Modern Methuselahs, or, Short biographical sketches of a few advanced nonagenarians or actual centenarians who were distinguished in art, science, literature, or philanthropy. Also, brief notices of some individuals remarkable chiefly for their longevity / By John Burn Bailey. With an introductory chapter on "long-lasting".

  • Bailey, John Burn.
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Modern Methuselahs, or, Short biographical sketches of a few advanced nonagenarians or actual centenarians who were distinguished in art, science, literature, or philanthropy. Also, brief notices of some individuals remarkable chiefly for their longevity / By John Burn Bailey. With an introductory chapter on "long-lasting". Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    regard to personal and national health. The wear and tear of some callings in life far exceed those of others, as ])r. Ogle's figures conclusively prove. Dealing with large averages they establish that the longest lives in this country are ecclesiastics of every name and shade. The Registrar-General takes a certain figure as the standard, and finds that the teachers of religion have a higher expectation of life than any other class, and afford more examples of exceptional length of days than any other section of society. Octogenarians abound among them, and in gradually decreasing numbers they run to and over the centenarian line, although it is singular that neither the tiara nor the mitre is represented, for no pope or bishop can be found in the roll; some university heads of houses, and some beneficed clergymen, alone appear among the century-living divines. Perhaps it is a little rash to say no bishop, for if St. Germanus, who died in the year 734, did not actually touch his one hundredth birthday, it is nearly certain that he was within a very short period of it. The same may be said of John Leslie, Bishop of Clogher, who died in 1671. After this highly-favoured class there follow, in respective order, gardeners and nurserymen, farmers, graziers, and agricultural labourers, schoolmasters and lawyers; and, less favourable than any of these, members of the medical profession. In strange contrast with the comparative ease and safety of divines is the career of the militarv man : in addition to moral D 2