by danger, and at times baffled and 
 forced backward by obstacles and disasters, risking the 
 
CULTIVATION OF THE EMOTIONAL NATURE 20/ 
 
 loss of all things, even of life itself, excites the sentiment 
 of moral sublimity. 
 
 The sentiment of moral beauty is closely related to the 
 love of truth, goodness, purity, and all excellence, and 
 tends to kindle such love in the soul. The sentiment of 
 moral sublimity has a natural kinship to the feelings of 
 respect and reverence for age, for order, for just laws, for 
 legitimate authority. For these and other reasons the 
 sentiments of moral beauty and sublimity should be care- 
 fully cultivated in the minds of the young. 
 
 Cultivation of the Emotional Nature. Only a few 
 suggestions will be added under this head. The universal 
 law of development and culture is appropriate exercise. 
 The exercise requires conditions and direction. 
 
 (i) Afford the good emotions a7id sentiments opportuni- 
 ties for full and free expression. Supply suitable material 
 to excite the sentiment of beauty^ and give such directions 
 as may be necessary to enable a child ^ or an uncultivated 
 per son y to lay hold upon the elements of beauty in the objects 
 presented. Nature is full of the beautiful, but the eyes 
 must be open to see it, and the ears to hear it. Atten- 
 tion wanders unless helped to right direction. The 
 sublime is not as abundant as the beautiful, but it may 
 be found if it is looked for. It is worth while to make 
 efforts to visit places and scenes noted for beauty and 
 sublimity. 
 
 The altruistic feelings of friendship, love, pity, sym- 
 pathy, and compassion find opportunities and room for 
 expression as the child, or the man, mingles in society,, 
 and seeks the companionship of his fellows. Real and' 
 concrete cases of suffering should be found, and not the^ 
 
208 THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 imaginary ones of an exciting fictitious story. The stir- 
 ring of an emotion of pity or sympathy, under conditions 
 such that the feeling can find no healthful mode of ex- 
 pression, does harm rather than good. The emotions 
 aroused by a tale of real sorrow should be directed to the 
 search for sorrows near at hand which need relief. 
 
 (2) Repress, as far as possible, all evil emotions and 
 passions, and prevent their expression. The importance 
 of this has been referred to elsewhere. Anger, especially, 
 has need of repression in children. In dealing with the 
 young, care should be taken not to give occasion for ex- 
 citing the evil passions. Habits are easily formed ; one 
 burst of passion prepares the way for another, and the 
 current of feeling soon acquires a strong tendency to run 
 in a wrong direction. 
 
 (3) Make the surroundiiigs of the family, and the school, 
 and the social life, as beautiful and agreeable as possible. 
 Do not place on the zvalls of the home or the school- 
 room gaudy caricatures of scenes, or persons, or great 
 events. Really beautiful pictures can be obtained at little 
 expense, and statuettes and small busts are within the 
 reach of persons of very limited means. The picture is a 
 silent but most effective teacher ; it transfers its form and 
 color and beauty to the walls of the inner chambers of the 
 soul. It develops and educates the taste, and creates a 
 love for the refined and pure in nature, in art, and in 
 social life and intercourse. 
 
 (4) Make the beautiful and good sources of constant en- 
 joyment, and so enticing and alluring to t lie yoking. The 
 
 old idea that there is a natural and necessary antagonism 
 between enjoyment and goodness, between the body and 
 
CULTIVATION OF THE EMOTIONAL NATURE 209 
 
 the soul, is losing its power. The universe is full of 
 beauty, and one can find it if his soul has been expanded 
 to give it room, if his taste has been cultivated to appre- 
 ciate and enjoy it. It is not far from the truth to say that 
 it is one*s duty to enjoy the beautiful and the good by 
 which he is surrounded, and to help others to share in the 
 enjoyment. The cheerful emotions and sentiments should 
 be cultivated. The predominant tone of the personal life, 
 and the life of the family, and of society, should be made 
 cheerful and warm. Temperament has much to do with the 
 tone of our living, but even temperament can be modified. 
 
 Do not, hozvever, make iJie mistake of seeking enjoy- 
 ment as a7t end ; it is not obtained in that way. Sought 
 thus, it flies as a shadozv \ it always escapes the grasp. It 
 should be so, and always will be so. Enjoyment comes as 
 an attendant ttpon our deeds ; living worthily w^e enjoy the 
 satisfaction which results from such living. The good 
 done to others from pure motives is reflected back into 
 our own hearts in the form of satisfaction and happiness. 
 
 (5) Make all education beautiful, and attractive, as far 
 as possible, to those who are being educated. There are 
 tasks in the processes of learning, but even these can be 
 rendered sources of enjoyment by dwelling upon the joy 
 of mastery and the pleasure of conquest. Make even 
 the drudgery of daily life, if it be drudgery, attractive by 
 the temper and spirit which pervade it. Little acts of 
 kindness, little deeds of charity, little words of courtesy, 
 kindness and good cheer, as one is busy with his common 
 labors, fill the soul with the sentiment of moral beauty. 
 The true, the good, and the beautiful should always be har- 
 moniously united and blended in character and conduct. 
 14 
 
2IO THE SENTIMENTS 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER 
 
 1. Emotions and sentiments not separable. 
 
 2. What sentiments are. 
 
 3. As to classification, intellectual, sesthetic, moral. 
 
 4. The intellectual sentiments : (a) truth ; (b) acquisition and 
 
 possession ; (c) superiority ; (d) ludicrous, wit, humor ; 
 (e) freedom. 
 
 5. Personal sentiments, pride, etc. ; the opposites ; personal 
 
 honor. 
 
 6. Esthetic sentiments. 
 
 7. Taste, standards of taste. 
 
 8. Elements of sensuous beauty ; color, form, symmetry, motion. 
 
 9. Influence of music and poetry. 
 
 10. The sublime, etc. 
 
 11. Beauty and sublimity differ. 
 
 12. Influence of association. 
 
 13. Utility and adaptation. 
 
 14. Ethical or moral sentiments. 
 
 15. Occasion and basis of moral sentiment. 
 
 16. Relations implied, etc. 
 
 17. Approbation and disapprobation. 
 
 18. Free will, motives, etc. 
 
 19. Some special sentiments : (a) patriotism, (b) philanthropy. 
 
 20. Admiration, reverence, adoration. 
 
 21. Gratitude, ingratitude, justice. 
 
 22. Moral beauty and sublimity. 
 
 23. Cultivation of the emotional nature, suggestions : 
 
 (i) Give good emotions opportunities for expression. 
 
 (2) Repress the evil feelings ; prevent their expression. 
 
 (3) Make surroundings beautiful. 
 
 (4) Make the beautiful and good sources of enjoyment. 
 
 (5) Make all education beautiful, and daily life also. 
 
CHAPTER XIL 
 
 DESIRE ; THE WILL. 
 
 What Desire is. Desire is a complex mental state 
 and activity. On the one side it is feeling ; but it has 
 another side, of which we are conscious, which is more 
 than feeling. There is a psychical tension, a stretching 
 after something, which is entirely unlike ordinary feeling. 
 Moreover, feelings are transitory ; when intense, they 
 soon expend themselves and subside. Desires, on the 
 other hand, may continue for any length of time, and 
 even increase in intensity. 
 
 Desire defined. Desire is a craving of the soul for 
 some real or supposed good. In this definition the ele- 
 ment of feeling is omitted. The term good, as here 
 employed, has no reference to any moral quality or char- 
 acter in the object desired. The good means anything 
 which will satisfy the craving, and from the possession of 
 which it is believed that pleasure, enjoyment, satisfaction, 
 or happiness will be derived. The good of one person 
 will not be the good of another; the good of the child 
 will not be the good of the man. The supposed good, in 
 many cases, may not be a real good, and may not con- 
 tribute to enjoyment if secured. 
 
 Aversion. Every desire has its opposite aversion. 
 This aversion might be called a negative desire. Positive 
 
 211 
 
212 DESIRE; THE WILL 
 
 desire seeks to obtain something ; negative desire seeks 
 to be rid of something, or to avoid something. We desire 
 pleasure ; we desire to escape from pain. 
 
 Appetites and Desires. The appetites previously 
 considered may be termed physical desires, or desires of the 
 body. We desire food, drink, comfortable clothing and 
 shelter, rest when weary, opportunity for exercise when 
 the nerve centers are full to overflowing with accumulated 
 energy. The psychical desires may be called the appetites, 
 or, by another name, the appetences of the soul. In some 
 points the resemblance between the physical appetites and 
 the psychical appetences is very marked, and affords con- 
 venient ground for comparison. 
 
 Unrest caused. The craving of desire causes unrest of 
 soul. The intensity of the unrest will be in proportion 
 to the intensity of the desire. The unrest is more or less 
 painful in its nature. It is supposed that the object de- 
 sired, if obtained, will satisfy the craving, remove the un- 
 rest, and bring a feeling of positive pleasure. 
 
 But it is not true that desire always seeks for that 
 which men call pleasurable ; sometimes it craves that which 
 causes care, anxiety, and pain. A man desires to labor, 
 under conditions which are painful, to secure comfort for 
 his family. A friend takes upon himself trouble and anx- 
 iety for the sake of an unfortunate friend. A mother 
 passes sleepless nights and wearisome days, caring for a 
 sick child. In all these cases there is a strong desire to 
 do and suffer, if need be. It may be urged that down be- 
 low the care and anxiety, deep in the soul, there is a feel- 
 ing of pleasure, but none the less there is real pain. It is 
 evident that desire is not altogether egoistic ; it craves 
 
DESIRE EXCITED 213- 
 
 for others as well as for self. It seeks to get, and to have, 
 and to hold, but it also seeks to give, and to help ; in 
 these aspects desire is altruistic. 
 
 Desire excited. Previous experience is necessary in 
 order that desire may be excited. The experience is not 
 always of the particular object now presented ; it may be 
 of some object with which this one can be compared. 
 The feeling and craving of desire may be aroused either 
 by presentation or by representation. The objects im- 
 mediately before me, objects of sight or hearing, may 
 kindle desire. In that case perception furnishes the nec- 
 essary knowledge. But, as already stated, experience 
 must have proved that these objects, or objects similar to 
 these, have power to give pleasure and enjoyment. There 
 IS, consequently, an act of memory producing represent- 
 ative images of past impressions and their associated feel- 
 ings of pleasure. A subordinate representative element 
 is here mingled with the perception. In many cases the 
 exciting cause of the activity of desire is a representation 
 alone. This must be the fact when we desire things 
 which are purely ideal, like approbation, wealth, power, 
 or knowledge. We have some sort of mental represen- 
 tation of the pleasures and advantages which the posses- 
 sion of these will afford us. The exciting cause, in all 
 such cases, must be the idea. The help of imagination is 
 often invoked, and the representation becomes almost pure- 
 ly ideal in form. Usually, perhaps always, the strength of 
 the desire will be determined by the degree of pleasure 
 or advantage anticipated from the object presented or 
 represented. 
 
 With children, and with many persons of mature age, 
 
214 DESIRE; THE WILL 
 
 that which is near in place or time is much more effective 
 in exciting desire than that which is remote. This has to 
 be taken into account in the management of the young. 
 A hoHday is a more real thing this week than a month 
 hence or six months. A thing of cofnparatively little 
 value, which can be seen and handled, will excite desire 
 more surely than a thing of greater value merely de- 
 scribed or pictured. 
 
 Relations of Desire. In all cases desire is preceded 
 by some feeling. This feeling may be a sensation, or an 
 emotion, or a sentiment. The presentation or represen- 
 tation of the object arouses some feeling, and this is fol- 
 lowed by desire or aversion. The feeling, whatever it 
 may be, is preceded by cognition. The desire is followed 
 by volition, when there is a possibility of obtaining the 
 object of desire. No volition follows if it is certain that 
 the object cannot be obtained. The order of the psychical 
 activities, therefore, is cognition, feeling, desire, volition. 
 The relation of desire and volition will be further consid- 
 ered in another connection. 
 
 Some Specific Forms of Desire. Of the various forms 
 of desire only a few can be named here. The desire, or 
 as sometimes called, the love, of life is one of the most 
 powerful of the desires. It seems instinctive in its man- 
 ifestations, and acts sometimes almost like a blind and 
 heedless impulse to preserve self regardless of everything 
 else. However, the desire is susceptible of control, and of 
 obedience to rational considerations. Men overmaster the 
 desire and sacrifice life for their friends or their country. 
 Occasionally circumstances so crush out the desire that 
 men take their own lives ; probably, in most cases, suicide 
 
SPECIFIC FORMS OF DESIRE 21$ 
 
 results from a morbid mental condition, in which judg- 
 ment and reason are for the time unbalanced, and moral 
 considerations are forgotten or unheeded. 
 
 The Desire of Possession comes next to the desire of 
 life in its power and influence in society and in human 
 affairs generally. Its most common form is the wish to 
 possess property. We call it acquisitiveness, in an ex- 
 treme form avarice and irrational greed. This desire 
 makes itself felt as soon as a child perceives external 
 objects, and has strength to grasp and appropriate them. 
 The desire continues as age advances, but its form of 
 manifestation changes. It urges men to make homes for 
 themselves and their families ; under its influence lands 
 are purchased, trade is carried on, railroads and steamships 
 are built, and commerce extended over the world. 
 
 This desire demands the right of private ownership ; it 
 is not satisfied with the possession of property in common 
 with others, or with the community as a whole. 
 
 It is possible that the welfare of society may require 
 that the rights of private and personal acquisition and 
 retention of some kinds of property be limited and re- 
 stricted for the general good. It is, however, a matter of 
 very great practical difficulty to determine the nature and 
 extent of such limitations and restrictions. 
 
 The Desire of Knowledge appears first as a native 
 curiosity urging the child to ask questions and to pry 
 into everything within his reach. The young child seeks 
 to find out things from an almost irresistible impulse, just 
 as he seeks to use his limbs and his vocal organs. The 
 resulting enjoyment appears to spring, not only from the 
 gratification of curiosity, but as much from the law of 
 
2l6 DESIRE; THE WILL 
 
 pleasurable activity ; no regard is had, at this period, for 
 the value or use of knowledge. 
 
 With increasing years the power of mere curiosity 
 diminishes, and a rational desire for knowledge takes its 
 place. The pleasure resulting from the acquisition of 
 knowledge is of a mingled character. There is pleasure 
 in the mere exercise of the knowing activities, in per- 
 ceiving, reproducing, imagining, judging, and reasoning. 
 There is pleasure in the consciousness of having mastered 
 difficulties, and also in the simple fact of possession. The 
 value and use of knowledge serve to increase the pleas- 
 ure. 
 
 The Desire of Approbation and Esteem exhibits itself 
 at a very early period of a child's life, and constitutes one 
 of the strong motives of childhood. In riper years it still 
 remains a motive, good or bad, according to the direction 
 given to its power. A reasonable regard for the good 
 opinion of others is certainly a proper feeling and seems 
 necessary to the attainm.ent of the highest excellence of 
 character. When such regard becomes undue and ex- 
 cessive, it tends to destroy integrity and manliness. The 
 practical problem is to determine how much influence 
 this desire may be allowed to exert at particular times, 
 and how much appeal should be made to it as a motive 
 in dealing with the young. It is true, as one has said, 
 " a young man is not far from ruin when he can say with- 
 out blushing, ' I do not care what others think of me.' ** 
 
 The Desire for Society and for social intercourse man- 
 ifests itself very early, and seems almost an instinct. It 
 is evident that it does not oric^inate in the natural tend- 
 ency of the young to imitate the older, nor in consider- 
 
SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS 21/ 
 
 ations of safety and other advantages. Later in life the 
 gratification of this desire, undoubtedly, in many cases, 
 takes its direction from the conclusions of judgment and 
 reason in respect to personal interests and real or sup- 
 posed utility. 
 
 Some Complex Feelings. One of the complex feelings 
 is hope. We hope for those things only which we be- 
 lieve to be both desirable and attainable. The condition 
 of mind called hope is made up of desire and expectation 
 or anticipation. In any particular case hope is strong or 
 weak according to the degree of expectation. When all 
 ground for expectation crumbles away hope expires. 
 Desire moves to action only when it is presupposed that 
 the object of desire is attainable by efforts which we are 
 capable of making, and by means within our control. 
 Tentative efforts may be, and often are, put forth to 
 ascertain the possibility of attainment, but these are 
 merely preliminary to any deliberate and settled course 
 of action. Despair is the negative of hope. In this state 
 of mind there is intense desire, but no expectation, rather 
 a full conviction that the object desired is beyond reach. 
 The depth of the despair is usually in proportion to the 
 intensity of the desire. Despair, also, arises from the 
 anticipation of some great approaching evil from which 
 we can discover no way of escape. 
 
 In this case there is desire of escape and safety, but no 
 expectation of averting the coming doom. 
 
 Discouragement is an incipient form of despair result- 
 ing from the discovery of unexpected obstacles, and from 
 the weariness produced by protracted and fruitless effort. 
 Encouragement is the opposite feeling and follows un- 
 
'2i8 DESIRE; THE WILL 
 
 expected success or unlooked-for help and relief. Dis- 
 couragement paralyzes one's powers, while encouragement 
 redoubles their activity. 
 
 There is, properly speaking, no single specific desire 
 for pleasure or happiness. All desires have in view some 
 good to self. This good may be the simplest form of 
 personal gratification and enjoyment ; it may be the 
 pleasure which arises from witnessing and ministering to 
 the enjoyment of others ; it may be the satisfaction which 
 comes into the soul from the consciousness of doing one's 
 duty, of meeting one's obligations, of making the best of 
 one's powers and opportunities, and of living in harmony 
 with one's self, with one's neighbors, with all mankind, 
 and with the Divine Being. Such satisfaction of soul is 
 the substance of true happiness, which may be regarded 
 as the end sought by all the highest rational desires. In- 
 deed, happiness could not be made a distinct object of 
 pursuit, since it consists in a state of soul consequent upon 
 the highest and best activity of all the powers of both 
 body and mind. This touches the moral aspect of the 
 desires and their proper use as motives to action, and 
 belongs with the study of ethics. 
 
 Conflict of Desires. The egoistic and the altruistic in 
 human nature cannot be easily adjusted so that no con- 
 flict shall arise between them. I desire to do a kindness 
 to a friend, to contribute something to his well-being and 
 advantage. To do this will require self-denial on my 
 part ; I must give up something which I value very 
 highly ; forego some pleasure which I desire to enjoy, 
 or sacrifice some advantage just within my grasp. My 
 desire for the good of my friend and my desire for my 
 
AUTOMATIC MOVEMENTS 219 
 
 own pleasure and interest thus come into conflict. One 
 or the other must be suppressed, and this suppression 
 causes discomfort and pain. 
 
 The desire of ease comes into conflict with the desire 
 to accomplish hard labor ; with the student the desire for 
 recreation and amusement conflicts sometimes with the 
 desire to excel in study. In general it is said that self- 
 interest and duty come oftenest into serious conflict. It 
 is of the highest importance in the development and 
 training of the young to aid them, in all fitting ways, to 
 give the mastery to the noblest desire. 
 
 Relation of Desire and Volition. Desire and volition 
 are so closely related that the study of the one naturally 
 leads to the study of the other. Desire conditions voli- 
 tion ; that IS, there would be no volition unless a preced- 
 ing desire impelled. On the other hand, volition condi- 
 tions desire ; that is, desire would fail to reach its object 
 unless the will caused the necessary action of the physical 
 organism. Consequently, in an important sense, the two 
 psychical activities are correlative. 
 
