Sir C. Bell remarks[1] that,
when a tiger or wolf is struck by its keeper and is suddenly
roused to ferocity, every muscle is in tension, and the limbs
are in an attitude of strained exertion, prepared to spring.
This tension of the muscles and consequent stiff gait may be
accounted for on the principle of associated habit, for anger
has continually led to fierce struggles, and consequently
to all the muscles of the body having been violently exerted.
There is also reason to suspect that the muscular
system requires some short preparation, or some degree
of innervation, before being brought into strong action.
My own sensations lead me to this inference; but I cannot
discover that it is a conclusion admitted by physiologists.
Sir J. Paget, however, informs me that when muscles are suddenly
contracted with the greatest force, without any preparation,
they are liable to be ruptured, as when a man slips unexpectedly;
but that this rarely occurs when an action, however violent,
is deliberately performed.
[1] `The Anatomy of Expression,' 1844, p. 190.
With respect to the upright position of the tail, it seems to depend
(but whether this is really the case I know not) on the elevator muscles
being more powerful than the depressors, so that when all the muscles of
the hinder part of the body are in a state of tension, the tail is raised.
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