Introduction

Abstract

How long a period of time has elapsed since the primate stock substituted sight for smell as the dominant sense we do not know, but it is certainly a very long time. Some investigators believe that this substitution occurred at about the same time as our ancestors took to life in the trees. In any case, it seems certain that, with the advance of time and civilization, the human sense of smell has degenerated. Possibly this is, to some extent at least, an advantage¹. There is evidence, on the other hand, that the extent of the degeneration may actually be much less than is frequently supposed and it seems highly probable, as Parker has pointed out, that “the high development of this sense in our ancestry has left such a profound impression on the organization of our central nervous apparatus that we are often surprised by the power of our olfactory associations”. And when we read accounts such as that given by Helen Keller in her chapter on Smell, the Fallen Angel we perceive, perhaps dimly, the immense value of this sense even to those whose other senses are unimpaired.

This famous town of Mansoul had five gates in at which to come, out at which to go; and these were made likewise answerable to the walls, to wit, impregnable, and such as could never be opened nor forced but by the will and leave of those within. The names of the gates were these: Ear-gate, Eye-gate, Mouth-gate, Nose-gate, and Feel-gate. Bunyan

Nous crûmes devoir commencer par l’odorat, parce que c’est de tous les sens celui qui paroit contribuer le moins aux connoissances de l’esprit humain. Condillac