Of these foods the most useful are those which can be used at once without fire, since they are also most easily available; for example fruits in season, some of the green vegetables, milk, cheese, and honey. Also those which require fire for their preparation, whether grains or vegetables, are not unsuitable, and are all natural food for man.
On the other hand he showed that meat was a less civilized kind of food and more appropriate for wild animals. He held that it was a heavy food and an obstacle to thinking and reasoning, since the exhalations rising from it being turbid darkened the soul. For this reason also the people who make larger use of it seem slower in intellect.
I will gladly defer to those far wiser than myself on the proportion of different foodstuffs, or the merits of cooked versus uncooked foods, or the contemporary debates on the balance of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. That is a whole discussion that must surely begin with a philosophical foundation, but must also go far beyond it in considering the biological particulars of nutrition. Both components are required.
Through all of this, Musonius is simply arguing that a suitability for the health of both body and mind, along with a simplicity of availability and preparation, are the ideals we should pursue. Nature demands what is moderate and sufficient, never what is excessive or extraneous.
I have heard many arguments, for example, that man was designed to be an omnivore, and a few that he was designed to be an herbivore, and I can honestly not speak with authority on any of them.
How much meat should we eat, or should we be avoiding it entirely? I’m not sure, but I am always careful not to confuse preferences with principles. What I do know, however, is that most of us who have the means seem to eat far more meat than is good for us, to the point where our diets become terribly imbalanced. We do so for the pleasure, not for the necessity, and this is a surely a reflection of the problem Musonius describes.
Few things are as satisfying to me as a fine cut of rare steak, and I will be the first to admit that it is to follow my passions, not just to feed myself. Yes, there might be a time for such things, in proper measure, and yet I find that my body, and hence also my mind, are crisper and clearer when I consume more fresh fruits and vegetables, or I fulfill my urge for more substance with some unprocessed bread and cheese.
The imagery of the dark and heavy vapors emanating from meats sounds rather strange to us, but it actually speaks a profound truth. A meal that is too rich drags me down, making both my limbs weak and my thoughts sluggish.
I am prone to both eating too much, and to eating all the wrong things. The sight of me after a full order of General Gao’s chicken and a side of egg rolls is deeply unpleasant, almost as bad as the sight of me after a fifth of whiskey.
Though as a child I once ate too many unripe peaches, to disastrous effect, I have rarely found myself in a physically or mentally comatose state from eating a fair amount of fresh produce.
Written in 5/2000
IMAGE: Floris van Schooten, Fruit, Bread, and a Goblet on a Table (c. 1635)
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