Animal Rights History »» Rev. J. Todd Ferrier

On Behalf of the Creatures, "The Dynamics of Natural Food"

The Dynamics of Natural Food

THE foundation problem of Land Tenure could not well be discussed in a short paper, as it has so many ramifications and such a long history. Consequently I was able only to emphasise this fact, patent to all who have earnestly studied the food problem, that the return of the people to Fruit Diet would, by a natural process, at last change the whole conditions under which land is now held and used; and that the increasingly perplexing problems of denuded villages and overcrowded cities and towns—the latter with a steadily multiplying army of disinherited toilers—would find such healthy solutions as would enrich the nation through all its strata, and make extreme honest poverty practically an impossibility.

Whatever truly benefits the individual will benefit the nation; and if it can be shown that the dynamic value of natural foods is for the individual what we claim it to be, then the same truth will be realised in the national health, physically and morally, as individuals, families, and communities blot out of their daily menu meals of flesh, and replace these with fruits, nuts, and pulses, in combination with milk, cheese, butter and brown bread. I, therefore, purpose showing the dynamic value of Natural and Humane Diet physically, morally, and religiously.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

It is often affirmed by people in their dire ignorance that vegetarian fare does not build up a strong and [page 71] healthy body, and that no one can maintain robustness and vigour on a non-flesh diet. Is it not marvellous how the cattle fatten on grass and give forth milk rich in fats for heat and energy, and albuminous matter for tissue? And is it not still more remarkable that the mighty racer, hunter, and load-drawer—the horse—manages to subsist on grass, hay, and corn? Certainly there is robustness, strength, and endurance gained even out of grass and corn.

The English and Americans are the greatest flesh-eating peoples in the world. But they are not the strongest physically. With all our pride and might, we are but weaklings compared to the vegetarian Spartans who defended Thermopylae, or the conquerors of. Salamis and Marathon, or the mighty Roman Gladiator, who derived from barley cakes and oil his great physical strength and muscular dexterity. The father of medicine, Hippocrates, said that the simplest diet was eminently fitted to give muscular strength and endurance. And history has proved times without number the truth of his assertion, for the finest physical races to-day are frugivorous. No one could surpass the natives of Brazil and Rio Janeiro in form, robustness, strength, and power of endurance; yet they live on such very simple things as fruits, rice, and coarse bread. It is likewise now a matter of history that the finest athletes of our time live on the purest and simplest diet.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

The eminent physician, Dr. E. Goodell Smith, says: "It is capable of proof that vegetarians in any profession [72] or occupation will endure more labour without uneasiness than the flesh-eater. Neither are they sick or ailing every now and then. They can also endure thirst and hunger better, and the loss of a meal creates no disturbing condition. And why ? Because they are not working upon unnatural stimulants that use up the vital force." And Dr. W. Boyd Carpenter, C.B., F.R.S., whom I have quoted amongst the scientists as one whose opinion is of great value, writes on the important question of food values that "There is ample and unexceptionable evidence that where neither milk nor any of its preparations are in ordinary use, a regimen consisting of bread and fruits and herbs, is quite adequate to the wants of a population subsisting by severe and constant toil."

And Dr. Alexander Haig, when speaking of diet and food in relation to Strength and Power of endurance, says—

"The records we are now getting from all sides show that the less animal flesh a people take the better do they come out in trials of force production, and especially in endurance." ("Diet and Food," chap. ii., p. 37.)

As for personal testimonies to the value of a well-selected fruitarian diet for excellent health, strong physique, and power of endurance, one might easily fill a large volume with the sayings of the most eminent writers, travellers, athletes, and thinkers of all countries. John Howard, the great prison reformer and philanthropist, attributed his immunity from the deadly jail-fever which infested those loathsome dens at the close of the eighteenth century, to his simple, pure manner of living. [73] And the eminent scientist and investigator, Benjamin Franklin, the father of modern electric science, attributed his unbounded success in investigation and diplomacy to a non-flesh diet, which, he said in his autobiography, was most conducive "to clear ideas and rapidity of thought."

