The use of Tobacco wrong; and why.
A
DISCOURSE
DELIVERED
APRIL 29, 1860.
BY REV. JOHN REID,
FRANKLINVILLE, LONG ISLAND.
CINCINNATI:
AMERICAN REFORM TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY
No. 88 WEST. FOURTH STREET.
1860.


The Use of Tobacco Wrong; and why.
A
DISCOURSE
DELIVERED
APRIL 29, 1860.
BY REV. JOHN REID,
FRANKLINVILLE, LONG ISLAND.
NEW-YORK:
JOIIN A. GRAY, PRINTER, 16 & 18 JACOB STREET,
FIRE-PROOF BUILDINGS.
1860.


THE USE OF TOBACCO
Not for the Glory of God.
WHETHER therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God."-1 Cor. 10: 31.
THE text presents us with a noble and
comprehensive rule of action. Noble, in that
God is made the ultimate end of man; com-
prehensive, in that all the doings of man are to
be regulated by this final law. It is of great
value to the human mind to have a standard
so simple in its nature, and so universal in its
application. Men are frequently puzzled in
regard to right and wrong, and oftentimes
call the good evil and the evil good, because
they forget, for the moment, that divine test
of all moral action which is within their
reach. We may safely affirm, that any
course which harmonizes with the design of

4
THE USE OF TOBACCO
4
God is right, and any course which does not
harmonize with this design is wrong. If a
watch, made to run well, runs ill, it does not
answer the design of the maker; if a ship,
made to sail fast, sails slow, the design is
thwarted in the same manner; and so in
both cases there is a material wrong. God
created the human soul and the human body
to act in a certain way, and, if the design of
God is not carried out, there is spiritual
wrong in the matter. There is in fact an
ultimate law stamped upon the whole being
of man by the Creator, and when that ulti-
mate law is trampled upon there is sin. It
will be admitted that wherever we find con-
plete fitness in any thing that is done by man,
we find that which meets the chief end of his
nature and the chief end of God. By the
admission of this principle, we can always
ascertain whether an action be for the glory
of God or not; for unfitness with reference
to a certain end, and confusion as the result
of this, can never tend to the honor of the
divine Being. I propose, then, in the present
discourse, to test by this standard a very com-
mon practice of mankind. I desire to show
that the use of tobacco is not for the glory of

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
God, and that consequently it is wrong.* I
am aware that it is somewhat unusual to con-
sider this subject at any time, and still more
unusual to bring it within the sphere of pul-
pit ministration on the Sabbath; yet, I think,
the time has come for a general discussion of
the matter; and I invite you to give that can-
did attention to the topic in hand which it
most assuredly demands.
In the first place, the use of tobacco works
against the principle of order, and therefore
tends not to the glory of God. The principle
of order is found in all minds; it is regula-
tive in its nature; it always results in satis-
faction when any act or aim, any course or
creation, is seen to be like itself. All that
God is, and all that God does, conforms to the
perfect ideal of order that abides in his eter-
nal reason. It is morally impossible for the
divine Being to act in a disorderly manner.
* I would state that many of the ideas of the present
discourse are derived from a work, republished in this coun-
try, entitled, "The Use and Abuse of Tobacco." By John
Lizars, late Professor of Surgery to the Royal College of
Surgeons, Edinburgh. The work has passed through eight
editions in England. Persons who desire to know how
tobacco operates on the human system could not do better
than read this small but valuable production.
1*

6
THE USE OF TOBACCO
If he were at any time to act contrary to the
archetype of order that exists in his nature,
he would at once be dishonored. When man
does any thing that clashes with this lofty
principle, he dishonors the Deity.
It is our assertion that the use of tobacco
introduces a principle of disorder into the phys-
ical system of man. No one can commence at
first the use of this article without feeling
that an act of wrong has been committed.
The person is instantly made sick, and thus
a signal of danger is raised to warn of the
evil. This instinctive movement of man's
nature is proof that tobacco is a principle
foreign to its demands; and, if the first pain
and indignation of the body were heeded,
no one would venture to take a second step
fraught with such consequences. The initial
suffering, however, is overcome by continued
practice; and the evil which showed itself at
the beginning, retires into the secret springs
of the body, and there poisons and plagues
the whole system, sending forth heralds
at different points, now and then, proclaiming
the injury that is done. Vast multitudes
seem to imagine that because the first dizzi-
ness, vomiting, and pain have departed, there-

