Pleasure and Pain. TIT 



of the kiln allowing his feet benumbed with cold to extend over upon 

 the stones in the kiln. He went to sleep, and the attendants not know- 

 ing he was there lighted the fire below, and gradually the heat increased 

 without awaking the man until one of his feet was entirely consumed, 

 the bone being calcined. He felt no pain and did not know of his loss 

 till he attempted to rise upon his foot when it crushed under his weight. 

 The nerve had doubtless become too benumbed to convey the stimulus 

 and arouse sensation. He survived the injury but a fortnight. ( Car- 

 penter's Physiology. ) 



Nevertheless., it is true that a large proportion of the derangement and 

 reductions of the vital functions are accompanied or followed by pain, be- 

 cause such conditions put them out of harmony with their natural and 

 habitual associations. 



Likewise pleasure generally accompanies those processes which are 

 upbuilding in their tendencies, because pleasurable sensation being sen- 

 sation of concord and fitting reciprocity between an incoming stimula- 

 tion and the cerebral organs already differentiated by previous similar 

 stimulations, such new stimulation continues and confirms the work of 

 the former ones in further building up such organs. When the stimula- 

 tions originate in states of the body, they are to be taken generally as 

 indications of harmonious and healthy action of the physical parts, the 

 upbuilding of which is accompanied by the development of their corres- 

 ponding cerebral organs. But this is not invariable. A person may 

 get temporary pleasure from the indulgence of an abnormal appetite, for 

 which, however, he has to pay in the pain of disappointing normal ones, 

 which have been robbed for its development. Pleasure in vice happens 

 onty after organs of vicious activities have been erected by habit or have 

 been inherited. 



All sensations may be divided into three classes : the pleasurable, the 

 painful, and the neutral. It may perhaps be doubted if there be such 

 a class as the neutral, because although there is an immense class which 

 are not either particularly painful or pleasurable, yet upon close scrutiny 

 we might be moved to place them by a very small choice in one or the 

 other of those classes. However that may be, at any rate the neutral 

 class have little or nothing to do directly with our motor actions. These 

 actions, so far as they are the results of conscious volition, are gov- 

 erned by motives founded upon sensations of pleasure or pain or their 

 memories. Motives founded upon considerations of social, moral or 

 religious duty are not exceptions. It may be said that the chief busi- 

 ness of all sensitive beings is to avoid pain and seek pleasure, especially 

 the former. 



