The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-03-04

Tins to drink. Plutarch, on the authority
OF Charos, says that forty-one parsons died
from excessive drink and the severe cold
weather.
Alexander's habits caused his death At
a wild carousal, gotten up by Modes, he
crank all day and night consuming fourteen
Quarts OF wine in drinking to the health OF
Proteas. This brought on a fever, from
which he died. Seneca says OF him: This
hero, inviDcible by all the tolls OF prodigious
marches. by all the dangers OF sieges and
combat by the most violent extremes OF
beat and cold, lies CONQUERED by his intern
perance."
The Thracians and ScythiaDs were notorI-
Gus for their intemperance. Both, but more
especially the Scythians, were celebrated Tor
moderation and strength in the early part OF
their history, but in the latter part they
were known as hard drinkers. Alter Cleo
menes, Prince OF Sparta, visited the Scytaians
his countrymen said that his commune alton
with the Scythians had made him drinker
of wine. and the wine had made him mad.
When persons wished to drink to excess"
says HerodOtus, they said: Let Us drink
like Scythisns Both Thraclsns ana
ScythisDs considered themselves happy only
when filed with unmixed wine, and they
even poured it on their garments. The
Ihracian way Of drinking and the Scythian
way of acting are simply to drink quantl-
ties Of pure wine, and act like maniac or a
fool.
The history of the Thraciaus contains the
story of the vile treachery of Rhescuporis,
and bis murder Of his nephew Cotys, who as.
suredly fell victim to the "ThTacian way
of drinking" and to the "Soythian way OF
acting"
The history of the Gauls is full OF instanc as
Of the effects of indulgence in strong drink.
Under BTennus the Gauls invaded the Ro-
msn empire and took the capital, but they
d. ank so freely of the wine that they lost
their pTecaution, and Camillus, the 70 nan
hero, living in retirement at Ardea, resolved
to save the city. and, knowing their co1di-
ton surprised them and put them TO flight.
The Germans have always been noted Tor
immoderate indulgence in strong drink.
Naturally they were religious, and weIlike,
and success was theirs on nearly al OCCASIONS
until their intemperance reversed the wheel
of fortune. Germaincus won bis victories
over the Mars1-a German people-oecause
of their intsmperance. OF the Germans Tao
titus says: Indulge their love OF liquor to the
excess they require, aud you need not en-
PloY the terror of your arms; their own viii
subGue them" Their customs were similar
TO those of the PeTsisns. Travellers at var
iOus times have noticed the habit of drink
ing in Germany, and the duke OF Rohan says
that they seem to have discovered perpetual
motion in the use of the wine cup.
Victory aud success, opening new sources
of we lib, have. from earliest time, inaugu-
Greeks and Romans acquired the dangerous
habits of luxury a1d indulgence In wines
from the PeTsisns. These became 80 alarm
ing that the Roman senate enacted sumptu-
airy laws to restrain them, but the patrician
classes disr sgaried them, a1d, the common
u ople them, the law became in q short time
dead letters" and from that time to this no
law has been strong enough to put down or
moderate perceptibly the terrible evil OF in
temperance Ii is said that in times OF scar.
city of wine in Rome riots and seditiors
were Of frequent occurrence.
Not en- ancient nation can be mentioned
that VAS not the victim of intemperance-
The CarthsgiDians, the Lydians, the Byzan-
tires, the Parthians the people OF Iarentum,
the Ba bylonians and Assyrians, the Modes
and Persians, the creeks and Romans, all
drank to excess and fell victims to their own
vices
The an cient Brftons. a race of savages, are
supposed to have been frugal and temperate,
but from using the dress and language OF the
Re mans then, by degrees, initiated and
adopted the vices and luxuries. By the time
OF The Norman conquest they had become so
corrupt that soon the vigorous and warlik e
NOrmans fell under the spell and adopted
the habits one by one. The disastrous riots
snd seditions caused by drink in England in
the eighteenth century were so appalling
that parliament was petitioned for restric
tive measures with the usual natural result,
In 1916 signs were posted in various places
in London, reading: Drunk for q penny,
dead drunk for twopence, and clean straw
for nothing" 1t was the custom to treat the
clergy and for the clergy to treat themselves.
An old expense book" preserved in Lon
don contains a bill for "a treat with the
deacon of Durham, 3 shillings pence,"
and for preacher named Bell, 1 shilling>4
pence, which is pretty good evidence that
the higher one went in the church the more
he could drink. The London Temperance
Intelligence published some years ago
charge for wines used by a small parish in
London. 1t bears the date of 1851 or 1892,
and is as follows:
Wine for vestry
Wine Tor communion. LILO
As to the effects Of intemperance on the
moral and intellectual powers, history is
voluminous and furnishes numerous exam
pies. In ancient times Csmbyses; Philopa-
ter, fourth king of Egypt, called Zapeur, be-
cause OF his extravaganza aud debauchery;
Prussia, king of Bythnia Gao B. c.; Tibe-
RUS, derisively nicknamed Biberins; Nero
Claudius; Sylla, tyrannical and ambitious;
Maximinus, ferocious and pitiless, and in
deed nearly all the rulers of the old world,
way into modern times, until the reforma-
ton, prove beyond doubt the brutalizing e
feet of immoderate drink on the feelings and
its destruction of all natural feeling.
While admitting that wines are only in
furious in the abuse, not in the right use of
them, it is none the less true that the misery
OF every city is proportionste to the number
of saloons The French boast of the few in
stances in their country Of drunkenness and
yet they drink regularly" III il is true Ii
must be because they, better than any 9TH
eJs, know how to manage and conceal Woes
since all history proves that in a national
point of view, in the effect on mind and
morals, on religion, and the physical condi-
ton of man, intempsrsnce has most uniail-
ing and disastrous effect. 10 this age when
civilization has so far advanced that men are
INCREASINGLY seeking for variety and excite
ment we can only look with horror upon
the adoption of so many luxurious habits
and wonder if the history of intemperance,
like all other history, will repeat itself
A FAMOUS FAMILY.