Evening star., 1933-12-26
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES z. TRACEWELL.

upon them all, from bus boy to owner.
1t Is not to be wondered at, there
fore, that he does not restrain him.
self, especially since the food tastes
good to him long after he has reached
the saturation point.
One may stop in busy day to won
der at this provision of Nature which
makes food still taste good after the
needs OF the system have been met for
the time being.
Evidently the universal mother plans
Tor an economic system in which plenty
Is not the rule, but the exception.
Beasts OF the forests, small creatures
OF the fields. fishes in the seas, these
must eat when and where they can,
and, If the catch is good, at any partic-
ular time they must stuff themselves
to the limit, in order that tomorrow's
pauctty will not find them lacking in
the essentials of good physical life.
Since man Is also a member Of this
great chain of life, he, too. as much
as he hates to admit it at times. is
under the old rule. He, too, feels in
his very marrow the urge to eat his
fill, because a tomorrow cometh in
which he may or may not have food
to eat.
1t may he said to be instinct. then,
which compells him to stuff himself
with food which he does not need
simply because 1t tastes good" as he
says and as the world says.
y X
II he makes any attempt whatever
to live up to the higher estate, which,
in happier moments, he has pictured
for himself and his kind the world
around, he will now and then say to
himself, as he sits down to q good
dinner: This Is too much, I do not
need it., I will not eat it,
Regretfully he will eat half as much
as he wants, or even as little as one
fourth. And surely this would be an at
tempt at self-mastery which most Of us
could make, from time to time, with
benefit to ourselves and our immortal
souls. The belief that food Is necessary
TO keep up ones strength" Is a very
old one, naturally enough. and It has
some Justification; but perhaps not as
much as those who quote it to justify
self-stufting would like to think.
1t Is not easy to cut down on the
daily intake of foodstuffs. let those
claim it is who will. Most human
beings do not posses the will power,
the singleness Of purpose. to concen-
trate on this denial Food tastes good
and they eat it, often far beyond the
legitimate demands of the system.
Eating has become gracious Gus
tom, in order that its purely physical
side may be masked. Glittering glass
ware, shining silver, the soft white of
damasks, these blend to give an artis-
tic side to the necessary consumption
OF foods. Unlike the animals, which
growl and gnaw as they can. human
eaters have code, which has been
built up over the centuries. This code
calls for all the agreeable things which
help to make a good meal among
friends one of the pleasurable events
Of the day.
If one indulges, therefore, just a bit
more than is necessary, no one who is
really human can blame him much,
although at the same time his intelli-
gence may tell him that less food would
be better for him. The aesthetic side
OF dining has its rights, its demands,
and no one with sense would contra.
vene them too far At the same time
the sensible person who has some re-
gard for his health will watch himself
for more than temporary lack of table
manners; he will try to see to 1t that
he eats nearer to the minds desire,
rather than to the stomach, because
the mind ought to be able to know
better what is good for the stomach
than that trusty organ itself.