I 
 
 : c. 
 
 Ex Libris \ 
 K. OGDEN 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 LIFE SHORTENING HABITS 
 
 AND 
 
 REJUVENATION 
 
 I. The Ten Chief Life Shortening Habits 
 
 II. The Rapid Ageing of Women 
 
 III. Rejuvenation 
 
 BY 
 
 ARNOLD LORAND, M.D. 
 
 Carlsbad, Czecho-Slovakia 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 F. A. DAVIS COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
 1922
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1922 
 
 BY 
 F. A. DAVIS COMPANY 
 
 Copyright, Great Britain. All Rights Reserved 
 
 PRINTED IN U. S. A. 
 
 PRESS OF 
 
 . A. DAVIS COMPANY 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA.
 
 "RA 
 
 776 
 L88-1 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART I 
 The Ten Chief Life Shortening Habits 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO PART I 7 
 
 I. ALCOHOL 11 
 
 II. OVEREATING 22 
 
 III TOBACCO 33 
 
 IV. SEXUAL INDISCRETION 42 
 
 V. UNCLEANLINESS 60 
 
 VI. AMBITION 68 
 
 VII. AVARICE 84 
 
 VIII. ANGER 95 
 
 IX VANITY 101 
 
 X. AVOIDANCE OF PARENTHOOD .115 
 
 PART II 
 The Rapid Ageing of Women 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO PART II 145 
 
 I. THE INFLUENCE OF SMOKING ON THE FEMALE ORGANISM . . . 147 
 
 II. THE INFLUENCE OF INSUFFICIENT NOURISHMENT AND REDUC- 
 TION CURES ON THE FEMALE ORGANISM 158 
 
 III. THE INFLUENCE OF AN IMPROPERLY CONSTITUTED DIET ON THE 
 
 FEMALE ORGANISM 163 
 
 IV. THE INFLUENCE OF AN INSUFFICIENT INTAKE OF FLUIDS ON 
 
 THE FEMALE ORGANISM . 168 
 
 [3]
 
 Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 V. THE INFLUENCE OF UNDULY FREQUENT USE OF PURGATIVES 
 
 ON THE FEMALE ORGANISM 172 
 
 VI. THE INFLUENCE OF COSMETICS 176 
 
 VII. THE INFLUENCE OF ANTICONCEPTIONAL PRACTICES 179 
 
 PART III 
 On Rejuvenation 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO PART III 191 
 
 I. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE POSSIBILITY OF REJUVEN- 
 ATION 195 
 
 II. REJUVENATION OF MAN AND ANIMALS BY SURGICAL 
 
 METHODS 201 
 
 III. REJUVENATION BY THE INGESTION OF ANIMAL GLAND PREPA- 
 RATIONS 212 
 
 IV. REJUVENATION BY THE USE OF IODIDES AND CERTAIN OTHER 
 
 DRUGS 223 
 
 V. REJUVENATION BY MEANS OF THE ULTRA-VIOLET RAYS OF 
 
 NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL SUNLIGHT (QUARTZ LIGHT) . . 232 
 
 VI. PRODUCTION OF A YOUTHFUL APPEARANCE BY MEANS OF THE 
 
 ULTRA-VIOLET RAYS 256 
 
 VII. REJUVENATION BY THE USE OF RADIUM BATHS AND MUD 
 
 BATHS . . 264 
 
 [4]
 
 PART I 
 The Ten Chief Life Shortening Habits
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO PART I 
 
 book saw the light of the world under the 
 roof of an old convent in Vienna, the monas- 
 tery of the Capuchin fathers, who offered me hos- 
 pitality and gave me board and shelter during the 
 last two years of the World War and for a few 
 months after its termination. 
 
 After performing my daily duties as a medical 
 officer it was here that I retired for the evenings 
 and nights. It was a quiet place, an isle of silence 
 in the midst of a noisy city, and just the place 
 for contemplation and literary work. And very 
 silent neighbors I had, indeed! Below me in the 
 deep vaults of the convent lay, in sarcophagi of 
 silver and copper, the bodies of all the emperors, 
 empresses, archdukes, and archduchesses of the im- 
 perial and royal house of Austria-Hungary who 
 had died in the preceding four centuries, includ- 
 ing that of the son of the great Napoleon, from 
 his union with the Austrian princess, Maria Louisa. 
 
 Looking out of my window into the courtyard, 
 I faced a skull bearing an imperial crown of iron 
 which formed the top of the mausoleum of the 
 great Empress Maria Theresa. 
 
 My mind, moreover, was far from cheerful, as 
 
 [7]
 
 Introduction 
 
 I had been the witness of so much misery and 
 had besides lost my personal fortune, the savings 
 of many years of hard toil, in consequence of the 
 war. But then, there were millions who fared far 
 worse than I: Those who lost their lives or had 
 bodily wounds inflicted upon them; and far greater, 
 I think, than the loss of life or bodily wounds of 
 many thousands is the moral mischief that resulted 
 from the late war and which has been poisoning 
 the minds and souls of untold thousands. 
 
 A huge wave of materialism has spread over the 
 world. It seems as if all idealism and altruism had 
 been effaced in the average man. There is a gen- 
 eral unwillingness to do work of any kind, and 
 instead of working the more in order to build up 
 what was lost through the war, on the contrary 
 people are working less, yet unwilling to renounce 
 the benefits that should be reaped only by those 
 who are working the hardest. Besides, there has 
 arisen an enormous over-valuation of crude physi- 
 cal labor at the expense of the more subtle and 
 far more important work of the brain, thus expos- 
 ing the brainworkers to hardships and poverty. 
 This means, indeed, the triumph of the body over 
 the mind! There also has arisen a general craze 
 to enjoy in full measure the pleasures of the mo- 
 ment, regardless of the unfortunate after-effects 
 and dire consequences. 
 
 [8]
 
 Introduction 
 
 In this book I endeavor to show, on the basis 
 of examples drawn from Nature, that each of the 
 creatures of the Almighty Creator, be it man or 
 animal, is destined by Him to do some kind of 
 work, and that Nature, herself, teaches us to do 
 good. That, through the teachings laid down herein, 
 some human life may be prolonged and premature 
 death prevented is my earnest hope. 
 
 [9]
 
 I 
 
 ALCOHOL 
 
 TT is a well-known fact that alcoholic beverages 
 in large amounts are deleterious to all men. 
 There are many persons, too, who are unable to 
 take them even in small amounts without injury 
 to their health. But if anybody should claim that 
 small quantities of an alcoholic beverage, such as 
 beer or wine, are harmful to all adults, he would 
 certainly be making a statement that could not be 
 supported by any argument of scientific value, so 
 far as I know. 
 
 If there are still some who maintain the view 
 that wine or beer, even in small, limited quantities, 
 are deleterious to the health of all adults, I would 
 acknowledge their praiseworthy endeavor to com- 
 bat the scourge of alcohol, but perhaps not their 
 good faith as regards the truth of their pretention 
 if they were well up in physiology, pharmacology, 
 and experimental pathology. I could not follow 
 them as far as that, for they would be exceeding 
 the limits of reason, and instead of helping the good 
 cause, would rather harm it by statements and 
 opinions that are contrary to truth and to common 
 sense.
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 It seems absurd to me that because there are 
 men who can never drink a glass of wine or take 
 a drop of whisky without emptying the whole bot- 
 tle, all those should be punished who are able to 
 be moderate in their use of these beverages, and 
 that on account of the sins of the others they 
 should not be allowed to enjoy a little wine, a glass 
 of beer, or a drop of whisky as recreation after a 
 hard day's toil. 
 
 Where is the due sense of wise moderation in 
 those who are fighting alcoholism? If a person is 
 combating immoderation, the very least I should 
 expect from him would be that he should himself 
 be moderate in his actions and not fall into the 
 same error that he is combating by showing im- 
 moderation and fanaticism in pursuing his ends. 
 For by such fanaticism he would show himself pos- 
 sessed of the mental deficiency of all fanatics, lack 
 of judgment, and this would certainly not be of a 
 nature to carry conviction to those who are to be 
 converted and brought back to the path of virtue. 
 What we must do is to convince by arguments and 
 reasoning those who err. 
 
 I believe I can speak impartially on the ques- 
 tion of alcohol, for I may call to witness my many 
 friends in America and England that I do not 
 drink any alcoholic beverage and never had drink- 
 ing habits. I never turned Paul from having been 
 
 [12]
 
 Alcohol 
 
 Saul, which certainly cannot be said to apply to 
 all those who are now bitterly fighting alcoholism. 
 How human it is to hate what we once loved! 
 When we have professed the greatest affection or 
 liking for a person or thing, and when for some 
 reason or other the friendship or liking ends, and 
 we become enemies, then our hatred grows just as 
 great as our friendship had been before. Those who 
 are converted to a new religion are very apt to be- 
 come fanatics in it. 
 
 While I do not drink, I do not claim this as one 
 of my virtues. I do not drink because I know I 
 differ in this peculiarity from other men alcoholic 
 beverages have never been pleasing to my palate, 
 and, heaven be praised, I never feel the necessity 
 of stimulants! 
 
 I feel I must adhere to the actual, simple truth 
 if I want the large congregation of healthseekers 
 to lend their ears willingly to my teachings, and 
 I am fully aware of the fact that I dare not 
 make myself guilty of any exaggeration if I want 
 to convince! 
 
 Now it would really be an exaggeration if I 
 should maintain that alcohol is harmful even in 
 small quantities to adults. That it is extremely 
 dangerous to children in small quantities and im- 
 pairs their capacity for learning and their intellect 
 in general is a fact upon which I have already 
 
 [13]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 laid stress in my book on "Building Human 
 Intelligence." 
 
 But that alcohol in small quantities is not dan- 
 gerous to grown up persons is a fact referred to in 
 every manual on pharmacology, wherein it is like- 
 wise stated that in small doses it is a useful tonic 
 to the heart, and thus a serviceable medicine. Of 
 course it is not well to use drugs daily; hence it 
 would not be wise to take daily such a dose of wine 
 or whisky, for instance, as would increase the pulse 
 rate, cause the heart to beat more strongly, and in- 
 duce a sensation of heat. 
 
 For daily use, if one does not prefer in the in- 
 terest of longevity to entirely renounce alcoholic 
 beverages, two small glasses of wine of low alcohol 
 content, or a glass of beer, is enough. It would 
 not become one preaching moderation to recom- 
 mend more than that amount. It is better still, 
 of course, if people can be so brought up from 
 childhood that they will not feel the need of such 
 stimulants. 
 
 For children every drop of alcohol is a real crime, 
 and should be severely punished by law. But it 
 would certainly be advisable, too, that grown up 
 people should consider alcohol rather as a kind of 
 occasional medicine. With alcohol it is as with all 
 other drugs and medicine; if you take much of it, 
 it will turn into a poison. It excites undue activ- 
 
 [14]
 
 Alcohol 
 
 ity of certain glands, the ductless or endocrin glands, 
 i.e., the thyroid, liver, kidneys, adrenals, pituitary 
 body, and the sexual glands, and thus contributes 
 to their degeneration. 
 
 The great importance of these glands which, af- 
 ter the brain, heart, and lungs, are the most im- 
 portant organs of the body, has been described in a 
 masterly way by an American savant, Dr. Charles 
 E. deM. Sajous, of Philadelphia, in his classical 
 work on "Internal Secretions," the first book on 
 this subject to be contributed to the medical litera- 
 ture in the entire world. 
 
 The first organ to suffer from alcohol is the liver, 
 to which it is conveyed directly from the intestinal 
 tract. Among the duties of this organ is that of 
 ridding our body of the different poisons that are 
 brought to it with the blood from the digestive 
 organs and which we introduce into our body with 
 food and drink. The alcohol thus carried to the 
 liver induces inflammation of its tissues, and in the 
 long run may bring about the destruction of this 
 most important organ. 
 
 Further, an accumulation of large quantities of 
 water in the abdominal cavity, ascites, may take 
 place, so that the abdomen becomes distended like 
 a barrel. The drunkard, as punishment for the 
 pleasures he has derived from tapping a barrel, is 
 thus condemned by the vengeful hand of Nature 
 
 [15]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 to carry such a barrel in his own person through 
 the remaining years of his life, which can be main- 
 tained only by repeated tapping of the accumulated 
 fluid. 
 
 What makes the ravages of alcohol so serious, 
 both for the body and the mind, is the fact that it 
 is also most deleterious to a glandular structure 
 which, as shown through the labors of Dr. Sajous, 
 and as also described in my books "Old Age De- 
 ferred" and "Building Human Intelligence," gov- 
 erns all the functions, physical and mental. As 
 previously mentioned, I have attributed early age- 
 ing and old age in general to changes occurring in 
 this gland, and by extracts from it I have suc- 
 ceeded in restoring people to a more youthful 
 appearance. It is interesting to note that recently 
 Huxley, in London, has succeeded in obtaining 
 similar results in his experimental work. 
 
 I have also shown in my book on "Building 
 Human Intelligence" that this wonderful gland 
 governs the condition of the brain and the entire 
 nervous system, and that upon giving extracts of 
 it to idiots, cretins, and feeble-minded persons, 
 marked improvement of the mental condition may 
 take place. In a book I have just finished, on 
 forgetfulness and absentmindedness, I show that 
 through their use the memory can likewise be 
 improved. 
 
 [16]
 
 Alcohol 
 
 In cases of idiocy, cretinism and feebleminded- 
 ness, the best results are obtained if the treatment 
 is begun in childhood. Thus, in the summer of 1919 
 I treated a feeble-minded and quite dumb child of 
 4 years with thyroid extract, with the result that 
 after six weeks the child became more intelligent 
 and was better fitted for education, and had begun 
 also to pronounce several words distinctly. Since 
 then she has made great progress, as her mother 
 informed me by letter. The treatment is being con- 
 tinued. Very often such children are the offspring 
 of families upon which alcohol has been exercising 
 its nefarious influence. 
 
 Just as goiter, that is, enlargement of the thyroid 
 gland, may be hereditary, so may various morbid 
 changes and diseases of the thyroid be transmitted 
 from the father or from the mother to the later 
 descendants, often even through a number of gen- 
 erations. Even ordinary intoxication is attended 
 with disturbances in the function of the thyroid 
 gland, and if intoxication occurs frequently in a 
 person, permanent and destructive changes in the 
 organ may result as has been demonstrated by a 
 number of investigators studying the thyroid of 
 dead alcoholics and consequently also the develop- 
 ment of mental disturbances and finally insanity. 
 
 Now, since the thyroid plays the most important 
 role among the detoxicating and protective organs 
 
 [17]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 of the body, the resisting power of the body against 
 various poisons and infectious germs is diminished 
 by morbid changes in it induced through the action 
 of alcohol, and in those with severe alcoholism may 
 even be entirely abolished. The fact need not sur- 
 prise us, therefore, that alcoholics quickly succumb 
 to all kinds of infection. Contracting an inflam- 
 mation of the lung may be attended with particular 
 danger to life in alcoholics. Death often results 
 within a few days in these cases. In this disorder, 
 indeed, everything depends upon the strength of 
 the heart, which must therefore be stimulated by 
 all available means. The heart of the alcoholic is, 
 however, as a rule in a weak condition, since alco- 
 hol in large amounts injures the heart muscle and 
 reduces the functional power of this organ. 
 
 Alcohol exerts an equally harmful influence on 
 the condition of the blood-vessels, and arterioscler- 
 osis is exceedingly often found present in drinkers. 
 The occurrence of arteriosclerosis in these subjects, 
 frequently while they are still relatively young, is 
 likewise to be accounted for in part by the dis- 
 eased condition of the kidneys induced by alcohol. 
 Alcohol has an extremely harmful effect on the 
 delicate, sensitive tissues of these highly important 
 organs, and is often responsible for the develop- 
 ment of inflammation of the kidneys (nephritis), 
 which markedly shortens life. 
 
 [18]
 
 Alcohol 
 
 Thus we see that alcohol harms a number of the 
 organs which are essential to life, and therefore 
 constitutes one of the most frequent causes of pre- 
 mature demise, or at least of early ageing. 
 
 What makes this butcher of humanity especially 
 fatal, however, is that it not only destroys the 
 drinker but also plunges his innocent descendants 
 into misfortune and even in many instances con- 
 signs them to an early grave. 
 
 Alcohol impairs the very germ upon which a fu- 
 ture human existence is founded. It may often 
 occur even on the wedding night that a child is 
 begotten, while its parents are in a state of intoxi- 
 cation, which will have to suffer from this circum- 
 stance throughout life, for such children, as is gen- 
 erally the case in the offspring of alcoholic parents, 
 do not thrive well, possess little resisting power 
 against the various infections, and frequently show 
 a tendency to scrofula. Indeed, tuberculosis de- 
 velops with particular ease in the favorable soil thus 
 produced. As I showed in my previous works, 
 disorders of the thyroid gland are transmissible to 
 the offspring (goiter, for example, being frequently 
 transmitted), and as the thyroid gland governs the 
 development of the bones, the children of alcoholics 
 are often backward in their growth. Especially 
 notable among children begotten during intoxica- 
 tion, as in general among the offspring of drinkers, 
 
 [19]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 is a very marked nervousness, and spasms or tre- 
 mors in the limbs appear very often in small chil- 
 dren thus engendered. Later, these children very 
 frequently grow up to be neurasthenic men and 
 hysterical women; fondness for alcohol on the part 
 of parents is one of the commonest causes of in- 
 herited neurasthenia, hysteria, or epilepsy, which is 
 then further transmitted to the children. 
 
 What makes conditions especially tragic is that 
 the children of drinkers often harbor a tendency 
 toward alcohol from childhood on. Not that the 
 pleasant taste of wine or beer proves particularly 
 enticing to them even in the true drinker this 
 property alone has little influence in leading him 
 toward drink but in such persons there often ap- 
 pears a state of mental depression, itself often due 
 to physical causes (the mind generally being under 
 the influence of the physical processes of life), 
 which leads them to feel a need of freeing them- 
 selves from their weakness and lassitude and of 
 cheering themselves up, and as a result the bottle 
 is soon resorted to. An abnormal condition of the 
 mind is of exceedingly frequent occurrence among 
 the children of alcoholics, and definite mental dis- 
 turbances in many instances make their appearance 
 among them. Even idiotic, mentally backward, or 
 otherwise abnormal children are brought into the 
 world from such unions, and unfortunately such 
 
 [20]
 
 Alcohol 
 
 mental impairment is often further transmitted to 
 the succeeding generations. 
 
 In this we observe a condition similar to that 
 noted in syphilis, these two scourges of mankind, 
 indeed, generally being in close inter-relationship. 
 Alcohol is an accomplice and abettor of syphilis, 
 for which it often prepares the ground, represent- 
 ing the biblical snake which induced man to bite 
 into the apple of perdition. Bacchus takes Venus 
 by the hand, the two of them perform a round 
 dance, and the people follow them in long, long 
 columns, casting aside all restraints, to a premature 
 end, like the moths dashing themselves into the 
 flames. 
 
 [21]
 
 II 
 
 OVEREATING 
 
 ""THERE is no doubt that in the old Roman Em- 
 pire, when wars were so frequent and no one 
 was sure of his personal safety, many thousands 
 must have perished by the sword or lost their lives 
 by some unnatural means. In those times it was 
 not in the natural order of things that people should 
 die at home in their beds, and countless were those 
 whose days were ended by violence. And yet, a 
 sage of that period put the number of those who 
 met an early death on account of overeating and 
 to whom the pleasures of the table proved fatal 
 still higher. For he said: "Plures gula quam gla- 
 dius homines necat." (More people die through 
 their palate than by the sword.) 
 
 Indeed, there can be no question but that over- 
 eating, i.e., the introduction of excessive quantities 
 of food into our bodies, is capable of seriously 
 menacing our health and also often of shortening 
 our lives. We may, perhaps, not incorrectly com- 
 pare our body to an engine, the heating of which 
 is done by food. In consequence of the heat ap- 
 plied to the engine, energy is developed, and through 
 it work of various kinds can be performed. 
 
 [22]
 
 Overeating 
 
 We may also compare correctly, to my mind 
 our body to a kind of a stove, the food then con- 
 stituting the combustible material, the wood or coal, 
 with which the fire in the stove is maintained. In- 
 deed, combustion takes place in our body just as 
 in a stove, and as in a stove, the fire varies in 
 intensity according to the kind of fuel used. A 
 hot fire or a low one will result, according to the 
 manner in which we feed fuel to our stove. 
 
 There exist, as we know, three principal kinds 
 of food material: The protein or albuminous, the 
 fats, and the carbohydrates or starchy foods. Of 
 these three varieties the last two burn the best. 
 And this is only natural. We speak here of kin- 
 dling a fire, and when we make a fire, we should 
 recollect that we are bringing into life again the 
 rays of sunshine that were beaming down upon the 
 different kinds of inflammable material, e.g., the 
 trees, in prehistoric times, millions of years ago. 
 This is all related to a law of nature, that of the 
 conservation of energy, discovered by Robert Mayer. 
 
 No energy is ever lost. It is changed into dif- 
 ferent forms, but can never be destroyed. Now, the 
 rays of the sun contain large amounts of energy, 
 for the sun is the greatest source of energy in this 
 world; so that in the last analysis all kinds of work 
 on this earth can be referred back to the sun as 
 their origin, a truth enunciated by the great Eng- 
 
 [23]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 lish astronomer, Herschell, already centuries ago. 
 Indeed it can be shown that the fact that our heart 
 beats is likewise due merely to the rays of the sun. 
 The heart is a muscle, and its contractions are per- 
 formed at the expense of a sugar-like substance, 
 glycogen, manufactured in our bodies from the 
 starchy food, which is converted into glycogen 
 through the processes of digestion. 
 
 It has been shown that after the performance 
 work the muscles contain less glycogen. In the last 
 edition of my book "Old Age Deferred," I showed 
 that sugar, and above all, honey, is an excellent 
 remedy for a weak heart precisely on account of 
 the above mentioned principles, the nectar of the 
 flowers, which is the source of the honey, having 
 stored up the energy of the sun's rays. We know 
 that all starchy food and all sugar-like matter in 
 nature can be created only through the help of the 
 rays of the sun that greatest benefactor of the 
 human race as well as of the animal and vegetable 
 kingdoms. 
 
 No wonder, indeed, that this celestial body has 
 been worshipped by the old Persians, the Pheni- 
 cians, and the Aztecs, as one of their chief gods. 
 
 Now, as above mentioned, no form of energy is 
 ever lost in this world, and thus, the energy of the 
 sun's rays, that have been beaming down upon the 
 trees on hot summer days, can be brought to life 
 
 [24]
 
 Overeating 
 
 again by touching a match to dry wood that has 
 been put into a stove. And lo! Even the rays of 
 the tropical sun that were beaming down millions 
 of years ago upon the trees of the ancient, ante- 
 diluvian periods, in the lapse of ages are called into 
 existence again, transformed into coal, stones, trees 
 and plants. So also is the kerosene oil which we 
 are burning. All these give back their hidden sun- 
 shine to us. It is natural that wood, kerosene, and 
 coal should make excellent fuel, for they are merely 
 a kind of stored up sunshine setting free again the 
 light they received from the sun in prehistoric times. 
 
 Similar considerations apply to the fuel in the 
 stove which is represented by our body. Those 
 varieties of food will burn best which are produced 
 through the direct action of the sun's rays, such as 
 the starchy foods. Fat is also easily burned, for 
 it is readily produced in our body upon introduc- 
 tion of large quantities of starchy food and sweets. 
 These substances burn easily, undergo combustion 
 in our bodies, and leave no wastes behind. 
 
 Protein food, however, is more complex chemi- 
 cally and will not burn easily, especially if some- 
 thing is lacking, without which no stove will burn, 
 i.e.,, oxygen. Furthermore, much residuum from 
 the proteins remains, which makes the process of 
 combustion still more difficult. An unfavorable re- 
 sult at the same time is that, if the material with 
 
 [25]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 which the fire is kept burning contains too much 
 protein food, then the other materials such as the 
 starchy food (sugar) and the fats will also burn in- 
 completely. As a result our stove will burn poorly, 
 and much residue will remain. 
 
 If too big a fire is made in it and an excessive 
 quantity of food is ingested, a considerable part of 
 it will consist of protein (albuminous food). In 
 general, the protein introduced in our body in the 
 form of meat burns far worse and leaves more resi- 
 due than the albumin of plants. Among such resi- 
 dues in our stove is uric acid, which is manufactured 
 mainly from meat food, especially from the glandu- 
 lar organs, such as sweetbread, liver, kidneys, etc. 
 Certain kinds of vegetable food, however, are like- 
 wise rich in proteins (e.g., peas, beans, lentils, and 
 also coffee beans). 1 
 
 As is well known, uric acid is the source of many 
 disturbances. Blood that contains much uric acid 
 and other wastes does not flow readily and without 
 friction through the vessels, especially the small, 
 narrow capillaries. The viscosity of such blood is, 
 as a rule, augmented and generally at the same 
 time the blood-pressure is higher than normal. 
 
 This circumstance, as we know, plays an import- 
 ant part in the production of arteriosclerosis, which 
 
 1 A complete list of articles on food containing uric acid may be 
 found in my book on "Health and Longevity Through Rational Diet." 
 
 [26]
 
 Overeating 
 
 arises very often from such a cause, and so it is 
 only natural that in gout, which is mainly brought 
 about, on the one hand, through abundant forma- 
 tion of uric acid, and on the other, through insuf- 
 ficiency of the kidneys and their inability to elimi- 
 nate these noxious substances, high blood-pressure 
 and arteriosclerosis are frequently, if not usually, 
 met with. Gouty subjects often die from the ef- 
 fects of arteriosclerosis. 
 
 In judging of the effects of overeating there are 
 two factors which must be considered: First, the 
 quantity of food that is ingested, and, secondly, the 
 composition of the food taken to excess. 
 
 When too much food is taken, the stomach and 
 the intestines become overloaded and are thus com- 
 pelled to work harder, especially if the food has not 
 been previously well masticated and has not been 
 sufficiently exposed to the digestive action of the 
 saliva, which plays an important role in the diges- 
 tion of starchy food. Thus, affections of the stom- 
 ach or intestines very easily arise which, in their 
 after-effects, may sometimes induce more serious 
 and life-shortening diseases. Imperfectly nourished 
 people, furthermore, are less resistant to the attacks 
 of microbes, and may thus more readily contract 
 infectious diseases. 
 
 The risks entailed become still greater if, in the 
 excessive quantity of food ingested, meat is con- 
 
 [27]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 tained in large amounts, and much in the way of 
 spices and condiments are taken into the body at 
 the same time. 
 
 As a result, the poisonous substances formed in 
 the intestine bring about disease of the liver and 
 especially of the kidneys, which separate various 
 substances from the blood like a fine sieve, and life 
 may thus be materially shortened. This is further 
 assisted in that these substances exert an injurious 
 action upon the heart and the blood-vessels and 
 greatly promote the development of arteriosclerosis, 
 especially in the presence of other predisposing fac- 
 tors such as syphilis and abuse of tobacco and al- 
 cohol. Overeating is capable, in persons suffering 
 from hardening of the vessels of the heart, of bring- 
 ing about the greatly feared attacks of breast pang 
 or angina pectoris, and thus not infrequently lead- 
 ing to sudden death. 
 
 Where meat enters in large amount into the 
 excessive diet taken, serious disturbances of meta- 
 bolism may result and gout set in; and if, in addi- 
 tion, much sweet or starchy food is contained in the 
 diet, there may appear diabetes, which often ends 
 fatally, or obesity, together with morbid changes in 
 various vitally important organs, such as the heart. 
 
 All these disorders develop all the more readily 
 when at the same time the person leads a sedentary 
 mode of life and the combustion of the food sub- 
 
 [28]
 
 Overeating 
 
 stances is not facilitated by adequate bodily motion 
 as well as a free intake of fresh air. The same is 
 true likewise if the correct proportion between the 
 size of the body and its weight and the required 
 amount of food is not kept, e.g., if a short man of 
 light weight insists upon introducing into his body 
 as much food as would be required for a man of 
 giant stature. 
 
 Much depends also upon the age of the person. 
 A youth requires more food to build up his body 
 than an old man or woman who is in process of 
 senile involution. In the latter type of person, un- 
 duly rich food is attended with the drawback that 
 in consequence of the largely degenerated and 
 shrunken condition of the digestive glands it can- 
 not be thoroughly elaborated, and from the same 
 cause, also, the noxious and poisonous constituents 
 of the different kinds of food cannot be transformed 
 into innocuous compounds. Then, of course, there 
 may occur in consequence serious changes in the 
 heart and the blood-vessels, which may not infre- 
 quently contribute to a fatal issue through arterio- 
 sclerosis. 
 
 Many a man is quite happy if he can fill himself 
 with large amounts of the choicest foods, but under 
 these conditions punishment on the part of Mother 
 Nature is to be expected. She inflicts such punish- 
 ment merely in our own interest, in order to give 
 
 [29]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 us a salutary lesson and teach us to mend our 
 ways. To this end she may visit upon such hearty 
 eaters a catarrh of the stomach, with loss of appe- 
 tite and sometimes vomiting, to get rid of the food 
 that has been gluttonously ingested. Or, there may, 
 in the long run, occur in consequence an attack of 
 gout or podagra, marked by the most excruciating 
 pains throughout the night, as a kind of just pun- 
 ishment for a lack of moderation in the pleasures 
 of the table, 
 
 It is a frequent habit with us mortals in the 
 moments of pleasure to quite forget the possible 
 consequences. Some of us, when at a table laden 
 with delicious food, fill our digestive tract to its 
 utmost capacity, until, as the saying goes among 
 the Hungarian gypsies when invited to a wedding 
 dinner, "the food bulges out everywhere." (The 
 gypsies of Hungary remind one in many respects 
 of the colored people of America, e.g., in their 
 easy-going ways and jolly disposition.) For such 
 incorrigible gluttons it would perhaps be advisable 
 to introduce again a certain salutary custom that 
 prevailed in ancient Egypt. 
 
 At festival dinners of the highest aristocracy of 
 the kingdom it was the custom for the majordomo 
 to pass around among the guests and present to 
 each a statuette representing a mummy in which 
 form the Egyptians were preserved after death 
 
 [30]
 
 Overeating 
 
 reminding them at the same time with solemn words 
 that while they might profit of the pleasures of the 
 moment, they must not forget that there would 
 surely come a day when they .would have to depart 
 for the realm of eternal silence. Surely many of 
 us, hearing such admonitions while sitting at a well- 
 laden table, would be induced to postpone the day 
 of departure as long as possible. 
 
