PHILOSOPHY, MENTAL. 



Such cases be produced; for otherwise 

 the proper motions of the fingers could 

 not ; but they are not accompanied with 

 consciousness; as soon as they are, at- 

 tention to the conversation, or train of 

 reasoning-, is interrupted. In the same 

 manner, persons accustomed to read 

 aloud, can continue to read aloud, even 

 what they never read before, wrth at 

 least correctness, and at the same time 

 have their thoughts closely employed on 

 other objects. The following case, stated 

 by Dr. Percival, will by most be admitted 

 as a strong corroboration of our princi- 

 ples. " Several years ago the Countess 



of fell into an apoplexy about 



seven o'clock in the morning : among 

 other stimulating applications, I directed 

 a feather, dipped in hartshorn, to be fre- 

 quently introduced into her nostrils. Her 

 ladyship, when in health, was much 

 addicted to the taking of snuff, and the 

 present irritation of the olfactory nerves 

 produced a junction of the fore-finger 

 and thumb of the right-hand; the eleva- 

 tion of them to the nose, and the action 

 of snuffing in the nostrils. When the 

 snuffing ceased, the hand and arm drop- 

 ped down in a torpid state. A fresh ap- 

 plication of the stimulus renewed these 

 successive efforts ; and I was witness to 

 their repetition till the hartshorn lost its 

 power of irritation, probably by destroy- 

 ing the sensibility of the olfactory nerves. 

 The Countess recovered from the fit 

 about six o'clock in the evening; but 

 though it was neither long nor severe, 

 her memory never afterwards furnished 

 the least trace of consciousness during 

 its continuance." Now here the impres- 

 sions produced by the hartshorn on the 

 external organ, produced (by means of 

 the nerves) sensible changes; and these, 

 either through the medium of ideal 

 changes, or, more probably, directly, pro- 

 duced motory changes, which (by means 

 of the nerves) produced muscular action; 

 and the whole without exciting conscious- 

 ness. The gradual diminution of atten- 

 tion to, or the consciousness of, external 

 objects of sensation, (the beat of a clock 

 for instance), when the mind is becom- 

 ing closely engaged upon some object of 

 reflection, must be obvious to every one 

 who thinks on what passes within him ; 

 and it cannot be requisite to enlarge on 

 that point. Those who admit what we 

 have stated respecting sensible changes 

 will feel little hesitation in admitting the 

 same positions respecting ideal changes ; 

 because the latter are merely relicts of 

 the former. Besides, there is another 

 VOL. V. 



point of agreement. Sensible changes 

 are produced without any effort of the" 

 mind, without any volition ; so also are 

 ideal changes. These latter, when not 

 interrupted by sensations, follow one ano- 

 otlier in a train, without an effort, and 

 often contrary to effort, regulated by the 

 modes of connexion to which the indivi- 

 dual is most prone. We believe that the 

 position advanced respecting sensible 

 changes, at the beginning of this para- 

 graph, is equally applicable to ideal 

 changes, mutatis mutandis. We shall give 

 only one instance of that case in which 

 consciousness entirely disappears, where 

 yet we are certain, that there must have 

 been ideal changes. Every one who 

 can add up a column of figures, knows 

 the nature of the operation, because it 

 is learnt after the memory has acquir- 

 ed considerable power. The sum of two 

 or three figures is first ascertained : the 

 ideal change of that sum must of course 

 be in the mind, and with that sum is com- 

 bined the next figure, which forms a new 

 sum, and so on. Now then there is the 

 act of adding a number, the ideal change 

 of which is in the mind, to another number 

 of which there is a sensible change, and 

 there is the ideal change of the sum, and 

 so on, continually recurring : this we per- 

 ceive when We are trying to add up slow- 

 ly. But persons who are very familiar 

 with such additions, will tell the result 

 or final sum, apparently without an ef- 

 fort, apparently without the intervention 

 of the mind, and certainly without any 

 consciousness of the operations and ideal 

 changes which must have passed in the 

 mind before the result could have been 

 obtained. It will not unfrequently be 

 found, that persons very much habituated 

 to these operations,can add up much more 

 correctly while they leave themselves un- 

 conscious of the operations and ideal 

 changes, than when they are conscious of 

 them : and, what appears to us to settle 

 the point, as far as consciousness is con- 

 cerned, persons who, by constant custom., 

 have become familiar with all possible 

 combinations of small numbers, can go 

 through a series of additions, and at the 

 same time closely engage the attention 

 upon another object; for instance, can 

 dictate one or more letters. As to mo- 

 tory changes, the fact is so obvious, that 

 muscular actions, which must have their 

 origin in the mind, as being regulated by 

 impressions upon the external organs of 

 sense, go on in long succession and witJx 

 frequent variation, while at the same 

 time the attention is fullv occupied by 

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