WHAT WE MIGHT EXPECT. 171 



Those creatures who are longest in reaching maturity 

 might be expected also to be the longest lived ; I am 

 not certain, however, how far what is called alternate 

 generation militates against this view, but I do not 

 think it does so seriously. 



Lateness of marriage, provided the constitution of the j 

 individuals marrying is in no respect impaired, should ' 

 also tend to longevity. 



I believe that all the above will be found suffi- 

 ciently well supported by facts. If so, when we feel 

 that we are getting old we should try and give our cells 

 such treatment as they will find it most easy to under- 

 stand, through their experience of their own individual 

 life, which, however, can only guide them inferentially, 

 and to a very small extent; and throughout life we 

 should remember the important bearing which memory 

 has upon health, and both occasionally cross the memo- 

 ries of our component cells with slightly new experi- 

 ences, and be careful not to put them either suddenly 

 or for long together into conditions which they will not 

 be able to understand. Nothing is so likely to make 

 our cells forget themselves, as neglect of one or other of 

 these considerations. They will either fail to recognise 

 themselves completely, in which case we shall die ; or 

 they will go on strike, more or less seriously as the case 

 may be, or perhaps, rather, they will try and remember 

 their usual course, and fail ; they will therefore try some 

 other, and will probably make a mess of it, as people 

 generally do when they try to do things which they do 

 not understand, unless indeed they have very excep- 

 tional capacity. 



