Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-06-08
From the Home Journal.
BREAD AND MEAT.

"Feed sParingly and defy the Physicians.''-
Old Pr0verb. '.
Falling into company the other day with a
staunch Vegetarian, and an uncompromising
Meat Eater, was entertained and instructed
by the glimpse afforded to the extent to which
a theory will possess man who fancies it pos
sessed by him. Being myself " on the fence
l. e., In i'll health, and under treatment, re-
stricted to meat once day, sans tea and coffee,
and just entering with interest into the foury,
II not poetical, subject of wheaton grits, farina,
samp, hOminy, and the LIKE was prepared to
act the part of a comparatively unprejudiced
listener.
No. insisted that, as q rule, men of large,
clear minds, sagacious and far-seeing, were ve-
getarians, or of vegetarian descent. "a very
convenient qualification, by the way-though
not, perhaps, unfair-reminding one, neverthe-
less, of the proyerb recorded in Ezekiel: ''The
fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the chill
ren's teeth are set on edge" ..
No. maintained that meat is necessary to
create and sustain the nervous quickness, vol
ume, force, and vigor, which are SO essential in
the conduct of the affairs of this impulsive hur-
rying, exhaustive life ; and instanced England,
in MISUNDERSTANDING that to English roast
beef and ale the world is indeb bted for the ex-
tension of civilization, Christianity, and the
other good works which that nation has so Wig
orously prosecuted But, ii was urged, Eng
land is at present deteriorating-h great men
are historical personages- enterprises spo-
ken Uf were put in train, and virtually accom-
pilshed by an earlier generation, Of which meat
eaters were the exception.
Without discussing the correctness of the first
assertion, we are compelled to affirm that the
latter hardly accords with the declaration of
Addison, who, one hundred and fifty years ago,
when the rage for French cookery was at its
height, exhorts his "well disposed readers to
return to the food of their forefathers and re-
Iln fhnp1 70 hna ~
ing This was the diet that bred that hardy
race of mortals, who won the fields of Cressy
and Agincourt The tables of the ancient gen
try, he continues, 'were covered thrice a day
with hot roast beef, and instead of tea and bread
and butter, which have prevailed Of late years
lhe maids of honor, in Queen Elizabsth's time
were allowed three rumps Of beef for their
breakfast"
Ii this was a fair index of the state of the
table at that date, the change in a century and
quarter, was markedly for the better, intel
lectually, according to the vegetarian theory :;
and for the worse ply ysically, viewed nusat-isti-
eaklyIj for Macaulay, in bis graphic sketch of
the condition of England ON the accession of
James IL, in his record Of the state Of the
working classes, says that meat, viewed rela-
lively with wages, was 60 so dear that hundreds
Of thousands Of families scarcely knew the
taste of it. The great majority Of the nation
lived almost entirely on rye, barley, and oats -"
The first Of the foregoing quotations calls to
mind pertinent query by one of the dispu.
tants viz: "What sort Of any army, think you,
could be made Of exclusively bread and yoge-
table eaters 2" Which provoked the ready
rejoinder, 80 If all men lived thus, armies would
be unnecessary" . 'Tis animal food infames
the passions, clouds the reason and Judgment
and is thus answerable for the vast majority of
the disputes, dissensions, and quarrels in
which mankind indulge" 'If men would Dos
sess the wisdom, gentle frmness, self-control,
forethOught, and serenity of the prophets and
holy men of old, they must live as the prophets
did-plainly, on the fruits with which mother
earth SO abundantly teens; denying palate,
and consulting the stomach
We are not extremists; but this culture of
the stomach is a matter worthy of serious at
tention. Judging by results, no oinconsiderable
share of the work of the world is performed
with what Kingsley calls, ''after dinner brains
Half our bodies are worn out not by the ex-
cess Of our business or the multiplicity of our
cares, but by the overwOrk we crowd upon them
In digesting our surplus and unnecessary food
As people, we eat too much, and too grossly
A hearty, slowly masticated breakfast a
slight repast at noon, and frugal tea, gives
you vigOr, clearness, elasticity by day, and re-
freshing slumber ut night. L have worked,
physically and mentally, eighteen hours daily,
for weeks together, in the enervating spring
time, with greater ease, and more satisfactorily,
than fifteen hours on what is called q generous
diet.'
d" Fat paunches have lean pates; and dainty bits,
Make rich the ribs, but banquet quite the WITS
INDICATOR.