312 THE LAWS OF ORGANIC 



CCCLIII. Sensations have two sources, the 

 external world, and the various conditions of the 

 animal frame. Those belonging to the first are 

 extremely numerous and complex. Education, 

 habits, and associations, influence very much their 

 operation. To some, the odour of flowers, ge- 

 nerally admired, is disagreeable ; objects that 

 please one offend another. Indeed it is impos- 

 sible to adduce a single instance in which the ex- 

 ternal senses, in different individuals, are similar- 

 ly acted upon by the variety of agents. But if the 

 fragrance of a flower produce syncope in one, it 

 is not because the effect is confined to the senso- 

 rium, but because the organ is powerfully influ- 

 enced, and the impressions it receives are commu- 

 nicated to the respiratory functions ; and it is to this 

 re- action that we are to attribute the cessation or 

 palpitation of the heart. The dissimilarity in the 

 sensibility of different individuals, and in the 

 consequences induced, is to be considered as 

 principally originating in structural modifications 

 which we cannot appreciate. If the mind of one 

 individual be more susceptible than another, and 

 if the relations existing between the heart and 

 lungs be extremely delicate, from causes which 

 were stated in the preceding chapter, the mind 

 will be more readily excited or depressed, and 

 every thing within the sphere of its influence 

 will be proportionately disturbed. 



