"Through this technique of subjection a new object was being formed; slowly, it superseded the mechanical body - the body composed of solids and assigned movements, the image of which had for so long haunted those who dream of disciplinary perfection. This new object is the natural body, the bearer of forces and the seat of duration; it is the body susceptible to specified operations, which have their order, their stages, their internal conditions, their constituent elements....It is the body of exercise rather than speculative physics; a body manipulated by authority, rather than imbued with animal spirits; a body of useful training and not of rational mechanics..."

M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish, p.172