The frantic and senseless actions of an enraged man may be attributed
in part to the undirected flow of nerve-force, and in part to the
effects of habit, for these actions often vaguely represent the act of
striking. They thus pass into gestures included under our first
principle; as when an indignant man unconsciously throws himself into a
fitting attitude for attacking his opponent, though without any
intention of making an actual attack. We see also the influence of
habit in all the emotions and sensations which are called exciting; for
they have assumed this character from having habitually led to
energetic action; and action affects, in an indirect manner, the
respiratory and circulatory system; and the latter reacts on the brain.
Whenever these emotions or sensations are even slightly felt by us,
though they may not at the time lead to any exertion, our whole system
is nevertheless disturbed through the force of habit and association.
Other emotions and sensations are called depressing, because they have
not habitually led to energetic action, excepting just at first, as in
the case of extreme pain, fear, and grief, and they have ultimately
caused complete exhaustion; they are consequently expressed chiefly by
negative signs and by prostration. Again, there are other emotions,
such as that of affection, which do not commonly lead to action of any
kind, and consequently are not exhibited by any strongly marked outward
signs. Affection indeed, in as far as it is a pleasurable sensation,
excites the ordinary signs of pleasure.
On the other hand, many of the effects due to the excitement of the
nervous system seem to be quite independent of the flow of nerve-force
along the channels which have been rendered habitual by former
exertions of the will. Such effects, which often reveal the state of
mind of the person thus affected, cannot at present be explained; for
instance, the change of colour in the hair from extreme terror or
grief, the cold sweat and the trembling of the muscles from fear, the
modified secretions of the intestinal canal, and the failure of certain
glands to act.
Notwithstanding that much remains unintelligible in our present
subject, so many expressive movements and actions can be explained to a
certain extent through the above three principles, that we may hope
hereafter to see all explained by these or by closely analogous
principles.
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