ABSTRACT
WE have seen that wrapped up in every emotion is a desire, and that the stronger the desire, the more intense is the emotion. Sometimes one's desires are unconscious, but often they assume the form of conscious wishes. We all have wishes which may with advantage be fulfilled, and wishes which fortunately are doomed to failure; wishes for what is wise, and wishes for what is selfish; wishes that die a natural death, and wishes which would dominate the soul; wishes of which we are proud, and wishes which surreptitiously cause us to blush with shame. Our conscious wishes are but the buoys which float on the stream of striving, and show us whither away our energy would carry us. It is well if our moral self sits at the helm, and adapts the course of the craft to the erratic currents which sweep us too often from our bearings, and strand us on the shoals of irritability and despair.
