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Even though natural healing method were practiced by anicient civilizations naturopathy as a system of medicine may not be as old the traditional medicine butt it has been practiced by all right thinking physician for more than two millennia. It dates back in essence to Hippocrates (460-377 BC) who is mistaken as the father of modern medicine. In fact his fame rests on his trying to heal his patients according to the basic principle of nature cure. He aids stree on the right diet than on drugs. "Nature" he said "are physician of our diseases". But the real father of naturopathy was vincenz priesnitz who established a clinic in grafenburg a small village in the Silesian Mountains more than a century ago. A simple unlettered farmer priesnitz was endowed with a sharp intelligence and the capacity to go to first causes. It was he who discovered the healing power of a cold bath. His clinic become a center of pilgrimage from all over the world. Like many innovators priesnitz had to face scorn and even opposition from all quarters. Enraged by his success and the resultant popularity the traditional physician unleashed a campaign of slander ridicule and heaped vile abuse on him he was dragged to the courts under false pretances but persecution only added luster to his name. Priesnitz had a milestone near his clinic in inscribed with the dictum you must be patient since he found that perseverance alone could deal with stubborn ailments. He found that the way to deal with chronic illness was to strengthen the resistance of the body so that it could throw out the poisons accumulated in it due to a wrong of life. Johannes schroth the Austrian born only a few from the place where priesnitz had his clinic followed in his footsteps mainly on the basic of his personal experience he started with dogs and cattle but cater turned to human patients at his clinic in liendweiz in Czechoslovakia. Schroth faced opposition and ridicule priesnitz had but the duke of wintumbrug came to his aid in 1849, when wounds in his feet refused to heal and the physicians advised amputation as the only remedy. The patient insisted however on giving schroth a trial and surprisingly came back healed. Impressed by the natural system of drugless healing the duke had an account of his treatment printed and distributed to the armed forces of Austria silencing schroth's detractors. While priesnitz depended on the cool waters of the streams and rivers schroth gave pride of place to the application of heat through compresses and fomentation's he also devised a system of dietetic known as the schroth system. A contemporary of schroth was father Sebastian kneipp a teacher and social worker turned naturopathy who carried on the good work for 45 years. Kneipp was a votary of hydropathy and his book on the subject is still popular. He used water at different temperatures for the different ailments. Another great teacher who advocated hydropathy was rickli in the last century who set up a sanitarium in the Austrian province of kane to treat patients with sum light and air his system is know as the "atmospheric cure" used mostly in case of constipation. Rickli believe in vegetarianism in addition to his fait in the healing power of air light and the sun. he was active till he died at the ripe age of 97 years. Naturopathy is indebted to the German innovator, or heinrich lahmann who opened a clinic in Dresden. He measured the nutrition value of the various foods in terms of milk using it as a standard. His contribution to the science of dietetics is of natural foods as aids to health and dilated shaves less ness of liquor.

One of the greatest of naturopathy was kunhe a German who had lost his health at the young age of 20 years. Disappointed with tradition medicine as it failed to provide him any relife he turned to nature cure with remarkable success. His recovery convinced him of the utility of the system which he studied for many years and open a health home in Leipzig. His treatments included sun bathing steam baths hip bath and the only answer to disease. His work include the new science of healing and the science of pacial expression. Kunhe enunciated the principle that the root cause of all diseases is one to take recourse to naturopathy.

Another great teacher of nature cure Adolph Justs is know for his discovery of the healing property of clay. He stressed the need for going bare foot so that the life giving properties of mother earth may touch a person's body. In his famous work "return to nature" he shows how a person regenerate by living in nature he believe that disease was a punishment for disregarding the laws of nature. He was a staunch opponent of inoculation. Americans also made their contribution to the development of the science of naturopathy. The first American exponent James C. Jackson born in 1811,suffered an intractable ailment at the age 35 years which improved when he sought the help of silas o. gleason, one of priesnitz's disciples having got considerable relife after a stay of about a year at gleason's sanatorium he went into partnership with him. He was the founder of the Danville Jacksonrium in New York soon to become famous through the U.S.A. Disregarding drugs Jackson used hydropathy rest exercise died and psychological approach all tools of naturopathy "the way to health" Jackson taught "is sane living" the renowned American naturopathy MC faden took over the management of the sanatorium from Jackson's son who had succeded him.

The founder of hygiene the rapeutic collage in Florence New York Dr. Russell t. trall author of the world famous work on the subject was another American exponent of naturopathy. Dr. J. H. Rellong of battle creek sanatorium in Michigan state renowned author on a standard work on hydropathy and other subject like sun bathing also made his contribution to the development of the philosophy of naturopathy along with Dr. Henry Lindlahr, who believed that every acute disease was the sign of natural resistance which the human body possessed. A firm believed in Iridiagnosis his best known work are 'Iridiagnosis' and "the practice of natural therapeutics". A doctor of the old school he discovered the use less ness of traditional medicine and surgery in dealing with acute disorders of the body.

The pride of place among the naturopaths of the USA goes to Dr. J.H.Tilden who taught that the cure lay in medicine one's habits. His best known work is impaired health. Mention must also be made of Drs. Benedict lust a disciple of kneip, Dewey, Alfred w. Mc cane the renowned American dietetician Dr. Andrew. H.Still the discovered of osteopathy and deniel D.Palmer who is renowned for a later development of the manipulative science chiropractic. The names of other practitioners of naturopathy and their contribution to the science must await a fuller history this being a brief review