The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1886-07-01
VALUE OF VITAL FORCE.
! active and Enduring Energy That


an active aad Enduring Energy That
Aids In the Proiongation Of Life.
There seems to be an active and en-
during energy in man that 10 not pure
physical strength. and yet aids in the in
definite prolongation of life. 1t is not
<ha mysterious vital principle, though
closely related to it. it is not firmness
2e MUSCLE nor ssppleness Of limb, though
hose are useful attributes of the body.
Neither is it the will, though this may
sometimes help to keep the vital spark
FOR time within the mortal frame. 1t
IL scyaetimes called nervous force, be-
cause IL is more observable in persons of
nervous constitution. Whatever it may
- lii. is, quite as valuable as mere
seslength, and by judicious management
IT may be made to keep the possessor in
health and to extend his life far beyond
'ae 2llotted term of mans usefulness.
Iouag men reared in the country are
large, muscular and healthy. Beside
fh.,n, young men reared in the city
@eaIl pale and sickly. Bat this differ
sE2c Of appearance need lead no one to
SUPPOSE that the city youth has not equal
u greatcr powers of endurance than
:s:ySa who haxe grown up among green
N2!is and breathed the SIrest mountain
~. When the war of the rebellion
coke out it called the young men of the
.,,"atry alike from farms, counters and
>N2tinS-rooms. The city regiments
NJ country regiments encampel side
; r.. a'de, enjoying ut first the same de-
.,sna of health. 1t often happened that
- asst died like sheep, because they
Sc unable to endure the hardships and
pie complaints incidental to camp
-, while their neig;,bors from the city
~ strong and lived To do duty after
sd ~ a score of battlefields.
history furnishes examples of the in
.l;.,.lce cxerted by the will united with
Hervous energy. Louis XXI, is q striking
stance. Richelieu is more familiar
-! stration of the principle. The lives
= Noltaire, Queen Elizabeth, Bcacons-
Aslt, Gladstone and some literary men
81; "ur own times prove conclusively the
'l,ue of vital force as compared with
.t., IA physical strength. The first is like
i Hbian army, fighting little and all
- time retreating adroitly; the last like
2 :, rongy fortiiication, which having been
amounted by the enemy, all is lost.
:; follows, then, that the length of hui
al life depends, first, on the amount
( lis vital fierce, end second, on the
a.. with which it Is .ausbanded. 1t is
liable that it is ottener found in per-
Ill of medium stature and of no great
'lySical strength, though it may co-exist
>.ra the amplest physical development.
. my one run over in his mind a list
Il the old men he has ever known.
~ many of them We're six feet in
ut? How many of them were men
+ superior muscle when they were
'"ung? A small proportion, we presume
Z" 5"y. Why is it that young men six
e tel, or who are athletes, seldom pass
Turh beyond middle age? First, be-
H",.sc their physical and nervous forces
a. ~ot usually in proportion, and sec
,tno. because, presuming on the super
ibuldance of their strength, they ex-
aust themselves in overexertion and in
n .)crate indulgence.
Il may be stated as an .incontroverti
= principle that any amount Of exer-
,L@e n,ere than is necessary to keep the
i.g3G stion perfect has tendency to shorten
Ike. The digestion is the fuel under
10 engine, the oil which lubricates the
-pi2.ts of friction in the machinery of the
.,}GT. We cannot imagine a person
italy III while the digestion is good.
Vile it is perfect the health is perfect.
nan it happens that any part of the
HGiy is diseased the stomach is invaria-
-,
YaUematic and unnecessary exercise in
s;,,.Glnasiuns is likely to prove injurious.
OCCASIONAL athletes are rarely long
we'd. Abnormal development of par
;,,tlar muscles is attended or soon fol-
3rad by weakness or deterioration.
ne fatigue that follows excessive exer-
.J!1r is sheer waste of vitality, which
nav not he at once felt. but whose loss is
,arceptible later in life. Exercise must
regulated by sound discretion. The
.>aI results of confinement and sedentary
Lifts must be counteracted, but beyond
~ )soint of cultivating healthy appe-
- 10 one should ever go. The diges-
on may be kept good in less trouble
.>::ls, ways than by writing and wrig-
ins on the trapeze and cross bars. Food
lould be according to personal habits
and the strength of the digestive or
ars. If persons diet is course and
-eavy it may sometimes be necessary to
-5orii in a gymnasium, like blacksmith
Ike horse on a treadmill, to enable
- system to dispose of it. The better
~ would have been to be temperate at
80. Even the digestive pill of the
-2yrmet is more sensible remedy for
feeding than the barbarous methods
! Elodern athletes and acrobats.
->tjyet.