The Intimate Causes of Old Age. 231 



vastly complicated and dependant on too many diverse 

 causes to be thus singly cured or counteracted. There 

 must come an amelioration of all the causes, from the 

 psychic side as well, as the physical and physiological ; by 

 which we mean to say, that prolonged life will not come 

 till prolonged life is personally felt to be worth living ; 

 until the basis for enjoyment of it is established in the 

 brain ; until our lives are measurably lifted above the pres- 

 ent fleeting sensory ideals. Amelioration and removal of 

 all the causes will be ultimately required. 



One of the first, most practical steps to this end is the 

 subjugation and extirpation of the disease-producing bac- 

 teria. This great campaign, along the well-known lines 

 of sanitation, sterilization, and immunization, is now fairly 

 inaugurated ; its progress is a matter of daily news. 



The second step in order of importance and timely 

 need, is an extended study of nutrition — the nutrition of 

 the somatic cell — with the acquisition of accurate knowl- 

 edge how the cell assimilates and of what its proper food 

 consists, with a view to supplying that food, or form of 

 nutriment, to the cells and relieving wholly or in part the 

 present hard, exhaustive processes of digestion, peptoniza- 

 tion and rectification, which set up so heavy a drain on 

 the powers of the whole organism, and now devote the 

 human body largely to animal and vegetative functions. 

 An invented, rectified cell food, raised to a high degree of 

 molecular instability, decomposing easily and giving off 



