160 P8YCH0L00 Y. 



than ideally, we have the interval given with its ends, in 

 the form of a single extended object felt. E. H. Weber, in 

 the famous article in which he laid the foundations of all 

 our accurate knowledge of these subjects, laid it doiun as 

 the logical requisite for the perception of tivo separated points, 

 that the inind should, along ivith its consciousness of them, be- 

 come aware of an unexcited interval as such. I have only tried 

 to shoiv how the hnown laivs of experience may cause this requi- 

 site to he fulfilled. Of course, if the local signs of the entire 

 region offer but little qualitative contrast inter se, the line 

 suggested will be but dimly defined or discriminated in 

 length or direction from other possible lines in its neighbor- 

 hood. This is what happens in the back, where conscious- 

 ness can sunder two spots, whilst only vaguely apprehend- 

 ing their distance and direction apart. 



The relation of position of the two points is the sug- 

 gested interval or line. Turn now to the simplest case, 

 that of a single excited spot. Hoio can it suggest its position ? 

 Not by recalling any particular line unless experience have 

 constantly been in the habit of marking or tracing some one 

 line from it towards some one neighboring point. Now 

 on the back, belly, viscera, etc., no such tracing habitually 

 occurs. The consequence is that the only suggestion is 

 that of the whole neighboring circle ; i.e., the spot simply 

 recalls the general region in which it happens to lie. Bj- a pro- 

 cess of successive construction, it is quite true that we can 

 also get the feeling of distance between the spot and some 

 other particular spot. Attention, by reinforcing the local 

 sign of one part of the circle, can awaken a new circle 

 round this part, and so de proche en proche we may slide our 

 feeling down from our cheek, sa}^ to our foot. But when 

 we first touched our cheek we had no consciousness of the 

 foot at all.* In the extremities, the lips, the tongue and 

 other mobile parts, the case is different. We there have 

 an instinctive tendency, when a part of lesser discriminative 



* Unless, indeed, the foot happen to be spontaneous]}'' tingling- or some- 

 thing of the sort at the moment. The whole surface of the body is always 

 in a state of semi-conscious irritation which needs only the emphasis of 

 attention, or of some accidental inward irritation, to become strong at any 

 point. 



