QJTA ♦Sc^JW^' THE ABERNETHIAN CODE HEALTH Sf LONGEVITY; OS, Common Sense MEDICINE. t fi Priee 25 Cent* William H, Evans, Printer, New-York. :^^^V».^ 1831. THE OP Health &f Longevity, OR, EVERYONE'S HEALTH IN HIS OWN KEEPING, BY THE PROPER REGULATION OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELSv In order to the attaining and securing those invaluable blessings, • FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF JOHN ABERNETHY, ESQ., F.R.S, Senior Surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital. CONTAINING FULL RULES FOR THE APPLICATION OF THIS SYSTEM, BY SUITABLE REGIMEN, DIET AND EXERCISE ; WITII AN INTRODUCTORY VIEW OF 1HE IilVIXG FUNCTIONS \* Showing their mutual relation to each other, And how they severally depend on that part of the machine that influences and regulates the whole. CONCLUDING WITH SOME MOST REMARKABLE INSTANCES OF LONGEVITY AND IT&,COMPARATIVE ESTIMATE IN DIFFERENT CLASSES OF, SOCIETY. Principits obsta, &c. .".....* **)**• 0 Mf It is better to prevent tharrTctjrej^* * LONDON : PUBLISHED BY J. WILLIAMS, 45, PATERNOSTER-ROW. NEW YORK: REPUBLISHED BY JOHN H. MINUSE. 400. PEARL-«T.1?,ET. AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. - 1*31. 1 \ TO JOHN ABERXETHY, ESQ,. Whkn the great Frederick of Prussia took the City of Prague, he found in its Cathedral the Twelve Apostles of pure gold. These, like other conquerors, ho made his prize ; and, when reproached for this apparent sacrilege, he replied, he had only executed their master's command in sending them to travel over the face of the earth. In the same manner, it is to render the digestive system more extensively useful, that the present dress is assumad for it, and where the importance of the Gtomach is pointed out by a chain of facte you have never brought into view. The celebrated seventy-tnird page of your book is, however, inserted, that no reader may be under the necessity, particularly if he is economical, of making his pilgrimage for it to Longman's, according to your usual directions. I am, Sir, Your's, THE AUTHOR. 1 CONTENTS. Page. Principal Functions of the Stomach . .5 Digestion . ■ . . . .6 Remarks on Ditto . . . . . 7 Faulty Digestion . . , .9 Causes of Ditto . , . . . ib. Order of Digestive Process . . .12 Circumstances attending it . ib. Leading Sympathies of the Stomach, affecting Di- gestive Process . . . .13 Deductions on the Importance of the Stomach, in regard to Health and Longevity . . .14 Case of Carnaro ... . . . ib. -------Cardinal de Senlis . . f5 ■ John Wesley . . . . ib. -------Sir John Sinclair . . . . jb. Remarkable Instances of Longevity . . . 16 Comparative Statement of Longevity in different Classes of Society . . . .17 Method of counteracting IndigeBtion, by the use of Chylo-poetic Aperient . . . . 18 Ditto of Alterative Digester . .19 Conclusive Remarks on the Digestive System . : ib. The Abernethian Creed, or Seventy-third Page . 20 Summary of the Subject , , , ,34 A TO THE READER. The only infallible means for preserving sound Health, and attaining a hale Longevity, are by simple Domestic Medicines, adapted to the Constitution of every Individual and Family, more particularly for the Nervous Invalid, and those of a delicate, ailing habit, founded on the great Principles of JOHN ABERNETHY, Esq., F. R. S., and Senior Surgeon to Saint Bartholomew's Hospital; whose golden rules for health consist in an attention to the due regulation of the Stomach and Bowels, the grand Elaboratory by which the Blood, the source of Vitality, is prepared and transmitted to every part for the purposes of Life, or, in fact, by simply promoting the process of Digestion and the natural and free Secretion of all the Organs. Of the Medicines referred to, under the heads " Alterative Digester," and " Chylo-poetic Aperient," the former is in- ended to correct and invigorate the Stomach, two of which may be taken every forenoon ; and the latter to regulato the action of the Liver and Alimentary Canal, two onlyi when necessary. By these convenient forms, and a strict obedience to the unerring Laws of Nature, in this Work clearly developed, everyone is guided by such rational ground* as experience has fully proved, and which no thinking man who reflects on the subject can dispute. By pursuing such a course, also, every invalid reader becomes a patient to himself, in receiving Medicines as the known Prescription of a Great Medical Character, there being nothing of mystery or empyrical sccresy connected with them ; to the notoriety of which facts the candid Practitioner will not hesitate to testify. ADVERTISEMENT. That every man becomes his own physician at forty, is an old proverb, or at least that he should be able, by that age, to know his own constitution, and what will agree or disagree with him, is obvious, otherwise his observations of himself have been made to little purpose ; but to teach a man from his youth to preserve his health, strength, and vigor unim- paired,' is the grand secret worth acquiring. This Hippocrates, the father of physic, first laid down ; and, returning to his precepts, Mr. Abernethy has said, and on every occasion enforced it, that it can only be done by a strict attention to the regulation of what may be termed the primary organs," which constitute the elaboratory of tho machine, and on this principle the whole of his system is built—a system simplo and clear, and which every man can carry into effect in hia own person, without the aid of tho profession at all. The celebrated maxim of tho great Boerhaave, to keep the head cool and the feet warm, was