PHYSICAL NEEDS 



opinion, based on a careful consideration of the subject 

 from many points of view, that this habitual use of 

 wine, particularly during childhood and adolescence, 

 has been the prime factor in stunting the size of the 

 Latin races. It goes without saying that I conceive 

 undesirable mental and moral developments to have 

 coincided with the physical degeneration thus implied. 



Be this as it may, our present concern is with the in- 

 dividual rather than with the races. And assuredly one 

 hazards nothing in counselling the average individual 

 to give alcohol in every form a wide berth. It may be 

 admitted, as general principle, that the self-control 

 that makes temperate indulgence possible is admir- 

 able. But the very fact that total abstinence is for 

 most people easier than temperate indulgence speaks 

 volumes; and the wise individual may well ask him- 

 self why he should tamper at all with a temptation that 

 may lead to his total undoing, and that can by no chance 

 add to his well-being. 



Even the taking of a glass of claret at dinner, which 

 seems a mild form of indulgence, is based on an illusive 

 principle. It is supposed either to aid in digesting a 

 larger quantity of food than could otherwise be in- 

 gested with comfort; or to stimulate the mind to more 

 than normal activity. In the one case, it aids in the 

 formation of a deleterious habit of overeating; in 

 the other it stimulates to abnormal activities from 

 which the mind must react disadvantageously. The 

 healthy digestive system and the healthy mind need no 

 such artificial prodding. 



In somewhat modified degree, the same remarks 



1 35] 



