Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Elements of the philosophy of the human mind / by Dugald Stewart. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
584/608 (page 568)
![“ fa£t, that plainly fets them both on a parallel, that in fleep we often recolleft that the fcenes which we behold “ are a mere dream, in the fame manner as a perfon “ awake is habitually convinced that the reprefentations of his imagination are fidfitious.” « In this elFay we make no inquiry into the ftate of the body in fleep. « If the operations of the mind in fleep can be “ fairly deduced from the fame caufes as its operations when awake, we are certainly advanced one confiderable ftep, « though the caufes of thefe latter Ihould be ftill unknown. ** The doftrine of gravitation, which is the molt wondeiv ful and extenfive difcovery in the whole compafs of hu- « man fcience, leaves the defcent of heavy bodies as great a myftery as ever. In philofophy, as in geometry, the whole art of inveftigation lies in reducing things that are « difficult, intricate, and remote, to what is Ampler and « eafler of accefs, by purfuing and extending the analogies of nature.” On looking over the fame eflay, I And an obfervation which I ftated as my own in page 150 of this work. “ The mere imagination of a tender fcene in a romance, or drama, will draw tears from the eyes of tliofe who know « very well, when they recoiled themfelves, that the whole « is A£Iitious. In the mean time they muft conceive it as real; and from this fuppofed reality arifes all its influence on the human mind.” / Continuation of Note [O]. (Second Edition.) SOON after the publication of the Firft Edition of this Work, a difficulty was ftarted to me with refpeft to my concluAons concerning the ftate of the mind in fleep, by my excellent friend Mr.Prevoft of Geneva; a Gentleman who has long held a high rank in the republic of letters, and to whofe valuable correfpondence I have often been indebted for much pleafure and inftruaion. The fame difficulty](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28041598_0584.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
