The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1906-11-10
HOW TO BE HEALTHY
THOUGH YOU WORK HARD

1
that reasonable supposition is bein;
made. Work in itself certainly is 70
murderous. On the contrary. it is on
OF the conditions of health, OF fame
tlonal equilibrium. One of the most AZ
dent and without doubt one of the mos
sincere apostles of the collectirist doc
lrlne recently announced the advent .
a golden age when it would suffice tina
each one should work an hour anC
twenty minutes every day in order I,
satisfy his needs and fulfill his dutie
to the community; this is perspec
tive which inspires me with no enthu
slasm; twenty-five hours and fort,
minutes of leisure would drive human
lty into the saddest physical decadence
| TO the most sOmber stupidity. unless al
TINS excess of unemployed force shouli
turn us back to the probable ferocity
Of our ancestors. Long daily labor is {
necessary reinforcement of our ener.
giles, a marvellous regulation of oul
/ nervous tension: let us beware then OF
! reducing it without considera ton.
There are to be sure trade maladieS
] and evil conditions of labor. A mar
may become diseased because he has
/ long inhaled deleterious Vapors or dust
Without doubt there exists a hygiene
of toll, whether muscular or intellectual
! But we must begin by saying to the
nonchalant that an organ which re-
mains overriding in repose atrophies
whereas the organ which habitually
! functions continually develops and per-
! fects itself
What induces fatigue and illness is in
! sufficient nOurishment. badly chosen
badly apportioned; it is the abuse of
| poor tonics. stimulants. alcohol: it is
unhealthy lodgings. badly ventilated
! workshops, N corpanionship with the
tuberculous. The child labor law was
excellent because it has been demon
strated that we cannot without harm
constrain 10 prolonged effort muscles
that still are imperfect But an adult
who knows his measure, and who does
not tipple, is Wearied the less as his la
Dor is the more regular.
Born of senSibility for it was the
| mcessant stimuli coming from the eX-
terror world which charged the tonicity
Of our muscles. our strength is in us
not to vibrate in its place. but to go
out of US and achieve, and to realize
itself in deeds. Not without peril could
it be left to accumulate in our nerve
centers. Inaction leads first To mad
ness. then to atrophy
Let US cultivate, then. love of la
Dor, source of renewed energy in
creased strength, Of ccntentment ana
well being. Let us occupy ourselves
Gnwearyingly with the amelioration Of
the conditions Of labor and the extern
sion of hygiene and moderation in la
Dor; let us require the sanitation of fac
tory and home: let US multiply cheap
hygienic restaurants. close the saloons.
civilize the workers: let us teach them
to live decently and intelligently; let
us arm them for the strife against pow
erty and disease.
The sort of work that we are accus-
toned to tenn intellectual because it
slight muscular exertion
seems less hygienic. less healthful than
the labor in field or factory. Life in
the shop and Office has this evil. that
it accustoms the organism to muscular
lethargy and does not favor the elimi-
nation of the toxins.
However little Of a gourmand a man
may be, however lightly addicted 10
drink. however little he smokes. one
who lives all the day in narrow spaces.
badly aired, and who takes no exercise
save that which consists i'm leaping into
a cab TO regain his house. is surely
fated To a train of physical ills and a
peevish old age
With head hot and feet cold. muscles
flabby and limbs weak. the office dwell
Ter knows earlier than the day laborerI
dyspepsia. obesity, govt. neurasthenia.
and an interminable series of maladies
Those who are weighted with serious
responsibilities have added to these per-
ills. in proportion to the multiplicity
and ingenuity of their efforts. nervous
tension, anxiety. fear
The Angle SaXons who are drilled
never to appear hasty or anxious, and
who nearly always condemn any show
of emotions. comport themselves like
sages. The outward calm sarves .oI
quiet the inner turbulence Impatience
enerv2tlo eXaltation, are less matters
of temperament than of custom. The:
are habits To which one may oppose
the contrary habits. There often are
people who work little and still cXpend
much nervous energy, precisely because
theig Incidence communicates to them
an insecr-Hy which distresses their
minds. - who knows he has done
everything he could awaits calmly the
results of his efforts
The most illustriOus of our writer's
do not wait at all on the coming of an
from heaven: they solicit
it in a simple fashion by extreme con-
tinCity and perfect regularity in their
labor. The most Olympian geniuses set
TO work every morning at the same
hour, just like good employees i'm an Of |
flee: and it is the continuity of their !
attention on the same object that null /
tiplies their thought until it acquires a !
grandeur. For the majority their pro- !
ductive power was one long patience. |
lFotl,i NJ Is wiser than to set oneself
with regularity to ones task. For any
one who is not endowed with a power
full will, with prodigious moral en-
ergy. for him who is not endowed with
sovereign human virtues. the Simplest
thing is to contract habits Of useful
ness: they are as tenacious as evil Iao-
its
Let US regulate our lives minuIely. /
and seat ourselves before our work
tables every day at the same moment. !
i'm order that our brain will apply itself
to its task i'm the same way as the
automatically, and, like the
stomach become congested and cry
famine at the accustomed hour.
Habit is. indeed, second nature. 1t |
is The strength of the feeble and it is |
the secret of the strong The famous
italian Mosso. says with Justice that
of thought on the same OBJ
iect singularly multiplies the value of
time. It is an excellent formula. In
-hree hours of intense labor which pro-
cures continuity of definite. useful
hought. one makes more progress than
n twenty scattered hours of vague
meditation. of unprecise dreams which
AWAIT the descent of the heavenly in /
;piration. The most illustrious writers
n the world proceed thus: and the ma
ority of them consecrate but two or