nt as soon as he or she perceives the
moral obligation to do so. It may be hard, perhaps impossible, to
convert others to the same views, but the vegetarian is not hindered
from living his own life according to the dictates of his conscience.
'He who conquers others is strong, but the man who conquers himself is
mighty,' wrote Laotze in the _Tao Teh Ch'ing_, or 'The Simple Way.'

When we call to mind some heroic character--a Socrates, a Regulus, a
Savonarola--the petty sacrifices our duties entail seem trivial indeed.
We do well to remember that it is only by obedience to the highest
dictates of our own hearts and minds that we may obtain true happiness.
It is only by living in harmony with all living creatures that nobility
and purity of life are attainable. As we obey the immediate vision, so
do we become able to see yet richer visions: but the _strength of the
vision is ours only as we obey its high demands_.

NUTRITION AND DIET

I

THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION

The importance of some general knowledge of the principles of nutrition
and the nutritive values of foods is not generally realised. Ignorance
on such a matter is not usually looked upon as a disgrace, but, on the
contrary, it would be commonly thought far more reprehensible to lack
the ability to conjugate the verb 'to be' than to lack a knowledge of
the chemical properties of the food we eat, and the suitability of it to
our organism. Yet the latter bears direct and intimate relation to man's
physical, mental, and moral well-being, while the former is but a
'sapless, heartless thistle for pedantic chaffinches,' as Jean Paul
would say.

The human body is the most complicated machine conceivable, and as it is
absurd to suppose that any tyro can take charge of so comparatively
simple a piece of mechanism as a locomotive, how much more absurd is it
to suppose the human body can be kept in fit condition, and worked
satisfactorily, without at least some, if only slight, knowledge of the
nature of its constitution, and an understanding of the means to
satisfy its requirements? Only by study and observation comes the
knowledge of how best to supply the required material which, by its
oxidation in the body, repairs waste, gives warmth and produces energy.

Considering, then, that the majority of people are entirely ignorant
both of the chemical constitution of the body, and the physiological
relationship between the body and food, it is not surpris