Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1836-08-25
THE TELEGRAPH.
F0r The IeIcgrdph.
AUGUST 25.

For the Telegraph.
TEE. TOTALISM-thc Wiue Question.
Mr. Editor:
The remarks which follow are de.
signed rather as continuation of the arti-
Gle sent you previous to your late alb
sence, than as set reply TO the notes you
were pleased to append to that c0mmuni-
cation. If am lin the dark" as to the
meaning ofthe word ree-total,' as it is
very possible may be, not having been
SO successful as to find it in anv dictiona-
ry at hand, or among the $4,000 words OF
| Dr. Webster, as the word has some
thing of heathenish look, hope you will
favor your readers and me with the origin,
definition. and force OF the term-whelh-
er it means abstinence from all that into1i-
Gates the human brain, or only alcohol,
in the various modes and forms in which
it is known to exist; for if rightly divine
there is an alcoholic, an Intoxicating, de-
moralizing, soul-dcbasing principle, in
some other things besides strong drink
In both my former and present remarks
my object has been to take Bible view
Of the subject. In my connection with the
Christian church, | am pledged TO the
Scriptures as my onl y rule Of faith and
proctice, and have found it necessary to
stop and soIemnly TO PAUSE" not that |
was in darkness at all, but to inquire how
far l ought. and might innoccntly, descend
from my high vocation, to listen 10 author.
tiles and requirements for which | could
find although they were not expressly
forbidden no warrant in the statistics OF
my King and country My inquiries were
such as these Does the Word Of God re-
quire me to reject as forbidden fruit the
fermentation Of the apple and the grape 2
Does the church Of God require it of me?
Does the voice Of natural conscience, heav.
ems silent monitor in man, require it?-
There is nothinc,' sir, like taking hold
Of the conscience" and nothing like the
Bible to affect this2 Before l can leave
: SHINING must repent Of sin; and before |
can repent Of sin must be shown that
do sin. And will you attempt this by cit
ing me to what every modern noviciate in
ethics may say? or will you rein meto the
claw and to the testimony and show me
that if act or walk not according to these
it is because l am Gin darkness" and
there is no light nor life in me!
When eighteen years since, l connect
ed with the church, was by that act
pledged to be temperate in all things" to
use this world as not abusing it," Why,
then, repeat, should come down from
the high ground Ithen assumed, to pledge
myselfancw to every sclf-created, sef-re-
sponsible, merely human association,
which, in the ever-varying aspect of hu-
man affairs might chance 10 arise; as if
the pledge | then gave 10 God and all
good men, had proved insufficient to hold
me to the performance of the duties that
that pledge involved2 All, sir, here if l
mistake not is en- anti-climax in Christian
morality, without parallel in the longev-
ity of the world
The Scriptures you have, and whic h
are generally quoted, think, sir, are quite
irrelevant While the Bible every where
allows the moderate use of wine it also
throughout every page, forbids its intem-
Perate use as it does likewise of Ill those
personal pleasures and enjoyments which
in their due and proper sphere are inno-
cent, but which in their unrestrained in
diligence become sinful of which wine
is so frequently used by the inspired wri-
ters as the appropriate and significant
! symbol.
By "ercess' | mean the same that YOU
yourself mean-intemperdnce, ex:rava-
gance, inordinate use Him who cats to
excess, that is, immoderately, We call a
gtutton him who sleeps to excess we de-
nominate sluggard and a drunAard
him who drinks to excess. And here, sir,
just blythe way, are you preparedto pledge
+ yourself that you will neither eat nor
sleep while the world stands, if BY so do
ing you can reclaim and save the glutton
and the sluggard1 Your tee-totalism, or
if you please, your temperance ultraism,
carried in its principles fully out, will not,
think, permit you to stop short of this.
He that viii save his life shall lose il.
Some thirty or forty years ago it was
thought Of some importance that church
members should mol be ignorant Of the