Mrs. Eddy puts forth high claims that her newly discovered religious cult,—Christian Science—is a great moral force for the uplifting of humanity, to absorb at last all other religious denominations, and be the salvation of a sadly demoralized world; that it is indeed the second coming in earth’s history of the grand truths previously proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth. Any reader of her leading doctrinal book, “Science and Health,” will readily admit that she boldly puts forth such claims. I will not pretend to speak concerning the modesty of such claims as these, virtually comparing her work to that of the Great Teacher, but she evidently feels competent for the task, though she tells us that it will take centuries to accomplish this great program. Knowing, as every intelligent person must, how essential prayer is to the accomplishment of anything important in a religious movement, she seeks to imitate the course of Jesus, the first in rank of the great religious teachers, by instructing her followers how to pray. It will be an interesting study to ascertain how closely she follows her illustrious Predecessor.
In order to give the reader a clear conception of Mrs. Eddy’s teachings on the subject of prayer, it will be necessary to quote suggestive sentences from her chapter on Prayer, beginning on page 307 of “Science and Health:” —
“Desire is prayer.” “Does spoken prayer bring us nearer the Source of all existence and blessedness?” “What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace expressed in patience, meekness, and good deeds.” “The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer.” “Audible prayer can never do the works of divine understanding which regenerates; but silent prayer, watchfulness, and devout obedience enable us to follow Jesus’ example.” “To suppose that God forgives or punishes sin according as His mercy is sought or unsought, is to misunderstand love, and make prayer the safety valve of wrong-doing.” “Audible prayer is impressive; it gives momentary solemnity and elevation to thought, but does it produce any lasting benefit?” “The danger from audible prayer is that it may lead us into temptation.” “Professions and audible prayers are like charity in one respect,—they ‘cover a multitude of sins.’” “Self-forgetfulness, purity, and affection are constant prayers.”
“Here let me give what I understand to be the spiritual interpretation of the Lord’s prayer: Our Father which art in heaven. Our Father, Mother, God, all harmonious.
“Hallowed be thy name. Adorable One.
“Thy kingdom come. Thy kingdom is come. God is ever present and Omnipotent.
“Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Enable us to know—as in heaven so on earth—God is all in all.
“Give us this day our daily bread. Give us grace for to-day; feed thou the famished affections.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And divine love is reflected in love.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And love leaveth us not in temptation, but delivereth us from evil,—sin, disease, and death.
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. For God is Substance, Intelligence, Life, Truth, Love.” — Id., pages 307–310; 312–314; 321, 322.
These extracts give us a fair understanding of the drift of Mrs. Eddy’s chapter on prayer,—page after page of effort to belittle and show the danger of audible or public prayer, and everything she can muster to make important what she calls the prayer of desire, or mere mental thought. In other words, in her teachings all audible prayer is dangerous or unnecessary, unless, perchance, the Lord’s prayer with her variations and interpretations, might be repeated occasionally. Hence, as I understand, in all public religious exercises among Christian Scientists the voice of prayer is not heard, with, perhaps, the exception mentioned above.
What Is Real Prayer?
In order to prepare the mind of the reader for a proper understanding of what prayer is, and what the Bible teaches us on the subject, it will be proper to get a clear definition of the term from competent lexicographers. Mr. Webster defines it as follows: “The act of praying, or of asking a favor; earnest request. . . . Especially, the act of addressing supplication to God; the offering up to the Supreme Being of adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving; the practice of communion with God in devotional address, worship, and supplication; as, public prayer, secret prayer, etc.” That clear definition of prayer is worth volumes of such chaffy pabulum as Mrs. Eddy bestows on her devoted Christian Scientist admirers. Really and truly that definition rules out, as no prayer at all, the whole of that mental concept and “desire” which Mrs. Eddy in labored platitudes endeavors to teach her followers is the only proper form of prayer. Mere desire is in no proper sense prayer. Desire may and will precede and prompt prayer. But prayer itself is “the act of addressing supplication to God.” A person may and does desire thousands of things utterly disconnected with the Deity. The use of such loose definitions as this, that “desire is prayer,” is only calculated to confuse the minds of the unwary, and mislead the unsuspecting. It is surely most reprehensible teaching, and demonstrates that Mrs. Eddy is a dangerous teacher, to say the least. “Patience, meekness, and good deeds” are valuable possessions, but they are in no sense prayer. Earnest prayer to God may and will help us to develop them, but they in themselves are in no sense prayer. Neither is the “habitual struggle to be good” in any sense prayer, which is “the offering up to the Supreme Being of adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving.”
