January i i, 1906J 



NA TURE 



2 59 



monde, " but at that time the astronomical significance of 

 the Egyptian temples, or even of our Own less pretentious 

 Stunt' h,-ngc, had nut been demonstrated. 



Sir Norman Lockyer has shown in '* The Dawn of 

 Astronomy " that the enormous edifice at Karnak, the 

 temple of Amen-Ra, was oriented fur a similar purpose, 

 so that at the setting of the sun on the day of the solstice", 

 ai.d at that time only, the solar beam flashed along the 

 darkened axis of the temple, some 500 yards long, and 

 illuminated the " holy of holies " wherein the priest was 

 read) to fulfil the rites of " the Manifestation of Ra." He 

 has also shown that Stonehenge was erected for a similar 

 purpose about the year 10S0 B.C., but in this case the 

 limb of the actual (rising) sun was observed, the avenue 

 simply forming the sight-line to the point on the horizon 

 where the sun-god would make his first appearance on the 

 day of the solstice. 



lint although since Lalande made the statement quoted 

 above it has been shown that the gnomon at Florence is 

 not the largest monument to astronomy the world has 

 ever seen, it is still one of the most interesting. As may 

 be gathered from the accompanying illustration, the sun- 

 light, passing through the southern window of the lantern, 

 falls on to the gnomon, which is built into the marble sill 

 of the window, and thence, through a circular orifice, on 

 to a " solstitial " marble slab let into the cathedral floor 

 some 300 feet below, where its correct position at the 

 solstice is marked, or was intended to be marked. 



This immense meridian instrument was probablv de- 

 signed by Toscanelli in order to provide exact observations 

 for the correction of the Alphonsine tables which were 

 then in use, but which represented very inadequately the 

 solar motion, more especially as regards the true length 

 of the tropical year. Whether he also intended to observe 

 the variation of the obliquity of the ecliptic is a much 

 discussed question, but it does not seem improbable. In 

 either case his gnomon, probably built only in 146S a.d., 

 could not answer this purpose anything like so surely as 

 do the Amen-Ra and Stonehenge structures, built manv 

 centuries earlier. Apart from this reason, the farts that 

 the gnomon itself has been removed from its original 

 position, and that the solstitial circle on the cathedral 

 floor has been • found to be erroneouslv placed, have 

 destroyed for ever the instrument's utility in this direction. 

 It has been used, however, in order to detect any possible 

 movement in the fabric of the cathedral, but, to 'the credit 

 of Brunelleschi, who built the structure, no such movement 

 has ever been demonstrated. 



In the light of the recent articles in Nature (p. 153) 

 concerning the fires, &c, by which the ancient British 

 festivals were celebrated, it is interesting to note that Mr. 

 Parr considers that the great display of fireworks, which 

 to the modern Florentine forms the "chief attraction of the 

 Midsummer Day festival, is simply the analogue of the 

 " St. John's Fires " kindled in former times to celebrate 

 the advent of the summer solstice. On that day huge 

 crowds of Florentines flock to the cathedral in order to 

 celebrate the festival of their patron saint, St. Giovanni, 

 and at night the great dome itself is illuminated. 



W. E. R. 



THE TRAINING OF THE BODY AND MINI). 

 J? OR years the London County Council has arranged a 

 conference of teachers during January, and this time 

 it was held on January 4^0 at the Medical Examination 

 Hall on the \ ictona Embankment. In the old days, when 

 the County Council was only interested in technical in- 

 struction, the meetings were devoted to the interests of 

 science teachers more particularly, but now that general 

 education has been added to the responsibilities of the bodv 

 that governs London, matters appertaining to all kinds of 

 teaching are considered at the conferences. 



