| No. 51. Large. | No. 52. Small. |
A patient DWELLING upon one thing till it is finished; CONSECUTIVENESS and CONNECTEDNESS of thought and feeling. Adapted to man’s need of doing one thing at a time. Perversion—prolixity, repetition, and excessive amplification.
Large.—Gives the whole mind to the one thing in hand till it is finished; completes as it goes; keeps up one common train of thought, or current of feeling, for a long time; is disconcerted if attention is directed to a second object, and cannot duly consider another; with Adhesiveness large, pores sadly over the loss of friends for months and years; with the Moral faculties large, is uniform and consistent in religious exercises and character; with Combativeness and Destructiveness large, retains grudges and dislikes for a long time; with Ideality, Comparison, and Language large, amplifies figures of speech, and sustains figurative expressions; with the intellectual faculties strong, cons and pores over one thing, and imparts a unity and completeness to intellectual investigations; becomes thorough in whatever study it commences, and delays rather than commences mental operations: p. 70.
Very Large.—Fixes the mind upon objects slowly, yet cannot leave them unfinished; has great application, yet lacks intensity or point; is tedious, prolix, and thorough in few things, rather than an amateur in many: p. 70.
Full.—Dwells continuously upon subjects, unless especially called to others; prefers to finish up the matter in hand, and can, though with difficulty, give attention to other things; with the business organs large, makes final settlements; with the feelings large, fixes their action, yet is not monotonous, etc.: p. 71.
Average.—Can dwell upon things, or divert attention to others, as occasion requires; is not confused by interruption, yet prefers one thing at a time; with the intellectual organs large, is not a smatterer, nor yet profound; with the mental temperament, is clear in style, and consecutive in idea, yet never tedious; with Comparison large, manufactures expressions and ideas consecutively, and connectedly, and always to the point, yet never dwells unduly: p. 70.
Moderate.—Loves and indulges variety, and change of thought, feeling, occupation, etc.; is not confused by them; rather lacks application; with a good intellectual lobe, and an active temperament, knows a little about a good many things, rather than much about any one thing; with an active organization thinks clearly, and has unity and intensity of thought and feeling, yet lacks connectedness; with large Language and small Secretiveness, talks easily, but not long at a time upon one thing; does better on the spur of the moment, than by previous preparation; and should cultivate consistency of character and fixedness of mind, by finishing as he goes all he begins: p. 71.
Small.—With activity great, commences many things, yet finishes few; craves novelty and variety; puts many irons into the fire; lacks application; jumps rapidly from premise to conclusion, and fails to connect and carry out ideas; is a creature of impulse; lacks steadiness and consistency of character; may be brilliant, yet cannot be profound; humming-bird like, flies rapidly from thing to thing, but does not stay long; has many good thoughts, yet they are scattered; and talks on a great variety of subjects in a short time, but fails sadly in consecutiveness of feeling, thought, and action. An illustrative anecdote. An old and faithful servant to a passionate, petulant master, finally told him he could endure his testiness no longer, and must leave, though with extreme reluctance. “But,” replied the master, “you know I am no sooner mad than pleased again.” “Aye, but,” replied the servant, “you are no sooner pleased than mad again:” p. 71.
Very Small.—Is restless, and given to perpetual change; with activity great, is composed of gusts and counter-gusts of passion, and never one thing more than an instant at a time: p. 72.
SELFISH PROPENSITIES.