SOCIETIES AND COMMUNITIES ON THE VEGETABLE SYSTEM.
The Pythagoreans.--The Essenes.--The Bramins.--Society of Bible
Christians.--Orphan Asylum of Albany.--The Mexican
Indians.--School in Germany.--American Physiological Society.
GENERAL REMARKS.
The following chapter did not come within the scope of my plan, as it
was originally formed. But in prosecuting the labors of preparing a
volume on vegetable diet, it has more and more seemed to me desirable to
add a short account of some of the communities and associations of men,
both of ancient and modern times, who, amid a surrounding horde of
flesh-eaters, have withstood the power of temptation, and proved, in
some measure, true to their own nature, and the first impulses of mercy,
humanity, and charity. I shall not, of course, attempt to describe all
the sects and societies of the kind to which I refer, but only a few of
those which seem to me most important.
One word may be necessary in explanation of the term communities. I mean
by it, smaller communities, or associations. There have been, and still
are, many whole nations which might be called vegetable-eating
communities; but of such it is not my purpose to speak at present.
THE PYTHAGOREANS.
Pythagoras appears to have flourished about 550 years before Christ. He
was, probably, a native of the island of Samos; but a part of his
education, which was extensive and thorough, was received in Egypt. He
taught a new philosophy; and, according to some, endeavored to enforce
it by laying claim to supernatural powers. But, be this as it may have
been, he was certainly a man of extraordinary qualities and powers, as
well as of great and commanding influence. In an age of great luxury and
licentiousness, he taught, both by example and precept, the most rigid
doctrines of sobriety, temperance, and purity. He abstained from all
animal food, and limited himself entirely to vegetables; of which he
usually preferred bread and honey. Nor did he allow the free use of
every kind of vegetable; for beans, and I believe every species of
pulse, were omitted. Water was his only drink. He lived, it is said, to
the age of eighty; and even then did not perish from disease or old age,
but from starvation in a place where he had sought a retreat from the
fury of his enemies.
His disciples are said to have been exceedingly numerous, in almost all
quarters of the then known world, especially in Greece and Italy. It is
impossible, however, to form any conjecture of their numbers. The
largest school or association of his rigid followers is supposed to have
been at the city of Crotona, in South Italy. Their number was six
hundred. They followed all his dietetic and philosophical rules with the
utmost strictness. The association appears to have been, for a time,
exceedingly flourishing. It was a society of philosophers, rather than
of common citizens. They held their property in one common stock, for
the benefit of the whole. The object of the association was chiefly to
aid each other in promoting intellectual cultivation. Pythagoras did
not teach abstinence from all hurtful food and drink, and an exclusive
use of that which was the _best_, for the sole purpose of making men
better, or more healthy, or longer-lived _animals_; he had a higher and
nobler purpose. It was to make them better rationals, more truly noble
and god-like--worthy the name of rational men, and of the relation in
which they stood to their common Father. And yet, after all, his
doctrines appear to have been mingled with much bigotry and
superstition.
THE ESSENES.
The following account of this singular sect of the ancient Jews is
abridged from an article in the Annals of Education, for July, 1836. The
number of this vegetable-eating sect is not known, though, according to
Philo, there were four thousand of them in the single province of Judea.
"Pliny, says that the Essenes of Judea fed on the fruit of the
palm-tree. But, however this may have been, it is agreed, on all hands,
that, like the ancient Pythagoreans, they lived exclusively on vegetable
food, and that they were abstinent in regard to the quantity even of
this. They would not kill a living creature, even for sacrifices. It is
also understood that they treated diseases of every kind--though it does
not appear that they were subject to many--with roots and herbs.
Josephus says they were long-lived, and that many of them lived over a
hundred years. This he attributes to their 'regular course of life,' and
especially to 'the simplicity of their diet.'"
THE BRAMINS.
