Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 11.djvu/407

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N preceding articles the psychological bearings of Education were entered upon; and two out of the three primary functions of the intellect were considered. There remained the power named—

—It is neither an inapt nor a strained comparison to call this power the law of gravitation of the intellectual world. As regards education, it has an importance coequal with the plastic force that is expressed by retentiveness or memory. The methods to be pursued in attaining the commanding heights of general knowledge are framed by the circumstances attending the detection of like in the midst of unlike.

With all the variety that there is in the world of our experience, a variety appealing to our consciousness of difference, there is also great repetition, sameness, or unity. There are many shades of color, as distinguished by the discriminative sensibility of the eye; yet the same shade often recurs. There are many varieties of form—the round, the square, the spiral, etc.—and we discriminate them when they are contrasted; while the same form starts up again and again. At first sight, this would appear to mean nothing at all; the great matter would appear to be to avoid confounding differences—blue with violet, a circle with an oval; when blue recurs, we simply treat it as we did at first.

The remark is too hasty, and overlooks a vital consideration. What raises the principle of similarity to its commanding height is the accompaniment of diversity. The round form first discerned in a ring or halfpenny recurs in the full moon, where the adjuncts are totally different and need to be felt as different. In spite of these disturbing accompaniments, it is important to feel the agreement on the single circumstance called the round form.

When an impression made in one situation is repeated in an altered situation, the new experience reminds us of the old, notwithstanding the diversity; this reminder may be described as a new kind of shock, or awakened consciousness, called the shock or flash of identity in the midst of difference. A piece of coal and a piece of wood differ, and are at first looked upon as differing. Put into the fire, they both blaze up, give heat, and are consumed: here is a shock of agreement which becomes an abiding impression in connection with