The  interests  of  the  body  are  not  worth  considering ;  the
man  should  occupy  himself  with  those  of  the  soul — that  is,
the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  self-sufficiency,  and  virtue.
But  this  reasoning,  in  the  first  place,  convinces  very  few,
and,  in  the  second,  has  an  injurious  effect  upon  those
whom  it  convinces.  The  soul  and  body  are  inextricably
united.  It  is  of  no  practical  use  to  consider  them  apart ;
and  if  we  do  so,  it  is  clear  that  the  human  body  is  not  a
base  or  mean  thing,  but,  on  the  contrary,  one  of  the  most
noble  and  glorious  things  known.  Again,  if  it  is  to  be
made  subservient  to  the  soul,  experience  abundantly
shows  that  the  soul  does  not  advance  its  own  interests  by
maltreating  its  slave.  Discipline  and  coercion  may  some-

i2


ii6  ECCE  HOMO.
times  be  necessary,  but  the  soul  loses  its  tone  and  health
if  the  interests  of  the  body  are  not  consulted,  and  if  its
desires  are  not  in  a  moderate  degree  satisfied.  And
those  who  learn  from  these  reasoners  to  depreciate  the
body,  first  become  inhumanly  cold  to  natural  beauty  and
out  of  sympathy  with  the  material  universe,  and  secondly,
while  they  slight  their  own  bodily  comforts,  disregard
the  physical  well-being  of  their  neighbours,  and  become
unfeeling  and  cruel.
