Having given, in the foregoing paragraphs, a brief description of the
course of healing which I advocate, I am now about to give a short
explanation of the different methods to be applied in treating various
forms of disease, all of which have been already explained as
degenerations of the twelve tissues of the body. This will enable
patients to apply the prescriptions given to their individual cases.
..._Once more, however, I warn every one not to commit the mistake of
believing that a layman can cure his own disease by even the most
careful study of a book such as this is._
To the patient, who has been led into the path of health, it will, as is
its purpose, give such instructions as will enable him to see his
condition plainly. _He will then be able the more effectively to follow
the instructions of the physician, and--what is of equal importance--to
inform him correctly in regard to his own observations of his condition
and the changes brought about by the treatment._
There is another point that I wish to mention here at the outset.
Disease, although reduced to its last analysis under this system, is
never so simple that it can be determined as the degeneration of one
tissue exclusively. The unity of the body, the close connection of the
various tissues, and the gradual transition from one into another, make
it impossible to draw the lines as sharply and distinctly as between
chemical elements. For the sake of classification we make the
degeneration of a certain tissue the distinguishing element between
various forms of disease. Let us not forget, however, that this does not
mean more than the _degeneration of the main tissue_ which is affected
by this particular complaint, while the same is also characterized by
simultaneous degeneration of one or more of the other tissues, only to a
lesser degree. It is, therefore, not inconsistent if, in giving the more
detailed description thereof, several tissues are mentioned as being
degenerated, and not only the one particular tissue from which the class
derives its name.