Illness Saves Lives

I have an old book “Many Thoughts of Many Minds” inscribed with the date 14th February 1882. Very Aquarian (font of all knowledge etc) good for a bit of bibliomancy and occasional insights. Here’s one:

Air (Vitiated – fatal to life)

“One cannot try experiments on human beings as on animals but accident and disease frequently furnish us with experiments made to our hand. What has been related of the birds is confirmed by an accident which befell two young Frenchwomen. They were in a room heated by a coke stove. One of them was suffocated, and fell senseless on the ground. The other, who was in bed, suffering from typhoid fever, resisted the poisonous influence of the atmosphere, so as to be able to scream till assistance came. They were both rescued, but the healthy girl, who had succumbed to the noxious air, was found to have paralysis of the left arm, which lasted more than six months….”

The paragraph goes on to talk about becoming accustomed to the environmental conditions and illness. The body’s functions do not require such ‘good air’ as the fit and healthy- one can survive on less.

Hence illness is life-giving and protective.

(Iam also informed to note that another example is sickle cell aneamia which saves the bearer of malaria).

Think about that next time you sneeze.