256 THE SPECIAL SENSES 



14. As to painful sensation among the inferior animals, the 

 plan of Nature seems to be, that the higher the intelligence of 

 the creature, and the more complete its power of defence, the 

 more acute is its sensibility. We infer, therefore, that animals 

 low in the scale of existence, and helpless, are not very liable 

 to suffer pain. 



15. Special Sensation. The sensations of simple contact 

 and pain are felt by nearly all parts of the system, whether 

 external or internal, and are the necessary consequence of the 

 general sensibility ; but, so far as the objects which surround 

 us are concerned, these impressions are vague and passive in 

 character, and inform the mind of none of the properties or 

 powers of these objects. Besides these feelings, therefore, 

 man is endowed with certain special sensations, which are 

 positive and distinct in character, and which he can call into 

 exercise at will, and employ in the pursuit of knowledge. For 

 reasons relating to the original constitution of the body, these 

 sensations are to be regarded as modifications of the general 

 sensibility already alluded to, constructed with special refer- 

 ence to the different forces of Nature of which we have any 

 knowledge, such as heat, motion, gravity, sunlight, and the 

 like. (Read Note 2.) 



than the big toe is of the gout ; but if the stomach gave no signs of per- 

 turbation, the evil would be allowed longer to exist unnoticed. We should 

 always give early attention to pain, and discover its causes before they 

 become too complex to be unraveled, and before the derangement which 

 its presence indicates becomes permanent. The following incident well 

 illustrates the extent to which pain may be dependent on fancy : ' A 

 butcher was brought into the druggist's from the market-place opposite, 

 laboring under a terrible accident. The man. on trying to hook up a 

 heavy piece of meat above his head, slipped, and the sharp hook pene- 

 trated his arm so that he himself was suspended. On being examined, 

 he was pale, almost pulseless, and expressed himself as suffering acute 

 agony. The arm could not be moved without causing excessive pain, and 

 in cutting off the sleeve he frequently cried out ; yet, when the arm was 

 exposed, it was found quite uninjured, the hook having only traversed 

 the sleeve of the coat ! ' The sensation here was perfectly real, but 

 originated in a change of the brain and nerves, instead of in the external 

 senses." Notes on Pain. 



14. The law of Nature as regards painful sensations among animals ? 



15. The sensation of contact and pain ? Special sensations of man ? How regarded ? 



