But, from the malignant evil of internecine strife Universal Good is rising with an awakened nation’s cry—­a cry for freedom and release from the ever-lengthening chains of pernicious interests and obsolete institutions.  The moment of release is at hand:  That pyschological moment of which James Russell Lowell sings: 

  “Once to every man and nation
  Comes the moment to decide,
  In the strife of Truth with Falsehood,
  For the good or evil side.”

And knowing what the People know—­they who have borne so long, in grimly impotent silence, under the guise of Freedom, the fortunes of the slave—­can we for one moment doubt what view their lawful, reasoning demand for redress will take and whether or no it will prevail?  The hundred million voices of the Union sternly answer:  NO!

In effecting this release, so far as the Science of Healing is concerned, my system, which I claim to be entirely original, will be found particularly efficacious, for it presents plainly and convincingly, in the light of the most recent discoveries, the truth that all constitutional diseases are but the variations of one basal deficiency; that the entire art of rational healing lies in a knowledge of the component parts of the body tissues, in a determination of the tissues involved in the process of degeneration in each specific instance, and in the subsequent treatment thereof by means of supplying to the blood the elements necessary to regenerate the tissues in question.

From this brief explanation may be judged the importance of the hygienic dietetic physician in cases of sickness.  The quack and charlatan it is who persuade people to believe that they do not need the physician, and compel them to pay for this belief in money and in health.  It is the obvious duty of every one to seek aid in case of sickness from some physician who is a profound and professed advocate of the only sensible, practical method of treatment; but, at the same time I would make it possible for all to acquire sufficient knowledge to enable them to judge for themselves whether the attendant summoned responds in some measure to this requirement, the simple and logical course of which contains at least some ray of hope for all who suffer.

* * * * *

It may not be amiss to cite here a brief outline of the teachings of the four bright particular stars who have served as beacon lights in the history and development of medicine.  Not only does the modern medical world acknowledge the doctrines of these four men as the foundation upon which the practice of healing has been raised to a science, but moreover,—­a point much more important for our consideration,—­it also admits that the least essential part of the work of Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine;” namely, his statement of theory, is the part which has been accorded permanent prominence, whilst the portion of greatest value in his labours; that is to say, the practical part, has been neglected and ignored.