A buck-saw, a spade, or even a broom is better than a teacher of breathing and a better corrector of sleeplessness.
CHAPTER XXIV.
EATING AND SLEEPING
For his sleep
Was aery light, from pure digestion bred.
Milton.
We do not have to depend upon mere irresponsible guesses for the new faith in the possibility of longer life for man. Scientists have been experimenting along this line for some years, and Metchnikoff assures us that the average human life should exceed “three-score years and ten” by four decades.
He points out that the greatly increased number of persons who remain physically and mentally active past the age of seventy-five and eighty years is itself a proof that life may be prolonged. He recognizes that merely to extend existence is not a sufficient end to work for—it must be an active, worthwhile existence, and he has experimented toward this end.
All of us can recall instances of “old people” who have preserved their physical and mental faculties until their last years. We have been in the habit of regarding these people as exceptions and have perhaps not noticed that these “exceptions” are already almost frequent enough to prove that there is no such rule for longevity.