，Thisself-commandisverydifferentatdifferenttimes。Amaninhealthpossessesmoreofitthanonelanguishingwithsickness。Wearemoremasterofourthoughtsinthemorningthanintheevening:Fasting，thanafterafullmeal。Canwegiveanyreasonforthesevariations，exceptexperience？Wherethenisthepower，ofwhichwepretendtobeconscious？Istherenothere，eitherinaspiritualormaterialsubstance，orboth，somesecretmechanismorstructureofparts，uponwhichtheeffectdepends，andwhich，beingentirelyunknowntous，rendersthepowerorenergyofthewillequallyunknownandincomprehensible？
Volitionissurelyanactofthemind，withwhichwearesufficientlyacquainted。Reflectuponit。Consideritonallsides。Doyoufindanythinginitlikethiscreativepower，bywhichitraisesfromnothinganewidea，andwithakindofF/IAT\\，imitatestheomnipotenceofitsMaker，ifImaybeallowedsotospeak，whocalledforthintoexistenceallthevariousscenesofnature？Sofarfrombeingconsciousofthisenergyinthewill，itrequiresascertainexperienceasthatofwhichwearepossessed，toconvinceusthatsuchextraordinaryeffectsdoeverresultfromasimpleactofvolition。
Thegeneralityofmankindneverfindanydifficultyinaccountingforthemorecommonandfamiliaroperationsofnature——suchasthedescentofheavybodies，thegrowthofplants，thegenerationofanimals，or
thenourishmentofbodiesbyfood:Butsupposethat，inallthesecases，theyperceivetheveryforceorenergyofthecause，bywhichitisconnectedwithitseffect，andisforeverinfallibleinitsoperation。Theyacquire，bylonghabit，suchaturnofmind，that，upontheappearanceofthecause，theyimmediatelyexpectwithassuranceitsusualattendant，andhardlyconceiveitpossiblethatanyothereventcouldresultfromit。Itisonlyonthediscoveryofextraordinaryphaenomena，suchasearthquakes，pestilence，andprodigiesofanykind，thattheyfindthemselvesatalosstoassignapropercause，andtoexplainthemannerinwhichtheeffectisproducedbyit。Itisusualformen，insuchdifficultiestohaverecoursetosomeinvisibleintelligentprinciple[18]
astheimmediatecauseofthateventwhichsurprisesthem，andwhich，theythink，cannotbeaccountedforfromthecommonpowersofnature。Butphilosophers，whocarrytheirscrutinyalittlefarther，immediatelyperceivethat，eveninthemostfamiliarevents，theenergyofthecauseisasunintelligibleasinthemostunusual，andthatweonlylearnbyexperiencethefrequentC/ONJUNCTION\\ofobjects，withoutbeingeverabletocomprehendanythinglikeC/ONNEXION\\betweenthem。Here，then，manyphilosophersthinkthemselvesobligedbyreasontohaverecourse，onalloccasions，tothesameprinciple，whichthevulgarneverappealtobutincasesthatappearmiraculousandsupernatural。Theyacknowledgemind