A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the fitness and tendency of things. Nature has set upon him the process of decline and dissolution by which she removes things which have survived their usefulness.

Summary

This quote suggests that a person who is drunk and in the gutter is in their rightful place in accordance with the natural cycle of decline. The quote implies that nature has designed a process to eliminate things that have outlived their purpose, and it is implied that the drunkard falls under this category. It highlights a fatalistic viewpoint that sees the downward spiral of the drunkard as an inevitable consequence of nature's way of removing the no longer functional elements in society.

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