Owen—Hybrid Parts of Speech. 
123 
adjusting itself to whatever number of dimensions the mental 
imaging may be regarded as requiring. Also “central” (as 
well as “lateral”) shall be understood as including appreciable 
mental space—so much as may be necessary for a single min¬ 
imal judgment. 
Again, a thought which is lateral in comparison with the 
central thought, may also in its turn be central in comparison 
with another still more lateral thought, which last may be 
known as a remoter thought—or a sublateral thought—or even 
a plusquam lateral. 
The expressions “central” and “lateral” plainly border 
closely on the “focal” and “marginal” of mind-investigators. 
Between these pairs, however, I intend this fundamental dif¬ 
ference: that, while the latter deals with nearness to the con¬ 
scious self, the former shall have its dealing with nearness to 
expressional purpose, or end to be accomplished. 
Nearness to the purpose of expression is constant in this sense 
at least that, even if intermittently recognized, it does not vary 
in successive recognitions. In other words, if part of what I 
say exhibits, for instance, a particular end to which all else ex¬ 
pressed is means, the end will rank as central, the means as 
lateral; and though in the linguistic act I momentarily forget 
this differentiation of end and means, in the absorbing exposi¬ 
tion of the details of my thought, this differentiation does not 
change between the moments of its several happenings—never, 
for instance, in the normal 17 use of language, posing means as 
end. 
Nearness to the conscious self is variable. Exact expression 
and exact interpretation require momentary focal attention to 
17 To illustrate the here excluded abnormal use of language, which I 
hope to make the subject of a special publication, I note that in “At 
last he departed” the words “at last” suggest the long-delayed, to the 
exclusion of the premature or deeply regretted, the idea of delay being 
the means by which you merely color your picture of the departure, 
as I do myself. On the other hand the words “he departed” exhibit 
what must rank as an end which is merely furthered by such means; 
for contrariwise I should have said, for instance, “His departure was long 
delayed.” But in French the finality is with vexatious pertinacity 
brought to the fore, although “II finit par s’en aller” is surely equiva¬ 
lent, in meaning intended, rather to “At last he departed” than to “He 
ended by departing.” 
9—S. & A. 
