The Farmer's Own Book: A treatise on the numerous diseases of the horse: with an explanation of their symptoms, and the course of treatment to be pursued; also a treatise on the diseases of horned cattleKoogle, J. D.
Science
The Farmer's Own Book: A treatise on the numerous diseases of the horse: with an explanation of their symptoms, and the course of treatment to be pursued; also a treatise on the diseases of horned cattle
Health is the great seasoner or relish of all our blessings; nor is it
possible to enjoy the latter except by means of the former: without
health what can we be? What can we do?--What can we enjoy? For other
things being equal, our capabilities of accomplishing and enjoying are
proportioned to our health and diminished by disease. If we possessed
all the wealth, and all the honors, and all the blessings mortals can
possess, we could enjoy them only in proportion as we had health, and
their value would be diminished just in proportion to its decline.
Suppose we were sick and our appetite thereby destroyed, the richest food
and most delicious fruits, instead of rendering us happy would nauseate
us. How different if we were healthy. How a good appetite, the produce
of health, would enjoy them. Well might the glutted alderman offer a
ragged boy a guinea for his appetite for breakfast. The rich invalid is
poor, but he who is healthy is rich, because his fund of life and his
capacities for enjoyment are proportionally great. Reader, if brought to
the brink of the grave, your last hour come, what would you give? What
that you possessed would you not give for another year of life and its
pleasures? Astor’s thirty millions would be cheap. To impair health in
obtaining any amount of earthly goods is a dear exchange, since then to
preserve or regain health is to preserve, prolong or regain life itself,
and to impair the former is to destroy the latter and its pleasures,
as well as hasten death; and since the value of life so infinitely
surpasses that of all other earthly blessings, what consummate folly to
trifle with health on any account. Then how much more foolish and even
wicked virtually to throw it away for nothing, in our eager pursuit
of those trifling objects, wealth, honors, and the like, which mainly
engrosses mankind? What, sacrifice life upon the altar of mammon? For be
it remembered, that no human being can impair his health at any period
of his life, without proportionally shortening his days; without being
brought to a strict account at the close of life, and he compelled to
end it as much sooner than he otherwise would, as he has injured his
health during his whole lifetime. Let me urge upon you the infinite
importance of preserving your health. This effectually done, millions
of money bestowed on each reader could not equally benefit you, because
of the incomparable greater value of health than money. Let your own
experience testify. Which of you has not, some time or some how, induced
debility or pain in one portion of your system or another, which will
cripple you for life. A foolish ambition breaks down the constitution of
an incalculable number of our youths, unwilling to be outdone they will
work at the top of their strength as long as they can stand, perhaps
over heat themselves, or in a single day or week bring on some complaint
which debilitates them for life, and carries them to a premature grave.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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