I have to thank most sincerely the friends and pupils who have helped me by bringing before me new facts, or other materials; the names of these will appear in their proper places in the volume. I have not mentioned by name, however, Dr. J. Goldschmidt, whose continual encouragement and practical sympathy have made my work much easier.
Finally, my special thanks are due to Drs. Em. Roux and Burnet, and M. Mesnil, who have been so good as to correct my manuscript and the proofs of this volume.
É. M.
Paris, Feb. 7, 1907.
CONTENTS
| PAGE | |
| EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION | [v] |
| PREFACE | [ix] |
| PART I | |
| THE INVESTIGATION OF OLD AGE | |
| I | |
| THE PROBLEMS OF SENILITY | |
Treatment of old people in uncivilised countries.—Assassinationof old people in civilised countries.—Suicide of old people.—Publicassistance in old age.—Centenarians.—Mme.Robineau, a lady of 106 years of age.—Principal charactersof old age.—Examples of old mammals.—Old birds andtortoises.—Hypothesis of senile degeneration in the loweranimals | [1] |
| II | |
| THEORIES OF THE CAUSATION OF SENILITY | |
Hypothesis of the causation of senility.—Senility cannot beattributed to the cessation of the power of reproduction ofthe cells of the body.—Growth of the hair and the nails inold age.—Inner mechanism of the senescence of the tissues.—Notwithstandingthe criticisms of M. Marinesco, theneuronophags are true phagocytes.—The whitening of hair,and the destruction of nerve cells as arguments against atheory of old age based on the failure of the reproductivepowers of the cells | [15] |
| III | |
| MECHANISM OF SENILITY | |
Action of the macrophags in destroying the higher cells.—Seniledegeneration of the muscular fibres.—Atrophy of the[xiv]skeleton.—Atheroma and arterial sclerosis.—Theory thatOld Age is due to alteration in the vascular glands.—Organictissues that resist phagocytosis. | [25] |
| PART II | |
| LONGEVITY IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM | |
| I | |
| THEORIES OF LONGEVITY | |
Relation between longevity and size.—Longevity and the periodof growth.—Longevity and the doubling in weight afterbirth.—Longevity and rate of reproduction.—Probable relationsbetween longevity and the nature of the food | [39] |
| II | |
| LONGEVITY IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM | |
Longevity in the lower animals.—Instances of long life in sea-anemonesand other vertebrates.—Duration of life of insects.—Durationof life of “cold-blooded” vertebrates.—Durationof life of birds.—Duration of life of mammals.—Inequalityof the duration of life in males and females.—Relationsbetween longevity and fertility of the organism | [47] |
| III | |
| THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM AND SENILITY | |
Relations between longevity and the structure of the digestivesystem.—The cæca in birds.—The large intestine of mammals.—Functionof the large intestine.—The intestinalmicrobes and their agency in producing auto-intoxicationand auto-infection in the organism.—Passage of microbesthrough the intestinal wall | [59] |
| IV | |
| MICROBES AS THE CAUSE OF SENILITY | |
Relations between longevity and the intestinal flora.—Ruminants.—Thehorse.—Intestinal flora of birds.—Intestinalflora of cursorial birds.—Duration of life in cursorialbirds.—Flying mammals.—Intestinal flora and longevityof bats.—Some exceptions to the rule.—Resistance of thelower vertebrates to certain intestinal microbes | [73] |
| V[xv] | |
| DURATION OF HUMAN LIFE | |
Longevity of man.—Theory of Ebstein on the normal durationof human life.—Instances of human longevity.—Circumstanceswhich may explain the long duration of human life | [84] |
| PART III | |
| INVESTIGATIONS ON NATURAL DEATH | |
| I | |
