1875.| Longevity of Brain-Workers. 447 
and one that must fully settle the question for all minds over 
whom facts have any influence, has been recently made by the 
Rev. J. M. Sherwood, formerly editor of ‘‘ Hours at Home,” 
and now Secretary of the Society for Promoting Life In- 
surance among Clergymen. This gentleman has laboured 
long and patiently in this department, and has ascertained 
that the average age of our ministers at death is sixty-four. The 
report (I quote from Document No. 3 of the Society) states: 
“this is four years more than the longevity of the most 
favoured (?) class; ten years more than in the other profes- 
sions: and from twelve to nineteen years above that of 
mechanics, artisans, miners, operatives, and the like.” 
These conclusions differ slightly from mine, but the differ- 
ence is in favour of clergymen. Mr. Sherwood informs me 
that he had obtained the average from a list of ten thousand 
clergymen, whose ages at death he ascertained at great 
labour by consulting ‘‘the minutes of ecclesiastical bodies 
for thirty years past, the catalogues of theological seminaries, 
Wilson’s “ Historical Almanack,” Dr. Sprague’s ‘‘ Annals of 
the American Pulpit,” biographical diCtionaries, the files of 
religious journals, &c. 
A list of ten thousand is sufficient and more than sufficient 
for a generalisation : for the second five thousand did nothing 
more than confirm the result obtained by the first. It is 
fair and necessary to infer that if the list were extended to 
ten, twenty, or even one hundred thousand, the average 
would be found about the same. 
In England, also, clergymen live toa greater age than any 
other class. According to the report of the Secretary of the 
Clerical Mutual Life Assurance Society, the mortality is less 
than that in twenty other companies by a very important 
percentage. 
Causes of the Exceptional Longevity of Clergymen. 
The reasons why clergymen are longer-lived than any other 
class of brain-workers are these :— 
1. Their callings admit of a wide variety of toil.—In their 
manifold duties their whole nature is exercised—not only 
brain and muscle in general, but all, or nearly all, the facul- 
ties of the brain—the religious, moral, and emotional na- 
ture, as well as the reason. Public speaking, when not 
carried to the extreme of exhaustion, is the best form of gym- 
nastics that is known; it exercises every inch of a man, 
from the highest regions of the brain to the smallest muscle. 
In his public ministrations, in his pastoral calls, in his study, 
in his business arrangements, in his general reading, the 
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