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* CONSCIENCE. 312 CONSCKIPTION. structor in Fleniish to the royal children. In 1808 he was made custodian of the Wiertz ihiseiini. Those posts and others were rewards for iintlagging ell'orts to re-ive and stimulate a literary interest in Flemish. He died in Brus- sels, September 10, ISS.*!. Among other well- known works of Conscience, most of which are translated into French and German and a few into English, are: How One liccoiiies a Painter (1843); The Poor Nobleman (1851); The Oooil l.iich 1o he Rich (1855); Duke Karl's Justice (1876): Benjamin of Flanders (1880). He has probabl_y contributed more than any other individual to the revival of Flemish litei'alure. For his biography, consult Eekhoud (Brussels, 1881), and Pol de Mont (Haarlem, 1883). CONSCIENCE WHIGS. A name applied to those members of the Whig Party in Massa- chusetts wlio in 1850 and thereafter refused to cooperate with those of their old associates — the so-called 'Cotton Whigs' — who declared that the slavery question had been permanently settled by the Compromise of 1850. In New York the two factions were known respectively as the 'Woolly Heads,' or 'Seward Wliigs,' and the 'Silver Grays,' or 'Snuff-Takers.' CONSCIOUS LOVEKS, The. A comedy by Sir Ricliard Steele (1722), modeled upon Ter- ence's Andria. This play was an attempt by Steele to purify the stage, and is referred to in Fielding's Joseph Andrews as the only fit play for a Christian to see. CONSCIOUSNESS. A term employed by psychology in two principal meanings. ( 1 ) In the first meaning, it is the equivalent of 'mental endowment' or 'the possession of mind.' I am conscious of the objects and persons about me, of my own successes or shortcomings, of the validity of an argument or the beauty of a work of art, in the sense that I. am mentally alive to these things, am capable of a mental reaction i;pon them, whether by way of mere percejJtiun or by way of critical estimate and appreciation. So if I am sound asleep, or in stupor from a blow on the head or from the action of some drug, 1 am said to be 'unconscious'; my mental life and reactions are in abeyance. This mean- ing, which would jierhajis have lapsed from psychological usage were it not dee])ly rooted in the phraseology' of philosophy and in ])opular parlance, must be carefully distinguished from the second and more technical meaning, accord- ing to which (2) consciousness is simply 'present mind,' 'mind noiv.' the total mental experience given at a particular time. "Consciousness," says Wundt, "docs not mean anything that exists apart from mental processes; nor does it refer merely to the sum of these processes, without reference to their mode of interrelation. It ex- presses the general synthesis of mental processes, within which the single complexes are marked off as more intimate connections." It is "a com- prehensive interconnection of simultaneous and successive mental processes." We may therefore define it as a cross-section or temporal division of mind (q.v.) ; mind consists of a series of consciousnesses, more or less sharply differen- tiated. As we begin the day we have the waking consciousness, followed by the getting-up con- sciousness, the breakfast consciousness, the work consciousness, etc., etc. The separate complexeg which enter into and compose a consciousness are termed the 'contents of consciousness.' Thus, the consciousness of a writer, at his desk, contains various psychologi- cal ideas, mostly in verbal form; the perceptions of sight and touch that are aroused by the act of writing; a general feeling of effort, etc. The question of the 'range of consciousness,' i.e. of the number of mental processes that a single consciousness can contain, has been approached experimentally, and partly answered. It is found, e.g. that if an aiiditory consciousness be set up, by subjecting an observer (whose mind is otherwise unoccupied) to a continued series of metronome strokes, its range lies between the limits of 8 double impressions (16 strokes, rhythmically grouped in twos) and 5 eightfold impressions (40 strokes, rhythmically grouped in eights). In other words, a practiced obsen-er can distinguish, without counting, between two successive series of 40 and of 39 strokes, if he be allowed to group by eights ; whereas he can- not, however he may group them, distinguish between series of 41 and 42 strokes; these num- bers exceed the ma.imal range of consciousness. The phrase 'state of consciousness,' formerly applied to mental processes like ideas, emotions, etc., now designates the mode of existence (clear- ness, prominence, obscurity, inhibition) of the contents of a particular consciousness; it is fully explained under Attention (q.v.). Other phrases in general use are 'field of consciousness' and 'stream of consciousness,' the one formed after the analogy of the phrase 'field of vision,' the other emphasizing the essentially transient nature of conscious contents. Consult: Wundt, Human and Animal Psychology (London, 1890) ; id.. Outlines of Psychology, trans, by Judd (Lon- don, 1898) ; Titchener, Outline of Psychology (New York, 1899); James, Principles of Psy- chology (New Y'ork, 1890). See Self-Conscious- ness ; Unity of Consciousness. CONSCIOUSNESS, Unity of. See Unity OF CON'SCIOUSNESS. CON'SCRIPT FATHERS. A name given to the Roman senators after the expulsion of the Tarquins, Mhen Brutus added 100 to the number of senators, the names of the newcomers being 'written togethei"' (coiisciipta) on the rolls with those of the original councilors. The proper designation was then Patres et Conscripti, after- vrards abridged to Patres Conscripti. CONSCRIPTION (Lat. conscriptio, from eoiiscritirrc, to enroll, from com-, together -- scrihere, to write). The enlisting of men for military service by a comjjulsory levy. Con- scription, in its modern sense, is built on the niilitaiy constitution of ancient Rome. Four legions of infantry, two for each consul, and each legion containing 0000 men. were annually levied. The consuls, who in the time of the Republic were always couuiianders of the army, would announce by herald or written proclama- tion that a levy was to be made. The proper conscription was as follows: Militcs cogere, eolligere. scrihere, conscrihere. From 1798 con- scription by compulsory levies, and individual selection determined by the drawing of lots, pre- vailed in France; but in 1872 substitution was abolished and personal sen'ice made oblieatory on every man not physically unfit. Prussia followed France with a conscription system in