Literary Lapses by Stephen Leacock
page 34 of 192 (17%)
page 34 of 192 (17%)
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scared of them. That's all. That's the whole thing, and
if you once get on to that you never need to worry again. If you see a bacilli, walk right up to it, and look it in the eye. If one flies into your room, strike at it with your hat or with a towel. Hit it as hard as you can between the neck and the thorax. It will soon get sick of that. But as a matter of fact, a bacilli is perfectly quiet and harmless if you are not afraid of it. Speak to it. Call out to it to "lie down." It will understand. I had a bacilli once, called Fido, that would come and lie at my feet while I was working. I never knew a more affectionate companion, and when it was run over by an automobile, I buried it in the garden with genuine sorrow. (I admit this is an exaggeration. I don't really remember its name; it may have been Robert.) Understand that it is only a fad of modern medicine to say that cholera and typhoid and diphtheria are caused by bacilli and germs; nonsense. Cholera is caused by a frightful pain in the stomach, and diphtheria is caused by trying to cure a sore throat. Now take the question of food. Eat what you want. Eat lots of it. Yes, eat too much of it. Eat till you can just stagger across the room with |
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