The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1856-12-11
Man, PhYSiOlOgicallY.

Ii is now ascertained, from the army sta.
tistics of France and England, that, on an
average, every able bodied man will con.
sumo about a ION and hoD Of various
kinds Of nutriment in the course Of each
year. OF this amazing quantity, about one
half is taken in the form of fluids water,
wine, spirits, tea and coffee, &c Eight hun
dred pounds is taken in the shape of solid
food, and eight hundred pounds OF oxygen
gas absorbed from the atmosphere by the
lungs.
OF course the amount thrown off from
the system in various ways is equal, on the
average, TO that consumed. 1t used TO be
thought great discovery that the whole
body OF man changed once in sercn years,
but, from facts like these, it would appear
to change far more rapidly. Probably all
the body is perpe,ualy changing though
some parts faster than Others. Tho food
that is taken in, goes ont again in con-
sumed form with different degrees of IA.
piditv, according 10 the nature of the struc.
ture into which il enters, but all a, much
quicker rate Than has COMMONLY been sup
posed. The gases change most rapidly. and
therefore require to he supplied most con.
stantly. In the course Of a few seconds, or
minutes at furthest the entire stock Of oxy.
gen in the system is consumed. and the 70.
fuse returned to the atmosphere bv the
lungs in the form of that dealiiest Of poi
sons, carbonic acid gas, 10y its union with
the carbon of the food
The fluids come next, and in n hot day,
much Of what VIC drink passes off from the
skin, in the form of perspiration, in verv
short time. The food converted into hone
and muscle, especially into the former, pgoba
bly, takes longest to change, but even the
bones are all changing with every breath
that is drawn. In very short time, doubt
less. every part ofthe body is consumed and
renewed
The great agent in all this is comLus-
ton. That is TO say, we are each of us all
the time burning up, purified hourly by
iire-a fire in the blood and in the bones of
every living man. every par; ventilated with
oxygen gas, which is carried in the blood
by the lungs into each nook and corner, and
there, uniting with the carbon, it literally
burns him up alive. In fact. all animal
heat is but the perpetual combustion of the
body. the burning up of Eat and other car
Ton OF the system, in consequence of the
presence Of oxygen gas borne in the tide of
the blood
And what becomes Of the great amour,
of water daily absorbed' 1t serves for two
purpoSes-first, rs n canal TO carry alike the
iueI and the oxygen to tho different stations
all over the body. and ii also serves as a
reservoir to keep the fire in check, when
ever there is danger of fire getting the
mastery. II those water plugs, the capilla-
rcs Of the skin, get out Of order. or hv any
other means the FIRE becomes uncontro!Ia.
hIe, the man burns up with fever IL he
stir tue fire 10y exercise, he gets hot, espe
cialIy if he blow with those bellows the
langS Ii he let's the R,c alone, it gets dull
and choked up with ashes. Ii he lives too
fast 10y inhaling cXhiiaralng gas, the car.
Sonic acid gas accumulales in the system SC
fast that it chokes Up the vital powers, and
may asphyNia,e him. Bnt the combustion
may be extremely low without the fire
gong dead out, aS we see in cases Of hyber-
nation. Thus, some OF the lndiar tribes
regularly take long nap through the
winter months To save food, j. e. fuel; and
in Inlia, some men have thus been purpose
ly buried alive, and exhumed and recovered
after several months of quicsconce
The heat OF the body in all climes is
about the same. No matter how cold or
how hot the air; the temperature of the
body remains at the came point. about 9s
deg Bat to keep this temperature rcquircs
larger amounts Of combu~tibe. or food
when we approach the North Pole, and Of
water to keep tile fire in cleck as we ap.
proach the tropics. The evaporation Of
perSpralon from the whole surface Of the
body enables man 10 stand the hottest eli
mates in tho world, while almost fabulous
quantities Of train oil, reindeer and blubber
keep up the heat Of the Esquimaux.
Thus is life, physiologcaly, fame, "A
fire like Moses bush, burning, vet uncon.
sumcd, or rather momentariy consuming.
and yet replacing all tho waste for years and
years. So Gar all might seem to change,
with nothing remaining, and yet there is
not moment that We live, not an action
Of our lives, not an event that trauspires, but
what is leaving its reSiduum. permanent
and imperishablc. Conscious idenGig con.
tnucs unbroken amid all these bodily
changes; the materials that feed the flame
may change, but each event leaves its inn
b l'N'''N'' az VIZ N'tAfNttcSs ~ 'ltau iudl NV
hundred years, but there is an imnutablc
something about him that never changes.
His body dies daily, piece 10y piece, being
literally burnt up, consumed by slow inward
fires, but there is something in him, the ex-
isience Of which is made known to him by
conscious continued identity. that survives
oil this daily death, aud is therefore imma.
terial, immortal and Divine Such ia Prof.
Diapers view Of man Philadelphia Lc1ger.