Section 17 - The Catenation of Motions

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To investigate with precision the catenations of animal motions, it would be well to attend to the manner of their production; but we cannot begin this disquisition early enough for this purpose, as the catenations of motion seem to begin with life, and are only extinguishable with it; We have spoken of the power of irritation, of sensation, of volition, and of association, as preceding the fibrous motions; we now step forwards, and consider, that conversely they are in their turn preceded by those motions; and that all the successive trains or circles of our actions are composed of this twofold concatenation. Those we shall call trains of action, which continue to proceed without any stated repetitions; and those circles of action, when the parts of them return at certain periods, though the trains, of which they consist, are not exactly similar. The reading an epic poem is a train of actions; the reading a song with a chorus at equal distances in the measure constitutes so many circles of action.