Physiological reflections on the destructive operation of spirituous and fermented liquors on the animal system / [T. Forster].

  • Forster, T. (Thomas), 1789-1860
Date:
1812
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Physiological reflections on the destructive operation of spirituous and fermented liquors on the animal system / [T. Forster]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    disordered state of the digestive functions, induced by spiritous liquors, be capable of exciting the sensorium in such a manner as to produce hypochondriacism and melan¬ choly, and to exasperate a predisposition to more determinate madness: if, too, other and various forms of neurosis depend on such a state of disorder; I think it may be rationally expected that a slighter degree of such dis¬ order exists generally in persons who are the sport of inordinate enthusiasm and supersti¬ tion, and who become the dupes of im¬ pious pretenders to divine inspiration. It will readily be perceived, that a state of disorder, which, under aggravated circum¬ stances, can produce such a degree of men¬ tal perversion, must have a general tendency to weaken and distort the intellect, and to induce an irritable or desponding disposi¬ tion of the mind, which, aided by the co¬ operation of external causes, has ever be¬ come a fertile source of social and civil discord. An inquiry into the mutual dependence of physical and moral evil on each other, consti¬ tutes a subject too extensive to be discussed in this paper, and one for which I am ill calcu-