 Automatic Movements. Many movements of parts of 
 the body are necessary before the child is sufficiently de- 
 veloped to exercise the volitional activity or to bring his 
 muscles under his control. Among these are the move- 
 ments called automatic, and which are necessary to the 
 continuance of life. The most essential of the automatic 
 activities are the regular beating of the heart, respiration, 
 and the processes of digestion and assimilation. These 
 are automatic from the very beginning of life. 
 
 Some other movements become nearly automatic by 
 force of habit. It is only needful to start such move- 
 
220 DESIRE ; THE WILL 
 
 ments by volition ; when once begun, they go on without 
 conscious attention until the organs become fatigued, or 
 the immediate purpose has been accomplished. Walking 
 is one of these forms of activity. At first the process is 
 full of difficulty and labor to the child, and requires a 
 strong and constant effort of will. Gradually it becomes 
 less and less difficult, until finally it seems to be performed 
 automatically. The same is true of the movements of the 
 hands and fingers in playing the piano and some other 
 musical instruments, of the movements made in writ- 
 ing, and of the movements made by artisans in their 
 work. 
 
 The complicated movements of the muscles concerned 
 in the production of articulate sounds, either in speaking 
 or singing, are still more wonderful in their character. 
 After sufficient practice, the speaker, or singer, has only 
 to think of the desired sound, or combination of sounds, 
 and the muscles instantly make all the required move- 
 ments. In these cases, not merely single movements, 
 but whole series of movements, become nearly, if not 
 quite, automatic. 
 
 Random Movements. Many of the movements of the 
 body, and especially of the arms and legs of the young 
 child, are apparently random, and without aim or pur- 
 pose. Automatic activities all have a definite purpose, 
 while these have none. Consequently they cannot prop- 
 erly be classed with the automatic. 
 
 Reflex and Instinctive Movements. Some other 
 bodily movements, automatic so far as any act of the 
 will is concerned, are of a peculiar character, and are 
 called sometimes reflex, and sometimes instinctive. They 
 
ANALYSIS OF AN ACT OF VOLITION 221 
 
 are executed by *' an impulse acting prior to experience 
 or instruction," and for this reason are called instinctive. 
 They are made in response to some external provocation, 
 excitement, or stimulus, without the intervention of the 
 will, and for this reason are called reflex. These move- 
 ments are seen in the sucking of the young child when the 
 finger is placed between its lips, in swallowing when 
 anything is placed upon its tongue, and in closing the 
 fingers when the palm of the hand is touched. Winking 
 when something is brought suddenly near the eye, dodg- 
 ing to avoid a blow, ducking the head at the whistling 
 sound of a bullet, are of this kind. These automatic and 
 reflex movements prepare the way for the earliest volun- 
 tary activities, which are probably imitations of some of 
 the involuntary ones. 
 
 Analysis of an Act of Volition. The complex activity 
 of willing can be best made clear by analysis of the vari- 
 ous elements which enter into it. 
 
 (i) Some alternative must be presented to the mind; 
 something proposed to be done or not done ; some object 
 offered to be taken or rejected ; some representation of a 
 course of conduct to be pursued or to be avoided. The 
 various objects set before the mind are of a nature to ex- 
 cite desires. The desires may be conflicting. There is a 
 desire to do, and another not to do ; a desire to have, and 
 another to reject. Liberty to choose and select is freely 
 offered ; one desire can be yielded to, or another, as the 
 mind shall determine. 
 
 (2) Evidently the next step is to examine, to delib- 
 erate, to weigh the reasons upon one side, and upon the 
 other. Without an opportunity to do this, there can be 
 
222 DESIRE; THE WILL 
 
 no intelligent choice. In this deliberation, perception is 
 employed, if the object presented appeals to the senses. 
 If the object is of a different kind, it is represented, and 
 the image-making power of the imagination is set at 
 work. Either by presentation or by representation, the ob- 
 ject, or purpose, or course of life, is held before the mind 
 until it has been thoroughly analyzed. Judgment places 
 one consideration over against another ; one advantage 
 beside another ; one pleasure opposite another ; com- 
 pares one with another, and finally utters its decision. 
 Reason comes in with its inferences, and its conclusions 
 as to results in the far future, as to the ultimate influence 
 of this and that upon the conduct of life. Moral consid- 
 erations and questions present themselves ; the right or 
 wrong of this proposed act, of this pursuit in life, of this 
 principle of conduct, is carefully balanced in the scales of 
 justice and righteousness. All these, and more, come be- 
 fore the mental vision, and have to do with the final 
 determination. In some cases, much time may be required 
 for the examination and decision. 
 
 (3) After this examination and comparison of the ob- 
 jects presented, this estimating of the advantages to be 
 derived from the possession of one object or of another, 
 this balancing of the pleasure which one course of con- 
 duct will probably afford with the pleasure which another 
 course may give, a feeling of preference for one object or 
 one course arises in the soul. Choice follows ; the con- 
 flict of desires and interests comes to an end. One alter- 
 native is selected, the other rejected. 
 
 (4) The series of complex psychical processes is now 
 concludedby the final act of volition ; the determination to 
 
INHIBITION 223 
 
 do or not to do, to possess or to cast away, to pursue 
 one course of conduct rather than its opposite. 
 
 The mental act of willing is not fully completed until 
 the activities necessary to carry out the determination are 
 put in motion. If the action required is purely mental, 
 the psychical machinery must be set at work. There must 
 be a beginning of perception, representation, memory, 
 imagination, judgment, or reasoning. If the action de- 
 manded requires physical movements, the muscular appa- 
 ratus must be stirred to activity by the discharge of nerv- 
 ous energy. The action needed to execute the mandate 
 of the will must be mentally represented before the move- 
 ments commence. Otherwise time is lost and vital en- 
 ergy wasted. 
 
 Consciousness reveals the fact that all final acts of voli- 
 tion are preceded by desire. When choice has been made 
 desire springs up and urges determination, volition. For 
 this reason desire is sometimes regarded as the universal 
 motive. In one aspect this is true, but in our common 
 modes of speech those things which appeal to the mind 
 in such a way as to excite desire are called motives. 
 
 Inhibition. The power of the will is exerted to re- 
 strain action, to prevent movement, as often as to produce 
 action and movement. The determination to act in one 
 way involves inhibition of all contrary forms of action. 
 Temporary inhibition is frequently necessary to give time 
 for examination and deliberation. This prevents hasty 
 and unadvised action and saves one from 'Moing and 
 thinking afterwards." 
 
 This inhibitory power is very weak in the child ; he usu- 
 ally acts from the first impulse. The prohibition of the 
 
224 DESIRE ; THE WILL 
 
 child comes from without rather than from within. He 
 must often be saved from the consequences of impulsive 
 acts by the friendly intervention of his elders, even if this 
 intervention involves something of physical restraint. 
 
 Freedom of the Will. With the vexatious controver- 
 sies concerning the power of motives and the freedom of 
 the will we have no occasion to concern ourselves. In 
 regard to volition two doctrines have been advocated 
 with great zeal and energy. One doctrine is that of lib- 
 erty ; which in substances teaches that the will is sover- 
 eign, is free ; that we have the power of self-determi- 
 nation ; that we can resist one desire and yield ourselves 
 to the influence of another without regard to what is 
 called '*the strongest motive." 
 
 The other doctrine is that of necessity, or as some mod- 
 ern writers prefer to name it,' determination. The advo- 
 cates of this doctrine do not, in so many words, deny the 
 freedom of the will ; according to their teaching the will 
 is free to act according to its nature, but its nature is to 
 yield to desire, to be determined by desire. Desire con- 
 trols the will, not will desire. What seem to be volun- 
 tary acts are not really such ; these acts follow certain 
 mental causes as necessarily as effects in the material 
 world follow their causes. It is clear enough that freedom* 
 of this sort is not freedom in any proper sense of the 
 term. 
 
 Testimony of Consciousness. The most satisfactory 
 evidence of freedom in volition is the testimony of con- 
 sciousness. When we have chosen a particular course of 
 conduct and determ^ined to pursue it, zve feel that we could 
 have chosen differently^ a7id could have adopted a different 
 
FREEDOM OF THE WILL 22$ 
 
 line of conduct. We are conscious of no irresistible com- 
 pulsion in our acts of willing, A few writers, while ad- 
 mitting that such is the testimony of consciousness, affirm 
 that consciousness testifies falsely ; that it is not a trust- 
 worthy witness. It is a sufficient reply to this to say that 
 if consciousness testifies falsely and cheats us, we have no 
 means of finding out the deception ; consciousness is ul- 
 timate so far as mental states and acts are concerned ; there 
 is no authority to which an appeal can be made. We ac- 
 cept, and must accept, its testimony. In consequence of 
 this sense of freedom we feel responsible for our determi- 
 nations and our conduct. We are subject to feelings of 
 self-reproach, self-condemnation, and even remorse, to 
 which we could not be subject if we acted from necessity. 
 
 These Feelings Universal. So far as our knowledge 
 extends, our associates and all men share in these feelings. 
 All rules and laws for the regulation of human conduct 
 in the family, in society, in the school, and in the State, 
 are based upon the conviction that men generally can 
 choose their modes of conduct, can do or refrain from 
 doing according to their own pleasure. 
 
 Essence of Freedom of Volition. It is affirmed by 
 those who deny the liberty of self-determination that we 
 always act, and must act, in the direction of what is called 
 the *' strongest motive;" that ^^the preponderance of 
 motives " in all cases determines our action. This may be 
 admitted without hesitation, since, in substance, it is only 
 another way of saying that the motive or desire which 
 prevails at any time is, for the moment, the strongest, the 
 fact of preponderance being the sole criterion by which 
 its relative strength is estimated. The inference is that 
 15 
 
226 DESIRE ; THE WILL 
 
 since the will is thus influenced it cannot be free in its 
 choice ; in other words it cannot choose otherwise than it 
 does choose. 
 
 The fallacy here is the tacit assumption that the will 
 has no power in determining the ** strongest motive/' or 
 the ^^ preponderance of motives/* The essence of the free- 
 dom of volition cojtsists in the power zve have to give pre- 
 ponderance to 7notives, or to make any selected desire or 
 motive strongest for the time. This preponderance is se- 
 cured by giving fixed and earnest attention to the selected 
 desire. Dr. Carpenter says, "' Reflection on our mental 
 experiences will satisfy us that these variations in the rel- 
 ative strength of motives mainly arise from the' degree 
 of attention that we give to each respectively. An ex- 
 cited feeling which would soon die out if left to itself, 
 will retain its potency, or even gain augmented force, if 
 we allow ourselves to brood over it/' If we turn from it, 
 and refuse to harbor it, it has little power over us, and 
 presently disappears. The will, consequently, determines 
 what motive shall be the strongest, and shall prevail, by 
 giving direction to attention. 
 
 Heredity and Environment. It will be readily admitted 
 by every one familiar with actual life that the power to 
 exercise freedom in volition is very different in different 
 individuals. This difference results partly from original 
 constitution of mind, and partly from the influence of 
 environment and educational training. There has been a 
 tendency to attribute too much to heredity, but without 
 doubt inherited characteristics form an important factor 
 in human development. In animals, habits are sometimes 
 transformed into instincts ; something of a similar nature 
 
HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT 22/ 
 
 occurs in the human race. Special peculiarities of both 
 body and mind are transmitted from parents to children 
 frequently through several generations. These peculiar- 
 ities have in most cases, undoubtedly, been acquired by 
 force of habit, sometimes physical and sometimes psy- 
 chical. The disposition or tendency thus created reappears 
 in the child. When these dispositions are of an elevating 
 character they are of great service to the fortunate in- 
 heritor, bringing to his aid in the ** struggle of life " the 
 effective force accumulated during many previous years 
 through the good habits of a virtuous ancestry. When 
 these tendencies are degrading they become an '* inherit- 
 ance of woe," congenital fetters and clogs, impeding every 
 step and making effort doubly wearisome and exhaust- 
 ing, and rendering the attainment of high excellence a 
 matter of much difficulty. 
 
 Environment is probably more influential than heredity 
 in determining character. Those born and reared amid 
 unwholesome and vile surroundings, where all the forces 
 of social life tend downward, where example is ^' evil and 
 only evil and that continually " will find themselves put 
 at great disadvantage in the race of life. Volition in the 
 direction of right will be exceedingly difficult for persons 
 thus situated. But, except in a few extreme cases, the 
 power of self-determination has not been completely de- 
 stroyed. Congenital tendencies can be resisted, over- 
 come, and partially, at least, eradicated from both the 
 physical and psychical constitution. Environment, in 
 many cases, can be changed either by personal effort or 
 by the help of others. The freedom of volition still 
 remains, although its exercise is made difficult. It is 
 
228 DESIRE ; THE WILL 
 
 probable, however, that in some few cases the will power 
 is destroyed. 
 Formation of Habit ; Training of the Will. In the 
 
 training of the young, effort should be made to secure the 
 formation of the habit of resisting evil tendencies and 
 desires, and of following the impulses of the good. 
 While strength of will can be secured only by leaving a 
 child to struggle for himself against the bad and towards 
 the good, yet such assistance may be given as to insure 
 victory for the right, true, and pure. Every act of resist- 
 ance against the impulse of an unworthy desire of any 
 kind renders the next act of resistance easier ; the 
 struggle is less fierce and less protracted. The boy who 
 mastered the impulse of anger yesterday, will to-day con- 
 quer the impulse with less effort and to-morrow with still 
 less effort. The child who yields once to the solicita- 
 tions of duty and conscience, will yield more readily and 
 more cheerfully when the same solicitations are again felt. 
 By virtue of this law of habit certain desires and motives 
 finally become permanent and dominant dispositions of 
 mind, and are recognized as elements of character. The 
 '^ education of the will '' consists essentially in the proc- 
 esses by which this condition of mind is secured. 
 
 Dr. Moreirs Testimony. Dr. Morell writes: *^ The 
 education of the will is really of far greater importance, 
 as shaping the destiny of the individual, than that of the 
 intellect ; and it should never be lost sight of by the 
 practical educator, that it is only by the amassing and 
 consolidating of our volitional residua in certain given 
 directions, that this end can be secured. Theory and 
 doctrine, and inculcation of laws and propositions, will 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER 229 
 
 never of themselves lead to the uniform habit of right 
 action. It is by doing that we learn to do ; by overcom- 
 ing, that we learn to overcome ; by obeying reason and con- 
 science, that we learn to obey ; and every right act which we 
 cause to spring out of pure principles, whether by authority, 
 precept, or example, will have a greater weight in the 
 formation of character than all the theory in the world.'* 
 The object of the true teacher, in will-training, is to lead 
 the child, when grown to maturity, to act voluntarily and 
 habitually from the impulses of the highest and noblest 
 desires. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. What desire is ; desire defined ; aversion. 
 
 2. Appetites and desires ; appentences. 
 
 3. Unrest caused ; desire not always egoistic. 
 
 4. Desire excited ; presentation ; representation. 
 
 5. The near and the remote. 
 
 6. Relation of desire to feeling ; to volition. 
 
 7. Some specific forms of desire : desire of life ; of possession ; of 
 
 knowledge ; of approbation ; of society. 
 
 8. Some complex feelings : hope ; despair ; discouragement. 
 
 9. No specific desire for happiness ; how happiness is secured. 
 
 10. Conflict of desires ; effect of this conflict. 
 
 11. The will ; relation of desire and volition. 
 
 12. Automatic movements ; movements made nearly automatic. 
 
 13. Random movements. 
 
 14. Reflex and instinctive movements. 
 
 15. Analysis of an act of volition : (a) An alternative presented ; 
 
 (b) examination and deliberation ; (c) preference, choice ; 
 (d) final act of volition ; (e) appropriate action must 
 follow. 
 
230 DESIRE; THE WILL 
 
 i6. Inhibition ; examples. 
 
 17. Freedom of the will ; two doctrines. 
 
 18. Testimony of consciousness ; this feeling universal. 
 
 19. Essence of the freedom of the will. 
 
 20. Heredity and environment. 
 
 21. Formation of ha])it. 
 
 22. Testimony of Dr. Morell ; work of the teacher. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW. 
 
 What the Moral Nature is. It is not the intention 
 to enter into any scientific or abstruse discussion of the 
 subject of the moral nature, or of moral- law, or of the 
 general subject of ethics. For our purpose, it will be 
 sufficient to say that the moral nature in man is that 
 which renders him responsible for his conduct and char- 
 acter. 
 
 The elements which make up such a nature may be re- 
 duced, in substance, to two. First, capacity or ability to 
 acquire knowledge of right and wrong, and, second, free- 
 dom of choice, that is, freedom to choose either the 
 right or the wrong. 
 
 The Same Nature. The moral nature is not, then, 
 another and different nature from that which we have 
 been studying, with the exception of a single element, 
 which will be considered further on. // may be defi7ied as 
 the mind knowmg^ feelings and willing^ concerning matters 
 of right and wrong, of worthiness and unworthiness, of 
 obligation and duty. It is the mind inquiring as to rea- 
 sons for bestowing praise or blame, for speaking of merit 
 and demerit, for believing in such distinctions as good and 
 bad in character and conduct. 
 
 Idea of Right and Wrong. We find ourselves in pos- 
 
 231 
 
232 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 session of an idea of right and wrong. We cannot prob- 
 ably recall a time when we did not have this idea 
 with some degree of distinctness. We are unable to de- 
 termine with certainty whence or how we first obtained 
 it, or from what source it came. We observe that all our 
 friends and neighbors have the same idea, and all the 
 people with whom we have ever associated. All the 
 tribes and races of men of whom we have read or heard, 
 appear to possess this idea with varying degrees of clear- 
 ness. It is said that in all languages, ancient and modern, 
 terms are found to express a radical distinction between 
 right and wrong. This distinction exists everywhere to- 
 day, and has existed as far back as history or tradition 
 can be traced. It seems to be universal. 
 
 This general notion of right and wrong must^ however^ 
 be carefully distinguished from the belief that certain 
 specific characters and actions are rights and certain others 
 are wrong. Concerning t lie particular things regarded as 
 right or wrong, differences of opinion will be discovered 
 even in the same community. The reasons for such dif- 
 ferences zvill be co7tsidered in another place. It is 07tly 
 affirmed here that all men recognize the idea of moral 
 goodness and moral badness, and that they all believe some 
 things morally right, and some others morally wrong. 
 
 Source of this Idea ; Moral Intuition. How came 
 men in all ages and everywhere to have this idea ? From 
 what source did it come, or in what way did it originate? 
 Different answers are made to these questions. It may 
 not matter much practically whether we suppose it to 
 have been inherited, or to have been given us by an 
 original power of the mind. I believe it to be one of the 
 
MORAL JUDGMENT 233 
 
 intuitive ideas, or intuitions, of the soul, a product of in- 
 tuition. This is the same psychical activity which gives 
 us all other intuitive ideas. But on account of the pecul- 
 iar nature of this idea, the power may be called moral 
 intuition, if it be kept in mind that the term moral is em- 
 ployed simply for convenience to designate the particular 
 direction in which the activity is exerted. This intuition 
 may be regarded as the first element in the moral nature. 
 