 Perhaps an even greater restraining effect might 
 be exercised upon many an incorrigible glutton if 
 there lay upon his board such a weird symbol of 
 evanescence as may be found at the dining table 
 of some of the orders of monks living under the 
 strictest regulations. Thus, while eating their fru- 
 gal fare, consisting only of vegetables, the Car- 
 melites face a skull of a dead person lying either 
 in the middle or at the head of the table. 
 
 It would be against my principles to advocate 
 the general use of such drastic measures, but we 
 must certainly admit that there are some of our 
 fellow men with whom none but such heroic means 
 would avail as deterrents from the full dish and 
 bottle. At any rate, all those who are fond of 
 the pleasures of the table might at least carry out 
 some of the customs of these pious fathers, viz., 
 they might introduce among their numerous fat 
 days at least one lean day in the week, say the 
 Friday of each week. 
 
 [31]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Especially the great meat eaters would do very 
 well, indeed, to abstain once a week from their 
 habit, which is most harmful to all who are in some 
 degree predisposed to arteriosclerosis, diabetes, gout, 
 or kidney disease as I have repeatedly pointed out 
 in my books on old age and diet and in a series 
 of monographs on diabetes. 
 
 Before concluding this sermon on moderation in 
 the pleasures of the table, I would like to point out 
 that overeating, in addition to the harmful conse- 
 quences above mentioned, has still another great 
 disadvantage. It leads one into the temptation to 
 drink and smoke after the meal, for there is noth- 
 ing that a full stomach desires so much as alcohol 
 and tobacco. 
 
 It may also be added that overeating often leads 
 to early ageing, for it creates obesity, which also 
 makes people look older, especially when a large 
 abdomen is developed. 
 
 Early ageing is also promoted through the fact 
 that overeating exposes to arteriosclerosis. The 
 red face with dilated blood-vessels which heavy 
 eaters often present rather frequently suggests a 
 much greater age than is really the case, particu- 
 larly if a large abdominal development coexists. 
 
 [32]
 
 Ill 
 
 TOBACCO 
 
 \V7HEN a man is an inveterate smoker, his pas- 
 sion for tobacco may obtain sometimes such a 
 hold upon him that it would seem nearly impossible 
 for him to deliver himself from its nefarious influ- 
 ence. This accounts for the fact that when, several 
 centuries ago, the smoking habit was prohibited 
 with heavy punishment and fines, it was found im- 
 possible to put a stop to its propagation. 
 
 Neither the most severe castigations of the church, 
 nor the legal punishment of years of prison and 
 bodily chastisement, nor even the penalty of death 
 that was inflicted upon smokers in the first years 
 after the introduction of tobacco from America to 
 Europe, were able to deter the ancestors of present- 
 day smokers. They persisted in the habit, and if 
 unable to smoke in public, continued to do so 
 secretly. 
 
 It would appear that, at least in the central parts 
 of Europe, the martyr smokers of the sixteenth 
 century have worthy successors, for on a winter 
 journey to Italy and France last year I saw on 
 the way through Austria and Germany a number 
 of people standing for an hour or more in the cold 
 
 s [33]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 wind and rain in front of the tobacco shops merely 
 in order to obtain a few cigarettes or a handful 
 of tobacco, sometimes consisting simply of beech 
 leaves. 
 
 I fear that in the face of such an overpowering 
 habit my admonitions will not be of great avail, 
 and am far from hopeful of complete success, but 
 I would be glad even of the partial success if this 
 lenten sermon were to induce inveterate smokers 
 to a certain degree of moderation, especially in the 
 use of strong tobacco. 
 
 It would certainly be going too far to pretend 
 that smoking is harmful to every one, for I know 
 personally of instances of old men in the seventies 
 and even in the eighties, who had been smoking 
 several rather heavy cigars each day for years, and 
 were nevertheless in good health. I have known 
 of the case of a gentleman one hundred years old 
 who was a heavy smoker. 
 
 But while smoking even to a rather pronounced 
 degree causes no apparent harm in many persons, 
 there are, on the other hand, not a few persons 
 who suffer injury to their health even from the 
 smoking of small amounts of even light tobacco and 
 whose lives may be considerably shortened by daily 
 smoking. Too often this is, unfortunately, recog- 
 nized only at a late period, when the symptoms of a 
 dangerous disease, the occurrence and development 
 
 [34]
 
 Tobacco 
 
 of which may be very closely related to smoking, 
 viz., arteriosclerosis, are already plainly present. 
 
 Tobacco exerts a very harmful influence upon the 
 condition of the blood-vessels, both in animals ac- 
 cording to a series of investigations in them and 
 in man. Perhaps even more than alcohol, it is, next 
 to syphilis, the most frequent cause of arterioscler- 
 osis. The most serious type of this condition, that 
 which involves hardening of the coronary arteries 
 supplying blood to the heart muscle, and which 
 results so exceedingly often in sudden, premature 
 death, is commonest among heavy smokers, par- 
 ticularly if syphilis has previously been present. 
 
 In this connection I would like to mention the 
 fact that there are people who, when asked, will 
 admit that ten or twenty years before they had an 
 insignificant lesion, small scratch, or erosion on their 
 organ, but that as nothing further happened they 
 paid no attention to it. Naturally such persons 
 are dumfounded upon learning from the result of 
 the Wassermann blood test that the insignificant 
 sore they had had so many years before meant 
 that they had acquired syphilis. 
 
 It is a strange and tragic fact that as a rule it 
 is precisely these light cases, in which syphilis in 
 its earlier stages has led to no manifestations what- 
 ever, that are in many instances the ones most to 
 be feared, for they seem to be predestined to de- 
 
 [35]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 velop the most fatal consequences of syphilis, viz., 
 the serious degenerative changes in the blood-vessels 
 and such terrible diseases of the nervous system and 
 brain as locomotor ataxia and general paralysis of 
 the insane. 
 
 Not only the blood-vessels, but even the heart 
 itself, may be harmed by heavy smoking continued 
 for many years, especially if strong tobacco has been 
 used. 
 
 Manifestly, there is no sense in delaying a warn- 
 ing to these people against the use of tobacco 
 until it is already too late and they can no longer 
 be saved. Why postpone examination of the heart 
 and blood-vessels until they are suffering from the 
 most characteristic symptoms of advanced arterio- 
 sclerosis, together with those ominous attacks of 
 cardiac oppression or angina pectoris? There can 
 be no doubt but that these attacks of angina 
 pectoris these most dreaded manifestations of ar- 
 teriosclerosis very often appear as the heralds of 
 approaching death. In this I refer, of course, to 
 the attacks of true angina pectoris and not the 
 attacks of pseudo angina which nervous persons 
 sometimes complain of. 
 
 Now, what I would suggest to prevent the in- 
 sidious development of these deplorable cases is that 
 every man before he begins to smoke should be ex- 
 amined by a physician to ascertain whether he is fit 
 
 [36]
 
 Tobacco 
 
 to smoke and whether there is anything in the con- 
 dition of his heart or blood-vessels which would 
 contraindicate his doing so. All persons descendant 
 from families in which disease of the blood-vessels 
 has frequently appeared should be considered unfit. 
 Such persons should likewise be considered unfit for 
 smoking in whom there are found, in addition, ir- 
 regularities of heart-action, which not infrequently 
 appear rather early in life in the descendants of 
 such families, e.g., irregular pulse, intermittences, 
 a very low or very high pulse rate, etc. Persons 
 thus predisposed to arteriosclerosis can often be 
 recognized from their external appearance. 
 
 Especial caution as regards smoking is necessary 
 where there is a history of syphilitic infection, for 
 the germs of syphilis, the spirochetes, establish them- 
 selves by preference in the blood-vessels and there 
 exert their devastating influence. If with this are 
 combined smoking arid also the consumption of 
 large amounts of spirituous liquor, arteriosclerosis 
 may often set in quite early in life; at least, such 
 individuals are certain candidates for this disease. 
 
 Where active mental labor is performed in con- 
 junction with immoderate smoking, there is a 
 marked tendency, according to my observations, 
 to the production of arteriosclerosis of the brain. 
 With this comes the danger of apoplectic attacks, 
 especially if the mode of life is imprudent in 
 
 [37]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 other respects, if inveterate constipation exists, etc. 
 Thus, as I have had occasion to observe, the sleep- 
 lessness, dizziness, headache, and failure of mem- 
 ory complained of by heavy smokers engaged in 
 hard mental labor are exceedingly often related to 
 a beginning arteriosclerosis of the brain, of which 
 they constitute the initial symptoms. This influ- 
 ence of immoderate smoking in conjunction with 
 hard mental labor upon the state of the circulation 
 in the brain vessels may be held to account for 
 the fact that, as I was able personally to ascertain, 
 many instances of previous heavy smoking are to 
 be found among patients suffering from progres- 
 sive paralysis. Aside from alcohol, immoderate 
 smoking thus plays a very important role in this 
 terrible sequel of syphilis, which generally brings 
 life to a fearsome ending within a few years. 
 
 Thus the habit of smoking, if followed to excess 
 for years, strong cigars and innumerable cigarettes 
 being used up to the very end, smoking indulged 
 in on an empty stomach before breakfast, or short 
 pipes employed all conditions which distinctly en- 
 hance the dangers of heavy smoking is capable in 
 some persons of promoting the development of men- 
 tal disorders. 
 
 Nevertheless it cannot be denied that smoking 
 under certain conditions exerts a quieting, soothing 
 effect on the nervous system, especially during ex- 
 
 [38]
 
 Tobacco 
 
 citement, and thus greatly facilitates mental work, 
 so that, e.g., many office workers, if deprived of 
 cigars or cigarettes, are not able to carry on their 
 labors as easily. In spite of this fact, it is advis- 
 able to exercise great caution before declaring a 
 neurasthenic qualified to smoke, especially among 
 the descendants of families in which nervous or 
 mental disturbances are the rule. 
 
 Particularly unfit to smoke are the children, 
 upon whose delicate organism tobacco exerts an 
 especially harmful effect, even greatly impeding 
 bodily growth and development. This applies no 
 less to their mental than to their physical develop- 
 ment. In this connection the observations of the 
 Dutch clinician, Professor Pel, 2 are highly instruc- 
 tive. There should be a general legal prohibition 
 against the selling or giving of tobacco to children. 
 
 The habit of smoking acts even more injuri- 
 ously upon the delicate organisms of young girls 
 than it does on boys, and yet, unfortunately, one 
 may now observe this harmful habit gaining ground, 
 doubtless as one of the numerous unpleasant re- 
 sults of the late war. Smoking by women and even 
 young girls must be considered from a far different 
 standpoint than smoking by men, for not only is the 
 female organism by virtue of its much more frail 
 structure and its more delicate tissues much less able 
 
 2 Pel: Berlin, klin. Wochenschrift, 1911. 
 
 [39]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 to resist the poisonous action of tobacco than that 
 of man, and thus, like many a delicate flower, apt 
 to fade and wither more quickly in consequence, but 
 the fecundity of woman is greatly impaired by it, 
 as tobacco exerts a very pernicious influence on the 
 various ductless glands, including the thyroid gland 
 and the sex glands. In view of the large number 
 of men lost in the late fearful war, the authorities 
 cannot be expected to look on unmoved while a 
 generation of sterile women, rendered incapable of 
 fulfilling their sublime function of motherhood, is 
 being produced on account of the immoderate smok- 
 ing of foolish young girls. 
 
 If, in addition, such girls and women who are 
 smokers remain for long periods, e.g., entire after- 
 noons, as is now often the case, in restaurants filled 
 with tobacco smoke, the injury to health induced by 
 the smoking per se may be further increased. 
 
 Air laden with tobacco smoke in confined spaces 
 is capable of exerting a very harmful effect on 
 human beings if they breathe it for any length of 
 time. Such an atmosphere, indeed, contains not 
 inconsiderable amounts of carbon monoxide and 
 may therefore have a definitely harmful action. 
 
 This applies not only to man, but also to animals. 
 Thus, the Dutch investigator, Fokker, 3 found that 
 if animals are kept in such an atmosphere for merely 
 
 3 Fokker: Nederlandsche Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, 35, 1884. 
 
 [40]
 
 Tobacco 
 
 one hour, demonstrable amounts of carbon mon- 
 oxide may be found in their blood. This is doubt- 
 less in some degree related to the rather frequent 
 cases in which persons who have been sitting for 
 a long time gambling in crowded coffee-houses, 
 thickly filled with smoke and overheated in addi- 
 tion, suddenly collapse and die. The marked ex- 
 citement occasioned by the game itself, acting upon 
 a heart originally much weakened, doubtless also 
 plays an important role in such instances. 
 
 Among professional gamblers such sudden deaths 
 are not uncommon, for in this deplorable and 
 irregular occupation frequent and violent mental 
 emotions are unavoidable. These, in turn, exert a 
 most unfavorable influence upon the heart muscle 
 and the circulation in general. At the same time, 
 staying for long periods in rooms full of smoke, 
 overheated, and often lacking the necessary amount 
 of oxygen may likewise contribute toward a fata] 
 issue. 
 
 [41]
 
 SEXUAL INDISCRETION 
 
 \V7HEN this universe was created, its Creator 
 paid special attention to all things that would 
 ensure conservation of the lives of mankind and of 
 the lower animals. This is plainly shown by the 
 fact that he implanted in the breast of every 
 creature two instincts which dominate it in an over- 
 whelming and irresistible manner, holding it, as it 
 were, in fetters of iron, viz., hunger and the sexual 
 impulse. 
 
 Of these two instincts the latter would appear 
 to be the more powerful. For a watch dog, if he 
 is a dutiful animal, will perhaps reject a most 
 delicious morsel of food and not allow himself to 
 be tempted by it. But a sexual temptation is 
 certain to prove too much for him and lead him 
 completely to disregard his duties to his master. 
 
 From this example we see how this instinct tri- 
 umphs over the other and how sexual attraction 
 dominates that of the palate. It is really a species 
 of bait which nature offers to man and animals in 
 order to induce them to procreate. 
 
 In this we are afforded a splendid opportunity 
 to admire the great sagacity and admirable fore- 
 
 [42]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 sight with which nature furthers her ends. Satis- 
 faction of the sexual appetite being connected with 
 great pleasure, the bait thus offered may lead to 
 an immoderation which, in its further consequences, 
 might perhaps even endanger the existence of the 
 whole of mankind. 
 
 It seems, however, that nature especially favors 
 mankind, and that the conservation of the human 
 race is the object of special care and preoccupation 
 on her part for all that is connected with it. For 
 instance, the structure of the sexual organs them- 
 selves is ordered with such foresight and wisdom 
 that it cannot but provoke the admiration of the 
 most impious materialist. 
 
 Nature has found ways and means to impose 
 moderation in sexual activity. While she dispenses 
 pleasure with one hand, she knows also how to 
 punish with the other. Through punishment of the 
 immoderate, the disobedient, and the imprudent, she 
 seeks to warn and admonish others. Thus, immod- 
 erate activity in this direction often entails great 
 dangers to bodily health. It is capable of leading 
 in women to very serious disturbances of the sexual 
 organs, with consequences highly prejudicial to 
 their fertility and longevity. In fact it often 
 shortens their lives. In men, likewise, such im- 
 moderation may produce serious changes in the 
 nervous system, and also, in consequence of the 
 
 [43]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 close relationship between the nervous system and 
 circulatory apparatus, the early appearance of 
 arteriosclerosis. 
 
 Through frequent sexual intercourse, especially 
 in the case of single men, certain infectious dis- 
 eases, such as gonorrhea, are easily acquired. In 
 such instances, nature may impose moderation 
 through the after effects to which gonorrhea some- 
 times leads. For not infrequently the chronic 
 gonorrheal inflammation of the posterior portion 
 of the urethra, especially when the prostate gland 
 is involved, leads to a more or less pronounced 
 impotence. This occurs more easily in nervous 
 persons, especially such who had been addicted to 
 self-abuse in their younger years, or, it may occur 
 as a species of punishment in those who have been 
 committing sexual excesses through a considerable 
 period of time. 
 
 It should be noted that all kinds of sexual irri- 
 tations are likely to produce a hyperemic condition 
 of the urethra and prostate gland, and favor dis- 
 eased conditions of these structures. 
 
 Impotence may thus be the result of chronic in- 
 flammation, of undue irritation, of infection, and 
 of abuses of the reproductive organs. If, then, 
 many a roue, in his distress over his sexual weak- 
 ness, which keeps him from enjoying the sexual 
 pleasures that allure him, rebels against God and 
 
 [44]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 nature, we have in such an event one reason more 
 to admire the foresight and wisdom of nature, 
 whereby, while punishing the reckless and the im- 
 moderate, she warns others and thus prevents de- 
 terioration and extermination of the human species. 
 
 For this purpose nature employs still more for- 
 midable deterrents to immoderate and indiscrimi- 
 nate sexual activity. While offering with one hand 
 a cup of joy in the shape of sexual pleasure, she 
 holds in the other a cup of poison in exchange for 
 the pleasures enjoyed. She strikes the victim with 
 a terrible disease, consequent upon sexual infec- 
 tion, which leads to the most excruciating, cutting, 
 boring, and fearfully torturing pains, probably the 
 most severe of all diseases to which human beings 
 are exposed, viz., tabes dorsalis or locomotor ataxia. 
 
 This is a sequel of syphilis, and considering the 
 fearful pains it produces, there is scarcely any other 
 disease to be compared with it. To this day I re- 
 tain vividly in memory the fearful cries I heard, 
 as a boy of six years, coming from a neighboring 
 house, where such a tabetic patient was writhing 
 on his sickbed with the most torturing kind of pains. 
 
 That which renders syphilis such a terrible dis- 
 ease, moreover, is not merely the severe bodily 
 pains it may provoke in its aftermath, as in tabes, 
 but also the fact, which is still worse, that it may 
 lead to insanity. That to which syphilis may lead 
 
 [45]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 can best be realized when one has had the oppor- 
 tunity to see a pare tic patient wallowing like an 
 animal in his own dejecta. It seems a tragic fate 
 for man that the same agency which is capable of 
 granting him the highest degree of enjoyment 
 should at the same time lead him to perdition and 
 be the source of the severest tortures and of de- 
 struction of his body and mind. 
 
 Happily only a comparatively small number of 
 syphilitics fall victims to such an unfortunate fate 
 especially those amongst them who for years have 
 been leading a life of dissipation, irregular habits 
 and debauch, and who at the same time have been 
 addicted to alcohol and strong tobacco. 
 
 But not even all of the remainder get off easily. 
 
 Certain examinations by P. Schrumpf 4 at the 
 Polyclinic in Berlin showed that about 10 per cent, 
 of all the patients who lay there with different 
 kinds of internal diseases owed their malady to 
 syphilis, which they had contracted some time be- 
 fore. Strange to note, a considerable number of 
 these patients had no idea that they had had syphilis. 
 
 According to the statistics of the different life 
 insurance companies, there is scarcely any other 
 disease that shortens life so frequently in persons 
 of middle or elderly age as syphilis. Either by its 
 direct consequences or indirectly, syphilis frequently 
 
 4 P. Schrumpf : Berlin, klin. Wochenschrift, 1918. 
 
 [46]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 leads to premature death. Therefore insurance 
 companies with reason demand, as a rule, a higher 
 premium from such persons, as their chances as 
 regards longevity are considerably impaired. 
 
 The disorder is ascribed to the small animalcule, 
 the spirochetes, which establish themselves by pre- 
 ference in the smallest blood-vessels and spread 
 along the vessels to all the tissues of the body, 
 gaining a foothold therein. With the enormous 
 magnification afforded by the ultramicroscope, these 
 diminutive beasts of prey can be seen to at once 
 attack the blood cells and destroy them. 
 
 Or, perhaps, the blame may in many cases be 
 placed on excessive doses of powerfully acting 
 drugs, introduced in repeated and prolonged courses 
 of treatment, as though to drive out the devil with 
 Beelzebub. 
 
 At all events, the general system in such per- 
 sons does not have the same resisting power against 
 various infections as that of other individuals, and 
 it is not surprising that, as a result, premature 
 death takes place in the former, frequently even 
 from diseases not of such nature as to threaten life, 
 and which would have been easily withstood by 
 others. 
 
 Thus, whoever has once contracted syphilis often 
 continues to have reminders of it throughout life, 
 although fortunately, the severe, life-shortening se- 
 
 [47]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 quelse can be guarded against by the early use of 
 specific remedies in the very first stage of the dis- 
 ease, before the whole of the body has been con- 
 taminated and also occasionally in the later stages. 
 
 The majority who are not completely cured, how- 
 ever, are in many instances exposed to premature 
 death. Very often this takes place in an insidious, 
 obscure manner, without any previous prolonged 
 confinement to bed. How often one hears of an 
 apparently healthy man of forty-eight or fifty years 
 suddenly sinking to the floor while in the midst of 
 a social gathering, and dying immediately after. 
 Such cases are nearly always instances of sudden 
 death the result of arteriosclerosis, the commonest 
 sequel of syphilis among the internal disorders to 
 which it gives rise. 
 
 Sudden death in this particular manner may oc- 
 cur all the more unexpectedly in that many per- 
 sons are completely ignorant of the fact that they 
 are infected with syphilis or have ever been through 
 the disease. Indeed, syphilis not infrequently con- 
 tinues on its course for a long period, even years, 
 without any apparent manifestation of disease, or 
 with only slight disturbances, which are often over- 
 looked. 
 
 What makes syphilis so exceedingly serious in 
 its consequences is the fact that it is capable of 
 reacting harmfully on subsequent generations. The 
 
 [48]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 sins of the parents are thus very often visited, as 
 stated in Holy Writ, upon the offspring even unto 
 the seventh generation. Syphilis has not infre- 
 quently played at least a partial role in the pre- 
 mature extinction of many a proud and powerful 
 princely house with the last male heir, and thus ex- 
 erts its influence, no less than does alcohol, in the 
 great realm of world history. Thus a victorious 
 general may have contracted syphilis in the six- 
 teenth or seventeenth century, or a captain of 
 finance in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, 
 and one hundred, two hundred, or more years later 
 there may he horn in the glorious lineage of the 
 general or in the fabulously wealthy family of the 
 financial magnate an idiotic, deaf and dumb, or 
 otherwise defective child, or one who, while ap- 
 parently having normal eyes, is unable to see out 
 of them. 
 
 Or, again, some form of a freak or cripple may 
 see the light of day as a silent accuser of the faults 
 of his ancestors. These fatal hereditary influences 
 may become further aggravated through incest and 
 marriage among relatives. "You can't expect to see 
 a rose grow from a repulsive onion or a hyacinth 
 from a gray horseradish," as the ancient Greek 
 poet, Theognis of Megara, correctly remarked. 
 
 How often it happens that in such families chil- 
 dren are born who are excessively nervous, and very 
 
 4 [49]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 easily excited and irritated. Diseases of the mind 
 and nervous system, metabolic disorders like dia- 
 betes, gout, obesity, etc., and likewise tuberculosis, 
 frequently occur in these families and play havoc 
 in them through centuries of time. If, then, many 
 an offspring of a highly aristocratic or formerly 
 opulent family is found dying in a lunatic asylum 
 or poorhouse, or mayhap even in prison lunacy 
 and crime are closely connected he may lay the 
 blame for it on one of his ancestors who met with 
 misfortune in one of his love adventures or drank 
 heavily. 
 
 Now, it is only natural and altogether human 
 that, when we mortals meet with hard luck, we 
 should at once begin to rail at the cruelties of 
 nature even though all our misfortune and bad luck 
 is due rather to ourselves. Nature is not the cul- 
 prit, nature has not been cruel, but we have been 
 cruel to ourselves and to our descendants, trans- 
 mitting disease to them as a curse for centuries. 
 
 We are obliged to answer for all our deeds and 
 actions, not only in what we do to ourselves, but 
 also to those whom we bring into this world, those 
 who are blood from our blood and flesh from our 
 flesh. All our good and bad deeds are passed down 
 to them as a kind of fatal inheritance. 
 
 Poor, deluded human being, that plunges head- 
 long into ruin in his intoxication of the senses, like 
 
 [50]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 the moth into the scorching flame of light! Little 
 does he reck, in his sensual intoxication, that he is 
 pushing over the precipice not only himself, but 
 also his unfortunate descendants, and that there 
 will remain, as his legacy to the world and as mute 
 evidence of his excesses and his love of Venus and 
 Bacchus, a series of cripples, lunatics, beggars, and 
 criminals ! 
 
 At the moment he sees only the joys of rapture, 
 with its arms alluringly outstretched towards him. 
 But many years later, when the pains of body and 
 mind torment him and when his innocent children 
 are dying at a tender age, then he and all his com- 
 panions in fate clench their fists toward heaven, and 
 charge God, bountiful nature, and the entire crea- 
 tion with being the source of his self-inflicted 
 misfortune. 
 
 Our own, human short-sightedness is evidenced 
 in that we only notice the misfortune which lies 
 immediately before us, and are unable to grasp the 
 fact that all misfortune and all evil in the world 
 is merely the legitimate end-result, as it were, of 
 a long chain of evil or imprudent deeds and ac- 
 tions committed a long time, even centuries, before 
 by us or those of our own flesh and blood whose 
 unfortunate heirs we happen to be. 
 
 There is no need to hold all-provident nature 
 responsible for all these things. 
 
 [51]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 I am among those who are entirely convinced 
 that this world has been created with the greatest 
 possible wisdom and that everything in it is dis- 
 posed with the utmost care and foresight, as any 
 one can readily see by looking through a micro- 
 scope into the intimate structure of any of our 
 tissues, such as those of the inner parts of the eye. 
 One sees there, as in a kind of kaleidoscope, won- 
 ders untold passing before his eyes such master- 
 pieces as even the most gifted artists, including 
 even the great masters of the Renaissance, Leon- 
 ardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Raphael, or Titian, 
 would be unable to contrive. 
 
 At the first sight, many things that happen in 
 nature seem unintelligible and at times repulsive 
 to us. Sometimes we are even tempted to accuse 
 nature of injustice or actual cruelty. But if we 
 take the trouble to obtain a better insight into the 
 doings and actions of nature, and search for the 
 real reason for many features and peculiarities, and 
 the different manifestations of nature's activity that 
 at first seem strange to us, we then find at the 
 bottom of it all the highest degree of wisdom, har- 
 mony, and justice. We mortals may err, but those 
 who know how to read in the book of nature, and 
 who are able to understand the language in which 
 she is speaking to us, know best that nature never 
 errs. 
 
 [52]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 Nature speaks to us in the sounds made by ani- 
 mals, in the buzzing of the insects, the singing of 
 the birds, and the colors and odors of the flowers. 
 She speaks to us through the instincts which govern 
 all our thoughts and actions in a greater or less 
 degree. She speaks to us also through the pains 
 she sends us, which are the warning symptoms of 
 many diseases of the body or mind. 
 
 If we disregard her warnings, she brings upon 
 us severe punishments, in the form of diseases which 
 are really naught else but manifestations of her love 
 to her children. I have shown in my book, "Old 
 Age Deferred," that diseases are, in fact, merely 
 the expression of efforts on the part of our body 
 to cure itself and defend itself against poisons or 
 microbes of different kinds, which are removed or 
 destroyed by the disease manifestations, such as 
 fever, sweating, vomiting, eruptions, etc. Through 
 the distressing diseases nature inflicts as well as 
 through the disgraceful end to which many a sen- 
 suous man comes after contracting the terrible dis- 
 orders to which sexual infection leads, thousands 
 of the unwary are warned and guarded from a 
 similar fate. 
 
 Let us specify, however, what we mean by sex- 
 ual excess. I do not call a man a voluptuary 
 and, indeed, as a physician, I would have even the 
 less right to do so when the sexual instinct gets 
 
 [53]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 the upper hand over him and he seeks to satisfy 
 his craving. I am not a clergyman, and as a phy- 
 sician I have neither the right nor the wish nor 
 spirit anything hypocritical is most abhorrent to 
 me to cast stones at him. By voluptuousness 
 I mean exaggeration in this direction, as exempli- 
 fied in men like Don Juan, the hero of the famous 
 opera of the immortal Mozart. 
 
 His real name was Don Miguel Manara Vicen- 
 tello de Leca. He belonged to the aristocracy of 
 Spain, and was endowed by nature with all the 
 gifts that seduce the soul and body of woman. 
 He had great wealth and an eminently attractive 
 exterior, and was a regular dare-devil, having no 
 fear nor scruple in obtaining his ends, viz. f the 
 enticement and seduction of women. Yet, not 
 satisfied with having triumphed over their virtue 
 and afterwards abandoned them, he even killed 
 their relatives when they tried to secure reparation 
 by force of arms in defending the honor of their 
 families. 
 
 After he had led this life of debauchery and vol- 
 upty for a long time, repentance came upon him. 
 He obtained an insight into the futility, evanes- 
 cence, and emptiness of all these worldly pleasures, 
 and in this repentant mood and let us hope that 
 he was driven to it solely by ethical and religious 
 considerations and not by physical necessity he 
 
 [54]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 entrusted to a famous painter, Valdes Leal, the 
 task of expressing his thoughts in a painting. 
 
 Valdes Leal created a masterpiece. 
 
 If you have read the celebrated works of Wash- 
 ington Irving and ever visited that earthly paradise, 
 Andalusia, and in its heart, beautiful Sevilla, you 
 may go to the Hospedal de la Caridad there and 
 see this picture, which one of the nuns will show 
 you. 
 
 But look at it only if you are a man and your 
 nerves can stand it, and do not look at it for 
 heaven's sake if you are a woman! For tender 
 woman, I think, should be as far as possible spared 
 such terrible sights. The average woman should 
 see only the sunny side of our life, and not the 
 side in which shade and darkness prevail. 
 
 When the nun removes the veil from the picture 
 one starts back in horror. One sees there the 
 bodies indeed mainly the heads of two persons, 
 in a state of complete decay and putrefaction, and 
 so natural is the sight that, as the famous painter, 
 Murillo, remarked, one feels tempted to put his 
 fingers to his nose to exclude the horrible odor ex- 
 haled from the putrefying remains. Innumerable 
 worms are swarming in the putrescent flesh, crawl- 
 ing out from all its pores. In the background is 
 to be seen a heap of skulls, and above the picture 
 is the inscription: Finis gloria? mundi. 
 
 [55]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 These two bodies, covered with a magnificent 
 cloth as far as the head, had belonged, while in life, 
 to the mightiest men of the earth. The one was a 
 ruler of the things of this world, the other a ruler 
 of the things of the world to come; the one, a 
 commander of the bodies, the other, of the souls; 
 the one, reigning over things material, the other, 
 over things spiritual. The one was a king, the 
 other, a bishop. 
 
