is holy and commendable, the chief employment of those who lead it
being to celebrate the praises of God; O, that the would likewise,
betake themselves intirely to a regular and sober life! how much
more agreeable would they render themselves in the sight of God!
What a much greater honour and ornament would the be to the world!
They would then be considered as saints, indeed, upon earth, as
those primitive Christians were led, who joined sobriety to so
recluse a life. By living, like them, to the age of one hundred and
twenty, they might, like them, expect, by the power of God, to work
numberless miracles; and they would, besides, enjoy constant health
and spirits, and be always happy within themselves; whereas they are
now, for the most part, infirm, melancholy, and dissatisfied. Now,
as some of these people think, that these are trials sent them by
God Almighty, with a view of promoting their salvation, that they
may do penance, in this life, for their past errors, I cannot help
saying, that, in my opinion, they are greatly mistaken. For I can
by no means believe, that it is agreeable to the Deity, that man,
his favourite creature, should live infirm, melancholy, and
dissatisfied, but rather enjoy good health and spirits, and be
always content within himself. In this manner did the holy
fathers live, and by such conduct did they daily render themselves
more acceptable to the Divine Majesty, so as to work the great and
surprising miracles we read in history. How beautiful, how glorious
a scene should we then behold! far more beautiful than in those
antient times, because we now abound with so many religious orders
and monasteries, which did not then exist; and were the members of
these communities to lead a temperate life, we should then behold
such a number of venerable old men, as would create surprise. Nor
would they trespass against their rules; they would rather improve
upon them; since every religious community allows its subjects
bread, wine, and sometimes eggs (some of them allow meat) besides
soups made with vegetables, sallets, fruit, and cakes, things which
often disagree with them, and even shorten their lives. But, as
they are allowed such things by their rules, they freely make use of
them; thinking, perhaps, that it would be wrong to abstain from
them, whereas it would not. It would rather be commendable, if,
after the age of thirty, they abstained from such food, confined
themselves to bread, wine, broths and eggs: for this is the true
method of preserving men of a bad constitution; and it is a life of
more indulgence than that led by the holy fathers of the desart,
who subsisted intirely on wild fruits and roots, and drank nothing
but pure water; and, nevertheless, lived, as I have already
mentioned, in good health and spirits, and always happy within
themselves. Were those of our days to do the same, they would,
like them, find the road to heaven much easier; for it is always
open to every faithful Christian, as our Saviour Jesus Christ left
it, when he came down upon earth to shed his precious blood, in
order to deliver us from the tyrannical servitude of the devil; and
all through his immense goodness.
So that, to make an end of this discourse, I say, that since length
of days abounds with so many favours and blessings, and I happen to
be one of those who are arrived at that state, I cannot (as I would
not willingly want charity) but give testimony in favour of it,
and solemnly assure all mankind, that I really enjoy a great deal
more than what I now mention; and that I have no other reason for
writing, but that of demonstrating the great advantages which arise
from longevity, to the end that their own conviction may induce them
to observe those excellent rules of temperance and sobriety. And
therefore I never cease to raise my voice, crying out to you, my
friends: may your days be long, that you may be the better servants
to the Almighty!
LETTER
FROM
SIGNOR LEWIS CORNARO,
TO THE
RIGHT REVEREND BARBARO,
PATRIARCH ELECT OF AQUILEIA.
The human understanding must certainly have something of the divine
in its constitution and frame. How divine the invention of
conversing with an absent friend by the help of writing! How
divinely it is contrived by nature, that men, though at a great
distance, should see one another with the intellectual eye, as I now
see your lordship! By means of this contrivance, I shall endeavour
to entertain you with with matters of the greatest moment. It is
true, that I shall speak of nothing but what I have already
mentioned; but it was not at the age of ninety-one, to which I have
now attained; a thing I cannot help taking notice of, because as I
advance in years, the sounder and heartier I grow, to the amazement
of all the world. I, who can account for it, am bound to shew, that
a many may enjoy a terrestrial paradise after eighty; which I enjoy;
but it is not to be obtained except by temperance and sobriety,
virtues so acceptable to the Almighty, because they are enemies to
sensuality, and friends to reason.