 Moral Judgment. In addition to this primary notion 
 of a right and a wrong, history teaches that men in all 
 ages have been in substantial agreement concerning the 
 moral nature of some actions w^hose characteristics are 
 very strongly marked, and readily discovered. As to 
 these, men are still in practical agreement. Murder, rob- 
 bery, unprovoked personal violence, stealing, lying, and 
 other similar acts, have always been, and are now, con- 
 demned as wrong, without argument or discussion. 
 They have never been approved or defended, except 
 under peculiar conditions and for reasons which were 
 obvious. Inferences drawn from what may be said and 
 done in a state of war, or in a condition of mutual hatred 
 into which men can, without doubt, be educated, have here 
 no relevancy. At such times the ordinary laws of judg- 
 ment and behavior are evidently overborne and held in 
 abeyance by excited passions and brute violence. 
 
 On the other hand it has, in all periods, been regarded 
 right and praiseworthy to protect and defend the weak, 
 to provide for the needy, to relieve those in distress, to 
 deal honestly in business, to observe the requirements of 
 justice and mercy, to speak the truth, and to live a life of 
 purity and self-restraint. 
 
234 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 Something in all human souls, whatever the external 
 conduct may be, appears to discover in these and kindred 
 acts an element of moral right, as in deeds of an opposite 
 character it discovers the quality of moral wrong. This 
 something may be called moral perception, that is, the 
 ability of the mind to perceive the moral qualities of many 
 of the most simple human actions, with very little in- 
 struction and guidance. This activity may be considered 
 as only the incipient and slowly developing moral judg- 
 ment. It approaches the character of an intuitive percep- 
 tion and judgment. 
 
 In respect to all complicated questions of right and 
 wrongs of obligation and duty^ we proceed to make inquiries 
 and to seek information just as we do in relation to all 
 other matters. We do not expect to receive unerring direc- 
 tion from some inward monitor without the use of our or- 
 dinary mental powers. We seek to learn what ought and 
 what ought not to be done or said in precisely the way 
 in which we set about learning other thijtgs. If a certain 
 course of conduct, or a particular manner of life, is urged 
 upon us, we inquire concerning the influence which will 
 be exerted by it and the consequences which will follow 
 its adoption. If in doubt we ask the opinions and advice 
 of those who are, as we believe, better qualified than our- 
 selves to decide wisely and correctly as to the right or 
 wrong of the proposed conduct or manner of life. Hav- 
 ing thus sought and obtained all possible inforrnation, we 
 come to conclusions and make decisions as to right and 
 duty by employing the same powders and exercising the 
 same activities of mind which we employ in reaching con- 
 clusions and making decisions about matters of bus- 
 
CONSCIENCE ^3S 
 
 iness, or about questions of history, or literature, or in 
 science, or art, where no moral considerations are in- 
 volved. 
 
 The process is one of examination, comparison, and de- 
 cision. These are functions of the judgment. The ac- 
 tivity is here, as in the case of intuition, exerted in a special 
 direction, and, for this reason, the power may be called 
 the moral judgment. The term moral merely indicates 
 the peculiar province in which the action takes place, 
 and not any peculiarity of the activity itself. 
 
 In this field, and when deciding ethical questions, the 
 judgment is limited by the same conditions and is obedi- 
 ent to the same laws as in any other field, or when examin- 
 ing problems of any other nature. It decides according 
 to the knowledge possessed, and according to the accept- 
 ed moral standard. It is no more infallible here than else- 
 where, and frequently makes faulty decisions. 
 
 Conscience. Whenever a decision of the judgment has 
 been rendered^we are conscious of so7ne activity or impulse 
 of mind which insists that this decision shall be respected 
 and obeyed. This inner power demands that, in all cases 
 and under all circumstances^ we shall do what the m.oral 
 judgment declares to be rights and shall refrain from doing 
 what it pronounces wrong. It forbids all evasion, or com- 
 promise, and is satisfied with nothing short of direct and 
 unqualified submission to its requirements. This power is 
 conscience. 
 
 Nature of Conscience. Conscience is the supreme and 
 only peculiar psychical activity of the so-called moral na- 
 ture. It is, according to this analysis, an executive and 
 not a judicial activity of mind. It leaves the judgment 
 
236 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 to decide all questions of right, obligation, and duty, and 
 concerns itself only to have these decisions recognized 
 and carried into full effect. As thus defined, conscience 
 itself can make no mistakes, and is always to be obeyed. 
 This is only another way of saying that a man should at 
 all times and under all conditions do that which he be- 
 lieves, after the most patient, thorough, and honest exam- 
 ination, to be right ; and should abstain from doing 
 that which he believes to be wrong, or concerning which 
 he has any serious doubts. 
 
 Use of the Term Conscience. The term conscience is 
 frequently used to desig7iate the entire moral nature, and 
 more frequently to doiote the moral judgment, and the 
 moral executive power of the mind. While such usage can 
 plead good authority, it nevertheless causes much unneces- 
 sary perplexity and con f vision in t lie minds of the young. 
 Referring to such perplexity and confusion, Janet, in 
 his Theory of Morals, says : '' It seems to me easy 
 enough to solve this difficulty. The judgment pro- 
 nounced by the conscience in each particular case is, in 
 reality, composed of two judgments : (i) Such an action 
 is your duty ; (2) Perform this action because it is your 
 duty. Now, in the first of these judgments the conscience 
 may be mistaken ; for it may happen that a certain action 
 which I believe to be my duty, is not my duty. But it is 
 not mistaken in the second ; for, if it is certain that any 
 given action is my duty, I ought to perform it. If, then, 
 it be agreed that the name of conscience shall be applied 
 only to the second of the judgments, to the act by which I 
 declare that, a certain action being my duty, I ought to 
 perform it, it is clear that such a judgment is never erro- 
 
MORAL FEELINGS 237 
 
 neous/' There can be no doubt of the advantage of thus 
 limiting the use of the term conscience. 
 
 Moral Feelings. The moral nature embraces the feel- 
 ings as well as the positive activities. The feelings are 
 those already described in the study of the sensibilities, 
 with some slight modifications caused by the influence of 
 the ideas of right, obligation, and duty. The earliest feel- 
 ings of the child, related in any way to conduct, appear 
 to be those of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The 
 simple and almost instinctive feelings of satisfaction and 
 dissatisfaction naturally and easily change, as the mind 
 matures, into the stronger and more definite feelings of 
 approbation and disapprobation. These feelings are 
 directed both toward one's self and toward others. In 
 the young child they are mingled with the emotions of 
 satisfaction or dissatisfaction which are experienced when 
 he receives the approval or disapproval of the mother or 
 other attendants, and have very little reference to moral 
 considerations. Gradually these feelings become more 
 closely related to states of mind and to conduct, and the 
 child begins consciously to approve or disapprove of him- 
 self. Later the feelings become clearly defined ; and the 
 pursuit of a course of conduct which the judgment fully 
 approves is attended and followed by an agreeable feel- 
 ing, more or less intense and lasting according to the 
 measure of self-denial involved, or the amount of resolu- 
 tion and effort required. This is a feeling of approba- 
 tion. A careful analysis of one's own states of mind will 
 make it evident that this feeling is directed rather toward 
 the motives by which actions are supposed to be prompted 
 than toward the acts themselves. The soul refuses to 
 
238 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 approve itself or others for deeds, however good in them- 
 selves, that are done for impure or selfish reasons. 
 
 Feelings of Obligation and Duty. All mature and 
 sane minds are conscious of feeling that some things 
 ought to be done and some other things ought not to be 
 done. That which we ought to do we call duty, and the 
 feeling that we ought to do this we call the feeling of 
 obligation or duty. 
 
 How early a child begins to experience this state of 
 mind it is impossible to determine with absolute certainty. 
 At first the feeling is very feeble and not clearly defined. 
 It must be preceded by a knowledge of relations and 
 consequent obligations. The strength of the feeling in- 
 creases slowly, but with greatly varying degrees of rapid- 
 ity. Its development and growth are much helped or 
 hindered by early education and by surrounding con- 
 ditions. 
 
 All Affections and Desires have in them a moral ele- 
 ment. They spring from either a good or a bad state of 
 mind. They constitute that which we call the heart as 
 distinguished from the intellect. They are the impell- 
 ing forces which produce right or wrong in human 
 character and conduct. Affection kindles desire ; desire 
 moves the will ; and the will stirs up the internal activi- 
 ties of the soul and the external activities of the body. 
 It puts the whole man to doing good or evil. It is the 
 center of human character. 
 
 The moral nature, as here described, may be said to in- 
 clude all the activities of mind which have any relation to 
 right, obligation, and duty. 
 
JUDGMENT GUIDED BY LAW 239 
 
 Synopsis of Moral Activities, 
 
 I. Intuition. 
 
 2. ^Judgment (with moral perception). 
 
 3. Conscience. 
 
 4. Feelings of various kinds. 
 
 Judgment Guided by Law. In rendering its decisions 
 as to the right or wrong of himan character and conduct y 
 the moral judgment must be guided by the provisions of 
 some laWy made by some competent authority for the direc- 
 tion of human conduct. This law is the standard of right 
 conduct in cases where questions of right and wrong are 
 involved, just as the laws of the State constitute a stand- 
 ard of right conduct for its citizens. To be right is to 
 be in harmony with the requirements of the law ; to be 
 wrong is to be out of harmony with these requirements. 
 Right, therefore, as the term is here used, is simply con- 
 formity to law. 
 
 The moral judgment performs the same duties in the 
 court of conscience that the civil judge does in the courts 
 of the State. It ascertains and applies the law '' for such 
 cases made and provided.'' It does not make the law 
 any more than a judicial officer makes the law which he 
 administers. It finds a law already '' made and provided.'' 
 This law is usually called "' the moral law " ; and it is the 
 generally accepted standard by which human conduct is 
 to be regulated, and according to which such conduct is 
 judged. By this law the judgment is guided in all its 
 determinations. 
 
 When, therefore, my judgment declares some act of 
 mine to be morally right or morally wrong, the decision 
 
240 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 must be based upon the result of a comparison of this act 
 with the provisions of the moral law prescribing what sort 
 of an act I ought to do under the given conditions. 
 The conduct has been laid alongside the law, and has been 
 measured and estimated by the requirements of the law. 
 If it satisfies these requisitions it is pronounced right ; if 
 it fails to satisfy them it is affirmed to be wrong. An 
 appeal to consciousness will enable us to determine 
 whether such processes of comparison and determination 
 go on within our own minds. 
 
 Thoughts, Feelings, etc.. Right or Wrong. Upon 
 careful examination of the activities and states of our 
 minds we discover that we approve or disapprove, pro- 
 nounce right or wrong, not only our conduct, but also our 
 thoughts, feelings, purposes, and intentions. We perceive 
 an intimate connection between external acts and internal 
 thoughts and feelings. ' The one seems to be the natural 
 product of the other. We observe even that we often 
 approve or condemn an action on account of the charac- 
 ter of the thought or feeling which appears to have given 
 birth to it. The act is declared good or bad according to 
 the nature of the end for the accomplishment of which 
 it was performed. 
 
 Action of Legal Tribunals. Upon inquiry we learn 
 that even legal tribunals, in seeking to reach conclusions 
 as to the innocence or guilt of persons charged with 
 criminal conduct, go beyond the acts themselves and take 
 into consideration the real or probable intentions with 
 which the acts were committed. If it can be satisfactorily 
 shown that, in a given case, good was intended, though 
 harm was really done, the legal character of the act is 
 
CHARACTER AND SCOPE OF MORAL LAW 24I 
 
 very essentially modified in the eyes of the administrators 
 of the law. In such a case the moral character of the act 
 may be entirely changed, although, in a purely legal 
 aspect, it still remains a violation of the letter of the law, 
 and renders the doer liable to a legal penalty. 
 
 Parents, teachers, and others in charge of children are 
 influenced by the same considerations in judging of the 
 conduct of those under their care. They allow the ap- 
 parent and probable intentions of a child to have much 
 weight in determining the merit or demerit of particular 
 acts as well as of general courses of behavior. 
 
 Character and Scope of Moral Law. These illustra- 
 tions and examples help us to discover the general 
 nature and scope of moral law. Like other laws it has 
 reference to ends to be attained. Civil law aims to make 
 good citizens and thus secure the highest good of the 
 State. Moral law aims to make men and women morally 
 good and thus secure the highest good of mankind. It 
 requires such a state of mind and such external conduct 
 as will result in the greatest good to the individual, and 
 consequently in the greatest good to the race as a whole. 
 It seems abundantly evident by our references to con- 
 sciousness, and to legal tribunals, and to the conduct of 
 men generally, that moral law is everywhere recognized, 
 and is everywhere regarded as of binding force. 
 
 Reference wall be made further on to the reasons for 
 minor differences of interpretation and application of the 
 law. 
 
 Origin or Source of Moral Law. Moral law may be 
 said to consist, in substance, of certain fundaine7ital prin- 
 ciples ; from these funda7nental principles specific regula- 
 i6 
 
242 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 tio7is or rules for human conduct^ i?i the various relations 
 of life, have bee7i derived. What is the origin of these 
 fundamental principles? or from what source have they 
 been derived ? To these questions three replies have been 
 made, or all the replies made may be reduced to these 
 three. 
 
 (i) The Utilitarian Theory. In substance this theory 
 affirms that these basic principles are formulated 
 conclusions, or definite statements, derived from the 
 teachings of the experience of the race during the past 
 ages. The physical and mental constitutions, the in- 
 stincts, wants, and tendencies of men show that they were 
 designed to live together. They are capable of sustain- 
 ing various relations to one another, some of these very 
 intimate and productive of much happiness or of great 
 misery according to the conduct of the parties to the rela- 
 tions. It appears evident that the intercourse between 
 men is intended to be productive of good both to individ- 
 uals and to the whole body. Experience has proved 
 that this result can be secured only when the con- 
 duct, the manner of living and behaving, is of a 
 certain kind. It has been discovered that some 
 things must be done and others must not be done in 
 order that life may be even tolerable, and that domestic 
 and social relations may be maintained. It has been 
 found absolutely necessary that people should tell the 
 truth, should be honest and upright in business and other 
 transactions, should respect the property, the persons, the 
 reputations, and the interests of others ; that they should 
 not commit theft, robbery, murder, nor do violence or 
 injustice to any one. It has been discovered that it is of 
 
ORIGIN OR SOURCE OF MORAL LAW 24$ 
 
 the highest importance in the domestic relations that 
 parents care properly for their children, feeding, clothing, 
 protecting, and educating them ; and that in turn children 
 be obedient and respectful to their parents and to other 
 older persons. These and many other things of similar 
 nature, having been found by long experience and much 
 observation to be essential to the good order, the comfort, 
 convenience, and happiness of mankind, came to be consid- 
 ered and called right, and things of an opposite character 
 came to be regarded and called wrong. Statements were 
 finally formulated, embodying these ideas and conclu- 
 sions, and these were called general or fundamental prin- 
 ciples of moral law and of right conduct. Gradually 
 these came to be accepted as axiomatic truths, and to be 
 considered as imperatively binding upon all men. De- 
 ductions and inferences from these constitute the specific 
 rules for the regulation of conduct in all the various and 
 complicated relations of life. 
 
 (2) Revelation from God. Another reply to our in- 
 quiry is that these general and fundamental principles of 
 morals are expressions of the wnll of God, revealed in 
 His Word, and perhaps by other means, to mankind ; 
 that they are to be received and obeyed as a revelation of 
 divine truth. This statement of the origin of moral law 
 is accepted by many as the briefest and most satisfactory 
 that can be given. The intelligent believer in God and in 
 revelation does not believe these principles to be truths 
 simply because they are revealed. He believes they are 
 revealed because they are truths. He accepts them as 
 truths, not simply because he believes God has spoken 
 them ; but he believes God has spoken them because they 
 
244 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 are true. They are true, as mathematical and other 
 axioms are true, because the contrary is inconceivable as 
 the mind and the moral nature are constituted. 
 
 (3) Intuitions of the Soul. A third answer is, in 
 substance, that the fundamental principles of right are in- 
 tuitive truths, are intuitions of the soul. These princi- 
 ples constitute the deep foundation upon which the whole 
 superstructure of theoretical and practical morality is 
 built. The mind rests upon these as upon an immovable 
 rock. They occupy the same position in the system of 
 moral government that the constitution occupies in 
 our system of civil government. From them are de- 
 duced and inferred all needed specific rules for human 
 conduct. 
 
 Some of these Principles. // is not easy to embody 
 these principles in words. They are better conceived than 
 expressed. Like other intuitive truths, they are known, in 
 their coinpleteness, only in consciousness. The writer of the 
 '' Declaration of Independence " made an effort to state 
 some fragments of them when he affirmed, "We hold 
 these truths to be self-evident : that all men are created 
 equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with cer- 
 tain unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, 
 and the pursuit of happiness." 
 
 The existence of intuitive or self-evident truths, relating 
 to the rights and duties of men, is here recognized and 
 affirmed. The primary truth here expressed is that of 
 justice ; that to every man should be given that which is 
 his due. The Roman declared it to be *'the unchanging 
 everlasting will to give each man his right." 
 
 These fundamental principles of morality include (i) 
 
PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF MORAL LAW 245 
 
 the principle oi Justice, to render to every man his rights, 
 or those things which he can justly claim ; (2) the princi- 
 ple of Beneficence^ to do good to all men, especially to 
 those in need, as we are able and have opportunity ; and 
 (3) the principle of Mercy and Forgiveness, to do to the 
 erring and to those who have wronged us, as we would that 
 they, under like circumstances, should do unto us. It is 
 difficult to conceive of any objections which can be urged 
 against these principles. They are taught by revelation ; 
 they are approved by the judgment of all good men ; and 
 they are in harmony with the teachings of experience. 
 Those who reject revelation and intuition must be glad to 
 accept them on the ground of utility, if for no higher 
 reason. 
 
 Practical Rules deduced. From these principles 
 practical rules may readily be deduced for the regulation 
 of the conduct of children in the home, in the school, and 
 in all other places ; for the conduct of parents toward 
 their children ; of all members of a family toward each 
 other ; for the conduct of friends and neighbors ; for the 
 conduct of employers and those employed ; of citizens, 
 of public officers, and finally, of men in all possible con- 
 ditions and relations. 
 
 Some differences of opinion and of practice will be found 
 even among good men, in respect to the interpretation 
 and application of laws of conduct ; these differences, 
 however, usually relate to matters of minor importance, 
 and affect none of the essentials of private or public 
 morality. The influence of early education is observable 
 in the views of men upon most matters of everyday life, 
 and especially upon the moral nature of many customs 
 
246 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 and habits of society, such as modes of recreation and 
 amusement. 
 
 Instruction can be given. Avoiding unessential mat- 
 ters and taking into account the influence of early educa- 
 tion and environment, the teacher will encounter no 
 serious obstacles in giving instruction in the fundamental 
 principles of morals and in their important applications. 
 He may safely insist upon obedience to rightful author- 
 ity in the family, in the school, and in the State. Such 
 obedience may be enforced by the sanctions of revela- 
 tion, of the *' common sense " of mankind, and of utility 
 in the best sense of the word. 
 
 The duties of truthfulness, honesty, integrity, and 
 purity of thought, of feeling, and of speech, may be en- 
 forced by the same sanctions. Regard for the rights of 
 others, in respect to liberty, reputation, property, and 
 " the pursuit of happiness " can also be taught. All these 
 are included in the great law of justice. 
 
 Duties imposed by the laws of beneficence and of 
 mercy and forgiveness can be illustrated and insisted upon 
 without danger of giving just cause of offense to even the 
 most sensitive natures. Benevolence, charity, kindness, 
 pity, compassion, and other modes of manifesting good 
 will are approved by revelation and by the judgment of 
 all men. 
 
