STIMULANTS AND NARCOTICS 



279 



instead. Yet the name "water of life" is still the term 

 used for brandy in the French language, and one may 

 see in immense letters on a wall at the end of a street near 

 the University of Paris, the suggestive sign, Dfyot de V Eau 

 de Vie, " Storehouse of the Water of Life." 



506. Truly the Bible gives the heart of the matter when 

 it speaks of wine and those who are deceived thereby ; for 

 the deception of a part of 



mankind has been com- 

 plete. The use of narcotics 

 has been pronounced a blot 

 upon civilization, and phys- 

 iologists and sociologists 

 have united in declaring 

 that alcohol ranks ahead 

 of war and other evils as 

 the greatest obstacle to 

 civilization and the happi- 

 ness of mankind, that exists 

 in the world. 



507, Of all the Diseases 

 that have been named as 

 being caused by alcohol, no 

 one person ever has more 



than a small part. Those of the organs that are weakest give 

 way first, and death results before the others are attacked. 

 The stomach may become so ulcerated that it cannot even 

 bear water, which throws the victim into a spasm. In such 

 a case, he will probably die in delirium tremens, a condi- 

 tion of horrible temporary insanity. 



The body seems in some instances to become used to 

 the moderate use of poisons such as nicotine and alcohol, 

 and in outward appearance to escape serious harm. 

 For one that apparently escapes, many are destroyed. We 

 sometimes see very old men that have smoked tobacco for 



FIG. 192. This figure shows four nerve 

 cells from the brain of a man who died 

 of alcoholic insanity. It will be noticed 

 that the body of the cells and the nerve 

 fibers are broken up and degenerated. 

 The changes shown in Fig. 191 are 

 the more severe changes, and represent 

 complete destruction of the nerve tissue. 



