AN ESS A Y ON L ONGE VITY. 1 1 7 



1 7. General Conclusions from the foregoing Statements 

 and Tables. 



The following is a summary of the facts set forth 

 in the pages immediately preceding and elsewhere. 



1. The most degraded races have life shortened by 

 starvation in old age, or even by suffering death at 

 the hands of their fellows. The more civilized races 

 protect the aged, and contribute to their longevity 

 by care and respect. 



2. Most nations speak of the ages from sixty to 

 a hundred in language which indicates the same 

 opinion with regard to the duration of life, e. g. 

 Chinese, Jews, Greeks, Romans, modern Europeans. 

 Many nations give equally traditions and accounts of 

 excessive longevity. 



3. There is an impression amongst interested ob- 

 servers (i. e. medical men and actuaries) that Euro- 

 pean lives, and especially English lives, are the best, 

 that is, have the greatest' probable duration. 



4. Statistics shew clearly, more clearly than per- 

 haps any other fact, that females have at all ages, 

 especially in advanced periods of age, a better expec- 

 tation of life than males ; also that English lives are 

 considerably better in advanced years (for a difference 

 of one year of expectation is considerable when the 

 whole average expectation is less than thirteen) than 

 Dutch, French, Swedish, Belgian, or American 

 lives. 