 An Explanation — Uses of Term ^^ Right.'' A single 
 point may require a word of explanation to prevent con- 
 fusion of ideas, and consequent confusion in instruction. 
 Right has been defined as conformity to law and rule. 
 Another use of ^^ right " and '' rights " must be distin- 
 guished from this. Rights are claims made in accord- 
 
TRAINING THE MORAL NATURE 247 
 
 ance with laws of nature, of society, or of the State, to 
 possession, use, and enjoyment of things. So we speak 
 of natural rights, social rights, civil and political rights. 
 In this sense it is said men have a right to life and liberty. 
 Whatever things another may justly claim from me are 
 his by right ; his claim is made in harmony with some 
 law. Some rights are determined by the law of justice ; 
 others by the law of beneficence, and still others by the 
 law of mercy and forgiveness. 
 
 Training the Moral Nature. The moral powers, like 
 all the other powers, grow in strength by appropriate 
 exercise. The moral judgment especially should be put 
 to proper use at as early a period as possible in the life of 
 a child. But it should be called into exercise upon sub- 
 jects appropriate to childhood. It cannot be expected 
 that an immature judgment will be able to make decisions 
 of value upon matters of high importance. Early moral 
 instruction should consist in the presentation of examples 
 of right conduct, of the performance of duty, of the rec- 
 ognition of obligations, of kindness, love, truthfulness, 
 and good will, such as a child can understand and appre- 
 ciate. The teaching of mere formal rules of conduct is 
 of little value : the child should construct the necessary 
 rules from the examples presented for his consideration. 
 The moral instruction should be full of the warm person- 
 ality of the teacher, and should not consist of cold abstrac- 
 tions. It is only when it is permeated with real enthusiasm 
 and genuine interest that it so touches the soul of the 
 child as to exert power to fashion his life and character. 
 
 The nature of the instruction and training should change 
 as the pupil advances to maturity, and is prepared to 
 
248 THE MORAL NATURE AND MORAL LAW 
 
 exercise his judgment upon the more difficult problems 
 of life. Such problems should be presented at proper 
 times, and under fitting conditions. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. What the moral nature is. 
 
 2. The same nature we have studied. 
 
 3. Idea of right and wrong. 
 
 4. The notion of right a general one. 
 
 5. Source of this idea ; moral intuiton. 
 
 6. Moral judgment and perception. 
 
 7. Things regarded wrong ; and right. 
 
 8. Conscience ; its nature and office. 
 
 9. Common use of the word conscience. 
 
 10. Moral feelings. 
 
 11. Feelings of obligation and duty. 
 
 12. Synopsis of moral activities. 
 
 13. Moral law, etc. 
 
 14. Judgment guided by law. 
 
 15. Thoughts, feelings, etc., right or wrong. 
 
 16. Action of legal tribunals. 
 
 17. Character and scope of moral law. 
 
 18. Origin or source of moral law. 
 
 19. The utilitarian theory. 
 
 20. Revelation from God. ^ 
 
 21. Intuitions of the soul. , 
 
 22. Some of the fundamental principles of moral law. 
 
 23. Declaration of Independence. 
 
 24. Principle of justice ; of beneficence ; of mercy and forgiveness. 
 
 25. Practical rules deduced. 
 
 26. Influence of early education. 
 
 27. Instruction can be given. 
 
 28. Uses of the terms right and rights. 
 
 29. Training the moral nature. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 INSTINCT ; HABIT. 
 
 Relations of Instinct. Automatic, random, and re- 
 flex activities and movements have been considered else- 
 where. These movements are all produced by impulses 
 acting v^ithout the inter\?ention of volition, and, except 
 in a few possible cases of reflex action, without conscious 
 intellectual activity. Instinctive movements are closely 
 related to random and reflex movements in a few points, 
 but differ widely from these in other particulars. Instinc- 
 tive activity, like the random and reflex activities, has its 
 origin in an impulse acting without the intervention of 
 reason or volition ; it agrees also with these in manifest- 
 ing its power at a very early period in the life of an 
 animal or of a child. Like reflex activity, it is subject to 
 the influence of stimuli, and acts in obedience to their 
 solicitations or power, though not in direct reply to 
 them. 
 
 It differs from the random impulse in being largely 
 psychical while that is altogether physical. It differs still 
 more in that its activity is directed to a definite end, an 
 end which, in some cases, it is reasonable to believe, is 
 represented in the consciousness of the actors. It is 
 difficult to suppose that the bird begins to build a nest 
 without some notion of the object she is going to con- 
 struct, or that the bee makes its honeycomb with no idea 
 
 249 
 
250 INSTINCT ; HABIT 
 
 of the form or character of the comb. The majority of 
 writers, however, take a different view, and affirm that 
 the animal works bUndly, having no notion of the ultimate 
 result. 
 
 Instinctive acts differ from reflex ones in several im- 
 portant points. The reflex act is an answering back in 
 kind, as far as this is possible. The instinctive act, in 
 some sense an answer to the stimulus, is not an answer 
 in kind. It does not strike blow for blow. The instinc- 
 tive activity is much more complex than the reflex, and 
 the end sought may be comparatively remote. The end 
 of nest-building is the rearing of young birds and the 
 preservation of the species, but weeks or months must 
 elapse before the end is reached. Probably some organic 
 feeling awakens the nest-building instinct in the bird, the 
 dam-building instinct in the beaver, and the hibernating 
 instinct in the bear, but the acts following have no recip- 
 rocal relation to the stimulating feeling, and the ends 
 are not secured immediately. 
 
 Some Opinions. The variety of opinions upon the sub- 
 ject of instinct, expressed by different writers of ap- 
 parently equal intelligence, is matter of surprise, and 
 forces one to rely upon his own observations and judg- 
 ment to a considerable extent. It is not the part of 
 modesty to be over-positive in one's conclusions. A few 
 quotations will be of interest. Goethe is quoted by Ladd 
 as saying, *VThere is in the curious and kindly operations 
 of instincts something which, whoever studies and does 
 not believe in God, will not be aided by Moses and the 
 Prophets. In these instincts I perceive what I call the 
 omnipresence of the Deity, who has everywhere spread 
 
DEFINITIONS OF INSTINCT 25 1 
 
 and implanted a portion of his endless love, and has inti- 
 mated, even in the brute, as a germ, those qualities which 
 blossom to perfection in the noblest forms of men.'* This 
 is poetical and metaphysical, rather than scientific and 
 psychological. Ladd defines as follows : ^^ Instincts are 
 such impulsive activities as belong to all the members of 
 a class, and thus exhibit themselves, either at particular 
 periods or uniformly, in the development of the indi- 
 vidual as a member of the species, or in the propagation 
 and preservation of the species.'' 
 
 Romanes writes : '' Instinct is reflex action into which 
 there is imported the element of consciousness. The 
 term is therefore a generic one, comprising all these facul- 
 ties of mind which are concerned in conscious and adaptive 
 action, antecedent to individual experience, without neces- 
 sary knowledge of the relation between means employed 
 and ends attained, but similarly performed under similar 
 and frequently recurring circumstances by all the indi- 
 viduals of the same species." 
 
 Dr. Chadbourne says : '* An instinct is simply an im- 
 pulse to a particular kind of voluntary action which the 
 being needs to perform as an individual or representative 
 of a species, but which he could not possibly learn to 
 perform before he needs to act." 
 
 Paley's definition is familiar : '' Instinct is a propensity 
 prior to experience and independent of instruction." 
 This would apply equally well to random and reflex 
 impulses. One writer says, ^* The instinct of the present 
 generations is the product of accumulated experiences of 
 past generations. Instinct is inherited memory." This 
 may be accepted as true of some special forms of in- 
 
252 INSTINCT; HABIT 
 
 stinctive activity, but it fails entirely to account for the 
 original instinctive impulse. 
 
 Definition. For brevity we adopt the following : 
 Instinct is an impulse to activity^ directed to definite ends, 
 and to the performance of acts necessary before experience 
 or instruction is possible. The definition of Dr. Chad- 
 bourne is also satisfactory. It must be understood that 
 the impulse is common to all the individuals of the 
 species, and is not peculiar to any one member of it. 
 
 Adaptation. In animals, the physical structure and 
 organization are adapted to the peculiar instinctive activ- 
 ities. Examples of this adaptation are very abundant. 
 The wings of the bird render flight possible ; the spin- 
 nerets of the spider are fitted to web-making ; the pecul- 
 iar structure of the mole adapts him to burrowing. 
 Similar adaptation is found in the formation of insects, 
 and in their habits. Among mammals, equally obvious 
 adaptations manifest themselves, especially in the earliest 
 period of life. 
 
 Difference between Instinct and Reason. It is im- 
 possible to draw a sharp, clear line between the mani- 
 festations of instinct and those of reason or intelligence. 
 Probably instinct passes by slow degrees into reason, and 
 in some actions the two are combined. The broad and 
 general distinction between instinct and reason is, that 
 reason adapts means to ends consciously and purposely. 
 Reason also modifies means according to conditions, and 
 learns by experience and observation ; this involves de- 
 liberation, and often tentative movements. 
 
 In instinctive actions there is an adaptation of means 
 to ends, but not by conscious purpose. There is no de- 
 
OFFICES OF INSTINCT 253 
 
 liberation, so far as appears. Instinct admits of some 
 modifications in its modes of action to meet new and 
 unusual conditions, but such modifications are of minor 
 importance. 
 
 Morgan says, '^ Intelligence and instinct are antithet- 
 ical; the former can never pass into the latter or take any 
 share in its evolution.'' In another connection, however, 
 he writes, **The influence of intelligence upon instinct 
 may be twofold, it may aid in making or unmaking 
 instincts. Instincts may be modified through intelligent 
 adaptation. A little dose of judgment, as Huber phrased 
 it, often comes into play/' 
 
 A few authors contend that imitation is an important 
 factor in the development of instincts, and that imitation 
 has very much to do with keeping the nests of birds of 
 uniform pattern. It is affirmed also that the song of birds 
 is imitative, to a considerable extent at least. Hon. D. 
 Barrington says, ** I have educated nestling linnets under 
 the three best singing larks — the skylark, woodlark, and 
 titlark — every one of which, instead of the linnet's song, 
 adhered entirely to that of their respective instructors." 
 The imitative impulse undoubtedly has large influence 
 in developing the habits and instincts of domestic animals, 
 so that original instincts disappear or are greatly modi- 
 fied. 
 
 Offices of Instinct. The province of instinct is (i) to 
 provide for the life and safety of the individual, and (2) 
 to provide for the preservation and perpetuation of the 
 species or the race, under conditions in which the teach- 
 ings of experience, of observation, and of intelligence, as 
 that term is commonly employed, can afford no guidance 
 
254 INSTINCT; HABIT 
 
 or cannot be had. It is said ^^ to fit the animal to the 
 world ; to enable him to battle for existence, to hold his 
 place in spite of opposing forces and enemies — in 
 fact, to make the forces and products of nature his serv- 
 ants, so far as they are needful for his perfection. It se- 
 cures this by putting him at once, by a spontaneous man- 
 ifestation of impulse, knowledge, and skill, into the need- 
 ful relations to those objects in nature that are necessary 
 for his individual welfare or that of the species. It does 
 this in many cases with almost the certainty of the oper- 
 ations of the laws of inorganic nature.'* 
 
 Limitations of Instinct. Instinct, like ordinary reflex 
 action, is limited by the presence or absence of stimuli. 
 These stimuli, as previously indicated, are either external, 
 appealing to the senses, or internal, arising from organic 
 or functional excitements and irritations. Birds are im- 
 pelled by such internal stimuli to mate ; to build nests, to 
 lay eggs, and to rear their young at the right season of 
 the year. The salmon goes from the ocean to the river 
 to spawn. Migratory birds feel the impulse to migrate 
 at the proper time ; the squirrel gathers and stores his 
 nuts ; the hibernating animals retire to their holes and 
 dens, impelled when the impulsion is needed. Other an- 
 imals show evidence of the same subjection of the in- 
 stinctive impulse to periodic direction and control. The 
 impulse to care for the young usually continues only so 
 long as care is needed. The animal mother, who yester- 
 day watched and guarded her young and fought fiercely 
 to defend them from harm, to-day drives them angrily 
 and violently from her. This change of conduct is seen 
 in the hen, the cat, and in other domestic animals, and is 
 
INSTINCT APPEARS EARLY 255 
 
 without doubt produced by a change of some sort in the 
 bodily functions. In one condition of the body the in- 
 stinctive force impels the animal to one sort of behavior ; 
 in a different bodily condition, to an opposite kind of con- 
 duct. These are illustrations of the power of internal 
 stimuli in giving direction to instinctive actions. 
 
 The influence of external stimuli, appealing to some 
 one or more of the senses, is equally obvious. It is some- 
 times said that instinct is cheated in its dependence 
 upon the direction of the senses ; the truth is the senses 
 are deceived and not the instinct. The hen, for example, 
 gives the note of alarm and the chickens hasten to hide 
 for safety when the boy imitates the cry of the hawk. 
 The sense of hearing gives a false report, but instinct acts 
 truly. The sight of the duck, not her instinct, is cheated 
 by the decoy of the sportsman. The dog eats poi- 
 soned meat because neither smell nor taste warns him of 
 the danger. Instinct does not correct the errors of the 
 senses and, through their mistakes, leads one animal to 
 fly from imaginary danger and another to rush to certain 
 death. 
 
 Instinct appears Early. Experiments have been made 
 upon chickens just hatched to discover how early the 
 impulse of instinct prompts to action. Mr. Spalding 
 writes, ''A chicken that had been made the subject of 
 experiments on hearing, having been blindfolded at birth, 
 was unhooded when nearly three days old. For six min- 
 utes it sat chirping and looking about it ; at the end 
 of that time it followed with its head and eyes the move- 
 ments of a fly twelve inches distant ; at ten minutes it 
 made a pick at its own toes, and the next instant it made 
 
2 $6 INSTINCT; HABIT 
 
 a vigorous dart at the fly, which had come within reach 
 of its neck, and seized and swallowed it at the first 
 stroke.'* Another chick, kept several days entirely apart 
 from any hen, was then placed within sight and call of 
 a hen with a brood of its own age. After a little delay it 
 started for the hen, passing over and around obstacles 
 purposely placed in its way, and reached the mother in a 
 very short time. This was the first time it had ever walk- 
 ed by sight. Other experiments prove that chickens pick 
 at insects within a few moments after leaving the shell, 
 and run immediately at call of the hen. There can be no 
 doubt that in many birds and in some mammals the in- 
 stinctive activities appear with the appearance of life 
 itself. 
 
 Modifications of Instinct. Like the other psychical 
 activities, instincts are subject, within certain limits, to 
 the universal law of exercise. Forms of instinct con- 
 stantly used are strengthened, and rendered more acute 
 and serviceable ; forms disused become weaker, and prob- 
 ably after a long time disappear. The instincts of domes- 
 ticated animals are greatly modified. Peculiar manifesta- 
 tions of instinct, at first apparently accidental, may be 
 made permanent and cultivated to a high degree of per- 
 fection. All dogs probably had a common origin and a 
 common manifestation of instinct. By selection and care 
 in breeding, varieties have been produced with perma- 
 nently differing characteristics of form, color, size, and 
 also of instinctive impulses. If new instincts have not 
 been developed, a common one has been most wonder- 
 fully modified, and the modifications have been trans- 
 mitted by the general law of heredity, as the peculiarities 
 
INSTINCT IN MAN 257 
 
 of form, ear, hair, limb, and color have been. The spaniel 
 instinctively takes to the water; the shepherd dog to the 
 care of sheep; young '* pointers'* and *' retrievers '* do 
 their peculiar work, when first taken out by the sports- 
 man, nearly as perfectly as after long practice. No one 
 of these varieties shows any disposition or aptitude for 
 the work of another variety. 
 
 Instinct in Man. A wide diversity of opinion exists 
 in relation to instincts in the human race. Professor 
 James says, ** they are far indeed from being few in num- 
 ber in man,** are indeed more numerous than in animals. 
 Professor Preyer, on the other hand, thinks they are few 
 in number, and difficult to recognize after early youth is 
 past. Morgan thinks it is chiefly a matter of the defini- 
 tion given to instinct, and in this he is probably correct. 
 Many impulses seem to be partly instinctive and partly 
 rational ; these will be counted as instinctive or rational 
 according to the judgment or preference of the writer. 
 In many cases the instinctive and rational impulses be- 
 come so mingled that it is scarcely possible to determine 
 which predominate. The affection of the mother for her 
 child is undoubtedly instinctive in its origin, but it be- 
 comes subject to rational considerations ; the same is true 
 of the love of a father for his family and of the patriot for 
 his country and his countrymen. 
 
 The most obvious instinctive impulses in the young 
 child are those necessary for the preservation of life, such 
 as sucking and swallowing; these have also something of 
 a reflex character. Among other acts which evidently 
 have something of the instinctive impulse behind them 
 are the movements necessary to creeping, standing, jump- 
 17 
 
2S8 INSTINCT ; HABIT 
 
 ing, walking, and running ; hanging by the hands has 
 recently been added to this list. 
 
 Instinctive Expressive Acts. Many acts expressive 
 of emotion and of some other feelings are clearly instinc- 
 tive, as they are performed before the possibility of imita- 
 tion or instruction. Among these are crying and scream- 
 ing from vexation and pain ; the movements producing 
 sounds indicative of comfort and satisfaction, and the 
 earliest movements of the muscles of the face in smiling ; 
 movements of the head to denote assent and refusal, hold- 
 ing out the hands to receive and pushing with the hands 
 to indicate aversion ; and turning away the head and hid- 
 ing the face through fear. 
 
 Instinctive Fear. The child exhibits the emotion of 
 fear before he can possibly have learned any occasion for 
 fear from experience. He clings to the mother at sight 
 of strangers, trembles at the approach of some animals, and 
 shows extreme terror at strange and unexpected sounds. 
 
 Professor James treats of fear, as a typical instinctive 
 feeling, at considerable length, and states pretty fully the 
 objects and conditions which excite this emotion. Audi- 
 tory impressions seem to be more productive of fear than 
 visual ones. Strange men and strange animals excite fear, 
 especially if approaching in a threatening way. Some 
 children cry at the first sight of a cat or a dog. Black 
 things, dark places, holes, caverns, etc., usually arouse 
 fear. Many children who have never listened to ghost 
 stories are afraid if brought into a dark place. Children 
 are sometimes treated unjustly and cruelly on this ac- 
 count, the assumption being that they can easily control 
 their fear. 
 
