Page:Fruits and Farinacea the Proper Food of Man.djvu/28

22 should first determine the laws which influence health, for upon this depends a material portion of human happiness; and, secondly, he should endeavor to discover what subjects are most worthy of his close attention and steady pursuit. Clearly and fully to ascertain these important points, requires no slight consideration; but, having once satisfactorily settled these weighty questions, so far as our present knowledge will permit us, we should resolutely practise what reason shows to be most desirable; and habit, once gained, will render the future pursuit easy and pleasant.

The superior endowments of man place him far above the rest of creation; so that he is not under the necessity of submitting, in all cases, to the dictates of instinct and passion; for by the possession of higher intellectual faculties, he is enabled to resist, and greatly to modify, the simple suggestions of nature. In many instances, however, man has abused this privilege; for instead of using his reason as the handmaid, guardian, and assistant of instinct, he has placed them in collision; and the uses of the one have been perverted and overborne by the mischievous meddling of the other. Hence the formation of unnatural and injurious habits; which have become as powerful as original instincts, withdrawn his attention from his best interests, weakened the true principles of his nature, and entailed upon himself and society sickness, vice, and misery.

When, by daily repetition, and by the powerful influence of social intercourse and national prejudice, habits have been long established, emancipation from their control becomes an almost impossible task; and when either practice or opinion is nearly universal, its propriety or truth is seldom questioned. If, by any means, the attention of an individual be directed to the consideration of a generally-received opinion, and he arrive at a conviction opposite to that of the society by which he is surrounded, there is little chance of his making many converts; nay, the probability is that, however clear and confirmed his views may at one time appear to himself, he will gradually yield to the overwhelming influence of example, and the frequently-expressed opinions of his associates; for a weak objection acquires all the force of a strong one, by repetition. If, however, a man have sufficient decision and courage to depart from the usages of society where he considers them wrong and injurious, or resolutely and perseveringly to maintain any unpopular belief,—more especially if opposed to the appetites and pleasures of mankind,—he may calculate upon being laughed