Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-01-29
DiIutions and DessiccntIons.


-Falstaff
The argument of the poet against thin
drinks is that they oyercool the blood,
and make fools and towards and demure
boys that never come to anything; that
the other sort fill the brain with nimble,
fiery, and delectable shapes. that be
come excellent wit Moreover, the thin
cold drink leaves the liver white and
pale, which is the badge OF cowardice
and pusllanimity. On the other hand.
the warm and hearty stuff warns the
blood and makes it course from the in
wards to the parts extreme 1t illumi-
meth the face which. as a beacon, gives
warning to the little kingdom-man-to
arm; and then the vital commoners, and
inland petty spirits, muster We all to
their captain-the heart-who, great and
pulled up with this retinue, doeth any
deed Of courage SO that skill is moth
Ing without the spirit that sets it 70
work. and learning, mere hoard OF
gold. kept by devil, till spirit com
mences It, and sets it in act and use.
Lean, sterile, and bare land, MANFRED
husbanded, and titled. with excellent en-
deavor of spirit makes fertility and valor.
The argument is true and natural
when applied TO high things, and in the
right direction. All vice and vicious ar
guments are mere perversions and dis
tortions of virtue and virtuous senu-
ments. Virtue itself turns vice, being
misapplied.
Thin blood come OF dry and unnour-
ishing food and thin drink; and thin
drink and mean f1od and poor blood
make weak, pale. and lifeless faces, fab
by flesh, sluggish bodies, and spiritless
souls-lives not worth living. Coco
strong food and inspiring drink, on the
| other hand, bring our mortality to it,
best estate. and make 1t to rejoice in It's
life and strength, as a giant rejoicing To-
run a race. 1t is just the difference be-
tween the slothful, that will not so much
as take his hand from his bosom, and
the active, energetic, free, bold, and
buoyant spirit, that knows no let nor
restraint.
Referring to the age Of Elizabeth ano
Augustus Caesar, we are used to say
There were giants in those days. And
so we speak Of our Revolutionary days
the times that tried mems souls. In al
| those periods the great men, that nave
been immortaliZed by their grea'
! thoughts and acts and utterances, iVeu
| i'm high places fed on great IDEAS aho
hopes, and were animated by great mo-
tives and inspirations. Great unueI
takings and dangers were familiar. J
| cost something then TO make boot
and only great events and great truih
were set down in books. Large MAJ
hood was in the air. And great sou
read. marked. learned, and inwardly d.
gested what books they had, and use,
| few words And high feeding, stronl
food. and good digestion, in large past
ures made great souls. There were no
thin potations There was no canine
ar desiccated food. Our age is in adj
vance I'm all respects, of all the pas
ages Of the world. We may not have
| a Shakespeare, Bacon, or Newton; MOI
a Virgil, nor Horace, nor caesar
nor "A washington, nor a Hamilton
but our average man Of character ant
sense and information IS lar aDoNe 1he
average man of any Of the periods re-
f.rrcd TO. And the enterprise and OAR
inc and heroism and wisdom that are
manifested now, when occasion calls fol
Them surpass all that history records
Rut while manhood abounds, and nj
have many and abundant and high past
/ ures I'm which honorable virtue man an'
| docs feed: while we have before US M
harvest OF the world-the risen cream
| OF all the past-and we fairly stassel
under our great ideas and wealth, w
have also chaff and enticing nothings
We have commended to US glitterinl
Ion intellectual
bub duutions in the shape OF common
taries and discussions, and magazine
articles. and endless books, compost
| tions boundless spreads of words. tina
nun IN the mind, destroy the intellect
nal and moral stomach; that speh'
themselves in proving useless and am
bitious conclusions and uttering YIN.
yanities. and pious sentmentallZlhs
that are the thinnest Of potauons' ah'
vainest delights, the most meagre an
iaiuna NJ diets. And many so-calle'
literary-even pious-people ieeu "
words and fine things and desiccauons
ana d,e of soul-starvation; with not evel
a conception OF what is meant by truth
Heaven and the reign of Law are gu
~ their calculation; and earth Is stale
Dat and improbable. They would tal
satisfv the cravings OF their souls Wit
busks ana desiccations, and their thlrs
with thin potations.
We have hosts that. like the old Is
raeutes. refuse the Promised Land Q
Scripture Truth, and laugh at sound pm
IosoDhy. They consume their lives
wandering UP and down. and wear
themselves in a wretched round Oh ois
gusts. Their stimulants are only dis
appointing mirages.
Contrast these thin rotations and DIR
experiences with the Holy SCRIPTURES
the appointed food and drink OF human
itv: Pabulum principurn; royal dalhtle'
The prophet says OF them: my "oi
was found Of me, and l ala eat ~ an
Il was the 10Y of my heart And IN
Saviour: The words that SPEAK un !,
you, they are spirit; they are ne. VIM ~
Of the other sort the record runs II
feedeth on ashes; deceived heart nde
turned him aside. that he may not say
Have I not a lie In my right mana
The stomach OF our age Is IN dahse
OF being utterly spoiled by It's thin pc
tations and desiccatons, elsborateiy USE
loss and ungenerously Improbable. Blu
, to those who care for truth anu MAJ
hood The strongest possible food. IN
! higbest ,nspirations, the most edifyin
thought. the broadcast views Oh men al,
tbires ara 10 he had for the asking
! | the widely diffused copies OF the Hol
, Scr,ntures and OF the very highest
human productions. But only mani
soul can delight In them. Soou sry'i'
, ia needed TO make good seed fruitful