material from the ,google ,print        
project47          ,,dreams  ,,by       
,,henri ,,bergson    ,,translated1      
,,with ,,an ,,introduction1 ,,by        
,,edwin ,e4 ,,slosson     ,,new ,,york  
,b4 ,w4 ,,huebsch  #aiad   ,,copyright1 
#aiac1 ,by ,,the ,,independent          
,,copyright1 #aiad1 ,by ,b4 ,w4         
,,huebsch   ,first printing1 ,april1    
#aiad  ,second printing1 ,november1     
#aiad     ,,printed ,,in ,u4 ,s4 ,a4    
,,introduction   ,before the dawn of    
history mankind was engaged in the study
 of dreaming4 ,the wise man among the   
ancients was preeminently the           
interpreter of dreams4 ,the ability to  
interpret successfully or plausibly was 
the quickest road to royal favor1 as    
,joseph and ,daniel found it to be2     
failure to give satisfaction in this    
respect led to banishment from court or 
death4 ,when a scholar laboriously      
translates a cuneiform tablet dug up    
from a ,babylonian mound where it has   
lain buried for five thousand years or  

more1 the chances are that it will turn 
out either an astrological treatise or a
 dream book4 ,if the former1 we look    
upon it with some indulgence2 if the    
latter with pure contempt4 ,for we know 
that the study of the stars1 though     
undertaken for selfish reasons and      
pursued in the spirit of charlatanry1   
led at length to physical science1 while
 the study of dreams has proved as      
unprofitable as the dreaming of them4   
,out of astrology grew astronomy4 ,out  
of oneiromancy has grown--nothing4      
,that at least was substantially true up
 to the beginning of the present        
century4 ,dream books in all languages  
continued to sell in cheap editions and 
the interpreters of dreams made a decent
 or1 at any rate1 a comfortable living  
out of the poorer classes4 ,but the     
psychologist rarely paid attention to   
dreams except incidentally in his study 
of imagery1 association and the speed of
 thought4 ,but now a change has come    
over the spirit of the times4 ,the      

subject of the significance of dreams1  
so long ignored1 has suddenly become a  
matter of energetic study and of fiery  
controversy the world over4  ,the cause 
of this revival of interest is the new  
point of view brought forward by        
,professor ,bergson in the paper which  
is here made accessible to the          
,english-reading public4 ,this is the   
idea that we can explore the unconscious
 substratum of our mentality1 the       
storehouse of our memories1 by means of 
dreams1 for these memories are by no    
means inert1 but have1 as it were1 a    
life and purpose of their own1 and      
strive to rise into consciousness       
whenever they get a chance1 even into   
the semi-consciousness of a dream4 ,to  
use ,professor ,bergson's striking      
metaphor1 our memories are packed away  
under pressure like steam in a boiler   
and the dream is their escape valve4    
,that this is more than a mere metaphor 
has been proved by ,professor ,freud and
 others of the ,vienna school1 who cure 

cases of hysteria by inducing the       
patient to give expression to the secret
 anxieties and emotions which1 unknown  
to him1 have been preying upon his mind4
 ,the clue to these disturbing thoughts 
is generally obtained in dreams or      
similar states of relaxed consciousness4
 ,according to the ,freudians a dream   
always means something1 but never what  
it appears to mean4 ,it is symbolic and 
expresses desires or fears which we     
refuse ordinarily to admit to           
consciousness1 either because they are  
painful or because they are repugnant to
 our moral nature4 ,a watchman is       
stationed at the gate of consciousness  
to keep them back1 but sometimes these  
unwelcome intruders slip past him in    
disguise4 ,in the hands of fanatical    
,freudians this theory has developed the
 wildest extravagancies1 and the        
voluminous literature of psycho-analysis
 contains much that seems to the layman 
quite as absurd as the stuff which fills
 the twenty-five cent dream book4  ,it  

is impossible to believe that the       
subconsciousness of every one of us     
contains nothing but the foul and       
monstrous specimens which they dredge up
 from the mental depths of their        
neuropathic patients and exhibit with   
such pride4  ,bergson's view seems to me
 truer as it is certainly more          
agreeable1 that we keep stored away     
somewhere all our memories1 the good as 
well as the evil1 the pleasant together 
with the unpleasant4 ,there may be      
nightmares down cellar1 as we thought as
 a child1 but even in those days we knew
 how to dodge them when we went after   
apples2 that is1 take down a light and  
slam the door quickly on coming up4     
,maeterlinck1 too1 knew this trick of   
our childhood4 ,when in the ,palace of  
,night scene of his fairy play1 the     
redoubtable ,tyltyl unlocks the cage    
where are confined the nightmares and   
all other evil imaginings1 he shuts the 
door in time to keep them in and then   
opens another revealing a lovely garden 

full of blue birds1 which1 though they  
fade and die when brought into the light
 of common day1 yet encourage him to    
continue his search for the ,blue ,bird 
that never fades1 but lives             
everlastingly4 ,the new science of      
dreams is giving a deeper significance  
to the trite wish of ,good night and    
pleasant dreams6 ,it means sweet sanity 
and mental health1 pure thoughts and    
good will to all men4  ,professor       
,bergson's theory of dreaming here set  
forth in untechnical language1 fits into
 a particular niche in his general      
system of philosophy as well as does his
 little book on ,laughter4 ,with the    
main features of his philosophy the     
,english-reading public is better       
acquainted than with any other          
contemporary system1 for his books have 
sold even more rapidly here than in     
,france4 ,when ,professor ,bergson      
visited the ,united ,states two years   
ago the lecture-rooms of ,columbia      
,university1 like those of the ,college 

de ,france1 were packed to the doors and
 the effect of his message was enhanced 
by his eloquence of delivery and charm  
of personality4 ,the pragmatic character
 of his philosophy appeals to the genius
 of the ,american people as is shown by 
the influence of the teaching of        
,william ,james and ,john ,dewey1 whose 
point of view in this respect resembles 
,bergson's4  ,during the present        
generation chemistry and biology have   
passed from the descriptive to the      
creative stage4 ,man is becoming the    
overlord of the mineral1 vegetable and  
animal kingdoms4 ,he is learning to make
 gems and perfumes1 drugs and foods1 to 
suit his tastes1 instead of depending   
upon the chance bounty of nature4 ,he is
 beginning consciously to adapt means to
 ends and to plan for the future even in
 the field of politics4 ,he has opened  
up the atom and finds in it a microcosm 
more complex than the solar system4 ,he 
beholds the elements melting with       
fervent heat and he turns their rays to 

