Perhaps neither of the exercises that are indispensable to the health
and comfort of man has so kept pace with his progressive improvement as
bathing; and though of late years this effectual promoter of cleanliness
has not in some parts of the world been sufficiently attended to,
yet the custom is by no means on the decrease; nor can any fear be
entertained, with propriety, that so excellent and so natural an
expedient should ever be suffered to decline, from want of consideration
of its benefits and advantages. But it must be owned, that while bathing
in many countries is resorted to as a matter-of-course affair among all
classes, in England it is in a great measure disregarded by most of the
middle classes, and almost entirely so by those in the lower station of
life, who perhaps require this exercise more than their richer
neighbours.
A medical writer of the present day observes, with some grounds for
complaint, that while "in almost all countries, both in ancient and
modern times, whether rude or civilized, bathing was a part of the
necessary and everyday business of life, in this country alone, with
all its refinements in the arts which contribute to the happiness or
comfort of man, and with all its improvements in medical science and
jurisprudence, this salutary and luxurious practice is almost entirely
neglected."[7] But in many countries, particularly in the east, bathing
is as much resorted to as ever; and its really powerful effects in
invigorating the frame and promoting the porous secretions, (without
which life itself cannot be long continued,) require only to be once
known to be persevered in.
Among the ancients, bathing was far more generally practised than at
the present day. In the city of Alexandria, there were 4,000 public
baths; and the height of refinement in this luxury among the Romans is
almost incredible. In addition to the private baths, with which almost
every house was supplied, public baths were built, sometimes at the
public cost, and often at the expense of private individuals, who
nobly conceived their wealth to be laudably expended in giving each of
their fellow-citizens the means of procuring, free of expense, bodily
cleanliness and comfort. These baths were generally very extensive, and
fitted up with every possible convenience;--the passages and apartments
were paved with marbles of every hue, and the tesselated floors were
adorned with representations of gladiatorial engagements, hunting,
racing, and a variety of subjects from the mythology. In the
_Thermæ_ at Rome, ingenuity and magnificence seem exhausted; and
the elegance of the architecture, and the vast range of rooms and
porticos, create in the beholder surprise and admiration, mingled with
feelings of regret for their neglected state. A quadrans (about a
farthing) admitted any one; for the funds bequeathed by the emperors and
others were amply sufficient to provide for the expensive establishments
requisite, without taxing the people beyond their means. Agrippa gave
his baths and gardens to the public, and even assigned estates for their
maintenance. Some of the _Thermæ_ were also provided with a variety
of perfumed ointments and oils gratuitously. The chief _Thermæ_[8]
were those of Agrippa, Nero, Titus, Domitian, Caracalla, and Diocletian.
Their main building consisted of rooms for swimming and bathing, in
either hot or cold water; others for conversation; and some devoted
to various exercises and athletic amusements. In some assembled large
bodies to hear the lectures of philosophers, or perhaps a composition
of some favourite poet; while the walls were surrounded with statues,
paintings, and literary productions, to suit the diversified taste of
the company.
Eustace describes these _Thermæ_ at some length:--"Repassing the
Aventine Hill, we came to the baths of Antoninus Caracalla, that occupy
part of its declivity, and a considerable portion of the plain between
it and Mons Cæliolus and Mons Cælius. The length of the _Thermæ_
was 1,840 feet; breadth, 1,476. At each end were two temples, one to
Apollo and another to Esculapius, as the tutelary deities of a place
sacred to the improvement of the mind, and the health of the body. In
the principal building were, in the first place, a grand circular
vestibule, with four halls on each side, for cold, tepid, warm, and
steam baths;[9] in the centre was an immense square for exercise, when
the weather was unfavourable to it in the open air; beyond it a great
hall, where _one thousand six hundred seats of marble_ were placed
for the convenience of the bathers; at each end of this hall were
libraries. The stucco and paintings, though faintly indeed, are yet in
many places perceptible. Pillars have been dug up, and some still remain
amidst the ruins; while the Farnesian Bull and the famous Hercules,
found in one of these halls announce the multiplicity and beauty of the
statues which once adorned the Thermae of Caracalla."
Before they commenced bathing in the _Thermæ_, the Romans anointed
themselves with oil, in a room especially appropriated to the purpose;
and oil was again applied, with the addition of perfumes, on quitting
the bath. In a painting which has been engraved from one of the walls
in the baths of Titus, the room is represented filled with a number
of vases, and somewhat resembles an apothecary's shop. These vases
contained a variety of balsamic and oleaceous compositions for the
anointment, which, when ultimately performed, prepared the bathers for
the _sphæristerium_, in which various amusements and exercises were
enjoyed. The subsequent operation of scraping the body with the strigil
has given way to a mode of freeing the body from perspiration and all
extraneous matter, by a sort of bag or glove of camel's hair, which is
used in Turkey; while flannel and brushes are substituted in other
parts.
The vapour-baths now used in Russia resemble very much those among the
ancient Romans. These are generally rudely built of wood, over an oven,
and the bathers receive the vapour at the requisite heat, reclining on
wooden benches,--while, more powerfully to excite perspiration, they
whip their bodies with birch boughs, and also use powerful friction.
They then wash themselves; and, as these vapour-baths are often
constructed on the banks of a river, throw themselves from the land
into the water; or sometimes, by way of variety, plunge into snow, and
roll themselves therein. This violent exercise and sudden transition
of temperature is almost overpowering to persons unhabituated to the
custom, and will oftentimes produce fainting,--though the patient, on
recovering, finds himself refreshed, and experiences a delightful sense
of mental, as well as bodily, vigour and energy. The enervating effects
of the extreme luxury and refinement practised in the Greek and Roman
baths are obviated in the Russian mode: to which may partly be ascribed
the power which the latter people have in undergoing fatigue and the
various hardships of their rigorous climate. Tooke says that without
doubt the Russians owe their longevity, robust health, their little
disposition to fatal complaints, and, above all, their happy and
cheerful temper, mostly to these vapour-baths. Lewis and Clarke, in
their voyage up the Missouri, have noticed the use of the vapour-bath in
a somewhat similar contrivance to the Russians among the savage tribes
of America;--so it appears that this effectual promoter of cleanliness
is one of the most simple, original, and natural, that can be employed
for that paramount duty.