THE REASON WHY. 



249 



Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be 

 known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air." CORINTH, xiv. 



excited to a fit of laughter generally hold their breath until they 

 can hold it no longer, and then suddenly there is a quick expiration 

 causing eccentric sounds, the mind being too intently fixed upon the 

 cause of excitement, either to moderate the sounds, or to confront 

 the breathing. 



1027. Why do we hiccough ? 



Hiccough is caused by a spasmodic twitching of the diaphragm, 

 a thin muscular membrane which divides the chest from the 

 abdomen. It generally arises from sympathy with the stomach; 

 and it is highly probable that the muscular twitches and jerks are 

 so many efforts on the part of the diaphragm to assist the stomach 

 to get rid of some undigested matter. 



1028. Why do we snore ? 



Snoring is caused by air sweeping through the passages that lead 

 from the mouth through the nostrils, and which, in our waking 

 moments, are capable of certain muscular modifications to adapt 

 them to our breathing. But as in sleeping the nervous controul 

 over them is withdrawn, they are left to the action of the air which, 

 in sweeping by them, sets them in vibration. 



"We have endeavoured, by the employment of the simplest language, and by 

 reference to some of the most familiar phenomena of nature, to impart to tho 

 reader a clear conception of those sublime laws which controul our being, and 

 afford evidence of the goodne>.s and power of that Almighty God to whom we 

 are indebted for the life that we enjoy, and the varied and beautiful existences 

 which, to the rightly constituted mind, make the earth a vast aggregation of 

 interesting objects. We will now, before we pass on to the final section of our 

 work, review some of the more important facts that have been communicated, 

 and devote a few pages to meditations upon the formation of the human body 

 that wonderful temple of which each of us is a tenant. 



We have described man's organisation. What is that organisation for / It is 

 to make use of the elements upon which man exists. The lungs mal use of the 

 air; the eye makes use of the light; the stomach, and the system generally, 

 make use of water ; every part of the body uses heat ; and all pai'ts of the sys- 

 tem demand food. The hand feeds as constantly as the mouth. The mouth i 

 the receptacle of food, by which the body is to be fed ; the stomach is tho 

 kitchen in which food is prepared for the use of the body ; and the blood-vessels 

 are the canals through which the food is sent to those members of the body 

 that are in need of it. When we speak of man's " organs " or " members," we 

 speak of those parts of the living machinery by which the elements are used up, 

 or employed, for man's benefit. And this view of the subject, bearing in mind 

 that the body is held together as the temple of a living Spirit, superior to mere 

 tjesh and blood, gives us a higher and clearer perception of the distinction 



II* 



