Athletic Sports (extract)

The Physical Proportions of the Typical Man the stature too short or tall; the limbs too massive for the body, or the body too heavy for the limbs; the head too large or too small, or the neck too short or too long and slender. A small, well-made engine, with all parts adjusted, will do more work than a larger one with parts loosely constructed and a great dispropor­ tion between the important members. So a small man, compactly built, with sym­ metrical proportions and a well-balanced organism, can accomplish more than a larger man less solidly made, with all parts wanting in symmetry and shapeliness. This law of adaptation and harmonious adjustment of parts prevails throughout the greater portion of the animal kingdom. Among the civilized portion of the human race it is controverted by social laws that tend to foster an inharmonious development. The division of labor, for instance, has made it possible for a man to earn a livelihood and to maintain a footing in the world by the use of very few muscles and faculties. Under such circumstances the large head and massive shoulders and chest are not necessarily accompanied by a broad, substantial waist and pelvis and well-developed lower ex­ tremities. It is true that the waist and 42