{"id":23999,"date":"2014-08-30T00:01:36","date_gmt":"2014-08-30T05:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=23999"},"modified":"2014-08-29T15:58:15","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T20:58:15","slug":"qotd-we-are-slaves-to-our-stomachs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2014\/08\/30\/qotd-we-are-slaves-to-our-stomachs\/","title":{"rendered":"QotD: We are slaves to our stomachs"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>How good one feels when one is full \u2014 how satisfied with ourselves and with the world! People who have tried it, tell me that a clear conscience makes you very happy and contented; but a full stomach does the business quite as well, and is cheaper, and more easily obtained. One feels so forgiving and generous after a substantial and well-digested meal \u2014 so noble-minded, so kindly-hearted.<\/p>\n<p>It is very strange, this domination of our intellect by our digestive organs. We cannot work, we cannot think, unless our stomach wills so. It dictates to us our emotions, our passions. After eggs and bacon, it says, \u201cWork!\u201d After beefsteak and porter, it says, \u201cSleep!\u201d After a cup of tea (two spoonsful for each cup, and don\u2019t let it stand more than three minutes), it says to the brain, \u201cNow, rise, and show your strength. Be eloquent, and deep, and tender; see, with a clear eye, into Nature and into life; spread your white wings of quivering thought, and soar, a god-like spirit, over the whirling world beneath you, up through long lanes of flaming stars to the gates of eternity!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After hot muffins, it says, \u201cBe dull and soulless, like a beast of the field \u2014 a brainless animal, with listless eye, unlit by any ray of fancy, or of hope, or fear, or love, or life.\u201d And after brandy, taken in sufficient quantity, it says, \u201cNow, come, fool, grin and tumble, that your fellow-men may laugh \u2014 drivel in folly, and splutter in senseless sounds, and show what a helpless ninny is poor man whose wit and will are drowned, like kittens, side by side, in half an inch of alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We are but the veriest, sorriest slaves of our stomach. Reach not after morality and righteousness, my friends; watch vigilantly your stomach, and diet it with care and judgment. Then virtue and contentment will come and reign within your heart, unsought by any effort of your own; and you will be a good citizen, a loving husband, and a tender father \u2014 a noble, pious man.<\/p>\n<p>Jerome K. Jerome, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/308\/308-h\/308-h.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog)<\/em><\/a>, 1889.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How good one feels when one is full \u2014 how satisfied with ourselves and with the world! People who have tried it, tell me that a clear conscience makes you very happy and contented; but a full stomach does the business quite as well, and is cheaper, and more easily obtained. One feels so forgiving [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,66,57,41],"tags":[104,948],"class_list":["post-23999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food","category-health-science","category-humour","category-quotations","tag-booze","tag-jkjerome"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2hpV6-6f5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23999"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27607,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23999\/revisions\/27607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}