20G THE PHYSIOLOGY OF LAUGIITKK. 



sheep s clothing, a breach of bargain, and falsehood in gen 

 eral ; the multitude taking the law in their own hands, 

 and everything of the nature of disorder ; a corpse at n 

 feast, parental cruelty, filial ingratitude, and whatever i* 

 unnatural ; the entire catalogue of the vanities given by 

 Solomon, arc all incongruous, but they cause feelings of 

 pain, anger, sadness, loathing, rather than mirth.&quot; Xow 

 in these cases, where the totally unlike state of conscious 

 ness suddenly produced, is not inferior in mass to the 

 preceding one, the conditions to laughter are not ful 

 filled. As above shown, laughter naturally results only 

 when consciousness is unawares transferred from great 

 things to small only when there is what we call a descend 

 ing incongruity. 



And now observe, finally, the fact, alike inferable a 

 jtrlori and illustrated in experience, that an ascending 

 incongruity not only fails to cause laughter, but works on 

 the muscular system an efl ect of exactly the reverse kind. 

 &quot;When alter something very insignificant there arises with 

 out anticipation something very great, the emotion we call 

 wonder results; and this emotion is accompanied not by 

 an excitement of the muscles, but by a relaxation of them. 

 In children and country people, that filling of the jaw 

 which occurs on witnessing something that is imposing and 

 unexpected, exemplifies this efl ect. Persons who have 

 been wonder-struck at the production of very striking 

 results by a seemingly inadequate cause, arc frequently 

 described as unconsciously dropping the things they held 

 in their hands. Such arc just the effects to be anticipated. 

 After an average state of consciousness, absorbing but a 

 small quantity of nervous energy, is aroused without tho 

 slightest notice, a strong emotion of awe, terror, or admi 

 ration ; joined with the astonishment due to an apparent 

 want of adequate causation. This new state of conscious 

 ness demands far more nervous energy than that which it 



