604 The Philosophy of Drunkenness. [JuxE, 



sequences. One thing is certain, that a man who addicts himself to intemperance 

 can never be said to be sound in mind or body. The former is in a state of partial 

 insanity, while the effects of the liquor remain ; and the latter is always more or less 

 diseased in its actions." 



The following description of the process of getting drunk is written with 

 great truth and spirit : 



* The consequences of drunkenness are dreadful, but the pleasures of getting 

 drunk are certainly ecstatic. While the illusion lasts, happiness is complete ; care 

 and melancholy are thrown to the wind, and Elysium, with all its glories, descends 

 upon the dazzled imagination of the drinker. 



" What are the sensations of incipient drunkenness? First, an unusual serenity- 

 prevails over the mind, and the soul of the votary is filbd with a placid satisfaction. 

 By degrees he is sensible of a soft and not unmusical humming in his ears, at every 

 pause of the conversation. Ke seems, to himself, to wear his head lighter than 

 usual upon his shoulders. Then a species of obscurity, thinner than the finest mist, 

 passes before his eyes, and makes him see objects rather indistinctly. The lights 

 begin to dance, and appear double. A gaiety and warmth are felt at the same 

 time about the heart. The imagination is expanded, and rilled with a thousand 

 delightful images. He becomes loquacious, and pours forth, in enthusiastic lan- 

 guage, the thoughts which are born, as it were, within him. 



" Now comes a spirit of universal contentment with himself and all the world. 

 He thinks no more of misery : it is dissolved in the bliss of the moment. This is 

 the acme of the fit the ecstacy is now perfect. As yet the sensorium is in 

 tolerable order: it is only shaken, but the capability of thinking with accuracy 

 still remains. About this time, the drunkard pours out all the secrets of his soul. 

 His qualities, good or bad, come forth without reserve ; and now, if at any time, 

 the human heart may be seen into. In a short period, he is seized with a most 

 inordinate propensity to talk nonsense, though he is perfectly conscious of doing 

 so. He also commits many foolish things, knowing them to be foolish. The 

 power of volition, that faculty which keeps the will subordinate to the judgment, 

 seems totally weakened. The most delightful time seems to be that immediately 

 before becoming very talkative. When this takes place, a man turns ridiculous, 

 and his mirth, though more boisterous, is not so exquisite. At first, the intoxi- 

 cation partakes of sentiment, but, latterly, it becomes merely animal. 



" After this the scene thickens. The drunkard's imagination gets disordered 

 with the most grotesque conceptions. Instead of moderating his drink, he pours 

 it down more rapidly than ever: glass follows glass with reckless energy. His 

 head becomes perfectly giddy. The candles burn blue, or green, or yellow; and 

 where there are perhaps only three on the table, he sees a dozen. According to 

 his temperament, he is amorous, or musical, or quarrelsome. Many possess a most 

 extraordinary wit ; and a great flow of spirits is a general attendant. In the latter 

 stages, the speech is thick, and the use of the tongue in a great measure lost. His 

 mouth is half open, and idiotic in the expression ; while his eyes are glazed^ waver- 

 ing, and watery. He is apt to fancy that he has often offended some one of the com- 

 pany, and is ridiculously profuse with his apologies. Frequently he mistakes one 

 person for another, and imagines that some of those before him are individuals who 

 are, in reality, absent or even dead. The muscular powers are, all along, much 

 affected : this, indeed, happens before any great change takes place in the mind, 

 and goes on progressively increasing. He can no longer walk with steadiness, but 

 totters frofli side to side. The limbs become powerless, and inadequate to sustain 

 his weight. He is, however, not always sensible of any deficiency in this respect : 

 and, whileexciting mirth by his eccentric motions, imagines that he walks with the 

 most perfect steadiness. In attempting to run, he conceives that he passes over 

 the ground with astonishing rapidity. The last stage of drunkenness is total 

 insensibility. The man tumbles perhaps beneath the table, and is carried away 

 in a state of stupor to his couch. In this condition he is said to be dead 



The above is the entertainment; now comes the reckoning 



