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March 1, 1856.T ¦ —————^^^^^^MW^i^^^^^
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Citirntuw. ¦ —————^^^^^^MW^i^^^^^
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When a few clays ago we startled our rea...
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RYMER JONES ON THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. S tHS...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
March 1, 1856.T ¦ —————^^^^^^Mw^I^^^^^
March 1 , 1856 . T
THE LEAPiS . 207
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When A Few Clays Ago We Startled Our Rea...
When a few clays ago we startled our readers with quoting the results of Dr . n ™^ Wt , ™ > « m . P . m . liM nn r . nlnur-blindness , that every one personm
man can solve a single problem of science , or predict a single political per currence ; the great mysteries remain mysteries , even for these agents of another worlds and not only the great mysteries , but the simplest difficulties which can perplex a inn , are without a solution from these spirits . So great an expenditure of power fox so minimised a result surpasses even the parturient fountain , which did , at any rate , produce a mouse ; and that one amiable rodent is far more valuable than all the revelations of spmt-rappers .
,, fifteen was more or less affected by it , we little thought a whole nation was open to the charge . Yet such , according to Mr . Ruskin ' , seems to be the conclusion we must form about the Greeks in whom " the sense of colour seems to have been so comparatively dim and uncertain , that it is almost impossible to ascertain what the real idea was which they attached to any ^ word alludin- to hue . " We admit the difficulty , but we cannot accept all Mr . Ruskin ' s illustrations . He mentions the " wine-faced sea , " so frequently used in Homer , an . d says one might think that reddish purple was meant ; but vines are of various colours , from the dark purple of Burgundy to the amber brightness of Hock , and the question is , what wine did Homer refer to ? Probably to some dark green coloured wine , since Sophocles in the ( Edipus Coloneus calls the ivy " wine-faced " o ' ivutco . kio < tov ( v . 674 ) . Mr . Rus kin further objects to Sophocles that in the Ajaca he talks of the ' ¦ < green sand ; " but on turning to the passage to which without doubt he refers , we find the phrase afi < pi x x «> 9 av ^ a / . ia & ov ( v . 1064 ) , which in mere dictionary meaning certainly means green sand ,- but Mr . Ruskin is too good
a scholar not to know that ^ Xwpoc means yellow as often as green , that it is used to designate honey , fox example , which is precise indication enough of the colour meant . Still , while questioning the instances adduced by Mr . Ruskin the fact to which he points is unquestionable , the Greeks did use x Xw 0 O £ to designate both green and yellow ; and this , with many other indications , shows a great want of nicety in their language , implying a want of nicety in their perceptions of colour . Anacueon in a famous passage talks of the " purple hair" of his mistress : what does he mean by it ? does he mean merely " beautiful" hair—or does he mean the blue black hair we sometimes see , like the colour of the raven ' s neck in the sun ? Purple was the favourite colour of the Greeks , but no one has yet precisely told us what t hey meant by the word . ' . " Purple sea , " " purple hair , " and even " purple death , " convey little knowledge . Probably the word was used as a sort of Jtiorac ui iuc pmjjic ^* i
admiring epitliet ; just as e speaits awo . u » « »»» , **« one supposing these " purpureos olores " to have "been purple-feathered . The literature of Table-Turning and SpiritrRapping lias not been equal to the subject . Believers have written nonsense ; sceptics have been too supercilious , and have not sufficiently considered the mania as one of tlie forms of mental malady , which , in various ages , has presented itself . In thus reproaching the sceptics * we are reproaching ourselves ; for whatever notice we have felt called upon to take of the Rappers or Tableturners , we have treated them as impostors or as dupes , without connecting these particular cases with any general forerunners . This omission is , at length , supplied iiva masterly article by M . Littke , in the Revue des Deux Mondes for 15 th February . He therein sketches the various delusions of sprfim-v . « nssf ssinn . fi / istaov . nrmvulsion . & c which , at various epochs , have
constituted the epidemics of the mind ; and he shows how spirit-rapping is allied to these delusions ; and how it " must be treated as a case of mental pathology . It is noticeable that certain general phenomena present themselves in all these hallucinations ; and by grouping together these constant facts , and eliminating the accidental and variable facts , M . Littre gives the rationale of the whole . Thus one certain and constant fact is the derangement of the nervous system of the " possessed ; " and these derangements are familiar to the physician , who , instead of regarding them as the operations of a demon , a spirit , or some miraculous power , classes them among the well-known phenomena of mental disturbance . A _ il /? .. _ i . ' J . 1 ' 77 JiT ~ — J .. ¦ * ~ C J ^ l * . n Iinllnninn 4 inn . <* 1 * fl ^* 4 * l 1 fM 1 cnYi r 1 a wiuwuiwxa
xXnOlUCl JLllCL IS lUU VUI / CCVLLVC UUllUU Ul I . 11 U «» nut » ui * nuu «»* . n «< believe in spirit-rapping is not more wonderful than that thousands should be attacked by Cholera , or by the Black Death , or the Sweating Sickness , at particular epochs : a disease of the nervous system may as easily become epidemic as a disease of the nutritive system- Nevertheless the circle of these maladies is narrow . In every case it is some disturbance of the senses which makes the patient sec , hear , or touch in a confused or heightened manner ; or the nervous system is thrown into strange conditions of sensibility , and terrible convulsions give an unusual muscular power , followed by great prostration . To tliesc general circumstances add the particular ideas nr ffinniftS r » f the . tivno . nnrt in rmn nrrp > . vnn have a PvthoneSS laboilvintT with
the inspiration of Apollo ; in another a witch calling upon Hecate , and embracing S « tan ; in anothtur the angels of Heaven have descended upon earth , and inspired the persecuted faithful ; in another the spirits of the Dukes of Kent and Bicisjamin Franklin quit their supernal abode to assure Robert Owbn that his doctrine is "the truth , " One final characteristic of all these delusions is worthy of notice . The powers of Hcavea and Hell , of angels , departed spirits , and the imps of Satan are in active communication with man , and , nevertheless , the favoured mortals cannot prove a single advantage derived from this supernatural aid : no man is a penny wiser ( though thousands are a pound fooliahcr ) , no
Rymer Jones On The Animal Kingdom. S Ths...
