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A47063 The mysteries of opium reveal'd by Dr. John Jones ... ; who, I. Gives an account of the name, make, choice, effects, &c. of opium, II. Proves all former opinions of its operation to be meer chimera's, III. Demonstrates what its true cause is, by which he easily, and mechanically explains all (even its most mysterious) effects, IV. Shews its noxious principle, and how to separate it, thereby rendering it a safe, and noble panacea, whereof, V. He shews the palliative, and curative use. Jones, John, 1645-1709. 1700 (1700) Wing J976; ESTC R1624 200,674 381

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or Vapours do readily and freely pass from the Stomach to the Brain because the gross Fumes as they call them of a Grain or two of Opium always operate before it is out of the Stomach But they never saw such Fumes pass nor their Passage only suppose both and that meerly upon an Imagination that it must be so because they forsooth cannot conceive any other way by which Opium can affect the Head Nerves c. while it is at Stomach whereas I can and shall God willing shew them another means or way to do it that is sensible and not wholly precarious as theirs is and that in the meanest manner because all their Grounds to suppose it is their Inability to conceive or apprehend what is as I shall shew very sensible nay obvious also Secondly They suppose That such Fumes will serve to solve all the Phoenomena's and Operations of Opium whereas it is utterly impossible they should solve the enlivening and invigorating Effects thereof as has been shewn and shall be further proved if God permits It were easie to evidence but that it would be tedious and needless for their Incompetency to solve the most proper Effects of Opium is more than enough that such Fumes or Vapours can truly solve no Effect of Opium unless it be that of Death or some deadly Symptoms nay they will not solve the most likely to be caused by Vapours viz. Sleep which all Men as Wedelius says allow to be the Effect of Fumes or Vapours in his Opiologia c. 11. p. 35. Somnum naturalem says he omnes concedunt producere suaviores blandas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seu Vapores primum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 demulcentes qui cum spiritibus animalibus mixti torpidos quasi illos reddunt That is All grant that kind and gentle Fumes do cause natural Sleep c. Which is most certainly false tho' I very much doubt that this groundless Presumption which as he intimates all embrace has been a great cause of this airy Imagination of Fumes in the Case of Opium because Men looked upon Sleep agreed upon to be caused by Fumes to be the prime leading and most proper Effect of Opium which is also false it being but a meer Accident as has been shown and when it happens generally requires lying or sitting still to assist it whereas the Watching that is the Effect of Opium requires no help and cannot be put off as Sleep can by Motion Action c. notwithstanding all Endeavours to the contrary Now I would know of any Man which is the most proper and natural Effect of any Cause That which nothing can hinder or that which every Action can But I run too far upon this matter which belongs more aptly to that part of this Book that explains all the Effects of Opium and so must return to that of Fumes which do not cause natural Sleep as manifestly appears 1. Because that which causes natural Sleep must in all Reason as it is always in the wise Work of Nature bear a Proportion thereto but Fumes supposing their Being bear no Proportion to our Sleep Certainly a working Labourer that toils all the Day must spend the Fumes of his Body in the highest degree and feeding upon dry Bread and Cheese must breed fewest Fumes yet none sleeps better or sweeter than he The like is to be said of a travelling Man a tired Person c. who often fall asleep before they eat or drink to renew their Fumes which they had spent in an extraordinary manner Why Sleep that is design'd for Refreshment and Recruit should depend upon Fumes no Man can tell for then our Refreshment would wholly depend thereon and no Man have any Recruit by Sleep but in proportion thereunto Who dares accuse our Wise and Good Maker of such Contrivances who in Nature always proportions Things to the Exigencies thereof and therefore Sleep not to Fumes but to that which was impair'd in us for want thereof which is always contriv'd by Wise Nature if you 'll observe it to be the prompting Cause to the Recruit and then Proportion is duly observ'd because we are prompted exactly according to the Exigence or Necessity of Nature as becomes the Wisdom of our Creator and Preserver This Rule if duly attended to will easily speedily and certainly lead you to the Knowledge of the true natural Causes of Hunger Thirst Inclination to Sleep and all such Calls for Restauration All which I could soon satisfie you in but that it is not my Business at present and that it will too much anticipate my designed Tract of Animal Mechanism Nor doth Labour it self