VIII. For Nietzsche's theory, see his Beyond
Good and Evil. There are many excellent replies; a brief but adequate
one will be found in Perry, op. cit, chap. I.
PART III
PERSONAL MORALITY
CHAPTER XV
HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY
With the general nature and justification of morality in our minds,
we may now seek to apply our criteria of conduct to the concrete
problems that confront us, first taking up those problems which,
however important their social bearings, are primarily problems of
private life, problems for the individual to settle, and then turning
to those wider problems which the community as a whole must
grapple with and solve by public action.
Bodily health is the foundation of personal morality; to act at all
there must be physical energy available; and, other things equal,
the man with the greatest store of vitality will live the happiest and
most useful life. Christianity has too often forgotten this fundamental
truth, which needs emphasis at the very outset of our concrete studies
in morality.
What is the moral importance of health?
(1) Health is in itself a great contribution to the intrinsic worth
of life. To awake in the morning with red blood stirring in the veins,
to come to the table with hearty appetite, to go about the day's work
with the springing step of abounding energy, and to reach the close
of day with that healthy fatigue that quiets restless desire and betokens
the blessed boon of sound and dreamless sleep-this is to be a long
way on the road to contentment.
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