Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1881-02-18

The rhy:iology Ct Iatamptrance.
EXTRACT; FROM Az ADDRESS BEFORE TIE
TEMPERANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY
OF VERMONT, JrNE %, 1871, BY LEONARD
MARSH, VI. D.
In the few remarks about TO be made
on the subject of intoxicating drinks, l
do not intend to argue the morality OF
the immortality of their use. shall moi
attempt to prove. that to drink ardent
spirits is always n sin against God or our
neighhor | shall not appeal to your
sympathies, or harrow up your feelings
by horrid pictures Of the consequences
of intempcrance for which thore are SO
many materials at hand. j am not gong
to discuss the subject in its relation to
political economy, Ia show how much
crime, and pauperism, and taxation, are
owing to the use of alcohol. Neither
shall express any opinion with regard
to the manufacture or sale of ardent splr-
its. | intend to address You rather as IN
lividuals than as members of commu-
ntv, TO appeal, not so much to tho social
feelings, rs To the understanding, and the
prudence the elf-love, and the instinct
of self-prescrvation in every one who
hears me. mean to show that the ha-
bitual use of Intoxicating liquors, is, un-
der all circumstances, unnecessary; often
immediately injurious and aitCdys. in
the highest degree, dangerous, TO the
physiral. intellectual, and moral we'll
being of those who indulge III it. ] wish
TO make every one see into, and see
through, the fallacy of the arguments by
which he may have convinced himself
that some habitual stimulus is necessary
to health and at least of some benefit in
his particular case, although such argu-
ments may he drawn from his own re-
peated experience. And if it shall ap-
pear, on examination, that the use Of
spirits always endangers health, and al
WAYS tends t. destroy the intellect, and
debase the moral character, it would seem
to be unnecessary. in addressing rational
and prudent men, to prove that 1t IL also
n sin, that it Is of evil example, and an
offence against the best interests OF the
State. The temptation to the use of this
stimulus, or indeed, of any other. Is very
slight to those who have never come I'M
der It's influence !; and hope the young
men present, who are yet uncontamlna-
ted, and to whom, therefore, abstinence Is
not difficult, will find sufficient reasons
why they should not venture upon ell
chantel ground, or expose themselves to
Il danger which is always the greater, the
more confident they are of resisting 1t, or
of escaping from it.
All our relations with each other, and
with the material world around us, are
possible only through the medium of the
nerves. They are sentinels which Di-
vine Protector has placed mt every avenue
of approach Ia our beautiful but fraIl
dwellings,, AMI whether We sleep or are
awake, they are ever ON the watch to warn
us of danger. and to assist us To escape
from it, 1t is by them also that we are
kept Informed of the internal condition
and wants of our bodies. Without them,
disease might attack the very citadel of
! life, before we were aware ofits approach,
and pain /, but their friendly notice to
put us upon our guard We breathe only
! because certain Iiti.cs are Impatient of
the abs"uce of atmospheric air yet the
end of breathing Is not the satisfaction OF
| the liscuntented nerves, but n change in
! the blood essential to hfe. We eat and
drink only because the nerves Of the
| palate and stomach are uneasy at the
want of their accustomed stimulus ; yet
without nutrition We should die. From
what has been sail, we might readily in
fer. how essential are the natural and
| healthy condition Of the nervous system,
and the supply of its instructive wants,
to our physical contentment aud we'll
being. Experience and observation con-
! firm the same truth. Strong men are
often seen to throw themselves about in
agony, or TO die in commissions. because
some little nerve of the hand or foot has
! been torn, or otherwise irritated. And
! 5. il, u iiie instructive cravings Of the sys-
| ten are N,,i.h.ii, how dreadful are the
consequences Think of perishing by
gradual suif,ocation Read the suflerings
! Of those who have persisted, or nearly
persisted. with thirst or hunger Observe
how all the strongest feelings Of human
nature are sublucd. aEd men, become
| frantic with rage and fury, appease their
thirst with the blood of their own child
rem, or satisfy their hunger on the mur-
dered bodies of their dearest friends.
Yet these suiierings, dreadful as they are,
are but the earnest cravings, the impera-
/ tive demands, of certain nerves of the
stomach. How fearful is the power of
these organs over our physical enjoyment,
and how severely do they punish any
transgression of the laws of our animal
life, and how more than most foolish must
that man be who prOvokes ii power from
which he cannot escape, and which Will
visit every oiiense with Goals of fire on
| his head.
The muscles are the organs by which,
more than any others, the strength of the
body is expended BY them, under the
control Of the nerves, We are capable OF
voluntary motion and progression, and
10y them every kind of physical labor Is
performed, and these are always strong
and vigorous, i'll proportion to the healthy
condition of the nerves by winch they
are supplied. Ii the nervous influence
is deficient, they become torpid and mae
tive, If excessive, they are thrown INTO
violent action. and the strength OF the
system is rapidly wasted, SO us sometimes
to produce fatal exhaustion and death Ill
II few hours But the exhaustion III this
case, rs also the feeling of fatigue induced
by labor, are not owing TO any altered
condition of the muscles themselves, the
muscles are not fatigued, but the nervous
energy has been expended. And 80, lii
fevers and other diseases, the feeling of
weakness and helplcssness has its origin
in an unnatural condition of the nervous
system. by which it becomes incapable of
furnishing to the muscles their appro-
PIRATE stimulus. II would appear there
fore, that our strength, the ability to per
form the greatest amount of labor, i'll n
given time, depends on the ability Of the
nerves, to furnish the grentest amount Of
their natural stimulus 10 the muscles.
Since then, the nervous system ia CON
tinually called upon, not only by the
muscles, but by every other organ of the
body, and even by tine intellect how are
its wasting energies Ia he recruited? For
this purpose nature has furnished many
organs, and much complicated machinery.
The result is the change of food into
blood and the circulation of that blood
into all parts of the body. From this
circulating fluid, 10y the process called
nutrition, every organ receives Il supply
appropriate to its wants; and III no other