288 UNIVERSAL EVOLUTION 



so dissimilar to the present sensitive image, as not to 

 fuse with it, the resulting perception of the idea, in- 

 tended to be conveyed by the language of the book, 

 does not take place, and the attention is absorbed with 

 the non-fusing image of memory, the mind is said to 

 "wander from the subject." It is plain, that the latter 

 term being based upon the conception of the mind, as 

 an entity, which directly produced the conception, is 

 comprehensible to every one who takes this view of 

 the nature of the mind, and that means the great mass 

 of the people. And being concise, as well as compre- 

 hensible, it is the one commonly used. But it is 

 founded upon a misconception of the phenomenon. It 

 is further plain, that until the majority, of those who 

 make, and use language, comprehend the scientific, 

 and actual process of the nervous functioning of 

 thought, and reasoning, there will be little effort to 

 frame a language that will convey that idea, in the 

 short method expressed by the term "the mind wan- 

 ders." But the evolution of language is trending in 

 that direction. The evolution follows the idea, and 

 something like this will express the true idea, viz., 

 instead of saying "the mind wanders" it will be. "a 

 new image absorbs the attention." But this will not 

 occur, until the principles, of physiological-psychology, 

 are nearly as well understood, as is now the ordinary 

 conception of the mind. This process of making lan- 

 guage is illustrative of how all language has evolved. 

 The same argument will apply to all phenomenism. 

 The scientific view of all phenomena must replace the 

 present views, before language can be changed from 

 the present short cut, but expressive terms of present 

 perception, to equally short cut, and expressive terms of 

 a scientific perception. There lies beneath the conscious- 



