edies; but when the body is in want of
aliment, to refuse it any, and let it suffer from hunger or thirst, is
delirium and a real sin against the law of nature.

Q. How is drunkenness considered in the law of nature?

A. As a most vile and pernicious vice. The drunkard, deprived of
the sense and reason given us by God, profanes the donations of the
divinity: he debases himself to the condition of brutes; unable even to
guide his steps, he staggers and falls as if he were epileptic; he hurts
and even risks killing himself; his debility in this state exposes him
to the ridicule and contempt of every person that sees him; he makes
in his drunkenness, prejudicial and ruinous bargains, and injures his
fortune; he makes use of opprobrious language, which creates him enemies
and repentance; he fills his house with trouble and sorrow, and ends by
a premature death or by a cacochymical old age.

Q. Does the law of nature interdict absolutely the use of wine?

A. No; it only forbids the abuse; but as the transition from the use to
the abuse is easy and prompt among the generality of men, perhaps
the legislators, who have proscribed the use of wine, have rendered a
service to humanity.

Q. Does the law of nature forbid the use of certain kinds of meat, or of
certain vegetables, on particular days, during certain seasons?

A. No; it absolutely forbids only whatever is injurious to health;
its precepts, in this respect, vary according to persons, and even
constitute a very delicate and important science for the quality, the
quantity, and the combination of aliments have the greatest influence,
not only over the momentary affections of the soul, but even over its
habitual disposition. A man is not the same when fasting as after a
meal, even if he were sober. A glass of spirituous liquor, or a dish of
coffee, gives degrees of vivacity, of mobility, of disposition to anger,
sadness, or gaiety; such a meat, because it lies heavy on the
stomach, engenders moroseness and melancholy; such another, because
it facilitates digestion, creates sprightliness, and an inclination
to oblige and to love. The use of vegetables, because they have little
nourishment, enfeebles the body, and gives a disposition to repose,
indolence, and ease; the use of meat, because it is full of nourishment,
and of spirituous liquors, because they stimulate the nerves, creates
vivacity, uneasiness, and audacity. Now from those habitudes of aliment
result habits