heels of drink! that is, the woes which follow in the train of salt; since without salt there would have been an absence of the chief stimulus to excessive drinking. sub forbidden. Scripture most clearly shows that the prohibition Mineral respecting man's food, extended to every thing ex- stances cept the fruits put forth by vegetation; the system of nature also loudly proclaims that necessity, and that man should drink nothing but their fresh juice, as fruits are both meat and drink; some are very substantial, and others consist almost entirely of fluid; therefore no other meat and drink was required; in fine, no other except that which has been prepared by vegetation, and that in a fresh state, can be pure enough for the nourishment of man's body. fit for Water is in no way suitable for man's drink; it Water not is apt to contain matters in solution and suspended man's in it, which are hurtful to him; from which cause drink. the waters of many localities cannot be used for drink, as was most evidently intended by nature it never should be: its earthy matter is wont to be productive of calculous diseases and ossifications by which the blood-vessels of the body are converted into partially solid tubes; and it is by such earthy deposits taking place about the valves of the heart, that those sudden deaths, so constantly occurring, are apt to be occasioned; hence also the bursting of blood-vessels and other terrible diseases. Man thus gets much harm by the use of water for drink. It possesses neither the flavour necessary to make it grateful to his palate, nor the properties required for the refreshment and nutrition of his body; whilst nature had ordained that man should derive both refreshment and strength from the deliciousness and invigorating properties of his natural drink, as consisting of the juice of fresh fruits. And it is seen that man, in his natural state, has no convenience whatever for drinking water. But the beauteous vine, the orange, the pomegranate, and other trees of fluid fruits, diffnsing their fine fragrance through the air, magnificently give to man his natural drink, in most convenient form for his reception; and when he takes their lovely fruits, he fears not poison or hurtful matter hid within. It is very common for persons to entertain a great dislike to the drinking of crude water, which appears to proceed from an instinctive knowledge of its unfriendliness to their constitutions. Water is best after it has been boiled, by which it deposits some of its earthy matter, and loses much of its natural crudity. We observe that the children of Israel offended IB. XXI. by drinking water when they were otherwise provided; for which Moses upbraids them as rebels. And also that they became terribly diseased by the use of flesh. NUMB. XX. 10. 5. 6. IB. XI. 33. It is evident that an attempt was made by Moses to wean the Israelites from the improper foods to which they had been accustomed in Egypt, and to bring them back to the use of fruits. They were promised a land flowing with milk and honey; this has no reference whatever to the milk of flocks and common honey, or to abundance of the provisions now in general use, but signifies the rich fruits of the earth, they being the milk and honey with which she naturally feeds her children, as is here seen: XIII. 23. 27. "And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut NUMB. down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it." They bring no intelligence of pastures and flocks. XXXII. The following fragments curiously allude to the circumstance of men living exclusively on fruits, and their departure therefrom: "And thou didst drink DEUT. the pure blood of the grape. But Jeshurun waxed 14. 15. fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness: then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation." The word Jeshurun signifies the beloved people, or Israel: Jeshurun kicked, that is, the people rebelled by departing from the appointed food; and then their bodies grew thick: they fell into the disease commonly called corpulency. But now, as man's natural food and drink have both passed away, or no longer remain in quantity sufficient for his use, he is obliged to drink water and to eat flesh; being left to the conditions which his own works have brought into existence. Thus pure water and the drinks prepared by means of it, have become the best for general use; there not now being, indeed, under present conditions, a sufficiency of any other. Nevertheless it is of the greatest importance to have a right understanding of these things, and to bear well in mind the great evils which arise from impregnations of drink and food with earthy matters. And for man to know, |