Page:Meda - a tale of the future.djvu/153

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A TALE OF THE FUTURE.
149

and to devote his intelligence to the production of new foods and drinks. His field of thought seems to have been confined or directed in a large measure to indulging the desires of his appetite. His greatest object in life became a wish for the means of gratifying these tastes. His object in storing up wealth was to make this over-indulgence possible, and the greater his means the more he went in for carousals. The more dishes he could give to his guests, the more he was thought of. Not content with simple nourishment prepared from fruit, or even flesh, he debased that genius of invention, with which he was endowed, by inventing novelties, and educated his palate to the belief that each new dish was more delicious than its predecessor. In his desire to gratify artificial thirst, he became still more debased. He was not content with the purest water. He was not content with the juice of fruits, he must needs have something novel. He invented intoxicating drinks, he found that they exhilarated his spirits for the moment;