Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-08-06
flor Schools and Trafhsrs.
Series of Lectures for Schools.
Lecture No. 1, Subject Hind.

1t was mind that directed the pen of
Homer, Horace and Virgil in their i'm
mortal verse. 1t was mind tutored by
Aristotle, "the master mind of antiqhi-
ty," that guided Alexander, inspired by
illaudable ambition, to conquer the ma
tions of the earth. 1t was mind that
made Caesar conqueror, and Bonaparte
a king-maker. 1t was mind that made
Paul pre-eminently the chief apostle.
1t was mind that directed the head
and guided the hand of Washington in
achieving our national independence.
1t is mind that enables you to compre-
bend these great exploits and attribute
them to their proper source. Why,
then, has not every man been a Homer,
a Horace, Virgil, an Aristotle, a
Caesar, BOnaparte, Paul, ss'a Wash
ington since all men have. minds ?
What is mind? Is it the same, or diff
ferent in different individuals? Whence
came it? and whittier does it go?'
These questions.open a field Of inquiry
that has not vet been fully surveyed,
and perhaps never will be. But let us
walk the explored paths as far as they
have been marked by human knowl-
edge, and if we fail to reach the end
of these inquiries, we will have gone
far out on the highways that lead 10
the infinite, the unknowable and fhe
incopprehensible. -
THE BEGINNING OF KNpwl
What enables us to f,iaw BE
know anything? WeanswerffiM it is.
consciousness. This leads us to hsk
what is consciousness ? We answer
that it is faculty of the mind. The
mind is unit, a single, individual
thing with diversified powers. These
powers are for convenience called fac
ulties, but it is more correct to say that
the mind has the power Of performing.
certain actions, or suffering certain
changes which we designate by the
terms faculty of memory, faculty of
imagination, etc. The mind is the sub
ject that performs these acts 4; and hence
we say it remembers, reasons and i'm
AGNES.
CONSCIOUSNESS AS A FACULTY,
When we say consciousness is a fac
ulty of the mind we mean thatAtli8
mind is so constituted that it Iafoacs'
,cittin Itself, bears ,citness to itse!f, andtes-,
titles to its IN acts, and that this
knowledge is primary and Ultimate.
Consciousness is, therefore, the root of
our knowledge. 1t is that which en-
ables the misfrfo know the first things
and all things, it knows hence it is the
alpha and omega of our knowledge.
We are aware, however, in calling con-
seriousness distinct faculty, or power
of the mind, that we tread upon contro-
verified ground, for many, and perhaps
the majority of the best writers on the
subject, say it is not faculty, but
generic term embracing all the states
of the mind. This, however, does not
in the least invalidate the position
above assumed. Let us examine its
office and from that determine whether
it is a generic state or distinct power
of the mind. Its office is to testify to
the mind its own acts. No other fac
ulty does this, therefore the office of
consciousness is distinct and separate
from all the other faculties, and hence
it is distinct and separate faculty. 1t
testifes TO the mind the operations of
memory, imagination and all the other
faculties; but it does not lose its dis
tinctness on that account, but rather
establishes it, since it is the only power
of the mind that can do this. To illus
trate this point, Tennessee elects twenty
five State Senators who meet and or
ganize the State Senate by electing one
of these Senators as Speaker of the SEN
ate. Does this one so elected lose his
distinctive character as the representa-
tive of his district by being made the
Speaker for all, or by his testifyiug to
the Senate what each member has said,
done or proposed? He not only retains
all his original power as Senator, but
acquires more, to-wit: the power to
give the casting vote when the mem
bers are divided. He is therefore not
: only Senator, but more than a Sena-
tor-that is, Senator with more power
than any other Senator. Consciousness
in like manner is not only distinct
faculty of the mind, but is the greatest
EnnnlI,, &C Ill r,rao Il .......I. Il .