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
7.
fore, now all is well. This is not by any
means the case. It is a principle universally
true, that whatsoever is wrong in its nature
at the beginning, is wrong forever afterwards.
The element of disorder, thrust into the sys-
tem with the first cigar, is the same element
that is seen in the whole history of smoking
and chewing. There is a general disarrange-
ment of the working forces of the body.
The liver, which is so necessary to help for-
ward the process of digestion, is struck with
a dart, and it can not perform its functions
aright. The whole nervous system is as-
sailed by the enemy of man. A mighty ar-
ray of diseases follow. Dyspepsia is among
the first. The general state of the system
compels this to appear and to announce what
is going forward. There can be no question
also but that persons are seized with sudden
fits because of the malign action of tobacco
on the constitution. The principle of disorder
is so terrible that man faints and falls, and
the whole body writhes and rebounds as with
superhuman power. Some are struck with
the palsy, as the fruit of their pernicious
habit; others have their hearing affected,
and are deaf to the day of their death; and

8
THE USE OF TOBACCO
still others almost lose the use of their eyes.
Says Dr. Lizars, of Edinburgh: "A coach-
builder, upwards of fifty years of age, had
smoked for thirty years, generally two ounces
of tobacco a week, when he became so
blind as to be unable to work, or even walk
through a crowded street. He applied to an
eye dispensary, where the medical man, who
is considered a good oculist, told him that he
labored under amaurosis, and prescribed ac-
cordingly. After following his treatment for
some time, and finding himself no better, he
visited a neighboring city, and consulted an-
other oculist, who instantly detected tobacco
to be the cause of his blindness. The man
threw away tobacco forever, visited a rela-
tive in the Highlands, where in a short time
his vision gradually returned, became clear,
and enabled him to return to his business
quite cured. It is now six years since he re-
covered, and he now can read a small printed
book without glasses. He says his health is
much improved since he gave up the perni-
cious weed."
I need not go on specifying the various
diseases that result from the use of tobacco.
All I desire here is, that you see that a prin

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
9
ciple of disorder is introduced into the human
body. Seeing this, you can not affirm that
such confusion and disharmony are for the
glory of God. The whole action of this tur-
bulent power in bodies is so much like the
action of sin in souls, one can not but think
that the former is connected with the latter.
The physical evil seems to be but the pro-
longed vibration of the moral evil. A vicious
will is apparent in both cases. Man having
broken
up
the order of the soul, rests not till
the order of the body is equally overturned.
The preëstablished harmony of the Creator
is gone, and utter discord takes its place.
In the second place, the use of tobacco
works against the element of purity, and
therefore tends not to the glory of God.
The whole of the divine moral character is
pure and stainless. There is a perfection of
beauty about the holiness of God. Such is
the sanctity of the Most High that he shrinks
from the least particle of defilement. Purity
is therefore a leading thought of God's end-
less plan ; seen evermore along the royal
pathway which he travels, and around the
vast kingdom which he governs. The whole
universe is designed to be a sublime symbol-

10
THE USE OF TOBACCO
ism of the stainless One; and it is this, save
in those parts where sin has cast its dark
shadow over nature, and where it has cor-
rupted and deadened the bodies of men.
The eternal stars that tremble and spangle
in the vault of night do most assuredly image
forth the clearness and perfect loveliness of
God. What is heaven? a picture of divine
purity. What is hell? a world of utter defile-
ment. What is earth ? a place of mingled
light and darkness, mercy and meanness. It
is curious and instructive to see how the idea
of purity has never failed to show itself
among all people. Corrupt and debasing as
the religions of man may have been, they
have yet contained hints of an ideal purity.
The body was to be washed, if not the soul;
the shoes were to be removed from the feet,
if not the sins from the heart. The whole
Jewish system of worship seems to have been
arranged so as to print on the mind the doc-
trine of purity for man. The utmost careful-
ness was demanded to keep the person clean.
A continued baptism may be said to extend
from Moses to Christ; a continued slaughter-
ing of beasts, without blemish, for man who
was defiled.