the healing of his sores4 ,he drives the
 lightning through the air and with the 
product feeds his crops4 ,he makes the  
desert to blossom as the rose and out of
 the sea he draws forth dry land4 ,he   
treats the earth as his habitation1     
remodeling it in accordance with his    
ever-varying needs and increasing       
ambitions4  ,this modern man1 planning1 
contriving and making1 finds ,paley's   
watch as little to his mind as          
,lucretius's blind flow of atoms4 ,a    
universe wound up once for all and doing
 nothing thereafter but mark time is as 
incomprehensible to him as a universe   
that never had a mind of its own and    
knows no difference between past and    
future4 ,the idea of eternal recurrence 
does not frighten him as it did         
,nietzsche1 for he feels it to be       
impossible4 ,the mechanistic            
interpretation of natural phenomena     
developed during the last century he    
accepts at its full value1 and would    
extend experimentally as far as it will 

go1 for he finds it not invalid but     
inadequate4  ,to minds of this          
temperament it is no wonder that        
,bergson's ,creative ,evolution came    
with the force of an inspiration4 ,men  
felt themselves akin to this upward     
impulse1 this elan vital1 which1        
struggling throughout the ages with the 
intractableness of inert matter1 yet    
finally in some way or other forces it  
to its will1 and ever strives toward the
 increase of vitality1 mentality1       
personality4  ,bergson has been         
reluctant to commit himself on the      
question of immortality1 but he of late 
has become quite convinced of it4 ,he   
even goes so far as to think it possible
 that we may find experimental evidence 
of personal persistence after death4    
,this at least we might infer from his  
recent acceptance of the presidency of  
the ,british ,society for ,psychical    
,research4 ,in his opening address      
before the ,society1 ,may #bh1 #aiac1 he
 discussed the question of telepathy and

 in that connection he explained his    
theory of the relation of mind and brain
 in the following language4 ,i quote    
from the report in the ,london ,times3  
,the role of the brain is to bring back 
the remembrance of an      action1 to   
prolong the remembrance in movements4   
,if one could see      all that takes   
place in the interior of the brain1 one 
would find      that that which takes   
place there corresponds to a small part 
only      of the life of the mind4 ,the 
brain simply extracts from the life of  
the mind that which is capable of       
representation in movement4 ,the        
cerebral life is to the mental life what
 the movements of the baton      of a   
conductor are to the ,symphony4         
,the brain1 then1 is that which allows  
the mind to adjust itself      exactly  
to circumstances4 ,it is the organ of   
attention to life4      ,should it      
become deranged1 however slightly1 the  
mind is no longer      fitted to the    
circumstances2 it wanders1 dreams4 ,many

 forms of      mental alienation are    
nothing else4 ,but from this it results 
that      one of the roles of the brain 
is to limit the vision of the      mind1
 to render its action more efficacious4 
,this is what we      observe in regard 
to the memory1 where the role of the    
brain is      to mask the useless part  
of our past in order to allow only the  
useful remembrances to appear4 ,certain 
useless recollections1 or      dream    
remembrances1 manage nevertheless to    
appear also1 and to form      a vague   
fringe around the distinct              
recollections4 ,it would not be      at 
all surprising if perceptions of the    
organs of our senses1      useful       
perceptions1 were the result of a       
selection or of a      canalization     
worked by the organs of our senses in   
the interest of      our action1 but    
that there should yet be around those   
perceptions a      fringe of vague      
perceptions1 capable of becoming more   
distinct in      extraordinary1 abnormal

 cases4 ,those would be precisely the   
cases      with which psychical research
 would deal4   ,this conception of      
mental action forms1 as will be seen1   
the foundation of the theory of dreams  
which ,professor ,bergson first         
presented in a lecture before the       
,institut psychologique1 ,march #bf1    
#aija4 ,it was published in the ,revue  
scientifique of ,june #h1 #aija4 ,an    
,english translation1 revised by the    
author and printed in ,the ,independent 
of ,october #bc and #cj1 #aiac1 here    
appears for the first time in book form4
  ,in this essay ,professor ,bergson    
made several contributions to our       
knowledge of dreams4 ,he showed1 in the 
first place1 that dreaming is not so    
unlike the ordinary process of          
perception as had been hitherto         
supposed4 ,both use sense impressions as
 crude material to be molded and defined
 by the aid of memory images4 ,here1    
too1 he set forth the idea1 which he1 so
 far as ,i know1 was the first to       

formulate1 that sleep is a state of     
disinterestedness1 a theory which has   
since been adopted by several           
psychologists4 ,in this address1 also1  
was brought into consideration for the  
first time the idea that the self may go
 through different degrees of tension--a
 theory referred to in his ,matter and  
,memory4  ,its chief interest for the   
general reader will1 however1 lie in the
 explanation it gives him of the cause  
of some of his familiar dreams4 ,he may 
by practice become the interpreter of   
his own visions and so come to an       
understanding of the vagaries of that   
mysterious and inseparable companion1   
his dream-self4                         
,,edwin ,e4 ,,slosson4    ,,new ,,york  
,,city1   ,,february #aj1 #aiad4        
,,dreams   ,the subject which ,i have to
 discuss here is so complex1 it raises  
so many questions of all kinds1         
difficult1 obscure1 some psychological1 
others physiological and metaphysical2  
in order to be treated in a complete    

manner it requires such a long          
development--and we have so little      
space1 that ,i shall ask your permission
 to dispense with all preamble1 to set  
aside unessentials1 and to go at once to
 the heart of the question4  ,a dream is
 this4 ,i perceive objects and there is 
nothing there4 ,i see men2 ,i seem to   
speak to them and ,i hear what they     
answer2 there is no one there and ,i    
have not spoken4 ,it is all as if real  
things and real persons were there1 then
 on waking all has disappeared1 both    
persons and things4 ,how does this      
happen8  ,but1 first1 is it true that   
there is nothing there8 ,i mean1 is     
there not presented a certain sense     
material to our eyes1 to our ears1 to   
our touch1 etc41 during sleep as well as
 during waking8  ,close the eyes and    
look attentively at what goes on in the 
field of our vision4 ,many persons      
questioned on this point would say that 
nothing goes on1 that they see nothing4 
,no wonder at this1 for a certain amount

 of practise is necessary to be able to 
observe oneself satisfactorily4 ,but    
just give the requisite effort of       
attention1 and you will distinguish1    
little by little1 many things4 ,first1  
in general1 a black background4 ,upon   
this black background occasionally      
brilliant points which come and go1     
rising and descending1 slowly and       
sedately4 ,more often1 spots of many    
colors1 sometimes very dull1 sometimes1 
on the contrary1 with certain people1 so
 brilliant that reality cannot compare  
with it4 ,these spots spread and shrink1
 changing form and color1 constantly    
displacing one another4 ,sometimes the  
change is slow and gradual1 sometimes   
again it is a whirlwind of vertiginous  
rapidity4 ,whence comes all this        
phantasmagoria8 ,the physiologists and  
the psychologists have studied this play
 of colors4 ,ocular spectra1 colored    
spots1 phosphenes1 such are the names   
that they have given to the phenomenon4 
,they explain it either by the slight   