Was anything ever more preposterous than the idea that an audible, humble address to the Deity, expressive of a sense of our weakness, our need of His divine grace, our longing for His blessing, our confidence in His love and mercy, was a “dangerous” thing? Such a thought is worthy of Satan himself. But let us leave this painful subject, and go to the blessed Book of books to learn something of real value concerning prayer.
Paul, in describing the whole armor of God, which is to enable us to stand in the evil day, mentions prayer as an important part of it: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Eph. 6: 13–18. By the term “all prayer” he doubtless refers to various kinds, or forms, of prayer, like public prayer, secret prayer, prayer for the sick, etc. All of these prayers must embrace supplications addressed to the Deity, as well as adoration, confession, and thanksgiving. They cannot in any sense be confined to a mere mental conception never expressed, which is really no prayer at all.
Examples of Prayer
We have almost any number of instances, in the Scriptures where prayers are mentioned, all of which make certain beyond doubt that words were expressed and addressed to God—if public, in the hearing of others; if secret, spoken to the Lord alone. In the familiar instance of the Lord’s prayer the disciples came to Him, and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Our Saviour did not for a moment countenance any such nonsense as Mrs. Eddy teaches, nor tell them that they must commune in silence with their own souls, whatever that may mean. He did not inform them that it was a “dangerous” thing to speak words of audible prayer, but immediately told them how to pray, giving that wonderful petition beginning with, “Our Father which art in heaven.” It seems that Mrs. Eddy’s followers venture to repeat this petition, “dangerous” as it must be to offer an audible prayer.
Our Saviour did by no means confine prayer to this mere form of words, but His disciples were to pray in “this manner,” not multiplying words in long-drawn-out petitions and repetitions to make a show, as the Pharisees and hypocrites do, but to present their petitions in simplicity and brevity. “For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” They were taught to pray. They were to recognize God as the giver of all their blessings. To ask Him was but a recognition of Him as their Father and their God. In John 17 we have recorded quite a lengthy prayer offered to God by the Saviour in the presence of His disciples. He assuredly would not have set them such an example had it been a “dangerous” thing for them to follow it. Moses, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Ezra, Daniel, Paul, and others prayed, and their prayers are recorded. Their prayers were answered, an evident token of God’s acceptance, and a full proof of the propriety of public prayer.
Christ taught secret prayer also: “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Matt. 6: 6.
Hear Mrs. Eddy’s sage and wonderful exposition of this text: “In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet, and shut the door. We must close the lips, and silence the material senses.” “The closet typifies the sanctuary of Spirit whose door shuts out sinful sense, but opens to Truth, Life, and Love. Closed to error, it opens to Truth, and vice versa.” — “Science and Health,” page 520. Isn’t that a perfect perversion of the Saviour’s teaching, that foggy mysticism so prevalent in all her writings?
The original word rendered “closet” signifies simply “any retired place at home or abroad.” In secret prayer the person should be shut away from all listeners, where God alone can hear. The mind under such circumstances should be wholly occupied with thoughts of God, and all the petitions be addressed to Him alone, with no thought of what others think of it, and in no way influenced by others. That kind of supplication is specially pleasing to God because the suppliant is not praying to men. He is alone with God. Much more might be said on this all-important subject of prayer. Suffice it to say, Mrs. Eddy’s ideas of prayer are contrary to the whole tenor of the Scriptures, and demonstrate beyond all question her lack of true Christian experience. Her kind of praying may answer for Spiritualists, Christian Scientists, mystics, and cold-hearted professors, but true Christians, who have had their hearts drawn out after God, and have known the preciousness of communion with Him in secret or public prayer, will never be misled by such teaching.
Talk Faith and Happiness
Talk faith. The world is better off without
Your uttered ignorance and morbid doubt.
If you have faith in God, or man, or self,
Say so; if not, push back upon the shelf
Of silence your sad thoughts till faith shall come;
No one will grieve because your lips are dumb
Talk happiness. The world is sad enough
Without your woes. No path is wholly rough;
Look for the places that are smooth and clear,
And speak of those to rest the weary ear
Of earth, so hurt by one continuous strain
Of human discontent and grief and pain.
— Selected.
The Keepers at Home
KEEPERS at home—oh, bless them!
They’re angels in heavenly places.