RYMER JONES ON THE ANIMAL KINGDOM . S tHSrSSff anTSSd - n ^ co ^ TherfeX ' o \ rS * in our language , except Dr . Carpenter £ jftj * - * pretend to rival it , and its superiority over Dr . Carpenter s m all essential respects is very decided : it is more agreeably and less confusedly written , [ t ! 5 fuller indetails and incomparably better in the exposition of diihcu t quwtiSS ^ uchffw i ^ ta ^ ce , as ^ the vertebral theory , which in Carpenter is mmmim ^ m ren ^ ebrated ; and if the y were only accompanied bjr minut- «^ P ^^ instead of the descriptions being scattered through the text ( a hint tor Stmre editions ) , would alone suffice to render the bpok mdespensable to aU
Professor Rymer- Jones is a very popular writer , but he is not ^ p hilosophic zoologist Tendencies of his inflect are all in a ^^ . ^<*™ >^ even when the necessities o £ the case force bun to grapple ^ with a ^ great p hxlosophic question , we see him do so reluctantly , aud as » J ¦ g ^ gj *^ . * ; On the other hand , he spares us bad philosophy , in whichJDr . Carpen ^ ei » profusely indulges : the Absence is a charm . Professor Rvrnei- Jones furof p ^ utag a a ' ffeS course from that pursued by most 2 pologiStS , especiallj f the French ; le does not , like them , ppmm ^ nce ? . J * ""SmSe ^ nd orgasms to descend to tie le-co * ut bep ^ h the ^ ple ^ d tne if £
rises gradually to complex , vur ^^ r * s" * - 7 rt ^^^« + ;« r . " Tn thus insensibly replaced by the more philosophic notion ^ " gradation . In each case we have the whole animal kingdom presented ^ o «^^ : Q bufc ™ the latter we seize ^ he true meaning of each decree of complication . A ^ NSio ^ SonS to all an ^ ^ the W and fundamental act-A 7 Similation ~ is the same in all , the preparatory and intermediate processes are singularly varied . Thus the Infusoria , or unicellular ^ organises , have no special organ whatever , the only . distinction between the parts y that of " envelope and " contents ; " by its envelope the animal absorbs , feels , and moves ; by its contents it assimilates , An . Aniseba , for example , maybe looked upon as an assimilating surface haying the property of . con-SctilSyf nothing more . Gradually we observe fresh distinctions of parts .: a hole S formed , by way of mouth / then we have two holes , one for recepdon , tic other for rejection of food . Then the mouth y becomes fo ™ rtrt with jaws ; then with rudimentary teeth ; aftenvards with actual teeth , but ine leeiu uicuiBtuw «*^^« w ———— is to
all 01 one tvpe ; nnaiiy .. ., _ , _ , .. So ^ and nSlai O a Lngue added the mouth ; ~^ g ™ » " ^ opening to a complicated mouth we trace a series p f d # erentiations . the aliSary canal is at first a mass of cells , then a variety of assimilative sacks orTpaces , then a simple canal , thea a complicated canal then a canal foryog d of o ? sophaKus , stomach , snnall intestines and large mtestmea . With tins incxWng implication there is an accompaniment of accessory organs ^ iver parotis , pancreas , sp leen , & c , secreting matters indispensable to the proper preparation of the £ od before it can be assmijated . The same is ^ true of all the functions ; and a well-arranged disposition of the Animal Kingdom would make it evident . The arrangement adopted by Professor Rymer Jones , though far from satisfactory , will roughly indicate tjiis progres ^ on . In a work embracing so vast a range of details as this Animal Kingdom , ut
there will necessarily be errors : aliter nonfit , Aviie noer . » our ™™™» must be formed 011 what is positive in it not on wlmtis ^ 8 ft tlv « 4 a o " s ^ general excellences , not on particular deficiencies . We have already sad that the general merits of the book arc great ; the ^ f " ^ ™ ££ left to the merciless criticism of professional jealousy , We shouM hoTOjn , be ill-ful ( illing our office if we passed over in silence two or tluce points , "tagf lV ^^^^ ^ doctrine of ceU-dcvelopment , indeed is a iissrs t ^^^^^^^^ S ^^ will uiac f
. Chimic Anatomujue-hQ expunge HUUV V" ^ . ^ ""^ . r-r '" 7 i p av-Paffes 42 and 69 , he contends—in comrnon , it is true , with almost all pay Sfiirs ^ A-2 & 5 craftt ssr %£ SolociBta seem unable to shake off . Their microscopes tell them the plain factXt " « nScJSS- matter onn be detected , and no recent mdirectly proves its ^ pr esence yet they persist in saying » t must be there . Suppose we were to £ Z Z' £ iiUod of dcluctiou , that theinpllwsca Ud obmoub Soktoni ? No Imno can be detected in the mpllusc , it ) b tnte ; but bone is detected in all vcrtcbrata , « nd mu « t therefore be diffused in the mollusca .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 1, 1856, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01031856/page/15/
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