modifications which occur ceaselessly in
 the retinal circulation1 or by the     
pressure that the closed lid exerts upon
 the eyeball1 causing a mechanical      
excitation of the optic nerve4 ,but the 
explanation of the phenomenon and the   
name that is given to it matters little4
 ,it occurs universally and it          
constitutes--,i may say at once--the    
principal material of which we shape our
 dreams1 such stuff as dreams are made  
on4  ,thirty or forty years ago1 ,m4    
,alfred ,maury and1 about the same time1
 ,m4 d',hervey1 of ,st4 ,denis1 had     
observed that at the moment of falling  
asleep these colored spots and moving   
forms consolidate1 fix themselves1 take 
on definite outlines1 the outlines of   
the objects and of the persons which    
people our dreams4 ,but this is an      
observation to be accepted with caution1
 since it emanates from psychologists   
already half asleep4 ,more recently an  
,american psychologist1 ,professor      
,ladd1 of ,yale1 has devised a more     

rigorous method1 but of difficult       
application1 because it requires a sort 
of training4 ,it consists in acquiring  
the habit on awakening in the morning of
 keeping the eyes closed and retaining  
for some minutes the dream that is      
fading from the field of vision and soon
 would doubtless have faded from that of
 memory4 ,then one sees the figures and 
objects of the dream melt away little by
 little into phosphenes1 identifying    
themselves with the colored spots that  
the eye really perceives when the lids  
are closed4 ,one reads1 for example1 a  
newspaper2 that is the dream4 ,one      
awakens and there remains of the        
newspaper1 whose definite outlines are  
erased1 only a white spot with black    
marks here and there2 that is the       
reality4 ,or our dream takes us upon the
 open sea--round about us the ocean     
spreads its waves of yellowish gray with
 here and there a crown of white foam4  
,on awakening1 it is all lost in a great
 spot1 half yellow and half gray1 sown  

with brilliant points4 ,the spot was    
there1 the brilliant points were there4 
,there was really presented to our      
perceptions1 in sleep1 a visual dust1   
and it was this dust which served for   
the fabrication of our dreams4  ,will   
this alone suffice8 ,still considering  
the sensation of sight1 we ought to add 
to these visual sensations which we may 
call internal all those which continue  
to come to us from an external source4  
,the eyes1 when closed1 still           
distinguish light from shade1 and even1 
to a certain extent1 different lights   
from one another4 ,these sensations of  
light1 emanating from without1 are at   
the bottom of many of our dreams4 ,a    
candle abruptly lighted in the room     
will1 for example1 suggest to the       
sleeper1 if his slumber is not too deep1
 a dream dominated by the image of fire1
 the idea of a burning building4 ,permit
 me to cite to you two observations of  
,m4 ,tissie on this subject3  ,b----    
,leon dreams that the theater of        

,alexandria is on fire2 the flame lights
 up the whole place4 ,all of a sudden he
 finds himself transported to the midst 
of the fountain in the public square2 a 
line of fire runs along the chains which
 connect the great posts placed around  
the margin4 ,then he finds himself in   
,paris at the exposition1 which is on   
fire4 ,he takes part in terrible scenes1
 etc4 ,he wakes with a start2 his eyes  
catch the rays of light projected by the
 dark lantern which the night nurse     
flashes toward his bed in passing4      
,m---- ,bertrand dreams that he is in   
the marine infantry where he formerly   
served4 ,he goes to ,fort-de-,france1 to
 ,toulon1 to ,loriet1 to ,crimea1 to    
,constantinople4 ,he sees lightning1 he 
hears thunder1 he takes part in a combat
 in which he sees fire leap from the    
mouths of cannon4 ,he wakes with a      
start4 ,like ,b41 he was wakened by a   
flash of light projected from the dark  
lantern of the night nurse4 ,such are   
often the dreams provoked by a bright   

and sudden light4  ,very different are  
those which are suggested by a mild and 
continuous light like that of the moon4 
,a4 ,krauss tells how one day on        
awakening he perceived that he was      
extending his arm toward what in his    
dream appeared to him to be the image of
 a young girl4 ,little by little this   
image melted into that of the full moon 
which darted its rays upon him4 ,it is a
 curious thing that one might cite other
 examples of dreams where the rays of   
the moon1 caressing the eyes of the     
sleeper1 evoked before him virginal     
apparitions4 ,may we not suppose that   
such might have been the origin in      
antiquity of the fable of               
,endymion--,endymion the shepherd1      
lapped in perpetual slumber1 for whom   
the goddess ,selene1 that is1 the moon1 
is smitten with love while he sleeps8   
,i have spoken of visual sensations4    
,they are the principal ones4 ,but the  
auditory sensations nevertheless play a 
role4 ,first1 the ear has also its      

internal sensations1 sensations of      
buzzing1 of tinkling1 of whistling1     
difficult to isolate and to perceive    
while awake1 but which are clearly      
distinguished in sleep4 ,besides that we
 continue1 when once asleep1 to hear    
external sounds4 ,the creaking of       
furniture1 the crackling of the fire1   
the rain beating against the window1 the
 wind playing its chromatic scale in the
 chimney1 such are the sounds which come
 to the ear of the sleeper and which the
 dream converts1 according to           
circumstances1 into conversation1       
singing1 cries1 music1 etc4 ,scissors   
were struck against the tongs in the    
ears of ,alfred ,maury while he slept4  
,immediately he dreamt that he heard the
 tocsin and took part in the events of  
,june1 #ahdh4 ,such observations and    
experiences are numerous4 ,but let us   
hasten to say that sounds do not play in
 our dreams so important a role as      
colors4 ,our dreams are1 above all1     
visual1 and even more visual than we    

think4 ,to whom has it not happened--as 
,m4 ,max ,simon has remarked--to talk in
 a dream with a certain person1 to dream
 a whole conversation1 and then1 all of 
a sudden1 a singular phenomenon strikes 
the attention of the dreamer4 ,he       
perceives that he does not speak1 that  
he has not spoken1 that his interlocutor
 has not uttered a single word1 that it 
was a simple exchange of thought between
 them1 a very clear conversation1 in    
which1 nevertheless1 nothing has been   
heard4 ,the phenomenon is easily enough 
explained4 ,it is in general necessary  
for us to hear sounds in a dream4 ,from 
nothing we can make nothing4 ,and when  
we are not provided with sonorous       
material1 a dream would find it hard to 
manufacture sonority4  ,there is much   
more to say about the sensations of     
touch than about those of hearing1 but  
,i must hasten4 ,we could talk for hours
 about the singular phenomena which     
result from the confused sensations of  
touch during sleep4 ,these sensations1  

