Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-12-18
The Commencement of Old Age.

What are the signs of natural decay =?
When does old age commence The nat
ural history of individual death. without
disease. is one of the subjects which it re-
mains for modern physicians to study
When does the vital machine begin to wear
out in the typicallv healthy man, and what
are the ways by which normal decay, IN
evitable death, invade the aged man
With our modern means Of precise obser-
vatiou and minute pathological research.
we should be able now to lav the founda-
ton for the answer to this most important
question The subject Is suggested to rS
by a most thoughtf1lable an1 well-written
thesis on death, considered from the etiol-
ogical points of view, by Dr. Aeosta of
Paris, which will repay the Perusal of re-
fective men. Discussing the difficulty Of
determining the commencement Of old age.
DR. Acosta reminds Us that whilst the
Greeks regarded the age of ~ q times :.
their climacteric number) as the culmina-
ting point of human strength, and, at the
same time, Is the commencement Of deca-
dence. NJ Flourens holds that dccadence
does not commence until the 10th year ;
an aec which the Chinese. according to
Sir John Bowring, regard aS metaphori-
cal one. calling those who have attained Ia
it rare birds" and men of 80 years old
- loiterers." The two climacteric ages Of
the Arabs were IS and 81 being the null
tiplication of (their magic numher) by
: and Q. The age of 63 was considered
50 critical that il was called the grand eli
macteric. and the ancients We're accustomed
they had passed it. Quetelet, to 4 certain
extent, admits the danger of this critical
period for he saws From so to So years
of age, vitality loses much of its energy !;
that Is TO say. the probability of continu-
ing to live diminishes greatly"
VI. Reveille Parise, while, in common
with some other Psychologists, allowing the
existence of two other sources of staength
in the constitution, which he names force
in reserve and force in use, believes that
the physiological fact which reveals old age
is the progressive dimunition Of reserved
force so superabundant in youth. There
certainly exists some organizations which
are proof against the ravages of time. and
the attacks of sickness and death Some
men at the age of 50, go. even Zoe wears,
have preserved their sensorial and INTEL
lectual faculties, and their great mental
energy, even to the last days of their life
4 complete list Of them would he too long
We will therefore. only mention Z few
names. Plato died at the age OF y, pen
in hand Georgias continued his literary
labors at the age of 107 Socrates writes
his famous Panegyric of Athen- in his
9th year Theophratus his = Characters =
at 90 Cato learnt Greek after his sixtieth
year; Cicero composed his charming work,
8 De Senec tute," one year before his vio-
lent death; Noltaire wrote great number
of tragedies. Tancrede and i .'0rphelin
de la Chine" amongst others worthy Of
his best time, at the age of sixty-tive, and
he came TO Paris in his seventy fourth year
to give himself an intellectual treat the
representation of his tragedy Of . irene" ="
There are also still living members of our
profession, a. we'll as the literary, scientific
and political world. who would illustrate
the list of Nestors. remarkable both for
their longevity and for intellectual labors
to which they continue to devote them
selves Disraeli has said, "Old age has
been a thing unknown to many men of
genius. ."-BritiSb american Journal.