Animals are likewise apt to dream, though seldom; and even men living
temperately, and enjoying a perfect state of health, are seldom
disturbed with this play of the fancy. And, indeed, there are examples
of lively and spirited persons who never dream at all. The great
physiologist Haller considers dreaming as a symptom of disease, or as a
stimulating cause, by which the perfect tranquillity of the sensorium is
interrupted. Hence, that sleep is the most refreshing, which is
undisturbed by dreams, or, at least, when we have the distinct
recollection of them. Most of our dreams are then nothing more than
sports of the fancy, and derive their origin chiefly from external
impressions; almost every thing we see and hear, when awake, leads our
imagination to collateral notions or representations, which, in a
manner, spontaneously, and without the least effort, associate with
external sensations. The place where a person whom we love formerly
resided, a dress similar to that which we have seen her wear, or the
objects that employed her attention, no sooner catch our eye, than she
immediately occupies our mind.
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