316 SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS [Sev 



filaments close, and catching the fly by the extremity of its pro- 

 boscis, detain the poor prisoner writhing in protracted struggles 

 till released by death, a death apparently occasioned by exhaus- 

 tion alone; the filaments then relax, and the body falls to 

 the ground. Here is an emblem of sensual pleasures : their 

 attractiveness to the senses, and the punishment of him who is 

 allured by them. jo. 



The Valley of Sensuality. 



In Java is a valley which is called the Valley of Poison. It 

 is an object of veritable terror to the natives. In this renowned 

 valley the soil is said to be covered with skeletons and carcasses 

 of tigers, of goats, and of stags, of birds, and even with human 

 bones : for asphyxia or suffocation, it seems, strikes all living 

 things which venture into this desolate place. It illustrates the 

 valley of sensuality, the most horrible creation of social life. 

 Few men who enter into its depths survive long; for it is 

 strewn with dead reputations and the mangled remains of 

 creatures who were once happy. w. 



Severe Afflictions require Strong Remedies. 



A crowd of facts might be related to show that the more 

 severe a symptom such as pain, the stronger must be the dose 

 of the remedy which is to call back the vital .power to its 

 wonted channels. Thus a delicate woman will take with 

 impunity 150 drops of laudanum to relieve severe pain, whereas 

 if she 'were well such a dose would so attract the vital power 

 to the part it lodged in as to make her ill, if even it did not 

 prove fatal. The principle that severe affliction requires a 

 strong remedy is true in politics as well as in therapeutics, 

 "We sometimes hear legislation objected to on the ground that it 

 is "exceptional." This is obviously a very silly objection to 

 urge where the symptoms calling for the legislation are severe. 

 Severe national suffering demands strong palliative remedies. 

 The point to consider is simply whether the " exceptional " 

 legislation is, like the laudanum in the case of pain, adapted to 



