The Monmouth inquirer., 1924-09-11
NO STING IN DEATH
French Specialist Declares That
Death Is Painless.

Er@ncn Speclalisb declares 1HeS
Death Is Painless.
Do we suffer to die? La Lacture, the
famous French paper, puts this ques-
ton, and Dr.. Neeher the eminent
specialist, of the Partisan hospitals.
answers with big, round no.
Il have observed and noted with
the greatest attention and care, he
says, "all the phenomena Of that the
most important act Of life that is call
led death, and can affirm that 1t Is
painless. Sensibility, that compound
action Of the brain, nerves and mus
cles which produces all our feelings,
both physical and psychological, is the
first thing to die. 1t becomes extinct
before the animal life ends, and con-
sequently there is no pain in death.
death like sleep, is an absolutely
inconsistent and painless act. Nobody
can remember the exact moment he
fell asleep and no one has a notion Of
the exact moment when he dies.
TN some cases when the brain is
clear enough to permit the patient to
think and reason, the man about to die
realizes his position, but even then he
is only able to have a very faint and
nebulous idea of what happens to him.
His mind is too confused to make de-
auctions that would necessarily cause
intense moral pain.
Gas to physical pain, there is none.
"When a person becomes so i'll that
he is about to die, no matter what the
direct cause of his condition might be
lin other words, when a man is about
to die a natural or violent death, the
atrophia of physical sensibility is so
complete that he would not feel any
pain even if he be pinched or slashed
or In any other way hurt
ct is logical, therefore. to think
that If previous to reaching the agontc
or preagonic period he was suffering
from any pain, it had disappeared, for
there can be no pain where there is an
absolute absence of sensibility.
Il am acquainted with. the case of a
man who jumped overheard from a
steamer in mid-ocean. with the object
as he afterward testified, to find out
what the feelings of a drowning man
were.
HE struggled desperately for two
or three hours, and during that time,
he said, his sufferings, both physical
and moral, were intense; but then.
with the approach OF death, ell feel
ings disappeared. His brain worked
still, but it had been so weakened
that, while he had notion of what
happened, it was so faint and imper-
feet that he could not fully realize his
position. He was picked up and saved
when ne was, in his own opinion;
more than dead
"A little child had his two legs cut
off by train. He was brought to the
hospital and, according to the ambu-
any pain. He only begged the doctors
that his legs be not amputated. / con-
versed with him for few minutes of
Indifferent things and to all my ques-
tons the child answered with perfect
accuracy. Suddenly he looked at me
and said:
"'How good this Isl
"What?' l asked. Nothing re-
piled the child, but feel all over my
body something that is very nice
And he died."
It is known that the sensation felt
by mortal wound inflicted with RI
fle bullet is that Of light blow. In
many instances, when the wound,
while dangerous, Is not necessarily
mortal, the blow is felt in another part
of the body The writer himself was
shot in the liver in one of the battles
OF the Cuban revolution. and felt the
pain, a very slight pain, under the
right eye. 1t was only after several
hours that he discovered his mistake.
Death by hemorrhage, according to
the most famous medical authorities,
is delicious" as is death by hanging.