BELIEF 141
the positiveness of the belief will be increased. It will be come deeply rooted in the mental world.
4. The mind may receive the presentation with more or less suspicion, as tentatively true or real. This species of reaction is determined by the fact that, while the new pres entation seems to be in agreement with the mental system, there accompanies its acceptance a vague sense of un certainty as to whether the agreement is actual or com plete. This vague uncertainty may be due to the general attitude of caution induced by manifold experience; or to the fact that the disagreeing factors are in the background, or perhaps below the threshold, of consciousness, and are in directly projecting their influence into the conscious field. Every one has had experiences coloured in this way. For instance, a politician assures us of his devotion to the public welfare; but, although there is nothing known to us in his character or career to excite distrust and we therefore accept his assurances, we have been so often disappointed in men of this class that an almost inevitable shade of distrust goes with our acceptance. Or sometimes when a statement is made to us on good authority our minds are shadowed by a dim doubt of its correctness, the reasons for which we cannot explicitly state. We believe the statement it seems to be in agreement with our experience and wonder that our belief of it is not more hearty. There is a semi conscious impulse to question, but not of sufficient strength to cause a suspension of judgment. There is merely a nascent sense of the possibility of discord with parts of our experience which are not now in consciousness. Closely akin to this attitude, most probably identical with it in prin ciple, is our acceptance of an hypothesis which seems to em body an illuminating principle, but which carries with it the possibility of failure in some as yet untried application. We believe it; but for a time, possibly forever, there accom panies it a shadow of uncertainty which is not strong enough to neutralize its convincing power, but which nevertheless enters into and modifies our mental attitude. With broad-
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