WILL. 537 



or not too unusual ratio to eacli other), and the action must 

 obey the vision's lead. 



Unhealthiness of tvill may thus come about in many ivays. 

 The action may follow the stimulus or idea too rapidly, 

 leaving no time for the arousal of restraining associates — 

 ive then have a precipitate ivill. Or, although the associates 

 may come, the ratio which the imj)ulsive and inhibitive 

 forces normally bear to each other may be distorted, and 

 we then have a ivill ivhicli is perverse. The perversity, in 

 turn, may be due to either of many causes — too much in- 

 tensity, or too little, here ; too much or too little inertia 

 there ; or elsewhere too much or too little inhibitory j)ower. 

 If ive compare the outward symptoms of perversity together, 

 they fall into two groups, in one of which normal actions are 

 impossible, and in the other abnormal ones are irrepressi- 

 ble. Briefly, ive may call them respectively the obstructed and 

 the explosive will. 



It must be kejit in mind, however, that since the result- 

 ant action is always due to the ratio between the obstructive 

 and the explosive forces which are present, we never can 

 tell by the mere outward sj-mptoms to what elementary 

 cause the perversion of a man's will may be due, whether 

 to an increase of one component or a diminution of the 

 other. One may grow explosive as readily by losing the 

 usual brakes as by getting up more of the impulsive steam ; 

 and one may find things impossible as well through the en- 

 feeblement of the original desire as through the advent of 

 new lions in the path. As Dr. Clouston says, " the driver 

 may be so weak that he cannot control well-broken horses, 

 or the horses may be so hard-mouthed that no driver can 

 pull them up." In some concrete cases (whether of explo- 

 sive or of obstructed will) it is difficult to tell whether the 

 trouble is due to inhibitor}^ or to impulsive change. Gener- 

 ally, however, we can make a plausible guess at the truth. 



THE EXPLOSIVE "WILL. 



There is a normal type of character, for example, in 

 which impulses seem to discharge so promptly into move- 

 ments that inhibitions get no time to arise. These are the 