The Bramins, or Brahmins, are, as is probably well known, the first of
the four _castes_ among the Hindoos. They are the priests of the people,
and are remarkable, in their way, for their sanctity. Of their number I
am not at present apprised, but it must be very great. But, however
great it may be, they are vegetable eaters of the strictest sect. They
are not even allowed to eat eggs; and I believe milk and its products
are also forbidden them; but of this I am not quite certain. Besides
adhering to the strictest rules of temperance, they are also required to
observe frequent fasts of the most severe kind, and to practice regular
and daily, and sometimes thrice daily ablutions. They subsist much on
green herbs, roots, and fruits; and at some periods of their ministry,
they live much in the open air. And yet those of them who are true
Bramins--who live up to the dignity of their profession--are among the
most healthy, vigorous, and long-lived of their race. The accounts of
their longevity may, in some instances, be exaggerated; but it is
certain that, other things being equal, they do not in this respect fall
behind any other caste of their countrymen.
SOCIETY OF BIBLE CHRISTIANS.
This society has existed in Great Britain nearly half a century. They
abstain from flesh, fish, and fowl--in short, from every thing that has
animal life--and from all alcoholic liquors. Of their number in the
kingdom I am not well informed. In Manchester they have three churches
that have regular preachers; and frequent meetings have been held for
discussing the diet question within a few years, some of which have
been well attended, and all of which have been interesting. Among those
who have adopted "the pledge" at their meetings, are some of the most
distinguished men in the kingdom, and a few of the members of
parliament. Through these and other instrumentalities, the question is
fairly up in England, and will not cease to be discussed till fairly
settled.
A branch or colony from the parent society, under the pastoral care of
Rev. Wm. Metcalfe, consisting of only eight members, came in 1817 and
established itself in Philadelphia. They were incorporated as a society
in 1830. In 1846 the number of their church members was about seventy,
besides thirty who adhered to their abstemious habits, but were not in
full communion. During the thirty years ending in 1846, twelve of their
number died--four children and eight adults. The average age of the
latter was fifty-seven years. Of the seventy now belonging to the
society, nineteen are between forty and eighty years of age; and forty,
in all, over twenty-five. Of the whole number, twelve have abstained
from animal food thirty-seven years, seven from twenty to thirty years,
and fifty-one never tasted animal food or drank intoxicating drinks.
And yet they are all--if we except Mr. Metcalfe, their minister--of the
laboring class, and hard laborers, too. Their strength and power of
endurance is fully equal to their neighbors in similar circumstances,
and in several instances considerably superior. Mr. Fowler, the
phrenologist, testifies, concerning one of them, that he is regarded as
the strongest man in Philadelphia. I have long had acquaintance with
this sect, through Mr. M., of Philadelphia, and Mr. Simpson, one of
their leading men in England, and have not a doubt of the truth of what
has been publicly stated concerning them. They are a modest people, and
make few pretensions; and yet they are a very meritorious people.
One thing very much to their advantage, as it shows the health-giving,
health-preserving tendency of their practice and principles, remains to
be related. When the yellow fever prevailed in Philadelphia, in 1818 and
1819, the infection seemed specially rife in the immediate vicinity of
the Bible Christians. So, also, in 1832, with the cholera. And yet none
of them fled. There they remained during the whole period of suffering,
and afforded their sick neighbors all the relief in their power. Their
minister, in particular, was unwearied in his efforts to do good. Yet
not one of their little number ever sickened or died of either yellow
fever or cholera.
Till within a few years, they have been governed solely by regard to
religious principle, having known little of Physiology or any other
science bearing on health. Of late, however, they have turned their
attention to the subject, and have among them a respectable
Physiological society, which holds its regular meetings, and is said to
be flourishing.
From one of their publications, entitled "Vegetable Cookery," I have
extracted the following very brief summary of their views concerning the
use of animals for sustenance.
"The Society of Bible Christians abstain from animal food, not only in
obedience to the Divine command, but because it is an observance, which,
if more generally adopted, would prevent much cruelty, luxury, and
disease, besides many other evils which cause misery in society. It
would be productive of much good, by promoting health, long life, and
happiness, and thus be a most effectual means of reforming mankind. It
would entirely abolish that greatest of curses, _war_; for those who are
so conscientious as not to kill animals, will never murder human beings.
