314 ESSAYS AMD OBSERVATIONS 



in time of fleep with little or no diminution 

 of their vigour ; lince it often eafes pain 

 without bringing on fleep, and lince, by its 

 topical adion on the heart, it deftroys the 

 motion of this organ after all communicatiorv 

 between it and the origin of the nerves is 

 cut off* i it fellows, that the effeds of opium 

 are not owing, as fome have thought, to its 

 producing fleep : on the contrary, the fleep 

 which it occafions, feems to be only a con- 

 fequence of its impairing the fenfibility of the 

 whole nervous fyftem. 



The other effeds of opium may be alfo de- 

 duced from the fame caufe, particularly its 

 refliraining all evacuations that are owing to 

 an unufual irritation of the parts of the bo- 

 dy, and at the fame time promoting thofe 

 natural fecrelions which have been diminifh- 

 ed or flopt by fpafmodic flirldures of the vef- 

 fels, from fome uncommony-?/;;Wz^i affeding 

 them. 



(av) Lastly, does not opium kill animals 

 by rendering their feveral organs wholly in- 

 fenflble of the ftimiili^ which are deftined 

 by nature to excite them into adlion j whence 



not 



* Vid. N" 12. 13. 17. 18. 19. & 20. above. 



i 