 But only when they were living. 
 
 For after their death, in putrefaction their bodies 
 looked exactly the same, and were just as much 
 devoured by the worms, as that of the least beggar 
 or outcast could have been. Worms feed on kings 
 and beggars alike. Finis glorice mundi! 
 
 Reference is here made to this horrible picture 
 merely to present another instance of the admirable 
 foresight shown by nature in all her actions. 
 
 Putrefaction may be a horrible sight to our eyes 
 and offensive to our nostrils, and yet it is these 
 putrescent matters that are likely to produce the 
 choicest scents and the finest aromas in flowers and 
 fruits, for which they constitute the best fertilizers. 
 
 Indeed, putrefaction is the necessary condition 
 for the creation of new life; for, as a much quoted 
 dramatic proverb says: "New life arises from the 
 ruins." Death and putrefaction precede the crea- 
 tion of new life. Through putrefaction the dif- 
 
 [56]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 ferent particles, molecules, and atoms of which each 
 body is composed are set free, their liquid as well 
 as their solid parts pass into the soil and are there 
 taken up by the plants and enter into their struc- 
 ture, and when these are eaten by animals, may 
 become flesh again. A constant circulation of these 
 matters thus takes place, life being, indeed, naught 
 other than the continuous transformation and mi- 
 gration of different substances, which disappear and 
 later come to life again. 
 
 If the rich of this earth, not satisfied with the 
 immortality of their souls taught by religion, should 
 like also to insure the perpetuation of the substances 
 of which their bodies are composed, they should 
 prefer to be buried in the soil like the poor instead 
 of enclosing their bodies in sarcophagi or having 
 them cremated, thus consigning them to eternal 
 annihilation ! 
 
 After this long digression from the subject of 
 sexual indiscretion to that of putrefaction, there 
 may be a few who will think that these two sub- 
 jects are not entirely foreign to one another. 
 
 But let us return to our original subject. 
 
 Voluptuousness is, as above explained, an exag- 
 geration of the instinct planted by nature in the 
 breast of every creature man, animals and even 
 plants to procreate its kind. This instinct craves 
 satisfaction, but the latter should be permitted only 
 
 [57]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 within reasonable, i.e., physiological, limits, as is 
 more fully specified in the chapters on sexual life 
 and its abnormalities, in my book, "Old Age 
 Deferred." 
 
 While nature has implanted in man this desire 
 which is frequently the cause of his ruin, she has 
 also, by imparting to him a higher degree of rea- 
 soning power, placed in his hands the means of 
 moderating it and keeping it within bounds. Since, 
 however, human prudence is incapable of getting 
 the better of sexual desire and pruriency, she has 
 brought into play an influence which had been in 
 existence a very long time before even before the 
 human race made its appearance on the earth. 
 
 As the Holy Writ teaches, in harmony with 
 findings of exact science, man was created only 
 after the animals had already been in existence. 
 Among the latter were a number of species, e.g., 
 many kinds of birds, that lived in strict marital 
 relationship, with but one female to each male, that 
 is, in a state of monogamy. Even now the stork 
 may serve to many human beings as a model 
 example of the good husband. 
 
 As it is not possible, however, for every human 
 being to enter into matrimony, and while not every 
 one can muster the will power to control this form 
 of desire, he may at least remove with some degree 
 of security the serious risks attending gratification 
 
 [58]
 
 Sexual Indiscretion 
 
 by observing cleanliness a measure of which na- 
 ture, in her living creations, affords a number of 
 instructive examples, and which has been originally 
 instilled by her into every animal. 
 
 Even the hog is a cleanly animal. It would cer- 
 tainly not wallow in the mud if it had clean water 
 at its disposal for its daily bath. It is just as fond 
 of its daily bath as the ladies and gentlemen of high 
 estate, and when clean water is not supplied to it 
 for the purpose, even puts up with the dirty water. 
 
 Now a very simple, and very often effective, 
 measure against venereal infection is thorough local 
 cleansing immediately after sexual congress, espe- 
 cially if the cleansing is carried out with antiseptic 
 agents such as potassium permanganate, or better, 
 as concerns syphilis, with a weak solution of corro- 
 sive sublimate. 
 
 During the late world war, as regimental sur- 
 geon, I had under observation many thousands of 
 artillerymen, and in spite of the fact that they were 
 vigorous young men, it was only very rarely that 
 I encountered a single case of syphilitic infection, 
 as they were most strongly admonished to employ 
 the precautionary measure above referred to. When 
 a case of disease came under observation, it was, 
 as a rule, accounted for by inattention to the in- 
 structions given as to cleanliness. 
 
 [59]
 
 UNCLEANLINESS 
 
 IN the third year of the late war I was ordered 
 by my superiors to take measures to check an 
 epidemic of typhoid fever that had broken out 
 in Uzsok, in the Carpathians, the scene of the 
 great battle between the Russian and Austro-Hun- 
 garian forces. The task that lay before me was 
 to prevent the spread of the infection by all means 
 at my disposal. With this end in view I gave to all 
 the troops under my command as sanitary officer 
 strict orders that each man should wash his hands 
 thoroughly before and after each meal. This order 
 was based upon the fact that, as proved by the 
 researches of bacteriologists, the germs that give 
 rise to typhoid and certain other infectious diseases, 
 such as cholera and dysentery, contaminate the 
 hands and are conveyed by them to the mouth and 
 digestive tract, thus bringing on the diseases men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Ages ago, thousands of years before science had 
 proved with the aid of the microscope the existence 
 of microbes that carry infection by direct contact, 
 there were great, wise men, such as Moses and 
 Mohammed, who had a kind of presentiment of the 
 
 [60]
 
 Uncleanliness 
 
 existence of such noxious germs, and who seem 
 with prophetic vision to have suspected that prob- 
 ably all infections took place through such agencies. 
 At least, the Old Testament mentions a fact 
 which permits us to suppose that the great prophet 
 of the Israelitic faith, who is also revered by the 
 Mohammedan creed as one of their saints, viz., 
 Moses, suspected the connection between direct con- 
 tact and subsequent infection. He issued the order 
 that the dejecta of each person should be buried 
 outside the camp, and that in case an epidemic broke 
 out in one place, nobody from that place should be 
 allowed to visit another camp. He also gave in- 
 structions as regards the frequent cleansing of the 
 body through the ritual ablutions. Like so many 
 others of the best teachings of Moses and of Jesus 
 Christ, Mohammed took these over into the creed 
 founded by him and even improved upon them by 
 commanding the faithful to carry out a whole series 
 of ablutions each day. I remember having seen 
 among the attendants of the Shah of Persia, Mu- 
 zaffer Eddin, whom I treated in 1902 in Carlsbad 
 and rather often accompanied on his walks, a man 
 who always carried with him a silver receptacle 
 filled with water and a clean towel. Each time the 
 Shah partook of any food on the way or left off 
 his journey for any other purpose this man stepped 
 forward and the Shah washed his hands. 
 
 [61]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Aside from the infectious diseases already men- 
 tioned, many others may be transmitted with the 
 dirt on the hands and lead to premature death. 
 
 Many persons have the hahit, beneficial for the 
 circulation of blood in the nose but repulsive from 
 the esthetic standpoint, of digging around in their 
 noses with their fingers. A small wound or abra- 
 sion at the nasal orifice may readily be produced in 
 this way. Now if the germ of erysipelas is present 
 on the soiled fingers this disease may become estab- 
 lished. In the face such an occurrence is especially 
 serious by reason of the fact that the infection may 
 extend to the scalp and this, in turn, lead to an 
 almost invariably fatal inflammation of the brain 
 membranes through passage of the agent of the in- 
 flammation through the scalp and the bony plate 
 covering the brain. 
 
 Some years ago one of my colleagues in Carlsbad 
 scratched open a small incised boil on his neck. 
 Erysipelas set in, and subsequently meningitis, and 
 the victim succumbed, though in the prime of life. 
 
 While erysipelas, fortunately, does not always re- 
 sult from such practices, yet the scratching of the 
 skin with soiled hands on account of itching very 
 often gives rise to troublesome furuncles or inflam- 
 mation of the cellular tissues, and indeed, not very 
 rarely to pyemia or septic poisoning, with fatal 
 termination. My own mother's life, unfortunately, 
 
 [62]
 
 Uncleanliness 
 
 was lost in this very way; she died when only fifty- 
 three years of age. 
 
 From all this we see how absolutely necessary it 
 is to keep one's hands always clean and wash them 
 frequently during the day. When I was in charge 
 of a section of the military hospital at Ungvar, 
 Upper Hungary, in 1916, many soldiers came for 
 treatment on account of boils, cellulitis, and open 
 sores. Where large numbers of vigorous young men 
 are quartered in old buildings which have previously 
 been used by others for hospital purposes it often 
 happens that they are attacked by blood-sucking 
 insects such as fleas and bedbugs. The violent itch- 
 ing that results leads to much scratching, and on 
 account of the dirty hands collections of pus in the 
 tissues of the skin and the underlying cellular 
 tissues are formed. I gave orders that all such 
 soldiers as were found in the clinic or at the fre- 
 quent daily examinations with dirty hands or feet 
 should be reported for punishment. The result was 
 that after that fresh boils or abscesses were reduced 
 to a very low number. 
 
 Every person should be taught the need of ha- 
 bitually keeping his hands clean, from childhood on. 
 As I personally observed, in the educational insti- 
 tution for children in Milan, conducted according 
 to the teachings of Dr. Montessori, each child takes 
 daily turns in washing the hands of the other chil- 
 
 [63]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 dren, thus becoming all the more accustomed to 
 frequent washing of his own hands. 
 
 Frequent washing of the feet, at least once a 
 day, is also to be regarded as necessary. Where it 
 is not practicable for every person to take a full 
 bath each day, he should at least bathe his feet 
 immediately after rising or before going to bed. If 
 there is not enough hot water at his disposal for 
 the purpose, he should at any rate rub them down 
 with a wet towel. In the Orient, washing of the 
 feet has been practised from the earliest times, as 
 we may read in the Scriptures, which describe how 
 a foot bath is offered the first thing to every newly 
 arrived guest. 
 
 Among the ancient Egyptians it was likewise the 
 custom to have the feet of every guest washed be- 
 fore beginning a meal. Even though this was very 
 appropriate in view of the habit prevailing in those 
 times of going bare-footed or wearing sandals, it 
 seems really all the more necessary now because of 
 the fact that on account of wearing socks and air- 
 tight leather footgear all the greater opportunity 
 is given for the accumulation of dirt, and proper 
 airing of the feet, which are abundantly supplied 
 with sweat glands and sebaceous glands, is rendered 
 impossible. 
 
 Nature herself actually teaches man cleanliness 
 in the examples of it afforded in the lower animals. 
 
 [64]
 
 Uncleanliness 
 
 Thus, we note how the cat licks her coat and care- 
 fully cleans the coats of her young almost daily. 
 This form of self-cleansing of the body may be 
 observed in many species of animals. Even flies, 
 which often seek their food in most disgusting filth, 
 take care to cleanse their feet, with which they may 
 do much harm, even to human beings, in the hy- 
 gienic sense. 
 
 For the benefit of people who keep their houses 
 in an unclean condition, I might mention by way 
 of contrast the birds, which, like the swallows, 
 carefully remove all dirt from their nests, and 
 many species of birds that have shallow nests even 
 teach their young to eliminate their excreta to the 
 exterior. 
 
 Uncleanly persons may learn a very great deal 
 from the bees. Bees tolerate no dirt in their habi- 
 tations and carry all forms of excreta, moulds, and 
 dead bees outside of the hive. 
 
 Before the bees take up a new dwelling place, 
 the first thing they do is to clean it thoroughly and 
 free it of all dirt and dust. To all those persons 
 who never air their living rooms and are always 
 breathing the corrupted air in them, thus exposing 
 themselves to life-shortening diseases due to bac- 
 teria, such as tuberculosis, the bees also afford a 
 wholesome example. In every hive certain bees are 
 charged with the duty of securing ventilation, which 
 
 s [ 65 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 they do by executing fanning movements with their 
 wings, often continuously for as long as twenty-five 
 minutes, in order to keep the air fresh and prevent 
 its becoming overheated. Among the bumble bees, 
 again, a worker stands at one of the ventilating 
 openings in the roof of the nest first thing in the 
 morning and fans out the foul air that has accumu- 
 lated in the structure overnight. The bees and 
 bumble bees have an even more delicate and sensi- 
 tive olfactory apparatus than man, and this ap- 
 paratus is more readily offended by foul odors than 
 the organ of smell of many human subjects, which 
 is less sensitive and therefore more tolerant of them. 
 
 Keeping the body clean and living in pure, 
 wholesome air is absolutely necessary if we are to 
 avoid exposing ourselves to any of the numerous 
 infectious diseases, the germs of which occur in 
 myriads everywhere over unclean skin or in con- 
 taminated air. 
 
 How greatly the keeping of the body clean is 
 capable of warding off all manner of infections, 
 even after wounds, was shown by experiences in 
 the late war. It is also related of the Japanese in 
 connection with the Russo-Japanese war that they 
 seldom became infected after wounds because the 
 soldiers were compelled to bathe before every battle 
 and their uniforms were kept clean. Similar re- 
 ports are made of the Turkish soldiers during the 
 
 [66]
 
 Uncleanliness 
 
 world war, their wounds healing quickly. In this 
 case, of course, aside from cleanliness, the results 
 were also promoted by the important circumstance 
 that the devout Mussulmans followed the wise di- 
 rection of their prophet not to take any spirituous 
 liquors. Such liquors, if taken daily or frequently, 
 reduce the intrinsic resisting power of our bodies 
 against infection, a power conferred upon us by 
 beneficent Nature. 
 
 [67]
 
 VI 
 
 AMBITION 
 
 IF the average length of human life were at least 
 
 a hundred years, I could readily understand why 
 so many people work day and night, amidst the 
 greatest privations, with much suffering, groaning 
 and lamenting, merely in order to lay aside a sum 
 sufficient to permit them to enjoy life for a span 
 of years more, free of care and sorrow. 
 
 But as things are, alas, human life does not ex- 
 ceed, on the average, three or four score years 
 three score and ten, as the Holy Scripture says 
 and so, unhappily, it is given only to a very few, 
 and rarely to those who work the hardest, amid 
 strain and stress, to enjoy their saved-up wealth 
 for a long period. 
 
 Indeed, there are so very many who, while on the 
 road to a happy and restful evening of life, fall 
 victims to their duties and vocation long before they 
 reach the harbor they have so long been wishing 
 for. 
 
 Entirely given up to their work and vocations, 
 they fail to pay any attention to their health or to 
 the requirements of bodily hygiene. And from 
 personal observation I know that in no country of 
 
 [68]
 
 Ambition 
 
 the world is this the case to such an extent as 
 among the business men of America. 
 
 Thus, it is no wonder that the continuous wear 
 and tear, the overwork and great fatigue without 
 subsequent rest, end their lives at a relatively early 
 age. Many young people working in badly ven- 
 tilated rooms, for instance, without due attention 
 to the principles relating to a rational and fortify- 
 ing diet, and never taking walks in the open air to 
 allow of free expansion of their lungs and an ade- 
 quate supply of oxygen to their system, readily de- 
 velop tuberculosis. 
 
 Many other persons, as soon as they get to be 
 forty years of age or somewhat older, though some- 
 times even before that time, develop a high blood- 
 pressure and die of arteriosclerosis when only mid- 
 dle aged a consequence of the never-ending stress 
 to which they have been exposed by the chase after 
 the almighty dollar. To this purpose they have de- 
 voted all their thoughts and every minute of their 
 time, working and toiling without reasonable inter- 
 ruptions for rest and repose. 
 
 There are hundreds and thousands of American 
 business men who never take the time to enjoy a 
 walk amid the wonders of nature or a rest after 
 the day's toil. 
 
 It is not surprising that the entire disregard of 
 the most elementary requirements of hygiene, their 
 
 [69]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 minds being entirely taken up by their ambition to 
 acquire great wealth, sends them to an early grave. 
 
 In this we see another instance of the manner in 
 which nature avenges herself when a correct meas- 
 ure in all things is not kept. Even ambition, other- 
 wise rather a pleasant stimulant in our prosaic daily 
 life, and which really makes life worth while for 
 many of us, must be bridled and kept within rea- 
 sonable bounds. I must admit, however, that to a 
 certain category of men, those specially favored 
 from heaven with extraordinary gifts of the intel- 
 lect, those who harbor an inward impulse to strive 
 for the highest ideals, such moderation is very hard 
 to observe. 
 
 To those whom divine benevolence has granted 
 extraordinary abilities and even genius, it is indeed 
 an impossible task not to consecrate themselves with 
 all their souls and all the energy they are capable 
 of to their vocations and special provinces, their 
 minds being directed incessantly, day and night, to 
 new inventions or problems. And so there must 
 necessarily happen to them rather often what hap- 
 pened to Icarus, of whose tragic fate mythology 
 tells us, when he attempted to fly up in the heavens 
 with his artificial wings. Owing to the heat of the 
 sun's rays as he drew nearer to it, his wings were 
 melted, and he fell and lost his young life. 
 
 It is a tragic fact that great geniuses seldom 
 
 [70]
 
 Ambition 
 
 reach an advanced age. The fate of the great 
 princes of music, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, 
 and Chopin, exemplifies this fact. 
 
 Precisely the same is true of the great scholars 
 and inventors. I have already directed attention 
 to the frequency with which great scholars and also 
 widely known business men acquire hardening of 
 the blood-vessels of the brain as a result of their 
 continuous mental efforts without subsequent rest 
 and relaxation. Such men suffer apoplectic attacks 
 and often die when comparatively young. 
 
 How sad it is, at the same time, that the star 
 of many an inventor and discoverer, unrecognized 
 in life and cheated out of his expectations and 
 hopes, rises only above his grave! His is very often 
 a sad fate. Too often he is exposed to disappoint- 
 ments and deceptions of all kinds, and must fight 
 for his views and convictions against others and 
 combat adverse and erroneous opinions. How of- 
 ten it happens that other investigators try to steal 
 his invention, or claim it to be their own and dis- 
 pute his priority! 
 
 Now if we consider that in many men of a ner- 
 vous and excitable disposition even merely a lively 
 discussion is apt to cause palpitation of the heart, 
 rise of blood pressure, and sometimes even a tem- 
 porary arrest of the heart, it is not to be wondered 
 at that in such persons arteriosclerosis and old age 
 
 [71]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 in general may make their appearance early; or 
 even, likewise, disease of the mind, if there should 
 be present a predisposition for it through inherit- 
 ance or from any other cause. 
 
 Among the great pioneers of the physical sci- 
 ences, Sir Humphrey Davy and Faraday, arterio- 
 sclerosis of the brain developed at an early age. 
 Indeed, Sir Humphrey died at the age of fifty-one 
 after an apoplectic attack. Faraday already in the 
 forties showed symptoms of arteriosclerosis of the 
 brain, vfe. t headaches, cerebral pressure sensations, 
 dizziness, and a considerable loss of memory. So 
 forgetful was he that once, having worked for two 
 weeks on a certain problem, he found out by acci- 
 dent that only a few months before he had already 
 worked out the same thing. He had absolutely for- 
 gotten all about it. Neither he nor Sir Humphrey 
 Davy ever knew an hour's rest until they broke 
 down from overwork. Faraday became so forget- 
 ful in his fifties that often he could not spell a 
 word correctly. 
 
 That such great inventors and discoverers fre- 
 quently fall victims to a sad fate cannot surprise 
 those who know how impractical they are as re- 
 gards the questions of every-day life. Often they 
 die in poverty, while others make large fortunes 
 out of the fruits of their brains the inventions 
 and discoveries they have made. 
 
 [72]
 
 Ambition 
 
 It seems as if fate herself desired cruelly to 
 persecute those who, with their great minds, find 
 out the important secrets of nature, previously 
 concealed, which they then apply to the benefit of 
 all mankind. 
 
 But even mankind, let us hasten to state, is most 
 ungrateful to the great inventors and discoverers, 
 who often sink prematurely to their graves with a 
 broken heart. 
 
 I shall here describe the tragic fate of two great 
 pioneers as striking examples of the fate that 
 awaits such great men: 
 
 Ignace Philip Semmelweis, a Hungarian born in 
 Budapest in 1811, was the discoverer of the true 
 nature of puerperal sepsis (childbed fever) which 
 until his time carried off yearly many thousands of 
 unfortunate mothers. Until the year 1846 an enor- 
 mous mortality prevailed in the obstetrical wards 
 of Vienna, the largest in Europe at that time. So 
 great was the mortality that, among the women 
 that lay there in childbed, as many as one out of 
 five, sometimes even one out of three, succumbed. 
 Semmelweis conceived the idea that it must be the 
 doctors and students of the clinic, who also per- 
 formed the autopsies at the adjacent pathological 
 institute and often examined the women immedi- 
 ately after completion of an autopsy, that were re- 
 sponsible for the infection. A tragic accident which 
 
 [73]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 then happened confirmed him in his conviction. Dr. 
 Kolletschka, Professor of Medical Jurisprudence, 
 was wounded in the finger by a medical student 
 while dissecting, and died after showing exactly the 
 same symptoms as the women with puerperal sepsis. 
 Semmelweis then insisted that before each examina- 
 tion the hands should be washed with chlorine solu- 
 tion. Immediately, the mortality dropped below 1 
 per cent. When Semmelweis thereupon published 
 his monograph on the infectious origin of puerperal 
 sepsis he was laughed at and attacked from all 
 sides, and in consequence even lost his position at 
 the university. They completely tabooed him. Even 
 Virchow went as far as to say of him, "the fellow 
 is simply speculating!" 
 
 It was also due to Virchow, the great pathologist, 
 that the recognition of the antediluvial existence of 
 man was delayed for twenty years. He maintained 
 that the characteristic signs presented by the skulls 
 of prehistoric men were of a pathological nature, 
 and due merely to disease. But when similar skulls 
 were found at points far distant from one another, 
 as in France, Croatia, and Germany, with exactly 
 the same characteristic signs, then this great path- 
 ologist had to cease his stubborn resistance and give 
 in. 
 
 I believe that if there is anything that will 
 displease God, it must be when those who are on 
 
 [74]
 
 Ambition 
 
 the highest steps of the ladder look down with con- 
 tempt upon those who are climbing up under dif- 
 ficulties, and try rather to throw them off than to 
 cheer and assist them. 
 
 As a result of the constant attacks upon him 
 and the continual fighting, Semmelweis became 
 mentally affected and had to be placed in a luna- 
 tic asylum. He died there fourteen days later, and 
 through the irony of fate he succumbed to exactly 
 the same disease he had been combating all his life, 
 septic fever, in consequence of infection of a small 
 wound on his finger. 
 
 The fate of another great discoverer was no bet- 
 ter: Robert Mayer, who discovered the natural law 
 of the conservation of energy. He made his first 
 observation on this subject, which rendered his name 
 famous, when a young doctor. On board a ship 
 lying in the harbor of Batavia he had occasion to 
 perform venesection on the arm of a shipmate, and 
 was surprised to find that the blood in the vein was 
 as red as that in the arteries, owing to the influ- 
 ence of the tropical climate. This led him to his 
 great discovery. Publishing his observations and 
 upholding his theories, he was attacked from all 
 sides, and had to fight bitterly for recognition. This 
 had disastrous consequences on his mind, for in an 
 attack of insanity he committed suicide by jumping 
 from a window to the street. "Le risque du me- 
 
 [75]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 tier," the Frenchman would say, commenting on 
 this tragic fate of inventors and discoverers. 
 
 But even if not all inventors and discoverers are 
 as unfortunate as these two men, they all have to 
 put up with the irony and satire of their "grate- 
 ful" fellowmen. When Galvagni was addressing 
 the Medical Society of Bologna on his discovery of 
 the galvanic current through his memorable experi- 
 ment with the electrified leg of a frog, his col- 
 leagues greeted him with incredulous laughter. He 
 was nicknamed "the frog's dancing master." 
 
 Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the 
 blood, was received with scorn and derision by his 
 colleagues. 
 
 The inventor of the procedure of percussion, Dr. 
 Auenbrugger, of Vienna, was also ridiculed and his 
 invention recognized only forty- two years later, just 
 before his death, the famous French physician, Cor- 
 visart, publishing a book on his methods. 
 
 So many inventors and discoverers do not live 
 to see the triumph of their discoveries, and not a 
 few of them are driven to an early grave by their 
 disappointments and the subsequent nervous excite- 
 ments and breakdown! The bitter contest and ef- 
 forts, the struggle for the recognition of their ideas 
 and theories, consume their vitality and often lead 
 to their acquiring diseases likely to shorten their 
 lives. 
 
 [76]
 
 Ambition 
 
 The same applies to political rivalry, financial 
 speculation, and gambling on the exchange. Many 
 a financier pays dearly for his first million, as does 
 also the politician who at last attains the high post 
 in the government of his country for which he had 
 been bitterly striving for years. Frequently arterio- 
 sclerosis and a weak heart constitute the price which 
 they must pay for their success, and often it does 
 not take long ere we read in the papers a notice 
 that such and such a famous statesman, or prince 
 of finance, or steel magnate or other great business 
 man, has died suddenly of heart failure or an 
 apoplectic stroke. Sometimes they get off rather 
 cheaply if they develop some disturbance of the 
 nervous system, or of general nutrition, or metabo- 
 lism, which is governed by the nervous system, e.g., 
 diabetes, a disease most frequent amongst captains 
 of finance, successful business men, statesmen, and 
 diplomats. 
 
 Now, I raise the question: Should we give up 
 all our ambitions, our striving for high honors, our 
 longing for inventions and discoveries, our hopes 
 for imperishable fame, simply because it may 
 shorten our lives and expose us to protracted dis- 
 eases? (It is true, however, that only an im- 
 moderate, indomitable ambition, great efforts, and 
 fatigue without subsequent rest and recovery, ex- 
 pose us to such dangerous consequences.) 
 
 [77]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Was it not the royal prince, Gautama Buddha, 
 who taught that the highest aim of man is renun- 
 ciation, complete annihilation, the "Nirvana," which 
 after all must inevitably come? From this view- 
 point, striving after high rank, honors, and dis- 
 tinctions is merely a foolish thing! 
 
 Yet even if it is literally true that we mortals 
 are nothing but perambulating heaps of earth con- 
 sisting of earthy salts and other temporary ingredi- 
 ents, all of which matter soon returns to the earth 
 whence it came "pulvis es et in pulverem rever- 
 teris," says the Holy Scripture our benevolent 
 Creator has given us an immortal mind which noth- 
 ing can prevent from soaring to the heavens and 
 performing deeds that move the whole world. 
 
 If we followed strictly the teachings of Buddha, 
 the energy and impulse toward higher things exist- 
 ing in many men, the investigation of great prob- 
 lems that are occupying the minds of the educated 
 world, and the ambition for new discoveries and 
 inventions, in fact, all progress in science, would 
 be nipped in the bud. 
 
 Indeed, we may observe that in the very coun- 
 tries in which Buddha's religion has been dominant 
 scarcely any inventions or discoveries of such im- 
 portance as to reach us and match those of Euro- 
 peans have been made. Furthermore, it may be 
 pointed out that the nations in which Buddhism 
 
 [78]
 
 Ambition 
 
 has been a ruling factor have not been able to 
 maintain their independence and develop the neces- 
 sary strength to resist foreign invaders. Thus we 
 see that India, the cradle of Buddhism and the 
 country in which it was the creed of the majority 
 of the population, became a vassal to other nations. 
 
 We may harbor admiration for the sublime teach- 
 ings of the great Buddha, but let us say at once 
 that if we should follow his teachings strictly it 
 would mean the end of all joy in our work and of 
 all our energies and impulses to activity and labor. 
 They constitute an Utopia as compared to the pres- 
 ent circumstances of life, and would kill all ambi- 
 tion, in common with the cruder teachings of the 
 Russian fanatics, the Bolshevists. They would mean 
 the end of all individuality. 
 
 No, such teachings may suit the inhabitants of 
 the East, but they are certainly net in harmony 
 with the ways of thinking of the western nations 
 and especially of the Anglo-Saxon race, and are 
 quite contrary to their soul and nature. For in 
 looking through the pages of history, we see therein 
 the deeds to which they were impelled by their great 
 ambition. In discoveries and inventions, they are 
 the leaders of the world! And in regard to the 
 capacity for work, America takes the lead. This 
 I know from personal observation, having spent 
 fourteen months in the United States. I have trav- 
 
 [79]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 elled through all of Europe and a part of Africa, 
 but nowhere have I seen so much work done day 
 by day and so indefatigably as in America. Ameri- 
 cans are the most industrious workers of all. 
 
 In this connection I should like to point out that 
 nature itself compels man to work. And not only 
 man, but even all of the animals. I would even 
 go so far as to say that to work is a kind of 
 instinct implanted in man and animals by nature 
 herself. It is a natural consequence of those two 
 great instincts, hunger and sexual desire, which 
 keep him irresistibly under their spell. Even the 
 least and most despised insect is a worker, for he 
 is governed by the same instincts. Man and ani- 
 mals must work to satisfy their hunger. Sexuality 
 impels both the male and female of animals to build 
 their homes, and when they have begotten offspring 
 they must work to provide them with food. 
 
 "God slumbers in every animal," says the pious 
 Mohammedan, and therefore it is a great sin against 
 God and nature to kill an animal, even an insect, 
 unless one is compelled to do so. A great purpose 
 in education should be to implant in every human 
 being, even as a child, the great truth that it is a 
 sin to kill an animal, and that through the killing 
 even of a despised insect, in a certain sense there 
 has been destroyed a worker intended by nature for 
 some useful purpose, the importance of which we 
 
 [80]
 
 Ambition 
 
 often do not, with our limited knowledge, appre- 
 hend. Even the lowly housefly, which so often 
 spreads disease, may be useful in consuming all 
 kinds of refuse, and that despised animal, the rat, 
 may be of service, acting as a kind of subterranean 
 scavenger. 
 
 Before we kill birds of prey, we should consider 
 the fact that they destroy certain animals, such as 
 field mice, which do harm to agriculture. Let us 
 reflect that the merciful Creator embraces in His 
 love not only ourselves, narrow-minded human be- 
 ings that we are, but likewise all animals, even the 
 most lowly, though some manifestations in nature 
 would seem to indicate that the Creator showed 
 preference to man above all animals, and favored 
 him in a special way. 
 
