1 72 Some Account ofM. Bicliat's Theory of Life. 



rest. This rest, with regai'd to any particular organ, is the 

 sleep of that organ ; antl in proportion to the extent of the 

 previous exercise, and the number of organs fatigued, the state 

 of repose will be partial or general. Upon this principle 

 Bichat founds his theory of sleep. General sleep is the com- 

 bination of the sleep of particular organs. Sleep then is not 

 any definite slate, but is a more or less complete rest of the 

 whole system in proportion to the number of organs which 

 require repose. The most perfect sleep is that where all the 

 functions of animal life, the sensations, the perception, the 

 imagination, the memory, the judgement, locomotion, and 

 voice, are suspended; and the various forms of imperfect sleep 

 exhibited in dreaming, somnambulism, &c. are all produced by 

 the wakefulness of some particular organs. 



The two lives differ also in regard to habit ; the animal be- 

 ing much under its control, the organic but slightly. In the 

 animal life, habit renders our feelings and sensations less in- 

 tense, whilst it elevates and perfects the power of judging. 

 The eye is no longer sensible of the presence of objects to 

 which it has become familiarized, the ear takes no notice of 

 sounds that are constantly repeated, the other senses become 

 hardened against the operation of agents which have often ex- 

 cited them ; but at the same time the capacity for forming an 

 accurate judgement with regard to their qualities has been 

 growing more perfect. Thus, a piece of music gives us at 

 first a feeling of pleasure simply, and nothing more ; if it be 

 often repeated, this pleasure vanishes, but we become capable 

 of estimating the merits of its arrangement and harmony. In 

 the organic life it is not so ; respiration, circulation, secretion, 

 &c. are totally without the dominion of habit, and although 

 some of the functions of this life, most intimately connected 

 with those of the animal, are in some measure under its in- 

 fluence, yet in a general way a freedom from this influence is 

 a distinguishing characteristic of the organic life. 



Every thing relating to the understanding is the attribute of 

 animal life ; whilst the passions on the contrary belong to the 

 organic life, have their seat in its organs, influence them when 

 they are excited into action themselves, and are on the con- 

 trary influenced by the state of the organs. The relation 

 which the passions have, so remarkably, with the animal life, 

 is intermediate, and not direct; all the pi'imary phasnomena 

 produced by their excitement are exhibited in the internal 

 organs ; the heart is violently excited in anger, more mode- 

 rately in joy; fear, sadness, grief, produce an opposite effect. 

 The lungs are equally affected, the respiration is quickened 

 or iinpeded, a sense of oppression or suflbcation is brought 