KNOWLEDGE OF INSTINCTS NECESSARY 259 
 
 Instinctive and unreasoning fear is exhibited by some 
 animals ; and, strange to say, the horse shows such fear in 
 an unusual degree. A writer says : '' I think I am right 
 in saying that the horse is the only animal which, under the 
 influence of fear, loses the possession of every other sense 
 in one mad and mastering desire to run. With its entire 
 mental Hfe thus overwhelmed by the flood of a single emo- 
 tion, the horse not only loses, as other animals lose, ' pres- 
 ence of mind,' or a due balance among the distinctively 
 intellectual faculties, but even the avenues of special sense 
 become stopped, so that the wholly demented animal may 
 run headlong and at a terrific speed against a stone wall. 
 There is no animal except the horse whose whole psychol- 
 ogy is thus liable to be completely dominated by a single 
 emotion.*' 
 
 Knowledge of Instincts Necessary. No man can 
 know himself or thoroughly understand other men, who 
 has neglected to become acquainted with the instinctive 
 impulses of his nature. In the realm of feeling these im- 
 pulses afford a basis for much valuable instruction and 
 practical training in respect to character and conduct. 
 Proper appeals to children find an answering response in 
 the prompting of these instinctive feelings, and they may 
 be made of great service in the department of ^^ morals 
 and manners." It is impossible to deal wisely, or even 
 justly, with young children without a knowledge of in- 
 stincts as manifested in childhood, and without taking 
 into account their power over the conduct during that 
 period. Punishments are sometimes inflicted for acts 
 purely or mainly instinctive. The fear of the '^ dark,'* or 
 of dark places, exhibited by children, has already been 
 
26o INSTINCT ; HABIT 
 
 touched upon. This fear, although often caused by unwise 
 treatment, is, in many cases, undoubtedly instinctive in its 
 origin, or at least is an unfortunate legacy of heredity. 
 
 Stupidity of Instinct. Examples of cases in which in- 
 stinct seems to approach very nearly to that reasoning in- 
 telligence which consciously and purposely adapts means 
 to ends are frequently related. The stupidity or limitation 
 of instinct is not so often referred to. An illustration of 
 such limitation of intelligence, borrowed from Sir John 
 Lubbuck, may be of interest. The example relates to the 
 conduct of bees. A small part of the covering of a cell, 
 which a bee was closing up after filling it wath honey and 
 depositing within it an egg, was broken away. This dam- 
 age the bee immediately repaired, as she did some breaks 
 in the walls of half-finished cells. When, however, a hole 
 was made in a cell below the part where the bee was work- 
 ing, and through which the honey at once began to exude, 
 the bee worked on as if nothing had happened, though 
 the honey ran out as fast as it was poured in. This experi- 
 ment was repeated over and over again, and always with the 
 same result. As it was thought possible the bee might 
 not have noticed these small holes, a larger hole was made 
 in the bottom of a cell which contained only a little 
 honey. The bee soon returned with more honey, seemed 
 surprised to find the hole in the cell, examined it carefully, 
 and even pushed her antennae through it. She did not, 
 however, as might have been expected, stop up the hole, 
 but went on calmly to pour into the cell load after load of 
 honey, which ran out of the bottom as fast as she poured it 
 in at the top. When she had brought the usual quantity 
 of honey, she laid her egg and sealed up the empty cell. 
 
ORIGIN OF HABIT 261 
 
 Habit* It is a fact of common experience that, if we have 
 once performed any act, either physical or mental, each 
 successive repetition demands less effort and less atten- 
 tion. The second performance is easier than the first ; 
 the third easier than the second, and so on, until 
 finally very little effort or attention is necessary. The 
 very familiarity of this fact blinds us to its wonderful 
 character. We say we do a thing easily and readily be- 
 cause ** we have got used to it," without stopping to ask 
 ourselves what it is '^ to get used to " a thing. Evidently 
 some change must have taken place somewhere in our 
 muscles, nerves, or brain, else why should the muscles and 
 nerves move with so much more rapidity, with so much 
 less expenditure of energy, and at the same time with so 
 much more of precision and efificiency? It may not be 
 possible to discover the exact nature of the change, but 
 of its reality there is no room for doubt. 
 
 A Tendency or Disposition remains. After an act 
 has been performed several times there remains, in the or- 
 ganism, a disposition, or tendency, or inclination, to re- 
 peat the performance whenever it is suggested. As al- 
 ready stated, without doubt some change has taken place 
 in the nerves and muscles concerned in producing the 
 movements of the parts of the body involved in the action. 
 This change is purely physiological, and the resulting con- 
 dition of body has a tendency to become permanent. 
 '* Getting used to a thing" consists in the production of 
 this change of the physical organism. It is probable 
 that some psychical modifications are involved in the crea- 
 tion of this disposition, but of their nature, apart from 
 physical modifications, we have no knowledge. 
 
262 INSTINCT ; HABIT 
 
 Disposition not Desire. This disposition or tendency 
 should not be confounded with desire. Desire may act 
 in harmony with it and in the same direction, or it may 
 act in opposition to it and in a contrary direction. For 
 example, a person has contracted the habit of using intox- 
 icating liquor or morphine ; that is, a disposition has been 
 created which impels him to use it. He earnestly desires 
 to be freed from the power of the evil habit. A severe 
 struggle takes place between this artificially formed dis- 
 position and genuine desire. A child has formed the 
 habit of disobedience ; by and by, convinced of the wrong 
 of this habit, he really desires to be obedient. In spite 
 of the desire, the disposition will continue to urge him to 
 the old course of conduct. The personal experiences of 
 most of us will suggest an over-abundance of similar illus- 
 trations. 
 
 Influence of Association. The power and effectiveness 
 of this tendency are greatly increased by the influence of 
 association. This is, however, only a special example of 
 the operation of a general law considered in the study of 
 memory. Places, persons, articles of furniture, etc., are 
 usually associated with habitual acts. The sight of these 
 excites the activity of the disposition, and often seems to 
 cause the performance of an act without the intervention 
 of the will, and without any distinct consciousness of the 
 fact that effort has been put forth. The person who 
 wishes to break off certain habits will find it absolutely 
 necessary to avoid the places and individuals with whom 
 the habit has become associated, however much confi- 
 dence he may have in his power of resistance. 
 
 Definition of Habit. Habit is a disposition or tendency ^ 
 
HABITS IN THE BODY 263 
 
 either of body or of mind, created by the repetition of acts and 
 states. The aggregate of such dispositions in an individ- 
 ual constitutes his habits. Habit and custom are nearly 
 related, but are not the same. Habit is properly the in- 
 ternal disposition ; custom the external act often repeated. 
 Customs lead to habits, and habits perpetuate customs. 
 Old and useless customs are kept up by the power of 
 habit. 
 
 Habits a Necessity. The formation of habits is a ne- 
 cessity of nature. The tendency to such formation is ex- 
 hibited very strongly even in early infancy. At this 
 period habits are fixed easily and rapidly from the fact 
 that the physical organism is exceedingly impressible and 
 plastic, and yields at once and without resistance to the 
 changes demanded by any mode of activity. Mental 
 habits are induced with equal facility. The training proc- 
 esses of education have for their end the creation of right 
 mental habits, as well as physical ones, and through these 
 the production of practical skill. Man has been well 
 called ^'a bundle of habits,** and personal experience 
 testifies to the truth of the adage. 
 
 Habits in the Body. Physiologically the creation of 
 habits consists essentially in tJie formation of new path- 
 ways in the brain and in the subordinate nerve centers, 
 and along the nerves themselves, and in re7idering these 
 paths smooth and easy for the passage of nervous exci- 
 tations or currents. The excitations w^ill naturally take 
 the road which offers the least resistance, and the more 
 the path is used the better it becomes for practical pur- 
 poses. The effect of the formation of physical habits is 
 of the highest importance in the affairs of everyday life. 
 
264 INSTINCT; HABIT 
 
 It saves the expenditure of nervous and muscular energy, 
 and the mental effort of attention. It makes it possible 
 to turn over the commonplace drudgery of life to the lower 
 nerve centers while the brain engages in higher work. If 
 it were not for this, progress would be impossible. Dr. 
 Mandsley says, '' If an act were no easier after being 
 done several times, a man might be occupied all day in 
 dressing and undressing himself ; the attitude of his body 
 would absorb all his attention and energy ; the washing of 
 his hands or the fastening of a button would be as difificult 
 to him on each occasion as to the child on its first trial ; 
 and he would, furthermore, be completely exhausted by 
 his exertions." 
 
 By the law of habit all such acts become nearly auto- 
 matic and thus opportunity is given for acquisition and 
 advancement in the higher departments of human ac- 
 tivity.- 
 
 Habits of Feeling and Conduct. The domain of habit 
 extends beyond the physical and purely intellectual ac- 
 tivities of man ; it embraces the feelings and the general 
 conduct. Habits of right feeling and right living are of 
 higher importance to the individual and to the commu- 
 nity than even good habits of body and of intellectual 
 labor. Any mode of feeling, indulged and cherished, 
 grows deeper and stronger, and soon exhibits a '' dispo- 
 sition " to recur without apparent cause. At first the 
 feeling may have been excited by particular persons, 
 places, or circumstances, and may be associated with 
 these so that it is aroused only at sight or remembrance 
 of them. Soon, however, it recurs without reference to 
 persons or conditions, and tends to assume the character 
 
HABITS OF FEELING AND CONDUCT 265 
 
 of an habitual tone and temper of mind. Children in this 
 way, through unwise indulgence on the part of parents 
 and others, become permanently peevish, fretful, irritable, 
 and ill-tempered at a very early period. Others, by wiser 
 though apparently more severe and less affectionate reg- 
 imen, are trained to habitual cheerfulness, amiability, 
 and good temper. Currents of feeling, like currents of 
 thought and currents of nerve excitation, wear for them- 
 selves channels in which they continue ever after to flow 
 with constantly increasing rapidity and force. As a nat- 
 ural result of this acquired tendency of mind, men, what- 
 ever their original disposition may have been, become, by 
 degrees and often altogether unconsciously, gloomy, mo- 
 rose, and even '^ bearish," thus depriving themselves and 
 their immediate associates of all possibility of making life 
 comfortable and desirable. By the same law of habit, per- 
 sons whose native temperaments and dispositions may have 
 been unfortunate, can train themselves to habitual cheer- 
 fulness, hopefulness, and kindness of feeling by regular 
 and persistent effort. 
 
 In moral education habit is of the utmost importance. 
 The training to right conduct of necessity commences 
 before instruction^ since the child commences to act while 
 he is yet ignorant of the moral nature of conduct^ and 
 incapable of understanding and appreciating appeals to 
 judgment or reason. His earliest habits, consequently, 
 are involuntary and involve no responsibility on his own 
 part ; nevertheless the beginnings of moral conduct and 
 character are found in these. By this process obedience, 
 self-control, truthfulness, and other virtues of childhood 
 become habitual. The power of habit continues to be 
 
266 INSTINCT ; HABIT 
 
 felt even in mature life, and not seldom serves as a strong 
 bulwark against the onsets of temptation when other de- 
 fenses have given way. 
 
 Habit sometimes an Evil. The force of habit, if 
 wrongly employed and badly directed, like any other 
 beneficent power, may become a most serious obstacle to 
 right development and progress. It is a work of more 
 difficulty to unlearn an old habit than to learn a new one. 
 A double labor is imposed, therefore, by the formation of 
 bad habits in childhood and youth. 
 
 It is true, also, that habits, not objectionable morally, 
 are sometimes in the way of intellectual advancement. 
 '' Taken in a narrow sense, habit is in a manner opposed 
 to growth. By following out a train of ideas again and 
 again in a certain way, we lose the capability of varying 
 this order, of re-adapting the combination to new circum- 
 stances." The danger from this element in habit needs 
 to be guarded against by students and by teachers who 
 expect to keep fully up with the progress of events, with 
 the improvements in the arts and sciences, and with the 
 changing methods of study and instruction. 
 
 Rousseau, probably having in mind this possible evil, 
 wrote, as translated by Dr. Payne : " The only habit 
 which a child should be allowed to form is to contract no 
 habit whatever." It is sufficient to say that it is impos- 
 sible to prevent the formation of habits. 
 
 Formation of New Habits. A few suggestions on the 
 voluntary formation of habits may be of value. The 
 substance of these may be found in several writers. 
 
 I. In breaking off an old habit or in the creation of 
 a new one, begin with all possible energy and determina- 
 
FORMATION OF NEW HABITS 267 
 
 tion. Accumulate beforehand a large amount of reserved 
 force in the form of engagements, conditions, and asso- 
 ciations which will aid in breaking the old and creating 
 the new habit. Calmly and resolutely determine to be 
 successful. 
 
 2. Be perfectly uniform in the performance of acts 
 until the new habit is thoroughly fixed, or, as Mr. Bain 
 puts it, '' Never suffer an exception to occur till the new 
 habit is securely rooted in your life." There is no such 
 thing as *^ tapering off" in destroying an old bad habit; 
 the work must be done at a single blow, and that must 
 end it. 
 
 Professor Bain says, ** The peculiarity of the moral 
 habits, contradistinguishing them from the intellectual ac- 
 quisitions, is the presence of two hostile powers, one to be 
 gradually raised into the ascendant over the other. It is 
 necessary, above all things, in such a situation, never to 
 lose a battle. Every gain on the wrong side undoes the 
 effect of many conquests on the right. The essential 
 precaution, therefore, is so to regulate the two opposing 
 powers that the one may have a series of uninterrupted 
 successes, until repetition has fortified it to such a degree 
 as to enable it to cope with the opposition under any 
 circumstances." 
 
 3. Act promptly upon every resolution you make as to 
 conduct ; or '^ Seize the very first possible opportunity to 
 act on every resolution you make, and on every emo- 
 tional prompting you may experience in the direction of 
 the habits you aspire to gain." A final suggestion may 
 be put in this form : '' Keep the faculty of effort alive 
 in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day." 
 
268 INSTINCT; HABIT. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Relations of instinct. 
 
 2. How instinctive activity differs from random impulses ; from 
 
 reflex acts. 
 
 3. Opinions of Goethe, Ladd, Romanes, Chadbourne. 
 
 4. Definitions. 
 
 5. Difference between instinct and reason. 
 
 6. Offices of instinct. 
 
 7. Limitations of instinct. 
 
 8. Instinct appears early. 
 
 9. Modifications of instinct. 
 
 10. Instinct in man ; various opinions. 
 
 11. Instinctive expressive acts. 
 
 12. Instinctive fear ; Prof. James ; in animals. 
 
 13. Knowledge of instincts necessary. 
 
 14. Stupidity of instinct. 
 
 15. Habit; fact of experience. 
 
 16. A tendency or disposition. 
 
 17. Disposition not desire. 
 
 18. Influence of association. 
 
 19. Definition of habit. 
 
 20. Habits a necessity of nature. 
 
 21. Habits of body ; advantages. 
 
 22. Habits of feeling and conduct. 
 
 23. Habits sometimes an evil. 
 
 24. Formation of new habits. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SLEEP, DREAMING, SOMNAMBULISM, HYPNOTISM. 
 
 Sleep is a necessity of nature. Shakespeare makes 
 Macbeth say, 
 
 *' The innocent sleep, 
 Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care 
 The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath, 
 Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, 
 Chief nourisher in life's feast. " . 
 
 During our waking hours the nervous energy becomes 
 exhausted, the muscles become fatigued, and the whole 
 physical organism becomes wearied. Waste of material 
 has taken place. This waste of nervous and muscular 
 tissue is repaired during sleep, and the body is restored 
 to its normal condition. Sleep is of every degree, from 
 the light slumber which a breath may disturb, to that 
 profound sleep from which waking is difificult. The state 
 of profound sleep is one in which there is a complete 
 suspension of sensorial activity. In lighter sleep some of 
 the senses may be partially awake and active to a limited 
 extent. 
 
 During sleep the flow of blood to the brain is consider- 
 ably diminished ; whether this is the cause or the effect of 
 sleep is not satisfactorily determined. Some of the pre- 
 disposing and obvious causes of sleep are (i) physical ex- 
 
 269 
 
2/0 SLEEP, DREAMING, SOMNAMBULISM, HYPNOTISM 
 
 haustion, (2) darkness and silence, (3) any monotonous 
 repetition, (4) expectation. 
 
 The number of hours of sleep required by different in- 
 dividuals varies, but the average is from seven to eight. 
 Attempts are sometimes made to reduce the time given 
 to sleep, but no real and permanent advantage can be 
 secured by this. The apparent temporary gain will be 
 more than offset by the ultimate loss of physical and 
 mental energy. 
 
 Waking. A person who is accustomed to sleep where 
 regular movements are taking place, will usually awake 
 at once if the movements cease. One who falls asleep 
 while listening to a discourse or to reading, will arouse 
 himself if the speaking or reading stops. 
 
 Persons who have accustomed themselves to attend to 
 certain sense impressions, will generally be awakened 
 whenever these impressions occur, even though appar- 
 ently sleeping soundly. The physician starts up at the 
 first sound of his night-bell ; the weary mother at the 
 first and slightest moan from her sick child ; the signal 
 oflficer at the whispering of the word ^' signal.'* A few 
 persons have the power of determining, when they retire, 
 at what hour they will awake, and they awake at the time 
 fixed. No satisfactory explanation has yet been given 
 for these facts. 
 
 Dreaming. Mental acts and states taking place during 
 sleep are called dreams. The question whether the mind 
 is always active or whether, in profound sleep, it rests with 
 the physical organism, cannot be answered positively. 
 
 Hamilton's Opinion. Sir William Hamilton believed 
 
MENTAL ACTIVITY IN SLEEP 2/1 
 
 "that the mind is never wholly inactive, and that we are 
 never wholly unconscious of its activity/* He affirms 
 that we always dream, whether we remember our dreams 
 or not. He quotes Kant as maintaining " that we always 
 dream when asleep ; that to cease to dream would be to 
 cease to live/* Many other eminent men have taught 
 the same doctrine. Locke took an opposite view, and 
 argued that we do not always dream, and that the mind 
 is not always active. Some other writers have adopted 
 the same view. Modern writers, however, are practically 
 unanimous in the opinion that the mind never rests, but 
 is always in a condition of greater or less activity. Its 
 activity during sleep differs from its activity in waking 
 hours in several particulars. 
 
 Points of Difference, (i) The activity is frequently, 
 but not always, less vigorous. 
 
 (2) The representative power is usually predominant, 
 but its creations are often incongruous and absurd. 
 
 (3) The higher activities of judgment and reason are 
 generally in abeyance. The will appears to have very 
 little directive power. 
 
 (4) The mental action is frequently very rapid, but little 
 or no account is taken of time. A dream of a few mo- 
 ments seems to occupy days or months. 
 
 (5) The moral powers are usually entirely inactive. 
 Things are said and done in dreams from which we should 
 turn away in horror when awake. Miss Cobbe says, " We 
 commit in dreams acts for which we should weep tears of 
 blood if they were real, and yet never feel the slightest 
 remorse. ... A woman whose life was devoted to the 
 instruction of pauper children, seeing one of them make 
 
2/2 SLEEP, DREAMING, SOMNAMBULISM, HYPNOTISM. 
 
 a face at her, doubled him up in the smallest compass, 
 and poked him through the bars of the lion's cage." 
 
 (6) The memory retains only a small proportion of our 
 dreams, especially of those which occur during sound 
 sleep. It is true, however, that we remember only a 
 comparatively small part of what we see and hear in our 
 waking hours. 
 
 Causes of Dreams, (i) In many cases the dream is a 
 continuation of the mental activity which was going on 
 just before we fell asleep. Such dreams and their causes 
 are readily recognized. In most cases dreams of this kind 
 occur when sleep is not very profound. 
 
 (2) Many dreams are caused by impressions made 
 upon senses which are only partially asleep. Dr. Reid, 
 ^* having had his head blistered on account of a fall, and 
 a plaster having been put on it, which pained him ex- 
 cessively during the night, on falling asleep towards morn- 
 ing, dreamed very distinctly that he had fallen into 
 the hands of a party of Indians and was scalped." A man 
 sleeping with a bottle of hot water at his feet dreamed 
 of walking over hot ashes. 
 
