On the Relations between Mind and Muscle. 179 



movement common to it, and to tliat other series which properly belonged 

 to the idea in the mind. This we conceive to be the meaning of what is 

 commonly called a lapsus linguce, and is very different from a malapropism: 

 the latter is a mistake of the mind, the former is a mistake of the muscles. 

 A similar error not unfrequently occurs in writing. A perfect master of 

 orthography may commit a mistake of this kind ; he may write, for in- 

 stance, the adverb there, though the pronoun was in his mind, merely from 

 an irregularity of muscular succession. The tracing of a word on paper is 

 the result of a particular set of muscular movements ; but words of very 

 different meanings may have very siuiilar sets, and even initially identical, 

 as in the instance just mentioned ; and hence the mistake arises. We 

 have heard persons say that a bad pen would make them mis-spell ; in 

 such a case, the impediment offered by the pen causes an irregularity in 

 the succession of the movements. But it may be asked, how is it that we 

 sometimes utter or write a word no less dissimilar in sound and in sym- 

 bolical characters, than foreign from the subject discoursed of? The 

 causation in this case is different ; the error exists in the mind, and 

 arises from our being occupied with more than one series of ideas ; in 

 which case an accidental exchange takes place between the series com- 

 municated, and that which is retained. To a person engaged in writing, 

 when others are talking around him, the accident is very liable to happen. 

 Some word makes a particular impression on his mind, and diverts him a 

 moment from his previous train of thought; but his muscles continue to 

 act, and follow the impulse of the word in question, as of any other that 

 passes through his mind, more germane to the matter in hand. From 

 what has been said, then, it is deducible, that there are motions immedi- 

 ately consequent on ideas, in the same manner as others are consequent 

 on sensations and emotions ; but we have not arranged the former in a 

 separate class, because we are not aware of any evidence that ideas assume 

 the relation of proximate causes to motions, except under the operation of 

 the general law or principle which we have been engaged in illustrating; 

 while sensations and emotions, on the contrary, manifestly produce their 

 appropriate actions, without any reference whatever either to association 

 or succession.* 



• The beneficial influence of this law of muscular action will be obvious, on con- 

 sidering the inconvenience that would arise, were it necessary that the mind should 

 be constantly directed to our ordinary actions. Authorship would be as rare as now 

 it is frequent, were a writer's thoughts to be distracted by attention to his manual 

 employment. How many sublime meditations would have been lost to the world, if 

 the legs of peripatetic philosophers had required the constant superintendance of 

 their minds. Or to come down to more ordinary pursuits ; the knitting needles of 

 the intelligent lady would make but slow progress in their charitable employment, 

 were her muscles unable to guide them without the direction of the mind, which is 

 engaged in the conversation of her friends. How could the weaver sing his psalms, 

 or the waggoner whistle his rustic strains, did the shuttle of the one, or the whip of 

 the other, require that mental attention which is occupied by their respective melo- 

 dies ? — Hundreds of such instances will occur to every one. 



