heighten or abate the _Virtues_ of _Plants_. And it is not altogether
Improbable, that the Poison with which the _Athenians_ took away the
Lives of Malefactors was an inspissated Juice compounded of _That_ of
_Cicuta_ and other Corrosive Herbs (143).
But be this as it will; The Alterations which _Wepfer_ observed the
Roots of _Œnanthe_ to make in the Body, were a Violent Pain and Heat
in the Stomach, Terrible Convulsions, with the Loss of all the Senses,
Distorsion of the Eyes, and flowing of Blood out at the Ears, the Mouth
so fast shut that no Art could open It, Efforts to Vomit, but nothing
thrown up, frequent Hick-Coughs, with a great Distension and Swelling,
especially at the Pit of the Stomach; and when Death had concluded the
Tragedy, a continued Running of green Froth at the Mouth.
_Stalpart van der Wiel_ gives Us the like account of Two Persons kill’d
at the _Hague_ by the same _Roots_ (144).
In a _Dog_, who for Experiment’s sake died by this _Poison_, The
Stomach when opened was found quite _Constringed_, and shut up at
both _Orifices_, Its inward Surface red, with livid Spots here and
there; The Intestines were empty; only the _Rectum_ contained a little
greenish _Mucus_.
Thus it appears, that this Plant consists of Hot, Acrious and Corrosive
Parts, which by Rarefying the Juices of the Stomach, and Wounding
Its Nervous Membrane, are the Cause of all those Disorders which do
immediately follow.
For upon the Sense of a violent _Irritation_ and _Pain_, the Fluid
of the Nerves is presently in large quantities determined to the
Part affected; and this, if the _Stimulus_ be not over great, will
be only to such a Degree as is sufficient, by contracting the Fibres
of the Stomach, and Muscles of the _Abdomen_, to throw off the Cause
of the Disagreable _Sensation_; but the uneasie _Twitching_ being
too terrible to be born, the Mind, by a kind of surprize, does with
_Haste_ and _Fury_ as it were Command the Spirits thither; Thus the
Business is over-done, and the Action of the Fibres becomes so strong,
that the Orifices of the Stomach are quite closed; so that instead of
discharging the Noxious Matter, The _Torment_ is made greater, and the
whole _Œconomy_ put into Confusion.
This forcible Contraction of the Muscles was the Reason that one of the
Children which _Wepfer_ saw, made _Urine_ in the midst of the Agony, to
the height of Five or Six Foot, with a strength and violence Surprising
to the Spectators.
Nor is it any wonder, if in these _Circumstances_ all Sense be lost,
Blood gush out at the _Ears_, _Nostrils_, &c. the Parts being all
torn and broke by the Violence of the _Convulsions_; which tho’ they
began in the Muscles of the Belly, must at last prevail in the Members
too, till the whole Fabrick is shock’d and overturn’d; and some of
the _Corrosive Salts_ perhaps getting into the Blood, and by the
Rarefaction of It Distending the Vessels, The Membranous Coats of which
being already overstretched, will the more easily give way, and let out
their Fluid.
The Case of _Aconitum_ is much the same; this is our _Napellus_ or
_Monkshood_; and its Effects do so nearly agree with those now related
of _Œnanthe_, that I shall not need to recite Them; the Experiments
of _Wepfer_ (145) are full and convincing. And indeed _as_ all the
_Histories_ which this same _Author_ has so carefully given Us of
Trials made with several Vegetable Poisons, _Solanum_, _Nux Vomica_,
_Coculus Indicus_, &c. on different Creatures, do put it out of
all doubt, that the common Mischief of _These_ is a Twitching and
Inflammation of the Stomach; _so_ it appears from hence, that _Virulent
Plants_, although they may be distinguished even from one another by
_particular Virtues_, do however _Kill_ by a like Operation and Force,
which differs chiefly in Degree from _That_ of Noxious Minerals.
And therefore in order to know what the _Specifick Qualities_ of any
such _Herbs_ are, they must be given only in very small _Doses_; and
then perhaps it would appear, that they are not made (as some do
imagine) to be Deleterious and Destructive, but for very Good and
Beneficial Uses; as we do particularly Experience in the Case of
_Opium_.
