Excerpt from Elementary Psychology: Or First Principles of Mental and Moral Science<br><br>Now, there can be no question as to the pre - eminent value of Psychology as a subject of study. Studied in that Vicious and sterile text - book fashion, which marks progress by pages and chapters and tests advancement by the power to reproduce definitions and to repeat ancient and musty illustrations, it is, like every thing else, so studied, of little value. Studied intel ligently and by reasonable methods, in which the deliverances of consciousness are examined and classified, in which the rela tion of the three great activities of the soul are investigated and defined, and the laws which govern their interaction are brought to light and formulated, it becomes exceedingly fruitful and full of immediate and of prospective value. In its value as a dis ciplinary study, g1v1ng Insight and power to determine the rela tions between things not revealed by sense - perception, it neces sarily takes front rank. As a culture study it comes fully up to the excellent definition formulated by Dr. Payne in his essay on Education Values; for it results in the mental satisfaction coming from the conscious possession of knowledge. It may seem extravagant, as it certainly is contradictory to the popular judgment, to press its claims as a practical study. But I have no hesitation in doing so. It is, in my judgment, emi hently practical, - a branch of study invaluable for guidance in the afiairs of life. It deals with springs of action hidden from those ignorant of the science of the soul. It supplies higher and nobler motives for right thinking, right feeling, and right doing. It reveals what lies back of the overt act, and places responsibility upon its only true logical ground. It gives to men the power of truthful discrimination in matters of motive and choice, and gives its due dignity to that which is spiritual and eternal. It lessens the danger of self-deception, that most piti ful condition of the soul, and teaches how to be just to our selves and righteously charitable toward our fellows.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.