OF OLD AGE AND DEATH.
Every object in Nature has its improvement and its decay. No sooner
does the human form arrive at its limited perfection, than it begins to
decline. The alteration is at first insensible, and even several years
elapse before it becomes perceptible. Yet we ought to feel the weight
of our years better than other people can estimate the number of them;
and, as those are rarely deceived who judge of our age from external
appearances, we would be still less so, as to the internal effect, if
we did but observe ourselves more, and flatter ourselves less with
false and idle hopes.
When the body has attained its full length, by the final expansion of
all its parts, it begins to receive an additional bulk, which rather
incommodes than assists it, and may be considered as the first step
towards decay. This is formed from a superfluous substance termed fat,
and generally appears about the age of thirty-five, or forty, and by
which, in proportion to its encrease, the body becomes less nimble,
active, and unconstrained in its motions.
The bones also, and the other solid parts of the body, encrease
in solidity. The membranes become cartilaginous, or gristly, the
cartilages become bony, the fibres become more hard, the skin dries up,
wrinkles are gradually formed in it, the hair grows grey, the teeth
fall out, the visage becomes haggard, and the body stoops. The first
approach of these alterations is perceived before the age of forty; by
slow degrees they advance till that of sixty, and by rapid ones till
that of seventy: after which period, decrepitude soon follows, and
continues to augment to the age of ninety, or a hundred, when the life
of man is generally terminated.
Having already traced the causes of the formation, growth, and
expansion of the human frame, we shall now proceed to consider those
of its decay.
At first the bones of the foetus are only small threads, of a ductile
matter, and of little more substance than the flesh; by degrees they
acquire solidity, and may be considered as a kind of small tubes, lined
both within and without by a thin membrane which supplies the osseous
matter. A pretty exact idea might be formed of the growth of bones,
by comparing them with the manner in which the wood and solid parts
of vegetables are produced. These bones, or, as we have said, tubes,
are covered at both ends by a soft substance, and in proportion as
they receive nutritious juices, the extremities extend from the middle
point which always preserves its original station. The ossification
begins at the middle and gradually follows the extension until the
whole is converted into bone. Having acquired their full growth, and
the nutritious juices no longer being necessary for their augmentation,
they serve the purpose of increasing their solidity; in time the bones
become so solid as not to admit the circulation of these juices which
are highly essential to their nourishment; and this being stopped, they
undergo a change like that perceived in old trees; and this change is
the first cause that renders the decay of the human body inevitable.
The cartilages, which may be considered as soft and imperfect bones,
grow also more rigid as we increase in years; and as they are generally
placed near the joints, the motion of these must of consequence become
more difficult. Thus, in old age, every action of the body is performed
with labour; and the cartilages, which in youth were elastic, and in
manhood pliant, will now sooner break than bend, and may be considered
as the second cause of our dissolution.
The membranes become likewise as we grow old more dense and more dry.
Those, for example, which surround the bones cease to be ductile, and
are incapable of extension so early as the age of 18 or 20. It is also
the same with the muscular fibres, and though to the external touch the
body seems, as we advance in years, to grow more soft, yet in reality
it is increasing in hardness. On such occasions it is the skin, and not
the flesh, that communicates this perception. The fat which increases
when the body is arrived at maturity, being interspersed between the
skin and muscles, gives an appearance of softness which the flesh is
far from possessing in reality; an undeniable proof of which is to be
found in comparing the flesh of young and old animals; the former is
tender and delicate; the latter hard, dry, and unfit for eating.
While the body increases, the skin will stretch to any degree of
tension; but when the former diminishes, the latter never contracts;
and hence the source of wrinkles, which cannot be prevented. Those
of the face proceed from this cause, though as to shape they depend
in a greater measure on its form, features, and habitual movements.
By examining the countenance of a man at the age of 25 or 30, we may
discover in it the origin of all the wrinkles it will have in old age;
particularly when the features are in a state of agitation by laughing,
weepings or any strong grimace. All the little furrows formed by these
agitations will one day become wrinkles, which no art shall be able to
remove.
In proportion then as we advance in years, the bones, the cartilages,
the membranes, the flesh, the skin, and all the fibres of the body
grow more solid, hard, and dry. Every part shrinks, and every motion
becomes more slow; the circulation of the fluids is performed with
less freedom, the perspiration diminishes, the secretions alter, the
digestion becomes slow and laborious, the nutritive juices become
less plentiful, and no longer serving to convey their accustomed
nourishment, are wholly useless, as if they did not exist. Thus the
body dies by little and little, all its functions diminish by degrees,
and death only at last seizes upon that little which is left.
As the bones, the cartilages, the muscles, and all the other parts
of the body, are naturally softer in women than in men, they do not
acquire so soon that hardness which hastens death. Women, therefore,
ought to live longer than men. This is actually the case; for by
consulting the tables which have been formed respecting the duration
of human life, we shall find that, after a certain age, women have a
greater chance for long life than men of the same number of years.
From this it may also be inferred, that such men as are weak in
appearance, and whose constitution rather resembles that of women, have
a probability of living longer than those who seem to be more strong
and robust; as likewise, that in either sex such persons as have been
slow in their advances to maturity, will be slow in their advances
to the infirmities of old age, because in both cases, the bones, the
cartilages, and all the fibres, require a longer time to arrive at that
degree of solidity, which must be the foundation of their destruction.
This natural cause of death is common to all animals, and even to
vegetables. An oak only perishes because its more ancient parts, which
are in the centre, become so hard and so compact, that they can no
longer receive any nourishment; and the moisture they contain, being
deprived of circulation, becomes corrupted, and gradually alters the
fibres of the wood, which become red, and at length crumble into dust.
The duration of life may be determined, in some measure, by the time
that was employed in the attainment of maturity. A tree, or an animal,
which takes but a short time to finish its growth, perishes much
sooner than those which are longer in coming to maturity. Neither
animals nor plants begin to spread in bulk till they have acquired
their summit of height. Man grows in stature till the age of 17 or 18;
but his body is not completely unfolded in all its parts till that of
30; while a dog is at its full length in one year, and at its full
thickness in another. The man whose growth is so tedious, lives for
90 or an 100 years; whereas the dog seldom survives its 10 or 12th
year. To the generality of other animals this observation is equally
applicable. Fishes, whose growth continues for a number of years, live
for centuries; and this from no other known certain cause, but the
particular constitution of their bones, which do not admit of the same
solidity as the bones of terrestrial animals.