The smiles of heaven caress them—
Their beautiful, homely, kind faces;
Earth will be drear without them.
We shall miss their angelic graces—
The holy air about them—
Preservers of all living races.
Keepers at home—how we love them!
In their kind arms God’s children nestle,
Safe from storms round and above them,
When with fierce temptations they wrestle.
Patiently doing their duty,
Faithfully bestowing love’s chalice,
Theirs is the heavenly beauty,
Their humblest home is a palace.
—Selected
Training the Will
By W. T. Bland
Principles of Pedagogics for Home and School—No. 4
Training the Will
W. T. BLAND
WHILE it is not my purpose at this time to enter into a psychological study of the will, yet I wish that at least every person who has to do with the training of children might spend both time and effort in the study of this important faculty of the mind. In fact, I do not see how any satisfactory degree of success can be attained in the proper training of children without an understanding of this subject. Without will power we should be mere automatons. Our desires would stop with the wish, if they were even able to reach that limit. We might be imitators, but never could we originate.
The will power of the child begins to manifest itself comparatively early in life, and just that early should the parent be prepared to begin the delicate work of training. The knowledge of this power on the part of the child is brought about first by a result of certain actions. It discovers that by doing certain things, certain results are produced. It takes advantage of this knowledge, and repeats the act upon return of the desire to be gratified. Thus even the babe may soon learn that by crying, it is able to bring about desired results.
The child more fully displays the possession of will power when it is able to consider two or more things, and from them make a definite choice. It is here that the wisdom and judgment of the parent is greatly needed, for the child should not only be permitted and encouraged to make these choices, but he should always be carefully guided in making the best choice. Unless this is faithfully done by the parent, unless the little one is instructed and directed through his early years and until he has reached that age when he is able to choose wisely for himself, there will certainly be trouble.
Children are not always able to make wise decisions, and if left to themselves, are more likely to make mistakes than otherwise. Now, if they are allowed to continue in wrong courses of action, the will soon becomes simply the servant of these wrong or evil desires and tendencies. On the other hand, if this will power of the child is carefully trained, and the child is naturally possessed of a strong, well-balanced mind, this strength of will may prove a great blessing to him, and through him to the world.
Opposed to will training is will breaking. Too many parents, and in the olden days, teachers also, acted upon the principle of first breaking the will of the child, just as some farmers yet break their horses or colts. A strong-willed child was necessarily a dangerous child, therefore the will must be broken, crushed, or destroyed. As a result, corporal punishment of the most severe type was frequently administered. Instead of carefully training and developing this most wonderfully important faculty of the mind, there was a resort to a mere test of physical strength, or brute force. When the parent was persistent in the application of this force, the child was “conquered,” the will was broken, the countenance assumed the “hang-dog” cast, and the usefulness of his after life was destroyed. Of course not all parents adopted these extreme measures, but it has not been so many years since the liberal application of the rod, to break the will, was the rule, the custom, in both home and school.
But there should be obedience; children should not be allowed to do simply as they please. There should be order, system, and proper regulations. Children should not be permitted to have their own wills carried out when they are contrary to the spirit of law and order. This would be ruinous to the child as well as injurious to the community. There should be obedience, but it should be a willing obedience. This is the only kind that God in all His dealings with man desires, and it is the only kind of obedience, whether rendered to God or man, that is of any ultimate good.
Every child is endowed by God with this wonderful will power, and upon the parent and teacher devolves the responsibility of training it. But let it be so trained that the child may early learn to choose wisely his course of action. This is best brought about by bringing to bear upon the child such influences that he of his own accord will make the right choice.
While God desires obedience of man, yet He always leaves man to choose whether or not he will obey. He does not force, nor compel, but His requirements are plain and exact. He sets before man life and death, good and evil, giving him the power of choice. But He makes it very plain what the better choice is, and does not fail to make known the results in case of wrong choosing. Only in this way is man left a free moral agent. This is God’s method of dealing with man. He says, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” And again, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” Thus for willing obedience a rich reward is offered. God never desires that the will of man be broken; all He asks is that it be submitted to Him, and only this because it is for man’s good. Even when God does the willing for man, it is done within the individual, and not without, as is made plain in Phil. 2:13: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” In His own life the Saviour left us an example of submitting the will. In John 4:34 He says, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me.” Also in the hour of His agony in the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
As God deals with His children, so would He have parents deal with their own children; for do they not stand in the place of God to their children, at least till they reach the age of accountability? His principles are the only correct ones, and He only who is best able to put them into practice can produce the best results. God declares His rewards and punishments in advance; so should every child understand beforehand the results of his determinations and actions. Do not understand from this that children should be “bought,” or paid for everything they do; this is not will training. But let the children early learn to do right because it is right, and that good will come from it; and that just as soon as wrong is done, there will be inevitable consequences. This will naturally lead up to the question of punishments, right and wrong, which may be more properly discussed at another time. But whatever the method of punishment used, let the child understand, if possible, that it is a result of his wrong action brought about by his own free choice.
