The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-12-15
THE DURATION OF HUMAN LIFE.

onSh investigation, which has occupiee;
the last fourteen yea,s.i An eminent Enr-
llsh physician has taken all the facts pre-
sented before the society since 1915 an,
reports to the Fellows, that he has draw,
therelrom the following infcrcnceS l. That
the value Of human life was lower in tn,
seventeenth century than in the sixteenth
but that it experienced marked recovery
IN the eighteenth; and that this rcmarka-
bic feature was incidental to each class o
the community, with ,he exception of soy
ere'sns, medical men, artists (who shrw !;
progressive Improvement and lawyers
(who shew progressive deteriora,ion.) Q
That the duration Of life Of married men
Is greater than that Of unmarried men tn,
difference being 5 ga years in favor Of l!,e
former. 8. That,as regards the compara
tive duration Of life Of the :wo sexes, fc
males have tie advantage over males, AMI
better expectation of life ut every arc
from 25 to rs.
One, OF the most interesting and valua
bic OF the papers presented before ,h, So
c'ety was read by DR.. Gnv, Son the nu
ration Of Life 'as Affected by the Pursuits
OF Literature, Science and Art" Most
writers on the subject have always ircatc !
OF distinct and well defined Glasses Of SO.
clety,, such, tas laboreEs. the three learned
professions, sovercignS, etc. {; but DR.. Guy
considered the less defined of society known
rs artists, literary, and scientific men. He
treated this theme under four divisions. viz:
l. The duration Of life of literary men e:
2. he. duration of life Of scientific men ::
3. The duration Of life of the professors
OF the fine arts; 4. A comparison Of these
three classes.
In regard TO the first of these divisions,
the duration, of life among literary men.
the'author had been able to collect, from
Cbdlmers' Biographical Dictionary and The
Annual Register, 942 ages at death of men
more q, lss devoted to- literary pursuits
DR.. Gus observed, at the outset, ,Ia, this
class was not So sharply defined as other
classes, OF society. :. Brilisl, writers, both in
prose and verse, were Of every rank and
PYofessfoh. with some 1t was only an oc-
casional and exceptional pursuit but will
Others it was rs much profession rs di-
Vln'ty, law, or physic. His paper referred
to nil those who made literature one Of
their pursuits, and the duration of whose
hte was consequently affected il, va,;,us
degrees iy the habits OF c";nl,r>;ion.-
These were sub,hvdrJ into nniiuua.i.s
historians, poets, mi>cr 'r"uS writer's, and
writer's, professional. engaged as school,
masters, OF these ages n, death the low
est were those of two poets who died at
the age Of 81, the highest that of T. O'Sul.
livan, a celebrated Iri>l, barl and author,
who died at tile recorded are Of ll5.
According to the tables exhibited bv DR..
Guy, poets appear, on in average, to live
the shortest lives, and next to them come
s:heol a,;ntefs:-, This may he explained,
as regards poets. Lv the circumstance OF
their commencing their distinctive pursuit
earlier than any other class of literary men ::
as regards SCI ""l "lma>tcrs, by the immense
amoun. of<coht tinrmehl in unhealthy rooms
which they are compiled TO mlcrso %. Tha,
poets lyel been slort,Ived race appeared
evident from some statistics of the apcs al
deatl, ot Roman poets, produced by. DR..
Guy. Thus, Tihu!IuS died "a. 81. Pcrsius
at 80, Itleilins and Catnllus ii, 4G, Virgil
at 81, Horace n, 81, Ovid at 80; and Mar.
t'al at 75-the eight uau,es giving the low
average Of 4s' l ? years. Against these
may he placed Kirk White, who died at
2l, Co!i"s at SO, l%rnell and Robert Eurn~
at 81, Goldsmith at &c, Thompson ut As.
,Cowley sr4o, Shakespeare at 50, AMI Pope
at @87syielling 7,syiell an average of. f.,A3~yesss.
Ehrayarage duration of the life of British
pets %Ko "attained the age of 81, was
5s 10 years; s,p4,iIe the corresponding du-
ration of life for the an,iqnarics-llle high
esfin'lLe list--was G7 So years. II
historians ranked next to antquarcs as
along lived eIass. +! The average duration OF
life ior eight Roman writers who treated
'histoiysahd Ahafed subjects, was 90 os, or
more'tlranI twenty years in excess Of that
Of lie Roman poets. The results Of tie
Investigations 'ncerning British historians
agsss %itl- theseaar / majority 81 SIMILAR
tables in shewing, that there was a, less
hyoralle duration Of fife in persons born
ina:tlesseventeentIi century than in those
born d!ur'pg i4e eighteenth. Asregar'ls tile
compatibility duration oflisy among the mar
ried and single me"bets.snf the literary
pf3fsssQS, tie advantage is.in favor Of the
rpasrie.h mems /: ."..r.,. .,cs--t, rt, !
Turaingioscien.ific men, whom DR.. Guy
subdivjae.H inao (l) mathema icia,ls and
q j.. p 4 -