stimulus. And _the human mind is a vast
storehouse of complexes, far the greater part buried in
subconsciousness_, yet somehow, like impressions on the wax cylinder of
a phonograph, preserved with life-like truth and clearness.

Turn back for a moment to our definition of memory. You will observe
that its second essential element is Recall.

Recall is the process by which the experiences of the past are summoned
from the reservoir of the subconscious into the light of present
consciousness. We necessarily touched upon this process in a previous
book, in considering the Laws of Association, but here, in relation to
memory, we shall go into the matter somewhat more analytically.

THE LAWS OF RECALL

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CHAPTER IV

THE LAWS OF RECALL

[Sidenote: _The Law of Integral Recall_]

Law I. The primary law of recall is this: _The recurrence or
stimulation of one element in a complex tends to recall all the others._

In our explanation of "complex" formation we necessarily cited instances
that illustrate this principle as well, since _recall is merely a
reverse operation from that involved in "complex" formation_.

[Sidenote: _What Ordinary "Thinking" Amounts to_]

For example, in running through a book I come upon a flower pressed
between its pages. At once the memory of the friend who gave it to me
springs into consciousness and becomes the subject of reminiscence. This
recalls the mountain village where we last met. This recalls the fact
that a railroad was at the time under process of construction, which
should transform the village into a popular resort. This in turn
suggests my coming trip to the seashore, and I am reminded of a business
appointment on which my ability to leave town on the appointed day
depends. And so on indefinitely.

Far the greater part of your successive states of consciousness, or even
of your ordinary "thinking," commonly so-called, consists of trains of
mental pictures "suggested" one by another. If the associated pictures
are of the everyday type, common to everyone, you have a prosaic mind;
if, on the other hand, the associations are unusual or unique, you are
happily possessed of wit and fancy.

[Sidenote: _The Reverse of Complex Formation_]

These instances of the action of the Law of Recall illustrate but one
phase of its activity. They show simply that groups of ideas are so
strung together on the string of some common element that _the