o, man is the ruler of his
sensations, feelings, and conceptions, his impulses, desires, and
passions. Observations and percepts cannot be left in the soul to follow
their own devices; they must be regulated according to the laws of
thought. And it is the ego, as it were, that controls these thought-laws,
and by means of them brings order into the life of perception and thought.

It is similar with regard to desires and passions, inclinations and
impulses. The fundamental ethical laws become the guides of these forces
of the soul, and by reason of the moral judgment, the ego becomes the
soul's guide within this domain. Now if a person detaches a higher ego
from his ordinary ego, the latter becomes to a certain extent independent.
That much life-power is now taken away from it as is needed for the use of
that higher ego. But let us consider the case of a person who has not, as
yet, developed certain ability and firmness in exercising the laws of
thought and in the power of judgment, but who nevertheless desires to
bring about the birth of his higher ego. He will be able to leave to his
ordinary ego only as much thought capacity as he has previously developed.
If the amount of well-ordered thinking is insufficient, then the ordinary
ego which has now become independent, will certainly fall victim to
confused, disordered, fantastic thoughts and judgment, and moreover, since
in such a case the new-born ego must inevitably be weak also, the
disordered lower ego will gain the upper hand, and the person will lose
his ability for balanced judgment. Had he developed sufficient capability
and firmness in logical thinking, he might have calmly left his ordinary
ego to go its own way.

In the ethical sphere it is precisely the same. Should a person not have
attained firmness in the matter of his moral judgment, should he not have
become sufficiently master over his inclinations, impulses, and passions,
he will then render his ordinary ego independent while in a condition in
which it will be overwhelmed by all these soul forces. It may then happen
that the person will become worse through the birth of his higher ego than
he was before. Had he waited to bring about this birth until he had
sufficiently developed his ordinary self, attaining firmness in the matter
of ethical judgment, stability of character, and depth of conscience, he
would then have been in a position to have all these virtues left within
that first ego when the birt