334 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



marks here. Nothing could be more untrue than the 

 statement made by some authors that the nature of 

 the diet is of no consequence. 



The science of physiology teaches that our very 

 thoughts are born of what we eat. A man that lives on 

 pork, fine-flour bread, rich pies and cakes, and condi- 

 ments, drinks tea and coffee, and uses tobacco, might 

 as well try to fly as to be chaste in thought. He will 

 accomplish wonders if he remains physically chaste; 

 but to be mentally virtuous would be impossible for 

 him without a miracle of grace. 



One whose thoughts have been so long trained in 

 the filthy ruts of vice that they run there automatically, 

 and naturally gravitate downward— such a one must 

 exercise especial care to secure the most simple, pure, 

 and unstimulating diet. 



The following precautions are necessary to be ob- 

 served in relation to diet: 



1. Never overeat. If too much food is taken at one 

 meal, fast the next meal to give the system a chance to 

 recover itself, and to serve as a barrier against future 

 transgressions of the same kind. Gluttony is fatal to 

 chastity ; and overeating will be certain to cause emis- 

 sions, with other evils, in one whose organs are weak- 

 ened by abuse. 



2. Eat hut twice a day, or, if supper is eaten, let it 

 be very light, and of the most simple food, as fruit, or 

 fruit and bread. Nothing should be eaten within four 

 or five hours of bedtime, and it is much better to eat 

 nothing after three o'clock. The ancients ate but two 

 meals a day; why should moderns eat three or four? 

 If the stomach contains undigested food, the sleep will 

 be disturbed, dreams will be more abundant, and emis- 

 sions will be frequent. A most imperative rule of life 



