A well-developed physical organization is essential to perfect health. Among the Greeks, beauty ranked next to virtue, and an eminent author has said that "the nearer we approach Divinity, the more we reflect His eternal beauty." The perfect expression of thought requires the physical accompaniments of language, gesture, etc. The human form is pliable, and, with proper culture, can be made replete with expression, grace and beauty. The cultivation of the intellectual powers has been allowed to supplant physical training to a great extent. The results are abnormally developed brains, delicate forms, sensitive nerves and shortened lives. That the physical and mental systems should be collaterally developed, is a fact generally overlooked by educators. The fullness of a great intellect is generally impaired when united with a weak and frail body. We have sought perfection in animals and plants. To the former we have given all the degree of strength and grace requisite to their peculiar duties; to the latter we have imparted all the delicate tints and shadings that fancy could picture. We have studied the laws of their existence, until we are familiar with every phase of their production; yet it remains for man to learn those laws of his own being, by a knowledge of which he may promote and preserve the beauty of the human form, and thus render it, indeed, an image of itsMaker. When the body is tenanted by a cultivated intellect, the result is a unity which is unique, commanding the respect of humanity, and insuring a successful life to the possessor. Students are as a rule pale and emaciated. Mental application is generally the cause assigned when, in reality, it is the result of insufficient exercise, impure air, and dietetic errors. An intelligent journalist has remarked that "many of our ministers weigh too little in the pulpit, because they weigh too little on the scales." The Greek Gymnasium and Olympian Games were the sure foundations of that education from which arose that subtle philosophy, poetry, and military skill which have won the admiration of nineteen centuries. The laurel crown of the Olympian victor was far more precious to the Grecian youth than the gilded prize is to our modern genius. A popular lecturer has truly remarked, that "we make brilliant mathematicians and miserable dyspeptics; fine linguists with bronchial throats; good writers with narrow chests and pale complexions; smart scholars, but not that union, which the ancients prized, of a sound mind in a sound body. The brain becomes the chief working muscle of the system. We refine and re-refine the intellectual powers down to a diamond point and brilliancy, as if they were the sole or reigning faculties, and we had not a physical nature binding us to earth, and a spiritual nature binding us to the great heavens and the greater God who inhabits them. Thus the university becomes a sort of splendid hospital with this difference, that the hospitalcures, while the universitycreatesdisease. Most of them are indicted at the bar of public opinion for taking the finest young brain and blood of the country, and, after working upon them for four years, returning them to their homes skilled indeed to perform certain linguistic and mathematical dexterities, but very much below par in health and endurance, and, in short, seriously damaged and physically demoralized." We read with reverence the sublime teachings of Aristotle and Plato; we mark the grandeur of Homer and the delicate beauties of Virgil; but we do not seek to reproduce in our modern institutions the gymnasium, which was the real foundation of their genius. Colleges which are now entering upon their career, should make ample provision for those exerciseswhich develop thephysical man.This lack of bodily training is common with all classes, and its effects are written in indelible characters on the faces and forms of old and young. Constrained positions in sitting restrict the movements of the diaphragm and ribs and often cause diseases of the spine, or unnatural curvatures, which prove disastrous to health and happiness. The head should be held erect and the shoulders thrown backward, so that at each inspiration the lungs may be fully expanded.
Physical exercise should never be too violent or too prolonged. Severe physical labor, and athletic sports, if indulged in to an extreme degree, produce undue excitability of the heart, and sometimes cause it to become enlarged. There is a form of heart disease induced by undue exertion which may be called a wearing out or wasting away of that organ. It is common in those persons whose occupations expose them to excessive physical labor for too many hours together. This feebleness of heart is felt but little by vigorous persons under forty years of age, but in those who have passed this age it becomes manifest. However, when any person so affected is attacked by any acute disease, the heart is more liable to fail, and thus cause a fatal termination.
Aneurism of the aorta or the large arteries branching off from it, which is a dilatation of the walls of these vessels, caused by the rupture of one or two of their coats, is generally induced by excessive physical strain, such as lifting heavy weights, or carrying weights up long flights of stairs, violent horseback exercise, or hurrying to catch a train or street car.
Illustration: Fig. 104.Fig. 104.
An Erect Carriageis not only essential to health, but adds grace and beauty to every movement. Although man was made to stand erect, thus indicating his superiority over all other animals, yet custom has done much to curve that magnificent central column, upon the summit of which rests the "grand dome of thought." Many young persons unconsciously acquire the habit of throwing the shoulders forward. The spinal column is weakened by this unnatural posture, its vertebræ become so sensitive and distorted that they cannot easily support the weight of the body or sustain its equilibrium. It is generally believed that persons of sedentary habits aremore liable to become round-shouldered than any other class of individuals. Observation shows, on the contrary, that the manual laborer, or even the idler, often acquires this stooping posture. It can be remedied, not by artificial braces, but by habitually throwing the shoulders backwards. Deformed trunks and crooked spines, although sometimes the effects of disease are more frequently the results of carelessness. Jacques has remarked that "one's standing among his fellow-men is quite as important a matter in aphysiological, as in asocialsense."Walkingis one of the most efficient means of physical culture, as it calls all the muscles into action and produces the amount of tension requisite for their tonicity. Long walks or protracted physical exercise of any kind should never be undertaken immediately after meals. The first essential to a healthful walk is a pleasurable object. Beautiful scenery, rambles in meadows rich with fragrant grasses, or along the flowery banks of water-courses, affords an agreeable stimulus, which sends the blood through the vital channels with unwonted force, and imparts to the cheeks the ruddy glow of health. Our poets acknowledge the silent influence of nature. Wordsworth has expressed this thought in his own sublime way:
"The floating clouds their state shall lendTo her: for her the willow bend;Nor shall she fail to see,E'en in the motions of the stormGrace that shall mould the maiden's formBy silent sympathy.The stars of midnight shall be dearTo her: and she shall lean her earIn many a secret place,Where rivulets dance their wayward round,And beauty, born of murmuring sound,Shall pass into her face."
