People believe in infectious and contagious diseases, [30]
and that any one is liable to have them under certain [1]
predisposing or exciting causes. This mental state pre-
pares one to have any disease whenever there appear the
circumstances which he believes produce it. If he believed
as sincerely that health is catching when exposed to con- [5]
tact with healthy people, he would catch their state of
feeling quite as surely and with better effect than he does
the sick man's.
If only the people would believe that good is more