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V^ 

 INTRODUCTION. XXXI 



and can communicate, by the voice, his wants and ap- 

 prehensions, his pleasures and his pains. The func- 

 tions included under the second modification, are 

 termed, by Bichat, Animal Life. 



Each of these lives has two orders of functions, keep- 

 ing up its connexion with the objects destined for its 

 existence. In animal life, one of these orders may be 

 said to commence at the surface of the body, and to be 

 extended towards the centre, the impression of exterior 

 objects affecting- first the senses, then the trunks of 

 nerves, and lastly, the brain. A second movement, 

 constituting the second order of functions, is afterwards 

 made from the centre to the circumference, by which 

 the influence of the brain is exercised on the organs of 

 locomotion and of voice. These two functions, in ani- 

 mal life, are perfectly equivalent in their operations. 

 He who feels the most, will also act the most. Early 

 life is the period of quick and multiplied sensations, so 

 is it the period of quick and multiplied movements. 

 A partial, or a total privation of the sense of sight,. 

 causes us to move cautiously and slowly onwards. 

 The suspension of our communicatiori, through sleep, 

 with exterior objects, causes also a suspension of the 

 faculties of locomotion and of voice.. In organic life,, 

 the first order of functions assimilates to the animal 

 the substances which must nourish him, and includes 

 digestion, circulation, respiration, and nutrition; under 

 the influence of which four functions, every thing must 

 pass before it can be assimilated. But, after a temporary 

 residence, the assimilated particles becoming effete and 

 noxious, have to be carried away out of the body : by 

 which means the second order of functions in organic 

 life is established, consisting of absorption, circulation, 

 exhalation, and secretion. 



The two functions of organic life differ, however, 

 from those of animal life, in not observing, on all occa- 



