"It would then be a lack of common sense to base an exact recollection of former incidents on the recent state of being of the soul, without seeking to reproduce the state of mind in which one was at the epoch when those incidents occurred.
"Activity of mind, stimulated to the utmost, is able to give a color to preceding impressions, which they never have had, and, in this case again, the recollection will be marred by inexactness.
"The art of situation requires the strictest application and on this account it is a valuable factor in the acquirement of common sense.
"Attention vitalizes our activity in order to accelerate the development of a definite purpose toward which it can direct its energy.
"It could be analyzed as follows:
"First, to see;
"Secondly, to hear.
"The functions of the other senses come afterward, and their susceptibility can attract our attention to the sensations which they give us, such as the sense of smell, of touch, of taste.
"These purely physical sensations possess, however, a moral signification, from which we are permitted to make valuable deductions.
"The first two have three distinct phases: