By Marguerite Maury
Published: 1989 by CW Daniel Company
Originally published in the French language as Le Capital Jeunesse in 1961 was first translated into English in 1964.
While this book provides us with very little information about the chemistry or pharmacology of essential oils and while the language Maury uses may now be a little old-fashioned, without a doubt, Maury was one of the original pioneers of aromatherapy that truly understood the holistic nature of essential oils and incorporated naturopathic principles into her practice of aormatherapy. I have often spoken about the need to have a holistic framework based on the principles of Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine. This is exactly what Maury was doing many years ago. In writing my 3rd edition of The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy, I decided to reread Maury’s book and was blown away by so many comments that she made that are just as relevant today as they were over fifty years ago. She understood the impact of our emotions on our physical wellbeing at a cellular level:
Whether it be hatred or love, envy or anger which come to light in the course of an analysis, the material and physical life of the patient is always in danger. All these emotions have immediate repercussions on the different functions. Every physiologist knows the inhibition and disturbances of digestive or renal function, the excessive production of acid in the stomach as a result of worries and upsets. It is common knowledge.