"The floating clouds their state shall lendTo her: for her the willow bend;Nor shall she fail to see,E'en in the motions of the stormGrace that shall mould the maiden's formBy silent sympathy.The stars of midnight shall be dearTo her: and she shall lean her earIn many a secret place,Where rivulets dance their wayward round,And beauty, born of murmuring sound,Shall pass into her face."
Base Ball, Cricket, Boxing, and Fencing, are all manly exercises when practiced solely with a view to their hygienic advantages and as such have our approval.
Illustration: Fig. 105.Fig. 105.
Illustration: Fig. 109.Fig. 109.
The Art of Swimmingwas regarded by the Greeks as an important accomplishment. As a hygienic agency, it occupies a high place in physical culture. The varied movements impart strength and elasticity to the muscles. It is as charming a recreation for women and girls as for men and boys. Furthermore, it is not only a means of physical culture, but is often essential for self-preservation.
Illustration: Fig. 110.Fig. 110.
The Exercises of the Gymnasiumare especially productive of health and longevity. The most important of these are balancing, leaping, climbing, wrestling, and throwing, all of which are especially adapted to the development of the muscles. In conclusion, we offer the following suggestions, viz: all gymnastic exercises should be practiced in the morning, and in the open air; extremes should be avoided; and it should be always borne in mind, that their chief object is to combine, in a proper proportion, mental and physical development. In every relation of life we should cultivate all those faculties which pertain to our physical, moral, and mental natures, subdue our passions, and nature will bestow upon us her richest rewards of health, beauty, and happiness.
Illustration:
If one were asked what athletic exercise deserves to be the most popular in America to-day, the answer would of necessity be cycling. The bicycle is being used by people of all ages and conditions of health in daily life; its hygienic value as a means to healthy exercise cannot be overestimated. In this, as in everything else, immoderation is to be condemned, particularly where persons have not had sufficient training to take long "spins," or attempt racing. Beginners should ride only 10 or 12 minutes at a time—resting then to permit the circulation to become equalized. In all cyclists, at all ages, in veteran riders as well as those not practiced in the art, there is, in the beginning of each attempt, a quickened circulation; the pulse is full and bounding, and rarely falls under a hundred pulsations per minute. So long as the exercise is continued, an increase of cardiac motion is observable, and a vigorous circulation is kept up. This accounts for the astounding journeys a fully trained cyclist can accomplish, and also for his endurance without sleep. In spite of the quickened motion of the heart, rarely have riders been known to grow giddy or show symptoms of cardiac embarrassment. A good rider may climb a hill without trouble, yet be unable to climb a flight of stairs without breathlessness and palpitation. Bicycle riding as a means for acquiring strength and vigor, improving the circulation and developing the respiratory organs, is unexcelled. Fast riding, or "scorching," among those not used to physical exertion, and leaning over the handle-bars so as to ride in a stooping position, are to be heartily condemned. The latter prevents the lungs from getting their full expansion, and cultivates a tendency to round shoulders. Men or women suffering from diseases of the sexual organs should, before riding, consult the physician having their case in charge.
Illustration: Fig. 112.Fig. 112.
Riding on Horsebackis a fine exercise for both sexes. It promotes digestion, improves the circulation, and expands and develops the respiratory organs. The pure, fresh air, pleasant scenery, and pleasurable excitement, impart renewed vigor to the equestrian. In the Southern States it is a universal accomplishment, and children are taught to ride as well as to walk.
Dancing. Notwithstanding the fact that dancing has been perverted to the basest purposes, has been made the fruitful source of dissipation, and has often laid the foundation for disease, it is yet capable of being made to minister to health and happiness. As a means of physical culture, it favors the development of the muscular system, and promotes health and cheerfulness. When practiced for this purpose, Jacques terms it "the best of all indoor exercises," as it brings to bear upon the physical system a great number of energizing and harmonious influences.
The brain, like all other organs of the body, requires alternate exercise and repose; and, in physical endurance, it is subject to general physiological laws. When exercised with moderation it acquires strength, vigor, and an accelerated activity. Excessive mental exertion is liable to result in softening of the brain, and various nervous diseases, sometimes culminating in insanity, and in many instances proving fatal to life. The mere votaries of pleasure who avoid all effort of the mind, fall into the opposite error. In all cases of intellectual activity, the exertions should be directed to some subject interesting to the student. In this manner duty will become a pleasure, which in turn will re-invigorate the mental functions.
