us spirits express for us the holiday
mood of life. For they are young at heart, inasmuch as they have lived
in the sunshine, and breathed in the fresh, untainted air. They have
indeed scattered "a new roughness and gladness" among men and women, for
they have spoken to us of the simple magic of the Earth.

I
WILLIAM HAZLITT

"He that is weary, let him sit,
My soul would stir
And trade in courtesies and wit,
Quitting the fur
To cold complexions needing it."

GEORGE HERBERT.

"Men of the world, who know the world like men,
Who think of something else beside the pen."

BYRON.

I

It is not unusual to hear the epithet "complex" flung with a too ready
alacrity at any character who evinces eccentricity of disposition. In
olden days, when regularity of conduct, and conformity even in small
particulars were regarded as moral essentials, the eccentric enjoyed
short shrift. The stake, the guillotine, or the dungeons of the
Inquisition speedily put an end to the eccentricities. A slight measure
of nonconformity was quite enough to earn the appellation of witch or
wizard. One stood no chance as an eccentric unless the eccentricity was
coupled with unusual force of character.

Alienists assure us that insanity is on the increase, and it is certain
that modern conditions of life have favoured nervous instabilities of
temperament, which express themselves in eccentricities of conduct. But
nervous instability is one thing, complexity another. The fact that they
may co-exist affords us no excuse for confusing them. We speak of a
man's personality, whereas it would be more correct to speak of his
personalities.

Much has been written of late years about multi-personalities, until the
impression has spread that the possession of a number of differing
personalities is a special form of insanity. This is quite wrong. The
sane, no less than the insane man has a number of personalities, and the
difference between them lies in the power of co-ordination. The sane man
is like a skilful driver who is able to control his team of horses;
whereas the insane man has lost control of his steeds, and allows first
one and then the other to get the mastery of him.

The personalities are no more numerous than before, only we are made
aware of their number.