7 8 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



and as they were taught the doctrine of the necessity of body-morti- 

 fication in order to perfection of soul, there prevailed a total disregard 

 of the physical conditions necessary to our well-being. Even bathiDg 

 was held to be a vanity of worldly savor, and gymnastics would doubt- 

 less have been considered worse than folly. This state of darkness 

 lasted in Europe till the beginning of the present century, when Ling, 

 of Sweden, after most persistent effort, succeeded in introducing his 

 " movement-cure." For every one of the five hundred muscles, and 

 for every imaginable disease, this system provided some kind of exer- 

 cise. Its distinctive feature was its adaptability to diseased condi- 

 tions, and there can be no doubt of its usefulness. As a means of 

 cure it is still somewhat in use, and would probably be still more used 

 were it not in the hands of those who make for it altogether unreason- 

 able claims. And still, for those in search of the proper movements 

 for exercising any given set of muscles, Ling's system, as set forth by 

 Dr. Roth and many other of the great gymnast's disciples, furnishes 

 abundant and explicit instruction. Also in the early years of this cen- 

 tury, a system of physical training was introduced in Prussia by Jahn, 

 not for the cure of disease, but for the development of strong, service- 

 able bodies. Strangely as it now sounds, Jahn's system was opposed 

 by the Government, on the ground that it made the people less manage- 

 able, and more intolerant of church and state. Could better evidence 

 be offered both of the good effect of gymnastics and also of the fear- 

 ful ignorance that then prevailed of the value to the Church and to 

 the state of a vigorous, healthy people ? In spite of royal opposition, 

 however, gymnastics grew in German popularity. The annual meet- 

 ings of the Turnvereine, like the old Olympic festivals, fostered an 

 enthusiasm for body-training, which, in turn, so far proved its worth 

 to the state that in 1853 it became a recognized branch of public in- 

 struction. Since then, it will be remembered, Prussia's advance has 

 been uninterrupted. To her armies Denmark, Austria, and France 

 have in turn succumbed. Is it not possible that her glory is due to 

 the thorough physical training of her children ? 



Coming now to our own country, we find by the year 1825 gym- 

 nastics taught in a private school at Northampton, Massachusetts, by 

 a Professor Beck, who a few years later published a translation of 

 Jahn's system. The school seems to have attracted considerable at- 

 tention, but we can easily imagine how silly such artificial exercise 

 must have seemed to those whose backs ached from their daily work. 

 Little prepared were our New England parents to understand that, by 

 tliis kind of exercise, backs and limbs could be developed that would 

 easily carry burdens which untrained muscles would groan under. 

 This same popular ignorance exists to-day. The majority still believe 

 that hard manual labor affords better exercise than can any system of 

 artificial gymnastics ; whereas, instead of the equally developed elas- 

 tic body resulting from gymnasium-training, we have in the laborers 