Amongst other notable men I might name the father of Methodism, John Wesley. His distinguished friend, Dr. Cheyne, converted him to the purer and more humane diet; and, in his correspondence, John Wesley assigns his remarkable power of endurance, physical and mental, to his frugal and pure food. In his diary as recorded in his "Journal," we find several statements which show what his best convictions were, and the noble effort he made under great difficulties to carry these convictions into practice. Thus we read—

"Monday, October 17th, 1735. —Believing the denying of ourselves might by the blessing of God be helpful to us, we wholly left off the use of flesh and wine, and confined ourselves to vegetable food, chiefly rice and biscuit.

"Sunday, November 7th, 1735. —Finding Nature did not require so frequent supplies as we had been accustomed to, we agreed to leave off suppers, from doing which we have hitherto found no inconvenience.

"Tuesday, November 30th, 1735. —Mr. Delamotte and I began to try whether life might not as well be sustained by one sort, as by a variety of food. We chose to make the experiment with bread, and were never more vigorous and healthy than when we tasted nothing else."

[page 74] Then there was a relapse for a time owing doubtless to the difficulties in travelling on board ship. But subsequently we once more read—

"Monday, December 26th, 1737. —I resolved to break off living delicately, and return to my old simplicity of diet, and after I did so, neither my stomach nor my head much complained of the motion of the ship."

In 1747 he wrote to the Bishop of. London: "Thanks be to God I since the time I gave up the use of flesh-meat and wine, I have been delivered from all physical ills."

And in his sermon on "The more excellent way," he exhorts his hearers to take that "plain, wholesome food which most promotes health of body and mind."

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

Wesley was a strong man, a great man in his day, and I presume, considered great and almost worshipped by many to-day.

There are thousands who follow him as an ecclesiastic and a theologian, but who stop at this higher moral action. Where the great religious leaders have become ascetic, the multitudes have paused.

The way to the highest life in every faith is narrow, and few there be that find it.

Many of the great religious reformers and propagandists affirm the dynamic value of a non-flesh diet for body, mind, and soul; yet, their followers repudiate their humane thoughts and acts. Even by the hosts who glory in his name, John Wesley, were he here to-day, would be considered an uncertain faddist. These words I write not to hurt the sensitive feelings of the religious hero's [75] followers, but rather afresh to emphasise the fact, that when the laws of a higher type of manhood intercept those of a lower plane, there is a pause and a drawing back on the part of the majority. For what is true of the disciples of the Christ, is also true of most of the partisans of every great thinker.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

The eminent French historian and philosopher, Jules Michelet, gave some sage advice to the mothers and daughters of France, which ought to be proclaimed throughout the length and breadth of our land ; because it declares in no uncertain language the dynamic value, physically and morally, of a non-flesh diet: In his "La Femme," he lays down rules for the education of the young, the first of which is "Purity, above everything, in regimen and nourishment." And then he goes on to say—

"A revolution has taken place. We have quitted the more sober French regimen, and have adopted more and more the coarse and bloody diet of our neighbours. The worst of it all is that we inflict this manner of living upon our children. Strange spectacle ! To see a mother giving her daughter, whom but yesterday she was suckling at her breast, this gross aliment of bloody meats, and the dangerous excitant wine ! She is astonished to see her violent, capricious, passionate; but it is herself whom she ought to accuse as the cause. What she fails to perceive, and yet is very grave, is that with the French race, so precocious, the arousing of the passions .is so directly provoked by this food. Far from. strengthening, it agitates, it weakens, it unnerves ! "

[76] To remedy the defects and counteract the dangers she sees in her child he advises her to moderate her own indulgence abstinence from a "regimen which vulgarises her, perturbs her, renders her irritable, or oppresses her with indigestion."

And then he tries to win them over to the humane methods of ving by a picture of the grace and charm which ever accompany pure, noble womanhood—

"For the woman and the child it is a grace—an admirable grace—to be, above all things, Frugivorous—to avoid the coarseness and foulness of flesh meats, and to live rather upon innocent foods, which bring death to no one. …The reason why the beloved ones in nothing inspire in us repugnance, but, in comparison with men, seem etherial, is, in a special manner, their presumed preference for herbs and for fruits—for that purity of regimen which contributes not a little to that of the soul, and assimilates them to the innocency of the flowers of the field. " ("La Femme," ch. vi. )

