AND THE DEPRESSING PASSIONS. 959 



the mind has been once kindled with a live coal 

 from off the altar of nature, and inspired with 

 the animating hope of discovering truths more 

 important than mines of silver and gold it can- 

 not pause in its onward career, until arrested by 

 the approach of death, or the failure of its powers. 

 It was observed by Madame De Stael, that 

 " grief is not only a foe to intellectual fertility, but 

 a rapid poison." And, like fear, it has been known 

 to destroy life almost as suddenly as a dose of hy- 

 drocyanic acid. It also produces epilepsy and 

 apoplexy, which are frequently brought on by 

 over exertion of mind, and depend essentially on a 

 temporary paralysis of the brain, by which respi- 

 ration is nearly suspended, the power of the heart 

 greatly diminished, and the vital properties of the 

 blood so far impaired, that it becomes black even 

 in the arteries, as shewn by the livid or purple 

 hue of the features. If in this state, the chemical 

 function of the lungs be not speedily restored by 

 fresh air, artificial inflation, or stimulants applied 

 to the nostrils, and the circulation aroused by the 

 application of warmth, aided by friction, the 

 patient sinks to rise no more. For so long as 

 respiration and circulation are suspended, from 

 whatever cause, blood-letting can be of no use.* 



* But it is not only by diminishing respiration, and thus im- 

 pairing the vital properties of the blood, that intense thinking and 

 the depressing emotions, paralyze the energies of the brain, which 

 is weakened by over exertion for the same reason that the volun- 



