TRUTH 



Baer) one of those interesting psychological metamor- 

 phoses which I have described in chapter vi. of the 

 Riddle. Romanes suffered a good deal from illness and 

 grief at the loss of friends in his last years. In this con- 

 dition of extreme depression and melancholy he fell un- 

 der mystic influences which promised him rest and hope 

 by belief in the supernatural. It is hardly necessary to 

 point out to impartial readers that such a conversion as 

 this does not shake his earlier monistic views. As in 

 similar cases where deep emotional disturbance, painful 

 experiences, and exuberant hope have clouded the 

 judgment, we must still hold that it is the place of the 

 latter, and not of the emotions or of any supernatural 

 revelation, to attain a knowledge of the truth. But for 

 such attainment it is necessary for the organ of mind, 

 the phronema, to be in a normal condition.' 



Of all the wonders of life, consciousness may be said 

 to be the greatest and most astounding. It is true that 

 to-day most physiologists are agreed that man's con- 

 sciousness, like all his other mental powers, is a function 

 of the brain, and may be reduced to physical and 

 chemical processes in the cells of the cortex. Neverthe- 

 less, some biologists still cling to the metaphysical view 

 that this "central mystery of psychology" is an in- 

 soluble enigma, and not a natural phenomenon. In face- 

 of this, I must refer the reader to the monistic theory 

 of consciousness which I have given in chapter x. of the 

 Riddle, and must insist that in this case again embryol- 

 ogy is the best guide to a comprehension of the subject. 

 Sight is next to consciousness, in many respects, as one 

 of the wonders of life. The well-known embryology of 

 the eye teaches us how sight — the perception of images 



' English readers who are acquainted with Romanes's post- 

 humous Thoughts on Religion will recognize the justice of this 

 analysis. Romanes speaks expressly of the acceptance of 

 Christianity entailing "the sacrifice of his intellect." — Trans. 



23 



