y
found in the vegetable kingdom. The table of comparative values given,
exhibits this quite plainly. That man can live a thoroughly healthy life
upon vegetable foods alone there is ample evidence to prove, and there
is good cause to believe that milk and eggs not only are quite
unnecessary, but are foods unsuited to the human organism, and may be,
and often are, the cause of disease. Of course, it is recognized that
with scrupulous care this danger can be minimized to a great extent, but
still it is always there, and as there is no reason why we should
consume such foods, it is not foolish to continue to do so?

But this is not all. It is quite as impossible to consume dairy produce
without slaughter as it is to eat flesh without slaughter. There are
probably as many bulls born as cows. One bull for breeding purposes
suffices for many cows and lives for many years, so what is to be done
with the bull calves if our humanitarian scruples debar us from
providing a vocation for the butcher? The country would soon be overrun
with vast herds of wild animals and the whole populace would have to
take to arms for self-preservation. So it comes to the same thing. If
we did not breed these animals for their flesh, or milk, or eggs, or
labour, we should have no use for them, and so should breed them no
longer, and they would quickly become extinct. The wild goat and sheep
and the feathered life might survive indefinitely in mountainous
districts, but large animals that are not domesticated, or bred for
slaughter, soon disappear before the approach of civilisation. The Irish
elk is extinct, and the buffalo of North America has been wiped out
during quite recent years. If leather became more expensive (much of it
is derived from horse hide) manufacturers of leather substitutes would
have a better market than they have at present.

VI

CONCLUSION

'However much thou art read in theory, if thou hast no practice thou art
ignorant,' says the Persian poet Sa'di. 'Conviction, were it never so
excellent, is worthless until it converts itself into Conduct. Nay,
properly, Conviction is not possible till then,' says Herr
Teufelsdrockh. It is never too late to be virtuous. It is right that we
should look before we leap, but it is gross misconduct to neglect duty
to conform to the consuetudes of the hour. We must endeavour in
practical life to carry out to the best of our ability our philosophical
and ethical convictions, for any l