Longevity : race or environment / by H. Jossé Johnson, M.B. (Lond.) medical officer, Gresham Life Assurance Society.

  • Johnson, H. Jossé
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Longevity : race or environment / by H. Jossé Johnson, M.B. (Lond.) medical officer, Gresham Life Assurance Society. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    38/50 (page 44)
    DISCUSSION. The Chairman : I am sure the Society is very grateful to D Josse Johnson for his elaborately worked out paper on a very in portant subject. As the time for closing the meeting is very nea I will only refer to one passage near' the commencement of tb paper, namely, where the author says : “Frequent bathing is mor a question of custom than we are inclined to think at first, and it effect on longevity is over-rated.” But is it, and has it ever beer over-rated ? There is an old proverb (I do not know who was th author) a Latin hexameter line; “ Balinea, vvna, Venus, corrumpun corpora nostra,” which may be translated: “Baths, wine, am women destroy our bodies.” Of course, the explanation of tha; saying is not difficult to see. In late Roman times baths went hand in hand with increasing luxury and with the degeneration ol the ruling classes. Even nowadays I suspect that many people fee] an excessive desire for baths because they habitually indulge some¬ what too much in the way of eating and drinking. That, I believe, amply accounts for so excellent an institution as bathing not appearing to favour longevity. Dr. Theodore Williams : There is much material for comment! in this paper, and I think it is a pity not to spend a little time to¬ night in its discussion. I therefore propose that we prolong the meeting for half an hour for that purpose. (After a short discussion the prolongation of the meeting was agreed to.) Dr. Theodore Williams : As I proposed the prolongation of the meeting, I suppose I must say a few words by way of opening the discussion. I need hardly say that I have listened with the greatest interest to the paper. It is crammed full of information, gatheied from many parts of the world, and put together in a very