A Solemn Appeal - James White

injury. The instant, therefore that they are tasked
beyond the design of their organization, they suffer
fatigue and irritation. When the overtasked system
is in good tone, it will, for a time, perhaps, relieve
itself by vomiting, diarrhea, etc. But it soon
becomes incapable of thus relieving itself, and
either dies in the attempt or sinks into a decline.
Now, with all this, and especially with whatever
pertains to the stomach, the nervous system
strongly sympathizes, and through that the passions
are disturbed, irritated, and inflamed.
The disturbance produced by excessive
alimentation is quite mechanical. The food, passing
from the stomach but half digested--for it is
obliged to pass out to give place to more--irritates
the mucous membrane, or inner coating of the
bowels, with its coarseness and its crudity, while
from it the lacteals are capable of extracting but
very imperfect chyle. Now for the same reason that
the half-digested food irritated the bowels, this
poor chyle irritates the duet through which it is
conveyed into the circulation. And now the blood,
loaded with this crude chyle, goes irritating
31