Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1852-10-06
FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE.

However plain and unYarishcd its narration, Truth
is always sufficient to produce conviction in the
minds Of reasonable men and the higher, holier,
and more lust the cause it advocates, the more i'm
portant is it that it be u~nalloyed with error.
The beautiful fortress of temperance has its foun-
dation laid deep and sure upon a rock and though
the structure may not appear so imposing and mag
nifcent, let not the builders leave the material truth
has furnished, to gather the %glittering but rotten
stone of error to magnify its dimensions, and in
crease its lustre. The adversary is too vigilant and
active not to discover the weak places, and too strong
and aggressive not to break through them and
having gained q single point, he triumphs in the
achievement as if the victory were already his, and
thus inspires fresh courage into his own ranks, while
he strikes dismay into the bosoms of the wavering
and faint-hearted Of his opponents. There is of
solid granite enough and to spare, of which to con-
struct a citadel that may defy the united efforts OF
all the hosts of error and intemperance. See to 1t,
then, We that are engaged in the work, that no
block Of weak material be placed into the wall let
all be sound, solid and enduring able to withstand
the most intense fire Of criticism, resist the torrents
of ridicule and stand unmoved and mistaken a.
gainst the assaults of prejudice and passion.
In summing up the items of testimony, the skill
full advocate presents only the strong points, leav-
inc out of view all that are doubtful, trivial or irrel-
evant so let the champions ofbtemperance manage
their cause. The object of this communication is
to inspect certain arguments that have been advan-
ced time and again by temperance speakers; and 1t
found unworthy, to brand them, /" refused" believ-
inr as we do that all such tend to weaken the cause
and at the same time support dangerous errors.
"Alcoholic liquor is a good creature of God, says
the lover of grog, and therefore | am right in US
inc it." "You are mistaken" responds the teeto
taller it is mans creature, made doubtless at thu
investigation of old Satan himself" "There is III
law of Providence operating in its regular, usual anC
natural way, that ever yet has produced a particle o
alcohol. Native alcohol has never been found Il
| exist by all the scientific researches ever made b.
| +ha most intnlliUnOt md lahOriOuS iuvnsfi gators n
Q nature" Neither have native dumplings nor APP
q ple-pies y the brandy drinker replies, "you hav
certainly made Esh q lo sweeping seepil satadte4mgspti h44tt rheini
i convinces me of error, but rather shows that you
q cause is a lame one or you would not attempt t
e keen it erect by such far-fetched and equivocal sap
mort" And thus the discussion might be carried OF
! ia the evident advantage of whiskey and It's devt
e tees. Is it true, indeed, that alcohol Is not a spor
is taneous production of nature? Why, sir, L Wa
simnIe enough to believe that the grape upon til
,e vine, the apple, peach and other fruits upon I'll
oround. did occasionally by accidental brulse
,e Otherwise undergo to a Slight degree the vinous fe
mentation. If my o~lfactories have not deceive
re me. nor my ~gastatory nerves given false lmpres
'. ions. [ have both smelled and tasted aiconol
fruit that had never undergone any human manlp
of latioas. This calls to mind another error INTO Whr
he zeal without knowledge occasionally leads tempe
h. ance advocates. They speak of using the pu
10 Juice of the grape as something quite harmless, a
on assert that the wine of the New Testament was I
ch alcoholic. A simple experiment VIII decide u
se matter. unless there was no wine used except IN
ol crane season. Take sweet ripe grapes, press {
the Juice. expose it to the air a few hours, put it II
Id a glass bottle, aud fasten a cork securely into
mouth, set it by, and if the air is not quite &C
in the bottle will as surely burst as II a small cnal
= of gun-powderw were ignited within it and why t
effect? Fermentation "a law of %naturel must t
our place under such circumstances, and the resul
The production of alcohol, caFbonic acid, water, I
an ard as the volume of these compounds is grea
our than that of the original liquid, if the bottle is
be strong enough to condense them, explosion Is me
able. It's a matter next to impossibility to prev
fermentation in the pure unmedieated juice OF
Grape in a climate where the temperature rises 40
-om 6ooF.- and the merest tyro IN chemistry IN
to that this fermentation tine vlnousl : La-
hi Of sucar into alcohol, &c. The idea that alcon'
q product and not a mere e-duct of the process
distillation, is obsolete, experiments having SCI
ria thspoint. In Christs teachings it Is stated Inat
vine { but into new bottles. MAT II, III
ami bottles here spoken Of, as IT Know knows,
sur made of skins, and Of course were stronger