Conventional exactions and restrictions are the legiti-
mate accompaniments of myriads of fanciful dishes. One
or at most two courses at the table have been reinforced
by three, five or more at a single meal, with an ever
increasing service of table appointments. Laces, ribbons,
chiffons, and other etc. are observed in strange company,
assisting in the decoration of tables supplied with various
fanciful productions of the caterer's art, which usually
have a tendency toward hastening us out of this world
instead of preparing us to live in it. The gustatory wants
of the race have multiplied far in excess of the needs
which are few and easily supplied. These modern
methods have proven disastrous to mistress and maid in
thousands of homes, and have caused an unlimited
amount of worry and soul-degrading, health-destroying
labor. A perverted taste has become so universal that
we have lost the exquisite, delicate office of the palate,
and the flavors of pure food are not appreciated by the
masses. To cater to this perverted taste, we take the
various foods of nature, spice, season, pickle and other-
wise doctor them, never thinkings that a momentary grati-
1 6 THE FAT OF THE LAND.
fication in the mouth may lead to disaster in the vital
domain. When the effects become apparent in headaches
of various kinds, in neuralgic, rheumatic and gouty
twinges of nerves and muscles, in " biliousness," colic,
and dyspepsia, we appeal to the potion, powder or dinner
pill for a panacea that will route the supposed enemy,
and prepare us for similar indulgence at succeeding
meals. If these fail we call in the family doctor. His
motto is that " what will make a well man sick, will make
a sick man well," and treats our diseases with poisons,
as he has done for centuries, instead of recognizing the
great truth, that patients should be treated and taught to
** go and sin no more." Curing diseases is worth millions
to physicians ; curing patients would prove disastrous to
the profession.
When we realize that it is a sin to be physically, as well
as morally or spiritually sick, we shall give more consid-
eration to the creative power of food and drink and all
other physical necessities. We shall learn and be
obedient to spiritual law, and also discover that the
" ounce of prevention " will be of far greater value to us
than the " pound of cure."
Growth and development, waste and repair, life and
death, are continually operating in the wonderful mech-
anism of the human body. Yet, strange to say, this
intricate product of creative wisdom is subjected to
neglect, abuse and ill-usage in every way, which would
not be tolerated in the delicate mechanical products of
the hand of man.
From the moment the inert clay receives the " breath
of life " it should continue to perform its work until,
through the natural processes of age and death, it ceases
INTRODUCTION. 1 7
to be useful as the habitation of the real individual.
Perfect health is the natural right of every child, that it
may round out a century or more of physical existence.
It is however an appalling fact that more than half the
race perish in early life. That few perfectly healthy
people can be found is a matter of the greatest signifi-
cance ; and that nine-tenths of medical practice is among
women and children, plainly proves, not that women are
weaker than men, but that men, through their daily
environments, living more in the open air, and in con-
tact with the outside world, are less liable to trivial ail-
ments, that often result in serious complications in
women whose lives are circumscribed by monotonous
cares and countless details of the home life.
Sickness is expensive, and no profession so exhausting
as nursing the sick : while death is surrounded by such
costly and elaborate display, that one almost feels they
cannot afford to indulge in the repose of the tomb.
Page 4
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
Conventional exactions and restrictions are the legitimate accompaniments of myriads of fanciful dishes. One or at most two courses at the table have been reinforced by three, five or more at a single meal, with an ever increasing service of table appointments. Laces, ribbons, chiffons, and other etc. are observed in strange company, assisting in the decoration of tables supplied with various fanciful productions of the caterer's art, which usually have a tendency toward hastening us out of this world instead of preparing us to live in it. The gustatory wants of the race have multiplied far in excess of the needs which are few and easily supplied. These modern methods have proven disastrous to mistress and maid in thousands of homes, and have caused an unlimited amount of worry and soul-degrading, health-destroying labor. A perverted taste has become so universal that we have lost the exquisite, delicate office of the palate, and the flavors of pure food are not appreciated by the masses. To cater to this perverted taste, we take the various foods of nature, spice, season, pickle and otherwise doctor them, never thinkings that a momentary grati-
fication in the mouth may lead to disaster in the vital domain. When the effects become apparent in headaches of various kinds, in neuralgic, rheumatic and gouty twinges of nerves and muscles, in " biliousness," colic, and dyspepsia, we appeal to the potion, powder or dinner pill for a panacea that will route the supposed enemy, and prepare us for similar indulgence at succeeding meals. If these fail we call in the family doctor. His motto is that " what will make a well man sick, will make a sick man well," and treats our diseases with poisons, as he has done for centuries, instead of recognizing the great truth, that patients should be treated and taught to ** go and sin no more." Curing diseases is worth millions to physicians ; curing patients would prove disastrous to the profession.
When we realize that it is a sin to be physically, as well as morally or spiritually sick, we shall give more consideration to the creative power of food and drink and all other physical necessities. We shall learn and be obedient to spiritual law, and also discover that the " ounce of prevention " will be of far greater value to us than the " pound of cure."
Growth and development, waste and repair, life and death, are continually operating in the wonderful mechanism of the human body. Yet, strange to say, this intricate product of creative wisdom is subjected to neglect, abuse and ill-usage in every way, which would not be tolerated in the delicate mechanical products of the hand of man.
From the moment the inert clay receives the " breath of life " it should continue to perform its work until, through the natural processes of age and death, it ceases
INTRODUCTION. 1 7
to be useful as the habitation of the real individual.
Perfect health is the natural right of every child, that it may round out a century or more of physical existence. It is however an appalling fact that more than half the race perish in early life. That few perfectly healthy people can be found is a matter of the greatest significance ; and that nine-tenths of medical practice is among women and children, plainly proves, not that women are weaker than men, but that men, through their daily environments, living more in the open air, and in contact with the outside world, are less liable to trivial ailments, that often result in serious complications in women whose lives are circumscribed by monotonous cares and countless details of the home life.
Sickness is expensive, and no profession so exhausting as nursing the sick : while death is surrounded by such costly and elaborate display, that one almost feels they cannot afford to indulge in the repose of the tomb.