CANCER. 181 



American Indians, who lived almost wholly upon the 

 spoils of the chase, whereas we know that such was not 

 the case. 



For my part, I may say I look upon cancer as the 

 outward sign of a constitutional degeneration, brought 

 about, like every other degeneration, by interference 

 with the laws of natural life, and very closely related 

 to those other degenerate states which have for their 

 outward signs such diseased conditions as epilepsy, 

 habitual drunkenness, insanity, suicide, and scrofula. 

 That this is so is, I think, proved by the manner in 

 which it increases with what we are pleased to call 

 civilisation, that is, where the interference with the 

 laws of Nature is most marked, and the vitality of the 

 stock most reduced in consequence ; by the fact that 

 it is, like every other degeneration, transmitted heredi- 

 tarily of which we shall have ample proof later on ; 

 and by the still stranger fact that cancer may be, and 

 frequently is, transmuted in transmission to scrofula, 

 suicide, epilepsy, and insanity. 



The cancerous diathesis, then, is a peculiarity of 

 constitution, depending upon degeneration, which pre- 

 disposes the owner to malignant growths of lowly 

 organised tissue called cancer, and which is trans- 

 mitted to his offspring, where the outward sign of 

 the lack of vitality may differ widely from that in 

 the parent. 



In this predisposition we have the real cause of 

 cancer in the individual. How this predisposition 

 was originally built up we cannot at present tell, but 



