VIII. _Deliberation._ This mental state is defined as: "The act of deliberating and weighing facts and arguments in the mind, calmly and carefully." Here is manifested the action of thought and reason--the mental process of weighing and balancing facts, feelings, and inclinations. For it is not only _facts_ and _proofs_ which are weighed in the mental balance, but also feelings, desires, and fears. Pure logical reasoning inclines to strict logical processes based upon irrefragible facts, it is true--but there is but little pure logical reasoning. The majority of people are governed more by their feelings and inclinations--their loves and their fears--than by logic. It has been said: "People seek not _reasons_, but _excuses for following their feelings_." The real deliberation, in the majority of cases, is the weighing of probable advantages and disadvantages--of various likes and dislikes--of hopes and fears. It is said that our minds are controlled by _motives_--and the strongest motive wins. We often find that when we think we desire a thing ardently, we then find that we also like something else better, or perhaps fear something else more than we desire the first thing. In such case, the strongest or most pressing feeling wins the day. The faculties here exert their different influences. Caution opposes Acquisitiveness. Acquisitiveness opposes Conscientiousness. Fear opposes Firmness. And so on. The deliberation is not only the weighing of facts, but also the weighing of feelings. The process of Deliberation--the weighing of desires--the play and counterplay of motives--is well illustrated by a scene in a classical French comedy. "Jeppe," one of the characters, has been given money by his wife to buy her a cake of soap. He prefers to buy a drink with the coin, for his inclinations tend in that direction. But he knows that his wife will beat him if he so squanders the money. He deliberates over the pleasure to be derived from the drink, and the pain which would arise from the beating. "My stomach says drink--my back says soap," says Jeppe. He deliberates further. Then: "My stomach says Yes! My back says No!" cries the poor wight. The conflict between back and stomach rages still more fiercely. Then comes the deciding point: "Is not my stomach more to me than my back? Sure, it is! I say _Yes_!" cries Jeppe. And away to the tavern he marches. It has been remarked that if the active suggestion of the distant sight of his wife armed with the cudgel, had been added to the situation, Jeppe would have bought the soap. Or, if the tavern had not been so handy, the result might have been different. Sometimes a mental straw tips the scale. The above illustration contains the entire philosophy of the action of the mind in the process of Deliberation. The salesman will do well to remember it.