that their constitution will be communicated to their offspring. I know positively, that such a proceeding has been more effectual and beneficial than endeavoring to prevent children from acquiring any knowledge of that kind, or to conceal the effects of the disorderly satisfaction of physical love. This propensity deserves the same attention which we pay to hunger and thirst. Both are ac tive without our will; and their activity must be directed. Why should we not have recourse to the understanding as far as possible, to regulate the actions, and employ natural means of correction against natural faults? How can we expect that children should suppress a strong internal feeling, without being acquainted with the bad consequences of its abuses, and with its destination? It seems therefore advisable to show the dreadful effects of Onanism to those who are inclined to this aberration; at first with respect to their own health, and afterwards in relation to their offspring.

It has been my object in this Chapter to bring under consideration a most important point, which must precede, and which will influence whatever remains to be done in education. Yet I do not deny the efficacy of various other conditions which I shall examine in the following pages.

CHAPTER II.

ON THE LAWS OF THE VEGETATIVE FUNCTIONS.

It is reasonable, when we desire the improvement of any living being, to employ all the means which may contribute towards its perfection. We have seen in the preceding Chapter, that man is born sickly or healthy, deformed or well shaped, an idiot or a genius,-in short, that the human being enters life with the greatest modifications of bodily and mental endowments. The innate constitution, then, which depends on both parents, and the state of the mother during pregnancy, is the basis of all future development.

Being placed in the world, man is subjected in every respect to the laws of organization. Organization is influenced by light, air, climate, nourishment, bodily exercise, rest, sleep, cleanliness, and excretions. The body of man, like other organized beings, undergoes various changes: it begins, increases, arrives at its full growth, decreases, and dies. There is a certain regularity in the succession of these natural changes; and accordingly, the duration of life is divided into different periods, commonly called ages.

These changes cannot be entirely prevented, but they may be accelerated or retarded by external influences. The regulation of all the conditions which contribute to the development of the body and of its parts, and to the duration of life, constitutes what is termed Physical Education.

I shall not endeavor to explain Life. I am satisfied to say, that it embraces all the vital functions from conception to death. It certainly depends on various conditions, several of which are not yet sufficiently understood. The chemical explanation is not more satisfactory than that founded on mere mechanical laws. Life is more than the effect of a machine, more than a chrystalization. The life of man is also more than the organization of a plant, and even more than that of an animal. Some fluids belong to its necessary conditions, such as caloric and the electric fluid; but it remains. undecided how far some ancient and modern physiologists are right or wrong in speaking of a peculiar Vital Principle, which in ancient times often was called the Soul of the World; and which sometimes has been confounded with the immortal soul of man.

The modern physiologists consider rather the functions of man than the principles of which he is composed. They place together the functions without consciousness, and call them Automatic Life; while the functions with consciousness are known under the name of Animal or Phrenic Life.

It is not yet generally admitted, that the phrenic, like the automatic functions, depend on the organization. Physical education, however, evidently rises in importance, if the manifestations of the mind are modified in energy and quality by the influence of the body.

In this respect various opinions have prevailed, and still prevail. There is an ancient belief in oriental countries, that the body prevents the soul from communicating with superior beings, and from exercising freely its powers. PYTHAGORAS, PLATO, and almost all metaphysicians, fancied, that in this life thoughts might be manifested without the medium of organization. The body was considered as a prison of the soul. Hence the great tendency to deliver the immortal soul from the mortal body; hence the spontaneous vexations and torments of the body; and hence many nonsensical ideas of castigation.

erroneous.

This opinion, however ancient it may be, is yet Experience, which must constantly guide our reasoning, proves the dependence of the mental operations on the body during this life. Phrenology teaches the particulars of this doctrine.

The duration of life is commonly divided into Infancy, Adolescence, Adult, and Old Age. With respect to physical education, the time from birth to that of full growth, is the most important. It

is preparatory for the rest of our days, and has also a great influence on our offspring. It may be subdivided into several periods, the first of which is that from birth to two years, or to that of the first dentition,-I call it Infancy: The second from two to seven years, or to the second dentition, viz. Childhood: The third from seven years to puberty, viz. Adolescence: The fourth from puberty to full growth, or to the period of Marriage. Before I enter into details on these periods, I shall notice some general considerations, and begin with Longevity.

It is not probable that the life of man has diminished with the duration of the world; it is more reasonable to suppose, that the years mentioned in the Old Testament were shorter than ours. It is a common observation, that the same term has quite different meanings among different nations, and even in the same nation at different periods of its history. The English and Germans, for instance, measure the distances of localities by miles; but it is known that about six English miles make only one mile in Germany. In the same way, it may be that the expression year, did not always denote the same lapse of time. It is also possible that the duration of a family, that is, of all male descendants, was considered as the continuation of the same life, as it is still a common saying, that parents continue to live in their children. Men, like quadrupeds, commonly live in the state of