bear any exact Proportion thereunto because many healthy People that are idle all day sleep long soundly and sweetly every night as well as Labourers So that in short it must be somewhat that belongs to Watching as such for Sleep generally bears the best Proportion to Watching If we watch much or little our Sleep bears some Proportion thereto tho' there may be in this as well as in Hunger Thirst c. Accidents that cause the Promptitude to be more or less and so vary the true natural Proportion all which have the Nature of Diseases as canine Appetites Coma's Caros preternatural Thrists c. What it is that Watching causes to prompt us to Sleep must be some Impair made thereby as such and not the foolish Conceit of Fumes And it were easie for me to illustrate what it is but that it will require some Sheets of Paper and as I said before anticipate my Discourse of Animal Mechanism which I hoped to have published before this Book and would have been most convenient because the Principles therein stated may serve to explain the Effects of Opium but that the want of a few Experiments has to my Grief hitherto delay'd it and therefore I must be put to much Trouble in this Work for want thereof because I am resolved not to spare my self in order to satisfie the Reader in this great and unexplicated Mystery 2. If Vapours were the cause of natural Sleep it is impossible that the prick of a Pin or a sharp Sound c. should awake one ten or twenty times in an Hour for either the Prick must in an instant discuss all the Fumes in being which is impossible to be imagined and they as often return to cause Sleep again or intercept their Motion from the Stomach to the Head which no Man can have any Conception of the Efficacy of the Pin or Sound so to do Or they must both discuss and intercept the Fumes which indeed if the case were such would be necessary to make a clear Awaking which is yet far more unconceivable What paltry Trifles does the World embrace instead of Truth and Reason 3. Several Persons whereof I am one do awake in a minute or two after they first fall asleep in Bed at night which would be absolutely impossible if Fumes caused Sleep for the Fumes would
only the opening of the Pores so that I need add no more Words about it for the fame Cause must have the same Effect therefore an intense and permanent Pleasure must have all or much of the Effects of Sleep in general as has been shewn It cannot therefore be any Wonder that Opium causes Sleep Yet is there Difference between Sleep and Pleasure upon other Accounts tho not upon the Account of Relaxation viz. because 1. That Sleep requires also a rest of Spirits or the sensitive Soul whereas Relaxation by Pleasure is consistent with motion of the Spirits either by outward Action or internal motion thereof by some inward Causes Hence it is First That we can Labour Travel Dance c. and enjoy Pleasure and its Relaxation Volantary motion which requires only a particular Contraction of some Parts by the Dictates of the Will or Appetite being consistent with the general Relaxation by Reason of the Prerogative of the Will Thus do we move tho' more relaxed or when most Merry and pleased with Wine nay some will walk in their Sleep when extreamly int●t upon a Thing as when awake which shews the ruling Power of intentive Contraction that may be exercised with Relaxations and other Contractions as the Will it self may or intentive Appetite Secondly That Pain is often taken away by Opium by the Diversion and Relaxation caused by Pleasure and its Inconsistence with Pain without Sleep which requires the aforesaid Rest That bare Relaxation as such does not include tho' Relaxation suffices to take away Pain Thirdly That Opium does by its Heat active Particles c. hinder some Persons to Sleep yet have you in both these last Cases all other Effect● of Opium as Pleasure Indolence Relaxations c. which shews how far Sleep is from being a constant and the most genuine Effect of Opium as is generally imagined however we must allow it as has been shewn to be a mighty Disposer of us towards Sleep because of the Relaxation that it causes which is the main Requisite of Sleep II. That Pleasure does without Nutritive Refection by the Complacency it causes in the sensitive Soul produce Comfort Satisfaction Composure Elevation of the Spirits Euphory c. of which Sleep is either not at all capable or but in a low degree proportionable to the sensation that it has which is but little however a Pleasure that remains within us even in our Sleep as that of Opium may well cause Pleasant Dreams c. The Reader may observe that in all Places where I mention that Relaxation causes the opening of the Pores that I speak only of Perspiration as the Effect thereof without mentioning Sweat 1. Because Perspiration is the only constant and infallible Effect thereof by reason that the Levity of the Fumes causes them as certainly to pass at the Pores when open as Smoak passes up at an open Chimney 2. Because Sweat is an uncertain Effect thereof for it requires that the Body be well fill'd with moisture tho' there is a