es a fixed character. The period of
brooding begins. For Newton it lasted seventeen years, and at the time
of definitely establishing his discovery by calculation he was so
overcome with emotion that he had to assign to another the task of
completing it. The mathematician Hamilton tells us that his method of
quaternians burst upon him one day, completely finished, while he was
near a bridge in Dublin. "In that moment I had the result of fifteen
years' labor." Darwin gathers material during his voyages, spends a
long time observing plants and animals, then through the chance reading
of Malthus' book, hits upon and formulates his theory. In literary and
artistic creation similar examples are frequent.[72]

The second phase is only an instant, but essential--the moment of
discovery, when the creator exclaims his "Eureka!"[73] With it, the work
is virtually or really ended.

_Second Process_ (_abridged_).

1st phase 2nd phase 3rd phase
General preparation IDEA (commencement) CONSTRUCTIVE
(unconscious) INSPIRATION and
ERUPTION DEVELOPING
period.

This is the process in intuitive minds. Such seems to have been the case
of Mozart, Poe, etc. Without attempting what would be a tedious
enumeration of examples, we may say that this form of creation comprises
two classes--those coming to maturity through an internal impulse, a
sudden stroke of inspiration, and those who are suddenly illumined by
chance. The two processes differ superficially rather than essentially.
Let us briefly compare them.

With some, the first phase is long and fully conscious; in others it
seems negligible, equal to zero--there is nothing of it because there
exists a natural or acquired tendency toward equilibrium. "For a long
time," says Schumann, "I had the habit of racking my brain, and now I
scarcely need to scratch my forehead. Everything runs naturally."[74]

The second phase is almost the same in both cases: it is only an
instant, but it is essential--it is the moment of imaginative synthesis.

Lastly, the third phase is very short for some, because the main labor
is already done, and there remains only the finishing touch or the
verification. It is long for others, because they must pass from the
perceived idea to complete realization, and because the preparatory work