The laws of association which govern the connection of ideas hold true
also for the dream pictures; indeed, their domination evinces itself in
a purer and stronger expression in the dream than elsewhere.
Strümpell[62] (p. 70) says: “The dream follows either the laws of
undisguised presentations as it seems exclusively or organic stimuli
along with such presentations, that is, without being influenced by
reflection and reason, æsthetic sense, and moral judgment.” The authors
whose views I reproduce here conceive the formation of the dream in
about the following manner: The sum of sensation stimuli affecting sleep
from the various sources, discussed elsewhere, at first awaken in the
mind a sum of presentations which represent themselves as hallucinations
(according to Wundt, it is more correct to say as illusions, because of
their origin from outer and inner stimuli). These unite with one another
according to the known laws of association, and, following the same
rules, in turn evoke a new series of presentations (pictures). This
entire material is then elaborated as well as possible by the still
active remnant of the organising and thinking mental faculties (_cf._
Wundt[76] and Weygandt[75]). But thus far no one has been successful in
finding the motive which would decide that the awakening of pictures
which do not originate objectively follow this or that law of
association.
But it has been repeatedly observed that the associations which connect
the dream presentations with one another are of a particular kind, and
different from those found in the waking mental activity. Thus
Volkelt[72] says: “In the dream, the ideas chase and hunt each other on
the strength of accidental similarities and barely perceptible
connections. All dreams are pervaded by such loose and free
associations.” Maury[48] attaches great value to this characteristic of
connection between presentations, which allows him to bring the dream
life in closer analogy to certain mental disturbances. He recognises two
main characters of the _délire_: “(1) une action spontanée et comme
automatique de l’esprit; (2) une association vicieuse et irregulière des
idées” (p. 126). Maury gives us two excellent examples from his own
dreams, in which the mere similarity of sound forms the connection of
the dream presentations. He dreamed once that he undertook a pilgrimage
(_pélerinage_) to Jerusalem or Mecca. After many adventures he was with
the chemist Pelletier; the latter after some talk gave him a zinc shovel
(_pelle_) which became his long battle sword in the dream fragment which
followed (p. 137). On another occasion he walked in a dream on the
highway and read the kilometres on the milestones; presently he was with
a spice merchant who had large scales with which to weigh Maury; the
spice merchant then said to him: “You are not in Paris; but on the
island Gilolo.” This was followed by many pictures, in which he saw the
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