THE
SOURCES OF HEALTH
AND
THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE;
OR,
MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HYGIENE.
BY
JOHN A. TARBELL, M.D.
MEMBER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY AND OF THE HOM(EOPATHIC
NATIONAL INSTITUTE.
BOSTON:
OTIS CLAPP, 23, SCHOOL STREET.
NEW YORK: WM. RADDE.
1850.



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by
OTIS CLAPP,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
BOSTON:
PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON,
No. 21, School-street.



CONTENTS.
CIHAPTER.                                       PAGE.
I. ON FOOD........  3
II. ON DRINK....                     36
III. ON AIR.........  64
IV. ON EXERCISE.......  80
V. ON BATHING..... 93
VI. ON CLOTHING....  104
VII. ON SLEEP........ 109
VIII. ON OCCUPATIONS.....           114
IX. ON DRUGS..... 122
X. ON MENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE.               136
XI. ON INVISIBLE INFLUENCES AFFECTING HEALTH. 144
XII. ON IIOMCEOPATHY....               152



PREFACE.
WHILE publications without number have issued from
the press, inculcating various modes of alleviating the
sufferings of the sick, - while opposing systems of practical medicine, based upon fallacious theories, count their
editorial advocates by thousands, few comparatively have
been the works treating of preventive measures best calculated to counteract the manifold causes which give rise to
disease. A proper understanding of the nature of those
causes, and of their action upon mental and physical
health, will tend materially to lessen the chances of illness, and to improve the condition of all classes. The
study of Anatomy, which has recently been, to some
extent, introduced as a branch of elementary education,
is of far less importance than the extension of knowledge
respecting those influences, affecting human health, with
which all are necessarily and continually brought into
contact.
The object of the present work is to acquaint the reader
with the character of those agents which exert an injurious
1



2                    PREFACE.
influence upon health, and to afford instruction regarding
means of adoption most practicable for the successful
resistance of such evil agents. The views of Hahnemann
in this particular will be in an especial manner regarded.
No believer in his doctrine can be insensible to the importance of attending even to the minutiae of matters
modifying health and involving life.
The Author proffers claims to but little originality, and
is far from presuming that the limited views herein offered
do full justice to the important subject of Hygiene. But
the laborers have been extremely few in such a vast field;
and even this feeble attempt to aid in the removal of those
physical obstructions which impede the development of
man's spiritual nature would not have been made, but in
the hope of inducing writers of more ability to pursue the
like path.



THE SOURCES OF HEALTH,
THE most important of those morbific influences
which constantly tend, especially in civilized life, to
the deterioration of health, are Indigestible Food,
Artificial Drinks, Vitiated Air, and Sedentary Habits.
These several subjects will be treated of under their
respective heads; and attention will be afterwards
directed to the various agents which have a less immediate but still most influential bearing upon the
physical well-being of mankind.
CHAPTER I.
ON FOOD.
A GENERAL description of the digestive and assimilative processes by which aliment becomes incorporated with the system for the support of life,
although more strictly physiological than hygienic,
will not be an inappropriate introduction to the subject under consideration.



FOOD.                     5
latter is distributed, with its nutritious particles, to
every portion of the frame, - thus ever engaged in
repairing the losses which are ever occurring. The
residue of the material, that which may have been
undigested, or which cannot be converted into nourishment, passes down the canal, or rather through
it, - since the intestine is so involuted as, in one
portion, to have an upward direction, - and is thrown
out of the system as useless.
Now, there exists a great difference in the nature
of alimentary substances with regard to their conversion into that fluid which sustains life.  Many, by
their indigestible properties, cannot be transformed
with facility into " chyme." Oily, tendinous, and
cartilaginous food tax the powers of digestion more
than fibrinous and glutinous substances.   Some
articles, such as skins of fruit, the stones, seeds, &c.
which imprudent persons are often pleased to force
down their throats, continue unaltered and of course
unassimilated, ultimately rejected as foreign substances, or accumulating in the intestinal canal, to
inflict uneasiness and distress, until removed by the
violent action of deleterious purgatives. It is evident
that every thing received into the stomach, which
disturbs the powers of digestion, and does not contribute to the production of healthy chyle, must be
more or less injurious. All crude, medicinal substances, independent of their positively poisonous
qualities, interfere with salutary digestive action, and



6                    FOOD.
invariably derange the secretions. Yet one would
suppose, from the avidity and frequency with which
many would-be invalids swallow the nauseous pre.
parations of the druggists, that they labored under
the delusion that medicines were nutritious.
It must not be inferred, however, that every description of food not easily digestible, is, on that
account, innutritious. On the contrary, a quantity of
fat meat affords nearly four times as much nutriment
as the same amount of lean meat, although the former
is with much greater difficulty digested; in fact, undergoes but little, if any, alteration in the stomach.
After it has moved thence, it must mix with the
alkali of the bile, before it is in a fit state to impart
nourishment.
In this connection, it may be proper to advert to
the prevalent but entirely erroneous opinion, that
bile is frequently present in large quantities in the
stomach, and that its existence there is the cause of
much indisposition. Bile is a secretion of the liver;
and the duct conveying it from that organ, to act
upon the chyme, enters the alimentary canal some
inches below the lower orifice of the stomach. It
there performs its object, passing down with the
digested mass, which is propelled by a vermicular
movement of the intestines, and cannot enter the
stomach except by a strong inverted action. A portion may, it is true, be forced into the stomach in
this manner, when some unconcocted substance



FOOD.                   7
therein is demanding all the activity of digestion.
But, if there, it should be suffered to remain. The
pernicious agency of emetics is not confined to
the simple removal, by a most unnatural mode of
exit, of that which is needed to facilitate digestion,
perhaps in an emergency, but augments the supposed evil by stimulating the intestine to increased
inverted action, thereby compelling a greater flow
of bile into the stomach, when it is required elsewhere. Again, the absurd practice of endeavoring
to remove an imagined accumulation of bile by purgatives, particularly by that most injurious of all
substances which can enter the human system, viz.
calomel, cannot be too strongly reprobated. It is the
very extreme of folly to attempt the regulation of
the bilious secretion by such medicines.   They
more frequently originate the very condition which
they are expected to remove. The extent of positive
mischief resulting from the use of " bilious pills," and
other like preparations recommended by educated
and uneducated empirics, is incalculable. When men
will consent to the exercise of a reasonable degree
of self-denial in the indulgence of appetite, and devote some little attention to the study of the laws of
health, there will be reason to expect, even among the
desperate advocates of A llceopathic doses, that the custom of such wholesale drugging will be abandoned.
An excellent opportunity of ascertaining the comparative digestibility of individual articles of food by



8                  FOOD.
actual observation, occurred in the year 1822. A
young Canadian received by accident a gun-shot
wound in the left side, which penetrated the stomach.
The attending surgeon, Dr. Beaumont of the army,
thus describes this remarkable case:
" The charge, consisting of powder and duck-shot,
was received in the left side, blowing off the integuments to the size of a man's hand, breaking some of
the ribs, lacerating the lower portion of the left lung,
and penetrating the stomach.  On the fifth day,
sloughing took place; portions of the lung, bones, and
stomach separated, leaving an opening in the latter
large enough to admit the whole length of the finger
into its cavity; and also a passage into the chest half
as large as his fist. After one year the wound closed,
leaving the orifice into the stomach, which remained
open two and a half inches in circumference. For
some months the food could be retained only by
wearing a compress; but finally a small fold of the
villous coat of the stomach began to appear, which
gradually increased till it filled the aperture, and
acted as a valve, so as completely to prevent any
efflux from within, but to admit of being easily
pushed back by the finger from without."
Taking every advantage of the chance thus offered,
which never happened before and may never happen
again, of becoming intimately acquainted with the
progress of digestion, Dr. Beaumont experimented
perseveringly and unobstructedly for several months,



FOOD.                        9
and the following were the inferences drawn by him
from minute and most accurate observation, viz.:1. That hunger is the effect of a distension of the vessels that secrete the gastric juice.
2. That the process of mastication, insalivation, and
deglutition, in an abstract point of view, do not in any
way affect the digestion of the food; or, in other words,
when food is introduced directly into the stomach in a
finely divided state, without these previous steps, it is as
readily and as perfectly digested as when they have been
taken.
3. That saliva does not possess the properties of an
alimentary solvent.
4. That the agent of chymification is the gastric juice.
5. That the pure gastric juice is fluid, clear and transparent; without odor, a little salt, and perceptibly acid.
6. That it contains free muriatic acid, and some other
active chemical principles.
7. That it is never foundfree in the gastric cavity, but
is always excited to discharge itself by the introduction
of food or other irritants.
8. That it is secreted from vessels distinct from  the
mucous follicles.
9. That it is seldom obtained pure, but is generally
nmixed with mucus and sometimes saliva. When pure, it
is capable of being kept for months, and perhaps for
years.
10. That it coagulates albumen, and afterward dissolves the coagulum.
11. That it checks the progress of putrefaction.



10                      FOOD.
12. That it acts as a solvent of food, and alters its
properties.
13. That, like other chemical agents, it commences its
action on food as soon as it comes in contact with it.
14. That it is capable of combining with a certain and
fixed quantity of food; and, when more aliment is presented for its action than it will dissolve, disturbance of
the stomach or "indigestion" will ensue.
15. That its action is facilitated by the warmth and
motion of the stomach.
16. That it becomes intimately mixed and blended with
the ingestae in the stomach by the motions of that organ.
17. That it is invariably the same substance, modified
only by admixture with other fluids.
18. That the motions of the stomach produce a constant churning of its contents, and admixture of food and
gastric juice.
19. That these motions are in two directions, transversely and longitudinally.
20. That no other fluid produces the same effect on
food that gastric juice does, and that it is the only solvent
of aliment.
21. That the action of the stomach and its fluids is the
same on all kinds of diet.
22. That solid food, of a certain texture, is easier of
digestion than fluid.
23. That animal and farinaceous aliments are more
easy of digestion than vegetable.
24. That the susceptibility of digestion does not, however, depend altogether upon natural or chemical distinctions.



FOOD.                       11
25. That digestion is facilitated by minuteness of division and tenderness of fibre, and retarded by opposite
qualities.
26. That the ultimate principles of aliment are always
the same, from whatever food they may be obtained.
27. That chyme is homogeneous, but variable in its
color and consistence.
28. That, toward the latter stages of chymification, it
becomes more acid and stimulating, and passes more
rapidly from the stomach.
29. That the inner coat of the stomach is of a pale
pink color, varying in its hues according to its full or
empty state.
30. That, in health, it is sheathed with mucus.
31. That the appearance of the interior of the stomach
in disease is essentially different from that of its healthy
state.
32. That stimulating condiments are injurious to the
healthy stomach.
33. That the use of ardent spirits always produces
disease of the stomach, if persevered in.
34. That water, ardent spirits, and most other fluids,
are not affected by the gastric juice, but pass from the
stomach soon after they have been received.
35. That the quantity of food generally taken is more
than the wants of the system require; and that such
excess, if persevered in, generally produces, not only
functional aberration, but disease of the coats of the
stomach.
36. That bulk as well as nutriment is necessary to the
articles of diet.



FOOD.                 17
food to the requirements of the human system,
modern researches in organic chemistry furnish interesting particulars as to the influence of temperature. According to Liebig, in respiration the lungs
receive a greater quantity of oxygen in cold than in
warm climates. A corresponding amount of carbon
contained in food is required to unite with the oxygen, in order that a certain degree of animal heat
should be kept up, and a proper balance between
the loss and supply of materials preserved. Active
exercise also, by accelerating respiration, augments
the amount of air, and consequently of oxygen,
which is inhaled.  From food the system obtains
carbon; and a portion of this carbon meets, through
the medium of the lungs, with the oxygen supplied
by the atmosphere, and a portion is thrown out in
the form of carbonic acid.  The carbon, together
with a certain amount of hydrogen, constantly
exhausted in this manner, must be as constantly
replaced by equal quantities supplied in the food;
and the amount of nourishment required for its support by the animal body must be in a direct ratio to
the quantity of oxygen taken into the system. It is
evident, therefore, that the aliment which is deficient
in carbon will not be adequate for nourishment,
under circumstances where an unusual amount of
oxygen is inspired. For this reason, a diet containing but little carbon would not support the inhabitant
of frozen regions, although it might suffice for the
2



ANIMAL FOOD.               19
minute proportion of nutriment according to their
bulk, is certain; but that the standard of health
must necessarily be low, under such conditions, is
equally certain. A due amount of vital energy and
consequent physical enjoyment depends upon the
fulfilment of established laws, one of the most important of which relates to the quantity and quality
of food.
The organization of the human digestive apparatus throughout, proves man to have been created
omniverous, capable of subsisting upon animal and
vegetable food, and acquiring the highest state of
health upon a judicious combination of both. The
proportion of each must vary according to the climate, the seasons, the occupation, and the age. For
example, the inhabitants of northern climates require
more animal food than those who live in warm latitudes. In the winter of temperate regions, more
animal food is required than during summer. The
laboring man needs more animal food than the
sedentary. In manhood and in the decline of life,
more is necessary than during the period previous
to maturity.
ANIMAL FOOD,
As a general rule, is more quickly and easily
digested than any other; but it is also more stimulating, and more productive of plethora, with all its



20                ANIMAL FOOD.
evil consequences. If it predominates in the diet,
while sufficient exercise is not taken, the system will
be more liable to inflammatory diseases, and a
foundation will also be laid for subsequent longcontinued and obstinate disorders. It should constitute, in our climate, by much the smallest proportion
of the quantity of food taken, and more especially
by the inhabitants of a city.
The chief proximate principles of animal food are
fibrine, albumen, gelatine, oil, and caseine; each of
which will be briefly described.
Fibrine is found both in vegetables and animals.
It constitutes the principal part of animal flesh, and
enters largely into the composition of the blood.
It is a solid, insoluble in water, becoming semitransparent on exposure to the air, melts when acted
upon by heat, and has then the odor and smoke of
meat while roasting.  It is particularly nutritious,
and is assimilated aAd digested with facility.  If
blood is allowed to remain still for a short time in
an open vessel, it separates into two parts; the
heaviest portion, or that which remains at the bottom, is the fibrine; the remainder, lighter, liquid and
transparent, is called the serum; and
Albumen exists in serum. It is insipid and inodorous, soluble in cold water, and passes at once to the
state of putrefaction, when exposed in a moist state
to the atmosphere. It is coagulated by hot water,
and distinguished by this character from all other



22               ANIMAL FOOD.
but quickly dissolved by alkalies and some acids.
It is distinguished from fibrine and albumen by its
greater solubility, and by not coagulating when
heated. It may be obtained pure from the curd of
milk, and constitutes the principal bulk of cheese.
Caseine is less digestible and less nutritious than the
other principles above noticed.
Osmazome is another element of animal food, imparting to cooked meat its flavor; but it does not
exist in quantity sufficiently large to be distinguished
as one of the chief principles in such aliment.
It will be sufficient for the present purpose to
notice the three principal divisions into which organized animal substances have been ranged, viz. fibrinous, gelatinous, and albuminous.
In the first class, in which fibrine predominates,
are included mutton, beef, pork, ducks, geese, and
venison.
In the gelatinous class are included veal, lamb,
young poultry, and certain kinds of fish.
In the albuminous class are oysters, eggs, roe of
fish, brain, liver, and the sweet bread.
" The healthy stomach," says Dr. Paris, 1" disposes most readily and effectually of solid food, of
a certain specific degree of density, which may be
termed its digestive texture: if it exceeds this, it will
require a greater length of time, and more active
powers, to complete its chymification; and if it
approaches too nearly to a gelatinous condition,



ANIMAL FOOD.                23
the stomach will be equally impeded in its operations.  It is perhaps not possible to appreciate or
express the exact degree of firmness, which will
confer the highest order of digestibility upon food;
indeed, this degree may vary in different individuals; but we are taught by experience, that no
meat is so digestible as tender mutton. When well
conditioned, it appears to possess that degree of consistence which is most congenial to the stomach.
It will not be difficult," he adds, "to understand
why a certain texture and coherence of the aliment
should confer upon it digestibility, or otherwise. Its
conversion into chyme is effected by the solvent
power of the gastric juice, aided by the churning
which it undergoes by the motions of the stomach;
and, unless the substance introduced possess a suitable degree of firmness, it will not yield to such
motions: this is the case with soup and other liquid
aliments; in such cases% therefore, nature removes
the watery part before digestion can be carried forward. It is on this account that oils are digested
with so much difficulty; and it is probable that
jellies and other glutinous matters, although containing the elements of nourishment in the highest state
of concentration, are not digested without considerable difficulty; in the first place, on account of their
evading the grappling powers of the stomach, and, in
the next, in consequence of their tenacity opposing
the absorption of their more fluid parts. For these



24     DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMAL FOOD.
reasons, I maintain that the addition of isinglass and
other glutinous matter to animal broths, with a view
to render them more nutritive to invalids, is a pernicious custom."
DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMAL FOOD.
Mutton is, of all meats, the most highly nutritious,
the most digestible, and is perhaps the most generally used. Beef enables one to bear more fatigue;
but it is not so digestible as mutton, and not so well
adapted for dyspeptics and other invalids. Both,
however, are readily assimilated to the nature of
chyme, and hold the highest rank in the dietetic
regimen of Hahnemann.  The broth made from
beef contains less oil, but more osmazome, than that
made of mutton, and is therefore better for the convalescent.
Pork is not readily digested, and by no means
proper food for the debilitated and sickly. It can
only be eaten with impunity by the most robust
laborer. It predisposes to diseases of the lymphatic
system, occasions cutaneous disorders, and increases
any derangement which may exist in the digestive
apparatus. Bacon is subject to the same objections,
though it is somewhat more easy of digestion.
Ducks and Geese, in consequence of their oleaginous nature, are indigestible, and oppressive to
delicate stomachs.



DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMAL FOOD.       25
Venison is digested with uncommon facility, and
is very nutritious and wholesome.
Veal is included in the gelatinous class, and is
obnoxious to the same objections as those above
applied to pork. It has not become sufficiently
matured to possess the requisite alimentation. The
same may be said of Lamb, this meat likewise not
having acquired the suitable degree of animalization.
The flesh of all young animals contains more
gelatine than the old, and is much more difficult of
digestion. It is, however, better adapted, generally,
for those who may be disposed to plethora or inflammatory affections.  Gelatine is furnished in
large quantity from the tendinous portions of the
animal. If broth is to be made from either veal or
lamb, - although, in all cases, beef and mutton are
to be preferred for this purpose, - the boiling should
be continued sufficiently long for the extraction of
all the gelatine; and this is to be determined by the
liquid, on cooling, readily assuming the consistence
of thick jelly.
Of a character neither decidedly fibrinous nor
gelatinous, but participating in both, is the flesh of
poultry and of certain fish. The fibres, though differing in appearance, are of the nature of beef,
mutton, &c. while gelatine largely abounds in the
interstitial spaces. Poultry differs in its alimentary
properties according as it is young and gelatinous,



26     DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMAL FOOD.
or old and more fibrinous. That of middle age is
the most suitable for invalids. The wild fowl is also
preferable to those reared upon farms. The sea-fish
usually contains more gelatine than the fish taken
from fresh water.
Those articles of food classed as albuminous are,
in general, nourishing and readily digested. It will
be seen, from Dr. Beaumont's experiments, that the
egg, when boiled soft, digests half an hour sooner
than when boiled hard, and that the raw egg is more
digestible than that which is cooked. When in
combination with flour and butter, it is rendered
more difficult of digestion, and, in the debilitated,
often causes uncomfortable sensations of oppression.
Eggs contain much nutritive substance in small
bulk, and, when the stimulus of animal food is to be
avoided, are, of course, improper. Although the
white of the egg is almost purely albuminous, the
yolk contains animal oil, and on this account, particularly by certain modes of preparation, as in frying, may be rendered very indigestible.
Oysters are nutritious, and of all shell-fish the
most digestible, especially if eaten uncooked. The
different methods of preparing them for the table,
while adding but little to their nutritious qualities,
detract much from their digestibility. The liquid
by which they are surrounded in the shell has been
affirmed by some old writers to be "equal, in medicinal virtue, to the most accredited mineral waters;"



VEGETABLE FOOD.              27
but no proof can be adduced in favor of such an
assertion. The clam is not so digestible as the
oyster. Other shell-fish, as the mussel, lobster, and
crab, are not so easy of digestion, although their
nutritient properties may be as great. They sometimes produce gastric derangement, and to certain
persons are positively injurious. Many cases of
poisoning are on record which have resulted from
the eating of different shell-fish.
The flesh of fish resembles that of quadrupeds,
containing, however, no osmazome, but consisting of
fibrine, albumen, and gelatine. It is not, on the
whole, as nutritious; and the comparative digestibility of different kinds of fish depends much upon
the quantity of oil which they contain. Those without scales are more oleaginous, and on this account
less digestible. Smoked and salted fish, as well as
meat thus prepared, are unsuited for those persons
whose digestive powers are not in the most vigorous
condition. They are among the articles expressly
interdicted in the homceopathic regimen for the
sick.
VEGETABLE FOOD.
The principal elements of vegetable substances
which afford nutrition are fecula, gluten, mucilage,'oil, and sugar.
Fecula, or starch, is white, insipid, insoluble in



28              VEGETABLE FOOD.
cold, but converted into a jelly by hot, water. It is
one of the chief constituent parts of most varieties
of grain, of the roots, seeds, fruit of certain plants,
and forms the principal source of nutriment derived
from them. It is generally procured for domestic
purposes from wheat and the potato, but may be
obtained from acorn or the horse-chestnut. The
nutritious properties which abound in arrow-root,
sago, and tapioca, depend almost wholly upon the
presence of fecula.
Gluten. If the flour of wheat is made into a paste,
and washed in water, it separates into three distinct
substances, -a saccharine mucilage; starch, which
subsides on standing; and gluten, which is tenacious, ductile, elastic, and of a browrn-gray color.
It resembles animal albumen, being quickly coagulated by heat, and is found in numerous vegetable
productions, in rye, barley, beans, peas, &c. but in
smaller quantity than in wheat. The tenacious paste
made by the mixture of flour with water is owing to
the presence of gluten; and this principle produces
the sponginess of bread, through the detention, by
its viscidity, of the carbonic acid gas, disengaged
by the process of fermentation. The whole mass of
dough is distended by the detained air. Gluten is
similar, in many respects, both to animal fibrine and
albumen, and has been termed a vegeto-animal
element.
Mucilage, or gum, is common in vegetables, but



DIFFERENT KINDS OF VEGETABLE FOOD.   29
is furnished in its purest form  from  the "Acacia
vera," the tree producing what is known as " gumarabic." It is transparent, of an insipid or slightly
saccharine taste, and in combination, in any quantity,
with water, forms a more or less viscid solution. It
is not, however, strictly soluble. Mucilage, like all
the proximate vegetable principles, is very nutritive.
Oil, in the vegetable, is similar in character to
that of the animal. It is very abundant in the olive
(olea), from which it derives its name. It is of an
unctuous nature, either solid or fluid, not soluble in
water, and more or less volatile. Oil exists in the
three kingdoms of nature,- the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral; but originated in the latter
from the decomposition of the former, - the remains
of animal or vegetable existence.
Sugar is obtained from many plants in great
abundance, and is quite nutritious. Its appearance
and properties are too well known to require description. Upon its presence depends the vinous
and acetous fermentations.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VEGETABLE FOOD.
Of the farinaceous vegetables, or those esculent
productions which are reduced to flour in their preparation for food, and which consist of gluten, mucilage, and starch, wheat is the most important, as
administering most copiously in the form of bread



30    DIFFERENT KINDS OF VEGETABLE FOOD.
to man's sustenance.  It stands first among the
" cerealia" of bromatologists.  Indian corn, rye,
barley, oats, rice, and the buckwheat, are also
among the cereal productions.
The bread made from the flour of wheat is that
which is the most extensively used, and the best
adapted for food of all alimentary substances. Its
digestibility depends upon many circumstances connected with its preparation.  If properly kneaded
and baked, it is very nutritious and digestible.
" Good bread ought to be composed of fine wheaten
flour, well kneaded with pure water, seasoned with
a little salt, fermented with good yeast, and sufficiently baked at a proper heat.  When baked, it
ought to appear through a glass like honeycomb,
full of cells, yet the intermediate parts constituting
a uniform substance of a gelatinous nature, which
readily unites with an aqueous menstruum."   A
mixture of the bran with the flour renders bread less
liable to form a cohesive mass, after imperfect mastication, and, though less nutritious than pure flour, is
better suited for torpid habits, on account of the stimulating effects of the bran upon the mucous membrane.
The addition of butter and sugar diminishes the
digestible properties of bread. That which is made
from barley, rye, &c. often becomes acid in the
stomach, and gives rise to uncomfortable sensations
of oppression.  Bread is more wholesome when
eaten the day after having been baked. There are



DIFFERENT KINDS OF VEGETABLE FOOD.   31
many injurious articles, such as potash, alum, magnesia, and sulphate of copper, mixed with the bread
made for sale, for the purpose of improving its appearance. Spoiled flour, unwholesome in itself, is
frequently made into bread in Europe, — perhaps
in this country,- and alum, magnesia, or copper
added to give it the appearance of that made from
good flour. Such adulterations are extremely prejudicial to health; and the fact that practices of
this kind are ever resorted to, should serve as an
incitement to the more general use of " household
bread."
Rice is the principal aliment of the inhabitants of
several eastern countries. It does not contain much
saccharine matter, and does not tend to putrefaction
or acescency. It is nutritious and digestible.
The Potato, in which a large proportion of starch
exists, is, when mealy and not overdone, a very
nutritive, wholesome article of food. When water
is, as far as practicable, excluded, and the cooking
is conducted by steam, it is much more digestible as
well as palatable. When roasted or baked, it is less
indigestible than when boiled. The raw potato has
been found useful both as a preventive and a cure
for the diseases induced by a long-continued use of
animal aliment, particularly the " salted provisions."
The sweet potato is as nutritious, though not as digestible, as the common potato.
Among the farinaceous productions selected for



DIFFERENT KINDS OF VEGETABLE FOOD.   33
indigestible as' baked beans, flanked with pork and
swimming in fat, - that favorite Sunday-dish of the
New Englander.
The succulent roots, as the turnip, carrot, parsnip,
and beet, are of small comparative importance as
nutrient articles of diet. They possess chiefly saccharine qualities, and are liable to cause heartburn
and flatulency, particularly with dyspeptic sufferers.
The beet consists more of nutriment than either of
the others above named. It contains 15 per cent
of nutritious substance, 12 per cent of which is saccharine.  A large amount of pure sugar is now
manufactured from the beet. The fibrous portions
of these roots are unchanged by the gastric and
other secretions, -of course, are entirely worthless
as aliment. The onion, cabbage, asparagus, and
squash, contain but little nutriment.  The tomato,
though not particularly nutritious, is regarded as
one of the most wholesome and valuable esculents
among vegetable productions. Whenever diseases
prevail in which the digestive organs are implicated,
the vegetables above mentioned should be abstained
from altogether.
Most varieties of fruit are agreeable to the taste,
and refreshing; but their nutritious properties are
very inconsiderable. The same restrictions should
be placed upon them as upon the succulent vegetables, under the circumstances alluded to in the preceding section.
3



DIFFERENT KINDS OF VEGETABLE FOOD.   35
hazardous experiment for one accustomed to a
mixed diet to enter suddenly upon the practice of
total abstinence from animal or vegetable food.
In either case, as a general consequence, scorbutic
affections, if no other, would result.  Magendie's
experiments demonstrate, that man, in temperate latitudes, absolutely needs the variety of food which is
there so bountifully supplied; that, as nature and
habit have combined to render him omniverous, he
should be content so to remain.
According to the experiments of the distinguished
French chemists, MM. Percy and Vaugelin, -
100 lbs. Lentils.. contain. 94 parts of nourishment.,,,, French Beans.      92,,,,,,,, Rice....90,,,,,, Kidney Beans.      89,,,,,,, Wheat.....  85,,,,, Barley...          83,,,,,, Good Bread.       80,,,, Rye...             80,,,,,, Meat (average)      35,,,,,, Potatoes....      25,,,,,,, Carrots..     14,,,,,,,, Beets..      14,,        9,,,,, Turnips.             8,,,,,,  Cabbage  7..       7,,,,,, Greens.             6,,,,



36
CHAPTER II.
ON DRINK.
THAT liquid which the Creator has furnished for man
in the greatest abundance, making it the basis of all
circulating fluids, - the medium by which all vital
action is executed, and without which even solid
substances would be innutritious, — is the beverage
best calculated to allay thirst, to renovate declining
strength, to form, develop, and support the system.
Water is, in youth as in age, in summer and in winter, in health and in disease, positively, imperiously
demanded by Nature for drink, and no other liquid
will supply its place, -- none other is needed. To
fulfil properly its purpose in the animal economy, it
should be pure, - free from any foreign admixture.
One form in which it is supplied to many dwellers
upon earth is by rain; and this is, or would be, were
the air through which it passes perfectly clear, the
purest kind of water. In consequence of becoming
impregnated with various substances and gases floating in the atmosphere, over large towns especially,
rain-water is rendered impure, unpalatable, and



DRINK.                   37
subject to a spontaneous change, by long keeping.
Besides, it acquires no small amount of additional
impurity by washing the roofs of houses, sheds, &c.
and running through unclean spouts. In the Island
of St. Thomas, spring-water being difficult of access,
large cisterns are provided for the purpose of containing the rain-water, which, after the subsidence of the
foreign matter held in it, is used for, and highly
esteemed as, drink by all the inhabitants.
Water, procured from the melting of snow or ice,
is equal to rain-water in purity, and decidedly more
agreeable to the taste. In northern latitudes, during
the winter, thawed snow forms the constant drink of
the people. They do not suffer from " goitre," — an
enlargement of the thyroid gland, - which so deforms
many inhabitants in Switzerland, and which has been
long supposed to arise from the use of snow-water.
There is no good reason for believing that either ice
or snow-water is in any degree injurious.
Through an artificial process, in imitation of the
natural distillation by which rain is furnished, and in
consequence of the easy exclusion of all alien substances, water may be obtained in its purest state.
There are no solid nor gaseous substances held in
solution by distilled water: it is colorless, perfectly
transparent, and entirely devoid of taste and smell;
leaving no residuum when carefully evaporated, and
capable of preservation for a long time. It is used
in the preparation of homceopathic medicines, and, as



88                   DRINK.
the purest possible menstruum, is preferred for the
administration of remedies in solution.
Although the water obtained from wells, lakes, or
rivers is generally acknowledged to be sufficiently
pure for the preservation of health, a vast amount of
foreign material may be detected in it by chemical
analysis. The water from rivers is more free from
earthy salts than that from wells. The river Seine,
which supplies the city of Paris, furnishes water of
excellent quality; and it has been ascertained that the
great variety of impurities, which are necessarily received by this river, do not contaminate, or alter the
character of the water to any perceptible extent.
Filtration will effect the removal of most impurities;
and no water, which has been procured either from
rivers or lakes, should be used for drink until it has
been subjected to this purifying process. The motionless, stagnant water of small ponds, liable to be
affected by vegetable and animal decomposition
going on within and around it, is not only offensive
to the taste, but would be, as a drink, ultimately, if
not directly, productive of serious consequences.
Dr. Dunglison writes, that, " to render the water of
marshes and ponds potable, it has been advised to
boil them, under the idea that the boiling temperature
will render the organic matters innoxious, and disengage the unwholesome gaseous principles which they
may contain. To improve them still farther, they
may be agitated, so as to restore the air they have



DRINK.                   39
lost by boiling, and be then filtered through sand or
charcoal. It has been proposed to add to such water
a small quantity of chlorine, or of one of the chlorides; but a quantity sufficient to destroy the foulness
of the fluid can hardly fail to communicate a taste
and smell, disagreeable to most individuals." He
also adds that the Chinese never drink water that has
not been boiled.
For the sick, as well as for those in health, simple,
uncombined water should be preferred. The cruel,
mistaken practice of withholding from the helpless
sufferer whose throat is parched, and whose whole
frame is heated with fever, the draught of water
which he urgently craves, is being abolished; and it
is now discovered - thanks to the hydropathist - that
cold water, which was once expressly interdicted by
the medical attendant as extremely hazardous, is best
adapted, in most cases of disease, to afford relief, and
promote recovery. The needless suffering which,
for centuries, has been caused by an obstinate adherence to the groundless prejudice against cold water
for the sick, it would be difficult to over-estimate.
In alluding to the hydropathist, it may not be presumptuous to express the opinion that the practice of
deluging a patient with cold water, internally and externally, and on all occasions, - whether nature does
or does not demand it, - is almost, if not quite, as
irrational as the old, and it is to be hoped the abandoned, custom above referred to. When a sufficiency



COFFEE.                  41
quences, in other respects, resulting from its constant
use —more than counterbalance all the advantages
which have been attributed to it. Possessing narcotic
properties, it may be regarded to that degree as poisonous; and no article whatever of such a nature can
be introduced continually into the system, without,
sooner or later, and in some definite form, affecting
health. Its action as a medicine, administered in
homceopathic doses, in subduing restlessness, promoting sleep, relieving certain kinds of fevers,
counteracting the morbid consequences of certain
mental emotions, &c. is undeniable. The strongest
opiate is not more decided in soporific influence.
Hahnemann pursued his investigations carefully with
respect to coffee; and, as the subject is of much importance, we will translate in full from Jourdan's
edition the remarks of the author in regard to its
effects upon the human system. To aid in acquiring
a clear comprehension of the true action of this narcotic, some prefatory observations are made which,
in connection with the body of the treatise, we venture to present to the reader. I-ahnemann thus
writes -
" For the prolongation of life, and for the preservation of health, man should make use of aliment
which is simply nutritive, and which contains nothing
either irritating or medicinal. His drink should be
of a moistening and nutritious character only, like
pure water and milk.