 (3) Some dreams result from conditions of the body, 
 such as indigestion, or strong nervous excitement, or 
 organic sensations caused by disease. 
 
 (4) Doubtless many dreams which appear strange, and 
 are perhaps declared to be altogether inexplicable, are 
 caused by the recalling, while sleeping, of material which 
 has been stored away in the unconscious, or subcon- 
 scious, regions of the soul. We frequently dream of things 
 which took place long ago and have not been thought 
 of for years. The mental activity, rambling about without 
 
CAUSES OF DREAMS ^73 
 
 volitional direction, comes upon these and brings them 
 into our sleeping consciousness. Thus in dreams we 
 see places, and persons, and events which while awake 
 we have been unable to recall. The '' subconscious " 
 chambers of the soul have not yet been fully explored 
 and examined. *' Many curious instances are on rec- 
 ord, in which particulars that the memory has been 
 repeatedly and vainly called on to retrace during the 
 waking state, have presented themselves in dreams with 
 great vividness ; and thus lost documents have been re- 
 covered, and explanations have been furnished of per- 
 plexing difficulties.'* 
 
 Dr. Abercrombie relates, in his Intellectual Philos- 
 ophy, several dreams which illustrate this remarkable 
 power of memory in sleep. In one case a gentleman 
 was in danger of losing a considerable amount of prop- 
 erty on account of his inability to produce certain legal 
 documents which he felt sure were, or should be, among 
 papers which his father had left him. After careful and 
 protracted search he failed to find them, and had come 
 to the conclusion that the best thing for him was to 
 make a compromise. He went to bed with the purpose 
 of going to Edinburgh the next day to arrange the 
 matter. During the night he dreamed that his father, 
 who had been dead many years, appeared to him, and 
 after some conversation, in which he explained some 
 peculiar circumstances of the business, went on to say, 
 ** The papers relating to the transaction are in the hands 
 of Mr. , a writer who is now retired from profes- 
 sional business, and resides at Inveresk, near Edinburgh.'' 
 
 In the morning the gentleman went to the place, found 
 i8 
 
2/4 SLEEP, DREAMING, SOMNAMBULISM, HYPNOTISM 
 
 the person named by his father, now a very old man, 
 stated why he visited him, and obtained from him the 
 missing papers. Probably years before the father had 
 told his son of the papers, but the matter had apparently 
 been entirely forgotten. The dream memory did what 
 the waking memory had been utterly unable to do. 
 Many dreams of a similar character have been recorded, 
 and they are all accounted for in the same way. 
 
 (5) There remain a few dreams the causes of which 
 are not satisfactorily explained by any of the suppositions 
 hitherto made. Probably if the laws of psychical 
 activity were fully understood these might also be 
 accounted for by the natural action of such laws. 
 
 Ancient Beliefs. The generally accepted doctrine 
 among the ancient nations, including the Hebrews, was 
 that many dreams were caused by influences and agencies 
 outside the dreamer^s own mind. Some dreams had their 
 origin in the influence of the Divine Being; and others in 
 the influence of spiritual agents of some sort. 
 
 The believer in spiritual powders and forces will not 
 feel inclined to deny that, in the early periods of human 
 history, in the comparative childhood of the race, many 
 dreams and visions of the night may have had this origin. 
 The higher development of humanity and the progress of 
 science have led to the general rejection of this theory. 
 Some traces of it, however, still linger in many minds, 
 and occasionally come to the surface, when some ex- 
 traordinary dream is reported or experienced. It is 
 usually safe to discredit the accounts of such dreams. 
 
 Dr. Taylor's Statements. Dr. Taylor, in his work on 
 Primitive Culture, states that among some tribes there is 
 
SOMNAMBULISM 2^5 
 
 a belief that a shadowy soul goes out from the body 
 during sleep and wanders about at will. What this 
 soul sees, and hears, and does, during this absence from 
 the body, constitute a dream. It is stated that some 
 of the Greenlanders believe that dreams are the observa- 
 tions and experiences of the soul, which leaves the body, 
 and goes out visiting, hunting, or upon any business or 
 pleasure which it may choose to pursue. It is believed 
 by some tribes that the soul at such times may visit the 
 regions of the dead and converse wdth departed friends. 
 The ideas of these primitive peoples are of interest, and 
 of some value, to the student of mind. 
 
 Somnambulism is dreaming accompanied by a greater 
 or less degree of physical action. The somnambulist 
 acts out his dream ; and this power of muscular activity 
 indicates a condition of the bodily organism different 
 from that in ordinary sleep. To a considerable extent the 
 judgment and reason are active, and the will appears as 
 a controlling power. Some of the senses are awake. The 
 somnambulist usually hears what is said, if the conver- 
 sation relates to the subject of his dream, and talks 
 freely himself in reply to inquiries and suggestions, pro- 
 vided these follow the current of his mental activity. 
 
 Dr. Caldwell says : '' In all cases which have come 
 under my observation the eyes have been wide open, but 
 never directed upon any of the objects in the room, and 
 never upon myself, even when a conversation was main- 
 tained with the sleeper. The pupils of the eyes have al- 
 ways been more dilated than in the natural state, lacking 
 such expression as appears when observation is concen- 
 
2/6 SLEEP, DREAMING, SOMNAMBULISM, HYPNOTISM 
 
 trated upon an object, and have uniformly had a remote 
 look, as if the person were seeing beyond the walls of the 
 room/' 
 
 Things Extraordinary. Some very extraordinary 
 things are related of the mental activity of persons in the 
 somnambulistic state. Dr. Abercrombie relates the follow- 
 ing incident quoted by Dr. Carpenter : '' A distinguished 
 Scottish lawyer had been consulted respecting a case of 
 great importance and much difficulty ; and he had been 
 studying it with intense anxiety and attention. After 
 several days had been occupied in this manner, he was ob- 
 served by his wife to rise from his bed in the night, and 
 go to a writing-desk which stood in the bedroom. He 
 then sat down, and wrote a long paper, which he carefully 
 put by in his desk, and returned to bed. The following 
 morning he told his wife that he had had a most interest- 
 ing dream ; — that he had dreamt of delivering a clear and 
 luminous opinion respecting a case which had exceedingly 
 perplexed him ; and that he would give anything to re- 
 cover the train of thought which had passed before him 
 in his dream. She then directed him to the writing desk, 
 where he found the opinion clearly and fully written out ; 
 and this was afterwards found to be perfectly correct.'' 
 Cases are given of students who have wrought out diffi- 
 cult mathematical problems in their dreams, problems 
 which they had failed to master in a waking state. Men 
 are said to have written discourses and other articles of 
 great excellency and power while in the sleeping state. 
 
 Professor Wundt's Opinion. The distinguished Ger- 
 man author, Professor Wundt, rejects all accounts of these 
 wonderful performances. He affirms that dream percep- 
 
HYPNOTISIM 277 
 
 tions are of an illusory character, and are misinterpreted by 
 the somnambulist. He takes a window for a door, or the 
 ridge of the roof for a boulevard. He will hardly go be- 
 yond those simple acts which have become nearly if not 
 quite automatic. '' The tales that are told of wonderful 
 dream-performances, — the sleep-walking mathematician 
 who solves a difficult problem, or the schoolboy who 
 regularly does his work in this very convenient way, — we 
 may consign without more ado to the limbo of the fabulous. 
 No reliable observer has ever confirmed reports like these ; 
 and they conflict with all we know of the nature of dream- 
 ideas in general.'* In spite of this sweeping statement. 
 Dr. Carpenter, a man not easily imposed upon, appears to 
 give credit to the accounts of these marvelous somnambu- 
 listic performances. 
 
 Hypnotism bears some relation to somnambulism, and a 
 few writers regard it as only an artificial form of that con- 
 dition. The differences between the two, however, are 
 very marked in certain directions. The term hypnotism 
 is employed to denote all the phenomena connected with 
 the subject. Hypnosis is the name of the state into which 
 persons are thrown during experiments ; this state is 
 often called a sleep. A person in this condition is called 
 a hypnotic or simply a subject. The operator is a hyp- 
 notist or a hypnotizer. 
 
 Facts established. It seems to be established that 
 some persons are able to exercise a dominating influence 
 over or upon some other persons by means of direct con- 
 tact, or by words, acts, or gestures. It is claimed that 
 this influence may be exercised when the parties are at a 
 
2/8 SLEEP, DREAMING, SOMNAMBULISM, HYPNOTISM 
 
 long distance from one another. There is, however, rea- 
 son to doubt the validity of this claim, if not to deny it 
 altogether. The power of the hypnotist extends to the 
 control, more or less complete, of the psychical process of 
 the hypnotic, causing false perceptions and false concep- 
 tions whenever he chooses so to do. One of the princi- 
 pal conditions of the induction of the hypnotic state is 
 a complete surrender of the will of the subject so that he 
 is passive in the hands of the operator. Another im- 
 portant condition is that the hypnotic shall believe in the 
 power of the hypnotist, and shall expect to fall into the 
 sleep. Many persons are proof against the influence of 
 the hypnotizer, although, in some cases, their strength 
 to resist is finally overcome by repeated efforts. 
 
 When in the hypnotic condition, the subject is com- 
 pletely under the control of the operator. He has no will 
 of his own ; whatever the hypnotizer suggests he receives 
 and accepts. He cannot open his eyes of his own accord, 
 nor perform any voluntary movement. He performs 
 movements suggested to him ; puts himself, his arms or 
 legs, in the most uncomfortable positions, and remains in 
 these positions until a suggestion or command relieves 
 him. In some cases the muscles become rigid and the 
 joints refuse to be moved. 
 
 Illusions and Hallucinations. In hypnosis it is possi- 
 ble to produce all sorts of illusions and hallucinations of 
 the senses, an illusion being a false report or interpreta- 
 tion of something which really exists, an hallucination, on 
 the other hand, being a perception of an object where 
 there is nothing. An example of the first would be the 
 taking of a book for a cat ; an example of the second 
 
EFFECTS OF HYPNOTISM 279 
 
 would be seeing a cat where no object exists. The oper- 
 ator produces both or either of these at his pleasure by 
 the power of suggestion, but the illusion is more easily 
 produced than the hallucination. All varieties of the 
 sense of touch, of pressure, of temperature, of pain, 
 can be influenced. The operator tells the subject that 
 he is standing on ice ; he feels cold at once ; he tremx- 
 bles, his teeth chatter, he wraps himself up in his coat. 
 Illusions of taste are easily induced. A glass of water be- 
 comes wine, and is taken with great satisfaction. If the 
 subject is told immediately that he has been drinking 
 ink, he exhibits every mark of disgust. 
 
 Effects upon the Muscular System. Extraordinary 
 effects are sometimes produced upon the muscular sys- 
 tem. Dr. Carpenter states that he saw a man of slight 
 physical development, who had not for many years ven- 
 tured to lift a weight of twenty pounds, '' take up a quar- 
 ter of a hundred weight upon his little finger, and swing it 
 round his head with the greatest apparent facility, upon 
 being assured that it was as light as a feather.** At an- 
 other time he lifted fifty pounds on the last joint of his 
 forefinger, as high as his knee. 
 
 The skin and the mucous membrane may be made des- 
 titute of feeling so that the prick of a pin is not felt, nor 
 the fumes of ammonia in the nose, nor a touch of the cor- 
 nea of the eye. 
 
 Use by Physicians. This fact has sometimes been 
 utilized by physicians in surgical operations of minor im- 
 portance. It is believed by many practitioners that a 
 cautious use of suggestion may be of service in the treat- 
 ment of nervous diseases and in correcting some func- 
 
28o SLEEP, DREAMING, SOMNAMBULISM, HYPNOTISM 
 
 tional derangements. Such treatment, however, should be 
 made only by the most intelligent men of the medical 
 profession. 
 
 Posthypnotic Effects. The posthypnotic effects of 
 suggestion are among the most extraordinary phenomena 
 of hypnotism. For example, the subject is told to-day, 
 while in the hypnotic state, that to-morrow, at a certain 
 hour, he will perform, or will be strongly impelled to per- 
 form, a particular act. It seems to be proved that, at the 
 time specified, the subject actually performs the act, or is 
 so strongly inclined to do so, that he resists the incli- 
 nation with much diflficulty. When asked why he does 
 this, he replies that he could not help it, and can give 
 no better reason. 
 
 After having yielded themselves for a long time to 
 the influence of a hypnotizer, some persons become 
 able to hypnotize themselves. This appears to be done 
 by voluntarily exciting and fixing the idea that they 
 will presently fall into the hypnotic state. This habit 
 may become fixed like the morphine or the alcoholic 
 habit, and it is, if possible, even more dangerous than 
 those habits. 
 
 Advice. Space w^ill not allow a more extended dis- 
 cussion of the subject of hypnotism. It has been consid- 
 ered here only because its phenomena naturally belong to 
 the study of mind. In conclusion it is very strongly 
 urged up07i students ajid readers to avoid all itinerant 
 lecturers up07t hypnotism and kindred topics. Do not yield 
 yourselves to the influence of any hypnotist, nor indulge 
 in what are called harmless experiments. The hypnotic 
 habit shatters the nervous system^ weakens the intellect^ 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER 281 
 
 and often completely destroys the moral powers. The only 
 safety is total abstinence. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 1. Sleep a necessity of nature. 
 
 2. Degrees of sleep. 
 
 3. Predisposing causes of sleep. 
 
 4. Hours of sleep required. 
 
 5. Waking from sleep. 
 
 6. Dreaming ; what it is. 
 
 7. Do we always dream ? is the mind always active ? 
 
 8. Difference between sleeping and waking mental activity. 
 
 9. Causes of dreams. 
 
 10. Dr. Abercrombie's statements. 
 
 11. Ancient beliefs. 
 
 12. Dr. Taylor's statements. 
 
 13. Somnambulism ; what it is. 
 
 14. Condition of the somnambulist. 
 
 15. Extraordinary things. 
 
 16. Professor Wundt's opinion. 
 
 17. Hypnotism ; what it is. 
 
 18. Facts established. 
 
 19. Illusions and hallucinations. 
 
 20. Effects upon the muscular system. 
 
 21. Use by physicians. 
 
 22. Posthypnotic effects. 
 
 23. Advice to students and others. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 (The author is indebted to his associate, Professor C O. Hoyt, for val- 
 uable assistance in preparing this appendix.) 
 
 SUGGESTIONS AS TO EXPERIMENTS AND APPARATUS. 
 
 Psychological experiments which require complicated and costly 
 apparatus can be properly performed only in the laboratories of 
 universities and special schools. Such experiments are of interest 
 and value, but they belong to the province of scientific investiga- 
 tion rather than to the sphere of ordinary teaching. Teachers and 
 students of secondary schools will generally be w^ise to accept the 
 conclusions deduced from results of these experiments without at- 
 tempting to repeat and verify them. It should also be remembered 
 that most of such experiments are more physiological than psy- 
 chological. 
 
 But many comparatively simple experiments, requiring little or 
 no apparatus (see p. 294), can be performed by teachers and stu- 
 dents in the ordinary school. Such experiments add interest to the 
 study of psychology, serve to illustrate laws and conditions of men- 
 tal action, and in some cases render instruction and explanations 
 clearer and more impressive. 
 
 Experiments, however, whether simple or complicated, in order 
 to be profitable, should have a specific and definite purpose, at 
 least in the mind of the teacher. Amusement is not always to be 
 debarred, for even amusement may be made to serve a good pur- 
 pose. Experiments themselves in the teaching of psychology have 
 not yet gone beyond the experimental stage, and the relative value 
 of difierent forms of experimentation remains still to be fully deter- 
 
 283 
 
284 APPENDIX 
 
 mined. The best that can now be done is to suggest certain exper- 
 iments and modes of illustration and leave instructors to devise 
 others according to existing conditions and the means in their 
 possession. 
 
 Experiments may be grouped under a few heads indicating the 
 immediate object in view, but the same experiments may be equally 
 well adapted to several purposes. Students commencing the study 
 of psychology need, first of all, to become familiar with \\v^ process 
 of introspection. They should become able to trace backward the 
 ** stream of consciousness," and to discover and analyze, first cor- 
 rectly and then also rapidly, their own mental activities and processes 
 and the relations between these. The first questions put to a class 
 through experiments should be simple rather than complex in their 
 nature. These will necessarily involve the principles of association 
 and mental suggestion. 
 
 I. Experiments to Aid Introspection. — These necessarily 
 involve association, suggestion, and representation or image- 
 making. Require of students work like the following : 
 
 1. Recall and state orally or write out carefully in the order of 
 their occurrence, the mental processes of some recent short period 
 named, and explain the connection between them. Include feel- 
 ings as well as thoughts. 
 
 2. Recall, in their order, the mental processes caused by some 
 recent event which was {a) personally observed ; {h) described by 
 another person ; {c) read of in book or paper. 
 
 3. Describe, in their order, the mental processes recently occa- 
 sioned {a) by seeing some object or place ; {b) by seeing some 
 picture ; {c) by hearing some name or date. 
 
 4. {cC) Excite expectant attention and show, for a moment, a 
 word, the name of some object, act, person, or place, and require 
 an account of what it suggested first and why ; {b) show the first 
 letter of some short word, then the second letter, and so on, till the 
 word is completed, and require statements of what each letter sug- 
 gested as to the next letter or the whole word. 
 
APPENDIX 285 
 
 Other exercises of a similar character will readily suggest them- 
 selves to a teacher. They should be short, varied, animated, and 
 selected in view^ of existing conditions and the character of a class. 
 The mental peculiarities, habits, and previous training of the mem- 
 bers of a class can be readily and profitably studied in this connec- 
 tion. Observe the direction which suggestion takes. An object 
 or its name may suggest (i) another object of the same or a sim- 
 ilar class, (2) a quality or the qualities of the object, (3) the use of 
 the object, (4) history or material of the object, (5) value of the ob- 
 ject, (6) or some obviously incidental association. 
 
 II. Attention ; Perception ; Observation. — Introspection 
 involves and cultivates internal attention in respect to both ac- 
 curacy and rapidity. Indeed, all experiments of necessity involve 
 attention and serve to cultivate it. Experiments for testing and 
 improving the activities of perception and observation are, to a 
 large extent, experiments for testing and training attention. In 
 training the observing powers, the senses, three things should be 
 kept in view, (i) accuracy, (2) order, and (3) rapidity. A few ex- 
 periments should be made especially to train attention. 
 
 1. Show, for an instant, a few common words of moderate 
 length, one at a time in succession, some spelled incorrectly. Call 
 for the words and the spelling as given. 
 
 2. Show groups of words, increasing the number in a group. 
 Require as before. 
 
 3. Show groups of letters and figures. Require first the names 
 and number ; after a little practice, the location or position in the 
 group. 
 
 4. Show columns of figures for naming, adding, subtracting, 
 multiplying, etc. Such examples may be varied indefinitely, by the 
 use of cards, the blackboard, and small objects. 
 
 Teach the importance of a regular order in observing groups 
 and figures of all kinds. Require a gradual increase of rapidity 
 after securing accuracy and order. Ascertain whether, in rap- 
 idly observing words, attention is naturally directed to the first 
 
286 APPENDIX 
 
 and last letters while the intervening ones are comparatively neg- 
 lected ; and whether figures are noticed in their order. How is 
 attention directed in observing a sentence ? The accuracy of ob- 
 servation and the readiness of memory may be further tested by 
 methods like the following : 
 
 5. Require plans to be drawn, in the class, of rooms in the home, 
 giving location of doors, windows, and articles of furniture, with 
 descriptions of color of paint, of carpets, and of other objects. 
 