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
11
What a shock this idea of purity now re-
ceives, as it comes close up to a man who is
addicted to the use of tobacco! The whole
material organism is defiled. Tobacco is not
like most other deadly plants containing only
one poison; it contains two. Some have sup-
posed that the tobacco leaf in its natural state
has only one poison, and that afterwards, by
change, another enters into it; but this really
makes no difference, as the two poisons are
there when the article is prepared for the use
of man.
The vicious properties of tobacco
are thus specified by Professor Johnston:
"These are three in number: a volatile oil,
a volatile alkali, and an empyreumatic oil.”
"The volatile oil has the odor of tobacco, and
possesses a bitter taste. On the mouth and
throat it produces a sensation similar to that
caused by tobacco-smoke. When applied to
the nose, it occasions sneezing, and when
taken internally, it gives rise to giddiness,
nausea, and an inclination to vomit.” “The
volatile alkali has the odor of tobacco, an
acrid, burning, long-contining tobacco taste,
and possesses narcotic and very poisonous
qualities. In this latter respect it is scarcely
inferior to prussic acid-a single drop being

12
THE USE FO TOBACCO
sufficient to kill a dog." "In smoking a
hundred grains of tobacco, say a quarter of
an ounce, there may be drawn into the mouth
two grains or more of one of the most subtle of
all known poisons.” “The empyreumatic oil
is acrid and disagreeable to the taste, narco-
tic, and poisonous. One drop applied to the
tongue of a cat brought on convulsions, and
in two minutes occasioned death. The Hot-
tentots are said to kill snakes by putting a
drop of it on their tongues. Under its in-
fluence the reptiles die as instantaneously as
if killed by an electric shock. It appears to
act nearly in the same way as prussic acid."
Such are the poisons with which the smok.
er, chewer, and snuffer corrupt and kill their
bodies. The very air that is breathed is im-
pure; the element of death enters the lungs,
and there acts according to its own nature.
The clear water can not reach the stomach
without first having poison thrown into it.
What an excitement would be created if
every well were found to be poisoned! How
active would men be to have the impure
water pumped out and the wells cleansed !
Yet now these same men are quiet and con-
tented, and take their cup of death without

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
13
the least fear! The very food also is poison-
ed, from the moment it reaches the mouth to
the moment it reaches the place where it is
to be converted into nourishment for the sys-
tem. No excitement here; yet what a per-
fect turmoil would be created, if it were
known that every housewife was in the habit
of putting arsenic in her husband's food!
The lips are impure; the teeth are impure;
the secretions of the mouth are impure; the
saliva is poisoned; so that whatever enters
the stomach is surrounded and penetrated
with a most foul and deadly evil. The blood
now is poisoned; and as it goes from one ex-
tremity to another, from head to foot, the
whole body is tainted. Yea, so poisonous is
the blood of the tobacco victim that leeches
have been instantly killed by it-they drop-
ped off dead the moment they were applied
to the body. What a state to be in! The
whole nature is vitiated; there is a kind of
physical total depravity; touch the man any
where, and the dire evil appears. Impurity
within and impurity without, at any place
and at any time. The room where the man
sits is contaminated. All about the room-
the ceiling above, the floor beneath, the fur.
2

14
THE USE OF TOBACCO
niture, the clothes, the books and papers-
all are defiled; the poisonous smell ascends
from every thing. The chamber where he
sleeps is equally polluted. A sickly odor
infects the place, which never leaves it day or
night, summer or winter. The church where
the man worships is also defiled. His entire
body and breath being impregnated with
noxious qualities, a most disagreeable atmo-
sphere extends from the pew where he sits.
The pure are sickened when they are near
him, and are only able to respire with com-
fort when away. For my own part, I can
not see how a man that uses tobacco could
ever have worshipped God under the Jewish
dispensation. He must have been forever un-
clean, and never could have entered into the
congregation of the Lord. The most perfect
lamb for a sacrifice would have availed no-
thing, while the body of him who offered it
was all defiled.
It is well known among physicians, that
certain evils of the body can not be cured
while the person continues to use tobac-
"It is scarcely possible to heal a sy
philitic sore, or to unite a fractured bone,
in a devoted smoker-his constitution seems
CO.