Whether there are any exceptions to this kind of rule, which Nature
seems to have adopted in proportioning the duration of life to that
of the bodily growth, we shall enquire when we come to the particular
history of animals, as also whether crows and stags live for such a
number of years as is commonly pretended. In the mean while, as a
general truth, let it be remarked, that large animals live longer than
small ones, and this because they require a longer time to come to
maturity.
The causes of our decay then are inevitable; nor can we avoid the fatal
arrow of death, or even avert it, without changing the laws of Nature.
The ideas which a few visionaries have formed of perpetuating life
by some particular panacea, as that of the transfusion of the blood
of one living creature into the body of another, must have died with
themselves, did not self-love constantly cherish our credulity, even
to the persuasion of some things which are in themselves impossible,
and to the doubt of others, of which every day there are demonstrative
proofs.
When the constitution of the body is sound, it is perhaps possible,
by moderation in the passions, by temperance and sobriety, to
lengthen life for a few years. But even of this there seems to be an
uncertainty, for if it is necessary that the body should employ its
whole strength, that it should consume all its powers by labour and
exercise, whence could any benefit accrue from regimen and abstinence?
Men no doubt there are who have surpassed the usual period of human
existence, and not to mention Par, who lived to the age of 144, and
Jenkins to that of 165, as recorded in the Philosophical Transactions,
we have many instances of the prolongation of life to 110, and even
to 120 years; yet this longevity was occasioned by no peculiar art or
management; on the contrary, it appears that the generality of them
were peasants, huntsmen, or labourers, men who had employed their
whole bodily strength, and even abused it, if to abuse it is possible,
otherwise than by continual idleness and debauchery.
Besides, if we reflect that the European, the Negro, the Chinese, and
the American, the civilized man and the savage, the rich and the poor,
the inhabitant of the city, and the inhabitant of the country, however
different in other respects, are yet entirely similar as to the period
allotted for their existence; if we reflect that the difference of
race, of climate, of nourishment of accommodation, makes no difference
in the term of life; that men who feed on raw flesh, or on dried fish,
on sago, or on rice, on cassava, or on roots, live as long as those
who feed on bread and prepared meats, we must be still more strongly
convinced that the duration of life depends not either on habits,
customs, or on the qualities of particular food, and that nothing can
change the laws of that mechanism, by which the number of our years are
regulated, but excesses of luxury or intemperance.
If in the duration of life there is any difference, it ought seemingly
to be ascribed to the quality of the air. In elevated countries there
are commonly found more old people than in low. The mountains in
Scotland and Wales, of Auvergne and Switzerland, have furnished more
instances of extreme longevity than the plains of Holland, Flanders,
Germany, or Poland. In general, however, the period of human existence
may be said to be the same in every country. If not cut off by
accidental diseases man is found to live to the years of 90 or an 100.
Beyond that date our ancestors did not live, nor has it, in any degree
varied since the time of David.
Should it be asked, why, in the early ages, men lived to 900, 930, and
even 960 years? it may, with great probability of reason, be answered,
that the productions of the earth might then be of a different nature;
as, at the creation, the surface of the globe must have been far less
solid and compact than it afterwards became, so it is possible that
the productions of Nature, and even the human body itself, being
more ductile and more susceptible of extension, their growth was not
so soon accomplished as at present. Every kind of nourishment being
in itself more soft and more ductile, the bones, the muscles, &c.
necessarily retained their primitive softness and ductility longer. As
the body, therefore, did not attain its complete expansion, nor its
generative powers, for 120 or 130 years, the duration of life would
be proportioned to that time, required for the growth, as it is to
this day. In the supposition, for example, that the age of puberty
was originally at the years of 130, as it is now at the age of 14,
it will appear, that the period of human existence has always been
proportionally the same as it is at present, since by multiplying those
two numbers by seven, for instance, we shall find that the age of the
present race will be 98 years, as those in the first age 910. It is
probable, then, that the duration of human life decreased in proportion
as the solidity of the surface of the earth increased, and that the
ages from the creation, to the time of David, having been sufficient to
communicate to terrestrial substances all the consistency which they
are capable of acquiring by the pression of gravity, the surface of the
earth has ever since remained in the same condition, and the limits of
the growth of its different productions have been fixed, as well as
those of the duration of life.
Independent of accidental maladies which happen at every age, but
become more dangerous and more frequent at the latter periods of life,
all men are subject to natural infirmities, that originate solely from
a decay of the different parts of the body. The muscular powers lose
their firmness, the head shakes, the hands tremble, the legs totter,
and the sensibility of the nerves decreasing, every sense becomes
blunted. But the most striking infirmity is, that men very aged, are
unequal to the office of generation. Of this inability two causes may
be assigned, a defect of tension in the external organs, and a decay of
the seminal fluid.[B] The latter defect, however, may be supplied by a
young woman; and thus it is that we sometimes see men at an advanced
period of life become fathers, but then they have a much less share
in their children than young ones; and thence it happens, that young
persons, when married to old men, decrepid and deformed, often bring
forth monsters, and children more defective still than their fathers.
[B] Our author here enters into a repetition of the nature of the
organic animalcules, and to account for the defect of tension in the
external organs, but which we have passed over, not doubting our
readers would feel the propriety of his concluding remark, that this
was an improper place for such discussions.
The scurvy, dropsy, and such diseases as proceed from a vitiated state
of the blood and other fluids, are the most fatal to mankind; but
these fluids depend upon the solids, which are the real organic parts.
As we become advanced in life the vessels contract, the muscles lose
their strength, and the secretory organs are obstructed; from which
causes the blood, and other fluids, become viscid, and occasion those
diseases which are generally supposed to arise from vitiated humours.
The natural decay of the solids are, therefore, the original causes of
those disorders; nevertheless, if the fluids become stagnated, or are
obstructed in their circulation, by a contraction of the vessels, they
produce alarming symptoms, and soon corrupt and corrode the weakest
parts of the solids. Thus do the causes of dissolution continually
multiply until they put a period to our existence.
