30 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book L 



men in the civilifed life, that they can only preferve any degree of 

 health and ftrength by exercifes in the open air, and the pradice of 

 bathing, anointing, and fridlion : The Greeks, certainly, preferved 

 their health and flrength very much by exercifmg naked in their 

 Palasftra; and the Romans by their exercifes in the Campus Martins^ 

 and by fwimming in the Tyber: For fvvimming I hold to be a very 

 healthy and ftrengthening exercife; and it was fo neceflary a part of 

 education among the Romans, that it was compared to learning letters j 

 and they defcribed a man perfectly untaught, by faying, 7ieque I'lteras 

 tieque natart dld'icit. As to the Greek exercifes of the Palaeftra, they 

 were too violent, and pra-itifed too conftantly; and though they might 

 give health and ftrength for the time, they certainly wore out the 

 body before its time, efpecially fuch as were prad:ifed by thofe who 

 afpired to be vigors in the public games, where not only their ex- 

 ercifes were prefcribed by the maflers of the academy, but alfo their 

 diet, one extraordinary part of which was the ct.va.yx,cLio<pcx.yia,y ox for C" 

 hig them/elves to eat. Such athlets could not be healthy or long liv- 

 ed ; and, accordingly, we hear of fome of the vidtors, in thofe 

 games, dying iuddenly after being crowned ; and, I believe, it was 

 for that reafon, that the Egyptians did not approve of fuch exercifes 

 or pradife them. 



The moft healthy of all occupations I hold to be agriculture, and 

 the moft ufeful too, efpecially as it was managed by the Romans in 

 the beginning of their ftate; for it not only produced corn, fufficient 

 to maintain the Romans in the early times of the Comm.onwealth, 

 but it trained the farmers to arms, by the practice of military ex- 

 ercifes upon their holidays; of which we have a beautiful defcription 

 in Virgil, concluding with thefe lines, 



Hanc vitam veteres oHm coluere Sabini; 

 Hanc Remus et frater: fic fort is Etruria crcvit, 

 Scilicet et rerum fafta eft pulcherrima Roma. 



Georg. II. V. 53 li 



It 



