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302 ESOTERIC ANTHROPOLOGY.
in the partial application of the sitz-bath ; and both
purification and are invigoration combined in the wet
jackets, bandages, and compresses.
Thus water is the great agent of vigor and purity ;
of the first, by its being
so admirable a means of con
trolling temperature ; of the second, by its solvent
power. It seems also to possess or magnetic electric
properties of a peculiar kind, which act upon the nerv
ous system ; a kind of vitality, especially when freshly
drawn and living. Our own vitality is probably nour
ished by a great element of vitality in nature, of which
water is one of the mediums ; and hence its enlivening
and invigorating influence.
Water, according to Swedenborg, is the material
correspondent of the Divine Truth, and its effect upon
the body corresponds to that of truth upon the soul,
purifying and invigorating.
Light can never be neglected as a curative or agent, a
condition of health. The sick are often shut up in dark
ness. On the contrary, they should have an extra share
of light, and, if possible, bask in the direct rays of the
sun.
Animal magnetism, or the power which one person
has of strengthening the vitality of another, and con
trolling its action, may often be used with singular ad
vantage.
Congeniality, friendship, love, faith or trust, hope,
and joy, in all their expressions, should never be lost
sight of as remedial agents, giving vigor to the soul, and
influencing every bodily function.
This is the materia medica of nature. I shall now
describe more particularly the processes to be used in