IMAGINATION 



2934 



IMMORTALITY 



in the thousand and one ways which contrib- 

 ute to the welfare of the individual and the 

 progress of society. 



There are two classes of ideas which should 

 be carefully distinguished those that will al- 

 ways remain unreal and those that may be- 

 come real. For instance, we may join the 

 body of a woman to the tail of a fish and 

 create the image of a mermaid, but we do not 

 believe that such a being exists, or ever will 

 exist, because the combination of elements 

 forming the picture is contrary to all known 

 laws and because no such object has been 

 seen. On the other hand, many inventions 

 when first projected are pronounced "mere fig- 

 ments of the brain" and considered impracti- 

 cable, but experience has proved most of these 

 inventions to be practical and useful, and many 

 of them have been so interwoven into the 

 industrial and social life of the world that they 

 are now indispensable. Such are the telegraph 

 and the electric light. Those who give undue at- 

 tention to the creation of the unreal are seldom 

 successful in practical affairs, but their creations 

 are sometimes of great value to the world. 

 Should we withdraw from literature the works 

 of Shakespeare, Milton, Victor Hugo, Dante, 

 Longfellow, Lowell, Hawthorne, and scores of 

 others, the race would suffer an irreparable loss, 

 and the same may be said of the great works in 

 music and art. 



It is not only in the realm of the material 

 that the imagination enables us to make prog- 

 ress. Imagination working with reason has en- 

 abled men to think out and set in order the 

 laws that govern the nations of the earth, to 

 find practical application for those universal 

 principles truth, love, justice, freedom that 

 lie at the foundation of character. This is 

 why the works of Plato, Kant and other great 

 philosophers will last through all time. 



Imagination makes us happy or miserable. 

 Fear and worry are but results of imagining 

 conditions which we anticipate, and the antici- 

 pation is usually stronger than the reality. 

 This may also be true of our anticipation of 

 pleasure, though a slight disappointment in the 

 reality brings us no harm. It naturally follows 

 that a clear conscience and clean thinking are 

 important factors in the production of our 

 mental images. 



"Thyself within ! Thyself within ! 



O friend ! find here thy strength, thy peace, 

 Pray not that loss and change may cease 

 Pray rather, higher heights to win! 

 Thy spirit Godward wins release, 

 And soar thee where thou art akin !" 



Culture of the Imagination. Because of its 

 nature imagination is more likely to be abused 

 than any other form of mental activity. Un- 

 less it is curbed by the reason it is liable to 

 run away with us. All other activities of the 

 mind aid in giving culture to the imagination. 

 Therefore he has the most useful imagination 

 whose mind has been so trained that all its 

 activities are harmoniously developed. The 

 following suggestion will be found helpful to 

 those interested in the mental training of 

 children : 



1. The products of the imagination can contain 

 nothing that is not previously in the mind. Ob- 

 servation (perception) then is the first step in the 

 culture of the imagination. 



2. Ideals depend largely upon one's association 

 and environment. Not only is it true that "evil 

 associates corrupt good manners," they also cre- 

 ate thoughts and mental pictures that no pure 

 mind can entertain. See that children are placed 

 amid suitable surroundings. 



3. Literature exerts a powerful influence upon 

 the imagination. Tell stories and read books to 

 children that convey their own moral without 

 comment, and in that way aid in the formation of 

 high ideals. 



4. Play is actuated by and gives culture to the 

 imagination. Children should have opportunity 

 to play and should be taught good games (see 

 PLAY ; GAMES AND PLAYS ) . 



5. Within the limits of their mental capacity 

 children should be encouraged to construct and in- 

 vent. Oral and written composition are among 

 the best means of giving culture to the imagina- 

 tion. Encourage pupils to put as much life and 

 beauty as they can into their recitations in lan- 

 guage, reading, geography and history. Discuss 

 with them the books they read and encourage 

 them to describe the leading characters and to tell 

 why they like or dislike them. 



6. Remember that the imagination is a prac- 

 tical activity and that it is associated with every 

 complete mental act. 



7. Ideals are progressive, and that they may be 

 effective they must be tangible, that is, within 

 the grasp of the child's understanding, otherwise 

 he will find no interest in them. When the ideal 

 is chosen the teacher and parents should see that 

 it progresses as the child gains in experience. 

 See PERCEPTION ; MEMORY ; FEELING. W.F.R. 



IMMIGRATION. See EMIGRATION AND IM- 

 MIGRATION. 



IMMORTALITY, immawrtal'iti, a continua- 

 tion of existence, in some form, after the dis- 

 solution of the body; the doctrine that the 

 human soul survives the death of the body, 

 and exists forever. Belief in immortality, in 

 some form, has been a part of almost all reli- 

 gions. Life after death was believed by tl 

 ancient Greeks and Romans to be a shadow 

 the present, and the spirits of the dead we 

 supposed to inhabit the invisible world 



