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The Two Systems

About This Item

  • Title: The Two Systems
  • Date: 6 November 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.00795
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 6 November 1858: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Brynne Schweigel Kaylen Michaelis Samantha Gilmore Tara Ballard Stephanie Blalock Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "The Two Systems." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 17 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.00795.xml (TEI)
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THE TWO SYSTEMS.—

Life Illustrated puts a very pertinent question to the medical fraternity, founded on the accounts which have been given of the way in which the trainers of Morrissey1 and Heenan2 braced up the physical systems of their pupils for the dread ordeal they had to go through. Physicians, it is well known, prescribe soups, jellies, gravies and other unctuous food for their patients—the very things which Aaron Jones3 and his compeers forbid the use of. It would seem to the non-professional eye that one system or the other must be based on false principles. If the pugilistic theory of health is a good one, the doctorial theory must be a humbug—and vice versa. It is not for us to decide which is right, but judging by results we should be inclined to award most credit to the pugilists.

Notes:

1. John Morrissey (1831–1878) was a bare-knuckle boxer, nicknamed "Old Smoke." He would later become a Democratic New York Congressman. [back]

2. John Carmel Heenan (1834–1873) was a heavyweight bare-knuckle boxing champion, known as "the Benicia Boy." [back]

3. Aaron Jones (1833–1869) was an English prize fighter who, during the 1850s, trained US-American pugilist John C. Heenan. [back]

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