The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-06-13
"THn WHOLE WORLD DRUNK" ;"

Count ToIstoi's Remarkable sonsa-
tlonHl Article in Late Review.
To what extent can smoking stiHe the
voice Of conscience? questions Count
Tolstoi in the Contemporary ReUjeg
We have no need to seek for the ma
terials for a solution of this question in
exceptional cases of crime and remorse; ;
it is amply sufficient to observe the be-
havior Of the ordinary-one might al
most say of any-smolIer. Every smoker,
abandoning himself to his passion,
loses sight Of, or rides roughshod over,
certain Of the most elementary rules Of
social life, the Observance Of which he
demands from others, and which he HIM
self respects in all other cases, Whenever
his conscience is not completely silenced
by tobacco.
But not only is the smoker a nuisance
70 his neighbors; he also damages his
own spiritual and mental capacity. For
the more a man stupefe5 himself with
these stimulants and naicotics, the more
stolid quiescent, and stagnant he be-
comes intellectually and morally. 1t
follows, therefore, that by fer the greatest
part Of all that is done in this world Of
ours, both by those whose profession it
is to guide and teach others and by those
who are thus guided and taught, is done
in a state Of ebriety.
Is it conceivable that people not drunk
should calmly set about doing all the ex-
traordinary things that are being ac-
complished in our world. from the Eiffel
Tower to obligatory military service ? 1t
is utterly inconceivable..
None but drunken men--men who
never have lucid interval Of sobriety
could do these things, could live on in
spite of this perpetual, irreconcilable,
terrible conflict between life and con
science, in which not only in this matter,
but in all other respects, the people ofo
world live and have their being
At no other period Of the worlds his
tory, 1 feel convinced, did mankind lead
an existence in which the dictates OF con-
science and their. deliberate actions were
in such evident conflict as at present,
It seems as if the human race in oul
days had got fastened to something that
is holding it back, impeding its prog
ress. There would seem TO be some
IexterDal cause which hinders il
from attaining the position that belongs
to it Of right, in virtue Of consciousness
The cause in question-or, il there be
several, the main cause-iS the physical
state Of stupefaction to which the over
whelming majority of human beings re-
duce themselves by means Of alcohol and
tobacco.
The delverance Of humanity from thi!
terrible evil viii mark an epoch in thC
life Of the race, and, apparently, thii
epoch will arrive in the near future. Tht
evil is already recognized. A change il
the consciousness Of men in reference t.
the use Of brain poisoning stimulant
and narcotics has already taken place
people are beginning to realize the terri
bic mischief they produce, and they ar
manifesting this feeling in acts; and thi
imperceptible change in their conscious
ness must inevitably bring in its train tn
emancipation Of humanity from the in
huence of all such brain poisons, Thi
emancipation OF mankind from the thral
dom Of brain poisons will open their eye
tothe demands Of their consciousness
and they viii forthwith begin TO put thei
life in harmony with its dictates.