THE EFFECTS OF BITTERS. 137 



in the midst of the incessant turmoil of great cities. The systematic 

 inattention to the act of eating prepares the way for digestive disturb- 

 ances in the near future, with all their consequences. There is no 

 appetite juice, no " igniting juice," or, at most, very little. The secretory 

 activity comes slowly into play ; the food remains much longer in the 

 digestive canal than is necessary, or passes, for want of sufficient 

 digestive juices, into a state of decomposition which irritates the mucous 

 membrane of the alimentary canal and brings it into a condition of 

 disease. No medicinal treatment can help such a patient while he 

 remains surrounded by his old conditions. The fundamental cause of 

 his illness still continues in progress. There is only one course to 

 pursue, namely, to take him completely away, to free him from his 

 occupation, to interrupt the interminable train of thought, and to 

 substitute for a time, as his only object in life, the care of his health, and 

 a regard for what he eats. This is attained by sending the patient to 

 travel, or by placing him in a hydropathic establishment. It is the duty 

 of the physician to regulate not only the life of individual patients 

 according to such rules, but also to have a care that in wider circles of 

 the community a due conception of the importance of eating should be 

 disseminated. This is particularly so with the Russian physician. It 

 is precisely in the so-called intelligent classes of Russians that a proper 

 conception of life generally is often found wanting, and where an abso- 

 lutely unphysiological indifference towards eating often exists. More 

 methodical nations, like the English, have made a species of cult of the 

 act of eating. It is, of course, degrading to indulge excessively and 

 exclusively in culinary enjoyments, but, on the other hand, a lofty con- 

 tempt for eating is also reprehensible. As so often is the case, the best 

 course here also lies between the two extremes. 



With the establishment of mental effect upon the secretion of juice 

 the influence of condiments enters upon a new phase. The conclusion 

 had already been empirically arrived at, that it was not alone sufficient 

 for the food to be composed exclusively of nutrient substances, but that 

 it should also be tasty. Now, however, we know why this is so. For 

 this reason, the physician, who has often to express an opinion upon the 

 suitability of the dietaries of different persons, or even of whole com- 

 munities, should constantly bear in rniud the question of psychic 

 secretion ; that is to say, he should inquire after and learn how the 

 food has been eaten, whether with or without enjoyment. But how 

 often do the people who have charge of the commissariat pay attention 

 solely to the nutritive value of the food, or place a higher value on every- 

 thing else than taste ? We must, further, in the interest of the public 

 weal, direct attention especially to the feeding of children. If this or 

 that inclination of the taste ultimately determines the relation of 



