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Show 350 CONCLUDING REMARKS CHAP. XlV. prostration. Again, there are other emotions, such , thnt of af.C ction which do not cominonly lead to t:tS w ' } 'b" d action of any kind, and consequently ~.re not ex 11 1~0 Ly any strongly 1nark.cd. outward s1~ns. Affection iuclecd, in as fur as 1t 1s a pleasurable sensation, ex ·ites the ordinary signs of pleasure. On the other band, many of . the effects due to t.ho excitement of the nervous system seem to be qu1to independent of the flow of nerve-forco. along the. chan- 1 hich have been rendered habitual by former nexe esr tiwo ns of the will. Such effects, wh 1' c I f' 1 1. o ten revea the state of mind of the person thus affected, cannot. at present be explained; for instance, the cl:a~ge of colour in the hair from extreme terror or gnef,-the cold sweat and the trembling of the m~scles from fear, -the modified secretions of the intestinal canal,-and the failure of certain glands to act. . . . . Notwithstanding that much reroa1ns. un1ntelhgiblo in our present subject, so many expr~ss1ve n1ovements d actions can be explained to a certain extent through ~the above three principles, that we may hope h erea·i' ter to see all explained by these or by closely analogous principles. . Actions of all kinds, if regularly accompanyn1g ~ny state of the mind, are at once recognised as expressive. rrhese may consist of movements of any part ~f the body, as the wagging of a dog's tail, the. shrugging of a man's shoulders, the erection of the hmr, the ex~Jation of perspiration, the state of the capillary cncu· lation, ;laboured breathing, and the use of the. vocal or other sound-producing instru1nents. Eve~ 1ns~cts express anger,' .. terror, jealousy, and love by their strid.ula. tion. With man the respiratory organs are of espe.mal importance in expression, not only in a direct, Lut Ill a still higher degree in an indirec.t manner. Cn.tP. XIV. AND SUMMAH •• 351 . Few points are 1noro interesting in our pro nt ubJ c~ than t~1e xtraordin rily on1plox chain of events wln~h 1 ad to · rtain cx1 r ·i ve 1uov 1n n t . Take, for ll1Stauc , the ouli Ue yelJrow f a lll<.tll uffi \l'ill<l' ~ro1n grief or an.· i. ty. \\ h · n infant~ er a1n louJl; fru111 hunger or prun, tho circuh tion i affe ted, and the eyes teud to become gorged ·with blood: con.·equently the mu cles snrroundino- the eye ar strono-ly contracted a' a pr t ction: thi nction, in the cou~· e of ~any generation ' has b come firmly fi ·ed anu inh rited: . but \Vh n, with advancing years and nltur , the habit of creaming is 1 nrtiully r l run, ~J, tho muscles round the cy still tend t ontraet, wh never even slight di tress i felt: of tb o muscle th pyramidals of the no uro l under the c ntr~l of the will than arc the oth 1· , and th ir contraction cnn be checked only by that of the entral fttsciro of th frontal muscle: these latt r fasciro draw up the innlr ends of the eyebrows, and wrinkle the forehead in a peculiar manner, which we instantly reco()"ni. e as the . f . f b xpress1on o gne or anxiety. light movem nt , su h as t~ese just d .seriu d, or the scare ly perc ptible dra\nng down of tho corner of the mouth, are the ~ast 1:e~nant or rudiments of strongly m~rked and Intelligible ~ovoments. They ar as full of signifi-nn? e to us I~l r gard to. expr i n, as are ordi11ary rudiments to the naturalist in the cla ... i:fication and g nealogy of organic beings. That the chi f expressive acti ns, exhiuite l by man and by the lower animals, are now innate or inherit <1 -th~t is, have not been learnt by the individual,-]' admitted by every one. So little l1as learnino- or imitation to do .with several of them that 1hey are from the earhe t days and throughout life quite beyond our control ; for instance, the relaxation of |
