The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1884-03-28
LIVING TRUTHS.
IN Address sa the temperance Question
March Esd. 1884, BY Rev. Geo. III. WILSON.

times felt as worn or hackneyeu; as
if all that it was possible to say about
it had been said. Such is very far
the fact in the estimate Of the
thoughtful mind. One who enters
the realm of awful facts, that are
matters of knowledge to any who
seek them, finds himself as in an in
fernal region, dark, terrible, appall-
ing. To come from that realm to
one where the blessings Of temperance
reign benignant, is as an entrance into
an enchanted land; into very para
disc. 1t will thus be seen, that
though ones difficulty of selection
from this embarrassment of poverty
or riches is great, one fact must ever
remain true-you cannot think OF
intemperance without facing clouds
of inky blackness, or of temperance
without sighting the presence of a
true light.
The "sameness" of temperance
talk, so much felt, is the sameness Of
an immutable principle, that must be
iterated and reiterated until it is
seen and felt and lived. In vague
way, way that does not lead to an
active and intelligent search, it is
sometimes supposed that intoxicants,
judiciously taken are not harmful to
and may be good for "aUel" person.
With such belief we have not the
slightest sympathy, and believe it to
exist in general. only in those who
have tendencies they should carefully
study. In view of the more common
facts within the cognizance Of all in
our land and with our information we
esteem such 6ehef, rightly inter
preted, danger signal God has put
into such individuals natures. We
mean this; if you think so we think
your thought is against knowledge;
declares your eyes partly blinded;
and partly blinded by the terrible
effects of alcohol drank in other gen.
erations, but lingering yet in your
nature. We talk to you as to de-
scendants of people whose best
idea of Heaven was one grand and
eternal drunk; where Mead drank
from the skulls of enemies was the
highest kind of rewards. We talk
to you as descendants of such a peo-
pie, into whose hands that book has
come-which tells that the "iniquities
of the fathers are visited upon the
children unto the third and fourth
generation"
1t was once SAID Of alcohol, cit
sloweth age; it Strengthened youth,
it helpeth digestion; itcutteth fegme;
it abandoneth melancholie;itrel isheth
the heart; it lighteth the mind; it
quickeneth the spiris; it cureth the
hydrepsie; it healeth the strangurie;
* y Il II - y - =
it puffeth away ventositie; it keepeth
and preserveth the head from whirl-
ing, the eyes from dazzling, the
tongue from lisping, the mouth from
snaffling, the teeth from chattering,
and the throat from rafting; it keep
eth the weason from sitting, the
stomach from wambling, and the
heart from swelling; it keepeth the
hands from shivering, the sinews from
shrinking, the marrow from soaking"
No wonder they called such mar
vellous remedy the "water Of life"
But candidly, did you ever hear a
person read catalogue of lies more
desperate than that! Put one pas
sage that expresses a proverbial con-
viction generations and centuries be-
lore the above was written and you
blow away at once that tissue of lies
Sat the last it blteth like serpent
and stingeth like an adder" In
drinking intoxicants men do not look
toward that "last," do not drink il
Tor its ultimate and final, but for its
immediate and temporary effect. And
herein we see its knocking nature.
You enter business with a view to &C.
cumulate for age, or for the special
benefit of your family: you enter
into course of study to fit you for
after usefulness, even if you live
by the very highest forms of christian
motives "you have respect unto the