Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1845-06-19
For the Portage Saatines
EKils Of Intem per an &C..

EKils Of Intemper &nce..
In noticing the various evils resulting from
lntemperate drinking, which, to greater or
less extent uniformly follow as the legiti-s
mate consequence of this pernicious habits
The First that shall name, is, the almost
|total destruction of Indsstry.
Our nature and circHmst ances. in this world
render some lawful occupation essential to-
our health, and happiness. No sooner was q
man created, than his Maker assigned him
some steady and honorable employment It
was among the precepts, uttered in solemn,
and awful majesty from Slnai's trembling
summit; ''Sir days shah thou labor" The
universal. and perpetual duty Of Industry, Ia
taught in she scriptures by ianumerable ex>
press precepts, and enfor ced by many worthy
examples. The injuries which arise from
habits of sloth, both to individuals and COM
munity, must be palpable TO all who have
had their eyes open On the. world AROUND
them. ,
We need not the wisdom of Soloman, To
know that "Idleness will clothe man lnrags:"
]uor the inspiration of Paul, to perceive Why
men ought, "with quietness, to work, if they
would eat their own bread.', Drunkenness,
and Idleness are kindred vices; and it is al
most uniformly the case, that when man
becomes follower of strong drink, he neg-
lects all regular business. The hours that
shoul be spent in the field, or in the shops
ne loiters away in vain company: his credit:
! Of course sinks, and he is soon stamped for q
ruined man, by all his sober acquain:ances.
Said DR.. Franklin 10 a young tradesman,
"The sound Of your hammer at foe in the
morning, or nine at night. heard by your
creditor, makesEhim easy six months longes.
But if he sees you at Billiard table, or hears
7 your voice at tavern, whom you should
oe at work, he sends for his money the next
Hay" 2
Second-Intempesafe: drinking destroys
tealth. wish to be somewhat explicit on
his point; many no doubt, .have contracted a
y love for, and habit Of drinking ardent spirit,
oy supposing their effects 10 be salutary to
the constitution. Plutarch has long been
! considered wise man; his opinion therefore.
m this subject will not be rejected, Says
I 'e, "Of oil he .Apouyons, or des'royers OF
nerves, health, and life, this Gntemperance.f
is the greatest; and have no doubt but 10
8has broken down more constitutions, brought
E on more dis.empers, and sent more people TO
an early grave, than all the other vices Of this
bedIam world put together" An eminent
Hphysician Of our own country has presented
! us with a liet of stubborn diseases, 90 the
common effects of Intoxicating drinks. And
E he cites the authority of two medical WRITER'S,
to confirm the sentiment, that, even under
he,extreme heat of tropical climates, ardent
spirits always diminish the strength Of the,
body. render it more susceptible Of disease,
and course, unfit for sny service in which
vigor or activity is requisite. We often hear
the remark, that sixty or seventy yeara agos
men were far more athletic than they are at
the present time; this, is unquestionable true;
and what has produced this degeneracy? The
answeris plain; there can be no room to
doubt, think, that the extravagant moderh'
use Of intoxicating drinks, has contributed
largely to'this alarming degeneracy. A slow
and secret poison undermines the constitution.
I M any young man, who might have been an
honor to his country, and blessing to the
world, is lost to both; the spring of life is
often loaded with the decripitude Of old age.
Tissot in his causes of popular maladies,.
makes the following thrilling statement;
"The poor wretches, who abandon them
selves to drunkenness, are subject to frequent.
inAamations of the breast, and to. plurisies,.
which often carry them off in the flower Of
their age" "If they sometimes escaps
Through these violent maladies, they sink,
long before the ordinary approach Of old age,
into all its infrmities." "TheIr bodies, worn
out by excess, do not concur with the opera
tion OF. medicine, and diseases Of weakness
! resulting from this cause, are almost always
inc uruble." And he adds, sit seems hap
|py enough, that society loses nothing in
parting with these subjects, who are dis
honor to It; and whose brutal souls are, In
some measure dead, long before their cars
cases." ss8d@ fiE+A2t
Third-Following strong drink, prcducetl
poverty. Time, indeed has not lessened the,
truth of the following ancient niaxims--
"Through idleness Of the hands, the house
droppeth through" ssHe that followeth af-.
ter vain persons, shall have poverty enough"
Habits Of sloth and Intemperance are heav-
Ter taxes upon mans property than all otkers;
if the expense Of liquor drank was all, atol>l
erable estate would outlast almost any drunk
ards life, whereas, dfaenec oitea, vanisles
before the withcring aid destructive march
Of intemrcrarcc. while rags and beggary fol-