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Show lb6 Al'PENDJX, Slavery, eating with caustic energy to his very vitals, and consuming his Jife.blood with what he had vainly deemed should be his nourishment. \Vc shall go on then, calmly bnt firmly. Our work is too holy, too great, too intimately inwoven with all that we hold dear for ourselves, or value for our fellowmen, or desire for our posterity, to be lightly abandoned at the appearance of difficulty, or timidly given over at the approach of danger. We feel that God has t:alled us to this work, and if it is his purpose that we should finish what we have begun, he can preserve us, though it be as in the lion's den, or the seven-fold heated furuace ;-that he will deliver us out of every danger, and uphold us by His free Spirit, until all is accom~ plished that he has given us to do. If he has otherwise ordained, and de· signs to permit the wicked to triumph for a lillie season, and the witn~:>sses for his truth to be slain in the streets of our city, we shall have at least lhe satisfaction of reflecting that we fall in the post of duty, with our wounds in the breast and not the back; and that he whose work we arc doing can raise up othm· laborers to reap the rich harvest whose seed we have sown, and whose growth our blood will have nourished. Signed on behalf of the Society, DANIJ::L NEALL, PJ::TER WRIGHT, \Vl'!I. H. ScoTT, JAMEs WooD, WM. I-lARNED, \V !If. A. GARRIGUES, Pililadelp!tia, May 22d, 1838. No. II. SAMUEL \VEBU, LEwrs B~a:nF., Auill. L. PENNocK, J osEPH M. TaunuN, LEwis C. GuNN, Executive Cormnittec. THE Philadelphia Lyceum subsequently rescinded their resolution found on page 36; but not in time to allow their proceedings to be inserted in the order of time in which they occurred. That the reader may have an idea of the nature of those exercises we give the following as a specimen: ESSAY ON TUE PUYSICAL EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. BY J. L. PEIRCE, Ptt. D. WERE we to examine the whole catalogue of subjects which have claimed the attention of mankind from the earliest date at which paper possessed the magic charm of receiving and communicating the thoughts of others, we sho~ld find none of such vital importance to us, as animated beings, as that winch we are about to consider. The physical education of children ~eem~, by an almost universal consent, to have been entirely neglected. fhe Intellect alone has claimed attention, while that portion of the system, upon '~hose healthy organization and developement the strength and vigGr ?f the mtellect depends, has been entirely disregarded. It is my intention, m the present eesay, to point out some of the fundamental errors in the present mode of education, and to show the importance and advantages re~ '.t;;l::!SA\:' 1 ll\' J. L. l'!::JRCE1 M. V. !57 tmlting from a rational and philosophical course, which may be in accord. ance with the principles upon which our bodies are constituted. The physical education of children should commence with the very com· mencement of the ir existcnec. }:Jure and fresh air is as necessary to the for~ mation and arterialization of their blood, as it is of those of more mature years; but how little is this generally considered. \Ve might suppose from the great care which is often manifested to prevent the least ingress of it into the apartment of the young infant, that the functions of their lungs was different from our own, and that that atmosphere which nature had provided for the nourishment and support of the rest of her animated creation, was not suited to their organization; that man was wiser than his Creator in the adaptation of means to their fnd; and that, consequent!y, an atmosphere rendered impure by oft·repeated exhalation and admixture with one of the most deleterious gases, was more suited to their nourishment and support than the pure air which nature had provided for the purpose. This, however, is not the case. Oxygen is the great vivifying and purifying principle of the blood; and is as requisite for the healthy respiration of infants, as of adults. And ina:sn1nch as the Creator of the universe has so constituted the atmosphere that it bears a suitable relation to the organiza· lion of our lungs, so as to promote their healthy action and the vigor of the whole system; and inasmuch as her laws in relation to the physical slntclure cannot be violated with impunity, any more than they can in relation to any otheJ· portion of her works,-it, therefore, follows that, in proportion as we deprive children of a free and healthy respiration, we lay the fOundation of disease by preventing the due formation of that vital principle, of which all portions of the system are constituted. Hence I wish it to be considered as an established maxim never to be departed from, that pure air is absolutely essential to the perfect developement of the constitution from the earliest periods of infancy. Another fundamental error in the physical education of children, and one which increases with the increase of civilization and refinement, arises from the natural fondness of parents for their offspring, and their mistaken notionl::! of kindness and duty in relation to them. They naturally watch every budding of the intellect, and feel desirous of hastening its developement; and, either ignorant of the laws which govern our physical organi· zation, or, regardless of their requirements, they use every exertion to expand the swelling bud and develope its beauties and its fragrance before the plant shall have become sufficiently matured for the purpose. They seem to think that the mind has a sepa1·ate existence from the body, and that its cultivation and improvement can be carried to any extent without any reference to the physical organization through which all its operations are manifested. This, however, is a mistaken notion. Mind and mauer are most intimately connected, and in proportion as the brain, which is the organ of the mind, becomes diseased, will be the disturbance of our mental operations. It seems to me uselesg, in thi:; enlightened day, to adduce proof to substantiate this position; but, if proof be wanting, 1 will refer to cases of sickness, where, the moment the brain becomes afl'ected, reasou abdicates her throne, and wild delirium assumes the command over all of the faculties of the mind; or in cases of accidents or of surgical operations, where any and every portion of the body, not immediately essential to vitality, is oft-times removed without injury to the mental faculties, so long as the brain remains in a sound and healthy condition, but the moment you disturb its organization and destroy its texture, that moment the de. pendence of the mind upon it becomes established beyond a possibility of doubt. The cases of idiots might also be adc.luced as a further confirmation |