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Quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

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Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

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“And even in the open air the stench of whiskey was appalling. To this fiendish poison, I am certain, the greater part of the squalor I saw is due. Many of these vermin were obviously not foreigners—I counted at least five American countenances in which a certain vanished decency half showed through the red whiskey bloating. Then I reflected upon the power of wine, and marveled how self-respecting persons can imbibe such stuff, or permit it to be served upon their tables. It is the deadliest enemy with which humanity is faced. Not all the European wars could produce a tenth of the havock occasioned among men by the wretched fluid which responsible governments allow to be sold openly. Looking upon that mob of sodden brutes, my mind’s eye pictured a scene of different kind; a table bedecked with spotless linen and glistening silver, surrounded by gentlemen immaculate in evening attire—and in the reddening faces of those gentlemen I could trace the same lines which appeared in full development of the beasts of the crowd. Truly, the effects of liquor are universal, and the shamelessness of man unbounded. How can reform be wrought in the crowd, when supposedly respectable boards groan beneath the goblets of rare old vintages? Is mankind asleep, that its enemy is thus entertained as a bosom friend? But a week or two ago, at a parade held in honour of the returning Rhode Island National Guard, the Chief Executive of this State, Mr. Robert Livingston Beeckman, prominent in New York, Newport, and Providence society, appeared in such an intoxicated condition that he could scarce guide his mount, or retain his seat in the saddle, and he the guardian of the liberties and interests of that Colony carved by the faith, hope, and labour of Roger Williams from the wilderness of savage New-England! I am perhaps an extremist on the subject of prohibition, but I can see no justification whatsoever for the tolerance of such a degrading demon as drink.”

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Book:Lord of a Visible World: An Autobiography in Letters
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“Non poteva nemmeno affogare la delusione nel vino, come faceva l’allegra brigata dell’ispettore. Sì, perché lui era astemio. Non ci poteva fare proprio niente: il dolce succo di Bacco gli dava acidità, nel migliore dei casi, e nel peggiore gli regalava delle tremende fitte allo stomaco. Era così da sempre. La cosa gli aveva procurato non pochi problemi a livello d’integrazione. Se c’era un individuo da quelle parti di cui si diffidava, era proprio l’astemio. Estremamente raro, e per questo estremamente sospetto. Perché non era come tutti gli altri? Quando tutti gli altri facevano tintinnare i bicchieri, cosa ci faceva lui in disparte in un angolo? Osservava? Giudicava? Minacciava? E ancora: cosa ci faceva con tutta quell’acqua? Dava da bere alle piante? Riempiva gli umidificatori dei termosifoni?”

DrinkingSuspicionTeetotaler
Book:La primavera tarda ad arrivare
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