 6. Require brief written accounts of some recent event which 
 students have been spectators of or actors in ; of some place re- 
 cently visited. Notice the different directions which the attention 
 of different persons has taken, and inquire for the reasons for these 
 differences. 
 
 Observe the effect ot attention upon (i) the position of the body 
 as a whole, position of the head and other parts of the body, (2) the 
 production of fatigue and weariness, (3) the mental activities gen- 
 erally. Can attention be continuous for any considerable time, or is 
 it of necessity intermitte7it and somewhat rhythmic in its nature 1 
 
 7. Effects of distracting conditions. Various simple experiments 
 can be made to test the effects of unexpected distracting conditions 
 and also to test the power of different persons to resist the usual 
 effects of such conditions and circumstances. 
 
 {a) Require words to be correctly written backwards, within a 
 limited time, while interruptions of various kinds are attempted, 
 such as suddenly presenting some moderately pungent odor to the 
 nostrils, speaking the name, etc. 
 
 {b) Require a number of words and figures to be written in reg- 
 ular order, within a limited time, arithmetical examples to be 
 correctly solved, a number of lines to be drawn with entire regu- 
 larity, or other work to be done which demands close attention, and 
 observe the effects, upon the regularity, rapidity, and correctness 
 of the work, of the unexpected striking of an alarm clock or a bell, 
 a loud knock at the door, and other sounds and movements. Ex- 
 periments for this purpose may be easily multiplied by a teacher. 
 
APPENDIX 287 
 
 III. The Senses. — Sensation and Perception. (A) Touch 
 and muscular effort. Passive touch must be distinguished from 
 active touch. In the first we are touched ; in the second we touch 
 something and volition is required as well as positive muscular 
 efifort. In most experiments upon touch, taste, and smell, the eyes 
 of the subject should be closed. 
 
 1. Touch the skin on different parts of the hands, face, arm, etc., 
 gently with the points of a pair of dividers and note the distance 
 between the points when the sensation of two touches begins to be 
 felt. Note also whether there is a difference in the quality or char- 
 acter of the sensations produced when different parts of the person 
 are touched. (The compass points, if not very blunt, should be 
 covered with bits of cork or pith.) 
 
 2. Test Weber's law by laying small weights on the palm of the 
 hand. The effect of mere pressure will be determined when the 
 hand is supported ; of positive muscular effort when it is not sup- 
 ported, so that lifting is done. 
 
 3. The threshold of pressure and muscular effort may be tested 
 by the use of very light weights of pith or cork or some other light 
 substance. Various other experiments upon touch may be devised 
 by the teacher, 
 
 4. Experiments of sensitiveness to variations of temperature, 
 both real and imaginary, may be made by means of small vessels 
 of water of different degrees of temperature, by touching the skin 
 with glass or metal rods, by having one end of a wire or small rod 
 held in the hand while the other end is heated, or supposed to be, 
 by a lamp or by other means. These tests may readily be varied" 
 by the skill of the teacher. 
 
 {B) Taste and Smell, The sensations of taste and smell are 
 necessarily very closely connected and are frequently so mingled 
 as not to be clearly distinguishable. 
 
 I. With the nostrils closed, touch the tongue with pure water 
 and with weak solutions of various essences. The mouth should 
 of course be rinsed frequently so that the different tastes shall not 
 
288 APPENDIX 
 
 be mingled. The sensitiveness of different parts of the mouth and 
 tongue may be tested by the use of small brushes. The influence 
 of suggestion may be readily discovered in this connection. 
 
 2. The threshold of the sense of smell may be tested by having 
 solutions of some odorous substance, of different degrees of 
 strength, prepared in a number of vials or small bottles which, be- 
 ginning with the weakest, are brought carefully in contact with the 
 nostrils. Each nostril may be tested separately. 
 
 3. The discrimination of odors may be tested by the use of weak 
 solutions of various odorous substances in bottles, or by spraying 
 the air of the room with a solution, if only one test is to be made 
 at the time and the room is not too large. 
 
 4. Interesting tests of the power of suggestion and imagination 
 may be made in connection with the sense of smell. Solutions or 
 sprays of one substance may be used when another has been in- 
 directly suggested, or pure water may be used when some partic- 
 ular odor is expected. The gas may apparently be turned on 
 when the burner has been stopped with wax, or the teacher may 
 appear to smell some odor, or some object usually odorous, but 
 not so at the time, may be exposed. 
 
 (C) Hearing, Experiments mostly physiological. The influence 
 of attention and its nature are especially observable in experiments 
 upon the sense of hearing. Experiments of a practical character 
 will be of greater value to ordinary students than those of a purely 
 scientific nature. 
 
 I. Distance at which a sound can be heard. For obvious rea- 
 sons accurate tests for this purpose cannot be made upon a class 
 as a whole. The relative sharpness of hearing in different indi- 
 viduals may be determined to some extent by having the class 
 listen to the ticking of a watch, the sound of a tuning fork, the 
 clicking of some instrument, or some other sound. Always bear 
 in mind that watches vary in the loudness of their ticking. As- 
 certain the greatest distance at which individuals can hear the 
 sound of the fork or the ticking of the watch {a) with both ears 
 
APPENDIX 289 
 
 open ; {b) with one ear stopped ; (c) with the fork or watch in dif- 
 ferent directions, in front, behind, on the right and left ; {d) on a 
 level with the ear, higher, lower. 
 
 2. Sounds continuous or intermittent. Ascertain whether 
 sounds, at any given distance, are continuous or intermittent ; if in- 
 termittent, whether they are regularly so, that is, rhythmic. If there 
 is variation in distinctness, does this depend entirely upon the de- 
 gree of attention, or partially upon the state of the nerves ? 
 
 3. Length of time a given sound can be heard, {a) Does this 
 depend largely upon the distance from the sounding body ? (b) Is 
 it affected by the pitch of the sound when the volume is apparently 
 the same ? {c) Is it affected by the quality of the sound, as agree- 
 able or disagreeable, harsh or mild, etc. ? 
 
 4. Note, when this is practicable, the effect of weariness and 
 fatigue in all these experiments. Note also whether persons with 
 musical taste and training generally differ in any respect from other 
 members of the class. Are they more apt to form auditory images 
 of letters, words and figures ? Are they more sensitive to the quality 
 of sounds ? 
 
 [D) Sight. Experiments mostly physiological. 
 
 1. Determine whether vision is normal by the use of letters, 
 words, and other characters of different sizes and at different dis- 
 tances. Cards and the blackboard may be used. If abnormal 
 cases are discovered make special individual tests for these. 
 
 2. Test for color blindness. Tests for this purpose must be in- 
 dividual to a large extent. 
 
 [a) Require the sorting and matching of colored cards, colored 
 papers, colored worsteds, etc. ; select a card of some color, as green 
 or red, without naming the color, and require it to be matched ; 
 require lighter and darker shades to be picked out and placed be- 
 side a selected color. 
 
 (b) Show particular colors and require the name. Test the ra- 
 pidity with which names can be given when colors are shown. 
 Various colored articles may be shown. Only distinct and prom- 
 
 19 
 
290 APPENDIX 
 
 inent colors should be used in this exercise. Considerable allow- 
 ance must be made for the previous training- and environment of 
 individuals. Observe whether the sexes differ in respect to knowl- 
 edge of colors and in color-bHndness. 
 
 3. Persistence of impressions ; after-images, {a) Look steadily 
 and intently at any bright color for a short time, then shut the eyes. 
 The impression of the color will continue for a brief period, some- 
 times changing into the complementary color, [b) Look steadily 
 and intently at colored cards or small pieces of colored paper on 
 a white ground a few seconds, then remove quickly the card or 
 paper and observe the result ; notice the colors which are seen. 
 
 4. Accuracy and rapidity of vision. These experiments are 
 little else than the cultivation of attention with added reference to 
 the ability to compare and judge. 
 
 {a) Show for a very short time letters, words, short sentences, 
 several unrelated words, etc. 
 
 (J?) Show cards with an increasing number of letters, figures, and 
 characters of various kinds in different positions, and test, the ac- 
 curacy of the observation of the numbers, forms, positions etc. 
 
 Tests of this sort can be readily multiplied by the teacher and 
 varied according to conditions. 
 
 5. Illusions of sight. Some figures are given on pages 69 and 
 70 to illustrate illusions as to the length of lines, and to show how 
 parallel lines may be made to appear not parallel. An abundance 
 of material to illustrate the various forms of illusion may be ob- 
 tained from *' Pseudoptics," (p. 294) to which the teacher is re- 
 ferred. We are so familiar ^with illusions of certain kinds that they 
 cease to be regarded as illusions. The apparently increased size 
 of the moon when near the horizon, the bending of a stick' thrust 
 into the water, and the convergence of the rails on a railway 
 track are examples. 
 
 6. Mixing or blending of colors. The mixing of colors will be 
 best illustrated by the use of the color wheel or mixer. Make 
 experiments with various colors and observe the results in each 
 
APPENDIX 291 
 
 case. The apparent blending to the eye depends upon the persist- 
 ence of impressions upon the retina, and its perfection will be 
 determined by the rapidity of the rotation of the wheel. 
 
 IV. Reaction-time. — Reaction is action in response to some 
 other action, or to a stimulus, or a signal of some sort. The 
 time between the stimulus or signal and the answering action is 
 the reaction-time. 
 
 1. Perfectly accurate determinations of reaction-time can be 
 made only by the use of some sort of apparatus. An inexpensive 
 " Reaction-timer " will serve the purpose. Directions for its use 
 can be had with the instrument. Written explanations without 
 the instrument will be of little value. 
 
 2. Without apparatus various simple experiments can be made 
 which will indicate, in a general way, the comparative reaction-time 
 of different students, and the effect of signals given to the differ- 
 ent senses. In all such experiments attention is one of the most 
 important factors ; after this, sensitiveness to stimuli or signals, 
 quickness of volition, and ready response of the nerves and muscles 
 to the impulse of the wall. Reaction-time is occupied by {a) 
 recognition of the signal, {b) mental act of volition, and [c) response 
 of the muscles. 
 
 Reaction to touch may be illustrated by passing an impulse 
 along a line or circle of persons with hands lightly clasped, or the 
 right hand of each person resting on the shoulder or head of the 
 one next in the line. Signals for movements may be given to the 
 ear by words, by taps with a pencil, or by sounds of any indicated 
 kind ; to the eye by movements, by showing colored objects, or by 
 such means as readily suggest themselves. The effect of fatigue 
 upon reaction-time should be carefully observed. 
 
 Reaction-time and the rapidity of mental action may be tested by 
 requiring the solution of mathematical problems, or the perform- 
 ance of any exercise which involves both thinking and motor 
 activity, and noting the time occupied by different individuals. 
 
 V. Image-making or Visualizing. — Many of the experiments 
 
292 APPENDIX 
 
 suggested under previous heads necessarily involve visualizing, but 
 some special tests of this power will be of practical value. An in- 
 teresting discussion of this subject will be found in Francis Gal- 
 ton's " Inquiries into Human Faculty," to which the teacher is 
 referred. 
 
 Inquiries like the following may be made : 
 
 1. Do words pronounced excite visual or auditory images? Do 
 you see the word as written or printed, or do you hear the sounds 
 of the letters in their order ? If doubtful as to the correct spelling 
 of a word, do you picture it to the eye, or utter it to the ear ? 
 
 2. When reading or listening to descriptions of persons, places, 
 buildings, landscapes, paintings, etc., do you form images for the 
 eye, or only hear the sounds of the w^ords ? 
 
 3. When numbers or figures are named, do you see them as on 
 the page of a book, or on the blackboard, or in the air, or do you 
 only hear them as pronounced ? 
 
 4. When playing upon a piano or other musical instrOment, or 
 singing, do you see the notes as written or printed ? When speak- 
 ing what has been committed to memory, do you see the manu- 
 script or the printed page ? 
 
 5. Are your visual images complete, distinct and clearly defined? 
 Can you recall with distinctness the features of many persons ? 
 What objects can you visualize most readily and satisfactorily ? 
 
 VI. Fatigue and Weariness. — In all experiments fatigue should 
 be carefully distinguished from w^eariness. Weariness may de- 
 crease as fatigue increases. Weariness may be overcome by 
 change of subject, change of method, change of teachers. Fatigue 
 demands rest, sleep, tim.e for the restoration of nervous energy. 
 " Weariness is a superficial fact of attention, which may appear, 
 disappear, and reappear many times a day ; fatigue is a deep- 
 seated phenomenon of nervous exhaustion, w^hich steadily increases 
 with a continuance of work." Tests of fatigue are both physical 
 and mental, but in most cases any test touches both the physical 
 organism and some form of psychical activity. Not many direct 
 
APPENDIX 293 
 
 experiments to indicate the degree of fatigue and its effects can be 
 made in a class studying psychology during the recitation period. 
 Some such experiments can be suggested or described which can 
 be made elsewhere. 
 
 1. Test the power of a class to give close attention at different 
 periods of the day ; the power to observe accurately and rapidly ; 
 the power to describe readily and accurately what has been seen 
 or heard. 
 
 2. Give a considerable number of arithmetical examples of the 
 same character to be solved, and notice whether there is a decrease 
 in ^<2^2*^//y of working and an increase in the number of errors, 
 toward the close of a given time. Give a small number of difficult 
 examples and note the same points. 
 
 3. Test the power to commit to memory several names, or dates, 
 or numbers, or short statements of various kinds, read or repeated 
 by the teacher. Test the ability to recall matter learned a short 
 time since. 
 
 4. To test the power to think rapidly and the susceptibility to 
 suggestion, give a number of sentences and paragraphs upon 
 familiar subjects with words omitted, and observe the time occupied 
 in filling the blanks with words which make good sense. 
 
 5. Test the reaction-time by various devices ; the effect of fatigue 
 upon the number of taps made with a pencil, or a telegraph key, or 
 the finger, within a given time ; the rapidity of muscular move- 
 ments generally. 
 
 6. Observe whether the influence of fatigue is constant, or 
 whether it varies from moment to moment, or within short periods 
 of time. If there is variation, is it regular and rhythmic.'^ Does 
 the weather have any observable influence in the production of 
 fatigue ? 
 
 7. Observe the effect of fatigue upon the power of self-control, 
 and upon will-power generally ; upon the conduct and tone of 
 feeling. 
 
 8. After fatigue has become quite evident, is there sometimes a 
 
294 APPENDIX 
 
 period of greater or less length, of apparent recovery of vigor, a 
 '* second wind," so-called ? If so, can the cause be satisfactorily- 
 explained ? 
 
 9. Does change of work, a brief period of physical exercise, re- 
 lieve fatigue as well as weariness ? If so, why ? 
 
 Apparatus. 
 
 Only a few articles are named in the following list — only those 
 needed for performing all the experiments described in this ap- 
 pendix. For a more extended list, refer to any work on •♦ Experi- 
 mental Psychology." 
 
 1. Letters, words, and figures printed on cards. These can be 
 prepared by teachers themselves, if desired, according to their own 
 taste and judgment. 
 
 2. Frame for showing words, etc. 
 
 3. Stop-watch or a watch with seconds hand. 
 
 4. Compasses or dividers, with material for cork or pith points. 
 
 5. Scales (as delicate as possible), and small weights of various 
 kinds. 
 
 6. Glass rods, metal rods, or pieces of wire, etc. 
 
 7. Small alcohol lamp, or other convenient source of heat. 
 
 8. Essences for tastes and odors ; some vials or small bottles. 
 
 9. Small camel's-hair brushes (p. 288). 
 
 10. Atomizer for spraying (p. 288). 
 
 11. Tuning forks ; some of them on resonance boxes. 
 
 12. Cardboard, white and colored, and cards. 
 
 13. Paper of various colors, w^hite tissue. 
 
 14. Colored worsteds. 
 
 15. Pseudoptics. This consists of sets of material, in small 
 boxes, to illustrate visual perception and illusions of sight. 
 (Bradley, Springfield, Mass.) 
 
 16. Color wheel or mixer, with color discs. 
 
 17. Reaction-timer. Sandford's pendulum chronoscope will be 
 suitable and is not expensive. 
 
APPENDIX 295 
 
 18. Telegraph key, or snapper (p. 293). 
 
 Besides the above, two other pieces of apparatus are recom- 
 mended, in connection with the study of the brain : 
 
 1. Brain models. A set of several pieces will be desirable and 
 will be of more service than pages of description. 
 
 2. Drawings of portions of the brain and other parts of the 
 nervous system. These can be prepared by teachers on cardboard 
 or strong paper, by enlarging cuts found in text-book upon phys- 
 iology. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abstract ideas, nature of and how 
 formed, 119; how differ from con- 
 cepts, 119. 
 
 Abstraction, definition and process 
 of, 115, 
 
 AcQUisrnoN, sentiment of, 190. 
 
 AcTivrrY, effect of obstruction of, 
 
 149. 
 
 Admiration, sentiment of, 203. 
 
 Esthetic sentiments, 194. 
 
 Affections, the beneficent, 170-172 ; 
 the moral, 238. 
 
 Alarm, nature of, 181. 
 
 Altruistic emotions, 167. 
 
 Analogy, reasoning by, 138. 
 
 Analysis, nature and process of, 114. 
 
 Anger, effect of, 174. 
 
 Apperception, explained and de- 
 fined, 125. 
 
 Appetites, natural and artificial, 158, 
 159; how related to desires, 212. 
 
 Apprehension, 181. 
 
 Approbation, desire of, 216. 
 
 Association, laws of, 90-103 ; pri- 
 mary laws of, 91 ; secondary or sub- 
 jective laws of, 98 ; influence of 
 upon sentiments, 198, 262. 
 
 Attention, defined, 35; effects of 
 concentration of, 36; varieties of, 
 36, 37 ; effect of upon the body, 38 ; 
 how produced, 39 ; natural and un- 
 natural stimuli, 40, 41 ; influence 
 of surroundings upon, 42 ; limita- 
 tion of as to time, 43 ; a prime 
 condition of memory, 44 ; to more 
 than one thing at the same time, 44 ; 
 importance of, 46, 98. 
 
 Automatic movements, 219. 
 
 Aversion, relation of to desire, 211. 
 
 Beauty, elements of sensuous, 195; 
 sentiment of moral, 205. 
 
 Belief and doubt, 124. 
 
 Brace, JuUa, 68. 
 
 Brain, description of, 22 ; relative 
 weight of, 23 ; divisions of, 24 ; 
 zones of, 26. 
 
 Bridgman, Laura, acquired percep- 
 tions of, d']. 
 
 Cause and effect, 95, 134. 
 
 Cerebellum, description of, 27. 
 
 Cerebrum, divisions of, 24. 
 
 Change of activity, importance of, 
 150. 
 
 Child, position of in the world, 51 ; 
 forms concepts, 116, 117. 
 
 Classification of feelings, 154. 
 
 Compassion, nature of, 180. 
 
 Conception, defined, 116. 
 
 Concepts, formation of general, 114, 
 115; how the child forms, 116; ex- 
 tension and intension of, 118; dif- 
 fer from simple images, 117 ; com- 
 pared with judgments, 123. 
 
 Conduct, reflex influence of, 165; 
 practical rules for, 245. 
 
 Conscience, nature of, 235 ; extend- 
 ed use of the word, 236. 
 
 Consciousness, defined, 12; thresh- 
 old and summit of, 55. 
 
