The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1898-01-19
DURATION OF HUMAN LIFL
A Man Night Possibly Live to Ire On,
Hundred and Twenty-Five Years Old.

A Man Night Possibly Live to Ire One
Hundred and Twenty-Five Years Old.
In the average statistics of human life
it has been found that women live Ion
ger than men. The reason for that ap.
pears to be simple.
Up to the age of 20 to rs the ma is
undoubtedly younger and less develop
ed than the woman, but in the next 20
or 80 years of his life the man ages
much more rapidly, because apart from
the strain and hardship Of a profession,
the exposure to unhealthful climates,
the disappointments Of fortune, he Of
ten leads a life Of dissipation and ex.
cess which early puts its stamp upon
his forehead and turns his hair gray be-
fore its time. The woman, on the other
hand, who has often more than her
share of anxieties, has, apart from the
many accidents Of life, but one serious
and inevitable danger, that of the per-
petuation Of her race, which. safely
passed, renovates rather than ages and
increases a woman's chance of longev-
lty.
From the few facts that I have ven
tured to put together we may deduce, I
think, the following conclusions, which,
l trust, may be found of some interest
by those who desire to have u general
view OF the expectation Of life, its real
duration and the possible causes of its
length and brevity.
First.-That, according to the best
authorities Of the last century. the ex.
IRENE limit Of life might be 1875 years
under extraordinary and almost abnor.
NAL circumstances.
Second.-That the anticipation of life
is roughly five times the time that the
organs Of the body-not counting the
brain, which develops later-require to
attain their full and absolute maturity.
This, Of course, varies not only in races,
but in individuals, some developing
early and some much later, even in the
same climate and in the same family.
Third.-That rarely, if ever, is that
full duration achieved. owing to dis
ease, food, heredity, bad habits, wear
and tear and many other causes which
shorten life.
Fourth.-The slower the development
the longer may be the duration Of life.
Fifth.-Ihat all human beings are
not born with the capacity for long life
even under the most favorable circum-
stances. AS the organism of the human
being is more complex than that of the
lower animals, SO his anticipation OF
life is far more variable.
Sixth. - That those circumstances
which conduce to longevity are un,
doubtedly late development, frugal hab.
its. moderation, exemption from vicissi.
tudeS of climate and extreme of heat OF
cold, from mental worry and agitation,
temperature in eating and drinking,
with a fair amount of brain work when
the brain is ready to undertake it.
We have all heard the we'll worn Ak.
iom attributed to the Psalmist that the
days Of man are threescore and ten, ;
but in Genesis Vi, 3, will be found the
following passage, "1et his days shall.
be an hundred and twenty years. ,
This passage seems to have been over.
looked, as l have rarely seen it quoted
although curiously enough it exactly
corresponds to the theory that MAJ
should attain five times the period Of
, reaching his maturity. -Nineteentl
5 Century.