Gentle laughter, or a smile, or even a pleasing thought,
would have sufficed to cause a moderate secretion of tears.
There does indeed exist an evident tendency in this direction, as will
be seen in a future chapter, when we treat of the tender feelings.
With the Sandwich Islanders, according to Freycinet,[24] tears are
actually recognized as a sign of happiness; but we should require
better evidence on this head than that of a passing voyager.
So again if our infants, during many generations, and each
of them during several years, had almost daily suffered from
prolonged choking-fits, during which the vessels of the eye
are distended and tears copiously secreted, then it is probable,
such is the force of associated habit, that during after life
the mere thought of a choke, without any distress of mind,
would have sufficed to bring tears into our eyes.
To sum up this chapter, weeping is probably the result of some such chain
of events as follows. Children, when wanting food or suffering in any way,
cry out loudly, like the young of most other animals, partly as a call
to their parents for aid, and partly from any great exertion serving relief.
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