Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1885-02-19

Icoafiiction OF the concepts formed. Thi
mental cenrsptiou of the eongruence O
conaictisn OF ideas 10 judgment: and th'
fv-rhal expression of this judgment is ,
proposition.
| These processes lead US naturally t
tbs considerstioa of the more remote re
isemolsnces Of offsets Of thought; anG
tso strong is the tendency Of the mind tt
discrimiuats between these remote re
semblancss and note the degree of cor
resvondeace or disagreement, that when
we direct the attention TO any object OF
Thought. q train of correlated ideas will
rush in anbiddsn asd demand recogni-
ition. With what rapidity idea chases
idea through she brain, linking then'
selves int thoughts and forming deli
cate chsia whoss end d never reached
Each link is suggestive of the one that
sbosld follow ) and the ever active mind,
by its poWeroe association 10 continually
forging the chain that shall biad US to
the lowly earth or lift us to the skies.
And many q link, q is passes beneath
the hammer Of judgmest, is recognised
as the duplicate of. one that has lain on
the anvil before, and We remember.
And memory, through the power of
association. and by a direct effort of the
will, enables Us to recall previous acts
and states of the mind in such way as
not only TO form comparisons between
ideas, but also to note the congruence or
confiction of Judgments, themselves, by
which We are led to form a new judgr
ment, as q deduction from judgments
previously formed, proceeding always
from the known to the unknown.
Thought begets thought. and knowledge
begets knowledge; and by the lever and
fulcrom of syllogistic reasoning we are
constantly Iftisg ourselves up to higher
plain and bsoader range of mental
power.
And again, passing from the domain
of facts, it is an easy and delightful jour
ney into the realms of the ideal When
We cease to think of things as they are,
and begin to think of them as they
might be, We have begun our wander
ings in the domain of fancy. say wan
derings because when the Imagination
begins to play, we are NO longer able to
control and direct ths thoughts as well
as when they are confined exclusively to
facts. 1t is then that the mind wanders
at will; or rather independently of the
win,
..And. as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things uBkDown, the poets
/ pen
Turns them to shapes. and gives to airy
! nothing
A local habitation and name"
We are not able to will TO imagine
certain train OF causes and effects, any
uore than We; are able tn will to do what
We did do yesterday. For I'VE cannot
know what ths prodact-of fancy will be
nntil the i'naginatIun has done lis work.
NeatrtEeless So do have the power to
'i-termine. to ssme extent at leas', what
SHALL be the general course of our
thoughts, and by the aid of association,
comparison. juEment, and reasoning, to
decide AZ TO whether the thoughts that
present themselves are in harmony with
the general course already mapped out.
A thoroughly trained imagination is
the consummation of the highest intel>
lectual culture. When we consider that
for the pcrfernsnceisf Of any act, however
simple, We must Arst have some idea of
the nature Of that sot--that we must
know what we intead 'tosdo before we
can do i've will recognize the fact
that it is necessary to employ the powers
of the imagination to determine just
what that act shall bs.
All our plans for the future are de-
pendent upon this power to form just
conception of the possibilities that are
contingent upon known realities. The
tradesman looks forward to the probable
needs and demands of his customers, and
lays in a stock to meet those demands;
the physician, after making his diagno-
sis, determines the probable course of
the disease, and prescribes his pills and
powders accordingly; the pastor consid,
ers the moral needs Of his people, and
writes bis sermons and selects his hymns
in accordance with those needs and the
results that he wishes to secure; and the
thoughtful teacher, feeling how great is
the responsibility of directing the steps
of his forty beys and girls in the paths
of knowledge and virtue, does not enter
upon the discharge of his duties without
some definite plans az to the course to be
pursued and the end to be attained.
The mind depends upon memory for
its past; upon imagination for its future.
What would either the past or future be
to US, were it not that
"Bright-eyed Fancy, lowering DER.
Scatters from her pictured urn
Thoughts that breathe and words that
burnY"
Now, while IL Is claimed that the order |
of development here given is close ap-
proximstion to the order of nature, it is
not claimed that the higher powers of
the mind must, for any considerable Pc
riod of time, wsit upon the development
of the lower and simpler powers. On
The contrary, sven the powers of judg
msnt and imagination begin to show
themselves ut very early period and
are constantly being developed and cul-
tivated.
But rs the perfect sciien Of these