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

Michelet did not exaggerate the evil. To-day we are all reaping the actions of the past. The nation lives in a constant state of excitation. Nothing tells like an exciting battle, story, or scene. We are drunken with excitement, and count everything flat that does not stimulate the animal side of our life. Thus our very foods and drinks must be spiced ! We are the bright exhalations created by the habits of the past; but our light is that of the wandering star that has neither poise nor endurance, not that of an illumining central sun [77] which possesses in itself eternal energy to generate life-giving forces. We condemn the age ; but our fathers created it. We marvel at the lack of reverence for life and age and things sacred ; but it is the outcome of our gross habits of living.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

Whilst in France Michelet was pouring out his soul to reform his countrymen, the like story was being proclaimed in Germany by the cultured Scientist and Philosopher, Gustav Von Struve. For Germany is lost in flesh-eating even more deeply than France. When writing on the economic question in his "Vegetable Diet, the Foundation of a New World-View," he says—

"Every step from the lower condition to a higher is bound up with certain difficulties. …The great majority of men hold fast to old prejudices. They struggle, not seldom with senseless rage, against enlightenment and reason, and a century often passes away before a new idea has forced the way for the spread of new blessings. Therefore, we need not wonder if we, also, who protest and stand out against the evils of flesh-eating, and proclaim the advantages of the Vegetable Diet, find violent opponents.•The gain which would accrue to the whole race of man by the acceptance of that diet is, however, so great and so evidently destined, that our victory is certain. Doubtless, the Political Economy of our days will be shaken to its foundation by the step from the flesh to the non-flesh diet. …But the relics of certain barbarisms must be shaken off."

And in his "Seelenleben "—The Spiritual Life, or [78] the Natural History of Man—(a work full of the purest and noblest philosophy, in which his life-work seems- to be concentrated, and the highest of Social Ethics finds the fullest exposition)—he writes on the question of the Value of Foods and Drinks, thus—

"The monstrous evils and abuses, which gradually and stealthily invaded our daily foods and drinks, have now reached to such a pitch that they can no longer be winked at. He who desires to work for the improvement of the human species, for the elevation of the human soul, and for the invigoration of the human body, dares not leave uncontested the general dominant unnaturalness of living.

"With a people struggling for Freedom, the Kitchen must be no den of murder; the Larder no den of corruption; the Meal no occasion for stupefaction. In despotic States the oppressors of the People may intoxicate themselves with spirituous drink, and bring disease and feebleness' upon themselves with unlawful and unwholesome meats. The sooner such men perish the better. But in free States, Simplicity, Temperance, Soberness must be the first principles of citizen-life. No people can be free whose individual members are still slaves to their own passions. " (Section on "Foods and Drinks." )

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

In another work of great beauty and moral power he presents under another form the same high ideal of womanhood, and her power for goodness in the world, [79] as Jules Michelet. In the composition of a novel he shows to his countrymen an irresistible vision of Humanitarian life, in which love for all things in their uses is the predominating note. In the first half of the story a young Hindu visits Europe, and is shocked at the barbarities of the people, and their gross carnivorous tastes. In the second part, from which I quote, the sister of the young Hindu is telling her mind to a German who is travelling in India.

"To me, too, residence in such a land would be torture. Yet, were I a man, had I the power of eloquence, I would go from village to village, from town to town, and vehemently denounce such horrors. I should think that I had achieved more than the founders of all religions, if I should succeed in inspiring men with sympathy and compassion. What is religious belief, if it tolerates this murder, or rather sanctions it? What is all Belief without Love? And what is Love that excludes from its embrace the infinitely larger part of living beings?

"Sweet and fair, indeed, is it to live in a valley which harbours only mild and loving people; but it is greater, and worthier of the high destiny of human life, to battle amongst the Bad for Goodness, to contend for the Light among the prisoners of Darkness. What is Life withoutDoing ?

"We women, indeed, cannot and dare not ourselves venture forth into the wild surge of rough and coarse men; but it is our business at least to incite to all that is True, Beautiful, and Good; to have regard for no man who is not ardent for what is noble, to accept none of [80] them who does not come before us adorned with the ornament of worthy actions." ("The Wanderings of Mandaras," Pt. ii. )

"Well would it be for this land of ours if we had women with such high ideals for men—girls for their lovers, wives for their husbands, mothers for their sons, and sisters for their brothers! The future of the nation is in woman's hand and if only we could convert her to right habits of thought and living, man would follow where she led. Woman ! in thy hands lies the power to regenerate our land.