Nor is it at all strange, that the _Symptoms_ from a _Vegetable_,
and from a _Mineral_ Virulency, should be so different, although of
the same kind, and only of unequal force; for the more solid Parts
of _Minerals_, eroding the Coats of the Stomach, induce a perfect
Mortification and Gangrene, and thus do their Work at once; whereas the
weaker Salts of _Plants_ can make but a slighter _Excoriation_, upon
the painful Sense of which those Agonies and Convulsions that follow
do rather gradually exhaust the Strength; and thus the Animal is not
kill’d so speedily, nor with the same _Appearances_.
Upon this Score, tho’ Mineral Poisons do not pass the _Primæ Viæ_,
Vegetable ones in some Cases possibly may; just as We find Those
Medicines which have a great Degree of Irritation presently to induce a
_Vomiting_; whereas the same _Twitching_ a little weakened suffers them
to pass into the Intestines, and _Work_ downwards by Stools.
By this We may perhaps give some Guess at the Nature of those
_Poisons_, with which They tell Us the _Natives_ in some Parts of
_Africa_ and _India_ are so expert at Killing, that they can do It
in a longer or shorter time as they please. These are most probably
either the _Fruits_, or the Inspissated _Juices_ of Corrosive Plants,
which inflaming the Bowels, may cause little Ulcers there, whose Fatal
Consequences, we know, may very well be slow and lingering.
This I am the rather induced to believe, because an Ingenious
_Surgeon_, who liv’d in _Guinea_, told Me, that the _Antidote_ by which
the _Negroes_ would sometimes Cure Those who were _poisoned_, was the
_Leaf_ of an _Herb_ which purged both upwards and downwards. For by
this means the Stomach might be cleared from the adhering Corrosive
Parts of the Venom. Yet I can hardly think it possible at the same time
that they should be able, by varying the Composition or Quantity of the
_Dose_, to ascertain the Time in which It shall Kill, to a Week, Month,
_&c._ nor indeed have I ever met with any Person who could Attest This,
to be Matter of Fact.
Tho’ repeated Trials and Observations may help one well practised in
such Tricks to give notable Conjectures in this Point.
The Ancients indeed pretended much the same thing with their
_Aconitum_, of which They seem to have made a kind of Secret and
Mystery; as we learn from _Theophrastus_ (146), who says, _The ordering
of this Poison was different, according as It was designed to Kill in
Two, Three Months, or a Year_: But this he relates only as a common
_Tale_ or _Opinion_, and not as a Story to which Himself gave any
manner of Credit.
It is very plain; that the common _Cure_ of all _Poisons_ of this
kind, must be by freeing the Stomach, as soon as possible, from the
Corrosive Vellicating Particles, and defending the Membranes from their
Acrimony, by such Things as are of a a Smooth, Oily and Lubricating
Substance.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES to Essay III.
(110) Ποικίλα μὲν γὰρ τὰ δηλητήρια φάρμακα, κοιναὶ δὲ καὶ οὐ πολλαὶ ἐξ
ἀυτῶν γινόμεναι διαθέσεις. _Alexiph._ pag. 399.
(111) _Lucret._ lib. 5.
(112) _Galen. Simp. Medic._ l. 3. cap. 18.
(113) _Sext. Empiric. Hypoth. Empiric._ 1.
(114) _Cap. 24._
(115) _Wepfer de Cicut. Aquatic._ pag. 300.
(116) _De Venen._ pag. 21.
(117) _Can. Medic._ l. 4. Fen. 6. _Argentum Vivum plurimum qui bibunt
non læduntur eo; egreditur enim cum dissositione suâ per inferiorem
regionem._
(118) _De Morb. Gallic. cap._ 76.
(119) _De Morb. Gall. inter Autores de Morb. Gall._ pag. 599.
(120) Pag. 91. _& seq._
(121) _Trattato de Fiumi._ Cap. 1.
(122) Pag. 93.
