Lectures on the Science of Human Life (1839)

AUTHOR: Graham, Sylvester

In the two volumes of Lectures on the Science of Human Life, Graham expounds in great detail the principles, composition, and practical effects of his system. He is keen to note that he did not initially rely on others' arguments for veg*ism, but instead arrived at it purely as the result of his own scientific observations and “physiological investigations” (1: vii). The two volumes are divided into numbered paragraphs, which Graham frequently cross-references for easier navigation. The first volume presents Graham's convictions about what it means to be human, and how the human and the human body relate to other beings and bodies, the world at large, and God. It is in the second volume that he turns to his dietetic system, however, in the first volume, Graham mentions that “[i]mproper kinds and conditions of food, gluttony, lewdness, sensuality of every kind … impair the general health of the body” (1: 301), “that almost every animal which is fatted and killed for human food, is actually in a state of disease when butchered” (1: 341), and that “[c]hildren whose food for a considerable time, consists of superfine flour bread and other concentrated substances, such as sugar, butter, &c. generally become weak and sickly” (1: 546-547).

The second volume demonstrates that simple, plain, natural food is the best, that human anatomy and physiology favor a vegetable diet, that the latter helps both prevent and cure all kinds of disease, and that it fosters both our intellectual and moral faculties. Graham also dwells on what kinds of food to eat when and in what quantity, and how best to prepare it. He claims that “[f]ruits, nuts, farinaceous seeds and roots, with perhaps some milk and … honey” were the food of “the first generations of mankind” (2: 27), and human anatomy indeed suggests that this food is the proper nutrition for humans. Having discussed the constitution and properties of human teeth, the digestive apparatus, and so on, Graham concludes that it is “perfectly certain that the whole evidence of comparative anatomy, when correctly apprehended and accurately estimated, goes to prove determinately that man is naturally a frugivorous animal” (2: 70) and that “[a]nimal food or flesh-meat […] is not so conducive as a proper vegetable diet, to healthfulness of growth – perfectness of development – symmetry – beauty – agility – permanent strength – uniformity of health – and great longevity of the human body; nor to the acuteness and integrity of the special senses, and the activity and power of the intellectual and moral faculties” (2: 116). Similarly, in the case of physiology: “All other things being equal, it is entirely certain that, as a permanent fact extending from generation to generation, pure, well-chosen vegetable food will better sustain the human constitution in all its powers, and more healthfully and symmetrically develop the body, than a diet consisting of any portion of flesh-meat” (2: 169).

Veg*ism is thus conducive to preventing and curing diseases and to a much healthier life in general, including mental health, “as  flesh is always of a more stimulating and heating nature, causes a more rapid pulse, (§919) a hotter skin, – hastens all the vital functions of the body, (§924) causes a greater exhaustion of the vital powers of the organs, and wears out the human constitution considerably faster than a proper vegetable diet” (2: 269). For similar reasons, “flesh-meat" is also “less friendly to intellectual vigor and activity than vegetable food” (2: 301). The same applies with respect to morality: animal food augments “the energy of the more exclusively selfish propensities and the violence of the more turbulent, ferocious and mischievous passions” (2: 353) while diminishing “the delicate power of the understanding to perceive moral and religious truth” (2: 356).

The remainder of the volume is devoted to discussing the best kinds of vegetable food, including the proper kind and preparation of bread, the kinds of animal food most conducive to health if there is no other option, the best time to eat and the frequency of meals, the detrimental effects of stimulants like alcohol, tea, coffee, tobacco, and condiments. There is also a chapter on the quantity and quality of sleep, bathing and clothing, and the importance of physical exercise. Graham argues against the use of feather beds as they are made of “dead animal matter” and, among other things, facilitate “dyspepsy” and “pulmonary diseases of every description” (2: 627, 626). Graham is adamant that “MAN IS NATURALLY A FRUGIVOROUS AND GRANIVOROUS, OR A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE-EATING ANIMAL” (356).

Last updated on September 20th, 2024

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