nd unfit for any service in which vigor or
activity is required. As well might we throw oil into a house, the roof
of which was on fire, in order to prevent the flames from extending to
its inside, as pour ardent spirits into the stomach, to lessen the
effects of a hot sun upon the skin." And here permit me to add, that
they are said to be necessary in cold weather to warm, and in warm
weather to cool. The bare statement of the argument on these two points
confounds itself.

"Nor do ardent spirits lessen the effects of _hard labor_ upon the body.
Look at the horse, with every muscle of his body swelled from morning
till night, in a plough or a team. Does he make signs for a glass of
spirits, to enable him to cleave the ground or climb a hill? No; he
requires nothing but cold water and substantial food. There is no
nourishment in ardent spirits. The strength they produce in labor is of
a transient nature, and is always followed by a sense of weakness and
fatigue."[D]

[Footnote D: Dr. Rush.]

Some people, nevertheless, pretend that ardent spirits add to their
strength, and increase their muscular powers; but this is all a
delusion. They think they are strong when they are weak. Rum makes them
boast, and that is all. The truth is, it weakens them in body, but
strengthens them in imagination. Was not one reason why Samson was
forbidden by the angel of God to drink either wine or strong drink, that
he might thus increase and preserve his strength? When you hear a man
telling how strong rum makes him, you may be sure he is weak, both in
body and mind.

There is one other occasion for using ardent spirits, which it will be
proper to examine. They are said to be necessary to keep off the
_contagion_ of disease, and are recommended to attendants upon the sick.
But the united testimony of all physicians proves, that the intemperate
are first attacked by epidemic disorders. This is almost universally the
case in the southern states, and in the West Indies. Experience also
proves that those attendants upon the sick, who refrain from the use of
ardent spirits, escape, while those who use them are swept away. If
facts could convince, the use of ardent spirits would be abolished. But
the love of rum is stronger on the human mind than the truth of Heaven.

If, then, ardent spirits are not necessary in sickness; if they do not
prevent the effects of heat and cold; if they do not add to our
strengths, and enable us to perform m