passions, and thus balance the
mind and body. Such an equilibrium we call _happiness_. If the emotions
be acute and vehement, they will absorb all other impressions and revel
in their culminating and delightful experiences. They exhaust all the
bodily energies, and a functional suspension, termed _ecstasy_, follows.
It is a swooning, or fainting, a temporary loss of sensation and
volition, accompanied by involuntary movements of the arms, smiting of
the hands, sighing, and short ejaculatory expressions of rapture. This
condition, occasioned by excessive emotion, as in praying, singing,
exhortations, and sympathetic appeals, is contagious, often spreading
with mysterious rapidity. Its culmination, ecstasy, is popularly termed
"_the power_." When gradually induced, it is called _trance_, and each
state is regarded by many as supernatural, caused by the immediate
influence of the Holy Spirit. The explanation is this: when the emotive
faculties are suddenly and powerfully excited, they quickly expend the
organic forces, so that the individual swoons from sheer exhaustion.
Undue expenditure of this class of brain functions not only consumes the
bodily powers, but exhausts and prevents other mental operations. The
sudden collapse of all voluntary functions resembles the fainting
produced by blood-letting. We may sum up this rapid expenditure of
energy in one expressive word, EXHAUSTION, which results in _Ecstasy_,
or trance, and which, if carried a degree further, terminates in death.
Beginning with the natural exercise of the emotions, we may state the
order of sequences thus:

Ordinary exercise leads to CALMNESS.
Proper exercise " " HAPPINESS.
Increased exercise " " ECSTASY.
Excessive exercise " " SYNCOPE.
Prolonged exercise " " TRANCE.
Fatal exercise " " MORTALITY.
Their tendencies are EXHAUSTIVE.

VOLITIVE FACULTIES.

What are the physiological and morbid results attending the ordinary and
the immoderate exercise of the VOLITIVE FACULTIES?

The generic term _will_, comprehends those faculties, the action of
which is termed _volition_. The faculties of the will are Determination,
Firmness, Decision, Ambition, Authority, and Vigilance, all of which
indicate strength and continuity of purpose. Bordering upon the emotions
are Patience and Perseverance, while adjoining the animal faculties are
Power, Coarseness, and Love of Display. The forme