BUFF ON FULLER QUOTATIONS. 129 



off part of its body ; the lobster which can restore its 

 amputated limbs; the turtle whose heart beats long 

 after it has been plucked out, in a word all the animals 

 whose organization differs from our own, have but small 

 powers of perception, and the smaller the more they 

 differ from us." * 



This is Buffon's way of satirizing our inability to 

 bear in mind that we are compelled to judge all things 

 by our own standards. He also wishes to reassure 

 those who might be alarmed at the tendency of some 

 of his foregoing remarks, and who he knew would find 

 comfort in being told that a thing which does not 

 express itself as they do does not feel at all. 



The diaphragm according to Buffon appears to be 

 the centre of the powers of sensation; the slightest 

 injury " even to the attachments of the diaphragm is 

 followed by strong convulsions, and even by death. The 

 brain which has been called the seat of ' sensations ' is 

 yet not the centre of ' perception,' since we can wound 

 it, and even take considerable parts of it away, without 

 death's ensuing, and without preventing an animal from 

 living, moving and feeling in all its parts." 



Buffon thus distinguishes between "sensation" and 

 " perception. " " Sensation," he says, " is simply the 

 activity of a sense, but perception is the pleasantness 

 or unpleasantness of this sensation," " perceived by its 

 being propagated and becoming active throughout the 

 entire system." I have therefore several times, when 

 translating from Buffon, rendered the word " sentiment " 

 by " perception," and shall continue to do so. " I say," 

 * Tom. vii. p. 10, 1758. 



K 