directed solely to the equable circulation of the blood, or to lessen the accumulation of blood in the head, and preserve the energy or vital powers of the extreme parts. It is evident, however, that the same maxim is more completely and successfully carried into effect by the regulation of the primary organs, or the functions of the stomach and bowels being properly performed; for thus no morbid accumulation will take place to produce congestion in any part: the circulation, on the contrary, will go on freo and unobstructed through every scries of vessels destined for it, and the fluid be transmitted at the same time in a pure and healthy stream. The same observations mv be extended to all popular systems of medicine; for even the primitive medicine of Westley, and of authors of the same class, as regarded tho preservation of health, has depended solely on the cure of disease—not on its prevention. Hence tho unmeaning farrago of medical recipes for this purpose with which such works abound ; while thj present leading and simple principle does away the whole complex machinery of such architects of health, and buries thpm in rubbish, as swerving from the path of nature and common sense in their mode of proceeding. PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS OF THK SYSTEM. The formation of the blood in man, and, it may be said, in all other animals, is the grand purpose for which the preparatory organs are arranged, and the transmission of this living fluid through its various channels, for special purposes, constitutes the entire economy of the system. From the blood every part of the body is originally produced: this takes place while in the womb, by means of the circulation in the mother; and it is only after birth, when the lungs are expanded, as an essential and primary function to the cir- culation of the blood, that man depends for the continuance of existence and health on his own powers during the remainder of life. In order to a complete and healthy formation of the blood, three important functions must bo always regularly and correctly carried on. First, The functions of the digestive organs, to prepare and assimilate healthy nourishment. Secondly, The functions of the bowels and their appendages, to separate and carry off the useless part received; and Thirdly, Tne functions of the pulmonary system, or tha lungs, to inhale that essential matter which gives colour and vitality to the blood, thereby completing it; and to remove also that matter again in its -effete state, after the expenditure of its vital principle. But it is only the functions of the two first parts of the syr- tem that are within our management and proper regulation. The functions of the lungs, as under.the influence of at- mospheric agency, depend on circumstances that are too much 8 THE ABERNETHIAN CODB beyond our control. Such being the case, we are restricted to trace only the nature of the d.gestive and expulsive organs, and from them alone draw the necessary conclusions that tend to the preservation of health, the cure of disease, and the extension of life, or, in other words, the means of attaining longevity, which can only be a real blessing, with the possession of health, and the power of enjoyment. The principal organ is the stomach :* no animal can exist * The vital importance of the stomach to life may be judged of from the following facts. Such simply organized animals as have no visible brain, nerves, lungs, heart or blood-vessels, and even vegetables, contract and re-act on impressions being made on any part of them; and, being cut in pieces, each becomes a living individual. They separate tho elements of dead matter which re-unite within them in various and specific proportions, and extend their fibres; they propagate their kinds whose particles and fibres are arranged into specific forms, as all consolidated fluids are : they have a preserving and resisting power called vis conservatrix, and medicatrix naturcc ; become deranged in their fu. ,;ons and structure by excess, defect, or peculiarity of imprt sion ; recover from various morbid states; regenerate lott substance; cease at length to answer impressions, and spontaneously separate into their elements, which form new combinations in nature. In an animal, which, besides a stomach, the seat of the first assimilation and simple life, has nerves and brain, the medium of sensation and thought, the energy of which is increased by a heart and lungs; the assimilating, moving, sentient, and thinking powers become parts of one whole, necessary to the action and effect of one another, acting as it were in a circle, modifying and improving the system in which the smallest puncture producing conti aclility, pain and haemorrhage, seems to show that life, mind, and heart exist in every point. Cold-blooded animals, whose circulation is languid, and respiration occasional, live and move for several hours without brain, heart, cr lungs: the heart of a young hot-blooded animal continues its motions for somo time after its connection with the brain is cut. off; in consumption there is sometimes scarcely a vestige of lungs left; some persons have the power of sus- pending the action of the heart, and it is sometimes suspended without the will, while the other functions continue entire. After decollation, it is said, a viper traversed several walks ?n a garden ; an ostrich continued running in a circular course leading to an accustomed place of refuge; and a cock im- pulsively continued its motion towards some grain that had been just presented to n; a turtle, whose strength, considering OF HEALTH AND LONGEVITY. 