Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-10
WHY DO you EAT2
A Pertinent INSTRUMENTATION of Ma
lures Law-The Penalty.

A Pertinent Observation-Disclosures of Ma
lures Law-The Penalty.
Why do you eat9 This query, if re-
sponded to by the majority of people on
the pur of the moment, would, no doubt,
result in answers as varied as the indi-
viduals to whom it is propounded. Why
do you eat? Truly a pertinent question,
and one which should be considered as of
sufficient importance for careful ref1ec-
ton. A query of this character is the
source of momentary surprise possibly to
an intelligent person, for the reason it is
directed to a daily habit or exercise which
has become SO strongly automatic that
our attention is not fixed in its consider
alton. We arise in the morn, early or
late as the case may be, and eat; go to
labor for five hours or so, eat again;
seek recreation for the eve and possibly
eat again, and finally retire to obtain the
benefits of natures sweet restorer--sleep.
In and through all this the healthy in
dividual uses no force in thought or at
t%ention, but is the automaton. This is
as it should be, if nature and things
natural were natural. Are things in ma
ture natural? The reply to this we think
can be found, to a large extent, for the
PURPOSE VI our paper, III tue Tepue5 our
query would bring forth.
Why do you eat2 The dyspeptic says,
''From necessity" The epicure says,
''From a ruling desire on the part of my
sense of TASTE" The glutton says, ITO
get enough" The laboring nan says,
ITO work" The natural man says,
ITO enjoy life; to live" The dyspep-
tics reply is a sad contrast to that of the
natural man. Ask the dyspeptic what
he would do or give for the privilege or
ability to sit down at the table hungry,
%actuated only by the principle that
actuates the natural man, namely: ITO
enjoy life, to live" Why, methinks, if
he is not too far along in his distemper,
that expression of disgust and despair
would change into a broad grin of happy
anticipation; the dull, ~listless eye bright
en- with a CLEAN of its pristine intelli-
gence, and there would burst from his
lips the exclamation: 'Do or give2 any
thing! everything!" Poor victim! In
this exclamation is found the explanation
for his dyspepsia. 1t is just because he
was at one time able and did do ''any-
thing" and everything" that today he
has dyspepsia.
If we ask the epicure or glutton the
same question as the d~yspeptic, we will
find that they are perfectly content.
They have not violated law and order
long enough as yet; have not lone any
thing" and everything" a sufficient
number of times to reach hat miserable
existence allotted to the dyspeptic.
Their desires and wishes are fully salts
fed.
There comes a time finally for all of
these classes when the dead line," so to
speak, is met. To halt and put a stop to
the reckless violation which has been GO
ing on means salvation. To keep IN and
cross this dead line means everlasting
misery. The salvation that is established
for those who meet this dead line is, like
other s~alvations we have heard of, estab-
lished for violated law and order, not
easy of attainment, but entails for many
days upon the repentant victim a rightly
Of rule and persistence of purpose that
deprives life Of most Of its pleasures and
leads the poor victim in response to our
query to say, ~ eat from necessity
He is still a dyspeptic, Notwithstanding
his efforts toward salvation, and will be
until that salvation is fully attained. But
this physical salvation accomplished, is our
dyspeptic become the natural MANI Can
he, as can the natural man, exclaim in &C
cents glad and joyous, Il eat to enjoy
life; to live?" Let us see. We live to
learn, and, as truly, learn to live. Ex-
perience is apt to determine mans ac-
tons. License is only permitted when it.
Is safe. The dyspeptic has truly lived to
learn, if he has net lost al reason, and
we have no doubt but that the fedeeRed
dyspeptic will testify that he has learned
to live. But his experience has taught
him a lesson which will, during his re-
naming life, be ever in mind. He knows
beyond all doubt that there is no license
for him, and that as surely as he per-
mits any license, just SO surely will there
come back to him the forerunners of
those monstrous miseries which led him
to exclaim: Il eat from necessity -
Globe Democrat.