mingling with the images which occupy   
our visual field1 modify them or arrange
 them in their own way4 ,often in the   
midst of the night the contact of our   
body with its light clothing makes      
itself felt all at once and reminds us  
that we are lightly clothed4 ,then1 if  
our dream is at the moment taking us    
through the street1 it is in this simple
 attire that we present ourselves to the
 gaze of the passers-by1 without their  
appearing to be astonished by it4 ,we   
are ourselves astonished in the dream1  
but that never appears to astonish other
 people4 ,i cite this dream because it  
is frequent4 ,there is another which    
many of us must have experienced4 ,it   
consists of feeling oneself flying      
through the air or floating in space4   
,once having had this dream1 one may be 
quite sure that it will reappear2 and   
every time that it recurs the dreamer   
reasons in this way3 ,i have had before 
now in a dream the illusion of flying or
 floating1 but this time it is the real 

thing4 ,it has certainly proved to me   
that we may free ourselves from the law 
of gravitation4 ,now1 if you wake       
abruptly from this dream1 you can       
analyze it without difficulty1 if you   
undertake it immediately4 ,you will see 
that you feel very clearly that your    
feet are not touching the earth4 ,and1  
nevertheless1 not believing yourself    
asleep1 you have lost sight of the fact 
that you are lying down4 ,therefore1    
since you are not lying down and yet    
your feet do not feel the resistance of 
the ground1 the conclusion is natural   
that you are floating in space4 ,notice 
this also3 when levitation accompanies  
the flight1 it is on one side only that 
you make an effort to fly4 ,and if you  
woke at that moment you would find that 
this side is the one on which you are   
lying1 and that the sensation of effort 
for flight coincides with the real      
sensation given you by the pressure of  
your body against the bed4 ,this        
sensation of pressure1 dissociated from 

its cause1 becomes a pure and simple    
sensation of effort and1 joined to the  
illusion of floating in space1 is       
sufficient to produce the dream4  ,it is
 interesting to see that these          
sensations of pressure1 mounting1 so to 
speak1 to the level of our visual field 
and taking advantage of the luminous    
dust which fills it1 effect its         
transformation into forms and colors4   
,m4 ,max ,simon tells of having a       
strange and somewhat painful dream4 ,he 
dreamt that he was confronted by two    
piles of golden coins1 side by side and 
of unequal height1 which for some reason
 or other he had to equalize4 ,but he   
could not accomplish it4 ,this produced 
a feeling of extreme anguish4 ,this     
feeling1 growing moment by moment1      
finally awakened him4 ,he then perceived
 that one of his legs was caught by the 
folds of the bedclothes in such a way   
that his two feet were on different     
levels and it was impossible for him to 
bring them together4 ,from this the     

sensation of inequality1 making an      
irruption into the visual field and     
there encountering 7such at least is the
 hypothesis which ,i propose7 one or    
more yellow spots1 expressed itself     
visually by the inequality of the two   
piles of gold pieces4 ,there is1 then1  
immanent in the tactile sensations      
during sleep1 a tendency to visualize   
themselves and enter in this form into  
the dream4  ,more important still than  
the tactile sensations1 properly        
speaking1 are the sensations which      
pertain to what is sometimes called     
internal touch1 deep-seated sensations  
emanating from all points of the        
organism and1 more particularly1 from   
the viscera4 ,one cannot imagine the    
degree of sharpness1 of acuity1 which   
may be obtained during sleep by these   
interior sensations4 ,they doubtless    
already exist as well during waking4    
,but we are then distracted by practical
 action4 ,we live outside of ourselves4 
,but sleep makes us retire into         

ourselves4 ,it happens frequently that  
persons subject to laryngitis1          
amygdalitis1 etc41 dream that they are  
attacked by their affection and         
experience a disagreeable tingling on   
the side of their throat4 ,when         
awakened1 they feel nothing more1 and   
believe it an illusion2 but a few hours 
later the illusion becomes a reality4   
,there are cited maladies and grave     
accidents1 attacks of epilepsy1 cardiac 
affections1 etc41 which have been       
foreseen and1 as it were1 prophesied in 
dreams4 ,we need not be astonished1     
then1 that philosophers like            
,schopenhauer have seen in the dream a  
reverberation1 in the heart of          
consciousness1 of perturbations         
emanating from the sympathetic nervous  
system2 and that psychologists like     
,schemer have attributed to each of our 
organs the power of provoking a         
well-determined kind of dream which     
represents it1 as it were1 symbolically2
 and finally that physicians like       

,artigues have written treatises on the 
semeiological value of dreams1 that is  
to say1 the method of making use of     
dreams for the diagnosis of certain     
maladies4 ,more recently1 ,m4 ,tissie1  
of whom we have just spoken1 has shown  
how specific dreams are connected with  
affections of the digestive1            
respiratory1 and circulatory apparatus4 
,i will summarize what ,i have just been
 saying4 ,when we are sleeping          
naturally1 it is not necessary to       
believe1 as has often been supposed1    
that our senses are closed to external  
sensations4 ,our senses continue to be  
active4 ,they act1 it is true1 with less
 precision1 but in compensation they    
embrace a host of subjective impressions
 which pass unperceived when we are     
awake--for then we live in a world of   
perceptions common to all men--and which
 reappear in sleep1 when we live only   
for ourselves4 ,thus our faculty of     
sense perception1 far from being        
narrowed during sleep at all points1 is 

on the contrary extended1 at least in   
certain directions1 in its field of     
operations4 ,it is true that it often   
loses in energy1 in tension1 what it    
gains in extension4 ,it brings to us    
only confused impressions4 ,these       
impressions are the materials of our    
dreams4 ,but they are only the          
materials1 they do not suffice to       
produce them4  ,they do not suffice to  
produce them1 because they are vague and
 indeterminate4 ,to speak only of those 
that play the principal role1 the       
changing colors and forms1 which deploy 
before us when our eyes are closed1     
never have well-defined contours4 ,here 
are black lines upon a white background4
 ,they may represent to the dreamer the 
page of a book1 or the facade of a new  
house with dark blinds1 or any number of
 other things4 ,who will choose8 ,what  
is the form that will imprint its       
decision upon the indecision of this    
material8 ,this form is our memory4     
,let us note first that the dream in    

general creates nothing4 ,doubtless     
there may be cited some examples of     
artistic1 literary and scientific       
production in dreams4 ,i will recall    
only the well-known anecdote told of    
,tartini1 a violinist-composer of the   
eighteenth century4 ,as he was trying to
 compose a sonata and the muse remained 
recalcitrant1 he went to sleep and he   
saw in a dream the devil1 who seized his
 violin and played with master hand the 
desired sonata4 ,tartini wrote it out   
from memory when he woke4 ,it has come  
to us under the name of ,the ,devil's   
,sonata4 ,but it is very difficult1 in  
regard to such old cases1 to distinguish
 between history and legend4 ,we should 
have auto-observations of certain       
authenticity4 ,now ,i have not been able
 to find anything more than that of the 
contemporary ,english novelist1         
,stevenson4 ,in a very curious essay    
entitled ,a ,chapter on ,dreams1 this   
author1 who is endowed with a rare      
talent for analysis1 explains to us how 

