healing balm. Man is released from vice and crime, hatred, envy, and malevolence. Peace, joy, brotherly love, happiness once more take up their abode in the breasts of the unhappy human beings of to-day.
Now at last the morning of a new Spring dawns for humanity; paradise is regained.
As I have said before, I once fled from the error and confusion, the strife and dissensions of men to nature. Here alone I found rest, peace and truth.
When in the present century mankind instinctively turned their faces once more toward nature, it became evident to them that all diseases had their origin in impure matter in the blood, in the body—in disease germs or foreign matter. On the basis of this correct discernment people, in treating the sick, soon refrained from exorcising the devil with Beelzebub by introducing more foreign matter and poison into the body, as medical science does by drugs, medicines, etc. They sought rather to cleanse the sick body of its foreign matter, and that, indeed, with but one natural remedy—with water.
In this respect the peasant Vincentz Priessnitz was the pioneer. He is therefore to be considered as the real founder of the present nature-cure method.
The nature-cure method was in the beginning only a water-cure method, and only water-cure institutions were at first established.
Therefore it was my first endeavor to obtain from nature herself directions for the right use of water applications.
In my endeavors I did not observe that an inner voice directed me to a special use of water,—namely, the instinct.
But I learned from foresters that the animals of free nature which follow only their instinct, take a bath according to definite rules.
I began to observe them, and reached the following conclusions:
The natural bath does not consist in jumping into the river and taking a full bath. The full bath taken in the river or in the bath-tub is contrary to nature.