9 without it, and life has remained, even in the perfect animals, independently of almost every other organ. Placed at the middle, the stomach is felt to be the centre of every impression on any part of the body or mind, and the scat of muscular exertion and fatigue. It is the receptacle of food, poison, and medicine, the effects of which are p» jpagated to every part. It is most subject to disorders, most accessible to remedies, regulating and * .^gulated by the mo' >ons and sensations of the whole system, and accommodating ...self so as to keep all the parts in balance. In most cases, it is the first organ that feels, and the last thai fails. It seems to be the centre of power and motion, from which the vital principle, whatever that is, is determined into tho different parts, and expended upon them. In sleep, tho sensibility of this organ is lessened, and the tem- perature of the body also, two degrees. This is found by long-fasting in sleep, the slow operation of medicine, and the suspension of stools. The fits of nervous diseases generally attack in sleep, showing a change in the state of the stomach. Temperature of the surface particularly affects the stomach, and young animals and maniacs being as it were all stomach, bear remarkably the effects of changes of temperature. The stomach thus characterised is situated at tho end of the gullet, and receives by the action, or peristaltic motion of the latter, whatever is taken into the mouth, after it has under- gone, if solid, the action of the jaws or the process of mastica- its massy shell, must be very great, lives for months without the head ; flatuses have been born alive without brain, cere* bellum, or spinal marrow. In dropsy of the head, nothing has been found but the membranes; some have lost a considerable part of the brain and recovered ; all the involuntary motions, and even the use of the limbs, have continued a day or two after the spinal marrow has been divided; the involuntary ones continue when the senses aud brain are locked up in sleep, lethargy, and apoplexy, and in the suspended action of the heart and lungs in syncope. In mania the vigor is often increased and the sensibility diminished, while the contrary is generally observed in indigestion, gout, and nervous diseases, in which the intellect is often unimpaired. The contractility lasts much longer if an animal be killed by destroying its brain than otherwise; death, occasioned by over-exertion of the muscles, by the electric, carbonic, or azotic fluids, or by tho poison of a viper, prevents the muscles from becoming rigid, and disposes to a much quicker pi-trcfaction; and the hfo m vegetables, particularly in their speds, in a chick before incu- bation, and in the hibernating animals, as in the swallow, mountain-rat, and dormouse, resists the tendency to putrefac- tion and freezing. 10 THE ABERNETHIAN CODE OF tion, and has been mixed with the salivary and other secretions that are elicited from the surface in its descent, all necessary principles by their admixture : then entering the stomach, in this admixed state, it becomes further blended with the gastric liquor, or animalising fluid, the grand solvent to the whole ; and the changes it hero undergoes are tho effect equally of heat, of mechanical action and chemical agency—all exerted for its preparation into that nourishment which contains the principles that united, tend to form the red fluid we term blood, the basis of every part, whatever form it assume, in the fabric of the body. The stomach, then, from its great and essential functions of preparation, possesses both extensive powers and also universal sympathy with the whole system :* hence every deviation from its healthy condition is not only shown by particular symptoms in the organ itself, but also by extending its morbid influence to various other parts of the body, where no local derange- ments to account for such symptoms appear to exist. The state of the tongue or mouth is always attended to, as marking the state of tho stomach, according to which the sen- sations of taste are various, and the saliva and mucus vary in quantity, consistence, taste, smell, and color: even the state of mind or character seems connected with it, vigorous and fero- cious animals being generally carnivorous, with muscular vigor in proportion to their voracity. But the healthy state of the organ is marked, at all times, by a regular return of appetite after every meal, and by its. easy digestion or solution, without any symptoms showing the process retarded, partially sus- pended, or the principles of nourishment received improperly evolved: wherever the latter takes place, the blood is but im- perfectly supplied with the essential properties it ought to convey to the different organs; and thus the latter cannot exercise their peculiar duties or offices in the economy in such an accurate manner as to keep up the standard of health. During ordinary hunger, the power of the stomach over tho muscles is diminished, which state is called weakness, and there is also a diminished action of the heart and arteries, par- ticularly at their extremities; and this escurient state, like that of other appetites, goes off, is apt to change into the loathing or sick state, then returns, becoming irresistible, and enabling * A blow, or the wind of a cannon-ball over the stomach, kills, without leaving any mark, and if any of its nerves even be cut, or itself wounded, the aliment remains undigested: the operation of an emetic proves also this extensive