Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-09-08
PHYSICAL STRAIN.
PERllS RESULTING FROM EXCESS
OF BODILY ACTIVITY.
A Proper Degree of Exercise Necessary
to the Well Being OF MaM--The jew ish
Race - Sedentary or Brain Pursuits,
Oye.wOrlt.


"'e'"""'
Nothing il mora slso,rta,y ,oc,s,,,.,,
the well being of mnu-nn, o,,i,, n,,.,,,o,I ,,,,
mental and oven mor.l-tbon tho Ln,i1,, ~
tivity involved in n prone, doc r,. ~, oxa,.,;so
But, on the other hand un,h,, s.rai,, ,r,
upon the p,,y ,ical forces is n pot,nt snurc., ot
danger II is a cas, for the appicati,, ,f
the Horatian maxim IN regard 10 uoda,atior
Exactly to define the proper moan il nm ,v
tremely tlf,icrlt task Wa c,u how,,or
offer me sug,est. .ons on this point th,t
may prove of use: and we will also tonch
upon some of the pcrils resulting from ex-
cess The ancient Greeks haye for n,ny
centuries supplied tho world. among o,bc,
things, with models of physical culture ma
climate permitted them to live largely in tbo
open air; their dress was unrcstraining. and
they paid great attention to athletic s,orte
ana the development and care of the body
They were, as a people. patterns OF manly
and womanly beauty: their average of healtl,
was high, and their longevity good
The obser, ations made however. by tb,
physicians of the Greek and Roman schools ro
conclusively to show that. wherever pbvs;cal
activity was carried to undue excess amo,g
thcm-as in the case of professional athletes
etc.--the invariable result was premature
decay and early death. Excessive physica,
culture during the age of chyalry furnished
the same results. Study of the vital statistics
of England, France and Prussia in modern,
times leads to similar conclusion, Not only
does the point we are urging hold trne in III,
lives of individuals, but it is true of nations
and races. Perhaps, as regards tenaeity of
existence as displayed by a race the most
striking argument in favor of our position TO
be found in history is the negative testimony
furnished by the Jews This people. since its
dispersion, has never in any general. system
attic way cultivated its physique. II has
never voluntarily borne arms 1t has taken
no share in the athletic pursuits OF the m
tions among whom it has been placed II
has never exhibited a high physical standard
Its worst prosecutions have. probably. been
due, more than anything else, to its apparent
corporal feebleness Yet today this race.
for tenacity and vitality, probably stands
first on earth, and even at this late stnge of
its history still shows Il capacity for pro,luc-
ing results in literature science, art politics
and commerce that ranks with the best.
Full vigor of intellect is only proDerlv
based upon vigor of body, and this yiror OF
body results only from proper exercise II
is no unusual thing in colleges to find stu
dents standing well both in their studies and
in athletics President Eliot has always beer
a stanch friend of physical sports, and him
self when in college pulled an oar in the uni
versty crew No one can ever look at ,Jo
seph Cook, or could ever have looked nj
Agassiz or Bryant, without at once recopniz.
ing the development and solitlity of the phys
ical man. Such instances are almost inm
merable. But one thing is certain: no man
can continually use both his physical md
mental powers. at anything like their full ca
pacity without soon coming to grief, Hin
man nature was not made for this sort OF
thing 1t is burning the candle al both ends
1t is not given to one man to be both an En-
erson and a Sullivan
A man should decide which half Of hi-
nature is to have the lead, and then exercise
the other half Just sufficiently to keen the
former in condition and to preserve the
proper general balance. II he lives by his
BRAIN let him take physical exercise sutIicen,
to keep his bodily faculties, and by conse-
quence his brain at their best-but not too
much If he lives by his body. n certain nd
mixture of brain occupation will make him
not only larger, but even actually a pbysi.
cally healthier man. A body worker sbould
use this and every other possible precaution
against undue physical strain. In both md
in all cases overwork of the bodily forces
must result in serious harm. The outside NAV
be fair and the external appearance all that
could be desired but inside there will be do.
cav. Wilkie Collins. in one of his stories
most truly showed how delusiye are the
seeming soundness and vigor of even the
trained athlete, when the call upon his Vi
talty has been too prolonged or too great. or
when his phy steal ,eyelopment has been nh.
normally forced-how suddenly his anparent
robustness disappears. and is replaccd hv
morbid conditions, upon any sudden or extra
tension of work or emotion The case of tbe
all conauerine but finally foiled Sullivan
which has lately attracted 81, nucb attention
seems clearly one exactly in point
For the sake of emphasis we apoin sav. In
the case of the man of sedentary or brain
pursuits. he should em,,lov his boay ouly
enough to keep It active and virorons md
hence his spiritual faculties bripbt mud keon
without taxing his reserve of vitality Tha
OBJ iect is not to use himself m as fast as nos.
sible It is a wasteful and fatal mist,re
to keep the entire endowment Mt biob nres.
sure. As regards the man emn,oved in bod.
;lv labor il is seldom within his ,nyer 3,
control its amount. II may borover h.
soid thot ,s soon os ba finds Tho eou;,,ois,a. -
his system is being disturbed-a foct which
will GENERALLY reveal itself IN him tbromrl
some main or feeling of strain in sona locai.
itv the unnatural action of some brgan or |
.omo sa,s,t;,n so,rewb.re that ba rol'7',,,;,o,
AZ not natural-or as soon as he fin5s tbo.
his nbvscal strength is gradualI, losso,,in,
ha NAV know that he has nassei th,, 1;,,it
al competition- ms either c,IIs far tho
,xert ion of sudden and Tremendous f,r,.e o~