consequence of repetition or frequent practice is, that certain associations are soon very much strengthened, or that a facility in them is acquired. It is a well known fact, that almost any person may become a punster or rhymer by taking the pains to form a habit, that is, by increasing the facility of certain associations by frequent repetition. By punning we understand the power of readily summoning up, on a particular occasion, a number of words different from each other in meaning, but resembling each other, more or less, in sound.That facility of association, which is acquired by frequent repetition and which is expressed by the word HABIT, is the great secret of fluency in extemporaneous speaking. The extemporaneous speaker must, indeed, have ideas; no modification of association whatever can supply the place of them. But his ability to arrange them in some suitable order and to express them in words without previous care and effort, is the result, in a great measure, of habits of association.

CHAPTER FIFTEENTH.

OF ATTENTION.

§. 174. Nature of attention and different degrees of it.

Without considering it necessary to speak of attention as a separate intellectual power or faculty, as some may be inclined to do, it seems to be sufficient to say, that ATTENTION expresses the state of the mind, when it is steadily directed, for some time, whether longer or shorter, to some object of sense or intellect, exclusive of other objects. When we say, that any thought or idea receives attention, it seems to be the fact, as far as we are able to determine, that the thought or idea, or whatever is the object of that attention, remains in the mind for a certain period, and that all other thoughts are, for the time being, shut out.

It follows from this view of it, that attention may be very great or very small, in a very high or a very slight degree, according as the mind is occupied with any thought or subject for a greater or less time. When the view of the mind is only momentary, a mere glance; then the attention is said to be very slight ;-but when it bends itself upon a thought or series of thoughts for any considerable length of time and refuses during that period to attend to any thing else whatever, then the attention is said to be intense.

Of instances of people, who are able to give but slight attention to a subject, who cannot bring their minds to it with steadiness and power, we every where find multitudes; and there are some instances, where this ability has been possessed in such a high degree as to be worthy of notice. There have been mathematicians, who could investigate the most complicated problems amid every variety and character of disturbance. The chess-player Philidor could direct three games of chess at the same time, of one of which only he required ocular inspection, the moves of the other two being announced to him by an assistant.Of power in controlling the attention, Julius Cæsar has sometimes been mentioned as an instance; while writing a dispatch, it is said, that he could at the same time dictate four others to his secretaries, and, if he did not write. himself, could dictate seven letters at once.

§. 175. Of the dependence of memory on attention.

There seems to be no fact in mental philosophy more clearly established than this, that memory depends on attention; that is, where attention is very slight, remembrance is weak, and where attention is intense, remembrance continues longer. The following statements go to prove and illustrate this remark.—(1) Let a person be much engaged in conversation or occupied with any very interesting speculation, and the clock will strike in the room where he is, apparently without his having any knowledge of it. He hears the clock strike as much as at any other time, but, not attending to the perception of sound

and having his thoughts directed another way, he immediately forgets. (2) In the the course of a single day persons, who are in the habit of winking, will close their eyelids perhaps thousands of times, and as often as they close them, will place themselves in utter darkness. Undoubtedly they are conscious at the time both of closing their eyelids and of being in the dark, but as their attention is chiefly taken up with other things, they have entirely forgotten it.-(3) Whenever we read a book, we do not observe the words merely as a whole, but every letter of which they are made up, and even the minute parts of these letters. But it is merely a glance; it does not for any length of time ocupy our attention; we immediately forget, and with great difficulty persuade ourselves, that we have truly perceived the letters of the word. The fact, that every letter is in ordinary cases observed by us, may be proved by leaving out a letter of the word, or by substituting others of a similar form. We readily in reading detect such omissions or substitutions.

Many facts of this kind evidently show, as we think, that memory depends upon attention or rather upon a continuance of attention and varies with that continuance. Every one's general reading confirms this. Whenever we read a book, which does not particularly interest us, and which, in failing to interest us, leaves our thoughts to go astray upon other subjects, how very little is engraven in the recollection!The facts, which have been given, not only go to evince the dependence of memory on attention, but show also, in a striking manner, the rapidity of our mental operations. The fact, that we notice every letter, and the shape of every letter, and combine them together in words, and still are not delayed in reading, but proceed from word to word without hesitation, gives a view of the mind, which cannot but astonish us. But as the subject of the rapidity of our mental operations, in attending to a variety of successive objects, which has thus been suggested, is one of much interest, we delay upon it here, and make a few further remarks.

§. 176. Of rapidity in attending to different objects.

The following illustration, in addition to others in the preceding section, may be given, to show the rapidity of the mind in giving its attention to different objects ;--it is stated by Mr. Hobbes in his political treatise of the Leviathan. He says, he was once in company, where the conversation turned on the English civil war. A person abruptly asked, in the course of the conversation, What was the value of a Roman denarius? Such a question, so remote from the general direction of the conversation, had the appearance not only of great abruptness, but of impertinence. Mr. Hobbes says, that, on a little reflection, he was able to trace the train of thought, which suggested the question. The original subject of discourse naturally introduced the history of king Charles; the king naturally suggested the treachery of those, who surrendered him up to his enemies; the treachery of these persons readily introduced to the mind the treachery of Judas Iscariot; the conduct of Judas was associated with the thirty pieces of silver, and as the Romans occupied Judea at the time of the crucifixion of the Saviour, the pieces of silver were associated with the Roman denarii. All these trains of thought passed through the mind of the person, who asked the question, in a twinkling; and probably he himself, if he had been asked upon it, could not have told the precise connection of ideas, which led him aside from the original topick of discourse. This instance illustrates both the great rapidity of thought and the dependence of memory on attention.

The rapidity of thought is illustrated also, in a striking manner, in the case of an equilibrist, balancing a rod on his finger. To do this requires constantly not only the attention of his mind, but the observation of his eye. The part of the body, which supports the object, is never wholly at rest; for, if it were, the object would no more stand upon it, than it would retain its position, if placed upright on a table. The equilibrist, therefore, watches every in

clination of the object from the proper position, so as to counteract that inclination by a contrary movement. But, what is worthy of remark, he can balance not only a single rod in this way, but two or three upon different parts of his body, and, at the same time, balance himself on a small cord or wire. That the mind should be able to attend to these different equilibriums, is very wonderful; but that it does attend to them is evident, because not only the attention of the mind is requisite, but a particular direction of the eye. This direction cannot be given to the eye without a preceding act of the mind. We have a similar illustration of the rapidity of the mind in directing itself to different objects in the performers at the circus. The performer vaults upon a horse, when at full speed; he rises on the saddle; he stands upon one foot, and, in this situation, while his horse is in the most rapid movement, performs a variety of feats, every one of which requires from the mind a multitude of distinct acts of attention.

§. 177. Of rapidity of attention in connection with habits.

In connection with what has been said, we are led to remark upon the views of Reid and Hartley on the subject of HABITS. Their views are, that habits operate without will or intention on the part of the person, who has formed them; and that, as they are without any attendant thought or mental operation, they are to be considered as merely mechanical or automatick principles. They illustrate their ideas, as well as imagine that they prove them, by the instance of a person, learning to play on the harpsichord. When a person first begins to learn, it is admitted by all, that there is an express act of volition, preceding every motion of the fingers. By degrees the motions appear to cling to each other; at least they follow each other with such ease and rapidity, that the volitions, which were at first easily recognized and distinguished, become evanescent and imperceptible;-in other words, there is nothing left but the motions; there is no act of the mind. But the concluding part of this statement, which is adopted by