264 From Matter to Man. 



human race on a special subject, our first inquiry- 

 should be — not is he sincere — this may be taken for 

 granted, but, in the slang phrase, " Is his head level ? " 

 or " Has he a slate loose ? " In other words, have 

 we an assurance that he has an unimpaired mental 

 mechanism. For only those gifted with such a mind, 

 accurately trained and richly endowed with the latest 

 knowledge, can be leaders of thought, teachers and 

 preachers to mankind. 



A man's opinion or verdict on any subject is thus 

 not dependent on his knowledge alone, but on the 

 entirety of his mental mechanism. For example, 

 some of the greatest intellects have suddenly, through 

 the collapse of fibres or cells in their brain, become 

 drivelling idiots. Nor are they conscious of the 

 change, for they continue to air their opinions with 

 the same lofty disdain of the common man. The 

 numerous cases of blindness, deafness, and dumbness, 

 of colour-blindness, of the lack of an ear for music, of 

 perverted taste and smell — all indicate that defective 

 mental machinery is far from uncommon. Obtuse- 

 ness, want of perspicacity, and downright stupidity, 

 also indicate the imperfection of the mental mechanism, 

 and the consequent limitations of the mind. These 

 wants thus practically prove that men gifted with 

 accurately working and perfectly balanced bodily 

 mechanisms and minds, are scarce in the extreme. 



Section 6. Electric Action in Mental Phenomena : 

 When it is stated as matter of common knowledge 



