A teacher who imagines that his work is done in this direc-
tion when he interests his pupils — in other words, when
he supplies the conditions of non-voluntary attention — is



132 ATTENTION.
sadly mistaken. He can not get their non-voluntary atten-
tion until he begins to interest them ; and he can not keep
it afterwards simply by being interesting. Until he inter-
ests them, their attention, so far as it is non-voluntary, will
be given to the most interesting thing that happens to
come before their minds. After he interests them, instead
of keeping their attention on what he is saying, they will
continue to think about some interesting thing he has said,
until their attention is attracted by something else.
In complying with a part of the first rule — in bringing
before our pupils something pleasing — we are evidently
supplying the conditions of non-voluntary attention by the
matter of our instruction ; in complying with a part of the
second — " stirring their intelligences to activity by incit-
ing to questions regarding it " — we are doing the same
thing by the manner of our instruction ; and the same is
true of the fourth and eighth rules.
