CHAPTER IV. 



OF THE INNER FEELING, THE EMOTIONS THAT IT MAY EX- 

 PERIENCE, AND THE POWER WHICH IT THENCE DERIVES 

 FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ACTIONS. 



My purpose in the present chapter is to treat of one of the most 

 remarkable faculties conferred by the nervous system on all animals in 

 which it is highly developed ; I mean that singular faculty, with which 

 certain animals and man himself are endowed, consisting in the capacity 

 to experience inner emotions called forth by the needs and various 

 causes external or internal ; from this faculty arises the power for 

 performing diverse actions. 



Nobody, so far as I know, has yet considered the interesting subject 

 with which I am about to deal ; yet, unless we fix our attention on this 

 subject, we shall never be able to account for the numerous phenomena 

 presented by animal organisation, which have their origin in the afore- 

 mentioned faculty. 



We have seen that the nervous system consists of various organs 

 which are all in communication with one another ; consequently every 

 part of the subtle fluid contained within this system is in communication 

 with every other part, and is therefore liable to undergo a general 

 agitation in the presence of certain causes adapted for exciting it. 

 We have here an essential principle that we must keep in mind 

 throughout our enquiries ; its accuracy cannot be questioned since 

 proofs of it are furnished by the observed facts. 



Yet the whole of the nervous fluid is not always sufficiently free to 

 take part in the agitation under consideration, for in ordinary cases 

 it is only one portion of the fluid (no doubt a large portion) that is 

 capable of undergoing this agitation when aroused by certain emotions. 



It is certain that in various circumstances, the nervous fluid under- 

 goes movements in more or less isolated parts of its mass : portions of 

 this fluid are thus dispatched to the various parts for muscular action, 

 and for the vivification of organs, without the whole fluid being set in 