Thus far then we have come. The dynamic value of pure diet for the body has been demonstrated, is indeed daily demonstrated, by the highest and greatest Thinkers, Reformers, Scientists, Athletes, and Moral Philosophers, and by whole peoples who abjure flesh-meats. The economic gain to the individual is great. There is better health, happier physical conditions, less physic and more joy, less material waste and more energy, less bulk but more endurance. The land flourishes when man is Nature's tiller once more. The fruit trees bloom, and the horrors of slaughter-houses are unknown, when man returns to his own true state and is King and Patriarch in the world.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

But we are not there yet. There are many obstacles to overcome. A man's foes are they of his own household; and these are oftentimes most difficult to subdue. One mighty foe to the realisation of our dearest hope stares us in the face in the Drinking Habits of the people. [81] Unblushingly it meets us almost at every street corner. It pollutes our thoroughfares; it sweeps life's best before it. As a holocaust it nips manhood in the bud; like the black death it lays its vile hand on the fairest. Amongst the ravaging plagues it is the most fruitful of pain and misery there is no disease that can sing such triumphs.

To stay its course we have scavengers in abundance. Like a great tidal wave it has swept over our land, devastating every town and city, carrying off thousands, and returning for thousands more. We have tried to sweep it back. We have striven to stop its encroachments. But we have been as those who tried to dam a rapidly flowing river with a few mops. Still the breweries flourish, the wine-merchants grow fat, and the floated companies make their millions out of the life-blood of the people.

To the nation the Religious Communities have been preaching sobriety for centuries, yet there is more drunkenness than ever. They have spent thousands upon thousands to drive the evil from the land, yet the National Drink Bill has swollen to £165,000,000 a year. There are Bands of Hope where the young are educated, Temperance Societies and Leagues where we try to save the weak ; yet the ranks of the army of the drunkards thin not; for where the lines are thinned others rise up to fill the places. We try legislation, strict supervision, fines, and punishments; but though these may affect the surface, they touch not the heart of the matter.

Where the preaching of the ordinary orthodox religion has failed, mere legislation is not likely to succeed.

[82] Breweries, Distilleries, Wine Vaults and Public-houses are terrible evils. Where they rear themselves, they make earth a pandemonium. We decry their vested interests, and mourn over the fact that they create moral leprosy wherever they lay their hands. We are almost powerless against them, because they have caught in their meshes leaders in all the Churches. We preach against them; we blow our trumpets before their gates; but the walls of Jericho fall not !

Do Temperance workers and earnest followers of Jesus Christ pause to consider this fact ; that this great traffic could not have existed, could never have grown into its colossal proportions, had there not been a demand for its productions on the part of the people?

If the people did not crave for such stimulating drinks, the lack of demand would give the death-blow to the business. Take away the cause and the effects cease. Eradicate the craving for stimulation, and intemperance becomes an impossibility. The fact of craving for stimulating drink being a general experience is shown by the effort made to provide non-intoxicating drinks—for the multitude will have something to drink. The Temperance party will never solve the problem by providing the artificial non-alcoholic drinks that are imposed upon the public to-day. Many of these drinks contain as much alcohol as mild beer; and they are far more deleterious in their effects. What Temperance reformers should set themselves to do is to learn the value of fruits, and educate the people in the right use of them.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

[83] The right answer to this question contains the secret of the whole drink curse. It dates back to the eating habits of the people. Is a drunkard a man with pure eating habits? Has anyone who lives on the simple fruits of the earth ever been known to be a drunkard? Such a man would be a curiosity. All historical facts go to show that flesh-eating and drunkenness go hand in hand. As Dr. Jackson writes:

"If you go back into that period of civilisation known as the Middle Ages; and on to our own time, you will find in all places where drunkenness has prevailed, that there has existed with the drunkards, and with the population out of which drunkards are made, a gluttonous indulgence at table. The Norman baron was a glutton; the Saxon franklin was a glutton; the fat Abbot was a glutton; Vie Mitred Priest was a glutton; the Politician, Statesman, Merchant, who became a drunkard, was a glutton. Wherever men drank, they feasted gluttonously. They ate to excess, and thus they drank to excess.… This is the history of drunkenness. It is connected with inordinate alimentiveness. Hence it is important for those who are interested in having men and women sober, to give heed to the matter of eating. Simple diet always leads to sobriety, while highly seasoned food awakens the desire for stimulants, and thus creates an appetite which, under social conditions favourable to indulgence, is almost sure to upset all moral considerations, and leave the tempted and tried to become victims. Our drunkards are not made in the saloons; they are simply graduated there. They take their initiation [84] in their homes around their own tables, through the eating of stimulating and exciting foods."

