THE LIMITS OF HUMAN AUTOMATISM. 291 



Huxley in his Belfast lecture, that the feeling we call volition is 

 not the cause of the voluntary act, but the " symbol in conscious- 

 ness " of that state of the brain which is the immediate cause of 

 that act (like the blowing of the steam-whistle, which signals, but 

 does not cause, the starting of the locomotive), and that the 

 strongest volition has therefore no power in itself to call forth a 

 movement, seems to me to find its best answer in the explicit state- 

 ment which he himself put forth not many years previously, that 

 " the belief that our volition counts for something as a condition 

 " in the course of events," is one which " can be verified experi- 

 " mentally as often as we like to try," and therefore "stands upon 

 "the strongest foundation upon which any belief can rest, and 

 " forms one of our highest truths." * 



When we come to examine the reasons latterly assigned by 

 Professor Huxley for giving up this assured belief, we find them 

 mainly based on the fact that certain actions which would be 

 ordinarily accounted volitional (as being initiated by an intentional 

 effort) in man, can be performed under circumstances which 

 strongly indicate a purely automatic causation. 



Thus it has been shown by Goltz, that a frog from which the 

 cerebrum has been removed, and which (according to ordinary 

 physiological doctrine) has consequently lost the power of 

 voluntary movement, will jump when irritated, the direction of 

 this movement being affected by the incidence of light upon its 

 eyes \ though making no effort to feed itself, it will swallow food 

 put into its mouth, and may thus be kept alive for weeks or 

 months ; and will utter its croak when a particular part of its 

 back is stroked. But further, although, when put on the hand, 

 the frog sits there crouched, perfectly quiet, and would remain 

 so unless stimulated to action, yet (says Professor Huxley) " if 

 "the hand be inclined very gently and slowly, so that the frog 

 "would naturally slip off, the creature's forepaws are shifted on to 

 " the edge of the hand until he can just prevent himself from 

 " falling. If the turning of the hand be continued, he mounts 

 " up with great care and deliberation, putting first one leg forward, 

 "and then the other, until he balances himself with perfect pre- 

 " cision upon the edge, and in the turning of the hand over he 



* " Lay Sermons," p. 160. 



