Ihavefoundrepeatedly，oflateyears，thatIcannotfishwithoutfallingalittleinself-respect。Ihavetrieditagainandagain。Ihaveskillatit，and，likemanyofmyfellows，acertaininstinctforit，whichrevivesfromtimetotime，butalwayswhenI
havedoneIfeelthatitwouldhavebeenbetterifIhadnotfished。
IthinkthatIdonotmistake。Itisafaintintimation，yetsoarethefirststreaksofmorning。Thereisunquestionablythisinstinctinmewhichbelongstothelowerordersofcreation；yetwitheveryyearIamlessafisherman，thoughwithoutmorehumanityorevenwisdom；atpresentIamnofishermanatall。ButIseethatifI
weretoliveinawildernessIshouldagainbetemptedtobecomeafisherandhunterinearnest。Beside，thereissomethingessentiallyuncleanaboutthisdietandallflesh，andIbegantoseewherehouseworkcommences，andwhencetheendeavor，whichcostssomuch，towearatidyandrespectableappearanceeachday，tokeepthehousesweetandfreefromallillodorsandsights。Havingbeenmyownbutcherandscullionandcook，aswellasthegentlemanforwhomthedisheswereservedup，Icanspeakfromanunusuallycompleteexperience。Thepracticalobjectiontoanimalfoodinmycasewasitsuncleanness；andbesides，whenIhadcaughtandcleanedandcookedandeatenmyfish，theyseemednottohavefedmeessentially。Itwasinsignificantandunnecessary，andcostmorethanitcameto。Alittlebreadorafewpotatoeswouldhavedoneaswell，withlesstroubleandfilth。Likemanyofmycontemporaries，Ihadrarelyformanyyearsusedanimalfood，ortea，orcoffee，etc。；notsomuchbecauseofanyilleffectswhichI
hadtracedtothem，asbecausetheywerenotagreeabletomyimagination。Therepugnancetoanimalfoodisnottheeffectofexperience，butisaninstinct。Itappearedmorebeautifultolivelowandfarehardinmanyrespects；andthoughIneverdidso，I
wentfarenoughtopleasemyimagination。Ibelievethateverymanwhohaseverbeenearnesttopreservehishigherorpoeticfacultiesinthebestconditionhasbeenparticularlyinclinedtoabstainfromanimalfood，andfrommuchfoodofanykind。Itisasignificantfact，statedbyentomologists——IfinditinKirbyandSpence——
that“someinsectsintheirperfectstate，thoughfurnishedwithorgansoffeeding，makenouseofthem“；andtheylayitdownas“ageneralrule，thatalmostallinsectsinthisstateeatmuchlessthaninthatoflarvae。Thevoraciouscaterpillarwhentransformedintoabutterfly……andthegluttonousmaggotwhenbecomeafly“
contentthemselveswithadroportwoofhoneyorsomeothersweetliquid。Theabdomenunderthewingsofthebutterflystillrepresentsthelarva。Thisisthetidbitwhichtemptshisinsectivorousfate。Thegrossfeederisamaninthelarvastate；
andtherearewholenationsinthatcondition，nationswithoutfancyorimagination，whosevastabdomensbetraythem。
Itishardtoprovideandcooksosimpleandcleanadietaswillnotoffendtheimagination；butthis，Ithink，istobefedwhenwefeedthebody；theyshouldbothsitdownatthesametable。
Yetperhapsthismaybedone。Thefruitseatentemperatelyneednotmakeusashamedofourappetites，norinterrupttheworthiestpursuits。Butputanextracondimentintoyourdish，anditwillpoisonyou。Itisnotworththewhiletolivebyrichcookery。
Mostmenwouldfeelshameifcaughtpreparingwiththeirownhandspreciselysuchadinner，whetherofanimalorvegetablefood，asiseverydaypreparedforthembyothers。Yettillthisisotherwisewearenotcivilized，and，ifgentlemenandladies，arenottruemenandwomen。Thiscertainlysuggestswhatchangeistobemade。Itmaybevaintoaskwhytheimaginationwillnotbereconciledtofleshandfat。Iamsatisfiedthatitisnot。Isitnotareproachthatmanisacarnivorousanimal？True，hecananddoeslive，inagreatmeasure，bypreyingonotheranimals；butthisisamiserableway——asanyonewhowillgotosnaringrabbits，orslaughteringlambs，maylearn——andhewillberegardedasabenefactorofhisracewhoshallteachmantoconfinehimselftoamoreinnocentandwholesomediet。Whatevermyownpracticemaybe，Ihavenodoubtthatitisapartofthedestinyofthehumanrace，initsgradualimprovement，toleaveoffeatinganimals，assurelyasthesavagetribeshaveleftoffeatingeachotherwhentheycameincontactwiththemorecivilized。
