TWENTY-SECOND TALK 447

and for quite a long time the ego can practically do
nothing. So far as I can see, from the observation of
the action of egos (here we are on our own ground,
where we can see^, in the case of the savage he re-
mains in a condition of happiness at his own level and
does not try, because it is useless to try, to do any-
thing particular with the personality. He lets that
slowly grow; and when there is a sign of anything that
can be acted upon, at once be acts upon it. Btit he
is really more brooding over it than in touch with it.
But as soon as the savage personality comes into
more civilised life, then he begins to try to influence
it. But even then one gets the impression that he is,
so to speak, easily discouraged. He tries to influence
his bodies during youth, but generally the personality
contrives to go pretty badly wrong, and in quite a
number of cases it seems to slip quite out of hand ;

and when that happens, he appears to be able to do
very little more with it. Apparently he sits back in
the hope of being able to do better next life. He tries
to do his best with the thihg, and, when he sees he
cannot do more, he will sometimes yield up such a
body because he cannot do anything with it. But in
many cases he lets it run through its ordinary course
and work out a certain amount of karma.

When we get on to civilised races and to the level
of the cultured people about us, then the ego begins
to try to take a hand determinedly. I mean, he
decidedly tries every time, with a new physical body^