Relaxation or Opening of the Pores as Hippocrates very rightly intimates in that Aphorism of his that I cited in the last Chapter 1. Because Sweat has not that Levity that the Fumes have to cause it readily to move as soon as the Pores are open 2. Because Relaxation is more apt to receive detain and suspend Humours 3. Because the protrusive Motion of the Heart is weaker in all Relaxations and all see how much its Vigorous Protrusion contributes to Sweat upon Action 4. Because a Heartfull of Bloud does not make such a Push forward when the Arteries are widen'd by Relaxation 5. Sweat having more of Continuity Consistence and Viscidity cannot flow out so readily at the Pores as a meer Vapour However if the Body be full of Moisture and the Pores open there being a Natural Course that Way and the Heart continually protruding it farther and farther a Sweat follows and that whether they Sleep or not 3. Because Sweat as was in some sort intimated is sometimes caused by the strong Protrusion of the Heart as in Motion c. and upon that Account comes more under the Title of Fluxes caused by Contraction than Relaxation of which Perspiration is a constant Effect 4. Because Sweat is sometimes caused by another sort of Contraction viz. the Compression of the whole Body by a violent Defensive Contraction as in great Terrour Agonies and the like causing thereby as was shewn by the Comparison of a wet Sheet wrung whose out side is cold a cold Sweat which that of Alum or Vitriol causing an Exudation of the Spittle into the Mouth by constringing the Parts does illustrate very plainly Therefore you see I had just Cause not to mention Sweat as a certain and proper Effect of Relaxation without good Distinctions first made tho' unwary Authors that talk any Thing one after another not knowing what they say make it their common saying That Sleep and Opium stops all Fluxes but Sweat whereas they should have rather said but Perspiration for Opium and Sleep also will sometimes hinder Sweat viz. that from Pain Terrour c. and that as happens just upon awaking by the stronger Systole of the Heart and Contraction of the whole Body and that also upon motion unless the Body be as was said full of Humours or Moisture Therefore it is a Vulgar Errour to say Sweat instead of Perspiration in the Case aforesaid You may remember that in the Beginning of this Chapter I concluded that a Sal-Volatile-Oleosum such as Semen Humanum wherein the Oily and Volatile Parts are strictly combined and the Volatile somewhat more active or acrimonious than that in our Membranes in general must be most pleasing to the Membranes by a fine Titillation c. therefore if Opium should prove to be such we need not wonder at its titillating to Venery nor indeed its causing a high sense of Pleasure upon any Membrane they being all of the same Nature but especially upon the most exquisitely disposed Membrane of the Stomach and the Venereal Parts nor consequently its causing all the aforementioned Effects of intense Pleasure as Comfort Satisfaction Ovation c. of the sensitive Soul or Spirits and Relaxation of all the sensile Parts which will easily solve all the Phenomenas of Opium however numerous mysterious and seemingly contradictory as you 'll find Let us therefore now see whether Opium be such a Sal-Volatile-Oleosum wherein the Volatile Particles are somewhat more active or acrimonious than ours and the Oily and Volatile Parts strictly combined If so the Business is done the Nail is hit on the Head and I may say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 CHAP. XV. Shews what are the Principles of Opium and which cause the good and bad Effects thereof HAving tried if not tired your Patience and premised what I thought necessary in the foregoing Chapters I now reassume the Thread of my Discourse As for the passive Principles of Opium which do or signifie little or nothing
and frequent Erections are and must be from the same Cause 17. Nocturnal Pollutions are necessary Consequences of the Relaxation and the Titillation caused by those Volatile Salts as was said CHAP. XXIII The Explication of the Effects of Leaving off Opium after a long and lavish Use thereof I. GReat and even intolerable Distresses Anxieties and Depressions of Spirits do happen 1. Because the sensitive Soul who is so much comforted diverted and supported by the habitual and dearly beloved Pleasure that Opium causes being suddenly deprived thereof by which it was mainly sustain'd is exceedingly disappointed and cast down 2. Because he now labours under the sore Burthen of the Three Contractions so that every Thing seems and is really more grievous ●o him for now it acts as one in Pain or Grief and every Thing affects him more smartly proportionable to the Compression caused thereby of the Animal Spirits unless he returns to the Pleasure of Opium which elevates it again Or uses generous Wine as its substitute tho' it does not equal it either in the Intenseness or Duration of the Pleasure unless repeated as I have some where directed once in Half an Hour or an Hour in a moderate manner which causes a