ANIMALS. 71 



reflected that he ought to defend himself, and his 

 body obeyed the impulse of his mind, even in the 

 last extremity. Thus it is the prejudice of per- 

 sons in health, and not the body in pain, that 

 makes us suffer from the approach of death : we 

 have, all our lives, contracted a habit of making 

 out excessive pleasures and pains ; and nothing 

 but repeated experience shows us, how seldom 

 the one can be suffered, or the other enjoyed, to 

 the utmost. 



If there be any thing necessary to confirm what 

 we have said concerning the gradual cessation of 

 life, or the insensible approaches of our end, no- 

 thing can more effectually prove it, than the un- 

 certainty of the signs of death. If we consult 

 what Winslow or Bruhier have said upon this 

 subject, we shall be convinced, that between life 

 and death the shade is so very undistinguishable, 

 that even all the powers of art can scarcely deter- 

 mine where the one ends and the other begins. 

 The colour of the visage, the warmth of the body, 

 the suppleness of the joints, are but uncertain signs 

 of life still subsisting ; while, on the contrary, the 

 paleness of the complexion, the coldness of the 

 body, the stiffiiess of the extremities, the cessa- 

 tion of all motion, and the total insensibility of 

 the parts, are but uncertain marks of death be- 

 gun. In the same manner also, with regard to 

 the pulse, and the breathing, these motions are 

 often so kept under, that it is impossible to per- 

 ceive them. By approaching a looking-glass to 

 the mouth of the person supposed to be dead, 

 people often expect to find whether he breathes 



