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Mr. Duval, in reference to this subject, remarks :* " We
cannot be surprised, that men who have not studied the laws
of the animal economy, should have regarded the teeth
as inorganic bodies, without life, and consequently capable
of resisting the most destructive causes ; from this circum-
stance arose, no doubt, the ingenious fable, which represents
Cadmus as giving birth to men, by sawing the teeth of the
dragon which he had slain.
The sensibility of the teeth ought never to have permitted
a doubt of their being organized ; whether they be composed
of a peculiar bony substance, as may be observed by inspect-
ing their internal parts and roots, or whether the crown is
enveloped in a transparent covering, as if vitrified, called
enamel ; the hardness of which is such, that it resists the ac-
tion of fire, more than the osseous substance which it covers,
and from which one might even draw sparks, either by striking
it with steel, or filing it in the dark.
The growth of the teeth, and their piercing the gums,
could not take place without this vitality, which is peculiar to
them, and which continues during life ; for even when the
alveolus or socket is destroyed, they are still attached to the
gums by certain fibres. This vitality, which is in connexion
with that of the whole frame, is not confined solely to that soft
and very sensible follicle contained in the cavity of the teeth,
which extends from the centre of the crown to the extremity
of the fangs : the hard parts also partake of it, though in a
much less degree : and in both cases it is supplied by the ar-
teries, veins, and nerves; these vessels, being distributed
over all the face, and communicating with each other, keep
up a constant and -admirable sympathy.

* DuyaJ, Dentiste de la Jetmesse,. pages 23, 24.
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