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Article NOTES ON SOMNAMBULISM. ← Page 4 of 9 →
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Notes On Somnambulism.
temporary release from servitude . This may account , also , for the fact that sleep-Avalkers , who have their eyes open , do not see objects presented to them , and are unconscious of the presence of strangers , the retina of the eye being in an inactive condition . " " But external impressions may be conveyed to the mind
of a sleeper , " objected Mr . Clairvoy ; " for instance , an exposed limb may become cold , and lead the imagination to picture deserts of snoAV ; a prick in the arm may be exaggerated into the horrors of a violent death ; a AA'hisper in the ear may represent the rushing of a host of waters . " " These exceptional cases" I replied " seem to depend on
, , some principle which has not as yet been well understood . Slight causes take effect on a sleeper Avhom a A'iolent noise would fail to disturb . Southey observes , — ' The less men are raised above animal life , the sounder their sleep is , and the more it seems an act of volition Avith them ; when they close their eyes , there is nothing within to keep them AA'aking . '
HoAvever , it is certain that the imagination is always active during sleep—we must always dream , although we but seldom remember our dreams . Further , the imagination is generally much more active at this time than during our waking hours , ¦ when we may suppose its operations to be clogged by its burdensome companionship . Coleridge ' s ' Kubla Khan' was
the offspring of a dream . An older bard , Csedmon , the Anglo-Saxon , conceived his poem on ' Creation , ' in a dream . Tartini , the violinist , was so impressed by a visionary trial of skill Avith his Satanic majesty , that he composed on awaking , the celebrated ' Devil ' s Sonata . ' Instances have occurred of continuous dreams , in which the subject has been regularly taken up Avhere it last left off . "
" The universal genius of Shakspeare , " remarked my friend , " appears to me to have seized upon the features of interest on this subject . What croAvning malignity does Iago display , Avhen in the pursuit of his insidious purpose , he insinuates , that ,
There is a kmd of men so loose of soul , That in their sleep will mutter then- affairs . One of this kind is Cassio . In sleep I heard him say , ' Sweet Desdemona , Lotus be wary . "" " Again , " I added , " the dream of Clarence , in which the apparition of Prince Edward taunts him AAith his murder , ancl the unsettled watchings of the bloody Richard ; Avith the uneasy crowned head that unsuccessfully Avooed ' Nature ' s
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes On Somnambulism.
temporary release from servitude . This may account , also , for the fact that sleep-Avalkers , who have their eyes open , do not see objects presented to them , and are unconscious of the presence of strangers , the retina of the eye being in an inactive condition . " " But external impressions may be conveyed to the mind
of a sleeper , " objected Mr . Clairvoy ; " for instance , an exposed limb may become cold , and lead the imagination to picture deserts of snoAV ; a prick in the arm may be exaggerated into the horrors of a violent death ; a AA'hisper in the ear may represent the rushing of a host of waters . " " These exceptional cases" I replied " seem to depend on
, , some principle which has not as yet been well understood . Slight causes take effect on a sleeper Avhom a A'iolent noise would fail to disturb . Southey observes , — ' The less men are raised above animal life , the sounder their sleep is , and the more it seems an act of volition Avith them ; when they close their eyes , there is nothing within to keep them AA'aking . '
HoAvever , it is certain that the imagination is always active during sleep—we must always dream , although we but seldom remember our dreams . Further , the imagination is generally much more active at this time than during our waking hours , ¦ when we may suppose its operations to be clogged by its burdensome companionship . Coleridge ' s ' Kubla Khan' was
the offspring of a dream . An older bard , Csedmon , the Anglo-Saxon , conceived his poem on ' Creation , ' in a dream . Tartini , the violinist , was so impressed by a visionary trial of skill Avith his Satanic majesty , that he composed on awaking , the celebrated ' Devil ' s Sonata . ' Instances have occurred of continuous dreams , in which the subject has been regularly taken up Avhere it last left off . "
" The universal genius of Shakspeare , " remarked my friend , " appears to me to have seized upon the features of interest on this subject . What croAvning malignity does Iago display , Avhen in the pursuit of his insidious purpose , he insinuates , that ,
There is a kmd of men so loose of soul , That in their sleep will mutter then- affairs . One of this kind is Cassio . In sleep I heard him say , ' Sweet Desdemona , Lotus be wary . "" " Again , " I added , " the dream of Clarence , in which the apparition of Prince Edward taunts him AAith his murder , ancl the unsettled watchings of the bloody Richard ; Avith the uneasy crowned head that unsuccessfully Avooed ' Nature ' s