Men, during numberless generations,
have endeavoured to escape from their enemies or danger by headlong flight,
or by violently struggling with them; and such great exertions will have
caused the heart to beat rapidly, the breathing to be hurried, the chest
to heave, and the nostrils to be dilated. As these exertions have often
been prolonged to the last extremity, the final result will have been
utter prostration, pallor, perspiration, trembling of all the muscles,
or their complete relaxation. And now, whenever the emotion of fear is
strongly felt, though it may not lead to any exertion, the same results
tend to reappear, through the force of inheritance and association.
Nevertheless, it is probable that many or most of the above
symptoms of terror, such as the beating of the heart,
the trembling of the muscles, cold perspiration, &c., are in large
part directly due to the disturbed or interrupted transmission
of nerve-force from the cerebro-spinal system to various parts
of the body, owing to the mind being so powerfully affected.
We may confidently look to this cause, independently of habit
and association, in such cases as the modified secretions of
the intestinal canal, and the failure of certain glands to act.
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