HOW TO GET STRONG
ical culture and development, this plan of reaching all the parts and being just to all, has scarcely been tried. But abundant proof that some physical exercise will not dull the man, but even brighten him, can be had without difficulty. A moment's reflection will show that a mind ever on the stretch must, like a bow so kept, be the worse for it, and that the strain must be occasionally slacked. There are two ways of slacking it. Both the physician and experience tell us that nothing rests a tired brain like sensible, physical exercise, except, of course, sleep.
"When in active use," says Mitchell, "the thinking organs become full of blood; and, as Dr. Lombard has shown, rise in temperature; while the feet and hands become cold. Nature meant that for their work they should be, in the first place, supplied with food; next, that they should have certain intervals of rest to rid themselves of the excess of blood accumulated during their periods of activity; and this is to be done by sleep; and also by bringing into play the physical machinery of the body, such as the muscles—that is to say, by exercise, which flushes the parts engaged in it, and so depletes the brain."[1]
Here, then, some physical exercise will rest his brain, and fit it for more and better work. But this does not necessarily imply so much as is called for in the hour. Happily, however, there is no lack of instances where work, quite as vigorous, though not as well directed, has accompanied mental work of a very high order, and to all appearances has been a help rather than a hinderance. Some of them will be considered presently.
And while the indoor work equalizes the strength,
- ↑ Wear and Tear, p. 54.
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