Boyle fainted when
he heard the splashing of water; Scaliger turned pale at the sight of
water-cresses; Erasmus experienced febrile symptoms when smelling fish;
the Duke d'Epernon swooned on beholding a leveret, although a hare did
not produce the same effect; Tycho Brahe fainted at the sight of a fox;
Henry III. of France at that of a cat; and Marshal d'Albret at a pig.
The horror that whole families entertain of cheese is generally known."
He also cites the case of a clergyman who fainted whenever a certain
verse in Jeremiah was read, and of another who experienced an alarming
vertigo and dizziness whenever a great height or dizzy precipice was
described. In such instances the power of association of ideas is
probably the most influential agent in bringing about the climax. There
is an obvious relation between the warnings given by the prophet in the
one case, and the well-known sensation produced by looking down from a
great height in the other, and the effects which followed.
Our dislikes to certain individuals are often of the nature of
idiosyncrasies, which we can not explain. Martial says:
"Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare;
Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te;"
or, in our English version:
"I do not like you, Doctor Fell,
The reason why I can not tell;
But this I know, and that full
I do not like you, Doctor Fell.
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