Previous
Humors
Animal spirits were part of an ancient Greek theory of human life which remained popular through the eighteenth century, postulating that the brain contained animal spirits which, along with blood, vital spirits, and psychic spirits, were responsible for animating human bodies.
Animal Spirits Quotes in Tristram Shandy
The Tristram Shandy quotes below are all either spoken by Animal Spirits or refer to Animal Spirits. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 1: Chapters 1-5
Quotes
Pray my dear, quoth my mother, have you not forgot to wind up the clock?—Good G–! cried my father, making an exclamation, but taking care to moderate his voice at the same time,—Did ever woman, since the creation of the world, interrupt a man with such a silly question? Pray, what was your father saying?—Nothing.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Tristram Shandy LitChart as a printable PDF.
Animal Spirits Term Timeline in Tristram Shandy
The timeline below shows where the term Animal Spirits appears in Tristram Shandy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1: Chapters 1-5
...of his gestation affected his temperament and personality, particularly in form of his humors and animal spirits , and he muses on how he could have been different. Indeed, Tristram believes that...
(full context)
Chapter 2. Tristram continues, explaining how the homunculus formed at his conception lacked the proper animal spirits to guide its development, as his mother’s interjection dispersed them. Tristram then argues that the...
(full context)
