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Article REFLECTIONS ON THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE YEAR M,DCC,XCVIII. ← Page 4 of 4 Article AN HISTORICAL ESSAY ON LONGEVITY. Page 1 of 3 →
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Reflections On The Commencement Of The Year M,Dcc,Xcviii.
And are these enormities less prevalent than they have been at any former period ? Observation will tell us otherwise . It is the duty , therefore , of every one who aspires to the dignified , but now too much prostituted character of patriot , to contribute his endeavours towards removing those moral evils which are the surest preludes to natural . By each person reforming one , the whole body will become purified ; and then we may expect that the favour of Heaven will be greater than our past errors , or our present fears . \ y .
An Historical Essay On Longevity.
AN HISTORICAL ESSAY ON LONGEVITY .
"KM ANY have been led , from a desire of life , to envy the length of - - days with which the earl y inhabitants of the world were favoured . Under the complicated circumstances of natural and moral evil to which man in the modern ages , at least , is liable , longevity is little to be desired . It will be curious and entertaining , however , to examine into this subject ; and this I shall at present do historically .
A very common notion has obtained , that in the early periods of the world its inhabitants were both more juvenile and more perfect ; that they were of a gigantic stature , incredible strength , as well as an amazing length of life . In consequence of these notions , many romantic fictions have been broached , such as , that Adanvattained to the height of nine hundred yards , and almost to the age of a ' thousand
years . But philosophy has converted the supposed bones of giants , discovered in different places , into those of the elephant and rhinoceros ; and divines have proved , that the chronology of the early time was not the same with that which is now used . Some have gone so far as to assert , that the year , till the time of Abraham , consisted only of three months ; that it was afterwards extended to ei ght ; and that it was not till the days of Joseph that it attained '
to twelve . According to this view , the sixteen hundred years before the flood will become four hundred and fourteen ; and the nine hundred years of Methusalem will be reduced to two hundred , which is no improbable age , when we consider the temperance of the period , and the age to which many have attained in modern times . ' the Jewish
From history we may collect the following instances . — - Abraham , that exalted and faithful patriarch , attained the age of 175 years ; his son Isaac , who was more settled , to 180 ; Jacob lived only 147 ; Ishmaef , a warrior , 137 ; Sarah , the only woman of the ancient world with whose duration of life we are acquainted , lived 127 years ; Joseph , who was much afflicted in his youth , but hig hlydistinguished in his latter years , lived to be no .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reflections On The Commencement Of The Year M,Dcc,Xcviii.
And are these enormities less prevalent than they have been at any former period ? Observation will tell us otherwise . It is the duty , therefore , of every one who aspires to the dignified , but now too much prostituted character of patriot , to contribute his endeavours towards removing those moral evils which are the surest preludes to natural . By each person reforming one , the whole body will become purified ; and then we may expect that the favour of Heaven will be greater than our past errors , or our present fears . \ y .
An Historical Essay On Longevity.
AN HISTORICAL ESSAY ON LONGEVITY .
"KM ANY have been led , from a desire of life , to envy the length of - - days with which the earl y inhabitants of the world were favoured . Under the complicated circumstances of natural and moral evil to which man in the modern ages , at least , is liable , longevity is little to be desired . It will be curious and entertaining , however , to examine into this subject ; and this I shall at present do historically .
A very common notion has obtained , that in the early periods of the world its inhabitants were both more juvenile and more perfect ; that they were of a gigantic stature , incredible strength , as well as an amazing length of life . In consequence of these notions , many romantic fictions have been broached , such as , that Adanvattained to the height of nine hundred yards , and almost to the age of a ' thousand
years . But philosophy has converted the supposed bones of giants , discovered in different places , into those of the elephant and rhinoceros ; and divines have proved , that the chronology of the early time was not the same with that which is now used . Some have gone so far as to assert , that the year , till the time of Abraham , consisted only of three months ; that it was afterwards extended to ei ght ; and that it was not till the days of Joseph that it attained '
to twelve . According to this view , the sixteen hundred years before the flood will become four hundred and fourteen ; and the nine hundred years of Methusalem will be reduced to two hundred , which is no improbable age , when we consider the temperance of the period , and the age to which many have attained in modern times . ' the Jewish
From history we may collect the following instances . — - Abraham , that exalted and faithful patriarch , attained the age of 175 years ; his son Isaac , who was more settled , to 180 ; Jacob lived only 147 ; Ishmaef , a warrior , 137 ; Sarah , the only woman of the ancient world with whose duration of life we are acquainted , lived 127 years ; Joseph , who was much afflicted in his youth , but hig hlydistinguished in his latter years , lived to be no .