Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-04-06
NO REASONS FOR DEATH,
Dr. William hammond Does Not Be
Iicve Death n Necessity.

People die through their ignorance
of the laws which govern their ex ST.
cnce, and also from their inability or
ndisposiion TO obey those laws with
which they are acquainted. We are
told in the first chapter of Genesis that
before Adam ate the forbidden fruit
the life of man was to be eternal. but
W tn the acquisition of the knowledge
of good and evil. death became his
portion. 1t seems to me that it would
be more in accordance with the actual
state of affairs at the present time to
believe that death came through his
loss Of knowledge rather than from OBJ
tanning t, for now he loses h fe, not
through an excess of knowledge, but
through an excess of ignorance.
do not sec that there is any physiol-
ogical reason why even ut the present
day man should due. From a kowl-
edge OF the causes of disease greater
than that possessed fifty years ago,
and from tho advance Of medical
science leading to better methods OF
treating the dev ations from the nor
mai standard OF n generation has with
IN the period mentioned been length
ened from five to six years. That is.
the average man. instead Of living thir-
ty years, rs he did fifty years ago, now
lives nearly thirty-six years. Looking
at the question from this standpoint
only, 1t Will be seen that it is merely
quest on OF time when his life Will DO
extended to thousands of years. and
that with IN eternity of time his life
also will be eternal.
Let us take one aspect of the subject
and we shall not. | think. fail to per-
ceive that when we thoroughly under
stand it and are willing TO live i'm nc
cordance with its requirements. death,
unless by accident, will cease to exist.
We know that this life is continued
through the death OF the various atoms
OF the several ssues that enter INTO
the composition of the bOiv. II 5 or
gans are kept in action by force, and
this force results as does all other force
from the metamorphOsis of matter.
Thus, TO Obtain heat we burn wood or
coal, and ashes and gases are evolved in
the process; to generate electricity we
convert zinc or some other metal INTO Il
salt through the act on Of an &C Il, and
electricity 5 set free. In the body, the
Drain. the heart, the liver. the muscles.
all act through the destruction or
rather alteration of the substance of
which they are composed With every
thought that emanates from the brain.
with every motion which it feels, with
every act OF the will which L or III
mates, with every perception which it
experiences. Il central tissue is broken
down INTO simpler substances and
through var Gus channels is cxcreted
from the body. With every pulSation
that the heart makes some part of the
organ, small though it may be in
amount, Is destroyed and is cast out of
the system to make room for new sub
stance. With every contraction of a
muscle, no matter how small. from the
effort required to WELD the heay est
KIND OF sicdge hammer to that neces-
sary TO hit p or TO crook Il finger or
TO wink an eyclid. muscular tissue dies,
and. being no longer fitted for the pur-
poses FOR which il was formed, is taken
up by the veins. and like that coming
from the brain and the heart and the
other organs which serve the purposes
OF the body. is gotten RID of through the
kidneys and the SIX n and the rcspira-
ton TO be reformed outside of the sys-
tenn into other substances, VIII ch in
their turn make the food by which the
body is again nourished.
The food that man takes into his
stomach ought 10 be of such guam
tity and quality as would exactly
repair The losses which through
the action of the several organs his
body IS to undergo. If it is excessive
in Their of these directions. or f 1t is
deficient. disease of some kind will cer-
talnly be the result. lfhe knew enough
to be able 10 adjust his da ~ food to the
expected daily requirements OF his sys-
tenn disease could never ensue through
the exhaustion of any one Of his vital
organs a large majority of the NOR
bid affections to which he is subject
arc due to a lack Of this knowledge
Suppose. for instance. that man on
rising in tho morning should say to
himself: TO-DAY | have to read ten
pages Of 'Blackstone's Commentaries.
twenty pages of Don Quixote,' to walk
tHicc HullCS uuu ~ HdIl, 10 DAY IL Visit OF
half an hours duration to my grand
mother and to take my swee theart TO
the theater where | shall spend two
hours. To do this | require (taklng
out his pencil and memorandum book
as he speakS) so much carbon. SO much
nitrogen giving of course. the exact
OF these several elementary substances).
/ can get those precise quantities from
3 ounces of bread. 4 ounces of eggs, 8
ounces of beef, ounces of potatoes,
ounces Of fish. half pint of beef soup.
3 ounces OF water and ounces of
strong coffee TO make them 90 a little
farther than they otherwise would. In
cnso ! have an eXtraord nary demand
made upon me for mental or physical
excrtion | shall have TO add TO these
substances others which will compen-
sato for the increased loss.
Now, suppose that he is exactly right
in his calculations and that the food
taken is neither too great nor too little.
but exactly compensates the anticipated
losses. the death of each cell in the
brain or the heart or the muscles. etc.
~ IN ha folIowed he tho hirt of a nav