456 THEORY OF FEVER. SUP. I. 6. 1 



proceeding in our waking hours, and are catenated by their first 

 link, or in some subsequent parts of the chain, with the stimuli 

 or the influence of external things; which we shall here enu- 

 merate, as they contribute to the knowledge of fever. Of these 

 are the irritative ideas, or sensual motions of the organs of sense, 

 and the muscular motions associated with them; which, when 

 the chain is disturbed or interrupted, excite the sensorial power 

 of sensation, and proceed in confusion. Thus if the irritative 

 ideas of sight are disturbed, the parallactic motions of objects, 

 which in general are unperceived, become sensible to us; and 

 the locomotive muscles associated with them, which ought to 

 preserve the body erect, stagger from this decrease or interrup- 

 tion of the sensorial power of association; and vertigo is pro- 

 duced. 



When the irritative sensual motions, or ideas, belonging to 

 one sense are increased or diminished, the irritative sensual mo- 

 tions, or ideas, of the other senses are liable to become disturbed 

 by their general catenations; whence occur noises in the ears, 

 bad tastes in the mouth, bad odours, and numbness or tingling 

 of the limbs, as a greater or less number of senses are affected. 

 These constitute concomitant circles of disturbed irritative ideas; 

 or make a part of the great circle of irritative ideas, or motions 

 of the organs of sense; and when thus disturbed occasion many 

 kinds of hallucinations of our other senses, or attend on the ver- 

 tigo of vision. 



2. Another great circle of irritative associated motions con- 

 sists of those of the alimentary canal; which are catenated with 

 stimuli or with influences external to the system, but continue 

 to be exerted in our sleeping as well as in our waking hours. 

 When these associations of motion are disturbed by the too great 

 or too small stimulus of the food taken into the stomach, or by 

 the too great excess or deprivation of heat, or by indigestible 

 substances, or by torpor or orgasm occasioned by their associa- 

 tion with other parts, various diseases are induced under the 

 names of apepsia, hypochondriasis, hysteria, diarrhea, cholera, 

 ileus, nephritis, fever. 



3. A third circle of irritative associate motions consists of those 

 of the absorbent system; which may be divided into two, the 

 lacteals, and the lymphatics. When the stomach and intestines 

 are recently filled with food and fluid, the lacteal system is 

 Stimulated into great action; at the same time the cellular, cuta- 

 neous, and pulmonary lymphatics act with less energy; because 

 less fluid is then wanted from those branches, and because more 

 sensorial power is expended by the lacteal branch. On this ac- 

 co,unt these two systems of absorbents are liable to act by reverse 



