Page:Henry Stephens Salt - A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays.pdf/109

Rh in relation to the question of food, for the principle to which ﬂesh-eaters usually appeal is that “law of Nature” which prompts the stronger animals to prey on the weaker, and which is sometimes naively described, by a happy inversion, as “the great law of self-sacrifice.” If once the public conscience can be awakened, it is possible that in time it may be inexpressibly pained and shocked by other things besides cannibalism, which are now established as mere every-day matters in our midst. So, without wishing to weaken the just detestation in which cannibalism is at present held, I should like to inquire a little into the reasons on which this abhorrence is based, and to see if they do not lead us to wider and fuller conclusions than those hitherto reached by well-meaning anti-cannibalistic flesh-eaters.

In what, then, does the peculiar horror of cannibalism consist? Not in the mere taking of human life, for war, the profession of killing, is everywhere held in high esteem, and it is only of late years that duelling has ceased to be equally popular. If we are thought to be justified in killing our fellow-creatures for the sake of