Intoxication is peculiarly hurtful to young persons. It heats their blood, impairs their strength, and obstructs their growth; besides, the frequent use of strong liquors in the early part of life destroys any benefit that might arise from them afterwards. Those who make a practice of drinking generous liquors when young, cannot expert to reap any benefit from them as a cordial in the decline of life. Drunkenness is not only in itself a most abominable vice, but is an inducement to many others. There is hardly any crime so horrid that the drunkard will not perpetrate for the love of liquor. We have known mothers sell their children’s clothes, the food that they should have eat, and afterwards even the infants themselves, in order to purchase the accursed draught. CHAP. VIII. OF CLEANLINESS. The want of cleanliness is a fault which admits of no excuse. Where water can be had for nothing, it is surely in the power of every person to be clean. The continual discharge from our bodies by perspiration, renders frequent change of apparel necessary. Changing apparel greatly promotes the secretion from the skin, so necessary for health. When that matter which ought to be carried off by perspiration, is either retained in the body, or resorbed from dirty clothes, it must occasion diseases. Diseases of the skin are chiefly owing to want of cleanliness[45]. They may indeed be caught by infection, or brought on by poor living, unwholesome food, &c. but they will seldom continue long where cleanliness prevails. To the same cause must we impute the various kinds of vermin which infest the human body, houses, &c. These may always be banished by cleanliness alone, and wherever they abound, we have reason to believe it is neglected. One common cause of putrid and malignant fevers, is the want of cleanliness. These fevers commonly begin among the inhabitants of close dirty houses, who breathe unwholesome air, take little exercise, and wear dirty clothes. There the infection is generally hatched, which often spreads far and wide, to the destruction of many. Hence cleanliness may be considered as an object of public attention. It is not sufficient that I be clean myself, while the want of it in my neighbour affects my health as well as his own. If dirty people cannot be removed as a common nuisance, they ought at least to be avoided as infectious. All who regard their health should keep at a distance even from their habitations.