it adds to
the individual's capacity for work. When any movements are novel and
require our full attention, a greater nervous resistance is met on
account of the laying down of new paths in the nerve centres. Moreover
longer nervous currents are produced through the cortex of the brain,
because conscious attention is being called into play. These conditions
necessarily consume a greater amount of nerve energy. The result is that
man is able to continue for a longer time with less nervous exhaustion
any series of activities after they have developed into habits. This can
be seen by noting the ease with which one can perform any physical
exercise after habituating himself to the movements, compared with the
evident strain experienced when the exercise is first undertaken.

=Makes the Disagreeable Easy.=--Another, though more incidental,
advantage of the formation of habits, is that occupations in themselves
uninteresting or even distasteful may, through habit, be performed at
least without mental revulsion. This results largely from the fact that
the growth of habit decreases the resistance, and thus lessens or
destroys the disagreeable feeling. Moreover, when such acts are reduced
to mechanical habits, the mind is largely free to consider other things.
In this way the individual, even in the midst of his drudgery, may enjoy
the pleasures of memory or imagination. Although, therefore, in going
through some customary act, one may still dislike the occupation, the
fact that he can do much of it habitually, leaves him free to enjoy a
certain amount of mental pleasure in other ways.

=Aids Morality.=--The formation of habits also has an important bearing
on the moral life. By habituating ourselves to right forms of action, we
no doubt make in a sense moral machines of ourselves, since the right
action is the one that will meet the least nervous resistance, while the
doing of the wrong action would necessitate the establishing of new
co-ordinations in the nervous system. It is no doubt partly owing to
this, that one whose habits are formed can so easily resist temptations;
for to ask him to act other than in the old way is to ask him to make,
not the easy, but the hard reaction. While this is true, however, it
must not be supposed that in such cases the choice of the right thing
involves only a question of customary nervous reaction. When we choose
to do our duty, we make a conscious choice, and although earlier right
action