Pas] AND SYMBOLS. 265 



of movement will be a slight convulsive shiver. It sometimes 

 happens in the life of a political party that there comes to it a 

 moment of great danger. The enemy presses hard upon the 

 organisation. " The tail of the party" seems to be selected for 

 special attack, because it is supposed to have given special pro- 

 vocation. Thereupon the " central body " manages to dissociate 

 itself from " the tail." " The tail " naturally shows signs of the 

 greatest irritability. The public are pleased that the " central 

 body " has become discredited, and since the "tail of the party" 

 continues to exhibit signs of great vivacity, they assume that the 

 vital force of the association has been seriously affected. In 

 due time they find that " the detached tail " has never had an 

 independent life, but has performed merely mechanical move- 

 ments under the influence of unnatural irritability. They 

 further have to observe that even these soon cease because the 

 section is dead, and that the political party itself lives on as 

 well and vigorously as ever. IL. 



The Absurdity of Passion. 



There is a passion which is the result of adequate causes, and 

 there is a blind, brute-like passion. We see men under the 

 nfluence of the latter, furious without a cause, and with great 

 waste of power scattering injuries around upon perfectly inoffen- 

 sive objects. These men are like the black rhinoceroses which 

 W. C. J. Andersson says are subject to sudden paroxysms of 

 unprovoked fury, rushing and charging with inconceivable 

 fierceness animals, stones, and bushes in short, every object 

 that comes in their way. Gordon Gumming describes them as 

 often ploughing up the ground for several yards with their 

 horns, and assaulting large bushes in the most violent manner. 

 On these bushes they work for hours with their horns, at the 

 same time snorting and blowing loudly, nor do they leave them 

 in general until they have broken them to pieces. Passionate 

 men are invited to look at these animals and set them up as 

 their models or their monitors, whichever they, in their judg- 

 ment, may deem more wise. M. 



