A lecture on the harmony of teetotalism, with the divine word : as expressed in the authorized version of the Bible (with answers to several objectors) / abridged from the works of Dr. Lees, and printed for general circulation.

  • Lees, Frederic Richard, 1815-1897.
Date:
[between 1850 and 1859]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A lecture on the harmony of teetotalism, with the divine word : as expressed in the authorized version of the Bible (with answers to several objectors) / abridged from the works of Dr. Lees, and printed for general circulation. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    defined Comnared with the teac ting of the Bible; Intoxicating i rinks are tepresnted i s evil Barable or fivQos explained 4 ment we accept it as a common ground of enquiry, and proceed to compare its teachings with those of the Teetotaler. What is Teetotalism ? Partly the negative branch of Temperance: for we regard dietetic Temperance as the proper use of good things, and abstinence from bad ones. But Teetotalism is more than a mere ne¬ gation ; it is an intellectual and a social Reform, having its doctrines, its duties, and its work. We abstain from intoxicating wine on the ground, as doctrine, that such wine is dietetically useless and evil—evil to the body, to the soul, and to the social life. We have no ascetic idea whatever connected with the movement—as several fine writers and closet philosophers have fancied :—on the contrary, we enjoy life amaz¬ ingly,—like teetotalism because it contributes to our power of enjoy¬ ment,—and abstain from fermented-wine, not because it is ‘a good creature/ but because it is a bad-thing. We proclaim a return to the natural and divine laws of diet and of organic life, as the truest and best preparation for all social improvement and religious progress. Finally, we affirm our conviction that so long as intoxicating beverages are consumed by any community, so long will intemperance, sensuality, and crime abound. As nervine stimulants they engender the fatal appetite of the drunkard,—and therefore no remedy short of absti¬ nence can be either rational in theory or successful in practice. Now, I ask, where, in the Bible, do you find a single text, that, clearly and explicitly, represents God as contradicting these doctrines ? It is remarkable—but no less a fact—that such a text does not exist. Our adversaries can only arrive at their doctrine by way of inference, —inference founded upon questionable principles of interpretation and doubtful canons of criticism. Our doctrines, on the other hand, har¬ monize at once with the very words of scripture, as well as with the entire spirit and object of revelation. The lessons of Holy Writ, as they stand before my view, may be arranged in a series of seven pro¬ gressive propositions, comprehending, in their completeness, all the peculiar principles of the Temperance Society. I. The Bible represents intoxicating-drink as a bad-thing, poisonous in its physiological, seductive in its moral, aud corrupting m its social, relations. It does this under a threefold aspect. Indeed, three modes only being possible for such representations, the Inspiring Power adopts them all. It teaches I, Symbolically; 2, Ethically ; and 3, by Example. 1. The Seers and Prophets of the Bible, in their character as such, teach that intoxicating wine is bad, by selecting it as the symbol of evil. The allegorical method of teaching was suited to the early world, and everywhere adopted amongst the Priesthoods of Antiquity. “We may call the world itself a Parable or myth,” says Sallust, “wherein is the bodily appearance of visible-t ilings, with an inward sense conceal¬ ed beneath, as the Soul under the Body.” a In fact, symbolism founded on nature, is a kind of universal, because immutable, language. There is a pre-established harmony—a Divine correspondence—between it and the mind to which it appeals. It is not peculiar to Jew or Gentile, learned or illiterate, young or old. It is intended for man, as man; and hence I find it employed alike under the Patriarchal, the Mosaic, and the Christian dispensations. It is the clearest, because the simplest, method of instruction. Words expressing generaliza¬ tions of the mind or principles of art may change, and ordinary language become confounded; but the speech which derives its sense