40 THE TOBACCO XriSANCl'J. 



wrecking lias been largely duo to this habit. Stop, iny friond, 

 stop and think : ponder well this matter, and resolve to breathe 

 an atmosphere free fiom the injurious eftects of Tobacco. 



f). Again, I cannot, dare; not us(,' Tobacco, because I am fully 

 convinced the i)ractice tcnls to Iinmomliti/. No doubt many 

 good men use Tobacco, men whose piety cannot be (luestioned, 

 men whom we honor for their zeal iii the cause of God, and 

 whom we very hiijhlv respect for their many excellencies of 

 head and of heart. This, hov.'cver, no more proves the inno- 

 cence of the use or practic(> than does the fact that good men 

 ha\e used and a few continue to us(? intoxicating liipiors. 

 Good miMi have done and still do many things for which no 

 good reason can be gnen, but the general character of the doers 

 is no guarantee that the things done are right and i)roper. 

 Accept that theory and there is scarcely a crime but nnght be 

 declared to b(! allowable. 15ecause Abraham prevaricated, it 

 does not follow that i)revarication is right. ]3ecause Jacob was 

 guilty of deception, no one will i)retend that deceit is not to bo 

 comlemned. Angi y words are not to be used even in the defence 

 of a good cause because the meekest of mortals made use of 

 them. Joshua and Klijah were among the biavest of the brave, 

 l)Ut the fact that each on a certain occasion j)layed the craven 

 is no waii-ant for anyone similarly situated to go and do like- 

 wise. No one questions Peter's goodness, but he denied his 

 IMaster before the Pentecost, and conducted himself on one 

 occasion after that event as to call foith a sharp reproof from 

 his brother Paul. No, no ! the doing of a thing by a good mau 

 is no justification of it unless it is good in itself, and only 

 affords another melancholy proof that " the best of men are 

 only men at best." 



But while it is admitted that men of excellent moral char- 

 act(>r use the weed, it is none the less true that their moral 

 s(mse has been in^paired thereby. The perceptive powers are 

 not capable of cleaily perceiving t\u) difference between right 

 and wrong, for an appetite lias been established wliose despotic 



