CHAPTER V 

 HEALTH AS A DUTY 



THE pairing of these words "health" 

 and "duty" may at first seem queer, but 

 we hope to justify it. 



Some people hardly prize physical 

 soundness for any reason. They seem liter- 

 ally to "enjoy poor health." Among such 

 as duly prize health the majority probably 

 prize it not because they think they ought 

 to, but as an exercise of legitimate selfish- 

 ness. Their desire to be well is reflex and 

 spontaneous, not reasoned, not an affair of 

 motives in any way. Like the will to live, 

 it is neither moral nor immoral, but simply 

 non-moral. 



That merely vital, non-moral prompting 

 to health is a fine thing. We would not less- 

 en it. If it possessed the entire public in 

 due degree these remarks would be quite 

 superfluous. They might even be mischiev- 

 ous, for a natural impulse is not seldom 

 weakened by analysis and introspection, as 



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