"Another Hippocratic doctrine, the influence of which is not even yet exhausted, is that of the healing power of Nature. Not that Hippocrates taught, as he was afterwards reproached with teaching, that Nature is sufficient for the cure of diseases; for he held strongly the efficacy of art. But he recognized, at least in acute diseases, a natural process which the humours went through--being first of all crude, then pa.s.sing through coction or digestion, and finally being expelled by resolution or crisis through one of the natural channels of the body. The duty of the physician was to foresee these changes, 'to a.s.sist or not to hinder them,' so that 'the sick man might conquer the disease with the help of the physician.' The times at which crises were to be expected were naturally looked for with anxiety; and it was a cardinal point in the Hippocratic system to foretell them with precision. Hippocrates, influenced as is thought by the Pythagorean doctrine of numbers, taught that they were to be expected on days fixed by certain numerical rules, in some cases on odd, in others on even numbers--the celebrated doctrine of 'critical days.' It follows from what has been said that prognosis, or the art of foretelling the course and event of the disease, was a strong point with the Hippocratic physicians. In this perhaps they have never been excelled. Diagnosis, or recognition of the disease, must have been necessarily imperfect, when no scientific nosology, or system of disease* existed, and the knowledge of anatomy was quite inadequate to allow of a precise determination of the seat of disease; but symptoms were no doubt observed and interpreted skilfully. The pulse is not spoken of in any of the works now attributed to Hippocrates himself, though it is mentioned in other works of the collection."

*The author of this article in the Encyclopedia Britannica does not see that it is the modern [then as now] orthodox "scientific nosology, or system of disease" which obscures the simplicity and precision of the Hippocratic philosophy of disease and cure.

"In the treatment of disease, the Hippocratic school attached great importance to diet, the variations necessary in different diseases being minutely defined. In chronic cases diet, exercises and natural methods were chiefly relied upon."

These wonderful truths, with other wisdom of the ancients, were lost in the spiritual darkness of the Middle Ages. Modern medicine looks upon these claims and teachings of the Hippocratic School as "superst.i.tion without any foundation in fact." However, the great sages of antiquity, drawing upon a source of ancient wisdom, deeply hidden from the self-satisfied scribes and wise men of the schools, after all, proclaimed the truth.

Every case of chronic disease properly treated by natural methods proves the reality and stability of the Law of Crises. It is therefore a standing wonder and surprise to one who knows, that this all-important and self-evident law is practically unknown to the disciples of the regular schools.

The Law of Sevens

In accordance with the Law of Periodicity, the sixth period in any seven periods is marked by reactions, changes, revolutions or crises. It is, therefore, looked upon by popular intuition as an unlucky period. Friday, the sixth day of the week, is regarded as an unlucky day; Friday is hangman's day; according to tradition the Master, Jesus, was crucified on Friday.

Counting from the first sixth or Friday period in any given number of hours, days, weeks, months, years or groups of years, as the case may be, every succeeding seventh period is characterized by crises.

This explains why 13 is considered an unlucky number. It represents the second critical or Friday period.

However, there is really no cause for this superst.i.tious fear of Friday and the number 13. It is due to a lack of understanding of Nature's Laws. By intelligent cooperation with these laws we may turn the critical periods in our lives into healing crises and beneficial changes.

We should not fear the crises periods of the larger life and the changes in our outward circ.u.mstances which they may bring any more than we should fear crises in the physical body.

A thorough understanding of the nature and purpose of healing crises in acute and chronic diseases has taught me the nature and purpose of evil in general. It has made me understand more clearly the meaning of "Resist not Evil" and of the saying: "We are punished by our sins, not for our sins." It has shown me that evil is not a punishment or a curse, but a necessary complement of good, that it is corrective and educational in its purposes, that it remains with us only as long as we need its salutary lessons.

The evil of physical disease is not due to accident or to the arbitrary rulings of a capricious Providence, nor is it always "error of mortal mind." From the Nature Cure philosophy and its practical applications we have learned that, barring accidents and conditions or surroundings unfavorable to human life, it is caused in every instance by violations of the physical laws of our being.

So the social, political and industrial evil of the larger life is brought about by violations of the law in the respective domains of life and action.

So long as transgressions of the physical laws of our being result in hereditary and acquired disease enc.u.mbrances, we must expect reactions which may become either disease crises or healing crises.

Likewise, so long as ignorance, selfishness and self-indulgence continue to create evil in other domains of life, we must expect there also the occurrence of crises, of reaction and revolution.

When knowledge, self-control and altruism become the sole motives of action, evil and the crises it necessitates will naturally disappear.

Therefore, we should not be afraid of changes and crises periods but cooperate with them clear-eyed and strong-willed. Then they will result in improvement and further growth.

Life is growth, and growth is change. The only death is stagnation.

The loss of friends, home or fortune may seem for the time being an overwhelming calamity; but if met in the right spirit, such losses will prove stepping-stones to greater opportunity and higher achievement.

Many of our patients formerly looked upon their diseased condition as a great misfortune and an undeserved punishment; but since it brought them in contact with the Nature Cure philosophy and showed them the necessity of complying with the laws of their being, they now look upon the former evil as the greatest blessing in their lives, because it taught them how to become the masters of fate instead of remaining the plaything of Nature's destructive forces.

