The philosophy of eating. By Albert J. Bellows, M.D.

224

ALCOHOL ONLY A STIMULANT.

Wood, of Philadelphia, the standard work on that
subject in the United States, also expresses similar
opinions on the character and effects of alcohol. Professor Bigelow's Materia Medica, the standard work
when I was a member of Harvard School, expresses a
similar opinion. All agree that alcohol is a stimulus
which, literally, means a goad, a whip. When a
horse gets stuck with a load too heavy for him, we use
the goad or whip to excite the muscles to take the load
up the hill. But, when once up, the careful driver
will be sure that next time the load shall be lighter, or
the horse made stronger with oats. What should we
say to the teamster who persisted in the opinion that
the whip afforded nourishment to the horse because he
could be made to draw a heavier load by whipping,
and therefore persisted in whipping him more severely
as his strength became exhausted? But if this is not
the position of those who think that alcohol is nutritious I cannot understand them.
Is alcohol useful in promoting digestion, or in consumption or general debility?
Keeping in mind the fact that, upon the highest
medical authority alcohol is only a stimulant, I have
no difficulty in determining how far alcohol is useful
and how far injurious.
I have sat by the bedside, and, watching the sinking
pulse, and fearing lest Nature might not be able to
carry the load, have put in the goad, and in three minutes have felt the circulation rise; but in a few minutes
more it would sink again, and the stimulant must be