When the mind in confined to one subject for any considerable length of time together, it becomes fatigued, and requires relaxation, recreation, rest. This may be obtained by directing the attention to some other subject, either study or amusement, the latter of which is preferable. The amusement, however,may be of an intellectual or physical character or both combined, and will, if properly conducted, restore vigor to both mind and body.
Prominent among physical phenomena is the mutual relation between the brain and the organs of nutrition. Mental exertion should be avoided for at least one hour after a hearty meal, and all mental labor which requires concentration of thought ought to be accomplished in the earlier portion of the day, when the brain is refreshed and repaired by the night's repose. Mental, like physical endurance, is modified by age, health and development. A person accustomed to concentration of thought, can endure a longer mental strain than one inured to manual labor only. One of the most injurious customs, is the cultivation of the intellect at the expense of the physical powers.
Mental Culture During Childhood.One of the greatest mistakes which people make in the management of their children, is to overtask their mental faculties. Although it is exceedingly gratifying to see children acquire knowledge, and manifest an understanding far beyond their years, this gratification is often purchased too dearly, for precocious children are apt to die young. The tissue of the brain and nerves of children is very delicate; they have not yet acquired the powers of endurance which older persons possess. The greater portion of the nutriment assimilated, is required for growth and organic development, and they can ill afford its expenditure for mental manifestations. They receive impressions easier and learn much more readily than in after life, but it is at the expense of the physical organization. Their mental faculties continue to be developed by the expenditure of brain nutriment, while physical growth and the powers of endurance are arrested. It is much better to give physical development the precedence in order that the mental organism may be well supported and its operations carried into effect; for it must be apparent to all that an ordinary intellect in a healthy body, is capable of accomplishing infinitely more than a strong mind in aweakbody. Regularity should be observed in exercising the mental functions. For this reason a fixed order in the pursuit of any literary occupation is very essential. The pursuit of the most abstruse studies will thus become habitual and comparativelyeasy, a consequence of systematic application. Mental labor should always cease when the train of thought becomes confused, and there is the slightest sensation of depression. All distracting influences should be absent from the mind, in order to facilitate intense study, for the intellect cannot attend perfectly to two subjects at the same time. Painful sensations always have a tendency to paralyze mental exertion. Great care should be taken that the head is not subjected to injury of any kind, as it is almost invariably accompanied by some nervous derangement. Exposure to extreme heat should be carefully avoided. An attack of sun-stroke although it may not be immediately fatal, may occasion tumors in the brain, or some organic disease.
For all animated beings sleep is an imperious necessity, as indispensable as food. The welfare of man requires alternate periods of activity and repose. It is a well-established physiological fact, that during the wakeful hours the vital energies are being expended, the powers of life diminished, and, if wakefulness is continued beyond a certain limit, the system becomes enfeebled and death is the result. During sleep there is a temporary cessation of vital expenditures, and a recuperation of all the forces. Under the influence of sleep "the blood is refreshed, the brain recruited, physical sufferings are extinguished, mental troubles are removed, the organism is relieved, and hope returns to the heart."
The severest punishment which can be inflicted upon a person, is to entirely deprive him of sleep. In China, a few years since, three criminals were sentenced to be kept awake until they should die. To do this it was necessary to keep a guard over them. The sentinels were armed with sharp, pointed instruments, with which to goad the victims and thus prevent them from sleeping. Life soon became a burden, and, although they were well fed during the time, death occurred sooner than it would have done had starvation been the punishment.
Sleeping Rooms.The sleeping room should be large and well ventilated, and the air kept moderately cool. The necessity for a fire may be determined by the health of theoccupant. Besides maintaining a proper temperature in the room, a little fire is useful, especially if in a grate, for the purpose of securing good ventilation. The windows should not be so arranged as to allow a draught upon the body during the night, but yet so adjusted that the inmate may obtain plenty of fresh air.
The Bedshould not be too soft, but rather hard. Feathers give off animal emanations of an injurious character, and impart a feeling of lassitude and debility to those sleeping on them. No more coverings should be used than are actually necessary for the comfort of the individual. Cotton sheets are warmer than linen, and answer equally as well.
Sleeping Alone.Certain effluvia are thrown off from our persons, and when two individuals sleep together each inhales from the other more or less of these emanations. There is little doubt thatconsumption, and many other diseases, not usually considered contagious, are sometimes communicated in this manner. When it is not practicable for individuals to occupy separate beds, the persons sleeping together should be of about the same age, and in good health. Numerous cases have occurred in which healthy, robust children have gradually declined and died within a few months, from the evil effects of sleeping with old people. Again, those in feeble health have been greatly benefited, and even restored, by sleeping with others who were young and healthy.
Time for Sleep.Nightis the proper time for sleep. When day is substituted for night, the sleep obtained does not fully restore the exhausted energies of the system. Nature does not allow her laws to be broken with impunity.
Children require more sleep than old persons. They are sometimes stupefied with "soothing syrups," and preparations of opium, in order to get them temporarily out of the way. Such narcotics are very injurious and dangerous. We have known a young child to be killed by asingle dropof laudanum. This practice, therefore, cannot be too emphatically condemned.
