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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



against that of this present enlightened and 

 softly-nurtured, not to say sentimental, age. 



Maybe it is; possibly the world is entering 

 upon a phase in which the recognized whole duty 

 of man will be to avoid the endurance, or the in- 

 fliction, of physical pain, whatever future allevia- 

 tion of misery may be its consequence, however 

 great the positive benefit to mankind which may 

 flow thereupon. If so, "Finis Physiologiao." 

 When that time arrives, there will be an end to 

 all progress in our knowledge of the laws of life, 

 to all advance toward rational medicine. And, if 

 I do not greatly err, these are not the only things 

 which the logical outcome of such premises will 

 have abolished. Crime must go unpunished — for 

 what justification is therefor "torturing" a poor 

 thief or murderer except the general good of 

 society ? The " voice of the sluggard " will not 

 " be heard to complain," for no one will dare to 

 " torture " him by disturbing his slumbers. There 

 will be no means of transport, and nothing to 

 ride, except steam-engines and bicycles, for the 

 "torture" involved in the training and in the 

 labor of beasts of draught and burden will be 

 insufferable. No man will think of eating 

 meat, though it may be proper for him to serve 



as meat to other creatures ; for what right can 

 men have to " torture " fleas by the administra- 

 tion of insecticide powder, merely for the benefit 

 of mankind ? Sport, I need not say, will have 

 been abolished, and war will have followed it ; 

 not so much because war is fraught with evil for 

 men, but because of the awful "torture " which 

 it inflicts directly upon horses and mules, to say 

 nothing of the indirect dyspeptic sufferings of 

 the vultures and wolves, which are tempted by 

 our wickedness to overeat themselves. 



As I have confessed, I find myself to be 

 regrettably out of harmony with many worthy 

 and enthusiastic people among my contempora- 

 ries ; and perhaps the prospect of the coming of 

 the new era, in which these things shall be, does 

 not affect others as it does me. To say truth, I 

 am rather glad to think that the species can 

 hardly be perfected thus far, in my time. I must 

 distinctly admit that I should be loath to be 

 obliged to exist in a world in which my notions 

 of what men should be and do will have no ap- 

 plication. As the old Norseman said, when the 

 choice between heaven with the new generation, 

 and hell with the old, was offered him, " I prefer 

 to be with my ancestors." — Fortnightly Review. 



LEARXINCr axd health. 



By BENJAMIN TV. EICHAKDSON. 



IN this day the cultivation of the mental facul- 

 ties is made to hold the first place in educa- 

 tion. There be some who still maintain the su- 

 periority of physical over mental culture, and 

 there be many who insist on the necessity of 

 a high degree of physical culture of a certain 

 extreme and artificial kind. But, as a rule, the 

 favor once too exclusively tendered to a purely 

 physical training is on the decline. The admira- 

 tion which once was bestowed on men of great 

 strength has almost ceased in civilized circles. 

 Physical strength may, if it show itself in some 

 singular and abnormal manner, create for a time 

 an excitement and noise, but the excitement ends 

 in the silence that follows clamor. Men who per- 

 form great feats of strength are no longer heroes 

 to be courted and immortalized. Hercules him- 

 self would be a nine days' wonder in these days. 



1 Lecture delivered at the London Institution, on 

 Monday, January 14, 1S78. 



The evidence now is fairly clear, moreover, that 

 men who even combine heroism with physical 

 power are not the demi-gods they were. In war, 

 the man, in these days, who displays the deepest 

 skill and cunning in the management of troops 

 is the great general. It is not necessary that he 

 should lead a column or expose himself to danger 

 for a moment. His power lies in his knowledge, 

 and his knowledge in his power. 



To attain knowledge is one of the most desired 

 objects, and so much of admiration of man for 

 man as yet remains (it is not really very much) is 

 expended on those who show the greatest mental 

 gifts or possessions. The admiration, estimated 

 at its true value, feeds vanity rather than venera- 

 tion. Men who wish to be honestly admired see 

 no mode of having what they long for except by 

 the acquisition of knowledge and the toilsome 

 display of it. They are frequently disappointed ; 

 more frequent!}', I fancy, disappointed than satis- 



