"Better to hunt in fields for health unbought.
The wise for cure on exercise depend;
God never made his work for man to mend."
--DRYDEN
People in this country are now beginning to get away from the idea that
a man or woman who is past sixty is getting "old." When the Rev. John
Wesley, the itinerant preacher and author, was eighty-eight years
old--please note the eighty-eight--he walked six miles to keep a
preaching appointment. When asked if the walk tired him, he laughed and
said: "Why, no! Not at all! The only difference I can see in my
endurance now and when I was twenty is that I cannot run quite so fast."
I know there are calamity-howlers who say: "Oh, well, some people are
born to success and long life and some are not!" The individual who
permits himself to get into that frame of mind is doomed and no one can
help him. Such reasoning is of course all nonsense. John Wesley was
always a spare eater. Yet he lived an active outdoor life, often
traveling forty and even sixty miles a day on horseback. He never failed
to keep an appointment on account of the weather. And he was a tireless
worker, often preaching four and five times a day. At the same time he
read and wrote every spare moment, turning out a large amount of
literary work.
Dr. Eliot, ex-President of Harvard College, a constant writer and
speaker, and among the greatest of American educators--now nearer 90
than 80 years of age--is also a moderate eater. He says, "I have always
eaten moderately of simple food in great variety. This practice is
probably the result, first, of a natural tendency, and then of confirmed
habit and much experience under varying conditions of work and play.
From much observation of eating habits of other people, both the young
and the mature, I am convinced that moderation, simplicity, and variety
in eating are more important than any other bodily habit towards
maintaining good health, power of work, and, barring accidents,
attaining to enjoyable old age."
It is interesting to note what that eminent lawyer, legislator, and
orator, Chauncey M. Depew, had to say on the occasion of his
eighty-seventh birthday about a simple diet and reaching the century
mark. "The true philosophy of life is this: The more you like a thing
the more reason there is for giving it up if you find it is not good for
you. If you treat nature properly, nature will adjust herself to you.
"My diet is very simple. I have the same breakfast every day in the
year, and it consists of an orange, one four-minute egg, one half of a
corn muffin, and a cup of coffee which is mainly hot milk. I have this
at half past eight. My hour of rising is seven every morning.
"For luncheon I partake principally of vegetables, with no meat, and a
glass of water. This is at one o'clock. At dinner I skip most of the
courses and enjoy small portions of vegetables, fish, and fowl. I never
eat between meals and consume now less than half I did at fifty."
The vigor and long life of Bishop Fallows of Chicago are mainly due to
his living and mental habits and to his simple diet. He is well over 85
years of age, but few men of three-score years can do as much work, the
year round. There are two or three sermons and several public addresses
each week, and the work of a large parish--from marriages and
christenings to funerals and parish visitings--which is never slighted.
An active Grand Army man and Civil War veteran, he is asked to address
countless military and patriotic gatherings, and his energy seems as
tireless as his spirit is willing. His ability to meet these demands can
be traced back to simple living and simple eating.
The Bishop is temperate in all things, and refuses to worry. He neither
drinks nor smokes.
In regard to his diet he says, "I eat very little meat, but take plenty
of fruit, cereals and vegetables. I take regularly before breakfast a
cup of hot grape juice. I use it frequently at other times. I take
buttermilk daily." Night and morning he takes simple physical exercises,
and always walks at least a couple of miles each day.
The Bishop's ancestors were long-lived. His great grandfather lived to
be 96; his grandfather, 91; his eldest brother, 93. His father's death
from a fall occurred at the age of 81. He has a brother who is 92. This
in itself is evidence that he comes of a family in which right
living--which means simple living--has prevailed until its effects have
shown in each succeeding generation.
The world-renowned American inventor, Thomas A. Edison, now in his 75th
year, has today a mind as brilliant and ingenious, and a skill as
remarkable for inventing things that are of practical use, as when at 21
he invented his automatic repeater which did so much for telegraphy. And
Edison is another spare eater. What he ate at the three meals of the day
on which he wrote the following letter, is characteristic of the small
amount he eats every day in the year.
And you will learn that this is true of every man or woman who has lived
long and is still doing active brain work. And so, once for all, let us
think right about this matter. We get out of ourselves just about what
we put into ourselves or do for ourselves in the way of food and
exercise.
[Transcriber's Note: The following is the text of a letter from Mr.
Edison that was included as an illustration in the book.]
From the Laboratory
of
Thomas A. Edison,
Orange, N.J.
March 2, 1921.
Dr. Thomas Clark Hinkle
Cawker City, Kansas.
Dear Sir:
Your letter of February 25th was
received. My food for the one day on which
your letter was received, was as follows: