Page:Dawn of the Day.pdf/359

Rh in the wide, floating vaults of his soul? Until lately our intrinsic has been so great, so good; nothing seemed impossible to its powers. May it therefore prove possible to experience the following three sensations at one time: loftiness, deep and warm light, and the rapture of the highest consistency. —Chronic mental diseases, as well as those of the body, very rarely arise from one gross offence against physical and mental reason, but as a rule from countless unheeded minor neglects. He, for instance, whose respiration daily becomes a trifle weaker, and whose lungs, inhaling too little air, are thus deprived of their proper exercise and practice, will at last be stricken down with a chronic disease of the lungs. Such cases can only be cured by countless minor exercises of an opposite kind, and by an almost imperceptible acquisition of new habits, laying it down as a role, for instance, to take a strong and deep breath every quarter of an hour (if possible, while lying flat on the ground), A watch which strikes the quarters ought, for this purpose, to be chosen as life-companion. All such cures are slow and pettifogging; yet even he who longs to cure his soul should watch even the least conspicuous change in his habits. Many a man will ten times a day utter an angry word to his surroundings without thinking much about it, especially if after