REED — ON MORTALITY. 249 



success was in proportion to the physical health and endurance of 

 each unit. 



(The training of the Persian soldier under Cyrus was perfection 

 as far as our present knowledge teaches.) All reasoning, I repeat, 

 would confirm the idea that the phenomena of health were very 

 closely studied and all arrangements made subservient thereto. 

 Hence it is more than probable that during this long period the 

 standard of general health approached very near perfection, and that 

 our progress at present would be more assured did we very closely 

 copy the methods that prevailed for so many ages long since passed 

 away. 



Third, the area of the ancient Roman Empire. Here we had 

 conditions not unlike those that preceded except that there was 

 more crowding with its attendant evils, and we read of plagues 

 that produced great havoc more frequently than in more ancient 

 times. These were generally the accidental results of war, siege, 

 famine and great overcrowding, from the concentration of armies 

 and the inhabitants of the surrounding country, and should not be 

 included in the general health rate which was comparatively high. 



The Grecian and Egyptian customs were very similar, and we 

 need not comment on them. 



The Middle Ages we may consider as coming down to a late 

 period in the last century, with a health rate comparatively very 

 low in all the great centres of population. , 



The crowded quarters and ignorance of the most elementary 

 hygienic laws, produced decimating plagues with marked regularity. 



The great fire in London in 1666 cut short the epidemic at that 

 time prevailing, by scattering the dense population and perfectly 

 disinfecting the polluted domiciles. 



Great wars are always attended by disease, and leave famine 

 and sickness as their result, but in estimating the general health 

 rate this should not be considered, for the unhealthy period just 

 referred to was not very clearly traceable to war but rather to the 

 habits of the times. 



During the century just elapsed there are many modifying influ- 

 ences that must be considered in estimating our modern condition. 



