432 FUNCTIONS OF THE SENSORIUM COMMUNE, [ch.iv. 



with consciousness or without consciousness. The movements 

 of the heart, stomach, and intestines, are certainly in nowise de- 

 pendent on the consciousness of the soul, for whilst no muscular 

 movement can be excited, unless a stimulus applied to the sen- 

 sorial nerves passes by a peculiar reflexion to the motor nerves, 

 and excites contraction of the muscle, it is at the same time 

 certain that the reflexion of the impressions suitable for exciting 

 those movements, if it takes place in the sensorium commune, 

 is effected without consciousness. But it is a question whether 

 these impressions, in order that they may be reflected, do really 

 travel so far as the sensorium commune, or, without taking this 

 long circuit, are reflected nearer in the ganglia, from whence 

 these parts derive many nerves ? This matter is further to be 

 considered afterwards. But that reflexions of sensorial im- 

 pressions into motor are effected in the sensorium commune 

 itself while the mind is altogether unconscious, is shown by cer- 

 tain acts remaining in apoplectics deprived entirely of conscious- 

 ness ; for they have a strong pulse, breathe strongly, and also 

 raise the hand, and very often unconsciously apply it to the 

 affected part. The sensorium commune also acts independently 

 of consciousness in producing the convulsive movements of epi- 

 leptics, and also those which are sometimes observed in persons 

 buried in profound sleep, namely, the retractions of pricked or 

 irritated limbs, to say nothing of the motion of the heart and 

 the respiratory acts. To this category also belong all those 

 motions which remain some time in the body of a decapitated 

 man, or other animal, and are excited when the trunk, and par- 

 ticularly the medulla spinalis, are irritated, which motions cer- 

 tainly take place without consciousness, and are regulated by 

 the remaining portion of the sensorium commune existing in 

 the medulla spinalis. All these actions flow from the organism, 

 and by physical laws peculiar to the sensorium commune ; and 

 are, therefore, spontaneous and automatic. The actions taking 

 place in the animal body, with accompanying consciousness, are 

 either such as are independent of volition, or such as the mind 

 can restrain and prohibit at pleasure ; the former being governed 

 by the sensorium commune alone, independently of the mind, 

 are as much automatic as those of which the soul is unconscious. 

 Of this character are sneezing from an irritant applied to the 

 nostrils, cough from an irritant fallen into the trachea, vomiting 



