Chapter I: Front Matter

Valere Aude (DARE TO BE HEALTHY)

_or_

THE LIGHT _of_ PHYSICAL REGENERATION

A vade mecum on BIOLOGY _and the_ HYGIENIC-DIETETIC METHOD _of_ HEALING

By Dr. Louis Dechmann Biologist _and_ Physiological Chemist

Second Edition (Compendium) 1919 SEATTLE. WASHINGTON Christmas 1918

WASHINGTON PRINTING COMPANY SEATTLE USA 1919

DEDICATION

"Dispel this cloud, the light of Heaven restore;
Give me to see, and Ajax asks no more!"

(Pope)

To you of that great voiceless multitude,

"THE PEOPLE"--

You whose bewildered cry is still for light; whose silent tragedy our well beloved Longfellow could so well portray:

"O suffering sad humanity!
O ye afflicted ones, who lie
Steeped to the lips in misery,
Longing, and yet afraid to die,
Patient, though sorely tried!"

To you and your needs this brief epitome of a coming greater work is given as a fitting Christmas offering--

"LET THERE BE LIGHT!"

It is the cry which despairing, deluded humanity, in the darkness of its frenzied ignorance, has flung back hopelessly to heaven since first the spirit of an Infinite Intelligence brooded upon the race. It is the appeal of man's immortal unity to the All-Father, from age to age, for knowledge sufficient for its hourly needs, since ever, back in the far dim ages of the earth, primeval man, beetle-browed, furtive and fashioned fearsomely, first felt the faint vibration of a Soul; and, like an awakened giant, that chief of human faculties, a Mind took form which, pressing on along the uncertain way, has scaled the giddy heights of knowledge where genius, enthroned, does battle with an envious world of shams and greed and venal prejudice. Led by the resistless pulse of power it follows still that "banner with a strange device: Excelsior!";--for, ever onward yet it wends its way where'er the devious pathway trends, whose troubled, varied course is time, whose bourne is in eternity.

But where seek we, then, the answer to a cry so shrill, that smites the high face of heaven from a world in pain?

Shall we seek it where false learning leads us in the quest?--Ah no.

It comes, not in the crash of Sinai's thunders with the rockings of a riven sphere, as in the allegoric stories of a puerile past.

Softly it falls--yes, almost fearfully--from the fervid lips of some lone world-neglected persecuted man--some patient toil-worn son of science, whom Genius loves to call her own--though, haply, to the schools, to fortune and to fame unknown. One whose transcendent, superconscious mind has dared, Prometheus-like, to snatch from heaven the fire of the immortal gods and offer it in benefits to all mankind.

Thrice happy he upon the sensory surface of whose open mind such seeds of knowledge and of wisdom fall, and happy the land where one and all may dare to warm chill hands and hearts before its sacred flame; that halcyon land, the Ultima Thule of our fond imaginings, wherein true freedom reigns; wherein the legalized tyranny of the chartered libertines of a so-called learned profession shall be finally relegated, in common cause to the limbo of a sordid and degraded past. For these are they who seek to maintain a strangle-hold on science, who paralyze the arm of individual research and, even in this advancing age, still block the path of progress and of peace, of universal freedom and equality of intellect, to all beyond the narrow limits of their own elect.

Thus then, to the free fraternity of the open mind I dedicate this brief resume of the product of long years of study and of toil, steadfastly believing that therein is found the missing dimension for their urgent need, suited alike to all who hold that to maintain the health of body and of mind is a worthy object for enlightened man. To you, mothers of the land, who recognize your duty, towards God and to the State, to rear your children healthy, strong and good to look upon. To all whose keener common-sense looks upon Nature, the Creator, as logically therefore, the healing power also. To all endowed with wit to understand the obvious truth that, not by poisonous drugs is healing wrought, but by such reasonable help as man's intelligence can afford, to second nature's effort to that end; and further, that, in order to achieve success, it is useless to attack, suppress or remove the symptoms of disease by force of drugging or the knife, whilst the _cause_ of the evil is left untouched, unthought of, and, too frequently, unknown. Truth and reason alike proclaim: remove the cause and the symptom _must_ disappear.

To all, then, to whom the ever blessed triad of health, hope, and happiness on earth, are dear, the sanctity of child-life and the improvement of the race; and especially to those whose clearer mental vision can grasp the stupendous fact of eternal Universal Unity--the oneness with that mighty Primal Cause, the great Life Principle, immanent and active throughout all nature; can grasp and assimilate the idea that everything that has life is, each in its separate form and degree, but a medium through which the Infinite Universal Source of Life--that vast, ineffable power which we, blindly, designate as God--or Good--seeks expression in the scheme of evolution whose aim sublime is pure perfection, as its ultimate, attainable, though far off goal. Directed and attracted by an intelligence we call divine, it is a hope, instinct with ability, implanted by that Power in the soul of man, as patent in his ceaseless struggle upward toward the light of fuller knowledge; it is a power, restricted, only in degree, by that individual sense of human limitations fostered by false prophets and grounded in the vitals of the race.

To you all, this brief precis is presented, as a guide, with the author's benediction, coupled with the fervent hope that, reading the scientific deductions and precepts therein contained you, too, may see Regeneration's Light and seeing, may

"_Dare to be Healthy._"

LOUIS DECHMANN,

_Christmas, 1918. Seattle, Wash._

"Dare to be Healthy"

FORE-WORD

_To the Reader_:

The volume, shortly to be published, and to which the ensuing pages are designed to serve the purpose of stepping-stone or forecast, has been compiled for the purpose of placing before the public the experiences of thirty-five full years of my life as a biologist and physiological chemist, devoted to the sifting and solution of vital problems of health and eugenics and in the practice of the resultant knowledge of the laws of life discovered in the course of my research.

I would beseech you, in your own vital interest, to peruse these pages thoughtfully and with an open mind. There are throughout America already, thousands of steadfast disciples who are daily reaping the benefits of the teachings contained therein; and I would that you also may be added to that goodly multitude, to enjoy together with them the best advantages emanating from systematic study along the most advanced lines of modern thought and science. The facts are correlated and simply expressed with the earnest desire to bring within the scope of the layman the good that may accrue. It is, however, not for the laymen alone that this work is undertaken, but for unprofessional and professional alike, be he medical student or practitioner or other interested person; for to each and all I present herein the best that a lifetime of research has enabled me to wring from nature's secret store for the betterment and conservation of human life and the help of human kind.

In the development of my movement I have formulated a system under which all may participate in the benefits of my message, though possibly prevented by circumstances in some cases from coming within direct personal contact with myself.

This system comprises the following:

The "Dare to be Healthy" Club.

The "Dare to be Healthy" Lecture Course.

The "Dare to be Healthy" Hygienic Dietetic Course.

Full particulars regarding these will appear at a subsequent point in this prospectus.

LOUIS DECHMANN.