sible
for the sufferer to recognize at the time as caused by anything but
"real" or outside misfortunes.

[Sidenote: Hidden Causes]

Other physical conditions act in the same way. The hidden cause may be
constipation, eye-strain, or the effects of alcohol or other drugs, a
sedentary life, a bad posture, or weak abdominal muscles; and the proper
remedy may be an enema, a pair of glasses, a vigorous swim, deep
breathing exercises or an abdominal supporter, an erect carriage or a
general change of daily habits. A young man returning from a surveying
trip in the mountains of Colorado in which an ideal hygienic out-of-door
life was lived, said, "I never saw so good-natured a crowd of rough men.
Nothing ever seemed to make them angry. They were too full of exultant
health."

[Sidenote: Mental Rewards from Health]

Health for the body awakens mental capacities where they exist. Failure
in mental work can often be traced to failure in physical health; and
the restoration of bodily health is often essential to success in the
tasks of the mind. This is especially true of the artistic professions,
where the kind of product is dependent so largely upon the state of the
emotions, upon exhilaration and enthusiasm. A noted sculptor who, a
number of years ago, was "down and out" in the artistic world, after a
period of years "came back" with a masterpiece, having adopted a more
hygienic life.

Epictetus taught that no one could be the highest type of philosopher
unless in exuberant health. Expressions of Emerson's and Walt Whitman's
show how much their spiritual exaltation was bound up with their health
conditions and ideals. "Give me health and a day," said Emerson, "and I
will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous."

[Sidenote: Influence of the Mind on Health]

But what most concerns us in this section is that the mind has an
important influence over the condition of the body. A Kansas poultryman,
who owns a hen which he claims to value at $10,000 because of her
qualities as a breeder, a few years ago knew a great deal more about how
to maintain the health of his poultry than he did about how to maintain
his own health. Long and bitter experience had taught him that he
obtained freedom from sickness among hens only by being very careful to
feed them on a special diet; to give them drinking water at regular
intervals--warmed in winter; to supply them with well ventilated and
cleanly houses, and so on. But, after all this, he f