(123) _Vid. Jaan. Baptist. Montan. Tract. de Morb. Gallic. inter Autor.
de Morb. Gall._ p. m. 482. _Et Fallop. de Morb. Gall. Cap. 76._
(124) _Nicol. Mass. de Morb. Gall. Tract. 4. Cap. 2._
(125) _Argentum vivum accepi ex Osse Cujusdam corrupto, quem perunctum
ab Empyricis plus decies ferebant, non semel emanavisse._ Anton. Gall.
in Lib. de Ligno Sancto non permiscendo.
_Non semel in Sepulchris Argentum Vivum in Mortuorum Capitibus reperi._
Anton. Musa Brasavolus in Tract. de Morb. Gallic.
(126) _Museum_, p. 28.
(127) _Agricola de Natura Fossil._ p. m. 592.
(128) _Idem, Ibid._
(129) _Block Scrutinum Arsenici_, §. XIV.
(130) _Lib._ [smudge]. Εννέα γράμματ᾽ ἔχω, τετρασυλλαβός είμι, νόει με.
Αἱ τρεῖς αἱ πρῶται δύο γράμματ᾽ ἔχουσιν ἐκάση, Η λοιπὴ δὲ τὰ λοιπὰ, καὶ
εἰσὶν ἄφωνα τά πέντε. Τοῦ παντός δ᾽ ἀριθμοῦ ἑκατοντάδες εἰσὶ δὶς ὀκτω,
Καὶ τρεῖς τρὶς δεκάδες.
(131) Nat. Hist. _l. 33. c. 4._
(132) _Cours de Chymie_, Part 1. Chap. 10.
(133) _Lemery_, ibid.
(134) _Vid. Eman. Konig Regn. Mineral._ and _Boyle_ History of Mineral
Waters.
(135) _Grew_ of Mixture, _pag. m._ 246.
(136) _Cicut. aquat._ pag. 274. _& seq._
(137) _Incertezza de Medicament_, p. m. 82.
(138) _Epistol._ 68.
(139) Observation 66.
(140) _De Peste_, Histor. 99.
(141) _De Peste Londinens._ p. 239.
(142) _A. Deusingius de Peste_, Part 4. Sect. 3. c. 3.
(143) _Vide_ Wepfer, _Pag. 60._
(144) _Observat. Centur._ 1. Obs. 43.
(145) Pag. 176. _seq._
(146) _Hist. Plant._ l. 9. c. 16.
ESSAY IV.
OF OPIUM.
The Ancients having Experienced that _Opium_ would oftentimes Kill,
though taken in no large quantity, ranked It with _Poisons_, and gave
It the first place among Those, which from their Stupefying Quality
They call’d _Narcotic_.
True indeed it is, that We do every Day find This to be, in a small
Dose, one of the most Noble Remedies in the World. But it is not
worth the while to engage in the Controversie warmly debated by some
_Authors_, how far _Poisons_ are Medicinal; since it is notorious
enough, that Medicines do sometimes prove _Poisonous_. And take the
Matter as We please, it may serve to very good Purposes to understand
the manner of Operation of so Celebrated a _Drug_, and help Us in
a great Measure to ascertain Its Use in different Cases, if we are
beforehand rightly apprised of Its Nature and Way of Acting.
In order hereunto, it is necessary, besides some other _Præcognita_,
since one of the chief Virtues of this Medicine Is _Hypnotic_, to
Define distinctly what _Sleep_ is, or rather, (to avoid Confusion and
Disputes about Words) what Difference there is between an Animal Body
when _asleep_ and when _awake_. For I suppose the _History_, _Manner of
Preparing_, &c. of _Opium_, to be already sufficiently known.
First then, There is no One but knows that in _Sleep_ there is a
Cessation from Action. When _Waking_, We Walk, Discourse, Move this
or that Limb, _&c._ but in natural and undisturbed _Rest_ there is
nothing of all These; that is, whereas being awake, We do perform
several Motions by the _voluntary_ Contraction of our Muscles; when
asleep, those Muscles only are Contracted, whose Action is in a manner
_Involuntary_, or to which the Mind has always so constantly determin’d
the Spirits, that It does it by a _Habit_, without the Intervention of
the Reasoning Faculty; such are _Those_ of the Heart and Breast.
