Our evidence shows that the organic world, the world of living things, is not passive under the impact or touch of external force and substance, but responds to it, and acts and reacts with a play of counter forces which are essentially its own. Indeed, in the relations between lifeless and living matter, the living acts on the dead and not the dead on the living.

By this it is not meant that "coals of fire, crowns of thorns, spears, goads, and whips applied externally; and concentrated oil of vitrol, aqua fortis, tincture of flies, tartar emetic, alcohol," corrosive sublimate, etc., taken internally, do not "act" chemically and physically upon the tissues and fluids of the body. The body would not kick against the pricks if there were no pricking, it would not violently expel them if they were wholly neutral or inert. Its violence in expelling them, or in escaping them is proportioned to the damage they are capable of doing. As Trall expressed it: "The law of self-preservation implies and necessitates unalterable and perpetual hospitability to whatever interferes with the normal functions, and the hostility is action, defense, organic war--it is disease."--Trall-Jennings Debate.

Indeed the existence of decidedly unhealthy conditions in one or several parts of the body without vital efforts to overcome these would afford evidence of impending dissolution. This would indicate that the powers of the body are so low that it is no longer able to arouse itself to vigorous defensive and reparative efforts.

It may be true, as Jennings contended in his debate with Trall, that the arteries, veins, nerves and muscles were not designed for what he called the "flurried disordered action" of "disease", but it would be fatal if they could not perform just such functions. If the pre-arrangements involved in such reflex acts as sneezing and coughing, for instance, did not exist, if sneezing and coughing were not possible, the air passages would easily become blocked and smothering occur. In poisoning, the cells actualize certain of their powers, which, under ordinary circumstances, remain potential. Although in course of an illness the body meets with situations never previously encountered, it tends to adapt itself to these new conditions in a manner to preserve its integrity. The more secret forces of vitality deal at their "will" with all emergencies.

The so-called "symptoms of disease" are the manifestations of an inherent principle of the organism to restore healthy structure and function and to resist offending agents and influences. They are salutary efforts of nature to repair an injury or to re-establish health.

The human body which evolves itself from the ovum to the highest point of completion, and maintains itself in health, under many handicaps and adverse influences, resorts with unerring certainty to the best means for the restoration of its health when this has been impaired from whatever cause. Not only does the body choose, of its own accord, the best means for a hasty restoration of health, but it possesses as well, the capacity to order its functions and processes so as to delay, as long as possible, its ultimate destruction by inimical forces and influences, which it is unable to overcome or destroy. The symptoms of disease are, therefore for the elimination of the immediate causes that endanger life and the repair of structural damages, or for the longest possible protection of life in the face of the organic destruction that is gradually creeping upon the body, due to pathoferic causes it is unable to destroy or overcome.

"Diseases," with all their many labels, are simply aggregates of the symptoms or processes we have discussed, and a few more like them. Each symptom-complex is given a different name, as though it is distinct from other symptom-complexes.

Let us glance briefly at measles. It begins with a "cold", accompanied with a chill, fever, sneezing, coughing, and headache. These are followed and accompanied by skin eruption. There is lack of appetite, malaise and, even prostration, suspended digestion, often diarrhea and, usually, increased kidney action. Every one of these symptoms is a "symptom of reaction" ; this is to say, every symptom is a curative measure.

In cases of acute or chronic nephritis (Bright's disease), where kidney function is much impaired, dropsy develops as a means of keeping unexcreted waste and toxins out of the circulation. A loose, watery bowel movement develops to aid in casting out the fluid; skin eruptions develop as a compensatory eliminating process.