Erasmus Darwin

“ The cold paroxysm commences, when the torpor of a part becomes so great, and its motions in consequence so slow or feeble, as not to excite the sensorial power of association; which in health contributes to move the rest of the system, which is catenated with it. And the hot fit commences by the accumulation of the sensorial power of irritation of the part first affected, either so as to counteract its deficient stimulus, or its previous waste of sensorial power; and it becomes general by the accumulation of the sensorial power of association ”

“ The vertiginous person still imagines, that he continues to revolve forwards, after he has opened his eyes; and in consequence that the objects, which his eyes happen to fall upon, are revolving backward; as they would appear to do, if he was actually turning round with his eyes open. For he has been accustomed to observe the motions of bodies, whether apparent or real, so much more frequently by the eye than by the touch ”

“ In common language this belief of continuing to revolve for some time, after he stands still, when a person has turned round for a minute in the dark, would be called a deception of imagination.
Now at this time if he opens his eyes upon a gilt book, placed with other books on a shelf about the height of his eye, the gilt book seems to recede in the contrary direction; though his eyes are at this time kept quite still, as well as the gilt book. For if his eyes were not kept still, other books would fall on them in succession ”

“ When an ivory triangle is pressed on the palm of the hand, the figure of the surface of the part of the organ of touch thus compressed is a triangle, resembling in figure the figure of the external body, which compresses it. ”

“ In other inflammations of the bowels, and in acute rheumatism, I have seen the disease much prolonged, and I believe sometimes rendered fatal, by the too early administration of opiates, either along with cathartics, or at their intervals; while a small dose of opium given after sufficient evacuations produces absorption only by its stimulus, and much contributes to the cure of the patient. We may have visible testimony of this effect of opium, when a solution of it is put into an inflamed eye; if it be thus used previous to sufficient evacuation, it increases the inflammation ”

“ Where this uterine compression of parts has not been so great as to render the hair white in other animals, it frequently happens, that the extremities of the body are white, as the feet, and noses, and tips of the ears of dogs and cats and horses, where the circulation is naturally weaker; whence it would seem, that the capillary glands, which form the hair, are impeded in the first instance by compression, and in the last by the debility of the circulation in them. ”

“ As mechanical injury from a percussion, or a wound, or a caustic, is liable to occasion the hair of the part to become grey; so I suspect the compression of parts against each other of some animals in the womb is liable to render the hair of those parts of a lighter colour; as seems often to occur in black cats and dogs. ”

“ So the warmth produced by equitation, or by rubbing the body and limbs with a smooth brush or hand, as is done after bathing in some parts of the East, does not expend nearly so much sensorial power, as when the warmth is produced by the locomotion of the whole weight of the body by muscular action, as in walking, or running, or swimming. Whence the warmth of a fire is to be preferred to flannel shirts for weak people, and the agitation of a horse to exercise on foot. ”

“ The existence of our own bodies, and of their solidity, and of their figure, and of their motions, is taken for granted in my account of ideas; because the ideas themselves are believed to consist of motions or configurations of solid fibres ”

“ XIV. 2. 2. that if part of an organ of sense be stimulated into action, as of the sense of touch, that part so stimulated into action must possess figure, which must be similar to the figure of the body, which stimulates it. ”

“ When the heat of the body in weak patients in fevers is increased by the stimulus of the points of flannel, a greater consequent debility succeeds, than when it is produced by the warmth of fire; as in the former the heat is in part owing to the increased activity of the skin, and consequent expenditure of sensorial power ”

“ I cannot omit observing, from considering these circumstances, how unwise is the common practice of giving an opiate to every woman immediately after her delivery, which must often have been of dangerous consequence. ”

“ And I suppose those, who are unfortunately lost in snow, who are on foot, are liable to perish sooner by being exhausted by their muscular exertions; and might frequently preserve themselves by lying on the ground, and covering themselves with snow, before they were too much exhausted by fatigue. ”

“ This I imagine may have in part arisen from the prepossession, which has almost universally prevailed, that ideas are immaterial beings, and therefore possess no properties in common with solid matter. ”