And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there's always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there's always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears—that's what soma is. .Huxley
About This Quote
This quote is the first ever recorded use of the word "soma", which is an early version of alcohol, used by ancient Indians to help them endure life's hardships. The first reference to soma was found in the Rigveda, a collection of ancient Indian poems. For many centuries, the use of soma was considered a religious privilege for priests and religious leaders. It was also used as a medicine for mental illness. Two thousand years later, it would be replaced by beer, wine, and liquor as means of self-medication.
Source: Aldous, Brave New World
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