continuance of the Pleasure tho' it cannot equal the Intenseness of that of Opium which therefore has the greater Effects II. A Return of all Diseases Pains and Disasters must happen generally because the Opium takes them off by a bare Diversion of the Sense thereof by Pleasure III. Dangerous Loosenesses happen sometimes because the Sensation grows more grievous for as the pleasant Sensation caused by Opium takes away the Perception of the Irritation of Humours so the Grievance of Losing that Pleasure causing Contraction makes all Sensation smarter and consequently more irritating so that the Humours have thereby more of the Effect of Purgers which operate as all agree by Irritation Besides that the Humours before detain'd and suspended by Relaxation as in Sleep are now therefore pour'd down in greater Quantity by the advanced Contraction squeesing them out as the Return of the Vigilative Contraction after Sleep causes Men to be more apt to go to Stool upon awaking or getting up in the morning which may be well compared in some measure to Purging after Leaving off the Use of Opium since it relaxes as Sleep does and that for a much longer Time by a continued Use thereof IV. Death commonly follows for all the Reasons aforesaid especially the great and intolerable Distresses of Soul that they are under unless Opium be used which soon sets them right or Wine its Substitute so frequently used as to continue its Cordial Pleasure at Stomach Nothing now remains but to take a short Review to see whether I have explain'd all the amazing Contradictions that seem to be in the Effects of Opium for tho' it is really done yet may it not so well appear as when set one against the other It would be Tautology to repeat all the Reasons therefore I shall only mention them in the close Order I at first enumerated them that you may see that they are all explicated in the former Discourse You may well remember that I have shewn 1. How it causes Sleeping and Watching in divers Persons 2. How it causes and prevents Sweat 3. How it relaxes and stops Loosenesses even by relaxing 4. How it stops Fluxes and promotes Sweat and Perspiration 5. How it stupifies the Sense of Feeling yet irritates it 6. How it causes Stupidity if you sit or lie still otherwise Promptitude in Business 7. How it causes Cloudiness and Serenity That if one lies still and dozes This if he keeps in Action That by an excessive and lavish Use thereof which causes Moapishness This by a temperate occasional taking thereof especially in the Morning upon Iourneys c. 8. How it excites the Spirits yet quiets and composes them in Hysterick Fits Diary Fevers from Pain Commotions c. 9. How that it is very hot and takes of Fevers 10. How tho' it is hot and bitter yet it lessens Appetite and Hunger which is a grievous Sensation by causing a pleasant one 11. How it sometimes stops Urine by relaxing the Bladder suspending Humours c. and promotes it by its tickling Volatile Salt as Cantharides Bees Ants c. do 12. How it relaxes and thereby weakens as in Sleep c. yet enables to perform Labour Iourneys c. with great Euphory by divertive Pleasure 13. How it causes and prevents Abortion That by over-relaxing This by allaying Pains Terrours c. that might cause it 14. How it stops Vomiting by taking off Irritations c. and causes it by the Adherence of its indigestible and viscid Rosin 15. How it stops Purging and sometimes causes it by the Dissolution of its Rosin by a strong Digestion fixed Salts c. when its Quantity is considerable which makes it happen but rarely 16. How tho' acrimonious it takes away the sense of Acrimony 17. How it causes Madness and cures it by composing the Spirits c. 18. How it causes Palsies by relaxing the Parts and making them susceptible of Humours causing ill Digestion c. And may cure them as Dr. Willis gives an Instance by opening the Pores 19. How it causes Palsies and cures Stupors c. that proceed from Cold and Contracting Causes 20. How it causes Driness in the Mouth yet by taking off Fevers often cures it 21. How it takes off Hiccoughs and causes them as it does Vomiting and for the same Causes 22. How it stanches Bloud by quieting its motion yet promotes the Menses and Lochia by relaxing opening and widening the Vessels and Pores 23. How it stops critical motions that depend upon Irritation and Contraction and promotes such as depend upon opening the Pores 24. How it revives People that are at the Point of Death for want of Opium or by violent Contractions and Convulsions and is fatal to other weak Persons 25. How it causes Convulsions by its grieving Rosin and cures them by quieting and composing the Spirits by pleasing them 26. How it causes Contraction by the grievous Sensation that its Rosin causes and Relaxation by the pleasant Sensation that its Sal-Volatile Oleosum causes by That it causes many ill Effects not here named and by This it cures them for how can such contrary Causes according as one or the other prevails not cause contrary and seemingly contradictory Effects at divers Times and in divers Persons 27. How it relaxes yet causes the Tension Rigidity and Erection of the Penis Priapisms c. by its Titillation Thus have you all even the most mysterious and seemingly Contradictory Effects of Opium explain'd and reconcil'd and that so easily that if there were no other Proof of the Truth of my Foundation it is sufficient to convince any Man of its Validity considering the Vastness of the Number and Perplexity of the Nature of those Effects that are all with such Facility explain'd is able even
