The New York herald., 1922-12-31

having irrationally in a manner entirely
beyond our control, are acting on false
assumptions for which we must paw the
penalty. AS an example. the autho- men,
tions flight of stairs that was frequent
source of accident, though apparently it
was built upon an entirely safe pattern
Person after person came tumbling down
it. until at length il was discovered that
the first step below the landing was two
inches wider than any of the others The
explanation now was obvious. The sub
conscious mind. after noticing the width
of the first step. assumed that all the
others were equally wide and this involun-
tary error of judgment was the cause of
proved by the fact that, after the landing
was projected two inches further the ac-
cidents suddenly ceased.
The mental factor in accidents and dis
eases is likewise insisted upon in George
Landor Perrin's Self Healing Simplifed"
and in Eugene Del Mars The Conquest
of Disease" The psychological element,
however, is perhaps overemphasized in
both these volumes; the authors are Of the
group who seem to believe that. if we de-
sire to rid ourselves of any ailment, all we
have TO do is to wish hard enough. While
to a certain extent they may be correct:
while it is undeniable that the mind is the
most powerful weapon against imaginary
disturbances, yet one may be excused for
doubling whether all the faith and all the
self-assurance in the world viii give
strength to a weak heart or cure a func-
tional disturbance of the kidneys. Mr.. Per
rims volume has an air of sincerity that
commands respect, but Mr. Del Mars work
arouses ones distrust. as. for example. in
its list of correspondence" between dis
ease and mental state. II it be true as the
author implies. that pneumonia is due TO
overwhelming disappointment" and cancer
to dissatisfied love nature" then Mr.
Del Mar should receive credit for the
supreme medical discovery of the age.
Otherwise. his conclusions may reason
ably be open to suspicion.
The next two books on the list deal
with the problems of youth and age
Youth and the Open Door" by George
Ross Wells. is largely a psychological
study: it aims primarily to show how
valuable is the acquisition Of proper habits
for the young, how necessary il is for them
to understand themselves and the laws of
their own nature. and to mold their lives
in accordance with such understanding.
How to be Useful and Happy from Sixty
to Ninety on the other hand. is largely
concerned with the physical problems of
the latter part of life; the author begins
by citing numerous examples of men who
have done their best work after sixty.
and proceeds TO give rules of health where
by the efficiency of the elderly man or
woman may be maintained at the maxi
mum.
The three remaining books are con-
cerned primarily with problems of physi-
ology and hygiene. Healthy Breathing"
by Eustace Miles, represents an attempt
to show how healthy breathing may cure
many ailments: "The Causes of Heart
Failure" by William Henry Robey, is a
brief discourse on the reasons. for the
growing prevalence of heart trouble and
methods for combating the disease; and
Eating Vitamines." by C Houston
Goudiss. is a study of those vital food
elements that have recently come into the
limelight as among the most important
factors making for health.