, 1881-07-10
Erroneousness of the Popular
Motion as to the Death
Agony"
Death a Physiological Process, and
It and Pain Seldom Go
Together.
Nature Hssing Provided Bodily An.
esthctic, the Dcatll-struggle
Is Automatic.
Visions Of the Dying Purely the Fantasies
off Fast-Disorganizing Brain.


Thomas u. Spencer. u. D.. in the Popular Science
Monthly forJuiy
There seems to be ITO subject from which
the mind SO instinctiycly sllrinks, few
thoughts more rcpellent to the soul, alld no
dread vision OF the night, howsoever fantas-
tic it be, that presents to the imagination so
formidable an aspect rs that OF death. Ill
deed, with this all nature seems at variance.
The English ivy creeping over fallen rams,
, Or the fresh moss covering the prostrate
trunk of some forest oak, seems as If elideav-
! ortng to hide from view the havoc which
death has made. Beyond the merely i'll
stnctiye desire to exist, the dread OF death Is
u matter Of education. Never does the child
forget his first sight Of CORPSE; tile dark
ened chamber, the storm of grief, the white
face and rigid textures, :ll combine to form
all indeIble impression OIL the mind.
1t is probably the extensive parapllernalia
attending the funeral Of the present day that
render death so formidable. In war-on the
battlefield. where death :lssules its most
sanguilary aspect-tlle mind OF the soldier,
from constant association, becomes so Injured
that it ceases to be impressed with natural
terror, and death seems but another foe 10 be
met and conquered. Although the con-
siteration of this topic be repugnant
to the naturally healthy mind, there
come times III the life Of every individual,
that might be termed periods Of sclf-con-
seriousness, during which the mind brushes
aside the more vulgar affairs Of life, and
grapplcs with the awe-inspirlng mysteries of
death. As these phenomena are considered
one after another in their manifold aspects,
the mind, owing to the association Ut ideas,
becomes involved in such All Intricate laby-
rintl Of thought that, after wandering here
and there, yainly enleavorlng to solve the
problem OF death, it gives it UP as Il hopeless
cUl1llrltlrum.
Its our purpose to discuss, as briefly as
possible, some Of the
MUST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF DISSOLUTION
Addison said that there was nothing in
history more Imposing than, nothing so
pleasing and affecting lis, the accounts VI the
behavior III eminent persons III their dylllg
hours; and Aiontaigne remarks, Willie specu-
lating OIL death, that, Of ail the uassaEtS in
the annals Of mankind, those which attracted
and delighted! him most were the words and
gestures Of dying mcn. III | were a 1naker
Ut buoss," he continues, - l would compile
a register with comments OF various deaths,
fur he who should teach men to die would
teach them to 1Ivc.'' There are three eIe-
1lents presented in this fear ot4atcath: First,
the extinction of litt''s pleasures. interests,
and hopes, to which the mind lcoks forward
with 4 degree OF apprehension pro-
portiollato to the amount Of happ-
mes. they arc capable OF atfordtng.
With the young and Vigorous the
loss Of these animal enjoyments is conten-
plated wiki extreme misery; .:s:l,cc the Gus
In f..ir%- nf hearing the
litclrss body OF youth IL the funeral-pyre III
the break Of morn. ''lest the sun should be-
hpid SO sad Il sight us the young dead.''
Second, the .irrad Of the unknown future.
ilellt. And, lastly, comes 4 fear more pow
erful than either, WHICH is the dread ot pain.
inherent in Nature. From time ilnnenoslal
the actual moment of dissolution las 5cen
supposed to he accompanied by tllrOe OF
anguish known ;.s
THE "DE.Arll--AGoSY.'
This is believed to occur at that moment
WHEN tie spiritual and physical forces that
have been 50 intimately blended Tor many
years are torn astndcr,-tlle one to molt'er
and decay, the other IL take Npun Itself tlllt.
new life beyond the ken Ut lta!a.
This last element properly belongs to the
pIysiuloGiSt, and lis such We propose to con-
siIer it. Sir Francis Bacon. in one Of his
ESSAYS, published for tle 1lrst IT. tlnle ln 1le
profound thought: ''1t is as natural to die
;s to bt. born; and 10 the little infant, per
laps, the one Is as painful as tile other"
In protundity Ut thought apd 'ltpt]! Ut re-
search Bacon stepped in advance Of his con
tclnpnr.ries, amt lived III the future. Thus
we lind that, contrary tu the generally IT.
celveu opinion OF even this latter day, nature
evidently designed that the end Of nan
should tie rs painless rs his beginning.
Vt BIRTH the babe undergoes al ordeal
that, were he conscious. would be
more trying than 4 most painful death; yet
he feels ii not. Born i'll al unconscious state,
the brain incapable OF receiving conscious
impressions. his entrance into this hitherto
unknown world Is ACCOMPLISHED utring i
stale Of oblivion, known as Natures anes-
tllesia:
l'antcsly we como. whence VIC know not
l'uncsly we 80. whittier VIC know not!
From the earliest period Of human history
death has been considered as necessarily
ef1'Ht,sa 5cef that Tue ' terms s. ea!,-asol,y,S
last struggle" " '-panss Of dcatl!,' etc,
age and under all conditions of societ!.
'Nothln. could be more erroneous; the
truth is,.
PAIN AND DEATH SELDOM GO TOGETHER
wenlean the last moments nj life: Of course,
death may be preceded by weeks. or even
months, Of extreme s1ltfctlns, is occurs d"t-
ing certain i1lcur:lbit diseases.
50 exaggerated has been this notion that 1t
has beet, considered all act Of humanity to
anticipalr The 'death-StruEG!c by violence;
for ages it WIS customary among the lower
classes of Europe to hasten death by, sud-
denly Jerking the pillow from beneath tlle
head of the dying, thus throwing the |
hcau backward, straiiIing the pllarynggal
and tor;lcic muscles, rendering the |
respiration, already difficult, shortly |
impossible. Il Venetian Ambassador, III the |
time Of Queen Mary, asserted that 1t was 4 |
common custom. among the conn1ry-people |
to smother the dying By n4eans ot Il pillow
placed over the face, upon which leaned or |
sat the nearest relative. This was founded
upon the pious belief that Il short Foad was
the best one. This custom w:ts liam 19cd down |
from generation to gencration,-p rents per
forming it fnr their children, and vice versa
But, perhaps, the s:tidcSt privilege ever al- |
lowed the near friends OF Il dying man oc--
Cured occasionally during the reign Of |
Queer, Elizabeth, when through executive |
clemency-in executions by Eangil'g-they |
were permitted to grasp tl,e teet of the sus-
pended criminal, and, hy clinying TO- the cN-
trelnities. prccipitate their additional weight !
on the body, thereby fastening Str:lnGuIa- |
ton. 1t is needless to say ts'"; these /
theories are false in both conception
and practice Death is Il physiological
process, and, like all other animal functions.
SHOULD EE PAINLESS
1o4.t