About the Book
Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1905. Excerpt: ... WHY PEOPLE BECOME INTOXICATED I Whence the use of intoxicating substances, -- of whiskey, wine, beer, hashish, opium, tobacco, and other less common substances, -- ether, morphine, muscarine? Why did it begin, and why has it so rapidly spread among all kinds of people, among savages and civilized men alike? What does this mean, that wherever there is no whiskey, wine, or beer, there is opium or hashish, muscarine, and other substances, and tobacco everywhere? Why must people become intoxicated? Ask a man why he has begun to drink wine and continues to do so, and he will answer you: "For no reason, it is agreeable, all men drink," and he will add: "For a pastime." Others again, who have never once given themselves tne trouble to think out whether it is good or bad that they drink wine, will add that wine is wholesome, gives strength; that is, they will say what has long ago been proved to be untrue. Ask a smoker why he began to smoke tobacco and still continues to do so, and he will answer: "For no reason, from tedium, everybody smokes." In the same way, no doubt, will answer the users of opium, hashish, morphine, muscarine. "For no reason, from tedium, for pleasure, everybody does so." But it is good, for no reason, from tedium, for pleasure, because everybody does so, to twirl the fingers, to whistle, to sing songs, to play the pipe, and so forth, that is, to do something for which it is not necessary to waste natural riches, nor to spend great forces of labour, to do something which does not do any palpable evil to oneself or to others. But for the production of tobacco, wine, hashish, opium, millions and millions of the best lands are taken up, frequently among populations in need of land, by plantations of rye, potatoes, hemp, poppy, grapevines, and tobacco, and millions of labo...