Why should we fear even the greatest of all crises, physical death, when it, also, is only the gateway to a larger life, greater opportunities and more beautiful surroundings? Why should we mourn and grieve over the death of friends and relatives, when they have only emigrated to another, better country?

Suppose we ourselves had to enter upon the great journey today or tomorrow, shouldn't we be glad to meet some of our friends on the other side and to be welcomed, advised and guided by them in the new surroundings?

Therefore we should not fear, nor endeavor to avoid the crises in any and all domains of life and action, but meet them and cooperate with them fearlessly and intelligently. They then will always make for greater opportunity and higher accomplishment.

The Law of Sevens Applied to Individual Life

Applied to the life of the individual, the Law of Periodicity manifests itself as follows:

Human life on the earth plane is divided into periods of seven years. The first seven years represent the period of infancy. With the next seven, the years of childhood, begins individual responsibility, the conscious discernment between right and wrong.

The third group comprises the years of adolescence; the fourth marks the attainment of full growth. Nearly all civilized countries take cognizance of this fact by fixing the legal age at twenty-one.

The twenty-eighth year, the beginning of the fifth period, is another milestone along the road to development.

The sixth period, beginning at the age of thirty-five and ending at forty-two, is marked by reactions, changes and crises. It may, therefore, seem an unlucky period; but if we understand the law and comply with it, we shall be better and stronger in every way after we have pa.s.sed this period.

During the seventh period, the effects of the sixth or crises period continue and adjust themselves. It is a period of reconstruction, of recuperation and rest, and thus the best preparation for a new cycle of sevens which begins with the fiftieth year.**

**Those who are interested in the Law of Periodicity as applied to life in general, will find much valuable information in a book ent.i.tled ~Periodicity~ by J. R. Buchanan, M.D., published by the Kosmos Publis.h.i.+ng Co., 2112 Sherman Ave., Evanston, Il.

In this connection it is interesting to note that the Mosaic law recognized the law of periodicity and fixed upon Sunday as the first day or "birthday" of the week, and upon Sat.u.r.day (the Sabbath) as the last or "rest" day, in which to prepare for another period of seven days.

Orthodox science now admits that the normal length of human life should be about one hundred and fifty years. This would const.i.tute three cycles of forty-nine years each, the first corresponding to youth, the second to maturity, and the third to fruition.

The Law of Sevens in Febrile Diseases

If we apply the Laws of Periodicity to the course of acute febrile or inflammatory diseases, we find that the sixth day from the beginning of the first well-defined symptom marks the first Friday-period or the first crisis of the disease, and that every seventh day thereafter is also distinguished by aggravations and changes, either for better or for worse.

The Law of Sevens in Chronic Diseases

Applied to the cure of chronic diseases under the influence of natural methods of living and of treatment, the Laws of Crises and of Periodicity manifest as follows:

When a chronic patient, whose chances of cure are good, is placed under proper (natural) conditions of living and of treatment he will, as a rule, experience five weeks of marked improvement.

The sixth week, if conditions are favorable, usually marks the beginning of acute reactions or healing crises. This means that the healing forces of the organism have grown strong enough to begin the work of acute elimination.

By all sorts of acute reactions, such as skin eruptions, diarrheas, feverish, inflammatory and catarrhal conditions, boils, abscesses, mucopurulent discharges, etc., Nature now endeavors to remove the latent, chronic disease taints from the system.

The character of the healing crises and the time of their occurrence in any given case can often be accurately predicted by means of the Diagnosis from the Eye (see Chapter XIII), from Nature's records in the iris.

But the best of all methods of diagnosis is the cure iself, because weak spots and morbid taints in the organism are revealed through the healing crises.

The Same Old Aches and Pains

Frequently we hear from a patient in the throes of crises: "These are the same old aches and pains that I had before. It is exactly the same trouble I have been suffering with for many years. This is not a crisis!--I have caught a cold, or I have eaten something which does not agree with me."

The patient has forgotten what we taught him regarding the Law of Crises. He loses sight of the fact that healing crises are nothing more or less than a coming-up-again of old disease conditions, an acute manifestation of ailments which had become chronic through neglect or suppression.

Of course they are "the same old aches and pains." Nature Cure does not create new diseases. Crises mean the stirring up and eliminating of hereditary and acquired taints and poisons. Under the right methods of treatment, any previous disease condition suppressed by drugs or knife or by mental effort may recur as a healing crisis.

They are the same old aches and pains which so often gave trouble in the past, but they are now running their course under different conditions because the patient is now living in harmony with Nature's Laws.

Under the natural regimen, Nature is encouraged and a.s.sisted in her cleansing and healing efforts. She is allowed in her own wise way to tear down the old and build up the new.

The "Old Schools" of healing proclaim Mother Nature a poor healer.

But we of the Nature Cure school believe that the wisdom which created this wonderful, complex mechanism which we call the human body knows also how to preserve and to repair it. Every healing crisis pa.s.sed under natural conditions a.s.sisted by natural methods of treatment leaves the body purified and strengthened and nearer to perfect health.

Our critics and opponents frequently ask us how we know that our methods are natural and in harmony with Nature's laws.

To this we reply: The timely appearance of healing crises, their orderly development and favorable termination const.i.tute the best criterion of the correctness and naturalness of the methods of treatment employed. The prompt arrival and beneficial results of acute reactions are a certain indication that the healing forces of the organism are in the ascendancy and that the treatment is in conformity with the natural laws of cure and with the constructive principle in Nature.