cids, and decomposition products.'

Eating and drinking too much are largely the outcome of sensuality. To
see a man eat sensually is to know how great a sensualist he is.
Sensualism is a vice which manifests itself in many forms. Poverty has
its blessings. It compels abstinence from rich and expensive foods and
provides no means for surfeit. Epicurus was not a glutton. Socrates
lived on bread and water, as did Sir Isaac Newton. Mental culture is not
fostered by gluttony, but gluttony is indulged in at the expense of
mental culture. The majority of the world's greatest men have led
comparatively simple lives, and have regarded the body as a temple to be
kept pure and holy.

We have now to consider (_a_) what to eat, (_b_) when to eat, (_c_) how
to eat. First, then, we will consider the nutritive properties of the
common food-stuffs.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 3: This is not an exaggeration. 'Genoa Cake,' for instance,
contains ten varieties of food: butter, sugar, eggs, flour, milk,
sultanas, orange and lemon peel, almonds, and baking powder.]

II

WHAT TO EAT

Among the foods rich in protein are the legumes, the cereals, and nuts.
Those low in protein are fresh fruits, green vegetables, and roots. Fat
is chiefly found in nuts, olives, and certain pulses, particularly the
peanut; and carbohydrates in cereals, pulses, and many roots. Fruit and
green vegetables consist mostly of water and organic mineral compounds,
and in the case of the most juicy varieties may be regarded more as
drink than food. We have, then, six distinct classes of food--the
pulses, cereals, nuts, fruits, green vegetables, and roots. Let us
briefly consider the nutritive value of each.

Pulse foods usually form an important item in a vegetarian dietary. They
are very rich in their nutritive properties, and even before matured are
equal or superior in value to any other green vegetable. 'The ripened
seed shows by analysis a very remarkable contrast to most of the matured
foods, as the potato and other tubers, and even to the best cereals, as
wheat. This superiority lies in the large amount of nitrogen in the
form of protein that they contain.' Peas, beans, and lentils should be
eaten very moderately, being highly concentrated foods. The removal of
the skins from peas and beans, also of the germs of beans, by
parboiling, is recommended, as they are then more easily digested and
less liable to 'disagree.' These foods, it is interesting to