Part 52 (2/2)

805. But let the situation of such persons be changed; bring them, for instance, from the listlessness of retirement to the business and bustle of the city; give them a variety of imperative employments, and so place them in society as to supply to their cerebral organs that extent of exercise which gives health and vivacity of action, and in a few months the change produced will be surprising. Health, animation, and energy, will take the place of former insipidity and dulness.

806. An additional ill.u.s.tration, involving an important principle in the production of many distressing forms of disease will be found in the case of a man of mature age, and of active habits, who has devoted his life to the toils of business, and whose hours of leisure have been few and short. Suppose such a person to retire to the country in search of repose, and to have no moral, religious, or philosophical pursuits to occupy his attention and keep up the active exercise of his brain; this organ will lose its health, and the inevitable result will be, weariness of life, despondency, or some other variety of nervous disease.

803. What renders solitary confinement so severe a punishment to the most daring minds? What is a predisposing cause of nervous disease?

804. In what cla.s.ses do mental and nervous debility prevail? 805. How can this be counteracted? 806. Give another ill.u.s.tration, showing how disease of the brain is induced.

807. One great evil attending the absence of some imperative employment or object of interest, to exercise the mind and brain, is the tendency which it generates to waste the mental energies on every trifling occurrence which presents itself, and to seek relief in the momentary excitement of any sensation, however unworthy. The best remedy for these evils is to create occupation to interest the mind, and give that wholesome exercise to the brain, which its const.i.tution requires.

808. _The evils arising from excessive or ill-timed exercise of the brain, or any of its parts, are numerous._ When we use the eye too long, or in too bright a light, it becomes bloodshot. The increased action of its vessels and nerves gives rise to a sensation of fatigue and pain, requiring us to desist. If we relieve the eye, the irritation gradually subsides and the healthy state returns. But, if we continue to look intently, or resume our employment before the eye has regained its natural state by repose, the irritation at last becomes permanent, and disease, followed by weakness of vision, or even blindness, may ensue.

809. Phenomena precisely a.n.a.logous occur, when, from intense mental excitement, the brain is kept long in a state of excessive activity.

The only difference is, that we can always see what happens in the eye, but rarely what takes place in the brain; occasionally, however, cases of fracture of the skull occur, in which, part of the bone being removed, we can see the quickened circulation in the vessels of the brain, as easily as those of the eye.

807. What is one great evil attending the absence of some imperative employment to exercise the mind and brain? What is the true remedy for these evils? 808. From what other cause do evils arise to the brain?

Explain the evil of it by the excessive use of the eye. 809. What is the only difference in the a.n.a.logy of the phenomena of the eye and brain? Has the a.n.a.logy been verified?

810. Sir Astley Cooper had a young man brought to him, who had lost a portion of his skull, just above the eyebrow. ”On examining the head,”

says Sir Astley, ”I distinctly saw that the pulsation of the brain was regular and slow; but at this time he was agitated by some opposition to his wishes, and directly the blood was sent with increased force to the brain, and the pulsation became frequent and violent.”

811. Indeed, in many instances, the increased circulation in the brain, attendant on mental excitement, reveals itself when least expected, and leaves traces after death, which are very perceptible.

When tasked beyond its strength, the eye becomes insensible to light, and no longer conveys any impressions to the mind. In like manner, the brain, when much exhausted, becomes incapable of thought, and consciousness is almost lost in a feeling of utter confusion.

812. _At any time of life, excessive and continued mental exertion is hurtful_; but in infancy and early youth, when the structure of the brain is still immature and delicate, permanent mischief is more easily produced by injudicious treatment than at any subsequent period. In this respect, the a.n.a.logy is as complete between the brain and the other parts of the body, as that exemplified in the injurious effects of premature exercise of the bones and muscles.

813. Scrofulous and rickety children are the most usual sufferers in this way. They are generally remarkable for large heads, great precocity of understanding, and small, delicate bodies. But in such instances, the great size of the brain, and the acuteness of the mind, are the results of morbid growth. Even with the best of management, the child pa.s.ses the first years of its life constantly on the brink of active disease.

810. Relate the case detailed by Sir Astley Cooper. 811. May the increased functional action of the brain change its structure? 812. At what age particularly is excessive and continued mental exertion hurtful? 813. What is said of scrofulous and rickety children?

814. Instead, however, of trying to repress its mental activity, the fond parents, misled by the early promise of genius too often excite it still further, by unceasing cultivation, and the never-failing stimulus of praise. Finding its progress for a time equal to their warmest wishes, they look forward with ecstasy to the day when its talents will break forth and shed l.u.s.tre on its name.

815. But in exact proportion as the picture becomes brighter to their fancy, the probability of its being realized becomes less; for the brain, worn out by premature exertion, either becomes diseased, or loses its tone, leaving the mental powers imbecile and depressed for the remainder of life. The expected prodigy is thus easily outstripped in the social race by many whose dull outset promised him an easy victory.

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