The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1909-04-10
TWO SQUARE MEALS

thought How much progress, in
business. in professional work or In
social life would person make who
should spend as much attention on
eat.zg - q COW, with her four stom-
achs. mere machine for making
milk and beef from grass
Mr.. Squeers of Dotheboy's hall was
certainly not a model educator. but
one of his injuncions to his boys ex-
presses . piece of moral philosophy
worthy of q nobler character: Con
troll your appetites. boys, and then
you will learn to control your pas
sions" Every great moral teacher
has recognized this, the fundamental
principle of morality. Indulgence Is
the mother Of evil. Every moral lead
er. from the Man of Galiiee. who
tasted 40 days AZ q preparation for
q supreme spiritual test, down to
the leader Of the latest cult, has set
the example of fasting. Intuitiveiy.
fasting il associated with prayer as
a means Of spiritual elevation. Self
control Is the cornerstone Of virtue,
and the man who can control his ap-
petite Is master of himself. Yet self
repression is to be avoided. Desire
is never to be suppressed. but always
directed by wise suggestion.
The time required for the digestion
of various articles of food given in
the tables in the books. refers to stom-
Il eat three square meals a day.
is the chief reason assigned by many
for the Astounding health they enjoy.
for a season, in spite of that practice.
The Greeks at the time of their
highest intellectual development ate
hut once a day and the Persians. dur
ing the period of their ascendancy,
once. in the evening. The Romans,
also, in the days of the republic, their
best days, followed the practice OF
,the Greeks, in this respect, as In
others.
Lycurgus. the Spartan law giver.
carefully prescribed the diet OF his
ideal citizens, with view to extreme
simplicity. do you know" asked
Cyrus. the great king of Persia, OF
the ambassador of a luxurious sover
eign. how invincible men are who
can live on herbs and acorns?" Wheat
bread. dried figs and honey consti
tuted the menu at those meetings o.
the Lyceum where Plato and Aristotle
breathed philosophy.
One who has a thorough interest ir
any work knows that at times thu
appetite seems to leave one for hour'
while he is doing intensive work
This tends to show, not that grea
creative work and good nutrition arr
antagonistic, for the contrary Is tru
but that high-class mental worl
is Inconsistent with frequent or e1
ach digestion. under normal cond
tons. But conditions are seldom mol
NAL, and digestion is not complete
in the stomach. Two dogs were fe
an ordinary meal. One was imms
diately taken for three-hours' ruI
following a carriage: then its ston
ach was opened and the food wa
found to have undergone no chang
while the other, which had lain In II
kennel, had completely digested tn
meal.
When q fresh meal is added to on
only partly digested. perhaps fermen
ing. normal digestion is impossible
Such a condition is often the begil
ming of chronic indigestion. The ma
ural thing to do when the digestio
of a meal is interrupted by UNUSUAL
severe mental or physical work or b
nervous excitement. is to omit mea
but the habit of eating at meal tim
whether we are hungry or not. seen
TO make this natural safeguard In
possible. II we do not eat we are ,
once assumed to be sick.
An essential requirement for II
maintenance Of any organism is, res
Sleep Is q means of resting the brai
and nervous system. but the digestiv
and eliminative organs are SO owe
taxed by our unnatural system Of ca
ing. that more than the period Of slet
is necessary to avoid exhaustion. 500
er or later.
II the necessary nutriment can
obtained by eating two meals. 1t Is
bad system that requires the eatiI
of three or even more; and thousan
have proved by actual test that b
ter health can be maintained by es
ing only twice . day. Superfiuous e;
ing is bad, because, In a word,
wastes vitality. upon which health al
happiness depend.
Now IL one Is to eat only two reg
lar meals in ~ hours, the questi'
comes. which should be, omitted?
This cannot be answered in a wor
Some argue that the chief meal shou
be taken in the evening. not less TIL
three hours before sleeping: becar
1t is best to rest after full meal.
few minutes in any case, and IL I
principal meal Is eaten at noon, the
win be more or less hurry in me
cases, ON account OF business CON
tions, and nothing IN so detrimental