The spiritual life

The Supreme Duty.^173

willwith hisown?" Even so. But there is

nothing a man has that is his own, for all

belongs to that greater man, the aggregate

humanity,andthefragmentshavenorightsthat

go against the claim of service to the whole.

Sothatyouareresponsiblefortheusethatyou

makeof yourbodies. If whenthesetinylives

come into your charge you poison them with

alcohol,yourender themcoarseand grosswith

over-luxuriouslivingandsend themoutintothe

communityofwhich youformapart,andsend

them outtoothermenandwomenandchildren,

theysowtheretheseedsof thevicestheyhave

learned from you, of the gluttony, of the in-

temperance,theimpurityoflivingthatyouhave

stamped on themwhile theyremained aspart

of your own body. You have no right to

do it. No excuse can bear you guiltless of

the crime. There are drunkards amongst us.

Grantedtheyareresponsiblefortheircrime,but

alsoeveryhuman being isresponsiblefor them

whohelpstospread thepoisoninacommunity

which isfocalized in thosemiserable creatures.

And soeveryatom that yousend outalcohol-

poisonedfromyourself helpsto makedrunken-

ness more permanent, helps to make its grip

tighteruponthevictimsalreadyinitsgrasp,and

you areguilty of your brother's degradation if