 According to the holy laws of the old Egyptians, 
 the same punishment after death will await all those 
 who, in their lives, have tortured innocent animals. 
 
 Since it is our duty to accept all good teachings, 
 we should also follow strictly one of the wise pre- 
 cepts of Buddha, viz., that we should not do our 
 work simply for the sake of the material reward 
 to be expected from it. To my mind, no man with 
 an idealistic way of thinking, and whose heart is 
 made of flesh and not of stone, does his work and 
 pursues his vocation merely for the money he may 
 get for it. It is certainly a fact that the insatiate 
 
 [81]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 ambition of great geniuses, of inventors, poets, 
 and painters, and of the great masters of music, 
 has not been fostered by the hope of gain and the 
 wish for riches. No, these men were spurred on 
 by an irresistible impulse. It really seems as if 
 nature, or divine providence, used such men as in- 
 struments to serve their purposes in the interest of 
 the entire human race. Little do these exceptional 
 mortals care for material rewards, and true genius 
 is never held back by the fact that it so seldom 
 obtains the honors and recognition it deserves. 
 
 It is a sad truth that laurel wreaths are wound 
 only about the lifeless skulls of these great men, 
 and that by the irony of fate, others, as a rule, 
 enjoy the fruits of their great inventions and not 
 themselves. This we may note, for instance, in the 
 case of the great Viennese composer and genius, 
 Franz Schubert, whose melodies are known all over 
 the world, alleviating and cheering so many of our 
 despondent moments. He remained a poor man all 
 his life. Scarcely one hundred years had passed 
 after his death when a clever Viennese producer of 
 operettes put together a theatrical piece composed 
 of the different melodies of that immortal composer 
 and made more money with it in one evening than 
 that great man had made in years. About a year 
 or two ago, moreover, one of Schubert's kin died 
 in Vienna of starvation, in direst poverty. 
 
 [82]
 
 Ambition 
 
 The really great men, the great geniuses, do not 
 understand business! Their very nature is contrary 
 to the making of money. There scarcely ever ex- 
 isted one of them who could have accumulated any 
 money. And so it came to be that Mozart was al- 
 ways in straightened circumstances and in debt. At 
 the age of six he sat on the knees of the Empress 
 Maria Theresa in her sumptuous palace at Vienna, 
 and at about thirty-five he was already being con- 
 signed to a poor man's grave in the potter's field, 
 followed by only a few friends as mourners. Van 
 Beethoven always found money for his relatives, 
 but was hard pinched to satisfy his own wants. 
 
 Poverty seems to be the sad fate of these great 
 men, for nothing is more alien to their nature than 
 greed and avarice. 
 
 [83]
 
 VII 
 
 AVARICE 
 
 TN eastern countries it is the custom to consign 
 the bodies of the deceased to earth clothed only 
 in a simple shroud. The latter, of course, has no 
 pockets, and it is a proverb in these countries, when 
 the penuriousness of some persons is being cen- 
 sured, to remark that the shroud has no pockets, 
 meaning by this that when one dies he cannot take 
 any of his riches with him. We may possess mil- 
 lions, we may call the finest jewels and diamonds 
 our own, and we may have found the treasures of 
 Montezuma the Second, which were hidden from 
 Cortez; but when once we are dead, "as dead as 
 a door-nail," as Charles Dickens said of old 
 Scrooge none of these are any longer of avail to 
 us. All the treasures of Aladdin would then not 
 be worth a farthing. For as the patriarch, Job, 
 said: "Naked have I come from my mother's womb, 
 and naked do I go back to her." 
 
 Naked as we go back to our Mother Earth, we 
 can take nothing, literally nothing, with us. And 
 yet we see many a millionaire, and many a Croesus, 
 cling to his riches till he draws his last breath. 
 The fool, as if they could follow him to the king- 
 
 [84]
 
 Avarice 
 
 dom of eternal darkness! Many a millionaire, who 
 could enjoy all the pleasures of life that money 
 can buy, and who could brighten his days with all 
 possible luxuries and amenities that make life more 
 agreeable and bearable, would yet rather die be- 
 ing such a miser than spend a trifling portion of 
 his wealth in the interest of his health or to procure 
 recovery from disease. There are many people who 
 know how to make millions, yet are entirely ignor- 
 ant as to how to spend them with wisdom. Some, 
 indeed, are quite incapable, out of avarice, of using 
 even a small part of their wealth to satisfy their 
 own wants and bodily needs. 
 
 Greed and avarice shorten life. The greedy man 
 tries hard, by all means, often without scruples or 
 regard for the exigencies of his own health, to make 
 money. Very frequently he does so with complete 
 disregard of the interests of his fellowmen, little 
 caring if they are ruined by his enterprises. Evi- 
 dently he is quite ignorant of the proverb, "Live, 
 and let live," or at least, he pays no attention to 
 it in his pursuit of the shekel. 
 
 The miser is still worse! The greedy man fails 
 to heed the interests of others, caring not if they are 
 ruined on his account, but the miser cares not a 
 whit even for his own interests, i.e., the interests of 
 his own health, in his love for riches. He loves 
 money so much that for fear of losing even a small 
 
 [85]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 part of it, he neglects his own wants and even the 
 most stringent requirements of his health and bodily 
 condition. Such is true, unadulterated avarice! 
 
 The greedy man desires to make money, much 
 money, by all means, but he also wants to enjoy the 
 money he makes. He does not pinch himself in 
 anything that concerns his own comfort, and often 
 spends money freely for this purpose. But the 
 avaricious man accumulates gold only to hear its 
 clinking sound, which is music to his ears. He 
 wants to hoard his beloved money, and he would 
 rather starve and freeze in the bitterest winter than 
 use a small part of it to buy coal for his own com- 
 fort. 
 
 Such privations hasten the end of the avaricious. 
 Underfeeding exposes them to certain diseases. 
 Among these diseases tuberculosis takes first place. 
 When the body tissues lack certain mineral sub- 
 stances which are indispensable for their mainte- 
 nance, such as lime, iron, potash, etc., their re- 
 sistance to the myriads of microbes, to the attacks 
 of which we are constantly exposed, is diminished. 
 Persons in whose scanty diet these elements are 
 not represented in sufficient quantities are more 
 likely to fall victims to infections of all kinds. 
 
 The working power of the heart-muscle is like- 
 wise impaired when it fails to receive through the 
 diet the substances necessary for its activity, espe- 
 
 [86]
 
 Avarice 
 
 cially the sugars. Accordingly, in poorly nourished 
 persons one very frequently finds the heart to be 
 weak, a fact to which I referred in greater detail 
 in the fifth, enlarged edition of my work on "Old 
 Age Deferred." 
 
 The miser, in order to save money, has a predi- 
 lection for living in the most unhealthy sort of a 
 dwelling, if only it be inexpensive, and by thus 
 selecting, out of stinginess, a dark and often damp 
 abode, he is exposed to all kinds of infectious dis- 
 eases, particularly articular rheumatism, with its 
 damaging after-effects on the heart. When, more- 
 over, the miser falls ill, he fails to consult the phy- 
 sician in good time, when the latter could still be 
 of service to him, but from motives of economy 
 waits until very late, when the disease has already 
 exerted its destructive effects, which can no longer 
 be counteracted, even by the most skilful physician. 
 As a rule, these unfortunate persons would rather 
 die than seek medical help, unless compelled to do 
 so by intolerable pain. 
 
 This sort of thing is met with very often among 
 the wealthiest misers. For a number of years I 
 had under my care a multimillionaire patient from 
 a Southern town, who was suffering from diabetes. 
 In order to avoid paying the Carlsbad "cure-tax," 
 amounting to 20 kronen, he lived in a suburb of 
 the city. Out of sheer economy he consulted me 
 
 [87]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 only once each time he began his cure, in spite of 
 the fact that he was suffering seriously from his 
 diabetes. It seemed as if, as a good uncle, out of 
 love for his nephews, he wanted to terminate his 
 life soon, thus helping them to spend with lavish 
 hands the treasure he had been heaping up during 
 his life, and let other people also have something 
 of the riches of their uncle. 
 
 Here we see another instance of the compen- 
 satory justice that exists in nature, by virtue of 
 which treasure that has been hoarded up without 
 avail to any one rather frequently passes into the 
 hands of heirs who rapidly consign it to its proper 
 destination, viz., to circulate through other hands 
 instead of being locked up without any practical 
 benefit in a strong box. And so it is that, as a 
 kind of punishment, misers not infrequently have 
 spendthrifts as their heirs. 
 
 It is certainly an abnormal thing when rich 
 people prefer to expose themselves to disease and 
 premature death rather than part with a small frac- 
 tion of their fortune. This undoubtedly betrays an 
 abnormal mode of thinking. Now that which is 
 abnormal means something unsound, and such un- 
 soundness can, indeed, be correlated with disease. 
 According to my observations, this condition em- 
 braces not only changes in the mind and impair- 
 ment of the reasoning powers, but also changes in 
 
 [88]
 
 Avarice 
 
 the body itself. I have rather often observed that 
 wealthy individuals, previously very active men- 
 tally, show a decrease of their mental capacities as 
 soon as they begin to age, at the same time be- 
 coming very close-fisted and stingy, in marked con- 
 trast to their previous liberal habits. I am conse- 
 quently inclined to regard avarice as a senile 
 manifestation. 
 
 It is an interesting fact that in such persons I 
 have invariably found a condition of arterioscler- 
 osis, and in particular a hardening of the vessels of 
 the brain. 
 
 I should like to point out here the interesting 
 contrast that exists between the liberality of youth 
 and the stinginess of old age. In youth there is 
 active circulation of blood through the vessels and 
 the cortex of the brain. The seat and center of 
 all our mental faculties is thus well provided with 
 blood. As a rule, under these conditions, liberality 
 is to be noted. 
 
 In old age, however, the circulation of the blood 
 is slowed down, changes occur in the tissues of the 
 blood-vessels, which become narrower, and the tis- 
 sues supplied by them are poorly and scantily 
 nourished. Atrophy of these tissues occurs in con- 
 sequence. It may be that the penuriousness we 
 so often find in such old people is related to this 
 process of atrophy. 
 
 [89]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Indeed, I think the opinion I am venturing here 
 is not entirely lacking in solid scientific foundation. 
 There has been described by the French medical 
 school a condition in diabetics of advanced age 
 which would seem to support my statement. Such 
 old diabetic patients have been observed who, in 
 spite of the fact that they were very rich, suffered 
 from a mental delusion termed by the French 
 savants "delire de ruine." These wealthy people 
 harbored the delusion that they were threatened with 
 immediate financial ruin, and that they were dying 
 of hunger like the poorest beggar. And this in 
 spite of the fact some of them were worth many 
 millions. 
 
 We may perhaps better understand this strange 
 mental condition when I mention that, according 
 to my observations in many cases of diabetes seen 
 during the last twenty-five years in Carlsbad, in 
 nearly every case, when diabetes presents itself in 
 a person of advanced age, it is caused by harden- 
 ing of the arteries arteriosclerosis which involves 
 also the arteries of the pancreas. Degeneration of 
 the latter is, as is well known, the most important 
 cause of diabetes. 
 
 As evidence demonstrating the truth of this ob- 
 servation, I may here mention a fact I published 
 in the "Journal medical de Bruxelles" eight years 
 ago, viz., that in almost every case of diabetes in 
 
 [90]
 
 Avarice 
 
 old persons I succeeded in decreasing the amount 
 of sugar or causing it to disappear altogether by 
 administering iodine, the well-known remedy for 
 arteriosclerosis. 
 
 In my book, "Old Age Deferred," I also showed 
 that avarice can be caused by changes in the pitui- 
 tary gland, mentioning two such cases. In the dis- 
 ease known as acromegaly, due to this cause, the 
 hands, feet, nose, etc., enlarge to an enormous size, 
 the face often presenting the appearance of that 
 of Punch. Both of the patients referred to were 
 millionaires, and one of them was also a diabetic. 
 They both showed an altogether abnormal miserli- 
 ness. 
 
 From the above it appears that avarice may not 
 infrequently be related to physical and mental dis- 
 turbances. At any rate it is the expression of an 
 abnormal condition weakness of the human mind. 
 It may not be compatible with a high degree of 
 intelligence, and if craft and cunning are present 
 in addition, is no more an expression of a high 
 degree of intellect than the wit of the peasant 
 stamps him as a clever person. That misers belong 
 to a relatively low plane as to intellect likewise 
 appears from the fact that the opposite of miserli- 
 ness, viz., liberality, is met with oftenest among 
 persons, such as artists, who are gifted with great 
 talents. 
 
 [91]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Again, the outstanding personalities who, as re- 
 ligious leaders, combined in themselves the highest 
 sagacity and wisdom, exhorted their followers to 
 exercise the virtues of beneficence to others and 
 give freely to the poor. Indeed, Christ taught that 
 one should love his neighbor as one does himself. 
 
 In the teachings of Moses repeated admoni- 
 tions as to generosity are made, and upon a stone 
 in the courtyard of the town hall at Eger, obtained 
 from a synagogue that burned down in the six- 
 teenth century, there appears the beautiful inscrip- 
 tion: "Simple gifts soothe the wrath of God." 
 
 Mohammed, the Prophet, who had a tender heart 
 for the poor, laid special stress upon the giving of 
 alms, and there are no people in the world so liberal 
 in their gifts to the poor as the Mohammedans. 
 Nowhere in the world are there as many charitable 
 institutions for the poor and needy, often erected 
 centuries ago, as in the countries where Moham- 
 medanism prevails. Charity, the giving of alms to 
 the poor, constitutes one of the five holy command- 
 ments of the Islamic faith. 
 
 Nowhere have I seen so many beggars, and like- 
 wise nowhere so much of alms distributed, as in 
 Morocco, one of the great strongholds of Islam. 
 That there are still so many beggars in Spain may, 
 I believe, be considered a remnant of the traditions 
 of the Arabic rule in Spain. In the same way 
 
 [92]
 
 Avarice 
 
 many of the expressions used in Spanish are de- 
 rived directly from the Arabic, e.g., the pious ex- 
 clamation "ojala Dios" (if God will have it) with 
 which the Spaniard supplements all his statements 
 concerning his future doings, just as the Arab al- 
 ways uses his "Insh' Allah." 
 
 On the inscriptions of the old Egyptian monu- 
 ments dating from the time of the Xllth Dynasty, 
 charity is especially recommended. The hungry are 
 to be fed, the thirsty refreshed, and the naked 
 clothed. 
 
 Even nature herself teaches charity. The gifts 
 which nature vouchsafes with a free hand and in 
 abundance to man should awaken in him a tendency 
 to benevolence to his fellowmen and to animals. 
 We should not let a day pass by without doing 
 some good action to our fellowmen, and if there 
 is no occasion to do some good to a needy person, 
 at least one may throw a bone to a hungry dog. 
 
 I am fully convinced of the literal truth of the 
 saying that "Charity brings its own reward," for 
 the inward pleasure and satisfaction which follow 
 a good action influence favorably the mind and 
 the nervous system, and through them also the heart 
 and the general blood circulation. The positive 
 qualities of human character, such as kindness, love, 
 and hope, prolong life, while the negative charac- 
 teristics, such as hate, mistrust, avarice, etc., are 
 
 [93]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 capable of shortening life owing to their irritant 
 action on the nervous system, and consequently on 
 the circulatory system, to which it is closely related. 
 Likewise the many vexatious and frequent out- 
 bursts of anger to which they lead may be opera- 
 tive in this direction. 
 
 [94]
 
 VIII 
 
 ANGER 
 
 VJ77HEN a person becomes very angry, one may 
 observe how the veins of his head, especially 
 the forehead, become distended. As these veins are 
 closely connected with the blood-vessels in the in- 
 ner cavities of the skull and with those of the brain, 
 their distention indicates that on account of the 
 emotion of anger, certain changes on the blood- 
 vessels of the brain, viz., a congestion of these ves- 
 sels, must have taken place. 
 
 That a marked congestion of these vessels can, 
 indeed, arise, is best shown by the fact that there 
 may occur sometimes in consequence of violent 
 emotion, such as great anger, and the ensuing con- 
 gestion, even a rupture of these vessels or apo- 
 plectic stroke. Of course such an occurrence is 
 only possible, as a rule, if the walls of the blood- 
 vessels are already diseased, as by arteriosclerosis, 
 and their power of resistance against a great rise 
 of the blood pressure in the blood-vessels diminished. 
 
 Such an apoplectic attack may not rarely be 
 immediately fatal, although fortunately a fatal is- 
 sue does not frequently occur. Many, after the 
 first apoplectic stroke, recover after a time and re- 
 
 [95]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 main alive for years sometimes even a good many 
 years if they lead a regular life, observing all the 
 rules of personal hygiene, and especially, when able 
 to abstain from tobacco, alcohol, and the pleasures 
 of a rich table. 
 
 Although, happily, apoplexy is not a daily oc- 
 currence in cases of great anger, taking place only 
 when the arteriosclerotic changes in the blood- 
 vessels are very considerable, generally after the 
 disease has existed for some length of time, yet 
 violent emotion, such as anger, is apt to produce 
 a great rise of blood pressure and influence very 
 unfavorably the condition of the blood-vessels, pro- 
 moting the arteriosclerotic process. 
 
 If this condition is already present, however, and 
 especially if the vessels of the heart are themselves 
 involved, life itself may be placed in jeopardy by 
 anger in these cases. Indeed, it may bring on an 
 attack of breastpang the dreaded angina pec- 
 tons which not rarely terminates in sudden death. 
 
 Apart from these harmful effects on the blood 
 circulation, anger may also exert a very prejudicial 
 action on the nervous system and promote the de- 
 velopment of serious nervous and mental disturb- 
 ances, especially in persons predisposed to such 
 disorders by inheritance. 
 
 A particularly unfavorable action is exerted by 
 it on the blood-vessels of the brain, and it may thus 
 
 [96]
 
 Anger 
 
 to a marked degree favor the development of cere- 
 bral arteriosclerosis. 
 
 On the other hand, frequent outbursts of anger 
 may be an indication of the existence of such a 
 disturbance, and may often serve as a sign of it 
 at its very beginning. Thus, I have frequently had 
 occasion to observe that persons previously of a 
 gentle disposition become strikingly irascible as soon 
 as such a disorder becomes established in them. 
 The irascibility which frequently appears in per- 
 sons over fifty years of age, where it had not previ- 
 ously been present, may be taken as an indication 
 of beginning sclerosis of the brain vessels. One of 
 the most dreaded of nervous and mental diseases, 
 progressive general paralysis, may, however, like- 
 wise be manifested in this way in its earliest stage. 
 
 In persons between the ages of forty and fifty 
 years one rather often notices frequent outbursts of 
 temper either without motive or from quite trifling 
 causes, even in persons who had the gentlest dis- 
 positions in earlier life and were not easily aroused 
 to anger. If, in addition, there appears a condi- 
 tion of nervousness not previously present and not 
 induced by outside factors, it is advisable to ascer- 
 tain through a medical examination whether syphi- 
 litic infection has not been previously contracted 
 and how the blood responds to the Wassermann 
 reaction. It is in such incipient cases of this dis- 
 
 7 [97]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 ease, which is constantly growing more common, 
 that the best results from the treatment, otherwise 
 hopeless and useless, may be obtained. 
 
 In fact, it may even be possible to prevent the 
 complete development of the disease, with its de- 
 structive effect on the mind. In persons threat- 
 ened with this frightful disorder all causes pro- 
 ductive of an outburst of temper must be carefully 
 avoided, since excitement of any kind may induce 
 such outbursts. 
 
 In view of the close relationship existing between 
 the nervous system and general nutrition, one may 
 readily understand how anything which arouses 
 temper exerts an extremely harmful effect on the 
 economy. Anger, in common with a great variety 
 of other forms of excitement, may, indeed, be the 
 source of a disturbance of nutrition which is fre- 
 quently dangerous to life, viz., diabetes. In my 
 various contributions to medical literature on this 
 disease I have described cases in which diabetes set 
 in following some mental shock. Not infrequently 
 a serious, incurable form of the disease is induced 
 in such cases. In persons in whom diabetes already 
 exists such a mental shock is followed by a marked 
 increase of the sugar in the urine and the condition 
 is aggravated. Not uncommonly the disease was 
 observed to set in, as various writers have stated, 
 after an outburst of anger because of marital un- 
 
 [98]
 
 Anger 
 
 faithfulness of the wife or husband, or following 
 unsuccessful speculation, etc. 
 
 Another type of nutritive disorder, viz., gout, 
 may likewise be made worse by emotional impres- 
 sions. 
 
 Not uncommonly an acute attack of gout, in the 
 form of podagra, comes on as a result of an out- 
 burst of passion, nature thus afflicting with severe 
 pain at night persons who are unable to control 
 their tempers. 
 
 Pain still more severe than that of gout may be 
 induced by anger in persons suffering from stone 
 in the kidney. The pain experienced in such at- 
 tacks is far more dreadful than that of any other 
 disorder to which man is subject, with the excep- 
 tion of tabes. 
 
 Only slightly less painful attacks that may be 
 induced by anger are those of gallstone disease, 
 which often bears some relationship to stone in the 
 kidney. Both of these disorders may occur in the 
 same person; the attacks of gallstone colic may 
 be, and indeed, rather frequently are, brought on 
 by outbursts of anger. That the latter exerts some 
 influence on the circulation of the bile may be as- 
 sumed from the fact that there are persons who 
 become jaundiced after a fit of temper; disease of 
 the bile ducts commonly exists in such instances. 
 It is to be strongly recommended, therefore, to 
 
 [99]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 persons suffering from gallstone disease or, more 
 specifically, inflammation of the biliary passages, 
 that they should shun, whenever possible, all causes 
 that might induce an outburst of passion followed 
 by gallstone colic. In a number of vocations, how- 
 ever, this is difficult to avoid. 
 
 I have long been struck by the number of lawyers 
 among the many hundreds of patients with gall- 
 stones whom I have treated in Carlsbad during the 
 last twenty-five years. Thus, disease of the biliary 
 tract seems to be a common occurrence in members 
 of this profession. Whence one might draw the 
 conclusion that this honorable body of men busies 
 itself solely with the defence of true justice; for 
 in the opposite event it would be hard to under- 
 stand how any "bile could be spilled" by them in 
 the process! 
 
 [100]
 
 IX 
 
 VANITY 
 
 IF there were no sexual instinct, vanity would not 
 exist on this earth, either. For naturally it can 
 be only a result of the sexual instinct if, in man 
 or animals, the male or female tries hard to cap- 
 tivate the attention of the opposite sex. Man and 
 the animals have, indeed, learned how to do this 
 from their great teacher, nature. She is the secret 
 promoter of vanity, through which she furthers her 
 ends, and to which she clings with the utmost 
 tenacity in order to ensure the conservation of the 
 species. 
 
 With an eye to this, her sacred aim, she utilizes, 
 among other means which in their cleverness must 
 excite the admiration of even the most impious 
 atheist and materialist, vanity, in order to excite 
 the sexual appetite of the opposite sex, the co- 
 operation of which is indispensable in attaining her 
 object. 
 
 Accordingly, she makes the peacock spread its 
 tail in order to solicit the admiration of the female 
 through the sight of the wonderful brilliancy of its 
 feathers, which are of almost unrivalled beauty. 
 Unlike the human race, in the peacock species it is 
 
 [101]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 not the female that deserves to be called the "fair 
 sex," for she is clothed by nature in very modest 
 and by no means pretentious garments. 
 
 Again, to promote the mating of the bird of 
 paradise, nature induces the males to dance a 
 pirouette before the females, meanwhile exhibiting 
 the wonderfully rich coloring of their plumage. 
 
 She even goes so far as to make a certain species 
 of woodcock, found in South America, construct a 
 kind of dance hall in his endeavor to obtain the 
 favors of his beloved, so that here, just as with man, 
 the path to marriage frequently leads through the 
 ball room. 
 
 This shows us that Terpsichorean art was in re- 
 ality invented by Mother Nature for the purpose 
 of serving the sexual instinct. Indeed, I believe 
 I have demonstrated in my book on "Building 
 Human Intelligence" that the fine arts owe their 
 origin to the sexual instinct as the underlying mo- 
 tive. This applies also to the art of singing and 
 to music in general. 
 
 This is plainly shown by the fact that nature has 
 given the greater gifts in singing only to the males 
 among the singing birds. Thus the male night- 
 ingale sings his most superb note only in the serv- 
 ice of sex. The same is true of the other songsters. 
 The males attempt to drive their rivals from the 
 field by their finest songs, and the one that sings 
 
 [102]
 
 Vanity 
 
 the best is favored with the love of his elected mate. 
 When the victory has been gained, however, it 
 means also the end of the beautiful songs; there- 
 after the males sing no more, except perhaps to 
 entertain their mates while building their nests and 
 as a stimulant to the diligence of their little help- 
 mates. 
 
 One might show similarly that the art of paint- 
 ing was likewise originated by nature. It likewise 
 serves her purposes in promoting sex excitement 
 and insuring the conservation of the species. 
 
 To this end nature makes use of the finest colors 
 at her command. To the fish a creature looked 
 upon as a frigid, cold-blooded animal, but not with 
 justice, for at least in a metaphoric sense, warm 
 blood does, indeed, course through his veins nature 
 lends, under the influence of sexual excitement, the 
 most brilliant colors though only to the males. 
 For in her great sagacity and pre-occupation for 
 the conservation of the species, it is, in general, to 
 the males that she has given the greater appetite 
 in the sexual sphere, and to the female rather a 
 sense of moderation and reserve, so that stronger 
 means are required to arouse her sex desires. 
 
 In the waters of India there occurs a fish which 
 nature has fitted out with the finest possible colors, 
 the rainbow fish. When the season arrives for this 
 fish to lay its eggs, the male swims about the fe- 
 
 [103]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 male and turns himself in all directions just like a 
 conceited dandy who is trying to win his lady with 
 his charms. In doing so he permits his elected 
 one to admire the great beauty of his scales, radi- 
 ant with the most wonderful colors, his entire body 
 glowing in a kind of brilliant fire. All this in 
 order to tempt her to enter his nest. 
 
 How human these creatures are, or how much 
 we are like animals! Just as lavishly has nature 
 lent her most brilliant hues to the world of plants 
 to assist in their propagation. For this purpose 
 she uses the most striking and conspicuous colors 
 at her command, colors such as will be seen from 
 a great distance, to attract the attention of the in- 
 sects adapted as intermediaries in the act of fer- 
 tilization, e.g., bees, butterflies, flies of different 
 kinds, etc. 
 
 With her usual admirable foresight, nature has 
 lavished the most striking colors upon the flowers 
 of the mountain meadows. The reason for this 
 and it shows with what wonderful perspicacity 
 nature does her work is that in the high moun- 
 tains the summer season lasts only a very short 
 time and the insects must be stimulated by some 
 extra means to the highest pitch of industry and 
 speed in order to profit as much as possible from 
 the short time at their disposal. 
 
 To this end nature attracts the fertilizing insects 
 
 [104]
 
 Vanity 
 
 with the most brilliant hue that she possesses in 
 her box of colors, a special kind of red of great 
 brilliancy, called anthokyan. This color, like con- 
 spicuous colors in general, and like the most 
 pungent perfumes and finest aromas of flowers, is 
 a result of the purest sunshine, the sun's rays in 
 the mountains containing far more of the most ac- 
 tive rays, the so-called "ultra-violet" rays, than 
 elsewhere. These rays are the special producers of 
 pigments and colors. 
 
 Nor does benevolent nature forget those organ- 
 isms which are not allowed to enjoy the enlivening 
 rays of the sun, the mushrooms that grow in the 
 dark shadows of deep forests. To these she gives 
 a lamp which glows at night in order to attract 
 their worshippers. There is one of them, a species 
 found in Brazil, called Dictyopliora phalloidea, 
 which resembles a little lady, most eccentrically 
 clad. At night she puts on a little mantle which 
 looks like a lace veil and which emits a glowing 
 light to attract the insects. The people of Brazil 
 call this mushroom "the lady with the white veil" 
 (a Senhora con a mantilha branca). 
 
 In addition to these lights revealed at night time, 
 some mushrooms possess an attraction of another 
 kind for the insects, viz., an odor. This odor is 
 very repellent to human nostrils, being a kind of 
 cadaveric odor, but for the insects which dissemi- 
 
 [105]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 nate the spores of these mushrooms it seems to 
 represent all the perfumes of Araby. "Naturalia 
 non sun turpia" (natural things are not vile 
 things), says the Latin. Herein we find but an- 
 other manifestation of the great sagacity of Mother 
 Nature in the interest of the conservation and pro- 
 pagation of the species. To this purpose she ap- 
 plies not only the most striking colors, but also 
 the strongest odors, which she uses where it is 
 necessary to attract the greatest possible number 
 of insects. 
 
 Here again, I would like to point out how closely 
 all this is related to things human. Those ladies 
 who sprinkle themselves with the most powerful 
 perfumes, dress very conspicuously ("en se faisant 
 remarquer," as the French would say), and put a 
 red flag on their faces (as Thackeray would say), 
 are following, unwittingly, indeed instinctively, 
 natural models. They are merely following pat- 
 terns which nature created already thousands of 
 years ago, long before man made his appearance 
 on this earth. They are, as a matter of fact (and 
 poor things, they are unaware of it!), simply pup- 
 pets, which nature causes to dance as she pulls the 
 strings. 
 
 Verily, one who knows how to read the great 
 book that nature has written, even if he be a 
 "doubting Thomas" of a most impious disposition, 
 
 [106]
 
 Vanity 
 
 cannot help admiring this marvellous foresight of 
 nature and her great kindness to all her creatures, 
 even the humblest. If only the theologians would 
 occupy themselves a little more with natural his- 
 tory! Indeed, I think they could establish a most 
 intimate relationship between theology and natural 
 history. With one of the arguments above men- 
 tioned I believe they could convert more people to 
 a belief in a wise, benevolent Creator than with a 
 hundred arguments of a metaphysical nature. 
 
 But, I am sorry to say, some of the masters of 
 divinity do not favor teleological arguments, and, 
 if I may judge from my own experience, the pro- 
 testant clergymen are, as a whole, more averse to 
 such proofs of the existence of God than are the 
 Roman Catholic priests. Indeed, according to Dr. 
 Nisius, S. J., Professor in the widely known High 
 School of Theology at Innsbruck (Tyrol), there 
 is nothing in the teachings of the Roman Catholic 
 church that would exclude the use of such argu- 
 ments, drawn from nature. 
 
