The Osceola times., 1881-01-15
The Power of Mind over Matter.
Kansas Clty lime.


Anciently the successful athlete was
crowned with laures and wealth, but II
is not so certain that he gained civic
honor. 1t is much the same to-day. The
dispatches of Yesterday contain the news
that IIanlan has been rendered the free
dom Of Iondon-a great honor to any
stranger, and one only given in response
to a popular demand. In view of the
honors anciently paid athletes and those
now paid Hanlan coupled with the mod
ern college boat club some interesting
questions arise. and among these are the
effect of excessive muscular development
on health; its effect on longevity and It's
effect on the brain and intellectual de-
velOpment.
We affirm that the effect of modern
| civilization is to bring about a triumph
of mind over matter; and further, that all
effort to unduly develop muscle must
ever be at the expense Of the brain pow
ers. Harvard aud Yale colleges have
their regattas, but it is well known that
those who take part in them rarely rise
to any intellectual excellence. Two OF
llarvard's 5 stroke-oalsmen are personally
known TO the writer, and after ten years
of professional life the one is a physician
who cannot own horse, and the other
LAWYER without brief. Both are
heavy, forid men and utterly without
mental nerve power. Here il is proper
to observe that atheism, when learned
in schools, produces a sort Of good-na-
tured mental stupidity; when learned in
the gutter it invariably produces brutal
ity. All have noticed the peculiar and
ungovernabie dispositions in race horses
fighting dogs and fighting men. The
matador who tortures the bull to the
proper pitch of frenzy has an intelli-
gence little superior to that of his victim
We venture TO say that the best athlete
in the school gymnasium will, as Il rule
be found TO be the poorest scholar. lie
may not be brutal like his brother ath.
lete of the gutter, but they will be found
to possess many traits in common.
1t is a most common mistake to sup
pose that a robust body is capable of the
greatest physical strain. The contrary
was proven in the late war. Those used
to exposure and hardships were always
outmarched by the light and attenuated
clerks from the city stores. The report
of Lieutenant Strain, who some years
ago made n trip Of exploration across
Nicaragua in which he saw great hard
ship, states that the most intelligent OF
his party stood hardship by far the best,
while the simply robust were the irst II
give up. Many other explorers have GER
titled to this same fact.
Further, muscular development is no
guaranty Of health. 1t has been seen that
system hardened BY toll and exposure
is no match for the more intelligent but
physically weaker man in the matter Of
physical endurance SO also the athlete
is at Il disadvantage in the matter Of
longevity and health. DR.. Winship, by
careful attention to diet and training was
able to lift the enormous weight Of $500
pounds. In his lectures he used to say
that he took up such training to regain
his lost health and that he had found
health in lifting, but he died shortly
after Of an unknown cause. Alex. II.
stephens on the other hand, an invalid
for years, with his ninety pounds ayoir-
dupois and enormous intellectual devel-
opment is as fresh and untiring to-day
as ever.
As a rule, it is the careful, methodical,
thoughtful man who lives long. \ ro-
bust body or physical training seems to
have but little to do with longevity, I'M
less, indeed, it may be the very means of
shortening his day. If all humanity
would be "oli maidish" about their health
there would be but few accidental deaths.
Many persons have been warned by Il
hcmorrhagc in early life to more careful
attention to the laws of health, which
has given them a fullneSs of years utter
" beyond their expectation. Indeed, TO
be a confirmed invalid scarcely presup-
poses that ones days are actually short
ened thereby. Montague, in his Essays,
written in old age, often reCurs to the
stone which he says afflicted him through
life. Rosseau often pauses in his Con
fessons to speak Of his congenital atllic-
tions; and countless persons within our
own circle lived long, but were never in
health.
1t is the purely intellectual life which
is most conducive to old age. We recall
at this moment the names of Bryant,
Longfellow, Emerson, Whittier and Thur
low Weed as illustrations of this. The
reason is not far to seek; such lives are
obviously Of the greatest regularity and
singleness of purpose. To sum up the
whole matter we believe the coupling
of the gynasium with the institutions of
learning is a mistake, and worse than a
mistake. Boys will play, for it is natural,
but TO educate Il boy TO he an athlete is
to do him an irrcparable injustice, for
the power Of mere matter can never
supercedc the power of mind.
Inoculation with snake Poison.
Land and Water