384 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



external process, our method of expression words. But it is not 

 entirely" essential that words should accompany the conceptions, 

 and as a matter of fact we find in certain nervous conditions just 

 exactly this state of affairs. And it is just at this point, as we 

 shall very shortly see, that we may look for a frequent cause of 

 the unnecessary, the unexplainable, the habitual lie. 



The natural inference is that between the formation of a con- 

 cept and the rightful expression of it there must be a direct and 

 uninterrupted connection, with the least tendency to interference 

 from cross-currents, with the fewest possible obstacles from ex- 

 aggerated inhibitions. This condition finds a parallel to a certain 

 extent in the phenomena of producing electric energy, its trans- 

 mission in a current, and its final exhibition in some palpable way. 

 Now, in order to insure this connection there must be perfect in- 

 sulation, a perfect protection against opportunities for divergence, 

 a guard and a help for the characteristic activity. In mental 

 workings we have this insulation in memory, the principal prop- 

 erty of nerve substance, the result of repeated and continued 

 impressions. As concepts are conveyed through the senses, so 

 the repeated recognition and use of them are provided for by 

 the memory activity ; and upon the normal and exact co-ordi- 

 nation of this activity do our mental workings depend. The 

 relation and combination of remembered concepts must be ab- 

 solutely regular, must coincide with the normal standard in 

 order to give the person an image which will correspond with 

 that of his fellows, which will appeal to them as really true. 



But suppose, as most people affirm, that there is a particle of 

 insanity in every one's make-up ; let us for the time admit that 

 there are variations from the normal in every man. We are then 

 forced to say that, as the standard of the normal can not vary, it 

 naturally follows that deficiencies are abnormities, are signs of 

 degeneration, are signs which point to a lack of sanity. This does 

 not mean that men so constituted are not fit to be trusted in the 

 general affairs of life or to fill their places in the world. In the 

 same way a man may be weak in the knees and still be capable of 

 locomotion, even though he halt. Nevertheless, such a man is 

 susceptible of mishaps and accidents brought on by natural in- 

 ability; and, moreover, no one would be justified in punishing 

 him for such accidents. In the same way no one would think of 

 blaming a man because he was color-blind, any more than of 

 punishing a woman because she happened to be unable to distin- 

 guish smells. By these analogies we merely conclude that we 

 constantly find variations from the normal occurring sponta- 

 neously which nevertheless do not prevent the possessor from 

 mingling with others on the ordinary footing of social and busi- 

 ness intercourse. This principle has long been recognized among 