COFFEE.                 48
in case of disease, medicines are injurious. To make
frequent use of them, to introduce them into dietetic
regimen, is to destroy the harmony of the organs, to
diminish health, and to abridge life.
" Coffee is a substance almost entirely medicinal.
"All medicines given in large doses exercise an
injurious influence upon a healthy person. No one
can smoke tobacco without experiencing, for the first
time, great aversion. No one finds pure coffee with.
out sugar agreeable the first time it is taken. This
is a caution which nature gives us not to violate the
laws of health, -not to trample under foot the instinct which was given as the preserver of health and
life.
" If, yielding to fashion and to example, medicinal
substances continue to be used, habit blunts, by
degrees, the disagreeable impression which they at
first produce upon us. They end often by giving
pleasure; that is to say, the apparently agreeable
action which they exercise upon our organs becomes
insensibly a necessity for us.
" It so happens also, that, having been brought to
a certain degree, into an unhealthy condition by medicinal substances, instinct leads us to continue the
use of them, to comfort us, momentarily at least, by
the palliative influence which they exert upon the in.
conveniences of which they are, from time to time,
the source. To comprehend this, it will be necessary
to understand that every thing medicinal produces



44                   COFFEE.
two opposing effects upon the human body. Its pri.
mitive effect is precisely the reverse of the secondary
effect, - that is, the state in which the body is left
many hours after the primitive effect has ceased.
" Most medicines occasion among those in health
disagreeable and painful sensations, which, during
the secondary effect, are the reverse of those which
exist during the primitive effect; and even their prolonged use never produces agreeable impressions
upon him who is in health.
The primitive effect of coffee consists, generally,
in a more or less agreeable exaltation of the vital
energy. The animal functions, natural and vital, as
they are named, are artificially excited by it at first.
But the secondary effect, which manifests itself afterwards little by little, brings about a totally opposite
state; that is, an unhappy sense of existence, an
ebbing of life, a kind of paralysis of the animal functions, natural and vital.
" When one not accustomed to coffee takes it in
moderation, or when one habituated to this beverage
uses it in excess, he experiences, for the first few
hours, a vivid sense of his own existence. His pulse
is more full, more frequent, but more feeble. A circumscribed redness is seen upon the cheeks, which
does not extend by insensible degrees, but shows like
a stain. The forehead and the palms of the hands
are covered with a moisture.  More warmth is felt
than before, and this sensation produces a pleasurable



COFFEE.                  45
uneasiness. The heart is agitated by agreeable palpitations. The veins of the hands become swollen.
A more than ordinary heat of the skin is perceived
by the touch; but this heat never becomes burning,
even after a strong dose of coffee, and it soon terminates in a general perspiration. The presence of
mind and the faculty of attention are as active as
in the ordinary state. Every object appears to wear
a smiling aspect. For the first few hours, the coffeedrinker is contented with himself, and with all who
surround him. It is this which has elevated coffee
to the rank of a social drink.
I"When the primitive effect has passed, the opposite condition gradually appears, which is the
secondary effect or re-action. The more decided
the first, the more pronounced and disagreeable will
be the second.
" The abuse of this medicinal beverage causes
more inconveniences in some than in others.
" Our bodies are organized with an art so admirable, that slight errors in diet do not greatly injure us,
while we are living in other respects a life conformable to nature.  Thus, for example, the German
laborer drinks every morning a certain quantity of
brandy; and, if the quantity be small, it does not
prevent him from arriving often at quite an advanced
age. His health suffers but little; for his good constitution, and the salubrious mode of life which he
otherwise leads, counteracts the evil influences of



46                  COFFEE.
such a practice. If, instead of brandy, he should
take every morning one or two cups of coffee, the
result would be the same. The vigor of his frame,
the active exercise to which he is subjected, and the
abundance of pure air which he every day respires,
weaken the influence of the beverage, and his health
does not apparently suffer.
" But the injurious effects of coffee are much more
decided upon those who are not placed in such favorable circumstances.
"The man who passes his life confined to his
house or room may enjoy a sort of health, when he
follows a regimen in other respects appropriate to his
situation. If he is temperate, if he makes use of
easily-digested food, if he confines himself to simple
drinks, if he controls his appetites and passions, and
if he frequently renews the air in his apartment, he
may, on these conditions, enjoy a certain degree of
health, which, it is true, may be affected by the
slightest cause, but which is none the less a source of
relative well-being. The action of all morbific influences, of all medicines, for example, is much more
evident and powerful upon such persons, than upon
those who are robust and accustomed to work in the
open air, who can endure pernicious impressions
without much comparative injury.'" When, at the end of a certain period, the primitive action of coffee, that is to say, the factitious exaltation of the vital activity, is dissipated, a desire to



COFFEE.                  47
sleep comes on, accompanied by inertia greater than
usual; Motion is disagreeable, cheerfulness disappears, and is succeeded by a sad and morose humor.
The agreeable sensation of warmth is no longer felt,
the least variation of temperature causes disagreeable
sensations, and the hands, as well as the feet, become
cold. External objects are viewed under a less flattering aspect. A sort of craving, promptly satisfied,
replaces the natural appetite; and, while food and
drink oppress the stomach, the head becomes heavy.
The sleep is unrefreshing; the awaking, difficult
and painful.
" But, in the morning, a fresh resort to the injurious
palliative removes for a while the evil, and again a
factitious energy commences; enduring, however, a
shorter length of time than at first. The coffee must
be taken more frequently, or stronger, as is the case
with opium and alcohol, until a tolerable degree of
energy is acquired. And thus, day after day, the
constitution of the sedentary man deteriorates. The
surface of the body grows more sensitive, not only
to cold, but to the influence of fresh air, whatever may
be its temperature; digestion is accomplished in a
laborious manner; sleep is not quiet and profound,
but a drowsiness which does not re-animate or refresh.  Serenity, cheerfulness, vigor of mind, is
changed to timidity, indecision, apathy, sadness; and
the mind and body vacillate unceasingly between
high excitement and deep depression.



COFFEE.                  49
" In general, coffee exercises a most pernicious
influence upon children, and so much the more as
they are more delicate. After children, women and
literary men are more injured, inasmuch as their occupations oblige them to lead sedentary lives. To
this class may be added craftsmen who are shut up
in their workshops.
" Certain persons, led in some sort by instinct, find
in spirituous liquors a kind of antidote to coffee. It
cannot be denied that these drinks exert this counteracting effect to a certain extent. But they are
merely new irritants, without any nutritive properties; that is to say, medicinal substances, which,
when taken daily, will bring on other inconveniences,
without removing those of the coffee.  They are
fresh exciting impulses to life, leaving in their train
evils of a different and yet more complicated nature.
" The principal means of removing the evil consequences of coffee is, after renouncing the drink, to
exercise actively in the open air. But, if the mind
and body are too much enfeebled for the adoption of
this course, it will then be necessary to have recourse
to appropriate medicines, which will not be here
designated, since this treatise is not for such a purpose designed.
" Supported by a long experience, I do not hesitate to declare that the daily use of coffee is a most
pernicious practice, and as one of the surest methods
of weakening and ultimately destroying all mental
4



350                 COFFEE.
and physical energy. This drink has been termed
medicinal, and it may be said that medicines are
salutary. No medicine can be useful to a man in
health, and no man can be healthy who makes frequent use of medicine.
" It must be admitted that coffee facilitates digestion in some cases; and, when gastric and intestinal
inaction or torpidity exists, it may be temporarily
beneficial.  But the salutary effects attributed to
coffee, and by which those who take much of it seek
to justify the habit which they have contracted, are
reduced almost entirely to palliative results. Now,
a fact admitting of no dispute is this, that, if the prolonged use of any palliative remedy whatever causes
injury to health, nothing can be more pernicious
than such a substance among the articles of daily
consumption.
" While opposing the use of coffee as an habitual
drink, I nevertheless estimate highly its medicinal
virtues, both as a curative remedy in the chronic
diseases, the symptoms of which bear a great resemblance to the primitive effects, or as a palliative
remedy in the rapidly developed and imminently
dangerous affections whose symptoms greatly resemble the secondary effects of this narcotic. These are
the only cases benefited by a medicinal substance,
which millions of men make use of to their own
great detriment, the true value of which few know,
and which exerts a most salutary influence where it
is properly administered."



COFFEE.                  51
Such is the opinion of one who had thoroughly
studied the properties of coffee; and, however exaggerated the account of its action may appear to
many, daily observation confirms its truth. That it
has been partaken of by some as a daily beverage,
without perceptible injury, throughout the course of
a long life, is no better argument in favor of its
general use than is the same argument when applied
to the habitual use of alcohol.
It may be well to remark here, for the benefit of
those who are wedded to this drink, that, when a
large proportion of milk is added to coffee, the deleterious effects of the latter are, to a considerable
extent, neutralized, and the degree of harmless nutriment obtained from this addition of milk makes the
beverage much less objectionable. The French pre,
pare the berry with great nicety, neither charring
nor slightly roasting it, and add to the decoction
one-half, or more, of boiled milk.  In this form,
it is drank with comparative impunity.  Volney,
while travelling, several years since, through the
United States, observed that the Americans hastily
swallowed large quantities of a strong, nauseous,
and muddy decoction, which they called " coffee;"
and, what with their hurried manner of " bolting"
half-cooked food at the same time, it was not very
surprising that dyspepsia should be so prevalent in this
country.



52                   TEA.
TEA.
This plant is a native of China, and, though dignified with the name of tree, seldom attains the
height of more than five feet. Its leaves are dried
upon iron plates, suspended over a fire, and afterwards packed in tin boxes for exportation. Although
a very large amount of these leaves are shipped to
Europe and America, it has been asserted, that, were
the commerce wholly abandoned, the price of tea
would not be much lessened in China, so great is
the domestic consumption. In the year 1838, there
were imported into Great Britain 32,366,412 pounds
of this article. In this country more than 16,000,000
pounds are now annually received and consumed.
The class designated by the term "' green " includes
hyson, young hyson, imperial gunpowder, and hyson
skin. The " black" teas are the bohea, pouchong,
souchong, &c.
With respect to the nutritive properties of tea,
analysis shows that, out of 100 parts, 84 are tannin,
and woody fibre; 6 are gluten; and 6 are mucilage;
the remaining 4 parts consisting of volatile matter,
&o. Thus it will be perceived, that, without the
addition of sugar and milk, its nutrient properties
are small. Tannin constitutes about 40 in 100 parts.
This is well known to be an astringent principle,
consequently acting as a medicinal power upon the
system. It tends to combine with gelatine, as has



TEA.                   53
been before stated, forming an insoluble compound;
and, of course, from this chemical action, must render whatever gelatine it may meet with in the stomach
indigestible. The green teas are found to be more
astringent than the blacks. They are more narcotic,
and, on account of their greater medicinal qualities,
are prohibited during homceopathic treatment; while
the black teas, much diluted with water, are permitted to be used.
Tea, made strong and drank frequently, produces
consequences upon the nervous system almost as
serious as those from coffee. Its effects are like,
those of all narcotic poisons. Though their actionmay be upon some temperaments scarcely perceptible for a time, they are none the less certain to bring
on, eventually, derangements, similar to those enumerated by Hahnemann as produced by coffee; such as
nervous headaches, tremors, mental depression, &c.
The same observations which were made with
reference to coffee, as a palliative, are applicable to
tea. By its diluent and sedative influence, it may
impart relief in many cases of irritability dependent
on febrile action. It alleviates headache; but the
result is effected by virtue of the power which it
possesses of producing headache, through its action
upon the nervous system.
Although, like coffee, it is useless to deny that tea
possesses useful qualities, it is only as a medicine
that it acts favorably; — and, whatever may be the



54                     TEA.
kind or the strength used, it is still a medicine; —
and the impropriety of taking daily any article of a
medicinal nature has been made sufficiently obvious
by the investigations of Hahnemann.
In the Appendix to " Pereira's Treatise," edited
by Dr. Lee, are the following remarks respecting
the article under consideration: " Green tea undoubtedly possesses very active medicinal properties;
for a very strong decoction of it, or the extract,
speedily destroys life in the inferior animals, even when
given in very small doses. This has been repeatedly
tested by experiment, and may therefore be taken
as an undoubted fact. The strongly marked effects
of tea upon persons of a highly nervous temperament, in causing wakefulness, tremors, palpitations,
and other distressing feelings, prove also that it is an
agent of considerable power, and should not be used
to any great extent by persons of such a habit. It
not unfrequently occasions vertigo and sick headache, together with a sinking sensation at the pit of
the stomach, shortly after eating. It is also opposed
to an active nutrition, and should therefore be used
with great moderation by those who are very thin in
flesh. From its astringent properties, it is often useful in certain conditions; and, from  its pleasurable,
exhilarating effects, it is often recommended to the
studious, the sedentary, and those affected with low
spirits and indigestion. We are, however, satisfied
that green tea does not, in any case, form a salu



CHOCOLATE.                 55
brious beverage for persons in health, and should
give place to milk, milk and water, black tea, milk
and sugar, which, taken tepid, form very agreeable
and healthy drinks."
CHOCOLATE, MILKI WHEY, ETC.
Chocolate is prepared from the nut of the cacaotree, a native of the West Indies. The kernels of
the nut, after being heated upon an iron plate, and
afterwards ground, form, with the addition of water,
a paste, which is sweetened, flavored, dried in
moulds of different shapes, and sold in the shops as
chocolate. Cocoa is a preparation of the same substance, - the husks, as well as the kernels, being
ground up together. Both are nutritious as beverages, more so than tea or coffee, and do not contain
any strictly medicinal properties; but the large proportion of oil which enters into their composition
renders them indigestible, and therefore unsuitable
for those whose digestive powers are enfeebled. If
the oil of the nut is extracted, the indigestibility is
of course diminished; and the " prepared cocoa,"
which contains but little oil, is the least objectionable
for invalids. As a daily beverage, however, both
chocolate and cocoa are much to be preferred to tea
or coffee; and, if the process of digestion and assimilation proceed in a healthy manner, they cannot
be productive of any injurious results.