So that there is at this time a kind of _Relaxation_ or Loosness of the
moving Fibres of the several Members; or at least such a quiet Position
and State of them, by which all the _Antagonist_ Muscles are in an
_Æquilbrium_ and Equality of Action, not overpowering one another.
For this indeed seems to be one great Design of Sleep, to recover to
the Parts overstretched by Labour their former _Tone_ and Force; and
therefore we do naturally, when composing our selves to _Rest_, put
our Body into that Posture which does most Favour the _particularly_
wearied Limbs, and conduce to this end.
In the next place, it is very plain that there is in _Sleep_ not only a
Rest and Suspension from Acting of most of our Bodily Organs, but even
of our _Thinking Faculty_ too. That is (for I would prevent Cavils) a
ceasing from such _Thoughts_ as when Waking We are exercised about,
which we do _Reflect_ upon, and _Will_ to employ our Mind with. For
though _Dreams_ are Thoughts, yet they are but imperfect and incoherent
Ones, and are indeed either so faint and languid _Representations_, as
to be consistent with our _Sleep_, as some may be; or else if they be
strong and lively, they are, as every one knows, the _Interruption_ and
Disturbance of It.
From hence It will follow, That the _Motion_ of the Arterial Fluid must
be, _Ceteris Paribus_, more sedate, even and regular, in the time of
_Sleeping_ than _Waking_; For, besides the various Alterations which in
the latter State this receives from the several _Passions_ of the Mind,
the very _Contractions_ of the Muscles themselves in Exercises of the
Body do differently forward its Course; whereas in _Sleep_ the force of
the Heart and Pectoral Muscles being more constant and uniform, gives
it a more calm and equally continued Impulse.
Hence also it will come to pass, that the _Influx_ of the _Liquor_ of
the Nerves into the Organs of the Body, as also Its _Reflux_ towards
the _Brain_, is in Sleep either none, or very inconsiderable; that
is, that this Fluid has at this time but little or no _Motion_. For
’tis Muscular _Action_ and _Sensation_ that require It to be thus
determin’d, this way or that, which are now hardly any. And yet by the
arrival of Blood at the Brain, this _Juice_ will still be separated
there, fit to be derived into its Canals or Tubes. So that by this
means there will be a kind of _Accumulation_, or laying up in Store, of
_Spirits_ for the Offices and Requirements of _Waking_.
Thus We may in short look upon the time of _Watching_, as the time of
Wearing out, or the Destruction of the Animal Fabrick; and the time of
_Sleep_, as that in which it is repaired and recruited; not only upon
the account of what We have just mentioned concerning the _Nervous
Liquor_, but also with respect to all the other Parts, as well Fluid as
Solid. For _Action_ does necessarily by Degrees impair the Springs and
Organs; and in _Motion_ something is continually abraded and struck off
from the Distractile Fibres, which cannot otherwise be restored than by
their being at rest from _Tension_. Besides that, such a regular and
steady _Course_ of the Blood, as we have observed to be in _Sleep_, is
by far more fit and proper for Nutrition, or an Apposition of Parts to
the Vessels, which an uneven _Hurry_ of It is more apt to tear off and
wash away.
The Case being thus, it is very plain that whatsoever can induce
such a Disposition of the Fluids and Muscular Parts of the Body, as
this We have described, will so far cause _Sleepiness_. And in like
manner, when any thing interposes and hinders this Composedness and
Tranquillity, the removing of the _Impediment_ will be the causing of
_Sleep_; inasmuch as this is only reducing the Animal _Œconomy_ to its
right State, in which by natural Order there must be a Succession of
Sleeping and Waking.
Thus it appears how necessarily continued Exercises do make Us
_Sleepy_, since These do exhaust the Juice of the Nerves; that is, both
lessen its Influx into the Organs of Motion, and incline the Mind not
to determine it any longer that way, upon the account of the Pain and
Uneasiness, with which too violent a Tension of the Parst is always
attended; which therefore we must needs desire to Relax, or lay to
_Rest_.
That _Sleepiness_ which follows upon a fulness of the Stomach after
Eating or Drinking, is owing to a different Cause; and does indeed so
nearly fall in with the Effects of _Opiate_ Medicines, that it requires
a particular Consideration.