All these causes of decay act continually upon our material existence,
and contribute to its dissolution. Nature, however, approaches to
this much-dreaded period by slow and imperceptible degrees. Day
after day is life consuming, and every hour is some one or other
of our faculties, or vital principles, perishing before the rest.
Death, therefore, is only the last shade in the picture; and it is
probable that man suffers a greater change in passing from youth to
age, than from age into the grave. In the instant of the formation of
the foetus life is as yet nothing, or next to nothing. It extends
and acquires consistence and force as the body increases, and as soon
as the latter begins to decrease the former decreases also, till its
final extinction. As our life begins by degrees, so by degrees it is
terminated.
Why, then, be afraid of death, if our lives have been such as not to
make us apprehend the consequences of futurity? Why be afraid of that
moment which is preceded by an infinity of others of the same kind?
Death is as natural as life, and both happen to us in the same manner,
without our having the smallest sense or perception of them. If we
enquire of those whose office it is to attend the sick and the dying,
we shall find, that, except in a very few acute cases, attended with
convulsions, people expire quietly, and without the smallest indication
of pain. Even when dreadful agonies seem so attend the afflicted,
the spectators are rather terrified than the patients tormented; who,
having recovered, after the most violent convulsions, possess not the
smallest idea of what had passed, or even what they had suffered.
The greatest number of mankind die, therefore, without feeling the
fatal stroke; and of the few who retain their senses to the last,
there is hardly one, perhaps, who does not entertain the hope of
recovery. Nature, for the happiness of man, has rendered this principle
more powerful than reason. A person dying of a disorder which he
already knows to be incurable, by repeated instances in others, and
is now assured that it is so by the tears of his friends, and by the
countenance or departure of the physician, is still buoyed up with
the idea of getting over it; the opinion of others he considers as a
groundless alarm; the hour of dissolution comes; and while every thing
else is, as it were dead, hope is still alive and vigorous.
A sick man will say that he feels himself dying; that he is convinced
he cannot recover; but if any person, from zeal, or indiscretion, shall
tell him that his end is actually at hand, his countenance instantly
changes, and betrays all the marks of surprize and uneasiness. He now
seems not to believe, what he had been endeavouring to impress upon
others; he had only some doubt, some uneasiness, about his situation;
but his hopes were far greater than his fears; and but for the gloomy
assiduity, the parade of woe, which generally surrounds a death-bed,
and too often embitters the last moments, he would be insensible of his
approaching dissolution.
By no means is death so dreadful, therefore, as we suppose it to be.
It is a spectre which terrifies us at a distance, but disappears
when we approach it more closely. Our conceptions of it are formed
by prejudice, and dressed up by fancy. We consider it not only as a
misfortune greater than any other, but as one accompanied by the most
excruciating anguish. Death, it is said, must be terrible, since it
is sufficient to separate the soul from the body; the pain must also
be of considerable duration, since time is measured by the succession
of our ideas; one minute of pain, in which these ideas succeed each
other with a rapidity proportioned to the agony we suffer, must appear
longer than a whole age, in which they flow in their usual gentleness
and tranquillity. In such philosophy, what an abuse of reason! But for
the consequences of it, hardly would it deserve to have its futility
exposed. As by such arguments, however, weak minds are deceived,
and the aspect of death rendered a thousand times more hideous than
it possibly can be; to point out the erroneous principles may be of
advantage.
When the soul is originally united to our body, do we experience any
extraordinary joy, which delights and transports us? Most certainly
not. What reason then can we have to suppose that the separation of the
soul from that body may not be effected without pain? From what cause
should such pain arise? Shall we fix its residence in the soul, or in
the body? Pain of the mind can only be produced by thought, and that of
the body is proportioned to its strength or weakness. In the instant of
death, the body must be in its weakest state, and therefore if it does
experience pain, it must be in a very trifling degree.
Let us now suppose a violent death; that for example, of a man whose
head is carried off by a cannon-ball. Can the pain he suffers last
longer than a moment? Has he, in the interval of that moment, a
succession of ideas so rapid, that he can imagine the pangs he feels
are equal to an hour, a day, an age? These points we shall endeavour to
discuss.
I own the succession of our ideas is, in reality, the only natural
measure of time; and that, in proportion as they flow with more or less
uniformity, they appear of longer or shorter duration. But in this
measure there is an unit, or fixed point, which is neither arbitrary
nor indefinite, but determined by Nature, and correspondent to our
organization. Between two ideas which succeed each other, there must
be an interval that separates them; however quick one thought may
be, a little time is required before it can be followed by another,
no succession being possible in an indivisible instant. The same
observation holds with respect to the sensations of the body. A
transition from pain to pleasure, or even from one pain to another,
requires a certain interval. This interval, by which our thoughts and
sensations are necessarily separated, is the unit I mention; and it can
neither be extremely long, nor extremely short; it must even be nearly
upon an equality in its duration, as it depends upon the nature of the
mind, and the organization of the body, whose movements can have but
one certain degree of celerity. In the same individual, therefore,
there can be no succession of ideas so rapid, or so slow, as to produce
that enormous difference of duration, by which the pain of a minute is
converted into that of an hour, a day, or a century.
A very acute pain, of however short continuance, tends to produce
either a swoon, or death. As our organs have only a certain degree of
strength, they cannot resist above a certain degree of pain. If that
becomes excessive, it ceases, because the body being incapable of
supporting it, is still less capable to transmit it to the mind, with
which it can hold no correspondence, but by the action of these organs.
Here this action ceases, and therefore, all internal sensation must
necessarily cease also.
What has already been advanced, is perhaps amply sufficient to evince,
that, at the instant of death, the pain is neither excessive nor of
long duration; but in order to dispel all fear from the bosom of
timidity itself, we shall add a few words more upon the subject. Though
excessive pains admit of no reflection, yet signs, at least, of it have
been observed in the very moment of a violent death. When Charles XII.
received, at Frederickshall, the blow which terminated his exploits and
existence, he clapped his hand upon his sword. Since it excluded not
reflection, this mortal pang could not, therefore, be excessive. The
brave warrior found himself attacked; he reflected that he ought to
defend himself; and thence, it is evident, he felt no more than what he
might have suffered from an ordinary blow. That this action was nothing
more than the result of a mechanical impulse it would be absurd to
assert, as it has been evidently shewn, in our description of man, that
the most precipitate movements of the passions depend upon reflection,
and are nothing more than effects of an habitual exertion of the mind.
