Stability; decision; perseverance; fixedness of purpose; TENACITY of WILL, and aversion to change. Adapted to man’s requisition for holding out to the end. Perversion—obstinacy; willfulness; mulishness; stubbornness; unwillingness to change, even though reason requires.
Large.—Is set in its own way; sticks to and carries out what it commences; holds on long and hard; continues to the end, and may be fully relied upon; with full Self-Esteem and large Combativeness, cannot be driven, but the more it is forced the more it resists; with large Combativeness and Destructiveness, adds perseverance to stability, and not only holds on, but drives forward determinedly through difficulties; with large Hope, undertakes much and carries it all out; with large Cautiousness and Causality, is careful and judicious in laying plans and forming opinions, yet rarely changes when once decided; may seem to waver until the mind is fully made up, but is afterward the more unchanging; with Hope very large, and Cautiousness and Causality only average, decides quickly, even rashly, and refuses to change; with Adhesiveness and Benevolence large, is easily persuaded, especially by friends, yet cannot be driven; and with large Cautiousness, Combativeness, Causality, perceptives, activity, and power, will generally succeed, because wise in planning and persevering in execution; with Combativeness and Self-Esteem large, and Causality only average, will not see the force of arguments against himself, but tenaciously adheres to affirmed opinions and purposes, yet is less firm than he seems to be; with large Conscientiousness and Combativeness, is doubly decided wherever right or justice are concerned, and in such cases will never give one inch, but will stand out in argument, effort, or as a juryman till the last: p. 119.
Very Large.—Is well-nigh obstinate, stubborn, and with large Combativeness and Self-Esteem, is unchangeable as the laws of the Medes and Persians, and can neither be persuaded nor driven; with large activity, power, brain, and intellectual organs, is well calculated to carry forward some great work which requires the utmost determination and energy; with large Causality, can possibly be turned by potent reasons, yet by nothing else: p. 120.
Full.—Like Firmness large, shows a great degree of decision, when this faculty works with large organs, but not otherwise; with Combativeness and Conscientiousness large, shows great Fixedness where right and truth are concerned, yet with Acquisitiveness moderate, lacks perseverance in money matters; with moderate Combativeness and Self-Esteem, is easily turned; and with large Adhesiveness and Benevolence, too easily persuaded, even against its better judgment; with Cautiousness and Approbativeness large, or very large, often evinces fickleness, irresolution, and procrastination; and with an uneven head, and an excitable temperament, often appears deficient in this faculty: p. 131.
Average.—When supported by large Combativeness, or Conscientiousness, or Causality, or Acquisitiveness, etc., shows a good degree of this faculty; but when opposed by large Cautiousness, Approbativeness, or Adhesiveness, evinces its deficiency, and has not enough of this faculty for great undertakings: p. 119.
Moderate.—Rather lacks perseverance, even when his larger faculties support it, and when they do not, evinces fickleness, irresolution, indecision, and lacks perseverance; with Adhesiveness large, is too easily persuaded and influenced by friends; with large Cautiousness and Approbativeness and moderate or small Self-Esteem, is flexible and fickle, and goes with the current: p. 132.
Small.—With activity great, and the head uneven, is fitful, impulsive, and, like the weather-vane, shifts with every changing breeze, and is ruled by the other faculties; and as unstable as water: p. 122.
Very Small.—Is changed by the slightest motives; is a perfect creature of circumstances, and accomplishes nothing requiring perseverance: p. 122.
MORAL FACULTIES.
These render man a moral, accountable, and religious being, humanize, adorn, and elevate his nature; connect him with the moral nature of things; create his higher and nobler sentiments; beget aspirations after goodness, virtue, purity, and moral principle, and ally him to angels and to God.