MINERAL WATERS. 217 



whence we infer that this bird was sacred to the god 

 of medicine. The temples of the god of medicine 

 grand and imposing edifices were generally very 

 salubriously situated, sometimes on the summit of a 

 hill, or the declivity of a mountain ; sometimes skirting 

 the sea-shore, and sometimes near to thermal springs, 

 or a fountain of living water. Groves of trees refreshed 

 the sight of the sick, and afforded to them cool and 

 solitary retreats in their beautiful and spacious avenues. 



The people came from all quarters on pilgrimages to 

 these sanatoriums, or temples of health, sacred to the 

 god of medicine. The sick and the convalescent found 

 there both agreeable and healthful diversions. The 

 wholesome regimen to which they were subjected, the 

 pure and temperate air they breathed, the faith and 

 hope by which some of them were animated, the mirac- 

 ulous cures that were testified to, as recorded on the 

 tablets which hung on the walls of the temples, all 

 united to affect their minds agreeably, and exercise a 

 happy influence on their constitution. 



Beside these hygienic means, the disciples of ^Escula- 

 pius (Asclepiadae, as they were called) prescribed 

 gymnastic exercise, walking, riding, sea bathing, and 

 "MiNKUAL WATERS," which were selected in accord- 

 ance to the nature and character of the disease. In 

 fact, the hydropathic establishments, the various spas 

 in France, Germany, England, and other parts of the 

 world at the present time are but small and very humble 

 representatives indeed of the grand and colossal 

 temples of ancient Rome and Greece, which were dedi- 

 cated to the god of health. 



The mineral waters best suited for the various dis- 



