Zoonomia; Or, the Laws of Organic Life, Vol. I

by Erasmus Darwin

[6]. Besides the insanities arising from exertions in consequence of pain, there is also a pleasurable insanity, as well as a pleasurable delirium; as the insanity of personal vanity, and that of religious fanaticism. When agreeable ideas excite into motion the sensorial power of sensation, and this again causes other trains of agreeable ideas, a constant stream of pleasurable ideas succeeds, and produces pleasurable delirium. So when the sensorial power of volition excites agreeable ideas, and the pleasure thus produced excites more volition in its turn, a constant flow of agreeable voluntary ideas succeeds; which when thus exerted in the extreme constitutes insanity.

Thus when our muscular actions are excited by our sensations of pleasure, it is termed play; when they are excited by our volition, it is termed work; and the former of these is attended with less fatigue, because the muscular actions in play produce in their turn more pleasurable sensation; which again has the property of producing more muscular action. An agreeable instance of this I saw this morning. A little boy, who was tired with walking, begged of his papa to carry him. "Here," says the reverend doctor, "ride upon my gold-headed cane;" and the pleased child, putting it between his legs, gallopped away with delight, and complained no more of his fatigue. Here the aid of another sensorial power, that of pleasurable sensation, superadded vigour to the exertion of exhausted volition. Which could otherwise only have been excited by additional pain, as by the lash of slavery. On this account where the whole sensorial power has been exerted on the contemplation of the promised joys of heaven, the saints of all persecuted religions have borne the tortures of martyrdom with otherwise unaccountable firmness.

[7]. There are some diseases, which obtain at least a temporary relief from the exertions of insanity; many instances of dropsies being thus for a time cured are recorded. An elderly woman labouring with ascites I twice saw relieved for some weeks by insanity, the dropsy ceased for several weeks, and recurred again alternating with the insanity. A man afflicted with difficult respiration on lying down, with very irregular pulse, and œdematous legs, whom I saw this day, has for above a week been much relieved in respect to all those symptoms by the accession of insanity, which is shewn by inordinate suspicion, and great anger.

In cases of common temporary anger the increased action of the arterial system is seen by the red skin, and increased pulse, with the immediate increase of muscular activity. A friend of mine, when he was painfully fatigued by riding on horseback, was accustomed to call up ideas into his mind, which used to excite his anger or indignation, and thus for a time at least relieved the pain of fatigue. By this temporary insanity, the effect of the voluntary power upon the whole of his system was increased; as in the cases of dropsy above mentioned, it would appear, that the increased action of the voluntary faculty of the sensorium affected the absorbent system, as well as the secerning one.

[8]. In respect to relieving inflammatory pains, and removing fever, I have seen many instances, as mentioned in Sect. [XII. 2. 4]. One lady, whom I attended, had twice at some years interval a locked jaw, which relieved a pain on her sternum with peripneumony. Two other ladies I saw, who towards the end of violent peripneumony, in which they frequently lost blood, were at length cured by insanity supervening. In the former the increased voluntary exertion of the muscles of the jaw, in the latter that of the organs of sense, removed the disease; that is, the disagreeable sensation, which had produced the inflammation, now excited the voluntary power, and these new voluntary exertions employed or expended the superabundant sensorial power, which had previously been exerted on the arterial system, and caused inflammation.

Another case, which I think worth relating, was of a young man about twenty; he had laboured under an irritative fever with debility for three or four weeks, with very quick and very feeble pulse, and other usual symptoms of that species of typhus, but at this time complained much and frequently of pain of his legs and feet. When those who attended him were nearly in despair of his recovery, I observed with pleasure an insanity of mind supervene: which was totally different from delirium, as he knew his friends, calling them by their names, and the room in which he lay, but became violently suspicious of his attendants, and calumniated with vehement oaths his tender mother, who sat weeping by his bed. On this his pulse became slower and firmer, but the quickness did not for some time intirely cease, and he gradually recovered. In this case the introduction of an increased quantity of the power of volition gave vigour to those movements of the system, which are generally only actuated by the power of irritation, and of association.

Another case I recollect of a young man, about twenty-five, who had the scarlet-fever, with very quick pulse, and an universal eruption on his skin, and was not without reason esteemed to be in great danger of his life. After a few days an insanity supervened, which his friends mistook for delirium, and he gradually recovered, and the cuticle peeled off. From these and a few other cases I have always esteemed insanity to be a favourable sign in fevers, and have cautiously distinguished it from delirium.

[III]. Another mode of mental exertion to relieve pain, is by producing a train of ideas not only by the efforts of volition, as in insanity; but by those of sensation likewise, as in delirium and sleep. This mental effort is termed reverie, or somnambulation, and is described more at large in Sect. [XIX]. on that subject. But I shall here relate another case of that wonderful disease, which fell yesterday under my eye, and to which I have seen many analogous alienations of mind, though not exactly similar in all circumstances. But as all of them either began or terminated with pain or convulsion, there can be no doubt but that they are of epileptic origin, and constitute another mode of mental exertion to relieve some painful sensation.

[1]. Master A. about nine years old, had been seized at seven every morning for ten days with uncommon fits, and had had slight returns in the afternoon. They were supposed to originate from worms, and had been in vain attempted to be removed by vermifuge purges. As his fit was expected at seven yesterday morning, I saw him before that hour; he was asleep, seemed free from pain, and his pulse natural. About seven he began to complain of pain about his navel, or more to the left side, and in a few minutes had exertions of his arms and legs like swimming. He then for half an hour hunted a pack of hounds; as appeared by his hallooing, and calling the dogs by their names, and discoursing with the attendants of the chase, describing exactly a day of hunting, which (I was informed) he had witnessed a year before, going through all the most minute circumstances of it; calling to people, who were then present, and lamenting the absence of others, who were then also absent. After this scene he imitated, as he lay in bed, some of the plays of boys, as swimming and jumping. He then sung an English and then an Italian song; part of which with his eyes open, and part with them closed, but could not be awakened or excited by any violence, which it was proper to use.

After about an hour he came suddenly to himself with apparent surprise, and seemed quite ignorant of any part of what had passed, and after being apparently well for half an hour, he suddenly fell into a great stupor, with slower pulse than natural, and a slow moaning respiration, in which he continued about another half hour, and then recovered.