Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-02-24
ILLUSIONS AND oELUSlONS.
Epidemic Effects of Disordered Imagi-
natiOD-A pparjtious.

Epidemic Effects of n Disordered Imagi-
neutrality-suspicious..
Epidemic illusions and decisions have
been very prevalent at times. This term
means that many people or the entire
populace hear, see or feel the same purely
imaginary sensations. Thus, it is related
by Pausanias, in his "Attics," that 400
years after the battle of Marathon the
neighing of horses and the shock of
armies could be heard every night on
this historic field. All who listened for
these sounds could not hear them, but
those who crossed the plain without pre-.
meditation were sure to hear them. Jo-
sephus, the learned and trustworthy Jew
ish historian, relates the appearance Of
chariots containing armed men that
traversed the clouds and spread round
the cities, as if to inclose them. He gives
this on the testimony of eyewitnesses
then living. History abounds in similar
tales. Even our grandfathers could re-
late some of these signs and portents
which were to be seen in the sky during
the long years of the American Revolu-
ton. Some of these were, no doubt,
epidemic decisions; others were simply
exhibitions of the aurora borealis, which
was then but little known to the few in
habitants of the country. Sir Walter
Scott makes the following very sensible
remarks on such apparitions:
"a powerful belief has frequently per-
formed on the battle plain what has been
seen in darkness and solitude. Those
who were upon the borders of the spirit
world, or were engaged in sending their
fellows into those regions of darkness,
believed they saw the apparitions of those
whom their religion associated with such
scenes. 1t is not surprising that in the
midst of a doubtful battle, of violence, of
noise and confusion inseparable from
such situation, the warriors should
think they beheld gods and saints"
1t is every way probable that the fear
of what might be about to happen had
much to do with the appearances of the
gods of mythology in earlier times and
the holy saints in later years, when our
ancestors met to try their fortunes in
battle. Religious enthusiasm is, Of
course, to be recognized as the molding
power which gave the idea shape, but
fear undoubtedly disordered the senses
until such authorizations became possible
The crusades were specially remarkable
for this kind of phenomena. In the
thickest of the fight, at the battle of An
tioch, the crusaders saw st. George, St.
Demetrius and St. Theodosius come to
their aid.
Epidemic cholera is undoubtedly an
infectious disease, caused by the growth
and development of enormous numbers
of microscopic organisms, which, as they
grow, produce deadly poison, which
does its fatal work through the ner-
vous system. 1t is, of course, out of
the question for fright to produce the
special microbe of Asiatic cholera, but it
is matter of common observation in
every epidemic of this disease that those
most frightened at the prospect of taking
it were most sure to become its victims.
AS Balm observes, fear upsets the diges-
ton, and it is we'll known that the chol-
era microbe can do no damage while the
digestion is in good condition. The rela-
ton between fear and cholera is, then, "a
close one and of easy explanation. We
know too little about the habits of the
parasites which produce smallpox, vel
low fever and many infectious diseases
to judge how it may happen that fear
adds greatly to the danger of taking
them, yet it is well known that such
terror often plays an important part in
producing an attack. The process is es-
sentially physical one, in which bodily
functions are first disordered through the
feelings giving ready entrance. to the
microscopic foes of our race.-Globe-
Democrat