If I have rather enlarged on this topic it is only that I might
destroy a prejudice so repugnant to the happiness of man. To this
prejudice many have fallen victims; and I have myself known several,
of the female sex in particular, who, from the very dread of death,
have died in reality. Such terrible alarms seem, indeed, to be
particular to those whom Nature or education have endowed with superior
sensibility, as the gross of mankind look forward to death, if not
with indifference at least without terror.
In viewing things as they are consists the spirit of true philosophy.
With this philosophy our internal sensations would always correspond,
were they not perverted by the illusions of imagination, and by the
unfortunate habit of fabricating phantoms of excessive pains and
of pleasure. Nothing appears terrible nor charming but what is at
distance. To obtain a certain knowledge of either we must have the
resolution, or the wisdom, to take a close and particular view of them,
and all their extraordinary circumstances will disappear.
If there be any thing necessary to confirm what has been said
concerning the gradual cessation of life, we might find it in the
uncertainty of the signs of death. By consulting the writers on this
subject, and particularly Winslow and Bruhier, we shall be convinced,
that between life and death the shade is often so undistinguishable
that all the powers of medical art are insufficient to determine upon
it. According to them, "the colour of the face, the warmth of the
body, the suppleness of the joints, are but equivocal signs of life;
and that the paleness of the complexion, the coldness of the body,
the stiffness of the extremities, the cessation of all motion, and the
total insensibility of the parts, are signs to the full as equivocal of
death." It is also the same with regard to the cessation of the pulse,
and of respiration, which are sometimes so effectually kept under,
that it is impossible to obtain the smallest perception of either. By
carrying a mirror, or candle, to the mouth of a person supposed to be
dead, people expect to find whether he breathes or not; but in this
experiment there is little certainty; the mirror is often sullied after
death has taken place, and remains unclouded while the person is still
alive. Neither do burning nor scarifying, noises in the ears, nor
pungent spirits applied to the nostrils, give indubitable proofs of
the discontinuance of life; many are the instances of persons who have
undergone all such trials without shewing any signs of life, and yet,
to the astonishment of the spectators, recovered afterwards, without
the smallest assistance.
Nothing can be more evident than that life, in some cases, has a near
resemblance to death, and therefore that we ought to be extremely
cautious of renouncing, and committing too hastily to the grave, the
bodies of our fellow-creatures. Neither ten, twenty, nor twenty-four
hours are sufficient to distinguish real from apparent death; and there
are instances of persons who have been alive in the grave at the end
of the second, and even the third day. Why suffer to be interred with
precipitation those persons whose lives we ardently wished to prolong?
Why, though all men are equally interested in the abolition of it,
does the practice still subsist? On the authority of the most able
physicians, it incontestably appears, "that the body, though living,
is sometimes so far deprived of all vital function, as to have every
external appearance of death; that, if in the space of three days, or
seventy two hours, no sign of life appears, and on the contrary the
body exhales a cadaverous smell, there is an infallible proof of actual
death; and that then, though on no account till then, the interment can
with safety take place."
Hereafter we shall have occasion to speak of the usages of different
nations with respect to obsequies, interments, and embalments. The
greatest part, even of the most savage people, pay more attention
than we to their deceased friends. What with us is nothing more than
a ceremony, they consider as an essential duty. Far superior is the
respect which they pay to their dead: they clothe them, they speak to
them, they recite their exploits, they extol their virtues; while we,
who pique ourselves on our sensibility, with hardly an appearance of
humanity, forsake and fly from them, we neither desire to see, nor have
courage nor inclination to speak to them, and even avoid every place
which may recall their idea to our minds. Than savages themselves,
then, do we, in this respect, discover either more indifference or more
weakness.
Having thus given a history of life, and of death, as they relate to
the individual, let us now consider them both, as they affect the whole
species. Man dies at every age; and though in general the duration of
his life is longer than that of most animals, yet it is more uncertain
and more variable.
Of late years attempts have been made to ascertain the degrees of such
variations, and to establish, by different observations, some certainty
as to the mortality of men at different ages. Were such observations
sufficiently exact and numerous they would be admirably calculated
to give a knowledge of the number of people, their increase, the
consumption of provisions, and of a number of other important objects.
Many writers of distinguished abilities, and, among others, Halley and
Simpson, have given tables of the mortality of the human species; but
as their labours have been confined to an examination of the bills of
mortality in a few parishes of London, and other large cities, their
researches, however accurate, seem, in my opinion, to give a very
imperfect idea of the mortality of mankind in general.
In order to give a complete table of this nature it is necessary to
scrutinise not only the parish-registers of such towns as London and
Paris, where there is a perpetual ingress of strangers and egress of
natives, but also those of different country places; that, by comparing
the deaths which happen in the one with the deaths which happen in
the other, a general conclusion may be formed. M. Dupré, of St. Maur,
a member of the French academy, executed this project upon twelve
different parishes in the country of France, and, three in Paris.
Having obtained his permission to publish the tables he has drawn up on
this occasion, I do it with the greater pleasure, as they are the only
ones from which the probabilities of human life in general can with any
certainty be established.
YEARS OF LIFE.