How to Put Children to Bed.The following characteristic lines are from the pen of Fanny Fern, and contain such good advice that we cannot refrain from quoting them:"Not with a reproof for any of the day's sins of omission or commission. Take any other time than bed-time for that. If you ever heard a little creature sighing or sobbing in its sleep, you could never do this. Seal their closing eyelids with a kiss and a blessing. The time will come, all too soon, when they will lay their heads upon their pillows lacking both. Let them at least have this sweet memory of happy childhood, of which no future sorrow or trouble can rob them. Give them their rosy youth. Nor need this involve wild license. The judicious parent will not so mistake my meaning. If you ever met the man or the woman, whose eyes have suddenly filled when a little child has crept trustingly to its mother's breast, you may have seen one in whose childhood's home 'dignity' and 'severity' stood where love and pity should have been. Too much indulgence has ruined thousands of children; too much love not one."
Position in Sleep.The proper position in sleep is upon the right side. The orifice leading from the stomach to the bowels being on this side, this position favors the passage of the contents into the duodenum. Lying on the back is injurious, since by so doing the spine becomes heated, especially if the person sleeps on feathers, the circulation is obstructed and local congestions are encouraged. The face should never be covered during sleep, since it necessitates the breathing of the same air over again, together with the emanations from the body.
The Amount of Sleep.The amount of sleep required varies with the age, habits, condition, and peculiarities of the individual. No definite rule can be given for the guidance of all. The average amount required, however, is eight or nine hours out of the twenty-four. Some persons need more than this, while others can do with less. Since both body and mind are recuperated by sleep, the more they are exhausted the more sleep is required. A person employed at mental labor should have more than one who is merely expending muscular strength. Six hours of unbroken sleep do more to refresh and revive than ten when frequently interrupted. If it is too prolonged it weakens and stupefies both body and mind. If an insufficient amount is taken the flagging energies are notrestored. Persons who eat much, or use stimulants generally require more than others. To sleep regularity is desirable. If a person goes to bed at a certain hour for several nights in succession, it will soon become a habit. The same holds true with regard to rising. If children are put to sleep at a stated hour for several days in succession, it will soon become a habit with them.
"Cleanliness is next to godliness," and is essential to the health and vigor of the system. Its importance cannot be overestimated, and it should be inculcated early on the minds of the young. "Even from the body's purity, the mind receives a secret sympathetic aid."
When we consider the functions of the skin, with its myriads of minute glands, innumerable little tubes, employed in removing the worn-out, useless matter from the system, we cannot fail to appreciate the utility of frequent bathing with soap and water. Unless these excretions are removed, the glands become obstructed, their functions are arrested, and unpleasant odors arise. Many persons think because they daily bathe the face, neck, and hands, dress the hair becomingly and remove the dirt from their clothing that the height of cleanliness has been reached. From a hygienic point of view, bathing theentirebody is of much greater importance.
Notwithstanding the necessity for cleanliness of the body, we occasionally meet with persons who, although particular about their personal appearance, permit their bodies to be for weeks and even months without a bath. Such neglect should never exceed one week. Plenty of sunlight and at least one or two general baths every week are essential to perfect health. Cleanliness is necessary to health, beauty, attractiveness, and a cheerful disposition.
The structure and functions of organized bodies are subject to continual alteration. The changes of nutrition and growth, which are constantly taking place in the tissues render them at the same time the seat of repair and waste, of renovation and decomposition, of life and death. The plant germinates and blossoms, then withers and decays; animal life, in like manner, comes into being, grows to maturity, fades, and dies. It is, therefore, essential to the perpetuation of life, that new organisms be provided to take the place of those which are passing out of existence. There is no physiological process which presents more interesting phenomena than that of reproduction, which includes the formation, as well as the development of new beings.
Since self-preservation is Nature's first law, the desire for food is a most powerful instinct in all living animals. Not inferior to this law is that for the perpetuation of the race; and for this purpose, throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, we find the Biblical statement literally illustrated: "Male and female created He them."
Health is the gauge by which the prosperity of a people may be measured. Were we to trace the history of nations,—their rise and fall,—we would find that much of the barbarism and crime, degradation and vice, as well as their decline and final extinction, was due to licentiousness and sexual excesses. Since there is an intimate relation between mind and body, when the body is enfeebled the mind becomes enervated. Morbidconditions of the body prevent the highest mental development, and, on the other hand, when the mind is debilitated, general depravity, physical as well as mental, is the result. The highest development of the body results from the equal and harmonious cultivation of all the mental powers. The perfect development and health of the physical organs is therefore essential to the happiness of mankind. But, before health can be insured the nature and general functions of the physical system must be understood. This being done, the question naturally arises:How can health be best maintained and longevity secured?
Influence of Food.We have previously noticed the effects which food, exercise, and other hygienic agencies, have upon digestion, circulation, and respiration; and we find that they exert a not less potent influence upon the health of the generative organs. Excessive stimulation excites the sexual passions. For this reason, children should not be immoderately indulged in highly seasoned foods. Those persons who have great muscular vigor are endowed with violent passions, and unless restrained by moral considerations, are very likely to be overcome by their animal propensities.
Alcoholic stimulantshave a debasing influence upon the whole system, and especially upon the sexual organs; they excite the animal and debase the moral nature; they exhaust the vitality, and, after the excitement, which they temporarily induce, has passed away, the body is left in a prostrated condition.
