322 



OF RESISTING THE ASSAULTS 



influence of these living, growing particles of con- 

 tagium, only one here and there ever becomes 

 conscious of the fact by the phenomena which after a 

 certain interval of time ensue in his organism. 



To avoid all sources of danger is simply impossible 

 under the conditions of present existence. Cabs, 

 clothes, furniture, books, toys, and many other things, 

 air, water, food, and milk, have acted as carriers of 

 contagious poisons. But besides this, there is no 

 doubt that infectious material has been conveyed by 

 our domestic animals ; and there is reason to think 

 that flies, and probably smaller insects, sometimes 

 convey disease germs from the infected to the sound. 

 At the same time these facts ought not to cause 

 alarm. While it would be wrong on the part of 

 any one to expose himself needlessly to risk, it would 

 be silly to be always fearing invasion. The fact 

 of the escape of the attendants of the sick, in spite 

 of their continual exposure, ought to be sufficient to 

 relieve the alarm of the most timid, and prove to them 

 that exposure does not imply contraction of disease. 

 We are continually exposed, but it is only very 

 rarely the exposure results in the slightest disturbance 

 of the healthy changes of the body. We must con- 

 clude that the germs by which we are assaulted almost 

 invariably die or are even destroyed by the fluids of 

 the organism itself. The body in its normal state of 

 health has a power of resistance ; and the fact that 

 many members of the medical profession and nurses, 



