702 Dynamic Theory. 



find people, not a few, to whom benevolence is an instinct, and who will 

 do a kind action because they like to, in fact, because they cannot very 

 well help it. 



That which is called self-control consists in the habitual repression 

 of demonstrations of the emotions. The manner in which such habit 

 may be acquired, depends upon the principal of the substitution of one 

 sort of stimulus for another. The ingenuity of man has contrived 

 many sorts of machines, the parts of which exercise mutual control 

 over each other. Thus, in the steam engine, the movement of the pis- 

 ton through the cylinder, driven by the steam behind it, gives rise to 

 the movement of the slide valve in the steam-chest, which movement is 

 destined presently to cut off the motive force from the back end of the 

 piston, and by diverting it to the front end, reverse the direction of the 

 piston's movement. This is an example of the self-control of an auto- 

 matic machine. The governor and the safety-valve are other features 

 of the same machine, contributing' to its self-control in other particulars. 

 When an infant is excited by something disagreeable, into a fit of pas- 

 sion, the nurse attempts its pacification by diversion. She calls its at- 

 tention to this, that o* the other agreeable sight, sound or taste, in the 

 expectation that the stimulation from these will neutralize and counter- 

 act the one that raises the row. In children of a larger growth, the 

 counteracting, neutralizing and restraining stimulation may be in the 

 form of an idea presented by another person. The idea of the disap- 

 proval, anger or resentment of others whose good-will is essential or de- 

 sirable to him, will in many cases have a counteracting influence against 

 improper outbursts of passion. Such motives as these are ordinarily 

 the most potent, at any rate at first, toward the control of passion, and 

 they are certainly not at first literally motives of se?/-control. But af- 

 ter these motives have been, by external means, called up a number of 

 times, in association with a fit of passion, it will after awhile come to 

 pass that by reason of this association between the fit and the motive 

 for its suppression, the action of the former will of itself suggest and 

 call up the latter; and this is all that can be meant by self-control. Of 

 course the reactionary motives may be in great variety, and may appeal 

 to either physical, selfish or moral considerations, but the principle will 

 be the same in all ; namely, that at a certain development of the passion 

 there will be an overflow of stimulation to the associated restraining 

 motive, which then coming into action will tend to withdraw attention 

 to itself. It is evident that the diverting action involves first the for- 

 mation of a new idea through the revival of an old one, which new idea 

 enters into the formation of a will to influence motor muscular action, 

 or to control still further modifications of ideas which will influence 

 motor action in the future. What we call moral self-cental does not 



