STIMULANTS AND NARCOTICS 2/3 



fruits and nutritious nuts and grains abound to awaken 

 and satisfy his appetite. The bright sun not only shines 

 upon his skin, but deep into it, and stimulates the cells ; 

 the fresh breezes striking his nerves, start currents cours- 

 ing through his body. The oxygen penetrates to every 

 cell, purifying and awakening to life. The pleasure of 

 association with his fellow-creatures, and various other 

 pleasures, arouse him to do his part in the world. There 

 is no need to seek in the jungle for some bitter berry, or 

 among the weeds for some nauseating leaf, or among de- 

 caying apples or grapes or fermenting grain for a burning 

 and revolting liquid in order to stir his being to action. 

 He lives the life for which his body was designed. 



494. How Man comes to deprive himself of Natural 

 Stimulants. But suppose he becomes wise and wishes to 

 improve on the simple blessings of life. He must stay in 

 the house continually in order to transact much business 

 and make money, or to acquire precious wisdom in musty 

 books. He must curtain off the sunshine for fear it will 

 cause his fineries to fade ; must shut out the air and keep 

 in the dust. His great knowledge tells him that cool 

 draughts are dangerous upon a skin made delicate with a 

 load of clothing. The joys and stimulus of friendship and 

 of unreserved communion with his fellows leave him, as he 

 narrows his view and fixes his gaze on some selfish object. 

 The voluntary motions of his body are confined mostly to 

 his fingers and his tongue, as he writes and talks in trans- 

 acting business, for he is too proud to walk, or to work with 

 his hands, and thus the circulation throughout his body 

 becomes sluggish. His natural appetite becomes weak and 

 would regulate the amount of food according to the narrow 

 incomplete life he is living, but he gets an artificial one, 

 with sour or peppery seasonings, and the half-digested food 

 makes poison for his blood. His nerves become weak, his 

 wit blunted, his body sluggish and depressed, 

 T 



