226 The Evolution Hypothesis. 



ing no appreciable part of consciousness. Take away 

 the terms it unites and it disappears along with them; 

 having no independent place, no individuality, of its 

 own. It is true that, under an ultimate analysis, 

 what we call a relation, proves to be itself a kind of 

 feeling the momentary feeling accompanying the 

 transition from one conspicuous feeling to an adjacent 

 conspicuous feeling. And it is true that, notwith- 

 standing its brevity, its qualitative character is appre- 

 ciable ; for relations are (as we shall hereafter see) 

 distinguishable from one another only by the unlike- 

 ness of the feelings which accompany the momen- 

 tary transition." * 



Let us see how this theory will work. A molecular 

 wave passes through the central ganglion. Its inner 

 face is a feeling sufficiently large to constitute a per- 

 ceivable individuality. A second similar wave follows, 

 and a feeling like the first ensues. The feelings being- 

 alike, if they are co-terminous they cannot be dis- 

 tinguished ; they flow together and constitute, not two 

 feelings, but one : no perceptible relation subsists be- 

 tween them. To be distinguishable, they must be 

 separated either by the intervention of a dissimilar 

 feeling or by the lapse of an interval of time. The 

 separation cannot be by the former ; for in that case 

 the immediate succession would be that of two unlike 

 feelings, and the relation would be between these two. 



* Psychology, Vol. I., 65. 



