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constitutions, and arranged these so as to act on each other, and to produce happiness or misery to man, according to certain definite principles, and if this action goes on invariably, inflexibly, and irresistibly, whether men attend to it or not, it is obvious that the very basis of useful knowledge must consist in an acquaintance with these natural arrangements; and that education will be valuable in the exact degree in which it communicates such information, and trains the faculties to act upon it. Reading, writing, and accounts, which make up the instruction enjoyed by the lower orders, are merely means of acquiring knowledge, but do not constitute it. Greek, Latin, and mathematics, which are added in the education of the middle classes, are still only means of obtaining information; so that, with the exception of the few who pursue physical science, society dedicates very little attention to the study of the natural laws. In following out the views now discussed, therefore, each individual, according as he becomes acquainted with the natural laws, ought to obey them, and to communicate his experience of their operations to others; avoiding at the same time all attempts at subverting, by violence, established institutions, or outraging public sentiment by intemperate discussions. The doctrine now unfolded, if true, authorises us to predicate that the most successful method of meliorating the condition of mankind, will be that which appeals most directly to their moral sentiments and intellect; and, I may add from experience and observation, that, in proportion as any individual becomes acquainted with the real constitution of the human mind, will his conviction of the efficacy of this method in

crease.

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The next step ought to be to teach those laws to the young. Their minds, not being pre-occupied by prejudices, will recognize them as congenial to their constitution; the first generation that has embraced them from infancy will proceed to modify the institutions of society into accordance with their dictates; and in the course of ages they may at length be acknowledged as practically useful. All true theories have ultimately been adopted and influenced practice; and I see no reason to fear that the present will prove an exception. The failure of all previous systems is the natural consequence of their being unfounded; if this one shall resemble them, it will deserve, and assuredly will meet with, a similar fate. A perception of the importance of the natural laws will lead to their observance, and this will be attended with an improved developement of brain, thereby increasing the desire and capacity for obedience.

*Some observations on Education will be found in the Phrenologiçal Journal, vol. iv. p. 407.

Finally. If it be true that the Natural Laws must be obeyed as a preliminary condition to happiness in this world, and if virtue and happiness be inseparably allied, the religious instructers of mankind may probably discover in the general and prevalent ignorance of these laws, one reason of the limited success which has hitherto attended their own efforts at improving the condition of mankind; and they may perhaps perceive it to be not inconsistent with their sacred office, to instruct men in the natural institutions of the Creator, in addition to his revealed will, and to recommend obedience to both. They exercise so vast an influence over the best members of society, that their countenance may hasten, or their opposition retard, by a century, the practical adoption of the natural laws, as guides of human conduct.'-pp. 282, 288.

ART. IV.-The Journal of Health. Conducted by an Association of Physicians. Philadelphia, J. Dobson. Boston, Carter & Hendee.

We have just looked over the first three numbers of this journal, and hail them as harbingers of fair promise for a periodical on the plan proposed in the prospectus. Something of the kind here contemplated, we think has been long needed. Former attempts have been made in our country to get up a popular journal for a similar purpose; but they have all failed, either directly, for want of sufficient talent in conducting them, or indirectly, in consequence of their having changed their ground, and gradually verged to a character, only to be noticed by medical men.

A work, of the kind under consideration, should be, we think, wholly under the direction of practising physicians. Their daily occupation places them in a situation to know and feel the effects of the ignorance and the prejudices which prevail in the community, in relation to medicine and its professors, and to judge best what is wanting, to remove both from the minds of common readers. The intelligent and reading part of our population are daily seeking more and more for knowledge in almost every science; and we believe that much may be taught in a familiar and popular manner, concerning the structure of the animal frame, the laws of the animal economy; of the

properties and effects of the various articles of diet and medicine; and the influence of climate, temperature, and the habits of men, on the physical properties and natural functions of their bodies.

That our views are in accordance with those of the editors of the Journal of Health will appear by the following quotations from the prospectus, on the first page of No. 1.

'Deeply impressed with the belief, that mankind might be saved a large amount of suffering and disease, by a suitable knowledge of the natural laws to which the human frame is subjected, they (the editors, or conductors,) propose laying down plain precepts, in easy style and familiar language, for the regulation of all the physical agents necessary to health, and to point out under what circumstances of excess or misapplication they become injurious or fatal.

The properties of the air, in its several states of heat, coldness, dryness, moisture, and electricity; the relative effects of different articles of solid and liquid aliment; clothing, for protection against atmospherical vicissitudes, and a cause of disease, when under the direction of absurd fashions, shall be prominent topics for inquiry and investigation in this journal.