_PARISHES._ _deaths._| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
| | | |
Clemont 1391| 578| 73| 36| 29
Brinon 1141| 441| 75| 31| 27
Jouy 588| 231| 43| 11| 13
Lestiou 223| 89| 16| 9| 7
Vandeuvre 672| 156| 58| 18| 19
St. Agil 954| 359| 64| 30| 21
Thury 262| 103| 31| 8| 4
St. Amant 748| 170| 61| 24| 11
Montigny 833| 346| 57| 19| 25
Vieleneuve 131| 14| 3| 5| 1
Goussainville 1615| 565| 184| 63| 38
Ivry 2247| 686| 298| 96| 61
----------------------------------+------+------+------+------
Total Deaths 10805| | | |
----------------------------------+------+------+------+------
Division of 10805 deaths into }| 3738| 963| 350| 256
the years they happened }| | | |
| | | |
Deaths before the end of the 1st,}| 3738| 4701| 5051| 5307
2d, 3d, &c. years. }| | | |
| | | |
Number of persons entered into }| 10805| 7067| 6104| 5754
their 1st, 2d, 3d, &c. years. }| | | |
==================================+======+======+======+======
St. Andre, Paris, 1728| 201| 122| 94| 82
St. Hippolytus, 2516| 754| 361| 127| 64
St. Nicolas, 8945| 1761| 932| 414| 298
----------------------------------+------+------+------+------
Total Deaths 13189| | | |
----------------------------------+------+------+------+------
Division of the 13189 deaths into}| 2716| 1415| 635| 444
the years they happened. }| | | |
| | | |
Deaths before the end of the 1st,}| 2716| 4131| 4766| 5210
2d, 3d, &c. years. }| | | |
| | | |
Number of persons who entered }| 13189| 10473| 9058| 8423
into the 1st, 2d, &c. years. }| | | |
==================================+======+======+======+======
Division of the 23994 deaths in }| | | |
the 3 parishes of Paris and the}| 6454| 2378| 985| 700
12 villages. }| | | |
| | | |
Deaths before the end of the 1st,}| 6454| 8832| 9817| 10517
2d, years, &c. out of the 23994}| | | |
| | | |
Number of persons entered into }| 23994| 17540| 15162| 14177
their 1st and 2d years, &c. }| | | |
YEARS OF LIFE.
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
| | | | | | |
16| 16| 14| 10| 8| 4| 6| 5
10| 16| 9| 9| 8| 5| 2| 12
5| 8| 4| 6| 1| 0| 3| 0
1| 4| 3| 1| 1| 1| 0| 1
10| 11| 8| 10| 3| 2| 1| 3
20| 11| 4| 7| 2| 7| 3| 3
3| 2| 2| 2| 1| 2| 0| 0
12| 15| 3| 6| 8| 6| 4| 4
16| 21| 9| 7| 5| 5| 2| 4
1| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 1
34| 21| 17| 15| 12| 8| 5| 5
50| 29| 34| 26| 13| 19| 9| 6
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
178| 154| 107| 99| 62| 59| 35| 44
| | | | | | |
5485| 5639| 5746| 5845| 5907| 5966| 6001| 6045
| | | | | | |
5498| 5320| 5166| 5059| 4960| 4898| 4839| 4804
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
50| 35| 28| 14| 8| 7| 3| 9
60| 55| 25| 16| 20| 8| 9| 9
221| 162| 147| 111| 64| 40| 34| 38
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
331| 252| 200| 141| 92| 55| 46| 56
| | | | | | |
5541| 5793| 5993| 6134| 6226| 6281| 6327| 6383
| | | | | | |
7979| 7648| 7396| 7196| 7055| 6963| 6908| 6862
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
509| 406| 307| 240| 154| 114| 8| 100
| | | | | | |
11026| 11432| 11639| 11979| 12133| 12247| 12328| 12428
| | | | | | |
12477| 12968| 12562| 12255| 12015| 11861| 11747| 11666
YEARS OF LIFE.
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20
| | | | | | |
6| 5| 5| 6| 6| 10| 3| 13
2| 6| 4| 5| 9| 4| 5| 14
3| 3| 1| 6| 4| 4| 3| 5
0| 1| 1| 1| 1| 0| 0| 0
3| 4| 5| 9| 3| 3| 4| 7
3| 3| 5| 2| 7| 8| 5| 6
0| 0| 1| 0| 1| 1| 1| 1
2| 5| 1| 5| 3| 6| 1| 4
4| 2| 4| 2| 2| 3| 3| 5
0| 0| 1| 0| 2| 4| 0| 1
9| 5| 5| 2| 5| 10| 9| 10
4| 4| 8| 7| 4| 14| 10| 12
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
36| 38| 41| 42| 47| 67| 44| 78
| | | | | | |
6081| 6119| 6160| 6202| 6249| 6316| 6360| 6438
| | | | | | |
4760| 4724| 4686| 4645| 4603| 4556| 4480| 4445
====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
6| 7| 10| 13| 13| 11| 10| 7
6| 7| 6| 5| 7| 9| 7| 3
25| 21| 33| 37| 37| 28| 44| 53
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
37| 35| 49| 55| 57| 487| 61| 63
| | | | | | |
6420| 6455| 6504| 6559| 6616| 6664| 6725| 6788
| | | | | | |
6806| 6769| 6734| 6685| 6630| 6573| 6525| 6464
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
73| 73| 90| 97| 104| 115| 105| 141
| | | | | | |
12501| 12574| 12664| 12761| 12865| 12980| 13085| 13226
| | | | | | |
11566| 11493| 11420| 11330| 11233| 11129| 11014| 19009
YEARS OF LIFE.
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28
| | | | | | |
8| 9| 10| 7| 22| 9| 13| 10
8| 14| 7| 11| 24| 9| 7| 13
2| 4| 4| 4| 5| 2| 2| 3
0| 0| 3| 0| 1| 1| 1| 3
4| 6| 8| 6| 22| 3| 5| 10
6| 4| 6| 3| 11| 10| 4| 9
1| 3| 1| 1| 2| 2| 0| 5
7| 6| 6| 4| 5| 4| 4| 3
4| 3| 10| 8| 7| 3| 3| 3
1| 4| 1| 0| 1| 0| 2| 1
6| 10| 5| 6| 11| 9| 9| 8
6| 15| 10| 9| 10| 14| 5| 9
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
51| 80| 68| 62| 121| 66| 55| 77
| | | | | | |
6480| 6569| 6637| 6699| 6820| 6886| 6941| 7018
| | | | | | |
4367| 4316| 4236| 4168| 4106| 3985| 3919| 3864
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
9| 17| 11| 9| 9| 8| 17| 13
2| 8| 7| 9| 10| 13| 10| 10
31| 56| 48| 41| 59| 47| 53| 51
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
42| 81| 66| 59| 78| 68| 80| 74
| | | | | | |
6830| 6911| 6977| 7036| 7114| 7182| 7262| 7336
| | | | | | |
6401| 6359| 6278| 6212| 6153| 6075| 6007| 5927
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
93| 161| 134| 121| 199| 134| 135| 151
| | | | | | |
13319| 13480| 13614| 13735| 13934| 14068| 14203| 14354
| | | | | | |
10768| 10675| 10514| 10380| 10259| 10060| 9926| 9793
YEARS OF LIFE.
