CHAPTER II. 
THE USE OF MINERAL WATERS. 
HISTORY. 
From the earliest ages mineral and thermal baths have been 
considered of great importance in the maintenance of health 
and the cure of disease. Bathing was considered a sacred rite 
by the Egyptians, and the ‘‘washing in Jordan” and other 
streams, and in ‘‘pools’’ or springs, was made a religious 
duty by the Israelites. Their ceremonials included elaborate 
washing of the body and of various vessels. ‘There was a cele- 
brated bathing place near the Dead Sea which was a favorite 
resort of Herod. 
The Greeks built the temples of Esculapius near some famous 
springs, and the Athenians took their summer ‘‘outing”’ at the 
sulfur baths of their ‘‘Saratoga,’’ the island of Eubcea. The 
very name Thermopyle recalls by its etymology the warm baths 
of this locality. 
It is probable that there never was a nation that carried to 
such a degree the luxury and magnificence of bathing establish- 
ments as did the Romans. Their ‘‘therme,’’ as they were 
called, were buiit from the time of Agrippa, B.c. 21, to that of 
Diocletian, A.D. 302. Wherever Roman supremacy was estab- 
lished there the warm springs were developed, or bathing re- 
sorts were created, without sparing of expense for conveniences 
and artistic embellishment. The hot springs establishment at 
Baie, near Naples, where the wealthy Romans congregated 
for health and pleasure, was a marvel of beauty and elegance. 
It is interesting to find still the remains of this period of Roman 
grandeur and wealth in distant lands, as in Bath, England; in 
Bagneres de Luchon, in the Pyrenees, in Aix, in Provence, in 
Paris, and Wiesbaden. After the Roman aqueducts were cut 
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