The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1857-04-10
WHOLE NUMBER POS
Brain-Labor.

nearly all the maadcS that prevail among
us to over-workcd brains There was never
agrcater declIlsion. A hundred brains are
under-worked where one suffers from hard
| study.
The little. puny infant is fed on all the
denominations Of our present cooking system,
gorged with candy, until colo and convul-
sons are produced, then druggcl with opi-
atcs to snbduc the distress, and the good
nurse or great doctor cxclaims, "Oh, what a
head ll's running all away with its dear
little body !" And so it is fed again and
| gorged again, and stuffed as usual, and doc.
tored evernorc, to bring the body up to
the standard OF the brain. Strange logic,
| this
The majority Of our boarling-sohool mas.
tiers and misses suffer very poor health, asFt,
DO their teachers. And our professional
men, lawyers, doctors, divincs, editors &C.,
arc continually complaining Of disordered
bodies, and as constantly imputing the
whole evil to ovcrwovk I'd brains. Nonsense!
We have looked into this matter good
deal, and have come 10 the conclusion that
the reverse Of the common theory is true.
We do not believe it will hold good in one
case Ill Il hunlrcd. Indeed, it is very diff
ticult to ovcrwork the, brain. The brain
was made for work. 1t is constitutionally
adapted to work without ccasing, except
during the hours Of sleep. 1t can see, hear,
observe, thiuk, mediate, cogi,ate, calcu-
late, scheme, plan, Judge reason, compare,
resolve, all the day long, with all its ener-
gics, and without injurious fatigue, pro-
vidcd the bodily conditions are kept good.
| We take the ground, that no brain in q
sound body can ever be hurt bv hard study.
But th, herein is all The difficulty. We
subject the vital machinery to a sorts of
nisuscs and abuses, SO that the mind can
hardly work at all, and then imagine tho
mischief comes from working the mind too
hard.
No. 1t is the body which is overwork-
cd. 1t lalors hard to get rid Of the false
conditions imposed upon it. The stom-
ach is oppressed with improper food; tho
blood is loaded with viscid humors tho
sccrctions are i,ire no proper attention is
paid to exercise, to breathing, to rest; and
all Of the laws Of health are perpctually vi
olatcd. Tic organism strugyl lies for dear
life. 1t requires al the vita! or nervous en-
crgies to preserve existence. There is a
little spared for brair.labor, and so the brain
works but little. And when the machine
~ Of lit: is thrown into irreparable disosS
der, or some of its abused organs break
down under the unnatural warfare against
unphysiol"Sical habits, is it not consoling
to lie down il b!issful ignorance OF the real
cause
Look, for Il moment at the history of the
greatest philosopher, the hardest thinkers,
the most Industrious brain laborcrs who
have ever ythagoras, Plato, Wes-
ley, Adams, Won IIumbolt, Edgeworth 2
They were from childhood lard students.
They were always acting, always thinking
No sun ever went down in the evening.
during their long aud cvcnttul lives, with
out their mental storchonsc of wisdom BE-
ing greater than when it arose in the NOM
ing. The world never heard Of more ASST
duous students. But they never suffered,
from worked brains Such thought
never entered their heads. And wllys
Simply because they lived: Z plainly, their
food was simple, their habits were temper. q
ate and regular; they paid attention to the
rules of health they kept the bodily nnss-
chinery i'll good condition, aud hence brains
and body We're always in working order
and work, hard work, too instead of de-"
stroying either, inyigoratea botlr. Whens'
will our medical philosophers tcachan err
ring world, the truth On .lhis important sub
Ejlssse.a jsE. -L:tezl.zkastratea7-
S~RooM FOR THE BAEY.-'rhe Chicago
Times tells thc"folowing story and .volt-
ches for its truth {: -,
There was crowd in the office Of the
city marshal yesterday where tltat good
patdFed, e(iiciaI2a 2a&as selling Swooat to the;
poor. "staudf dfbask, all Of You and lets the
woman with lie baby have a ehaness". s
The crowd complied, and again, and again
woman after woman each with Il baby il
her arms, KEPT tPressing forward tosths desk.
The marshal tSskif eSslys fer a while, ,sbbts
ffnaiiythc infaHfb gan g assume " fauiH. q
lar look, and ana examination. was,. had,
when it turned ont that the mother was
Icpding her baby to her acquan.ances, to
secure TO them the ilnmnnities which she
herself enjoyed. There WAS laugh all
round, and fresh start"
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