Democratic standard. [volume] (Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio) 1837-1850, 1842-05-10

MR. ED1roR {:

For the Standard.
Mr.. EDITOR:
1t is avery faithful saying, that there
is medium ON either side Of which there
is an extreme. This is emphatical!y an
era ofexperiments, an age of humbugs.-
Not content with all the new tangled the.
cries which have recently sprung up, and
preceded it, we have nova temperance
humbug. What is temperance in the
abstractG What are we to understand by
ii? does it mean total abstinence? If so,
what meant thegreat apostle Of the Gen
tiles, when he said, ''Be ye temperate in
all things, whether in meat, or in drink 2
Did he mean by the word temperate, that
those TO whom he wrote were to taste not,
touch not, handle not? What says he to
Timothy? Drink no longer water, but
use little wine for Thy stomach'S sake,
and thine often infrmities. All! But
he did not say use French Brandy. Ho
did not, and with good reason. In those
days, there was no other liquor manuiac-
tuTed or drank Besides it is plain from
the use Of the words "a lttle'' that the
inspired apostle meant to teach Timothy,
that he was 10 drink it in moderation,
neither use it to excess, or abstain from
the use of it, and this was his definition
Of temperance. Ancient historians,
speaking Of Hannibal the renowned and
celebrated Carthagenian General of anti.
quity, say that he was very temperate
man, seldom eating or drinking, and then
only small quantity Of the cOarsest and
most simple diet, just sufficient to sus.
tain nature, and never to CRAFTY his appe.
tile. To use in moderation therefore, was
what the ancients understood by temper.
ance and it is SO defined by photographers
of the present day.
It is an old maxim that man never acts
without mo i've, and if this be sO,Our tenn
peranceLecturers must have motive.-
What is til at motive? lam informed that
in some parts of the country where there
is great excitement on this subject, aud
they are quite successful in making pros
olytes, there are men who are purposely
and altogether employed in lectureing on
this subject; these men cannot afford 10
follow this business and five without mo-
ney, and consequently there must be a
society who pay them. If SO, they must
have design. What is that design3--
They tell US that it is 70 moralize COM
,muniiy. to discOuntenance and put down
the use Of ardent spirits, 10 make our
country the garden Of science, religion
and morality. This is all very we'll, am
no enemy to morality. To temperance in
lhe abstract, have nothing to object
bid it God speed. | do not use ardent
spirits to any extent and am as much Op-
posed to ntOxication as any other man.
Il is to make il political question that
i object. Dame runner reports that in
many parts where they have the ascend
ency, this is already being done. Don't
be alarmed.geRtle reader! Five years ago
we were told that abolitiOnism was never
tobe made aPOliIical question. How is
it nOws Is il nOt'the most agita,hg and
alarming question in our Governmsnt9-
Are they notPraying for dissolution Of
the UniOnS has not Congress within The
last four years devoted near one fourth Of
its time, unwillingly, in the consideration
Of this matter, at an expense, total loss
TO the nation, Of near halfa million Of dol.
lars. WE
There is an old Spanish pEoverb, atell
me with whom yeu live, aud will tell YOU
who you are." Look around you! See
where !. was that this thing originated. Who