816 OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



motives to be decided, the answer must be sought in the general consciousness 

 of Mankind, which is found to be more and more accordant in this respect, the 

 more faithfully it is interpreted, the more habitually it is acted on, and the 

 more the whole intelligence is expanded and enlightened. It is this tendency 

 towards universal agreement which shows that there is really as good a founda- 

 tion for Moral science in the psychical nature of Man, as there is for that of 

 Music in the pleasure which he derives from certain combinations and succes- 

 sions of sounds. So, again, the more elevated are the religious ideas of Man- 

 kind in regard to the character and will of the Deity, the more will they ap- 

 proach to a general accordance in regard to what constitutes Religious Duty ; 

 and the complete coincidence which exists between the dictates of the Christian 

 law and the highest principles of pure Morality prevents one set of motives 

 from ever coming into antagonism with the other. The Conscience of the reli- 

 gious man, indeed, may be said to be the resultant of his Moral sense, combined 

 with the idea of Duty which arises out of his sense of relation to the Deity. 

 With the former are closely associated all those emotions and propensities 

 which render him considerate of the welfare of his fellow-men as of his own ; 

 and with the notion of duty to God are closely united the desire of His favor, 

 the fear of his displeasure, the aspiration after His perfection, all which act 

 like other motives in deciding the Will. Their relative force on any occasion, 

 as compared with that of the lower propensities and sensual desires, greatly 

 depends on the degree in which they are habitually brought to influence the 

 mind ; and it is in its power of fixing the contemplation on those higher con- 

 siderations which ought to be paramount to all others, and of withdrawing it 

 from the lower, that the Will has the chief influence in the direction of the 

 conduct according to the dictates of Virtue. 



838. From the general survey which we have now taken of the phenomena 

 of Mind, it seems to be the obvious conclusion that these phenomena essentially 

 consist in a succession of states of consciousness ; and that this succession takes 

 place, like the phenomena of the Material Universe, under certain determinate 

 conditions. We have seen that, in those actions of the Nervous system (as of 

 other parts of the body) in which the Will is not concerned, we have simply to 

 consider the two elements of which we take account in all scientific inquiry ; 

 namely, the force that operates, and the organized structure on and through 

 which it operates in other words, the dynamical agency, and the material con- 

 ditions. And if we could imagine a being to grow up from infancy to maturity, 

 with a mind in the state of that of a " biologized" subject ( 825), we should 

 see that it would be strictly correct to speak of his character as formed for him 

 and not by him ; all his thoughts, feelings, and actions being but the reflex of 

 his own nature upon the impressions made upon it ; and that nature being 

 determined in part by original constitution, and in part by the mode in which 

 it is habitually called into action. This last condition is one that is peculiar to 

 a living and growing organism; and it is one which cannot be too strongly or 

 too constantly kept in mind. A mere inorganic substance reacts in precisely 

 the same mode to mechanical, chemical, electrical, or other agencies, how- 

 ever frequently these are brought to bear upon it, provided it has been restored 

 to its original condition ; thus water may be turned into steam, the steam con- 

 densed into water, and the water raised into steam again, any number of times, 

 without the slightest variation in the effects of the heat and cold which are. the 

 efficient causes of the change. But every kind of activity peculiar to a living body, 



too frequently derive all their force from the habit of yielding to their promptings in 

 lesser matters, which gradually gives them a dominance, such as the Will (weakened by 

 want of exercise in the habit of self-restraint) is unable to resist. Hence the criminal 

 action is to be regarded as but the expression of a long previous course of criminal thought, 

 for which, in so far as he could have otherwise directed it, the individual may legitimately 

 be held responsible. 



