In his report on the autopsy of Thomas Parr, who lived to the age of 152 years and 9 months, Dr. Harvey, physician to the king, attributed his death to the change from a frugal diet of subrancid cheese, milk in every form, and coarse, hard bread, to the rich feeding he received in London, and to the change from the healthy air of the country to the foggy climate of the metropolis. We also dwelt on the important fact that by his leading such a peasant’s life, free from care owing to its simplicity it contributed to his very advanced age; for, as the great Harvey pithily put it, “sorry fare, but free from care.”

We thus see that this celebrated discoverer of the circulation of the blood ascribed special importance, for the attainment of an advanced old age, to these same agencies, viz.: living temperately and in the open air, and absence from worry, the importance of which we have demonstrated by scientific evidence in the various chapters of this book.

We have found, among the cases of those who lived to a great age, sometimes much over one hundred years, very numerous instances of persons who were in poor circumstances, existing on a very simple diet, but who were free from cares. To attain such a measure of simple diet does not require any very great effort of mind; peasants obtain it without care or worry. If we were asked for the best means of living to be 100 years old we would say: become a peasant or a pauper and be received into an English workhouse.

It is astonishing how many of the inmates of the English workhouses and other similar institutions for the poor become very aged. They have no anxieties about getting their daily bread, and oftentimes they are fed better than they would have been in their homes, although only the minimum amount of hygienic food is given. (This certainly would not have applied to the English workhouses before the days of Charles Dickens.) Workhouse inmates lead a very regular and frugal life, rising in the small hours of the morning and retiring to bed early in the evening. Thus, in winter time, they can never contract pneumonia by coming home late from the overheated theatre, concert, or club-house. They also need not worry about their fortunes, for they have none.

We may thus conclude that a workhouse may be a more favorable place for reaching a good old age than a palace, which coincides with the pithy words of Dr. Harvey already quoted.

To the three agencies of frugality, fresh air, and no worries we would like to add the great advantage of sunshine, plenty of milk in the diet, and little meat, a daily proper action of the bowels, a daily bath, rational clothing, and above all—considering the great importance of the functions of the glands with internal secretion as a means of freeing our body from poisonous products, and thus preventing premature old age—we must insist on the rational hygiene of these organs, and on the reinforcement of their functions, if changed by age or disease, by means of extracts obtained from similar organs of healthy animals.

From long study of the lives of the patriarchs of great age—who, according to evidence, sometimes legal, and acknowledged also by such authorities as Professor Pflüger^[382] and Pel,^[383] have attained an age much over 100, and in some cases even of 160—we have come to the conclusion that, by following the hygienic rules we have laid down in the various chapters in this book, we certainly can preserve our youthfulness till 50 or 60, and our life to 100 or over.

We fully acknowledge the value of descent from long-lived families, but we may refer to the instances we have quoted of persons descended from short-lived families and yet living to be nearly 100.

It would, indeed, be most foolish to feel like an old man or woman when but 40 or 50, and to die perhaps at 60, when, by the exercise of a little judgment, we can considerably prolong our youth, which may otherwise be fast flitting away, preparing us for an early grave, and enjoy our life twice as much by being free from pains and ailments.

Most of the evils that befall us in this world, including premature old age and early death, are, in our opinion, as we have often repeated, solely due to our own negligence; and to avoid such a fate we recommend the following precepts:—

1. To be as much as possible in the open air, and especially in the sunshine; and to take plenty of exercise, taking special care to breathe deeply and regularly.

2. To live on a diet consisting of: meat once a day, eggs, cereals, green vegetables, fruit, and raw milk of healthy cows (as much as the stomach will permit); and to masticate properly.

3. To take a bath daily; and in addition, once a week or once every two weeks, to take a sweat bath (if the heart can stand it).

4. To have a daily action of the bowels; and in addition to take a purgative once a week if there is any tendency to constipation.

5. To wear very porous underwear, preferably cotton; porous clothing, loose collars, light hat (if any), and low shoes.

6. To go to bed early, and to rise early.

7. To sleep in a very dark and very quiet room, and with a window open; and not to sleep less than six to six and one-half hours, or more than seven and one-half, and for women eight and one-half, hours.

8. To have one complete day’s rest in each week, without even reading or writing.

9. To avoid mental emotions, and also worries about things that have happened and cannot be altered, as well as about things that may happen. Never to say unpleasant things, and to avoid listening to such, if possible.

10. To get married; and if a widow or widower, to marry again; and to avoid sexual activity beyond the physiological limit, as also to avoid a total suppression of the functions of these organs.

11. To be temperate in the use of alcohol and tobacco, and also in the use of coffee or tea.

12. To avoid places that are overheated, especially by steam, and badly ventilated. To replace or reinforce the functions of the organs which may have become changed by age or disease, by means of the extracts from the corresponding organs of healthy animals; but only to do this under the strict supervision of medical men who are thoroughly familiar with the functions of the ductless glands.