B1017 <=> B1019 [BTG XLII Beelzebub in America, p. 1018]
“’According to the text of this manuscript, he then spoke as follows:
“’”I fully concur in all the evidence and arguments set forth here by our Brother in Christ, the philosopher Veggendiadi.
“’”I for my part will even add to all he has said, that to cut short other lives merely to stuff one’s own belly is an infamy of infamies such as only man is capable of.
“’”Had I not also been interested in this question for many years and had I not reached certain entirely different definite conclusions, then after all that our Brother in Christ Veggendiadi has said here, I should not hesitate a moment but should urge and conjure you all not to delay until tomorrow, but without looking behind to hasten back to your towns, and there in the public squares to cry aloud: ‘Stop! Stop! People! Consume no more meat for food! This practice of yours is not only contrary to all the commandments of God, but is the cause of all your diseases.’
“’”As you see, I do not do this now. And I do not do so only because during my long years of unremitting study of this question I have, as I have already told you, arrived at an entirely different definite conclusion.
“’”Concerning the definite conclusion at which I have arrived I can now tell you only this, that it will never happen on the Earth that all people will profess one and the same religion. Hence, in addition to our Christian religion, other religions will always exist. And it is not possible to be certain that the followers of these other religions will also abstain from consuming meat.
“’”But if we cannot now be certain that at some time or other all people on Earth will abstain from meat, then we must now, as regards the consumption of meat, take quite other more practical measures, because if one part of mankind consumes meat and the other part does not, then according to the results of my experimental investigations, the greatest of all evils – than which nothing could be worse – would befall the people who did not consume meat.