best Parts of Opium which is so much the better the more it abounds with them 9. If it yields any other Tincture than Red it is not right and the duller or paler the Red is the worse or weaker it is 10. The best is heavier in proportion to its Bulk which you may soon experiment thus Weigh an Ounce of each in the Air then weigh them just as they are in the Brass Scales in Water and the heavier will out-weigh the other in Water for the heavier any thing is the less Water takes from its Weight in proportion to its Bulk this is an infallible and most ready way to know the Weight of any thing in proportion to its Bulk Note That my Discourse is most particularly concerning the best sort of Crude Turky Opium that is the best that we have in common Use and that its Effects and not those of any Preparation thereof are set down in the following Chapters CHAP III. The Effects of Opium used externally OPIUM used externally has two sorts of Effects upon a Humane Body 1. As an Opiate to cause Sleep take away Pain c. 2. As an Alterative of the Parts it is applied to I. As an Opiate It is of very uncertain and uneven Effects when applied externally for sometimes it causes Sleep takes away Pain but it often fails therefore it is generally much better safer more certain and effectual to use it internally I do scarce know the case wherein 't is better to use it externally than internally unless it be to smell to in some cases But of these Things more particularly when we come to the Use of Opium in Curing Preventing or Paliating Diseases for here we only lay down Effects in order to a Disquisition of the Cause of the Operation of Opium to which its internal Effects will mainly contribute however it may be very useful to that end to lay down its alterative Effects for thereby we shall in good measure know the Prin ciples by which it operates II. It s external Effects as an Alterative are these viz. 1. It incides resolves and discusses 2. It relaxes and mollifies 3. It maturates and suppurates 4. It exulcerates or causes Blisters if it be very strong and applied to Persons of a fine Texture where the Skin is tender but this Effect belongs more properly to the Maslack or true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that drops from the Incisions made in the Heads of the Poppies especially the Theban which affords a very powerful Juice Hence you may observe that the more it exulcerates or blisters the better is the Opium vice versâ 5. It is a Psilotherick for it prevents Hair to grow and causes the shedding thereof 6. It is hurtful to the Eyes and Ears 7. It excites Itchings applied in a moderate manner to the Skin 8. It excites Venery applied to the Perinaeum CHAP. IV. The Effects of Opium used Internally in a moderate Dose 1. THE moderate Dose in ordinary Use to produce the following Effects is from one to three Grains more or less according to the Circumstance Condition Case Constitution Age c of the Person who takes it 2. It operates generally in a short time after it is in the Stomach that is in about half an Hour more or less if taken in a liquid Form and in about an Hour more or less if in a solid Form drinking a Draught of Water or some Liquor after it otherwise it may be sometimes near an Hour and a half before it has its full Effect But the time of its Operation has a considerable Latitude according to the Disposition of the Stomack and other Circumstances as the Vehicle it is taken in c. The constant Effects of Opium used internally in a moderate Dose 1. It causes a most agreeable pleasant and charming Sensation about the Region of the Stomach which if one lies or sits still diffuses it self in a kind of indefinite manner seizing one not unlike the gentle sweet Deliquium that we find upon our entrance into a most agreeable Slumber which upon yielding to it generally ends in Sleep But if the Person keeps himself in Action Discourse or Business it seems especially when given in a Mornning after a moderate Rest at Night like a most delicious and extraordinary Refreshment of the Spirits upon very good News or any other great cause of Ioy as the sight of a dearly beloved Person c. thought to have been lost at Sea or the like causing such a pleasant Ovation of the Spirits Serenity c. as we find after a competent Measure of generous Wine ad Hilaritatem as Men use to say It is indeed so unexpressibly fine and sweet a Pleasure that it is very difficult for me to describe or any to conceive it but such as actually feel it for 't is as if a Good Genius possessed or informed a Man therefore People do commonly call it a heavenly Condition as if no worldly Pleasure