PHYSIOLOGY AND HEALTH. 



may affirm that it is an indispensable aid ; for in no other way 

 can the cutaneous substance, and the dirt which adheres to it, 

 be thoroughly removed from the surface." * No other matter 

 applied to the surface will give it the healthy glow, the com- 

 fortable sensation, and the natural and lively look, and beau- 

 tiful hue, that are left by soap and water. Various kinds of 

 powders are sometimes used upon the face, with the mistaken 

 notion of improving its beauty. These mix with the oily 

 excretions, and form a pasty compound. They increase the 

 burden upon the skin, and impair its vitality, deaden its 

 liveliness of expression, and sully the brightness of its color. 



560. Some nations have practised bathing as a religious 

 rite. It was a good custom of the ancient Israelites, the 

 Egyptians, and the inhabitants of the East Indies, to bathe 

 as a part of duty, as typical of moral purification. The 

 Greeks and Romans considered bathing so essential, that 

 their public bathing establishments were large and magnifi- 

 cent, and their private baths were as splendid as the means 

 of the owners would permit. 



561. The moderns have not improved upon the ancients 

 in the. care of their skins; nor have the civilized nations of 

 Central and Western Europe, and America, improved upon 

 the less cultivated Hindoos, Persians, and Turks. The 

 Russians and the Finlanders indulge themselves very much 

 in this matter, and baths are attached to houses of all classes 

 in Finland, Lapland, Sweden, and Norway. t But the Eng- 

 lish and the Americans do not generally use the bath. 



562. There are various kinds of baths, the cold and the 

 warm, the shower and the vapor bath, all of which have 

 their appropriate uses. The Russians are very fond of their 

 peculiar vapor bath. This is one great hall, warmed by 

 stoves ; large red-hot "stones are placed on the stone floor, 

 and water poured upon them ; the room is then filled with 

 vapor heated up to 120 or 130 Fahrenheit. Dr. Grenville 

 says he found that the Finlanders, in some instances, sat 

 half an hour in vapor baths heated by hot stones to 169 



* On the Skin. f Bell on Baths. D. 33. 