Parents, to be most successful in will training, should be on confidential terms with their children, ever holding their highest regard and respect. Let the good order and obedience in the home be brought about not by severe methods and stern commands, but by the more gentle means and co-operative measures. The child will then not only acknowledge but respect the authority vested in the parent.
I have seen families where the children seemed to be under most excellent control, but it was where they were held in check by the severity of the parents. They were instantly obedient, not because they desired to be, but because they knew the command would be followed by swift compulsion should there be objection. These wills were perhaps not broken, but they were surely not trained. Let these same children leave home, and once feel that the restraint has been removed, and often they do not know how to control themselves, and perhaps give themselves up to acts of lawlessness. They are like the wild animal that has been caged, which, upon obtaining its freedom, or escaping from bondage, creates consternation wherever it goes. Parents often wonder why their children turn out so badly, when they have been brought up under such strict discipline. May this not be the secret of it? This surely is not proper training. It may be better than no training at all; but it is akin to it, and its after results are to be feared.
To train up a child in the way he should go means much more than we sometimes think. It means to train every faculty of the mind—the desires, passions, and appetites—in a manner that will teach the child to carry on successfully and intelligently this work for himself. To some parents this may seem too great a task, but let them not look upon it in this manner; rather should they feel that it is a pleasure and a great privilege. It may be that in after years these children will rise up and call them blessed.
Live in the Sunshine
By Margaret E. Sangster
LIVE in the sunshine, don't live in the gloom,
Carry some gladness the world to illumine.
Live in the brightness, and take this to heart,
The world will be gayer if you'll do your part.
Live on the housetop, not down in the cell;
Open-air Christians live nobly and well.
Live where the joys are, and, scorning defeat,
Have a good-morrow for all whom you meet.
Live as the victor, and triumphing go
Through this queer world, beating down every foe.
Live in the sunshine, God meant it for you!
Live as the robins, and sing the day through.
— Margaret E. Sangster, in Everywhere.
A Lost Family Altar
Prairie Herald
ONE day a gentleman was riding on a Western prairie, and lost his way. Clouds arose in the sky, and not seeing the sun, he quite lost his reckoning. Night came on, and as he knew not which way to guide his horse, he let it take its own way. It was a Western horse, and was therefore likely to understand prairie life better than its rider, who was not a Western man. By and by a light glimmered in the distance, and it was not long before the faithful animal stopped before a log cabin. He found the family at supper — man, wife, and children; and a place was soon made for the stranger.
“Who’s there?” some one shouted from within.
“A benighted traveler,” answered the gentleman. “Can you give me a night’s lodging?”
“You’re welcome,” said the man, appearing at the door.
Some time in the evening the man asked: “Are you a minister of the gospel, sir?”
“No,” answered the gentleman; and seeing the man was disappointed, he asked him why he wished to know.
“Oh, sir,” answered the man, “I hoped a minister had come to help me build a family altar. I had one once, but I lost it coming over the Alleghanies; it was a great loss.”
“Perhaps I can help you build one, though I’m not a minister,” said the gentleman, who always had one himself; and after a little more talk the man handed him an old family Bible. He read, and they sang a psalm, and all knelt. The gentleman prayed first, then the man prayed, and the wife and children said, “Amen;” for it seemed as if each wanted to have a little part in building up the family altar.
“Sir,” said the man, when they arose, “there’s many an emigrant who loses his family altar before he gets here — and after, too; sir, it’s a great loss.”
Yes, many family altars are lost. Some are lost in politics, some in traveling, some in moving, some in the hurry of harvest, some at stores and shops; it is an unspeakable loss. Abraham never lost his, yet never family traveled farther or moved oftener than his. But wherever he pitched his tent, he set up his family altar, and called upon the Lord, and the Lord blessed him.
