Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-12-31

10 FAR. however, from wishing 10 eeufss men
q Letters to Q Diet Of air, however u~Retious and
sstisfa Glory. the physicisn TO whom have ~
fesred 70 wiling 10 allow :hsm over and above
dssiag the eourss Of the twsasy-fous bsun,
twelve ounces Of solid, and twsaiy ounces Of
liquid food. aftsr which il will bshovs them 10
make . change 10 their intestine punctuations,
end 70 take care that their colon comes to q
fsa stop. A single mouthful beyond this limit
alton, even Of Csteiletts o = Eyigrsmme, will
ineeiiibly injure the point Of their writings and
stUltify them with pointed and phlegmatic dull
No.. The writer in question cautions authors
sot TO BE- :" siesplsss themselves, 10 make their
rssdsrs Sleep" but 70 sismbss for at Lesst eight
hours at . stretch. ~ the ssssss method Of
avoiding soassasaey in their productions "a
piece Of advice which most patients, whether
literary % not. would b very happy to follow.
Example. which 10 infinitely better than pre-
cePt, will abundantly justify the wisdom Of this
starving system. Our greatest writer's have
been little. sttenuatsd men. stomachlsss. msa.
gre, lean, and lsth-liks (; beings who have half
sPirituslusd thsmsslves BY keeping matter in
due subordinstion to mind eorporsslly testify
ing that the sword has worn out the scabbard.
and that the predominant soul has "oier To-
formed ito tegumsnt Of clay" Look At the
busts and portraits Of Cicero, Dsmosthenes.
voltsire. Pope, and Q hundred others, whose
minds have msagrsd their bodies until they be-
csme almost % ethereal 40 the ardent spirit
they s0shrinsd,- '' 10 il not ma nifest that they
have the true form and physiognon,y Of intel
lectual pro-sminencs. that " palisr IN ore sedet.
mscies in corpors toto :" Lord Byron never
wrote % we'll - when he was macerating him
self by rigid abstinence ; and the most eminent
living writers are ell men Of temperate living
and q spare bodily habit. an, not c~ovsrtly
eomplimsnting the editor Of The New Month
ly..stiil lees myself, though 6sttsr myself
that We might both 10 sdducsd-- but this
might be construed into Individual vanity, Of
which ! have already tscsrdsd my very psrt;c-
ular abhorrsscs ! A corpulent intsliectualist
10 q contradiction in terms. q Palpable cata-
chrssis. One might a. well talk Of q lssden
kite, . ssdsn.ary will o-ths-wisp, . pot-bellied
spirit, OF lazy lightning. Obesity ia . deadly
foe to genius , IN csrnsous and unwieldy bodies
the spirit 10 like . little gudgsop in q large fry.
ing-pan Of fat. which 10 either totally absorbed.
or tastes Of nothing but the lard. Let no man
attempt to write who has . protuberant stom-
ach ; let no man reckon upon immortality who
cannot distinctly feel and reckon his own ribs /;
for the thinnest bow shoots the farthsst, and
the leansst horse generally wins the race. II
I were q publisher. I should invariably fight shy
ofths " fair round belly with good capon lined"
and Immediately offer . handsome price 10 the
Living Skeleton for his memoirs. They would
have q run and they would deserve il ; for We
may be assured that they would exhibit none
Of the faults pointed out in my motto. All
hone, muscle, and nerve. they would be doubly
acceptable 10 . public which has lately been
oserwhelmsd with such Q mass Of Rssh, fat,
end Gonmssy. Nothing lt ever yet enlisht-
sned The werld |; for even IN . tsllov candle
the Illumination springs from the thin wick.
How comes il that in the upper classes of
life, among mon possessing call appliances
and means to boot." who ought to be specially
qualified by liberal education and full enjoy
ment of leisure, we find 90 few writers Of any
sort, and scarcely one Of marked eminenceP
With all his industry, Walpols's list Of royal
and noble authors presents but q msagrs show
in point Of number, and not q particularly cred
liable one a. to talent. The "Lords Of fat
Evssham and OF Lincoln Fem" and other
wealthy agriculturists. have never attempted
10 cultivate the soil Of Parnassus. What can
explain this apparent anomaly. but tho roaec-
ton that their station in life. placing every
luxurious indulgence within their reach, has
tempted them 10 make their own stomachs the
tomb Of their own geniust Hecatombs Of fish,
ucSUy dU0 fOWI UuN0 tucy OuCIou up W tuib u
satisble ventricle, sitting in their fumes the
very germs Of talent. and ~cloudiue or extin.
gushing almost every spark Of intellect. Hap
Ply they who piled their teeth SO necessarily
that they have no time to put the pen in mo-
ton, for the fow who have rashly essayed TO
combine gastronomic with literary pursuits,
have only offered a moro signal example that
good living is invariably the cause Of bad
writing. Our Oldest authors are the best, and
why! Not only because they were the poor
est, but because they wrote in Roman Catholic
times, when feasts and lent. and spare diet
wero rigidly observed. Is il upon record that
any work Of celebrity was ever begun during
the Carnival. or that any Of our civic dignita-
ries. conversant with feasts, festivals, and al
dermanic excuses, have distinguished them
selves as literatil l pause for . reply. Even
poor Elkanah Settle, tho last Of the city lau-
reats, unable to rssist the stultifying influence
Of aluttonous repasts, 40 his Inauguration Odes
attest. us9ue ad nauseam. finally gorgcd him
self into such q lamentabie plight. that he had
Just wit enough left ~ enact q dragon at Bsr-
tholomew Fair and to hiss. and spi; Ere, for
the amusement Of tho populace. Let our gor-
mandizing and tipping scribblers have the fate
Of Eiksnsh psrpstualIy before their mouths ;
let them pray for some physicians wand. like
that which whisked away the dishes from The
expsctant jaws Of Sancho Psnzs, if'they wish
10 preserve their faculties unimpaired. and 10
write something that the world shsll 80 not vii.
lngiy lot do"
In the mysterious reciprocal action Of the
mind upon the body. and Of the body upon the
mind, il 10 impossible to say how ultimately the
mere quality Of our food. without reference TO
its quantity. may affect every thing that We
write. BY longing for come particular Wand OF
fruit, q mother will. through inscru,sbls process
Of nature. indsllibly stamp Il upon her unbors
child |; and may not men. By the Kind Of nutri-
msnt upon which they subsist. while tssming
with some literary work. communicate . simi-
lar impress 10 the offspring Of their brain p
Diversity Of dot may even p~lsusibly explain The