The Nevada Democrat., 1860-10-04
THE HUMBUG OF GYMNAsIUMs.

THE HUMBUG Ot U1 U1MNASA"'
Halls Journal of Health gives a slashlng
article on the subject Of gymnasiums, from
which we extract
II ia reported that arrangements are IN
progress for establishing gymnaslums ior
students and members of young mems asso-
Citations. Are our embryo doctors and law
yers. and clergymen, going to make ION
Hver,s and Bill Pooes and Yankee Sulll-
vans of themselves? Does the ability OF
iurist depend on the amount of beef ne car
ries? Is physicians skill to be determln-
ed by the hardness of bis muscles Is
clereyman's efficiency measured by the
agility of his monkey capers, by his dexter
ity of hanging ON a beam by his hind leg.
and swinging up to touch MS nose ag1'ns'
the big toe Of his"tother footF'
A mans intellectually does not depend
on the amount of brute force which ne pos
sesses. 1t does not require giants
strength to write sermon, or make a
book, or clear thief, or feel pulse. VI
an assembly of French sa0Gns, on certain
occasion, Humboldt being present, was
found by an accurate mode OF measure
ment. to have the least muscular strength
of the whole company, OF which he was the
greatest and the oldest. Small men, fra
Vile men. men of little muscular vigor, may
have good bodily health, and among such
are found vast excess in number OF the
opposite class, and in all ages and coun-
tries. who are the brightest OF the worlds
bright stars. AS very general rule, II
holds good-the bigger the man the bigger
fool he is.
Whoever heard of giant who was re-
markable for anything beyond size OF his
body: while the smallness of his head and
the little that is in it, is notable thing.
Both body and brain need vital forcei the
mind is great in proportion as that vital
force is expended in the brain; but if it is
used up in developing the muscles, the brain
must suffer. If one expects to make ms
living by the exercise of muscular strength,
let him, as boy and q youth, develop that
strength by steady labor and regular ana
temperate life, if it is his wish to make
money by legerdemain, by monkey capers,
by rope walking, by miraculous poses and
astonishing feats of ground aud lofty lum-
bling then the gymnasium is very proper
place for him., aud it is well that the ener-
gies of the system should be expended in
the direction of the muscles; but If he aims
at professional life, one which is to be
followed as means of living, he must ex-
ercise the mental, not the muscular power,
to the brain and not to the beef, must the
energies of the system be SENT in order
that, by their exercise, the brain may be
developed and the mind worked with power.
To sedentary persons, violent, sudden.
and fitful exercise is always injurious, and
such are gymnastic performances. Soldiers
die early. To-day they are doing nothing.
Tomorrow the forced march, the terrible
battle, summon up the very dregs, the EN-
ployment of dormant energies. The disa-
bilities and deaths, of campaign are many
times greater by disease than by the bullet
for shocks, and great alterations, always
cause disease.
The exercise of the student should be
regular, gentle, eliberate-always stop
ping short of felt fatigue. One hours joy
Gus walk with cheerful friend in the
street, or field, or woodland, will never fai
to do a greater and more unmixed good
than double the time in the most scientifi
cally conducted gymnasium in the world
There are individual cases where the gym
nasium is of the most uDdeniable benefit
but the masses would be the better for hav
ing nothing to do with them. A million
times better recipe than the gymnasium fol
sedentary persons is
Eat moderately aud regularly of plain
nourishing food, well prepared. Spend two
or three hours every day in the open air
regardless of the weather, in moderate, un
firing actveness.