Our Duty to Nourish, Strengthen and Build up Strong Bodies.—Eradicating Inherited Infirmities.—Children Inherit the Permanent States of Their Parents.—The Parents’ Duty to Those Who are not Well Born.—What has Been Accomplished Along These Lines.—The Relation of Babies’ Clothing and Food to Physical Growth.—Unwise Feeding.—The Laws of Nutrition.—The Relation of Food to National Greatness.—The Danger of Overdressing.—Value of Sunshine and Air.—A list of Good Foods.—The Relation of Exercise to Appetite.—Comparative Value of Meat and Vegetables.—Importance of Rest and Sleep.—Regular Sleeping Hours.—Schools and Nervousness in Children.—Many Children are not Properly Nourished.—Food Poorly Prepared and Poorly Served.—The Importance of Hygienic Cooking.—The Cause of Weak Eyes in Children.—Children and Bare Feet.—The Dosing of Children With Nostrums.—The Use of Brandy and Wine in Cooking. I think it was Dr. J. G. Holland who said, “We derive our best lessons, not from what people say to us, but from what their words make us say to ourselves.” In the wide subject which the heading of this chapter opens, I can only hope to illustrate this truth. Perhaps by starting new lines of thought with some persons, and in others intensifying and making broader lines of thought already entered upon. Said good George Müller, “My soul I commit to the care of God, following His laws; but my body He has given into my hands, to care for, nourish, and strengthen, that I may build it up into His image.” Could we remember oftener that it was meant to be after His likeness, and the temple for His indwelling, we should be less careless of the trust committed to us. And again, were we the only sufferers from the lack of care and neglect of our bodies, it would matter less, but we are sowing seed that will spring up and bear fruit, “some thirty, some sixty and some an hundredfold,” in the generations to come; and what also of the incalculable harm from our influence upon those about us? Could we return to the old Spartan time when only the symmetrical, healthy and vigorous were allowed to marry and bear children, our task in body-building for the future would be less difficult; but we have the rubbish accumulated by the mistakes of the body-builders behind us, through the past ages, to clear away as best we can, before we can properly enter upon our present task. As it is, the problem resolves itself into this—to make the most of the material in hand, in rooting out the bad, and culturing the good.