true of Jahn, that the style is the man. Whoever would characterize him, must do it by giving matter from his works, in his own words. Accordingly, I give the following extracts from him :

"The Turning system would re-establish the lost symmetry of human development; would connect a proper bodily training with mere exclusive intellectual cultivation; would supply the proper counteracting influence to the prevailing over-refinement; and would comprehend and influence the whole man, by means of a social mode of living for the young.

"As long as men here below have a body, and while a corporeal life is necessary to their earthly existence-which, if without strength and capacity, endurance and power of continued exertion, skill, and adaptability, becomes a mere inefficient shadow-so long must the Turning system be an important department of human education. It is incomprehensible how this art-so useful for health and life, a protection, a shield, and a preparation for war-should have been so long neglected. But these sins of an earlier rude and thoughtless time have now been more or less visited upon every man. And thus the Turning system is a subject of universal human interest, and is important every where, where mortal men live upon the earth. But still its special form and discipline must be peculiarly subject to the requirements of national and popular character. It must assume such a form as is given it by the time and the people; by the influences of climate, locality, country, and nation. It is intimately connected with people and fatherland; and must remain in the closest connection with them. Nor can it prosper except among an independent people; it is appropriate only to freemen. A slave's body is a constraint and a prison to a human soul.

"Every Turning institution is a place for exercising the bodily powers, a school of industry in manly activity, a place of chivalrous contest, an aid to education, a protection to the health, and a public benefit. It is constantly and interchangeably a place of teaching and of learning. In an unbroken circle, follow constantly after each other direction, exemplification, instruction, independent investigation, practice, emulation, and further instruction. Thus the Turners learn their occupation, not from hearsay, nor from following after some transient expression. They have lived in and with their work; have investigated it, proved it, demonstrated it, experienced it, and perfected it. It awakens all the dormant powers, and secures a self-confidence and readiness which are never found at a loss. The powers grow only slowly; the strength increases gradually; activity is gained by little and little; a difficult feat is often attempted in vain, until it is at last attained by harder labor, greater effort, and unwearied industry.

Thus the will is brought past the wrong path of obstinacy, to the habit of perseverance, in which is based all success. We carry a divine consciousness in the breast, when we realize that we can do whatever we choose, if we only will. To see what others have at last found possible, arouses the pleasant hope of also accomplishing the same. In the Turning association, boldness is at home. Where others are exercising in emulation with us, all exertion is easy, all labor is pleasure. Each at the same time strengthens the others by his labor, and confirms his own powers, and encourages and elevates himself. Thus the example of each becomes a model for the rest, and accomplishes more than a thousand lessons. No real deed was ever without result.

"The director of a Turning institution undertakes a high duty; and should approve himself thoroughly whether he is competent to so important an office. He must cherish and protect the simplicity of the young, that it may not be injured by untimely precocity. The youthful heart will be more open to him than to any one else. He will see, without concealment, the thoughts and feelings of the young, their wishes and tendencies, their impulses and passions, all the morning-dreams of youthful life. He stands nearest to the young; and therefore should be their guardian and counselor, their protection and support, and their adviser for future life. Future men are intrusted to his care; future pillars of the state, lights of the church, ornaments of the fatherland. He must be subservient to no temporary spirit of the age, nor to the condition of the great world, so often plunged in error. He who is not thoroughly penetrated with a childlike spirit, and national feelings, should never take charge of a Turning institution. It is a holy work and life.

"His reward will consist merely in the consciousness of having performed his duty. Old age comes more slowly upon us among the sports of the young. Even in the worst of times we can keep our faith, love, and hope when we see the fatherland renewing itself in the growth of the young. The teacher of Turning must abstain from pretenses; for every juggler can better deceive the outer world than he can.

"Good morals must be more implicitly the rule of action in the Turning-ground than even wise laws elsewhere. The highest penalty inflicted must always be exclusion from the Turning association.

"It can not be too often nor too deeply impressed upon the mind of every Turner, who lives such a life as he ought and who shows himself an able man, that no one is under heavier obligations than he to live a noble life, both in body and in mind. Least of all should he claim to be free from any requirement of virtue, because he is

strong of body. Virtuous and accomplished, pure and active, chaste and bold, truthful and warlike, should be his rules of action.* Bold, free, joyous, and pious is the realm of the Turner. The universal code of the moral law is his rule of conduct. To dishonor another would disgrace him. To become a model, an example, is what he should strive after. His chief lessons are these: To seek the utmost symmetry in development and cultivation; to be industrious; to learn thoroughly; to intermeddle with nothing unmanly; to permit himself to be enticed by no seductions of pleasure, dissipation, or amusement, such as are unsuitable for the young. And such admonitions and warnings should be given in such terms as to insure a school of virtue from becoming one of vice.

