RATIONALISM AND PSYCHOLOGY 249 



or not, and tries it with the key, and finds that it Jias been 

 wound up. 



Hence his hand had automatically done the reasonable 

 act which his consciousness had previously determined 

 to do.i 



An interesting passage in St. John's Gospel illustrates 

 three stages of mental perception which may be described, 

 first as merely a sense-percept ; secondly, where mental 

 attention is added ; thirdly, an abstract rejiection is super- 

 added to the previous observations. Casual and attentive 

 observation are both possible in animals, but the third is 

 not. 



I allude to the account of John and Peter going to the 

 tomb of our Lord.^ John arriving first, looks in and in 

 the semi-darkness " sees " the linen cloths " lying ". Peter 

 enters and " beholds " them as well as the napkin that 

 was about His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but 

 "rolled up" in a place by itself, i.e., on the usual head- 

 rest. 



The meaning of this is that the long linen bands with 

 which a corpse was bound, as referred to in the case of 

 Lazarus, were still " lying " {Keifxeva ra oOovta) flat on the 

 stone slab, just as [{ they were still bound round the body 

 of Jesus, enclosing, it is presumed, the spices, as no 

 mention is made of them being scattered about. The 

 napkin too, retains its form (ivTervXiy/xevov) as if it were 

 wrapped about the head. In a word, t/ie body had dis- 

 appeared zvitJioiit disturbing the cloths and the napkin. 



The disciples leave the tomb, and John, at least, now 

 not only " sees " or " beholds," but " knows " the meaning 

 of it all. He realises for the first time (for as yet they 

 knew not the Scriptures) that the Lord has risen indeed. 



^ I have frequently done this myself. ^ John xx. i-io. 



