Page:Henry Stephens Salt - A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays.pdf/15

Rh It appears, then, that both on economic and moral grounds there are certain very distinct advantages in a vegetarian diet, provided only that such a diet can be shown to be physically practicable. This is, in reality, the cardinal point of the whole controversy; and we accordingly find that the possibility, or, at any rate, the advisability of Vegetarianism on physical grounds is most pertinaciously denied. The popular idea is, of course, that meat is the only food which gives strength, and that Vegetarianism is wellnigh impossible. "Don't you feel very weak?" is generally the first question asked of a Vegetarian, by a new friend or acquaintance; and if we press for a clearer explanation of this vague belief in the strength-giving qualities of meat, we find that it is composed of two distinct and sometimes contradictory notions—first, that meat is necessary to support bodily strength; secondly, that mental work cannot be done without it. "Vegetarianism," says one, "may be all very well for the rich and indolent, but the hard-working man must have his meat." "The labouring classes," says another, "may doubtless perform their merely bodily work on a