The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-11-15

or
Comp.,rIson Of che, lsatI1ral. sVeapolll
Of Kan arl the AHilIa-ss-'
The met Is that II. we examine our
aelves wen we must rank ourselves
without vanity among the most unpro-
fae4ed the most Naked the most rag
Ne the most brittle and faced pc
nes In creation Compare Us. for m
stance. with the insect. 50 formlda Dly
eouipped Tor attack and so fantasEeT
ally armor eased- Contemplate among
others the ant. upon which you my
heap ten or twenty thousand times eae
weight OF its body without apparently
mountaineering it Consider the COCK
chatter, the least robust of the beetles'
ana weigh what It Is able to carry be-
fore the rings OF Its abdomen crack
Il. the casIngs of its fore wings yield
As for the resistance OF the stag bee
lie. It Is. 50 to speak, unlimited.
In comparison, therefore. we and the
ma iority OF mammals are unsoiidihed
beings. stfl in the gelatinous state and
very near to the primitive protoplasn-
Our skeleton alone, which is, as It
were, the rough sketch OF our dehnidve
form. offers a certain consistency. But
how wretchcd IS this skeleton. which
me would think constructed by chtldl
Look at our spine, the basis of our
whole system, whose III set yertebrae
hold together only by n miracle, and
our thoracic cage, which presents only
4 series of dIagonals which we hardly
1are touch with the finger tips.
Now, Il Is against this slack ana IN
coherent ma thine, which resembles an
abortive ehert of nature, against this
OItifnI organism, from which life tends
to escape on every side, that we have
.ontriyed weapons capable OF anul-
hiIating MS even II we possessed the
fabulous armor case, the prodigious
strength and the incredible vitality OF
the most indestructfble insects.
We have here, It must be agreed, a
very curious and n very disconcertlng
alteration, an initial folly, peculiar to
the human race, that goes on increas-
ing daily. In order to return to the
natural logic followed by all other Nv
mc things. though we be permitted to
use extraordinary weapons against our
snen,ies of a different order, we ought
among ourselves, among men, to en-
oIoy only the means Of attack and de-
tense provided by our own bodies
Were mankind to conform strictly to
the evident will of nature. the hstI
which Is to man what it's horns are to
the bull and its claws and teeth to the
lion. the fist should suffice for all our
needs OF protection, justice and re-
venge. A wiser race would forbid any
lther mode of combat as nm trremissl-
ole crime against the essential laws OF
che species. At the end Of a few gen
arations we should thus succeed in
spreading and putting into force a sort
Of manic stricken respect OF human life
Of
us excellent lessons in humility and
throws somewhat alarming light up
IN the forfeiture of some of our most
yaIuable instincts. We soon perceive
that in all that concerns the use OF
our lImbs-agflity. dexterity. muscular
strength, resistance to pain-we nave
s1InIS to the lowest rank of the mann
mails or batrachians. From this point
Of view. in n well conceived hierarchy,
we should be entitled TO a modest
place between the frog and the sheep
The kick of the horse, the butt of the
mil. the bite of the dog, are mechanic
aIly and anatomically perfect. ItWould
be impossible to improve, by the most
learned lessons, their instructive man-
ner of using their natural weapons
But we, the ''hominians," the prouoest
Of the primates, do not know how TO
strike a blow with our fist! We DO not
even know which exactly Is the weap-
on OF our kind.
Look at two draymen, two peasants;
who come to blows. Nothing could be
more pItiable. After a eopiOus and Dill
storv broadside of insults and threats
thew seize each other by the throat and
hair. make play with their feet, with
their knees ut random, bite each other,
scratch each other, get entnngled IN
their motionless rage, dare not let
GO. and IL one o. them succeed IN re-
leasing an arm he strikes out blindly
and most often into space series OF
hurried. stunted and suffering little
blows. Nor would the combat ever END
did not the treRcherous knife, evoked
by the disgrace OF the incongruous
sight, suddenly, almost spontaneously
leap from the pocket of one or the otner'
On the contrary, watch two pugilists
mo useless words, no gropiL g., no an
ger; the calmness OF two certalnI es
that know what lies before them; the
athletic attitude of the guard, one Of
the finest OF the male body. The de-
eeated man VIII rise to his feet with no
lasting damage because the resistance
Of his bones and his organs is strictly
and naturally proportional to the pow
er of the human weapon that has
struck him and brought him to the
ground.
It may seem paradoxical, but the fact
Is easily established that the science OF
boxing in those countries where ie IS
! generally practiced and cultivated be-
comes a pledge of peace and gentle
ness. Our aggressive nervousness, our
watchful susceptibility, that sort OF
perpetual state OF alarm in which our
Jealous vanity moves. all these arise,