As _Hunger_, or the Emptiness of the Stomach, is a painful Sensation;
so the satisfying or removing of _This_, is a pleasing or agreeable
One. Now all _Pain_ is a _Stimulus_ upon the Part affected; and This,
we all know, being attended with Contractions of the pained Membranes,
causes a greater Afflux than ordinary of the Nervous Juice that way. On
the other Hand, _Pleasure_, or a delightful Sensation in any part, is
accompanied with a smooth Undulation, and easie Reflux of the Liquor of
the Nerves towards the Brain. This is, as it were, the _Entertainment_
of the Mind, with which being _Taken up_, it does not Determine the
Spirits to the Organs of Motion; That is, there is such a _Relaxation_
of the Muscular Fibres, and such a Disposition of the Nervous Fluid, as
we have observed to be necessary to Sleep.
This is the Reason of that _Chilliness_ in the Limbs, which we commonly
Complain of after a good Feast.
If it seem strange that a Pleasure in the Stomach should so powerfully
Influence the Mind; let it be considered, on the other Hand, how
violent Effects, an uneasie and disagreeable Sense in the same Part
does produce; what a terrible Agony Two or Three Grains of _Crocus
Metallorum_ throws the whole Fabrick into; how readily the Fluid of the
Nerves is with a more than Ordinary _Impetus_ determin’d and commanded
into the Muscles of the Stomach and _Abdomen_, in order to throw off
the Enemy, and remove the ungrateful Sensation.
Now the Consequences which we have ascribed to a pleasing Sense in
this Part, are only just the contrary of these we find the opposite
Affection of Pain induces. And indeed _Pleasure_ and _Pain_ are Two
great Springs of Action in the Animal Œconomy; The Changes they make
in the Fabrick are the Causes of many Effects which seem surprising,
because we do not regard the Mechanism by which they are produced: but
these must be more considerable in the Stomach than any where else;
This Part being, for very wise Purposes, of so acute a _Feeling_, that
some Philosophers have for this Reason thought It to be the Seat of the
Soul.
Besides this Consideration, We must take notice that, the Stomach
being distended with Food, presses upon the descending _Trunk_ of the
_Aorta_, and thus causes a greater Fulness of the Vessels in the upper
Parts; whereupon the Brain is loaded, or the Derivation of Spirits
into the Nerves diminished, and _Unactivity_ or _Drowsiness_ insues.
From hence proceed Those _Flushings_ in the Face, Redness, _&c._ after
plentiful Eating or Drinking, most Visible in Those whose Vessels are
Lax and Weak, as in Exhausted and Hectick Persons they more especially
are.
Thus we may, without the Assistance of the _New Chyle_ entring into
the Vessels, account for that Inclination to Sleep which follows upon
a full Stomach; Tho’ we must also allow the Distension from _This_ to
be a considerable Cause of the same Effect; But this does not happen
immediately, nay, sometimes perhaps not within Two or Three Hours after
Eating; and therefore the sudden _Drowsiness_ must (as well as the
present Refreshment and Reviving which Meat gives) be chiefly owing to
some more speedy Alteration.
We come then in the next Place to _Opium_ it self; The Chymical
_Analysis_ of which (147) does out of One Pound afford of a Volatile
_Spirit_ of the like Nature with that drawn from Harts-horn, Five
Ounces and Five Drachms; of a fætid _Oil_, One Ounce Two Drachms and
a half; of _Caput Mortuum_, smelling like Spirit of Harts-horn, Seven
Ounces and Six Drachms.
The Virtues therefore of _Opium_ are owing to a volatile _Alcaline_
Salt, intimately mixt and combin’d with an Oily, Sulphureous Substance.
The Effects of which We must consider, first of all upon the Stomach,
and afterwards, when they have passed the _Primæ Viæ_, upon the
Arterial Fluid it self.