56                   MILK.
Milk occupies a middle rank between vegetable
and animal food. While not strictly a beverage, it
is chiefly used as such by the adult. It has been
considered by some as of a purely vegetable nature;
but it surely is erroneous thus to class it, since it is
manifestly absurd to call the milk taken for instance
from a carniverous animal a vegetable production.
It contains saccharine, oleaginous, aqueous, and albuminous ingredients, - four principles, to which
Dr. Prout reduced all alimentary matters.  The
aqueous principle, which forms so large a portion of
all organized substances, constitutes nearly ninetenths of milk. Dr. Prout regarded fibrine, gluten,
and gelatine as modifications of albumen; classed
all vegetable principles under the head of saccharine; animal and vegetable oils under that of the
oleaginous.  He says that the composition of the
substances by which animals are usually nourished,
favors the mixture of the primary staminal alimentary principles; since most of these substances are
compounds of at least two of the staminal principles.
Thus, most of the gramineous and herbaceous matters contain the saccharine or amylaceous and the
glutinous principles; while every part of an animal
contains at least albumen (assuming here its general
identity with fibrine) and oil. Perhaps, therefore, it
is impossible to name a substance constituting the
food of the more perfect animals, which is not essentially a natural compound of at least two, if not



NILK.                     57
all the three, great principles of aliment. But it is
in the artificial food of man that we see this great
principle of mixture strongly exemplified. He, dissatisfied with the spontaneous productions of nature,
culls from every source; and by the force of his reason, or rather of his instinct, forms in every possible
manner, and under every disguise, the same great
alimentary compound. This, after all his cooking
and his art, how much soever he may be disinclined
to believe it, is the sole object of his labor; and
the more nearly his results approach to this object, the
more nearly do they approach perfection.  Even
in the utmost refinements of luxury, and in his
choicest delicacies, the same great principle is attended to; and his sugar and flour, his eggs and
butter, in all their various forms and combinations,
are nothing more or less than disguised imitations of
the great alimentary prototype, milk, as furnished to
him by nature.
Milk is the natural food of the young of all animals of the mammalia class, and contains all the
nutritious qualities necessary for their sustenance;
but it is not to be inferred, in consequence, that it will
prove sufficient for the adult animal.  It is more
nutritive than vegetable, and less so than animal,
food. Many persons cannot be restricted to a milk
diet without suffering from acescency, and other
symptoms of indigestion; and, in certain morbid
affections, it appears to be entirely unsuitable. As



ALCOHOLIC DRINKS.              59
Buttermilk is milk which has been deprived of its
oleaginous portion by agitation.  When milk has
been preserved but a short time before this separation is made to take place, the buttermilk is less
acidulous than if the milk has been long kept before
the butter is separated. In consequence of the removal of the oily matter, it is more digestible than
pure milk, although less nutritive, and, for this
reason, is better fitted as a beverage in inflammatory
and other diseases. It is refrigerant in proportion to
its acidity, but this renders the drink liable to produce gastric inconveniences.
Sugar of XMilk is the saline substance obtained
from the whey by evaporation. It has also been
termed the " essential salt of milk."  That which is
sold in this country is usually procured from Switzerland, where it is prepared from the whey, there
existing in large quantities during the preparation of
cheese. As a non-medicinal vehicle, sugar of milk
is much used in the trituration and administration
of homceopathic medicines, being purified, for this
purpose, from all foreign salts.
ALCOHOLIC DRINKS.
Of these artificial liquors there is a great variety,
the quantity of alcohol varying, more or less, in
each; but they are all, without an exception, injurious to the animal economy. Water is the only



ALCOHOLIC DRINKS.             61
such, in all its forms, no opposition to it can be too
strenuous and persevering.
It is said to be fallacy of reasoning to argue
against the use of an article from its abuse. But, in
this instance, one term implies the other. The use
of any solid or fluid not necessary for sustenance,
and for the perservation of health, may be termed its
abuse; but this alcoholic principle, in any shape
whatever, is not only needless, but positively inimical to the natural operation of the living functions.
It is an absolute poison when pure, and but a diluted
poison when weakened; and, while no one but a
madman would attempt to swallow it undiluted,
many gradually insinuate the poison into their systems
by the more palatable and rather less excoriating
form, deluding themselves into the belief that the
poison is altogether neutralized by being diluted.
It matters not in what shape the " enemy is put into
the mouth," even if in not sufficient force at once
" to steal away the brains;" it still remains an enemy,
and no " ingenious device" can possibly deprive it
of that character.  "It [alcohol] does not form a
constituent part of any tissue or of any fluid in the
healthy body; it retards, in place of aiding, those
series of changes which the aliment undergoes before
it is converted into blood; it is perturbating always,
and deleterious generally, to the functions, whether
they be merely of nutrition, or those by which man
is enabled to speculate on his own situation, and



ALCOHOLIC DRINKS.            63
duction of a vile mixture of green vitriol, alum, and
salt.  Porter frequently contains the " cocculus
Indicus," a berry brought from Malabar, which is
exceedingly poisonous. Lead can often be detected
in brandy, by slowly boiling until the alcohol has
evaporated; and so with the others. There are but
few which do not contain a poison, superadded to
that they legitimately possess, which alone ought to
satisfy the morbid cravings of the irrational, selfabandoned toper.



AIR.                    65
destructive to life. Carbonic acid, and other gases
which emanate from different substances upon the
earth, exist in the atmosphere; but in proportions so
inconsiderable to the whole mass, as to be considered
rather as heterogeneous and accidental, than as forming any of its component parts. The only ingredient
in air which, by itself, can support life, is oxygen;
and even this gas is irrespirable, except in that form
of combination which naturally exists, and which is
found to be uniform in every part of the atmosphere
obtainable for analysis. Although, in the ordinary
state of air, carbonic acid, which destroys life more
rapidly than nitrogen, forms but a very small portion,
viz. 1 in 1000 parts, and is, of course, innoxious in
this connection, yet it may, under certain circumstances, greatly exceed this proportion; and, while
most other deleterious matters prove their existence
to the sense of smell, carbonic acid gas may extinguish life, without yielding any premonitory indication
of its presence.
It is well known, that, during respiration, the character of the air inspired is altered; that a portion
of the oxygen, uniting with the carbon which it
meets in the lungs, is converted into carbonic acid;
that this carbonic acid is expelled at every expiration, its quantity being the same in amount with that
of the oxygen which has disappeared. The nitrogen
undergoes no perceptible alteration. It has already
been stated by what means carbon is received into
5



AIR.                   67
they are compelled to breathe, tends materially to
elicit the above-named disorders, where a predisposition exists. Scrofula, particularly, is found to be
prevalent among the lower classes who reside in the
crowded dwellings situate in narrow, confined streets
of cities. Baudeloque affirms that "impure air
is the true, perhaps the only, cause of scrofulous
disease: wherever we find scrofula, that cause exists;
where it exists, we find scrofula; and where it is absent, scrofula is not known." Carmichael states, in
his small work on scrofula, that this disease prevailed
to an extraordinary extent in the House of Industry
at Dublin; and that, in one room, 60 feet by 18, with
a low ceiling, one hundred and fourteen children
were confined through the night and nearly aill the
day.  "When the door of this ward-room  was
opened in the morning, the air was insupportable."
At the Lying-in Hospital of Dublin, it is stated by
Dr. Clarke, that, in 1781, owing to the impurity of
the air in the wards, every sixth child died, within
nine days after birth, of convulsions; and that, after
means of thorough ventilation had been adopted, the
mortality in the five succeeding years was reduced
to nearly 1 in 20. Sir James Clarke also believes
that "' living in an impure atmosphere is even more
influential in deteriorating health than defective food,
and that the immense mortality among children and
in workhouses is ascribable more to the former than
to any other cause. Dr. Combe, in his " Treatise on



68                   AIR.
the Management of Infancy," thus writes: " Those
whose attention has never been specially directed to
the subject can have no idea of the extent to which
this cause (impure air) of bad health in the young
is left in operation among even the middle classes of
society, and much more from ignorance than any unavoidable necessity. I have seen many examples of
this; but the most striking which I have met with was
in a very large family, in which scrofula raged with
an intensity almost exactly proportioned to the degree
of vitiation of the air in which its several members
lived. The first-born children escaped altogether,
because, in their day, the nursery and bed-rooms
were, of course, least crowded, and it was easier to
have the occupants much in the open air; but afterwards, when five or six young people, and the
nursery-maids, lived and slept in one room of very
moderate dimensions, in which cooking and washing
were carried on, and two more in a small ill-aired
bed-closet adjoining, every one of them  suffered
severely from the disease. The bad air not being
suspected to have any share in the result, no attempt
was made to improve it by adequate ventilation,
even during the day; and, in consequence, all the
medical treatment and means resorted to served only
to retard the progress of the scrofula, but without
being able to cure it.  In this way, the younger
members of the family suffered under it for several
years; and, in a large proportion of them, it was



AIR.                   69
either directly or indirectly the cause of death. If
one-half of the expense incurred for medical attendance and sea-bathing had been devoted from the first
to removing the original cause, and procuring a permanent supply of fresh air, a vast amount of anxiety
and suffering might have been saved to all, and to
none more than to the fond parents, who could only
mourn over a fatality which they never imagined it
possible to prevent."
Vitiated air impairs the quality of the blood; and,
if immediate consequences are not observed to follow
confinement in it, it is nevertheless certain that the
health will be more or less affected, that the constitution will be undermined, and a foundation laid for
diseases which will eventually appear in force, and
perhaps result in death years afterward. The air of
small rooms or shops, where one or more persons are
always present, must be impure, unless a fresh supply
is frequently admitted. It should not be supposed,
because one does not suffer direct inconvenience, that
the air is of sufficiently good quality for respiration.
Small apartments, heated during cold weather by a
"red-hot demon of a stove," with the chimney
blocked up, and every crack and crevice in windows
and doors stuffed with wool, are better adapted for the
dead than for the living; and, in sleeping apartments,
where pure air is especially needed, great care is
exercised in excluding it, as though it were an enemy
instead of a.friend. Is it surprising that indisposition



AIR.                  71
being completely excluded, he would, as soon as the
oxygen was exhausted, cease to exist, suffocated by
the carbonic acid which his own breathing had generated. Thus it will be readily perceived, that, by
preventing all entrance of pure air into an inhabited
room, a poison is unceasingly accumulating, which,
though it may continue in a diluted state for a long
time, and never perhaps become sufficiently concentrated to produce instant death, is still a poison;
acting like the daily draughts of a weakened narcotic,
gradually to reduce the vital energy, and prepare the
way for the approach of disease and death.
The vicissitudes of temperature, sudden alternations of heat and cold so frequent in our climate, are
exciting causes of much disease. The system may
accommodate itself after a time to the endurance of
either extreme of temperature; for the human race
are capable of enjoying a certain degree of health
in the intense cold of the frigid zone, as well as under
the burning sun of the equator. But when the atmospheric changes are rapid, when the system is kept in
a state of constant perturbation and fluctuation, no
period of sufficient length intervening to enable it to
call up all its powers of resistance to the unexpected
agency, a derangement of healthy action must be the
consequence. If the alteration is from heat to cold,
the cutaneous transpiration, which, as the great
depurating medium, should be uninterrupted, is
checked; a disturbance is induced in the capillary



72                    AIR.
vessels on the surface, which is transferred, through
sympathy, to the mucous membrane lining the interior; and thus catarrhs, inflammation of throat,
lungs, intestines, &c. are produced. When the reverse is the case, when the variation from sudden
cold to heat occurs, a similar irregularity of action
results, and internal inflammations are likewise developed. In passing from a heated room, without
sufficient protection, into the external air of a win.
ter's day, the body is exposed to the like influences
and consequences. The thermometer in the house
may indicate 75 to 80 degrees, and the thermometer
without may be below zero, yet thousands of imprudent individuals are daily exposing themselves to this
extreme transition; stepping at once, as it were,
from the torrid zone into the Arctic regions, with but
a trifling difference of clothing. Many strong men
have thus jumped from their counting-rooms into a
sick-bed; and many delicate women have thus
danced out of the ball-room into the grave.
Emanations from the earth, in certain localities,
are other prolific sources of disease. In the western
parts of our country, the air becomes vitiated by
" marsh miasmata," which induce fevers of a peculiar type. Much ignorance prevails with regard to
the nature of this poison, and much difference of
opinion as to its origin; whether it is generated by
animal, vegetable, or aqueous decomposition, or
by all combined.  Certain it is, that intermittent



AIR.                   73
fevers, which are so prevalent in marshy districts,
also occur in localities where no miasm from such
sources can be produced. Whatever may be the
circumstance or combination of circumstances necessary for the production of the variety of intermittents,
it is admitted that a moist atmosphere exercises a
considerable influence in their promotion.
In respect to the nature of epidemics in general,
what is the peculiar atmospheric condition to which
their existence may be ascribed, nothing is known
with any degree of certainty. Numerous suggestions have been made relative to the causes which
give rise to endemic diseases, such as remittent and
intermittent fevers, &c. confined to certain districts,
as well as to epidemic diseases, such as plague, influenza, cholera, &c. Electric influences, extreme
heat and cold, dryness and humidity of the air, and
other agencies, have been mentioned as direct causes,
and all have been abandoned as universally inapplicable and inadequate. The plague, for example,
which has its principal dwelling-place in Egypt,
appears to be the effect of no definite cause, or union
of causes, which do not equally prevail where there
is no plague. The irregular, undefinable movements
of the influenza, the equally indeterminate migrations of the cholera, admit of no satisfactory
explanation.  That an infectious influence, impalpable, invisible, eluding the keenest investigation,
does exist, —acting with terrific violence upon the



76                   AIR.
of the dead. Notwithstanding the best-regulated
sanitary measures, even if constantly carried on with
the commendable energy which characterized the
proceedings of our city authorities in view of the recent pestilence; notwithstanding the multiplication
of " breathing holes," those " lungs of a metropolis'
to which the half-stifled citizen may resort when he
can "spare time" to inhale the " pure air of
heaven,'' there will necessarily: exist many sources
of impurity, much that breeds disease, exclusive of
the oontamination of sepulchres. The mortality of a
city is much greater than that of the country. The
favorable change frequently effected by a removal
from the former to the latter, particularly in diseases
connected with the respiratory organs, is strikingly
indicative of the comparative insalubrity of a townresidence.  And not to the invalid alone is the
change beneficial. All have experienced, on passing
into the open country, the invigorating, exhilarating
influence of pure air, -that blessed, health-sustaining agent of which men are so wilfully deprived
when " jamming themselves" between the brick
walls of a narrow and crowded city, " the hospital
of the living, and the tomb of the dead."
Allusion has been made to moisture in the atmosphere as apparently tending to promote the spread
of malarious diseases. The exciting poison is unquestionably exhaled from the earth, whatever may
be the nature of the exhalations; but it is evident that



AIR.                    77
moisture enters largely into the circumstances which
favor the extension and concentration of the miasm.
In general, the diseases which are evidently produced
by the poisonous emanations from the soil prevail in
marshy districts, where, through the influence of
solar heat, evaporation loads the air with moisture.
It is true that, in dry, elevated situations, the same
diseases have been known to exist; a fact attempted
to be explained on the presumption that the miasma,
which, by reason of its greater specific gravity,
would remain near the surface of the earth, is raised
by the lighter ascending vapor to a higher and
dryer locality.  Independently of its presumed
agency in the transmission of poisonous properties,
atmospheric moisture is more unfavorable to health
than the opposite condition, dryness. Sir Jas. Clarke
asserts, that "humidity, of all the physical qualities of the air, is the most injurious to human life."
He adds, that " particular attention should be paid, in
selecting situations for building, to the circumstances
which are calculated to obviate humidity either in
the soil or atmosphere, in every climate. Thick and
lofty trees, close to a house, tend to maintain the air
in a state of humidity, by preventing its free circulation, and by obstructing the free admission of the
sun's rays. Houses in confined, shady situations,
with damp courts or gardens, or standing water
close to them, are unhealthy in every climate and
season, but especially in a country subject to



78                   AIR.
intermitting fevers, and during summer and autumn."
In travelling from Civita Vecchia to Rome, over a
portion of the Pontine Marshes, the sad consequences
of inhaling air rendered impure by earthy exhalations are strikingly visible upon the health of the
unfortunate inhabitants there met with. Vegetating
slowly and laboriously like sickly plants, struggling
vainly against the deadly influence of the malaria,
with complexions sallow and corpse-like, eyes
sunken and lustreless, limbs "' doughy" and dropsical, imbecile in mind and body, they wander
gloomily about, drinking in, with every breath, the
poison which early consumes them.
At no period of life are the deleterious consequences
of confinement in impure air more perceptible than
during infancy and childhood. "~ Pale countenances,
weak eyes, general relaxation of the body, an accumulation of all the inconveniences and sufferings
of childhood, at length consumption, and early
dissolution of life, are the natural and frequent conse.
quences of such confinement. The daily enjoyment
of fresh air contributes greatly to the health and
sprightliness of children, and is one of the most efficient preventives against that delicate and sickly
condition which is so frequently witnessed in those
who are almost constantly confined and pampered
in nurseries." - (Eberle.)  " Pure, uncontaminated
air is, indeed, most grateful to the feelings of chil



AIR.                   79
dren. After having been carried out but a few
times, they evince, even at a very early age, a strong
desire to return to the open air. When they can
scarcely crawl, they instinctively advance towards
that part of the room from which they have a
prospect of escaping." — (Struve.)



