686 



PSYCHOLOGY. 



there ; then that tlie subject talked about was so and so ; 

 finally, that the thought came d propos of a certain anecdote, 

 and then that it had something to do with a French quota- 

 tion. Now all these added associations arise independenfly 

 of the ivill, by the spontaneous process we know so well. All 

 that the imll does is to emphasize and linger over those luhich 

 seem pertinent, and igno7'e the rest. Through this hovering of 

 the attention in the neighborhood of the desired object, the 

 accumulation of associates becomes so great that the com- 

 bined tensions of their neural processes break through the 

 bar, and the nervous wave pours into the tract A/hich has 

 so long been awaiting its advent. And as the expectant, 

 sub-conscious itching there, bursts into the fulness of vivid 

 feeling, the mind finds an inexpressible relief. 



The whole process can be rudely symbolized in a dia- 

 gram . Call the forgotten thing Z, the first facts with which 

 we felt it was related, a, b, and c, and the details finally 

 operative in calling it ujj, I, m, and n. Each circle will 

 then stand for the brain-process underlying the thought of 

 the object denoted by the letter contained within it. The 

 activity in Z will at first be a mere tension ; but as the ac- 

 tivities in a, h, and c little by little irradiate into I, m, and n. 



fi'lG 44. 



and as all these processes are somehow connected with Z, 

 their combined irradiations upon Z, represented by the cen- 

 tripetal arrows, succeed in helping the tension there to 

 overcome the resistance, and in rousing Z also to full ac- 

 tivity. 