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

And again in the same able article on "The Drink Crave—How to Cure it," he writes: —

"It is morally and physically impossible for any man to remain a drunkard who can be induced to forego the use of tobacco, tea, coffee, spicy condiments, common salt, flesh-meats and medicinal drugs. If his diet consists of grains, fruits, and vegetables simply cooked, he cannot retain an appetite for strong drinks. The desire dies out of him, and in its stead comes up a disgust. This disgust is as decidedly moral as it is physical. His better nature revolts at the thought of drinking, and the power in him to resist is strengthened thereby."

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

Dr. Jackson's experience is most invaluable. For forty years at the head of an Asylum for drunkards, where flesh-meats are abolished, and where thousands of victims have been delivered from slavery to drink and flesh-eating, he is able to speak with an authority unknown to the ordinary physician. His is a voice, not an echo; and his sage advice should be followed by all who profess themselves eager to stem the tide of social and personal evil, and bring into the experience in our own time some of those pure joys of which poets sing, and for which the hearts of every good man and woman yearn.

Invaluable also are the words of Dr. Haig in this connection. Speaking of the effect upon the system of heavy flesh-meats, that the uric acid generated creates depression he says:—

[85] "For the relief of this depression more meat must be taken, and when meat begins to fail in causing sufficient stimulation, alcohol is added; when alcohol begins to fail, morphine or cocaine are called in; and so on down the road to ruin.

"Now Vegetarianism cuts through this vicious circle at one blow, by making it impossible for there ever again to be any great excess of uric acid in the blood, and so removing the cause of the depression which leads to the craving for stimulants.

"But even this is not quite the whole story, for meat is not only a stimulant, it also causes thirst. Therefore the meat-eater is always thirsty, and if he from one cause or another …acquires the bad habit of quenching his thirst with alcoholic drinks, he soon gets too much of them.

The Vegetarian, on the other hand, is not often thirsty, because he is not subject to urate fluctuations and diuresis, and also because the fruits in his diet list themselves supply him with a very large amount of water." ("Uric Acid," ch, xvii., pp. 874-5.)

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

Most pertinent to our present argument are the words of Maurice Maeterlinck in his book, "The Buried Temple." The "Temple" is the spiritual nature of man buried in a life of mere matter. The purpose of life here is to so use our powers and opportunities that in the process we shall rise above the dominating influence of the "Kingdom of Matter."

"Man, in relation to matter, is still in the experimental, [86] groping stage of his earliest days. He lacks even definite knowledge as to the kind of food best adapted for him, or the quantity of nourishment he requires; he is still uncertain as to whether he be carnivorous or frugivorous. His intellect misleads his instinct. It was only yesterday that he learned that he had probably erred hitherto in the choice of his nourishment; that he must reduce by two-thirds the quantity of nitrogen he absorbs, and largely increase the volume of hydrocarbons; that a little fruit, or milk, a few vegetables, farinaceous substances—now the mere accessory of the too-plentiful repasts which he works so hard to provide, which are his chief object in life, the goal of all his efforts, of his strenuous, incessant labours—are amply sufficient to maintain the ardour of the finest and mightiest life.

"It is not my purpose here to discuss the question of Vegetarianism, or to meet the objections that may be urged against it; though it must be admitted that of these objections not one can withstand a loyal and scrupulous inquiry. I, for my part, can affirm that those whom I have known to submit themselves to this regimen, have found its results to be improved or restored health, marked addition of strength, and the acquisition by the mind of a clearness, brightness, well-being, such as might follow the release from some secular, loathsome, detestable dungeon."

And thus he continues to argue: —

"Were the belief one day to become general that man could dispense with animal food, there would ensue, not only a great economic revolution—for a bullock, to produce one pound of meat, consumes more than a hundred [87] of provender— but a moral improvement as well, not less important and certainly more sincere and more lasting than might follow a second appearance on the earth of the Envoy of the Father. For we find that the man who abandons the regimen of meat, abandons alcohol also; and to do this is to renounce most of the coarser and more degrading pleasures of life. And it is in the passionate craving for these pleasures, in the glamour, and the prejudice they create, that the most formidable obstacle is found to the harmonious development of the race. Detachment therefrom creates noble leisure, a new order of desires, a wish for enjoyment that must of necessity be loftier than the gross satisfactions which have their origin in alcohol." ("The Buried Temple," pp. 183-185.)