An agreeable Sensation produced in the Stomach, together with a
Distension of Its Membranes, we observed before to be the Cause of
that Sleepiness to which we are so prone after Eating. The _One_ of
These ingages the Mind, the _Other_ acts upon the Body. For Pleasure
amuses the Soul, as it were, so that It does not Think, or exercise
it self about any outward Objects; that is, Is inclined to Rest. And
the Fulness of the Vessels in the Brain Checks and Hinders, in some
Measure, the Derivation of the Nervous Juice into the Organs, _&c._
Now They who take a moderate Dose of _Opium_, especially if not long
accustomed to It, are so Transported with the pleasing Sense It
induces, that They are, as They oftentimes express themselves, in
Heaven; and tho’ They do not always Sleep, (which proceeds from the
Presentation of pleasing Images to the Mind being so strong, that like
Dreams they do over-ingage the Fancy, and so interrupt the State of
Rest) yet they do however injoy so perfect an Indolence and Quiet,
that no Happiness in the World can surpass the Charms of this agreable
Extasie.
Thus We have from this Medicine, but in a far more eminent Degree, all
those Effects which we observed to follow upon that grateful Sense in
the Stomach, which a moderate Fulness produces. For no Bodies are so
fit and able pleasingly to affect our sensile Membranes, as Those which
consist of Volatile Parts, whose activity is tempered and allayed by
the smoothness of some Lubricating and Oily ones; which by lightly
Rarefying the Juices of the Stomach, and causing a pleasant Titillation
of Its Nervous Coat, will induce an agreable _Plenitude_, and entertain
the Mind with Ideas of Satisfaction and Delight.
The Case being thus, We easily see upon what Mechanism the other
Virtues of _Opium_ do depend, Its Easing Pains, Checking Evacuations,
_&c._ not only in that the Mind being taken up with a pleasing Sense,
is diverted from a disagreable _One_; But all Pain being attended with
a Contraction of the Part, That Relaxation of the Fibres which is now
caused, eludes and destroys the Force of the _Stimulus_.
In like manner in immoderate Secretions there is most commonly
an Irritation of the Organs, the Removal of which will abate the
Discharge. And herein lies the _Incrassating_ Quality of this Medicine,
in that the Twitching Sense upon the Membranes of the Lungs, Bowels,
_&c._ being now lessened, the sharp Humor is suffered to lodge there in
a greater quantity, before it is so troublesome as to be thrown off and
expell’d; it being all one as if there were no Irritation of the Part,
if the uneasie Sense thereof be not regarded by the Mind.
These Effects will all be heightened by the Mixture of the _Opiate_
Particles with the _Blood_; Which is hereupon Rarefied, and Distends
its Vessels, especially those of the Brain; and thus does still to a
greater Degree lessen the Influx of the Nervous Fluid to the Parts, by
pressing upon the little _Tubuli_, or Canals, thro’ which it is derived.
This is the Reason of that _Difficulty of Breathing_, which they do for
a time Experience who take these kind of Medicines; This Symptom being
inseparable from the Rarefaction of the Blood in the Lungs.
From hence it appears, that the Action of _Opium_ is very Analogous to
that of other Volatile Spirits, only that a small Portion of It has a
force equal to that of a greater quantity of most of Them.
This is very evident in Those who accustom Themselves to take large
Doses of It; as the _Turks_ and _Persians_ do to that Degree, that it
is no uncommon thing there to Eat a Drachm or Two at a time; for the
Effects of It in Them are no other than downright _Drunkenness_; upon
which account (148) it is as common a Saying with Them, and on the same
Occasion, _He has eat Opium_; as with Us, _He has drank too much Wine_.
Neither indeed do They otherwise bear such large quantities of It, than
our _Tipplers_ will a great deal of _Brandy_; that is, by habituating
themselves to It by degrees, beginning with small Doses, and requiring
still more and more to raise themselves to the same _Pitch_. Just as
_Galen_ (149) tells Us of a Woman at _Athens_, who by a gradual Use had
brought her self to Take, without any hurt, a considerable quantity of
_Cicuta_ or Hemlock. Which Instance is the more to our Purpose, because
_Nic. Fontanus_ (150) knew one who being Recovered of the Plague, and
wanting Sleep, did, with very good Effect, eat _Hemlock_ for some time,
till falling Ill again of a Fever, and having left off the Use of this
Remedy, He indeavoured to procure Rest by repeated Doses of _Opium_,
which (Nature having been accustomed to a stronger Alterative) had no
Operation, till the help of _Cicuta_ was again call’d in with desired
Success.