Mr. Edgeworth, while treating on military education, says, “As to EXERCISE and AMUSEMENTS for the pupils in a military academy, they should all be calculated to promote and sustain manly dispositions. The judicious Sully recommends, in the strongest manner, to military youth, those sports and exercises which form a graceful carriage, and give strength to the limbs.”—‘I was,’ says he, ‘always of the same opinion as Henry IV. concerning these exercises. He often asserted, that they were the most solid foundation, not only of discipline, and other military virtues, but also of those noble sentiments, and that elevation of mind which gives one nation pre-eminence over another.’
“A military school should have annual competitions and prizes for foot-races, leaping, wrestling, fencing, and firing at a target. Though the prize need not be absolutely wreaths of oak or parsley, yet whatever they are, they should be more honorary than lucrative. The victors should be rewarded also with the applauses of the public, the countenance of the great, and sometimes, perhaps, with the patronage of the government.”—“All sports,” he farther observes, “without exception, that promote strength and agility, should be encouraged in our military schools[13].”
But to every man, the proper exercise of the body is an important object, as good health and spirits constitute the greatest blessing of nature, for our pleasures are derived from the capability of enjoying them. Dr. Churchill justly remarks[14], “that, in the formation of our frames, and the very nature of our constitution, it was the positive institution of Providence, to create in us an absolute necessity for exercise, in order to our well-being.” And he farther says, that “by attention to exercise, the tone and vigour of the moving powers are wonderfully increased; the nervous energy and circulation of the blood are materially accelerated; and this increased impetus of the blood through the whole system produces an effectual determination to the surface of the skin; and free perspiration is the consequence. By the same means, the body is disposed to sleep; the appetite increased; the tone of the stomach and digestive powers preserved; and the blood is determined from the internal viscera, which prevents as well as removes obstructions, and powerfully obviates the tendency to a plethoric fulness of the system. By exercise, the spirits are enlivened, and the body refreshed; or, as Hippocrates observes, it gives strength to the body, and vigour to the mind; and it is an irrefragable truth, that where it is improperly neglected, the energy and strength of the whole machine falls to decay.”
To the authority of Dr. Churchill, may be added that of the celebrated Dr. Willich, who, in the Seventh Chapter of his Lectures on Diet and Regimen, (p. 441-2,) observes, that “motion, or bodily exercise, is necessary to the preservation of health, which is promoted, while the bounds of moderation are not exceeded. Too violent exercise, or a total want of it, are attended with equal disadvantages. Much also depends on the kind of motion, and the various postures of the body.
“The essential advantages of exercise are the following: Bodily strength is increased; the circulation of the blood and all other fluids promoted; the necessary secretions and excretions are duly performed; the whole mass of the blood is cleared and refined, so that it cannot stagnate in the minutest capillary vessels; and if any obstruction should begin to take place, it will thus be effectually removed.
“That exercise is enjoined by Nature, we may learn from the whole structure of the human body; the number of muscles formed for motion; and the mechanism in the circulation of the blood itself. There are indeed no healthier people than those who take strong daily exercise. Man in a state of health is instinctively excited to muscular exertion; and children that are perfectly healthy, are constantly running about, and in almost uninterrupted motion.”
Pedestrianism affords the best species of exercise, and may be said to include much that is valuable to mankind. Those distinguished persons, therefore, who by their example, have rendered this branch of the gymnastic art FASHIONABLE and GENERAL, deserve the highest praise. To Captain Barclay, Captain Agar, Captain Acres, Lieutenant Fairman, and many other gentlemen, this country is greatly indebted for their improvement of this art. It is only the thoughtless and inconsiderate part of the community that does not discover the benefits resulting from the exploits of such celebrated professors, because they cannot estimate the ultimate consequences of individual exertion. But reflecting people must perceive that, in time, desultory efforts may be reduced into a system founded on principles calculated to strengthen and preserve both the health of our bodies, and the energy of our minds, thus facilitating the acquisition of human knowledge.
Exercise on foot is allowed to be the most natural and perfect, as it employs every part of the body, and effectually promotes the circulation of the blood through the arteries and veins.—“Walking,” says Dr. Willich[15], “the most salutary and natural exercise, is in the power of every body; and we can adapt its degree and duration to the various circumstances of health. By this exercise the appetite and perspiration are promoted; the body is kept in proper temperament; the mind is enlivened; the motion of the lungs is facilitated; and the rigidity of the legs arising from too much sitting, is relieved. The most obstinate diseases, and the most troublesome hysteric and hypochondriacal complaints, have been frequently cured by perseverance in walking.”
Pedestrian feats, even when carried to excess, are seldom attended by any pernicious effects. The exhaustion occasioned by severe exercise is only temporary; for the wearied frame is speedily recruited by the luxury of rest and refreshment. But certain rules may be observed, which will render walking both easy and agreeable. A light, yet firm and manly step, an erect posture, especially in regard to the head, the breast, and the shoulders, should be the chief objects of attainment. By care and attention a person may thus learn to walk gracefully, and with little bodily fatigue[16].