D R U 



1.59 



D R U 



parts of Britain (at that time a Roman province) into 

 the Isle of Anglesey ; but, as we have already remark- 

 ed, had they existed in that part of Britain, they must 

 have been known to Ca>sar. In the Isle of Anglesey, 

 however, at whatever period, or from whatever cause, 

 they came there, they were attacked, and, it would ap- 

 pear, utterly extirpated by Suetonius Paulinus, A. D. 

 61. 



We stated in the beginning of this article, that the 

 notices respecting the Druids in the ancient writers 

 were few and trifling. They are to be found in Caesar, 

 P/ini/, Pomponius Mela, Suetonius, Diodorus Siculus, 

 Strabo, Tacitus, Ammianus MarceUinus, and Lucan ; 

 the most important passages in which authors we have 

 either quoted or referred to. Those who wish to con- 

 sult the various and prolix speculations, in which the 

 moderns have indulged on the subject of Druids and 

 Druidism, we would refer to Toland's History of Ike 

 Druids; Frickius de Dritidts; Borlase's Cornwall; Row- 

 land's Mona Antifjua ; Smith's Gaelic Antiquities ; and 

 Davie's Celtic Researches, (w. s ) 



DUl'NKENNESS, a well known disorder of the 

 human system, strongly affecting the mental faculties, 

 and brought on by the immoderate use of liquors con- 

 taining alcohol. 



It is stated in the book of Genesis, that Noah, soon 

 after the floed, having manufactured wine, " drank of 

 it, and was drunken." This is the first instance of in- 

 toxication any where on record. Some have even 

 thought that it is the first that ever occurred ; and that 

 Noah was the inventor of wine. But it is more lively, 

 from the manner in which the sacred historian intro- 

 duces the circumstance, as well as from the nature of 

 the thing itself, that the practice of making wine was 

 known to the antediluvians. It must, however, be 

 confessed, that no mention is made of its use among 

 them. But ever since the time of Noah, in all coun- 

 tries where fermented liquors have been known, the 

 practice of drunkenness has been more or less prevalent. 



Alcohol is the chief of the intoxicating substances ; 

 but there are others besides it which produce a similar 

 effect Such are opium and bangue, hemlock, night- 

 shade, henbane, and tobacco. Nitrous oxide gas, ap- 

 plied for a few seconds to the lungs by means of breath- 

 ing, induces a transitory sort of intoxication. Opium 

 and bangue are used in Mahometan countries, where 

 the laws of the prophet prohibit the use of wine. 

 Bangue induces a sort of folly and forgetfulness, gaiety, 

 and delirious joy. It and opium are, in truth, succe- 

 danea for wine ; for, in all countries, men constantly 

 seek after something or other to rouse and exhilarate 

 their spirits, and bring on that mental state which re- 

 lieves them from every care. This disposition, however, 

 prevails most in cold climates ; for drunkenness is obser- 

 ved to increase in proportion as we recede from the 

 equator. The stimulus of heat being deficient, it would 

 appear, in cold climates, men feel more strongly the 

 want of another stimulus, and are thus led to the ex- 

 cessive use of intoxicating liquors. 



The ancient Germans were remarkable for their ex- 

 cess in drinking. And the celebrated modern traveller, 

 Von Buch, gives us a most revolting picture of the 

 propensities of the Laplanders to intoxication. 



The *tate of civilization, too, has much influence on 



this practice. The most barbarous nations, cceteris pa- 



nbus, are always the most drunken ; and it is almost 



niformly found, that as refinement makes progress, 



the habit of intoxication gradually loses ground. Not 



3 



long ago in our own country, particularly in this Drunken- 

 quarter of the island, a man was deemed deficient in ness - 

 the duties of hospitality, if he did not make all his """"V""' 

 guests drunk before they left his table. Now, on the 

 contrary, every man drinks or not as he pleases ; and 

 there is no compelling, as formerly, every guest to swal- 

 low the same quantity of liquor, whether he be strong 

 or weak, healthy or delicate. 



Sacred writ condemns drunkenness in the most point- Drankeii- 

 ed tenns. It is a vice most degrading and disgraceful ncss con- 

 even in our own sex, but in the other, no language can demncd as 

 express its deformity and abomination ? The Romans a 

 put women to death, who were convicted of getting 

 drunk. It is a crime, by our laws, punishable with 5s. 

 of a fine, or sitting six hours in. the stocks, and is ac- 

 counted an aggravation of any other offence. 



Drunkenness 'may be considered in a twofold point Phenomena 

 of view ; either as a single paroxysm, or as a habit in- of the 

 duced by a repetition of these. The paroxysm consists ^maken 

 of two stages, that of excitement, and that of relax;!- ' ""' 

 tion. The stage of excitement begins with an increase 

 of heat and muscular strength, and of vigour in the 

 circulation of the blood. The eyes sparkle, the face 

 becomes redder, and the whole countenance is inex- 

 pressibly enlivened. The powers of imagination are 

 vivid and strong ; and an easy flow of spirits, with wit 

 and humour, and a total forgetfulness of every anxious 

 care, place the newly initiated votary of Bacchus in a 

 paradise of pleasure. Ditfijxil Enus euros edaces. Lou- 

 and joy, and agreeable emotions, exclusively take pos- 

 session of him. The shady sides of objects are every- 

 where turned away, and the beauties he formerly ad- 

 mired are arrayed in gayer colours. All is pleasure and 

 delight ; and man is now elevated above the sphere of 

 mortals. When arrived at this point, however, he seems 

 to have reached the verge of cheerfulness and decency; 

 all beyond is madness and confusion. Noise and ri- 

 baldry usurp the place of mirth, and a propensity to 

 muscular exertion shews itself in various ways, such as 

 dancing or wrestling, the rude squeeze, or the odd ges- 

 ticulation. The song and the laugh become louder 

 and more boisterous, and the talkers pass rapidly from 

 one subject to another. Every thing now indicates a 

 degree of excitement totally incompatible with the mens 

 suna in corpore sa/io. 



The weaknesses of the soul are unveiled ; 



Comlitii cum vtrax aperit pracordia Liter. 



In vitio verilas, says the proverb. No constitutional 

 strength, no caution or resolution, can now sufficiently 

 guard us against the exposure of our mental frailties. 

 Yet still, as Dr Trotter has finely remarked, in his Remark of 

 Essay on the subject, " the cultivated mind is seen even Dr Trotter - 

 in drunkenness. It commits no outrage, provokes no 

 quarrel, and turns its ear from insult and offence. But 

 the ignorant and illiterate man is to be shunned in pro- 

 portion to his excess ; it is human nature in its vilest 

 garb, and madness in its worst form." 



Though the adage already quoted, in vino veritas, or 

 that people often discover in drink what they would 

 otherwise have concealed, is no doubt true in a certain 

 sense ; yet there is another stnse in which it is by no 

 means so. The sentiments a man utters, when he is 

 intoxicated, are no sure indications of the natural dis- 

 positions of his soul. On the contrary, he is then be- 

 side himself, and in a state of delirium. He sees ob- 

 jects through a medium which gives them a false and 

 unnatural appearance, and hence he seems to betray qua- 



