926 Dynamic Theory. 



to shake. From this root comes the Greek thyein, to rush, to move vio- 

 lently ; and thymos, the mind ; the Sanskrit dhuli, dust ; and dhuma, 

 smoke ; Latin fumus, smoke ; English dust, to fumigate, to fume, &c. 

 From the root ma, to measure, are derived the Greek mimema, an imi- 

 tation, i. e. , a repeated measuring ; mimos, a mimic ; mimo, an ape (be- 

 cause he imitates ); the Latin imago, image, picture, dream ( for mim- 

 ago); imitor, to imitate (for mimitor}; and of course the English 

 words mimic, imitate, image, imagination, &c. So, in order to imagine 

 a thing, all we do is to measure it over and over. To apprehend is to 

 grasp at a thing, to comprehend is to grasp it together. To adhere to 

 one's opinions is to stick to one's opinions. To conceive is from con- 

 cipio, from con and capio, to take and hold together, to instil is to drop 

 or pour in, to disgust is to create a bad taste, to disturb is to throw into 

 disorder. Tribulo is Latin to thresh grain ; tribulum, the machine for 

 doing it, consisting of a drag, or dray studded with iron teeth. From 

 this comes the English tribulation, applied to a condition of the "mind. " 

 Tribulo is related to tero, to grind ; and tritus and contritus, ground, 

 bruised, &c. , from which we have in English, contrite, < ' broken 

 hearted for sin;" and contrition, penitence. From the same root is at- 

 trition, sometimes applied to an imperfect repentance. It is called 

 slang to say a person is " all torn up " in his mind, but it is expressive 

 in much the same way as contrite, "all ground to pieces," or "dragged 

 under the threshing-machine," as in tribulation. The Latin pendeo 

 means to hang ; hence, pendo, to weigh, and penso, to weigh in the 

 mind, and the English pensive. From pendo is pondus, a load or weight, 

 a pound ; also ponderous, and ponder, a mental operation. From pen- 

 deo we also get suspend and suspense. We " suspend judgment," and 

 we are in a state of suspense ; that is, hung up in our minds. From 

 the root lubh comes the Sanscrit lobha, desire ; the Latin libido, violent 

 desire ; and libet, it pleases ; German belieben, to be pleased with a 

 thing ; English believe. From the same root comes love. ( Miiller. ) So 

 that belief is that which pleases and that which we love. This indi- 

 cates the history of the human conception of belief. We commonly 

 speak of belief as intellectual assent, but to the early framers of lan- 

 guage it was rather emotional assent, and this definition would often fit 

 the case yet. 



The word curro, to run, ( from the root kar or har ) has furnished nu- 

 merous words for the expression of our super-sensible ideas; Thus, 

 when we incur a risk, or incur the displeasure of somebody, we literally 

 run against the risk or the displeasure. When our opinion concurs with 

 that of another, it literally runs with it. When something occurs to my 

 mind, it runs up to it. When your thoughts recur to the past, they run 

 back to it, &c. We thus see tlje impossibility of having ideas independ- 

 ent of sensible things. 



