The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1873-01-25
oYER-AOTIHITY.
Human Brain md Muscle Wearing
Out by Excessive Exertion.
rEronn Ranahnf,a Phraica and Political

human bfAIu AHu mubCIO "cAEhn8
Out by Excessive Exertion.
lFrom Bagehot's Physics and Political
Civilized ages inherit the human nature
which was victorious In barbarous ages, and
that nature Is, In many respects, not at all
suited to civilized circumstances. "A main
and principal excellence 10 the early umeso
the human race Ia The impulse to action. The
problems before men are then plain and sim.
pie. The man who works hardest, the man
who kills the most deer, the man who catche5
the most flsh, even later on, the man VINO tends
the largest herds, or the man who tills the larg-
est field, is the man who succeeds; the nation
which Ia quickest 10 kill Its enemies, or which
kills most of It's enemies, is the nation which
succeeds. all the inducements OF early soci-
ETY. tend to foster Immediate action; all
Its penalties fall on the man who psuses; the
traditional wisdom Of those times was never
weary of intoxicating that "delays are danger
ous," and that the sluggish man-the man
"who roasteth not tharshe took In hunting
will not prosper on the earth, and, indeed,
will very soon perish out Of 1t. And. in con-
sequence, an Inability 10 stay quiet, an frrita.
BILE desire to act directly, 1s one Of the most
conspicuous failings OF mankind.
Pascal said that most Of the evils OF iiief
arose from ''man's being unable to cit still IN
q room;" and, though do not go that length,
1t is certain that we should have bren lar
wiser race than we are If we had been reader
to sit aniet-we should have known much
better the way In which 1t was best TO act when
we came to act. The rise Of physical science,
the fret great body of pectlcal truth provaDie
10 all men, exemplifles this in the p!alness
way. If 1t had not been for quiet people,
cone; II other quiet people had not sat still
aad studied the theory of inantesimals, or
other quiet people had not eat still and
worked out the doctrine OF chances, the
most .sdreamy moonshlne," as the purely
nrsaIlcal mind would consider, OF all human
pp,rsn,iS. II "idle star-gazers mad not
Watched va @ long and carefully the motions Of
omv would haSs-> been impossible; aud,
wiihout our sstronomy;""our ships, our colo
nies, cur seamep," ali which makes moassSSe
| llfe modern life could not have existed. Ages
| of sedentary quiet, thinking people were re.
quired before that noiey existence began, and
without those pale, preliminary students y
AHd nine-tenths OF modern science is, In thil
reapect, the same; tits the produce OF mel
whom their contemporaries thought dreamere
who were laughed at for carhog ior what dc
| not concern them, who, as The proverb Wene
.swalked into well from looking at INT
stars" who wers believed to be useless, II any
one could be such. And the eonclunon Y
/ plain that II there had been more such people
| il the world had not laughed at those thers
were, If rather It had encouraged them, Their
| would have been great accumulation
proved science ages before there was. y We
| The irritable ACTIVITY, the "wish TO be doinf
something" that prevented II. Most mel
inherited nature too eager and TOO restless
10 be qnlet and find out things; and eyei
worse-with their idle clamor they "disturDet
| the brooding hens" they would NOT let those
be quiet who wished 10 be 30, and out o.
whose calm thought much good might have
| come forth.
Even In commerce, which Ia now the main
occupation OF mankind. and one in which
there is ready test OF success ar failure
wanting In many higher pursuits, the same
disposition 10 excessive action Is very sppa
rent 10 careful observers. Part OF every
mania is caused by the impossibllSy to gel
people to confne themselves TO the amount o.
business for which their capital Is suf1ciept
and in which they can engage safely: In some
degree, OF course, this Is caused BY the
wish to get rich; but In q considerable de-
gree, too, by the mere love Of activity
There Ia greater propensity to sction
In such men than they have the means
of gratifying. Operations with their owG
capital will only occupy four nonrs .! o.
the day, and they wlsh to be active and te
be industrious for eight hours, and 90 thet
are ruined. II they could only have sat IDLE
| the other fonr hours they would have oeen
rich men. The amusements Of mankind, a
least Of the Buglish part Of mankind, teach
the same lesson. Our shooting. our hunuog
our travelling. our climbing, have become
| laborious pursuits. 1t Is common saying
that ian Englisbman's notion OF holiday ie 9
faliguing journey" and ibis Is only snotuei Nd
activity which have given us our place IN thf
world nave 10 many cases descended to those
who do not find In modern life any mode O
using that activity, and Of venting tha'
| energy. =