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wisely and purely. Habitual intemperance and the grosser sins of
life are contraventions of the moral law. The man of 40 to 45 must
be self-denying in eating and drinking, and play in moderation. In
youth, restoration or new growth takes place rapidly; in middle age
the balance between wear and restoration is approximately equal; in
old age the ever-changing cells of our bodies renew themselves but
slowly. In the book of Job we are told "Thou shalt come to thy
grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season."
We cannot hope to do so if we overeat or overstimulate, if we sleep in
close, badly-ventilated, overcrowded, sunless, insanitary houses. We
should never become senile. Senility is not a law of nature, and it is
evidence and proof that the law has been broken. Senility is not the
result of wearing out or overwork. Senility means the cessation of
renewal rather than the destruction of existing tissues. As I shall
show you presently, the centre of vital power is in man's ductless
glands. These glands, called the endocrines, were referred to first by
Brown Sequard in 1889; if these glands fail senility ensues; if kept
in good condition they have the power to postpone senile decay.
Premature old age is manifested in wasting and slackening of the
muscles; there is a loss of spring and elasticity; the walk becomes
slow and shuffling, the breath short; there is pallor and sallowness of
the skin and vacuity of the expression. The spirit shows loss of
memory ; the mind dwells upon the past. Perception is dulled; it
cannot take in new ideas. They become irritable and impatient and
sink into their anecdotage. A man of 55, as I shall show you presently,
has no right to be bald, somewhat deaf, stiff in the muscles, obese,
with teeth going or gone and some varicose veins to assist him
downhill. He is generally a man who has denied or never heard that
dietetics and the hygiene of the intestine should be man's first care if
he wishes to live to 90. The man of 40 should know his own
capacities and limitations. Common sense and intellectual honesty
are needed to reach old age. At 40 the question is, shall we dig our
own grave with our teeth ? Until 30 we do strange things ; we eat
too much at a time, and eat incongruous mixtures. We seem to
recover as if our animal economy could meet all demands and
emergencies, but we leave some mark on our reserve of power. If
we do this after 40 our excretary organs, our kidneys, etc., that should
clear away the rubbish heaps, cannot cope with the strain; hence we
become rheumatic, gouty and suffer from kidney disease.