82                 EXERCISE.
strengthened; secretory action promoted; obstructions
prevented; the spirits enlivened; every function of the
body and every faculty of the mind animated with
natural, healthful energy. It is cruel, in view of these
advantages, to impose restraint upon the motions of
childhood. It is a sad self-infliction for the adult to deprive himself of such beneficial results. It would be
folly to make a fixture of a machine adapted for locomotion, allowing it to rust and be ruined in unprofitable inaction. How much greater is the folly when
that machine is a living, breathing, naturally-restless
thing, every fibre gifted with full powers of action
and endurance, with a wonderful arrangement of
moving forces, and a " spark of divinity" enclosed
that will live for ever, dimmed and nearly extinguished by the unhealthy, unnatural stillness of its
enveloping material, upon whose movements, in no
small degree, its brightness depends!
Sedentary occupations, unless regular intervals
are allotted for exercise, induce a condition the very
reverse of health. Mechanics of a certain class are
liable to diseases of which the active man knows
nothing. Artists, gilders, watchmakers, tailors, and
others of like occupation, are subject to peculiar
bodily derangements. Congestion to the lungs and
abdomen, gastric difficulties, nervous headaches,
irritability and weakness of body and mind, which
render the man a burden to himself and an annoyance to those around him, result from long-continued



EXERCISE.                 83
and close confinement to such employments. Regu.
lar, methodical exercise, which would counteract the
evil effects of such a life, because it does not appear
directly "'profitable," is neglected; and thus too
many needlessly fall victims to complaints which em.
bitter their whole existence.  When the business
demands much mental application, when intense
study is added to want of exercise, the consequences
are still more disastrous. Instances of longevity are
extremely rare among those who devote their hours
to incessant application. Constitutions endowed by
nature with unusual power " break down" in the
very " spring-time of life," without relaxation. Men
of rugged frames and nerves of iron, who might
have fitted themselves almost to cope with the lion
in his strength, and to match the antelope in agility,
become, in a few brief years, puny and helpless, and
early fall a resistless prey to that mortal enemy of
the studious man, — inactivity.  How widely different is the physical training of the civilized citizen
and the savage! The daily labor of the former
frequently consists in merely varying the position of
his lower extremities by forcing a four-legged chair
to become a biped, and by raising his heels above
the level of his head. The savage, on the contrary,
is in constant activity. His limbs are supple, springy,
and powerful. His pedestrian excursions are somewhat more extensive than the five minutes' travel of
a sickly student; for they are forty or fifty miles in



8ti6               EXERCISE.
equal distribution of motion is imparted to the mus.
cular apparatus; a more unconstrained position is
assumed in this quiet mode of progression than in
any other. It is an exercise in which the rich and the
poor can, at all times, indulge; and for the neglect
of which no possible excuse, by the sound-limbed,
can be offered. By walking is not meant the lazy
dragging of one foot after the other across a street,
or from the dwelling-house to the shop or office; but
a brisk, vigorous, resolute propulsion of the body
far out into the pure air of the country, where the
eye can rest upon objects that are not wholly artificial, the ear listen to music more exhilarating than
the noise of cart-wheels and voices of charcoal vendors, and the soul refreshed by being elevated
" through nature up to nature's God." A man may
hurry through the crowded streets of a city, dodging
at every step to avoid violent contact with posts, animate and inanimate, until he is fatigued and irritated;
a woman may perform her domestic duties with considerable agility, running up and down staircases
until she is " out of breath,' and beguile herself with
the idea that such spasmodic movements are all that
health requires. But much of the benefit of exercise
is lost, unless accompanied by the inspiration of fresh
air. The circulation of the blood is accelerated by
muscular exertion, and the motion of the lungs is
thereby increased; but, for the healthy oxygenation
of the augmented flow of blood, pure air is positively



EXERCISE.                87
needed; and the more rapid the respiration, the more
necessity exists for the inhalation of pure air. The
women of England and Scotland, in general, walk
twelve to fifteen miles daily. It becomes a pleasurable excitement, as well as a salutary recreation; and
the advantages are visible in the cheerful expression
of countenance, the long-retained fresh bloom of
youth, and the well-developed frame. We allude
not to the idle, pampered aristocracy, nor to the
opposite extreme of society; but to the middle
classes, who are interested in the cultivation of their
health, and have sense enough to appreciate its
value. How melancholy is the contrast of these
happy results with the condition of our own countrywomen; who, with unhealthy looking, emaciated
faces and figures, grown prematurely aged by confinement in the impure air of their dwellings, venture
out only in perfectly pleasant weather, and are then
" tired almost to death," after the walk of a mile or
two!
Dancing is an exercise frequently referred to by
its votaries as greatly conducive to health. It would
be so, doubtless, for it is a movement well adapted
to bring the muscles into united action, were the climate such as to admit of its practice in the open air;
but when conducted, as it necessarily is with us, in
heated ball-rooms, at midnight, inll thin dresses,
vitiated air, and with the liability of exposure to
extreme changes of temperature, it cannot be recom



EXERCISE.                  89
continued riding on horseback as the best mode of
exercise, even when pulmonary consumption is
present. A highly esteemed friend, the late Dr. Worcester, of Cincinnati, stated to the writer, that, while
laboring under unequivocal symptoms of tubercular
phthisis, he turned his horse's head westward, and
rode as on a " steeple-chase," more than one thousand miles, through swamps and over fences, through
rivers and over mountains, in one almost undeviating
line; and, on his return to Cincinnati, his health for
a time was completely restored.
The athletic exercises of the gymnasium contribute to the preservation, and, if practised with
moderation and judgment, to the restoration of
health. It is necessary to observe, however, that
muscular exertion, by those who have not gradually
accustomed themselves to severe exercise, may be
carried to an injurious extent; producing such irregularity of action in all the fuactions, as to lead to
serious organic mischief.  The desperate activity
which young, ambitious athletae occasionally force
themselves to exhibit, for the admiration of their
friends, may occasion aneurism of the arteries and
enlargement of the heart, ruptures, lacerations, &c.
Whenever powerful efforts are made from the chest
as a centre, blood is determined, through the retention of breath, to the head, and congestions are
liable to occur therein, as well as ruptures of vessels
or transudation of the contained fluid through their



90                 EXERCISE.
coats. There may be intemperance in exercise, as
in all other things; and, when it exceeds the bounds
of moderation, when carried to the point of exhaustion, injury instead of benefit will result.
As an evidence of the decided effects of judicious
gymnastic management, the following case is related
by Dr. Rosentein:'"' In Berne, Switzerland, a child, three years old,
could scarcely stand upon his legs. At five years,
he could walk with the assistance of a leading string;
and it was not before he was seven years old that he
commenced to walk without aid. He would, however, frequently fall, and could not rise without
exertion. At seventeen, his strength was so feeble
that his limbs could scarcely bear the weight of the
upper part of his body. He felt great weakness in
his arms, his shoulders were drawn forward, his
breast narrow, his breathing short, and his mental
capacities not much developed.
"In 1815, this unfortunate being was sent to the
gymnastic school of Mr. Clias, in Berne. Having
measured his strength by the pressure of his hands
applied to the dynamometer, it was calculated to be
equal to that of a child of seven years of age. The
powers of traction, ascension, running, were null.
In one minute and two seconds, he could scarcely
walk the distance of a hundred steps; and when he
reached the end of his little journey, he felt exhausted,
and was obliged to sit down and rest himself. The



EXERCISE.                 91
weight of fifteen pounds put into his hands made
him stagger; and a child of seven years could easily
throw him down. Five months later, through gymnastic exercise and a suitable diet, his powers increased to double the sum. He could, by means of
his arms, raise himself three inches from the ground,
and remain three seconds in that position. He could
jump a distance of three feet; run a hundred and
sixty-three steps in a minute, carrying along with
him, on the shoulders, thirty-five pounds weight. In
1817, in the presence of thousands of spectators, he
could climb up a rope twenty feet high, and repeat
the same manceuvre on a climbing pole, jump a distance of six feet, and run five hundred steps in two
minutes and a half. In 1818, he could walk five
miles without the least fatigue. And this same person, who at twenty years of age could scarcely carry
himself erect, became, through this healthful exercise, a strong and vigorous man, and could, in
combat, put most men at defiance."
Exercise of every description should be commenced gently. The transition from dead inactivity
to violent exertion may be dangerously precipitate.
There is no propensity requiring more restraint than
that tendency of " rushing into extremes " with which
the North American is so uncomfortably afflicted.
Calm but determined perseverance is better adapted
for success, in physical as well as moral and religious
reformation, than the fierce, restless, quickly ex



93
CHAPTER V.
ON BATHING.
FoR the establishment and preservation of health,
there is no hygienic expedient more easily adopted
and more carelessly regarded than bathing; and,
for the restoration of health, there is no single therapeutic measure which has been more neglected and
more abused. The dislike - the positive repugnance - of the large class of' the unwashed " to the
application of water to other portions of the skin than
those which are exposed to the air, perhaps results
from its prohibition in the clinical practice of former
times, - in the obstinate proscription by physicians
of this invigorating refrigerant, as a very hazardous
external resort during sickness. The opposite absurdity of applying cold water to the body in profusion and indiscriminately, - as well to the sensitive,
delicate infant as to the feeble, aged adult, - at all
times and seasons, and under all conditions, may be
attributed to the enthusiastic hydropathist. Between
the two extremes, as in all things else, there is a
" golden mean," by which the rational and consistent
may abide.



94                 BATHING.
The skin exercises a very important function in
the animal economy. By its secretory vessels, which
are composed of the extremities of the cutaneous
arteries, a vapor is continually exhaled from the
surface, in an imperceptible form usually, but made
visible when the vessels are stimulated by external
or internal heat, or by powerful mental emotion.
This watery vapor is a secretion - like all other
secretions - furnished from the blood, and health is
dependent upon its uninterrupted exhalation. By
insensible perspiration, the blood is freed from
superfluous matter, consisting of water, acetic and
carbonic acid, muriate of soda and potash, earthy
phosphate, and oxide of iron. By sensible perspiration, especially when produced by active therapeutic
measures, the miasmata which have originated disease, as well as medicines which have been taken in
a crude state, and have consequently promoted or as
is probable caused disease, are expelled through the
pores of the skin. As any obstruction to the free
passage of this secretion, through its innumerable
outlets upon the surface of the body, must of necessity interrupt in a measure the secreting process, it
is evidently a point of considerable consequence to
remove, or if possible prevent, such obstructions.
Now, these obstructions are constantly liable to oc.
cur from the presence of particles of dust or of clothing, or from the perspiration itself, the saline particles
of which remain in contact with the skin after the



BATHING.                 95
aqueous portion has evaporated; and washing the
skin frequently with water is the most efficient means
which can be taken to prevent the accumulation of
such obstructing causes.
During the process of respiration, vapor is exhaled
from the lungs, and the quantity is increased if by
any means cutaneous perspiration is obstructed.
The deficiency must thus be made up by the lungs,
if the free exercise of the functions of the skin is
interfered with. Should the latter be the case, respiration must be more than commonly laborious;
and this over-exertion of the lungs unavoidably tends
to debility, and induces consumption, and other diseases of the chest. To offer every facility, therefore,
for the promotion of free, unobstructed transpiration,
is to adopt a precautionary measure against the
occurrence of pulmonary disease, which, as is too
well known, needs in our climate but very little encouragement. The escape of the evaporable portion
of the perspiration may be promoted by the use of
light and porous material worn next the skin, and,
on the contrary, prevented by clothing impermeable
to air and moisture. But the impurities which do
not evaporate, and which are ever accumulating,
cannot be removed except by ablution with water;
and such ablution should be performed daily.
Bathing in cold water is practised much more
generally now than at any former period. That it
is an agent of vast importance in the preservation of



96                 IBATHING.
health is undeniable. It acts favorably, not only by
cleansing the skin from impurities, but, by its secondary effect, increasing the action of the cutaneous
vessels, strengthening the nervous system, promoting
vigorous circulation, and rendering the body more
capable of enduring with impunity the rapid alternations of atmospheric temperature. The immediate
effect of its application to the healthy frame is depressing. The action of the capillaries, or perspiratory organs, that of the nervous and vascular systems,
and even of the mental, are diminished. When
re-action takes place, indicated by a sensation of
warmth, all the animal functions are carried on with
renewed energy, and its happy influence is exhibited
in the re-animation and increased capability of both
the physical and mental powers. This re-action is the
measure of advantage derived. If occurring early,
and in a marked manner, the application of cold has
proved beneficial. If, on the contrary, the primary
action continues long, the sensation of chilliness not
being followed by that of warmth, but accompanied
by debility and exhaustion, the bathing is of doubtful advantage, or rather of decided injury.  It is
evident, that, where re-action does not take place, -
where there is a deficiency of vital activity, from
whatever cause arising, - the influence which adds
to the previous depression of the powers of life, and
is prolonged in its action, must be an unfavorable
one.



