31 Memoria» da )a Soeied.td Cieatíficn 



the secretions of the organism accninTilated dnríng tlie day^ 

 but cUorof orm and iiypnotism work in the same maimer. Wlae- 

 tlier tlie brain he eongested or whetliei' it be anaemie, its ixxnc- 

 tions are deeply niodified on aecount of tbe delay of tbe cu- 

 rrents. MoreoTer, the lowest animáis (Protozoa) sleep and 

 wake m accordance with the conditions of their actívity. 



Ihelieve, therefore, that sleep originates, either in man or 

 infusorian^ in a delay or slowing of the protoplasmic or neuro- 

 plasmic currents, dne to refrigeration^ lack of nutñtiye fluids,, 

 congestión or anaemia. Everything gi'ows wearied. Everything 

 hores and is bored. Both Bfttschli's foain and niy protoplasmic 

 mass made by synthesis, cease from yisible morement after 

 a certain period of activity. Briefly, it is a mere question o£ 

 provisioBS. When the oxidisable ferment is spent, when zy- 

 mo&es decrease, and almost all the material carried from the 

 external to the internal médium is wasted, it is biit natural that 

 movements and cnrrents become slower and slower. The or- 

 ganism is then said to be sleeping. And how niany degrees 

 there are from the simple yawn and somnolenee to the drowsi- 

 ness of a worn-out and fatigned traveller! But cnrrents do 

 not cease entirely — deatb is not the issue. The transport o£ 

 m ateríais isslowly con tinued from the digestiye apparatíis to 

 therecessesof the organism, from the ontside to the inside. 



In wakening organisms oxydations and movements inerea- 

 se little by little (jnst as in Bütsehli's plasm when heated): the 

 current is augmented (as in Herrera's plasm when it receives 

 a slight addition of peptone)j the reagents in the laboratory 

 begin to bnstle, the forge's reverberations swell, and the hymn 

 of work grows louder and londer until i£ finally attains the 

 pitch of thunder. Bear this in mind^ that the act of waking is 

 aslow one^ havingmany degrees and shades. At the break o£ 

 day our sleep is light, and we begin lazily to stir ourselves 

 withont eyen opening our eyes, whilst we remain fluctuating 

 in a pleasant languor. 



