hing, when an ass was invited to
sup with him. The same is related of one of the popes, who, when he was
ill, saw a tame monkey at his bedside put on the holy thiara. Hall. Phys.
T. III. p. 306.

There are instances of epilepsy being produced by laughing recorded by Van
Swieten, T. III. 402 and 308. And it is well known, that many people have
died instantaneously from the painful excess of joy, which probably might
have been prevented by the exertions of laughter.

Every combination of ideas, which we attend to, occasions pain or pleasure;
those which occasion pleasure, furnish either social or selfish pleasure,
either malicious or friendly, or lascivious, or sublime pleasure; that is,
they give us pleasure mixed with other emotions, or they give us unmixed
pleasure, without occasioning any other emotions or exertions at the same
time. This unmixed pleasure, if it be great, becomes painful, like all
other animal motions from stimuli of every kind; and if no other exertions
are occasioned at the same time, we use the exertion of laughter to relieve
this pain. Hence laughter is occasioned by such wit as excites simple
pleasure without any other emotion, such as pity, love, reverence. For
sublime ideas are mixed with admiration, beautiful ones with love, new ones
with surprise; and these exertions of our ideas prevent the action of
laughter from being necessary to relieve the painful pleasure above
described. Whence laughable wit consists of frivolous ideas, without
connections of any consequence, such as puns on words, or on phrases,
incongruous junctions of ideas; on which account laughter is so frequent in
children.

Unmixed pleasure less than that, which causes laughter, causes sleep, as in
singing children to sleep, or in slight intoxication from wine or food. See
Sect. XVIII. 12.

5. If the pains, or disagreeable sensations, above described do not obtain
a temporary relief from these convulsive exertions of the muscles, those
convulsive exertions continue without remission, and one kind of catalepsy
is produced. Thus when a nerve or tendon produces great pain by its being
inflamed or wounded, the patient sets his teeth firmly together, and grins
violently, to diminish the pain; and if the pain is not relieved by this
exertion, no relaxation of the maxillary muscles takes place, as in the
convulsions above described, but the jaws remain firmly fixed together.
This locked jaw is the most frequent instance of catalep