The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-10-08

knA0 4uE U0&3ueS9 iut4te4te 81 Sop fT30-
cisco mercAants.
-
why no Wu DIEs
The reason we die 10 because We do
not know how % 1--we. Life b subject
70 csrtain lawn We know very little
about these laws. and ws take very 1T
tie pains TO live up 70 the knowiedgs
that we do have. Men are a. reckless
now Of the most ordinary precautions
against disease and deterioration Of the
system - they were Thousands OF years
ego. This ws know By daily obsarva-
ton. and confirmation 10 found In the
fact that the average lie + shsrter than
that Of the ancienfa. II we may depend
upon that which II regarded ~ the
highest authority. The great age Of the
patriarchs does not and any corrobora-
ton IN profane history. and the limit Of
thres- score years and ten had become
. settled conclusion certainly not less
than 5000 or l.eoo years ago. That must
have been the average long before the
days Of the Psaimist, or such IN Oh
server would have commented upon the
decline.
A knowledge Of sanitation and . bet
ter understanding Of the human sys-
tam has increased the average OF those
who reach the seventeen year. but the
average Of those who pass 1t Ia vigorous
condition II not suflciently greater 10
justify the conviction that life II longer
now than about the thirteenth century
before Christ, when the Psalms were
probably written.
We are Z long way from the knowl-
edge which Is to make life perpetual
We have yet to learn that there II
anything perpetual In creation-to say
nothing. Of course. OF the vivifying
principle which IL At the back Of the
system OF the universe. which keeps
aglow the ores Of the stars and lights
up the tacandescsnt insect Of . days
existence.
Animals DO not live forever. even In .
state Of nature. Trees know what u
good for them ana have no vices. yet
they die within IN average time. Al.
though there II some plausibility in the
theory that a constant renewal Of vital
ity and an avoidance Of infringements
upon the law OF nature would defy
death. all precedent b against the be-
lief that mans life could be prolonged
more than = few years beyond the pres
ent term.
From the moment of birth to the mo-
ment Of death the human system i SUBJ
ject TO wear and tear like . piece OF
machinery. Every puisation of the
heart, every movement OF . muscle. ev-
cry operation Of every one Of the mil
lions OF little cells which form tbs body.
destroys q part OF the Tissues. These
are renewed by the absorption into the
system OF certain chemicals. II We
could determine by an exact science
how TO supply the place OF the destroy
ed cell, we might prolong life and avoid
disease. II In the morning q man could
determine how much he was going TO
do In the course of the day. and COM
pensate the system for the loss of heat
and energy his actions would entail. he
should close the day as strong a man
as he opened Il. This exact adjustment
II not practicable. II Is to HISTOLOGY
what perpetual motion Is TO mechanics.
We know that the system needs a
constant renewal OF 30 much carbon
and SO much nitrogen: that health re-
ouires a certain proportion OF salt: that
the bones need ls;ne and the blood needs
iron. Yet such Is the form Ia which we
have To take our nourishment that the
destruction Of the body In contemporary
with It's noursshmcnt. The chief char
acteristics Of old age are the deposits
OF earfhy matter Of n gelatinous fbfin-
Gus character In the human system.
Man begins In . Eeiasinous condition:
he ends In a bony one. The whole
change from infancy 10 age II merely
slow. steady accumulation OF caicarcous
deposits In the system. As they Increase
the machinery becomes ciogged Grad
ualiy the delicate organization loses Its
power 10 throw of the formation and
the end il death.
Almost everything we eat contains
some OF the substances which bring
about the hardening OF the TISSUES.
Earth salts abound I'm the cereals. and
hresa itself greatly assists In the ais
position of calesrcoas matter IN our
body heterogeneous food ahounds In this
element To those advancing In years "a
die: ~ fruit IS the best Fish, poultry.
young mutton and veal contain less O,