The Two Factors in Imagination.—From the simple facts which we have just
been considering, the conclusion is plain that our power of imagination depends
on two factors; namely, (1) the materials available in the form of usable images
capable of recall, and (2) our constructive ability, or the power to group these
images into new wholes, the process being guided by some purpose or end.
Without this last provision, the products of our imagination are daydreams with
their "castles in Spain," which may be pleasing and proper enough on occasions,
but which as an habitual mode of thought are extremely dangerous.
Imagination Limited by Stock of Images.—That the mind is limited in its
imagination by its stock of images may be seen from a simple illustration:
Suppose that you own a building made of brick, but that you find the old one no
longer adequate for your needs, and so purpose to build a new one; and suppose,
further, that you have no material for your new building except that contained in
the old structure. It is evident that you will be limited in constructing your new
building by the material which was in the old. You may be able to build the new
structure in any one of a multitude of different forms or styles of architecture, so
far as the material at hand will lend itself to that style of building, and providing,
further, that you are able to make the plans. But you will always be limited
finally by the character and amount of material obtainable from the old structure.
So with the mind. The old building is your past experience, and the separate
bricks are the images out of which you must build your new structure through
the imagination. Here, as before, nothing can enter which was not already on
hand. Nothing goes into the new structure so far as its constructive material is
concerned except images, and there is nowhere to get images but from the results
of our past experience.
Limited Also by Our Constructive Ability.—But not only is our imaginative
output limited by the amount of material in the way of images which we have at
our command, but also and perhaps not less by our constructive ability. Many
persons might own the old pile of bricks fully adequate for the new structure,
and then fail to get the new because they were unable to construct it. So, many
who have had a rich and varied experience in many lines are yet unable to
muster their images of these experiences in such a way that new products are
obtainable from them. These have the heavy, draft-horse kind of intellect which
goes plodding on, very possibly doing good service in its own circumscribed
range, but destined after all to service in the narrow field with its low, drooping
horizon. They are never able to take a dash at a two-minute clip among equally
swift competitors, or even swing at a good round pace along the pleasant