The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1864-02-17

The following is excellent, though We
do not know to whom to credit it:
BY the exercise of a very little refec-
ton we shall discover that the mind and
the body are both dependent on each
other. The mind, more especially, upon
the ply ysical structure; for, without stimu-
liant from the bodily vigor, the brain re-
fuses to work, and thought is paralyzed
These are truisms, and are not put forth
AS embodying any new and startling doc
trine. They are SO true that all thinking
men know the force Of the remarks, but
fail to take any steps to practice what is
| told that his mind il weak it implies bodi-
| ly waste, and he must Of necessity recruit
the one to improve the other. This ar
| ticle is no plea for gymnasia, or other
| similar institutions; in fact, we look upon
! these as the last resort for restoring lost
animal strength, and invigorating the
| wasted tissues and muscles Of the body.
| Rather do we seek in these lines to i'm
! press upon every person engaged in sed-
entary pursuits, the absolute need that
| exists for sensible and diverting bodily
activity.
How does the case stand2 How do
men in general spend the few hours they
| can spare from businessY Let the reader
1 iooh aIouuu oiuOuS LAS uCQuoluta
! or ask himself, and he can see clearly
/ that but few persons give the attention
they ought to this subject. One individ-
ual, for instance, stands all day in his
store, bends over his desk, and wearies
out his body and mind by close attention
to business. Possibly, at five o'clock, he
goes home, because he can't stand any
i'longer-what does he do then? He plays
five minutes with the baby, or else doses
| in the corner over q newspaper, all doub-
led up like a jack knife. Still other
men of business snatch q hasty minute
to dine, and come home at night only to
pore over ledgers and business accounts
without end. These plans may be very
excellent ones to get riches by, but there
arc demands Of the body to be attended
to which, neglected, all the wealth Of the
world cannot comepnsate for. The OBJ
| vious remedy is to give each function
/ and organ of the body its proper degree
! of care. The millionaire well not consent
1 that his horses shall stand idle in the
stable, for he knows that by so doing
| they lose in beauty and spirit; yet he de-
nies to his own body what he recognizes
as indispensable for the animal, and suf-
| fers his energies to waste for the want Of
use The mechanic, who has an over
abundance Of muscular exercise, requires
intellectual food, that his brains may de-
| velop, and his ideas be enlarged; while
the reverse is true Of literary men.
In the beginning of this article we
] mentioned gymnasia, and their influence;
We think that one great feature in devel-
oping our frames is too often overlooked
and that is the degree Of interest or SYM
pathy an individual has ii his efforts to
| become robust Most persons wiz COZ.
cede that if q man forces himself to walk
about in pen, open to air and sunlight,
for a certain period, he will not neces-
sarily present q picture Of perfect health;
and that mere tramping over stated
number OF miles may not always bring
him in sight OF the fountains Of youth.
But Nature inspires the heart Of man with
all her beautiful sights and sounds; let
him feel the sweet influences of the land
scape filing his heart with joy and graft
tude; and then . walk Of half mile il
better for his body that ave miles under
other circumstances. II n not % much
what we do for the restofatioa Of lost
physical energy, a. how We do it Ac-
tive exercise ID in fact only another name
for restoration; and that this II impera-
lively necessary TO . healthy body, all
will admit Outraged nature indicts sore
present punishment upon men for their
| neglect Of this law, - well - future un-
happiness, in line Of deGeasrated and
| fguratiyely emasculated descendAntA