82 



"SLUHP AND DIIHAMR. 



is cauHcd and roquirod by oxluui.stion of tlio norvous Bystom, 

 and that this may bo in some cases the chief or even tlic 

 only faotor. 2nd. That another factor is commonly fit 

 work, namely, the withdrawal of external stimuli, of those 

 nnmborlosR excitations which keep ns awake. I pointed 

 out that eveiyday life was, to a great extent, probably the 

 rosnlt of tho action of those shocks on oxcitiiblo norvo colls 

 and fibres, and that without them life was latent, not 

 manifested. .Srd. That onr rof^ular nocturnal sloop is an 

 inherited instinct, following an almost universal law in 

 being rhythmical ; and 4th, That it is associated, not caused, 

 by a languid circulation in tho brain and norve centres. 

 Of these four T laid tho greatest emphasis on the absonoo 

 of stimuli, because T consider that on that theory alono 

 can bo explained many of tho phenomena of trance, mcs- 

 morism, and other states. 



I think that thought novor qnite ceases during life, iuid 

 ihat we always dream, either faintly or vividly, but do not 

 as a rulo remember our dreams. 



I have also tried to show that from tho most vigorous 

 life on the on(^ hand, to iho, stillest and doopost and most 

 dc!ath-liko trance on tho other, there is an uninterrupted 

 connecting chain ; that almost every state of lattnit energy 

 may be looked upon as essentially th(! same !is ordinary 

 sloop; and that vitality is IJiis laioni, energy brought into 

 action by appropriate stiniuli. 



Tho whole subject is wrapped up in ;i, cloud ol' darkness 

 iind myst(iry, iiiid tins is porliiips only iiaLiiral, seciug tliat 

 it is a state between life and death, botwecsn the " primeval 

 light " and the " everlasting dark." But we ought, never- 

 theless, to investigate it by ordinary rules, and as n first 

 stop T thiidc wo shonld recognise its intimate connexion 

 with other states. Since life has boon dofmod n-s tho passage 



