154 VOLITION 



ence of material energies. If we place any trust in 

 our self-conscious powers of observation and ana- 

 lysis, we must arrive at the conclusion that spon- 

 taneity, or free will, guided by consciousness, is 

 not only a vital force, but that it is the highest and 

 most wonderful of the vital forces that are mani- 

 fest to us : it lies at the extremest limit r> of the 

 territory which Life has won in its struggle with 

 the Matter that fetters it ; and in its capricious 

 irregularity it presents the strongest contrast 

 to the uniform, calculable energies that are dis- 

 played by Matter when unallied with Life. Prac- 

 tically, of course, we know very well that human 

 nature introduces an unpredictable element into 

 our experiences. 



And, if the majority of men are content to 

 regulate their lives by the suggestions of others, 

 or by habit, and make no original use of their wills 

 except to decide trifling questions of every day 

 routine, those who aspire to lead their fellows are 

 generally characterized by strong will-power, 

 which is, indeed, often their only title to ascend- 

 ancy. So also with the men who have led human 

 progress by their inventions, whether in forms of 

 art, or in standards of conduct, or in material 

 contrivances. Free will is distinct from the 

 inventive impulse : it is a disposition towards 

 choice, not a motive towards construction. But 

 it is obvious that an inventor must use it very 

 largely in selecting and combining the ideas that 

 occur to him. Man owes his moral and material 

 advancement, as well as his social organization, 

 to the exceptional powers of volition enjoyed 

 by some of his kind. He has risen above the 

 brutes, little by little, through the inventive 

 spontaneity of a few of his species, to whom it 

 has occurred to suggest changes of idea or of 

 habit. Some of these have been adopted through 



