Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-06-05
LONGEVITY'S DECLINE.
HAS MANS LIFE GROWN SHORTER
WITH CIVILIZATIONS
Patriarchs of Antiquity-Interesting Dis
cussiOn Deduced from Biblical Records
and Modern Biological Results-A Re-
markable List of Old Men.

AaIhiHrchs OA AhClQulJy- Dis
cussion Deduced from Biblical Records
and Modern Biological ResuIts-A Re-
markable List of Old Men.
"Once man strobe the earth like Co
lossus." Now he is shrunk almost to an
Inhalation. Venerable legends come down
to us from primeval worlds that he once
carried the fires of life for ages. The days
of Methuselah were nine hundred and six
ty-nine years. Why should the yelling
up of the deep forces of physical immortal
ity have ceased and man become the mush-
room of the hour?
A critical question, and truly essential
problem is, Has the human race actually
degenerated physically in modern time?
Morally and spiritually it seems to be an
admitted fact that it has wilted and with
cred
Why is it that death should come before
the allotted age of "three score and .ten,"
and why so many millions of human
beings never live to three score and five,
and why that not one in every thousand
lives to three score years2 We kill our
selves. Many interesting particulars are
found in tables of psychologists and writ
ers on hygiene. The eminent Psychologists,
Haller and Button, present interesting par
ticulars on the subject of longevity They
treat the subject in two ways, historical
ard physical The historical side of the
recitation of all facts known of the natural
ly ordinary and extreme durations of life
and the physical aspect of the problem in
wolves the contemplation of the great nat
ural phases of development of the species,
digestion, period of growth and length of
life
BUTTONS FORMULA.
Buttons formula of the duration of
human beings and animals is that they ex-
ist six or seven times as long as they are
growing or attaining perfect adult develop
ment. He adduces the examples of humans
and animals. The union of man is effected
at twenty years, that of the horse at three
years, that of the OK at four years, that OF
the dog at two years, etc He asserts that
humans and animals live six or seven times
as the terms of their growth.
Such being the finally arranged scientific
biological results of ages of observation,
why this extreme rarity of centenarans
and great scarcity Of octogenarians? Why
is it that not one out of ten thousand lives
to be 100 years old, when originally the
minimum was two hundred years?
Hufeland asserts that we may set it
down as a rule that man and animals
live eight times as long as they grow" He
also asserts that "a man in his natural
state, where the period of his maturity is
not hastened by art, requires full twenty
years TO attain his full growth and CON
formation, and this proposition will give
him an absolute age of 200 years" Not
withstanding this, of one hundred men
born fifty die before their 10th year, twenty
die between 10 and 20, ten die between 20
and 30, six die between 80 end 40, three die
between 40 and SO, three die between 50 and
GO, and only six live to be above 60.
SOME VERY OLD MEN.
The comparative longevity of the ancients
and moderns is question of vital interest.
The patriarchs were clearly longer livers
than the present race Methuselah at
tanned to upwards of 200 years, the ortho-
doX Interpretation of Heser, or to near
1000 years, old style verbal rendering In
either case Methuselah is a precious fact,
as are also Jared, Noah, Adam, Seth,
Canaan, Enos and many other precious
facts, who lived to attain at least 200 years.
Very nearly approaching the ages of these
men of centuries, as already interpreted,
profane history has many records of
longevity with interesting examples The
following table of Mr.. Easton, of Salisbury,
England, has striking points not only in
long life, but as representing variety of
types of the different bloods or races, show
ing that long life is not characteristic of
any one race or compound races
ST. Patrick died A. d. 491, aged 1872 years.
Attila died in A. d. 500, aged 1874 years.
Sughwach died in A. d. 500, aged $50
years
ST. Coemazum died in A. D. 61s, aged 100
years.
Countess of Desmond died in A. D. 1912,
aged 145 years.
Thomas Parr died in A. D. 1895, aged 159
years.
Thomas Damme died in A. D. 1G4S, aged
154 years.
Peter Torlon died in A. D. 1724, aged fS5
years.
Margaret Patten died in A. D., 173s, aged
1877 years.
John Rowan and wife died in A. d. 1741,
aged 172-164 years.
ST. Mangat died in A. D. 1881, aged 1856
years.
WHAT THE FACTS PROVE.
Those long livers all have interesting
histories, and brief notice of few will not
be out of place. jenkins, who lived to the
age of 169 years. was a fisherman, and con-
sequently passed most of his life in the
open air Thomas Parr, who died at the
age of 152, died by the accident of over
gorging his stomach. Post-mortem showed
him to be perfectly sound, except the over
gorged stomach. His cartilages were not
in the least ossifed, and there was not the
least symptoms of decay to be discovered.
1t is refreshing, really inspiring, to think
there is a possibility, even probability, of
our living as long as did the patriarchs.
The historical side of the question, longev-
ity, clearly makes the case one that is en-
chanting to reflect upon, that man lives
200 years, enjoying all his faculties to the
last. The physiological and scientific side
of the question establishes the conclusion
that by demonstrated laws of nature on
the question of the life of bones and their
connection with the animal economy, 100
years OF ordinary life and 200 of extraordi-
nary life may be enjoyed by any one and
every ne.-Philadelphia Times.
Curiosity in Paper.
George West, of Ballston, is in possession
of a curiosity in paper, sent him by friend
in Hong Kong, China. 1t is a sheet II by
IA inches, made from the web of the ''sacred