Lastly, if instead of using up unduly the active and reserve force, or
of suppressing the evolution of force by the withdrawal of its
sources, we expose the body to such an external temperature that it is
robbed of its heat faster than it can generate it; if to supply the
waste heat we draw upon the active and reserve forces, we call forth
immediately the same condition as would follow extreme over-exertion,
or suppression of the development of force; we call forth exhaustion
and sleep, and, if we go far enough, death.
We have had in view, in the above description, a man in the prime of
life, in the center of growth, and decay. In regard to the force of
animation in him, let us look at him now retrospectively and
prospectively. In the past his has been a growing, developing body,
and in the course of development he has produced an excess of force
commensurate with the demands of his growth; this has enabled him
gradually to bear more fatigue and more exposure, without exhaustion,
and even with ease, until he has reached his maximum. When he has
stopped in development, when he stands on a fair level with the
external forces that are opposed to him, then his own force, for a
short time balanced, soon stands second in command.
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