The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1878-09-26

The folio wing is from review of
DIR. Clark's "Vlsion," in the Atlantic
Monthly:
The natural desire and expectation
of the reader is that the functions of
the eye, or of the brain, should be
made as clear to himias the operations
of clock or of the phonograph, But
there is this difficulty in the case of
the functions of the nervous system
that we have to do with phenomena
of which our senses are incapable of
taking cognizance, except in the way
of consciousness. An example will
perhaps make more clear what is
meant. Electricity is vaguely famil-
lar to all as a mighty, omnipresent
power, which in one form or another
is everywhere and at all times exert
ing great influence and producing inn
mense effects. Yet it rarely comes
under our direct observation until
modern times its existence, even, was
hardly suspected. Men have lived in
the midst of it, surrounded and per,
vaded by its subtle influence, yet see
ing it, feeling it, hearing it not, ex-
cept when stroke of lightning, smit-
ing eye and ear, would bring the hid
den power within the limited scope
of their senses. Electricity eludes our
recognition as long as it remains elec-
ricity. We detect its presence only
when, by transformation of forces,
it is changed into some other force
such as heat, light, sound, or motion,
of which we can take cognizancc
through the ichannel of! one of our
senses. This is the reason why our
knowledge of electricity has been of
such slow growth that it is only with
in the present century that man has
learned. to use. this mighty. unsecn
force, to direct it here and there, and
make it do his work. But, although
our mastery oyer II, as exemplified,
for instance, in its latest and most
striking application, the telephone, is
SO wonderful, we still remain in utter
ignorance of electricity per sc. We
only know it when transmitted into
force which we have senses TO per-
ceive. Thus in the telephone the
mysterious invisible force which trav-
erses the conducting wire, when trans
formed by an ingenious device into
sound, becomes appreciable to our ear.
Such is also, in measure, the case
with the operations of the nervous
system. Here, besides our five senses
with which to investigate the phenOm-
ena. We have one additional sense, so
to speak, namely consciousness,w which
is, the source of by. far the greater part
of what We. know concernipg our
senses themselves and the operations
of the mind. But, except in SO far as
the phenomena in question are sub
ject to consciousness, OF are amenable
to investigation by sight, hearing,
touch, taste, or smell, we are, and
must ever remain, ignorant of them.
With regard to sight, in particular,
we know that the first step in the
process is the impact of rays of light
focused upon the retlna, and the last
step is consciousness of vision. We
Know what organs, ,isome composed of
fibers, others OF cells, are traversed by
the subtle influence, or stimulus, ,orig-
mated in the retina by the rays of
light. But what it is that is so trans
HI1yrgu rnrougn Ine nervg .npers ana
cells, and finally begets CONSCIOUSNESS
of vision in the gray matter of the
convnlsiofis, we Go not know, and
never shall know, whatever further
progress may be achieved in histolo-
gy and in biological chemistry. The
stimulus is something that we can
neither see, nor hear nor feel nor
taste, nor smell. Just as when elec-
tricity travels along a wire we are
unaware of its presence, till, assuming
another shape not its own, it betrays
itself by visible spark, or by the au-
diable and uisible motion of a lever,
SO we are unable by any deyice to be-
come cogniZant of the stimulus pros
ceeding along a sentient nerve toward
theibrain. until, ION reaching its desti-
nation, the stimulus is transmitted in
to motor impulse whereby visible
muscular contraction is excited, or
into the inscrutable phenomena
known to us as consciousness. To our
senses and TO consciousness we owe
all-the knowledge that we possess,
both OF the inner and OF , the outer
world, OF the ego and Of the non.cgo.