Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-03-12
OVERLOADED BRAINS.
VIII CIVILIZATION RUN a CERTAIN
ROUND, AND OlSAPPEARl

The Struggle t" Mennonite Brain Of a
savage Incr-a>e of intellectual Pow er
Physiological Ethics Honor the Bod '
Growth Of Manual Training.
In no way is the brain worn doing 50
much damage AS to itself The power Of
mrm"ry is unqestionHbly les, "n'the aver
age il men Of to-day than in the Grrek>
and our other Aryan predecessors The
HludOo~ 81 IhI> day can repeat Volumes Uf
the NeIla>. CUR brains our overloaded and
stalled in the slough We forget nine
uenth~ Of what We learn \ large amount
Of accumulation finds no place to write its
records On the brain The effort IS tx
haU>tmg The struggle II mtmurize bres Ks
down the uutritlVr powers and make, dys-
peptICe, the eNCrrtiNr powers. and al upleNy
and BrIght'S dlsrA~" follow The diseases
Of civilization are for the most part brain
diseases. or those brought on by the brain.
l. civilizations failure, viii it always run
certain round and disappear where the
A~~l rIan. Egyptian and GTeCiau culture
weHt-Self slain,
IHE MAXIMUM or BEAIN -POWER
Crowded in its case. OF skull. the brain
has perhaps come neaT it, tinality of bulk
But II has long since adopted the plan Of
folding itself iu and in. and by "A myriad
of ConVulutlons, ContriNed to increase its
surface power. The brain of a savage if
spread out. would cover some fifty square
feet. The brain OF an educated American
covers III like conditions ~ ~qUarr feet.
Here l. fuur times the superficial brain
area. ur four times the recording and di-
rtCtIug power. The skull case is thinned,
and the lnIrm t6cu,tlcS crowded out, SC
that the dominant rrEulIty of reason may
be increased Has brain power reached
its maNiInums Can we look for any fur
thrT increase Of intellectual power, 1t l.
clear that no poet has ever sur
passed. nay. none has rqualed Ho
mer. With the advantages in the
way of data at command, no naturalist
has ever equalrd. certainly not surpassed,
Aristotle. No moral philosophers have
tNCrllrd Jesus. and those of the fifth C,r
tUry earlier. Buddha. socrates and COufu
viuS. The average power Of to-day is
vastly ahead Of the Average ut any preCed-
ing age. nut brain power seems to have
touched It's height in Plato. Homer and
Shakespeare
The general tendency is. As You
Sc. Tor the brain. in ruling the
body. to 20 To such extremes a
to take the body down, to disu.
tegratr il and SO suhvert her own pur-
poses The senses weakened. our relation
To the outer universe is dulled. Whatever
may be the NuigaTity a. a gross bOdy> that
the hTAin does not govern. is equally true,
in a feeble way. Of an aburted body. that
high civilization has dropped through the
cracks OF III" car Of progress. PhysiologI
cal ethics are our present need; gospel OF
legs and arms well as brain: but Il
gospel Of good eyes, ears, and noses as well
BRAIN AND BODY MANUAL TRAINING.
Spencer. the poet says: For Of the soul
the body form doth take" Thu, is equally
true. that Of the body the soul takes it,
form. II one desires long life for noble
ends, if his ambition i 10 he Of the utmost
possible value III the world. he must hav,
an honest opinion about his flesh and Il
sincere conservatism in the use Of IL. The
old fashioned trinity Of evil was "the
world. the flesh, and the devil" Nova
days 20 make good use Of the world We
must honor the body. Good aims make b
healthy body; sound body aids goo,
aims. Temperance, honesty purity-al
good graces and Virtues-build up not
only the soul but the body.
What shall We do with the brain under
the circumstances By what means car
we sci up cOunterpoise, or how can VT
divide an authority that is getting to be
baneful, We know that evolution III sep
arating man from his ancestry of man
mails differrnCed him mainly i'll two points
the head and the hands. So far as the
rest of our body Is concerned it Is very
old-fa>hipued. But the hand is marvellous
ly human. IA type of our distinct power
No animal has IA hHnd-a ool-makiug anU
tool using organ. Its delicacy of touch, it,
power t. Use, It's universally. is something
new There seems to be nu more feasible.
plan [" set up the hand as the rival of the
brain, in other words, to turn our eduCa
ton more To art and less TO memUrizing
and specializing The brain lets go in 3
crisis the hand grips the tighter. do not
know any more hopeful tendency now en-
tering into education than the growth Of
manual training, training the hand to dc
the masters cunning Z. 7. z" i'll ST.
Louis GlUbe Democrat.