, 1877-10-21

@1ot% AAio ouC-&luCunCSS.
CAN WATER TnISK?
Docs water think or feel when il runs into
1rost-ierns upon winuow-pane! If not why
snoulo the molecular motion of the brain be
Eo6eu to this mysterious compar1ion-conscio,ls-
ness! We can present to our mind. a coherent
picture o1 the physical processes-the stirring
ol tho brain, the thrilling Of the nerves. the dis
charging of the muscles, and all the subsequent
mechanical motions Of the organism But we
eau present no picture Of the process whereby
CONSCIOUSNESS etntrges, either Is necessary
INK or as an accidental by-product OF this series
Of actions. Yctit certainly does seIncrgc-molecl-
lar motion produces consciousness. The reverse
process OF the production OF motion by con-
sclousncss IS equally unpresentablc to the mind.
We are nero, III TACT, upon the boundary line of
our lntc!lcctuA powers, where tho ordinary
eanous OF science fail to extricatc us from our
dnhcultles. II we are true to these canons VIC
must deny to subjective phenomena al! iuIu-
ence on physical processes. The latter must
DC regarded as complete III themselves. Physc-
AZ science offers no Justification for tue notion
That molecules can be moved by states OF con-
scousness; and it furnishes just as little counte
nance to the conclusion that states OF conscious
ness c1n be generated BY molecular motion.
Frankly stated, we haye here 10 deal with facts
almost rs difficult to be seized meutally As the
idea Of soul. And If YOU urc coptcut TO make
your " soul " poetic rendering OF u phcnonle
non which refuses the yoke OF ordinary ,lcchau-
iraI LAWS, l. for one, would not object 10 this
exercise Of idcality. Amid all our speculative
uncertainty there is ono practical point as clear
as the day,-namely, that the brightness and the
usefulness o[ life. rs we'll Us its darkness and
disaster. depend to great extent upon oiir own
use OF abuse Of this miraculous organ. We HOW
stand lace to face will, the tiual problem. 1t is
Tbs; Are the BRAN and the moral and in,ei~
lcctnal processes known to be associated with
tue braln-anu, as lar Us our experience gncs,
indissolutly associated-subjeet to the laws
Witch We find paramount i'll physical nature:
TIE FREEDOM or THE WILL.
Is the will of 1nlt. in other words free, or are
1t aud uat,,re caual!r ''lt,uld fast i'll fatet'
From this latter rouclusion. after he hal cstab
lislicd It 10 tho entire satlsla> ton OF his uu6er-
standing. the great German thinker Ficl.te se-
coiicd, Tou will find thr record of This strug-
gle hctwccu head ami heart in h;s book entitled
"Die Bcstinnlung drs Menschcn 1.-THE Vo-
cation OF NAH" Fichte WIS determined 1T all
hazards to maintain hts freedom. Int the Frsct.
he paid Tor il indicates the difficulty of tho tAsk.
