No doubt, however, though the rule not to eat or drink too much is simple enough in theory, it is not quite so easy in application. There have been many Esaus who sold their birthright of health for a mess of pottage. Moreover, it may seem paradoxical, but it is certainly true, that in the long run the moderate man will derive more enjoyment even from eating and drinking, than the glutton or the drunkard will ever obtain. They know not what it is to enjoy "the exquisite taste of common dry bread." [2] And yet even if we were to consider merely the pleasure to be derived from eating and drinking, the same rule would hold good. A lunch of bread and cheese after a good walk is more enjoyable than a Lord Mayor's feast. Without wishing, like Apicius, for the neck of a stork, so that he might enjoy his dinner longer, we must not be ungrateful for the enjoyment we derive from eating and drinking, even though they be amongst the least aesthetic of our pleasures. They are homely, no doubt, but they come morning, noon, and night, and are not the less real because they have reference to the body rather than the soul. We speak truly of a healthy appetite, for it is a good test of our bodily condition; and indeed in some cases of our mental state also. That "There cometh no good thing Apart from toil to mortals," is especially true with reference to appetite; to sit down to a dinner, however simple, after a walk with a friend among the mountains or along the shore, is no insignificant pleasure. Cheerfulness and good humor, moreover, during meals are not only pleasant in themselves, but conduce greatly to health. It has been said that hunger is the best sauce, but most would prefer some good stories at a feast even to a good appetite; and who would not like to have it said of him, as of Biron by Rosaline-- "A merrier man Within the limit of becoming mirth I never spent an hour's talk withal." In the three great "Banquets" of Plato, Xenophon, and Plutarch, the food is not even mentioned. In the words of the old Lambeth adage-- "What is a merry man? Let him do what he can To entertain his guests With wine and pleasant jests, Yet if his wife do frown All merryment goes down." What salt is to food, wit and humor are to conversation and literature. "You do not," an amusing writer in the _Cornhill_ has said, "expect humor in Thomas à Kempis or Hebrew Prophets;" but we have Solomon's authority that there is a time to laugh, as well as to weep. "To read a good comedy is to keep the best company in the world, when the best things are said, and the most amusing things happen." [3] It is not without reason that every one resents the imputation of being unable to see a joke. Laughter appears to be the special prerogative of man. The higher animals present us with proof of evident, if not highly developed reasoning power, but it is more than doubtful whether they are capable of appreciating a joke.