Here, then, we have a solution of the drink problem to hand—a solution that can ignore Legislatures with their slow machinery and stop-gap measures—a solution infinitely more simple but mightier far than our multiplied temperance catapults—a solution that not only makes the curse impossible, but brings to everyone who accepts it the wealth of a purer physical frame, the riches of nobler thought, and the possibilities of a manhood and womanhood nothing short of Divine.

Our Temperance Societies will never solve the problem of saving the drunkard whilst the national habit is to feed on flesh-meats. Our Bands of Hope will fail to save the children in after years, if we continue to feed them upon such unwholesome and exciting foods. The Christian Churches have failed to regenerate their own [88] nation, not to speak of their larger failure in their mission to the world. And why have they failed? Because the very House of God is desecrated by the eating and drinking habits of the people.. Well might Voltaire declare in his "Letters of Philosophy" that "the Christians do not practice their faith, because they live on flesh and reverence no life !

Indeed, it is too sadly true! We try every quack cure-all for the social and physical ills that afflict us, listening to every outside voice, but turning a deaf ear to that Highest Voice of all which calls us to health of body, mind, and soul through obedience to the laws of Nature and the laws of Spirit. To follow our most Humane instinct is to be true to ourselves, and to be true to the best that is in us, is surely to be loyal to our faith and our God.

But is not the carnivorous habit in us the lowest and most animal? To follow it is assuredly to reject the highest! And it is this rejection of the highest and the imbibing of the lowest for generations that has brought to pass the awful conditions of to-day, in which scarcely a life is well; scarcely a family free from gout, or rheumatism, or consumption; few who have not suffered directly or indirectly from the palsying curse of drink.

We have heard the testimony of History and Science and Moral Philosophy as to the advantages to be gained from the adoption of a bloodless diet. We have seen how a return to Nature would at last adjust of its own accord many of the evils which canker our social and national life. We have listened to some of the finest [page 89] souls in literature and history, science and religion, and their message emphasises and illumines the message which we members of the "Order of the Cross" declare.

We all acknowledge the terrible ravages of strong drink, and would gladly blot it out of our land; and we have the sure and certain testimony as to the cause of the evil, and its only true method of cure and prevention. Our Churches groan under the "intolerable strain" of trying to keep their light burning whilst they court the world and pamper and even take part in its burning shames, and then wonder why they have failed to conquer human hearts, to build up an empire of Divine Manhood, and win the world for Christ. We spend our hundreds of millions in drinks and stimulating meats, and awaken from our stupor to amazement that there should be such poverty and disease in the land. We perpetuate a traffic (by our eating habits) in elementary souls, and have them done to death to whet our appetites and gratify our low tastes, and are then shocked at the cruelty we see around us, and find ourselves forced to create societies whose duty it will be to protect the Animal and the Child-life.

Well may the Eastern nations laugh at us, and the Europeans scorn our pride! Truthfully may they tell us we are a mass of inconsistencies! For do we not (whatever be our creed) pride ourselves on being disciples of the Noblest Faith? Yet we would make its Grand Master less than a Buddha, and, in the practice of that Faith, destroy sacred life for our gross pleasure! We pride ourselves on our culture, yet we refuse to listen to [90] the voice of history. We glory in the scientific knowledge of our age, yet we repudiate its wisdom when it touches our habits of living. We rejoice to think we are the richest of nations and the mightiest of peoples, yet we will not recognise the economic and dynamic value of pure food! We desire to civilise the world, but will not see that the most potent factor is Humanity and not destroying armaments, Purity of Living and not the accumulation of a cankering wealth, Moral Grandeur whose glory is pure character and noble service, and not the empty pomp of mere world-dominion!

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

In conclusion, I dare prophesy for our nation happier times within our own borders, and more brilliant times beyond our borders, if we as a people realise in life the full meaning of our Faith, return to Natural ways, and keep our Bodies and Souls pure. But if we will have none of. these things, then our national and communal sores will grow worse and worse, and our world-dominion will wane, till at last our sun sets to rise no more.