Children, as well as parents, have an interest in keeping the family altar. Don’t let it be lost. If father forgets, let the children gently and respectfully remind him: “Father, we have not yet thanked God for His goodness, or prayed to Him for forgiveness.” No father, I am sure, but will thank a child for thus helping him in his duties. It is good to sing and praise and pray around the family altar. “Blest be the tie that binds” a family altar! All are nearer to one another for being near to God.
Character Builders
By Mrs. M. C. Wilcox.
Mrs. M. C. Wilcox.
“Build the more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll.”
Did you ever feel, dear fathers and mothers, that your field of usefulness was narrow and circumscribed? Did you ever sigh for a broader expanse over which to shed your personal influence for the uplifting of your fellow men? If so, will you not stop and consider the immensity of the field to which you have already been called—“character builders”? To whom does this grandest of all works belong more than to parents?
Just look for a moment upon that sweet, innocent, helpless little infant just laid in the mother’s arms. What grand possibilities may be wrapped up in that tiny speck of humanity! How it draws upon your affections! And, as you look away into the future when it is grown to manhood or womanhood, you behold in it all that is lovely and pure, noble and true.
How well do I remember when my firstborn son was first laid in my arms! A prouder and fonder mother there never was, and as I gazed upon his sweet baby face, and smoothed his brow with a mother touch, I said, as I thought of the future, “My noble boy!” How little did I then dream of the struggles, the tears, the anxieties it would take on my part to make this fair ideal of him!
Ah, dear parents, it requires united effort, patient, unwearied effort, to make of our precious children all that we desire! They must be given line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until the character is rooted and grounded and established. And is this work a narrow work?—Ah, no! It is as broad as immensity, as far-reaching as eternity. It will require all there is of us, and, as we consider the work, we shall be led to exclaim, “Who is sufficient for these things?” Of necessity we shall be drawn to Him who is our wisdom and strength.
As I have been meditating upon the work to-day, I have felt that we are not giving sufficient attention to it. It is such common, everyday work that we are inclined to lose sight of its great importance. But my heart has been made to rejoice that some attention is given to it, for it is the foundation work of all works. It is the work of God in the fullest sense, this home work, this home education, this implanting and living the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the everyday life, this character building, and we need to have our minds called to its importance over and over again.
“A stream cannot rise higher than its source,” and so all the ambitions and aspirations we may have for our little ones are vain if we ourselves are far below the standard. “Be yourself what you desire your children to be,” are words worthy of careful consideration. But how shall we attain to a higher standard?—There is no way to it save by the religion of Jesus Christ. Nothing but this can enable us, after years of carelessness in forming habits that are evil, to eliminate those things from our lives. Nothing but this will enable us to expel the unlovely traits of character, and put features of beauty in their place.
And this work cannot be accomplished in a day. But by resolute, heroic purpose and unceasing prayer we shall continually advance.
Not alone are the eyes of our tender, helpless darlings upon us, noting all our failures and victories, but the eyes of our tender, sympathizing Saviour are upon us, watching our efforts with the deepest interest. He knows all our weaknesses, all our infirmities, all our discouragements. Ah, “He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” And this same mighty One has said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” And, more, “He will subdue our iniquities.” “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” Praise His glorious name!
In view of this, shall we not with one hand grasp His hand, and with the other tenderly grasp our own little ones, and so climb to the highest round of the ladder in our most precious, God-given work.
Washing Day
By Julia Ward Howe
The clothesline is a rosary
Of household help and care;
Each little saint the mother loves
Is represented there.
And when across her garden plot
She walks with thoughtful heed,
I should not wonder if she told
Each garment for a bead;
For Celia's scarlet stockings hang
Beside Amelia's skirt,
And Bilbo's breeches, which of late
Were sadly smeared with dirt.
Your kerchief small wiped bitter tears
For ill success at school;
This pinafore was torn in strife
'Twixt Fred and little Jule.
A stranger, passing, I salute
The household in its wear,
And smile to think how near of kin
Are love and toil and prayer.
— Julia Ward Howe.
Who Was Rich?
Christian Endeavor World
“If I were only as rich as he is!” muttered a boy who had just found a crust of stale bread in a garbage barrel, as he eyed a poorly dressed boy leaving a baker’s shop with a basket of whole, fresh loaves.
“If I were only as rich as he is!” said the boy with the fresh loaves as he saw another boy on a bicycle munching candy.
“If I were only as rich as he is!” sighed the boy on the bicycle as another boy rolled past in a pony-cart.
