Under a transport of Joy or of vivid Pleasure, there is a strong tendency
to various purposeless movements, and to the utterance of various sounds.
We see this in our young children, in their loud laughter, clapping
of hands, and jumping for joy; in the bounding and barking of a dog
when going out to walk with his master; and in the frisking of a horse
when turned out into an open field. Joy quickens the circulation,
and this stimulates the brain, which again reacts on the whole body.
The above purposeless movements and increased heart-action may be
attributed in chief part to the excited state of the sensorium,[10]
and to the consequent undirected overflow, as Mr. Herbert Spencer insists,
of nerve-force. It deserves notice, that it is chiefly the anticipation
of a pleasure, and not its actual enjoyment, which leads to purposeless and
extravagant movements of the body, and to the utterance of various sounds.
We see this in our children when they expect any great pleasure or treat;
and dogs, which have been bounding about at
[10] How powerfully intense joy excites the brain, and how
the brain reacts on the body, is well shown in the rare cases of
Psychical Intoxication.
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