210 LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 



food, in order that it may nourish our bodies, is 

 very imperfectly effected the chyme is of unsound 

 quality. The next result is this : the chyme, by 

 admixture with certain other juices which it meets 

 with in the bowels, is destined to become chyle. 

 But the chyme, being of vicious quality, the chyle 

 which is formed from it must be also vicious ; at 

 all events, it must be deficient in quantity. Cer- 

 tainly, it is impossible to suppose that as much 

 perfect chyle can be elaborated out of bad chyme 

 as out of good : you might as well hope to make 

 as much good butter out of bad cream, or out of 

 cream and water, as out of pure cream. The 

 chyle, therefore, is deficient in quantity : but it is 

 this chyle which is destined to become blood. The 

 chyle, therefore, being deficient, the blood resulting 

 from it must also be deficient. But the blood is, 

 in fact, as I have shewn you before, the real food 

 on which the body feeds, by which it is nourished 

 and its strength supported; and this food being 

 scantily supplied, the strength, of course, is but 

 ill supported. 



I have said that the chyme is converted into 

 chyle by admixture with certain juices which it 

 meets with in the bowels. But the same causes which 

 we have seen producing a deficiency of gastric juice 