“If I were only as rich as he is!” grumbled the boy in the pony-cart as he caught sight of a lad on the deck of a beautiful private yacht.
“If I were only as rich as he is!” this lucky fellow wished, as his father’s yacht cruised in foreign waters, as he spied one day a young prince attended by a retinue of liveried servants.
“If I were as free as that boy is!” impatiently growled the young prince, thinking of the boy on the yacht.
“If I could drive out alone with a pony, and nobody to take care of me but myself!” thought the pampered boy on the yacht.
“If only I could have a good time like that boy on the bicycle!” longed the driver of the pony.
“How happy that boy with the basket looks!” said the boy on the bicycle.
“If I could relish my dinner as that boy does his crust!” said the baker’s boy. “I’m sick and tired of bread!”
Which one was rich?
Victory
WHEN you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you smile, inwardly glorying in the insult,—that is victory.
When your good is evil spoken of, your wishes are crossed, your taste is offended, your advice ridiculed, and you take it all in patient, loving silence,—that is victory.
When you are content with simple raiment, plain food, any climate, any solitude, any interruption,—that is victory.
When you can bear any discord, any annoyance, any irregularity or unpunctuality (of which you are not the cause),—that is victory.
When you can stand face to face with folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, contradiction of sinners, persecution, and endure it all as Jesus endured it,—that is victory.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, nor seek after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown,—that is victory.—Selected.
The Dangers of Idleness
It is not necessary for a man to be actively bad in order to make a failure of life; simple inaction will accomplish it. Nature has everywhere written her protest against idleness; everything which ceases to struggle, which remains inactive, rapidly deteriorates. It is the struggle toward an ideal, the constant effort to get higher and further, which develops manhood and character.—Success.
Practical Hydrotherapy
By GEO. THOMASON, M. D.
Lesson 5 — General Effects of Heat and Cold
GEO. THOMASON, M. D.
(Concluded from last week)
Heat may be applied to the body in a variety of ways; for example, by means of hot water, as the full immersion bath, the spray, by the application of flannels wrung from hot water, or by vapor, as in the Russian bath. As mentioned in the previous article, in hydriatic treatment, actual steam is never allowed to come directly in contact with the tissues.
Another method of communicating heat to the body is by means of the Turkish, or hot-air, bath. Again, by means of a cabinet arranged with incandescent electric lights, heating of the superficial structures of the body may be effected by exposure of the body to the direct rays from the lamps. The effect of this bath is quite analogous to that of sunlight.
The effect of heating procedures depends upon the manner in which the application is made; namely, whether as a passive application, such as the immersion bath, or accompanied by percussion, as in the douche. The temperature is also of great importance, as mentioned in the previous article, all temperatures above 90° being recognized as hot.
The length of the time during which the application of heat is made to the body also determines the result produced. The duration of the application must be diminished the higher the temperature used. A neutral bath, namely, at a temperature of from 62° to 95°, may be continued indefinitely. A full bath at a temperature of 110° cannot be tolerated by the ordinary patient for more than from five to eight minutes. A full bath at from 115° to 120° would be extremely hazardous if continued for more than one or two minutes. Local applications, of course, may be tolerated at higher temperatures than general applications, and for a much greater length of time; as, for example, the immersion of the feet or hands in hot water, or hot water drinking, or the enema.
The usual temperature of the vapor, or Russian bath, is from 115° to 120°, or it may be increased to 130° or even 145° for a brief period. Hot dry air, as in the Turkish bath, can be tolerated at a much higher temperature, but the temperature usually employed is from 140° to 180°. Temperatures from 225° to 250° are not uncommonly employed, and persons accustomed to taking these baths, or in the habit of subjecting their bodies to high temperatures, may endure a temperature as high as 400° or 450°. Cases are on record in which persons have exposed their bodies to heat in an apartment raised to a temperature sufficient to bake bread, and have remained during the entire time the bread was in process of baking. It is necessary that the air under such circumstances should be absolutely dry.
The effect of heat is to promote cell activity. Thus it favors the process of growth and development. The sun is, of course, the original source of heat, and sunlight favors the growth of animal and vegetable life. When moderate heat in any form is applied to the skin, it excites the activity of the circulation, producing a reddening of the skin, and if continued, will excite the activity of the perspiratory glands. The increase of circulatory and perspiratory activity as the result of the hot application increases the elimination of heat from the body, which is nature's method of protecting the body from too great an accumulation of heat within the body, which would otherwise result from the hot application.
