Signs of the Times, Book 1 - Ellen G. White

slightest interest in the wonderful mechanism of their own bodies. Others can
tell just how many bones there are in the human frame, and correctly
describe every organ of the body, and yet they are as ignorant of the laws of
health, and the cure of disease, as though life were controlled by blind fate,
instead of definite and unvarying law.
Physical health lies at the very foundation of all the student's ambitions
and his hopes. Hence the pre-eminent importance of gaining a knowledge of
those laws by which health is secured and preserved. Every youth should
learn how to regulate his dietetic habits,--what to eat, when to eat, and how
to eat. He should learn how many hours to give to study, and how much time
to spend in physical exercise. The human body may be compared to nicelyadjusted
machinery, which needs care to keep it in running order. One part
should not be subjected to constant wear and pressure, while another part is
rusting from inaction. While the mind is tasked, the muscles also should have
their proportion of exercise.
The proper regulation of his habits of eating, sleeping, study, and
exercise, is a duty which every student owes to himself, to society, and to
God. The education which will make the young a blessing to the world, is
that which enables them to attain a true and noble manhood or womanhood.
That student who is studying hard, sleeping little, exercising little, and eating
irregularly of an improper or inferior quality of food, is obtaining mental
training at the expense of health and morals, of spirituality, and, it may be, of
life.
The young naturally desire activity, and if they find no legitimate scope
for their pent-up energies after the confinement of the school-room, they
become restless and impatient of control, and thus are led to engage in the
rude, unmanly sports that disgrace so many schools and colleges, and even to
plunge into scenes of actual dissipation. Many of the youth who left their
homes innocent, are corrupted by their associations at school.
1253