Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 6.djvu/386

 370 W. H. FAIRBEOTHER : ARISTOTLE'S THEORY, ETC. origin to Reason. They are of entirely different and in- dependent origin, for they exist in that animal world which is sentient only, as well as in the rational creature, man. A mental image is thus a definite picture which may be as vivid as that present to the physical eye, and as ' effectively present ' as the sense temptation itself. Modern science has advanced beyond this simple analysis of Aristotle, but without falsifying his explanation, in so far (at least) as it is relevant to Ethics. The elaborate detail of the psychological text-book leaves, after all, the main moral fact untouched, that we are affected, and can be as forcibly influenced, by something not, in the ordinary sense, present, as by the feeling stimulated by an actual object before us. It is to this that the ' struggle ' the unfortunate man makes is due, and in this lies his moral responsibility. Strictly speaking, Aristotle, for clearness of exposition's sake, has drawn his outlines a little too sharply. A moral principle a universal judgment opposed to a concrete particular is powerless to even begin a contest. But Memory is always working to some extent, and produces, it ma}' be very vaguely, some blurred outline of a ' particular ' mental image. If this image be very indistinct it has practically no effect at all the man yields almost at once, with probably some prick of conscience to poison his enjoyment though it fails to influence his action. If it be very vivid he resists the temptation altogether in some cases, perhaps, feels an actual repulsion against the suggestion. It is in the space intermediate between these two extremes that the ' struggle,' the 'swaying to and fro,' takes place, varying in duration and severity according to the ' definiteness ' of the mental image. There is sober fact, as well as poetic metaphor, in the expression ' Guardian angel ' which grateful man so often applies to wife or sister. Common sense tells us ; if we wish to help a weaker brother at a crisis, to avoid general principles and Moral Laws, and paint instead, with a few graphic touches, some 'stirring,' 'moving' picture. But the man himself has ever at his side an unfailing friend Memory from whom, if he will listen, sufficient help will be always forthcoming. None of us can do without this help if we are to keep on the right path, and the ' incon- tinent ' man is but he who needs it more constantly than the average individual. Nature has given him less strength for the fight, and in so doing has to a certain extent di- minished his responsibility, but she has not taken it altogether away. The incontinent man is still a man.