BATHING.                  97
Re-action does not readily occur in the debilitated
and delicate, nor in infancy or old age, when the
vital functions are feebly executed.  It may be
favored, however, when delayed, by friction with
some coarse material.  Friction, with or without
bathing, it should be observed, is an eligible substitute for exercise, when the latter cannot be conveniently taken. Although it is not attended with all the
advantages derived from exercise in the open air, it
nevertheless invigorates the muscular fibre, through
sympathy with the cutaneous vessels, and increases
the energy of the whole system.
The external use of cold water has been recommended by some as safe in all seasons, for all ages,
and in all conditions. Those who practise indiscriminately upon such irrational advice will be led into
great error.  It is certainly not beneficial to very
young children, as an extreme susceptibility to cold
exists during the period of infancy, and the system
resists with difficulty the influence of any sudden
change. The consequence of a powerful impression
of this kind to the sensitive membrane, enclosing the
whole delicate mechanism of young life, is a rapid
repulsion of blood from the entire surface upon the
vital organs, and an irritation, by sympathetic action,
of the internal mucous membranes, thereby causing
convulsions, croup, bowel complaints, &c.  This
conclusion has not been admitted as legitimate by
many; but it is, nevertheless, one which will demand
7



98                 BATHING.
more than a simple denial to controvert. The temperature of water ought to be gradually reduced
when applied to infants, as well as when used by the
feeble and aged. It should be constantly modified
to suit particular cases, as well when adopted for the
prevention as for the cure of disease.
To the hydropathic method of treatment, no reference need here be made, excepting to observe, that,
whatever may have been its advantages in certain
disorders, as a system of cure it appears wholly in.
complete. That it has proved effectual in many
complaints, that the " wet sheet," for example, has
been productive of very great advantage in certain
stages of fever, is certain; but it is also as certain,
that the practice, in any of its forms, is neither applicable to all diseases, nor to be safely administered to
all persons, under all circumstances. As an occasional auxiliary to the internal action of medicines
prepared according to the direction of Hahnemann,
who originated the only method of practice worthy
of being called a system, it finds its true place in
therapeutics.
The especial curative power of cold applications,
made use of to a partial extent, when the skin is preternaturally hot and dry, consists in its reducing the
temperature of the surface with which they come
into contact. The diminution of action thus locally
caused is communicated by sympathy to every portion of the cutaneous system of vessels, modifying



BATHING.                 99
the morbid heat throughout the body. By this force
and extent of sympathy it is that the disposition to
inflammation of throat and lungs may be counteracted by the frequent application of cold water to
the feet; the temperature of the water being gradually
reduced, when there is reason to apprehend a deficient re-action. It should here be added, that, always
with the restriction above named, the practice of
frequently bathing the feet in cold water lessens the
susceptibility to those sudden variations of tempera.
ture to which these useful members are constantly
subjected during winter. The habit of " toasting"'
them several hours before a hot fire, and directly
afterward rushing out upon the snow-covered side.
walk, is one much more common than prudent; and
some fortifying process is absolutely necessary. The
epitaph,'" Died of thin shoes," would not be such a
generally applicable inscription over the grave of the
young and beautiful, were the feet more frequently
prepared against exposure by the invigorating influence of a daily cold bath.
The warm bath, or that which exceeds in temperature the natural warmth of the body, is far more
conducive to disease than to health. By its use, the
excitability of the system is greatly increased, the
circulation accelerated, the respiration embarrassed,
the tendency to plethora developed; and the perspiration induced terminates in a state of languor and
exhaustion.  When the water used is 10 or 15



BATHING.                 101
The hour selected for bathing is an important
point for consideration. While digestion is going
on, three hours being the average time for that operation, any strong impulse communicated from
without to the circulatory and nervous systems disturbs the process by withdrawing from the digestive
organs the vital force which they require. Directly
after rising in the morning is the most favorable
time in general; but for those who need immediate
subsequent exercise to promote a healthy re-action,
the third hour after breakfast is the one most suitable.
The system is oftener enervated than re-animated by
a night's repose, in civilized life, and is unable to
endure well much early exercise without sustenance.
Under the head of bathing, one of our best writers
on hygiene, Dr. Dunglison, of Philadelphia, alludes
in the following terms, which we take the liberty of
quoting, to the practice of resorting to watering
places for the restoration of health. The remarks
are not perhaps directly applicable to the subject of
this chapter; but they cannot be more appropriately
introduced in any other place. He mentions having,
in his work on'" General Therapeutics," " animadverted on the evil that must necessarily result in
various diseases from the indiscriminate mode in
which different mineral waters are drunk at their
sources; and to a less degree the evil is experienced
when they are employed by those in health; and has
there remarked that every intelligent physician, at



BATHING.                 103
however, of the searchers after health will believe
that the least important hygienic agent is the water;
and, were they convinced of this, they might perhaps
be less disposed to visit, and pass their time at, the
springs, and to reap the other extrinsic advantages
to which allusion has been made. The drinking of
the waters is an object for undertaking a journey;
and, if the journey be undertaken, it may happen
that the use of the waters will be found unnecessary,
if not injurious."



104
CHAPTER VI.
ON CLOTHING.
A FEW observations in relation to the covering necessary to protect the body from the influence of
cold will not be out of place here. Many complaints resulting in death may be directly traced to
carelessness with regard to dress. That material
which is the worst conductor of caloric is the best
protection against external heat or cold; for animal
heat which would otherwise be dissipated is thus
retained, and atmospheric heat also prevented from
acting upon the surface of the body. Flannel is the
article of clothing which best answers this condition,
and it may be worn under or over linen. It has
been objected to as increasing the susceptibility to
external impressions; but the objection applies to
many varieties of clothing. Undoubtedly it would
be better were the surface rendered, in a great measure, insensible to cold by the early practice of
frequent bathing, commenced, as has been already
remarked, by the use of tepid water, and gradually
reduced, in temperature, to the freezing point.



CLOTHING.               105
When the system has thus become habituated to the
sudden abstraction of heat, the vicissitudes of climate may be endured with comparative impunity,
even if no addition is made to the linen or cotton
usually worn in summer next the skin. But where
this preservative habit is not in force; where, from
negligence or necessity, a debilitated condition prevails, - an incapacity of re-acting against agencies
to which the body must be exposed, - the protection
afforded by flannel is greater than from any other
material. Independently of its being a bad conductor
of caloric, it acts advantageously by stimulating in a
degree the cutaneous vessels, and by absorbing, in
consequence of its loose texture, much of the impurities thrown out by perspiration, which would
otherwise, especially if bathing were not frequently
practised, accumulate upon the skin. It is believed
also that the poisonous exhalations from the earth, in
certain localities, are rendered less injurious to health
by the use of flannel. Travellers over the marshes
in the vicinity of Rome are recommended to wear
it, as one of the chief preservatives against the
noxious action of malaria.
It is not to be denied, that much mischief results
from the wearing of woollen or any other fabric
which induces perspiration.  Sensible perspiration,
in a healthy person, should be produced by no other
means than exercise.  An excess of covering, as
well during the day as the night, is relaxing and



106                CLOTHING.
debilitating. The quantity promotive of comfort,
one's own sensations being the guide, is the only rule
of safety.
Much attention ought to be given to the clothing
of infants. At this period of life, the power of generating heat is less than at any other time. The great
mortality in infancy is justly attributed to a deficiency
of clothing, in connection with vitiated air and improper diet. In some counties of France, the birth
of every child must be registered by the mayor of
the district, and the personal presence of the infant
is required. It happens, that, where this regulation
exists, more than common inattention is paid to the
clothing of these little creatures, and it has been
found that a great number perish in consequence of
this exposure; while the deaths are much more
numerous in the cold than in warm seasons; and a
much larger proportion occurs among those who are
brought from a distance, than among those in the
neighborhood of the Registry Office.
As the quantity of clothing should be regulated by
the sensations of comfort, it is equally important that
those sensations should be consulted with reference
to the tightness of the dress. No compression ought
to be permitted; no hindrance to the free and easy
movement of the muscles, or to the full expansion
of the lungs. It was one of the most foolish decrees
of that foolish goddess, Fashion, that her votaries
should be forced to respire in a laborious manner;



CLOTHING.                107
should suffer from constriction of the thoracic and
abdominal portions of the frame, or be exposed to
apoplexy by the pressure of a tight cravat upon the
vessels of the neck. It would be perhaps superfluous
to expatiate here upon the folly of compressing the
waist by tight lacing. If this error is persisted in at
the present day, it cannot be from ignorance of its
disastrous consequences, since the practice has been
stigmatized in every publication issued on physiology,
and in every lecture delivered on the laws of health,
since the commencement of the nineteenth century.
No part of the healthy human body, from the crown
of the head to the sole of the feet, will admit of compression without injury, unless it be temporarily
adopted with a view to the immediate support of
some debilitated internal organ.  Uneasiness and
constraint, experienced even in the feet, frequently
bring on sympathetic affections of a serious nature
in the chest and head; and an impeded circulation,
by local pressure anywhere, will ultimately result in
a diminution of strength and disturbance of health.
In concluding these remarks on clothing, it may
not be improper to advert to the covering which Providence has provided for man, and of which he sees
fit, at the sacrifice of a vast amount of time and comfort, to deprive himself. Necessarily more exposed
to atmospheric influences, in his capacity of purveyor
for a household, than the " softer sex," he has been
furnished with a protection not only for the neck



108                CLOTHING.
behind, but also for the neck in front, and a large
portion of the face. The beard which defends the
throat, - the whiskers and moustache which are probably designed for a similar purpose with regard to
the teeth, - the eyebrows, which guard, to a certain
extent, the eye, - are all equally useful. This hair
was intended to answer some valuable end as an integument, or it would not have been permitted to
grow; and the caprice of fashion is in no particular
more obviously absurd, than when leading man to
flourish a dangerously sharp instrument about his
nose, ears, and throat, daily, from the age of maturity until death, in order to cut down that which is
of no possible use to any one, after being removed.
If it is equally useless before its removal, it certainly
proves a strange and solitary exception to that beautiful law of design,- the adaptation of means to an
end, — which prevails throughout nature.



109
CHAPTER VII.
ON SLEEP',
AMONG the necessary means of renovating the vital
energies, and recruiting the nervous system, is that of
sleep; a condition in which there is a suspension
of the voluntary activity that would soon exhaust, if
uninterrupted, the powers of life.  The functions of
nutrition continue in operation; all muscular motion
not dependent on volition goes on, though with retarded action; while the senses are closed to external
impressions, and the crowd of earth-born influences
which " war against the soul " is lost to cognizance.
If this cessation of muscular and mental activity does
not take place, if unceasing application or artificial
stimulants prolong the interval of wakefulness beyond
a certain point, nervous action is unhealthy, and the
whole physical system becomes enfeebled and diseased. The privation of sleep, like that of food and
drink, is the withholding a necessity which nature
imperatively demands. Regularity in the use of the
three necessaries of life is important; and indulgence



SLEEP.                  111
through the medium of the lungs, by air, impure
perhaps at first, and inhaled over and over again for
several consecutive hours. Every window and door
in a bedroom ought to be opened to their utmost
capacity, in the morning if at no other time, and all
the bed-clothing well and thoroughly aired, if either
health or cleanliness is to be consulted.
Another important consideration is the amount of
time passed in sleep. During this period, the circulation is of course going on, and transpiration, at the
whole surface of the body, of the waste material, is
not only undiminished, but rather increased; while
neither food nor exercise furnishes counter-balancing supplies to the system. If this state of things
is continued beyond the requisite time for the restoration of nervous energy, the consequence must
inevitably be a gradual diminution of vital force,
resulting ultimately in the complete prostration of
the bodily and mental faculties. In early life, sleep
is more necessary than at a maturer age, when the
functions of the nervous system are less energetic.
Eight hours of the twenty-four are sufficient for any
adult who is in health, and much more than has been
indulged in by many eminent men distinguished for
activity, of whose domestic habits history has in.
formed us. Napoleon spent but four hours in sleep,
during the most active portion of a life remarkable
for exhibitions of mental and physical energy. Many
have been contented with even less. Instances of



SLEEP.                 113
early sunlight produces on all the animated creation.
The laws of the outward world and the laws of
health are alike opposed to this most unnatural practice.



OCCUPATIONS.                115
The unfavorable circumstances above named are not
necessarily attendant on the occupations to be mentioned; for, if no means of counteraction could be
made available, it would be useless to allude to them
in a work of this kind. It is not possible to avoid
entirely such causes, but their consequences may be
greatly mitigated.
There is no doubt. that the occupations which
allow of the free use of fresh air and muscular exercise are those most conducive to health and longevity.
The following results, in reference to different pursuits as favoring length of life, were published at
Berlin, in 1834. To what extent the researches
were conducted we are not informed; but the general correctness of the observations were confirmed
shortly after by statistics furnished in the " Report on
the Sanitary Condition of the Population of Great
Britain."
Of 100 Clergymen who had attained the age of 70
and upwards, there were... 42,,,, Farmers....... 40,,,, Commercial men..... 35,,,,Military men...... 33,,,,Lawyers....... 29,,,, Artists....... 28,,,, Teachers....... 27,,,,Physicians...... 24
The above estimate, if too limited for universal



116               OCCUPATIONS.
application, is undoubtedly a near approximation to
the truth. It will be observed, that the first half of
the list, the clergymen excepted, are of those who
are necessarily much exposed to the air, and subjected to physical exercise; while the other half are
confined principally within doors, the physician excepted, and engaged in quiet, sedentary occupations.
It would be somewhat difficult to explain satisfactorily the cause of the vast difference between the
length of life of the clergyman and the physician.
It may be that the literary labors of the former do
not usually demand the constant application that
prevents sufficient bodily exercise; and the nature of
his study is such as tends, by diffusing cheerfulness,
hope, and serenity, to the prolongation of life. But
the latter is, from the painful scenes which his avocation compels him to witness,- from the awful
responsibility in which he is involved, subject to
agonizing mental anxiety, that wears away his health,
and is doubtless the chief cause of his comparative
early death.
No mention is made, in the foregoing list, of a
large portion of our population, - the useful mechanics. There is no reason for believing that their lives
are shortened by their occupation, unless that occupation is such as to confine them to a constrained
position, or to force them to inhale irritating substances.  In  the former class may be included
shoemakers, tailors, and other like workmen; and



OCCUPATIONS.              117
in the latter, coppersmiths, plumbers, operative chemists, &c. With regard to the former, much may
be accomplished in neutralizing the bad effects of a
bent position of the body, by assuming an upright
posture as frequently as possible; by taking care to
exercise the muscles in the hours of relaxation,
which are cramped during the hours of labor. The
right angle, formed by the limbs and trunk, which
certain occupations oblige men to assume, need not
be retained in walking. In an inclined position, a
human being must not only propel himself forward,
but must, at the same time, resist the power of gravitation. As to those who work upon metals, the
impalpable impurities which arise may be in part
removed by proper ventilation; and as much that is
floating, in the air may be absorbed through the skin,
particularly particles of lead, and the volatile matter
to which druggists and chemists are exposed, it
would be proper for all of this class to change their
garments frequently, to bathe often, and to remove
every particle that may be absorbed, and also that
which may enter the system with the food.
The abbreviation of life from intellectual employment has been questioned, since numerous instances
of great longevity have occurred among those who
have passed their whole lives in deep study; and
the cases of impaired health and of early death
in such pursuits have been attributed rather to the
collateral circumstances, as irregularity of diet, exer



118               OCCUPATIONS.
cise, sleep, &c. than to the direct effect of cerebral
disturbance. Dr. Dunglison, from whose admirable
work on Hygiene we have already quoted, - after
referring to the assertions of Dr. Madden, that
literary life frequently terminates in palsy or apo.
plexy; Petrarch, Linnaeus, Copernicus, Lord Claren.
don, Rousseau, Marmontel, Richardson, Steele,
Phillips, Johnson, Harvey, Wollaston, Porson, and
Reid being enumerated as " martyrs to literary
glory," -states that the individuals alluded to were
not all remarkable for severe application; that they
did not all die of apoplexy or palsy; that most
of them attained a good old age; and that the habits
of some were such as would destroy any person not
possessing a constitution of iron. In contradiction
to the opinion of James Johnson, which was that a
high range of health is incompatible with the most
vigorous exertion of the mind, and that this last both
requires and induces a standard of health somewhat
below par, instancing Virgil, Horace, Voltaire, and
Pope in support of the latter assertion, he (Dr. Dunglison) adds, that "an impaired condition of the
bodily functions was doubtless present in the cases
referred to; and it has existed, and does exist, in
numerous others. But these are only coincidences,
affording examples of high intellectual attainments
and productions, in spite of the bodily infirmities
under which those distinguished individuals labored,
but by no means showing that they were the conse



120               OCCUPATIONS.
persons engaged in mental avocations are shorterlived than those whose pursuits are such as to require
bodily labor merely.  The sedentary habits of the
former will no doubt answer as a partial explanation
of this difference: still it is reasonable to conclude,
that the constant exercise of an organ, upon whose
unexcited regularity of action the normal condition
of the nervous system is greatly dependent; the
unnatural distension of the cerebral vessels by the
afflux of blood induced by such exercise; the abstraction of vital energy from other organs to serve
the purpose of the over-tasked brain, - must be
productive of injurious consequences to health, irrespective of all other unfavorable circumstances.
Such, doubtless, is the tendency in every case; and,
if exhausted, disordered physical functions enervate
the mental faculties, the latter, urged to continued
exertion, will also affect the physical functions in
proportion to the nervous impressibility, and predispose, if not produce, actual bodily derangement.
The process of thought and of digestion cannot
well be prosecuted together, for the reason that a
greater amount of the vital energy before alluded to
is required, both by the stomach and the brain, for
the proper performance of their functions. On this
account, the application of the same rule that should
be enforced in relation to bodily exertion is advisable,
viz. that much mental exercise should not be under.
taken directly after a meal.  And as, in bodily



124                 DRUGS.
which the system can get rid of in a forcible manner,
frequently too forcible, without the aid of expellants;
and that they are reproduced so long as the disease
continues.  These substances often appear to the
true physician in the shape of morbid symptoms, and
aid him in discovering the nature and image of the
disease, which he afterwards avails himself of in performing a cure by means of homceopathic agents."
Disease being the result of a modification of the
vital force by which functional or organic derangements are induced, it is impossible to cure, without
correcting this vital alteration; and all agents di.
rected against effects, although sometimes alleviating
temporarily, are not only unavailing in the removal
of the cause, but are in themselves productive of a
new morbid condition. If gastric derangement exists,
removal of the contents of the stomach by emetics
will not serve the purpose of counteracting the dis.
eased action, of which the local derangement is the
consequence.  The abstraction of blood cannot
affect, in a curative manner, the morbid condition,
which is perhaps inducing changes in the character
of the fluid itself. The unhealthy state of the absorbents, which allow of the unnatural accumulation
of fluid in dropsy, is not remedied by removing the
effusion through an artificial aperture. All medicinal action, of whatever nature, when applied to
consequences, is wholly misdirected, and almost in.
variably injurious.



