THE DOCTRINE OF HUMAN AUTOMATISM. 271 



within their reach ; and it is from the resemblance of this attitude 

 to that of prayer, that the Alantis has acquired from naturalists 

 the specific name of religiosa, and from the peasantry of the 

 South of France, where it abounds, the designation oi prie-Dieu. 

 Now, if the head be cut off, the body still retains its position, 

 and resists attempts to overthrow it, while the arms close around 

 anything that is introduced between them, and impress their 

 claws upon it. This they will continue to do when the front 

 portion of the body to which they are attached is separated from 

 the rest ; while the hinder part will still remain balanced on the 

 four legs that support it, not only resisting any attempt to over- 

 throw it, but recovering its position when disturbed. Here, 

 again, it is obvious that the nerve-centres in the head have only 

 a directive action, derived from the guidance afforded by the 

 senses, especially the visual. 



While the stimulus to the reflex movements of the legs in the 

 foregoing cases appears to be given by the contact of the ex- 

 tremities with the solid surface whereon they rest, the appropriate 

 impression, in the case of aquatic insects, can only be made by 

 the contact of liquid. Thus the cephalic ganglia of the vfell- 

 known water-beetle, Dytiscus rnargi/ialis, having been removed, 

 the insect remained motionless so long as it rested on a dry sur- 

 face ; but when cast into water it executed the usual swimming 

 movements with the greatest energy and rapidity, striking all its 

 comrades to one side by its violence, and persisting in these for 

 more than half an hour. 



The directing action of the cephalic ganglia would seem, for 

 the reasons already stated, to be not less automatic than the 

 reflex action of the ganglia of the trunk ; but whilst we have every 

 reason to regard the latter as not involving consciousness, all 

 analogy would indicate that the former cannot exert itself without 

 the excitement of sensation. When we see an insect moving 

 directly towards an object from a distance (as when bees fly 

 straight to honey-yielding or pollen-yielding flowers, or make for 

 the entrance of their hi\ e at the approach of a summer shower), 

 avoiding obstacles placed in its way, escaping from the hand 

 that is coming down to crush, or the net that threatens to 



