NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that a host of eminent scholars, physicians, theologians, and scientists, have presented a mass of absolutely irrefutable evidence proving that from remote antiquity to the present time, two kinds of wine—fermented and unfermented—have been in common use, yet a religious journal not long since stated that the "notion of two wines, one fermented, the other unfermented, must be dismissed as a pure invention, unsupported by any facts, unsanctified by any scholarship;" and although every intelligent man knows that alcohol is a poison, and might know that its use, even in moderation, is inimical to the best interests of the race, yet Henry A. Hartt, M.D., in a recent issue of The Arena, says that "alcohol is a gift of God, exalted by him to the first rank among earthly substances."
This last statement is based upon the supposition that the wine that in the Bible is classed with corn, oil, bread, etc., is fermented, and so contains alcohol. The former quotation also, and all other similar statements, are founded upon a misapprehension of the general tenor of Scripture teaching, and of the object of the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The influence of improper education, wrong habits and customs, have so biased the minds of many sincere Bible believers that the above citations, together with other arguments based upon a casual reading of the Scriptures, are sufficient to bewilder their minds, and to cause them to wonder just where the truth lies. For the benefit of such we wish to notice briefly some of the scriptures that speak of wine and strong drink.
But first we wish to notice another statement from Dr. Hartt in his article entitled "Alcohol and Its Relation to the Bible," to illustrate how a false theory will blind an educated man to the most common facts. Against the argument that the wine made by Christ and approved by the Bible was the unfermented juice of the grape, he says:—
"The unfermented juice of the grape is an insipid beverage, difficult, if not impossible, to preserve for any length of time, of no special value as an article of food, and utterly worthless for medicinal purposes."
It would be "difficult, if not impossible," to find another sentence containing so many errors. And as the writer makes no pretense of proving these assertions, we will present a few facts on the other side.
1. "The unfermented juice of the grape is an insipid beverage." This is purely a matter of taste. What is insipid to one might be delicious to another. Undoubtedly fresh grape juice is insipid to one whose nerves of taste have been paralyzed by alcoholic liquors until they are incapable of distinguishing the delicate flavors prepared in nature's laboratory. But what would be thought of the common intelligence of one, who should assert that sweet milk is "an insipid beverage," because thousands of people prefer sour milk? But there are many to-day, as there always have been, who enjoy the flavor of the "fruit of the vine," and to whom the poisonous product of decomposition, that "biteth like a serpent," is exceedingly distasteful.
2. "Difficult, if not impossible, to preserve for any length of time." It seems almost an insult to the intelligence of this enlightened age to seriously refute this assertion. Does not every housekeeper know that grape juice can be kept almost indefinitely without fermentation, just the same as any fruit can be preserved? The writer recently took a very refreshing drink of just such grape juice which was more than a year old, and just as free from fermentation as pure distilled water. But did the ancients know the art of keeping grape juice sweet for "any length of time"? Most abundant and conclusive evidence can be given to show that they were well acquainted with several methods. A passage from Columella, who lived during the apostolic days, describing one of these processes, is translated by Rev. Dr. G. W. Samson as follows:—
"That must (fresh grape juice) may remain always sweet, as when fresh, thus do: before the grape skins are subjected to the press, put the must, when freshest from the vat, into a new flask, stop it up, and pitch it carefully so that no water can enter; then sink the entire flask in a cistern of cold and sweet water, so that no part be out; then after forty days take it out; thus it will remain throughout the year."
Smith, in his "Greek and Roman Antiquities," gives a similar testimony (see Bible Wines).
That grape juice will keep perfectly sweet for many months when treated according to this method has been demonstrated by Dr. John Ellis, who has made many careful experiments for the purpose of establishing the truth concerning the "two-wine theory."
Long-continued boiling was one of the earliest methods used for preserving sweet wine. Gesenius says that "the honey sent by Jacob to Joseph was wine boiled down to the consistency of sirup."
Pliny says, "Some Roman wines were as thick as honey," also that the Albanian wine was very sweet or luscious, and that it took third rank among the wines.
A passage from Virgil, who lived some time before the Christian era, is rendered as follows, by Dr. Joseph Trapp, of Oxford University:—
"Or, of sweet must boils down the luscious juice,
And skims with leaves the trembling caldron's flood."
Another method is described by Dr. Ellis:—
"Fill a new or clean bottle with new wine just pressed from the grapes up to its neck, then pour about half an inch of sweet oil on the surface of the wine and cork it carefully, leaving a little space between the cork and the oil, and stand the bottle in a cellar, and it will keep. I have three bottles preserved free from fermentation for over three years; the cork must not be removed, and the bottle must not be shaken."
Much more testimony could be presented on this point did space permit; but the above is sufficient.
3. Unfermented grape juice is "of no special advantage as an article of food," but "alcohol is a gift of God, exalted by him to the first rank among earthly substance." Here fresh grape juice is represented as having little or no food value, while fermented wine is extolled as having a high nutritive value, and worthy of a place with such articles of food as corn, wheat, bread, etc. Every person who has given this matter even a slight examination knows that just the reverse is true. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the average per cent. of the ingredients of eight wines most popular in England are about as follows: Alcohol, 13 per cent.; acid and dry matter, 2 per cent.; glucose, 1 per cent.; water, 83 per cent. Thus it is seen that the nutritive value of fermented wine is practically nothing, while the same authority states that two analyses by Neubauer of pure unfermented grape juice showed a total nutritive value of 23 per cent. and 29 per cent.
But what becomes of the sugar, albuminoids, etc., that fresh grape juice contains, and which make it so nutritious? "In the process of fermentation the albuminoids are precipitated as components of the yeast, or otherwise, or decomposed with formation of ammonia salt; . . . the greater part if not all the sugar is decomposed, with formation from every 100 parts of sugar destroyed of alcohol 48.5, carbonic acid 46.9, succenic acid 0.7, etc."
But is not the alcohol in the wine very nutritious? Much has been said of the strengthening qualities of alcohol. The superstition of the Arabian alchemist that alcohol is the "elixir of life" has not been entirely dispelled. But listen to the following from some of the ablest physicians of this age:—
"By physiological inquiries it has been established that alcohol is a poison. . . . It is not a food, nor should it be used as a common beverage."
Dr. W. B. Richardson, of England, says, "I can no more accept it (alcohol) as a food that I can chloroform or ether." Alcohol is simply a "nerve fooler," and alcoholized wine is a "mocker, and strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."
4. Dr. Hart says that unfermented grape juice is "utterly worthless for medicinal purposes." By this, and his reference to Paul's advice to Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach's sake and often infirmities, he gives us to understand that he considers alcoholized wine the prince of medicines. This is an ancient and popular delusion utterly swept away by facts. The most advanced physicians are discarding almost wholly the poisonous product of the still in their medical practice. The per cent. of mortality is much smaller in hospitals where no alcohol is used than where it is administered as medicine.