426 



HITCHCOCK'S ANATOMY 



tides of food may pass into the lungs. Hence not only is the 

 epiglottis provided to close upon the glottis like a valve by 

 the very movement that carries down the food ; but the glottis 

 itself is endowed with such extreme sensibility that it instantly 

 closes upon the approach of a foreign body. The inosculation 

 of the blood-vessels has already been described, furnishing a 

 double means of circulation as a resort when one fails. We 

 might also refer to the two cerebral hemispheres, two lobes to 

 the lungs, two eyes, two hands, and two feet, so that the loss 

 of one does not obliterate the function. All this certainly 

 looks like the benevolent provision of a kind parent. 



801. Surplus or Reserve Power —And so, in the fourth 

 place, does the surplus power given to the organs for exigen- 

 cies above what is necessary exhibit benevolence. In the 

 muscles there seems to be no limit to this excess of force, save 

 in the ability of the fibers to endure the strain. The digestive 

 organs are capable of mastering a much larger amount of food 

 than is necessary, and the secretory organs at times give out 

 a much larger than the normal quantity of their peculiar prod- 

 ucts. If it were not so, life would be sacrificed in thousands 

 of instances where now the use of the surplus power preserves 

 it. If God is not benevolent how happens it that this special 

 provision for exigencies should always promote the welfare of 

 animals ? 



802. Vicarious Power. — In the fifth place, the vicarious 

 power given to some of the organs teaches the same lesson. 

 When one or more of the senses is destroyed or defective, the 

 others can often, in a good measure, supply their place : 

 touch, for instance, the place of seeing and hearing. So, 

 also, it is said when the glands appropriated to certain secre- 

 tions are injured or destroyed, others whose normal secretion 

 is quite different, can elaborate the principles ordinarily given 

 out by the injured ones. 



803. Adaptation of Organs to Different Circumstances. 

 — The power of all the organs to adapt themselves to different 



