The servants of the stomach / by Jean Macé.

  • Jean Macé
Date:
1868
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The servants of the stomach / by Jean Macé. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    you, viz., how this little body, which you have in common with the animals, exists ; and though I love you with all my heart, I can see in you during our lesson nothing but a little animal. The first duty, or, rather, let us say, the first necessity of the animal, is to satisfy this imperious master who nourishes the whole, but only on condition that the whole works for him. Yes, your sub¬ jects are his servants, because you yourself are his servant, and you rule for his benefit. What I say here is of the animal. Happy those upon whom it devolves to teach you the duties, to awaken you to a sense of the necessities of another life, of a life superior to that of the animal ! These have the greatest, the easiest, and the most interesting task. They will teach you that all these organs which we are going to pass under review, were not given to you only to be servants of your stom¬ ach, and that, without quitting the great question of nourishment, your hands, for instance, were also made to give as well as to take it, your legs to carry it where it was wanting, as well as to carry you where the nour¬ ishment is to be found. We have, thank God, relations with other objects as well as with alimentary substances, and the organs whose duty it is to accomplish the acts * of the life of relation do not confine their services en¬ tirely to the stomach. Some children might ask why these organs are called their servants, seeing that break¬ fast, luncheon, dinner, and supper follow one another regularly every day, without any apparent labor on the part of their organs. They arc, let me remark, in pass¬ ing, better able than others to employ these organs on something nobler, such as self-improvement, making themselves useful to their parents, in giving pleasure to one another, etc., etc. I must nevertheless assure you that the organs carry on their first duty though it may
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