THE VIBRATORY SENSE 



creatures are, as it were, in a state of continual tension, 

 incessantly receiving impressions from without and 

 immediately responding to the sensations perceived. 

 Suspended in a medium both dense and fluid, their 

 movements are adapted to it; changes in the one are 

 manifested by attitudes in the others. We find among 

 all these modifications a continual seeking for vital 

 equilibrium, for permanent well-being. 



In the world of waters, no other group shows such 

 an excessive sensitiveness. Even the largest and most 

 highly organized possess only a few devices for sensa- 

 tion, and these are often ineffective. The fishes, with 

 their lateral line, stand above the average. With its 

 aid, the range of their sensitiveness is increased and 

 extended to impressions which other classes of animals 

 do not perceive, or accept only in a less distinct manner. 

 The field of sensation in which the animal becomes 

 conscious of what it is and of what it is capable, becomes 

 in them vaster and more filled with incident. In this 

 slow development of consciousness, from its beginning 

 in the lowest creatures, the fishes take a high place. 

 They go beyond the heavy materiality of their neigh- 

 bours in the water, rising to a greater degree of com- 

 prehension, a clearer understanding of the objects which 

 surround them. In a word, their senses are more 

 refined. 



But these senses stand alone in them, they are not 

 supplemented in any way. The brain is still incapable 

 of co-ordinating the sensations and storing them up so 

 as to make a memory. When there is any recollection 

 at all, it is often brief and limited. The lack of tem- 

 perature adjustment, moreover, forces them to submit 

 to all the changes which take place about them; they 

 can neither avoid them, nor escape even for a short 

 time. They are slaves of their environment, and 

 have to put up with the consequences of this sub- 

 jection. But there are advantages about it also; their 

 environment supports them well, in fact abundantly. 

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