. By prosecuting this business _in a day of light and reform, you
peculiarly offend God, and jeopard your immortal interests_. In "times
of ignorance," God, in a sense, "winked at" error. But let the error be
persisted in under a full blaze of light, and it must be the occasion of
a dread retribution from his throne.

The circumstances of the distiller are now entirely changed. His sin was
once a sin of ignorance, but is such no longer. He _knows_ he is taking
bread from the hungry, and perverting the bounties of Providence. He
_knows_ he is undermining the very pillars of our republic. He _knows_
that, by distilling, he confers no benefits upon mankind. He _knows_ he
is directly accessory to the temporal wretchedness and the endless
wailing of multitudes. And knowing these things, and keeping on his
way, he accumulates guilt which the Holy One cannot overlook. If endless
exclusion from heaven be the drunkard's doom, can _he_ be held guiltless
who deliberately prepared for him, and perhaps placed in his hand, the
cup of death and damnation? This is not the decision either of Scripture
or of common sense. Wilfully persevering to furnish the sure means of
death, you carry to the judgment the murderer's character as clearly as
the midnight assassin.

And now, what is the APOLOGY for prosecuting a business so manifestly
offensive to God, and ruinous to yourself, as well as others? Do you
say, _It is necessary as a means of support_? But whence have you
derived authority to procure a living at the sacrifice of conscience,
character, and the dearest interests of others? And is the maintenance
of a _public nuisance_ really necessary to your support? In a country
like this, the plea of necessity for crime is glaringly impious. Many
and varied departments of honest and honorable industry are before you,
all promising a generous reward; and, neglecting them for a wicked and
mischievous occupation, you must bear the odium of a most sordid
avarice, or implacable malignity.

You virtually, too, impeach the character of God. You proclaim that he
has made your comfort, and even subsistence, to depend upon the practice
of iniquity. It is an imputation he must repel with abhorrence and
wrath. Nor is it sustained by the conscience, reason, or experience of
any man.

But possibly you urge, in self-justification, _Others will manufacture
spirit, if I do not_. But remember, the guilt of one is no excuse for
another. "Every one of us sha