the most original of his stories have   
been composed or at least sketched in   
dreams4 ,but read the chapter carefully4
 ,you will see that at a certain time in
 his life ,stevenson had come to be in  
an habitual psychical state where it was
 very hard for him to say whether he was
 sleeping or waking4 ,that appears to me
 to be the truth4 ,when the mind        
creates1 ,i would say when it is capable
 of giving the effort of organization   
and synthesis which is necessary to     
triumph over a certain difficulty1 to   
solve a problem1 to produce a living    
work of the imagination1 we are not     
really asleep1 or at least that part of 
ourselves which labors is not the same  
as that which sleeps4 ,we cannot say1   
then1 that it is a dream4 ,in sleep1    
properly speaking1 in sleep which       
absorbs our whole personality1 it is    
memories and only memories which weave  
the web of our dreams4 ,but often we do 
not recognize them4 ,they may be very   
old memories1 forgotten during waking   

hours1 drawn from the most obscure      
depths of our past2 they may be1 often  
are1 memories of objects that we have   
perceived distractedly1 almost          
unconsciously1 while awake4 ,or they may
 be fragments of broken memories which  
have been picked up here and there and  
mingled by chance1 composing an         
incoherent and unrecognizable whole4    
,before these bizarre assemblages of    
images which present no plausible       
significance1 our intelligence 7which is
 far from surrendering the reasoning    
faculty during sleep1 as has been       
asserted7 seeks an explanation1 tries to
 fill the lacunae4 ,it fills them by    
calling up other memories which1        
presenting themselves often with the    
same deformations and the same          
incoherences as the preceding1 demand in
 their turn a new explanation1 and so on
 indefinitely4 ,but ,i do not insist    
upon this point for the moment4 ,it is  
sufficient for me to say1 in order to   
answer the question which ,i have       

propounded1 that the formative power of 
the materials furnished to the dream by 
the different senses1 the power which   
converts into precise1 determined       
objects the vague and indistinct        
sensations that the dreamer receives    
from his eyes1 his ears1 and the whole  
surface and interior of his body1 is the
 memory4  ,memory6 ,in a waking state we
 have indeed memories which appear and  
disappear1 occupying our mind in turn4  
,but they are always memories which are 
closely connected with our present      
situation1 our present occupation1 our  
present action4 ,i recall at this moment
 the book of ,m4 d',hervey on dreams2   
that is because ,i am discussing the    
subject of dreams and this act orients  
in a certain particular direction the   
activity of my memory4 ,the memories    
that we evoke while waking1 however     
distant they may at first appear to be  
from the present action1 are always     
connected with it in some way4 ,what is 
the role of memory in an animal8 ,it is 

to recall to him1 in any circumstance1  
the advantageous or injurious           
consequences which have formerly arisen 
in analogous circumstances1 in order to 
instruct him as to what he ought to do4 
,in man memory is doubtless less the    
slave of action1 but still it sticks to 
it4 ,our memories1 at any given moment1 
form a solid whole1 a pyramid1 so to    
speak1 whose point is inserted precisely
 into our present action4 ,but behind   
the memories which are concerned in our 
occupations and are revealed by means of
 it1 there are others1 thousands of     
others1 stored below the scene          
illuminated by consciousness4 ,yes1 ,i  
believe indeed that all our past life is
 there1 preserved even to the most      
infinitesimal details1 and that we      
forget nothing1 and that all that we    
have felt1 perceived1 thought1 willed1  
from the first awakening of our         
consciousness1 survives indestructibly4 
,but the memories which are preserved in
 these obscure depths are there in the  

state of invisible phantoms4 ,they      
aspire1 perhaps1 to the light1 but they 
do not even try to rise to it2 they know
 that it is impossible and that ,i1 as a
 living and acting being1 have something
 else to do than to occupy myself with  
them4 ,but suppose that1 at a given     
moment1 ,i become disinterested in the  
present situation1 in the present       
action--in short1 in all which          
previously has fixed and guided my      
memory2 suppose1 in other words1 that ,i
 am asleep4 ,then these memories1       
perceiving that ,i have taken away the  
obstacle1 have raised the trapdoor which
 has kept them beneath the floor of     
consciousness1 arise from the depths2   
they rise1 they move1 they perform in   
the night of unconsciousness a great    
dance macabre4 ,they rush together to   
the door which has been left ajar4 ,they
 all want to get through4 ,but they     
cannot2 there are too many of them4     
,from the multitudes which are called1  
which will be chosen8 ,it is not hard to

 say4 ,formerly1 when ,i was awake1 the 
memories which forced their way were    
those which could involve claims of     
relationship with the present situation1
 with what ,i saw and heard around me4  
,now it is more vague images which      
occupy my sight1 more indecisive sounds 
which affect my ear1 more indistinct    
touches which are distributed over the  
surface of my body1 but there are also  
the more numerous sensations which arise
 from the deepest parts of the organism4
 ,so1 then1 among the phantom memories  
which aspire to fill themselves with    
color1 with sonority1 in short with     
materiality1 the only ones that succeed 
are those which can assimilate          
themselves with the color-dust that we  
perceive1 the external and internal     
sensations that we catch1 etc41 and     
which1 besides1 respond to the affective
 tone of our general sensibility4#a     
,when this union is effected between the
 memory and the sensation1 we have a    
dream4  ,in a poetic page of the        

,enneades1 the philosopher ,plotinus1   
interpreter and continuator of ,plato1  
explains to us how men come to life4    
,nature1 he says1 sketches the living   
bodies1 but sketches them only4 ,left to
 her own forces she can never complete  
the task4 ,on the other hand1 souls     
inhabit the world of ,ideas4 ,incapable 
in themselves of acting1 not even       
thinking of action1 they float beyond   
space and beyond time4 ,but1 among all  
the bodies1 there are some which        
specially respond by their form to the  
aspirations of some particular souls2   
and among these souls there are those   
which recognize themselves in some      
particular body4 ,the body1 which does  
not come altogether viable from the hand
 of nature1 rises toward the soul which 
might give it complete life2 and the    
soul1 looking upon the body and         
believing that it perceives its own     
image as in a mirror1 and attracted1    
fascinated by the image1 lets itself    
fall4 ,it falls1 and this fall is life4 

