"At thirty Man suspects himself a Fool,
Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan."
By the small quantity of Food, and great proportion of his Meat to his Drink, this noble Venetian, at the age of forty, freed himself, by the advice of his Physicians, from several grievous disorders contracted by intemperance, and lived in health of body, and great cheerfulness of mind, to above an hundred.-Briefly, the secret of his Longevity seems to have been, a gradually increasing Temperance "in omnibus"-and probably, after a certain time of Life, abstinence from the "opus magnum."
The source of physical and moral Health, Happiness, and Longevity,-
"Reason's whole pleasure, all the Joys of Sense
Lie in three words, Health, peace, and competence.
But Health consists in temperance alone;
And Peace, oh Virtue! Peace is all thy own."
Pope.
Intensive Life, can only be purchased at the price of Extensive.
If you force the Heart to gallop as fast during the second, as it does during the first stage of life-and make the steady fire of 42, to blaze as brightly as the flame of 21,-it will very soon be burnt out.
Those who cannot be content to submit to that diminution of action ordained by nature, against which there is no appeal,-as it is the absolute covenant, by the most attentive and implicit observance of which we can only hope to hold our lease of life comfortably,-will soon bring to the diminished energy of the Second Stage of Life-the Paralysis of the Third.
From 40 to 60, a witty French author tells us, is "La belle saison19 pour la Gourmandise;"-for the artificial pleasures of the Palate, it may be, and the Bon Vivant cultivates them as the means of prolonging the vigour of Youth-and procrastinating the approach of Age.
Restoration may certainly be considerably facilitated, by preparing and dressing food so as to render it easily soluble-if the secret of Rejuvenization be ever discovered; it will be found in the Kitchen.
Very soon after we pass the Meridian of Life, (which, according to those who train men for athletic exercises, and to Dr. Jameson,20 is our 28th, and to Dr. Cheyne, about our 35th year,) the elasticity of the Animal System imperceptibly diminishes,-our Senses become less susceptible, and are every hour getting the worse for wear, however Self-Love, assisted by your Hair-dresser, and Tailor, &c. may endeavour to persuade you to the contrary.
Digestion and Sleep are less perfect-the restorative process more and more fails to keep pace with the consuming process-the body is insufficiently repaired, more easily deranged, and with more difficulty brought into adjustment again; till at length the vital power being diminished, and the organs deteriorated,-Nourishment can neither be received, or prepared and diffused through the constitution-and Consumption so much exceeds Renovation, that decay rapidly closes the scene of Life.
One may form some Idea of the Self-consumption of the human body, by reflecting that the pulsation of the Heart, and the motion of the Blood connected with it, takes place 100,000 times every day; i. e. on an average
the pulse
21 beats 70 times in a minute, multiplied by 60 minutes in an hour, -- 4200 24 hours in a day, --- 16800 8400 --- 100800 pulsations in a day.
What Machine, of the most adamantine material, will not soon be the worse for wear, from such incessant vibration-especially if the Mainsprings of it are not preserved in a state of due regulation?
The generative faculties, which are the last that Nature finishes-are the first that fail.-Economy in the exercise of them-especially before and after the second period of Life-is the grand precept for the restoration and accumulation of Strength, the preservation of Health, and the prolongation of Life;-we are vigorous, in proportion to the perfection of the performance of the Restorative process, i. e. as we Eat hearty, and Sleep soundly-as our Body loses the power of renovating itself, in like ratio, fails its faculty of creating-what may be a salutary subduction of the superfluous health of the Second-during the Third period of life, will be a destructive sacrifice of the strength of both the Mind and the Body.-See also the 9th chapter of the First Edition of Willich on Diet. 8vo. 1799.
The next organical defect, (we perceive too plainly for our self-love to mistake it,) is manifested by the Eye22. To read a small print-you must remove it from the Eye further than you have been accustomed to do-and place it in a better light.
The Falsetto Voice now begins to fail, and the Ear loses some of its quickness-several extraordinary Musicians have been able till then, if a handful of the keys of a Harpsichord were put down so as to produce the most irrelative combinations-to name each half note without a mistake.-When I mentioned this to that excellent Organ Player, Mr. Charles Wesley, he said, "At the age of twenty, I could do it myself-but I can't now." He was then in his 55th year.
About the same time, the Palate is no longer contented with being employed as a mere shovel to the Stomach,-and as it finds its master becomes every day more difficult to please-learns to be a more watchful Purveyor.
After 40,-the strongest People begin to talk about being Bilious, or Nervous, &c. &c. and the Stomach will no longer do its duty properly-unless the Food offered to it is perfectly agreeable to it-when offended, Indigestion brings with it, all that melancholy depression of the Animal Spirits, which disables a Man from either thinking with precision, or acting with vigour-during the distressing suspension of the restorative process-arise all those miseries of Mind and Body, which drive Fools to get drunk, and make Madmen commit suicide:-without due attention to Diet, &c. the Third period of Life is little better than a Chronic Disease.
As our assimilating powers become enfeebled, we must endeavour to entertain them with food so prepared, as to give them the least trouble, and the most nourishment23.
In the proportion that our Food is restorative, and properly digested-our bodies are preserved in Health and Strength-and all our faculties continue vigorous and perfect.
If it is unwholesome, ill-prepared, and indigestible-the Body languishes, and is exhausted even in its youth-its strength and faculties daily decrease, and it sinks beneath the weight of the painful sensations attendant on a state of Decay.
Would to Heaven that a Cook could help our Stomachs, as much as an Optician can our Eyes: our Existence would be as much more perfect than it now is, as our Sight is superior to our other Senses.
"The vigour of the Mind decays with that of the Body-and not only Humour and Invention, but even Judgment and Resolution, change and languish, with ill constitution of Body and of Health."-Sir William Temple.
The following account of the successful REDUCTION OF CORPULENCE AND IMPROVEMENT OF HEALTH, the Editor can vouch for being a faithful statement of Facts.
30 January, 1821.
MY DEAR SIR,
In consequence of the Conversation I had with you, upon the advantages I had derived from Exercise and attention to Diet in the reduction of Weight, and your desire that I should communicate as far as I recollect them, the particulars of my Case; I have great pleasure in forwarding to you the following Statement.
I measure in height six Feet and half an Inch,-possess a sound Constitution and considerable activity.-At the age of Thirty I weighed about 18 Stone-two years afterwards I had reached the great weight of nineteen Stone, in perfect Health, always sleeping well and enjoying good Appetite and Spirits-soon after, however, I began to experience the usual attendants on fullness of Habit, a disinclination to rise in the morning from drowsiness, heaviness about the Forehead after I had risen, and a disposition to Giddiness;-I was also attacked by a complaint in one of my Eyes, the Symptoms of which it is unnecessary to describe, but it proved to be occasioned by fullness of blood, as it was removed by cupping in the temple. I lost four ounces of blood from the temple; and thinking that the loss of a little more might be advantageous, I had eight ounces taken from the back; and in order to prevent the necessity, as far as possible, of future bleeding, I resolved to reduce the system-by increasing my Exercise and diminishing my Diet.
I therefore took an early opportunity of seeing Mr. Jackson, (whose respectability and skill as a teacher of sparring is universally acknowledged,) and after some Conversation with him, determined upon acting under his Advice.
I accordingly...