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
15
to be in the same vitiated state as in one af-
fected with scurvy." Sometimes the lower
lip will become diseased by the use of the
pipe or cigar, and that to such an extent,
that it can not be healed; and so no other
way remains but to sever it from the body.
It is not an uncommon thing for the tongue
to become ulcerated ; after a season it will
swell and become altogether too large for the
mouth; then it will begin to rot and molder
away; finally it is so corrupted that all life
escapes from it, and so it falls out, and the
individual is left tongueless as a punishment
for his abominable vice. It is a fact also that
certain diseases can be communicated from
one smoker to another, by merely using the
pipe or cigar of the diseased person. It is a
question how far tobacco-smoke itself may
be the medium of conveying contagious dis-
eases. I think it is quite likely that many
innocent people are made to suffer, by simply
coming in contact with the smoke of diseased
men. It is really dangerous to walk the
streets of New York at certain hours of the
day, for you can not breathe without in-
haling the smoke emitted from the cigars of
youth and men, some of whom may be any

16
THE USE OF TOBACCO
thing but pure. It is not safe to be in a
room where a company are smoking, for one
can not tell what infection may be floating
around. With all these facts mentioned
under this second head of the discourse, I
see that the use of tobacco can not be for the
glory of God. There is not the least purity
connected with it. To suppose that God is
honored by poisoning all the springs and
channels of life of that body, which he sus-
tains every moment, is really to call black
white and evil good.
In the third place, the use of tobacco
works against the element of power, and
therefore tends not to the glory of God. By
power I mean strength or might. If we
would have confidence in Jehovah and his
administration, it is deemed sufficient to say,
that “the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
“Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the
Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." One
of the noblest conceptions of man is that he
is a power. He is not a thing, not even an
animal, however strong; but he is a being
with free will, whose collective strength of
body and spirit is to be used for the perform-
ance of the grandest deeds of life, that by

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
17
this means the greatest amount of glory may
accrue to God. A single man, with fully
developed strength of body and mind, may
accomplish more than a dozen persons all
weakened and wasted ; and consequently
more glory will go up to God from the one
than from the twelve. This is the way to view
men every where. They are a vast congre-
gation of powers, and he who does most, with
highest wisdom and highest benevolence, is
greatest. It is not blind force that I want,
but it is force sublimed by its connection
with goodness and knowledge. The infinite
strength of God, as manifested in the totality
of creation, has its moral value from the fact
that it is directed by perfect, wise love. "A
wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge
increaseth strength.” What we demand for
the
race, individually and collectively, is full-
ness of created life --- life throughout the
whole body-life throughout the whole soul.
By possessing this, there will be strength of
endurance, unflinching perseverance. Then
we shall have force of will, force of intellect,
force of heart, and force of body to be used
by the vigorous mind. This is the true and
ultimate conception of man viewed as a
.*

18
THE USE OF TOBACOO
.
power; and enlightened reason assents to it as
correct. We shall now test the principle, by
contemplating first the bodies of men.
Consider the physical weakening of races by
the use of tobacco. I begin with the North-
American Indians. It is well known that
these natives of this continent are wasting
away.
The time is not far distant when
they will cease to be. I can not view this
condition of these red men without thinking
that the poisonous plant which they have
used for so long a time has had much to do
in undermining their constitution. Of course,
the practice of drinking ardent spirits has
vitiated their natures exceedingly; but to-
bacco has also done its work. The continued
use of this plant, for so many ages, has doubt-
less weakened their frames, and prepared
them to become a prey to another and differ-
ent evil. What is true of these Indians
seems to be equally true of savages in remote
lands. Their first cry, when a trader reaches
them, is for rum and tobacco. And this fact
ought to be noted that, as all savages are in-
dolent in their habits, they will smoke, chew,
and snuff more than men who are civilized
and active. This being the case, we need

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
19
not be surprised that many of these barba-
rians are vanishing away from the face of
the earth. Certain missionaries stationed
upon the islands of the Pacific, having seen
that tobacco has proved a curse to the people,
have made it a rule that no one shall be per-
mitted to unite with the church who uses it.
But this weakening process is not confined
to such people. We see the same thing
among other populations. I have no doubt
in my own mind, that the decay and lethargy
of the inhabitants of Turkey are partly the
result of excessive smoking. The people
have no spirit, no power, no element of en-
durance. The life of the body is drawn off;
there is no vigorous tone to the system.
Look also at the Spanish race. Their former
power has departed. You behold an entire
people sinking down into a dull and sluggish
state, with no manly energy in their consti-
tution. We are compelled to say that tobac-
co has much to do with this. A principle of
deterioration is also gradually destroying the
otherwise strong constitutions of the inhabit-
ants of Germany. The use of the pipe is so
common, it is matter of certainty that the
body must be weakened. The French in

