Page:Henry Stephens Salt - A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays.pdf/57

Rh to vivisection, in the hope of a shower of yet more beneficent discoveries in the future.

On the other hand, we Vegetarians need not be the least alarmed or disconcerted by ﬁnding the medical profession arrayed in arms against us. Their intentions are beyond doubt excellent ; but, like other good people, their require time to take in new ideas. We must not wonder if they show signs of some vexation. and do all they can (which is a good deal) to retard the cause of Food Reform, for it is undoubtedly irritating to them to ﬁnd the rude test of practical experience applied to the delicate theories of medical science. When doctors have declared that their patients cannot live without meat, how annoying and perplexing it must be to see them thriving on a vegetarian diet! We can at least comfort ourselves with the recollection that on other questions medical men have repeatedly shifted their ground, when proved by time to be hopelessly in error ; from which we may venture to predict that in like manner they will eventually change their opinion even on the question of diet.