Pocahontas. Capt. John Smith. } Con.
We have read the story of the rescue of Smith by Pocahontas. We have thought of these names together and they have united in our memories by the Law of Concurrence. When we recall the name of Pocahontas, we are apt to revive also the name of Capt. John Smith and vice versa. Another case:—A gentleman was present at Ford’s Theatre in Washington when John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln. Just a moment before, he recognised the odour of a hyacinth held by a lady in front of him. The next moment he heard the fatal shot, and turning whence the report came, he saw the murderous result. After the lapse of a quarter of a century, he could not smell, see, or think of hyacinth without at once thinking of that scene, nor could Lincoln’s assassination be mentioned in his presence without his instantly thinking of hyacinth. Nothing could have been more purely accidental than the quick succession of the sensation of the odour and the murder of the President. But they were experienced together or nearly together. They became cemented together, so that the revival of one is apt to call up the other, and this is concurrence.
Capt. John Smith. Anvil. } Con.
A proper name may be also used in other relations. The word, sound, or name Smith may also be a general term applicable to many classes of persons, as coppersmith, goldsmith, silversmith, &c. When we think of Capt. John Smith we use the word as a proper name. But when we think of Smith and Anvil we use the word Smith in its general sense. In either case it is an act of Concurrence. Smiths use anvils. We have thought of these words together, and that mental act has had a tendency to unite them together.
Anvil. Heavy. } In. by A. & C.
Anvil is a concrete thing that possesses the attribute heaviness; and heavy is an abstract term that applies to heavy things, but does not state what they are. The idea or thought of heaviness is common to both words, and therefore it is a case of In., and as one term is concrete and the other abstract, it is a case of In. by A. & C.
Heavy. Gravitation. } Con.
Things are heavy that press toward the earth, in consequence of the action of gravity in their case. Gravitation, whatever that is, is what makes them tend toward the earth. We may say it is a Cause, and as we think of Cause producing Effect, and Effect as produced by Cause, such cases are thought of together, or almost simultaneously, and hence we have a case of Concurrence.
Gravitation. Sir Isaac Newton. } Con.
There is no In. or Ex. here, but Con. We have read or heard that Newton discovered the Law of Gravitation. We have exercised our minds in regard to these two words, in thinking of them together, and that is concurrence.