Chapter 4
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carelessness. The impurities about their own premises have brought
upon them contagious diseases, and the sad afflictions which they
charge upon God. Every family that prizes health should cleanse their
houses and their premises of all decaying substances.
God commanded that the children of Israel should in no case allow
impurities of their persons, or of their clothing. Those who had any
personal uncleanness were shut out of the camp until evening, and
then were required to cleanse themselves and their clothing before
they could enter the camp. Also they were commanded of God to
have no impurities upon their premises within a great distance of the
encampment, lest the Lord should pass by and see their uncleanness.
In regard to cleanliness, God requires no less of his people now,
than he did of ancient Israel. A neglect of cleanliness will induce
disease. Sickness and premature death, do not come without a cause.
Stubborn fevers and violent diseases have prevailed in neighborhoods,
and towns, that had formerly been considered healthy, and some have
died, while others have been left with broken constitutions to be crip-
pled with disease for life. In many instances their own yards contained
the agent of destruction, which sent forth deadly poison into the at-
mosphere, to be inhaled by the family, and the neighborhood. The
slackness and recklessness sometimes witnessed, is beastly, and the
ignorance of the results of such things upon health is astonishing. Such
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places should be purified, especially in summer, by lime, or ashes, or
by a daily burial with earth.
Some houses are furnished expensively, more to gratify pride, and
to receive visitors, than for the comfort, convenience and health of the
family. The best rooms are kept dark. The light and air are shut out,
lest the light of heaven may injure the rich furniture, fade the carpets,
or tarnish the picture frames. When visitors are permitted to be seated
in these precious rooms, they are in danger of taking cold, because
of the cellar-like atmosphere pervading them. Parlor chambers and
bedrooms are kept closed in the same manner and for the same reasons.
And whoever occupies these beds which have not been freely exposed
to the light and air, do so at the expense of health, and often even of
life itself.
Rooms that are not exposed to light and air become damp. Beds
and bedding gather dampness, and the atmosphere in these rooms is
poisonous, because it has not been purified by light and air. Various