Lectures on the science of human life / by Sylvester Graham.

  • Sylvester Graham
Date:
1849
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lectures on the science of human life / by Sylvester Graham. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    PREFACE. but it must be studied, attentively, and perhaps at first with considerable labor, or few will be the wiser or the better for the time thev devote to it It is not possib e that such a work as this, which has required in ? fu °/^y y^- '0 P'-o'Ju^e it, tan be ful y comp.ehended from a single hasty peru- sal. even by a well disciplined and much improved mind ; and st. 1 less, by minds destitute of scientific education and habits of close and connected thinking. It is, perhaps, proper that I should explain in this place, a single point, in relation to my general subject concerning which there appears to have been much popular error of opinion. The idea has very fre- quently been advanced, that mv whole theory in relation to human diet, has been founded on the opinions of Pythagoras and others who have taught that man ought to subsist entirely on vegetable food But nothing is farther from the truth than this. I had, It is true, read Pyth-agoras and others who subsisted on vegetable food ; but the subject had never made the slightest impression on my mind; and nothing was more remote from my thoughts, when I commenced my labors as a public lecturer, than the idea that man ought to confine himself wholly to vegetable food. From the natural turn of my mind, 1 had from childhood been given very much t.) ob- servations and reflections and inquiries concerning- the anatomy and physiology of the human body (550) • but without any other object in view than the grati- facation of my thirst for knowledge, and particularly knowledge of first principles, and the relation of cause and effect. Being very early in life convinced by observation, of the mischievous eflfects of intoxicating drinks, I began while yet a lad to remonstrate with my companions and others against the use of them. This led me not only to ajiply what physiological know edge I possessed, but also, to improve that knowledge continualljr, in order to convince others of the correctness of my opinions. In June, 1830, I was prevailed on to become the general agent of the Pennsylvania State Society for the suppression of the use of Ardent Spirit. But withmymental constitution, It was impossible for me to be satisfied with mere de- clamation against drunkenness. I wished to give my hearers the reasons why they should not use intoxi- cating drinks. This led me'to apply my mind more exclusively and diligently than ever to the study of human physiology, and finally to animal and vege- getable physiology in general: but without proposing to myself any conclusion to which I could arrive, or even dreaming whither my pursuits would lead me. I was an honest and sincere inquirer after truth ; and willing to receive its teachings and follow where it led without waiting to see how it would afl'ect mv in- terests or my habits. In this manner I was led on, from step to step, in my purely physiological investigations, and was as much surprised at the discoveries which I made, as any have been at the conclusions to which I arrived. _ Having served the Pennsylvania Temperance So- ciety about six months, I resigned my agency, without any idea of continuing my labors as a public lecturer. Soon after my resignation, however, I was persuaded to give a course of my lectures on human physiology, diet, and general regimen, at the Franklin Institute m Philadelphia; and before I had completed this course, I received an urgent invitation from New Vork, to visit that city, and deliver my lectures there. In New York, I received pressing invitations from every quarter; and thus, most unexpectedly to me, have 1 beep kept industriously employed in this great field of labor, till the present time: and my public lecturing, though extremely arduous, has by no means been the severest part of my labor. Almost every hour of my life, during the whole time not necessarily appropriated to the wants of my na- ture—including many hours that others devote to employed in the most intense mental foi^^^h^^^ i, 'u^*'? «f there. 01 e, has neither been founded on, nor suggested by he opinions of others who have taught t^!t yegetll ble food IS the proper aliment of the human spefies , but my eye has been continually fixed on the living body, observing its vital phenomena, studyinir its vital properties and powers, and ascertaining its phv- siological laws : and wholly without the conscious, ness that any human being had ever advanced the Idea that man should confine himself to vegetable food ; and wholly without the purpose in my mind, of establishmg such a position ! But I was unex. pectedly and irresistibly brought to such a conclu- sion, purely by my physiological investigations. Vet when I had thus arrived at this conclusion, and began to look about me, and survey the history of man, 1 soon discerned that there were not wanting tacts, in the experience of the human family, to cor- roborate the conclusion to which I had been brought by my physiological investigations: and when I came to advance my opinions on the subject in pub- Jic immediately, on every hand, statements and facts and testimonies began to flow in upon me in abund- ance. Every one who heard me, and who had ever read or heard of anything which corresponded with my views, kindly communicated it to me. In this manner I have come in possession of nearly all the facts and authorities which I have employed in the Illustration or corroboration ol my principles ; but in no case have the principles been'drawn from these facts and authorities. And it is but just that I should add, that many of the authors which I have cited, I have not read, but have been indebted to the kindness of friends, who have read them for me, and furnished me with such extracts as they thought would be serviceable to me. In short, I must frankly acknow- ledge that I have had much less to do w'ith books than with living bodies, in all my physiological in- vestigations. I shall not therefore be surprised if men of general reading find that many opinions which I have advanced as peculiar to myself, have been ad- vanced by others, with whom I am unacquainted : for my mind has ever been much more given to observa- tion and reflection than to reading, and hence my knowledge of books is very limited. On the subject of anatomy, my attention has been more directed to the nervous system, than to other parts of the body ; and, therefore, though I have at- tended much to dissection and general anatomy, yet in preparing my work for the press, I have frequently felt the want of a more familiar acquaintance with the minute anatomy of ])articular parts, which I had before regarded as of comparatively little importance to physiology, but which I consider nece.«sary in mv printed work in order to render it complete. I am, therefore, not entirely certain of being perfectly ac- curate in every minute point of anatomy, but I trust that I have in no case made any great mistake ; and I am confident that I have made no mistake on anv important point. In regard to phrenology, I have perhaps said enough in the body of my work (532, et seq.), but I wish the zealous advocates of that theory distinctly to understand that I entertain no hostile feelings to- wards it. I have aimed not to misrepresent it; and if I have fallen into any mistakes in regard to it, I shall be glad to be corrected; and am ready to em- brace it as fully and as warmly as any of them, when I can be as fully convinced of its truth and import- ance as many of them appear to be. But ai present, I must honestly confess I have doubts on some points; albeit I am not far from a full conviction that, in the true science of intellectual and moral physiology, the