Wisdom's Dictates
First edition title page | |
| Author | Thomas Tryon |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject |
|
| Genre | |
| Publisher | Thomas Salisbury |
| Publication date | 1691 |
| Publication place | Kingdom of England |
| Media type | |
| OCLC | 14561039 |
| Text | Wisdom's Dictates at University of Michigan Library |
Wisdom's Dictates, or, Aphorisms & Rules, Physical, Moral, and Divine, for Preserving the Health of the Body, and the Peace of the Mind[a] is a 1691 book by the English writer Thomas Tryon. It consists of aphorisms on health, morality, religion, temperance and abstinence, followed by a vegetarian "Bill of Fare" containing 75 dishes made without flesh or fish.
Background and publication
Thomas Tryon (1634–1703) was an advocate of vegetarianism, temperance and religiously grounded nonviolence.[2] Wisdom's Dictates was published in London by Thomas Salisbury in 1691.[1]
Contents
The main part of the book consists of aphorisms and rules described on the title page as "physical, moral, and divine". Its sections include advice on health and abstinence, temperance, the biblical story of Cain and Abel, human inventions, bread and other "clean foods", the dangers of fat foods, and foods described as easy, innocent and healthy.[1]
The final section, "A Bill of Fare", gives 75 vegetarian dishes that Tryon presented as alternatives to meals made from flesh or fish.[1] Tryon described the dishes in moral and religious terms as prepared without "Flesh and Blood" or the "Dying groans" of animals. He addressed the section to readers who wished to reject the custom of killing and eating fellow creatures.[1] The recipes include simple pottages made with vegetables.[3]
Reception and later discussion
The book has been discussed in connection with the history of vegetarianism.[4][5][6] The Vegetarian Resource Group states that the book encountered by Benjamin Franklin as a young printer's apprentice was probably Wisdom's Dictates, which it describes as a digest of Tryon's longer health writings.[5]
The book was included in Feast & Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500–1800, an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum. The museum described it as a guide to good living through a vegetarian diet, in which Tryon argued that a godly and healthy life could be lived without killing animals for food.[3]
See also
- The Way to Health – 1683 book by Thomas Tryon
- Christian vegetarianism
- Ethical vegetarianism
- History of vegetarianism
- Vegetarianism in the Romantic era
Notes
- ^ Full title: Wisdom's Dictates: Or, Aphorisms & Rules, Physical, Moral, and Divine; for Preserving the Health of the Body, and the Peace of the Mind, Fit to Be Regarded and Practised by All That Would Enjoy the Blessings of the Present and Future World. To Which Is Added, A Bill of Fare of Seventy-Five Noble Dishes of Excellent Food, Far Exceeding Those Made of Fish or Flesh, Which Banquet I Present to the Sons of Wisdom, or Such as Shall Decline That Depraved Custom of Eating Flesh and Blood[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Wisdom's dictates, or, Aphorisms & rules, physical, moral, and divine, for preserving the health of the body, and the peace of the mind ... to which is added a bill of fare of seventy five noble dishes of excellent food, for exceeding those made of fish or flesh ... / by Tho. Tryon". Early English Books Online. University of Michigan Library. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ Smith, Virginia (23 September 2004). "Tryon, Thomas (1634–1703), vegetarian and author". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27783. Retrieved 21 March 2021. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b "Thomas Tryon, Wisdom's dictates". Feast & Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500–1800. Fitzwilliam Museum. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ Proctor, Tammy (2 July 2024). "Eating the Past: Thomas Tryon 'Wisdom Dictates' cookbook". Utah Public Radio. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ^ a b Kaiser, Larry. "What Benjamin Franklin Really Said About Vegetarianism". Vegetarian Resource Group. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ "History of Vegetarianism - Thomas Tryon (1634-1703)". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
External links
- Wisdom's Dictates at the Internet Archive
- Wisdom's Dictates at Google Books
- Wisdom's Dictates (ebook) at the University of Michigan Library