The value of dietetic rules shall be continually enforced, and the blessings of temperance dwelt on, with emphasis proportionate to their high importance and deplorable neglect. Physical education, so momentous a question for the lives of children, and the happiness of their parents, shall be discussed in a spirit of impartiality, and with the aid of all the data which have been furnished by enlightened experience.

'Divested of professional language and details, and varied in its contents, the Journal of Health will, it is hoped, engage the attention and favour of the female reader, whose amusement and instruction shall constantly be kept in view during the prosecution of this work.'

We hope the editors of the Journal of Health will keep this last promise in full remembrance, and that they will not suffer their project to fail, from the indirect cause which we have mentioned. That it will do so from the other, we have too high an opinion of an association of our Philadelphia brethren to suppose.

We cannot but consider it the duty of physicians to contribute to a work of this nature, and we hope the conductors of it will receive all the aid and encouragement to which they are entitled.

The subjects which are discussed in the numbers before us, are numerous, and well selected; and are presented with a de

gree of brevity, candor, and plainness of speech, which are highly important, and desirable in such a work. We wish to present one or two more extracts, and shall select such as we think may be very usefully repeated in the pages of the Journal of Education.

'Physical Education of Girls.' Under this head it is stated that, in the physical education of children, it is not sufficient to consult their present ease and well-being; but attention is equally due to whatever is calculated to promote the vigour and usefulness of their future lives, by strengthening the constitution, preserving the limbs in the free exercise of all their motions, and guarantying the system from the deleterious influence of those agents by which it is to be constantly surrounded.

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Throughout the whole animal kingdom, the young are prompted by an instinctive impulse to almost constant exercise: conformably to this intimation of nature, the infancy of man should be passed in those harmless gambols which exercise the limbs, without requiring any minute direction from the head, or the constant guidance of a nurse.

From exercise, and the free use of pure air, no child should be debarred upon these depend, in a great measure, the health, vigour, and cheerfulness of youth; while they contribute essentially to the permanence of the same blessing during adult life.

The bodily exercise of the two sexes ought, in fact, to be the same. Girls should not therefore be confined to sedentary life within the precincts of a nursery, or at best, permitted a short walk, veiled and defended from every gleam of sunshine, and every breath of air.'

Complaints of the Studious. By long continued sedentary habits, an almost total neglect of exercise in the open air, and too prolonged and intense application of the mind, the studious are but too apt to bring upon themselves a long train of stomachic and nervous affections, by which their progress in the pursuit of knowledge is often seriously impeded, or entirely interrupted. Those who read and write much, should pay great attention to their position. They ought to sit and stand by turns, always preserving the body in as erect a posture as possible. It has an excellent effect frequently to read and speak aloud; this not only exercises beneficially the lungs, but nearly the whole body. Midnight studies ought undoubtedly to be avoided, as in the highest degree pernicious to health. The morning has been allowed, by all medical writers, to be the time best adapted to study.'

We close our remarks, with our best wishes for the success of the Journal of Health, and the assurance that we shall gladly add our name to the list of its subscribers.

ART. V.-Extract from an Address delivered before the Worcester County Lyceum, at Worcester, Oct 28th, 1829. By EMORY WASHBURN, Esq.

PERHAPS, the most important subject upon which these associations may be brought to bear with the greatest success, is that of education. Such is the veneration with which we look upon the act of our forefathers in establishing common schools, and so perfect, in fact, is that system of education, devised by them, in its various parts, that we should suggest with no ordinary degree of diffidence, any changes in the system under the name of improvements, if both analogy and experience did not justify it.

It is certainly remarked, that without any experience to guide them, or any model from which to copy, the founders of our common schools should have originated and matured a plan which is susceptible of so few changes and improvements. Their adaptation, to the then wants of the people, the simplicity of the system in its parts, and its efficacy as a whole are deserving of unqualified praise. It is not, however, any imputation upon them or their system to say that it is at this day susceptible of improvement, or to call upon all who feel how intimately it is connected with the enjoyment of all that is valuable under our government, to unite their exertions to perfect, so far as is possible, a temple whose plan and foundation are so admirable and complete.

The advance of the age, and the new discoveries which have been made in the moral as well as the physical world, call for a corresponding advance and improvement in our systems of education. I forbear going into detail at this time upon what these precise improvements should be, for I have seen the failure of too many of the Utopian schemes of innovators, who, in their zeal to do much good, have done a positive evil; who, to open a royal road, a pure and smoother highway to knowledge, have closed the ordinary avenues, and at last found themselves and their followers lost in the mazes of an untried region, without a path to follow or a guide to lead them. Every age has had its reformers like these, but no age has been more prolific of them than our own. We have at one time been told how the heights of Parnassus might be scaled at a single leap, and at another have seen our new fangled schools, through which the paths to science and literature lay among flowers

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