From the painting by Paul Van Somer-No. 520, National Portrait Gallery,

London

THE FOURTH DISCOURSE

WRITTEN AT THE AGE OF NINETY-FIVE

THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF MAN

A LOVING EXHORTATION

In which, by the authority of his own experience, the aged author strives to persuade all mankind to follow the orderly and temperate life, in order that they, too, may reach an advanced age, in which to enjoy all those graces

and blessings that God in His goodness

is pleased to grant to mortals

N order that I may not fail in the discharge of my duty-a law to which every man is bound—and, at

IN

the same time, that I may not forego the pleasure I invariably experience in being of service to my fellow-men, I have determined to write and to make known to those persons who do not know them-because unacquainted with me-the things which are known and seen by those who frequent my company. Certain facts I shall now relate will, to some, appear difficult of belief

and well-nigh impossible; nevertheless, since they are all true and to be seen in reality, I will not refrain from writing of them, that the knowledge of them may benefit the world at large.

In the first place, I shall say that I have, through the mercy of God, reached the age of ninety-five; that I find myself, in spite of my great age, healthy, strong, contented, and happy; and that I continually praise the Divine Majesty for so much favor conferred upon me. Moreover, in the generality of other old men whom I see, no sooner have they arrived at the age of seventy, than they are ailing and devoid of strength; melancholy; and continually occupied with the thought of death. They fear, from day to day, that their last hour will come; so much so, that it is impossible for anything to relieve their minds of that dread. For my part, I do not experience the least trouble at the idea of death; for, as I shall later on explain more clearly, I cannot bring myself to give it so much as a thought.

In addition to this, I shall demonstrate, beyond question, the certainty I entertain of living to the age of one hundred years. But, in order that I may proceed methodically, I shall begin with the consideration of man at his birth, studying him thence, step by step, through every stage of life until his death.

I say, then, that some human beings are ushered into this world with so little vitality that they live but a very few days, months, or years, as the case may be. The cause of this want of vitality it is impossible to know to a certainty, whether it arises from some imperfection of the father or mother, from the revolutions of the heavens, or from some defect in Nature. This latter, however, can happen only when she is subject to the influence of the heavens; for I could never persuade myself to believe

that Nature, being the mother of all, could be so ungenerous to any of her children. Hence, not being able to ascertain the real cause, we must be content to accept the facts as we daily observe them.

Others are born with greater vitality, yet with feeble and poor constitutions. Of these, some live to the age of ten, others to twenty, others even to thirty or forty years; but they never reach old age.

Others, again, begin life with perfect constitutions and live to old age; but the health of the greater part of them is, as I have said before, in a very wretched condition. They are themselves the sole cause of this; simply because, foolishly relying too much upon their perfect natures, they are unwilling, under any circumstances, to modify their manner of living when passing from youth to old age, as though they still possessed their early vigor unimpaired. Indeed, they expect to be able to continue to live as disorderly a life, after they have begun the descent of the hill, as they did throughout the years of their youth; since they never for a moment consider that they are approaching old age and that their constitutions have lost their former vigor. Nor do they ever pause to reflect that their stomachs have lost their natural heat, and that they should, by reason of this circumstance, be more careful with regard to quality in the selection of their food and drink, and also with regard to the quantity thereof, to lessen it gradually. But the latter they refuse to do; instead of which, they attempt to augment it, claiming—as an excuse-that, since a man loses his strength with advancing age, the deficiency must be made good by a greater quantity of nourishment, as it is that which keeps him alive.

These persons, however, argue very incorrectly. For, as the natural heat of man gradually diminishes with