upon the other, and at length wholly extinguishing it."

CICERO.

This eminent man sometimes, if not usually, confined himself to
vegetable food. Of this we have evidence, in his complaints about the
refinements of cookery--that they were continually tempting him to
excess, etc. He says, that after having withstood all the temptations
that the noblest lampreys and oysters could throw in his way, he was at
last overpowered by paltry beets and mallows. A victory, by the way,
which, in the case of the eater of plain food, is very often achieved.

CYRUS THE GREAT.

This distinguished warrior was brought up, like the inferior Persians,
on bread, cresses, and water; and, notwithstanding the temptations of a
luxurious and voluptuous court, he rigorously adhered to his simple
diet. Nay, he even carried his simple habits nearly through life with
him; and it was not till he had completely established one of the
largest and most powerful empires of antiquity that he began to yield
to the luxuries of the times. Had he pursued his steady course of
temperance through life, the historian, instead of recording his death
at only seventy, might have told us that he died at a hundred or a
hundred and fifty.

PETER GASSENDI.

Two hundred and twenty years ago, Peter Gassendi, a famous French
philosopher--and by the way, one of the most learned men of his
time--wrote a long epistle to Van Helmont, a Dutch chemist, on the
question whether the teeth of mankind indicate that they are naturally
flesh-eaters.

In this epistle, too long for insertion here,[18] Gassendi maintains,
with great ingenuity, that the human teeth were not made for flesh. He
does not evade any of the facts in the case, but meets them all fairly
and discusses them freely. And after having gone through with all parts
of the argument, and answered every other conceivable objection, he thus
concludes:

"And here I feel that it may be objected to me: Why, then, do you not,
yourself, abstain from flesh and feed only on fruits and vegetables? I
must plead the force of habit, for my excuse. In persons of mature age
nature appears to be so wholly changed, that this artificial habit
cannot be renounced without some detriment. But I confess that if I were
wise, and relinquishing the use of flesh, should gradually accustom
myself to the gifts of the kind earth, I have little doubt that I should
enjoy more regular health, and acquire greater activity of mind. For
truly