VEGETARIANISM: ITS PRINCIPLE, THEORY, AND PRACTICE.
There seems to be a direct analogy between the effect of principles and theories on the human mind, and that of solids and fluids on the human body. The elements of food, such as are contained in wheat, barley, rice, peas, beans, &c., are, in their natural condition, hard to masticate, difficult of digestion, and not very inviting to the palate; but by combination with water, and other liquid substances, they are rendered easy of mastication and digestion, and by a little skill and ingenuity, will produce food in great variety of flavor and appearance, so as to suit the taste of almost every palate. Just so with many principles: they may be unpalatable and hard to digest in themselves; but by a judicious combination with theoretical truth from the "living fountain," those principles which were hard to understand, are softened down into digestible, perhaps beautiful ideas, and can be presented in such a variety of attractive forms, as to be suited to the taste, comprehension, and adoption of every diversity of mind. Just as food, although dead in itself, is, by the force of the vital economy, gradually converted into the very life-blood of the system, and lastly, forms the solid matter of the body itself, so do principles of thought gradually become incorporated Avith our mental existence, and ultimately constitute a part of our very selves; and so intimately so, as to demonstrate what has not unfrequently happened, that men, rather than forsake those principles which they have held most dear, have parted with life itself. Food can only strengthen the system in proportion as it becomes assimilated; it is powerless till then; and principles can only strengthen the mind in proportion as they enter into and form the motive power of mental activity and life.
The principle of Vegetarianism, like any element of food, is plain and simple: That man as a physical, intellectual, and moral being, desiring the development of all his faculties to their fullest extent, can best accomplish his desire, by living in accordance with his original constitution or nature, which requires that he should subsist on the direct productions of the vegetable kingdom, and totally abstain from the flesh and blood of the animal creation.
The theoretical truths which can be brought to bear upon this principle, and which we believe will render it acceptable, and capable of being appreciated by every order of mind, are very numerous: they comprehend the truths of sacred and profane history; of anatomy; of physiology; of chemistry; of agriculture; of rural, social, domestic and political economy; as well as of intellectual and moral philosophy. These, in all their diversity of Divine injunction; sacred narration; interesting description of the habits, customs and practices of the past; the comparative structure of the human system with that of other animals; the habits and propensities of the different classes of animals and the relation of these to the food they subsist on; the nature and operation of the functions of digestion and nutrition; the effect of different kinds of food on the animal economy; the nature and relative proportions of nutriment contained in difl'erent articles of food; the cultivation and improvement of the soil, and a just appropriation of its productions; the social relationships of man to man; improvement in household arrangements; the effect of these on the whole community; the effect of different descriptions of food on the mental and moral powers, on the training and education of children; and, as a comprehensive view, the probable effect of improved practices in all these respects on the future prosperity and happiness of mankind.
As it will be our pleasing duty in future numbers of this periodical to show that the Vegetarian principle is supported by all these important sciences of life, we think it best, at this commencement of the Messenger, to explain the practice it is our intention to recommend to the adoption of our readers, for it should be remembered, there is no better way of learning a theory or a principle, than commencing the practice which its first elements teach us. It is the same with all the arts and sciences: all the study which books could afford would never teach a man so much of even the commonest art, as a few month's practical occupation, when combined with that study, would do. Chemistry can be best acquired in the laboratory; agriculture, on the farm; drawing, in the studio; and Vegetarianism, in the dining-room.
An individual who subsists upon the products of the vegetable kingdom, and abstains entirely from the flesh of animals, is considered a Vegetarian, and is eligible as a member of the Vegetarian Society; but in first adopting this course, after having pursued the ordinary habits of society, it is necessary to be guarded against what may be termed an injudicious trial of the Vegetarian system: a hasty and extreme adoption of the plainest and coarsest fare, beyond either the moral courage or the compliance of the physical system to sustain, after both have been weakened by indulgence in rich or luxurious diet. It is, therefore, important that certain principles of diet be kept strictly in view.
Three meals a day: breakfast at from 8 to 9 o'clock; dinner at from 1 to 2, and supper at from 6 to 7, or at least two hours previous to retiring to rest, are all that are ever needed with substantial Vegetarian fare.
