The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1854-05-06
How to Live Long.

haps, to secure long life, provided there isl
d moderately good constitution to start with.
and provided no accident intervenes. Yet
how few there are who seem to be aware of
this If persons are TO be judged by their
conduct, indeed we might conclude that
nothing could be done to prolong life, but
that it depended entirely on chance whether
adult years were attained, whether death
came It forty, or whether existence was pro-
longed to the scriptural " three score years
and ten"
The laws of life, however, are as immu-
table and regular as those of astronomy
Whoever lives according to those laws may
reasonably calculate on a good old age
Whoever Systematically violates them may
as certainly expect to shorten his existence.
The human body is, in truth, but machine
and, like all other machines, it may be
worn out before its time by abuse and neg
lect. Excesses on the one hand, or want
Of exercise on the other will tear it prema-
turely 10 pieces, or allow it to rust away
Too little work, or too much, will alike
prove fatal to prolonged existence
Americans violate the laws of life priu-
cpalIy through their excesses. In early
manhood, excess in convivial enioyments.
and even in worse kinds of dissipation, is
unfortunately too common. But excess is
far from ceasing even with muture manhood.
With energetic persons, the desire to achieve
fortune has, at this period of life, general
ly succeeded to the pleasure seeking phase of
earlier years. The man, still radically un-
changed, pursues business with as much
avidity as ever he sought recreation. Early
and late he is at his work, everlasting his
mind, and exhausting his body by undue
labor. At first, indeed, he does not feel the
effects of his indiscretion. Morning finds
him refreshed by the repose of the night; he
seems to himself as vigorous as ever; and
he returns to his pursuits with the same
eagerness, the same tenacity, the same folly
as before. But nature at last avenges her
self By middle age he is already an old
man. Or, perhaps, he suddenly breaks down,
even at an earlier period, becoming a con-
| firmed valetudinaran, the victim of dyspep-
sia. rheumatism, gout, nervous disorders, or
possibly complication of all four.
! If men would attain TO the allotted term
of life, they must shun excess in work, there
fore, as well as in pleasure. To kill oneself
/ By greedy haste after riches. is as much a
moral suicide as to destroy ones life by W inc,
/ BY tobacco, by dining out, by late hours
1t is not sufficient, however, to avoid excess
merely, in order to arrive at " three score
and ten" Judicious exercise must be min
gled with habits of moderate living. Per-
sonal cleanliness must be preserved by bath
ing, by frequent changes of linen, and by
friction of the skin to induce healthy state
of that membrane. Many an excellent
clergyman has shortened his days involun-
taviIy by remaining in his study, when he
should have been saving wood in tie cellar,
walking in the fresh air, or galloping over
breezy hills Many an individual, in both
sexes, has brought on disease by neglecting
to keep the pores of the body properly open
ed The fashionable practice of turning day
into night, and night into day, is also an
enemy to length of years. There is no light
so beautiful as Gods free sunlight. The
fair, fresh complexion of most Quaker girls,
and the comparatively faded ones of fash
ionabe women, is a testimony, present be-
} fore us all. in favor of regular hours, and
against gas-lit bathrooms. Plenty of light.
also, even in day time, conduces to health.
The inhabitants of dark courts. like prison
ers, wilt and grow wan.
A long life is rarely the lot Of passion.
ate person. Indeed, only an iron constitu-
tion can withstand frequently recurring TEN,
pests of anger, hate. jealousy, and other evil
emotions Literally is such an individual
I"given over to o Demon" TO be racked anC