Lectures on man: being a series of discourses on phrenology and physiology / Delivered by Professor L.N. Fowler in Great Britain.

  • Lorenzo N. Fowler
Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lectures on man: being a series of discourses on phrenology and physiology / Delivered by Professor L.N. Fowler in Great Britain. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    stand. To drink, or not to drink, was the question. Being willing to hear the arguments on both sides, so that I might decide without pre- judice, I called to see a man who was in the habit of continually drink- ing. He was intoxicated nearly all the time. His brain was literally pickled wlbh alcoho I. f said 1 o bim, I am a young man just starting in life, and have all my nabits yet to form. I perceive that there ia a great deal of drinking throughout this section of the country, and knowing that you have had great experience on the subject, I came to ask you if you would advise me to commence drinking alcohol. Drinking ! he exclaimed, if you want to live in wretchedness in this life, and go to hell when you die, follow my example ; form the habit of drinking. I expect no happiness here or hereafter. Take my advice, do not touch a drop, do not form the habit. This is the only safe course to pursue, for when the habit is once formed it frequently becomes so strong that it is impossible to break its iron chains. I thanked him for his advice, and decided to follow it to the letter ; and though I have been constantly engaged for 35 years in mental labours —that exhaust the system more than severe manual labours—yet I have never felt the necessity of using alcohol in any form. I observed that smoking was another fashionable custom in the town. In order to profit by the experience of an inveterate smoker, I called upon a gentleman who was seldom seen without a cigar in his mouth, except when he was eating or sleeping. He was constantly smoking, smoking, smoking. I said to him, I am a young man just forming my habits for life ; would you advise me to learn to smoke ] I have been told that, in order to like to smoke, it is necessary to learn to like it. Advise you to smoke 1 he replied, If you want to avoid the worst kind of slavery, to have peace of mind, health of body, in fact, to be a free man, by all means avoid smoking. I am the greatest slave in this country, and feel the fetters every hour of my life. My nervous system . is completely unstrung, and I would give half of mj fortune to get rid of the habit, which has fastened itself upon me with an iron grasp, and will bring me to a premature grave. I would advise you, by all means, to avoid the habit of smoking. I replied, I shall take your advice, for you can speak from experience. The result has been that I have never smoked a pipe or cigar. I observed that many men chewed tobacco. They were always chewing and spitting ; and nearly every one I met asked me to '' take a quid. Anxious to benefit from a man of experience, I went to one who chewed tobacco from morning till night. He had worn off his teeth, but still persisted in the practice. I said to him, I am about forming my habits for life ; I have not yet learned to chew tobacco ; do you advise me to commence ? He emphatically replied, If you want one of the foulest habits a man can have—a habit which you cannot break, one that will bring other habits in its train, one that will gather strength day by day ; if you want to be a slave to a habit that you will abhor every time you practise it, then learn to chew tobacco.