THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 103 



dices, so that those afflicted may know what ails them. Tender- 

 ness, amounting perhaps to soreness, on the top of the head just 

 behind Veneration betokens this disease. The reason is this. As 

 the heart, lungs, stomach, muscles, and all the internal organs have 

 each their respective cerebral organs in the cerebellum, so the 

 nervous system has its centre at that seat of the soul already pointed 

 out, so that the painful state of the nerves causes pain at this their 

 centre, and of course a tenderness at the top of the head over this 

 seat. This shows why nervous derangement disorders all the feel- 

 ings and renders all the mental operations painful. Hence nervous 

 people can never enjoy life till they restore their nerves. 



" Besides this tenderness, nervous patients are easily agitated, 

 flustered, and thrown into a confused state of mind by trifles, are 

 easily elated and depressed, quick in all their movements, full of 

 excitement, liable to wakefulness, and full of bad feelings through- 

 out mind and body. 



" But to their cure. This disease is more frequently sympathetic 

 than primary. Dyspepsia is always accompanied by nervousness. 

 So are heart affections, scrofula, gout, fevers, colds, and nearly or 

 quite all forms of disease. In fact, as the nerves are ramified 

 throughout every organ and portion of the body, and reciprocally 

 inter-related with every part, of course they sympathize perfectly 

 with the healthy and diseased, active and sluggish state of the body 

 as a whole, and of all its parts. Hence, whether nervous disorders 

 are primary or sympathic, the effectual means of curing them is to 

 restore the tone and vigor of the SYSTEM AS A WHOLE, by obeying 

 those laws of dietetics, circulation, respiration, sleep, bathing, fric- 

 tion, exercise, and the like, already pointed out. True, health of 

 nerves more effectually promotes general health than perhaps all 

 other instrumentalities. Indeed, the perfect reciprocity existing 

 between them and the rest of the system renders it difficult to say 

 whether remedial agents should be applied primarily to them when 

 disordered or to the system as a whole. But this much is certain, 

 that the promotion of general health is the great means of restoring 

 disordered nerves. Let nervous patients then strictly fulfil all the 

 conditions of health, if they would effect a cure. To a few items, 

 however, special attention should be directed. 



" 1. The importance of bathing, friction, and healthy action of 

 the skin is to such doubly enhanced, directions for which need not 

 be repeated. The hand-bath, properly applied, will be found an 

 almost sovereign panacea for these complaints. 



