Page:Mind (Old Series) Volume 9.djvu/436

 424 EDMUND GUENEY : to " Zampa " ; while the bodily reactions the effects on the skin, muscles, and viscera so far as they enter into the field of con- sciousness, must, I am persuaded, be very nearly the same. The chief features in them are probably a faint glow and, as Prof. James has so rightly emphasised, a faint tension of the extensor muscles. And in either case to represent the dis- tinct and keenly-felt emotion (even if I could believe the emotions to be one and not two) as consisting in these dimly suffusive feelings, seems to me decidedly less reasonable than for instance to identify the emotion with the sense of some distinct and localised movement, such as tapping time with one's foot. But the argument for limiting the application of Prof. James's theory becomes surely far stronger still in the case of more durable and pervading emotions ; because these will survive un- changed through many distinct variations of bodily state, some of which may be quite incompatible with the special sort of physical response associated with the emotion as its natural or conventional "expression". Prof. James represents rage as incompatible with " limp muscles, calm breathing, and a placid face ". But surely the emotion of hatred may be felt by a man who is resting quietly in an armchair after a hard day's work, lago did not go about habitually with a flushed face, dilated nostrils, and clenched teeth. But a better example, perhaps, is grief. Grant that the emotion of suddenly hearing of a bereave- ment is in large measure impregnated with bodily elements, such as quickening of the heart and catching of the breath. I arn not sure that these are not often the most prominent symptoms of the sudden hearing of good news as well as bad; but let that pass. Would Prof. James deny the name of emotion to the sense of desolation and loss which clouds many a successive day, perhaps for years afterwards, and which is perfectly compatible with the ordinary vital functioning, and even with active bodily exercise? 1 Here the dim reverberations from the whole bodily sounding-board, even if one could suppose them to be per- manently going on, must surely be swamped in the general stir of the more normal existence. " What would grief be," asks Prof. James, " without its sobs, its suffocation of the heart, its pang in the breast-bone ? " It would be what for the most part it is, an emotion of desire and regret. It must surely be a paradox to 1 Cases may surely be imagined where certain features of the physical state are sufficiently marked to put it beyond doubt that the whole condi- tion qud physical derives its character from them ; e.g., where a healthy man is taking a brisk walk on a bracing day. The preponderating sense o: bodily vigour may be the same to-day, when he is walking to a death-bed, as yesterday, when he was walking to an agreeable party ; but will 1 two walks impress him as emotionally identical ? A still clearer example would perhaps be where the physical condition in the two cases is one of discomfort as where the man is obliged to run rather faster and more con- tinuously than is convenient. Happiness will triumph over even a stitc in the side.