New-York daily tribune., 1851-08-26
INTEMPERASCE..
The Nature and Care Of prunhenness

traits brought 10 Light IN rs recent biography
T The two articles On this sub &c; rspu5lished IN
! The L.rsrg Ac,. one from FrGscr's Mscs,.as, the
otherirom Tie Ckristian Remenbrsreer. have made
the community sufficiently acquainted with The
traits n question, TO Justify ne IN saying few
words uFon the in:rm hatl; which rendered them
unayalllne 20 the subjects happiness
With the choicest gifts of heart and mnd.
/ Hartley Co.erdge was drunaarl. But they
who depoFed MS mhrmiiy los, none of their re-
/ gard .or the nan On the contrary. the a;trac-
tive features Of his character appear 10 have been
/ only the more clearly illustrated by tbs dark
/ ackground OF vicious habit. The case is no,
parallel and signal instance within the
memory Of all our citizens Every one remem-
! bers the late Mr T man of the most massive
menta! endowmen's, and the richest natural
/ affections. who trod without effor, nights which
great men toIled all their lives to reach, and who
shed lustTe upon every position, social or potI-
cal, he ever occupied, and yet tell a victim TO the
same destroyer. But the eweled nature OF this
man never skone so bright IN the eyes Of his
/ friends, a. when they saw the dark cloud up.
rolling which was soon to snatch It from mortal
]
stimulus OF the great admiration and sympathy
/ he excited. or that his angels were resolved 70
/ show how divine a structure VAS lmperled by
70 base a worm. certain Il l. that his powers
seemed only 10 culmlnate 1.-THE very eve OF their
final eclipse. Both hear, and mind appeared una
/ bateG and even uniarnlShed Reasoning. magi-
nation. VIII. and dlcticn which N every case
! fitted hls thought the SKIN hts the body. IN
short all his powers We're IN lively play and
nothing was lacking TO ensure hlm the proudest
intellectual prestige IN the nation. save strength
/ OF Will 70 defy the obscene appetite which con
sumod his vitalS But he fell prone, and the
pityIng earth made haste TO hide him. iorlofn at
last and broken hearted, from the stoild gaze OF
men.
Now what wish to say In regard 70 these and
/ like cases i that they are a cilngng and burn
Ing reproach 10 the society that toleraies them.
! Society has ample virtue 10 cure every IN
stance of mteupeTance within her limits,
! provided she had only the VIII 10 exert II.
/ There s 10 mystery about drunkenness.
/ Like al ka5iis, rs strength ies ~ dlsclsea c.K
/ have been IN the habit OF saying " good morn
/ ing to ny mother when We NEE, At breakfast.
/ l. | set myself seriously 10 lorego this Salutauon
/ Of a morning, ! find the task superior 10 my
/ powers All my spiritual forces appear on the
point Of deSertng ne, and my thoughts become
a complete chaos. This experience, upon
trivial an occasion, arises from the teebeneSS of
my will, OF practical faculty The bent OF my
nature Is toward affection and thought rather
than action. | love the hreslde rather than the
forum. | can give eNtatc hours 10 worship or
Meditation, bu, moments spent IN original deeds,
such putting button upon my coat or cleans
ing my gardeu-wak OF weeds, weigh very
heavily on my shoulders. Habit, therefore, Is
my tyrant. What have been accustomed to do
| DO easily, nor can forego the dong OF It with
out extreme pain. My will, or practical faculty,
being so small | can do scarcely anything else
but what have been accustomed 10 do all my
hie NV habits since | gave up tobacco-after
perhaps ten years confllct-are what are called
good that lS 10 say, they involve nothing more
than an occasional tedum to my family. But
all habit is bad per se 1t is a, hes; but a subStI-
tute for original and manly action The habit OF
PRAYER and of going TO church bear certainly very
innocent social fruit. But as hGbus they involve
no less damage to the souls health--whch con-
sists In the faculty of prompt and original action,
action suited to every days emergency-than
others OF whatever conventional odIum
Now drunkenness Is the wee OF natures Ike
mine II Is the besettlng temptation of all those
whose passive SIDE Is more developed than their
practical one. or whose energies OF passion and
thought are superior to their energy of action
One reason OF TINS Is obvious from what has gone
before. namely, that persons Of this sort lnya-
riably incline 10 kabituai action of whatever KIND,
10y the necessity of their nature. And another Is,
that vine, by the imaginative eyhllaratlOn II
produces Stimulates fer the subject The very
power which his sober consciousness tells him
he IS deficient IN. When take "A few glasses of
wine, ! am ready 10 measure strategy with BO
naparte. and. though normally unambltious IN
the presence Of woman, would not hesitate 10
encounter Antony in rivalry tor Cleopatra. The
man OF action, or practical man, on the other
hand Is ashamed OF these cheap and lmpapab.e
conauests He knows by actual experience the
extent OF his power, and Is not Willingly dufe
~ Al fNs ffnt4l lNf
berani impulse and aspiration which he behind
H. Hence you never. or very rarely, see eml-
nenty practical people overcome by thus habit.
It's victims are commonly aUlable, atectOnate,
intellectual persons men OF whom n is allow
able to say that they have no enemy but them
selves" People who can act aiTcsh every morn
nq endure 40 habits, least oi all harmful ones.
Ii Is even inghtiul TO see how fankee lwho
- a type Of practically or Will, and therefore
deficient IN the SubsOI Of tenderness and mental
refnement) slaves ahead. sleeping every night
thousand miles apart, dining al noon or dusk m
differently. at home IN every tavern and The
frankest friend Of every man he has known Tor
the last half hour Did YOU ever see Yankee,
pure grit, who could not invent tolerable meal /
ont of auv dish set before him Or l. there IN
the land bed out OF which be could not coax I
remuneratlye sleep The Yankee without
guile heraldS a new and iu,trOus era Tor hu- /
rnanltv In y the pure earthly or eXteua. prn- /
ciple (symhohcaiy the beviD becoming utilized F
and al length respectable. Hence the reputed /.
"omnipotence If the Yankee For there Is I.
nothing SO powerful a. the external or internal /
principle ln uuison with the internal one. Hence /
we read that there Is more Joy IN Heaven over /
one repen,aut sinap than over n,adg and H'ae just
D,rs0ps that need no repentance
Such being the philosophy ol drunkenness, /
II IS manifest that Society acts very s,upldly ln /
treating II with simple malediction Nhat II |
wants Is medication, not maledicil0n. II = a /
symptom of disease IN the subject, and what he /
invites from you accordingly : not scorn, bug /
sympathy and help. The disease Is an naer-
tied or natural weakness, 81 Will. and - quite as
cuIable under proper care a. any more material 1
form OF disease How stupid 10 preach 20 me |
drnnkard mon The evils Of lnlen perance Has |