A CLEAR MIND THE NEED OF THE DAY 339 



physician. Beyond a few simple remedies we should leave 

 the giving of medicines to a physician who understands that 

 they are merely a help and not a cure for disease and that 

 the patient is frequently better off without them. 



If one recovers from disease it is often because the body 

 cures itself by its own vitality. Medicines may assist, but 

 a person really cures himself. The taking of too much medi- 

 cine without the advice of a physician is one of the great 

 faults of the American people. Every young person in prep- 

 aration for life should make up his mind that, if properly 

 treated, his body can take care of itself without the use of 

 drugs. If it is ill, except when the trouble is a germ disease, 

 the difficulty usually lies in an improper mode of living, and 

 this cannot be cured by medicine. Medicines, properly 

 administered by one who understands them, are useful, but 

 miscellaneously used by others, they are productive of a vast 

 deal of harm and an incalculable waste of money. 



