The inferences which it seems to me we ought to make from this are, that if other animals require clothing, and even a change of clothing, so does man; and that as the Creator has left him to provide, by his own ingenuity, for a great many of his wants, instead of furnishing him with instinct to direct him, so in relation to dress.  And even if it could be proved that dress were naturally unnecessary, with reference to temperature, I should still defend its use on other principles.  The few speculative minds, therefore, that in the vagaries of their fancy, but never in their practice, reject it, are not to be regarded.

The principle laid down in the commencement of the chapter on Temperature, is the great principle which should guide us in regard to dress.  But although we should always keep a little too cool rather than a little too warm, it is by no means desirable to be cold.  Any degree of chilliness, long continued, interrupts the functions which the skin ought to perform, and thus produces mischief.

The same rules, in this respect, apply to eating, as well as to dress.  It is better to eat a little less than nature requires, than a little more.  It is a generally received opinion, however, that mankind frequently, at least in this country, eat about twice as much as health requires.  This is owing to habit; and perhaps the power of the latter is as great in this respect as in regard to dress.

The great point in regard to food or dress is, to begin right, and, observing what nature requires—­studying at the same time the testimony of others—­to endeavor to keep within the bounds she has assigned.  It has already been more than intimated, that if the nursery be kept in a proper temperature, a single loose piece of dress is, for some time, all that is required.  In pursuance of this principle, through life, I believe few persons would be found who would need more at one time than a single suit of woollen clothes, even in the severest winters of our northern climate.

I have always observed that they who wear the greatest amount of clothing, are most subject to colds.  There are obvious reasons why it should be so.  This, then, if a fact, is one of the strongest reasons in favor of acquiring a habit of going as thinly clad as we possibly can, and not at the same time feel any inconvenience.

But after all, whether it be winter or summer, we must vary our clothing with the variations of the weather, as indicated by the thermometer, and our own feelings.  Sometimes, in our ever-changing and ever-changeable climate, it may be necessary to vary our dress three or four times a day.  Some cry out against this practice as dangerous, but I have never found it so.  I have known persons who made it a constant practice; and I never found that they sustained any injury from it, except the loss of a little time; and the increase of comfort was more than enough to compensate for that.  There is one thing to be avoided, however, whether we change our clothing—­our linen especially—­twice a day, or only twice a week—­which is, dampness.