| NATURAL DEATH AMONGST PLANTS | |
Theory of the immortality of unicellular organisms.—Examplesof very old trees.—Examples of short-lived plants.—Prolongationof the life of some plants.—Theory of the naturaldeath of plants by exhaustion.—Death of plants from auto-intoxication | [94] |
| II | |
| NATURAL DEATH IN THE ANIMAL WORLD | |
Different origins of death in animals.—Examples of naturaldeath associated with violent acts.—Examples of naturaldeath in animals without digestive organs.—Natural deathin the two sexes.—Hypothesis as to the cause of naturaldeath in animals | [109] |
| III | |
| NATURAL DEATH AMONGST HUMAN BEINGS | |
Natural death in the aged.—Analogy of natural death andsleep.—Theories of sleep.—Ponogenes.—The instinct ofsleep.—The instinct of natural death.—Replies to critics.—Agreeablesensation at the approach of death | [119] |
| PART IV | |
| SHOULD WE TRY TO PROLONG HUMAN LIFE? | |
| I | |
| THE BENEFIT TO HUMANITY | |
Complaints of the shortness of our life.—Theory of “medicalselection” as a cause of degeneration of the race.—Utilityof prolonging human life | [132] |
| II[xvi] | |
| SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PROLONGATION OF LIFE | |
Ancient methods of prolonging human life.—Gerokomy.—The“immortality draught” of the Taoists.—Brown-Séquard’smethod.—The spermine of Poehl.—Dr. Weber’s precepts.—Increasedduration of life in historical times.—Hygienicmaxims.—Decrease in cutaneous cancer | [136] |
| III | |
| DISEASES THAT SHORTEN LIFE | |
Measures against infectious diseases as aiding in the prolongationof life.—Prevention of syphilis.—Attempts to prepareserums which could strengthen the higher elements of theorganism | [145] |
| IV | |
| INTESTINAL PUTREFACTION SHORTENS LIFE | |
Uselessness of the large intestine in man.—Case of a womanwhose large intestine was inactive for six months.—Anothercase where the greater part of the large intestine was completelyshut off.—Attempts to disinfect the contents of thelarge intestine.—Prolonged mastication as a means of preventingintestinal putrefaction | [151] |
| V | |
| LACTIC ACID AS INHIBITING INTESTINAL PUTREFACTION | |
The development of the intestinal flora in man.—Harmlessnessof sterilised food.—Means of preventing the putrefaction offood.—Lactic fermentation and its anti-putrescent action.—Experimentson man and mice.—Longevity in races whichused soured milk.—Comparative study of different souredmilks.—Properties of the Bulgarian Bacillus.—Means ofpreventing intestinal putrefaction with the help of microbes | [161] |
| PART V | |
| PSYCHICAL RUDIMENTS IN MAN | |
| I | |
| RUDIMENTARY ORGANS IN MAN | |
Reply to critics who deny the simian origin of man.—Actual[xvii]existence of rudimentary organs.—Reductions in the structureof the organs of sense in man.—Atrophy of Jacobson’sorgan and of the Harderian gland in the human race | [184] |
| II | |
| HUMAN TRAITS OF CHARACTER INHERITED FROM APES | |
The mental character of anthropoid apes.—Their muscularstrength.—Their expression of fear.—The awakening oflatent instincts of man under the influence of fear | [191] |
| III | |
| SOMNAMBULISM AND HYSTERIA AS MENTAL RELICS | |
Fear as the primary cause of hysteria.—Natural somnambulism.—Doublingof personality.—Some examples of somnambulists.—Analogybetween somnambulism and the life ofanthropoid apes.—The psychology of crowds.—Importanceof the investigation of hysteria for the problem of the originof man | [200] |
| PART VI | |
| SOME POINTS IN THE HISTORY OF SOCIAL ANIMALS | |
| I | |
| THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE RACE | |
Problem of the species in the human race.—Loss of individualityin the associations of lower animals.—Myxomycetes andSiphonophora.—Individuality in Ascidians.—Progress in thedevelopment of the individual living in a society | [212] |