The first day's work was, however, devoted to a subject 

 that affects all education, namely, that training of tl e bodv 

 which is correlated with the proper development ,,l the 

 mind. Mr. A. J. Shepheard (vice-chairman of the educa- 

 tion committee of the London Countv G uncil), who opened 

 the conference, urged the importance of a complete educa- 

 tion, and ( olonel Malcolm Fox (inspector of physical 

 NO. 1889, VOL. 73] 



training 10 the Board of Education) read the first paper, 

 which dealt more particularly with physical training in 

 elementarj schools, He began with a briei sketch of the 

 historj of gymnastics and physical culture in general, 

 though going no further back than the days of ancient 

 Greece, which, in its beautifully symmetrical statues, has 

 lefl ns undoubted evidence thai a ha. I little to learn 

 ol training thi 



Colonel box wenl on u. -.,;, thai the Greeks practised 

 little of what w understand as gymnastics, and attained 

 their object by such exercises as riding, dancing, leaping, 



or running, and he pointed out that (be trend ol o,\ astic 



opinion is again tinning strongl) in the same direction. 

 As the power of Greece declined, her universal physical 

 culture ceased to be national, and pass,., I 1,, the individual 

 whose business it was to afford entertainmenl by exhibit- 

 ing bis prowess i„ the arena. When the remnants of 

 greatness passed to Rome, no physical training became 

 general, as the many contented themselves with the excite- 

 ment afforded by the efforts of the trained few-. It is true 

 that the "sporting nobles" of the famous Tenth Legion 

 used from time to time to descend into the arena, com- 

 peting with some favourite team in the chariot races, or 

 matching their skill with sword and shield against the' net 

 and trident. This action was, however, exceptional, and the 

 period bears the picture of a vast concourse banging with 

 fevered excitement on every stroke ot sword or <7ist of 

 net— spectators at a game that the} themselves bad little 

 ability or desire to play. To find a modern parallel to 

 such a scene we have unfortunately not far to seek. 



After touching on the absence of' any definite system of 

 gymnastics also in the middle ages, and the recommend- 

 ation of exercises as a cure for certain complaints as early 

 as the sixteenth century, the reader of the paper traced 

 the use of syslems in France, in Germany, where 

 gymnastics were first used in an educational sense in 

 Switzerland, where Pestalozzi adopted them and in 

 Sweden, where between 1776 and 1839 Ling was the 

 pioneer in classifying gymnastics into groups and arranging 

 them scientifically in accordance with the needs of- the 

 human bodv. 



1 olonel box described how, after an interregnum, revivals 

 of physical training took place, and stated that under the 

 tests of modern physiological knowledge the Swedish 

 system of Ling stands out preeminently above all others 

 He further dwelt on the mild and gradual work in its 

 early stages, on its effects upon the bodv and success in 

 other countries, as well as its educational results. These 

 admit of no immediately apparent proof, but they do 

 exist, as a few weeks' trial of them will most assuredly 

 show. Psychology, Coloned Fox said, with our limited 

 knowledge, allows of deductions only from experience and 

 the latter is unanimous that the educational results claimed 

 by Ling are gained, and that the qualities of courage 

 obedience, decision, alertness, concentration of thought, and 

 self-confidence are not confined to the hour or two oi the 

 gymnastic lesson, but become part and parcel of the child's 

 nature. 



After speaking of methods, duration of lessons, the 



dearth of male teachers, anil mailers ,,l interest lemen- 



tary and other teachers, Colonel box concluded bv quoting 

 figures from the report of a Royal Commission on Physical 

 Education in Scotland. Of 1,00 children examined in 

 Aberdeen, only 326 \vev,- found to be in good health while 

 of the same number in Edinburgh but 171 were found to 

 be sound. 



The nexl paper was bv Mr. YV. Langbridge (headmaster 

 of Wolverley Street School, Bethnal Green), and dealt with 

 exercises which can with advantage lie performed in class- 

 rooms and afford a relief to ordinary lessons during which 

 activities are constrained. 



In the afternoon Sir Lauder Brunton took the chair, and 

 discussed education in connection with the threefold 

 character of man. Ai first, he said, moral training was 

 provided, and churches and cathedrals were built long 

 before tie- people could read or write; then mental culture 

 was considered, and became verj general; and lastl) it 

 was being recognised that the condition of the body had 

 considerable effect upon the morals and the mind, so that 

 a physical training was also considered necessary. He 

 S avi so :e interesting instances to show how character 



