me species, and composed of the same four elements.
And, since a long and healthy life ought to be greatly coveted by
every man, as I shall presently shew, I conclude, that every man
is bound in duty to exert himself to obtain longevity, and that he
cannot promise himself such a blessing without temperance and
sobriety.

Some allege, that many, without leading such a life, have lived
to an hundred, and that in constant health, though they eat a
great deal, and used indiscriminately every kinds of viands and
wine; and, therefore, flatter themselves, that they shall be
equally fortunate. But in this they are guilty of two mistakes;
the first is, that it is not one in an hundred thousand that
ever attains that happiness; the other mistake is, that such, in
the end, most assuredly contract some illness, which carries them
off: nor can they ever be sure of ending their days otherwise:
so that the safest way to obtain a long and healthy life is, at
least after forty, to embrace sobriety. This is no such difficult
affair, since history informs us of so many who in former times
lived with the greatest temperance; and I know that the present
age furnishes us with many such instances, reckoning myself one of
the number: we are all human beings, and endowed with reason,
consequently we are masters of our actions.

This sobriety is reduced to two things, quality and quantity. The
first, namely quality, consists in nothing, but not eating food, or
drinking wines, prejudicial to the stomach. The second, which is
quantity, consists in not eating or drinking more than the stomach
can easily digest; which quantity and quality every man should be
a perfect judge of by the time he is forty, or fifty, or sixty; and,
whoever observes these two rules, may be said to live a regular and
sober life. This is of so much virtue and efficacy, that the
humours of such a man's body become most homogeneous, harmonious,
and perfect; and, when thus improved, are no longer liable to be
corrupted or disturbed by any other disorders whatsoever, such as
suffering excessive heat or cold, too much fatigue, want of natural
rest, and the like, unless in the last degree of excess. Wherefore,
since the humours of persons, who observe these two rules relative
to eating and drinking, cannot possibly be corrupted, and engender
acute diseases, the sources of an untimely death, every man is
bound to comply with them: for whoever acts otherwise, living a
diso