LENGTH OF LIFE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 259, 1 November 1890, Page 4 (Supplement)

LENGTH OF LIFE.

Men Should Live for Two Hundred Years.

But They Kill Themselves by Theie

Own Imprudences.

' Once man strode the earth like a Colossus.' Now he is shrunk almost to annihilation, says the New York ' Graphic.' Venerable legends come down to us from primeval worlds that he once carried the fires of life for ages. The days of Methuselah wero nine hundred and sixty-nine years. Why should the welling up of the deep forces of physical immortality have ceased and man become the mushroom of the hour ?

A critical question and a truely essential problem is, has the human actually degenerated physically in modern time ? Morally and spiritually it seems to be an admitted fact that ib has wilted and withered.

Why is ifc thab death should come, before the allotted age of 'threescore and ten,'and why so many millions of human beings never live to* three score and five, and why that nob one in every thousand live to three score years? We kill ourselves. Many interesting particulars are found in tables of physiologists and writers on hygiene. The eminent physiologists, Haller and Buffon, present interesting particulars on the subject of longevity. They treat it in two ways, historical and physical. The historical side of the recitation of all facts known of the naturally ordinary and extreme duration of life and tho physical aspect of fcho problem involves the contemplation of the greab natural phases of development of tho species, digestion, period of growth and length of life. Buflon's formula of the duration of human beings and animals is that they exist aix or seven times as long as they are growing or attaining perfect adult development. He adduces the examples of humans and animals. The growth of man is effected at twenty years, that of the horse at three years, thatof the ox at four years, that of fche dog at two years, etc. He asserts fchafc humans and animals live six or seven times as fche fcerma of their growth.

Such being the finally arranged scientific biological results of ages of observation, why this extreme rarity of centenarians and great scarcity of octogenarians ? Why is ib thab not; one out of fcen thousand lives to be 100 years old, when originally the minimum was 200 years ? Hufeland asserts that we may set it down as a rule 'thab man and animals live eight times as long as they grow.' He also asserts thab ' a man in his natural state, where fche period of his maturity is nob hasbened by arb, requires full twenty years to attain hi 3 full growth and conformation, and this proposition will give him an absolute age of 160 years.' Notwithstanding this, of 100 men born 50 die before their tenth year, twenty die between 10 and 20, ten die between 20 and 30, six die between 30 and 40, three die between 40 and 50, three die between 50 and 60, aud only six live fco be above 60.

Tbe comparative longevity of the ancients and moderns ia a question of vital interesb. The patriarchs were clearly longer livers than the present race. Methuselah attained to upward of 200 years, tbe orthodox interpretation of Hesler, or to near 1,000 years, old-style verbal rendering. Iv either case Methuselah is a precious fact, as are also Jared, Noah, Adam, Seth, Canaan, Enos and many other precious facts, who lived to attain ab leasb 200 years. Very nearly approaching bho ages of these men, of centuries, as already interpreted, ptofaro history has many records of longevity with interesting examples. Tbe following table of Mr Easton, of Saliabury, England, has striking points, not only in long life, but as representing a varieby of types of the different blood of races, showing that long life is nob characteristic of any one race or compound race :—

Sfc. Patrick died a.d. 491, aged 122 years. Attila died in a.d. 500, aged 156 years. Sughwach died in a.d. 500, aged 150 years. Sfc. Coemazum died in a.d. 618, aged 120 years. Countess of Desmond died in a.d. 1612, aged 145 years. Thomas Parr died in A.p. 1635, aged 152 years. Thomas Damme died in a.d. 1648, aged 154 veara.

Peter Torlon died in a.d. 1724, aged 185 years. Margaret Patten died in a.d. 1738, aged 137 years. John Rowan and wife died in a.d. 1741, aged 172-3 64 years. St. Mangat died in a.d. 1781, aged 185 years. These long livers all have interesting histories, and brief notices of a few will not be out of place. Jenkins, who lived to the age of 169 years, was a fisherman, and consequently passed mosb of his lifo in bheopon air. Thomaß Parr, who died afc tho age of 152, died by the accident of overgorging his stomach. Post-mortem showed him to be perfectly sound, except the overgorged stomach. Hia cartilages were not in the least ossified, and there was not the least symptom of decay to be discovered. It is refreshing, really inspiring, to think there is a possibility, even a probability, of living as long as did the patriarchs. The historical side of the question, longevity, clearly makes the case one that is enchanting to reflocb upon, that a man lives 200 years enjoying all his faculties to the last. The physiological and scientific aide of the question establishes the conclusion that by demonatrated laws of nafcureon the question of the life of bones and their connection with fche animal economy, 100 yeai-3 of ordinary life and 200 of ordinary life may be enjoyed by anyone and everyone.