The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1875-08-25
REST.

Multitudes of earth's toiling millions have
died while striving to make enough money to
retire from business, and in beautiful cot
tage on their own little farm to spend the
remnant of their days in rest, in having moth
ing in particular to do. Perhaps one in a
million of the hopers does make money
enough to enable him to retire to his coun-
try-seat, and for year or two, while he is
fixing it up to his notion, all goes on charm.
ingly, but when everything is completed to
his mind and he has nothing more to take
up his attention, he eats and sleeps and
lounges around for few months longer, falls
into disease and dies; or if he has unusual
force of character and power of observation,
he notices that both health and happiness are
passing from him, and tracing this to the
true cause of an inactive body and an unoc.
cupied mind, he resolves to 'sell out" and
plunge again into the vortex of business.
Recently an old school-mate-younger,
graduating in the same class thirty-seven
years ago-writes that "both body and mind
are worn out; the slightest physical labor
exhausts him" and, "any effort to think or
study or even read, so wearies the brain that
life is felt as burden" He withdrew from
his professional duties, which he had per-
formed in the place for twenty-five years,
having secured the love and confidence and
respect of all who knew him. He gave up
his calling for the purpose Of obtaining rest,
as means of health
o,po how 60 ro;l;oo 10 I'M or, n, an arr
day, who give up housekeeping as a means
of rest from family cares, and resort to that
miserable and unwise mode of life, boarding
at hotel or in some private family, to get
more dissatisfied than ever in few months,
meanwhile falling into bad health and bad
habits of various kinds.
All these classes of persons fail, miserably
fail, in their object because they mistake the
physiological meaning of the word "rest. .
Neither body nor brain are safely, truly and
happily rested by doing nothing. The only
healthful rest, as long as our physical and
mental constitution remains as it is, is to be
busy. Men of force and industry will every.
where tell you, "It is the hardest thing in
the world to do nothing" No moral man
was ever made to be loafer, to be mise.
rable drone. The true idea of rest is recrea.
ton, making over again, return to oul
accustomed vigor; and this is accomplished,
not by allowing the machine to come to q
standstill, for inactivity is rust and ruin to al
mechanical contrivances, and death to all
physiological structures. The true object Of
rest is recuperation, and that is best brough,
about as to the body, by exercising differ
ent set of muscles and as to the brain by
calling into requisition different set of or
gans or powers, causing the mind to act
upon new objects. A better plan is not to get
into the unhealthful conditions named, and il
they are unavoidable by giving two hours daily
to the exercise of different class of mus.
Giles, or to the investigation and study Of
objects of comparatively trivial Importance
and of wholly different nature. The stu.
dent should ride on horseback, or cultivate
fruits and flowers; the merchant should EN-.
ploy his mind in liberal studies, in active per
sonal and elevating charities, while the over
taxed and worried wife should pay visit
daily to some prudent friend, some CHEEKY
neighbor or suffering sister or child the
main idea in all cases being to spend two or
three hours daily in open air activities wholly
different from the ordinary business routine
From the Boston Waterman and Reflector