DRUGS.                 125
Homeeopathy does not act against consequences.
It makes a careful collection of every indication
manifested to the senses,- all the phenomena which
can, in any measure, throw light upon the proximate
cause which produces the external manifestations.
The primary agent, having operated, it may be, in
the far-distant past to bring on present disease; the
moral impressions; all previous and existing influences; every thing, in short, which can be collected
to fill up the picture, to form an exact portrait of the
particular disease under consideration, are regarded
as of equal importance in pointing out a remedy. If
the cause cannot always be discovered by human
intelligence; if the totality of symptoms does not
always indicate the hidden derangement; if the nature of the primary alteration may never be known;
it will be evident that there is, notwithstanding, much
greater probability of successful treatment in this
way, than when the whole artillery of evacuants,
antiphlogistics, &c. is brought violently to bear upon
effects. The combined assault of disease and the
doctor upon one poor delicate organ is too often an
intolerable and a fatal infliction.  The medicinal
agent which will reinstate the harmonious operations
of nature quietly, for it cannot be done otherwise, is
the only true remedy; and all endeavors to cure,
while the proximate morbid cause is acting, will be
fruitless.
Were a faithful picture to be drawn of all the



126                 DRUGS.
results which have followed the practice of resorting
to large doses of drugs, it would indeed be frightful.
"' We could present rather a serious tragedy, if we
were to collect all the cases of poisoning by huge
doses of powerful medicines by the disciples of this
physician, and of sanguinary homicide by the imitators of that bold surgeon, though they may both
enjoy high repute." - (Medical Gazette.)
Could all the consequences which have resulted
from the use of a single medicinal agent, - for example, that destructive mineral, mercury, - be brought
together, so as to be comprehended in one view, it
would be impossible for the human eye to look upon
a scene of greater devastation and horror. " Gentle.
men," said Prof. Chapman, in his address to the
students of the Allopathic Medical School in Philadelphia, " if you could see, what I almost daily see
in my private practice in this city, persons from the
South in the very last stages of wretched existence,
emaciated to a skeleton, with both tables of the skull
almost completely perforated in many places, the nose
half gone, with rotten jaws, ulcerated throats, breaths
more pestiferous, more intolerable, than poisonous
upas, limbs racked with the pains of the Inquisition,
minds as imbecile as the puling babe, a grievous bur.
den to themselves, and a disgusting spectacle to others,
you would exclaim, as I have often done,' Oh! the
lamentable want of science that dictates the abuse of
that noxious drug, calomel, in the Southern States!'



DRUGS.                  127
Gentlemen, it is a disgraceful reproach to the profession of medicine: it is quackery,- horrid, unwarranted, murderous quackery. What merit do
gentlemen of the South flatter themselves they possess, by being able to salivate a patient? Cannot
the veriest fool in Christendom salivate, - give calomel?  But I will ask another question.  Who is
it that can stop the career of mercury at will, after it
has taken the reins in its own destructive and ungovernable hands? He who, for an ordinary cause,
resigns the fate of his patient to mercury, is a vile
enemy to the sick; and, if he is tolerably popular,
will, in one successful season, have paved the way
for the business of life; for he has enough to do
ever afterward to stop the mercurial breach of the
constitutions of his dilapidated patients.  He has
thrown himself in fearful proximity to death, and
has now to fight him at arm's length, as long as the
patient maintains a miserable existence."
And this confessedly dangerous medicine is prescribed upon the most trifling occasion, even for
infants, and for the most simple irregularities of
digestion in adults.  The susceptibility of certain
individuals to its influence is very great; and a few
grains may exercise upon such persons a powerful
influence, which will cause for the time severe suffering, and be the means of permanent, irreparable
injury. It is a well-known fact, that a spoonful of
calomel is frequently given for a dose, even before



128                 IRUGS.
the degree of susceptibility may have been ascertained; and, although with some no immediate per.
ceptible injury is experienced, it is by no means
certain that they will be freed from ultimate consequences of the most distressing character.
Professor Carlisle remarks, that " it seems passing
strange that grave men should persist in giving large
doses of calomel, and order these doses to be daily
reiterated in chronic and debilitated cases. Men,
starting into the exercise of the medical profession
from a cloistered study of books, and from abstract
speculations; men, wholly unaware of the fallibility
of medical evidence, and unversed in the doubtful
effects of medicines, may be themselves deluded,
and delude others for a time: but, when experience
has proved their errors, it would be magnanimous,
and yet no more than just, to renounce both the
opinion and the practice."
Calomel, however, is but one of many medicinal
agents, to whose pernicious influence man sees fit to
subject himself and others. Opium is another, well
known and extensively employed, less directly destructive to organic substance than mercury, but
acting with most deleterious energy upon the brain
and nervous system; producing, in large doses, vertigo, convulsions, delirium, and death. In its different pharmaceutical forms, it is more generally used
than any other medicine. In a pulverized state, it
enters into most of the prescriptions of the physician;



DRUGS.                  129
and as laudanum, paregoric, &c. it is freely resorted
to by men, women, and children. If it relieved pain
and promoted rest, at all times and under all conditions, no reasonable objection could be urged
against its general use, and it would indeed be a
precious remedy; but this is far from being the case,
for it is by no means constant in its operation as a
sedative; and its primary action, if favorable, is certain to be followed by an action precisely the reverse'
The nervous irritability and susceptibility to pain
which may have been lessened for a short time by the
first effect of the opiate, is greatly augmented when
this immediate action subsides; and the existence
of actual pain is less troublesome than the intolerable state of uneasiness which prevails during its
secondary action. Opium-eaters cannot endure the
agonizing mental and physical prostration which is
consequent upon the brief excitement caused by the
drug; and they strive, by repeated doses, to keep up
the primary action, until the nervous system is deranged, the brain stupefied, the constitution ruined;
and the miserable victim becomes a poor, worthless
"mass of humanity," like the abject consumer of
alcohol, - a curse to himself, an object of loathing
and scorn to every man in his senses with whom he
comes in contact. Hahnemann has clearly depicted
the unhappy condition to which the immoderate
coffee-drinker is ultimately reduced; but the effect
of opium is to a far greater extent noxious, inasmuch
9



DRUGS.                 131
entitled " Lives of the Queens of England." From
the conspicuous position of this illustrious victim,
attracting, as she did, the interest of a whole nation,
the facts attending her decease could not be easily
suppressed.
It will not be out of place to quote here certain
observations relative to a few medicines in domestic
use, by a writer in the " Medico-chirurgical Re-;riew," published in London. He writes as follows:
"That which is commonly called a most innocent
medicine may be the source of the utmost harm, if it
be taken at an improper moment, or under unfavorable circumstances. Thus, magnesia has been productive of fatal consequences, from the ignorance
with which it has been administered, or the perseverance in taking it, when it has failed in its expected
influence. Masses unchanged have been found after
death, closely collected together, or patches of the
powder adhering with the utmost pertinacity to the
intestines, because there had been none of the acid
with which it should combine to be properly efficacious. Some very curious instances of this kind are
upon record, and some of the cases have been, from
the apparently suspicious circumstances, made subjects of legal investigation; for even death from
arsenic has been supposed to have taken place, when
examination has shown that magnesia has been its
cause. Manna, simple as it is supposed to be, has
been known to produce dyspepsia of the most obsti



136
CHAPTER X.
ON MENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE.
THE influence of the mind upon the body, the inti.
mate connection of the moral with the physical, is a
subject of the highest interest in relation to health,
and should meet with special attention. Immaterial
as the mental faculties are, they nevertheless are
dependent upon the action of a material organ, —
the brain: that organ is nourished by the same blood,
warmed by the same life, governed by the same
laws, as other portions of the frame. By want of
exercise or by over-exertion, its vigor is impaired, its
functions deranged, its destruction threatened; and
as care must be exercised in the adaptation of external agencies to the requirements of the body, that
health may be maintained and life enjoyed, so must
it be with the mind, which has its seat in the brain.
As emaciated muscle, softened bone, disorganized
nerve, obliterated blood-vessels, may result from disuse, or injuries equal in extent from excessive use of
the physical powers, so may the mental be disordered
and destroyed by imperfect or extraordinary exercise.



RENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE.       137
An unhealthy condition of the mind from inaction
is not unfrequently the unhappy lot of those whose
calling comprehends a very limited range of objects,
or who, provided with a sufficiency or superfluity of
the earth's goods, suffer themselves to sink into a
sort of mental lethargy, becoming resigned to an
uninterrupted state of repose, and almost literally
"thinking of nothing."   Not caring to enter the
wide field of literature; perceiving little worthy of
attention, beyond their own worthless selves, in a
world full of interest and excitement, they fall into
inanity, but few degrees removed, seemingly, from
the " beasts that perish." Those godlike faculties,
qualified for engaging, with pure delight, in the
loftiest contemplations and the most sublime investigations, with a boundless range for their exercise
and expansion, capable of constant advancement
in knowledge, step by step, for ever, are allowed by
many to run almost to waste over a few mean, contracted notions, which blight the brain, and bring
weariness and grief on the deathless spirit.
Intellectual food and exercise are as necessary for
the health of the mind as material food and physical
exercise are necessary for the health of the body.
And as with the latter every part is to be exercised,
in order that the whole may be invigorated, so, with
the mind, each faculty should be in active operation.
The resemblance may be continued; for as excessive
bodily exertion tends to diminish instead of increas



138       MENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE.
ing vital energy, so extreme mental application, or
violent exercise of the brain, debilitates the power
of thought, and disposes to derangement. It is, of
course, through its physical frame-work that the
intellect is disordered by close application.  The
laws of the perishable material must be regarded,
if we would properly realize the uses of our intellectual nature. The mind will not long act with
vigor in this life, if the nervous system, with which
it is most intimately connected, is in an unhealthy
condition; and neither will the nervous system long
continue in a normal state, while the mind is subjected to constant, unrelaxing exertion.
Powerful mental emotions prove always injurious,
and sometimes instantly destructive to vital action.
The physical condition is affected by the state of the
mind, and on that condition depends the continuance of health and life. The nervous system is the
most directly influenced by strong impressions upon
the mind, and through this communication the impression is transmitted to all the physical functions.
How the immaterial acts thus upon matter, how this
wonderful union of soul and body exists, is an
enigma that man cannot solve. He may ascertain
the cause of an emotion; he may make himself
familiar with its effects; he may, to a certain extent,
neutralize its disturbing action upon the body, by
remedies dynamic in their character, — but he can
go no further. Mental suffering, from a distressing



MENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE.         139
calamity, prevents the proper oxygenation of the
blood, interrupting the circulation and disordering
respiration. Alarm, on the approach of a pestilence,
depresses the nervous energy, and debilitates the
whole frame to such a degree that death's work
is easily accomplished. Man knows this; but all
inquiry into the nature of a connection so intimate
is as unsatisfactory, as fruitless, as is the attempt to
investigate the principle of life, to account for the
sufferings of the pure and innocent, to penetrate
any of the Almighty's deep mysteries.
The dependence of the body upon the mind, the
close intimacy of the spiritual with the material, is
in no instance more strikingly exhibited than when
vehement passion takes possession of the soul. Falling heavily upon the brain, through that mysterious
communication which God only understands, the
dynamic, immaterial, yet overwhelming influence
is transmitted through the nervous connection to the
centre of circulation, and the heart breaks - literally.
It is not always a metaphor, this sad " heart-break.
ing." There are on record instances of an actual
rupture, from powerful emotion, of the muscular
walls of this organ's cavities, producing instant
death. When the emotion is not of that overpowering nature which kills at once, but is permanent and
corroding, it makes itself seen and felt in perverted
functions, disordered nerves, languid circulation, and
deranged digestion.



140         MENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE.
Grief is a consuming passion, which, indulged in,
gradually undermines the constitution, wearing out
and wasting away life's energies.. When the mind
is dead to the blessed consolations of religion, there
is no emotion so permanent and remediless, - none
so generally injurious in its effects. Congestion and,
inflammation of the heart, insanity, apoplectic and
epileptic fits, emaciation, impaired functions of every
organ, result from  grief.   The  best therapeutic
measures are those belonging to homceopathy. The
best hygienic influence is submission to the will of
God.
Macbeth. Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased;
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow;
Raze out the written troubles of the brain;
And, with some sweet oblivious antidote,
Cleanse the foul bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?
Doctor.                          Therein the patient
Must minister to himself.
Anger, that terrible passion, which, when amounting to fury, transforms man into a demon, may, if
violent and prolonged, cause hysteria, convulsions,
hemorrhages, diseases of the liver, madness. In its
lightest form, there is an accelerated flow of blood
to the brain, and a disturbance of the nervous
system.  Many counteracting measures have been
advised, such as the instant concentration of all
the mental powers in forming a firm  resolution for



MENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE.       141
its immediate suppression; the stern compulsion of
that " unruly member," the tongue, to silence; the
careful avoidance of the rage-begetting monster,
alcohol.  But when the pitiably weak subject of an
influence like anger, in its most fearful shape, urges
the entire absence of self-control as a claim to indulgence, the most successful remedy would probably be the hydropathic application of the " douche; "
for this overwhelmingly active refrigerant seldom
fails to calm those enraged animals that cannot boast
of reason.
Fear, joy, and the infernal passions of envy and
malice, all act through the same communication
noxiously upon the physical frame. It is not necessary to enter into an account of the peculiar effects
of each. Dissimilar as the character of the abovenamed emotions are, their effects are not unlike.
The same morbid phenomena, cerebral derangement
in chief, with disturbed nutrition and cardiac affections brought on through the connection existing
between the brain and other organs, are consequent
upon intense excitement from all strong emotions,
save that of love. No harm is produced upon body
or mind by the cultivation of this divine attribute.
We allude to the disinterested, holy love of the
mother for her child; the creature for the Creator;
the pure passion of one congenial spirit for another;
the all-absorbing desire to add to the happiness of the
loved object, unmixed with the base, calculating



142       MENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE.
thought of self. There is no divinity in the form of
this passion where selfishness dwells, and in that
foul, earth-born sensuality, which the world often
dignifies with the name of love. There is health,
spiritual and physical, in the one; there is sickness,
death, and " deep damnation" in the other. And
when this cheering, celestial visitant enters the mind,
it may be entertained and cherished without fear of
its harming the body. It is not only innocuous, but
it is a preservative of health; and the " blessed in.
fluence of that love which has followed the pardon
of sin." has even cured, and will yet cure, many
physical aliments that baffle human skill.
It will be understood that reference has been
made, in the account of unhealthy influences from
passion, to the consequences which arise from a high
degree of mental excitement. The emotions, from
which no human being is exempt, if not prolonged
to the degree which enslaves and distorts and debases the mind, are not necessarily injurious to
health.  On the contrary, a quiet, well-regulated
indulgence of the different emotions is believed by
Combe and others to be salutary, and there is "a
greater resistance to morbific impressions than when
the functions are executed with a languid sameness."
To those who cannot, or who will not, comprehend the dynamic nature and operation of remedies,
who persist in believing that there is no " more in
heaven and earth than is dreamt of in their philoso.



