412 NATURE AND NURTURE 



due to an exercise of will, though afterwards, when we are thinking 

 of other things, the performance becomes automatic. (3) Every 

 clearly voluntary action is now in part automatic, for we have 

 learned a general automatic power of co-ordinating our muscles 

 for every kind of action. (4) Every automatic action becomes 

 voluntary directly our attention is concentrated on it; thus, the 

 automatic action of a woman who, when she is knitting, thinks of 

 other things, becomes clearly voluntary when she concentrates her 

 attention on her work. 



679. At the back of the eye is a small spot, the fovea centralis^ 

 which is the region of the most acute vision. When we wish to 

 see an object distinctly, we turn our eyes so that the retinal image 

 of it falls on the fovea centralis. That constitutes the action of 

 fixing our eyes on the object. The images of the other objects 

 within the area of sight are cast on the peripheral regions of the 

 retina surrounding the fovea> and are seen much less vividly 

 those nearest the fovea being most, and those farthest least dis- 

 tinctly seen. Normally, when we are attending to the things we 

 see, the major part of our attention is concentrated on the object 

 on which the sight is fixed. But we are not entirely oblivious of 

 its setting, for any unexpected occurrence within the area of sight 

 immediately attracts our concentrated sight and attention, which 

 could not happen were we quite unconscious of it. This diffusion of 

 some of our sight and attention while most of them are concentrated 

 on particular objects is extremely useful ; for thereby the concen- 

 trated faculties are continually guided to fresh objects of interest 

 or importance. Thus, having sufficiently admired one flower on a 

 bush, our sight and attention does not wander vaguely round in 

 search of other objects of admiration, but swiftly passes to flowers 

 which previously were marked on the peripheral portion of the 

 retina. The recollection of the first flower is then stored in the 

 memory, and to it, as our concentrated sight and attention wander 

 about, we are able to add memories of other flowers. Con- 

 sequently, we do not live solely in the immediate present. We 

 are able to compare the various flowers on the bush with one 

 another and with flowers seen perhaps long ago. Thus our minds 

 are built up. 



680. It seems, then, as regards the objects of sight, we are able 

 to attend to more than one thing at a time. At any moment, our 

 attention is more or less concentrated on one thing, but some of it is 

 diffused, with varying but much lesser degrees of concentration, on 

 other things. The object on which our sight is for the time being 



