The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1912-05-02

tends to vitalize, build up, and de-
velop; the other devitalizes and
destroys. They are constantly at
work everywhere in nature and are
the constructive and destructive
principles. The destructive prin-
ciple works death. The construc-
tive principle gives life. Then
disease, we might say is the result
of inharmony between mind and
body.
Until the discovery of the mi
crobe, people thought disease was
sent by an avenging God as an ex-
preston of His wrath. Then
sciences discovered that in most
diseases, there was present def
mite specie of living organism in
great quantity. The different va
rieties were isolated, studied, ex-
perimented with and thereafter,
when found present in large guam
titles in given case, were charged
with producing a given form of
disease. Some forms of disease
came to be styled microbic, as ty-
phoid fever, diphtheria and many
others. But science has made a
still greater discovery. 1t is this:
Microbes are not the cause of dis
ease but the result. Microbes ex-
ist everywhere. All life is seeth-
ing and teeming with them. There
are countless millions of them in
the air, the water, food-every-
where is microscopic life. The
throat and nostrils, the whole body
is alive with them. Some are be-
nignant; others are destructive. In
the throat of the healthiest individ-
ual may be found the bacillus of
diphtheria or tuberculosis and oft
times both, with many other less
dreaded varieties. Microbes are
scavengers. They thrive on de-
composing substances, on waste
matter and dead tissue. In per-
feet health,' says one noted medi-
cal writer, almost every disease
germ may be found on the tissues
of the body, but as long as the nor
NAL resistance of the body is main
tanned, they are harmless and no
| doubt to some extent beneficial, as
they consume waste; but when the
accommodation of waste matter in
the body has reached an intolera-
BILE stage, we find nature setting up
a vicarious, action in some of the
tissues in an effort to eliminate it.
! By this illustration one may readily
perceive that the body must always
keep normal standard of resis-
tance against disease, otherwise the
constructive force loses it's foothold
and falls a victim to the overpower-
ing destructive force that is con-
stantly working hand in hand with
disease. At this stage. it is simply
the survival of the fittest." 1t is
a war between the leucocytes of
the blood and the disease breeding
nlicrobe in the affected tissue. If
the bodily resistance constructive
principle) is great enough and the
patient not handicapped too effect
ually with poisonous drugs, and
has not lost his nerve, the vicarious
tissue and the offending microbes
will be carried off. If the destruc-
tive principle overpowers the bod
| lily resistance then the microbes
carry off the individual.
! Perfect Health insures positive
immunity from all forms of disease,
contagious (so-called) and other
wise, and be it here recorded that
it is the only immunity.
/ | cannot enter upon complete
discussion of this subject. The few
simple facts given will bear our
earnest consideration. We are
men fighting the battles of life.
The instruments through which we
fight are our bodies. We alone are
responsible for it's imperfections.
We alone admit disease into it.
/ We alone weaken it and make it
inefficient. We SOW and we reap.
Edward Earl Purinton has very fit
tingly said: 'Clear your blood of
wrong food, your lungs of wrong
air, your brain of wrong thoughts,
your nerves of wrong tremors,
your heart of wrong fear and your
soul of wrong residue and from all
other wrong things; then see how
absolutely right the whole world
becomes"