DIET IN RELATION TO AGE AND ACTIVITY. 511 



of food must be taken in order to preserve health. He died at Padua 

 " without any agony, sitting in an elbow-chair, being above one hun- 

 dred years old." 

 Thus he writes : 



There are old lovers of feeding who say that it is necessary they should eat 

 and drink a great deal to keep up their natural heat, which is constantly diminish- 

 ing as they advance in years ; and that it is, therefore, their duty to eat heartily, 

 and of such things as please their palate, be they hot, cold, or temperate ; and 

 that, were they to lead a sober life, it would be a short one. To this I answer 

 that our kind mother, Nature, in order that old men may live still to a greater 

 age, has contrived matters so that they should be able to subsist on little, as I 

 do, for large quantities of food can not be digested by old and feeble stomachs. 

 ... By always eating little the stomach, not being much burdened, need not 

 wait long to have an appetite. It is for this reason that dry bread relishes so 

 well with me; and I know it from experience, and can with truth affirm, I find 

 such sweetness in it that I should be afraid of sinning against temperance, were 

 it not for my being convinced of the absolute necessity of eating of it, and that 

 we can not make, use of a more natural food. And thou, kind parent Nature, 

 who actest so lovingly by thy aged offspring, in order to prolong his days, hast 

 contrived mattters so in his favor, that he can live upon very little; and, in 

 order to add to the favor, and do him still greater service, hast made him sensi- 

 ble, that as in his youth he used to eat twice a day, when he arrives at old age 

 he ought to divide that food, of which he was accustomed before to make but 

 two meals, into four; because, thus divided, it will be more easily digested; and, 

 as in his youth he made but two collations in the day, he should, in his old age, 

 make four, provided, however, he lessens the quantity as his years increase. 



And this is what I do, agreeably to my own experience ; and, therefore, my 

 spirits, not oppressed by much food, but barely kept up, are always brisk, espe- 

 cially after eating, so that I am obliged then to sing a song, and afterward to 

 write. 



Nor do I ever find myself the worse for writing immediately after meals, 

 nor is my understanding ever clearer, nor am I apt to be drowsy, the food I 

 take being in too small a quantity to send up any fumes to the brain. Oh, how 

 advantageous it is to an old man to eat but little 1 Accordingly I, who know it, 

 eat but just enough to keep body and soul together. 



Cornaro ate of all kinds of food, animal as well as vegetable, but 

 in very small quantity, and he drank moderately of the light wine of 

 his country, diminishing his slender rations as age increased. I am 

 quite aware that I am reciting a story which must be familiar to some 

 of the readers of this review. But it is by no means widely known, 

 and is too apt an example of the value of the law under consideration 

 not to be referred to here. 



It must now be clearly understood, as a general rule for men at all 

 ages, that the amount of food ingested ought to accord within certain 

 narrow limits with the amount of force employed for the purposes of 

 daily life. But there is a certain qualification, apparent but not real, 

 of the principle thus enunciated which must be referred to here, in 

 order to prevent misunderstanding or misinterpretation of my mean- 



