The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-08-28
NERVOUS" MODERN CIVILIZATION.
Tho Subject "A Viewed by Writer In
Far Cathay-No Rest.

! Ii is very significant aspect of mod
ern civilization which is expressed in the
word "nervous." It's original meaning
is possessing nerve; sinewy. strong,
vigorous" One Of its deriyative mean
| incs. and the one which we bv far most
/ frequently meet, is 'having the nerves
weak or diseased; subject to, or suffer
, in. from undue excitement Of the nerves:
easily excited; weakly" The varied
and complex phraseology by which the
peculiar phases of nervous diseases are
expressed has become by this time ia
miliar in our ears as household words.
There is no doubt that civilization, as
exhibited in its modern form. tends to
undue nervous excitement. and that ner
vous diseases are relatively more common
than they were "A century ago. But
what we have now 80 say does not con
Germ those who are specially subject to
nervous diseases, but to the general mass
of Occidcntals. who. while not in any
specific condition of i'll health, are yet
continually reminded, in a great variety
Of ways. that their nervous systems are
most conspicuous part of their organ
ization. We allude, in short. TO people
who are nervous. and we understand
this term TO include all our readers, and,
in general, all the people who live in the
lands from which we have come. To
the Anglo.Sa race at least 1t seems n
matter of course that those who live in
an age Of steam and OF electricity must
necessarily be in a different condition az
TO their nerves from those who lived in
the old. slow days Of sailing packets and
of mail coaches.
Ours is an age of extreme activity. 1t
is an age of rush. There is no leisure,
so much as to eat. and the nerves are
kept in state of constant tension, with
results which are sufficiently well known.
Business men in our time have an eager.
restless air-at least those who do their
business IN occidental lands-as if they
were in momentary expectation OF a
telegram-as they often are--the con-
tents of which may affect their destiny
in some fateful way. We betray this
unconscious state of mind in q multitude
of acts. We cannot sit still. b1t we
must fdget We finger our pencils
while we are talking. as if we ought, at
this particular instant. 10 be rapidly in
ditng something ere 1t be- forever too
late. We rub our bands together a5 if
preparing for some serious task Inch is
about 20 absorb all our energies We
twirl our thumbs. we turn our heads
with the swift motion OF the wild ami
mai which seems 10 fear that something
dangerous may have been leit unseen.
We have q sense that there is something
which we ought 90 Doe doing now. and
into which we shall proceed at once 90
plunge a. soon as we shall have dis
patched six other affairs Of even more
pressing importance.
The effect of oyerwWking our nerves
shows itself. not mainly iu such alice
tons as dGler'scramp, photographers
cIamp. "Wr.o.s cramp. and ao like,
but i'm a general tension Wc do not
sleep as we once did. either as regards
length 81 time or sondHess s.. Fee,. We
are awakened by slight cause. ami often
by those which are cXasperaiuglv triv-
ial. such a, the twitter of bird in a
tree. chance ray Of light Struggling
INTO our darkened rooms. the motion Of
shutter in the breeze the sound of
voice. and. when sleep is once inter
nptod. il ], blulshcd We have taken
our daily life to rest with MS. and there
suit is that we have no real rest. in an