was to be compar'd with it Helmontianus would doubtless express it by the Archeus in his very best Humour It has been compar'd not without good cause to a permanent gentle Degree of that Pleasure which Modesty forbids the naming of and 't is well worth a Remark that both are Pleasures of the same Sense viz. that of Feeling for it cannot be a Pleasure of any other Sense since it is internal 2. It causes a brisk gay and good Humour Nor do I doubt but it has this Effect upon sleeping Persons as far as their Condition is capable of observing it for you shall have them often tell of pleasant Dreams after it when they remember them and speak of any See Bauchin and the Authors mentioned below under the 4th Effect of Opium 3. It causes Promptitude Serenity Alacrity and Expediteness in Dispatching and Managing of Business To which end and that of a good and gay Humour which are near of kind it is commonly taken in the Morning in the Eastern Countries with most certain Effect The truth of which Wedelius is forced to confess though quite contrary to his Hypothesis of Opium's fixing and coagulating the Spirits giving an instance of a certain serene Person who when she had any Affair of great moment to dispatch did before-hand take Opium with great advantage for she thereby found her self every way better disposed for Business and more enabled to bear the Fatigue thereof Which is the Substance of what he writes in Latin Many other Authors confirm the Truth of these Effects but above all the constant Experience of the Eastern Nations puts it out of all doubt 4. It causes Assurance Ovation of the Spirits Courage Contempt of Danger and Magnanimity much after the manner that generous Wine does instead of which the Turks c. use Opium before Engagements desperate Attacks c. as is most notorious to make them Courageous which it certainly does For your satisfaction as to this and other Effects of Opium not so commonly observed
the Spirits by any means for there is nothing so good in Nature but will do it if used unduely or immoderately as Wine Bread Milk Honey Sugar Beer c. in excess for I intend that it does not do it when duely and moderately used 1. That which refreshes the Wearied and highly prevents Weariness must add to or excite the Spirits which is directly contrary to diminishing or disabling them but Opium does in a most eminent manner refresh the Wearied and prevent Weariness therefore it does not diminish or disable the Spirits Some have been so silly and inadvertent as to object that it refresh'd the Weary only by Sleep It is Matter of Fact that it refreshes them whether they Sleep or no and that without failing as often as it is used in that Case Others that were no Wiser have said that it only took off the sense of Weariness by stupifying which happened by the diminishing or disabling of the Animal Spirits Bare Insensibleness cannot enable the Spirits to Labour with eminent Briskness and Alacrity as Men most certainly do after Opium is taken being finely enlivened and invigorated as with generous Wine if they do not know this to be true let them for shame hold their Tongues till they know Matter of Fact which if they will not they proclaim themselves to be idle and impertinent Babblers but if they will patiently and wisely abstain arguing till they are satisfied as to Matter of Fact then will they be past Opinion and Hypothesis in that Case for they will have sensible and certain Knowledge of the contrary and the Truth of what I say which will end all Controversy and precarious Squabbles upon false Suppositions as the manner is that cannot lead them to what is Right but by meer chance and never to a true Knowledge that they are in the Right which makes it none in effect for they can do nothing with Assurance but only suppose and hope they are in the Right when they are as much out to their Patient's sorrow as Physicians have been in the cold Quality and Fumes of Opium It is true that a Grain or Two of Opium will if a Man composes himself sitting or lying still cause a Sleepiness equal to that caused by spending the Spirits by a Day 's Labour but spending of the Spirits is not the only no nor best proportioned or more adequate cause thereof as I have shewn If loss of Spirit were the adequate cause of Sleep how should good and generous Wine cause Sleepiness after that eminent Rate as it does in most People How should the most pleasing Musick incline such as lie or sit still to sleep but if one Dances thereto it makes him more lively and brisk than ordinary The like exactly do Wine and Opium if Men lie or sit still but otherwise they make them much more brisk and lively and able to undergo Labour Action c. Which Note that you may not any more wonder that Enliveners and Exciters of the Spirits do cause Sleep as well as Diminishers thereof and observe that they are all pleasing things as Musick Wine and Opium which cause Pleasant Dreams Pleasant Watchings Pleasant Humours c. Expect more of this Matter in the following Chapters and all by degrees according as I Judge the prejudiced World will bear Things For a great