broken the glass
of my watch, which I held in my hand, and the fragments fell among the
papers. Hence no farther attention was paid to the diamond, being a
representation of a collateral series of things. But afterwards the
representation of the sparkling stones was again excited, and became the
prevailing idea; hence it determined the succeeding association. On
account of its similarity, it excited, the representation of fire, with
which it was confounded; hence arose fire and smoke.--But, in the event,
the writings only were burnt, not the desk itself; to which, being of
comparatively less value, the attention was not at all directed." It is
farther observable, that there are in the human mind certain obscure
representations, and that it is necessary to be convinced of the reality
of these images, if we are desirous of perceiving the connexion, which
subsists among the operations of the imagination. Of the numerous
phenomena, founded on obscure ideas, and which consequently prove their
existence, we shall only remark the following. It is a well known fact,
that many dreams originate in the impressions made in the body during
sleep; and they consist of analogous images or such as are associated
with sensations that would arise from these impressions, during a waking
state. Hence, for instance, if our legs are placed in a perpendicular
posture, we are often terrified by a dream that implies the imminent
danger of falling from a steep rock or precipice. The mind must
represent to itself these external impressions in a lively manner,
otherwise no ideal picture could be thus excited; but, as we do not
become at all conscious of them, they are but faintly and obscurely
represented.

If we make a resolution to rise earlier in the morning than usual; and
if we impress the determination on our mind, immediately before going to
rest, we are almost certain to succeed. Now it is self-evident that this
success cannot be ascribed to the efforts of the body, but altogether to
the mind, which probably, during sleep perceives and computes the
duration of time, so that it makes an impression on the body, which
enables us to awake at an appointed hour. Yet all this takes place,
without our consciousness, and the representations remain obscure. Many
productions of art are so complicated, that a variety of simple
conceptions are requisite to lay the foundation of them; yet the artist
is almost entirely unconscious of these individual noti