 Since, according to the above mentioned facts, 
 vanity is founded upon entirely natural principles, 
 being, so to speak, an institution nature herself 
 created, it would seem perhaps out of place here 
 to describe it as one of the ten chief causes of 
 premature death; indeed, it would appear as if the 
 satisfaction of vanity could not lead to conse- 
 
 [107]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 quences that might prove deleterious to health. 
 This may be the case, to be sure, when the satis- 
 faction of vanity does not exceed ordinary limits, 
 for example, when a person is merely trying by 
 innocent means to place his person and his quali- 
 ties in the most favorable light. 
 
 After all, nature herself does the same thing 
 when she imparts striking colors to the plants in 
 order to assist in their fertilization. Indeed, she 
 utilizes her strongest agencies, her most impressive 
 colors, only when special circumstances demand it. 
 Thus, the modest violet certainly passes into the 
 haven of matrimony without the necessity of hav- 
 ing recourse to intoxicating odors to entice her 
 worshippers, like the ill-smelling mushrooms that 
 grow in the depths of the dark forest. These 
 demure little flowers do not need to advertise them- 
 selves by conspicuous means a fact which may 
 serve as a hope and comfort to their human sisters. 
 
 Vanity becomes very harmful to us and one of 
 the chief causes of premature death only when 
 weapons of a less innocent kind are applied to 
 satisfy the craving to please only when the ques- 
 tion is no longer one of placing in a favorable light 
 qualities that already exist, but when such qual- 
 ities as do not exist at all are simulated by 
 deception. Such is the case, for example, when a 
 woman insists upon forcing her stout body into 
 
 [108]
 
 Vanity 
 
 tight clothing, so that violence is done to her res- 
 piratory and circulatory organs which thereafter 
 develop marked pathological disturbances. A num- 
 ber of life-shortening disorders are promoted in 
 this manner. Particularly serious consequences 
 may result where, as is unfortunately often the 
 case, such women expect to become mothers and 
 nevertheless want to continue to appear slim, or, 
 on the other hand, instead of being proud of the 
 state of motherhood, desire to prevent it. 
 
 Very serious effects on the liver and bile circu- 
 lation may be caused by tight lacing. Actual 
 grooves in the liver may be produced by tight cor- 
 sets, as has often been noted in autopsies on the 
 bodies of women. It is clear that the circulation 
 in the vessels of the liver, which plays an important 
 part in the elaboration of the bile, is markedly 
 hindered by such tight wearing apparel. Aside 
 from this, as well as from the hindrance offered to 
 the circulation of bile owing to pressure upon the 
 bile ducts, stagnation of the bile may also be pro- 
 duced as a result of the obstacle to the respiratory 
 function of the diaphragm consequent upon the 
 pressure of the corset. Under normal conditions 
 the movements of the diaphragm promote the cir- 
 culation of bile. It is not surprising, moreover, 
 that in such women as is very frequently the 
 case a serious and also very painful condition may 
 
 [109]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 develop as a result of the stagnation of bile, viz., 
 inflammation of the bile passages or gallstones. 
 The extremely severe pain which then occurs con- 
 stitutes, indeed, a chastisement for the sin of vanity. 
 Still more dreadful pains may, however, be in- 
 duced through vanity from the use of paints and 
 hair dyes if they contain lead. When women and 
 girls, otherwise grudgingly dealt with by nature, 
 attempt to improve their unattractive, muddy and 
 yellowish complexions or to impart some degree of 
 freshness to their ageing features, we may condone 
 such an attempt as a natural, human procedure, and 
 as the author of "Old Age Deferred" I should be 
 the last one to cast aspersions upon it. It is quite 
 unpardonable, on the other hand, when, as is un- 
 fortunately often the case, very young women make 
 it a practice to paint. It is not merely that they 
 are thus nearly always made to look older and 
 an otherwise healthy-looking complexion always 
 harmed, frequently to an irremediable extent, but 
 what is still more unfortunate, serious ill-health 
 may result where, as is often the case with the 
 most effective white paints and powders, the prepar- 
 ations used contain lead. Even small quantities 
 of this toxic substance may cause poisoning if the 
 paints and powders containing it are used for some 
 length of time. Poisoning may occur even more 
 readily if the hair is dyed with preparations con- 
 
 [110]
 
 Vanity 
 
 taining lead, which are very effective in changing 
 the color of the hair or beard to brown or black. 
 
 The worst feature of this is that such poisoning 
 in many instances comes on in a slow, insidious 
 manner, until finally, one day, an extremely painful 
 attack of lead colic sets in. Often such an attack 
 is later repeated, but its true nature is not infre- 
 quently overlooked, so that the disorder is given 
 an opportunity to exert further harmful effects in 
 the body effects often utterly irremediable until 
 finally the true cause of the disorder is successfully 
 detected. Not a few of these cases later terminate 
 fatally. 
 
 Persons previously in the best of health and 
 robust in appearance are thus transformed into 
 pale, emaciated beings constituting mere shadows 
 of once beautiful women or well-nourished men. 
 
 From the effects of the deadly poison, lead, there 
 may develop serious and dangerous changes in the 
 brain, heart, blood-vessels, digestive organs, and 
 liver, as well as in the kidneys. The condition is 
 also one of the most important causes of the ex- 
 cessive formation of uric acid, with its harmful 
 consequences. Mental disturbances may also be 
 present. 
 
 Above all, the victim of this chronic lead poison- 
 ing the result of vanity may be dreadfully tor- 
 mented by the attendant pain. As I lately had 
 
 [in]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 occasion to observe in the case of a retired officer 
 who had dyed his hair and beard for a number of 
 years, this pain may occur in the same manner and 
 with the same intensity as the painful paroxysms 
 of tabes dorsalis, so that the making of a correct 
 diagnosis may be attended with difficulty. In the 
 case of the officer just mentioned, repeated exami- 
 nations of the blood with the Wassermann reaction 
 regularly gave negative results, and syphilitic in- 
 fection was categorically denied, so that I was 
 compelled to consider the dye containing lead as 
 the cause of the severe attacks of pain. Besides, 
 the man had become so strikingly thin as to be 
 merely skin and bones, although as a landowner 
 he had been able to eat plenty of food during the 
 war. 
 
 Serious harm may likewise be done to the health 
 when, as in the case of many ladies who are most 
 ardently desirous of acquiring a slim figure, every 
 possible means is taken to further this end. For 
 this purpose the food taken may be reduced to the 
 lowest possible amount; in young persons, in par- 
 ticular, whose growth has not been completed, this 
 procedure may have very prejudicial results. If 
 the body fails to receive enough of proteins, carbo- 
 hydrates and fats in the diet, as well as of mineral 
 substances, such as lime, for its proper development, 
 serious effects on the health ensue, and in their 
 
 [112]
 
 Vanity 
 
 wake follow a number of diseases dangerous to 
 life. 
 
 We have already alluded to the dangers of over- 
 eating; but far greater are the risks attendant 
 upon under-nutrition, for under these conditions 
 the body lacks the very substances which protect 
 it against various infections. In this manner, es- 
 pecially in young individuals, one of the diseases 
 causing the greatest mortality, viz., tuberculosis, 
 may easily become established. 
 
 I have often found it necessary to recommend 
 arsenic and iron in anemic women and girls these 
 being the very best drugs for such instances but 
 have been met with a refusal to take them on 
 account of a superstitious fear that they would 
 make their waists larger. 
 
 It should be borne in mind in this connection, 
 however, that small medicinal doses of these drugs, 
 used in conjunction with a suitable diet, could 
 hardly exert any such effect, and that, on the other 
 hand, their ingestion will as a rule promote a 
 healthy and youthful appearance. 
 
 The women, however, do not draw their con- 
 clusions from the general run of cases, as do men, 
 but judge rather by the isolated, exceptional in- 
 stances that have befallen one of their friends. In 
 many women vanity reaches such a pitch that they 
 would rather continue ill than be restored to health 
 
 s [113]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 and present a healthy appearance. In many, in- 
 deed, morbid vanity is such that they voluntarily 
 give up the greatest blessing at the disposal of 
 the young married woman, viz., motherhood. 
 
 [114]
 
 X 
 
 AVOIDANCE OF PARENTHOOD 
 
 A WEDDING! What a delightful festival it 
 means for mankind! But if it is the most 
 delightful festival the human race can enjoy on 
 earth, it does not mean the greatest happiness for 
 all the other creatures of this universe. Especially 
 is this not so in the short-lived world of the insects, 
 for to them it means very often the beginning of 
 the end. 
 
 The females of the insects survive but a very 
 short time, for as soon as they have laid their eggs 
 they must say farewell to the world and die. Nor 
 are the males any better off if they belong to the 
 group of the carnivorous insects. Their earthly 
 pilgrimage is still briefer than that of the females, 
 and above all, their end is far more tragic, for they 
 are eaten up by their wives, out of pure love. 
 
 In the insect world there prevail very strange 
 nuptial habits, for the "loving" wives devour their 
 husbands! One of the species of insects to which 
 this applies is that of the "praying crickets," a 
 kind of locust exhibiting indeed a very pious as- 
 pect, for they raise their arms toward heaven in a 
 praying attitude; the Prove^aux call them "prego 
 Dieu." 
 
 [115]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 What a hypocrite the female of this species 
 is, for she carries on in the insect world like a 
 blood-thirsty tiger! With this insect the husband 
 is eaten up already in the nuptial bed. As soon 
 as he begins to court her, the "loving wife" be- 
 gins to gnaw at him. Still he continues showing 
 his attentions to his elected spouse, undeterred by 
 her murderous attacks, and even after his loving 
 better half has eaten up his head and "par dessus 
 le marche," as the French would say, the half of 
 his chest, this exemplary model of a husband still 
 continues to fulfill his marital duties. He does not 
 desist, indeed, until his "life partner" begins to 
 devour his abdomen, the seat of his generative or- 
 gans, a fact shown by the observations of the great 
 French savant 5 and member of the Paris "Acad- 
 emic des Sciences," Fabre, who died a few years 
 ago. 
 
 The insect just referred to gives us an example 
 of how duty can be fulfilled even after death has 
 taken place. For even as a headless corpse, after 
 sacrificing his own existence, this insect persists in 
 giving life to new creatures of his kind. 
 
 No less blood-thirsty are the nuptial habits of 
 the golden scarabaeus, a kind of beetle with a body 
 dipped in golden colors. In this species, likewise, 
 the females devour their mates, but at least they 
 
 B J. H. Fabre : "Moeurs des Insectes, Morceaux choisis," p. 69. 
 
 ["6]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 grant them a short reprieve after the wedding, 
 until they have laid all their eggs. Then, however, 
 the husband "gets it in the neck," or more pre- 
 cisely, "in the stomach," for this portion of the 
 body of the unhappy husband is eaten away by his 
 better half, being, as a matter of fact, the only part 
 of his body that is worth eating. In the period 
 between June 15th and August 1st the five females 
 that Fabre kept in his glass boxes in Serignan ate 
 up all of the twenty males which were left with 
 them, although otherwise well supplied with food. 
 They had been together since April. From April 
 till June no murder took place, and during this 
 time the mating period elapsed. But after this 
 period had passed, and the females had no more 
 need of their husbands, they simply slew and de- 
 voured them. As the much quoted dramatic proverb 
 says: "The Moor has done his duty, the Moor 
 can go!" 
 
 Now, the strangest thing of all is, how could 
 these great, strong beetles allow themselves calmly, 
 without offering any resistance whatsoever, to be 
 eaten up by their weaker halves? They did not 
 even stir to prevent it, but acted as if it had been 
 a matter of course, the most natural thing in the 
 world ! 
 
 The same thing was observed by Fabre regard- 
 ing the males of the Languedoc scorpion. This 
 
 [117]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 insect possesses a very murderous weapon consist- 
 ing of a lance-like organ, of formidable aspect to 
 other insects; and again, strange to say, he failed 
 to use it even to defend himself against the can- 
 nibal attacks of the female, while she was in the 
 act of devouring him. It seemed as if these strong 
 insects had proceeded, like sacrificial lambs, to the 
 altar, quite resigned to their fate, like the Oriental 
 fatalist to his "Kismet." In the Arabic the latter 
 word means "service." Indeed, these creatures were 
 in the service of nature, and they met their fate 
 with composure and died a cheerful death, as it 
 were, after having fulfilled a kind of sacred duty 
 in giving life to new creatures of their kind. 
 
 In presenting here these strange and gruesome 
 examples from the great picture book of Nature, 
 so often stained with blood a book in which we 
 find side by side pleasures and pains, birth and 
 death, a book full of murder and all manner of 
 cruel ends, and alas, all these often as a kind of 
 logical necessity, the birth and life of one creature 
 necessitating the disappearance and death of an- 
 other I do so with the intention of deducing from 
 it an eternal truth, a truth which is written on all 
 pages of the book in indelible characters, a kind 
 of law, viz., the law of the sex duty. 
 
 Nature exacts from her creatures that they should 
 assist her in her endeavors to conserve their species. 
 
 [118]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 From this there follows a sacred obligation of 
 each creature, and man cannot be exempted from it, 
 except in certain cases where vocation of a special 
 kind, religious callings, or disease may constitute a 
 hindrance to his giving life to a new creature be- 
 fore laying down his own! 
 
 To fulfill this aim, nature created the sexual 
 instinct, which demands satisfaction in an over- 
 mastering way. At the same time, she facilitated 
 the fulfillment of this desire by introducing, long 
 before man made his appearance on the earth, the 
 family life amongst certain animals, as a kind of 
 model for the married life of man a kind of a 
 crude pattern of the holy institution of the church, 
 the matrimonial union. Nature created the unity 
 of the family in the more highly organized, intel- 
 ligent animals, e.g., in certain species of birds, par- 
 rots, swallows, storks, swans, nightingales, etc. 
 
 With these birds there exists a kind of marital 
 union which could hardly be imagined to function 
 better in man, and which, indeed, could with good 
 reason be considered a model to follow for not a 
 few human married couples. According to Brehm, 
 the marital union of the birds is "the most faithful 
 of all unions, which death alone can part." 
 
 An example of happy union is afforded even in 
 the wild animals of prey. According to the cele- 
 brated lion hunter, Gerard, the lion is the most 
 
 [119]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 gallant mate one could well imagine. He offers 
 the best portions of his prey to his partner, caters 
 to her desires in the way of food, and begins his 
 own repast only when her appetite has been satis- 
 fied. The same could not be said of all human 
 husbands ! 
 
 Nature has her own ways and means of urging 
 both animals and men to their marital duties. Fre- 
 quently she supplies a most beautiful marriage- 
 portion by lending to animals, as well as plants, 
 most prodigal color effects for the purpose. 
 
 That the colors are given for this reason alone 
 is shown by the fact that the handsome wedding 
 garments are withdrawn when the end in view has 
 been attained; thus, the brilliant coloring of fishes 
 disappears after the mating season, the flowers 
 similarly fade, and even man remains in his prime 
 only so long as he is capable of carrying out his 
 sexual and reproductive duties. 
 
 Nature also frequently hands out a special gift 
 in compensation for the attainment of her object, 
 e.g., the provision of sweet nectar in flowers for the 
 benefit of the insects which effect their fertilization. 
 
 If, however, all these proceedings fail, and if 
 there occur individuals who disdain the nectar of 
 love and refuse to enter into wedlock, nature is 
 capable of assuming a different tone, and brings 
 down upon them diseases as an answer to their 
 
 [120]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 conduct in opposition to her designs. Thus, some 
 persons are tormented with a very active sexual 
 impulse, and when these fail to heed the call of 
 nature and resist, neurasthenia or hysteria, as well 
 as disturbances of the heart or stomach, may result. 
 
 Thus in many such men I have observed the 
 presence of excessive acidity of the gastric juice, 
 and in women the same condition in addition to 
 marked gastric pain, eructations, abdominal dis- 
 tention, etc. A notable feature was the fact that 
 among them there were many single women or 
 widows who were quite unaware of their pro- 
 nounced impulse in this direction, and indeed, were 
 even wholly indifferent to the opposite sex; the 
 impulse thus remained entirely submerged in their 
 subconsciousness. 
 
 Impelled by their desires, many persons are quite 
 ready to carry on their sexual functions, but un- 
 willing to fulfill their duty of procreation. They 
 are desirous, indeed, of experiencing the attendant 
 enjoyment, but want to cheat nature out of the 
 payment exacted therefor, viz., the fulfillment of 
 the duty of procreation. 
 
 Here again the transgressor does not remain un- 
 punished. In men who interrupt the sexual act 
 prematurely or use a preventive device, neurasthenia, 
 disordered function of the reproductive organs, and 
 in many instances even a partial or complete im- 
 
 [121]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 potence are produced. Similarly, in women who 
 utilize analogous devices such as preventive sponges 
 and pessaries, neurasthenia and hysteria are of fre- 
 quent occurrence. Now, to be sure, neurasthenia 
 is not in itself a life-shortening disease, although 
 it torments the person afflicted with it throughout 
 life; it is capable, however, of rather frequently 
 causing an elevation of blood pressure and, after 
 some interval of time, of promoting the production 
 of arteriosclerosis. 
 
 Such a "prophylactic," premature interruption of 
 intercourse, affording only incomplete sexual satis- 
 faction or none at all, may likewise have rather 
 serious consequences as regards the reproductive 
 organs themselves. The frequent local hyperemia 
 resulting from the sexual excitement may very 
 readily lead to inflammatory states of the ovaries 
 and uterus and its covering layers, this, in turn, 
 having a tendency to shorten life and even fre- 
 quently causing death within a brief period of time. 
 
 The same unfortunate result may likewise occur 
 from the fact that, as I shall explain more fully in 
 the second part of this book, on the rapid ageing of 
 women, such procedures promote in marked degree 
 the occurrence of cancer of the uterus, which is a 
 very frequent source of premature death in the 
 female sex. 
 
 Early death in women is exceedingly often a re- 
 
 [122]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 suit of disturbance in the reproductive tract. The 
 latter is, indeed, the most marvellous appurtenance 
 of woman, from which, as a variation of Goethe's 
 expression, one may say there spring all her trials 
 and woes, either directly or indirectly, and very 
 often without her knowledge of the fact. 
 
 Already in the seventeenth century the great and 
 widely travelled Flemish physician, Jean Batiste 
 van Helmont, uttered the dictum: Propter ova- 
 rium mutter est, quod est, that is, woman is what 
 she is on account of her ovaries, and I have shown 
 in my books on "Old Age Deferred" and "Build- 
 ing Human Intelligence" that actually the whole 
 outward appearance of woman, her entire being and 
 action, all her characteristics and her manner of 
 thought which is altogether different from that of 
 man are dependent solely upon her reproductive 
 organs and are influenced by these down to the 
 minutest detail. 
 
 It is generally known that women are compelled 
 to suffer more than men, but that this suffering is 
 actually more readily borne by them than by men. 
 This suffering is inflicted upon them directly or 
 indirectly through the reproductive organs. The 
 most frequent diseases of women involve these 
 organs. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, such disease occurs with- 
 out her being at fault and, indeed, in the course 
 
 [123]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 of the fulfillment of her sacred duty, that of 
 procreation. 
 
 There exist unscrupulous men who, before com- 
 plete recovery from a disease of the reproductive 
 tract, such as gonorrhea, dash into wedlock and 
 transmit this disease to their poor, innocent wives, 
 who are then often made to suffer from it the rest 
 of their lives. Very many of the so-called diseases 
 of women are merely the consequences of such an 
 infection. 
 
 Or, they may result from miscarriages, which 
 may be caused by syphilis in the marital partner, 
 frequently without his knowledge and occurring as 
 an indication of a syphilitic infection often con- 
 tracted many years previously and as yet uncured. 
 Miscarriages very often constitute the source of the 
 diseases of women. 
 
 Frequently such miscarriages occur like light- 
 ning out of a clear sky. It is as though nature, 
 in her wisdom, desired to prevent in this manner 
 the propagation of damaged seed. 
 
 It would really seem incumbent upon us to as- 
 sist nature in her efforts in this direction and not 
 to permit the occurrence of miscarriage, a condition 
 dangerous to health and even to life. We should 
 in good time prevent such individuals as are un- 
 suited for propagation from contracting a marriage 
 at all. 
 
 [124]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 Over two thousand years ago Plato already 
 demanded that before marrying, every man and 
 woman should undergo a medical examination, and 
 my own humble declaration in favor of this course 
 was made long ago. Until the time when such a 
 law is enacted I would recommend to all parents 
 not to allow their child to marry any man or woman 
 unless he or she can produce a medical certificate 
 of fitness for marriage stating, at least, that he or 
 she is not suffering from any hereditary or infec- 
 tious disease, and that the Wassermann test of the 
 blood is negative. 
 
 Untold misfortune could be thus obviated in 
 many, though unfortunately not all, instances, and 
 many women would be spared a life-long martyr- 
 dom. For as matters now stand, many women are 
 the actual martyrs to their duty, in particular when 
 we consider that often, in the fulfillment of their 
 procreative obligation, and while they are giving 
 life to a new being, they are often compelled to 
 sacrifice their own. 
 
 Woman has, indeed, come out with the short end 
 of the bargain in human reproductive life; she is 
 often like the soldier who must stay at his post and 
 lay down his life. To be sure, the fact cannot be 
 denied that if woman is exposed, on account of her 
 sexual life and the attendant consequences, to early 
 death death while relatively young far more than 
 
 [125]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 is man, this is not inevitable and is frequently 
 brought about through her own fault. 
 
 Every girl and every woman should undergo a 
 medical examination before marriage and before 
 childbirth. In this way anemic girls should be pre- 
 vented from marrying until their chlorotic condi- 
 tion or their pulmonary disease, if present has 
 been recovered from. This is something which I 
 am constantly preaching to mothers with anemic 
 daughters, and which is unfortunately often dis- 
 regarded. Hard labor or miscarriage, indeed, oc- 
 cur very frequently among women who are not 
 entirely healthy, that is, have previously been sick. 
 
 And not infrequently the imprudence of a woman 
 is responsible for a miscarriage. Many a woman, 
 in her enjoyment of life, forgets the sacred obli- 
 gations entailed by future motherhood, indulging 
 herself in dancing, riding, sports, mountain climb- 
 ing, etc., during the earlier months of pregnancy. 
 In this connection we learn from history that the 
 wife of Emperor Maximilian, the beautiful Marie 
 of Burgundy, although some months pregnant, 
 joined in a hunt, was thrown from her horse and 
 lost her life in consequence of a miscarriage thus 
 induced. 
 
 Even where miscarriages run a favorable course, 
 they may very frequently be the source of per- 
 sistent disorders of the reproductive organs, with 
 
 [126]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 serious results as regards the general system and 
 even premature death. 
 
 Highly dangerous consequences may obtain where 
 a miscarriage is artificially induced. 
 
 As various statistical records have shown, the re- 
 sult is a miserable death in the very great majority 
 of cases, the introduction of infective germs through 
 the puncture of the membranes which brings on the 
 miscarriage resulting in septic infection of the 
 blood-stream and death after frightful suffering. 
 
 While the consequences of abortion are not in 
 all cases so tragic, other serious effects which may 
 likewise prove fatal after a varying period of time 
 may be produced, since even in otherwise success- 
 ful abortions portions of the ovum or its membranes 
 may remain behind and this be followed, through 
 the agency of the ever-present putrefactive germs, 
 by severe suppurative inflammation of the uterus. 
 
 If death does not result, there follows a disturb- 
 ance which often continues for a number of years 
 and requires serious operations, with the result that 
 the woman's general health is markedly undermined 
 and her body reduced practically to skin and bones. 
 
 Again, even if no putrefactive processes set in 
 and the disturbance runs an otherwise favorable 
 course, the fact that extremely often there has 
 remained behind a portion of the ovum or its 
 covering membranes may give rise to frequent 
 
 [127]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 hemorrhages from the uterus, which prove very 
 debilitating to the woman, or to the development 
 of tumors, such as polyps of the uterus; further, 
 there may be thus induced inflammations of the 
 uterus and its covering membranes which may again 
 persist for several years. 
 
 Thus, the result is that, through these procedures, 
 even if their serious consequences are avoided, the 
 women remain in a sickly condition and show a 
 muddy, yellowish complexion; and this, of course, 
 is the surest way of bringing about rapid ageing 
 in previously fresh-looking, beautiful women. 
 
 The female organs are so sensitive to the dif- 
 ferent manipulations not of a normal nature, that 
 the various preventive measures against conception, 
 sometimes employed by those fearful of responsi- 
 bility, are capable of causing great damage to the 
 organs, and often very serious disturbances. At 
 the least there remains, as a rule, a marked ner- 
 vousness, conditions of excitement, insomnia, etc., 
 whereby the physical appearance of such women 
 may be impaired. It is certainly true, according 
 to my conviction, that a woman addicted to such 
 anticonceptional practices never looks so healthy 
 and fresh as a married woman who lets nature 
 take her free course and does not curtail the rights 
 of nature. 
 
 Nowhere in my travels and I have travelled to 
 
 [128]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 a fair extent, having already seen the whole of 
 Europe, except Turkey; the greater part of the 
 United States and Mexico, and North Africa have 
 I observed such fresh and healthy-looking women 
 as the French Canadians in Quebec. These women 
 are also of great beauty as a result of the happy 
 admixture of the French Breton blood with the 
 Irish. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that the Irish women are 
 among the most beautiful women of Europe; in 
 general, the women of all the Celtic races can boast 
 of marked beauty. Most of these women of Que- 
 bec have many children, sometimes six or eight, or 
 even more, and strange to say, it does not seem to 
 impair their looks. 
 
 ,The French Canadians are the descendants of 
 the Bretons who emigrated from France several 
 hundred years ago to America of a race renowned 
 even now in France for its good qualities and 
 proverbial honesty and faithfulness. Like all the 
 Catholics who live as a minority in countries that 
 are largely Protestant, e.g., the Irish in America 
 and the United Kingdom, and the Catholics in 
 Holland, they are distinguished by a marked de- 
 votion to the church. 
 
 Now, the Catholic church abhors all practices 
 that tend toward the prevention of motherhood, and 
 metes out the heaviest punishment for them; but 
 
 9 [ 129 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 the greatest punishment at her command she lays 
 on abortion criminally provoked, viz., excommuni- 
 cation, or practically, exclusion from the church. 
 
 Aside from the scruples of conscience, the fecun- 
 dity of the French Canadians may have been fa- 
 vored by the fact that this happy people lives under 
 very favorable material conditions. They possess 
 a most fertile soil, which produces some of the 
 finest wheat of the world, similar to that of the 
 province of Manitoba, likewise famous for its prod- 
 ucts of the soil. 
 
 However, even in countries where the soil is less 
 fertile I have often noticed that particularly the 
 families blessed with many children are better off 
 than those with few children. 
 
 The abundance of children proves a decided 
 stimulus to work for the average father of a fam- 
 ily, and at the same time it has a very wholesome 
 influence upon his character, for in such men it is 
 rare that such bad habits are formed as hard drink- 
 ing, nocturnal dissipation, gambling, etc. 
 
 Thus I believe it was with full justification that 
 in my book, ''Old Age Deferred," I dwelt upon the 
 great advantages of married life as a means for 
 longevity and against early ageing. Alas, the 
 writer of these lines had not yet had the leisure 
 and opportunity to follow his own precepts and 
 get married, but the five terrible years he recently 
 
 [130]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 went through were not propitious for such an 
 undertaking. 
 
 The possession of many children proves indeed 
 a stimulus to work for the honest father of a fam- 
 ily. Where many childish mouths are opening daily 
 he is obliged to put into each of them something 
 to satisfy a healthy appetite, and so must work 
 the more. 
 
 So it is with man; but it is the same thing in 
 the animal world, for it has been so ordered by 
 nature that the parents must work and provide for 
 their young. 
 
 The bearing of children leads to this necessity, 
 both in man and animals, of obtaining the where- 
 withal to rear them. And so one sees quite plainly 
 that there is a direct connection between the sex 
 instinct and work. The one leads necessarily to 
 the other. Thus nature teaches man and also ani- 
 mals to work. Indeed, there are many examples 
 in nature, from the animal as well as the plant 
 kingdoms, that nature is the great schoolmistress 
 for work. 
 
 She makes man and animals work by giving them 
 the instincts of hunger and sex. Hunger forces 
 them to work for its satisfaction and the sexual 
 instinct, after having been satisfied, leads necessarily 
 to work through the consequences of the same, the 
 children or young that are born having thenceforth 
 
 [131]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 to be fed. The necessity of providing for their 
 young drives man and animals alike to work! 
 
 Solicitude for the offspring manifests itself in 
 all living creatures, even plants, but strange to say, 
 only with man, the king of earthly creatures, does 
 it seem to be sometimes wanting. It would appear 
 that such a thing as the prevention of motherhood 
 is entirely unknown in the animal world; it seems 
 to be only a human invention. Among the animals 
 an occasional murder of the offspring may take 
 place, but if it does occur at all, it occurs incom- 
 parably more seldom than in man. 
 
 As a rule, under such conditions it takes place a 
 short time after the birth of the offspring. A 
 mother cat, for example, might eat a newborn kit- 
 ten on the first day, or a sow a newborn pig. In 
 such instances, there is an extenuating factor that 
 applies also to the human child murderess, viz., the 
 mental aberration so frequently present immedi- 
 ately or a short time after birth. 
 
 In animals, murder of the young is often based 
 on practical motives. Thus one may sometimes 
 observe, even with some of the more intelligent 
 species of birds, that they kill their young when 
 these are in defective health and unable to support 
 the fatiguing journey to the southern climates at 
 the approach of cold weather in the fall. But the 
 same thing has occurred also with some of the 
 
 [132]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 primitive peoples, e.g,, with the Patagonians, whom 
 the explorers described as killing their old women. 
 Even some of the most cultivated nations of by- 
 gone ages resorted to such expedients, and of the 
 Chinese, travellers even in recent times relate such 
 treatment of children in deficient health or of the 
 female sex. 
 
 Why, then, should we look askance at the animal 
 kingdom on account of such occurrences when 
 some species of the most intelligent creatures and 
 masters of the earth persist in setting the bad ex- 
 ample, even though, as a rule, no similar excuses 
 for these acts among them can be offered? It 
 seems to me a positive fact that, on the whole, as 
 regards motherly love and the rearing and careful 
 treatment of their young, animals, and especially 
 the birds, which stand higher in brain capacity, as 
 a rule, than other animal species, could be held 
 up before many women and men as a noble ex- 
 ample for them to follow. 
 