Paradox how true soever must not be abruptly obtruded but gently and gradually ushered in by insinuating Reasonings otherwise it will be entertained like a rude Stranger that contradicts a Multitude in Fashions and Customs that they have always used and judged to be the very best however blameable Consider that if Opium diminished or disabled the Spirits proportionable to the Sleepiness that it causes as a hard Day 's Labour does then if Opium were given a Man after a hard Day 's Labour it would be as it were adding another hard Day 's Labour to cure it the Day 's Labour and Opium impairing the Spirits alike Think what a miserable Condition the poor Man would be in especially if Sleep did not make him some amends it would be such as were utterly intollerable but so far is Opium from any such Effect that it refreshes him tho' he Sleep not at all after the hard Day 's Labour and not only so but will enable him to Work all the following Night with great Alacrity if need requires it What a Condition would those be in who take a Drachm of it twice a day for 10 20 or 30 years Nay how could any possibly do it for half 10 days if a Grain or Two destroyed the Spirits so much as to cause Sleepiness thereby as hard Labour does Which they must allow that assert it causes Sleep by diminishing or disabling the Spirits But some may say tho' very inconsiderately that it only disables them for the time of its Operation That is strange indeed considering that even during that time they are mostly enabled to Work or Labour tho' tired before and that it 2. Causes Comfort Refreshment Ovation of the Spirits all the time of its Operation as Wine moderately taken does especially if People keep themselves in Action Labour c. otherwise indeed they may fall asleep upon the comfortable satisfaction contentation of Mind and acquiescence of Spirit that it occasions as Wine does 3. The first Effect that we find of Opium which may therefore probably be a very leading fundamental and significant Effect is that it causes a most agreeable pleasant and charming sensation about the Region of the Stomach which if one lies or sits still inclines him to Sleep if not it makes him gay good humour'd brave c. It is a Pleasure so sweet and delicious that tho' I endeavour'd to express it by the Ovation of the Spirits upon Joy a good Genius informing a Man or the Helm●sians Archeus in his best Humour or a continual V●real Pleasure Wine drank ad Hilaritatem c. yet I doubt all my Ways of expressing it do come short of the charming Complacency that it causes Therefore if Wine Musick a good Meal agreeable Frication of the Head or Back the sound of Waters c. do incline us to Sleep by the Pleasure thereof which lulls and sooths us to it as is most certain if we sit or lie still much more must the high Charms of Opium cause it That it is a Pleasure that affects by one of our Senses namely by Feeling is indisputable for it is not a Pleasure of the Eye Nose Tongue or Ear and it must be sensitive because caused by Matter and that Opium has doubtless the like Effect upon Brutes who have no other Pleasure but what is sensitive That it is at Stomach is also evident where we can be pleased only by the Sense of Feeling That it is involuntary and pleases us whether we will or no and that the same Particles excite Venery Itching c. Now all the Senses especially Feeling and particularly that at Stomach are given us for
Sensation of the sensile Parts which cannot well happen in that sound Sleep wherein there is so little Feeling by Reason of the said Relaxation and because Relaxation opposes Contraction by which that Shivering is promoted Such a Relaxation and Failure of Feeling thereupon is the true Cause why Opium puts off Ague Fits c. So 20. The Relaxation in Sleep stops Vomiting by taking away the sense of the irritating Cause and quieting as I have intimated all Motions in general so Sleep stops Hiccoughs Hemorrhages Diary Fevers c. 21. Why Watching Labour or what impairs the Spirits and tires the sensitive Soul inclines us to Sleep that is disposes the sensitive Soul the only Feeler of Lassitude to give over Contracting the Sensile Parts which as will plainly appear by and by spends the Spirits as Sleep by relaxing them causes a Recruit thereof To be short tho' one can hardly be too long in solving Phenomena's which is the Proof of the Truth of a Man's Assertion the Mechanical Demonstration that I have made of the State of Sleeping and Waking does so evidently explicate all the Phenomena's of both that I am even asham'd to run any farther upon such plain Matters so obvious are Things when the Truth is known and therefore having mention'd those Circumstances and Effects of Sleep that mainly concern us I must give over lest the World should think that I take all my Readers to be Idiots by using too many Words in so obvious a Thing or that I am no better for using them without Cause for the Truth of this Matter seems to me to out-shine all the Arguments I can make for it such Splendour does Truth shew upon the first Glimps thereof as I take the Account I gave of