The Evening post. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1888-1889, 1888-11-15
LENGTH OF LIFE.
A Subject of Great Interest TO Us All In.
telligently Discussed,


teligentiy DlSCuSseu'
Philadelphia Record.
In an interview yesterday DR.. Henry
I. Child gave some interesting informa-
tion concerning the means of promoting
the longevity of man. lie says:
There is an appointed time for every
living thing, extending from the brief
period of the ephcmera, often less than an
hour, TO the age of some of the largest
trees, which may reach to several thou
sand years. Among animals we have
been able to note the ages of many
classes, that is the time when most of
the species die 1t has been estimated
that we may determine the probable du-
ration of life by THAT of the various stages
OF growth, maturity and decline, which
are somewhat regular. The old adagc,
soon ripe, soon to decay, has foundation
of truth We judge of the age of animals
by their rate of growth, and we speak of
prccociOus children as having grown too
rapidly for long life
Observation shows that the first 90
years of mans life is the stage of growth,
then 80 years of maturity and 30 for the
period of decline, making the allotted
40 years. DIR. Richardson, of London,
divides life in seven periods ~ from
birth to l . years. completed childhood
t2) from l 3 years to 30, completed adol-
escence t3l from 30 years to 45, com
pleted manhood or womanhood: "a
from 40 to 60, ripencd manhood or
womanhood; (5) from 60 to 20, first
period Of decline: l6l from 10 to 90,
second period of decline; y from 90 to
100 or upward, period of scnile matur-
ity.
Prof. Gustafson. in his work. "Thc
Foundation of Death,n saws: "The
present average age of man is not over
90 years. Herodotus says of the Macro-
| Dlans lEthiopians), in the time of Cam
| byseS That they were remarkable for
| their beauty and their massive proper
| tions of body. in both of which they
| surpassed all other men. They lived to
| be 20 years old and some to longer
! period. and vet they fed on roasted meat
and used milk for their drink DIR.
| John Richard Fare. when examined be
fore the parliamentary committee, in
| 1884, appointed TO inquire into the cause
and extent of drunkenness, gave it as
| bis opinion that the life of man is 100
| years.
Professor p. Flourens, of the College
of France, in his work on human longev-
| ly Paris, 1850, considers 100 years to
De the normal length of mans life
that age, but how many do what Is
necessary to reach itP With our way
of living, our passions and worries, man
no longer dies but kills himself. To
prolong life, that is to make it last as
long as the constitution indicates that
1t should, there is a means, and n very
certain means, and that is to live So
berly.n
Every man knows that his physical
body is his means for being and doing.
He knows that for this end he must
respect, care for --yes, revere his body.
Nobody, when the matter is brought
plainly before him, will hesitate to ad-
nit that he ought to live in such n
manner that all his faculties, capacities
and powers should receive the best
development and activity; but in prac-
ticc this truism is almost unknown.
And with our social life and institutions
only an exceedingly small proportion OF
mankind, even with the best intention
of mankind, even with the best inten-
ton in the world, could approximately
reach this ideal. Sufficient and agree
able rest, enough of undisturbed sleep,
cOngenial and healthy occupations, suf-
flcent amount and variety of healthy
foods, fresh and pure air and water,
healthy dwellings-these are all essential
for bodily vigor and health but to how
many of the toiling millions who labor
for daily bread, either by muscle Ol
brain, are these essentials vouchsafedp
1t is of the highest Importance to lleel
these views prominently before mankin'
that the ideals of better life may b
constantly held up: for, although w
may not reach these ideals, they ar
, essential for our progress, and every ste
we gain in the direction of these is i'm
portant. The records which have beel
kept for more than three hundred year
prove conclusively that there has beer
continued and progressive increase il
the average longevity of the human fam
lily. The most complete records of tn
kind referred to are to be found in tn
statistics of the town of Geneva il
, Switzerland where a detailed accOun
of the population, of the deaths, tn
births and the marriages, has been kcp
since the year 1549. 1t appears fror
these statistics that the proportion O
, the number of deaths TO the number @
he whole population, which, in 1906
was one to twenty-five, in the mex
half century was one to twenty-sever
2 in the next one to twenty-cight, in til
r next one to thirty, and in the next on
TO thirty-four: and during the hal
, century lately passed over, the propol
1 tion is known to have decreased sti
more rapidly.
Said DIR. Il. r. Craig in 1882 TIL
average duration of life-that is, the aN
: eragc age Of all persons at the period {
their death-haS increased from twenty
7 two years and three months, at the end {
, the sixteenth century, to forty years an
eight months, during the period betweC
I the years 1914 and 1S33 and not on
= has this increase of longevity been III
O interrupted, but the rate of the increa
during the present century is great
than that of any former timc.n AT ii
present time it ranges very near fift
years.