Ifonelistenstothefaintestbutconstantsuggestionsofhisgenius，whicharecertainlytrue，heseesnottowhatextremes，oreveninsanity，itmayleadhim；andyetthatway，ashegrowsmoreresoluteandfaithful，hisroadlies。Thefaintestassuredobjectionwhichonehealthymanfeelswillatlengthprevailovertheargumentsandcustomsofmankind。Nomaneverfollowedhisgeniustillitmisledhim。Thoughtheresultwerebodilyweakness，yetperhapsnoonecansaythattheconsequencesweretoberegretted，forthesewerealifeinconformitytohigherprinciples。
Ifthedayandthenightaresuchthatyougreetthemwithjoy，andlifeemitsafragrancelikeflowersandsweet-scentedherbs，ismoreelastic，morestarry，moreimmortal——thatisyoursuccess。Allnatureisyourcongratulation，andyouhavecausemomentarilytoblessyourself。Thegreatestgainsandvaluesarefarthestfrombeingappreciated。Weeasilycometodoubtiftheyexist。Wesoonforgetthem。Theyarethehighestreality。Perhapsthefactsmostastoundingandmostrealarenevercommunicatedbymantoman。Thetrueharvestofmydailylifeissomewhatasintangibleandindescribableasthetintsofmorningorevening。Itisalittlestar-dustcaught，asegmentoftherainbowwhichIhaveclutched。
Yet，formypart，Iwasneverunusuallysqueamish；Icouldsometimeseatafriedratwithagoodrelish，ifitwerenecessary。
Iamgladtohavedrunkwatersolong，forthesamereasonthatI
preferthenaturalskytoanopium-eater’sheaven。Iwouldfainkeepsoberalways；andthereareinfinitedegreesofdrunkenness。I
believethatwateristheonlydrinkforawiseman；wineisnotsonoblealiquor；andthinkofdashingthehopesofamorningwithacupofwarmcoffee，orofaneveningwithadishoftea！Ah，howlowIfallwhenIamtemptedbythem！Evenmusicmaybeintoxicating。SuchapparentlyslightcausesdestroyedGreeceandRome，andwilldestroyEnglandandAmerica。Ofallebriosity，whodoesnotprefertobeintoxicatedbytheairhebreathes？Ihavefoundittobethemostseriousobjectiontocoarselaborslongcontinued，thattheycompelledmetoeatanddrinkcoarselyalso。
Buttotellthetruth，Ifindmyselfatpresentsomewhatlessparticularintheserespects。Icarrylessreligiontothetable，asknoblessing；notbecauseIamwiserthanIwas，but，Iamobligedtoconfess，because，howevermuchitistoberegretted，withyearsIhavegrownmorecoarseandindifferent。Perhapsthesequestionsareentertainedonlyinyouth，asmostbelieveofpoetry。
Mypracticeis“nowhere，“myopinionishere。NeverthelessIamfarfromregardingmyselfasoneofthoseprivilegedonestowhomtheVedreferswhenitsays，that“hewhohastruefaithintheOmnipresentSupremeBeingmayeatallthatexists，“thatis，isnotboundtoinquirewhatishisfood，orwhopreparesit；andevenintheircaseitistobeobserved，asaHindoocommentatorhasremarked，thattheVedantlimitsthisprivilegeto“thetimeofdistress。“