Sleep and Watching to be for the Opinions I have met concerning them were quite contrary to or very remote from what I have stated 1. They went quite contrary to it that said That the Animal Spirits were expanded and the Pores of the Brain c. more open and consequently more lax in Watching as Willis and several others who therefore say that Coffee Volatile Salts c. are Antihypnoticks or good against too much Sleepiness because they cause an Expansion of the Spirits and open the Pores of the Brain supposing forsooth that they marched up and down and so kept the greater stir upon the false Imagination of their Roads being more open which as was proved are really more close Coffee keeps us from Sleep by drying binding and both Ways constringing the Vessels as also by a wide grating Quality which therefore does irritate them to contract besides that the Saline Particles causing an Agitation may contribute thereto so that by constringing and agitating it directly opposes Sleep which proceeds from Relaxation and Quietness 2. They were very remote from the Mark that said as Wedeli●s asserts all do that Vapours were the cause of Natural Sleep which bear no manner of Proportion thereto as was shewn As they were also who m●dly talk'd That the Animal Spirits which have neither Life Sense Motion or Election did of themselves retire very knowingly to the Brain in S●eep and left the Limbs c. destitute of them whereas as has been Mechanically proved they have more Room than that at other times in 〈◊〉 Limbs and all the sensile Parts But I will not argue against such senseless and precarious Absurdities it is not worth the while especially since the Truth is manifestly discovered It would not have been so silly to have affirm'd the quite contrary viz. That the Animal Spirits are forced into the soft and yielding Brain in Watching by the Vigilative Contraction of all the senfile Parts repelling them as when Cold repels them by a strong Contraction of the Parts and causes a Stupor or Sleep thereof as they call it But what have we to do with such insufferable Trash Therefore bidding it adieu let us pursue our Business That it is the Sensitive Soul and nothing but it has that Contracting Power is evident 1. Because it is the Original of all Motion in the Animal as such and that nothing besides it has any Life Perception Motion or Power and therefore must rest till they are moved 2. Because That when the Sensitive Soul is diverted by intense Pleasure from attending his Business immediately Relaxation follows as in the Pleasure of the Act of Venery by Wine Ioy c. in which you have all the Effects of Relaxation as Deadness of the Eyes Dilatation of the Pupilla plentiful Perspiration Floridity of the Skin a large Pulse and sometimes a considerable Failure of Sense and Motion as in the most pleasant time of the Venereal Act Deliquiums Drunkenness Syncopes or Ecstasies upon intense Pleasure which are very properly called Ecstasies Leipothymies Leipopsychies c. which signifie the Soul's leaving us without his Help by Contractions which he then does not exercise as being charm'd and wholly taken up with Pleasure This is the true Cause of all Deliquiums c. upon Pleasure Ioy c. all which cause great Relaxations and thereby Loss of Sense and Motion as being its necessary Consequences 3. Because grievous Sensation which belongs only to the Sensitive Soul puts us immediately out of Sleep into a Vigilative Contraction 4. Because the Sensitive Soul can when we are Sleepy oppose it by continuing the Vigilative Contraction which proves Vigilative Contraction to be in his Power Note That there is also other sorts of Leipothymies Deliquiums c. upon the Sensitive Soul's being over-tired whereof Natural Sleep is but a common and ordinary Degree that happens of Course for our Relief or over-born with some Fatigue c. as when somewhat grieves at Stomach and that it has laid about it all manner of Ways by Vomiting Convulsive Motions c. to be rid of it till it can work no longer whereupon it lays down the Cudgels desists from all further Endeavour by Contractions yielding it self to Ease seeing all Striving is to no Effect So that tho' this Deliquium and the former differ in their first Causes yet do they agree in the last and immediate viz. the Sensitive Soul 's not attending his Business of Contraction whereupon follows a mighty Relaxation as appears by the Deadness or Relaxation of the Cornea Dilatation of the Pupil a great Laxity of all Parts a large Pulse or none very plentiful Perspiration Stops of Hemorrhages and all Fluxes that require Contraction c. which happen both upon the Account of the great Relaxation it self as has been shewn and the almost absolute Rest of all Things by the Sensitive Soul's withdrawing himself from Business more than in Sleep it self I therefore observing the Degrees of Sleep c. do Note That God and Nature using a due Proportion in all Things the Sensitive Soul uses several Degrees of Relaxation according as he is tired and Refection is wanted Hence it is that such as are much tired sleep more profoundly that our first