Chapter 21—Study of Physiology
“I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Since the mind and the soul find expression through the body, both
mental and spiritual vigor are in great degree dependent upon physical
strength and activity; whatever promotes physical health, promotes the
development of a strong mind and a well-balanced character. Without
health no one can as distinctly understand or as completely fulfill
his obligations to himself, to his fellow beings, or to his Creator.
Therefore the health should be as faithfully guarded as the character.
A knowledge of physiology and hygiene should be the basis of all
educational effort.
Though the facts of physiology are now so generally understood,
there is an alarming indifference in regard to the principles of health.
Even of those who have a knowledge of these principles, there are few
who put them in practice. Inclination or impulse is followed as blindly
as if life were controlled by mere chance rather than by definite and
unvarying laws.
The youth, in the freshness and vigor of life, little realize the value
of their abounding energy. A treasure more precious than gold, more
essential to advancement than learning or rank or riches—how lightly
it is held! how rashly squandered! How many a man, sacrificing health
in the struggle for riches or power, has almost reached the object of
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his desire, only to fall helpless, while another, possessing superior
physical endurance, grasped the longed-for prize! Through morbid
conditions, the result of neglecting the laws of health, how many have
been led into evil practices, to the sacrifice of every hope for this world
and the next!
In the study of physiology, pupils should be led to see the value of
physical energy and how it can be so preserved and developed as to
contribute in the highest degree to success in life’s great struggle.
Children should be early taught, in simple, easy lessons, the rudi-
ments of physiology and hygiene. The work should be begun by the
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