his reason would conquer his instinct.  As things are, his instinct conquers his reason by a surprise attack, by taking it unawares.  Regular daily concentration of the brain, for a certain period, upon the non-frictional tone, and the immense advantages of its use, will gradually set up in the brain a new habit of thinking about the non-frictional tone; until at length the brain, disciplined, turns to the correct act before the old, silly instinct can capture it; and ultimately a new sagacious instinct will supplant the old one.

This is the rationale.  It applies to all habits.  Any person can test its efficiency in any habit.  I care not whether he be of strong or weak will—­he can test it.  He will soon see the tremendous difference between merely ’making a good resolution’—­(he has been doing that all his life without any very brilliant consequences)—­and concentrating the brain for a given time exclusively upon a good resolution.  Concentration, the efficient mastery of the brain—­all is there!

XII

AN INTEREST IN LIFE

After a certain period of mental discipline, of deliberate habit-forming and habit-breaking, such as I have been indicating, a man will begin to acquire at any rate a superficial knowledge, a nodding acquaintance, with that wonderful and mysterious affair, his brain, and he will also begin to perceive how important a factor in daily life is the control of his brain.  He will assuredly be surprised at the miracles which lie between his collar and his hat, in that queer box that he calls his head.  For the effects that can be accomplished by mere steady, persistent thinking must appear to be miracles to apprentices in the practice of thought.  When once a man, having passed an unhappy day because his clumsy, negligent brain forgot to control his instincts at a critical moment, has said to his brain:  ’I will force you, by concentrating you on that particular point, to act efficiently the next time similar circumstances arise,’ and when he has carried out his intention, and when the awkward circumstances have recurred, and his brain, disciplined, has done its work, and so prevented unhappiness—­then that man will regard his brain with a new eye.  ’By Jove!’ he will say; ’I’ve stopped one source of unhappiness, anyway.  There was a time when I should have made a fool of myself in a little domestic crisis such as to-day’s.  But I have gone safely through it.  I am all right.  She is all right.  The atmosphere is not dangerous with undischarged electricity!  And all because my brain, being in proper condition, watched firmly over my instincts!  I must keep this up.’  He will peer into that brain more and more.  He will see more and more of its possibilities.  He will have a new and a supreme interest in life.  A garden is a fairly interesting thing.  But the cultivation of a garden is as dull as cold mutton compared to the cultivation of a brain; and wet weather won’t interfere with digging, planting, and pruning in the box.