Aristotle on sleep and dreams 181
10. When one is under the influence of strong emotions, one is very susceptible
to sensitive illusions ( 460 b 4 – 16 ).
11. When one crosses two fingers and puts an object between them, it is as if one
feels two objects ( 460 b 22 – 3 ).
12. When one is on a ship which is moved by the sea and looks at the land, it is
as if the land moves ( 460 b 26 – 7 ).
13. Weak stimuli of pleasure and pain are extruded by stronger ones and escape
our attention ( 461 a 1 – 3 ).
14. When one gets to sleep immediately after dinner, one has no dreams ( 461 a
11 – 12 ).
15. Very young children do not dream at all ( 461 a 12 ;cf.Gen. an. 779 a 13 ).
16. Dreams occur in a later stage of sleep; they are often distorted and unclear, but
sometimes they are strong ( 461 a 18 – 27 ).
17. Melancholics, drunk people and those suffering from fever have confused and
monstrous dream images ( 461 a 21 – 2 ).
18. The dream image is judged by the dreaming subject ( 461 b 3 – 7 ).
19. When one presses a finger under one’s eye, one single object appears double
( 462 a 1 ).- Sometimes, during sleep, one is aware of the fact that one is dreaming ( 462 a
2 – 8 ).
21. At the moment of falling asleep and of awakening, one often sees images ( 462
a 10 – 11 ).
Young people see in the dark all kinds of appearances when their eyes are wide
open ( 462 a 12 – 15 ).
In situations of half-sleep, one can have weak perceptions of light and sounds
from one’s environment ( 462 a 19 – 25 ).
One may even give answers to questions when one is asleep ( 462 a 25 – 6 ).
25. Many people never had a dream in their whole lives; others first got them after
considerable advance in age ( 464 b 1 – 11 ;cf.Hist. an. 537 b 13 ff.).