The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-06-26
THE HYGIENE OF THE BIBLE
scientific Sanitary Regulations
Anticipated in the Mosaic Law

Il ht IcllHlOn Taught 10y Moses, In
q great lAw-glvcr, lays greatest sire
y upon proper lifc-conduct as the mca,
OF prolongimg life and the cniovmrr
!. OF 1t. "Gou shall observe these laws
:. Moses taught, "that YOU may h\
i, long" lie did not command 10 H.
, llcvc this or that, nor did he point
/. reward and punishment Ill the life
! come, but he laid down rules for con
duct IN his life and ordained pumsl
, mcnt Tor the violation OF tn,sc law.
Nor must we overlook the Tact that +,
llgion as defined by the laws of Nose
involved all laws for The govcrumcr
OF man as individual and as mcmhc
and integral part Of dc State. II
laws we've promulgated IN the name o
GOD, the laws OF days &C. res an,
icStviiy as well as sanitary yc.uIa
tlOnS.
The greater knowledge we hav,
canned through our ability Of 'rciuhyr
lhG the libraries of "unciforn tablets
ana mcroglyphc medicine hooks con.
Nlnccs us that many of the sanitar,
laws contained in the pcntateuch have
becn observed by the Egyptians, Baby
romans, ASSN Nriaus and other Semitic
nations previous 10 the existence of
the lSraclitish nation, but no nation
has lived in such close conformity
with these laws as the Jews. and bv
The overwhelming majority of them
are strictly observed to this dav.
Whenever we find in the Mosaic code
law prohibiting the drinking or cat
ING The blood OF animals because blood
Is the ncphcSh, the life, we may as
sumo that the law "ivcr knew the in-
tnhSlc essence and properties Of blood.
the RAPID chemical change which takes
pIace thcr in after death, The ptOmainc
poisoning Of which it is the cause, the
poison which it gathers from the de-
ccatcd bodily organs and which are
transferred to the human body when
taken as animal food. We may safely
assume, therefore, that the ritual mode
ol SIaughtcring practccd by the Jews
since Tune lmmcmOrial has been found
me best safeguard against the trans
Ter OF disease from the meat of ami |
mails used for food, and which also ac-
counts Tor their greater immunity from
cpidcmlcs which dcclmatcd large pOpu-
!atiohs among whom they lived.
The fact is well established thai tu-
bcrcuIosls, which is the greatest scour-
Ic OF modern times, is largely due to
TIE tranSicrCnCc of the germ from the |
meat and milk of diseased animals. |
Bci"r2 modern hygcmc regulation ever |
insisted upon the introduction of any |
mode ri inspecting meat of animals |
previous to ITS Oiivr In the public mar
kGt Tor consumption the Jews had made |
ii obligatory upon those who were au-
lhorlIcd TO perform the slaul lhtcrinu of |
animals 20 examine closely and care
Iully The carcass, To see whether the !
lungs were sound, whether the vital
organs were free from disease so that |
health was not endangered by the con-
Tue slau~htcring and in
7pccllnG of animals was not ntrustcd |
to the first conner. 1t was performed !
by persons trained and educated for |
the Office they had TO pass AZ cXami-
nation as to their knowledge of anatO-
my of animals and Of the ritual laws |
prescribed FOR the performance of their |
duty. The Tamud, Il work the rcdac- |
il0n OF which has been completed some |
sixteen hundred years ago, contains |
extensive treaties on the sub iccl ld |
diSclOscs wonderful knowledge of the |
of the animal.
AS much stress is laid in modern
days upon the proper observance of a !
proper diet for the preservation of
health as upon the use of drugs. The |
Jews who lived strictly in compliance |
with the dietary laws found III them |
protection against infection by many OF |
the microbes and bacteria which gen
crate disease. Thus was not only q
thorough inspection of the carcass of
the bovine killed for the use Of man re-
Quircd by the religious law, but even
fowls were examined and if any inter.
nal injury was found of character
that would have produced their natu-
raj death, the animal was declared unfit
FOR food. AS aprotcctOn against dele
tcrious effect of microbes and bacteria,
though not known by their technical
names, ii was commanded to thorough
ly rinse berries and all fruits, lcgumin.
GUS and other vegetables, III water TO
purify them from all parasites and the
dust PARTICLES which made them dan
gcrOus TO health before eating them
when raw. 1t is only in modern days
that we have discovered the uichinea
III hog meat, which at least proves that
some good reason existed in those an
cicnt days for forbidding the use of
swine flesh.
Another rule, probably of simple
cleanliness, required the washing of
hands before partaking of ony meal
and the rlnsing Of the mouth after ris.
ing from the table. The legislators
evidently had shadowy idea Of the
iniinitcsilnal cocci, animalculm, spr-
iIlr and baccili, which float around
and give the patholOgists and bolo-
gists so much trouble. However, the
rule was part of the hygcnic system
and served well its purpose.
1t may rcfcrentially be remarked
here that "discussion" was the great
characteristic feature Of the Jews. The
Talmud, which records tho disputes
among the various schools of learning
from the time of the great Sanhcdrim
to the year 600 of the present era, fur
nishcs evidence OF the constant flow
of discussion on the most vital qucs-
tions of life, of health and sickness, Of
religion and practices during that early