29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36
| | | | | | |
7| 24| 4| 13| 14| 8| 17| 12
6| 28| 6| 15| 3| 4| 20| 8
4| 8| 2| 5| 4| 3| 13| 6
1| 1| 4| 4| 3| 1| 6| 4
1| 28| 2| 9| 1| 3| 17| 5
2| 16| 8| 7| 2| 5| 18| 9
2| 2| 0| 3| 1| 0| 7| 0
3| 8| 2| 8| 6| 5| 7| 4
0| 6| 1| 10| 3| 4| 8| 4
1| 2| 1| 2| 1| 0| 6| 5
10| 10| 4| 14| 6| 7| 8| 8
5| 13| 8| 11| 18| 10| 19| 12
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
42| 146| 42| 101| 62| 50| 146| 77
| | | | | | |
7060| 7206| 7248| 7349| 7411| 7461| 7607| 7684
| | | | | | |
3787| 3745| 3599| 3557| 3456| 3394| 3344| 3198
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
11| 21| 6| 10| 17| 15| 21| 14
9| 7| 9| 12| 13| 13| 16| 21
34| 63| 25| 57| 41| 54| 82| 75
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
54| 91| 40| 79| 71| 82| 119| 110
| | | | | | |
7390| 7481| 7521| 7600| 7671| 7753| 7872| 7982
| | | | | | |
5853| 5799| 5708| 5668| 5589| 5518| 5436| 5317
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
96| 237| 82| 180| 153| 132| 205| 187
| | | | | | |
14450| 14687| 14769| 14949| 15082| 15214| 15479| 15666
| | | | | | |
9640| 9544| 9307| 9245| 9045| 8912| 8770| 8515
YEARS OF LIFE.
37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44
| | | | | | |
16| 15| 3| 41| 4| 10| 10| 6
8| 8| 6| 37| 6| 8| 3| 6
7| 4| 1| 20| 0| 3| 0| 4
4| 1| 1| 4| 0| 2| 2| 0
5| 4| 0| 41| 1| 3| 2| 2
4| 5| 1| 22| 2| 8| 7| 3
1| 2| 2| 4| 1| 3| 1| 4
5| 5| 3| 20| 1| 6| 2| 4
1| 2| 0| 8| 3| 6| 5| 4
0| 5| 0| 7| 0| 3| 1| 0
5| 2| 7| 14| 10| 11| 4| 5
13| 23| 3| 27| 7| 19| 7| 14
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
71| 76| 27| 245| 35| 82| 44| 52
| | | | | | |
7755| 7831| 7858| 8103| 8138| 8220| 8264| 8316
| | | | | | |
3121| 3050| 2974| 2947| 2702| 2667| 2585| 2541
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
8| 12| 4| 26| 5| 19| 12| 10
15| 13| 10| 24| 4| 18| 14| 9
58| 59| 46| 109| 37| 73| 58| 45
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
81| 84| 60| 159| 46| 110| 84| 64
| | | | | | |
8063| 8147| 8207| 8366| 8412| 8522| 8606| 8670
| | | | | | |
5207| 5126| 5042| 4982| 4823| 4777| 4667| 4583
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
158| 160| 87| 404| 81| 192| 128| 116
| | | | | | |
15818| 15978| 16065| 16469| 16550| 16742| 16870| 16986
| | | | | | |
8328| 8176| 8016| 7929| 7525| 7444| 7252| 7124
YEARS OF LIFE.
45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52
| | | | | | |
20| 5| 8| 5| 6| 31| 0| 5
11| 5| 6| 9| 0| 23| 1| 3
13| 3| 4| 2| 0| 20| 2| 3
3| 3| 0| 3| 3| 5| 1| 1
14| 5| 3| 1| 0| 31| 0| 2
14| 1| 3| 3| 0| 24| 3| 9
3| 0| 0| 0| 0| 3| 0| 0
13| 3| 4| 6| 0| 23| 1| 4
13| 6| 1| 6| 1| 10| 2| 5
2| 1| 2| 3| 0| 7| 2| 1
11| 9| 5| 12| 6| 15| 4| 9
22| 10| 7| 12| 6| 24| 6| 14
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
139| 51| 43| 62| 22| 216| 22| 56
| | | | | | |
8455| 8506| 8549| 8611| 8633| 8849| 8871| 8927
| | | | | | |
2489| 2350| 2299| 2256| 2194| 2172| 1956| 1934
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
24| 21| 9| 13| 10| 24| 7| 18
33| 14| 13| 15| 21| 20| 10| 19
111| 54| 47| 68| 50| 120| 40| 59
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
168| 89| 69| 96| 72| 164| 57| 96
| | | | | | |
8838| 8927| 8996| 9092| 9164| 9328| 9385| 9481
| | | | | | |
4519| 4351| 4262| 4193| 4097| 4025| 3861| 3804
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
307| 140| 112| 158| 94| 380| 79| 152
| | | | | | |
17293| 17433| 17545| 17703| 17797| 18177| 18256| 18408
| | | | | | |
7008| 6701| 6561| 6449| 6291| 6197| 5817| 5738
YEARS OF LIFE.
53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60
| | | | | | |
5| 5| 14| 5| 5| 4| 4| 52
3| 2| 10| 6| 2| 3| 0| 24
2| 5| 7| 4| 5| 2| 0| 20
0| 0| 2| 2| 0| 3| 0| 2
1| 1| 13| 1| 1| 2| 0| 35
2| 2| 14| 3| 5| 3| 3| 22
1| 1| 4| 0| 1| 3| 1| 6
4| 4| 6| 5| 4| 7| 2| 27
2| 5| 10| 3| 4| 9| 2| 13
0| 1| 0| 3| 3| 2| 1| 4
5| 9| 6| 10| 10| 10| 3| 24
13| 9| 29| 12| 13| 13| 3| 40
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
38| 41| 111| 54| 51| 61| 19| 269
| | | | | | |
8365| 9009| 9120| 9174| 9225| 9286| 9305| 9574
| | | | | | |
1878| 1840| 1796| 1685| 1631| 1580| 1519| 1500
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
8| 10| 19| 11| 15| 17| 11| 46
6| 10| 25| 9| 15| 18| 12| 35
49| 46| 125| 56| 48| 86| 48| 184
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
63| 66| 169| 76| 78| 121| 71| 265
| | | | | | |
9544| 9610| 9779| 9855| 9933| 10054| 10125| 10390
| | | | | | |
3708| 3645| 3579| 3410| 3334| 3256| 3135| 3064
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
101| 110| 280| 130| 129| 182| 90| 534
| | | | | | |
18509| 18619| 18899| 19029| 19158| 19340| 19430| 19964
| | | | | | |
5586| 5485| 5375| 5095| 4965| 4836| 4654| 4564
YEARS OF LIFE.