 Whereas there are women who fail to look out 
 and provide for their young, and men who are so 
 vile and heartless as to throw the burden of mother- 
 hood on a poor girl and forsake her afterwards, 
 one may readily see and it is one of the most 
 touching sights with what zeal in the bird species 
 the father and mother work to fill the beaks of 
 their young. 
 
 [133]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Many a leisure hour have I spent enjoying the 
 sight of a hen leading her little chicks about and 
 observing the care and attention with which she 
 instructs her children. 
 
 In the animal kingdom are to be found many 
 examples of sacrifice on the part of the mother for 
 her young. This applies not only to the more 
 highly organized animals, but likewise to insects 
 and the like creatures. Thus, Bonnet, 6 a promi- 
 nent Swiss naturalist of the eighteenth century, 
 observed that a certain mother-spider Aranea sac- 
 cata which he dropped into the burrow of the 
 blood-thirsty ant-lion, courageously defended the 
 sac fastened on her back and containing her eggs, 
 which the ant-lion pulled away. 
 
 Instead of abandoning her eggs in order to save 
 herself, she went to her doom with them, constitut- 
 ing an example of a self-sacrificing mother love of 
 such degree as would not often be observed in man. 
 
 Aside from the spider, which, of course, is among 
 the most intelligent of invertebrates, as indicated 
 by its marvellous spinning and bridge-building art, 
 in which it was already an adept thousands of 
 years before the advent of man, mention may be 
 made of a much despised creature as an example 
 of tender motherly care, viz., the common house fly. 
 
 Whereas there are persons who harbor no scruple 
 
 6 Quoted by Kirby and Spencer, Entomology, Part I , p. 309. 
 
 [134]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 in bringing children into the world without con- 
 cerning themselves in the least about them, no 
 mother-fly would ever deposit her eggs without 
 having previously taken care to secure for them 
 the necessities for their future existence. 
 
 To this end she deposits her eggs upon various 
 food materials, the quality and suitability of which 
 have often been investigated beforehand. This pro- 
 cedure is followed with great circumspection in 
 many kinds of wasps. These insects puncture, with 
 a dexterity no professor of animal physiology could 
 imitate, a nerve ganglion situated in the back of 
 the head of the worm which they have made their 
 prey, thereby paralyzing him. The worm is thus 
 rendered motionless, but remains alive nevertheless 
 until the larva crawls out. The larva would have 
 perished had the worm already become the seat of 
 putrefaction; the wasp therefore allows the worm 
 to stay alive for the purpose. 
 
 A beetle known as Balaninus elephas, which feeds 
 on acorns, hazelnuts, etc., works with sagacity and 
 exceeding industry in the interest of its posterity. 
 It bores a hole into the acorn for the purpose of 
 depositing an egg in it. For boring purposes 
 nature has provided it with a sharp boring instru- 
 ment not unlike a long spear. The work done by 
 this beetle is decidedly tedious; according to the 
 observations of Fabre it takes it as long as eight 
 
 [135]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 hours to bore through to the bottom of the acorn. 
 Here, in the depths of the acorn, is located the soft, 
 succulent mass which the newly hatched larva of 
 the beetle requires. 
 
 Even after its prolonged, hard, and laborious 
 task is completed it may happen that the beetle 
 cannot lay its egg if it finds on closer investigation 
 that the condition of the nutriment in the acorn 
 does not answer the requirements of its offspring. 
 A man would be tired out after the eight hours 
 of hard work; but not so this beetle with its 
 mother-love. It proceeds to bore into another acorn 
 in the same way. I am certainly not mistaken 
 when I say that many a mother would not be 
 capable of such perseverance. The strangest part 
 of it is that these insects, like the flies and locusts 
 and many other kinds of insects, are never per- 
 mitted to see the offspring for which they have 
 been working and toiling so hard; for such is their 
 tragic fate, that they are doomed to die very soon 
 after they have laid their eggs, in fact, often im- 
 mediately after it. 
 
 How cruelly nature treats the insects, some of 
 us may say. One might even use blasphemous 
 words in criticising nature for such behavior. 
 
 And yet the wise man will find in this another 
 instance of nature's great wisdom and foresight. 
 
 Before unjustly criticising nature one should re- 
 
 [136]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 member that if she were to allow but one pair of 
 insects to reproduce their kind for twenty-five years 
 without hindrance or danger to their offspring, and 
 without any of the eggs laid during this period be- 
 ing destroyed, the earth would swarm with them, 
 they would be met with crawling about everywhere, 
 and all balance and equality in nature's household 
 would be lost. 
 
 The natural consequence of the foregoing is that 
 death is a bitter necessity! Life of some of the 
 animal species, such as the animals and birds of 
 prey, for example, is possible only through the 
 death of another species. This holds good for man 
 as well, and so we see that the death of animals 
 and plants is essential to the life and welfare of 
 man. 
 
 When the strict vegetarians invoke, as they some- 
 times do, as one of their chief arguments that it is 
 a sin to kill living creatures, thus abhorring the 
 sacrifice of animals for our sustenance, I should 
 like to remind them of the fact that plants are 
 likewise living creatures, showing similarity in their 
 build and structure, their anatomy and physiology, 
 to man and the animals. 
 
 It is again a species of murder when uncon- 
 trolled and mischievous children tear out a plant 
 with its roots, just to play with it and later throw 
 it away. 
 
 [ 137 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 There is no escape from the fact that we can 
 only live and exist by putting other creatures to 
 death. It is a bitter truth, that life produces death, 
 but it is also true that death engenders life. The 
 same hand that gives death also gives life. 
 
 Here again there is occasion to admire the re- 
 markable foresight of nature, and likewise her be- 
 nevolence to all creatures, for she has given the 
 greatest fertility and countless, even millions, of 
 eggs to such of the animals as live for a very short 
 period of time, and to such of the creatures as are 
 most exposed to persecution on the part of other 
 animals or of man. This explains, e.g., why oys- 
 ters and herring produce so many millions of eggs. 
 
 Such a precaution is not necessary in man. Be- 
 ing endowed by nature with wonderful intelligence, 
 he has the weapons wherewith to defend himself 
 successfully against the countless dangers which 
 threaten all living creatures without exception. For 
 this reason nature has limited the fecundity of the 
 human race to one or occasionally two children. 
 
 But for the very reason that the offspring of 
 man is so restricted in comparison with other 
 creatures, it would seem to be his duty to care and 
 provide the better for the children he has, a duty 
 in which the short-lived insect world sets him a 
 splendid example. 
 
 And whereas the possession of such a charming 
 
 [138]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 creature as a child proves a powerful stimulus to 
 the affection and love of the mother, such a stimu- 
 lus is entirely wanting in the insect world, for with 
 few exceptions, such as the spider which is not a 
 true insect they never see the offspring to which 
 they have given life. Yet, as described above, in- 
 sects are capable of working for hours, indefatig- 
 ably. for children they will never behold! 
 
 Now, if one does not care to attribute to the 
 insect a prophetic gift, the ability to foresee events 
 that will take place after its death, and likewise a 
 rare conception of duty and high intellectual quali- 
 ties which prevailing scientific opinion would deny 
 even more highly organized animals, naught re- 
 mains but to confess that it is nature herself who, 
 by instinct, compels the insect to work. We have 
 in this, indeed, a very instructive example of how 
 nature drives on her creatures to labor as the 
 natural consequence of an instinct, that of sex. 
 By planting the instincts of hunger and sex in the 
 breast of each creature, she forces them to work. 
 
 Every living creature is thus destined by nature 
 to labor, and he could no more withdraw himself 
 from work than he could exist without feeling in 
 his bosom these two powerful instincts, self- 
 preservation (i.e., hunger) and the sexual instinct. 
 No normal creature on this earth fails to experi- 
 ence these pangs. 
 
 [139]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Every creature, be he a king or a pauper, is in es- 
 sence a worker. The animals are likewise workers. 
 
 Even the earth worm! When the careless child 
 treads on and crushes the despised earth worm, 
 little does he know that it is to the worm that he 
 and his parents owe in large measure their daily 
 bread; the worm, that with tireless energy pene- 
 trates and drills the earth in all directions, thus 
 assisting in its ventilation and contributing to its 
 fertility! 
 
 Even the plants are workers. For if they did 
 not work they could not exist. They do work in 
 manufacturing starch from the carbon dioxide of 
 the air under the influence of the sun's rays. They 
 are also working when they draw up from the soil 
 the mineral salts which are indispensable for their 
 nutrition and maintenance. 
 
 They are compelled to work, too, in the interest 
 of their fertilization by manufacturing the sweet 
 nectar, which they present as a fee to the insects 
 that constitute the intermediaries in the propaga- 
 tion of their kind. Still harder work must they 
 perform when, lacking such intermediaries, they are 
 obliged themselves to carry out self-fertilization. 
 
 Thus, wherever we look into nature, we see work 
 going on, and as the chief motive in work we find 
 everywhere the same causes, viz., the instincts, hun- 
 ger, i.e., the instinct of self-preservation, and sex, 
 
 [ 140]
 
 Avoidance of Parenthood 
 
 i.e., the instinct of procreation. In matrimony we 
 note the intimate connection between the instincts 
 and work as their direct consequence. Sex leads 
 to the blessing of man with children, and this, in 
 turn, proves a powerful stimulus for work to the 
 parents. 
 
 The greater the blessing, i.e., the more children 
 there are, the more diligently the work is done, the 
 greater the industry, and the greater the success 
 of the clever worker. In families in which the 
 father works diligently no inducements are afforded 
 to practices tending toward child prevention, espe- 
 cially in Europe in the present period, after the 
 loss of millions of male workers. 
 
 Work is of divine origin, and a great promoter 
 of health. When the muscles are active more blood 
 circulates through the vessels, organic processes 
 and combustion in general are enhanced, and the 
 general health is improved. 
 
 Among all the varieties of work, there is none 
 that equals in its benefits that of the rural, rustic 
 laborer. To the muscular exercise are added the 
 benefits of the fresh, open air and the effects of 
 the rays of that health-dispensing and life-giving 
 celestial body, the sun. There is probably no other 
 form of labor, moreover, which so certainly and in 
 so many ways repays the work expended as that 
 relating to mother earth, the soil. It constitutes 
 
 [141]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 also the safest investment, a lesson taught by the 
 consequences of the late war, and which the writer 
 of these lines should have learned beforehand, for 
 he would then not have lost all his means, invested 
 in supposedly safe securities. 
 
 On the whole, every form of work and all man- 
 ner of activity is beneficial to the body. Activity 
 results in a. better supply of the vessels and tissues 
 with that life and health giving medium, the blood. 
 There is also literal truth in the Arabic proverb, 
 "Hareket bereket" "activity brings riches." It 
 also brings health, if carried on within reasonable 
 limits, and can best serve the purpose to which this 
 book is dedicated the prevention of premature 
 death. 
 
 [142]
 
 PART II 
 The Rapid Ageing of Women
 
 INTRODUCTION; 
 
 TO PART II 
 
 /CERTAIN modern, harmful tendencies of per- 
 sonal conduct which have been rather obtru- 
 sively noticeable of late induced the author to take 
 up for independent discussion these and other short- 
 comings and sins of omission not all of them 
 appertaining, however, specifically to the female 
 sex which could not be dealt with in his book on 
 "Old Age Deferred," on account of lack of space. 
 As these shortcomings expose womankind not only 
 to rapid ageing but also in many instances to pre- 
 mature death, it would seem highly desirable that 
 the admonitions herein presented should fall upon 
 fertile soil. 
 
 10 [ 145 ]
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF SMOKING ON THE FEMALE 
 ORGANISM 
 
 ""THE shrunken and flaccid features and facial 
 muscles of even relatively young women from 
 Russia, Greece, and the Orient who came to con- 
 sult me in Carlsbad in the years preceding the 
 late war were often very striking, and when I in- 
 quired into the cause of the condition, I found that 
 nearly all of these women were smokers, and had 
 been addicted to the use of tobacco for years. 
 
 That their appearance was not the result of 
 some other factor, such as climatic influences, was 
 shown by the fact that I observed the same con- 
 dition in women from western countries, who were 
 heavy smokers. Thus, in 1914 I had occasion to 
 see a young lady from New York, who had previ- 
 ously been a renowned beauty, yet at that time, in 
 spite of being only twenty-eight years of age, 
 looked like a woman of about forty, by reason 
 of her yellowish complexion and flabby, withered 
 features. She smoked cigarettes from morning till 
 night, and was afflicted with a distressing cough, 
 doubtless also on account of her passion for smok- 
 ing, which even kept her from sleeping at night. 
 
 [147]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 There have also come under my observation in the 
 last few years young lady patients from the in- 
 terior who doubtless as one of the many un- 
 pleasant manifestations consequent upon the late 
 war were likewise tobacco devotees and showed 
 the same premature flabbiness and "fading" of the 
 features, together with somewhat sunken cheeks, 
 and eyes that had lost the fire of youth. 
 
 Aside from their flabby and drooping facial mus- 
 culature, all these women and young girls showed 
 a similar condition of the other muscles of the 
 body. They were no longer so sprightly and re- 
 silient as healthy women and young girls generally 
 are, their fatty covering layer had disappeared 
 as had also in part the muscle tissues themselves, 
 the muscles were reduced and flabby, and the over- 
 lying skin of an unhealthy pallor. 
 
 All this need not surprise us when we reflect 
 that tobacco, according to the investigations of 
 Hertoghe, is highly prejudicial to an organ upon 
 which the tone of all the muscles and tissues of 
 the body, and consequently its freshness of appear- 
 ance, depend, viz., the thyroid gland. The latter is, 
 indeed, one of the most important organs in the 
 body. 
 
 The thyroid gland regulates all the vital pro- 
 cesses. Body nutrition as a whole, blood forma- 
 tion and the circulation, the activity of the heart, 
 
 [ 148]
 
 Influence of Smoking 
 
 the entire nervous system, and even the condition 
 and outward appearance of the skin and its ap- 
 pendages, the hairs, are under the control of its 
 powerful influence. 
 
 The thyroid plays a particularly important role 
 in the life of woman, owing to the fact that, 
 through its close relations with the reproductive 
 glands, it takes an active part in all modifications 
 of the latter organs. 
 
 Thus, swelling and enlargement of the thyroid 
 gland frequently occurs during menstruation. Even 
 among young girls this organ enlarges during the 
 period of puberty, and in pregnancy it often at- 
 tains a considerable size or may even become an 
 actual goiter. Thyroid enlargement frequently oc- 
 curs in diseases and altered conditions of the fe- 
 male reproductive organs, as well as during the 
 most trying stage of woman's sexual life, in which 
 she bids farewell to youth and becomes an elderly 
 person, namely, the change of life or menopause. 
 
 All this accounts for the fact that goiter is a 
 commoner condition in women than in men. In 
 the former, because of the special circumstances of 
 their sex life, this important gland is driven to 
 much greater heights of activity than in men, and 
 for this very reason rapid ageing is likely to occur 
 oftener in relatively young women than in men. 
 
 Reflection upon the important function of the 
 
 [149]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 thyroid gland above referred to will lead one to 
 understand even more plainly why morbid changes 
 in this organ open the way to rapid ageing in 
 women. 
 
 This is especially evident in a certain disease 
 condition characterized by complete or partial wast- 
 ing of the thyroid gland myxedema. 
 
 The highest grade of this thyroid failure to which 
 myxedema is due is but seldom encountered, but 
 partial forms of it, consisting of a simple weakness 
 or debility of the organ, are much more frequent, 
 in fact of every-day occurrence. The symptoms 
 arising from such a condition are so numerous and 
 frequently so inconspicuous, that it is not surpris- 
 ing the disorder sometimes remains unrecognized 
 and patients live and die with it in the absence of 
 any clinical diagnosis of the disorder. 
 
 There exists, however, a group of typical symp- 
 toms by virtue of which, when they occur together, 
 the condition betrays itself to the specially trained 
 medical eye. Among these may be particularly 
 mentioned premature grayness and loss of the hair, 
 the occurrence of obesity without an excessive in- 
 take of food (though but seldom in smokers), the 
 premature appearance of wrinkles and creases in 
 the skin, irregular menstruation and frequent flood- 
 ing, lassitude, impaired memory, and a yellowish, 
 dry facial skin, with flabby features, etc. 
 
 [150]
 
 Influence of Smoking 
 
 To these symptoms are added, in the more ad- 
 vanced cases, puffiness below the eyes, bloated face 
 and hands, and a marked sensitiveness to cold. 
 
 These women nearly always exhibit a more or 
 less pronounced nervousness, though in the more 
 advanced cases there is an actual state of apathy. 
 According to Hertoghe, gallstone disease is of ex- 
 ceedingly frequent occurrence in these women. 
 
 That such premature ageing is dependent upon 
 changes in the thyroid gland is most strikingly 
 shown in that upon ingestion of fresh preparations 
 of this gland nearly all of the symptoms above 
 referred to are improved or caused to disappear, 
 as I have often personally had occasion to observe 
 and have noted in a previous work. 
 
 Yet it should be emphasized that this drug, 
 which is by no means harmless in the hands of 
 the laity, should be taken only under the close 
 supervision of a physician in which event, accord- 
 ing to my own experience extending over many 
 years, such ultimate unpleasant effects as cardiac 
 palpitation, sleeplessness, copious sweating, etc., 
 may with certainty be avoided. 
 
 To obviate rapid ageing of women, therefore, all 
 harmful influences reacting upon this gland, which 
 plays so important a role in their lives, must be 
 carefully avoided. Of these prejudicial factors to- 
 bacco comes next to alcohol, according to the in- 
 
 [151]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 vestigations of Hertoghe 1 in Antwerp. At first it 
 stimulates the thyroid, but this is followed by ex- 
 cessive activity, and the latter, in turn, as is ob- 
 served in all other glandular organs and with 
 especial frequency in the reproductive glands, by 
 exhaustion and such a state of inactivity that the 
 gland can no longer carry on its many important 
 functions, or do so only in an imperfect manner. 
 
 The thyroid gland is likewise harmed by tobacco 
 in the male sex, but the injury caused in women 
 is far more lasting, because the thyroid in the lat- 
 ter, by reason of the various phases of female 
 sexual life, particularly pregnancy, lactation, and 
 the menopause, as well as the irritations and dis- 
 eases of the uterus and ovaries, is much more ex- 
 posed to overstrain and various fatiguing influences 
 than that of the male. 
 
 Because of the differences in bodily construction 
 and the special circumstances of the sexual life of 
 woman, the latter is already less capable of resist- 
 ing the effects of tobacco than man, for tobacco 
 acts very prejudicially not only on the thyroid 
 gland but also on the sex glands. This has been 
 shown by a series of experiments carried out on 
 animals. Clinical experience teaches that in the 
 male sex impotence may occur as a result of im- 
 
 1 Hertoghe : "Der chronische gntartige Hypothyroidismus," Leh- 
 mann's Verlag, Munich, 1900. 
 
 [152]
 
 Influence of Smoking 
 
 moderate use of nicotine. Its effect on the func- 
 tion of the ovaries is no less harmful, so that in 
 women disturbances of menstruation and even 
 sterility may result. 
 
 While tobacco produces harmful effects on 
 women who are already completely developed sex- 
 ually, its injurious action is even more serious in 
 incompletely developed, immature young girls, 
 among whom smoking nowadays is unfortunately 
 becoming more and more prevalent. Indeed, the 
 pernicious influence of tobacco on the organisms 
 of young girls is, in my opinion, a matter which 
 the governmental authorities cannot allow to pass 
 unnoticed. 
 
 Such a multitude of men have been lost as a 
 result of the war, whether on the battlefield or 
 through disease the result of privations and inade- 
 quate nutrition, that it would be a great pity if 
 those who embody the hopes of the nation were 
 so seriously to imperil their sublime duties as future 
 mothers and propagators of the race, out of sheer 
 folly and childish whims. 
 
 This condition logically calls for the passage of 
 laws that will forbid smoking by young women 
 and impose a severe penalty upon the purchase 
 of tobacco by them. It would also be a highly 
 desirable thing for the welfare of the people if 
 the clergy would exhort parents, from the pulpit, 
 
 [153]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 to exert a more strict control over their children 
 in this direction and impressively warn them 
 against any indulgence and lack of reserve which 
 would later wreak a terrible vengeance from the 
 health standpoint, not to mention that of morality. 
 
 The delicate body tissues of young girls, in 
 common with those of the female organism in 
 general, are far more jeopardized by tobacco than 
 those of men. Nicotine acts, like most other 
 poisons, in a direct manner on the tissues, and in 
 particular upon those of the blood-vessels, as was 
 first demonstrated by the investigations of Adler 
 and Hensel 2 and later by a number of other 
 workers. While they are perhaps not identically 
 the same, these tissue changes strongly suggest 
 those found in hardening of the arteries. 
 
 Everyday clinical experience shows that harden- 
 ing of the arteries occurs especially early in heavy 
 smokers. 
 
 As already mentioned in the first part of this 
 book, there is, aside from syphilis, no other factor 
 (not even alcohol) which plays so harmful a role 
 in the production of arteriosclerosis as heavy smok- 
 ing. The first result is an elevation of the blood 
 pressure, which, as is well known, favors the pro- 
 duction of arteriosclerosis in that a state of tension 
 in the vascular channels is maintained which is 
 
 2 Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift, No. 8, 1906. 
 
 [154]
 
 Influence of Smoking 
 
 later accompanied by morbid changes in the tissues 
 of the vessel walls. 
 
 As the condition proceeds further, there next 
 results a narrowing of the lumen of the vessels, 
 so that the tissues are only with difficulty and in- 
 adequately supplied with blood. Owing to insuf- 
 ficient nutrition of, for example, the hair follicles, 
 the teeth, etc., these appendages then fall out, and 
 owing to scanty nutrition of the tissues of the skin, 
 the latter undergoes shrinkage, and folds and wrin- 
 kles make their appearance. Not so unreasonably, 
 therefore, did French investigators long ago make 
 the statement that every one appears as old as his 
 arteries are. ("On a 1'age de ses arteres.") 
 
 Yet it would be a mistake to think that this 
 condition of affairs occurs only in persons of rather 
 advanced age. Even a considerable number of 
 young men have hardened arteries without being 
 aware of it, as was demonstrated in the late war, 
 in many tissue sections from young soldiers who 
 had never complained of any bodily disturbance 
 during their life time. As a rule, only heavy 
 smoking leads to such serious results, unless it be 
 in the children of arteriosclerotic parents or in 
 young girls and women, on whose delicate tissues 
 smoking acts much more detrimentally. 
 
 Particularly harmful in this connection are cigars 
 of high nicotine content. Fortunately, women who 
 
 [155]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 smoke cigars are not many. To my mind a cigar 
 in the mouth imparts to any woman, however beau- 
 tiful, a rather mannish aspect, and when, some 
 years ago, I was taken to a ladies' club in Copen- 
 hagen, in which the women smoked one cigar after 
 another, I was led mentally to supply beards and 
 side whiskers on their faces. 
 
 On the other hand, I cannot, in all fairness, as- 
 sert that an occasional cigarette in the mouth of 
 a lady would give her an unwomanly appearance. 
 Furthermore, the harmful effects previously de- 
 scribed should not occur if women already com- 
 pletely developed in body and mind smoked a few 
 small cigarettes a day. Only if they are the off- 
 spring of parents suffering from hardening of the 
 arteries should they preferably abstain completely 
 from smoking. 
 
 It is important, however, that smoking should 
 never be indulged in on an empty stomach, that 
 only a very mild variety of tobacco should be used, 
 and further, that it should be smoked slowly and 
 not in rapidly repeated puffs, that the smoke should 
 not be inhaled, and that it should not, as foolish 
 girls in their teens are so fond of demonstrating, 
 be swallowed and then blown out again through 
 the nose. To those ladies, however, who are so 
 slightly vain that they are unwilling to give up the 
 immoderate use of tobacco in spite of the risk to 
 
 [156]
 
 Influence of Smoking 
 
 their beauty it entails, I would recommend that 
 they take plenty of food. 
 
 It is a well established fact that we withstand 
 all kinds of intoxications better if we take ample 
 amounts of food, especially of the albuminous va- 
 variety, since these very materials serve for the 
 building up of the important substances which pro- 
 tect us as antidotes or antibodies, 
 
 Unfortunately the taking of ample amounts of 
 food by heavy smokers meets with the difficulty 
 that their appetite is often poor, and that the to- 
 bacco only too often leads to undernutrition by 
 causing disturbance of the functions of the stomach 
 and intestines. This, in turn, becomes a further 
 cause of rapid ageing in women.
 
 II 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF INSUFFICIENT NOURISHMENT 
 
 AND REDUCTION CURES ON THE FEMALE 
 
 ORGANISM 
 
 IT is a matter of common observation that women 
 
 of the poorer classes age rapidly, as a rule. It 
 seems natural to attribute this to hard work and 
 a scanty intake of food. That insufficient nourish- 
 ment is the main factor, however, follows from the 
 fact that the same condition is witnessed among 
 women who are engaged quietly in household du- 
 ties or sew the whole day long. 
 
 The role played by inadequate nourishment is 
 most strikingly shown in that an aged appearance 
 may be produced even among women of the more 
 well-to-do classes as a result of ill-advised reduc- 
 tion cures. 
 
 The outward appearance and attractiveness of 
 the human body, as well as of animals, bears a 
 close relationship to the quantity and choice of 
 the food taken. 
 
 When animals such as the dog, cat, or horse, 
 are well fed, their coat becomes glossy and their 
 general appearance more handsome and more full 
 of life. In the well-filled, firm cheeks of healthy- 
 looking, well-nourished young girls the muscles of 
 
 [158]
 
 Insufficient Food 
 
 the face are covered with a layer of fatty tissue 
 which, as it were, pads out the skin and renders 
 it smooth. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the food intake is scanty, 
 no fatty material, nor any sufficient amount of the 
 starchy foods capable in part of replacing it, viz., 
 rice and potatoes, are ingested, and as a result the 
 facial muscles lack the necessary amount of fat. 
 
 In reduction cures, again, unless carried out 
 under expert supervision, the fat over the facial 
 muscles disappears, the cheeks become hollow, and 
 there develop lines, wrinkles, and creases in a 
 word, the facial appearance of advancing age. In 
 cures of this kind one must take care that the fat 
 is absorbed only from those portions of the body 
 in which it is deposited in large amounts, as, for 
 example, on the abdomen, over the hips, on the 
 back, on the chin, etc. 
 
 It is dangerous for women who are actually by 
 no means stout and have merely muscular hips 
 with but slight fatty deposit to go through fasting 
 cures. In doing so they are cutting into their own 
 flesh, and frequently they pay for it with an aged 
 appearance. 
 
 According to my experience with numerous 
 patients in Carlsbad, reduction cures yield the best 
 results where the nourishment taken is adequate 
 and foods of the most different kinds are repre- 
 
 [159]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 sented, i.e., the diet is a highly varied one. Fat- 
 forming articles of food, such as sweets, rice, and 
 potatoes, 3 must, of course, be restricted, but the diet 
 must not be reduced to the point of inadequate 
 nourishment; indeed, such a reduction is unneces- 
 sary if baths, exercises, long walks and the Ber- 
 gonie treatment occupy an important place in the 
 therapeutic regime. 
 
 In suitable cases, i.e., where the heart is in good 
 condition, an intelligently conducted course of thy- 
 roid treatment is capable, according to my experi- 
 ence extending over many years, of yielding very 
 good results. Instead of an aged appearance fol- 
 lowing such reduction treatment, one of rejuvena- 
 tion may rather be obtained a result already 
 familiar from experience with thyroid treatment 
 under other circumstances. 
 
 Only fresh preparations of the gland must, how- 
 ever, be used; the patients must remain under 
 continuous medical supervision, and the diet used 
 must be sufficient in amount. 
 
 Particular care should be taken that it includes 
 the different kinds of foods. It should be em- 
 phasized that even if enough food is supplied, 
 undernutrition may occur if the food is not suf- 
 
 3 A complete list of these foods is to be found in my book entitled : 
 'Health and Longevity Through Rational Diet," in the chapter on 
 'Foodstuffs that Produce Obesity." 
 
 [160]
 
 Insufficient Food 
 
 ficiently varied. The organs of our body require 
 for the prosecution of their functions not only al- 
 bumins, starches, and fats, but also certain salts, 
 the nutrient salts, together with a number of other 
 substances, such as the so-called "vitamines," the 
 higher fats or lipoids, etc. 
 
 Similarly, the thyroid gland requires iodine, the 
 ovaries iron, the joints and teeth lime, the hair 
 sulphur, and the skin silicates, all of which sub- 
 stances play an important part in the chemical con- 
 stitution and physiologic activity of these structures. 
 
 Now, if food is taken in insufficient amount, or 
 is improperly balanced, or contains too little of 
 the substances just referred to, disturbance of the 
 functions of these structures and morbid changes 
 in their constituent tissues may result. 
 
 Insufficiency of nutriment thus exerts a highly 
 prejudicial effect on the female sexual glands and 
 thereby likewise on fecundity. Undernutrition is 
 an important cause of sterility in the human sub- 
 ject just as it is among the lower animals. 
 
 Hunters know that in periods when food is 
 scanty game is likewise lean, and breeders, that 
 when plenty of food is supplied the fecundity of 
 their animals is much greater. That the same is 
 true in the human race was distinctly shown by 
 the war. As a result of the extreme distress ex- 
 isting in many wholly barren mountainous districts, 
 
 11 [ 161 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 e.g., in the Erzgebirge, the women ceased to men- 
 struate. Cessation of so important a function as 
 the menstruation already points to the presence of 
 considerable disturbance of the function of the fe- 
 male reproductive organs through inadequate nu- 
 trition, and since such disturbances are capable, as 
 I showed in my earlier work on old age, of bring- 
 ing on a premature ageing of the body, inadequacy 
 of nutriment is to be avoided by all possible means. 
 Thus, the daily diet must be one which is suf- 
 ficient in amount as well as properly constituted. 
 
 [162]
 
 Ill 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF AN IMPROPERLY CONSTITUTED 
 DIET ON THE FEMALE ORGANISM 
 
 TF one enters a restaurant where a number of 
 
 women and girls are eating, one readily observes 
 how irrationally many of them, especially the 
 younger ones, make their selections of food. Pas- 
 try and other dainties are the chief articles chosen, 
 and nitrogenous foods are often only to a slight 
 extent or not at all represented. 
 
 Yet certain absolutely necessary nutrient salts, 
 such as those of lime and phosphorus, occur in 
 quantity precisely in such nitrogenous articles as 
 eggs and cheese. It is not to be wondered at, 
 therefore, that these women and girls suffer from 
 diseased teeth. We are well aware, from a number 
 of investigations, among which those of Roese de- 
 serve special mention, that the teeth deteriorate on 
 a diet lacking in lime. 
 
