Evolution of Form. 157 



ductive organisms ; most men's minds, I fear, are 

 looking-glasses reflecting objects that are before 

 them, and contemplating these reflections a man 

 says to himself : " See ! how I am thinking ! "when he 

 is only repeating the thoughts of others. Now we 

 are not to be mere looking-glasses ; when the objects 

 of the outer world give rise to images, the mind is 

 to work on them, analyse, re-arrange, combine; 

 thinking is the work of the mind itself on the 

 mental images supplied through sensation, the 

 working on the materials which have been gradually 

 gathered by experience. As soon might you call a 

 loose heap of bricks that you see in the compound of 

 a house, a building, as call the reflection of other 

 people's thoughts, your thinking. That is only the 

 material for thought. Thinking is the work of 

 the architect, of the builder that builds these 

 bricks into a definite edifice, and until we have 

 built up thoughts in our minds, we have no 

 right to arrogate to ourselves the name of thinkers. 

 Practise then this independent thinking ; it is hard ; 

 you will not know how hard until you try it. 

 Never let pass a day without reading something that 

 gives you material for thought. No matter if the 

 book be not religious ; if it be only intellectual, that 

 will make you stronger in intellect. Bven leaving 

 spirituality aside with its nobler possibilities, take 