Physical Labor modifies the Passions.Labor consumes the surplus vitality which a person may possess, and no better protective can be found against the gratification of the passions, unless it be high moral training, than daily toil extended to such a degree as to produce fatigue. Labor determines the blood to the surface and to other parts of the body, and prevents excitement and congestion of the sexual centers. If, by education or association, the passions of children be excited, they will be increased. If, on the contrary, they be taught to avoid these social or solitary evils, they will be abated. Let them be educated to work and the intellectual faculties will assert their sway, the moral powers will be strengthened, and the body better developed, for purity of mind is the result of the perfect development of man.
Influences Of Climate.Individuals possess distinguishing peculiarities characteristic of the nation to which they belong. Climate exerts a powerful influence upon mankind. In tropical regions the inhabitants are enervated, effeminate, and sensual. The rich live in luxury and ease, vice is unrestrained and license unbridled. When the animal propensities are allowed to predominate, the mental faculties are kept in subjection. Hence races that inhabit those latitudes rarely produce scholars or philosophers. A warm climate hastens the development of the reproductive organs. Men and women become mature at a much earlier age in those regions, than in countries where the temperature is lower. In like manner there is a tendency to premature enfeeblement, for the earlier the system matures, the sooner it deteriorates.
Man is a Social Being.History demonstrates that when man is deprived of the society of women, he becomes reckless, vicious, depraved, and even barbarous in his habits, thus illustrating the maxim: "It is not good for man to be alone." Social intercourse promotes mental and physical development. The development of the individual implies the unfolding of every power, both physical and mental. Nothing so regulates and restrains passion as a healthy condition of the organs through which it finds expression. And every organ of the body is powerful in proportion to its soundness. The propensities play a prominent part in the education of the child. When properly disciplined and held in subordination to the higher faculties, they constitute an important factor in the economy of man. Boys are more liable to be morbidly excited when secluded from the society of girls, and vice versa. Again, when the sexes are accustomed to associate, the passions are not apt to be aroused, because of the natural antagonistic constitutional elements. The influence of the one refines, and ennobles the other. Let children be taught to understand their natures, and knowing them, they will learn self-government. "As man rises in education and moral feeling he proportionately rises in the power of self-restraint; and consequently as he becomes deprived of this wholesome law of discipline he sinks into self-indulgence and the brutality of savage life.
The passions may be aroused by the language, appearanceor dress of the opposite sex. A word spoken without any impure intent is often construed in a very different sense by one whose passions color the thought, and is made to convey an impression entirely unlike that which was intended by the speaker. Also, the dress may be of such a character as to excite the sexual passion. The manner in which the apparel is worn is often so conspicuous as to become bawdy, thereby appealing to the libidinous desires, rather than awakening an admiration for the mental qualities.
Obscene Literature.Literature is a powerful agent either for good or evil. If we would improve the morals,choiceliterature must be selected, whether it be that which realizes the ideal, or idealizes the real. Obscene literature, or books written for the express purpose of exciting or intensifying sexual desires in the young, goads to an illicit gratification of the passions, and ruins the moral and physical nature.
It not unfrequently happens that a child is born with a vigorous, mental organism which promises a brilliant future, but manhood finds him incompetent, debilitated, and totally incapacitated for mental or manual labor. This may be the result of youthful indiscretion, ignorantly committed, but not unfrequently it is the effect of a pernicious literature which inflames the imagination, tramples upon reason, and describes to the youth a realm where the passions are the ruling deities.
Many persons are born into the world with disordered organizations for which they are not themselves responsible. Such individuals are entitled to the sympathy of humanity. Dyspepsia, scrofula, consumption, and a thousand ills to which mankind is heir, are inherited from parents, the results of ill-assorted marriages. Intoxicated parents often produce offspring utterly demented. Children of healthy parents, with good constitutions, are usually healthy and intelligent. There are marked varieties of character in children of the same parents. One manifests great precocity, another is below the average in mental attainments; one is amiable, another irritable in disposition; indeed, there are often as great differences between children of the same, as of different families. This is due to the physical and mental conditions of the parents, more especially the mother, not only at the time of the impregnationbut also during the period intervening between conception and the birth of the offspring. The ancients regarded courage as the principal virtue. By us, purity is so estimated. Moral purity is an essential requisite to the growth and perfection of the character.
Self-Abuse.Untold miseries arise from the pollution of the body. Self-pollution, or onanism, is one of the most prolific sources of evil, since it leads both to the degradation of body and mind. It is practiced more or less by members of both sexes, and the habit once established, is overcome with the greatest difficulty. It is the source of numerous diseases which derange the functional activity of the organs involved, and eventually impair the constitution. This vicious habit is often practiced by those who are ignorant of its dangerous results. Statistics show that insanity is frequently caused by masturbation.
Immoderate indulgence in any practice is deleterious to the individual. Emphatically true is this with regard to sexual excesses. Not unfrequently does the marriage rite "cover a multitude of sins." The abuse of the conjugal relation produces the most serious results to both parties, and is a prolific source of some of the gravest forms of disease. Prostatorrhea, spermatorrhea, impotency, hypochondria, and general debility of the generative organs, arise from sexual excesses.
The health of the reproductive organs can only be maintained by leading atemperatelife. The food should be nourishing but not stimulating. Lascivious thoughts should be banished from the mind, and a taste cultivated for that literature which is elevating in its nature, and the associations should be refining and ennobling. Let these conditions and the rules of hygiene, be observed, and virtue will reward her subjects with a fine physique and a noble character.
