Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-01-03
DURATION OF HUMAN LIFE,
A Man Might Possibly Live to Re One
HuGdrad and TWENTY-FIVE Years Old

A Man Might Possibly Live to Re One
HuGdrsd and Twenty-Five Years Old.
In the average statistics of human life
it has been found that women live lon
ger than men. The reason for that ap.
pears to be simple.
Up to the age of 20 to % the man is
undoubtedly younger and less develop
ed than the woman, but in the next 20
or 30 years Of his life the man ages
much more rapidly, because apart from
the strain and hardship of profession,
the exposure to unhealth tul climates,
the disappointments of fortune, he Of.
ten leads 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 rae, which, safely
passed. renovates rather than ages and
increases woman's chance Of longev.
ity.
From the few facts that have ven-
tured to put together we may deduce, l
think, the following conclusions, which,
/ trust, may be found of some interest
by those who desire to heve a 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.
treme 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
fell 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. That ali 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 vieissi-
tudes Of climate and extreme of heat or
cold, from mental worry and agitation,
temperature in eating and drinking,
with fair amount of brain work when
the brain isready to undertake it.
We have all heard the well worn Ak
iom attributed to the Psalmist that the
"days of man are threescore and ten, :"
but in Genesis vi, 8, will be found the
following passage, "Yet his days shall
be an hundred and twenty years. >"
This passage seems to have been over.
looked, as have rarely seen it quoted.
although curiously enough 1t exactly
corresponds to the theory that man
should attain five times the period OF
reaching his maturity. -Nineteenth
Century.