,i may compare to these detached souls  
the memories plunged in the obscurity of
 the unconscious4 ,on the other hand1   
our nocturnal sensations resemble these 
incomplete bodies4 ,the sensation is    
warm1 colored1 vibrant and almost       
living1 but vague4 ,the memory is       
complete1 but airy and lifeless4 ,the   
sensation wishes to find a form on which
 to mold the vagueness of its contours4 
,the memory would obtain matter to fill 
it1 to ballast it1 in short to realize  
it4 ,they are drawn toward each other2  
and the phantom memory1 incarnated in   
the sensation which brings to it flesh  
and blood1 becomes a being with a life  
of its own1 a dream4  ,the birth of a   
dream is then no mystery4 ,it resembles 
the birth of all our perceptions4 ,the  
mechanism of the dream is the same1 in  
general1 as that of normal perception4  
,when we perceive a real object1 what we
 actually see--the sensible matter of   
our perception--is very little in       
comparison with what our memory adds to 

it4 ,when you read a book1 when you look
 through your newspaper1 do you suppose 
that all the printed letters really come
 into your consciousness8 ,in that case 
the whole day would hardly be long      
enough for you to read a paper4 ,the    
truth is that you see in each word and  
even in each member of a phrase only    
some letters or even some characteristic
 marks1 just enough to permit you to    
divine the rest4 ,all of the rest1 that 
you think you see1 you really give      
yourself as an hallucination4 ,there are
 numerous and decisive experiments which
 leave no doubt on this point4 ,i will  
cite only those of ,goldscheider and    
,mueller4 ,these experimenters wrote or 
printed some formulas in common use1    
,positively no admission2 ,preface to   
the fourth edition1 etc4 ,but they took 
care to write the words incorrectly1    
changing and1 above all1 omitting       
letters4 ,these sentences were exposed  
in a darkened room4 ,the person who     
served as the subject of the experiment 

was placed before them and did not know1
 of course1 what had been written4 ,then
 the inscription was illuminated by the 
electric light for a very short time1   
too short for the observer to be able to
 perceive really all the letters4 ,they 
began by determining experimentally the 
time necessary for seeing one letter of 
the alphabet4 ,it was then easy to      
arrange it so that the observer could   
not perceive more than eight or ten     
letters1 for example1 of the thirty or  
forty letters composing the formula4    
,usually1 however1 he read the entire   
phrase without difficulty4 ,but that is 
not for us the most instructive point of
 this experiment4  ,if the observer is  
asked what are the letters that he is   
sure of having seen1 these may be1 of   
course1 the letters really written1 but 
there may be also absent letters1 either
 letters that we replaced by others or  
that have simply been omitted4 ,thus an 
observer will see quite distinctly in   
full light a letter which does not      

exist1 if this letter1 on account of the
 general sense1 ought to enter into the 
phrase4 ,the characters which have      
really affected the eye have been       
utilized only to serve as an indication 
to the unconscious memory of the        
observer4 ,this memory1 discovering the 
appropriate remembrance1 i4e41 finding  
the formula to which these characters   
give a start toward realization1        
projects the remembrance externally in  
an hallucinatory form4 ,it is this      
remembrance1 and not the words          
themselves1 that the observer has seen4 
,it is thus demonstrated that rapid     
reading is in great part a work of      
divination1 but not of abstract         
divination4 ,it is an externalization of
 memories which take advantage1 to a    
certain extent1 of the partial          
realization that they find here and     
there in order to completely realize    
themselves4  ,thus1 in the waking state 
and in the knowledge that we get of the 
real objects which surround us1 an      

operation is continually going on which 
is of quite the same nature as that of  
the dream4 ,we perceive merely a sketch 
of the object4 ,this sketch appeals to  
the complete memory1 and this complete  
memory1 which by itself was either      
unconscious or simply in the thought    
state1 profits by the occasion to come  
out4 ,it is this kind of hallucination1 
inserted and fitted into a real frame1  
that we perceive4 ,it is a shorter      
process3 it is very much quicker done   
than to see the thing itself4 ,besides1 
there are many interesting observations 
to be made upon the conduct and attitude
 of the memory images during this       
operation4 ,it is not necessary to      
suppose that they are in our memory in a
 state of inert impressions4 ,they are  
like the steam in a boiler1 under more  
or less tension4  ,at the moment when   
the perceived sketch calls them forth1  
it is as if they were then grouped in   
families according to their relationship
 and resemblances4 ,there are           

experiments of ,muensterberg1 earlier   
than those of ,goldscheider and         
,mueller1 which appear to me to confirm 
this hypothesis1 although they were made
 for a very different purpose4          
,muensterberg wrote the words correctly2
 they were1 besides1 not common phrases2
 they were isolated words taken by      
chance4 ,here again the word was exposed
 during the time too short for it to be 
entirely perceived4 ,now1 while the     
observer was looking at the written     
word1 some one spoke in his ear another 
word of a very different significance4  
,this is what happened3 the observer    
declared that he had seen a word which  
was not the written word1 but which     
resembled it in its general form1 and   
which besides recalled1 by its meaning1 
the word which was spoken in his ear4   
,for example1 the word written was      
tumult and the word spoken was railroad4
 ,the observer read tunnel4 ,the written
 word was ,trieste and the spoken word  
was the ,german ,verzweiflung 7despair74

 ,the observer read ,trost1 which       
signifies consolation4 ,it is as if the 
word railroad1 pronounced in the ear1   
wakened1 without our knowing it1 hopes  
of conscious realization in a crowd of  
memories which have some relationship   
with the idea of railroad 7car1 rail1   
trip1 etc474 ,but this is only a hope1  
and the memory which succeeds in coming 
into consciousness is that which the    
actually present sensation had already  
begun to realize4  ,such is the         
mechanism of true perception1 and such  
is that of the dream4 ,in both cases    
there are1 on one hand1 real impressions
 made upon the organs of sense1 and upon
 the other memories which encase        
themselves in the impression and profit 
by its vitality to return again to life4
  ,but1 then1 what is the essential     
difference between perceiving and       
dreaming8 ,what is sleep8 ,i do not ask1
 of course1 how sleep can be explained  
physiologically4 ,that is a special     
question1 and besides is far from being 

settled4 ,i ask what is sleep           
psychologically2 for our mind continues 
to exercise itself when we are asleep1  
and it exercises itself as we have just 
seen on elements analogous to those of  
waking1 on sensations and memories2 and 
also in an analogous manner combines    
them4 ,nevertheless we have on the one  
hand normal perception1 and on the other
 the dream4 ,what is the difference1 ,i 
repeat8 ,what are the psychological     
characteristics of the sleeping state8  
,we must distrust theories4 ,there are a
 great many of them on this point4 ,some
 say that sleep consists in isolating   
oneself from the external world1 in     
closing the senses to outside things4   
,but we have shown that our senses      
continue to act during sleep1 that they 
provide us with the outline1 or at least
 the point of departure1 of most of our 
dreams4 ,some say3 ,to go to sleep is to
 stop the action of the superior        
faculties of the mind1 and they talk of 
a kind of momentary paralysis of the    

higher centers4 ,i do not think that    
this is much more exact4 ,in a dream we 
become no doubt indifferent to logic1   
but not incapable of logic4 ,there are  
dreams when we reason with correctness  
and even with subtlety4 ,i might almost 
say1 at the risk of seeming paradoxical1
 that the mistake of the dreamer is     
often in reasoning too much4 ,he would  
avoid the absurdity if he would remain a
 simple spectator of the procession of  
images which compose his dream4 ,but    
when he strongly desires to explain it1 
his explanation1 intended to bind       
together incoherent images1 can be      
nothing more than a bizarre reasoning   
which verges upon absurdity4 ,i         
recognize1 indeed1 that our superior    
intellectual faculties are relaxed in   
sleep1 that generally the logic of a    
dreamer is feeble enough and often      
resembles a mere parody of logic4 ,but  
one might say as much of all of our     
faculties during sleep4 ,it is then not 
by the abolition of reasoning1 any more 

