itself embarrassing, hence every embarrassment may become in itself a new source of embarrassment. However, that this peculiar self-consciousness cannot be forced in itself or in its expression, we see in the fact that the efforts of the maiden who exclaims in mock modesty, “I _know_ I am blushing,” are entirely futile. This assumption of embarrassment may become embarrassing, and so a genuine expression be stimulated, which, however, is of quite another order from the one desired. How such an emotion as that of embarrassment, which is disadvantageous from the first, could have originated under natural selection, can never be solved by the evolutionist who views all variation as originally springing from personal advantage. Here is a psychosis, always the reverse of serviceable, an emotion anticipatory of disgraceful defeat, and so is really premonitory, but yet one which ever unnerves, rather than nerves to successful action. He who never feels embarrassed, under any circumstances always has the best chance. Hence this psychosis must be strictly a negative evolution, an unfavourable variation determined by a persistent exciting by antagonists as serviceable to them. An adversary will always put his opponent in an embarrassing situation, and endeavour that he shall both be embarrassed and feel embarrassment. This emotion has thus been stimulated and fostered during ages of psychic evolution, and in advanced human evolution the stimulating it is one of the subtlest methods of offence. A feeling of embarrassment is incipient shame, or perhaps the way for shame. But the feeling of embarrassment is generally anticipatory as to the potential, while shame is as to the actual; it is a feeling of present public degradation and loss. Both equally imply a capacity for pride; one who cannot be proud cannot be ashamed. But shame, unlike the feeling of embarrassment, acts as serviceable variation to the individual, and is one of the weightiest negative guards to advantageous actions. It cannot promote very high and noble action, but it keeps above a certain low and base level. The member of society who has lost all pride and all sense of shame has ceased to feel the most powerful and useful of social incentives.[E] ----- Footnote E: As to the origin of bodily shame, we may suppose that this arose with reference to _excreta_ as something rejected from the body, and therefore base and unworthy. With the refined even spitting and perspiring are shameful. It may be that sexual shame can be traced to the same root, but social convention and morality also have very large influence here. -----