The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent., 1848-10-06
MIS- ELLANEO is

MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS HEALTH.-
God has created this beautiful frame with
its hundreds Of muscles and bones, its thou
sands Of blood-vessels and nerves, its com
plicated digestive apparatus, its nicely
adapted lungs, its active skin-and allthese
he has formed into systems and organs, and
given each a separate duty to perform for
the general good. Each has its peculiar
work to accomplish, yet not without the CO
operation Of all the rest. AL these systems
and organs, varied, yet harmonious, consti-
tute the machinery of our life, This ma
chinery, thus constituted and complicated,
is placed in our hands to govern, to supply
its wants, to adapt the elements Of nutrition
and excretion, food, and drink, and air,
bathing, exercise and rest, precisely to the
necessities and condition Of each organ;
and out Of the whole produce the greatest
amount Of strength and health.
This is our responsibility, this is the harp
ola thousand strings, which we are to play
upon and bring forth the sweet music of
energy and cheerfulness. We are to play,
each one of us, upon our own harp.
Whether we thoroughly understand the in
strument, It's powers and its uses, or whether
we are perfectly ignorant of them, still we
are to be the players, and the music, gentle
or harsh, must be such as we Individually
are able and willing to produce. Each one
Of our vital machines has its own director,
and admits no substitute. And the amount
Of vitality which we shall enjoy will be in
proportion the skillfulness and faithfulness
of this direction.
This, | am aware, is fearful response
billty, and some, in distrust Of their oompe-
tence to sustain it, would fain shrink from
it. But all in vain is any attempt to escape.
We must sustain this responsibility or we
must fall. No one can assume it for US,
no one can take from us the blessed conse-
quenCes of obedience, no one can bear in
our stead the dread effects of failure; as we
individually eat, and breathe, and move, so
shall we alone live or die.
But there is a general notion, thatsomc
how OF other, these laws oflife are not quite
so inexorable; and common careless obser-
vation seems to prove that they are not
always so absolute in their requirements,
nor as inevitable in their penalties. We
are told that many are acting in opposition
to them, yet are not cut off. One works
night and day, and is not broken down;
another never exercises at all, and yet has
power of motion; third eats all sorts Of
strange compounds and has no dyspepsia;
and therefore some think that men may give
free reins to appetite, may drive their mus
cular energies to their utmost tension, and
the student may bury himself in his books,
and yet expect to rise in unimpaired health.
But the judgment is sure, however blind
we may be to it. Not every sin merits
annihilation, but every one has its cores
ponding punishment. The loss of that spe-
cifc strength, or power, OF comfort, which
obedience would have given, is the first re-
suit Of neglect. The specific pain or dis
turbance, which is the natural consequence
of error, is certain to follow. As we have
no exact standard ofhealth, no precise mea4
sure of life, we cannot easily determine
when and how far we fall short Of either.
If we are about as well as our neighbors,
we fatter ourselves that we do not suffer,
although we do come short of that fullness
of vitality which we might have obtained.
The laws of life are as fixed and unalteT-
able as are the laws Of matter. The e6b