20
THE USE OF TOBACCO TOW
like manner seem to have been seized with a
mania for tobacco. Within the past ten
years there has been a great increase of this
vile drug among the people. In England
the evil is making rapid strides. It seems to
make but little difference that a high price is
paid for the indulgence of this ruinous luxu.
ry. If men have a shilling which ought to
be used for nourishing food, a part of it must
go for tobacco or snuff. The poor will sit
and dream, over their pipes, of coming wealth
and strength, while a hungry demon is pick-
ing the flesh from their bones, leaving then
weak and faint and helpless. As we come
to the people of the United States, we have
only to notice them for a moment to see
what tobacco is doing. The perpetual chew-
ing and smoking, by such vast numbers of
boys and men, must drain the vital principle
from the system. Hence the multitudes that
we see of pale-faced, hollow-chested, weak-
limbed men. Nothing is more apparent to
an observer than the nervous character of the
inhabitants. The fact is, the nervous system
is ruined by the constant use of tobacco.
Men faint and grow weary in a little while;
so the dose is repeated that the nerves

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
21
may be soothed and stilled, and supposed
strength gained for the labor of life. There
are thousands of men to-day complaining of
the lack of energy, who know not that to-
bacco is the cause of it. They are not able
to work much; they have no appetite; their
food does not digest; they try different medi-
cines; at the same time, as they can do no-
thing else, they will smoke all the more, and
thus keep killing themselves by inches.
Possibly there are individuals with a strong
constitution and healthy employment who
do not feel the bad effects of tobacco to that
extent that others do. But this is really no-
thing to the point. It does not prove the habit
to be beneficial. There are some men of
iron constitutions who have been accustomed
to drink liquor for a long period, and have
lived to old age ; but surely this does not
prove that all may drink with equal im-
punity. A large proportion of men are des.
titute of great physical strength, and, having
no healthy employment, rum or tobacco is
sure to injure them.
Who will say that life is not shortened by
reason of this seductive evil? There can
scarcely be a doubt that a number of years

22
THE USE OF TOBACCO
I am
are lost to many by this very means.
willing to admit that the average life of man
is longer now than it was before the intro-
duction of tobacco. But what is the cause
of this? Obviously, the improvement in
house-building, better ventilation, more com-
fortable clothing, a greater abundance of pure
water for large cities, a system of draining
scarcely known in former times, the great
progress that has been made in medical
science, the general diffusion of knowledge
among the laboring classes, the wide circula-
tion of the Bible, the extension of the Christ.
ian religion—these things and many more
have tended to lengthen human life. If all
were thoroughly temperate in their habits,
we might reasonably calculate on an ad-
vanced ratio to the years of man. Let tobac-
co, opium, and rum be banished from the
earth, and at once life would be prolonged.
Is it not a fact that the generation now on
the stage is weaker than the one that pre-
ceded it? This would seem to be the case.
The strong aged men are dying off; the men
of constant health, fine muscle, astonishing
endurance, are passing away; and a puny,
sickly, short-lived race are working out their

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
23
destiny with no great power, with no full and
hearty happiness. The difference here we
must attribute, in part, to the increasing use
of tobacco. Smoking and chewing are com-
menced at such an early age that the body is
sapped at its foundation, and speedily falls to
ruin. If the evil would only end here, it
would be less discouraging, but it ends not
here. There is a great law of transmission.
A vitiated constitution goes from parent
to child, from one generation to another.
The weakening of races becomes in this way
an appalling fact; the shortening of life be-
comes a dread reality.
But leaving now the physical part of man,
just see how the soul weakened by the use
of tobacco. The evil is increased tenfold
when it assails the human spirit. The mind
was made in the image of God, and was de-
signed to grow and expand through ages
nuinberless; consequently whatever weakens
such a mind, and impedes such a develop-
ment, is stamped with the instant condemna-
tion of Heaven. In a preëminent sense the
soul is a power; and the body could as soon
act without it, as the universe without God.
There is the closest connection between the

