the brain was only done by means of brain work which was very keenly
perceived, even to fatigue and positive distress. Even now, if the
player is playing something the like of which he has not met before,
we observe he pauses and becomes immediately conscious of attention.

We draw the inference, therefore, as regards pianoforte or violin
playing, that the more the familiarity or knowledge of the art, the
less is there consciousness of such knowledge; even so far as that
there should seem to be almost as much difficulty in awakening
consciousness which has become, so to speak, latent,--a consciousness
of that which is known too well to admit of recognised self-analysis
while the knowledge is being exercised--as in creating a
consciousness of that which is not yet well enough known to be
properly designated as known at all. On the other hand, we observe
that the less the familiarly or knowledge, the greater the
consciousness of whatever knowledge there is.

Considering other like instances of the habitual exercise of
intelligence and volition, which, from long familiarity with the
method of procedure, escape the notice of the person exercising them,
we naturally think of writing. The formation of each letter requires
attention and volition, yet in a few minutes a practised writer will
form several hundred letters, and be able to think and talk of
something else all the time he is doing so. It will not probably
remember the formation of a single character in any page that he has
written; nor will he be able to give more than the substance of his
writing if asked to do so. He knows how to form each letter so well,
and he knows so well each word that he is about to write, that he has
ceased to be conscious of his knowledge or to notice his acts of
volition, each one of which is, nevertheless, followed by a