ng as their progress is free and unimpeded, in
relative regularity of bodily functions. Breaks, shocks, and
mal-co-ordinations of attention are accompanied by sudden,
spasmodic changes and irregularities in bodily processes, the
amount and violence of such changes being roughly proportioned
to the intensity of the experiences.

Now, emotions represent psychological conditions of great
instability. Especially is this true when the emotion is
profound. The necessity is suddenly thrown upon the organism
of reacting to a situation with which it is at the moment able
to cope only imperfectly, if at all. The condition is one in
which normal, uninterrupted, coordinated movements are for a
time checked and thrown out of gear.[241]

And again, in concluding their admirable study:

All the processes with which we have been dealing are cases of
readjustment of an organism to its environment. Attention is
always occupied with the point in consciousness at which the
readjustment is taking place. If the process of readjustment
goes smoothly and evenly, we have a steady strain of
attention--an equilibrated motion in one direction. The
performance of mental calculation is a typical case of
this sort of attention. But often the readjustment is more
difficult. Factors are introduced which at first refuse to
be reconciled with the rest of the conscious content. The
attentive equilibrium is upset, and there are violent shifts
back and forth as it seeks to recover itself. These are the
cases of violent emotion. Between these two extremes comes
every shade of difficulty in the readjustment, and of
consequent intensity in emotional tone. We have attempted to
show in the preceding paper that the readjustment of organism
to environment involves a maintenance of the equilibrium of
the bodily processes, which runs parallel with the maintenance
of the attentive equilibrium, and is an essential part of the
readjustment of the psycho-physical organism.

The more motile organisms are constantly, by very reason of their
motility, encountering situations which put a strain upon the
attention. The quest for food leads to encounters with members of
their own and of different species; the resulting fight, pursuit, and
flight are accompanied by the powerful emotions of anger and fear.
The emotion is, as Darwin has pointed ou