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different origin . They obey the laws of organic irritability , independently of sensation . For plants have no sensation nor sensibility . Some plants , those especially of the genus Mimosa , are called " sensitive plants , " but we have no proof of the existence of sensation in these curious specimens of vegetative life , any more than in the
corollae , which open in obedience to the influence of the solar rays , and close again at nightfall . The branches of a tree , however crowded , seldom touch each other , each branch seeking air , and light , and sunshine , and thus arranging themselves in elegant order . Here , also , there is organic irritability , but no sensibility . And every animal structure is called into action on the same principle and at all times ,
even during sleep and other periods of insensibility . Thus , the human heart is literally destitute of sensibility , whatever poets may say or sing to the contrary . By disease in the bony covering of the chest , the heart has been exposed to view , and when irritated by a probe , even to the excitement of excessive action , the patient has remained unconscious of the touch , and insensible to pain . So the leaves of the
sensitive plant feel , but not sensibly ; move , but not voluntarily or consciously . All the vital movements of vegetables , the rise of the sap , the growth of the branches , the budding of the leaves and flowers , the deposit of the seeds , and their germination in the ground —all these are involuntary movements . And so in man , and in the lower animals , the proximate movements of life are without the
consent of the will . The respiration , circulation , digestion , and elimination , the sustenance , growth , and reproduction of decayed matter , in fact , the whole economy of organic life , and all its important actions and changes , are—involuntary . And a merciful , and protective , and providential contrivance it is , that these essential processes should go on without our voluntary concurrence or consciousness .
Great and manifold would be our dangers if the vital functions were entrusted to the keeping of a guardianship so fickle and vacillating as the human will . If we should become , in an evil hour , weary of life , no effort of ours can arrest the action of the heart or suspend the respiration for five , or even for two minutes . We now come to notice the second class of vital actions , those ,
namely , which , resulting from the will or volition of the animal , are called Voluntary actions . And these , again , are of two kinds—1 . Instinctive , 2 . Rational ; and this leads us to inquire into the difference between the actions of instinct and those of reason . { To be continued . )
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
different origin . They obey the laws of organic irritability , independently of sensation . For plants have no sensation nor sensibility . Some plants , those especially of the genus Mimosa , are called " sensitive plants , " but we have no proof of the existence of sensation in these curious specimens of vegetative life , any more than in the
corollae , which open in obedience to the influence of the solar rays , and close again at nightfall . The branches of a tree , however crowded , seldom touch each other , each branch seeking air , and light , and sunshine , and thus arranging themselves in elegant order . Here , also , there is organic irritability , but no sensibility . And every animal structure is called into action on the same principle and at all times ,
even during sleep and other periods of insensibility . Thus , the human heart is literally destitute of sensibility , whatever poets may say or sing to the contrary . By disease in the bony covering of the chest , the heart has been exposed to view , and when irritated by a probe , even to the excitement of excessive action , the patient has remained unconscious of the touch , and insensible to pain . So the leaves of the
sensitive plant feel , but not sensibly ; move , but not voluntarily or consciously . All the vital movements of vegetables , the rise of the sap , the growth of the branches , the budding of the leaves and flowers , the deposit of the seeds , and their germination in the ground —all these are involuntary movements . And so in man , and in the lower animals , the proximate movements of life are without the
consent of the will . The respiration , circulation , digestion , and elimination , the sustenance , growth , and reproduction of decayed matter , in fact , the whole economy of organic life , and all its important actions and changes , are—involuntary . And a merciful , and protective , and providential contrivance it is , that these essential processes should go on without our voluntary concurrence or consciousness .
Great and manifold would be our dangers if the vital functions were entrusted to the keeping of a guardianship so fickle and vacillating as the human will . If we should become , in an evil hour , weary of life , no effort of ours can arrest the action of the heart or suspend the respiration for five , or even for two minutes . We now come to notice the second class of vital actions , those ,
namely , which , resulting from the will or volition of the animal , are called Voluntary actions . And these , again , are of two kinds—1 . Instinctive , 2 . Rational ; and this leads us to inquire into the difference between the actions of instinct and those of reason . { To be continued . )