SAO a aS TS 
C AAE re tats Oe MaRS oe tn a) re eS 
a ceria Atl Le 
1886. ] The Relations of Mind and Matter. 15 
ization of a material atom or molecule. On the other hand, while 
the atom or molecule of matter continues intact, it would seem 
as if its bound ether must remain confined to it and accompany 
it through all its integrations and disintegrations. Absolute 
accordance in motions and the persistent vigor of attraction must 
prevent any separation of the bound ether from its nucleus. 
Under these conditions, therefore, there could be no separate 
existence of a psychic substance. 
But this is but one of the probable conditions of existence of 
this substance. Bound ether may be strongly influenced by 
other motor energies, which but feebly influence its material 
nucleus, In this respect the phenomena of the mind lead to some 
very interesting conclusions. If the physical basis of the mind 
be the bound ether of the cerebral cells and molecules, it must 
originally be intimately related in motion and condition to these 
cells and molecules, and can have no power of separate exist- 
ence, But the whole process of development of the mind is one 
that tends to break up this intimate connection. The psychic 
substance of the cerebrum is affected, not only by the normal 
cerebral motions, but by innumerable motor conditions coming 
from external substances, through the medium of the nervous ` 
system. These conditions but slightly and temporarily, so far as 
we can judge, affect the sluggish matter of the cerebrum, but 
strongly and permanently the mobile substance of the mind. 
The mental substratum thus becomes affected by motor condi- 
tions which have no fixed counterpart in the brain substance. 
The original close motor accordance is broken; and with it the 
effect of molecular attraction is weakened. Such a result would 
be precisely parallel to that common in chemical action, in which 
motor inharmony seems a steady opponent of the force of affin- 
ity. Affinity is most vigorous when motor harmony exists. If 
the motor inharmony becomes great, molecular separation takes 
place. A similar rule may well hold good between the cere- 
bral molecules and their bound ether. As the absorption of ex- 
ternal energies by the bound ether produces motor inharmony, 
the effect of the attraction is steadily weakened. The bound 
ether is converted into specially organized psychic substance. In 
such a case there might be a fresh condensation of ether around 
the molecules, and this, in its turn, would become the recipient 
of new inflowing energies. In this way a continually increasing 
