Page:Henry Stephens Salt - A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays.pdf/53

Rh that “the great food question,” as it has been truly called, is not merely one of the many medical subjects which may be successfully studied and systematically by chemists and doctors, still less a mere scientific fact which can be demonstrated with mathematical precision, but a matter of far wider import, a many-sided problem which can only be solved by a delicate appreciation of the tastes, feelings, and practical experience of mankind. I believe that a physician, in his capacity of physician, is no better qualified than any ordinary person to decide such a question.

Indeed, all such questions must be decided ﬁnally by natural instinct and experience, rather than by technical knowledge ; by innate wisdom rather than by acquired learning. This fact is seen in every branch of art and science, from the humblest to the highest. A bootmaker is the best possible authority on the particular subject of bootmaking. but it would not be wise to consult him on the general study of the human foot and the style of covering most suitable thereto. A tailor is undeniably a valuable adviser about coats and trousers, but it would be a sign of ill-placed conﬁdence if one blindly