thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return!" This, however, should not deter him from investigating the laws of mortality, and the causes that hasten or protract the period of old age and death. "Know thyself!" was the advice of the ancient sage; and it is still further enforced upon our attention by the well known line of Pope,— "The proper study of mankind is man." It should, indeed, be our first endeavour to become acquainted with our position in the universe;-to mark the relation in which we stand to surrounding objects; to inquire how health and happiness, present and future, may be best promoted; diligently and faithfully to investigate our misconceptions of, or departures from, the laws of nature, by the observance of which health may be maintained, and longevity promoted; and, finally, by what means physical and moral evil may be diminished, and the universal reign of peace and harmony established. The man who would enjoy the greatest happiness for the longest period, should first determine the laws that influence health, for upon this depends a material portion of human happiness; and, secondly, he should endeavour to discover what subjects are most worthy of his close attention and steady pursuit. Clearly and fully to ascertain these important points, requires no slight consideration; but, having once satisfactorily settled these weighty questions, so far as our present knowledge will permit us, we should resolutely practise what reason has shown to be most desirable; and habit, once gained, will render the future pursuit easy and pleasant. The superior endowments of man place him far above the rest of creation; so that he is not under the necessity of submitting, in all cases, to the dictates of instinct and passion; for by the possession of higher intellectual faculties, he is enabled to resist, and greatly to modify, the simple suggestions of nature. In many instances, however, man has abused this privilege; for instead of using his reason as the handmaid, guardian, and assistant of instinct, he has placed them in collision; and the uses of the one, have been perverted and overborne by the mischievous meddling of the other. Hence the formation of unnatural and injurious habits; which have become as powerful as original instincts, withdrawn his attention from his best interests, weakened the true principles of his nature, and entailed upon himself and society, sickness, vice, and misery. "Reasoning at every step they tread, Men yet mistake their way; While meaner things, by instinct led, When, by daily repetition, and by the powerful influence of social intercourse and national prejudice, habits have been long established, emancipation from their control becomes an almost impossible task; and when either practice or opinion is nearly universal, its propriety or truth is seldom questioned. If, by any means, the attention of an individual be directed to a generally received opinion, and he arrive at a conviction opposite to that of the society by which he is surrounded, there is little chance of his making many converts; nay, the probability is that, however clear and confirmed his views may at one time appear to himself, he will gradually yield to the overwhelming influence of example, and the frequently expressed opinions of his associates; for a weak objection acquires all the force of a strong one, by repetition. If, however, a man have sufficient decision and courage to depart from the usages of society where he considers them wrong and injurious, or resolutely and perseveringly to maintain any unpopular belief,-more especially if opposed to the long established habits, appetites, and pleasures of mankind, he may calculate upon being laughed at for his singularity, and perhaps subjected to the daily jeers and witticisms of those who are carried along the stream of public opinion or local customs. No sooner does a person embrace a new doctrine, or adopt an uncommon habit, than he becomes an object of mirth and ridicule to those who, perhaps, have never given one moment's serious consideration to the reasons which have led to the change;—a change attributed by them to whim, caprice, eccentricity, or some still more unworthy motive. Every new opinion, therefore, though capable of the clearest demonstration, must necessarily be slow in its progress; for most people are too busily engaged with their daily avocations, to devote attention to any thing novel, and requiring thought. Others, perhaps, though convinced, deem it of too little consequence to demand a change of habit; while others possess too little moral courage to brave the taunting observations of their companions. Thus are the same customs continued through long periods of time; and the thinking few are held in thraldom by the oi rooi, or unthinking many; so that 66 the discoveries of one generation can only become the established and influential truths of the next." It is, however, our duty and interest to inquire, how far the practices and habits of mankind accord with the original intentions of nature; and what effect any departure from truth, (if I may be allowed the expression,) has had upon our health, happiness, and longevity. To trace all the errors of mankind in this respect, would be an endless, if not altogether an impossible task; for-the functions of some organs having been vitiated, and the senses very much impaired-it requires great care lest we mistake the perverted for the original use, and thereby find "the light that is in" us to "be darkness." Nay, mankind now live in such an artificial state, that it would be almost impossible to dispense with many acquired habits; they have become, as it were, essential to their comfort and well-being all changes, therefore, should be adopted with caution, lest, by too sudden a return to nature, we inflict upon ourselves and the community a greater injury than we are endeavouring to cure. But as, without bodily health, physical strength, and mental vigour, man is rendered miserable, and incapable of securing to himself, that full amount of enjoyment and longevity which nature has placed within his reach, and qualified him for attaining; he should carefully note all such circumstances as exercise an immediate or indirect influence over the development of his organization, which is the foundation upon which the superstructure of all that is great, good, and desirable in human nature must be erected. To no subject, perhaps, do these observations more directly apply, than to that of human diet. Every latitude of the earth has its peculiar productions; and every division of society has its special and long-established modes of satisfying the hunger and thirst, which remind man of the changes incessantly taking place in the animal structure. In the warmer regions of our planet, vegetable substances chiefly constitute the nutriment of our race; some feasting on delicious fruits; others on food of a more farinaceous description, such as rice, sago, and maize, with a variety of other grains and roots. In temperate climes, man appears of a more omnivorous character; and, while indulging his appetite with a multiplicity of rich dishes from the vegetable world, he is still more luxurious in highly seasoned preparations from the flesh of almost every class and order of the animal kingdom. In the colder regions,-so unfavourable to the production of vegetable substances, as well as to human development, -man is under the necessity of resorting to an almost exclusively animal diet; so that the Esquimaux feeds with as great a relish upon train oil and sawdust, as the Wallachian does on fruit, or the Brahmin on rice; and to the Greenlander, the half-frozen, half-putrid flesh of the seal, is as choice a morceau, as a woodcock to an English gourmand. Thus, through the various climates of our globe, every variety of food-vegetable as well as animal-is compelled, in one shape or other, to supply nutriment to the human organism; yet health and long life seem limited to no particular district, nor confined to any precise kind of diet. We are not from this, however, |