Morphine, C17H19NO3, is the most abundant of opium’s 24
alkaloids, accounting for 9 to 14% of opium-extract by mass.
Named after the Roman god of dreams Morpheus, who also became
the god of slumber, the drug morphine, appropriately enough,
numbs pain, alters mood and induces sleep. Less popular and less
mentioned effects include nausea, vomiting and decreased
gastrointestinal motility. (It’s a great constipator, and in
Guerin’s painting, Isis is perhaps bringing Morpheus a
laxative.) Morphine and its related synthetic derivatives, known
as opioids, are so far unbeatable at dulling chronic or so-
called “slow” pain, but unfortunately they are all physically
addictive. During the American Civil War, 400 000 soldiers
became addicted to morphine. Both morphine and its hydrated
form,C17H19NO3.H2O, are sparingly soluble in water. In five
litres of water, only one gram of the hydrate will dissolve. For
this reason, pharmaceutical companies produce sulphate and
hydrochloride salts of the drug, both of which are over 3