| II | |
| INSECT SOCIETIES | |
Social life of insects.—Development and preservation of individualityin colonies of insects.—Division of labour andsacrifice of individuality in some insects | [220] |
| III | |
| SOCIETY AND THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE HUMAN RACE | |
Human societies.—Differentiation in the human race.—Learnedwomen.—Habits of a bee, Halictus quadricinctus.—Collectivisttheories.—Criticisms by Herbert Spencer and[xviii]Nietzsche.—Progress of individuality in the societies ofhigher beings | [223] |
| PART VII | |
| PESSIMISM AND OPTIMISM | |
| I | |
| PREVALENCE OF PESSIMISM | |
Oriental origin of pessimism.—Pessimistic poets.—Byron.—Leopardi.—Poushkin.—Lermontoff.—Pessimismand suicide | [233] |
| II | |
| ANALYSIS OF PESSIMISM | |
Attempts to assign reasons for the pessimistic conception oflife.—Views of E. von Hartmann.—Analysis of Kowalevsky’swork on the psychology of pessimism | [239] |
| III | |
| PESSIMISM IN ITS RELATION TO HEALTH AND AGE | |
Relation between pessimism and the state of the health.—Historyof a man of science who was pessimistic whenyoung and who became an optimist in old age.—Optimismof Schopenhauer when old.—Development of the sense oflife.—Development of the senses in blind people.—The senseof obstacles | [247] |
| PART VIII | |
| GOETHE AND FAUST | |
| I | |
| GOETHE’S YOUTH | |
Goethe’s youth.—Pessimism of youth.—Werther.—Tendency tosuicide.—Work and love.—Goethe’s conception of life inhis maturity | [261] |
| II | |
| GOETHE AND OPTIMISM | |
Goethe’s optimistic period.—His mode of life in that period.—Influenceof love in artistic production.—Inclinations[xix]towards the arts must be regarded as secondary sexual characters.—Senilelove of Goethe.—Relation between geniusand the sexual activities | [270] |
| III | |
| GOETHE’S OLD AGE | |
Old age of Goethe.—Physical and intellectual vigour of theold man.—Optimistic conception of life.—Happiness in lifein his last period | [279] |
| IV | |
| GOETHE AND “FAUST” | |
Faust the biography of Goethe.—The three monologues inthe first Part.—Faust’s pessimism.—The brain-fatiguewhich finds a remedy in love.—The romance with Margueriteand its unhappy ending | [283] |
| V | |
| THE OLD AGE OF FAUST | |
The second Part of Faust is in the main a description of senilelove.—Amorous passion of the old man.—Humble attitudeof the old Faust.—Platonic love for Helena.—The oldFaust’s conception of life.—His optimism.—The general ideaof the play | [290] |
| PART IX | |
| SCIENCE AND MORALITY | |
| I | |
| UTILITARIAN AND INTUITIVE MORALITY | |
Difficulty of the problem of morality.—Vivisection and anti-vivisection.—Enquiryinto the possibility of rational morality.—Utilitarianand intuitive theories of morality.—Insufficiencyof these | [301] |
| II | |
| MORALITY AND HUMAN NATURE | |
Attempts to found morality on the laws of human nature.—Kant’stheory of moral obligation.—Some criticisms of theKantian theory.—Moral conduct must be guided by reason | [309] |
| III[xx] | |
| INDIVIDUALISM | |
Individual morality.—History of two brothers brought up in thesame circumstances, but whose conduct was quite different.—Latedevelopment of the sense of life.—Evolution of sympathy.—Thesphere of egoism in moral conduct.—Christianmorality.—Morality of Herbert Spencer.—Danger of exaltedaltruism | [316] |
| IV | |
| ORTHOBIOSIS | |
Human nature must be modified according to an ideal.—Comparisonwith the modification of the constitution of plantsand of animals.—Schlanstedt rye.—Burbank’s plants.—Theideal of orthobiosis.—The immorality of ignorance.—Theplace of hygiene in the social life.—The place of altruismin moral conduct.—The freedom of the theory oforthobiosis from metaphysics | [325] |