When a person falls ill, it is only this spiritual, self acting (automatic) vital force, everywhere present in his organism, that is primarily deranged by the dynamic(1) influence upon it of a morbific agent inimical to life; it is only the vital force, deranged to such an abnormal state, that can furnish the organism with its disagreeable sensations, and incline it to the irregular processes which we call disease; for, as a power invisible in itself, and only cognizable by its effects on the organism, its morbid derangement only makes itself known by the manifestation of disease in the sensations and functions of those parts of the organism exposed to the senses of the observer and physician, that is, by morbid symptoms, and in no other way can it make itself known.
FN
(1) Materia peccans!
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SUMMARY
The Role of Vital Force in Disease
Derangement of Vital Force
- Primary Cause of Illness: Illness occurs when the spiritual, self-acting vital force within the body is disrupted.
- Dynamic Influence: The derangement is triggered by the dynamic influence of harmful agents (morbific agents) that negatively affect the vital force.
Manifestation of Symptoms
- Source of Discomfort: The altered state of the vital force produces unpleasant sensations and leads to irregular bodily processes recognized as disease.
- Invisible Power: The vital force is not directly observable; its effects can only be perceived through the morbid symptoms exhibited by the organism.
Recognition by Physicians
- Morbid Symptoms: Physicians identify the derangement of the vital force solely through observable symptoms in the sensations and functions of the body.
- Limited Knowledge: The nature of the vital force's derangement can only be understood through its manifestations in the organism, without any other means of recognition.