Now, my lord, to begin, I must tell you, that, within these few days
past, I have been visited by many of the learned doctors of this
university, as well physicians and philosophers, who were well
acquainted with my age, my life, and manners; knowing how stout,
hearty, and gay I was; and in what perfection all my faculties still
continued; likewise my memory, spirits, and understanding; and even
my voice and teeth. They knew, besides, that I constantly employed
eight hours every day in writing treatises, with my own hand, on
subjects useful to mankind, and spent many hours in walking and
singing. O, my lord, how melodious my voice is grown! were you to
hear me chant my prayers; and that to my lyre, after the example of
David, I am certain it would give you great pleasure, my voice is so
musical. Now, when they told me that they had been already
acquainted with all these particulars, they added, that it was,
indeed, next to a miracle, how I could write so much, and upon
subjects that required both judgement and spirit. And, indeed, my
lord, it is incredible, what satisfaction and pleasure I have in
these compositions. But, as I write to be useful, your lordship may
easily conceive what pleasure I enjoy. They concluded by telling me,
that I ought not to be looked upon as a person advanced in years,
since all my occupations were those of a young man; and, by no means,
like those of other aged persons, who, when they have reached eighty,
are reckoned decrepid. Such, moreover, are subject, some to the
gout, some to the sciatica, and some to other complaints, to be
relieved from which they must undergo such a number of painful
operations, as cannot but render life extremely disagreeable. And,
if, by chance, one of them happens to escape a long illness, his
faculties are impaired, and he cannot see or hear so well; or else
fails in some or other of the corporeal faculties, he cannot walk,
or his hands shake; and, supposing him exempt from these bodily
infirmities, his memory, his spirits, or his understanding fail him;
he is not chearful, pleasant, and happy within himself, as I am.
Besides all these blessings, I mentioned another, which I enjoyed;
and so great a blessing, that they were all amazed at it, since it
is altogether beside the usual course of nature. This blessing is,
that I had already lived fifty years, in spite of a most powerful
and mortal enemy, which I can by no means conquer, because it is
natural, or an occult quality implanted in my body by nature; and
this is, that every year, from the beginning of July till the end
of August, I cannot drink any wine of whatever kind or country; for,
besides being during these two months quite disgustful to my palate,
it disagrees with my stomach. Thus losing my milk, for wine is,
indeed, the milk of old age; and having nothing to drink, for no
change or preparation of waters can have the virtue of wine, nor of
course do me any good; having nothing, I say, to drink, and my
stomach being therefore disordered, I can eat but very little; and
this spare diet, with the want of wine, reduces me, by the middle of
August, extremely low; nor is the strongest capon broth, or any other
remedy, of service to me; so that I am ready, through mere weakness,
to sink into the grave. Hence they inferred, that were not the new
wine, for I always take care to have some ready by the beginning of
September, to come in so soon, I should be a dead man. But what
surprized them still more was, that this new wine should have power
sufficient to restore me, in two or three days, to that degree of
health and strength, of which the old wine had robbed me; a fact,
they themselves have been eye-witnesses of, within these few days;
and which a man must see to believe it; insomuch that they could not
help crying out; "Many of us, who are physicians, have visited him
annually for several years past; and ten years ago, judged it
impossible for him to live a year or two longer, considering what a
mortal enemy he carried about him, and his advanced age; yet we do
not find him so weak at present as he used to be." This
singularity, and the many other blessings they see me enjoy, obliged
them to confess, that the joining of such a number of favours was,
with regard to me, a special grace conferred on me, at my birth, by
nature, or by the stars; and to prove this to be a good conclusion,
which it really is not (because not grounded on strong and
sufficient reasons, but merely on their own opinions) they found
themselves under a necessity to display their eloquence, and to say
a great many fine things. Certain it is, my lord, that eloquence,
in men of bright parts, has great power; so great, as to induce
people to believe things which have neither actual nor possible
existence. I had, however, great pleasure and satisfaction in
hearing them; for, it must, no doubt, be a high entertainment to
hear such men talk in that manner.
Another satisfaction, without the least mixture of alloy, I at the
same time enjoyed, was to think, that age and experience are
sufficient to make a man learned, who without them would know
nothing; nor is it surprizing they should, since length of days is
the foundation of true knowledge. Accordingly, it was by means of
it alone I discovered their conclusion to be false. Thus, you see,
my lord, how apt men are to deceive themselves in their judgement of
things, when such judgement is not built upon a solid foundation.
And, therefore, to undeceive them, and set them right, I made answer,
that their conclusion was false, as I should actually convince them
by proving, that the happiness I enjoyed was not confined to me, but
common to all mankind, and that every man might equally enjoy it;
since I was but a mere mortal, composed, like all others, of the
four elements; and endued, besides existence and life, with rational
and intellectual faculties, which are common to all men. For it has
pleased the Almighty to bestow on his favourite creature man these
extraordinary blessings and favours above other animals, which
enjoy only the sensible perceptions; in order such blessings and
favours my be the means of keeping him long in good health; so that
length of days is a universal favour granted by the Deity, and not
by nature and the stars.
But man being in his youthful days more of the sensual, than of the
rational animal, is apt to yield to sensual impressions; and, when
he afterwards arrives at the age of forty or fifty, he ought to
consider, that he has attained the noon of life, by the vigour of
his youth, and a good tone of stomach; natural blessings, which
favoured him in ascending the hill; but that he must now think of
going down, and approaching the grave, with a heavy weight of years
on his back; and that old age is the reverse of youth, as much as
order is the reverse of disorder. Hence it is requisite he should
alter his mode of life in regard to the articles of eating and
drinking, on which health and longevity depend. And as the first
part of his life was sensual and irregular, the second should be
the reverse; since nothing can subsist without order, especially the
life of man, irregularity being without all doubt prejudicial, and
regularity advantageous to the human species.
