928 Obfervations on Drunkenness. TLE. Wine burns up beauty, and haftens age. Excefs is the work of fin, and drunkennefs the effect of riot.---SOLON. Thofe things which are hid in a fober man's heart are oft-times revealed by the tongue of a drunkard. Drunkenness is a bewitching devil, a pleafant poifon, and a fweet fin.---St. AUGUSTINE. Drunkenness maketh man a beast, a ftrong man weak, and a wife man a fool.---ORIGEN. Plato bade drunken and angry men to behold themfelves in a glafs. The Scythians and Thracians contended who should drink most, Argon the King of Illyrium fell inte a fickness of the fides, called the Pleurifie, by reafon of his exceflive drinking and at laft died thereof. Sobriety is the strength of the foul.--PYTHAGORAS. Where drunkenness is mittress, there fecrecy beareth no mastery. Wine and Women caufe men to doat, and many times put men of understanding to reproof. Cleo, a woman, was fo practifed in drinking, that the durft challenge all men or women whatfoever to try mafieries who could drink moft, and overcome the rest. The Vine bringeth forth three Grapes; the firft of Pleafure, the fecond of Drunkennefs, the third of Sorrow. Philip King of Macedon, making war upon the Perfians, understood that they were a people which abounded in all manner of delicate wines, and other waftful expences; whereupon he presently retired his army, faying, It was needlefs to make war upon them who would fhortly overthrow themselves. Nothing maketh Drunkennefs to be more abhorred, than the filthy and beaftly behaviour of thofe men whofe Lomachs are overcharged with excefs. Steel is the glafs of beauty, wine the glafs of the mind.---EURIPIDES. Intemperance is a root proper to every difeafe.---PLATO, Sicknefs is the chaftifement of Intemperance.---SENECA. A drunken man, like an old man, is twice a child---PLATO. Drunkenness is nothing else but a voluntary madness. The Glutton and the Drunkard fhall be poor. Wine hath drowned more men than the fea.---St. AMBROSE. The Lacedæmonians would often fhew their Children fuch as were drunk, tq the end they should learn to loath that vice. A Queftion on Religion. anfwered, that he would not, for, faith he, whofo drinketh as Alexander, hath need of Efculapius, the Physician. The Leopard, as many write, cannot be fo foon taken by any thing as by * Wine; for being drunk he falleth into the toils. Drunkenness is a monfter with many heads; as filthy talk, fornication, wrath, murtber, fwearing, curfing, and fuch like. Wine is the blood of the earth, and she fhame of fuch as abuse it. Wine enflameth the liver, rotteth the 129 lungs, dulleth the memory, and breedeth all ficknesses. The Nazarites abftained from drinking of any Wine or itrong drink. Quid non ebrietas defignat? operta rea cludit; Spes jubet effe ratas; in prælia trudit inermem: Sollicitis animis onus eximit, ac docet artes. Foecundi calices quem non fecere di fertum? Contracta quem non in paupertate fős lutum ? "is more probable that but a few have "found out the truth, than that a many "have done fo----the Inquifitive are : the leaft part of mankind, and they "who have thought juftly, by far the "leaft." If the Dr. be right, as I am perfuaded he is, then we must not expect to find the true religion either with the devotees of Mahomet, or of the Pope their boaft of Numbers will lie against thein and it must be fo, for religion has no human authority for its law-giver, no human fcheme for its rule or plan, but only the divine canon can demand the religious reverence of the human mind: neither is it poffible that the faith of man should have its dependence on the interpretation which anoYOL. VIII. about RELIGION. T. B. ther gives of the divine rule: for fays, "cife of private judgment in matter of "religion is cur duty, for as none but "rational creatures are capable of reli gion, fo there is no true religion but ": in the ufe of our reafon : therefore if "men would be truly religious they "must inake ufe of their reafon in the "choice of the most acceptable religion." Now we can have no conception of a divine tule intended for the use and benefit of all mankind, but what must be intelligible to all: nor only fo, but practicable by all and if fo, then the most acceptable religion of man must be diligent and honeft attention to this rule, and his conftant application of it to his own temper, aim, and life. The R religion 130 On the Proftitution of the Word Honour. religion of man lies only between him- on; “ fed,” †. I will only cite one more The PREACHER. + Spirit of Laws, Vol. i. p. 446. To the EDITOR of the OXFORD MAGAZINE. SIR, A Man who ftudies the world with fo much attention as you seem to In this branch of study, the abufe of What a much a Hear part of the advertisement of a candidate for a fat in the loufe of Commons." And I beg leave to af "fure you Gentlemen, UPON MY HO"NOUR, which I hold dearer than my "life, that if I have the honour of be"ing returned to parliament, I fhall "always give my voice confitent with my MOST SACRED HONOUR and the "interest of my conftituents."----Well, the electors take his word, and perhaps his money too.---This man of honour is tion that is before the houfe, he gives elected and in the first ministerial ques his voice to the minifter, UPON HIS HONOUR, You are on a journey to York, to Bath, or to Dover. A man meets you, and fays----" You may deliver up all claps a horfe pistol to your forehead, "your money without being in the least "afraid, for I affure you, you are fal-. "len into the hands of a MAN OF HO"NOUR." A rich, but foolish young Lady gocs into the fhop of a mercer on Ludgatehis own honetty more, and then makes Hill, who praifes her beauty much, but her pay fix guineas for a piece of filk that is not worth fix crowns; for, fays he, I always deal'UPON HONOUR. A Lady |