 When the teeth are destroyed, moreover, absorp- 
 tion of the jaw-bone sets in. The bone becomes 
 reduced in size, the face sinks in, and the facial 
 skin becomes loose and forms senile folds. 
 
 Consequently lime must be represented in suf- 
 ficient amount in the daily food intake. Besides 
 
 [ 163 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 eggs and cheese, milk likewise contains a large quan- 
 tity of lime, as do also many fruits and vegetables. 
 
 In these, including the green vegetables and 
 many kinds of fruit, there occurs also in consider- 
 able amounts another mineral substance that is of 
 special importance in the female organism, though 
 contained in largest quantity in the kind of sau- 
 sage prepared with hog's blood, vi%. f iron. Where 
 this element is lacking in the diet, there may easily 
 result disturbances of blood formation, chlorosis 
 and anemia, the unfavorable influence of which 
 upon the condition of the tissues and skin, as well 
 as upon the activity of the sex glands, may like- 
 wise lead to premature ageing. 
 
 Potash is also a very important element, as has 
 been demonstrated of late by the investigations of 
 Urbeanu. 4 This investigator placed animals on a 
 diet very poor in potash, and found that after a 
 time considerable injury to the nerves and muscles, 
 as well as to the outer skin covering, resulted. The 
 animals thus dealt with lost their fur and grew 
 decrepit. 
 
 When he later placed them on a mixed diet in 
 which potassium compounds were abundantly rep- 
 resented the fur rapidly grew again. 
 
 On the diet lacking in potash there also developed 
 
 4 A. Urbeanu: "Die Gefahren einer an Kaliverbindungen zu armen 
 Ernahrungsweise." Wien-Berlin, Urban und Schwarzenberg, 1916. 
 
 [ 164]
 
 Improper Diet 
 
 obesity, which disappeared when a diet rich in this 
 ingredient was given. 
 
 In the human subject impaired nutrition like- 
 wise results from a diet lacking in potash, and 
 Urbeanu 4 refers in this connection to the baldness 
 and obesity produced in man, and correlates them 
 with a diet deficient in potassium compounds. 
 These conditions in themselves belong among the 
 earliest manifestations of old age. Thus, care must 
 be taken that potassium compounds are ingested 
 daily in sufficient amount. 
 
 Such compounds occur in large amount in pota- 
 toes, milk, and meat, as also in cereals and in 
 fruits, of which a number are very rich in them, 
 viz., plums, apricots, cherries, grapes, and whortle- 
 berries. It should be noted that, according to the 
 researches of Stoklasa, 5 potassium is absolutely 
 indispensable for the tissue interchanges which 
 occur in our bodies. 
 
 Likewise indispensable is the daily ingestion of 
 a sufficient amount of the "vitamines." These are 
 nitrogenous, crystalline substances which are abso- 
 lutely needful for proper activity of the nerves 
 and muscles. Where these substances are wholly 
 lacking in the diet, there result serious disorders, 
 represented in their highest expression by beriberi, 
 
 5 Stoklasa: Hoppe-Seyler's Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chemie, Hft. 1, 
 62, 1909. 
 
 [165]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 pellagra, and scurvy. I believe I was the first to 
 point out that such conditions may frequently oc- 
 cur among us as a result of a poorly balanced diet, 
 without being recognized. 6 
 
 As a matter of fact, this has since been estab- 
 lished as a result of the war diet by a number of 
 investigators who have had many patients under 
 observation. Even before the war, I had occasion 
 to see a number of patients, chiefly women, who, 
 in fear of stomach trouble, had for a long time 
 been living on a poorly balanced diet of grits and 
 porridge, white bread, pastry, hulled rice, and 
 boiled milk. They exhibited a series of nervous, 
 neurasthenic, and hysterical symptoms, together 
 with marked lassitude and muscular weakness. 
 
 Most of these patients looked old on account of 
 their muddy complexion and sunken features. Very 
 striking, moreover, were their nervous heart dis- 
 turbances, such as palpitation, pulse intermittences, 
 and attacks of heart weakness and spasm. In all 
 these cases, recovery or at least amelioration of the 
 symptoms was procured by the administration of a 
 generous, varied diet rich in vitamines. 
 
 I have succeeded likewise in cases of actual heart 
 disease in considerably improving the condition, even 
 in serious cardiac cases, by prescribing a diet rich 
 in lime and vitamines, together with ingestion of 
 
 6 Lorand : Munchen. med. Wochenschr., No. 19, 1916. 
 
 [166]
 
 Improper Diet 
 
 honey or sugar. Articles of food rich in vitamines 
 include eggs, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits, 
 potatoes, fresh milk, and also bran. 
 
 As bran is hard to digest, it must first be properly 
 prepared, as may be satisfactorily accomplished, 
 e.g., by Tinkler's procedure. 
 
 To obviate loss of the high vitamine content in 
 cereals, potatoes, etc., these have to be cooked with 
 special care. Even before the discovery of the 
 vitamines I called attention to the fact that upon 
 prolonged, unrestrained boiling of foods much of 
 their "living energy" and highly useful substances 
 are destroyed. 
 
 Very fresh foods contain the largest amount of 
 vitamines; dried and preserved foods, on the other 
 hand, have little or no vitamine content. 
 
 Aside from a sufficient amount of nutrient salts 
 and vitamines, the daily diet must also include a 
 sufficient quantity of fluids, i.e., of water. 
 
 [167]
 
 IV 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF AN INSUFFICIENT INTAKE OF 
 FLUIDS ON THE FEMALE ORGANISM 
 
 1V/IANY women are in the habit of taking too 
 little fluid. Not a few women practically never 
 drink any liquid, not even during meals. As a 
 rule, there is present in these women a condition 
 of weakness of the thyroid gland which we have 
 already described as occurring during, before, or 
 after the climacteric years. In overactivity of the 
 thyroid gland, as in Graves's disease, or in diabetes 
 mellitus, thirst is, on the other hand, one of the char- 
 acteristic clinical features. There are some women, 
 however, who fail to drink fluid from motives of 
 personal vanity, believing that fluid would make 
 them stout. Now it is certainly not true that drink- 
 ing water is fattening, otherwise poor people would 
 have long since adopted this device; it is true, how- 
 ever, that if a person eats heartily and drinks much 
 fluid at the same time, a corresponding amount of 
 chyme results and is absorbed into the blood. But 
 if the quantity of fluid taken is insufficient, a cor- 
 respondingly smaller amount of chyme is dissolved, 
 and digestive disturbances may result. 
 
 Inadequate drinking of fluids is also attended 
 with the great disadvantage that the waste-products 
 
 [168]
 
 Insufficient Fluids 
 
 set free in the processes of tissue interchange, such 
 as uric acid, cannot be brought into solution and 
 eliminated from the body. These substances then 
 make their way out through the skin surface, mean- 
 while giving rise to a troublesome eruption over the 
 face and a muddy complexion. The skin of women 
 who never or seldom drink water is, furthermore, 
 very dry and coarse, and as a result of its dryness 
 lines and wrinkles are readily formed. To impart 
 to the skin a smooth, healthy appearance, the body 
 juices which supply it with nutriment must be abun- 
 dantly present in its tissues, and to this end a suf- 
 ficient amount of fluid, in the form of drinking 
 water, must be taken. 
 
 According to my observations in numerous pati- 
 ents with gall-stones in Carlsbad, the very great 
 majority of them drank water but seldom, previous 
 to the onset of the disease. I also had occasion to 
 note that most of these women had for years been 
 suffering from constipation. This leads, in turn, 
 to stasis of the bile, which favors an inflammatory 
 condition of the biliary passages and thus leads to 
 gall-stone disease. The constipation is thus the 
 underlying cause of this condition, and the former, 
 in turn, is the result of the insufficient intake of 
 fluids. 
 
 I had occasion to observe among my patients 
 in Carlsbad that the women who had never or but 
 
 [169]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 seldom drunk water before the treatment were gen- 
 erally troubled with constipation. This fact is also 
 readily understood. The fecal masses in the intes- 
 tine, in order that they may continue on their down- 
 ward course, require a sufficient amount of fluid; 
 otherwise condensation of these masses and diffi- 
 culty at stool are easily induced. Yet there is every 
 reason for women to avoid all influences that might 
 lead to constipation. From the very fact of their 
 different anatomic structure as compared to the male 
 subject and the special physiologic functions of their 
 reproductive organs, women are greatly predisposed 
 to constipation. 
 
 There is practically no sort of disturbance in the 
 female sexual sphere which is not accompanied by 
 constipation. 
 
 The pride of personal appearance implanted in 
 women with remarkable forethought by nature 
 rather a virtue in their sex should forcibly bring to 
 their minds the importance of this question. Noth- 
 ing is capable of so harming a good complexion 
 and a youthful appearance as constipation persist- 
 ing for a number of days. The easiest remedy for 
 this condition, on the other hand, is to drink enough 
 water, and in particular to take a glass of fresh, 
 cold water the first thing in the morning. Often 
 this simple measure gives better results than many 
 a purgative drug, over which it possesses, further- 
 
 [170]
 
 Insufficient Fluids 
 
 more, the advantage of being a harmless and use- 
 fully operating remedy which certainly cannot be 
 said of purgatives, especially when taken at short 
 intervals. 
 
 [171]
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF UNDULY FREQUENT USE OF 
 PURGATIVES ON THE FEMALE ORGANISM 
 
 IN Paris, in the Eighteenth Century, it was the 
 custom of the "dames du monde," compelled to 
 give careful consideration to the maintenance of 
 their good complexions, to have a midwife come to 
 their apartments daily and administer to them a 
 "wholesome" enema. At the present time it would 
 certainly be held rather too much trouble to have 
 the clyster-woman come every day, and besides it 
 would be unnecessary, since with the help of an 
 ingeniously devised apparatus, the enterocleaner, 
 any woman, sitting in a warm bath, can auto- 
 matically wash out the entire bowel and free it of 
 all stagnant fecal masses. When carried out by a 
 practised hand, this is an entirely acceptable pro- 
 cedure, which, furthermore, is unattended with the 
 disadvantages possessed by most purgatives, viz. f 
 that the bowel becomes sluggish thereafter. I have 
 employed this procedure in several of my lady 
 patients in Carlsbad, and observed very good re- 
 sults from it in every instance. It is thus possible 
 for me to recommend a periodic cleaning out of the 
 bowel by this method as a special "intestinal cure." 
 
 [172]
 
 Abuse of Purgatives 
 
 In young women and girls the procedure is, of 
 course, indicated only where constipation is actually 
 present, but in older women, from about forty years 
 on, it would seem of advantage, especially if there 
 is a tendency to constipation, to carry out the en- 
 terocure regularly every week or two. In my book 
 on "Old Age Deferred" I have already emphasized 
 the value of a thorough clearing out of the bowel 
 at least once weekly in the prevention of premature 
 ageing. 
 
 In general, however, one can get along without 
 any artificial means of assistance by merely taking 
 care to secure a daily bowel movement with the aid 
 of an appropriate diet yielding plenty of residue 
 material. 
 
 The diet in general plays a preeminent part in 
 regulation of the bowel function. A large allow- 
 ance must be made in it for foods yielding much 
 residue, such as coarse brown bread, graham bread, 
 green vegetables with high cellulose content, fruit 
 and preserves, and marmalade, the sugar content 
 of which also exerts a favorable influence. As al- 
 ready stated, fluids must likewise be taken in suf- 
 ficient amount. The kinds of food just mentioned 
 have the property, acting either in a direct, mechan- 
 ical manner through their coarse consistency, or 
 through the fermentative processes set up by them 
 in the intestine, of producing stimulation of the 
 
 [ 173 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 bowel wall, which is followed, in turn, by contrac- 
 tions and expulsion of the intestinal contents. 
 
 There are some women, however, to whom such 
 a diet is distasteful, or whose stomachs, as in many 
 cases of nervousness, will not tolerate such a coarse 
 diet, or again, who want quick results. These re- 
 sort to purgatives. At first even the milder agents, 
 such as rhubarb, magnesia, tamarind, etc., prove 
 effective, but upon continued use their action in 
 many instances becomes less marked, so that gradu- 
 ally drugs of increasing power have to be resorted to. 
 
 Even the enemas which many women adminis- 
 ter to themselves lose their effect after a time, as 
 the intestinal nerves and muscles relax in their ac- 
 tivity, so that, just as in the case of a refractory 
 horse, one is led to use the whip with increasing 
 vigor, so in these cases drastic purgatives have fin- 
 ally to be resorted to. Such agents, however, con- 
 tain substances capable, especially if taken rather 
 frequently, of exerting harmful effects on a number 
 of different organs, including the stomach, bowel, 
 liver, kidneys, and even the female reproductive 
 organs. 
 
 Even chronic catarrh of the stomach and intes- 
 tine may result. Thereupon the general state of 
 nutrition of the body suffers, and with it the ap- 
 pearance of the skin surface, in which connection 
 it should be pointed out that frequently only a por- 
 
 [174]
 
 Abuse of Purgatives 
 
 tion of the intestinal contents is expelled, the re- 
 mainder giving rise to processes of decomposition 
 and fermentation. It is no wonder, then, if such 
 ladies exhibit a muddy, dark yellowish complexion 
 and find it necessary to remedy it by means of vari- 
 ous toilet preparations. 
 
 [175]
 
 VI 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF COSMETICS 
 
 TF many women afflicted, owing to illness or an 
 
 unwholesome mode of life, with a dull, sickly, 
 yellowish-gray complexion form the hahit of intro- 
 ducing a life-like red tint into the "gray monotony" 
 previously existing, we can readily understand the 
 reason for this custom, which is not inexcusable, 
 moreover, when looked at from the human, or more 
 strictly speaking the women's, standpoint. 
 
 It cannot but seem incomprehensible and even 
 absurd, however, when young women or even girls, 
 as is now unfortunately increasingly the case, gloss 
 over the healthy and even ruddy complexion which 
 they naturally enjoy with a conspicuous red color 
 and set off their lips with equally unnatural tints. 
 
 If this is done with a view to simulating an even 
 more beautiful and youthful appearance, I may as- 
 sert from the start that the result obtained will be 
 exactly the opposite of the intended illusion. 
 
 For any one in his senses and with normally 
 directed tastes will certainly recognize the natural 
 coloring of the face, and will at once suspect any 
 dissimulation, by which he will not be deceived. 
 Not only will he consider that which is unnatural 
 unattractive, but he will likewise involuntarily come 
 
 [176]
 
 Influence of Cosmetics 
 
 to the conclusion that an attractiveness previously 
 not present has been artificially simulated; whence 
 persons of actual beauty are often really taken to 
 be homely. 
 
 And they are also often taken to be older! 
 
 For the observer is displeased by that which is 
 strange and unnatural, and when there is a con- 
 spicuous red color or pallor on tfie face in com- 
 bination with lips that glow with an impossible red 
 hue, man's powers of age appreciation are misled 
 and young women and girls are considered to be 
 older than they really are. 
 
 On the other hand, it cannot be denied that ladies 
 already of a certain age may often succeed by a 
 very sparing application of "rouge" over a sallow, 
 sickly-pale, faded face in reducing their apparent 
 age by ten years. The result of "painting" in the 
 old and the young is thus that the old frequently 
 are made to look younger but the young invariably 
 to look older. 
 
 Rapid ageing, as far as the facial appearance is 
 concerned, will, furthermore, actually set in on ac- 
 count of the severe injury done to it by "painting." 
 
 Two factors should be emphasized in this con- 
 nection, viz., mechanical and chemical influences, as 
 the causes of injury to the skin of the face. 
 
 Regarding the first of these factors, I have 
 pointed out in the latest edition of my work on 
 12 177
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 "Old Age Deferred," in the chapter entitled "A 
 Few Hints on Youthful Appearance," that in the 
 rubbing of pastes and other preparations over the 
 facial skin, lines, wrinkles, and folds are produced 
 in a mechanical way, Injury due to chemical causes 
 may result from the fact that the cosmetics used 
 often contain harmful ingredients, such as lead, 
 and in Carlsbad I have in not a few instances had 
 occasion to treat cases of liver and intestinal dis- 
 orders to which the lead content of such beautifying 
 preparations bore a causal relationship. It should 
 be borne in mind, further, that such paints and 
 thick pastes block up the pores of the sweat and 
 sebaceous glands, upon the free functioning of 
 which the appearance of the skin of the face in 
 large measure depends. From my own experience 
 I do not know of a single case in which the healthy 
 appearance of the complexion was not impaired by 
 "painting," and I need merely refer in this con- 
 nection to the facial aspect of women who, like 
 actresses and others similarly engaged, are well- 
 known to paint themselves up almost daily and 
 quite often are compelled to pay for this practice 
 with a prematurely aged appearance. 
 
 In contending against that which is natural, man 
 is always worsted; nature never allows one to tres- 
 pass on her fields with impunity, and takes bitter 
 revenge for any such attempted encroachment. 
 
 [178]
 
 VII 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF ANTICONCEPTIONAL PRACTICES 
 
 IN the first part of this book, mention was made 
 
 of the admirable foresight with which nature pro- 
 vides for everything that is connected with the 
 preservation of the human race and its procreation 
 as well as of the severe punishment she metes 
 upon all irregularities and abuses committed in this 
 respect. 
 
 The fact was also shown, that from such abuses 
 and especially from abortive and anticonceptional 
 practices even premature death may result. 
 
 I would like to add here that early and rapid 
 ageing may also be produced through anticoncep- 
 tional practices. Even in the male subject, such 
 preventive habits may contribute to early ageing, 
 but in women its effects are far more deleterious. 
 This is due to the different anatomical arrangement 
 and structure of the female organs as well as their 
 different physiological functions, which are far more 
 complicated than in the male. Indeed, in this re- 
 spect nature has placed a far heavier burden upon 
 woman than upon man. 
 
 Each gland in our body is intended for a special 
 purpose and for a certain kind of activity. This 
 
 [179]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 general rule also holds good as regards the sexual 
 glands. To insure their activity, nature has im- 
 planted a kind of craving into the breast of each 
 creature, which demands satisfaction. There are 
 certain persons who, through a special kind of edu- 
 cation in preparation for a certain vocation, can 
 more or less successfully resist this craving, but 
 most people show manifestations of nervous dis- 
 orders from an enforced total sexual abstinence of 
 long duration, especially women who have arrived 
 at the mature years of maternity, often without 
 any knowledge of the real cause of these disorders. 
 
 I have for this reason advocated marriage as 
 a preventive of such disturbances and as means of 
 lengthening life. 
 
 Still more serious, however, are the consequences 
 for those who, while actually sipping of the nectar, 
 resort to anticonceptional measures with the pur- 
 pose of thwarting the natural consequences of the 
 satisfaction of this peremptory craving. Serious 
 disorders of the reproductive organs and of the 
 nervous system result from such practices. Women 
 are exceedingly sensitive to all disturbances that 
 arise at this, their most vulnerable point, the organ 
 of sex. 
 
 While it is true, as the great, much travelled 
 Belgian physician and nature student of the seven- 
 teenth century, Van Helmont, emphasized, that 
 
 [180]
 
 Anticonceptional Practices 
 
 women are what they are by reason of their sex 
 organs, it must be considered likewise a fact, ac- 
 cording to my conviction, that women are suscep- 
 tible to rapid ageing on account of these same or- 
 gans, or at least, to ageing much more rapidly than 
 men. 
 
 As I have proved in my various publications, 
 ageing is brought about by changes in the ductless 
 glands, among which the thyroid and the sex glands 
 play the most important physiologic role. Like the 
 thyroid, the ovaries exert an influence over a num- 
 ber of the most important bodily functions, such as 
 blood formation, the heart action (disturbances of 
 heart action during the period of the menopause), 
 and in particular, general metabolism. Thus, obe- 
 sity often sets in after cessation of the function of 
 the ovaries at the menopause or when these organs 
 are removed by operation. 
 
 In my book, "Building Human Intelligence," I 
 show at length how the brain, and likewise the gen- 
 eral condition of the nervous system, is influenced 
 by these glands. The effects of these remarkable 
 organs extend even to the appearance of the skin, 
 and the experienced eye is often able to recognize 
 the presence of disorders of the ovaries and uterus 
 merely from the dirty-yellow, muddy complexion 
 of the women suffering from them. Similarly, when 
 these organs are overactive, the condition betrays 
 
 [181]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 itself in a bloated, sallow, aged, and worn appear- 
 ance of the face. 
 
 In view of the above mentioned influence of these 
 organs on a number of important bodily functions, 
 one can readily understand why anticonceptional 
 practices may likewise cause rapid ageing by acting 
 harmfully on the organs of sex. 
 
 The harmful effects referred to are two in num- 
 ber: The first is a physical excitation and irrita- 
 tion of the sex organs which is not followed by 
 satisfaction, or only partly so. The second is the 
 mechanical irritation of the sexual organs by the 
 devices employed for the purpose referred to. 
 
 The first of these harmful influences is exerted 
 when, for example, a covering over the intromittent 
 organ is used. In this respect there can of course 
 be no question of mechanical irritation, but its use 
 prevents complete satisfaction or permits of it only 
 in part. Where pessaries are used, the satisfac- 
 tion obtained may be greater although even under 
 these conditions it is not complete but the mechan- 
 ical action on the uterus may induce severe dis- 
 orders of the latter, or at least pave the way to 
 their occurrence. The use of sponges likewise in- 
 terferes with complete satisfaction, and may also 
 lead to uterine disturbances. The premature inter- 
 ruption of the sexual act is not in itself attended 
 with any mechanical local injury, but does produce, 
 
 [182]
 
 Anticonceptional Practices 
 
 owing to the complete lack of satisfaction, a cor- 
 respondingly pronounced injury to the nervous sys- 
 tem, and is often the cause of neurasthenia and 
 hysteria, with frequent disturbances of heart action. 
 
 Either of the above practices may lead more or 
 less readily to neurasthenia or hysteria merely 
 through the impossibility of obtaining complete 
 satisfaction as well as through irritation of the 
 nervous system. 
 
 These, in turn, result in a very marked predispo- 
 sition to the development of arteriosclerosis, which 
 easily becomes established under such circumstances. 
 
 Furthermore, these practices bring about severe 
 disorders of the uterus and ovaries and likewise 
 frequently afford the initial impulse in the develop- 
 ment of cancer of the uterus. 
 
 It should be borne in mind, too, that in all these 
 procedures there occurs a marked congestion of the 
 uterus and ovaries with blood, and when this takes 
 place frequently, the result is an inflammation of 
 these organs as well as of the neighboring tissues, 
 with consequent endo-, peri-, and parametritis, and 
 as a further consequence, the production of ex- 
 ,udates. 
 
 One can readily understand that such disorders 
 as these, which continue for years, greatly under- 
 mine the women thus afflicted and cause them to 
 age rapidly. It is also plain that the diseased 
 
 [183]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 ovaries become incapable of carrying on any longer 
 their important role as one of the glandular or- 
 gans presiding over blood formation, the metabolic 
 processes, and other vital functions, and that con- 
 sequently rapid ageing takes place in women suf- 
 fering from inflammation of the ovaries. Such 
 ageing will occur even more quickly if, as is un- 
 fortunately often the case, surgical removal of the 
 diseased uterus and ovaries is required on account 
 of these disorders, and their activity in consequence 
 completely ceases. 
 
 I would also like to emphasize the fact that pre- 
 mature interruption of the sexual act, although it 
 causes in itself no local injury to the organ of sex 
 and is considered harmless by many women, may 
 nevertheless cause not only pronounced nervous 
 injury, but also, by reason of the frequent over- 
 congestion of the uterus, favor the occurrence of 
 an extremely serious disease, viz., cancer. Thus, 
 Kisch 7 noted as a consequence of this practice the 
 formation of cysts at the uterine cervix, and in 
 these cysts rather frequently a cancerous degenera- 
 tion. Furthermore, Neubauer and Pigeolet already 
 emphasized years ago that the onset of cancer may 
 be favored by the use of condoms. I would like 
 to stress also the fact that the use of pessaries may 
 likewise promote tumor development. 
 
 7 Kisch: Jahrschr. f. d. Sexualwiss., 1916. 
 
 [184]
 
 Anticonceptional Practices 
 
 Very often local injuries to the uterine tissues 
 produced under these circumstances cannot well be 
 obviated. Yet through such injuries of the epi- 
 thelium, especially if they occur rather frequently 
 or, as it were, habitually, cancer formation is 
 readily promoted, especially when added unfavor- 
 able influences, such as heredity (cancer in the fam- 
 ily), late adult life, etc., are present as contributory 
 factors. 
 
 It is known that cancer in general readily de- 
 velops where such frequent injuries of the covering 
 epithelium are taking place, as is illustrated in the 
 cancer of the stomach following a coarse diet in 
 peasants, cancer of the lips in pipe smokers, and 
 cancer of the mammary gland after injury. We 
 know also that the uterus is a preferred site for 
 cancer, and the repeated irritations and injuries 
 previously mentioned certainly constitute a circum- 
 stance favorable to the frequent development of 
 cancer in this organ; the frequent overfilling with 
 blood and inflammations following the use of anti- 
 conceptional measures may likewise contribute to 
 this end. 
 
 The question thus naturally arises whether it is 
 worth while to expose oneself to such great risks, 
 to acquire such serious diseases, to endure pain and 
 torment for years, and in addition to age rapidly, 
 merely in order to avoid being blessed with a fam- 
 
 [185]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 ily. If material cares constitute the motive for so 
 doing, it would be well to bear in mind that the 
 expense of an illness of years' duration may easily 
 outweigh that of rearing a child, not to mention 
 the prolonged suffering and pain and the prospect 
 of rapid fading and ageing which must be taken 
 into account, and in addition the risk of premature 
 death. 
 
 If, however, it should be the pride of personal 
 appearance which deters so many women from a 
 possible pregnancy, then I would offer the objec- 
 tion that very often the charms of a woman are 
 further enhanced after the birth of a child, as is 
 shown, indeed, in the pictures of the great Italian 
 masters and in those of Rubens. 
 
 Often faded maidens of the type known among 
 the Walloons of Belgium as "vierges martyres," 
 after marriage and the birth of a child literally 
 blossom out. Married life, pregnancy, and lacta- 
 tion if the latter is not continued for an excessive 
 time act, indeed, like a kind of whip upon an 
 inactive thyroid gland and inactive ovaries, which 
 are stimulated to greater activity, the functions 
 presided over by them being, in turn, improved. 
 Thus in many instances it would be desirable even 
 from the standpoint of personal beauty for o 
 woman to have a child. 
 
 As for the relationship of material cares to the 
 
 [186]
 
 Anticonceptional Practices 
 
 rearing of a family, the State might wisely step 
 in and assist, especially in the countries recently 
 deprived of so many of their sons through war. In 
 order to increase the number of births, families com- 
 prising more than five children, unless well-to-do, 
 should be exempted from taxes; for each child born 
 after the third or fourth, moreover, fathers of poor 
 families might be paid a contribution or, instead, 
 such children reared at the expense of the State. 
 
 There remains to be settled the question as to 
 what to do where bodily infirmities of the women 
 make it appear that pregnancy and labor would be 
 dangerous to life. I have already suggested that 
 before contracting marriage each man and woman 
 should be subjected to a physical and mental ex- 
 amination in order to ascertain their fitness for 
 matrimony and whether they harbor any transmis- 
 sible disease. 
 
 In any case it would be desirable for women to 
 call in their family physician in council before they 
 enter upon any such practices as expose their health 
 and even their lives to great risks. This, of all 
 places, is the one in which to emphasize the fact 
 that the physician may be of the greatest utility, 
 not so much in treating as in warding off disease. 
 The blame for the latter lies not with the phy- 
 sician, but the patient. Being frequently called in 
 too late, he is often given to treat an organ which 
 
 [187]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 has already been destroyed by disease. He is sum- 
 moned to put out the fire when the house has al- 
 ready burned down. And yet no great conflagra- 
 tion breaks out suddenly. At first it is only a 
 spark, then it slowly spreads, but by the time the 
 cry of "Fire" is uttered a part of the house has 
 already been destroyed. Similarly a disease almost 
 never develops all at once. Often it extends im- 
 perceptibly and insidiously, and by the time it is 
 obvious the patient is often irretrievably lost, or at 
 all events the disease is no longer curable. 
 
 If I may be allowed to express a conclusion 
 drawn from personal observations extending over 
 many years, it is that thousands upon thousands of 
 men and women go through life without being 
 aware that they are ill and often severely ill. This 
 is a matter of daily observation to the physicians 
 of insurance companies. And from this there 
 naturally springs the thought that the State should 
 carry out yearly an official examination of every 
 man, woman and child including uranalysis in 
 order to ascertain if they are in good health. What 
 a multitude of human lives could thus be saved 
 betimes, and likewise what immense sums of money 
 for hospitals and no less for insane asylums! 
 
 May the above lines be dedicated to the practical 
 consummation of this suggestion! 
 
 [188]
 
 PART III 
 On Rejuvenation
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO PAET III 
 
 IN the first two parts of this book I showed how 
 early decay and loss of life can be brought about 
 by reckless habits. In the following, third part, I 
 make bold to present the means for remedying the 
 consequences of such disastrous habits, and to de- 
 scribe how we may rejuvenate not only those who 
 have brought premature old age upon themselves 
 through their own faults, but also those persons 
 who, by reason of the inexorable laws of nature, 
 suffer from the infirmities of normal old age. 
 
 Some years ago I showed in my book, "Old Age 
 Deferred," that by a rational mode of living and 
 the use of glandular extracts rejuvenation could 
 be brought about, and herein I am adding my 
 recent experiences and observations in this direc- 
 tion, together with several new measures of great 
 efficacy, among them the surgical methods of the 
 widely known physiologist, Steinach, which, in ani- 
 mals especially, have given such sensational results. 
 I must apologize to my readers if, perhaps, I 
 quote too often my earlier works entitled "Old Age 
 Deferred" and "Building Human Intelligence." I 
 would have far exceeded the intended limits of this 
 
 [191]
 
 Introduction 
 
 book had I introduced in it again the many 
 proofs and items of evidence upon which my find- 
 ings and assertions are based; nothing remains for 
 me, therefore, but to refer the reader to the above 
 mentioned books. 
 
 Those who have read my other works will readily 
 believe me when I say that it is not to flatter 
 human vanity that I have undertaken to write 
 these lines. I can fully appreciate, however, that 
 every person wants to appear at his best, a favor- 
 able appearance being a great advantage in this 
 hard struggle for existence. 
 