On all these accounts the system cannot be too much recommended. The
practice of abstaining cannot be wrong; it must therefore be some
consolation to be on the side of duty. If we err, we err on the sure
side; it is innocent; it is infinitely better authorized and more nearly
associated with religion, virtue, and humanity, than the contrary
practice--and we have the sanction of the wisest and the best of men--of
the whole Christian world, for several hundred years after the
commencement of the Christian era."
ORPHAN ASYLUM OF ALBANY.
I class this as a community, because it is properly so, and because I
cannot conveniently class it otherwise. The facts which are to be
related are too valuable to be lost. They were first published, I
believe, in the Northampton Courier; and subsequently in the Boston
Medical and Surgical Journal, and in the Moral Reformer. In the present
case, the account is greatly abridged.
The Orphan Asylum of Albany was established about the close of the year
1829, or the beginning of the year 1830. Shortly after its
establishment, it contained seventy children, and subsequently many
more. The average number, from its commencement to August 1836, was
eighty.
For the first three years, the diet of the inmates consisted of fine
bread, rice, Indian puddings, potatoes, and other vegetables and fruits,
with milk; to which was added flesh or flesh-soup once a day.
Considerable attention was also paid to bathing and cleanliness, and to
clothing, air, and exercise. Bathing, however, was performed in a
perfect manner, only once in three weeks. As many of them were received
in poor health, not a few continued sickly.
In the fall of 1833, the diet and regimen of the inmates were materially
changed. Daily ablution of the whole body, in the use of the cold shower
or sponge bath--or, in cases of special disease, the tepid bath was one
of the first steps taken; then the fine bread was laid aside for that
made of unbolted wheat meal; and soon after flesh and flesh-soups were
wholly banished; and thus they continued to advance, till, in about
three months more, they had come fully upon the vegetable system, and
had adopted reformed habits in regard to sleeping, air, clothing,
exercise, etc. On this course, then, they continued to August, 1836,
and, for aught I know, to the present time. The results were as follows:
During the first three years, or while the old system was followed, from
four to six children were continually on the sick list, and sometimes
more; and one or two assistant nurses were necessary. A physician was
needed once, twice, or three times a week, uniformly; and deaths were
frequent. During this whole period there were between thirty and forty
deaths.
After the new system was fairly adopted, the nursery was soon entirely
vacated, and the services of the nurse and physician no longer needed;
and for more than two years no case of sickness or death took place. In
the succeeding twelve months there were three deaths, but they were new
inmates, and were diseased when they were received; and two of them were
idiots. The Report of the Managers says, "Under this system of
dietetics (though the change ought not to be wholly attributed to the
diet) the health of the children has not only been preserved, but those
who came to the asylum weakly, have become healthy and strong, and
greatly increased in activity, cheerfulness, and happiness." The
superintendents also state, that "since the new regimen has been fully
adopted, there has been a remarkable increase of health, strength,
activity, vivacity, cheerfulness, and contentment among the children.
Indeed, they appear to be, uniformly, perfectly healthy and happy; and
the strength and activity they exhibit are truly surprising. The change
of temper is very great. They have become less turbulent, irritable,
peevish, and discontented; and far more manageable, gentle, peaceable,
and kind to each other." One of them further observes, "There has been a
great increase in their mental activity and power; the quickness and
acumen of their perception, the vigor of their apprehension, and the
power of their retention daily astonish me."
Such an account hardly needs comment; and I leave it to make its own
impression on the candid and unbiassed mind and heart of the reader.
THE MEXICAN INDIANS.
The Indian tribes of Mexico, according to the traveler Humboldt, live on
vegetable food. A spot of ground, which, if cultivated with wheat, as in
Europe, would sustain only ten persons, and which by its produce, if
converted into pork or beef, would little more than support one, will in
Mexico, when used for banana, sustain equally well two hundred and
fifty.
The reader will do well to take the above fact, and the estimates
appended to it, along with him when he comes to examine what I have
called the economical argument of the great diet question, in our last
chapter, under the head, "The Moral Argument." We shall do well to
remember another suggestion of Humboldt, that the habit of eating
animals diminishes our natural horror of cannibalism.