than by the closing of the senses1 that 
we characterize dreaming4  ,something   
else is essential4 ,we need something   
more than theories4 ,we need an intimate
 contact with the facts4 ,one must make 
the decisive experiment upon oneself4   
,it is necessary that on coming out of a
 dream1 since we cannot analyze         
ourselves in the dream itself1 we should
 watch the transition from sleeping to  
waking1 follow upon the transition as   
closely as possible1 and try to express 
by words what we experience in this     
passage4 ,this is very difficult1 but   
may be accomplished by forcing the      
attention4 ,permit1 then1 the writer to 
take an example from his own personal   
experience1 and to tell of a recent     
dream as well as what was accomplished  
on coming out of the dream4  ,now the   
dreamer dreamed that he was speaking    
before an assembly1 that he was making a
 political speech before a political    
assembly4 ,then in the midst of the     
auditorium a murmur rose4 ,the murmur   

augmented2 it became a muttering4 ,then 
it became a roar1 a frightful tumult1   
and finally there resounded from all    
parts timed to a uniform rhythm the     
cries1 ,out6 ,out6 ,at that moment he   
wakened4 ,a dog was baying in a         
neighboring garden1 and with each one of
 his ,wow-wows one of the cries of ,out6
 ,out6 seemed to be identical4 ,well1   
here was the infinitesimal moment which 
it is necessary to seize4  ,the waking  
ego1 just reappearing1 should turn to   
the dreaming ego1 which is still there1 
and1 during some instants at least1 hold
 it without letting it go4 ,i have      
caught you at it6 ,you thought it was a 
crowd shouting and it was a dog barking4
 ,now1 ,i shall not let go of you until 
you tell me just what you were doing6   
,to which the dreaming ego would answer1
 ,i was doing nothing2 and this is just 
where you and ,i differ from one        
another4 ,you imagine that in order to  
hear a dog barking1 and to know that it 
is a dog that barks1 you have nothing to

 do4 ,that is a great mistake4 ,you     
accomplish1 without suspecting it1 a    
considerable effort4 ,you take your     
entire memory1 all your accumulated     
experience1 and you bring this          
formidable mass of memories to converge 
upon a single point1 in such a way as to
 insert exactly in the sounds you heard 
that one of your memories which is the  
most capable of being adapted to it4    
,nay1 you must obtain a perfect         
adherence1 for between the memory that  
you evoke and the crude sensation that  
you perceive there must not be the least
 discrepancy2 otherwise you would be    
just dreaming4 ,this adjustment you can 
only obtain by an effort of the memory  
and an effort of the perception1 just as
 the tailor who is trying on a new coat 
pulls together the pieces of cloth that 
he adjusts to the shape of your body in 
order to pin them4 ,you exert1 then1    
continually1 every moment of the day1 an
 enormous effort4 ,your life in a waking
 state is a life of labor1 even when you

 think you are doing nothing1 for at    
every minute you have to choose and     
every minute exclude4 ,you choose among 
your sensations1 since you reject from  
your consciousness a thousand subjective
 sensations which come back in the night
 when you sleep4 ,you choose1 and with  
extreme precision and delicacy1 among   
your memories1 since you reject all that
 do not exactly suit your present state4
 ,this choice which you continually     
accomplish1 this adaptation1 ceaselessly
 renewed1 is the first and most         
essential condition of what is called   
common sense4 ,but all this keeps you in
 a state of uninterrupted tension4 ,you 
do not feel it at the moment1 any more  
than you feel the pressure of the       
atmosphere1 but it fatigues you in the  
long run4 ,common sense is very         
fatiguing4  ,so1 ,i repeat1 ,i differ   
from you precisely in that ,i do        
nothing4 ,the effort that you give      
without cessation ,i simply abstain from
 giving4 ,in place of attaching myself  

to life1 ,i detach myself from it4      
,everything has become indifferent to   
me4 ,i have become disinterested in     
everything4 ,to sleep is to become      
disinterested4 ,one sleeps to the exact 
extent to which he becomes              
disinterested4 ,a mother who sleeps by  
the side of her child will not stir at  
the sound of thunder1 but the sigh of   
the child will wake her4 ,does she      
really sleep in regard to her child8 ,we
 do not sleep in regard to what         
continues to interest us4  ,you ask me  
what it is that ,i do when ,i dream8 ,i 
will tell you what you do when you are  
awake4 ,you take me1 the me of dreams1  
me the totality of your past1 and you   
force me1 by making me smaller and      
smaller1 to fit into the little circle  
that you trace around your present      
action4 ,that is what it is to be awake4
 ,that is what it is to live the normal 
psychical life4 ,it is to battle4 ,it is
 to will4 ,as for the dream1 have you   
really any need that ,i should explain  

it8 ,it is the state into which you     
naturally fall when you let yourself go1
 when you no longer have the power to   
concentrate yourself upon a single      
point1 when you have ceased to will4    
,what needs much more to be explained is
 the marvelous mechanism by which at any
 moment your will obtains instantly1 and
 almost unconsciously1 the concentration
 of all that you have within you upon   
one and the same point1 the point that  
interests you4 ,but to explain this is  
the task of normal psychology1 of the   
psychology of waking1 for willing and   
waking are one and the same thing4      
,this is what the dreaming ego would    
say4 ,and it would tell us a great many 
other things still if we could let it   
talk freely4 ,but let us sum up briefly 
the essential difference which separates
 a dream from the waking state4 ,in the 
dream the same faculties are exercised  
as during waking1 but they are in a     
state of tension in the one case1 and of
 relaxation in the other4 ,the dream    

consists of the entire mental life minus
 the tension1 the effort and the bodily 
movement4 ,we perceive still1 we        
remember still1 we reason still4 ,all   
this can abound in the dream2 for       
abundance1 in the domain of the mind1   
does not mean effort4 ,what requires an 
effort is the precision of adjustment4  
,to connect the sound of a barking dog  
with the memory of a crowd that murmurs 
and shouts requires no effort4 ,but in  
order that this sound should be         
perceived as the barking of a dog1 a    
positive effort must be made4 ,it is    
this force that the dreamer lacks4 ,it  
is by that1 and by that alone1 that he  
is distinguished from the waking man4   
,from this essential difference can be  
drawn a great many others4 ,we can come 
to understand the chief characteristics 
of the dream4 ,but ,i can only outline  
the scheme of this study4 ,it depends   
especially upon three points1 which are3
 the incoherence of dreams1 the         
abolition of the sense of duration that 