Woman, from the nature of her organization, has less strength and endurance than man. Much, however, of the suffering and misery which she experiences arises from insufficient attention to the sexual organs. The menstrual function is generally established between the ages of twelve and fourteen. For want of proper instruction, many a girl through ignorancehascaused derangements which have enfeebled her womanhoodor terminated her life. At this critical period the mother cannot be too considerate of her daughter's health. Preceding the first appearance of the menses, girls usually feel an aching in the back, pains in the limbs, chilliness, and general languor. The establishment of this function relieves these symptoms. Every precaution should be taken during the period to keep the feet dry and warm, to freely maintain a general circulation of the blood, to avoid exertion, and to refrain from standing or walking too much. Menstrual derangements should never be neglected, for they predispose to affections of the brain, liver, heart, and stomach, induce consumption and frequently end in death. Young women should, therefore, properly protect themselves, and avoid extremes of heat and cold.
1. The first step which should be taken for the prevention of disease, is to make provision for the health of the unborn child. Greater care should be exercised with women who are in a way to become mothers. Those who are surrounded by all the luxuries which health can bestow, indulge too much in rich food, and take too little exercise; while the poor get too little nourishment, and work too hard and too long. A woman in this condition should avoid over-exertion, and all scenes which excite the passions or powerful emotions. She should take moderate exercise in the open air; eat moderately of wholesome food, and of meat not oftener than twice a day; take tea or coffee in limited quantities, and avoid the use of all alcoholic liquors; she should go to bed early and take not less than nine hours sleep; her clothing should be loose, light in weight, and warm. She should take every precaution against exposure to contagious or infectious diseases.
2. There is no better method for preventing the spread of contagious diseases than perfect isolation of the infected, and thorough disinfection of all articles of clothing or bedding which have been in contact with the infected. Many persons erroneously believe that every child must necessarily have the measles, and other contagious diseases, and they, therefore, take no precautions against the exposure of their children. The liability to infection diminishes as age advances, and those individuals are, as a rule, the strongest and best developed whohave never suffered from any of the contagious diseases. Although, vaccination is the great safeguard against-pox, yet it should never prevent the immediate isolation of those who are suffering from this disease.
3. To avoid the injurious effects of impure air, the following rules, should be carefully observed. The admission of air which contains anything that emits an unpleasant odor into closed rooms should be avoided. The temperature of every apartment should be kept as near 70° Fahr. as possible, and the air should not be overcharged with watery vapor. Provisions should be made for the free admission into and escape of air from the room at all times. When an apartment is not in use, it should be thoroughly ventilated by opening the windows. Those who are compelled to remain in an atmosphere tilled with dust, should wear a cotton-wool respirator.
4. To insure a healthy condition of the body, the diet of man ought to be varied, and all excesses should be avoided. The total amount of solid food taken in the twenty-four hours should not exceed two and a half pounds, and not more than one-third of this quantity should consist of animal food. Many persons do not require more than one pound and a half of mixed food. To avoid parasitic diseases, meat should not be eaten rare, especially pork. The amount of drink taken should not be more than three pints in twenty-four hours. The excessive use of tea and coffee should be avoided. Pickles, boiled cabbage, and other indigestible articles should never be eaten.
5. To avoid the evil effects of alcoholic liquors, perfect abstinence is the only safe course to pursue. Although one may use spirituous liquors in moderation for a long period of time and possibly remain healthy, yet such an indulgence is unnecessary and exceedingly dangerous. A person who abstains entirely from their use is safe from their pernicious influence; a person who indulges ever so moderately is in danger; a person who relies on such stimulants for support in the hour of need is lost.
6. While the use of tobacco is less pernicious than alcohol in its effects, et it exerts a profound disturbing influence upon the nervous system, and gives rise to various functional and organic diseases. This is the verdict of those whohave given the subject the most study, and who have had the best opportunities for extensive observation. Suddenly fatal results have followed excesses in the use of tobacco. Therefore, the habit should be avoided, or if already acquired, it should be immediately abandoned.
7. The clothing should be light and porous, adapted in warmth to the season. It is especially important that persons in advanced life should be well protected against vicissitudes of heat and cold. Exposure is the cause of almost all those inflammatory diseases which occur during winter, and take off the feeble and the aged. The under-garments should be kept scrupulously clean by frequent changes. Corsets or bands which impede the flow of blood, compress the organs of the chest or abdomen, or restrict the movements of the body, are very injurious, and should not be worn. Articles of dress which are colored with irritating dye-stuffs, should be carefully avoided.
8. It matters not how varied a person's vocation may be, change, recreation, and rest are required. It is an error to suppose that more work can be done by omitting these. No single occupation which requires special mental or physical work, should be followed for more than eight hours out of the twenty-four. The physical organism is not constructed to run its full cycle of years and labor under a heavier burden than this. Physical and mental exercise is conducive to health and longevity, if not carried too far. It is erroneous to suppose that excessive physical exertion promotes health. Man was never intended to be a running or a jumping machine. In mental work, variety should be introduced. New work calls into play fresh portions of the brain, and secures repose for those parts which have become exhausted. Idleness should be avoided by all. Men should never retire from business as long as they enjoy a fair degree of health. Idleness and inactivity are opposed to nature.