61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68
| | | | | | |
2| 6| 5| 2| 5| 5| 3| 4
1| 3| 4| 7| 7| 6| 3| 6
0| 5| 2| 4| 5| 2| 1| 1
0| 0| 1| 0| 3| 1| 1| 0
0| 0| 1| 1| 5| 3| 0| 2
3| 2| 7| 5| 7| 3| 6| 5
0| 3| 2| 2| 2| 1| 3| 1
0| 4| 3| 4| 12| 7| 5| 6
3| 7| 5| 5| 7| 6| 2| 5
3| 0| 1| 1| 2| 3| 0| 1
6| 9| 7| 6| 13| 17| 13| 15
3| 12| 12| 11| 14| 21| 5| 23
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
21| 51| 50| 48| 82| 75| 42| 69
| | | | | | |
9595| 9646| 9696| 9744| 9826| 9401| 9943| 10012
| | | | | | |
1231| 1210| 1159| 1109| 1061| 979| 904| 862
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
11| 21| 19| 17| 20| 27| 21| 25
7| 28| 21| 23| 25| 19| 12| 20
42| 77| 71| 73| 95| 95| 67| 115
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
60| 126| 111| 113| 140| 141| 100| 160
| | | | | | |
20450| 10576| 10687| 10800| 10940| 11081| 11181| 11341
| | | | | | |
2799| 2739| 2613| 2501| 4389| 2249| 2108| 2008
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
81| 177| 161| 161| 122| 216| 142| 229
| | | | | | |
20045| 20222| 20383| 20544| 20766| 20982| 21124| 21353
| | | | | | |
4030| 3949| 3772| 3611| 3450| 3228| 3012| 2870
YEARS OF LIFE.
69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76
| | | | | | |
1| 11| 1| 3| 1| 3| 5| 1
0| 6| 2| 12| 2| 0| 4| 2
1| 3| 1| 2| 0| 1| 1| 0
1| 0| 0| 2| 0| 0| 0| 0
1| 9| 1| 4| 0| 0| 3| 0
2| 19| 1| 11| 5| 5| 8| 0
0| 7| 0| 2| 1| 0| 0| 0
6| 18| 3| 10| 2| 2| 18| 2
1| 9| 2| 8| 3| 2| 9| 1
0| 4| 0| 3| 0| 0| 0| 0
5| 16| 8| 22| 12| 12| 16| 6
7| 31| 6| 21| 11| 19| 24| 12
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
25| 133| 25| 100| 37| 44| 88| 24
| | | | | | |
10037| 10170| 10195| 10295| 10332| 10376| 10464| 10488
| | | | | | |
793| 768| 935| 610| 510| 473| 429| 341
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
9| 36| 9| 25| 14| 19| 20| 16
15| 35| 10| 28| 5| 15| 23| 11
50| 177| 64| 118| 53| 90| 127| 63
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
72| 248| 83| 171| 72| 124| 170| 90
| | | | | | |
11413| 11661| 11744| 11915| 11987| 12111| 12281| 12371
| | | | | | |
1848| 1776| 1528| 1445| 1274| 1202| 1078| 908
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
97| 381| 108| 271| 109| 168| 258| 114
| | | | | | |
21450| 21831| 21939| 22210| 22319| 22487| 22745| 22059
| | | | | | |
2641| 2544| 2160| 2155| 1784| 1675| 1507| 1249
YEARS OF LIFE.
77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84
| | | | | | |
1| 2| 2| 6| 0| 0| 0| 3
0| 3| 0| 3| 1| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 2| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 1| 0| 0| 0| 0
1| 0| 0| 7| 0| 0| 0| 0
3| 4| 0| 6| 0| 0| 0| 0
1| 0| 0| 3| 0| 0| 0| 0
4| 4| 2| 17| 1| 3| 1| 3
4| 2| 0| 5| 1| 4| 1| 1
2| 1| 1| 1| 3| 0| 0| 0
6| 8| 1| 17| 6| 9| 5| 7
11| 14| 9| 19| 7| 14| 4| 7
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
33| 38| 15| 89| 16| 30| 11| 21
| | | | | | |
10521| 10559| 10574| 10663| 10679| 10709| 10720| 10741
| | | | | | |
317| 284| 246| 231| 142| 126| 96| 85
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
10| 25| 8| 17| 4| 10| 8| 7
| | | | | | |
18| 15| 8| 18| 4| 5| 16| 4
| | | | | | |
59| 69| 80| 121| 32| 41| 37| 25
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
87| 109| 46| 156| 40| 56| 61| 36
| | | | | | |
12458| 12567| 12613| 12769| 12809| 12865| 12962| 12962
| | | | | | |
818| 731| 622| 576| 420| 380| 324| 263
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
120| 147| 61| 245| 50| 86| 72| 57
| | | | | | |
22979| 23126| 23187| 23432| 23488| 23574| 23646| 23703
| | | | | | |
1835| 1015| 868| 807| 562| 506| 426| 348
YEARS OF LIFE.
85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92
| | | | | | |
0| 1| 0| 0| 1| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 1| 0| 0| 0| 0
1| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 1| 1| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 2| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
4| 0| 1| 2| 0| 4| 1| 1
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 1| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 1| 0| 0| 0
2| 4| 4| 2| 2| 0| 0| 0
5| 4| 4| 3| 1| 2| 0| 2
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
12| 9| 8| 9| 5| 9| 1| 3
| | | | | | |
10753| 10762| 10770| 10779| 10784| 10793| 10794| 10797
| | | | | | |
64| 52| 43| 35| 26| 21| 12| 11
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
3| 7| 4| 5| 2| 4| 0| 2
| | | | | | |
10| 4| 1| 4| 2| 2| 2| 2
| | | | | | |
35| 19| 20| 25| 24| 17| 5| 9
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
48| 30| 25| 34| 8| 23| 7| 13
| | | | | | |
13010| 15040| 13065| 13099| 16017| 13130| 13137| 13150
| | | | | | |
227| 179| 149| 124| 90| 82| 59| 52
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
50| 39| 33| 43| 13| 32| 8| 16
| | | | | | |
23763| 23802| 22835| 22878| 23891| 23923| 23931| 23947
| | | | | | |
291| 231| 192| 159| 116| 103| 71| 63
YEARS OF LIFE.
