New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-10-19
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PARADOX

There IL no doubt AT al ABOUT INC idct thdt "o
&" bre fcarfills and wonderfully made" But 1t is
unite a. fearful and wonderful thing to contem-
pate how wide IL the prOycrbial disagreement OF
doctors ne to how this curious machinery oi ours
By which We live and move and have our Deihg Is
beat 10 be Kept in good repair. Our aacestors
used To think that glass OF CIDER at breaktast, o
little trondy aud water or punch ut ii O'Clock,
half a be- tile Of wne with dinner, a little more
punch in the afternoon, and comfortable nghtcnp
Of hot viii. Nv toddy on going to bed, was u very
moderate and salubrious distribution OF the moist
ure necessary 10 keep the human clay well tenn
pered But thc Temperance Movement came
al,ns, sLd made Wild havoc among these house
held usages Then Mr.. Sylvester Graham and DR..
Wilism A Alcott carried out the dietet.c doctrines
Of Temperance to what shey esteemed to be their
logical results, ond the meat was waved away
from the tables of their disciples Is perfuncto-
rily as the sayory dishes were cOpjured OF that
of Governor Sancho Pabza By the dread wand OF
DR.. Sratcbawoy. Batter aud milk we're coldly
looked upon as sayoiil z Of Iight.oand extremes
ard lcft hand dcfections; and one philosopher, we
r, collect took ", at pains and shed much lax 10
prove that common ealt was common NUISANCE,
ard The cause Of almost all the ills that flesh is
heir to.
But ttssc we're not the only iDcursioLs into our
hereditary Labtud,s made by these ply illogical
invaders. Our ance, tOrs were not a bihOg gem
grafton. Many an honest gentleman then thought
a swm now snd then in Summer when sea or
river were convenient fully satisfied all the de-
mands Of reasonable ceaLllLess, if the hands and
face were kept prescLtao!e. We are no CIodiur,
10 nrude even 10 Imagination, upon the mysteries
% TIE toll, tie of the fajrer portion of mankind;
but We ApYrcle,d that not many, even of them,
would have incurred in those days toe dsPleasure
Of - jerome, which good father thus expresses
hi. opinion IN the subject Of female baIhiOg;
Min ounno in oduAd rIrgise LorGera d'spi'ee"t
qua se,ysaa d,Jd eTlLesecre It nuddm u'dere noH
a." posse" Though We have lett this Patrl'slc
tAe-is " IN 80 obscurity of learned language,
A. G. tbcn used 10 do certain untranslatabe things,
il is not rs in his case because there is any par
euler bsIm in it. But quarter Of century
ago Watory revolution set in. Combc, we rather
think began ii, but il was taken up aud pushed
forward, not merely by technical phi, ii logical
reiorueIs, but by regular doctors Of the old school
The importat ce Of tie function of the skin was
dwelt upon and enforced, and daily abIutious we're
81 Joined Us strictly upon Christians as on Mussul.
mars. OF later days tie gospel Of Muscular
Christianity has been pr, achcd anew, and the
necessity urged Of a due cultivation aud develop
mcEt OF the iheWs and sneWs for tho elevation OF
the Iace to higher plaLe Of physical power and
enjoyment Boating, ball-plsy boxing, skating,
s!mnastic', are having th.ir day Of profitable Use,
and doubles, of abusc as well.
But now again in the due revolution of that
charge lch il the lie OF Nature, reacti seems
to have set in. Physicians of emiGsnce such as
the late DIR. Warren of Boston, who were among
the fret 10 recommend the daily of the bath, or
of sn equivalent luslrstiOn, have charged their
minds and their teechirgs, aud condemn the prac.
tee as hurtful d.. Winsbip, the yong Boston
Hercules, who stands for ward as the gymnasiarch
Of Young America ia all healthful exercises, de-
rounces tie daily practice of bathing as luxurious
to tie highest physical development But then he
ii encountered on his own ground BY DR.. Hail. of
The journal If HeaHh, who matiously tn AS
Up his at gynnastic exercises, asking whether
our youth are to be bred up for prize-fghters and
ayerriT that two or three hours riding or wa King
is worth all the dumb bells and Indian clubs 10 the
world. We quote his sense and not his words
How ara these discrepancies of the learned TO be
reconolled Are those who rejoice daily in the
comfort aud ref esbment of thorough abluton
and absterson to abandon it tecause of this new
wind of doctrine Or are they who feel new life
ard vigor coursng through their veins from the
daily discipline of their muscles, by the judicious
use of gymnastics, 20 forego all custom of exer-
" cises," az Hamlet did, because DR.. Hall holds
them in light esteem We trow not, and hold
Il at there is golden mean that satisfies all tho
acquisitions Of science and Of common selse.
The argument in this rs ia all other cases,
should be from the wise and not from the fool
ish abuse the practices in question. There may be-
eIcessoc Of bathing which are damaging to the
heal b. ike any other excuses. There may be, and
undoubtedly are, eActeciDgs in the attempt to in
Grease the extent of the muscular forces which
IesGlt in serioos injury to the constitution. But
the,e not the true grouudsfr from which 70 reason
Is to physiological habits. Our whole life is ia
fact struggle with tho powers Of Nature in
which it IS part Of our education to learn how to
form our habits so 10 dc,i'e the greatest amount
az res "a s,d t'u;i. fr.n h