296 THE HUMAN MECHANISM 



And again: 



That alcohol can produce as profound anesthesia as any of the sub- 

 stances named is also well known. In the days before anesthesia it was 

 the custom of bone setters to ply their patients with alcohol in order to 

 facilitate the reduction of difficult dislocations. . . . The anesthesia pro- 

 duced by alcohol is, however, not commendable, since it cannot safely 

 be induced in a short time and is too prolonged. The quantity needed 

 for surgical anesthesia would in many cases lead to a fatal result. 



13. Is alcohol a stimulant? The view of the action of 

 alcohol just stated is, of course, borne out by the condition 

 of a thoroughly intoxicated person ; but it is opposed to the 

 very general idea that alcohol, except in large doses, is to be 

 regarded as a stimulant. Whether we shall call it a * stimu- 

 lant" or not depends upon how we use that term. Some of 

 the exhilarating effects of alcoholic drinks might lead us to 

 speak of it hi this way. People who have drunk wine often 

 become more talkative, so that the first effects of intoxica- 

 tion often resemble those of stimulation. There is, however, 

 strong reason for thinking that this action is only super- 

 ficially, and not fundamentally, a case of stimulation, as we 

 shall now see. 



In studying the physiology of the nervous system we 

 lound that processes of inhibition are as important in its 

 operation as are those of excitation ; and in mental opera- 

 tions the course of our thinking is constantly checked or 

 inhibited by the knowledge of facts opposed to the con- 

 clusions towards which we are tending. Probably it is this 

 essential feature of all accurate and valuable mental work 

 which is the first to be paralyzed by alcohol. The man who 

 takes alcohol becomes fluent not because he is stimulated 

 but because of the removal of checks whose presence may 

 make him talk less fluently, but which at the same time 

 make him speak more accurately. He may become witty, 

 and may say some brilliant things, but he will almost 

 always do and say some very erratic things. 