The evaporation of moisture from the skin is the principal means by which the body is cooled. This evaporation from the skin is constantly taking place, varying according to the season of the year, and the conditions to which the body is subjected. In the winter, when it is desirable to conserve the heat of the body, the skin is comparatively dry, and the extra clothing worn at this season also greatly lessens the rate of evaporation. In the summer, when it is necessary for the body to eliminate heat rapidly, the amount of perspiration is greatly increased, and rapid cooling of the body occurs by means of evaporation of the moisture. A dry atmosphere facilitates evaporation, hence lessens the tendency to the accumulation of heat within the body, and consequent sunstroke. When the humidity is great, or the air well saturated with moisture, evaporation of the perspiration occurs with much less facility, and there is a feeling of oppression; the heat becomes less endurable, and the tendency to sunstroke is greatly increased.
General applications of heat increase the rate of the heart-beat. Normally, the heart beats seventy-two times a minute. By the application of heat to the body the heart-beat may easily be increased to double the normal rate. The increased heart-beat is the result of an effort on the part of nature to keep as much blood as possible in the skin, to increase perspiratory activity, and thus to increase the elimination of heat from the body. As soon as free perspiration occurs, the activity of the heart is diminished.
A prolonged general application of heat greatly lessens muscular activity. This is readily apparent if a full hot bath be taken for ten or fifteen minutes. A patient may feel so much exhausted and weakened by the hot bath as to be scarcely able to walk or stand upon the feet. A person in such condition, however, is quickly revived by a short cold spray, or other form of cold application. When the muscles are exhausted as the result of great muscular exertion, a short application of heat restores the muscular tone, and if followed by a short application of cold, produces a remarkable restorative effect under such conditions.
It is well to bear in mind the relaxing effect of heat upon the muscular and fibrous structures of the body. In case of fracture or dislocation of a limb, the time intervening between the accident and the arrival of the physician may be spent very profitably in vigorous applications of heat to the affected part. The immersion of the part in very hot water, or the application of large fomentations, will greatly diminish or entirely relieve the pain, and will also so relax the surrounding structures that the fibrous tension and muscular rigidity will be greatly lessened, and the setting of the fracture or reduction of the dislocation much facilitated.
The relaxing effect of heat often renders great service in cases of strangulated, or so-called irreducible, hernia, in which a portion of intestine has escaped through an opening in the tissues and cannot be replaced. The application of large very hot fomentations for a half-hour or an hour, or the immersion of the affected part in as hot water as can be tolerated, will frequently so relax the tissue which incarcerates the intestine that it may be pushed back into place by pressure with the hand, and thus obviate the necessity for a severe surgical operation.
It is necessary to bear in mind that heat, as well as cold, has a primary and a secondary, or an action and a reaction, effect. The first, or primary, effect of heat is to excite and stimulate cell activity, but the secondary, or reaction, effect is sedative or depressing in its effect. This effect is the same upon the heart, nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and other tissues. For example, when an application of heat is made to the skin, it produces reddening of the skin, due to the opening up of its blood vessels, and an increase in perspiratory activity. Upon withdrawal of the application, the secondary, or reaction, effect becomes apparent, and there is a pallor of the skin, due to the contraction of the blood vessels, and a diminished or suspended perspiratory activity.
Bearing in mind the principles in reference to hot and cold applications, it is possible, by a combination of these applications, to produce any desired effect. For example, if it is desired to produce a lasting exciting or tonic effect, we may first make an application of heat, utilizing its first, or primary, effect, which is exciting, and immediately follow this by a short cold application, the secondary, or reaction, effect of which is also stimulating or exciting, and which effect remains permanent.
QUESTIONS
1. Name the principal ways in which heat is applied to the body.
2. On what three things does the ultimate effect of the hot application depend?
3. What temperatures may be used in the various forms of hot applications?
4. What is the source of all heat? and what effect does heat have on cell activity?
5. What is the principal means by which the body is cooled?
6. What is the general primary and secondary effect of heat?
7. Give two illustrations of the practical use of the relaxing effect of heat upon the tissues.
Living to God
By E. S. Armitage
O LORD of love and power,
How joyful life might be
If in thy service every hour
We lived and moved with thee;
If youth in all its bloom and might
By thee were sanctified,
And manhood found its chief delight
In working at thy side!
— E. S. Armitage.