PREFACE
TO
THE FIRST EDITION.
The views advocated in the following pages differ so widely from those generally held by writers on dietetics, and are so diametrically opposed to the habits and customs of society in this country, that I am by no means sanguine of making many proselytes; but what will man not attempt, when fully convinced that he is laboring in the cause of truth? If perfectly satisfied that he has arrived at a correct and important result, opposition will only redouble his ardor in supporting and spreading the doctrine he has espoused. His steady perseverance in its defence will frequently expose him to the charge of enthusiasm or egotism; these, in fact, seem almost necessary to the man who would successfully advocate any new or not generally received opinion: every one is warm in what he considers a good cause; and he who observes the majority of society indifferent to the truth which he believes himself to possess, can scarcely avoid displaying the characteristics of the egotist.
By defending a fruit and farinaceous diet among my own friends, I have frequently incurred similar charges; I cannot, therefore, expect to be more leniently treated by literary and scientific critics. Perhaps, also, I may be accused of presumption, for daring to controvert points upon which physiologists are so generally agreed. It is very far from my wish to convey an impression that I place either my talents or acquirements on a par with those of the many learned and scientific discoverers who have written upon the subject, and whose views differ from my own: yet men of indifferent abilities have sometimes, by a steady and persevering attention to evidence, arrived at truths which have escaped the notice of more powerful intellects;
