Carleton.] 138 [February. 



bereft mother weeps at the thought of her departed child. When 

 the thought is not present, her tears cease to flow. 



That actions in all the above cases do proceed from the mind as the 

 immediate cause, and not from the Will, are matters of fact attested 

 by our own consciousness, from which there is no appeal. 



Again : the passions, whether natural or acquired, play their part 

 in the drama of life. Says an elegant writer : " The passions are 

 the winds by which we sail, and, though they may upset our ship, 

 we cannot sail without them." That their power over the mind, when 

 excessive, often hurries us into deeds of violence, are facts that no- 

 body will deny. 



The motive power in man that absorbs all others, is the desire of 

 happiness, that "light and glory of the world." Though he knows 

 it is unattainable on earth, he does not relax his pursuit on that 

 account. It is a necessity of his nature, that he should continue to 

 hope, to act, and to be deceived until he dies. If he obtain his object, 

 it often proves his destruction. He pursues what his judgment ap- 

 proves, and, though he may err, it is the only guide Providence has 

 vouchsafed to bestow. 



M. Cousin affirms, that "at the moment the Will exerts itself in 

 a special act we are conscious it could exert itself in a special act 

 totally contrary, without any obstacle, without being thereby ex- 

 hausted ; so that having changed its acts a hundred times, the faculty 

 remains integrally the same, being always able to do what it does 

 not, and always able to do what it does. Here then, in all its pleni- 

 tude, is the characteristic of Liberty." That is to say, the Will can 

 act of itself, without or against motive, and for the truth of this f;ict, 

 that philosopher takes refuge behind his own consciousness, where 

 he knows he cannot be reached. No man is conscious of what he 

 cannot know. Consciousness is knowledge. He is conscious of what 

 he once did, or is now doing, but never of innate powers of mind 

 before they are brought out by experience. Milton and Pope were 

 not conscious they were born poets before put to the trial. Revolutions 

 often bring to light powers before unknown to the possessors them- 

 selves. 



M. Cousin's doctrine can never be tested by experiment; since it 

 is impossible to act without motive or against motive. While going 

 to the east under a prevailing purpose, it is plain he could not turn 

 his steps to the west, unless actuated by a contrary and stronger mo- 

 tive. Yet this same delusion is the besetting evil of all who write 

 or speak on the subject of the Will. When they appeal to their 



