THE HOUSE OF PERNOD AND SONS
Before thus swearing on the word of the Masters, it would
be wise to fall back upon the self-evident value of the
experiment
from the point of view of the constant thesis; it will be easy to
arrive at the following reasoning:
One will admit that a man whose weight is a hundred
times greater than that of a guinea-pig, offers a force of
resistance a hundred times greater as well; one gram of
essence introduced into a guinea pig would thus represent
100 grams for a man; there would be nothing astonishing if
the abrupt injection of 100 grams of essence into a human
body had as a consequence serious disorders and even
death.
According to very precise calculations, one liter of
absinthe contains at most 3-1/2 grams of essences of anise
and fennel; the injection of 100 grams would thus be
equivalent to the absorption of 28 liters; as for essence of
wormwood it exists in the amount of 15 centigrams at most
in one liter of liqueur; thus to absorb 100 grams of it, one
would have to drink 660 liters!
From one liter of absinthe, 25 portions are usually made;
there are thus in each portion about 13 centigrams of
various essences and 6 milligrams of essence of
wormwood. Even supposing harmful properties are shown,
which is not the case, it is difficult to admit that these
infinitesimal quantities, quickly expelled from the body, can
exert an annoying influence on the cerebral system. The
consumer of Pernod Fils Absinthe runs certainly less risk
than one who soaks up cognacs, fine champagne and other
liquors manufactured with bad alcohols.
