GUTZKOW 



2646 



GYMNASTICS 



GUTZKOW, goots'ko, KARL FERDINAND 

 (1811-1878), a German dramatist and novelist, 

 who exerted a powerful influence on the opin- 

 ions of modern Germany through his literary 

 works. He was born in Berlin, and after 

 studying theology took up politics and became 

 the leader of a small group of reformers called 

 "Young Germany." Gutzkow's first novel, 

 Wally, the Skeptic, appeared in 1835. It is 

 directed against the common belief in revela- 

 tion on the institution of marriage. He was 

 condemned to three months' imprisonment for 

 writing the book, and the German federal Diet 

 decreed that all he had written or might yet 

 write should be suppressed. On obtaining his 

 freedom he went to the free city of Hamburg, 

 where he brought out his tragedy Richard Sav- 

 age, which was played at all the German 

 theaters. His novels include The Knights of 

 the Soul and The Magician of Rome; among 

 his dramas are Uriel Acosta, Queue and 

 Sword and The King's Lieutenant. He took 

 up his residence near Heidelberg in 1873, and 

 later removed to Frankfort-on-Main. 



GUYOT, ge'yo, ARNOLD (1807-1884), a Swiss- 

 American of high rank as a geographer and 

 geologist, was born near Neuchatel, Switzer- 

 land, and educated at the College of Neuchatel 

 and the University of Berlin. He took part 

 with Agassiz in his Alpine investigations, and 

 later became professor of history and physical 

 geography in the Academy of Neuchatel. He 

 settled in Cambridge, Mass., in 1848, and gave 

 a series of lectures in New England, which he 

 afterwards published under the title Earth and 

 Man. He did much valuable work for the 

 Smithsonian Institute in connection with 

 meteorological science, which in 1855 earned 

 him appointment as professor of geology and 

 physical geography at Princeton, where he 

 remained until his death. He was the author 

 of widely-used textbooks on geography and 

 of a series of wall maps. 



GYMNASIUM, jimna'zium, a word from a 

 Greek term meaning naked, was applied in 

 ancient Greece to public places set aside for 

 athletic sports. It was the custom for the boys 

 and young men of those times to wear no 

 clothing when taking part in their games and 

 contests, in order that their bodies might be 

 perfectly free. 



From this old use of the word is derived its 

 modern meaning a room or a building devoted 

 to instruction and practice in physical train- 

 ing and usually provided with special appa- 

 ratus. The apparatus used generally includes 



horizontal bars, parallel bars, flying rings, 

 vaulting horses, poles and ladders both swing- 

 ing and stationary trapezes, mattresses, Indian 

 clubs and dumb-bells, elastic exercisers, strik- 

 ing bag, rowing machines, etc.; also the simple 

 devices needed for playing basket ball, indoor 

 baseball and similar games of action. Won- 

 derfully good results, however, can be secured 

 through right use of a gymnasium even with- 

 out elaborate or expensive equipment. The 

 important thing is the exercise itself. 



It is a matter of note that educators are 

 giving more and more attention to bodily de- 

 velopment as an essential part of education. 

 There is a growing tendency to establish gym- 

 nasiums in connection with public schools, 

 often with trained teachers in charge. The 

 cities are also beginning to lay out open areas, 

 particularly in the poorer districts, and equip 

 them as outdoor gymnasiums for the use of 

 neighborhood children, providing such simple 

 apparatus as swings, slides, rings, seesaws, tra- 

 pezes, bars and the like. 



Among the best-known gymnasiums of the 

 United States are those connected with the 

 universities of Syracuse, California, Princeton, 

 Yale, Harvard and Dartmouth. The Pat- 

 ten gymnasium of Northwestern University, 

 Evanston, Illinois, is probably the most com- 

 pletely equipped university gymnasium in the 

 world, having been built in 1913 at a cost of 

 $306,000. Various private gymnasiums are 

 conducted by societies and individuals, where 

 one may secure instruction and practice on 

 payment of certain fees. For structures de- 

 signed for outdoor exercises, participated in 

 by students collectively, see STADIUM. 



What It Means in Germany. In Germany 

 the word gymnasium has a totally different 

 meaning; there it is applied to the class of 

 schools corresponding to the college-prepara- 

 tory schools of the United States and Canada. 

 In them the higher branches of literature and 

 science are taught, and .students must pass a 

 severe examination before being admitted to 

 the university. The German gymnasium is 

 therefore a school for mental exercise, while 

 the American gymnasium is a school for physi- 

 cal exercise. w.c. 



GYMNASTICS, jimnas'tiks, formal exer- 

 cises for strengthening the different parts of 

 the body and promoting health. Such exer- 

 cises include club swinging, to develop the 

 muscles of the arms, wrists, back and shoulders ; 

 bending exercises, for the benefit of the waist, 

 hip and abdominal muscles; running exercises 