sympathy, by exciting a general agitation of the whole system, and from this violence the relief of many diseases. HEALTH AND LONGEVITY. ' 11 the stomach to dissolve leather, and other indigestible matters, and producing excessive thirst, delirium, and other symptoms. On the sight of food, the mouth fills with water, and on taking some, the esurient or hungry state, with its symptoms, is removed. The organ then feels comfortable, the muscles and organs in general, particularly those most fatigued,recover their strength, the circulation is promoted, the secretions flow, the respiration becomes free, the countenance brightens up, serenity and vigor are imparted to body and mind, and the heart opens in benevolence. Symptoms of Faulty Digestion. The process of digestion then, or the preparation of what we eat and drink, is the great function of the stomach, but this process becomes often impaired or in fault, and the symptoms of imperfect or faulty digestion first appear in that organ or part of the body which is naturally weakest; hence, often the distance of it from the original seat of the disease ; and hence, also, the complication of symptoms which mark this primary foundation and source of ailment. One of the first marks of vitiated digestion is lowness of spirits, or a peculiar languor and lassitude that sickens at exer^ tion, and shows any thing but what are in common language termed good spirits ; this is followed by want of rest or disor- dered sleep, and the person awakes in the morning with a sense of weariness and fatigue, instead of being refreshed ; de- ficiency, or loss of appetite, then ensues, and Nature no longer employs her protecting monitor, in the sensation of hunger, when the organ is thus out of order, or in a torpid state. To these primary, or leading symptoms, are added a dry, hot skin, occasioning, by the retention of saline matter in the blood, an offensive breath ; the tongue also is foul, and in the morning appears covered with a crust, conveying to the per- son's own sense a bad and disagreeable taste: with these symptoms are joined, also, a heavy, dull countenance, a sallow look, and sympathetic pain of the head. Symptoms of a Faulty Stale of the Bowels. When the bowels partake of this faulty state, they are marked by an irregular action of the canal; if examined, also, the excrenientilious matter voided will be found changed in quality, which, in a healthy stale, should be neither too solid 12 THE ABERiVETHIAN CODE OF nor too liquid in consistence, and in color be like that of rhubarb made into a paste; but in derangement of the diges- tive, process, this matter varies in color from perfectly while to blaek ; the former proclaiming a deficiency of bile, and the latter a fault in the liver and large intestines. In this state, there prevails flatulence, irructation and extrication of gaseous matter, which is never known in health: and hence arise various uneasy symptoms in the stomach and alimentary tube. Indeed in the continued identical structure from tho gullet to the rectum, the state of one part is apt to affect that of another, so indigestion occasions flatulence, spasms, and pains in the intestines, and vice versa, the state of the intestines affects the stomach.* Causes of Indigestion. The causes of imperfect digestion are, all the refinements of civilization, and whatever draws us from a life of nature, or a condition of simplicity in diet and all its attendant auxiliaries. Of these may be enumerated : First, All stimulants, as spirits, wines, and the too free use of purgative medicines. Secondly, All liquids in excess, especially when taken warm, for they weaken tho tone of the organ, and dilute the gastric * What weakness, spasms, pains and aches, stitches, depra- vations and deprivations of sense and motion, and uneasy feel- ings of body and mind, does not a little air pent up occasion- and its expulsion instantly relieve ? What symptom has not been occasionally referred to indigestion, and what remedy does not fall under the treatment of it and its effects? What disease is free from some affection of the stomach or canal, and what fever does it not mark in its beginning, its progress, remission, crisis, and cure ? The diseases of children are ac- knowledged to be mostly from the stomach and bowels, and they are known to be cured of alarming symptoms by a puke, a glyster, or a purge. A person feels weak, loses color and spirits, has head-ache, giddiness, and shivering, and the pre- disposed suffer fits of their diseases, without suspecting, as there is no sickness, want of appetite, costiveness, or affection of the stomach, that they proceed from it, till a natural Vomit- ing or looseness, an emetic or cathartic relieve the complaints. Fits, as of asthma, chin-cough, hysteria, and gout, are gene- rally preceded by some affection of the canal, and diminish or go off by the expulsion of air or other matter. HEALTH AND LONGEVITY. 