238 THE HUMAN HEART. 



mental muscles or volitions upon the model, or rather in the arche- 

 type, of the whole muscular frame. This is of a piece with that 

 common sense, that he who wills the end, wills the means; or phy- 

 siologically speaking, when we will an action, the structural will, 

 through the sense of power or muscular soul, wills every muscle and 

 every fibre to take its part in the action, because the structural will 

 is the muscle of muscle and the limb of limb. A serious view of 

 these ends, as every one of them a human body ! and yet no new 

 view, but only a fresh mention of " the inner man." In short, the 

 will stretches forth the arm because it is the arm of the arm, and the 

 inner man commands the outer, because he is the man of the man. 

 In proportion to the number of ends, ideas of action or senses of 

 power, that are in the muscular faith and memory, is the quick 

 vitality or presence of mind with which we move and work in the 

 world : the weights that we lift and the tunnels that we bore ; the 

 forlorn hopes that we lead and outlive; the number of evils and 

 errors slain that we count after the battle ; the list of impossibilities 

 flouted ; is not according to the thickness or thinness of our arms, 

 but is measured by the will first, and secondly by the sense of power 

 which is its servant in the muscular array. Will knows nothing of 

 the present arm, but it extemporizes muscle, building it upon its own 

 mould, for as we said before, it is essential muscle. Furthermore, 

 it does not wait for this, but it makes smallness do the work of 

 largeness — a feat at which all life aims. On the other hand, the 

 loss of these ends or senses of power is paralysis of the will and 

 muscles, after which the flesh becomes so. brittle that the consistent 

 intellect sometimes is impressed to dictate, that the sufferer is made 

 of glass, and will break if he is moved ; for when ends become mere 

 pictures without touchingness, nothing can stir the muscles without 

 hurting them. These muscular senses then are the proper powers 

 of man, or the genii of action ; the maids in golden helms that 

 attend us in the field, and bear us harmless through the hurtling 

 showers. 



The contents of the marvelous ideas which thus use our muscles 

 and shape our purposes, lead us to another consideration respecting 

 the external world ; for these ideas take the world for granted, and 

 assume its concurrence. It is not fair to argue, that as they govern 



