ITS EFi-\ECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY. 



337 



Tliis rosulfc of quickening and brightening conversation 

 haa boon attributed to the dulling the perception of obser- 

 vation ; i.e. the relief of nervousness. Dr. Johnson says : 

 " Before dinner men meet with great inequality of under- 

 standing; and those who are conscious of their inferiority 

 have the modesty not to talk. When they have drunk 

 every man feels himself happy, and loses that modesty, and 

 grows impudent and vociferous; but he is not im])rovod, ho 

 is only not sensitive of his defects." " Wine only animates 

 a man ; it puts in motion what has been locked up in frost, 

 but this may bo good or bad." * 



Johnson however was singularly free from what is called 

 nervousness, and for other reasons was not an unbiassed 

 judge. There sooms to mo plenty of evidence that wine, 

 probably by its action on the cranial circulation, increases 

 that form of wit which consists in the association of objects 

 not usually associated and in detecting unexpected resem- 

 blances. 



Many of the qualities attributed to wine drinking, such 

 as increased generosity, are due to the pleasant sensations 

 it often engenders, and to the frequent surroundings of 

 company and food, the body being satisfied and contented. t 



On the nerves themselves the action of wine, as of alcohol 

 in other forms, is almost entirely in the direction of 

 diminishing function. The nervous system appears to be 

 affected somewhat in the following order : 1, Judgment ; 2, 

 inhibition (control) ; 3, motor centres ; 4, cerebellum ; 5 



* >Sec Boswell's " Lifo of Jolmson." BoswcU after plaguing Johnson 

 on this question at length, said, " You know, sir, wine makes us forgot 

 what is disagreeable ; would not you allow a man to drink for that 

 reason ? " Johnson : " Yes, sir ; if he sat next you." 



f "And body gets its sop and holds its noise, 

 And leaves soul free a little." 



" Bisliop Blougram's Apology. " By E. Browning. 