24
THE USE OF TOBACCO
mind and the body, and between the body
and the mind. Through a very fine arrange-
ment evil can be sent from one to the other.
The first faculty that suffers is the memory.
This reproductive faculty seems to be partly
material; it seems to lean on the body; the
weakening element therefore enters into it
before any other power of the mind is
touched. Let the brain be injured, and the
memory will feel it.
The action of tobacco
is not like that of many other poisons, for it
affects the nervous system and the brain al-
most directly. The finest and most delicate
part of the human fabric is struck, and the
man begins to feel that the memory is giving
way. Still he will never think of blaming
himself for this state of things. While he is
gradually destroying his soul, he will im-
agine that he is to be pitied. The man may
suppose that his habit of forgetfulness is just
a kind of misfortune, to be resolved into one
of the acts of a sovereign Providence. He is
not aware of the trouble he may create in
the common business of life by his bad
memory; making promises to-day, and
breaking them to-morrow, as if all was right.
If the individual is a Christian, he will

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
25
tell you that when he reads the Bible, he
can not remember as he used to; when he
prays, it is hard to connect the language;
when he hears preaching on the Sabbath, it
is next to impossible to retain what has been
said. If the man would only feel guilty on
account of his great sin, it would be a relief;
but nothing of this kind is apparent.
When the memory fails, the intellect goes
with it; the one faculty is necessarily con-
nected with the other. “The pupils of the
Polytechnic School in Paris have recently
furnished some curious statistics bearing on
the tobacco controversy. Dividing the young
gentlemen of that college into two groups-
the smokers and non-smokers - it is shown
that the smokers have shown themselves, in
the various competitive examinations, far
inferior to the others. Not only in the ex-
aminations on entering the school are the
smokers in a lower rank, but in the various
ordeals that they have to pass through in a
year, the average rank of the smokers had
constantly fallen, and not inconsiderably,
while the men who did not smoke enjoyed a
cerebral atmosphere of the clearest kind."
At first sight, this view of the matter would
3

26
THE USE OF TOBACCO
not seem to be correct; for some say that
they can think clearer after taking a pinch
of snuff; and others, that their mind is more
steady after taking a smoke. But really this
kind of evidence amounts to nothing. It only
proves that the body has been so drugged that
it can not act without the accustomed dose.
A diseased state of the system has become na-
turalized, so that nothing will quiet and sat-
isfy it but its own poisonous food. The man
who is accustomed to drink liquor will, it
is said, lay out his plans of business with
more clearness after he has taken his morn-
ing dram; both his hand and head are
steadier by this means.
But the sound,
healthy, temperate man needs no such excit-
ing agents; his understanding is clear at any
time; noxious vapors do not surround it.
Yea, so deleterious is tobacco, that it is not
an uncommon thing for it to lead to insanity.
How can it be otherwise when the deadly
poison has made its home in the brain?
Professor Lizars, in his excellent work, says:
"Mania is a fearful result of the excessive
use of tobacco, two cases of which I have
witnessed since the publication of this treat-

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
27
ise. I have also to mention that a gentleman
called on me, and thanked me for the publi-
cation of my Observations on Tobacco, and
related to me, with deep emotion, what had
occurred in his own family from smoking to-
bacco. Two amiable younger brothers had
gone deranged, and committed suicide.
There is no hereditary predisposition to
mania in the family. At a meeting of the
Medical and Chirurgical Society of London,
on May 2d, 1854, a paper was read, entitled,
Additional Remarks on the Statistics and
Morbid Anatomy of Mental Diseases,' by Dr.
Webster, wherein he cites, among the causes,
the great use of tobacco, which opinion he
supported by reference to the statistics of in-
sanity in Germany.” This is certainly suffi-
cient to arrest attention. Even if one never
does become insane, yet he may be very near
it. His intellect may be so weakened, his
course so strange, that any person can see
that he is just on the borders of lunacy.
The climax of the evil in the region of mind
is, at all events, reached when reason is de-
throned. We care not to go beyond this.
How plain it is that the whole of this weak-
ening process is not for the glory of God.

