THEORY OF HEALTH. 



V 



OF 



57 



state of mind in which only one idea can be enter-" ~ 

 tained, to be judged either accordant to the indi- 

 cations of nature or beneficial to humanity. Do 

 you plead that you have in hand too serious and 

 important labours for admitting of any diversion 

 by things trivial and temporary your pleading is 

 met by the analogy of material things: the ground 

 will not bear the same kind of produce for any 

 length of time; and art, having made the discovery, 

 adopts a succession of crops. The natural forest 

 is never succeeded by trees of the same species 

 showing, where no art is used, that nature will not 

 give birth to a progeny for which she does not pro- 

 vide the resources of strength. You propose, by a 

 contrary course, to yield always the same sort of 

 fruit ; and the consequence will be, that, wearing 

 out yourself, your productions will in a short time 

 become sickly and weak, and, should you not dis- 

 cover that deteriorated quality, you will soon lose 

 the gratification of doing what you esteem your first 

 duty, by losing the power of doing any thing what- 

 ever. You will become bilious; and then farewell 

 to study and all its charms to walks, and the 

 music of the brook, where you pondered the same 

 theme to duty and all its rewards to every thing 

 that soothes or delights, the face of friend, the 

 look of love, the soft cheek and guileless tongue of 

 babes farewell to all, but horrid apathy, and pitchy 

 gloom, and long night watching, or the dream in 

 which you know not whether you are man or beast, 

 wood or stone. 



