Now, to take the part of yourself, or the part of the
oppressed, with your fists, is quite as lawful in the present day
as it is to refuse your coat and shirt also to any vagabond who may
ask for them, and not to refuse to pay for supper, bed, and
breakfast, at the Feathers, or any other inn, after you have had
the benefit of all three.
The conduct of Lavengro with respect to drink may, upon the whole,
serve as a model. He is no drunkard, nor is he fond of
intoxicating other people; yet when the horrors are upon him he has
no objection to go to a public-house and call for a pint of ale,
nor does he shrink from recommending ale to others when they are
faint and downcast. In one instance, it is true, he does what
cannot be exactly justified; he encourages the Priest in the
dingle, in more instances than one, in drinking more hollands and
water than is consistent with decorum. He has a motive indeed in
doing so; a desire to learn from the knave in his cups the plans
and hopes of the Propaganda of Rome. Such conduct, however, was
inconsistent with strict fair dealing and openness; and the author
advises all those whose consciences never reproach them for a
single unfair or covert act committed by them, to abuse him
heartily for administering hollands and water to the Priest of
Rome.
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