28
THE USE OF TOBACCO
The impression deepens as we advance, that
a great wrong is committed.
In the fourth place, the use of tobacco
works against the principle of piety, and
therefore tends not to the glory of God.
There is nothing in common between the
vicious principle of tobacco and the holy prin-
ciple of piety. The two forces are antagonistic
in their nature. No sensible man can fall down
on his knees and ask God to bless the use of
tobacco. This shows what it is. It is out-
side of all religion, and consequently outside
of all prayer. What a sight it would be to
behold a smoker, chewer, and snuffer thank-
ing God for his kindness in providing them
with the means of injuring body and soul !
I rather imagine that no one will thus trifle
with the Most High. Yet what a dark fact
stands before us, that an accountable being
will continue a practice for which he can not
pray! It is quite clear that piety allows of
no sensation of pleasure that is generated at
the expense of order, purity, and strength.
The pleasure here is the result of absolute law-
lessness. There is not a single law that is
kept by the habit. It is therefore wrong, out
and out. Religion can not tolerate any kind

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
29
never
of pleasure that follows from evil. It says,
have happiness to the full extent of well-
being and well-doing, but neither more nor
less than this. What is this whole tobacco
question? Is it any thing but intemper-
ance ? Nothing but this; it is intemperance
from beginning to end. Man was
made to use tobacco. The whole practice is
unnatural. It is not in a line with the com-
mon wants of the system. It is something
superadded. You can not call it food; you
can not call it drink. It is an unmistakable
invention of man, forced upon nature while
nature has no preparation for it. It is there-
fore intrinsically a great evil, having not the
least good to recommend it.
According to the census of 1850, we learn
that 199,752,655 pounds of tobacco were
raised in the United States. It is difficult to
tell how much of this is used at home, as
quite a large quantity is sent to England and
to other parts of Europe. As to the expense
of this deadly luxury, it can not be much be-
low thirty million of dollars for the whole
country, averaging one dollar a year for each
man, woman, and child. Paris used in the
year 1854 an amount that is really fearful,
3*

30
THE USE OF TOBACCO
namely, 3,800,000 pounds, paying for this,
17,725,263 francs. In large cities a vast
amount seems to be used ; and it is possible
that I have not allowed sufficiently for this
in my estimate for the whole country. It
would not be strange if thirty-five million of
dollars is expended for this single article dur-
ing the present year. During eleven months
of 1856, there was consumed, in Great Britain,
29,776,082 pounds. Large as this amount is,
it is not likely that it equals the consumption
of the United States. We can see at any
rate, that the evil is gigantic. And what gain
is it? No gain at all — absolute loss. No
equivalent is given for the money. There is
no addition to the real wealth of the country.
It were vastly better if the whole money
were cast into the sea. More good would be
the result of this. While tobacco is not such
a terrible evil as rum, it is yet far more ex-
tended.
A large number of boys, who have
never learned to drink liquor, have learned
to smoke and chew. Then we have women
who snuff, who yet never taste ardent spirits.
There is also a great company of temperance
men who are habitually addicted to the use
of tobacco. And, last of all, most of the

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
31
men who are intemperate have the same
habit.
Now, piety demands that the whole of life
be regulated according to the highest princi-
ples of duty. It says, do what is best under all
circumstances. Is it best, then, to encourage
the use of tobacco ? Would it be a good
thing to make every human being a smoker
and chewer? If it is really for the best, it
ought to be done. I am persuaded, however,
that few will advocate any thing like this.
Yet if it is best for twelve men, it is best for
twenty-four, best for forty-eight, and so on
ad infinitum. Indeed, it is clear that the
practice can not bear the test of a princi-
ple like this. Tobacco has one rule; piety
another. You may settle the whole matter
by this question: Would Christ use tobacco ?
Every enlightened mind will answer: No.
Then surely we can not do better than follow
Christ. It is wrong not to follow him.
Again, it is the idea of religion that body
and soul should be presented as a pure and
perfect offering to Jehovah. Nothing in all
the earth is so valuable as a man; nothing
does God want so much as the service of a
He calls for the whole being. Rites
man.

32
THE USE OF TOBACCO
and ceremonies, of themselves, are nothing to
him. He desires the one complete offering
of a man; a man in the divine sense of the
word, with a soul fresh with life and free
with love; with a body as the well-arranged
organ of the mind, acting for God and good-
ness. “Present your bodies a living sacri-
fice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your
reasonable service." Where is the lover of to-
bacco that can do this? His whole body is
a witness against him. What an offering to
present to God! If he wanted a lamb with-
out blemish, how much more a man!
“What! know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your
own? For ye are bought with a price :
therefore glorify God in your body and in
your spirit, which are God's.” How lofty, ,
sublime, touching, is such reasoning! An
appeal to man from the Trinity. You are
the possession of God; the infinite Redeemer
has purchased you with his precious blood;
therefore live for the divine glory. Yea,
more, the divine Spirit has come down to in-
habit the body of man, implying that all
should be pure. Highest piety is thus called

