ANALYSIS OF EXPRESSION. 259 



expression of the abstract thing, happiness, in terms 

 of nerve-muscular signs, we find material problems 

 to deal with capable of physical investigation. 

 John Bulwer's* descriptions of expression were 

 given in terms of nerve-muscular signs. 



In Bell's account of joy, the first paragraph is 

 in terms of nerve-muscular movements; then comes 

 the paragraph, " the eye full, lively, and sparkling." 

 This is an artistic expression I fail to analyze. Does 

 the "full eye" mean a condition of parts outside 

 the eye ? Does the term " lively " apply to a mus- 

 cular condition ? Does the " sparkling " eye depend 

 on tension due to muscular action ? I trust that 

 further knowledge may enable us to include these 

 under our principles of expression. 



Analyzing Bell's description, we find, then, that 

 with the exception of one paragraph the terms 

 used are all movements and results of movements. 



What good, what advantage is there in these 

 special modes of describing what we see ? Our 

 modes of description are such as allow of compari- 

 sons being made. We translate abstract quantities 

 such as "joy " into concrete terms, such as nerve- 

 muscular signs, or conditions of form or development. 

 We translate the terms used to describe the abstract 

 property into other terms the expression of the 

 abstract. The term "happiness" is a word in^ 

 tended to indicate a certain condition of feeling 

 which we all more or less understand; the thing 

 happiness in the abstract is an abstraction, it has 

 no material existence as an entity ; but if we can 

 * See chap, xviii., p. 323. 



