Sayfa 153 / 1391

The second paradox leads up to some curious and interesting

questions-How far can the mind control the body? Is the relation

between them one of mutual antagonism or of mutual harmony? Are

they two or one, and is either of them the cause of the other?

May we not at times drop the opposition between them, and the

mode of describing them, which is so familiar to us, and yet

hardly conveys any precise meaning, and try to view this

composite creature, man, in a more simple manner? Must we not at

any rate admit that there is in human nature a higher and a lower

principle, divided by no distinct line, which at times break

asunder and take up arms against one another? Or again, they are

reconciled and move together, either unconsciously in the

ordinary work of life, or consciously in the pursuit of some

noble aim, to be attained not without an effort, and for which

every thought and nerve are strained. And then the body becomes

the good friend or ally, or servant or instrument of the mind.