Essays on Life 



doubt that a reasoning process of the same 

 character goes on in the minds of two dogs or 

 fighting-cocks when they are striving to master 

 their opponents. 



Do we think in words, again, when we wind 

 up our watches, put on our clothes, or eat our 

 breakfasts ? If we do, it is generally about 

 something else. We do these things almost 

 as much without the help of words as we wink 

 or yawn, or perform any of those other actions 

 that we call reflex, as it would almost seem 

 because they are done without reflection. 

 They are not, however, the less reasonable 

 because wordless. 



Even when we think we are thinking in 

 words, we do so only in half measure. A 

 running accompaniment of words no doubt 

 frequently attends our thoughts ; but, unless 

 we are writing or speaking, this accompani- 

 ment is of the vaguest and most fitful kind, 

 as we often find out when we try to write 

 down or say what we are thinking about, 

 though we have a fairly definite notion of it, 

 or fancy that we have one, all the time. 



The thought is not steadily and coherently 



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