In the most heroic days of the Grecian and Roman
armies, the food of the soldiers was the products of the
soil. The Grecian athletes, who made the glory of the
Olympian games, were trained on vegetable food, and
when flesh eating began to be common among the people
it was found to render their pugilists and gladiators more
ferocious, and its results on athletes were disastrous.
These were the days when the Grecian outlines were
the standard of physical beauty both in face and figure —
when the perfect development of bone and muscle led to-
.38 THE FAT OF THE LAND.
such contours as are immortalized in the statues of Diana
and Apollo. These sculptured forms still grace the
studios of artists and the modern world has as yet found
no superior standard. That their food had much forma-
tive influence upon face and figure will hardly be denied,
while their culture, graces of manner and deep-reaching
philosophy cannot be questioned and holds its place even
..in the arrogant civilization of the present day.
On the other hand, the ferocious development of these
•Grecian gladiators, directly traceable to a meat diet, has
its lesson too. Though fain to draw a veil over the
pugilistic tendencies of the ninteenth century, the fact
cannot be ignored and the snggestion is natural that
much is due to habit in the use of and nourishment upon
animal food. Then follows the deduction. If it is desired
that children shall become quarrelsome, brutal and fero-
cious, feed them on flesh. If it is desired to create or
perpetuate the war and murder spirit, continue to feed
your households on flesh, which in the days of the highest
'Grecian development, reduced them to ferocity or stupidity
as we learn from history. And if history repeats itself,
there must be sometime when it is well to call a halt.
It is often said ,that the Japanese as a race are pos-
sessed of the finest manners, and give greatest evidence
•of what we term " good breeding ; '' and if any are there-
fore disposed to accuse them of effeminacy, their recent
war with China, from the same standpoint of judgment,
must dispel the charge. Yet the Japanese are largely
averse to meat eating.
Of the Hindoos it is said that " only the lowest classes
use a mixed diet, and among these are found the most
miserable, ill- farmed, undeveloped portion of the native
THE FAT OF THE LAND. * 39
inhabitants of India. Among the higher and more intel-
ligent, temperate and virtuous classes which subsist on
wholesome vegetable food, tall, symmetrical men, with
vigorous, active bodies are by no means uncommon, and
for natural ease, grace and urbanity this class of Asiatics
are exceeded by no people in the world."
The educated Bramin lives very simply, often upon
one meal a day.
Dr. Alice B. Stockham in her address before the
World's Fair Congress on the Food of the Orient says :
" The men from Punjab and Rajputan, northern
provinces of India, are noted the world over for a fine
physique, for strength and endurance. * * Now we w^ant
to know how it is these millions of people, who feed
mainly upon rice and still have strength and endurance,
are not only the peers of meat-feeding nations, but can do
even greater things than they. * * Hindoos feel that to be
a slave to bodily wants, to physical necessities, is not
only deplorable but despicable. * * You can not imagine
what barbarians we Westerners are considered, we who
are devoted to flesh pots and beer mugs. * * There is a
mighty lesson that the English could and should learn of
the Hindoo, but do they, and w^ould we Americans, were
we in India ? "
The noble and learned men from the far East who
visited our shores during the World's Fair, expressed in
no uncertain terms, their loathing abhorrence of the flesh
eating practices of Christian civilization.
Page 13
Presented as published in 1896. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
In the most heroic days of the Grecian and Roman armies, the food of the soldiers was the products of the soil. The Grecian athletes, who made the glory of the Olympian games, were trained on vegetable food, and when flesh eating began to be common among the people it was found to render their pugilists and gladiators more ferocious, and its results on athletes were disastrous.
These were the days when the Grecian outlines were the standard of physical beauty both in face and figure — when the perfect development of bone and muscle led to
such contours as are immortalized in the statues of Diana and Apollo. These sculptured forms still grace the studios of artists and the modern world has as yet found no superior standard. That their food had much formative influence upon face and figure will hardly be denied, while their culture, graces of manner and deep-reaching philosophy cannot be questioned and holds its place even ..in the arrogant civilization of the present day.
On the other hand, the ferocious development of these •Grecian gladiators, directly traceable to a meat diet, has its lesson too. Though fain to draw a veil over the pugilistic tendencies of the ninteenth century, the fact cannot be ignored and the suggestion is natural that much is due to habit in the use of and nourishment upon animal food. Then follows the deduction. If it is desired that children shall become quarrelsome, brutal and ferocious, feed them on flesh. If it is desired to create or perpetuate the war and murder spirit, continue to feed your households on flesh, which in the days of the highest 'Grecian development, reduced them to ferocity or stupidity as we learn from history. And if history repeats itself, there must be sometime when it is well to call a halt.
It is often said ,that the Japanese as a race are possessed of the finest manners, and give greatest evidence •of what we term " good breeding ; '' and if any are therefore disposed to accuse them of effeminacy, their recent war with China, from the same standpoint of judgment, must dispel the charge. Yet the Japanese are largely averse to meat eating.
Of the Hindoos it is said that " only the lowest classes use a mixed diet, and among these are found the most miserable, ill- farmed, undeveloped portion of the native
inhabitants of India. Among the higher and more intelligent, temperate and virtuous classes which subsist on wholesome vegetable food, tall, symmetrical men, with vigorous, active bodies are by no means uncommon, and for natural ease, grace and urbanity this class of Asiatics are exceeded by no people in the world."
The educated Bramin lives very simply, often upon one meal a day.
Dr. Alice B. Stockham in her address before the
World's Fair Congress on the Food of the Orient says :
" The men from Punjab and Rajputan, northern provinces of India, are noted the world over for a fine physique, for strength and endurance. * * Now we want to know how it is these millions of people, who feed mainly upon rice and still have strength and endurance, are not only the peers of meat-feeding nations, but can do even greater things than they. * * Hindoos feel that to be a slave to bodily wants, to physical necessities, is not only deplorable but despicable. * * You can not imagine what barbarians we Westerners are considered, we who are devoted to flesh pots and beer mugs. * * There is a mighty lesson that the English could and should learn of the Hindoo, but do they, and would we Americans, were we in India ? "
The noble and learned men from the far East who visited our shores during the World's Fair, expressed in no uncertain terms, their loathing abhorrence of the flesh eating practices of Christian civilization.