Total
abstainers defeat the very object they propose to advocate when they
propose to do away with all because excess is hurtful. Extremes are
always baneful, and the monks of old were wise in their generation when
they denounced gluttony and intemperance as cardinal vices. The physical
powers are as a rule subject to the will, which is the exponent of our
passions and propensities and of our moral and intellectual impulses.
Were it not so we could not curb our actions, restrain our appetites, or
keep within that moderation which is essential to health, happiness and
longevity.
Our passions and propensities are imparted to us for a wise purpose, and
are therefore beneficial in their use. It is only in their neglect,
misuse or abuse that they become hurtful. A French author has
pertinently put it thus: "The passions act as winds to propel our
vessel, our reason is the pilot that steers her; without the winds she
would not move, without the pilot she would be lost."
Even our affections, so pure and beautiful in themselves, may, by abuse,
be made sources of mischief, evil and disease.
Pages:
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91