Sed. icù

no Bodies are fo lit and able plea-iingly to affe£t our fenfible Mem-branes, as thofe which confift ofvolatile Parts, whofe Activity istemper'd and allay'd by the Smooth-nei's of feme which are lubricatingand oily; for they lightly rarify theJuices of the Stomach, and caufea pleaûnt Titillation of its nervousCoat, whereby there is induced anagreeable Plenitude, and the Mindis entertain'd with Ideas of Satis-faction and Delight. And thus weeafily fee upon what Mechanifinthe other Virtues of Opiates depend :for their eaiing Pains, checkingEvacuations, &c. proceed not onlyfrom the Mind's being taken upwith a pleating Senfe, wherebyit is diverted from a difagreeableone ; but all Pain being attendedwith a Contraction of the Part, theRelaxation of the Fibres, whichthey caufe, eludes and deftroys theForce of the Stimulus.

In like manner, in immoderateSecretions there is moft commonlyan Irritation of the Organs, the Re-moval of which will abate the Dif-charge. And herein lies the incraf-fating Quality of theiè Medicines inthat the twitching Senfe upon the.Membranes of the Lungs, Bowels,¿fc. being lefien'd, the fbarp Hu-mour is fuffer'd to lodge there in agreater quantity, betöre it is lbtroublefome to be thrown oft andexpell'd ; it being all one as if therewere no Irritation of the Part, ifthe uneafy Senfe thereof be not re-garded by the Mind. Thefe Effectswill all be heighten'd by the Mix-ture of the Narcotic Particles withthe Blood ; which is hereupon rari-fy'd, and diitends its Veffels, efpe-cially thofe of the Brain; and thisdoes ftill to a greater degree leflenthe Influx of ^the nervous Fluid tothe Parts, by prefïing upon the Tu-

Of Narcotics'.

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bull, or little Canals, thro whichit is derived. This is the reafbn ofthat difficulty of breathing, whichthey do for a time experience whotake this kind of Medicines; thisSymptom being inièparable fromthe Rarifaction of the Blood in theLungs.

From hence it appears that theAction of theiè Medicines, and par-ticularly that of Opium, is very ana-logous to that of other volatile Spi-rits ; only thac a fmall Portion ofthe former has a Force equal to thatof a greater quantity of the latter.And this is very evident in thofewho accuftom themfelves to takelarge Dofes of Opium; as the Turksand Perfians do to fuch a degree, thatit is no uncommon thing there toeat a Dram or two at a time ; forthe Effects of it in them are no o-ther than downright Drunkennefs :upon which account it is a commonSaying with them, and on the lameOccalion, He has eat Opium; aswith us, He has drunk too muchWine. Neither indeed do they bearfuch large quantities of it otherwifethan Tipplers will a great deal ofBrandy, thatis,by habituatingthem-ielves to it by degrees, beginningwith fmall Dofes, and requiring ftillmore and more, to raiiè themfelvesto the lame pitch. Juft as Galentells of a Woman at Athens, whoby a gradual Ule had brought herfelf to take, without any hurt, aconfiderable quantity of Hemlock:which Inftance is the more to ourpurpofe, becaufc Nicolas Fontanusknew one, who being recover'd ofthe Plague, and wanting Sleep, did,with very good effect, eat Hemlockfor lome time; till failing ill againof a Fever, and having left off theUfe of this Remedy, he endeavour'dto procure Reft by repeated Dofesof Opium, which ( Nature having

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