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Smuggling in the Highlands 267
not, all will admit the boaiity and litness of the conception which
ascribed to the ij;ods the ,i,'l(>ry of ha\ing first revealed to poor
humanity the secret of distilling the M'ater of life, as aqua vitce or
uisge-beatha, whose viitiies, as a source of solace, of comfoi-t, of
cheer, and of courage, have been so universally recognised and
appreciated. Truly, such a gift was worthy of the gods.
But however beautiful the tradition of Osiris, and however
much in accord with tlie eternal fitness of things the idea that
the gods first taught man the art of distillation, a rival claim has
been set up for the origin of the invention. It does not require
a very lively imagination to pictiire some of the gods disrelishing
their mild nectar, seeking moi-c ardent and stimulating drink,
visiting the haunts of men after the golden barley had been garnered,
and engaging in a little smuggling on their own account. But
even this reasonable view will not be accepted without challenge.
The Britannica Encyclopedia, in its article on alcohol—not
written by Professor Robertson Smith — states that the art
of sepaj'ating alcohol from fermented liquors, which appears to
have been known in the far East, from the most remote antiquity,
is supposed to have been first known to and practised by the
Chinese, whence the knowledge of the ai't travelled westward.
Thus we find the merit of the invention disputed between the gods
and the Chinese. I am myself half inclined in favour of the
" Heathen Chinee." That ingenious people who, in the hoariest
antiquity, invented the manufacture of silk and porcelain, the
mariner's compass, the art of block-printing and the composition
of gunpowder, may well be allowed the merit of having invented
the art of distilling alcohol. Osiris was intimately connected with
the agriculture of Egypt, and among the Chinese, agriculture has
been honoured and encouraged beyond every other species of industry.
So that if the Egyptian grew his barley, the Chinaman
gi-ew his rice, from which the Japanese at the {n-esent day distil
their sake. Instead of being an inestimable blessing bestowed by
the gods, it is just possible that the art of distilling alcohol, like
the invention of gunpowder, may be traced to the heathen Chinese,
and may be regarded as one of the greatest curses ever inflicted
on mankind. Where doctors differ, it would be vain to dogmatise,
and on such a point every one must be fully persuaded in his own
mind. Whether we can agree as to alcohol being a blessing or a
curse, we can agree that the origui of distillation is at least
doulitful, and that, perhaps, no record of it exists.
Early mention is made in the Bible of strong drink as distingiushed
from wine. Aaron was prohibited from drinking wine
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