The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-04-22
DEATH is PAINLESS.
The LAST SENSATIONS IN THIS
WORLD ARE HAPPY ONES.


Without Half the Agony of Sickness.
A human beings death was formerly
considered a great struggle, and vivid,
almost shocking, descriptions of the
phenomena of dying were given in such
exaggerated forms that none cared to
think of the supreme moment when
death should come to them. Euthanasia,
or the pleasure of dying, takes the very
opposite view and proclaims death to
be easy and almost painless.
As the end Of life approaches nature
often brings her peculiar anasthetic and
the person passes off without suffering
half the agony which the sickness caus.
ing the death brought to the patient
Even men meeting a violent death in the
jaws of wild beasts have few seconds
of calm preparation before dying, which
brings relief and a certain degree of
pleasure. The great trouble in death is
the sickness and pain which carries one
to the door of death, and it is at such
moments that one suffers all the torment
and agony of a dozen deaths.
The pleasures of dying can only be
ikened to those Of the dreamy morphine
eater, who gradually passes off into a
semiconscious state where everything
seems like floating visions Of bliss. The
body and nerves are numb, and the ex-
cited, overwrought brain becomes quiet
and unexcited.
The imagination plays fancifully with
blissful pictures, and the whole condi-
ton of the nervous system is of pleasur-
able exaltation. The drowning man ex-
periences the same relief and pleasure
when the struggles are over and the cold
limbs grow stiff and numb.
BLISS BEFORE THE END.
Persons frozen in binding snowstorms
have reported their sensations accurate
ly, and they all agree that after a GER
tain amount OfSuffering which every one
feels at first in extreme cold they enter
into blissful state from which they do
not wish to be reused.
Morphine, cocaine, ether and lauda-
mum bring to the patient this same
mental and nervous condition, and pa
tients resent any attempt to rouse them
from their dreamy state. Nature sup
plies her own anasthetic before the i'm
pOrtant moment has arrived.
Before the death rattle is heard the
cOnvulsed frame relaXes, the signs Of
pain and suffering on the frame disap-
pear, and often a smile partly opens the
lips. The whole body shows signs Of a
painless, moment, and if the mind wan
ders and the tongue utters words they
are all of pleasure and joy.
Those who have watched at hundreds
Of deathbeds have noted that death was
easy, and officers in battle have testi-
fed that the last moments of dying sol
diers were painless. People who have
been in the jaws of wild beasts in India
and have been rescued at the last mo-
ment, testify that numbing calmness
wss experienced after the first sharp,
painful snap of the teeth upon them.
In fact the approach Of every creatures
fate brings with it kindly preparation
when life is blissful and full of pleas
ure. The last sensation in this world is
then one Of joy and not excruciating
pain.
The real knowledge of euthanasia
certainly diminishes if it does not en-
tirely relieve the dread of many of the
last struggle, which has been made so
horrible by descriptions of its agony.
PLEASURES OF DYING.
The pleasures of dying may remove a
great burden from the minds Of hun
dreds who are inevitably approaching
death. The old fashioned notion that
death would be terrible had a baleful
influence upon those who were fighting
cd
their complaints by feverishly dreading
the pain of the last struggle. In this
way great deal of harm was done, and
many sufferers FASTENED their own end.
Even in the case of poisoning, the
pain suffered is only when the system
combats against the desire to yield to
the influence of the drug. Sleep gener-
ally steals over the person, and only the
dreamy pleasures caused by the poison
and of dying are again experienced Ill
this world. The greatest pain felt Is
that of the stomach pump, which may be
applied in time to recall the suicide to
life, and in every case they rebel against
this most emphatically. That the suf
fering is not so terrible may be surmised
from the fact that persons who have
once attempted suicide frequently make
the second or third attempt.
1t is a fact that the pain of death is
frequently far less than the pain that
accompanies many diseases that are not
fatal. The pain of rheumatism, for in
stance, is probably more severe than the
usual pain of dying. SO is the pain of
neuralgia or the pain of the toothache.
Death often, indeed, comes as silently
and painlessly as sleep. Those at the
bedside cannot see exactly when the
vital spark of life gives out with any
more certainty than you can tell when a
drowsy person passes from semicon-
sciousness to actual sleep. If we were
not all familiar with the phenomenon of
sleep how we should fear that sweet OBJ
livion; how we should stand affrighted
on the brink before yielding our brain
and body to the absolute unconscious
ness of healthy sleep.-Dr. W. B. Akin
son.