Story
A wealthy man, initially temperate and prudent in his consumption of wine, gradually surrendered to the temptation to drink more heavily. Day by day, his consumption of wine increased, and day by day his mind became more confused and his body more weakened. His servant, loyal and devoted, watched with increasing sadness as his master descended into the vice of drunkenness.
The servant attempted to remonstrate with his master, begging him to moderate his drinking. "Sir," he pleaded, "you are destroying your health and your fortune. The wine that you consume with such eagerness will be your undoing. Please, I implore you, return to sobriety."
But the master, intoxicated and beyond reason, only laughed at his servant's concerns. "You are a fool," he said. "The wine brings me pleasure and release from the cares of the world. Why should I deny myself this joy?"
As the months passed, the master's condition worsened. His body, weakened by constant indulgence in wine, began to fail him. He could no longer walk without assistance, and his mind, clouded by drink, became unable to manage even simple affairs. His fortune, which he had inherited and which had seemed sufficient for a lifetime, began to diminish as he neglected his properties and his business affairs.
The servant, remaining faithful despite his master's rejection of his counsel, attempted to manage the household and preserve what wealth remained. Yet it was a losing battle, as the master's deterioration accelerated.
At last, the master, weakened to the point of death by his indulgence, lay upon his bed and called for his servant. With a voice barely above a whisper, he said: "I have learned too late the value of sobriety. The wine, which I thought brought me pleasure, has instead stolen from me my health, my fortune, my dignity, and my life. The pain I now endure in my body and in my mind far exceeds any pleasure the wine ever provided. I was enslaved by my vice, and I did not recognize the chains until they had bound me so completely that escape was impossible."
The master died soon after, leaving his faithful servant with only regrets—regrets that his master had not embraced sobriety when counsel was offered.