276 Physiology. 



less than before, but it should not be called bravery ; he is 

 less sensible of danger, and he has become rash or even 

 reckless. 



In all these cases sensibility is lowered, and the nerve 

 centers, especially the higher centers, have become more 

 or less paralyzed. For a short time the blood and the 

 brain run riot, the reins of judgment having been thrown 

 loose. Power has not been gained, but control has 

 been lost. Alcohol is not the "elixir of life," it is the 

 "fountain of death." 



The Danger of using Alcohol. The danger is espe- 

 cially great where there is a latent hereditary tendency to 

 inebriety or insanity. Many individuals, on finding a drug 

 which exhilarates and banishes the weight of oppression 

 by which they are borne down, are tempted beyond their 

 power of resistance, even though they know that the reac- 

 tion will bring them into a worse condition than the one 

 from which they sought relief. The pressure of modern 

 life, and the intensity of the struggle for a living, brings 

 about a condition of nervous strain that is fraught with 

 great danger. Every thinking man should see that to use 

 alcoholic drink for the relief of such a condition is like 

 venturing out in a boat above the Falls of Niagara he 

 knows not when the rushing, mighty power will gain the 

 mastery and dash him to destruction. 



Reading. The School Physiology Journal. 



Summary. i . Alcohol is both an irritant and a narcotic poison. 



2. Alcohol dulls all the senses ; this is especially noticeable in sight, 

 touch, temperature sense, hearing, muscular sense, and pain. 



3. Because of the blunting of the senses alcohol is very delusive. 



Questions. i. What makes the intoxicated person see double? 

 2. Why does a drinker use so much seasoning on his food ? 