often appears to be manifested in       
dreams1 and1 finally1 the order in which
 the memories present themselves to the 
dreamer1 contending for the sensations  
present where they are to be embodied4  
,the incoherence of the dream seems to  
me easy enough to explain4 ,as it is    
characteristic of the dream not to      
demand a complete adjustment between the
 memory image and the sensation1 but1 on
 the contrary1 to allow some play       
between them1 very different memories   
can suit the same sensation4 ,for       
example1 there may be in the field of   
vision a green spot with white points4  
,this might be a lawn spangled with     
white flowers4 ,it might be a           
billiard-table with its balls4 ,it might
 be a host of other things besides4     
,these different memory images1 all     
capable of utilizing the same sensation1
 chase after it4 ,sometimes they attain 
it1 one after the other4 ,and so the    
lawn becomes a billiard-table1 and we   
watch these extraordinary               

transformations4 ,often it is at the    
same time1 and altogether that these    
memory images join the sensation1 and   
then the lawn will be a billiard-table4 
,from this come those absurd dreams     
where an object remains as it is and at 
the same time becomes something else4   
,as ,i have just said1 the mind1        
confronted by these absurd visions1     
seeks an explanation and often thereby  
aggravates the incoherence4  ,as for the
 abolition of the sense of time in many 
of our dreams1 that is another effect of
 the same cause4 ,in a few seconds a    
dream can present to us a series of     
events which will occupy1 in the waking 
state1 entire days4 ,you know the       
example cited by ,m4 ,maury3 it has     
become classic1 and although it has been
 contested of late1 ,i regard it as     
probable1 because of the great number of
 analogous observations that ,i found   
scattered through the literature of     
dreams4 ,but this precipitation of the  
images is not at all mysterious4 ,when  

we are awake we live a life in common   
with our fellows4 ,our attention to this
 external and social life is the great  
regulator of the succession of our      
internal states4 ,it is like the balance
 wheel of a watch1 which moderates and  
cuts into regular sections the          
undivided1 almost instantaneous tension 
of the spring4 ,it is this balance wheel
 which is lacking in the dream4         
,acceleration is no more than abundance 
a sign of force in the domain of the    
mind4 ,it is1 ,i repeat1 the precision  
of adjustment that requires effort1 and 
this is exactly what the dreamer lacks4 
,he is no longer capable of that        
attention to life which is necessary in 
order that the inner may be regulated by
 the outer1 and that the internal       
duration fit exactly into the general   
duration of things4  ,it remains now to 
explain how the peculiar relaxation of  
the mind in the dream accounts for the  
preference given by the dreamer to one  
memory image rather than others1 equally

 capable of being inserted into the     
actual sensations4 ,there is a current  
prejudice to the effect that we dream   
mostly about the events which have      
especially preoccupied us during the    
day4 ,this is sometimes true4 ,but when 
the psychological life of the waking    
state thus prolongs itself into sleep1  
it is because we hardly sleep4 ,a sleep 
filled with dreams of this kind would be
 a sleep from which we come out quite   
fatigued4 ,in normal sleep our dreams   
concern themselves rather1 other things 
being equal1 with the thoughts which we 
have passed through rapidly or upon     
objects which we have perceived almost  
without paying attention to them4 ,if we
 dream about events of the same day1 it 
is the most insignificant facts1 and not
 the most important1 which have the best
 chance of reappearing4  ,i agree       
entirely on this point with the         
observation of ,w4 ,robert1 of ,delage  
and of ,freud4 ,i was in the street1 ,i 
was waiting for a street-car1 ,i stood  

beside the track and did not run the    
least risk4 ,but if1 at the moment when 
the street-car passed1 the idea of      
possible danger had crossed my mind or  
even if my body had instinctively       
recoiled without my having been         
conscious of feeling any fear1 ,i might 
dream that night that the car had run   
over my body4 ,i watch at the bedside of
 an invalid whose condition is hopeless4
 ,if at any moment1 perhaps without even
 being aware of it1 ,i had hoped against
 hope1 ,i might dream that the invalid  
was cured4 ,i should dream of the cure1 
in any case1 more probably than that ,i 
should dream of the disease4 ,in short1 
the events which reappear by preference 
in the dream are those of which we have 
thought most distractedly4 ,what is     
there astonishing about that8 ,the ego  
of the dream is an ego that is relaxed2 
the memories which it gathers most      
readily are the memories of relaxation  
and distraction1 those which do not bear
 the mark of effort4  ,it is true that  

in very profound slumber the law that   
regulates the reappearance of memories  
may be very different4 ,we know almost  
nothing of this profound slumber4 ,the  
dreams which fill it are1 as a general  
rule1 the dreams which we forget4       
,sometimes1 nevertheless1 we recover    
something of them4 ,and then it is a    
very peculiar feeling1 strange1         
indescribable1 that we experience4 ,it  
seems to us that we have returned from  
afar in space and afar in time4 ,these  
are doubtless very old scenes1 scenes of
 youth or infancy that we live over then
 in all their details1 with a mood which
 colors them with that fresh sensation  
of infancy and youth that we seek vainly
 to revive when awake4  ,it is upon this
 profound slumber that psychology ought 
to direct its efforts1 not only to study
 the mechanism of unconscious memory1   
but to examine the more mysterious      
phenomena which are raised by psychical 
research4 ,i do not dare express an     
opinion upon phenomena of this class1   

but ,i cannot avoid attaching some      
importance to the observations gathered 
by so rigorous a method and with such   
indefatigable zeal by the ,society for  
,psychical ,research4 ,if telepathy     
influences our dreams1 it is quite      
likely that in this profound slumber it 
would have the greatest chance to       
manifest itself4 ,but ,i repeat1 ,i     
cannot express an opinion upon this     
point4 ,i have gone forward with you as 
far as ,i can2 ,i stop upon the         
threshold of the mystery4 ,to explore   
the most secret depths of the           
unconscious1 to labor in what ,i have   
just called the subsoil of              
consciousness1 that will be the         
principal task of psychology in the     
century which is opening4 ,i do not     
doubt that wonderful discoveries await  
it there1 as important perhaps as have  
been in the preceding centuries the     
discoveries of the physical and natural 
sciences4 ,that at least is the promise 
which ,i make for it1 that is the wish  

that in closing ,i have for it4         
,,footnotes3  #a ,author's note 7#aiac74
 ,this would be the place where         
especially will intervene those         
repressed desires which ,freud and      
certain other psychologists1 especially 
in ,america1 have studied with such     
penetration and ingenuity4 7,see in     
particular the recent volumes of the    
,journal of ,abnormal ,psychology1      
published in ,boston by ,dr4 ,morton    
,prince47 ,when the above address was   
delivered 7#aija7 the work of ,freud on 
dreams 7,die ,traumdeutung7 had been    
already published1 but psycho-analysis  
was far from having the development that
 it has to-day4 7,h4 ,b47