t us see what that science teaches on the subject; and, as far as may
be, I will give it in the words of those who have made it a
professional study, both that I may be more sure to state it rightly
and vividly, and because--as I am about to apply these principles to
subjects which are my own pursuit--I would rather have it quite clear
that I have not made my premises to suit my own conclusions.

1st, then, as respects the individual, we learn as follows: 'Even while
the cerebral hemispheres are entire, and in full possession of their
powers, the brain gives rise to actions which are as completely reflex
as those of the spinal cord.

'When the eyelids wink at a flash of light, or a threatened blow, a
reflex action takes place, in which the afferent nerves are the optic,
the efferent, the facial. When a bad smell causes a grimace, there is a
reflex action through the same motor nerve, while the olfactory nerves
constitute the afferent channels. In these cases, therefore, reflex
action must be effected through the brain, all the nerves involved
being cerebral. 'When the whole body starts at a loud noise, the
afferent auditory nerve gives rise to an impulse which passes to the
medulla oblongata, and thence affects the great majority of the motor
nerves of the body. 'It may be said that these are mere mechanical
actions, and have nothing to do with the acts which we associate with
intelligence. But let us consider what takes place in such an act as
reading aloud. In this case, the whole attention of the mind is, or
ought to be, bent upon the subject-matter of the book; while a
multitude of most delicate muscular actions are going on, of which the
reader is not in the slightest degree aware. Thus the book is held in
the hand, at the right distance from the eyes; the eyes are moved, from
side to side, over the lines, and up and down the pages. Further, the
most delicately adjusted and rapid movements of the muscles of the
lips, tongue, and throat, of laryngeal and respiratory muscles, are
involved in the production of speech. Perhaps the reader is standing up
and accompanying the lecture with appropriate gestures. And yet every
one of these muscular acts may be performed with utter unconsciousness,
on his part, of anything but the sense of the words in the book. In
other words, they are reflex acts.

'The reflex actions proper to the spinal cord itself are NATURAL, and
are involved in the structure of the cord and the prope