THE GROWTH OF THE WILL. n 



subject, notwithstanding that it can not be manifested at birth, as in 

 the case of quadrupeds. 



2. When I composed " The Senses and the Intellect," the doctrine 

 of evolution was not before the world in any shape. I made no at- 

 tempt to frame an hypothesis to account for our instincts ; I assumed 

 them as I found them, and described the progress of the individual ac- 

 quisitions as they appeared to my observation. In my subsequent 

 writings I have made ample use of the hypothesis, so far as I think it 

 agrees with the facts. I may refer more particularly to the third edi- 

 tion of " The Emotions and the Will," published not long ago. In 

 " Mental and Moral Science " I allow for the probability of hereditary 

 acquisitions in reference to the various relations summed up in the 

 knowledge of space. 



3. My theory of the will, as first conceived, was the expression of 

 the facts as I was able to view them at the time. I regarded as ac- 

 quisitions everything that appeared to need teaching in some shape or 

 other ; as, for example, speech. I inquired what were the powers that 

 existed in the absence of teaching, and what were those that came into 

 being only by teaching, or by some sort of experience or acquirement. I 

 may have misconceived the scope of the two departments ; but, to the 

 best of my knowledge at the time, I endeavored to appreciate the ex- 

 tent of each. I saw that an infant at the end of a few months could 

 perform simple articulations, as wa, na, bo, bit, and that on these could 

 be based the instruction in speech. I did not consider that the artic- 

 ulations could be tanght ; I was inclined to believe that they might be 

 stumbled on by random tentatives. I now proceed to remark on Pro- 

 fessor Spence's reductio ad absurdiim of that operation. 



4. When the Professor talks of the number of muscles that must 

 come into play in pronouncing the letter A, and of the enormous un- 

 likelihood of a child stumbling on the right one in a few months, he 

 leaves out of account various circumstances. For one thing, the com- 

 binations are absolutely limited by mutual conflict ; only such group- 

 ings as can go together are to be allowed. How far this would reduce 

 the possible number of trials I do not say, nor do I mean to affirm that 

 the number would not remain very large ; still his figure would be very 

 seriously reduced. I will take a more patent example than speech, 

 namely, the movement of the eves. We know that six muscles are at 

 work; and, allowing several gradations of energy to each, say four, 

 there are twenty-four elements to play upon in every variety of combi- 

 nation. But now, instead of summing the arithmetical possibilities of 

 union among these elements, let us survey the outcome. Of course in 

 many of the combinations, as when two opposing muscles were equally 

 stimulated, there would be no result ; there would be simply a shock 

 of painful collision. When the stimuli are unequal, there would be 

 motion in some one course up, down, right, left, slanting, curved. 

 The possibilities now are not so very formidable : the eye can only 



