\"Thevisualizingfacultyisanaturalgift,and,likeallnaturalgifts,hasatendencytobeinherited。Inthisfacultythetendencytoinheritanceisexceptionallystrong,asIhaveabundantevidencetoprove,especiallyinrespecttocertainratherrarepeculiarities,……which,whentheyexistatall,areusuallyfoundamongtwo,three,ormorebrothersandsisters,parents,children,unclesandaunts,andcousins。
\"Sincefamiliesdiffersomuchinrespecttothisgift,wemaysupposethatraceswouldalsodiffer,andtherecanbenodoubtthatsuchisthecase。Ihardlyliketorefertocivilizednations,becausetheirnaturalfacultiesaretoomuchmodifiedbyeducationtoallowoftheirbeingappraisedinanoff-handfashion。Imay,however,speakoftheFrench,whoappeartopossessthevisualizingfacultyinahighdegree。Thepeculiarabilitytheyshowinprearrangingceremonialsandfê;tesofallkinds,andtheirundoubtedgeniusfortacticsandstrategy,showthattheyareabletoforeseeeffectswithunusualclearness。
Theiringenuityinalltechnicalcontrivancesisanadditionaltestimonyinthesamedirection,andsoistheirsingularclearnessofexpression。
Theirphraseis\"figurez-vous,’or’picturetoyourself,’seemstoexpresstheirdominantmodeofperception。Ourequivalentof’Imagine’isambiguous……
\"Ihavemanycasesofpersonsmentallyreadingoffscoreswhenplayingthepianoforte,ormanuscriptwhentheyaremakingspeeches。Onestatesmanhasassuredmethatacertainhesitationinutterancewhichhehasattimesisduetohisbeingplaguedbytheimageofhis[p。56]manuscriptspeechwithitsoriginalerasuresandcorrections。