FoodNet

The art of living in Australia

1893

Page 26

Presented as published in 1893. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
But, turning from grave to gay, we find that five wits have been described, viz., common sense, imagination, fantasy, estimation, and memory. Of these, common sense passes judgment on all things ; imagination brings the mind to realise what comes before it ; fantasy stimulates the mind to act ; estimation lias to do with all that pertains to time, space, locality, etc. ; and memory is *' the warder of the brain." Then again, have we not also the five senses of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting ? Have we not like- wise five fingers and five toes on either hand and foot ? Moreover, is not fives an ancient and honoured game, still popular wherever the English language is spoken, and is not its name derived from its being played with the " bunch of fives" namely the hand ? And further, there must be num- bers of Australians who know well w^hat "five-corners" are. In addition to the foregoing, the number five has an im- portant historical and legal association in connection with the Code Napoleon. Prior to Napoleon's time, different laws and customs prevailed in different parts of France, and altogether legal matters were in a chaotic state. It was greatly to his credit, therefore, that he recognised the necessity for the entire alteration and remodelling of the whole system. But what was more striking than the recognition of the existing defects was the specdiness with which they were rectified, for the Code Napoleon was devised and actually in operation between 1804 and 1810. It consisted of /?re parts, namely the " Code Civil," dealing with the main body of the private law ; the " Code de Proce- dure Civile " ; the " Code dc Commerce," dealing with the laws relating to commercial affairs ; the " Code d'Instruction THE ALPHABETICAL PENTAGON OF HEALTH. 23 Criminelle"; and finally, the *• Code Penal." It is recorded that Napoleon was prouder of this than of his victories. " I shall go down to posterity," he said, " with my Code in my hand." The best proof of its excellence is that to-day it remains in force as the law of France (though it has been re-christened the " Code Civil " under the Republic), and that it has been the model for many Continental Codes, notably Belgium, Italy, and Greece. ' ' ' ^ - But, leaving these references to the many associations attached to the number fiv6, it must not be supposed that my degire is to make people unnecessarily timorous about themselves on the score of health. This is certainly not my intention, for such a frame of mind would defeat the very object I have in view. Yet there still remains the fact that a little rational attention is indispensable if the vigour of the body is to be maintained at its best. There is a very gi'eat difference between carefulness can-ied to extremes in this respect, on the one head, and a heedlessness arid total disregard of personal health, on the other. The golden mean between these two is the proper knowledge of what is required for the preservation of health, and so much con- formity thereto as will give the best results. And yet it must be remembered that no cast-iron code can be laid down which would be applicable to one and all. No ; idio- syncrasy, that personal peculiarity which makes each individual different from every one else, is too potent a factor to be ignored.