Training is indispensably necessary to those who are to engage in corporeal exertions beyond their ordinary powers. Pedestrians, therefore, who are matched either against others or against time; and pugilists, who engage to fight; must undergo the training process before they contend, as the issue of the contest, if their powers be nearly equal, will, in a great measure, depend upon their relative condition. But the advantages of the training system are not confined to pedestrians and pugilists alone. They extend to every man; and were training generally introduced, instead of medicines, as an expedient for the prevention and cure of diseases, its beneficial consequences would promote his happiness, and prolong his life. It is well known to physiologists, that both the solids and fluids which compose the human frame are successively absorbed and deposited. Hence a perpetual renovation of the parts ensues, regulated, as they are, by the nature of our food and general habits[30]. It, therefore, follows, that our health, vigour, and activity, must depend upon regimen and exercise, or, in other words, upon the observance of those rules which constitute the theory of the training process. The effect has accordingly corresponded with the cause in all instances where training has been adopted; and, although not commonly resorted to as the means of restoring invalids to health, yet there is every reason to believe, that it would prove effectual in curing many obstinate diseases, such as the gout, rheumatism, bilious complaints, &c. &c. “Training (says Mr. Jackson,) always appears to improve the state of the lungs. One of the most striking effects is to improve the wind; that is, it enables a man to draw a larger inspiration, and to hold his breath longer.” He farther observes,--“By training, the mental faculties are also improved. The attention is more ready, and the perception more acute, probably owing to the clearness of the stomach, and better digestion[31].” It has been made a question whether training produces a _lasting_, or only a _temporary_ effect on the constitution. It is undeniable, that if a man be brought to a better condition; if corpulency, and the impurities of his body, disappear; and if his _wind_ and strength be improved by any process whatever, his good state of health will continue, until some derangement of his frame shall take place from accidental or natural causes. If he shall relapse into intemperance, or neglect the means of preserving his health, either by omitting to take the necessary exercise, or by indulging in debilitating propensities, he must expect such encroachments to be made on his constitution, as must soon unhinge his system. But if he shall observe a different plan, the beneficial effects of the training process will remain until the gradual decay of his natural functions shall, in mature old age, intimate the approach of his dissolution.