The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-02-15
THE HISTORY OF DRINKS.
TRACES OF JAGs 70 UND As Fan
BACK IS HUMAN RECORDS 90.

Greek--Aicx nnder the Greats Mighty
Thirst-Mr. Feiiew's Lecture on Drinks.
Charles Il. Poliew. OF Columbia University.
gave n lecture last week ut the Museum OF Nat
ural History on Tho History Of Alcohol and
lntoxicants.' The lecture Is one Of q series Of
four dealing with fermented and distilled H.
quors and alcohol. Thoy are intended not to be
temperance lectures. but scientific.
I'm the first place." said Mr.. Pellew. "it IL
most strongly Impressed upon us that the use of
stimulants or narcotics has been common to all
nations OF tho world. so far as we know their
history. Almost all have used alcohol; q few.
like the Mohammedans. the North American
Indians, and the Maoris. are exceptions to tho
alcohol habit. but we find that they have used
opium. tobacco. and hemp to produce appro1i-
mately the same result. The idea among them
all seems to have been to make themselves com
Portable. that is. by stupefaotion to become
oblivious OF dIscom fort. physical and mental.
1t seems to have been q natural need of the
mankind In the early stages Of civilization.
There Is plenty Of material for the carly his
tory of alcohol. We nnd traces Of It in Chinese
literature as far back as we can go. Two and
three thousand years before Christ the Chinese
passed stringent sumptuary laws to limit the
liquor traffic. In India we find. from the earliest
Sanskrit writings. that alcoholic liquors and
the use OF liquors were very we'll known there.
We flnd reference to them In tho Rig veda, and
the sacred hymns contain some OF the most
eloquent praises OF tho vine that there are In all
literature. There were two XIII ds OF liquor used
in those days. Soma. an expensive and
rare wine prepared for l~il.ations to the
great gods, was used spar.ngly for that
purpose. and the remainder was plous-
ly consumed by the priests and the
upper classes. Sura, the other beverage. was q
cheap barley wine. fermentod sometimes after
being mixed with honey. and highly intoxicat-
ing. IL was used by the common people and its
use was very much frowned upon by the priests
and the Weather people who were able to
drink soma. The Hebrews had wine. both fer
mented and unfermented. Tho unfermented
wine of the Hebrews. of course. had to be very
much boiled down TO make 1t keep In the climate
Of their country and It was probably used more
as a sweetening syrup than as . beverage. In
fact the Hebrew word for untormentod wine 10
now frequently translated honey We ro-
member that the Bible Is full OF references con-
demning the abuse Of wine"
Mr.. Pellew exhibited stereopticon pictures
taken after Egyptian tombs showing that the
Egg ptians knew the use of wine. There were
vineyards with men pluck!ng grapes nearly as
big as their heads. There was a vino prsss.
made like = long sack which was worked by
twisting its ends with handspikos. tourniquet
fashion. Then. to chow the fulness OF the Egyp-
tisn knowledge Of intoIicants. there was eIhib.
ing hi. wine like m, eminentiy respect
Ing them. There were some pictures Of
the other extreme. Mr.. Pellew said. that really
S SS1 Ss Do ted sH ons showing no q p .Mo aaS %u fs e
ians. who were not only paralyzed. but also pet
Iifed perhaps. better. mummincd and stiff as
heads Of six or seven servants. Then. with some
apologies, Mr.. Pellew gave proof that the ladies
ing the picture OF dAmsel who had taken
rather more than she could carry. The Persian
was costly rare wine for the priests aud wealthy,
and cheap and strong drink for tho poor aud
oppressed. The Modes were a drunken and dis
solute people In their later luxury.
people" ecniinnsd Mr. PslIe~. %rhey Sad
and the like. and they had wine. We must re-
member that any wine they had was very light.
n ins. risSrs' dr ahIn it our mi psft or %.i ao' water. yet o 1ssS
mixing one part OF wine with fifteen OF water.
Tho ordinary proportion was one to three. At
feasts or dinners. when IL seemed desirable To
go n little further than usual. one was appointed
who should decide the proportion. II he said
very we'll; II he made II two to three no was u
rather, Wild young person. Ho who pre-
devil Of a fellow No rentlsman could
possibly drink unmiIed wine. such debauch.
scy,hlans, i must be remembered that the
festivals Of Dionysius. in tho season of vintage
In the country and In Athens. IN the spring.
were the great meeting periods OF :he city in
which the Greek drama was produced. Diony-
sius became the patron OF literature. lie was
very respectable sort of, deity. lntoxicatIon
at his festivals was not looked upon as d runken-
nes-. but something like n divine ~afiatus. Over
BY law. A crime committed In drunkenness was
punished with double the usual penalty"
Mr.. rellew told stories OF Philip OF Macedon
and OF Alexander the treat, proving that they
and their courts were the most scandalous
drinkers OF antiquity. lie told. in great sorrow.
drlnker. inauguratsd at one Of Alexander.
banouets. when thirty or forty OF tho diners
three gallons. and died IN three days. The early
Abstemionsness OF the Romans wa. commended.
Awoman's drinking was punishaple with death.
lips was Invented by tho Romans for tho detec-
ton Of women suspected OF drinking. Mr..
indulgences of the late republic and early en-
pire.. He mentioned the wondrous capacity OF
drank six gallons without showing its effects.
The Romans, after they had conquered Italy,
"s "Th S,s h,s;orS Of ono af as 3 mas, begin with tn,
history OF distlIlation. said Mr.. Pellew. "Piiny
tells how oil Of tnrpentine was distilled by hold
Ing wool over boiling turpentinc until IL became
saturated. with the vapor. TO be squeezed out
afterward. . drop ~ u time. Geber. two hun.
ting drink able water from salt water. Ray
mold Lnliy,. who was born IN 1888. and Ar
tion and uses OF alcohol. Alcohol had no end
or names. Its uses were as q solvent. for cos:
metics, Tor burning, and as q preservative, and
also ms q medicine. shakespeare spoke OF II. II
will DO remembered. rs Venetian strong
waters Its virtues were supposed to bo
infinite In number. 1t keeDeth on nts
Of tho apoplexy,' one treatise says, II .
spoonful be taken ovory morning. There is
no thought In the early seventeenth century
and before that 10 was an intoxicant. Previous
10 that time beer, mead. and kindred drinks had
been those most common among Northern ma
tons. After the Restoration. toward the end OF
the seventeenth century. came the day OF gin.
II was introduced by tho Dutch wars. England
went gin Wild, IT. was In those days that the
penny; dead drunk for two peace; and
clean straw for nothing The clean straw,
OF course. was for the customer 70 sleep
passed. forbldding all sale OF gin; II was treated
with open ridicule. There were mock funeral
professions OF Madame Gin;' the mourners
were all drunk, and tourished gin bottles in
their hands. When IN k;tempt was made to
enforce II druggists solo. consolation drops
and cough miytures.' In 1742 the law was
abolished and high excise was substituted"
Mr.. Peliew exhibited on the screen a number
OF Hogarth's cartoons to the great ediication OF
the audience. He said that while tho poorer
wero drinking port. The English nation BE-
tahle until ha Haa cnrriad mn nv the aeryaniA