The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-02-04
lNTEMPERANCE AND ITS CONSE-
QUENTS.
By DR. X. G. BAILY.
springfield, I'D
III

In this article we shall notice the
effects of inteaperance on the soul, the
body, society and the physical world.
The Old and New Testaments are based,
from first to last, on the moral ability of
man to obey the law of God, on the
presumption that he has power to be
good in thought, word and deed. And,
therefore, all the exhortations and
warnings, all counsels, commands and
encouragements, all rewards and pun
| ishments of the Law and the Gospel,
proceed upon the ground that mankind
are equally capable of good and evil, of
doing right or wrong.
If this be not so, the whole Bible is
without any moral force or authority,
because where there is no power to
obey, there is no authority in the law.
Where there is no moral sense there can
be no moral obligation. Therefore, if
the commands and precepts,- the
promises and threatenings of the Bible
have any authority, force or meaning,
and we are under the slightest obliga-
ton to obey, we are just so far capable
of obedience. Our moral responsibility
goes exactly and precisely to the extent
of our moral ability.
Then, we begin with man where COM
mon sense, reason and divine revelation
commence with him-as a being, who
by practice, has become debased and
fallen. Among the many causes of
debasement, perhaps, none is more de-
structive than intemperance, because it
is particular and general distemper of
the whole man and of all his surround
ings. Let US take brief survey of the
great departments of human existence
and the world, and discover, as far as
we are able, the extent of the poisoning
influences and terrible consequences
wrought by intemperance.
1. We begin with the soul, the soul
in its normal state, including the will or
superior power, with the involuntary
powers subordinated to it by their laws,
is the all controlling selfhood of man,
and the old religious teaching that
"man has a soul to save" should be
"every soul has body to save" And
when psychology shall receive that
attention generally bestowed upon the
material sciences, it is believed that
the spiritual and religious nature and
condition of mankind will Immediately
ascend in the scale Of moral excellence
far above any improvement of the
times.
When the will is right, the conscience
which is the keynote Of the soul,
sounds in sweetest harmony, and the
capitalization of thought and action is
easy, pleasant and beautiful. But if
the will, in fit of incompetence breaks
into open revolt, the warning voice of
conscience, giving the alarm, like an
instrument mistuned in every string,
filling the air with discords, disturbance
takes the place of order; calm and
peace, though reluctantly, take their
fight, and the soul weeps in sorrow,
while the star of hope hides her bright
face behind the cloud.
Such is the abnormal phenomena of
intemperance, the facts Of a fatal
breach in the healthy state, or constitu-
tional order of the soul. Exactly this
we shall see, if we look in upon it's
secret chambers and watch the motions
of excess in the confused ferment it
raises perception discolored, the
judgment unable to hold it's scale
steadily because of the fierce gusts Of
passion, the thoughts budding by in
crowds of wild suggestion, the imagin-
alton haunted by ugly and disgusting
shapes, the appetites contesting with
reason, the senses victorious over faith !;
anger blowing the over-heated fires of
malice; low jealousies lurking in dark
places of the soul; and envies baser
| oUllif AAOluS uAuCA OuO ohlu VI 1Go SlOCu-
mantled pools-all the powers that
should be strung in harmony, loosened
from each other, and brewing in hope
less and helpless confusion the con-
science meantime laundering wrath
fully above and shooting down hot
bolts of judgment, and pallid fears
hurrying wildly about with their blazing
tOrches-these are the motions of in
temperance, the disheartening land
scape of the soul and its disorders, when
self-government is gone and the con-
| stituent integrity is dissolved by intox-
icants, or other incorporate and de-
grading causes and influences.
We cannot call it the natural and
normal state of man. No one that
looks in upon the ferment of its morbid,
contesting, rasping, FESTIVE, uncontroll-
able action can imagine that he looks
upon the sweet, primal order of life and
nature. And when we examine into
the wretched condition of the inebriated
soul, no name in the vocabulary of the
world is sufficient to describe it. The
law of the SOULS nature is not, perhaps,
entirely discontinued, or its capacity
that makes an intelligent being, is not