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
33
upon to attend to the physical structure.
There is a religion of physiology. How fit
and proper that the body should be heeded.
We have the same form that Adam had in
paradise; the same form that Christ had on
earth ; the same form, doubtless, that Jesus
and the saints will have in heaven.
But I will add no more. I have said suffi-
cient to convince every unprejudiced mind
that the use of tobacco is not for the glory of
God; and if not for his glory, then it is mo-
rally wrong. This being the case, what
should be done? Plainly and distinctly
every one who is guilty should cease from
the evil. There is no choice here, no opinion
here; the thing is wrong; therefore forsake
it. Do you plead the inveteracy of habit?
This is no excuse; evil is no excuse for evil.
Yea, the stubborness of the habit proves
the greatness of the wrong. The confirmed
gambler and drunkard are doubly guilty.
If you have sold yourself to a despot, and
escape,
that is
your own fault. But
you can escape. The most besotted drunk-
ards have broken away from their
most obdurate smokers have broken away
from their tobacco. You can do the same.
can not
cups; the

31
THE USE OF TOBACCO
That it will require an effort, is no doubt
true. Yet the greater the struggle, the
greater the good. Try to be men; men with
a good conscience, a loving heart, a strong
will. How the soul is belittled when held to
vice. Do you not have a feeling of self-con-
tempt because of your slavery? See how
your life may be lengthened, your soul
strengthened, God glorified, by your suc-
cessful conquest. Expel the evil from your
system by total abstinence, by a healthy diet,
by a self-denial that will not give way. Sim-
ply trust in the Omnipotent and do your
duty.
To all young men who have commenced to
use tobacco, I would say, flee from this youth-
You can escape from the enemy
with but little trouble. There is not a man
addicted to the habit but who would urge
you to stop now. You will have a sounder
constitution, have a greater amount of happi,
ness, by being free from the evil. To all
persons who tempt you, just say, no; say it
politely, wisely, yet determinately. Do not
suppose that there is any thing like manliness
connected with this ruinous vice. True man-
hood is allied to character and intelligence.
ful snare.

NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
35
Goodness is greatness; knowledge is
power.” Resist, therefore, all temptation.
"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you
like men, be strong." Those of you who
have never used tobacco in any form, abide
in your present state. Grow up to full ma-
turity without ever knowing this evil. .
Never attempt to make a beginning. I would
warn young Christians especially to be on
their guard. What a sight to see a disciple
of the pure and self-denying Redeemer going
to prayer-meeting or to church with a cigar
in his mouth! If a Christian is not willing,
at the beginning of his religious life, to break
away
from this evil I am afraid he will never
be distinguished for noble deeds. It is time
for the Church to show an example with ref-
erence to this one thing. How the kingdom
of God would appear if not a single one of
its people was stained with this blot of mil-
lions! "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill
the lusts thereof." If I could speak to the
ministers of the land, I would say: Deny
every worldly lust. Show an example to the
people by purity of life. The mind is jarred
and put out of tune the moment a smoking,

36
THE USE OF TOBACCO.
chewing, or snuffing servant of God is seen.
There is a want of fitness in all such acts.
Let physicians also turn their attention to this
matter. They may do immense good by en.
lightening the people in regard to the injuri-
ous effects of tobacco on the human system;
showing how different diseases arise from
this poison. All leading minds, men of
power and influence, can do much, by precept
and example, to hold back this evil. Let
every store-keeper, who wants to do his duty,
avoid selling it. It is certain that the article
does no good; it leads vast numbers astray.
One bad habit generates another. The youth
who smokes to-day, may drink to-morrow.
No sin ever yet remained by itself. Many
nowadays are beginning to raise tobacco
because of its profit. Better let it alone. It
certainly kills the soil ; it may kill the soul.
Ruin is always written on selfishness. The
love of money never yet carried a man to
heaven. He is the wisest who thinks and
feels the most about the soul, God, immortal-
ity. "Let your moderation be known unto
all men."
." 6 The Lord is at hand.” “Whether
therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God."
Pam Reid, John,
35312-P