INYISIBLE INFLUENCES AFFECTING HEALTH. 14&
immeasurably small, occasion, through the olfactory
sense, consequences often serious, and sometimes
positively destructive.  Headache, nausea, unconsciousness, are not unfrequently produced by the
strong perfume of flowering plants. The daughter
of Nicholas I. Count of Salin, expired immediately
after inhaling the odor of violets. Henry VI. of
Germany, and the wife of Henry IV. of France,
were, as is stated in history, killed by perfumed articles of apparel. Many examples of this kind might
be mentioned; but the establishment of the fact
that invisible forces exert a wonderfully depressing
action upon the vital powers need not depend
upon isolated instances subject to doubt. All must
be aware of the potency of these unseen influences. It is certain that they possess a strong innate
power of action, capable of producing very decided
effects; although, by reason of idiosyncrasy, they
may operate more violently upon one person than
another.
We have alluded to the consequences of malaria,
in a previous chapter.  Those consequences are
sufficiently prominent. The sufferer feels them most
sensibly, and the traveller cannot but perceive them
instantly. Yet the cause, that mighty power which
acts so powerfully, is without odor, taste, color,
sound, volume, or dimension. It broods over the
infected district perpetually, penetrating the organism of man and beast; and the highest mortal in10



AFFECTING HEALTH.           149
529,000 seeds; Ray counted 32,000 on a stalk of
tobacco. If all these seeds should come to perfection, it would only require a few generations, and a
very small number of years, to cover the whole surface of the habitable globe with vegetables. If,
then, atoms can produce an entire being, why should
we tax them with impotence when the question is
about merely modifying a being? If an atom gives
life, is it more difficult to conceive that it may change
the mode of being? When the greater exists and
starts up before us in the processes of nature, why
should the less be declared impossible?" And, in
another part of the paper he adds, with reference to
the agency of minute medicinal doses, " If the action
of imperceptible agents is opposed to common sense,
that is as much as to say that experience is opposed
to it; but, as common sense and experience are not,
and cannot be contradictory, if common sense
refuses to believe in the action of imperceptible
agents, common sense stands in need of a thorough
reform, which experience will be able to effect.
Science, which is nothing else than the reflection of
experience, has, in this manner, reformed common
sense several times. Common sense believed for
centuries that the world was fixed, and astronomical
science corrected common sense, and brought it to
its own way of thinking. The virtue of vaccine was
repugnant to common sense, at the period of its discovery; but now experience has so completely



150         INVISIBLE INFLUENCES
demonstrated it, that any one who doubted it would
be held to be destitute of common sense.
"Why should we treat with contempt a system of
therapeutics, which is but the application of one of
our most certain maxims? To the diseased vital
forces are opposed the forces of natural substances,
but divested of all material covering: these forces
will thus be brought face to face; they will act
directly on each other, without any interposing
agent; and hence will ensue rapid, cerfain, and
agreeable cures..... Observe, that the vital therapeutics of which I speak are to medicine what the
study of electricity and the imponderables has been
to chemistry; what the study of motive powers has
been to mechanical art.... Far from overthrowing
Hippocratism, or the true vitalism of Montpelier, our
modern therapeutics confirm, complete, extend, and
apply it, add what was wanting to it, and supply its
deficiences. The divine old man bequeathed to us,
so to speak, the code of medicine in which its great
laws were laid down, its principles registered, its
fundamental dogmas established: the work of ages
is, and ever shall be, to deduce from these premises
the most remote consequences; to bring all the great
facts which subsequent discoveries may reveal and
produce within the Hippocratic domain. Some of
these discoveries have been already gathered in,
and can never more be lost; others have been
sown, and as yet exist but in the germ; but nought



AFFECTING HIEALTH.             151
can blast this germ: on the contrary, it will grow,
and the tree will yield its fruit to us and to all
posterity."



152
CHAPTER   XII.
ON HOMCEOPATHY.
NOT many years since, a doctrine was broached in
Saxony of a novel and extraordinary character. A
long-sought desideratum in medical science was
assumed to have been discovered; a brilliant light
thrown upon the dark path of the groping, bewildered disciples of ZEsculapius.
Samuel Hahnemann, a German chemist and physician, after years of laborious, untiring investigation,
pursued with the earnest, all-absorbing interest characteristic of his countrymen, - after long-continued,
closely studied experiments in developing and ma.
turing into palpable form a conception elicited by
accident, published, in 1811, a voluminous report of
his labors. From this work we learn, that, twenty
years previously, the author instituted certain experiments upon himself, while in health, with the view
of ascertaining the true and positive action of cinchona (Peruvian bark) upon the system; being
induced to this trial by the perplexing and contradictory statements published respecting the curative



154              HOMoMOPATHY.
riments upon the sick, it was ascertained that
convalescence became rapid and complete, whenever remedies were employed whose effects upon
the healthy corresponded with the symptoms observable in disease; and, the closer this correspondence,
the more immediate and decided was the recovery.
Day after day, year after year, Hahnemann, with a
few medical associates, pursued his investigations
with uncommon perseverance and devotedness,
anxiously watching the development of a great
truth, seizing upon every circumstance favoring its
elucidation, and sternly rejecting whatever would
not bear thorough and searching criticism.
For more than two thousand years, therapeutics
had been involved in doubt and darkness. Vague
speculations, untenable hypothesis, influenced medical practice, for brief intervals, one theory being
abandoned for another; while various conflicting
methods of cure were at times distracting practitioners' minds, plunging them into a sea of empiricism, and bringing reproach and scorn upon the
"art of healing."  Cheering and most satisfactory
had been modern progression in chemistry, medical
botany, and operative surgery; but, in the absence
of an immutable principle, a fixed foundation upon
which to build, practical medicine had remained
nearly stationary since the time of Hippocrates.
The need of such a basis had constantly been felt
and frequently expressed, and intimations of the



HOMCEOPATHY.              155
existence of the homceopathic law had been given
by Stahl, Bertholet, Paracelsus, Cardanus, Thomas
Erasmus, and others. Haller proposed the administration of drugs to those in health as the only certain
mode of accurately ascertaining their action. But
no one before Hahnemann had undertaken systematically to prove the characteristic properties of
medicinal agents upon the human economy, — to
note the whole extent of their operation, - to regis.
ter, with conscientious minuteness, every alteration
effected by their influence. An intimate knowledge
of the nature and operation of the weapons to be
wielded by the medical practitioner had ever been
most desirable, and that information was thus
afforded. The want of facts as a groundwork for
treatment had ever been deplored, and that want
was thus supplied.
In the practical application of the homceopathic
principle, a striking distinction prevails regarding
the amount of medicine administered. In the crude
state, as ordinarily given, neither vegetable nor
mineral remedies were found to possess so much
efficacy as when a division of their particles had
been effected. The medicinal property appeared to
be augmented in proportion as the substance approached the atomic condition. Certain materials
which, placed in contact with the organism in a condensed form, are inert, become remarkably active
when their particles are separated by friction. More



156              HOMCEOPATHY.
over, an exceedingly feeble influence only is required
to produce a very sensible impression upon a diseased portion of the body. An inflamed surface is
affected by the slightest pressure; the faintest ray of
light acts with painful power upon an inflamed eye;
the stomach, in a state of inflammation, rejects the
smallest quantity of nutriment. This excessive susceptibility is attendant upon inflammatory and other
diseased action, and hence the rationale of " infinitesimal doses."
By a series of trials unparalleled in rigid scrutiny,
Hahnemann claimed to have established, among
others, the following propositions, viz.: —
That a group of morbid symptoms, from whatever cause arising, will be removed by that medicine
which is capable of producing a similar class of
symptoms.
That the curative property of medicines becomes,
by undergoing trituration or succussion, greatly augmented; and that extremely minute doses are, in
consequence, sufficient to counteract any diseased
condition.
That the effect of medicinal substances is destroyed
by combination, and their efficiency advantageously
exercised only when administered singly.
Explanatory of the first proposition, it was remarked that remedies produced a train of symptoms
which were manifestations of a medicinal disease



HOM(EOPATHY.              157
similar to the natural one; and, as the existence in
the system of two diseases resembling each other
was impossible, the morbid must yield to the medicinal symptoms.  The latter, dependent on the
continued application of the remedy, will disappear
when that remedy is discontinued, and the natural
condition of the affected parts will consequently be
restored. Or, again, the symptoms indicative of disease are but manifestations of the recuperative efforts
of nature; and, as the medicinal agent operates in
the same direction, it will aid the restorative process,
and thus facilate recovery.
Respecting the second proposition, that the potency
of medicines is greatly increased by a peculiar mode
of operation, it is asserted that, in the crude state of
a drug, its virtues, to a considerable extent, remain
latent, and are only to be brought into full activity
by a thorough breaking down of the enveloping
material, and a complete separation of the molecules
of matter. Only by the rapid motion of liquids, and
the friction of solids, is the cohesion of particles to be
destroyed.  These two processes' develop intense
power, - as, for example, electricity, —which without
their agency would have no existence; or, rather,
would have existed in an inactive, dormant state.
Whether the curative influence of medicine be disengaged by the minute division of particles, so that
their mobility is increased, and placed more in affinity
with the animal fibre on which they are to operate,



HOMrEOPATHY.               159
the administration of remedies which, by their primary action, bring about a condition opposite to that
which it is intended to remove. Combating isolated
symptoms, and causing violent commotion in the
organism, it, more frequently than otherwise, injures
by repressing instead of assisting the re-action of
nature. As a system, it is unphilosophical, incomplete, and pernicious. The same may be said of the
revulsive method of the humoral pathologists, and
the principle of counter-irritation, which, in nine
cases out of ten, needlessly multiplies the sufferings
of the unfortunate patient; burthening the exhausted
frame with augmented incumbrance, and often irrecoverably disabling organs which were performing
their functions in a healthy manner.  Blistering,
leeching, bleeding, cauterizing, homceopathy repudiates as in a majority of cases entirely useless, and
in all cases decidedly barbarous.
In the investigation of diseases, for the purpose of
curing by the above treatment, opinions as to the
seat of the complaint are at once formed from a few
prominent indications, and active measures are
immediately put into requisition against a name.
There may have been an error of judgment.  It
ought not to be termed invidiousness to assert that
the practitioner is sometimes mistaken in his diagnosis.
The means have been adopted, however, secundem
artem, heroically depletive it may be, and the natural capacity of resistance to diseased action lost,



162              HOMCEOPATHY.
which the morbid inflammation is dissipated by the
development of a state perfectly similar to it, which
is termed the curative inflammation.   " After a
wound has been received," he remarks, " there
commences an accelerated motion and a turgescence of the blood in the vessels surrounding it.
From this point, those alterations extend to a greater
or less distance. In some of the smaller blood vessels nearest to the wound, the motion of the blood is
thrown into disorder, some canals become entirely
emptied, in some it accumulates in irregular masses;
while, in others again, it diffuses itself into the parenchyma, forming reddish islands of blood, at the same
time the perenchyma beginning to smell. Driven
with accelerated motion, masses of the globules of
the blood, here and there, rush by starts from their
canals, and pour themselves into the parenchyma of
the inflamed part. Here they lie as bright red spots
or islands of different sizes. Soon the whole wound
is surrounded by these islands, and the intervening
parenchyma becomes highly turgid. This process,
which appears at first at the circumference of the
inflammation, by degrees involves also the centre,
and resembles the morbid inflammation completely;
and it is by its means that the alterations produced
by the latter are gradually extinguished."
A distinguishing feature in the homceopathic system is the importance allowed to mental affections
in the selection of remedies.  Although, by reason



HOMCEOPATHY.              163
of the acknowledged intimate connection of mind
and body, the pathology of the old school recognizes
the necessity of attending, in some measure, to the
condition of the former, yet in no mode of practice
heretofore adopted have specific medicinal influences
been directed to the state of the mind exclusively.
No materia medica, except that of Hahnemann, prominently distinguishes moral derangements, or treats
of immediate means for their removal. His experiments have established the important fact, that medicines, operating upon the human structure, not only
alter its vital functions in a peculiar manner, but
exercise a characteristic action upon the spiritual
existence, - the mind and disposition. According
to Mayerhofer, this truth can be made use of as an
available point in therapeutics; and upon this field
of pharmacodynamic psychology, the founder of
homoeopathy appeared not simply as a reformer,
but as a creator of a new world, hitherto shut out
from pharmaceutic investigation.
Another marked distinction in Hahnemann's doctrine is his theory of chronic diseases. He asserts
that the multifarious affections of the skin from which
mankind, the youthful portion especially, suffer, are
but indications of an internal virus, termed psora,
which has been transmitted from parent to child for
ages; that inveterate chronic ailments are, in most
cases, owing to the sudden repulsion, by local applications, of the secondary vicarious symptoms of this



166              HOMCEOPATHY.
the system, may, without difficulty, be completely
eradicated.
Thirty-nine years ago, the "' Organon" was published. Since that time, the method of practice
therein taught has extended throughout Europe and
America.  Public attention was first earnestly attracted by its astonishing success in the treatment of
Asiatic cholera in Hungary. Hospitals were from
that period founded; professorships were granted;
and its extension has since been unprecedented in
rapidity. Among its present adherents are nineteen
professors in European colleges, twenty-three state
counsellors, seventeen medical counsellors, and fifty.
four eminent army surgeons, besides an innumerable
body of well-educated private practitioners; and it
has never been more flourishing than during the
present year, notwithstanding the assertions to the
contrary of its opponents.  Of four professors in
different European universities who have publicly
made a trial of homceopathy, but one has declared
against it: that gentleman is Prof. Andral, of Paris.
The three of the four who declared in its favor,
and now openly recommend its practice, are' Prof.
D'Amador, of the University of Montpelier; Prof.
J. W. Arnold, of the University of Zurich; and
Prof. Henderson, of the University of Edinburgh.
The published, unquestionably veracious statistics
from medical institutions in Vienna, Berlin, Leipsic,
London, Paris, Naples, and other cities, in most



HOMCEOPATHY.              167
instances under the immediate supervision of civil
directors, prove incontestably, by the small proportion of deaths and " dismissed incurables " under
homceopathic treatment compared with the allceopathic practice, the very great superiority of the former
over the latter.  Such advocates as Quin, Jahr,
Henderson, Arnold, Jourdan, Horatiis, Stapf, and
Cramer, all of whom hold some of the highest medical stations in Europe, are not to be lightly esteemed.
No " humbug " ever enlisted minds of such an order.
The hackneyed, oft-refuted arguments of the wilfully
blind affect not, with a feather's weight, the ponderous mass of evidence already existing, and constantly
accumulating, in the progress of homeopathic practice. Were medicine a perfect science, instead of
being lamentably and confessedly inadequate, no
opposition to innovation could be too combined and
inflexible. But, when the oldest and most distinguished men in the profession have distinctly and
publicly affirmed that medical records are little else
than collections of fluctuating opinions, of versatile,
ephemeral views, changeable as the fashions, abounding with conjectures, and conclusions drawn from
premises " baseless as the fabric of a vision," -a
disclination to deviate from the old graveyard-path
is indeed surprising.
That the above remarks may not be deemed illiberal and unauthorized, we quote the opinion of
Dr. Forbes, the former editor of the " British and



168             iHOMEOPATHY.
Foreign Medical Review," a gentleman of acknow.
ledged talent and extensive professional reputation.
He thus writes concerning allceopathic practice,
which, while deploring its deficiencies, he strangely
pursued. With this quotation, our fragmentary
essay will terminate: —
" The comparative powerlessness and positive uncertainty of medicine is exhibited in a striking light,
when we come to trace the history and fortunes of
particular remedies and modes of treatment, and
observe the notions of practitioners, at different times,
respecting their positive or relative value. What
difference of opinion! what an array of alleged
facts directly at variance with each other! what
contradictions! what opposite results of a like experience! what glorification and degradation of the
same remedy! what confidence now, what despair
anon, in encountering the same disease with the
very same weapons! what horror and intolerance
at one time, of the very opinions and practices which,
previously and subsequently, are cherished and admired!
" To be satisfied on this point, we need only refer
to the history of any one or two of our principal
diseases or principal remedies; as, for instance, antimony in fever, blood-letting in pneumonia. Each
of these remedies has been at different times regarded
as almost specific in the cure of the two diseases,
while at other times they have been rejected as use



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