but they are no more capable of inspiring
a strong emotion than the other kind are incapable of doing so. And we
say the difference is due to the personality or want of personality of
the man. Now, in what does this so-called personality consist? Not in
bodily presence simply, for men quite destitute of it possess the
force in question; not in character only, for we often disapprove of a
character whose attraction we are powerless to resist; not in intellect
alone, for men more rational fail of stirring us as these unconsciously
do. In what, then? In life itself; not that modicum of it, indeed, which
suffices simply to keep the machine moving, but in the life principle,
the power which causes psychical change; which makes the individual
something distinct from all other individuals, a being capable of
proving sufficient, if need be, unto himself; which shows itself, in
short, as individuality. This is not a mere restatement of the case, for
individuality is an objective fact capable of being treated by physical
science. And as we know much more at present about physical facts than
we do of psychological problems, we may be able to arrive the sooner at
solution.

Individuality, personality, and the sense of self are only three
different aspects of one and the same thing. They are so many various
views of the soul according as we regard it from an intrinsic, an
altruistic, or an egoistic standpoint. For by individuality is not meant
simply the isolation in a corporeal casing of a small portion of the
universal soul of mankind. So far as mind goes, this would not be
individuality at all, but the reverse. By individuality we mean that
bundle of ideas, thoughts, and daydreams which constitute our separate
identity, and by virtue of which we feel each one of us at home within
himself. Now man in his mind-development is bound to become more and
more distinct from his neighbor. We can hardly conceive a progress so
uniform as not to necessitate this. It would be contrary to all we
know of natural law, besides contradicting daily experience. For each
successive generation bears unmistakable testimony to the fact. Children
of the same parents are never exactly like either their parents or one
another, and they often differ amazingly from both. In such instances
they revert to type, as we say; but inasmuch as the race is steadily
advancing in development, such reversion must resemble that of an estate
which has been greatly improv