"But, again, it should not be concealed, that the highest and holiest duty of a German boy or German youth is to become and to remain a German man; that he may be able to labor efficiently for his people and his fatherland, and with credit to his ancestors, the rescuers of the world. Secret youthful sins will thus best be avoided by setting before the young, as the object of attainment, growth into good men. The waste of the powers and years of youth in enervating amusements, animal riot, burning lust, and beastly debauchery, will cease as soon as the young recognize the idea of the feelings of manly life. But all education is useless and idle, which leaves the pupil to disappear, like a will-o'-the-wisp, in the waste folly of a fancied cosmopolitanism, and does not confirm him in patriotic feeling. And thus, even in the worst period of the French domination, love of king and fatherland were preached to, and impressed upon, the youths of the Turning association. Any one who does any thing foolish or insulting to the German manners or language, in words or actions, either privately or publicly, should first be admonished, then warned, and, if he does not then cease his un-German actions, he should be driven away from the Turning-ground, in the sight of all men. No one ought to enter a Turning association who is knowingly a perverter of German nationality, and praises, loves, promotes, or defends foreign.

manners.

"With such principles did the Turning societies strengthen, train, arm, encourage, and man themselves for the fatherland, in the gloomy, sultry times of the devil. Nor did faith, love, or hope desert them for a moment. 'God deserts no German!' has always been their motto. In war, none of them staid at home, except those too young and too weak-and they were not idle. The Turning institution, in those three years, offered up costly sacrifices; they lie upon the battle-fields, from the gates of Berlin even to the hostile capital."

* These couples are alliterative in the original.-Trans.

It is difficult to select portions from Jahn's book for the purpose of describing him and his work, for all is characteristic; the book and author are cast in one mold.* Its work is, in the fullest sense of the words, what it purports to be-a German Turning system, in which a system of gymnastic exercises, complete within itself, is set forth with sound judgment, vivid style, and correct tact. It is not a wearisome, methodical, elementary joint-gymnastics for dolls; nor does it treat exclusively of bodily exercises, but discusses with great earnestness the moral atmosphere of the Turning organization.

The Turning system soon spread from Berlin throughout Northern Germany, and a large part of Southern Germany. Turning excursions had much influence in producing this result. Next to Berlin, Breslau had the largest number of Turners-some eight hundred. At that city, students, Catholic and Protestant seminary pupils, the pupils of four gymnasia, officers and professors, frequented the Turning-ground. At their head were Harnisch and Massmann; while Director Mönnich (of Hofwyl) and Wolfgang Menzel, then students, were among the assistant teachers. Singing flourished. On Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, after exercising from three to seven, the whole company returned singing to the city. The first half of the four hours, Turning exercises was there used in the drill, and the other half in the other exercises, especially games; an arrangement which is better than to begin with the more inspiriting portion of the exercises, and to end with the more serious and laborious drill.

Jahn's judicious distinction between the Turning school and Turning exercises is one that might well be introduced in other subjects.

For instance, in teaching singing, the first half of the lesson might be occupied in singing the scale, &c., and the other half with singing songs, &c., which he had learned before.

We very often hear much said, at the present day, of the opposition between an artificial organization and a human development. On this subject the mistaken opinion often prevails that the intelligent, efficient human will is, as a matter of course, counteracted by the course of historical development. But this is not the case; the question is only, Whether that will was in harmony with the development and tendency of the people, or not. If not, it is true that its only result is a vain endeavor to effect something. This was the case, for instance, when Brutus endeavored to free Rome by the assassination of Cæsar. But what one of God's commissioned mes

Thus I have unwillingly left out Jahn's observations about national festivals, Turning schools, further exercises, costume, &c.

sengers can do, when in harmony with the age, is shown by Luther's Reformation.

It was one of the charges brought against the Turning system, that it was an affair artificially contrived, not a natural outgrowth. It is true that it grew quickly; fruits naturally ripen rapidly in hot weather. The period from 1810 to 1813, when Turning grew up, was certainly hot enough. Was the fire burning under the ashes all the time from 1806, which broke into a flame in 1813? Ever after the defeat of Jena, a deep grief was burning in the hearts of all German men and youth. The longing to free the beloved German fatherland, to renew its ancient glory, nourished among them a powerful mutual bond of the truest love. And the early Turners were among those included in this bond.

Their interested participation was nothing artificial, but merely the natural fruit of their earnest patriotism. This appears clearly enough from Jahn's account of the first beginning of the Turning system. It was this community of feeling and ideals which made the development of the art so rapid. There grew up, at the same time with it, a technical language, so appropriate that, instead of quickly going out of fashion, as artificial things do, it is at present, thirty-seven years after its appearance, entirely received and current.

Together with this first natural development of the Turning system, there came up also a reaction against many received and universal customs and manners. This necessarily aroused enemies, and the more because the Turners frequently overpassed the bounds of moderation, and made Turning identical with a warfare against all ancient errors. This was particularly the case after the war of

freedom.

These errors did not escape the attention of the friends of the Turning system; and they endeavored to remedy them, whenever and however they could. This apppears, for instance, from the following extract from an address to the students, delivered at the Wartburg festival, by a man whose liberal views are universally known; namely, Oken. He said: "Beware of the delusion that upon you depends the existence, and continuance, and honor of Germany. Germany depends only upon herself as a whole. Each class of men is only one member of the body called State, and contributes to its support only so much as its circumstances permit. You are yet young, and have no other duty than so to conduct yourselves that you may grow up aright; to train yourselves; not to injure yourselves by foolish practices; to apply yourselves, without permitting your attention to be diverted to any thing else, to this purpose which lies straight before you. The state is at present not concerned with