Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1860-03-08
A SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY.


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A SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY.
We are no materialists, believing that mind is
the result Of organism; but we believe that the
strength of the mind depends, in great degree,
on the health and vigor of the body. The great
object of education among the ancient Greeks
and Romans, was the developement and discip-
line CT the whole man; and the distinction
which they attained, in the arts and sciences and
in arms, proves the wisdom of this thorough and
many-sided culture. An English writer says
sthe greatness of our great men is quite as much
bodily affair as mental one.' BURTON re.
marks that the body is the house of the mind,
and as wine savors of the cask wherein it is kept
so the soul receives o tincture from the body
through which it works.
The progress of science, art and labor Saving
machinery, during the present age, is relieving
man, in q degree, from the mere drudgery and
heavier toll Of life. The mighty steamboat, the
immense railway train, and the manufactory
with its myriad spindlcs, ore kept going almost
without the exertion Of muscle. All classes
and conditions of society are pressing upwards,
towards state of life, in which the body may
rest and the intellect and soul be kept in action.
People are crowding together into cities, towns
and villages for commercial, mechanical and ed
ucational purposes. All these things are favor
able to the development of the mind, but not Of
the body. For, as LOCKE says, labor for labor's
sake is against nature : we are inclined to take
the shortest route to the palace Of ideness; and
where it is not necessary, We eschew any great
bodily exertion. .. rr.a
Every institution in the land, male and female,
should, we think, have its gymnasium where
the youth of the country may be trained in those
exercises which give manliness and strength to
the one sex, grace and agility of movement to
the other, and health and physical happiness to
both. SOCRATES says that forgetfulness, melan-
choly, fretfulness and even madness may be pro-
duced by the want of exercise. We have all,
perhaps, seen dyspeptic boys and consumptive
girls ut school. They are utterly indisposed to
action-the very thing they need in their enfee-
bled state. While we remain in the body-the
abode of the mind-we cannot neglect it, with
out doing injury to our proper self.
To procure sound mind in sound body,
education must begin rightly and wisely with
children. 1t is easier to SOW the seeds of health
and 'long-lasting' in the virgin soil Of their no
ture, than after the tborns of disease have sprung
up in their constitution. To give a child no air,
no sunshine, no rollcking sports, is simply Grim
inal. Its own wild play and romping are the
best means for its development; and the mother
who has instilled into her little daughter the
notion that it is unbecoming to run and jump
and laugh aloud, has dried up the fountains of
her little heart, and made it q parched desert
when the sun of life shines down, hot and scorch-
ing. A proper child A staid, demure little
girl, that sits up like lady, and never romps |!
lifeless as her doll always too fine to play for
fear of soiling her dress Mothers, never make
your house such q prison and life such q torment,
to the 'tumbled fruit of your household Do
the birds sit still and songess in the springtime
The mocking bird on May morning, is just
like little girl in short dresses should be.
While we are acting the censor, one word to
the sangel of the house'-woman. CoMsTocK,
in his physiology, recommends archery-that is,
in plain English, shooting with the bow and ar
row-as most graceful and becoming exercise
for the sex. 1t developes the chest and lungs,
and thus removes the tendency to consumption,
to which woman is so often prey. Atthe same
time, it gives symmetry and beauty to the form.
The ancients had their Diana, as celebrated in
hunting as N1MRoD himself. Now, think of O
graceful woman, in imitation of the Greciar
goddess, with bow and arrow and quivcr swung
to her side, going out of morning to shoot 6
chicken for dinner! How fit; how becoming
how graceful
The fact is, woman gets no exercise. Shu
up in the house all day; sewing and reading by
turns, and knitting till the wee sma' hours o.
bedtime at night; to her, suushineis is q romance
and fresh air, luxury. She should have some
outdoor life; some relaxation from the tread
mill monotony of household duties and pleasures
Her beauty, health and happiness all require it
A morning promenade, while the dew is on thu
grass, and an evening ride on horseback, KEEP
up regularly, would restore the color to many 6
wasted cheek, and give strength and preparation
for the duties of life.
We need not be content with merely living
for we have the means of making the very sens,
of being q pleasure. They are to be pitied VIII
fear death, yet whose life is nothing but pro
tracted pain. But such is the case with thous
auds. The feebleness of the lungs makes it
burden to breathe the weakness of the stomach
makes digestion painful the inactivity of th
whole system makes existence itself drear
sensation. To such, exercise, at first gentle bu
by degrees more and more vigorous and bracing
lis invaluable. Our nature is e-fold-body
mind and spirit-and oil three must be kept &c
tive, if we would have sound mind in q SCUM
body.
We close with paragraph from that depart
ment of the Raleigh Spirit Of the Age, preside
over by the accomplished Mrs. NJ. E. GoRMAN
She speaks of the ladies, and tells the truth:
ssMost of their employments are within doors
Society seems to demand this. Hence so man
of them are doomed to be the wearers of blanch
ed cheeks, to move with an inelastic step, to pin
under the ravaces of dyspepsia or consumption
or pass years of suffering with headache an
other nervous disorders. Now, the garden, eli
I ther the vegetable or flower garden, and espe
CHILLY the latter. is the universal panacea fo
these disorders among women. They need,
portion of each day; the fresh open air, the ray
of healthy sun, and the invigorating manua
labors of the flower garden, to give vigor t.
their system and elasticity and cheerfulness t.
their spirits.
"Must use the hoe and rake-must trim tn
branches and give direction to the vine-mus