CHAPTER XXVI. 



LOCOMOTION AND ITS ORGANS. 



\f MAN is distinguished from the vegetable world, not 

 only by his possessing a nervous system, organs of sense, 

 and voice, but also by the power of locomotion) or (nioving 

 from place to place^) QThis power connects mm with the 

 external world, enlarges his sphere of action and increases 

 his means of acquiring knowledge. It implies that he has 

 a will, and that these motive organs are under the influence 

 of volition ) else he would be the sport of chance and wan- 

 der about without a motive) 



2. Many of the functions of the body are not under the 

 control of the will ; such are/ digestion, absorption, circula- 

 tion, respiration, and secretion J which go on as well when 

 we are asleep as when awake. 'They are possessed, at least 

 some of them, by vegetables as well as animals, and are 

 therefore called organic functions. 



3. The agents of locomotion are th/ bones and muscles $ 

 but they would be useless for motion were they not suppliecf 

 with nerves of voluntary motion, and thus brought under 

 the influence of the will. The bones are tied together by 

 means of strong fibrous ligaments or cords, allowing the 

 joints great freedom and extent of motion, as we see in the 

 shoulder and hip joints. 



4. We then have the bones, which act as levers ; the 

 muscles are the moving power, and the brain and nerves 

 are the vital agents, which set the machinery in motion. 

 (Muscles alone have the power of contraction^and it is one 

 of the most remarkable properties of life. Were it not for 

 this, the food could not be digested, the blood could not be 



