CHARACTER DESTROYED BY INTEMPERANCE. 24$ 



6. The Destruction of Will and Character by Alcohol. 



One of the first effects produced by alcoholic drinks 

 is weakening of the control of the will over the actions. 

 A slightly tipsy man laughs and talks loudly, says and 

 does rash things, is enraged or delighted without due 

 cause. If the amount of alcohol be increased, the 

 power of the will is further lessened. The muscles 

 obey it very imperfectly, so speech becomes indistinct 

 and the legs unsteady. At the same time, the reason 

 is so weakened that the man is the prey of every tran- 

 sient whim: he is, by turns, affectionate and cruel, dar- 

 ing and craven, buoyed by hope and crushed by despair, 

 arrogant and full of shame, with no sufficient cause. 

 Habitual excessive use of alcohol thus soon leads to a 

 state in which the emotions are permanently overexcited, 

 and the will enfeebled. The man's highly emotional 

 state exposes him to special temptations, to excess of all 

 kinds of passion, and his weakened will decreases his 

 power of resistance. The final result is a degraded moral 

 condition. He who was prompt in the performance of 

 duty begins to shirk that which is irksome; energy gives 

 place to indifference, truthfulness to lying, integrity to 

 dishonesty, for even with the best intentions in making 

 promises or pledges, there is no strength of will to keep 

 them ; the man at last becomes regardless of every duty, 

 and even unable to accomplish any which momentary 

 shame may make him desire to perform. 



6. Point out one of the first effects of alcoholic drinks. How il- 

 lustrated ? If the amount is increased, what happens ? Illustrate 

 from the muscles ? How is the weakening of the reason in a drunken 

 man exhibited? To what does habitual excessive use of alcohol lead ? 

 What are the consequents ? The final result? What is the only 

 hope for an habitual drunkard? 



