Volume 2

Health lectures for the people.

Date:
1883-1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Health lectures for the people. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    214/600 (page 4)
    suppose, to cram the child with the greatest amount of fact know- ledge, but to teach it how to work; to cultivate its power of ap- plication and of mental concentration; to teach it habits of clean- liness, order, regularity, and diligence; to call forth, stimulate, and strengthen its powers of observation and reasoning; to give it opportunities of experiencing the feeling of mental satisfaction and enjoyment, with the resulting invigorating effect both on body and mind, which attends the successful accomplishment of any piece of work, however small, which is well done; to set before it a high ideal of life and conduct; above all, to strengthen its will, to give it force of character, and to teach it the power and habit of self-control. Now, these, which are, in my opinion, by far the most im- portant objects of education, are difficult or impossible to measure by any system of payment by results. There is a possibility, therefore, of their being to some extent undervalued or lost sight of, both by the managers of schools in the selection and appoint- ment of teachers, and by the teachers themselves. The Exciting Causes of Disease. This evening I wish to direct attention to some other causes of disease, and to give you some practical information as to their prevention. I must premise my remarks by saying that the causes of disease may be divided into two great groups or divisions, viz. :— 1. The direct or exciting causes; 2. The indirect or predisposing causes; and that for the production of many diseases, both a predispos- ing and an exciting cause are required. Many of the diseases to which I am going to refer are due to the nature of our surroundings, and to the somewhat artificial conditions in which we are compelled by the circumstances of our advanced civilisation to live; to the imperfect sanitary arrange- ments of our houses and towns; to the fact that the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, are all liable to be loaded