TX392 “Je n'ai pas la témérité de prétendre réformer le genre humain, mais asfez de courage pour dire la vérité, fans me foucier des criailleries de ceux qui la redoutent, parce qu'ils ont intérêt de tromper notre espèce, ou de la laisfer dans des erreurs dont ils font eux-mêmes les dupes." Diderot, Code de la Nature. "It is an unpopular attempt to attack prejudiceës establish'd by time and habit, and fecure'd by the corruptions of luxurious life. It is equally unpleasant to attempt the reformation of abufees, w thout the least profpect of fuccefs: yet there is a fecret pleasure in pleading the cause of humanity and helpless innocence." Doctor Gregorys Comparative view. YRAMLI CHAP. II. Animal food not natural to man. CHAP. III. Animal food not necessary for the purpose of strength or corpulency. CHAP. IV. Animal food the cause of cru- CHAP. VI. Human flesh the confequence of CHAP. VII. Animal food pernicious. 146 148 fifting entirely on vegetable food. ABSTINENCE FROM ANIMAL FOOD. СНАР. І. OF MAN HESIOD, the Grecian poet, if not the most ancient of all writeers whofe works are preferve'd, is, unquestionablely, the next to Homer, whom, however, he is generally thought to have precedeed.* He flourish'd about 945 years before the commencement of the christian aera; * It may be infer'd, perhap, from the Theogony of Hefiod, that he was wel acquainted with the writeings of Homer; fince he mentions the names of Peleus, Thetis, Anchifes, Aeneas, Circe, Ulysfes, and Calypfo; imaginary deitys or heros, which, in all probability, made their first appearance in the Iliad or Odysfey, According to Aulus Gellius, "writeërs are not agree'd concerning the agees of Homer and Hefiod. Some affirm, that Homer was more ancient than Hesiod, among whom are Philochorus and Xene B and fays, concerning the origin of man, a fubject not touch'd upon by Homer, "Soon as the deathlefs gods were born, and man, The heavenly powers from high their work behold, Ocellus Lucanus, a Greek philofopher, nearly of the time of, if not contemporary with, Pythagoras, and, peradventure, his pupil, or of that school,† wrote a treatise, ftil extant, and frequently phanes; others think him younger, as L. Accius, the poet, and Ephorus, the historian: but Marcus Varro, in his first book de imaginibus, fays, "It is by no means evident which was the more ancient; but there can be no doubt but that they live'd partly in the fame period, which appears from an epigram infcribe'd on a tripod, which is fay'd to have been depofited by Hefiod on mount Helicon. Accius, in the first of his Didascalicks, ufees fome trite arguments to prove that Hefiod was the older." Homer," fays he, "whileft in the begining of his poem he asferts that Achilles was the son of Peleus, has not aded who Peleus was, which he doubtless would have done, if it had not appear'd to have been allready mention'd by Hefiod: of the Cyclops," allfo, he ads, " and particularly that he had but one eye, he would not have pass'd over fo remarkable a thing, if it had not been allready declare'd in the verfees of Hefiod." (B. 3, C. 11.) * Works and days, B. 1. The Theogony, or generation of the gods, is a different poem. At any rate he is mention'd by Plato and Diogenes Laërtius. |