10 escape from the ireu Necessity secn every
where rc1gn!n4 in phvsital nature, he turned
defantly round upon nature and law and affirm
ed both OF them IL he the products OF his ow'l
Mind He MAS not going IL be the slave Of
thing which he had himself created. There is
good ocaI to te said iu favor ut this view. hut
lev OF US probably would BE- able To hE,ng INTO
play the solvent transcentc1taslsm whereby
Fichtc melted his chalns. Why do some Of Us
regard this notion ul necessity with terror,
while others do not fear It at all! Has not
Carlyle somewhere said that belief in destiny
is the bias o[ all caFurs1 minds! at il nut
nature.'' says Fichtc, II is freedom itself by
which he greatest ami most terrible disorders
incident to our rAce arc produced Man Is the
cruclcst enemy to man. But The question Ut
moral responsibility here cn4cr,cs, and il Is thc
possible looseuiug Of this responsibility that
many OF us dread. The notion Of necessity Ger
tainly tailed 70 friEhtcu Bishop Butler lie
thought 1t untrue, but he did not fear its pracf
cal consequences. Ileshowed, on the contrary,
III the Il Analogy" that as far RS human CONDUCT
is concer''ed the two theories Of trec will aud
necessity come to the same i'll the end. What is
meant by free will. Docs it imply 1hr power Of
producing events without a1stcccdents-of start
ing, IS it were. upou creative tour OF occur
rences, without any impulse from within or
from without! Let us consider the point. II
there is absolutely OF relatively no reason why
tree should fall, it will not fall ; and II there
bc absolutely ar relatively reason why i man
should act, he will not act, 1t is true that the
united voice Of this assembly could not persuade
me that have not, 1t this moment the power
to lift my arm it l wished to do SO. Within
this range the conscious freedom of my will
cannot be questioned. But what about the
origin OF the ''wis:, -! Arc we, or are We not,
complete masters of the circumstances which
create our Wishes motives, and tendencies to
actions Adequate reflection will, think, prove
that re are not. What. for example, have l to
90 with the generation and development Of that
which some will consider niy total being, aud
the living, speaking organism which NOW ad-
dresses yous AS stated at the beginning OF this
discourse, mr. physical and Intellectual textures
were woven for mt, not by me. Processes in
the conduct or regulation OF which l had no
share have made INC what am. Here, surely,
il anywhere, We arc as clay i'll the hands OF tho
potter.
THE WHITE PAPER THEORY.
It is the greatest Of 1clusous to suppose that
We come into this world as sheets Of white pa
per, on which the age can write anything it
hikes, making us good or bad, noble or lnean> as
the age plcase:. The agc can stunt, promote,
or peryert pre-cxistent capacities, but it cannot
create them. The worthy Robert Owen, who
saw III external circumstances the great mold
ers of human character. was obliged to supple
mcut bis doctrine By making. the man himself one
Of the circumstances. II Is Is fatal as it is COW
ardly to bliuk facts because they are not to our
taste. How many disorders, Ghostly and bod
lily, transmitted to us BY inheritance! In our
courts Of Law, whenever it is question whether
q crime has been committed under the influence
Of insanity, the hest guidance the Judge anu
jury can have is derived from the parental ante
ccden,s OF the accused. II among these insanity
be exhibited III any marked degree, the pre-
sumption iu the prisoners 1avoE is enormously
because the experience Of life has
taught both Judge and Jury that insanity is fre-
qucnt]y transmitted from parent to child.
SHOULD cElM1sfLs BE DRowSEDt
met, some years ago, in. a railway carriage,
dDsEIusI VI otlC VI oA4 eG5t &iAaouS. A4C
was evidently an obscrvant and reflective man,
possessed Of wide experience gathered in vart-
Gus parts OF the world, and thorough student
OF the duties OF his vocation. He told me that
the prisoners in his charge might be divided
into three distinct classes. The first class con-
sisted Of PERSONS who ought never to have hccn
ip prison. External accident, aud not internal
faint, had brought them within the grasp Of the
law, and what had happened to theln might
happen to most Of US. They we're essentially
mcn Of sound moral stamina, though wearing
the prison garb. Then came the 1argest class,
formed of individuals possessing no strong
bias, moral or immoral, plastic 10 tho touch OF
which would mold them into
either good or evil members Of society. Thirdly
came class-happily not A large one-whom no
kindness could conciate and no discipline
tame. They were sent into this world labeled
s lueorrigit>lc.' wckedncss being stamped, as it
Eerc, upon their organizations. It WAS an UNI
pleasant truth, but as truth it ought to DC
faced. For such criminals the prison which
he ruled was certainly not tue proper place. If
confined At all, their prison should be on 4
desert Island, where the deadly contag ion Of
their example could not faint the moral air. But
the sea itself lie Was tslsposed to regard
cheap and appropriate substitute fer the island.
It seemed to him evident that the State would
benefit If prisoners Of the drst class lbrr
ated, prisoners Of the second class EDUCATED, and
prisoners OF the third class put compcndiously
under water.
FREE WILL AND PUNISHMENT.
It is not, however, from the observation Of
,1e +bot ~ free