13 juice, lessening its solvent powers ; this is the case with tea, punch, and other dilutions ; but— Thirdly, If this is the case with excess of liquids, that of solids is no less pernicious, for gluttony over-distending the stomach, prevents a full secretion of bile. Thus the pleasures of the table, whenever enjoyed beyond moderation, are purchased at the expense-of health. Even the quality of what we take requires equal attention to avoid injury or doing wrong, as well as the quantity, and the more food is deprived of the nourishing principle, the more unfit is it for tho purposes of aliment. Hence various experiments have been made on tho digestibility of the different substances we eat; but whatever the state of digestibility of such sub- stances, it should be laid down as a maxim, that no food should be submitted to the powers of the stomach without due mastication ; for the want of proper and minute divisibility will render all food, whatever its nature, less digestible than it otherwise would be. This process of mastication properly conducted should reduce the aliment into a soft mass, and mix it intimately with an albuminous fluid, derived from the passages already stated it pervades; but when all this is done, in order to show the mutual sympathy that influences the system, digestion is often interrupted by disorders of different parts, or affections of the mind. This process of digestion, at the time it takes place, seems to be the centre of Auction: nature here concentrates her powers for this great and primary object—the formation of nourishment, and suspends, as it were, for a time, her attention to other parts, till this is prepared : thus as a proof of her attention, and of the general influence which seems to take place in the completion of this process. The fever of digestion is consciously felt in a slight sense of cold shivering, with a quicker and more contracted pulse, and as the process advances, the skin or spasm of the surface relaxes, and the insensible perspiration augments, like the febrile paroxysm that marks the efforts of naturo aroused by the influence of disease. Of this daily progress of symptoms, after meals, persons of weak and irritable habits are particularly sensible.* * But the effects of food, as of every thing else, being re- lative to the state of the stomach, what is light to one w heavy to another ; and a cordial in some states occasions vo- miting. A heavy meal oppresses the stomach, and depresses its power over the other parts of the system, often inducing . alarming symptoms, which are frequently relieved by a puke, or by spirits or aromalics, increasing the power of the stomach. 14 THE ABERNETHIAN CODE OP Order of the Digestive Process. Digestion, then, both in animals and vegetables, is an essential, primary, or preparatory process to the system of each, and as the food passes down into the stomach, tho saliva supplies it with the principle of oxygen, while the gullet pushes it on by its peristaltic motion, like tho in- testines, into the organ : here it becomes blended with the gastric juice—a most powerful solvent—and also with other agents, and here the chyme or crude mass of nourishment is formed, the food being for this purpose subjected equally to a vital, mechanical, and chemical action. The first is evident from the process being influenced by passions of the mind; the second, from the mastication and shifting of it, so as to change the site of its surfaces; and the third, from the several fluids with which it is mixed, while, in order to give greater force and active potters to the organ, it is supplied with a larger proportion of blood-vessels than any other in the body. It is, however, in the intestinal canal and duodenum that the real chyle or nourishment is perfected; and this part of the animal structuro is more or less complicated in its form, according to tho nature of the food from which the chyle is prepared : the more indigestible the food of the animal is, the more complex is its form, as in all the carnivorous tribe : while in the herbivorous it is found clearly more simple ; but in man it observes a certain medium between the two, as living equally on animal and vegetable food. As the chyle is perfected in the canal, so ths separa- tion also takes place here between it and the excrement or fsculent matter, tho one being absorbed and the other passing on in order to its discharge: this separation is effected by the joint mixture of the bile and pancroatio juice, part of these liquors attaching itself to tho chyle and the other mixing with the < \crement, and stimulating its ex. pulsion. The chyle thus separated is then absorbed from the internal surface of the intestines, and passes on by vessels to its proper reservoir, where the complete aniraalization, by its mixing with the blood, takes place. Whatever the nature or form of the food, the product or chyle is always the same, being a white homogeneous fluid, which is equally the produce of animal food and strong liquors in a northern climate, where the constitution is obliged so vigorously to support itself against the action of cold o* of vegetables, and watery liquids in the enervating tropical regions. HEALTH AND LONGEVITY. 15 Leading Sympathies of the Stomach. From this view, digestion appears a paramount function ia me economy ; and on this account the organ performing it lias a peculiar connexion and sympathy with the other leading ones that possess prominent duties in conducting the preservation and continuance of animal life. The first of these sympathetic organs is the lungs, whoso office is to regenerate the blood, tho great source of vitality; and the other is the liver, which regenerates the blood, through the mother in the fetal state, and afterwards continues its aid in this process in a manner we cannot explain ; but for this purpose it seems peculiarly organized with two distinct seta of vessels, in the same manner as the lungs. Indeed, such is the effect of sympathy, that some kinds of matter affect differ- ent parts of the same organ, and the sensation is propagated to a greater or less distance without any probability of absorp- tion. So an irritation in the lungs is often felt at the epig- lottis ; in the liver, at the shoulder; in the kidney, at the testicle and thigh ; in the bladder, at the end of the glans penis; in the colon, at tho navel; in every part of the system, at the stomach; and in the stomach, at every part of the system. How often, after death, are morbid states of brain, lungs, and heart, in vain looked for, while the cause of all the symptoms is either invisible or found in the stomach, which had not seemed previously to suffer. Animal Processes* Thus, however minute and complex the parts of the animal structure, the whole presents a beautiful picture of nice but simple arrangement: all the processes of which are intended for two great objects—the renovation and depuration of the body, in order to its preservation and well being. The processes of renovation in the animal economy may be reduced to three :— First, The process of digestion, or preparation of nourish- ment ; Second, The process of animalization, or conversion of it into blood; and Third, The process of regeneration, or restoration of this blood to its pristine condition, when deprived of any of A a principles in its passage through the circulation. * 1 Thus, in the same manner, to complete the work, three other processes are employed to depurate the system whwa renovated by the former. 2 16 THE ABETINETHIAN COLE OF First, Is by the Intestines, to carry off from the body what is noxious and effete in the preparatory process ; Second, Is by the kidnies, to deprive the system of saline impurities circulating in the blood, and derived from the same source; and the Third, Is by the skin, acting for the same purpose, the one by mutual sympathy with the other; thus, in cod weather, the kidnies are the acting depurating organ, while, in warm, the skin takes the lead. Deductions on the Importance of the Primary Organs, particularly the Stomach. After this detail, the primary organs are to be looked to in the proper exercise of their functions, as the foundation and leading apparatiss of the whole, for continuing the welfare of the machine, and especially the stomach. 1. As we have seen, in no case can life exist without this organ; 2. All matters for the support of life must pass through it; 3. It possesses a universal sympathy with every part, for the aid and help of the whole.* We have only to state the case of the celebrated Venetian nobleman Carnaro, to show what the proper regulation of these functions will do, in the attainment of longevity. Carnaro, till he arrived at the age of forty-five, had led a most dissipated life; finding the powers of his constitution to be rapidly declining, he consulted two of the most eminent phy- sicians in Italy, who attributed his complaints of indigestion* general lassitude, and occasional gout, to his mode of living, * Thus it may be said, that while every part continues under the dominion ot the stomach, no mechanical or chemical change of a morbid nature can take place in the solids or fluids of the system: and from the natural accommodation between the stomach and other parts constantly tending to a level, and forming an equally, though sometimes slenderly, balanced con- stitution, morbid irapre3sions are often resisted,local complaints arising in the course of disease become tolerable, and changes and extremes of the ordinary iirpresrions, which are all felt at the stomach, can be borne in a remarkable degree; 'jut when the balance between the stomach and other parts, by means of internal or external impressions, or evacuations, is diminished or lost, as in an ill or broken constitution, a slight change in ordinary, morbid, or salutary impressions, are felt. HEALTH AND LONGEVITY. 17 and told him he mu-t make his choice, either < f temperance or death. Regarding long life as the greatest blessing mortals can enjoy, and greatly dreading death, he adopted the former ; he commenced a vigorous war against his passions, and, after some efforts, gained a complete victory. Virtue then triumphed, and crowned him with theblessing of Heaven and the esteem of his friends. He selected his articles of diet, and made a whole- some repast of one dish, and abstained from all savory sauces and spirituous liquors; he took only a sufficient quantity to satisfy nature, and so gr.iat an advocate did he become for temperance, that he was satisfied that what he left at a meal did him more good than what he consumed. He took care not to expose himself to sudden vicissitudes in the atmosphere ; he abstained from violent exercise and late hours, and selected places fur his residence the air of which was salubrious. Thus h'u conslitution and intellects were, by the adoption of this well-regulated plan, fully preserved. Though Carnaro is a strong instance of the happy effects of a well regulated plan, there are others who, without any of those rigid regulations, deserve more implicit imitation. The CarJinnl de Senlis, under a less restricted plan, lived a hundred years—an equal age to Carnaro ; and his maxim had been, in the previous years of his life, to live with the caution of an old man when young, so that, when old in years, he was still, in constitution, a youth. The celebrated John Westley is another instance, who, with a natural weak and infirm habit, was atile to undergo much bodily and mental exertion, f>r a long lifa, and to possess the mens sana in corpore sano, solely by adhering to certain rules he had laid down. In more modern times, Sir John Sinclair recovered his health by a similar plan, though without ar-y of those rigid regulations which mark the plan of Carnaro. SirJohn observes—"though