YOUTH VERSUS AGE 



lessly you must guard that citadel of mind, your body, 

 against the encroachment of vicious habits of sensual 

 indulgence; against overeating, which clogs the sys- 

 tems with useless adipose; against the drugs that, 

 in excess at any rate, promote the destruction of use- 

 ful tissues. Ceaselessly you must strive by active ex- 

 ercise to keep your muscles resilient, responsive, that 

 your circulation may be free and active, and your mind 

 proportionately eager for action, instead of sluggish 

 and inert. Ceaselessly you must challenge the mind 

 itself, give it new tasks, demand that it maintain an in- 

 terest in the new thoughts of each successive day and 

 week and year; that it establish new habits, adapt itself 

 to new conditions. 



Seneca suggests following Pythagoras that at the 

 close of each day one should review the deeds of the day, 

 in order to gain new wisdom for the deeds of the morrow. 

 Similarly, for the present purpose, you might wisely 

 challenge your thoughts of the day, to inquire what 

 you know to-night that you did not know this morning. 

 Extending the process, you might well sum up at each 

 week's end the new facts or new points of view that the 

 experiences of the week have brought you. And at such 

 recurring anniversaries as the New Year, your birth- 

 day, your wedding-day, and the like, you will surely 

 not act wisely if you do not indulge in reminiscences to 

 the extent of challenging from this point of view the 

 developments of the year gone by. 



Fear not, after each such analysis, to hold fast to 

 the old truth that still seems good; but take yourself 

 to task if no new truth has made itself manifest to you 



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