93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100
| | | | | | |
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 8| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 1
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 2| 1| 0| 3| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
0| 0| 1| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
0| 0| 3| 1| 0| 3| 0| 1
| | | | | | |
10797| 10797| 10800| 10801| 10801| 10804| 10804| 10805
| | | | | | |
8| 8| 8| 4| 4| 4| 1| 1
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
1| 2| 0| 1| 1| 0| 0| 0
1| 1| 2| 1| 0| 1| 0| 0
5| 4| 5| 2| 1| 4| 1| 4
----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----| -----
-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
7| 7| 7| 4| 2| 5| 1| 4
| | | | | | |
13157| 13164| 13171| 13175| 13177| 13182| 13183| 13187
| | | | | | |
39| 32| 25| 18| 14| 12| 7| 6
=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+======
7| 7| 10| 5| 2| 8| 1| 5
| | | | | | |
23954| 23961| 23971| 23976| 23978| 23986| 23987| 23992
| | | | | | |
47| 40| 33| 23| 18| 16| 8| 7
From these tables many useful conclusions might be drawn. But I shall
only consider those which respect the probabilities of the duration of
life. It is observable, that in the columns opposite the years 10, 20,
30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and other round numbers as 25, 35, &c. the deaths
in the country parishes are more numerous than in in the preceding or
subsequent columns. The cause of this seeming inconsistency arises from
the generality of country people being ignorant of their exact age,
and therefore if they die at 58 or 59 in the parish register it is
entered 60; and so of other round numbers. From this irregularity the
inconvenience is not great, as it may easily be corrected by the manner
in which the numbers succeed each other in the Tables.
By the tables in the country parishes it appears, that almost one half
of the children die before the age of four years, and by the Paris
table not before 16; which great difference; certainly arises from
the children being sent into the country to nurse, and consequently
increases the number of deaths there in infancy. As likely to come at
the truth, I have blended the two tables, and from thence calculated
the probabilities of the duration of life as follows:
TABLE _of the_ PROBABILITIES _of the_ DURATION _of_ HUMAN LIFE.
Age.| Duration |Age.| Duration | Age.| Duration
| of Life. | | of Life. | | of Life.
----|-----------|----|------------|-----|------------
Yrs. Yrs. Mths. Yrs. Yrs. Mths. Yrs. Yrs. Mths.
----|-----------|----|------------|-----|------------
0 | 8 0 | 29 | 28 6 | 58 | 12 3
1 | 33 0 | 30 | 28 0 | 59 | 11 8
2 | 38 0 | 31 | 27 6 | 60 | 11 1
3 | 40 0 | 32 | 26 11 | 61 | 10 6
4 | 41 0 | 33 | 26 3 | 62 | 10 0
5 | 41 6 | 34 | 25 7 | 63 | 9 6
6 | 42 0 | 35 | 25 0 | 64 | 9 0
7 | 42 3 | 36 | 24 5 | 65 | 8 6
8 | 41 6 | 37 | 23 10 | 66 | 8 0
9 | 40 10 | 38 | 23 3 | 67 | 7 6
10 | 40 2 | 39 | 22 8 | 68 | 7 0
11 | 39 6 | 40 | 22 1 | 69 | 6 7
12 | 38 9 | 41 | 21 6 | 70 | 6 2
13 | 38 1 | 42 | 20 11 | 71 | 5 3
14 | 37 5 | 43 | 20 4 | 72 | 5 4
15 | 36 9 | 44 | 19 9 | 73 | 5 0
16 | 36 0 | 45 | 19 3 | 74 | 4 9
17 | 35 4 | 46 | 18 9 | 75 | 4 6
18 | 34 8 | 47 | 18 2 | 76 | 4 3
19 | 34 0 | 48 | 17 8 | 77 | 4 1
20 | 33 5 | 49 | 17 2 | 73 | 3 11
21 | 32 11 | 50 | 16 7 | 79 | 3 9
22 | 32 4 | 51 | 16 0 | 80 | 3 7
23 | 31 10 | 52 | 15 6 | 81 | 3 5
24 | 31 3 | 53 | 15 0 | 82 | 3 3
25 | 30 9 | 54 | 14 6 | 83 | 3 2
26 | 30 2 | 55 | 14 0 | 84 | 3 1
27 | 29 7 | 56 | 13 5 | 85 | 3 0
28 | 29 0 | 57 | 12 10 | |
By this table it appears, that an infant newly born has an equal chance
of living eight years; that an infant of one will live 33 years longer;
that a child of two will live 38 years longer; that a man of 20 will
live 33 years and five months longer; that a man of 30 will live 28
years longer; and so proportionally of every other age.
It is also to be observed, first, that seven years is the age at which
the longest duration of life is to be expected, since there is then an
equal chance of living 42 years and three months longer; secondly that
at the age of 12 one fourth of our existence is gone, as we cannot in
reason expect above 38 or 39 years more; thirdly, that we have enjoyed
one half of our existence at the age of 28, as we can reckon upon only
28 years more; and lastly, that by the age of 50 three fourths of life
are passed, the remaining probability being only for 16 or 17 years.
But these physical truths, however mortifying, may be compensated by
moral considerations. A man ought to consider as nothing the first
fifteen years of his life. Every thing that happens in that long
interval of time is effaced from the memory, or has at least so
little connection with the views and objects Which afterwards occupy
our thoughts that it gives us no concern. Neither, indeed, have we the
game succession of ideas, nor, it maybe said, the same existence. In a
moral sense we do not begin to live till we have begun to regulate our
thoughts, to direct them towards futurity, and to assume to ourselves
a kind of consistency of character conformable to that state which has
some relation to what we shall afterwards become. By considering the
duration of life in this, the only real point of view, we shall find,
that at the age of 25 we have passed but one fourth part of our life;
at the age of 38 one half; and that, at the age of 56, there is one
fourth of life still remains.