naturally possessed of a sound constitution, untainted by any hereditary disease, yet, about the year 1797, he fell into a weak and enervated stale ; found himself unequal to manage his private concerns, of prosecuting useful enquiries, or of applying his mind to political pursuits, with his former zeal and energy : he saw, also, many of his contemporaries die at an early period, before their constitutions had, app-»rently,suffered much decay. Dy reflecting on these circumstances, and a number of others, with which the subject is connected, he came to the conclusion that more die from their own faults than from actual disease; and that life might, accordingly, be prolonged, and health en. joyed with satisfaction, byapropd-aml regulated conductwith each individual, in regard to the various circumstances con- nected with the continuance or support of life; accordingly, by laying down a proper plan of proceeding for himself, lie Dot 1© THE ABERNETHIAK CODE ©F only recovered his own health, but was enabled, by hisadvicr to others, to render them an equal benefit. These circum- stances led him to publish his excellent work, entitled " A Code of Longevity"—the substance of which will be found in these pages—where he brings forward, as a leading professional example of his precepts, the immortalized Galen, who, by a certain plan, strictly adhered to, reached the age of One Hundred and Forty Years ! These cases then offer abundant proof how a proper and re- stricted mode of proceedings in diet and regimen, even in a weak constitution, will ensure a healthy longevity. It is at the same time not to be disputed, that nature alone has often done that for the individual which the above system is so well calculated to effect, without any of the restrictions now in- sisted on; butoen in these cases of what may be termed natura/longevity, it has never happened but where the primary parts of the machine, the stomach and bowels, have originally been, in their fabric, the strongest parts of the body. These remarkable instances have chiefly occurred in cold climates, and amongst the lower orders of society; and some curious examples of it that occur in Medical History arc as follows. Remarkable Instances of Longevity. Isabel Walker, a Scotch woman, died at 112, without much severity of regimen ; but she was distinguished by aplacidily of temper, and possesssed that happy medium state ot habit, neither lean nor corpulent, favorable to long life. Peter Garden, a Scotchman, died aged 131; his stature was tall, and his employment agriculture, which he continued to his death, with a wonderful appearance of freshness and youth. John Taylor, a Scotch miner, lived to 132: he always used tobacco, and his teeth continued sound to the last. Gylloul Macrarn, a native of the island of Toura, in the Hebrides, died, after keeping 100 Christmas masses. Catherine, Countess of Desmond, in Ireland, who died in the reign of James the First, was 140; and thrice in the course of her.life she renewed her teeth. Brian Monagher, a native of Ireland, about ten years ago, walked twenty miles to vote, at a contested election, in Queen's County, he being then 114 years old. The law required that forty-shilling freeholders should renew the re. gisterlng of their qualification every seven years; and so little idea had this farmer of death, that, in giving a plumper to Sir Henry Parnell, he intimated his intention, of registering as u 50J. freeholder the next time, which answers for life'. HEALTH AND LONGEVITY. 19 Thomas Parr, a native of Shropshire was buried in the Abbey of Westminster, at the age of 152. Lawrence, a native of the Shetland Islands, married at the age of 100, and died at 140. Kentigern, or St. Mungo, Bishop of Glasgow, lived to the age of 185, as certified on his monument. Henry Jenkins, of Northallerton, Yorkshire, lived to the age of 169, being first a laborer, and afterwards a fisherman. Sarah Rouen, 164, and John Rouen, her husband, 172, were married 147 years,both natives oftlie Directory of Carsoueber. Petratsch Zorten, a native of Hungary, and a cow-herd, lived to 185. The greater proportion of these persons were natives of Scotland ; though it is known that the most numerous in- stances of longevity are to be met with in Norway and Russia ; out of 6229 persons in Norway, 63 had lived to a hundred; and out of 726,273 in Russia, 216 attained one hundred years, 220 above it, and four one hundred and thirty. In the list of longevity, enumerated above, all these persons were of a low situation of life, except the Countess of Desmond; and the diet of all of them seems to have been moderate, and in some distances abstemious. Parr's maxim of health were, to keep your head cool by temperance your feet warm by exercise; to rise early and go soon to bed ; and if you are not inclined to get fat, to keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, or, be moderate in your sleep and diet. The diet of Jenkins is said to have been coarse and sour; and in the north of England, distinguished for long-lived people, it is much the same, consisting of salted meat and sour leavened hot bread. Zortcn's diet consisted entirely of milk and cakes, with a glass of brandy; and, being of the Greek church, he was, to the last, a strict observer of all their fasts. Comparative Statement of Longevity. To these fact:, we mry add, in comparing the different classes of soc'eK with respect to longevity, thatthe profession of the gardener is the mos* healthy ; next to it husbandmen are also healthy, b t from their great exertions and exposure to every weaiher, they are soon ivornout, and generally old men bcfor« fiftv. .ianufacturers are neither healthy nor long lived. Miners, who ure muc'i bo low ground, ore generally healthy, and often lc ^-iived. Soldier.;, unless cut off by the casualties of war, n,' . .ing-livcd, as well as sailors, who are generally healthy; ai J this is proved by the records both of Chelsea and Greonwic'; ilospitals. Persons engaged in commerce, if not toospecu jiiva, and their mines racked with anxiety, are ge- 2* 20 THE ABEENETHIAN CODE OP ncraFly long-lived. The voluptuous, both in town and country, are commonly cutoff in their prime. Dancing-masters a.e long-lived, from their constant exercises ; singers, on the con- trary, are short-lived. 