Whohasnotsometimesderivedaninexpressiblesatisfactionfromhisfoodinwhichappetitehadnoshare？IhavebeenthrilledtothinkthatIowedamentalperceptiontothecommonlygrosssenseoftaste，thatIhavebeeninspiredthroughthepalate，thatsomeberrieswhichIhadeatenonahillsidehadfedmygenius。“Thesoulnotbeingmistressofherself，“saysThseng-tseu，“onelooks，andonedoesnotsee；onelistens，andonedoesnothear；oneeats，andonedoesnotknowthesavoroffood。“Hewhodistinguishesthetruesavorofhisfoodcanneverbeaglutton；hewhodoesnotcannotbeotherwise。Apuritanmaygotohisbrown-breadcrustwithasgrossanappetiteaseveranaldermantohisturtle。Notthatfoodwhichenterethintothemouthdefilethaman，buttheappetitewithwhichitiseaten。Itisneitherthequalitynorthequantity，butthedevotiontosensualsavors；whenthatwhichiseatenisnotaviandtosustainouranimal，orinspireourspirituallife，butfoodforthewormsthatpossessus。Ifthehunterhasatasteformud-turtles，muskrats，andothersuchsavagetidbits，thefineladyindulgesatasteforjellymadeofacalf’sfoot，orforsardinesfromoverthesea，andtheyareeven。Hegoestothemill-pond，shetoherpreserve-pot。Thewonderishowthey，howyouandI，canlivethisslimy，beastlylife，eatinganddrinking。
Ourwholelifeisstartlinglymoral。Thereisneveraninstant’strucebetweenvirtueandvice。Goodnessistheonlyinvestmentthatneverfails。Inthemusicoftheharpwhichtremblesroundtheworlditistheinsistingonthiswhichthrillsus。TheharpisthetravellingpattererfortheUniverse’sInsuranceCompany，recommendingitslaws，andourlittlegoodnessisalltheassessmentthatwepay。Thoughtheyouthatlastgrowsindifferent，thelawsoftheuniversearenotindifferent，butareforeveronthesideofthemostsensitive。Listentoeveryzephyrforsomereproof，foritissurelythere，andheisunfortunatewhodoesnothearit。Wecannottouchastringormoveastopbutthecharmingmoraltransfixesus。Manyanirksomenoise，goalongwayoff，isheardasmusic，aproud，sweetsatireonthemeannessofourlives。
Weareconsciousofananimalinus，whichawakensinproportionasourhighernatureslumbers。Itisreptileandsensual，andperhapscannotbewhollyexpelled；likethewormswhich，eveninlifeandhealth，occupyourbodies。Possiblywemaywithdrawfromit，butneverchangeitsnature。Ifearthatitmayenjoyacertainhealthofitsown；thatwemaybewell，yetnotpure。TheotherdayIpickedupthelowerjawofahog，withwhiteandsoundteethandtusks，whichsuggestedthattherewasananimalhealthandvigordistinctfromthespiritual。Thiscreaturesucceededbyothermeansthantemperanceandpurity。“Thatinwhichmendifferfrombrutebeasts，“saysMencius，“isathingveryinconsiderable；thecommonherdloseitverysoon；superiormenpreserveitcarefully。“Whoknowswhatsortoflifewouldresultifwehadattainedtopurity？
IfIknewsowiseamanascouldteachmepurityIwouldgotoseekhimforthwith。“Acommandoverourpassions，andovertheexternalsensesofthebody，andgoodacts，aredeclaredbytheVedtobeindispensableinthemind’sapproximationtoGod。“Yetthespiritcanforthetimepervadeandcontroleverymemberandfunctionofthebody，andtransmutewhatinformisthegrossestsensualityintopurityanddevotion。Thegenerativeenergy，which，whenweareloose，dissipatesandmakesusunclean，whenwearecontinentinvigoratesandinspiresus。Chastityisthefloweringofman；andwhatarecalledGenius，Heroism，Holiness，andthelike，arebutvariousfruitswhichsucceedit。ManflowsatoncetoGodwhenthechannelofpurityisopen。Byturnsourpurityinspiresandourimpuritycastsusdown。Heisblessedwhoisassuredthattheanimalisdyingoutinhimdaybyday，andthedivinebeingestablished。Perhapsthereisnonebuthascauseforshameonaccountoftheinferiorandbrutishnaturetowhichheisallied。I
fearthatwearesuchgodsordemigodsonlyasfaunsandsatyrs，thedivinealliedtobeasts，thecreaturesofappetite，andthat，tosomeextent，ourverylifeisourdisgrace——
“Howhappy’shewhohathdueplaceassignedTohisbeastsanddisafforestedhismind！