Besides, it is impossible in the nature of things, that the man, who
is bent on indulging his palate and his appetite, should not be
guilty of irregularity. Hence it was that to avoid this vice, as
soon as I found myself arrived at maturer years, I embraced a regular
and sober life. It is, no doubt, true, that I found some difficulty
in compassing it; but, in order to conquer this difficulty, I
beseeched the Almighty to grant me the virtue of sobriety; well
knowing, that he would graciously hear my prayer. Then, considering,
that when a man is about to undertake any thing of importance, which
he knows he can compass, though not without difficulty, he may make
it much easier to himself by being steady in his purpose; I pursued
the same course. I endeavoured gradually to relinquish a disorderly
life, and to accustom myself insensibly to the rules of temperance:
and thus it came to pass that a sober and regular life no longer
proved uneasy or disagreeable; though, on account of the weakness of
my constitution, I tied myself down to such strict rules in regard
to the quantity and quality of what I eat and drink.
But others, who happen to be blessed with a stronger temperament,
may eat many other kinds of food, and in greater quantities; and so
of wines; whereas, though their lives may still be sober, they will
not be so confined as mine, but much more free. Now, on hearing
these arguments, and examining the reasons on which they were
founded, they all agreed that I had advanced nothing but what was
true. Indeed the youngest of them said, that though he could not
but allow the favour of advantages, I had been speaking of, to be
common to all mankind, yet I enjoyed the special grace of being
able to relinquish with ease one kind of life, and embrace another;
a think which he knew by experience to be feasible; but as difficult
to him as it had proved easy to me.
To this I replied, that, being a mortal like himself, I likewise
found it a difficult task; but it did not become a person to shrink
from a glorious but practicable undertaking, on account of the
difficulties attending it, because in proportion to these
difficulties, is the honour he acquires by it in the eye of man, and
the merit in the sight of God. Our beneficent Creator is desirous,
that, as he originally favoured human nature with longevity, we
should all enjoy full advantage of his intentions; knowing, that,
when a man has passed eighty, he is intirely exempt from the bitter
fruits of sensual enjoyments, and is intirely governed by the
dictates of reason. Vice and immorality must then leave him; hence
God is willing he should live to a full maturity of years; and has
ordained that whoever reaches his natural term, should end his days
without sickness by mere dissolution, the natural way of quitting
this mortal life to enter upon immortality, as will be my case. For
I am sure to die chanting my prayers; nor do the dreadful thoughts
of death give me the least uneasiness, though, considering my great
age, it cannot be far distant, knowing, as I do, that I was born to
die, and reflecting that such numbers have departed my life without
reaching my age.
Nor does that other thought, inseperable from the former, namely the
fear of those torments, to which wicked men are hereafter liable,
give me any uneasiness; because I am a good Christian, and bound to
believe, that I shall be saved by the virtue of the most sacred
blood of Christ, which he has vouchsafed to shed, in order to free
us from those torments. How beautiful is the life I lead! how happy
my end! To this, the young gentleman, my antagonist, had nothing to
reply, but that he was resolved to embrace a sober life, in order to
follow my example; and that he had taken another, more important,
resolution, which was, that, as he had been always very desirous to
live to be old, so he was now equally impatient to reach that period,
the sooner to enjoy the felicity of old age.
The great desire I had, my lord, to converse with you at this
distance, has forced me to be prolix, and still obliges me to
proceed; though not much farther. There are many sensualists, my
lord, who say, that I have thrown away my time and trouble in writing
a treatise on Temperance, and other discourses on the same subject,
to induce men to lead a regular life; alledging, that it is
impossible to conform to it, so that my treatise must answer as
little purpose as that of Plato on government, who took a great deal
of pains to recommend a thing impracticable; whence they inferred,
that as his treatise was of no use, mine will share the same fate.
Now this surprises me the more, as they may see by my treatise, that
I had led a sober life for many years before I had composed it; and
that I should never have composed it, had I not previously been
convinced, that it was such a life as a man might lead; and being
a virtuous life, would be of great service to him; so that I thought
myself under an obligation to represent it in a true light. I have
the satisfaction now to hear, that numbers, on seeing my treatise,
have embraced such a life; and I have read, that many, in times past,
have actually led it; so that the objection, to which Plato's
treatise on government is liable, can be of no force against mine.
But such sensualists, enemies to reason, and slaves to their
passions, ought to think themselves well off, if, whilst they study
to indulge their palate and their appetite, they do not contract
long and painful diseases, and are not, many of them, overtaken by
an untimely death.
FINIS