No one subject unites in a common interest the majority of the human race, or exerts a greater influence upon health and longevity than this problem of food. And as, moreover, it has equal influence on the mental, moral and social nature, it therefore underlies these and becomes the root of many of the reforms which will bear fruit in the future, for the improvement of existing conditions. It becomes then of the utmost importance that we consider this matter in its relation to the laws of life and health. Not merely for the selfish pleasure of a long and painless life, but that the soul — the real man for whom " The House Beautiful" was created — shall be able to develop its greatest possibilities. To render our bodies strong, healthy, beautiful as pos- sible, seems to have been the design of nature. To insure this, the elements required for growth and repair must be daily supplied in normal combinations that they may be appropriated through the wonderful vital processes unceasingly and silently working within these ever changing bodies of ours. But instead of inquiring how and what shall be the food that will make our bodies temples of purity for the free manifestation of our higher powers, it has become second nature to ask — I WHY A HYGIENIC DIET. 25 not for "our daily bread" — but what will afford the greatest pleasure to our pampered palates. Always demanding some new gustatory pleasure, we do not realize that the appetite which needs to be coaxed and coddled, is a misfortune — a misfortune induced by improper methods of living and remedied only by a change of thought and custom. A financial estimate has not yet been placed upon the needs of the human family. But the money required to supply the " wants " in the line of food at home, or the five-doUar-a-day-with-every-delicacy-skilfully-prepared-for- the-table hotel, has become an expenditure truly alarming, not only in the cost of food but in heavy expenses for items not specified in the bill of fare. Among the most burdensome of these we count the doctor's, druggist's and nurse's fees. We, who can afford it, do not hesitate to pay royally for every " table com- fort, luxury and service," which is sure to make us sooner or later a victim for the doctor, the nurse or the coroner ; while the undertaker guarantees for a suitable compensa- tion to fashionably attire us for the latest style of casket, and mother earth opens her arms to receive our bodies long ere the time that nature intended. The celebrated English Surgeon and Author, John A. Forsyth, in writing of the health of the early inhabitants, of the earth says, " the decays of nature in the expiring periods of life were the only infirmities to which men were then liable ; and, though their limbs sometimes failed to» perform their office, health and appetite continued with them till life was no more. * * * * In this primitive but natural state, the food of mankind is said to have con- tinued upward of two thousand years, during which period 3 26 THE FAT OF THE LAND.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

No one subject unites in a common interest the majority of the human race, or exerts a greater influence upon health and longevity than this problem of food. And as, moreover, it has equal influence on the mental, moral and social nature, it therefore underlies these and becomes the root of many of the reforms which will bear fruit in the future, for the improvement of existing conditions. It becomes then of the utmost importance that we consider this matter in its relation to the laws of life and health. Not merely for the selfish pleasure of a long and painless life, but that the soul — the real man for whom " The House Beautiful" was created — shall be able to develop its greatest possibilities. To render our bodies strong, healthy, beautiful as possible, seems to have been the design of nature. To insure this, the elements required for growth and repair must be daily supplied in normal combinations that they may be appropriated through the wonderful vital processes unceasingly and silently working within these ever changing bodies of ours. But instead of inquiring how and what shall be the food that will make our bodies temples of purity for the free manifestation of our higher powers, it has become second nature to ask — not for "our daily bread" — but what will afford the greatest pleasure to our pampered palates. Always demanding some new gustatory pleasure, we do not realize that the appetite which needs to be coaxed and coddled, is a misfortune — a misfortune induced by improper methods of living and remedied only by a change of thought and custom. A financial estimate has not yet been placed upon the needs of the human family. But the money required to supply the " wants " in the line of food at home, or the five-dollar-a-day-with-every-delicacy-skilfully-prepared-for-the-table hotel, has become an expenditure truly alarming, not only in the cost of food but in heavy expenses for items not specified in the bill of fare. Among the most burdensome of these we count the doctor's, druggist's and nurse's fees. We, who can afford it, do not hesitate to pay royally for every " table comfort, luxury and service," which is sure to make us sooner or later a victim for the doctor, the nurse or the coroner ; while the undertaker guarantees for a suitable compensation to fashionably attire us for the latest style of casket, and mother earth opens her arms to receive our bodies long ere the time that nature intended. The celebrated English Surgeon and Author, John A. Forsyth, in writing of the health of the early inhabitants, of the earth says, " the decays of nature in the expiring periods of life were the only infirmities to which men were then liable ; and, though their limbs sometimes failed to» perform their office, health and appetite continued with them till life was no more. * * * * In this primitive but natural state, the food of mankind is said to have continued upward of two thousand years, during which period

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