9. The average length of time which a person ought to sleep is eight hours out of the twenty-four, and, as a rule, those who take this amount enjoy the best health. The most favorable time for sleep is between the hours of 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. All excitement, the use of stimulants, and excessive fatiguetend to prevent sleep. Sleeping rooms should be well ventilated, and the air maintained at a equable temperature of as near 60° Fahr. as possible. An inability to sleep at the proper time, or a regular inclination to sleep at other than the natural hours for it, is a certain indication of errors of habit, or of nervous derangement.
10. Prominent among all other measures for the maintenance of Health, is personal cleanliness. Activity in the functions of the skin is essential to perfect health, and this can only be secured by thoroughly bathing the entire body. Strictly, a person should bathe once every twenty-four or forty-eight hours. The body should be habituated to contact with cold water at all season of the year, so that warm water may not become a necessity. The simplest and most convenient bath, is the ordinary sponge-bath. An occasional hot-air, or Turkish bath, exerts a very beneficial influence. It cleans out the pores of the skin and increases its activity.
11. The emotions and the passions exert a powerful influence over the physical organism. It is important, therefore, that they be held under restraint by the reasoning faculties. This rule applies equally to joy, fear, and grief; to avarice, anger, and hatred; and, above all, to the sexual passion. They are a prolific source of disease of the nervous system, and have caused the dethronement of some of the most gifted intellects.
During the last half century a great change has taken place in the treatment of disease. Medicine has advanced with rapid strides, from the narrow limits of mere empiricism, to the broader realm of rationalism, until to day it comprehends all the elements of an art and a science. Scientific researches and investigations have added many valuable truths to the general fund of medical learning, but much more has been effected by observation and empirical discovery. It is of little or no interest to the invalid to know whether the prescribed remedy is organic or inorganic, simple, compound, or complex. In his anxiety and distress of body, he seeks solely for relief, without regard to the character of the remedial agents employed. But this indifference on the part of the patient does not obviate the necessity for a thorough, scientific education on the part of the practitioner. Notwithstanding all the laws enacted to raise the standard of medicine, and thus protect the public from quackery, there yet exists a disposition among many to cling to all that savors of the miraculous, or supernatural. To insure the future advancement of the healing art, physicians must instruct mankind in Physiology, Hygiene, and Medicine. When the people understand the nature of diseases, their causes, methods of prevention and cure, they will not be easily deceived, and practitioners will be obliged to qualify themselves better for their labors. The practice of medicine is every year becomingmore successful. New and improved methods of treating disease are being discovered and developed, and the conscientious physician will avail himself ofallthe means, by a knowledge of which he may benefit his fellow-men. The medical profession is divided into three principal schools, or sects.
This is the oldest existing branch of the profession. To it is due the credit of collecting and arranging the facts and discoveries which form the foundation of the healing art. It has done, and is doing, much to place the science of medicine on a firm basis. To the text-books of this school, every student who would qualify himself for medical practice must resort, to gain that knowledge upon which depends his future success. The early practice of this branch of the profession was necessarily crude and empirical. Conservative in its character, it has ever been slow to recognize new theories and methods of practice, and has failed to adopt them until they have been incontrovertibly established. This conservatism was manifested in the opposition to Harvey when he propounded the theory of the circulation of the blood, and to Jenner when he discovered and demonstrated the beneficial effects of vaccination. Thus has it ever defended its established opinions against innovation; yet out of this very conservatism has grown much real good, for, although it has wasted no time or energy in the investigation of theories, yet it has accepted them when established. In this manner it has added to its fund of knowledge only those truths which are of real and intrinsic value.
The history of medicine may be divided into three eras. In the first, the practice of medicine was merely empiricism. Ignorant priests or astrologers administered drugs, concerning the properties of which they had no knowledge, to appease the wrath of mythological deities. In the second or heroic era, the lancet, mercury, antimony, opium, and the blister were employed indiscriminately as thesine qua nonof medical practice. The present, with all its scientific knowledge of the human structure and functions, and its vast resources for remedying disease may be aptly termed the liberal era of medicine. The allopathicdiffers from the other schools, mainly in the application of remedies. In its ranks are found men, indefatigable in their labors, delving deep into the mysteries of nature, and who, for their scientific attainments and humane principles are justly considered ornaments to society and to their profession.
Although this school is of comparatively recent origin, yet it has gained a powerful hold upon the public favor, and numbers among its patrons very many intelligent citizens. This fact alone would seem to indicate that it possesses some merit. The homeopathic differs from the allopathic school principally in its"law of cure,"which, according to Hahnemann, its founder, was the doctrine of"similia similibus curantur"or "like cures like." Its method of treatment is founded upon the assumption that if a drug be given to a healthy person, symptoms will occur which, if transpiring in disease, would be mitigated by the same drug. While it may be exceedingly difficult for a member of another school to accept this doctrine and comprehend the method founded upon it, yet no one can deny that it contains some elements of truth.
Imbued with the spirit of progress, many of its most intelligent and successful practitioners have resorted to the use of appreciable quantities of medicine. This school associates hydropathy with its practice, and usually inculcates rigid dietetic and hygienic regulations. Many homoeopathic remedies are thoroughly triturated with sugar of milk, which renders them more palatable and efficacious. Whether we attribute their cures to the infinitesimal doses which many homoeopathists employ, to their "law of cure," to good nursing, or to the power of nature, it is nevertheless true that their practice is measurably successful. No doubt the homoeopathic practice has modified that of the other schools, by proving that diseases may be alleviated by smaller quantities of medicine than were formerly employed.
