living on a stimulating dietary consisting largely of flesh have their
chief successes in feats of short duration. Simple and abstemious living
individuals or races excel in laborious work requiring endurance over long
periods, such as long walking, cycling, and other athletic feats and long
military campaigns.

The digestive and assimilative organs need the food constituents of which
we have written, in proper proportion and quantity, and in a fairly
digestible condition. Within these very wide and comprehensive limits, the
organs can be trained. Very much of the great difference in food is due to
the non-essential flavouring and stimulating part, rather than to that
part which is essential and nourishing. What is the best, interests but
few; whilst what is at present the pleasantest, influences the many. The
ego, the superphysical conscious and reasoning entity should rule its
material body, its temporary vehicle. The body, being the servant of the
ego, just as a horse, dog, or other of the lower animals recognises its
master, becomes a docile subject. The body can be led into good habits
nearly as easily as into bad ones; often more easily, as bad habits are
sometimes painfully acquired. The body being once habituated to certain
movements, conditions, foods or drinks, within reasonable limits, derives
pleasure therefrom and resists change. It is only when the food, etc.,
transgresses certain elementary principles, that the result is more or
less painful. We may on scientific principles condemn flesh-foods,
stimulants and elaborately prepared foods; but after ruling all this out,
there is still left a very great variety of foods and methods of preparing
them: hereon each individual must form his own opinion. Of the foods thus
left, the same kind is not equally suitable to everyone, nor even to the
same person at different periods.

A delicately balanced, fine-grained, high-toned mind and body responds to