Loss of Health
Among the manifold misfortunes that may befall humanity, the loss of health is one of the severest. All the joys which life can give cannot outweigh the sufferings of the sick. Give the sick man everything and leave him with his sufferings, and he will feel that half the world is lost to him. Lay him on a soft silken couch, he will nevertheless groan sleepless under the presence of his sufferings while the miserable beggar, blessed with health, sleeps soundly on the hard ground. Spread his table with dainty meats and choicest drinks and he will thrust back the hand that proffers them, and envy the poor man who thoroughly enjoys his dry crust. Let his chair be a throne and his crutch a world swaying scepter, he will look with a contemptuous eye on marble, on gold, on purple and would deem himself happy if he could enjoy good health even if he were under a thatched roof, living like the meanest of his servants.
