IN THE REALM OF MIND. 341 



And as by Freedom, we do not mean freedom 

 from motives, so neither do we mean that any of 

 the phenomena of Mind, any more than any of the 

 phenomena of Matter, can arise without "an ante- 

 cedent." In this sense there is no contradiction 

 between the doctrine of Free Will and the amended 

 doctrine of Necessity. Man is subject to the law 

 of Causation in this sense, "that his volitions are 

 not self-caused, but determined by spiritual ante- 

 cedents in such sort that when the antecedents are 

 the same, the volitions will always be the same."* 

 But this word "antecedent" is one of the many 

 vague words in which metaphysicians delight. 

 The highest antecedents which we can ever trace as 

 determining conduct, are to be found in the consti- 

 tution of the mind itself. Love is an antecedent, so 

 is Reverence, so is Gratitude, so is the Hunger after 

 Knowledge, so is the Desire of Truth. Higher 

 than these — further up the chain of Cause and 

 Effect — we cannot go. And yet we need not con- 

 ceive of these as " Final Causes," nor does the 

 doctrine of our Free Will assign to the human 

 Mind any self-originating power. Man has nothing 



* Mill on Hamilton, pp. 492 3. 



