260 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



This germ cell under these conditions, within the female, and in 

 connection with her body, develops very rapidly into the embryo. 

 It is true that the relation of the embryo to the mother continues to 

 be almost parasitic in its nature during its development up to the 

 time of birth, as it also remains for a considerable time after birth. 

 Nevertheless, it draws its nourishment from, and is in a broad sense 

 systemically related to, her body. For as part of her bodily system 

 no activity in any part of the embryo can be without some direct or 

 indirect effect upon each and every part of the body of the mother; 

 and no activity in any of these parts of the mother can be totally with- 

 out direct or indirect effect upon it. 



The psychic coincidents of the activities in the embryo are thus 

 part and parcel of the mother's consciousness, if this is considered 

 in the broad way presented in the preceding section. 



As the embryo grows, within it develops a nervous system of its 

 own, and if our view is correct a minor form of consciousness must 

 exist in connection with the activities of this rudimentary nervous 

 system. 



It is true that, so far as we know, the nervous system of the embryo 

 never has a direct connection with the nervous system of the mother : 

 nevertheless as there is a reciprocity of reaction between the physical 

 body of the mother and its embryonic parasite, the relation of the 

 embryonic nervous system to the nervous system of the mother is not 

 very far removed from the relation of the preeminent part of the 

 nervous system of a man to some minor nervous system within his 

 body which is to a marked extent disassociated from the whole neural 

 mass. 



Correspondingly then, and within the consciousness of the mother, 

 there develops a new little minor consciousness which, although but 

 lightly integrated with the mass of her consciousness, nevertheless has 

 its part in her consciousness taken as a whole, much as the psychic 

 correspondents of the action of the nerves which govern the secre- 

 tions of the glands of her body have their part in her consciousness 

 taken as a whole. 



It is very much as if the optic ganglia developed fully in them- 

 selves, without any closer connection with the rest of the brain than 

 existed at their first appearance. They would form a little complex 

 nervous system almost but not quite apart from the brain system; and 

 it would be difficult to deny them a consciousness of their own; which 

 would indeed form part of the whole consciousness of the individual, 

 but which would be in a measure self-dependent. Should the optic 

 ganglia when fully developed be separated away from the brain; then 

 what was once a minor system within the whole brain system would 

 become a new individual with an optic consciousness all its own. 



