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Others pretend, that it is much better to live ten years, than not indulge one's appetite. To this I answer, that longevity ought to be highly valued by men of parts; as to others, it is no great matter if it is not duly prized by them, since they are a disgrace to mankind, so that their death is rather of service to the public. But it is a great misfortune that men of bright parts should be cut off in that manner, since he, who is already a cardinal, might perhaps, by living to eighty, attain the papal crown; and in the state, many, by living some years extraordinary, may acquire the ducal dignity; and so in regard to letters, by which a man may rise so as to be considered as a god upon earth; and the like in every other profession.

There are others who, though their stomachs become weaker and weaker as they advance in years, cannot however be brought to retrench the quantity of their food, nay they rather increase it. And because they find themselves unable to digest the great quantity of food with which they must load their stomachs by eating twice in the four-and-twenty hours, they make a resolution to eat but once, that the long interval between one meal and the other may enable them to eat, at one sitting, as much as they used to do in two: thus they eat till their stomachs, overburdened with much food, pall and sicken, and change the superfluous food into bad humors, which kill a man before his time. I never met with a very aged person who led that manner of life. All these old men I have been speaking of would live long, if, as they advanced in years, they lessened the quantity of their food, and ate oftener, but little at a time; for old stomachs cannot digest: large quantities of food; old men changing in that respect to children, who eat several times in the four-and-twenty hours.

Others say, that a sober life may indeed keep a man in health, but that it cannot prolong life. To this I answer, that experience proves the contrary; and that I myself am a living instance of it. It cannot, however, be said that sobriety is apt to shorten one's days as sickness does; for that the latter abbreviates life is not to be doubted. Notwithstanding, a man had better be always jocund and hearty, than be obliged to submit now and then to sickness, in order to keep up the radical moisture. Hence it may be fairly concluded, that holy sobriety is the true parent of health and longevity.

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O thrice holy sobriety, so useful to man, by the services thou renderest him! Thou prolongest his days, by which means he greatly improves his understanding, and by such improvement he' avoids the bitter fruits of sensuality, which is an enemy to reason, man's peculiar privilege: those bitter fruits are the passions and per turbations of the mind. Thou, moreover, freest him from the dreadful thoughts of death. How greatly is thy faithful disciple indebted

to thee, since, by thy assistance, he enjoys this beautiful expanse of the visible world, which is really beautiful to such as know how to view it with a philosophic eye, as thou hast enabled me to do. Nor could I, at any other time of life, even when I was young, but altogether debauched by irregularity, perceive its beauties, though I spared no pains or expense to enjoy every season of life. But I found that all the pleasures of that age had their alloy; so that I never knew, till I grew old, that the world was beautiful. O truly happy life, which, over and above all these favors conferred on thine old man, hast so improved and perfected his stomach, that he has now better relish for his dry bread, than he had formerly, and in his youth, for the most exquisite dainties: and all this thou hast compassed by acting rationally, knowing that bread is, above all things, man's proper food, when seasoned by a good appetite; and, whilst a man leads a sober life, he may be sure of never wanting that natural sauce; because, by always eating little, the stomach, not being much burdened, need not wait long to have an appetite. It is for this reason, that dry bread relishes so well with me; and I know it from experience, and can with truth affirm, I find such sweetness in it, that I should be afraid of sinning against temperance, were it not for my being convinced of the absolute necessity of eating of it, and that we cannot make use of a more natural food. And thou, kind parent, Nature, who actest so lovingly by thy aged offspring, in order to prolong his days, hast contrived matters so in. his favor that he can live upon very little; and in order to add to the favor and to do him still greater service, hast made him sensible, that, as in his youth he used to eat twice a day, when he arrives at old age, he ought to divide that food, of which he was accustomed to make but two meals, into four; because, thus divided, it will be more easily digested; and as in his youth he made but two collations in the day, he should in his old age make four, provided however he lessens the quantity, as his years increase. And this is what I do, agreeably to my own experience; and therefore my spirits, not oppressed by much food, but barely kept up, are always brisk, espe cially after eating; so that I am obliged then to sing a song, and afterwards to write.}

Nor do I ever find myself the worse for writing immediately after meals; nor is my understanding ever clearer; nor am I apt to be drowsy; the food I take being in too small a quantity to send up any fumes to the brain. O, how advantageous it is to an old man to eat but little! Accordingly, I who know it eat but just enough to keep body and soul together; and the things I eat are as follows: First, bread, panado, with an egg, or such other kinds of soup or spoon-meat. Of flesh meat, I eat veal, kid, and mutton. I eat poultry of every kind. I eat patridges, and other birds, such as thrushes. I likewise eat fish; for instance, the goldney and the

like, amongst sea-fish; and the pike, and such like, amongst freshwater fish. All these things are fit for an old man; and therefore he ought to be content with them; and, considering their number and variety, not hanker after others. Such old men, as are too poor to allow themselves provisions of this kind, may do very well with bread, panado, and eggs; things which no poor man can want, unless it be common beggars, and as we call them vagabonds, about whom we are not bound to make ourselves uneasy, since they have brought themselves to that pass by their indolence, and had better be dead than alive; for they are a disgrace to human nature. But though a poor man should eat nothing but bread, panado, and eggs, there is no necessity for his eating more than his stomach can digest. And whoever does not trespass in point of either quantity or quality, cannot die but by mere dissolution. O, what a difference there is between a regular and an irregular life! One gives longevity and health, the other produces diseases and untimely deaths.

