HOW TO THINK 



wide range of mere facts, with the aid of which the most 

 far-reaching imagery is brought into being. 



If, then, we admit the value of knowledge as an 

 indispensable aid to thinking, it scarcely requires argu- 

 ment to show that such knowledge will be of value in 

 proportion as it is real and not spurious. And this 

 suggests the selection of materials presented to the mind ; 

 in other words, the action of selective judgment. The 

 faculty of mind thus designated is a complex one. If 

 anywhere I were to admit the all-importance of natural 

 endowment I think it would be here ; for my experience 

 has led me to feel that judgment is to a large extent in- 

 herent, and consistent in its action throughout the life 

 of each individual. I have seen children whose judg- 

 ment regarding almost any topic that can be brought 

 within their comprehension I should prefer to that of a 

 good many highly educated men. The very phrase by 

 which judgment is designated in every-day speech 

 "common sense " is suggestive of its native character. 

 It is " common " sense in the fullest inclusiveness of the 

 word. Wild animals show a goodly measure of it. 

 Our remotest pre-historic ancestor must have been 

 largely endowed with it; so must the successful mem- 

 bers of each successive generation of his descendants, 

 so long as the hard conditions of savagery, barbarism, 

 and early civilization obtained. It is the pampering 

 conditions of the higher civilisation that have allowed 

 this endowment to become impaired. But even now 

 the successful men possess it in large measure ; and in- 

 deed its possession is a sure guide to success. With- 

 out it all knowledge becomes more or less formless and 



