Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/469

'hungry for fish' having reached that stage when vegetables can no longer satisfy, and his soul, like those of the Hebrews in the desert, begins to lust after the flesh-pots. ('In the South Seas,' Chapter XI,)

How differently the experiences of mankind appeal to different individuals! We oppress the living, yet shrink from barbarities toward the dead; we condemn in others the very practises which at times have applied to ourselves. Individual bias is so common among the great masses of people that it is rare to find impersonal judgments in things ethical or religious. But ideas which claim exemption from scientific control can never demand recognition by force of argument alone. 'There is no short cut to truth except through the gateway of scientific method.' The doctrines of the vegetarians have not escaped the attacks of scientific criticism; with what success they have met, this paper is not intended to proclaim. It has aimed merely to point out some little known historical aspects of a movement which is unique, if not progressive. A position so long and stubbornly held can not be entirely devoid of some resources, and may well offer an occasional helpful suggestion for the improvement of our plans of nutrition. By the physician and hygienist especially is real progress in dietetics to be welcomed. Qui bene nutruit, optime medebitur.