Longevity : the means of prolonging life after middle age

Front matter

I;

t-^jynm

Boston

Preface

My purpose in this work, addressed to persons of middle age and in the decline of life, is not to supersede the physician in treating their maladies : it is to call attention to those peculiarities of the constitution which distinguish age from youth and manhood, to point out those symptoms of deviation from the healthy standard which are usually disregarded, or considered unavoidable incidents of age, but which insensibly glide into fatal diseases if neglected.

A watchful care of themselves by elderly persons, and the adoption of proper measures of relief in the earliest stages of disorder, will, as I have shown, give ease and comfort in place of trouble and suffering, and in many cases insure the prolongation of life.

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The views advanced are the result of very longcontinued observation, but I shall learn with pleasure any modification or addition derived from the experience of others.

I do not hesitate to express the assurance that what I have written, if read by persons for whom it is intended, will convey information and suggestions of great value ; and, if longevity is esteemed a blessing worthy of some trouble to secure, it will amply repay the time and thought devoted to the subject.

John Gardner, M.D.

Preface To The Third Edition

The notices this work has received by reviewers, both in the medical and general press, have been uniformly favorable.

No one has questioned the justness of the assumption, that very numerous persons in advanced life endure sufferings and die prematurely, who might enjoy ease and comfort, and have their lives greatly prolonged, by the exercise of properly directed care, and the judicious use of means within their reach.

The hints and suggestions I have given to elderly people for attaining a healthy and happy old age, and for prolonging life, have also met with general approbation.

If we have no elixir vitce in a single medicine, we have well ascertained laws of hygiene, — an

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ever advancing and improving art of healing, based upon an accurate knowledge of the human constitution, and a closer study of remedial agents ; and these may be accepted as, in some measure, an equivalent. At least, we must be satisfied with them for the present. What may emerge in the progress of science we can only conjecture. Such forecasts as I have ventured upon in a note may be accepted for what they are worth.

The revision and additions made in this edition, it is hoped, have increased its interest and usefulness.