1'hc learned professions, at the farthest, seldom exceed the age of eighty. In addition to these truths it may bo observed, that married men, compared with bachelors, are long-lived ; for the life of a bachelor is ge- nerally short and uncomfortable. In respect to the sexes, women are generally longer lived than men ; and mothers than single women. On this solid feundation, then—the healthy action of the stomach and bowels—is the present Code of Longevity built, which no speculative reasoning can overturn, and which eve?y practical fact tends to confirm and enforce. The means of carrying it into effect are simple and clear, neither wrapt in mystery nor needing disguise to recommend them; and along with tho regulation of these primary functions, they require only the auxiliaries of diet and exercise, under such control, as to render the plan successful Method of Counteracting Indigestion, or of Pre- serving a Healthy State. All the preceding symptoms of indigestion proclaim weakness in the primary part or the stomach, and the con- sequence of this weakness here is, that the sympathetic organs, or the liver and intestines, unavoidably partake of the same state. Wherever weakness occurs, in any organ or part, its functions become retarded ; hence accumulation follows, and congestions are formed, that clog the wheels of the machine. The first and leading point then is, to remove this disposition to disease ; and for this purpose the bowels must first be unloaded of their contents, and the energy of the liver, next excited, to perform actively its peculiar secretion: when this is once effected, being the fundamental indication, then the second, or relief of the organ itself, comes to be the remaining object in view, which consists in restoring to the stomach its energy, or healthy tone ; and these two indications must go hand in hand, in order to give and continue effectual relief. HEALTH AND LONGEVITT- 21 Use of the Chylo-poeiic Aperient. In performing the first indication, much attention is to be paid both to the means and to the frequency; to the means has been given the appellation of the Chylo.poetic Aperient, the operation of which is intended to be gentle; not too stimulant or drastic. To its frequency, its use should not be repeated oftener than once or twice a week ; acting then, as the gentle assistant, not the violent outrager of nature in her efforts. Perhaps, from no cause, do diseases of the gut or rectum so frequently arise, as from the rash and imprudent use of purgatives. With many, this has become such an es- tablished habit, that a motion is never procured without the intervention of art. Thus an exciting cause of disease is constantly applied. Nay, since popular medicine gave such a rage for drastics, under the name of Anlibilious Pills, now so numerous and so unscientifically compounded, from that time diseases of the rectum seem chiefly to have taken their origin, for they are at least four-fold within these thirty years. Nature intended that this part should be kept in a certain degree dis- tended by its contents, and where these are thrown off too frequently, and that by a strong action producing irritation, this natural distention not only is not allowed to take place, but from the irritation an unnatural contraction of the fibres of the gut is induced; which, by the frequent repetition of such irritation, gradually thicken and harden,so as to occasion disease by this thickening and contracting of the cavity in whole or in part. Once in 24 hours is sufficient for the pur- poses of health, and thus contraction will be prevented on the one hand, and irritation on the other. The rectum is to be considered as the natural water-closet of the system, which does not require to be too often or unnecessarily emptied ; and if proper regard is paid to this idea, we shall not hear so often of strictures of the rectum, or the use of bougies for their removal. The best bougie is the contents of the part. Use of the Alterative Digester. The second indication is performed by what is termed the Alterative Digester, or such means as invigorate; for the weakness of the stomach is oftener caused by loss of tone in its muscular fibres, than from any other source. Its secretion is not so readily affected as its moving powers; and as di- gestion is connected with more circumstances than the mere application of the gastric juice; so in the means employed to act on the organ, these circumstances are all to be taken into account, both in the prescription and its use; for the sama caution, as regards acting on its contents, is not so n*Q *** Book-Binding in all its Branches, llvitftiug* BOOK AND JOB PRINTING, J? OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, Jfe EXECUTED IN THE BEST MANNEK, AT THE SHORTEST NOTICB, / 3 AND ON THE MOST REASONABLE TERMS, BT fP) No. 265, BOTT^iSF, NEW-YORK.