ught of her own
sex-desires, but sometimes the physical disturbances which accompany
such phobias are the natural physical reactions to the constant fear
state. Indigestion, palpitation, and tremors are not in themselves
symbolic of the inner trouble but may be the result of an overdose of
the adrenal and thyroid secretions and the other accompaniments of
fear. In such cases the real symptom is the fear, and the physical
disturbance an incidental by-product of the emotional state. In any
case a nervous symptom is always the sign of something else--a
hieroglyph which must be deciphered before its real meaning can be
discovered.

SUMMARY

=Three Kinds of People.= Absurd as it sounds, "nerves" turn out to be
a question of morals; a neurosis, an affair of conscience; a nervous
symptom an unsettled ethical struggle. The ethical struggle is not
unusual; it is a normal part of man's life, the natural result of his
desire to change into a more civilized being. The people in the world
may be divided into three classes, according to the way they decide
the conflict.

=The Primitive.= The first class merely capitulate to their primitive
desires. They may not be nervous, but it is safe to say that they are
rarely happy. The voice of conscience is hard to drown, even when it
is not strong enough to control conduct. Happily it often succeeds in
making us miserable, when we desert the ways that have proved best for
our kind. The "immoral" person has not yet "arrived"; he simply
disregards the collective wisdom of society and gives the victory to
the primitive forces which try to keep man back on his old level. We
cannot break the ideals by which man lives, and still be happy.

=The Salt of the Earth.= The second class of people decide the
conflict in a way that satisfies both themselves and society. They
give the victory to the higher trends and at the same time make a
lasting peace by winning over the energy of the undesirable impulses.
By sublimation they divert the threatening force to useful work and
turn it out into real life, using its steam to make the world's wheels
go round. Their love-force, unhampered by childish habits, is free to
give itself to adult relationships or to express itself symbolically
in socially helpful ways.

=Nervous People.= To the third class belong the people who have not
finished the fight. These are the folk with "nerves," the people in
whom the conflict is fiercest because both sides are too