The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-05-04

the habitual strength 81 the will. This prac-
tice makes perfect. An unpractised will,
though in full grown man, is but as the
viii Of child. aLet the wicked man for
sake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts. Let him cease to do evil, and
let him learn TO do we'll"
| There are several truisms about begin
nngs. As: !" Once must be the first time"
!" A thing well begun, is half done. !" . In a
course or race, much depends upon the start
ing point, or fair start.o Elements or
first principles in system, must be OF the
same kind as the end or conclusion" In
virtue there is no seeking one thing and find
ing another, and such like accidents; but
whatsoever a man soweth that shall ne also
reap" Now, what is the end or object OF
Temperance Societies. Temperance, GER
tainly. How then shall we begin' Not
surely in intemperance. The first principle
must answer to the conclusion. /" As the
harvest should be, such must be the seed. !"
Those whose end OF object is to do well,
should begin by ceasing to do evil, and learn
ing to do well. The friends Of the plan of
gradual reform furnish no tests Of self-denial.
Here is their point Of difficulty. How, in
deed, can they furnish any such tests They
must assume and enounce some definite posi-
ton respecting the primary operation oil al
coholic intoxicaton, but they cannot exclude
the will and the voluntary faculties from this
influence If then the will itself is intoxi-
Gated, how can the man deny himself intoxi-
cation The will has no power in this case,
/ ~ L. A. tka or ~
suspend the action Of the cause. A sober
interval must be gained to begin. But il this
beginning is followed by one intoxicating
drought, it will be rendered abortiye, and the
work must be begun again anew. Every
repetition OF success by sobered will, 10 a
gain of confidence and a fresh ground of
hope. Every one, in these incipient efforts,
may wen say:
4 II want sober mind
A self-rcnouncing will.h
There are times, in the mighty struggle
with the fearful habit Of intemperance, when
the mind becomes intoxicated by anticipa-
ton. To tamper with alcohol in these peril
Gus moments, is to drive the appetite to mad
ness. The human will was never made TO
contend with such storms as these. The
self-renouncing will must, escape from them.
/ The more we take Of the burning spirit, and
the more we are burned by it, the more we
love to be burned by il
| Temperance societies are or should be
formed Tor the sake Of giving effect TO eX-
ample. Individual and isolated examples
must needs be feeble and limited. But
how can social examples Of temperance be
exhibited without total abstinence among
themselves Examples and models are not
intended to be excelled. Examples in So
ciety are conventional lfthe conventional
standard is not total abstinence, must il not
be some certain quantity and quality, and
no more' That is, so much may be drunk.
! The old pledge was, to drink no distilled
spirits in accordance with the common opln-
ion, that alcohol is not fully evolved by fer
mentation Members Of those societies
drank wines, and beer, and cider, and others
might, OF course, follow their example.
But it must needs have been difficult,
if not impossible, to have fixed upon a
precise measure, short Of the intoxlcat-
ing point fer all, under all circumstan-
ces That society, as an instrument OF
Temperance reform, evidently had in it
self the seeds Of its own dissolution. The
good that it did or might do, became liable
to be evil sposen Of. The public nina is
not apt to draw the line between those who
are more and those who are less intoxicated.
The fault finders are not distinguished for
their candor OF their charity. But apart
from these considerations, in the nature Of
\ the case, so various are the susceptbilities
of different persons to intoxication, and Of
i the same persons, at different times, that no
standard can be fixed as an example Of tenn
perate drinking, in any society. A single
glass Of wine may intoxicate an habitually
sober man, more than a bottle would an
habitual drinker.
Total abstinence, as an example, gives
the fullest effect to precept. 1t is, also, a
means Of self-deIence, to the members Of
temperance societies. As men Of like appe-
, tites with their fellow men, they, also, are
: subject to temptation. How, then, are they
to guard themselves' They must think
} about ntemperance it must be present in
their minds Men, whose professional duty
!. it is, to oppose vice, can appreciate thell
danger The best security Of the friends
; Of the temperance cause is, in their tenac-
; ity Of the total abstinence pledge.
! This pledge, it is to be kept in mind, ];
negative in form, mot to drink intoxicating
liquor, and il is, Of course, neutral in the
{, absence Of temptation. In this form, il an
swers to the form Of the moral law. "We
will mol ''--says the pledge. "Thou shalt
| ~ N \ 80
Immediately to ourselves, seem not 10 make
part of the decalogue Of the I" thou
! shalt not y pertainingt to God or 10 our fellow.
men. Why we are not forbidden to injure
ourselves, in this code, we need not now in
quire.. But we invite attention to the total
: abstinence nature Of " thou shalt not steal, y
81 thou shalt not kill, !" " thou shalt not covet.'
No exceptions, either in kind or degree, are
made How else could they have been
rules or standards, or, so to speak, the mea-