This school, founded by Wooster Beach, instituted the most strenuous opposition to the employment of mercury, antimony, the blister, and the lancet. The members of this new schoolproclaimed that the action of heroic and noxious medicines was opposed to the operation of the vital forces, and proposed to substitute in their place safer and more efficacious agents, derived exclusively from the vegetable kingdom. The eclectics have investigated the properties of indigenous plants and have discovered many valuable remedies, which a kind and bounteous nature has so generously supplied for the healing of her children. Marked success attended the employment of these agents. In 1852, a committee on "Indigenous Medical Botany," appointed by the "American Medical Association," acknowledged that the practitioners of the regular school had been extremely ignorant of the medical virtues of plants, even of those of their own neighborhoods. The employment of podophyllin and leptandrin as substitutes for mercurials has been so successful that they are now used by practitioners of all schools. Although claiming to have been founded upon liberal principles, it may be questioned whether its adherents have not been quite as exclusive and dogmatic as those whom they have opposed. It cannot be denied, however, that the eclectics have added many important remedies to the Materia Medica. Their writings are important and useful contributions to the physician's library.
After this brief review of the various medical sects, the reader may be curious to learn to what sect the physicians of the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute belong. Among them are to be found graduates from the colleges of all the different schools. They are not restricted by the tenets of any one sect, but claim the right and privilege, nay, consider it a duty, to select from all, such remedies as careful investigation, scientific research, and an extensive experience, have proved valuable. They resort to any and every agent which has been proved efficacious, whether it be vegetable or mineral.
And here arises a distinction betweensanativeremedial agents and those which arenoxious. Many practitioners deplore the use of poisons, and advocate innocuous medicines which produce only curative results. We agree with them in one proposition, namely, that improper medicines not only poison,but frequently utterly destroy the health and body of the patient. Every physician should keep steadily in view the final effects, as well as present relief, and never employ any agent without regard to its ulterior consequences. However, an agent which is noxious inhealth, may prove a valuable remedy indisease. When morbid changes have taken place in the blood and tissues, when a general diseased condition of the bodily organs has occurred, then an agent, which is poisonous in health, may prove curative. For instance it is admitted that alcohol is a poison; that it prevents healthful assimilation, solidifies pepsin, begets a morbid appetite; that it produces intoxication, and that its habitual use destroys the body. It is, therefore, neither a hygienic nor a sanative agent, but strictly a noxious one; yet, its very distinct antiseptic properties render it valuable for remedial purposes, since these qualities promptly arrest that fatal form of decomposition of the animal fluids which is occasioned by snake-venom, which produces its deadly effects in the same manner as a drop of yeast ferments the largest mash. Alcohol checks this poisonous and deadly process and neutralizes its effects. Thus, alcohol, although a noxious agent, possesses a special curative influence in a morbid state of the human system; but its general remedial effects do not entitle it to the rank of a hygienic agent. We believe that medicine is undergoing a gradual change from the darkness of the past, with its ignorance, superstition, and barbarism, to the light of a glorious future. At each successive step in the path of progress, medicine approaches one degree nearer the realm of an exact science. The common object of the practitioners of all medical schools is the alleviation of human suffering. The only difference between the schools is in the remedies employed, the size of dose administered, and the results attained. These are insufficient grounds for bitter sectarianism. We are all fellow laborers in the same field. Before us lies a boundless expanse for exploration. There are new conditions of disease to be learned, new remedies to be discovered, and new properties of old ones to be examined.
We do not deplore the fact, that there are different schools in medicine, for this science has not reached perfection, and they tend to stimulate investigation. The remarks of HerbertSpencer on the "Multiplication of Schemes of Juvenile Culture," may be pertinently applied to the different schools in medicine with increased force. He says: "It is clear that dissent in education results in facilitating inquiry by the division in labor. Were we in possession of the true method, divergence from it would, of course, be prejudicial; but the true method having to be found, the efforts of numerous independent seekers carrying out their researches in different directions, constitute a better agency for finding it than any that could be devised. Each of them struck by some new thought which probably contains more or less of basis in facts—each of them zealous on behalf of his plan, fertile in expedients to test its correctness, and untiring in its efforts to make known its success—each of them merciless in its criticism on the rest—there cannot fail, by composition of forces, to be a gradual approximation of all towards the right course. Whatever portion of the normal method any one of them has discovered, must, by the constant exhibition of its results, force itself into adoption; whatever wrong practices he has joined with it must, by repeated experiment and failure, be exploded. And by this aggregation of truths and elimination of errors, there must eventually be developed a correct and complete body of doctrine. Of the three phases through which human opinion passes—the unanimity of the ignorant, the disagreement of the inquiring, and the unanimity of the wise—it is manifest that the second is the parent of the third."
We believe the time is coming when those maladies which are now considered fatal will be readily cured—when disease will be disarmed of its terrors. To be successful, a physician must be independent, free from all bigotry, having no narrow prejudice against his fellow-men, liberal, accepting new truths from whatever source they come, free from restrictions of societies, and an earnest laborer in the interests of the Great Physician.