60 LECTURE II. 



The opinion that sensation is the con- 

 sequence of an action begun in and 

 transmitted through the nervous fibrils, 

 assists us in understanding how our sens- 

 ations may be very vivid from the 

 sHghtest impulses ; such, for instance, as 

 take place in the application of odour to 

 the olfactory nerves, for it is not the im- 

 pulse, but the consequent action, that is 

 transmitted to the sensorium : and why we 

 may have no sensation from the most vio- 

 lent impulses ; for such we cannot but sup- 

 pose to occur, when a man is shot through 

 the body, or has a limb removed by a can- 

 non-ball ; occurrences which have, however, 

 happened without any distinct feeling inti- 

 mating the event. 



In supposing a principle of life in nerves, 

 similar to what is conceived to exist in 

 muscles, we might naturally expect to find 

 certain analogies of functions in those 

 organs. The facility, celerity, and accu- 

 racy of the nervous actions, seem like those 

 of the muscles to be improved by use ; as 

 is exemplified in the quick and correct per- 