O unhappy, wretched life, my sworn enemy, thou art good for nothing but to murder those who follow thee! How many of my dearest relations and friends hast thou robbed me of, in consequence of their not giving credit to me! relations and friends whom I should now enjoy. But thou hast not been able to destroy me, according to thy wicked intent and purpose. I am still alive in spite of thee, and have attained to such an age, as to see around me eleven grandchildren, all of fine understanding, and amiable disposition; all disposed to learning and virtue; all beautiful in their persons and lovely in their manners; whom, had I obeyed thy dictates, I should never have beheld. Nor should I enjoy those beautiful and convenient apartments which I have built from the ground, with such a variety of gardens, as required no small time to attain their present degree of perfection. No! thy nature is to destroy those. who follow thee, before they can see their houses or gardens so. much as finished; whereas I, to thy no small confusion, have already enjoyed mine for a number of years. But since thou art so pestilential a vice, as to poison and destroy the world, and I am determined to use my utmost endeavours to extirpate thee, at least in part, I have resolved to counteract thee so, that my eleven grandchildren shall take pattern after me, and thereby expose thee, for what thou really art-a most wicked, desperate, and mortal enemy of the children of men.

I really cannot help admiring, that men of fine parts, and such there are, who have attained a superior rank in letters or any other. profession, should not betake themselves to a regular life, when they are arrived at the age of fifty or sixty; or as soon as they find themselves attacked by any of the foregoing disorders, of which they might easily recover; whereas, by being permitted to get a

head, they become incurable. As to young men, I am no way surprised at them, since the passions being strong at that age, they are of course the more easily overpowered by their baneful influence. But after fifty, our lives should, in every thing, be governed by reason, which teaches us, that the consequences of gratifying our palate and our appetite are disease and death. Were this pleasure of the palate lasting, it would be some excuse; but it is so momentary, that there is scarce any distinguishing between the beginning and the end of it; whereas the diseases it produces are very durable. But it must be a great contentment to a man of sober life, to be able to reflect that, in the manner he lives, he is sure that what he eats will keep him in good health, and be productive of no disease or infirmity

Now, I was willing to make this short addition to my Treatise, founded on new reasons; few persons caring to pursue long-winded discourses; whereas, short tracts have a chance of being read by many; and I wish that many may see this addition, to the end that its utility may be more extensive.

AN

EARNEST EXHORTATION:

WHEREIN

THE AUTHOR URGES THE NECESSITY OF EMBRACING A SOBER AND REGULAR LIFE,

IN ORDER TO ATTAIN

OLD AGE,

CHAPTER III.

OF THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF MAN.

NOT to be wanting in my duty, that duty incumbent upon every man; and not to lose, at the same time, the satisfaction I feel in being useful to others, I have resolved to take up my pen, and to inform those who, for want of conversing with me, are strangers to what those know and see with whom I have the pleasure of being acquainted. But as certain things may appear to some persons scarcely credible, nay, impossible, though actually true, I shall not fail to relate them for the benefit of the public. Wherefore, I say, being, God be praised, arrived at my ninety-fifth year, and still finding myself sound and hearty, content and cheerful, I never cease thanking the divine Majesty for so great a blessing,

considering the usual fate of other old men. These scarcely attain the age of seventy, without losing their health and spirits; growing melancholy and peevish; continually haunted by the thoughts of death; apprehending their last hour from one day to another, so that it is impossible to drive such thoughts out of their minds; whereas such things give me not the least uneasiness; for, indeed, I cannot at all make them the object of my attention, as I shall hereafter more plainly relate. I shall, besides, demonstrate the certainty I enjoy of living to a hundred. But to render this dissertation more methodical, I shall begin by considering man at his birth; and from thence accompany him, through every stage of life, to his grave.

I therefore say, that some come into the world with the stamina of life so weak, that they live but a few days, or months, or years; and it cannot be clearly known to what such shortness of life is owing: whether to some defect in the father or mother, in begetting them; or to the revolutions of the heavens; or to the defect of Nature, subject as she is to the celestial influence. For I could never bring myself to believe, that Nature, the common parent of all, should be partial to any of her children. Therefore, as we cannot assign the causes, we must be content with reasoning from the effects, such as they daily appear to our view.

Others are born sound, indeed, and lively; but notwithstanding, with a poor weakly constitution; and of these some live to the age of ten; others to twenty; others to thirty and forty; yet they seldom live to be old men. Others, again, bring into the world a perfect constitution, and live to old age; but it is generally, as I have already said, an old age full of sickness and sorrow; for which they have to thank themselves, because they most unreasonably presume on the goodness of their constitutions; and cannot by any means be brought to depart, when grown old, from the mode of life they pursued in their younger days; as if they still retained all their primitive vigor. Nay, they intend to live as irregularly when past the meridian of life, as they did all the time of their youth; thinking they shall never grow old, nor their constitutions be ever impaired. Neither do they consider, that the stomach has lost its natural heat, and that they should on that ac count pay a greater regard to the quality of what they eat, and what wines they drink; and likewise to the quantity of each, which they ought to lessen; whereas, on the contrary, they are for increasing it; saying, that, as we lose our health and vigor by growing old, we should endeavour to repair the loss by increasing the quantity of our food, since it is by sustenance that we are to preserve the individual.

In this, nevertheless, they are greatly mistaken, since, as the na

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