SCHOOL IN GERMANY.
There is, in the Annals of Education for August, 1836, an account of a
school in which the same simple system which was pursued in the Orphan
Asylum at Albany was adopted, and with the same happy results. I say the
_same_ system; I believe plain meat was allowed occasionally, but it was
seldom. Their food was exceedingly simple, consisting chiefly of bread
and other vegetables, fruits and milk. Great attention was also paid to
daily cold bathing. The following is the teacher's statement in regard
to the results:
"I am at present the foster father of nearly seventy young people, who
were born in all the varieties of climate from Lisbon to Moscow, and
whose early education was necessarily very different. These young men
are all healthy; not a single eruption is visible on their faces; and
three years often pass, during which not a single one of them is
confined to his bed; and in the twenty-one years that I have been
engaged in this institution, not one pupil has died. Yet, I am no
physician. During the first ten years of my residence here, no physician
entered my house; and, not till the number of my pupils was very much
increased, and I grew anxious not to overlook any thing in regard to
them, did I begin to seek at all for medical advice.
"It is the mode of treating the young men here, which is the cause of
their superior health; and this is the reason why death has not yet
entered our doors. Should we ever deviate from our present
principles--should we approach nearer the mode of living common in
wealthy families--we should soon be obliged to establish, in our
institution, as it is in others, medicine closets and nurseries. Instead
of the freshness which now adorns the cheeks of our youth, paleness
would appear, and our church-yards would contain the tombs of promising
young men, who, in the bloom of their years, had fallen victims to
disease."
THE AMERICAN PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
This association was formed in 1837. When first formed, it consisted of
one hundred and twenty-four males, and forty-one females; in all, one
hundred and sixty-five. Their number soon increased to more than two
hundred.
Most of these individuals were more or less feeble, and a very large
proportion of them were actually suffering from chronic disease when
they became members of the society. Not a few joined it, indeed, as a
last resort, after having tried every thing else, as drowning men are
said to catch at straws.
Nearly if not quite all the members of this society, as well as most of
their families, abstained for a time from animal food. Some of them even
adopted the vegetable system a year or so earlier. And there were a few
who adopted it much sooner--one or two of them eight years earlier.
Of the individuals belonging to the Physiological Society or to their
families, and adhering to the same principles, two adults only died,
and one child, during the first two years. I will not be quite positive,
but there were four in all, two adults, and two children; but this was
the extent of mortality among them for about fifteen months.
The whole number of those who belonged to the society, with those
members of their families who adhered to their principles (estimating
families, as is usually done, at five members to each), is believed to
have been from three hundred and twenty to three hundred and fifty. The
average mortality for the same number of healthy persons, during the
same period, in Boston and the adjacent places, was about six or seven;
though in some places it was much greater. In a single parish in
Roxbury--and without any remarkable sickness--the mortality, for the
same number of persons, was equal to ten or twelve.
Now, we must not forget, what I have already stated, that this society
of vegetable-eaters--the two hundred adults, I mean--were generally
invalids, and some of them given over by physicians. Instead, therefore,
of only half the usual proportion of deaths among them, we might
naturally enough have expected twice or three times the usual number.
And this expectation would have appeared still better founded when it
was considered that many made the change in their habits, and especially
in their diet, very suddenly.
But the whole story is not yet told. Not only was the number of deaths
very small, as above stated, but there were a great number of remarkable
recoveries. Some, who had very obstinate complaints, appeared, for a
time, to be entirely well. Others were getting well as fast as could be
expected. Some, who were broken down and prematurely old, seemed to
renew their youth. Many became free from colds and eruptive complaints,
to which they were formerly subject. And those who had acute diseases,
of whom, however, the number was very small, did not suffer so much as
is usually the case with flesh-eaters in circumstances otherwise
apparently similar.
But a reverse at length came. They were led into their abstemious course
by mere impulse in very many cases, and though a library was formed and
meetings held, nobody, hardly, would read, and the meetings grew thin.
They had no Joe Smith or Gen. Taylor to lead them--and mankind without
leaders and without deep-toned principle, soon grow tired of war. Few
will fight in such circumstances.