We find thus that there is a sequence in the motives which control the will.  The first and lowest motives are the appetites, and here the will is the mouthpiece of the bodily organs.  Then fear and a host of other prudential considerations appear.  The lowest of these tend purely to the gratification of the senses or to the avoidance of bodily discomfort.  But they originate in the mind, and that is a great gain.  But the higher prudential considerations take into account something higher than mere bodily comfort or discomfort.  Approbation and disapprobation are motives which weigh heavily with the higher mammals.  The lower prudential considerations are purely selfish.  The higher ones, which stimulate to action for fellow-animals or men, show at least the dawn of unselfishness.  And the altruistic motives, which stimulate to action for the happiness and welfare of others, predominate in, and are characteristic of, man.  The human will is slowly rising above the dominance of selfishness.  With the dawn of the rational perception of truth, right, and duty, the very highest motives begin to gain control.  And the will becomes more and more powerful as the motives become higher.  It is almost a mis-use of language to speak of the will of a slave of appetite.  He is governed by the body, not at all by the mind.

The man who is governed by prudential considerations, and is always asking, Will it pay? is the incarnation of fickleness, instability, and feebleness.  The apparent strength of the selfish will is usually a hollow sham.  But truth, right, and love are motives stronger than death.  And the will, dominated by these, gives the body to be burned.  The man of the future will have an iron will, because he will keep these highest motives constantly before his mind.

In the preceding lectures we have traced the sequence of functions and have found that brain and mind, not digestion and muscle, are the goal of animal development.  In this lecture we have attempted to trace a corresponding series of functions in the realm of mind.  We have found, I think, that there has been an orderly and logical development of perceptions, modes of action, and finally of motives in the animal mind.  Let us now briefly review this history and see whether it throws any light on the path of man’s future progress.

Most of the sensory cells of the animal minister at first to reflex action, and there is thus little true perception.  The stimuli which have called forth the reflex action may result afterward in consciousness; but until brain and muscle have reached a higher grade, this could be of but slight benefit to the animal.  Perception and consciousness are exercised mainly in the recognition and attainment of food.  When the animal begins to show fear, we may feel tolerably certain that it has been conscious of past experience of danger and remembers these experiences.  But the sense-organs are all the time improving, whether