 Contiguity, law of, 93-97. 
 
 Contrast, law of, 93. 
 
 Custom, relation of to habit, 263. 
 
 Deductive reasoning, 130. 
 Definitions, nature of many, 120. 
 Descriptions, nature of, 120. 
 
 '2^1 
 
298 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Desire, defined, 211 ; causes unrest, 
 212; how excited, 213 ; relation of 
 to feeling, 214; specific forms of, 
 214-217; relation of to volition, 
 219. 
 
 Desires, conflict of, 218 ; have moral 
 character, 238. 
 
 Despair, opposite of hope, 217. 
 
 Direction, perception of, 64. 
 
 DiscouRAGExMENT, nature of, 217. 
 
 Disposition, 163, 261, 262. 
 
 Division of labor in the brain, 25. 
 
 Doubt and belief, 124. 
 
 Dread, 181, 182. 
 
 Dreaming, state of, 270. 
 
 Dreams, mental activity in, 271; 
 causes of, 272 ; ancient beliefs con- 
 cerning, 274 ; Dr. Taylor's state- 
 ments concerning, 274, 275. 
 
 Duty, defined, 238. 
 
 Egoistic emotions, 166. 
 
 Emotional nature, cultivation of, 
 207. 
 
 Emotions, defined, 161 ; in animals, 
 161 ; susceptibility to, 162 ; ex- 
 pression of, 163 ; varieties and 
 classes of, 166-183. 
 
 Empirical psychology, 8. 
 
 Enjoyment, how secured, 153. 
 
 Environment, influence of, 226. 
 
 Envy, nature and influence of, 175. 
 
 Esteem, desire of, 216. 
 
 Ethical or moral sentiments, 200. 
 
 Evidence, assumptions as to direct, 
 136; rules as to circumstantial, 
 
 Experimental study, 16. 
 Extension, perception of, 64 ; of 
 concepts, 118, 
 
 Fallacies, nature of, 132. 
 
 Fancy, relation of to imagination, 82. 
 
 Fear, nature and effects of, 181- 
 183 ; instinctive, 258. 
 
 Feelings, relation of to memory, 
 100 ; two effects of, loi ; relation 
 of to cognition, 145; importance 
 of due proportion of, 146 ; impor- 
 tance of knowledge of, 152; rela- 
 tion of to morals, 153; varieties 
 and classification of, 154; moral, 
 237, 238. 
 
 Freedom, sentiment of, 192. 
 
 Freedom of the will, 224-226. 
 Free Will, motives, etc., in rela- 
 tion to moral sentiment, 201. 
 
 Generalization, nature of, 115. 
 Gratitude, sentiment of, 203. 
 
 Habit, effects of, 151 ; how formed, 
 261 ; definition of, 262 ; in moral 
 education, 265. 
 
 Habits, a necessity, 263; in the 
 body, 263 ; of feeling and conduct, 
 264 ; sometimes an evil, 266 ; for- 
 mation of new, 266. 
 
 Hallucinations, nature of, 70 ; in 
 hypnotism, 278. 
 
 Hatred, characteristics of, 177. 
 
 Hearing, sensations of, 58 ; percep- 
 tions of, 66. 
 
 Herbart's theory of retention, 88. 
 
 Heredity, influence of, 226. 
 
 Hope, nature of, 217. 
 
 Humor, 191, 192. 
 I Hypnosis, defined, 277. 
 
 Hypnotism, relation of to somnam- 
 bulism, 277 ; some facts relating to, 
 277, 278 ; effects upon the mus- 
 cular system, 279 ; use of by physi- 
 cians, 279 ; advice concerning, 280. 
 
 Ideas of time and space, 133, 134 ; 
 abstract, 119. 
 
 Illusions, 69 ; produced by hypno- 
 tism, 278. 
 
 Image, nature of, 75 ; how differs 
 from a concept, 117. 
 
 Imagination, defined, 75 ; repro- 
 ductive and constructive, jy ; var^ 
 ieties of constructive, 79; value 
 of, 79, 80 ; passive and active, 80 ; 
 limitation of, 81 ; relation of to 
 fancy, 82 ; abuse of, ^;^ ; cultiva- 
 tion of, 84-86. 
 
 Indignation, nature of, 184. 
 
 Inductive reasoning, 129. 
 
 Inhibition, nature and importance 
 of, 223. 
 
 Instinct, relations of, 249 ; opinions 
 relating to, 250 ; definitions of 251, 
 252; ofiice of, 253; limitations of, 
 254; modifications of, 256; in 
 man, 257 ; knowledge of necessary, 
 259 ; stupidity of, 260. 
 
 Instinctive acts, 220, 258. • 
 
INDEX 
 
 299 
 
 Intuition, moral, 232, 244. 
 Intuitive judgment, and truth, 133; 
 characteristics of, 135. 
 
 Jealousy, nature and effects of, 176. 
 Judgment, defined, 121, 122; moral, 
 
 233, 234 ; guided by law, 239. 
 Judgments, affirmative and negative, 
 
 122 ; singular and universal, 123 ; 
 
 compared with concepts, 123 ; when 
 
 true, 124 ; intuitive, 133. 
 Justice, sentiment of, 203 ; Roman 
 
 ideac^f, 244 ; fundamental principle 
 
 of rnofal law, 245. 
 
 Keller, Helen, 68. 
 Knowledge, desire of, 215. 
 
 Laws of association and suggestion, 
 90-97 ; primary or objective, 91 ; 
 subjective or secondary, 98 ; a 
 fundamental law of, 94. 
 
 Ijfe, desire of, 214. 
 
 Love, emotions of, 170-172. 
 
 Ludicrous, sentiment of, 191. 
 
 Malice, characteristics of, 177. 
 
 Memory, defined, 88 ; laws of asso- 
 ciation relating to, 91-98 ; varieties 
 of, 104 ; causes of differences in, 
 104 ; improvement of, 106-110. 
 
 Mind or soul, definition of, 11, 12 ; 
 connection of with the body, 13, 14. 
 
 Moods and dispositions, 163. 
 
 Moral beauty, sentiment of, 205. 
 
 Moral law, origin, character and 
 scope of, 241 ; theories as to the 
 . source or origin of, 241-244 ; some 
 principles of, 244-245. 
 
 Moral nature in man, 231 ; the train- 
 ing of, 247. 
 
 Motives, 225, 226. See Desire. 
 
 Motor nerves, 29, 32. 
 
 Movements, automatic, random, re- 
 flex, instinctive, 219,220. 
 
 Music and poetry, influence of, 197. 
 
 Nerve matter described, 21, 23. 
 Nerves described, 28 ; divisions of, 
 
 29, 30. 
 Nervous system, 19, 21, 22. 
 
 Obstacles in the study of self, 16 ; 
 in the observation and study of 
 others, 17, 18. 
 
 Patriotism, sentiment of, 202. 
 
 Percept, defined, 61. 
 
 Perception, relation of to sensa- 
 tion, 60 ; definitions of, 61 ; con- 
 ditions of, 62 ; through the different 
 senses, 62-66 ; other mental ac- 
 tivities with, 68 ; the cultivation 
 of, 71. 
 
 Personal sentiments, 193. 
 
 Philanthropy, sentiment of, 202. 
 
 Physiological psychology, 7. 
 
 Pity, nature of, 180. 
 
 Poetry and music, influence of, 197. 
 
 Possession, sentiment of, 190 ; de- 
 sire of, 215. 
 
 Posthypnotic effects, 280. 
 
 Prejudice, 173. 
 
 Presentative activities, functions 
 of, 74. 
 
 Proof and proving, 132. 
 
 Psychology, defined, 7 ; the old, 8 ; 
 the new, 9 ; relation between the 
 old and the new, 9, 10 ; subjective 
 and objective, 13. 
 
 Punishment not revenge, 177. 
 
 Reason and instinct, 252. 
 
 Reasoning, definition of, 128; induc- 
 tive, 129; deductive, 130; demon- 
 strative and probable, 131 ; ulti- 
 mate basis of, 136 ; on moral ques- 
 tions, 143. 
 
 Recognition, of objects, 75 ; by 
 name, 76. 
 
 Reflex action, described, 30 ; mech- 
 anism of, 31. 
 
 Reflex movements, 220. 
 
 Repetition, value of in memory, 99. 
 
 Representation, the earliest, 75; 
 in reading, 76; real and ideal, yy. 
 
 Repression, effects of, 148. 
 
 Reproduction, passive and active, 
 105. 
 
 Resentment, nature and office of, 
 184. 
 
 Retention and reproduction, 74 ; 
 theories of, 88 ; experience as to, 
 
 89. 
 
 Revelation, theory of, as source of 
 
 moral law, 243. 
 Revenge, nature of, 177. 
 Reverie, the nature and influence 
 
 of, 106. 
 
30O 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Right, idea of, 231 ; source of idea 
 
 of, 232 ; use of the word, 246. 
 Rights, nature and source of, 246. 
 
 Sensation, defined, 51 ; not knowl- 
 edge, 52 ; conditions of, 53 ; in- 
 tensity of, 54 ; relation of to stim- 
 ulus, 56; quality in, 57. 
 
 Sensations, duration of, 59; through 1 
 the different senses, 155-157. | 
 
 Sense-feelings or sensations, de- 
 fined, 154 ; of the different senses, 
 
 155-157. 
 
 Sensibility, defined, 53. 
 
 Sensory nerves, 29. 
 
 Sentiments, definition of, 188 ; clas- 
 sification of, 189; intellectual, 189; 
 personal, 193 ; aesthetic, 194 ; of 
 sublimity, 197 ; ethical or moral, 
 200 ; some special, 202-207 ; culti- 
 vation of, 207-209. 
 
 Sight, sensations of, 58 ; percep- 
 tions of, 65 ; 
 
 Signs, natural and artificial, 97. 
 
 Similarity, law of, 91, 92. 
 
 Sleep, predisposing causes of, 269. 
 
 Smell, perceptions of, 62,. 
 
 Society, desire of, 216. 
 
 Somnambulism, relation of to 
 dreaming, 275 ; extraordinary phe- 
 nomena of, 276 ; Professor Wundt's 
 opinion of, 276. 
 
 Soul or mind, defined, 11, 12. 
 
 Space, idea of, 133. 
 
 Spinal cord, description of, 28. 
 
 Study, of self, 13 ; of others, 15. 
 
 Sublime, sentiment of, 197. 
 
 Superiority, sentiment of, 190. 
 Surprise, nature of, 181. 
 Syllogism, 131. 
 Sympathy, sentiment of, 178. 
 
 Taste, perceptions of, 63 ; aesthetic, 
 194; standards of, 195. 
 
 Temperament, definition and vari- 
 eties of, 162. 
 
 Tendency or disposition, explana- 
 tion of, 261. 
 
 Terror, 181, 182. 
 
 Thinking, definition of, 112; begin- 
 ning of, 113; first step in, 114; sec- 
 ond step in, 121 ; third step in, 
 128. 
 
 Time, idea of, 134. 
 
 Touch, sensations of, 58 ; percep- 
 tions of, 6^' 
 
 Truth, sentiment of, 189 ; defined, 
 124. 
 
 Truths, characteristics of intuitive 
 or primary, 135. 
 
 Utilitarian theory of morals, 242. 
 Utility, feeling of, 199. 
 
 Volition, analysis of an act of, 221- 
 223 ; essence of freedom of, 225- 
 226. 
 
 Weber's laws, 57. 
 
 Wholes and parts, relation of, 96. 
 
 Will, freedom of, 224 ; testimony as 
 
 to freedom of, 224, 225. 
 Wit and humor, 191, 192. 
 Wonder, nature of, 181. 
 
CIVICS AND SOCIOLOGY 
 
 Andrews's (I. W.) New Manual of the Con- 
 stitution. Revised by Henry Morris. $1.00 
 
 Cocker's (W. J.) Government of the United 
 States ...... .72 
 
 Forman's (S. E.) First Lessons in Civics .60 
 The same. Special edition for Mary- 
 land .60 
 
 McCleary's (J. T.) Studies in Civics . 1.00 
 
 Manual of Civics . . . . 1.00 
 
 Nordhoffs (Chas.) Politics for Young Amer- 
 icans. Revised Edition . . .75 
 
 Peterman's (A. L) Civil Government . .60 
 
 Special editions of the same for New York, New 
 Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, 
 North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, V^est 
 Virginia, Colorado, and Oregon. 
 
 Small (A. W.) and Vincent's (G. E.) Intro- 
 duction to the Study of Society . 1.80 
 
 Townsend's (C.) Analysis of Civil Govern- 
 ment ...... 1.08 
 
 Shorter Course in Civil Government .72 
 
 Willoughby's (W. W.) Rights and Duties of 
 American Citizenship . . . 1.00 
 
 POLITICAL ECONOMY 
 
 Gregory's (J. M.) New Political Economy 1.20 
 
 Laughlin's (J. L) Elements of Political 
 Economy . . . . , 1.20 
 
 Copies sent^ prepaid^ to any address on receipt of the price. 
 American Book Company 
 
 New York ♦ Cincinnati > Chicago 
 
 (X87) 
 
Books for Teachers 
 
 FOR THE STUDY OF PEDAGOGY 
 Aiken's Methods of Mind-Training 
 Aiken's Exercises in Mind-Training . 
 Alling-Aber's Experiment in Education 
 Hailmann's History of Pedagogy 
 Hewett's Pedagogy for Young Teachers 
 Hinsdale's The Art of Study 
 King's School Interests and Duties 
 Mann's School Recreations and Amusements 
 Page's Theory and Practice of Teaching . 
 Palmer's Science of Education . 
 Payne's School Supervision 
 Roark's Method in Education 
 Roark's Psychology in Education 
 Seeley's History of Education . 
 Shoup's History and Science of Education 
 Swett's American Public Schools 
 White's Elements of Pedagogy . . 
 White's School Management 
 
 $1.00 
 1.00 
 1.25 
 .60 
 .85 
 1.00 
 1.00 
 1.00 
 1 00 
 1.00 
 1.00 
 1.00 
 1 00 
 1.25 
 1.00 
 1.00 
 1.00 
 1.00 
 
 FOR THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGY 
 
 Dewey's Psychology 
 
 Halleck's Psychology and Psychic Culture . 
 Hewett's Psychology for Young Teachers . 
 Putnann's Elementary Psychology 
 
 1.25 
 
 1.25 
 
 .85 
 
 .90 
 
 Copies sent, prepaid, to any address on receipt of the price. 
 
 American Book Company 
 
 New York 
 
 (197) 
 
 Cincinnati 
 
 Chicago 
 
Primers in 
 Science, History^ and Literature 
 
 Bound uniformly in flexible cloth, 18mo 
 
 Price, 35 cents each 
 
 SCIENCE PRIMERS 
 Edited by Professors HUXLEY, ROSCOE, and STEWART 
 
 Introductory. T. H. Huxley 
 
 Chennistry H. E. Roscoe 
 
 Physics Balfour Stewart 
 
 Physical Geography A. Geikie 
 
 Geology A. Geikie 
 
 Physiology and Hygiene 
 
 M. Foster and R. S. Tracy 
 
 Astronomy J. N. Lockyer 
 
 Botany J, D. Hooker 
 
 Logic W. S. Jevons 
 
 Inventional Geometry 
 
 W. G. Spencer 
 
 Pianoforte Playing F.Taylor 
 
 Political Economy. .W. S. Jevons 
 Natural Resources of 
 
 the United States. .J. H. Patton 
 Scientific Agriculture . N.T. Lupton 
 History of Philosophy. .T. Hunter 
 
 HISTORY PRIMERS 
 Edited by J. R. GREEN, M.A. 
 
 Greece. C. A. Fyffe 
 
 Rome M. Creighton 
 
 Europe E. A. Freeman 
 
 France Charlotte M. Yonge 
 
 Old Greek Life J. P. Mahaffy 
 
 Roman Antiquities. .A. S. Wilkins 
 
 Geography George Grove 
 
 Mediaeval Civilization. G. B.Adams 
 
 Roman Constitution A. Tighe 
 
 Egypt F. C. H. Wendel 
 
 LITERATURE PRIMERS 
 Edited by J. R. GREEN, M.A. 
 
 American Literature. M.C.Watkins 
 English Literature 
 
 Stopford A. Brooke 
 
 English Grammar R. Morris 
 
 English Exercises R. Morris 
 
 English Composition.. John Nichol 
 
 Philology ..J. Peile 
 
 Shakespeare E. Dowden 
 
 Studies in Bryant J. Alden 
 
 Greek Literature R. C. Jebb 
 
 Homer W. E. Gladstone 
 
 Classical Geography. M. F. Tozer 
 
 Copies sent, prepaid, to any address on receipt of the price. 
 
 American Book Company 
 
 New York 
 (103) 
 
 Cincinnati 
 
 Chicago 
 
Webster's School Dictionaries 
 
 REVISED EDITIONS 
 
 WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DICTIONARIES in their revised form co>q. 
 stitute a progressive series, carefully graded and especially adapted for 
 Primary Schools, Common Schools, High Schools, Academies, and pri- 
 vate students. These Dictionaries have all been thoroughly revised, 
 entirely reset, and made to conform in all essential respects to that great 
 standard authority in English, — Webster's International Dictionary. 
 
 WEBSTER'S PRIMARY SCHOOL DICTIONARY . . . $0.48 
 Containing over 20,000 words and meanings, with over 400 
 illustrations. 
 
 WEBSTER'S COMMON SCHOOL DICTIONARY . . . $0.72 
 Containing over 25,000 words and meanings, with over 500 
 illustrations. 
 
 WEBSTER'S HIGH SCHOOL DICTIONARY .... $0.98 
 
 Containing about 37,000 words and definitions, and an appendi? 
 
 giving a pronouncing vocabulary of Biblical, Classical, Mythological, 
 
 Historical, and Geographical proper names, with over 800 illustrations. 
 
 WEBSTER'S ACADEMIC DICTIONARY. Cloth, $1.50; Indexed, $1.8Q 
 The Same .... Half Calf, $2.75 ; Indexed, $3.00 
 Abridged directly from the International Dictionary, and giving the 
 orthography, pronunciations, definitions, and synonyms of the large 
 vocabulary of words in common use, with an appendix containing 
 various useful tables, with over 800 illustrations. 
 
 SPECIAL EDITIONS 
 
 Webster's Countinghouse Dictionary . . Sheep, Indexed, $2.40 
 Webster's Condensed Dictionary . Cloth $1.44 ; Indexed, 1.75 
 
 The Same . . . Half Calf, $2.75 ; Indexed, 3.00 
 
 Webster's Handy Dictionary 
 Webster's Pocket Dictionary. Cloth . 
 
 The Same. Roan Flexible . 
 
 The Same. Roan Tucks 
 
 The Same. Morocco, Indexed . 
 Webster's American People's Dictionary and Manual 
 Webster's Practical Dictionary .... 
 
 .15 
 .57 
 .69 
 .78 
 .90 
 .48 
 .80 
 
 Copies of any of Webster s Dictionaries will be sent, prepaid ^ to any 
 address on receipt of the price by the Publishers : 
 
 American Book Company 
 
 New York ♦ Cincinnati ♦ Chicago 
 
 (104) 
 
Apt«^3 lyoi (/\A^ 
 
^Oi 
 
 Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
 Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
 Treatment Date: Oct. 2004 
 
 PreservationTechnologies 
 
 A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
 
 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
 Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
 (724) 779-21 1 1