IDIOSYNCRASY AND RULES OF HEALTH.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 30, Issue 17, 1 March 1918, Page 2

IDIOSYNCRASY AND RULES OF HEALTH.

Fixed rules should never be taken otherwise than in a general sense. Individuals who have the intelligence, judgment, and will to experiment for themselves, to profit by their experiments, and to practice accordingly, can frequently disregard the conventions which yet form safe guides for the great majority who have no strength of character. A good illustration of the successful disregard of the normal laws was afforded by the great American humorist, Mark Twain, who, on the occasion of the celebration of his seventieth birthday, in replying to the toast of his health, told his admirers the secret of his longevity. “Since forty,” he said, “I have been regular about going to bed and getting up—and that is one of the main things. I have made it a rule to go to bed when there was not anyone left to sit up with ; and I’ve made it a rule to get up when I had to. In the matter of diet —which is another main thing— I have been persistently strict in sticking to the things which didn’t agree with me, until one or the other got the best of it. Until lately I got the best of it myself, but last spring I stopped frolicking with mince pie after midnight. In regard to smoking it has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain when awake. As for drinking, when the others drink I like to help ; otherwise I remain dry by habit and preference.” He concluded ; —“These are good rules—l mean for me, but they wouldn't answer for everybody who’s trying to get to be seventy. We can’t all reach age by another man’s road. My habf.ts protect my life, but they wouldn’t assassinate you.’ 1 ’