Expressions of Grief. 253 



He finds that emotional expressions are generally 

 direct consequences of anatomical structure, and 

 clearly shows the interdependence of anatomy and 

 physiology. For structure can no more be divorced 

 from function than matter can be dissociated from 

 force. All the complex expressions of grief from 

 the twitching of the eyelids and mouth to the shed- 

 ding of tears he has shown to depend upon the 

 necessity for preventing engorgement of the eyes 

 during screaming, an act originally useful solely to 

 attract attention. The steps by which he arrived at 

 this conclusion are typical of his method. Starting 

 first with animals, he finds that their expressions of 

 grief are much less complex and various than those 

 of man. They are confined to noises, such as scream- 

 ing, barking, whining, in higher forms accompanied 

 by changes in facial expression, particularly by con- 

 traction of the muscles surrounding the eye. There 

 is a physiological necessity for this, as otherwise the 

 expiratory effort caused by screaming might engorge 

 and rupture the small ocular blood-vessels. By press- 

 ing on the lachrymal gland this causes, in some of 

 the higher animals, a flow of tears. What at first 

 was accidental, merely occasioned by the proximity 

 of the gland, becomes at last habitual, and the nerv- 

 ous force automatically follows the line of its accus- 

 tomed action, causing a flow of tears after emotional 

 excitement, even though no screaming take place. 

 The correctness of this view is supported by the fact 

 that infants do not shed tears until several weeks 

 old, although they scream violently. The functional 

 activity of the lachrymal gland, in connection with 



