FREE-WILL OBSERVATIONS AND INFERENCES. 409 right to left, or vertical. After looking at them in one aspect, another unexpectedly forces itself upon us, and at the same moment we have a slight sense of discomfort. In other examples the discomfort is more severe and amounts to a mental wrench, though much less acute than that which accompanies the " turning over of a new leaf," because the emotions are hardly engaged. The conditions under which the " transmigration " of which I spoke took place, were various. Sometimes it was due to the momentary triumph of the waxing over the waning desire. Sometimes a velleity produced a will by aid of an artifice, seen through but not regarded. It did trigger- work only, neutral as regards the immediate future but which, like lazily pulling the string of a shower bath, produced an abundantly awakening effect after a short interval. The determining cause of the Will to rise was sometimes a slight accidental stimulus. On one occasion it consisted of two very light taps against the window, caused by something blown against it. This aroused no special association but was as effectual as any other slight sense-stimulus might have been, to rouse the sleepy Will. I suspect that much of what we stigmatise as irresolution is due to our Self being by no means one and indivisible, and that we do not care to sacrifice the Self of the moment for a different one. There are, I believe, cases in which we are wrong in reproaching ourselves sternly, saying " The last week was not spent in the way you now wish it had been," because the Self was not the same throughout. There is room for applying the principle of the greatest happiness to the greatest number ; the particular Self at the moment of making the retrospect being not the only one to be considered. I will now speak of instances in which incommensurable motives had been pitted together and the one that was not the most keenly felt, nor gave the greatest pleasure in any sense of the word, emerged triumphant. Here is a case of a very com- mon type which shows how easily a very feeble voice of conscience may win. I condense it out of my note-book, changing details for obvious reasons. " An acute sense of annoyance and irritation came over me as I thought of some interests of mine that had suffered owing to an old friend's having neglected to read a letter with ordinary atten- tion, he being, as I knew at the time, much engrossed with his own business. Then the thought arose ' So much irritation is unjustifiable ; he certainly did not mean ill, and he has on past occasions helped me much '. There was no emphasis in the mental expression of this thought, nevertheless I felt sure from vague memories of past experiences that it was bound to prevail. It did so, by gradually cutting off the supply of irritation. The angry feeling however broke out after an interval, and was twice
