History of Sanitation

64 HISTORY OF SANITATION creed about that time that uncleanliness was next to godli- ness, and clergy and laymen vied with each other to see which could live in the most filthy manner. They asso- ciated in there minds luxury and cleanliness as inconsistent with godliness, while squalor and bodily filth were consid- ered as outward indi- Destroyed Lead Font, Great Plumstead, Norfolk cations of inward piety and sanctification. So it came to pass that bathing, instead of a daily practice, became uncommon; homes and inhabitants became fil- thy and streams pol- luted. Such violations of sanitary principles could not continue in- definitely without evil results, and scourge af- ter scourge of filth dis- eases that swept over Europe and Asia, claim- ing over 40,000,000 victims, were due to the unsanitary con- dition that prevailed. The restless, seething, venturesome spirit of the times and the emotional zeal displayed in religious matters con- tributed greatly to the spread of pestilence. The crusades, starting out with a romantic and religious fervor, but with no set rules of conduct for guidance, and lacking a leader strong enough in discipline to hold in check men whose only claim to distinction lay in their powers in a tilt and their love of battle, soon degenerated into the most dis- orderly and lewd of rabble. Women camp-followers joined their fortunes with that of the knights, who in most cases forgot the object of the crusade, and gave themselves up to indolence and debauchery. Sanitary precautions were