1060 The Relations of Mind and Matter. (November, 
energies is mainly exerted upon a fixed region of the organism, 
in which they become definitely centered and organized. And 
this reservoir of energies in its turn reacts upon outer nature, 
Instead of a single agent of action, with the body for its instru- 
ment, we have now two agents, an internal and an external one, 
with the body for their instrument. The nervous organism serves 
as the channel of intercommunication between these two active 
agents. And the high-atomed chemical molecules of the nerve 
cells or terminations, whether those of the outer surface, the 
muscles or the cerebrum, serve as sources of intermediate energy, 
which add to the vigor of the slight motor impulses from without 
or from within. In this view the mind is as little a necessary 
constituent part of the body as is outer nature. The body can 
perform its ordinary duties without the mind or its organ, and 
needs it only for its extraordinary duties. 
In its primary relation this new condition of the organism only 
acts as a check on the rapidity of motor reaction. The mental 
affections retain their original form, and their reaction, when it 
takes place, will be of the same character as the immediate reac- 
tion would have been. But the mental organism soon begins to 
act as an independent agent. From the conditions impressed on 
it, new conditions are produced. There is an internal reaction 
and new combination of the mental energies. Memories com- 
bine to form thoughts or ideas, and motor relations are gained 
within the mind which have no counterpart without. These, in 
their turn, react on outer nature and yield peculiar results, nO 
longer in consonance with external conditions. The microcosm 
without has built up a microcosm within, with powers and condi- 
tions of its own, and the body now becomes the intermedium be- 
tween two independent and dissimilar acting agents. These may 
act only within themselves, or they may act upon each other 
through the medium of the body, each producing special modifi- 
cations in the condition of the other. 
_ These general considerations lead to more special ones. What 
is the character of the impressions produced by external energy 
` upon the mental organism? These external energies are yielded 
__ by the substances of external nature, and in some way represe? 
. the conditions of these substances. As such they enter the body 
l impress the mind. Though all sensations may be conv 
the nerve fibers as vibratory impulses, yet there must be some 
s 
