But beyond all other peoples of the world in love of intoxicating beverages stand the Teutonic races, among whom it is said distilled liquors were first substituted for fermented drinks. The classic pages of Tacitus tell us of the unbridled license which the northern tribes of Europe gave to their appetites and of the scenes of drunken riot which characterized their social events. The chase, the battle and the feast were their delights, and when done with life, their ambition was to reside in the immortal hall of Valhalla. There, each day having fought before the palace, and with every trace of their wounds duly obliterated, they hoped to sit down daily to regale themselves with mead and meat. The convivial propensities of the Teuton have been inherited by the Anglo-Saxon race, and it cannot be denied that the English speaking people are among the heaviest drinking populations of the earth. Yet, the Germanic family of nations has done more for the advancement of civilization than perhaps any other race in history. It has emancipated and exalted woman, and hallowed the home, and fostered patriotism and religion. It has produced the greatest scholars, the most brilliant scientists and the profoundest philosophers. But among nations as among individuals, it is against the intellectually highly organized that the genius of alcohol particularly directs its malevolent arts. The latter half of the 18th century saw England almost overwhelmed with drunkenness and its associated vices. In a sermon entitled, "On Dissipation," by John Wesley, published in 1788, he opens his discourse with this statement: "Almost in every part of our nation, more especially in the large and populous towns, we hear a general complaint among sensible persons of the still increasing dissipation. It is observed to diffuse itself more and more in the court, the city and the country." During the close of the same period this country was given over body and soul to the alluring power of inebriation. Intemperance was the rule rather than the exception, as it has become in our day. Occasions of birth, marriage and death were alike considered appropriate to the free indulgence in liquor, and all classes participated in the drinking, even clergymen joining in the convivialities with little or no forfeiture of dignity.