33 2 DISEASES Sect. XXXIV. i, 4. 



mufcles relieve the pain for a time ; we are, however, unwil- 

 hng fo lofe the pleafure, and prefently put a flop to this exer- 

 tion, and immediately the pleafure recurs, and again as inftantly 

 rifes info pain. All of us have felt the pain of immoderate 

 laughter •, children have been tickled into convulfions of the 

 whole body ; and others have died in the act of laughing j 

 probably from a paralyfig fucceeding the long continued actions 

 of the mufcles of refpiration. 



Hence we learn the reafon, why children, who are fo eafily 

 excited to laugh by the tickling of other people's fingers, cannot 

 tickle themfeives into laughter. The exertion of their hands in 

 the endeavour to tickle themfeives prevents the necemty of any 

 exertion of the refpiratory mufcles to relieve the excefs of pleaf- 

 urable affection. See Sect. XVII. 3. 5. 



Chryfinpus is recorded to have died laughing, when an afs 

 was invited to fup with him. The fame is related of one of the 

 popes, who, when he was ill, faw a tame monkey at his bed-fide 

 put on the holy tiara. Hall. Phyf. T. III. p. 306. 



There are inftances of epilepfy being produced by laughing 

 recorded by Van Swieten, T- III. 402 and 308. And it is well 

 known, that many people have died inflantaneoufly from the 

 painful excefs of joy, which probably might have been prevent- 

 ed by the exertions of laugher. 



Every combination of ideas, which we attend to, occafions 

 pain or pleafure ; thofe which occafion pleafure, furnifh either 

 ■Social or felfifh pleafure, either malicious or friendly, or lafcivi- 

 cus, or fublime pleafure ; that is, they give us pleafure mixed 

 with other emotions, or they give us unmixed pleafure', without 

 occafioning any other emotions or exertions at the fame time. 

 This unmixed pleafure, if it be great, becomes painful, like all 

 other animal motions from ftimuli of every kind ; and if no 

 other exertions are occafioned at the fame time, we ufe the ex- 

 ertion of laughter to relieve this pain. Hence laughter is occa- 

 sioned by fuch wit as excites fimply pleafure without any other 

 emotion, fuch as pity, love, reverence. For fublime ideas are 

 mixed with admiration, beautiful ones with love, new ones with 

 furprife •, and thefe exertions of our ideas prevent the action of 

 laughter from being neceflary to relieve the painlul pleafure 

 above defcribed. Whence laughable wit coniifts of frivolous 

 ideas, without connexions of any confequence, fuch as puns on 

 words, or on phraies, incongruous junctions ol ideas i on which 

 account laughter is fo frequent in children. 



Unmixed pleafure lefs than that, which caufes laughter, caufes 

 fleep, as in finging children to fleep, or in fiighi intoxication from 

 wine 01 food. .Sec Sect. XVIII. 1?,. 



j. if 