 Having been the earliest writer on the prophy- 
 laxis and treatment of old age as a preventable 
 chronic disease, it is but natural that I should de- 
 sire here to present the newest procedures and 
 proffer my opinion concerning those best adapted 
 for attaining the aim referred to, as well as for 
 prolonging the working capacity and bodily and 
 mental vigor of aged persons, at the same time 
 showing the best methods by which these can be 
 regained if they have been lost. 
 
 Aged persons are very often potentially able to 
 render the best services to human society and often 
 constitute its most useful members. These men or 
 women often dispose of some of the choicest gifts 
 of the intellect, which can be obtained neither by 
 study, industry, nor by any kind of endeavor, but 
 
 [192]
 
 Introduction 
 
 solely by age, i.e., an extensive experience. They 
 are invaluable as teachers, and as directors and 
 managers of institutions for the public good. In 
 the administration of large business firms such 
 men or women can be immensely useful by plac- 
 ing wholesome restraint, with their wisdom gained 
 by experience, upon the often risky and hazardous 
 undertakings of their younger associates. 
 
 To try to conserve the lives of persons of such 
 value, and to keep them in good working condition 
 as long as possible, is really worth all our efforts! 
 
 13 
 
 [193]
 
 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE POSSIBILITY OF 
 REJUVENATION 
 
 thirty years ago the possibility of making 
 a younger person out of an old man or woman 
 was positively proved. Already at that time photo- 
 graphs were published in the medical journals by 
 Sir Victor Horsley, George Murray, and others, 
 illustrating aged men and women who, after treat- 
 ment by animal extracts, appeared much younger 
 than their actual age. These persons were suffering 
 from a diseased condition of the thyroid gland, 
 myxedema, and upon giving them extracts of the 
 thyroid glands of sheep, men and women of sixty 
 or sixty-one were caused to appear as if they were 
 fifty and in some cases forty-five or even less. 
 
 Upon reading these reports and studying simi- 
 lar cases personally, I was led to the thought that 
 if a man or woman suffering from disease and sixty 
 years old can be made to look much younger by 
 means of a certain remedy, then other men or 
 women, who are not suffering from the same dis- 
 ease, or not to the same extent, might likewise 
 profit from such treatment and be made to look 
 younger. Having tried this treatment, first upon 
 
 [195]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 myself and then on patients, I found, indeed, that 
 my supposition had been correct. 
 
 The results of my observations were published 
 in my book, "Old Age Deferred," in which are 
 described cases which, upon treatment with extracts 
 from the glands of animals, mainly sheep and hogs, 
 appear younger to the extent of ten, fifteen and 
 sometimes even twenty years. This book was based 
 upon a communication on the causes of old age 
 which I had presented before the Biological Soci- 
 ety of Paris six years before. In this communi- 
 cation 1 I showed that old age presents all or 
 nearly all of the symptoms of a degenerated con- 
 dition of the thyroid, i.e., that it is like a myxe- 
 dematous condition. 
 
 The different noxious agencies to which we ex- 
 pose ourselves willingly or against our will, most 
 of them mentioned in the first two parts of this 
 book, are also known to be very deleterious to the 
 different ductless glands of our body, viz., the 
 thyroid, the sexual glands, etc., which govern all 
 its vital functions. \Vhen these glands are attacked 
 and caused to degenerate, a diseased condition 
 results, the symptoms of which correspond to those 
 of old age. 
 
 1 Sur les causes de la Senilite. Comptes-Rendus de la Societe cle 
 Biologic, Dec. 4, 1904. 
 
 [196]
 
 Possibility of Rejuvenation 
 
 In previous experiments 2 carried out with the 
 collaboration of Prof. Minkowsky, in the laboratory 
 of the Augusta Hospital in Cologne, I had shown 
 that these different glands form a kind of a chain, 
 so that removal of one of them, e.g., the pancreas, 
 would result in transformation of other glands, e.g., 
 the thyroid gland. Thus it will be readily under- 
 stood that noxious agencies attacking one of the 
 glands, such as the thyroid or the sexual glands, 
 will also react upon the other glands and lead to 
 their degeneration. 
 
 In my communication to the Paris Biological 
 Society on the causes of old age, I showed that old 
 age is due to the degeneration of the different duct- 
 less glands, and recommended treatment of old age 
 with extracts from the ductless glands of animals. 
 That such treatment is really possible is shown 
 clearly in my book, "Old Age Deferred," in which 
 I not only describe the good results obtained by 
 treatment with animal extracts, but also point out 
 the fact that through hygienic procedures and by 
 certain forms of diet, the vitality and activity of 
 the ductless glands, e.g., the thyroid and sexual 
 and other glands, can be enhanced. 
 
 Years before me the famous French savant, 
 Brown-Sequard, born of an American father and 
 French mother on the island of Mauritius, and for 
 
 2 Communicated to the Paris Biological Society, April 25, 1909. 
 
 [197]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 several years Professor at Harvard University, had 
 shown by experiments on himself that a kind of 
 rejuvenation, in the sense of an improvement of 
 certain symptoms of old age, is possible. He em- 
 ployed extracts made from the crushed testicles of 
 animals. 
 
 A few years ago a professor of physiology, 
 Steinach, producing enforced activity or irrita- 
 tion of the sexual glands by surgical procedures, 
 actually proved by experiments on rats and on man 
 that a kind of rejuvenation is possible. The first 
 symptoms of this change show themselves within 
 a few weeks after the operation. 
 
 All these different methods, however, are based 
 on one and the same means of producing rejuve- 
 nation, the one I described before the Paris Bio- 
 logical Society nearly two decades ago. 
 
 At that time I said that old age is due not alone 
 to degeneration of the thyroid or the sexual glands, 
 but to that of all the glands. It may start from 
 a degenerated condition of one of the glands, e.g., 
 the sexual glands or the thyroid, but afterwards, 
 since all these glanda form a chain, changes in one 
 of them will produce similar changes in the other 
 glands, and old age, with all its symptoms, will 
 result. 
 
 The experiments of Steinach clearly prove the 
 correctness of my theory as to the origin of old age. 
 
 [198]
 
 Possibility of Rejuvenation 
 
 His experiments show plainly that when a condi- 
 tion of overactivity of the sexual glands is pro- 
 duced the other glands are influenced also and that 
 the rejuvenation he procures is due, not only to 
 the excitation of the sexual glands, but to that of 
 all the other glands. 
 
 Indeed, the late assistant of Prof. Steinach, Dr. 
 Schleidt, examined microscopically not only the 
 testicles of the old rats that had been made over 
 into young rats, but also the thyroid gland and 
 another endocrin gland in the brain the hypo- 
 physis and he found these glands in the previously 
 old rats in quite a youthful and perfectly normal 
 condition. Thus, we are certainly justified in con- 
 cluding that rejuvenation is the result of an im- 
 proved condition, not only of one, but of all the 
 endocrin glands. 
 
 All that one has to do to rejuvenate a person, 
 is, consequently, to overcome the aged and degen- 
 erated condition of the endocrin glands. This can 
 be done in one of two different ways: (1) By a 
 surgical procedure, as shown by Prof. Steinach. 
 This, however, has the disadvantage that, while 
 not efficacious in every case, it exposes sometimes, 
 in addition, to deleterious consequences. (2) By 
 internal methods, i.e., by ingestion of the extracts 
 of different glands. 
 
 Aside from these procedures, we can obtain still 
 
 [199]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 better results, according to my experiences and 
 observations in the last ten months, by employing 
 the ultraviolet rays of natural or artificial sunlight 
 (quartz light), which act as activators and power- 
 ful stimulants of the endocrin glands, especially if 
 these glands are taken by mouth at the same time. 
 Radium baths and certain kinds of mud baths of 
 high radium content are also capable of bringing 
 about rejuvenation. In addition there are avail- 
 able certain hygienic procedures, such as abundant 
 perspiration and purging, as I show in my book, 
 "Old Age Deferred." 
 
 [200]
 
 II 
 
 DY cutting through the excretory ducts of the 
 sexual glands at a certain point in a number 
 of old marasmic rats of the age of twenty-eight to 
 thirty months an age corresponding in rat life to 
 the eighties or more in human subjects Prof. 
 Steinach 3 was able to observe several weeks after- 
 wards an amazing change for the better in their 
 condition. Indeed, the old rats thus dealt with 
 had become transformed into young rats. 
 
 Before the operation, rendered listless by their 
 great age, these old rats would sit lazily for hours 
 in their cage, scarcely making any movement, and 
 showing no signs of interest whatever in their sur- 
 roundings. Even a piece of fat bacon passed into 
 their cage on a stick, a morsel most highly attrac- 
 tive to rats, failed to induce them to make any 
 effort to attain it by creeping up the stick. 
 
 After the operation a radical change from their 
 apathetic behavior was seen within a few weeks. 
 They became extremely lively in their movements, 
 
 3 Steinach: Verjungung durch experimentelle Neubelebung der 
 alternden Pubertatsdrvise, Berlin, 1920. 
 
 [201]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 and their interest was evoked by any object passed 
 into their cage, which they sniffed at at once and 
 examined with the greatest curiosity. 
 
 When two male rats are brought together in a 
 cage, a bitter fight invariably follows. Before the 
 operation, an old rat placed in the cage of a young 
 rat would invariably show the white feather at once, 
 making every attempt to get away and showing no 
 fighting spirit. After the operation, however, lie 
 would take up the challenge at once and prove 
 himself a valiant contender. 
 
 Even in their external appearance the operated 
 rats clearly showed a remarkable rejuvenation. Be- 
 fore the operation they seemed bent with age, 
 with sagging heads and very thin bodies, merely 
 skin and bones. Their furry coat showed many 
 large bald patches. As Steinach demonstrated with 
 his photographs, however, these same old rats under- 
 went a miraculous change in their external ap- 
 pearance some weeks after the operation. New 
 hair grew all over their bodies, in fact they now 
 exhibited a rich, glossy and complete coat, the bald 
 patches having entirely disappeared. At the same 
 time they were as agile and erect as young rats 
 in the prime of life, with well rounded forms. 
 
 Their behavior in the sexual sphere after the 
 operation was equally remarkable, a most striking 
 change taking place in this respect in these old 
 
 [202 ]
 
 Surgical Methods 
 
 rats. Before the operation all sexual proclivities 
 seemed to have been completely lost. A young 
 female rat placed in their cage evoked no interest 
 whatever. If some few of them did show a trace 
 of sexual desire, it was of no avail, for they were 
 quite unable to carry out the sexual act. 
 
 After the operation, however, these previously 
 impotent old rats turned into sexually active young 
 males. Young female rats put into their cage sev- 
 eral weeks after the operation proved highly at- 
 tractive, the transformed old rats giving every 
 evidence of a surprising sexual capacity and in- 
 satiable desire, their activity in this direction being 
 such as would seem impossible, or at any rate 
 abnormal, even in vigorous young rats! 
 
 As Steinach describes it, there occurred a con- 
 dition of "sexual paroxysm" in his operated rats. 
 These, in their passion, made no distinction as to 
 whether the females pursued by them were or were 
 not in the mating period, a rather rare occurrence 
 among rats. 
 
 The young generated by those of the old rats 
 which had been operated on one side only were 
 normal and vigorous, so that Steinach was able to 
 use them successfully for breeding purposes. 
 
 Not only did these old rats again become young, 
 but their normal span of life was prolonged by 
 the operation. Ordinarily rats live, according to 
 
 [203]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Steinach, only twenty-eight or at most thirty 
 months. These rejuvenated rats, however, lived 
 about eight months longer. For human beings this 
 would mean that life could be prolonged by about 
 25 per cent. Thus, it would seem possible in this 
 way, if one were permitted to apply these findings 
 to the human race, to add about twenty years to 
 the life of a man already about eighty years old. 
 
 It may now be of interest to take up the ques- 
 tion as to how this remarkable rejuvenation and 
 prolongation of the average life period of rats was 
 produced in Steinach's experiments. Upon cutting 
 through the ducts of the seminal glands at a cer- 
 tain level, care being taken not to injure the ves- 
 sels which supply the testicles with blood, degenera- 
 tion of the seminal glands follows. 
 
 As is well known, there are two main parts in 
 the testicles: (1) That serving the purposes of ex- 
 ternal secretion, and which relates to the seminifer- 
 ous tubules, and (2) a far more important part, 
 that serving the purposes of internal secretion. The 
 latter contains the so-called cells of Leydig. This 
 portion governs some of the most important func- 
 tions of the body, and also powerfully influences 
 the whole nervous system and the qualities of the 
 mind and soul. 
 
 Even the external appearance of the body and 
 the condition of the skin and all tissues are 
 
 [204]
 
 Surgical Methods 
 
 dependent upon these remarkable glandular struc- 
 tures, as also upon the thyroid. 
 
 Upon cutting through the excretory ducts of the 
 seminal glands, these glands and the seminal cells 
 undergo degeneration. But in conformity with the 
 law concerning the intimate connections between 
 the different endocrin glands above mentioned, the 
 portion of the testicles which serves the purposes 
 of internal secretion thereupon becomes hyper- 
 trophied, with the formation of new cells in great 
 numbers, as Steinach proves by microscopical 
 sections. 
 
 It is but natural that in consequence of this the 
 functions and tissues governed by these cells should 
 improve. Thus, new hair grows on the previously 
 bald areas and the previously skinny limbs become 
 rounder, the muscles having undergone develop- 
 ment, especially since these animals, quite bereft 
 of appetite in their previous aged condition, be- 
 come voracious again. Of course, even their reno- 
 vated condition did not save these animals from 
 ultimately paying their tribute to the eternal laws 
 of nature. Although, thanks to the genius of 
 Steinach, a considerable prolongation of their lives 
 had occurred they eventually died, without any 
 apparent disease, Steinach attributing their death 
 to changes in the condition of the brain. 
 
 When the organs of these animals were examined 
 
 [205]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 after death the different tissues were found, strange 
 to state, in the same condition as might have 
 been expected in young animals. As Steinach 
 showed in his illustrations, both the macroscopic 
 and microscopic aspects of the genital apparatus, 
 with all its internal and external organs, exhibited 
 the same condition as might be found in healthy 
 and vigorous young rats. 
 
 This suggests the case of the famous English 
 peasant, Thomas Parr, who, having died at an 
 age exceeding one hundred and fifty years, likewise 
 showed at the autopsy performed by the great 
 Dr. Harvey, to whom we owe our earliest definite 
 knowledge of the circulation of the blood a per- 
 fect condition of his tissues and organs, including 
 the testicles. The fact that he was condemned when 
 over one hundred years of age for unseemly con- 
 duct with a young girl of eighteen years would 
 appear to substantiate the statements of Harvey. 
 
 With reference to the ingenious experiments of 
 Steinach, causing retention of the seminal fluid, I 
 should like here to mention the fact that already 
 about 1500 years ago the great Hindu physician, 
 Dhanwantarid, recommended, in his book "Sush- 
 rut" written in the Sanskrit language retention 
 of the semen through an abstinent life as a means 
 of enhancing the strength of the body and mind. 
 Indeed, such a belief is even now popular among 
 
 [206]
 
 Surgical Methods 
 
 the Hindu races in India, and is based, moreover, 
 on the precepts of their religion, for it is also con- 
 tained in one of the volumes of the "Sacred Books 
 of the East," edited by the great orientalist, Prof. 
 Max Muller, of the University of Oxford. 
 
 Prof. Steinach, in the course of his experiments, 
 obtained striking results in female rats, similar to 
 those witnessed in males. He transplanted the 
 ovaries of young, vigorous rats into old, decrepit 
 females, and the same remarkable effects appeared 
 as have already been described. Here again, the 
 most astounding changes were produced in the 
 sexual sphere. Before this transformation, pro- 
 duced by the operation, the old female rats were, 
 of course, of no value for breeding purposes. 
 
 When an aged (28 months) female rat was 
 placed in the cage of a young male, he at once 
 approached, but having satisfied his curiosity by 
 inspecting her, he simply turned about and took 
 no further notice of her. How different, however, 
 was his attitude when the same old female was 
 placed in his cage after her rejuvenation! He 
 at once began to pay ardent court to her, and re- 
 markable to relate, the old rat became pregnant 
 a few weeks later. The previously atrophied and 
 scarcely recognizable mammary organs became red 
 and turgescent, and the pregnant animal built her 
 nest. After a pregnancy of twenty-three days' 
 
 [207]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 duration, five, and in another instance, nine, infant 
 rats were born! 
 
 Fancy a grandmother of eighty years having chil- 
 dren again, and splendid, vigorous children at that! 
 Indeed, the old rat, after being sterile for ten 
 months in consequence of advanced age, had given 
 rise to offspring that were, as Steinach puts it, 
 "ungewohnlich kraftig" (unusually robust), and at 
 the same time the old mother had an abundance of 
 milk and fed her offspring in the normal manner. 
 The condition of these young from a very old 
 mother six weeks later is characterized by Steinach 
 as "besonders gross und kraftig gewachsen," 
 (grown exceedingly large and robust), and he 
 later used them for breeding purposes. 
 
 It is interesting to note that at the autopsy of 
 these rejuvenated old rats the sexual organs, in- 
 cluding the ovaries, mammary glands, and uterus, 
 were found in the same condition as would have 
 been expected in young rats. 
 
 Thus, upon transplantation of the ovaries of 
 young rats into old ones, the new ovaries made up 
 for the lost functions of the former ovaries which 
 had undergone degeneration by reason of advanced 
 age. Along with this came the remarkable trans- 
 formation into a young animal, with all the attri- 
 butes of a young female, again proving the truth 
 of what the great Belgian physician, Jean Batiste 
 
 [208 ]
 
 Surgical Methods 
 
 Helmont, said several centuries ago, viz., that a 
 woman is made what she is by her ovaries. 
 
 At the suggestion of Steinach, Lichtenstern per- 
 formed the same operation upon several human 
 male subjects suffering from disease of the testicles 
 or of the prostatic gland, These men likewise 
 showed the symptoms of advanced old age, although 
 one of them was but forty-four years old. Even 
 young persons may show symptoms of old age in 
 consequence of disease of the sexual glands. These 
 men had no sexual proclivities whatsoever, and were 
 completely impotent. 
 
 After section of the seminal ducts, marked im- 
 provement occurred within a few months. The 
 wrinkles in the face of one of them, a man of 
 forty-four years showing premature old age before 
 the operation, disappeared, and in each of the three 
 cases described in Steinach's monograph, muscular 
 strength was considerably increased. These per- 
 sons felt much younger than their age; their 
 fatigued state disappeared, Their symptoms of 
 arteriosclerosis, dizziness, shortness of breath, tre- 
 mor, etc., also disappeared or were improved. Their 
 impotence was also improved, though not to the 
 extent observed in the rats, as could naturally not 
 have been expected. The sexual desire reappeared 
 and was very pronounced. Potency was restored 
 to the normal of their younger years in at least 
 
 14 [ 209 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 two of the three cases, and in the third, a man of 
 seventy-two years with pronounced arteriosclerosis, 
 sexual desire reappeared after a long interval, and 
 natural satisfaction of it was possible. 
 
 As in the rats, too, the mental condition was 
 much improved, especially the memory, thus prov- 
 ing the correctness of my observations on the in- 
 fluence of the sexual glands upon mentality and 
 memory, discussed in my book on "Building Hu- 
 man Intelligence." It is interesting to note, also, 
 that in each of these three men the hair grew more 
 abundantly after the operation. 
 
 There are, however, certain drawbacks to the sur- 
 gical treatment of old age. At the last Congress 
 of the German Naturalists and Physicians in Nau- 
 heim, in September, 1920, the surgeons Prof. Payr, 
 of Leipzig, and Prof. Kummel, of Hamburg, ut- 
 tered a serious warning against the performance 
 of these operations, on account of the severe dan- 
 gers that might follow. As Payr maintains, seri- 
 ous shock might result from cutting through the 
 seminal ducts, and Kummel even cited cases of 
 death that had followed such an operation. 
 
 Similarly, the surgical methods of Voronoff, in- 
 tended to produce rejuvenation through trans- 
 plantation of the thyroid, are not free of danger. 
 At the same time, insofar as I am aware, this 
 method cannot boast of the wonderful results ob- 
 
 [210]
 
 Surgical Methods 
 
 tained by the ingenious Steinach. Besides, it is 
 an antiquated procedure, and one long since given 
 up, to transplant the thyroid or the ovaries in 
 order to secure their secretion into the body when 
 the actual organs of the bearer have degenerated. 
 
 It has been proved by strict and convincing 
 scientific methods and by observations kept up for 
 years that through ingestion of the extracts of the 
 corresponding glands from healthy, vigorous ani- 
 mals results similar to those of operative transplan- 
 tation can be obtained. 
 
 Accordingly, I believe it more rational to give 
 preference, at least in the treatment of human be- 
 ings, to the ingestion of fresh animal extracts by 
 the mouth. Sometimes it may take a few weeks 
 longer, at least in human subjects, for rejuvenation 
 to take place, but at all events this method is a 
 far safer one than the operative procedure. 
 
 [211]
 
 Ill 
 
 REJUVENATION BY THE INGESTION OF ANIMAL, 
 GLAND PREPARATIONS 
 
 /^\LD age being caused by degeneration of the 
 endocrin glands, especially the thyroid and 
 sexual glands, all that is necessary to secure re- 
 juvenation is to improve the condition of these 
 glands. The best and easiest way to do this is 
 to administer by the mouth extracts of these 
 glands, after their extirpation from healthy ani- 
 mals. As long as thirty or more years ago it was 
 proved that when one of these glands, such as the 
 thyroid, is degenerated, all of the normal functions 
 of this gland can be reproduced by ingesting ex- 
 tracts of the thyroid of sheep. The diseased gland 
 is thus successfully replaced by the ingestion of 
 the animal gland, 
 
 To bring about rejuvenation I have given to 
 old men and women, and also to persons suffering 
 from premature old age, extracts of the thyroid and 
 sexual glands of animals. As already mentioned, 
 marked success attended the procedure. The per- 
 sons treated looked considerably younger after it, 
 to the extent of ten or fifteen years and sometimes 
 even more. The wrinkles in the face already be- 
 
 [212]
 
 Animal Gland Preparations 
 
 gan to disappear four or five weeks after the treat- 
 ment, and at the same time, previously corpulent 
 persons, losing their excess of fat, were made to 
 look slender, thus imparting a youthful impression. 
 
 That thyroid treatment causes a considerable 
 loss of fat is a well known fact. At the same 
 time, the different functions previously impaired 
 owing to old age became more normal again. The 
 marked muscular lassitude disappeared, and the 
 movements became more agile. The pulse, previ- 
 ously slow, as it often is in aged persons, became 
 more rapid. Indeed, for cases of very slow pulse, 
 or bradycardia, a condition frequently met with in 
 the more advanced cases of arteriosclerosis, I have 
 recently seen very good results from the adminis- 
 tration of thyroid extracts. 
 
 The circulation of the blood being improved by 
 the gland treatment, aged persons previously com- 
 plaining of cold feet and hands obtained improve- 
 ment in this respect. 
 
 The kidneys, previously sluggish, also showed an 
 amelioration of their functions, the output of urine 
 being augmented, and the uric acid, sodium chlor- 
 ide, and other substances, previously retained in 
 the body, better eliminated. The intestinal func- 
 tions were likewise improved, and bowel action 
 became more regular. 
 
 In the books mentioned above, I have given the 
 
 [213]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 full details as to the results of such treatment. 
 Since their publication some years ago I have ob- 
 tained rejuvenation in many additional cases, and 
 according to my observations the results are com- 
 parable to those which Steinach produced in men 
 through his operative procedure. Thus, as in the 
 case of the operative procedure, the condition of 
 the hair was much improved by the treatment. 
 But already thirty years ago, in the photographs 
 that were published illustrating the cases success- 
 fully treated by thyroid gland, previously bald 
 persons were shown with a new growth of hair 
 on their heads. 
 
 There was likewise marked improvement in the 
 sexual functions. While not equivalent to those 
 obtained in Steinach's old rats, the results were not 
 far behind those brought about by his procedure 
 in male human subjects. Indeed, it is not feasible 
 to draw inferences from rats to men, the differ- 
 ence between man and these rodents being far too 
 great. Such an attempt would be just as ill- 
 advised as trying to make a comparison between 
 the sexual desires of an overworked Wall Street 
 business man and those of members of the native 
 tribes of Central Africa or Australia, living in the 
 full liberty of nature. 
 
 In general, there exists a certain antagonism 
 between an overworked brain and sexual activity. 
 
 [214]
 
 Animal Gland Preparations 
 
 There can also be no doubt but that impotency is 
 in very many cases merely of psychic origin, com- 
 plete integrity of the sexual organs existing at the 
 time. Very often this condition is only a fictitious 
 one, and many men are impotent merely because 
 they think they are. And so it is also easy to 
 understand that in many cases the rational treat- 
 ment of a neurasthenic or hysterical condition can 
 bring back sexual desire, and even potency that 
 had been lost some time before. 
 
 At all events, whether it be through the favor- 
 able influence on the mind and mental condition 
 in general or through a direct influence upon the 
 sexual glands and the thyroid, which, as is well 
 known, are functionally cooperative, I was able 
 to note both in men and women a marked effect 
 upon the sexual activity after the combined treat- 
 ment with extracts of the thyroid and sexual glands. 
 In men the sexual desire, sometimes lacking for a 
 long period, reappeared in most cases, and potency 
 improved. 
 
 In women the results obtained were even bet- 
 ter than in men. I frequently learned from the 
 husbands of women who had shown evidences of 
 sexual frigidity or of marked diminution of the 
 normal sexual desire that this condition had much 
 improved after their wives had been taking ovarian 
 extracts for a certain length of time. 
 
 [ 215 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 That such treatment must exert a very distinct 
 influence upon sexual activity in women is best 
 shown by the fact that in girls and women who 
 had ceased to menstruate for months on account of 
 certain diseased conditions the menses reappeared 
 after ovarian treatment, especially where thyroid 
 gland was simultaneously taken. 
 
 I am inclined to believe, from observations I 
 have made, that such treatment, especially if com- 
 bined with the administration of iron, arsenic, and 
 mud baths, constitutes the best means for dealing 
 with sterility in women. I must here add that 
 the rejuvenation treatment has, in general, given 
 me better results in women than in men. The 
 reason for this is that the ovarian extracts I used 
 were superior to the extracts obtained from the 
 male sexual glands of animals. It seems to be 
 easier to prepare very active female than male 
 extracts. The female extracts contain the most 
 active portion of the ovaries, the lutein cells, which 
 portion constitutes the internal secretion of the 
 ovaries. Such preparations are more easily ob- 
 tained than those of male animals which contain 
 the cells concerned with internal secretion, the cells 
 of Leydig. 
 
 One may ascribe to stimulation of the sexual 
 glands and the thyroid the fact that among the dif- 
 ferent evidences of rejuvenation there occurred a 
 
 [216]
 
 Animal Gland Preparations 
 
 marked increase of mental activity, as in Steinach's 
 experiments. I have already mentioned such ef- 
 fects in my book on the treatment of old age, and 
 those who have read my work on the improvement 
 of the human intellect through hygienic and thera- 
 peutic measures will have noted, in the chapter on 
 the influence of the sexual glands upon the intel- 
 lect, the close relations existing between the two. 
 
 Nearly all the great men of present and past 
 times, including great writers, artists, famous gen- 
 erals, etc., have had highly developed sexual procliv- 
 ities. Their high-grade intellect offers an enormous 
 contrast to the inferior mental qualities and feeble 
 intellect of castrates. 
 
 Steinach particularly mentions how his operated 
 rats emerged from their apathetic state and began 
 to evince curiosity as to every object passed into 
 their cages. Likewise, the men who were operated 
 on by Lichtenstern showed a marked improvement 
 in mentality, and especially a better memory a 
 fact upon which I have also laid stress in the 
 books above mentioned, and in particular in a work 
 I have just written, on poor memory and the means 
 of improving it. Even the earliest writers on the 
 subject made note of the fact that they had ob- 
 served a marked influence of thyroid treatment on 
 the memory. 
 
 The favorable effects of the combined thyroid 
 
 [217]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 and sexual gland treatment on the mind were also 
 clearly evidenced by a fact I often had occasion to 
 observe, viz., that persons of despondent mood and 
 pessimistic disposition showed a marked change in 
 this respect after some weeks' treatment, becoming 
 more cheerful and lively, and looking at things from 
 a more favorable viewpoint. 
 
 Having obtained such good results from inter- 
 nal treatment by the ingestion of animal glands, 
 it is not possible for me to recommend attempts 
 at rejuvenation by surgical methods. Not only 
 are such methods not free from risk, but lately it 
 has been found that the results are not always to 
 be depended on, for in some cases the operation 
 has been without avail. 
 
 Hitherto it has been a general rule in thera- 
 peutics to undertake operations in "internal" dis- 
 eases only in cases where internal treatment does 
 not present a favorable outlook. This is certainly 
 not the case here. In any event, the wisest plan 
 would be, I think, to try internal treatment first, 
 and then proceed to operative intervention only if 
 the internal treatment fails to yield satisfactory re- 
 sults, using good preparations and at the same time 
 living a hygienic life, with avoidance of such agents 
 as might counteract the effects of the thyroid and 
 sexual glands, such as alcohol, abuse of tobacco, 
 strong coffee or tea, etc. I am of the opinion that 
 
 [218]
 
 Animal Gland Preparations 
 
 good results will nearly always follow the glandular 
 treatment. 
 
 But even after rejuvenation has been obtained 
 by operation, such a hygienic mode of life as I have 
 recommended must be strictly maintained if one 
 wants to profit fully and for a long time from the 
 results of Steinach's operative procedure. Rats do 
 not, we may note, drink alcohol nor smoke, and if 
 such operated persons will fall back into their old 
 habits, they may not enjoy the results of the opera- 
 tion very long. At the same time, it would seem 
 very rational for such operated persons to ingest 
 animal thyroid and sexual gland extracts in order 
 to prevent recurrent decay of these glands. 
 
 With reference to what has been said above, there 
 may be some of my readers who will object that 
 thyroid treatment may itself present certain dan- 
 gers. Such a remark would not have been wholly 
 unjustified if it had been made about twenty-eight 
 or thirty years ago, but at the present time it must 
 be considered thoroughly unfounded and obsolete. 
 
 We have learned much since then, and through 
 the treatment of so many hundreds of cases our 
 knowledge and experience have been enriched by 
 many facts of which we were then quite ignorant. 
 Above all, we now dispose of far better prepara- 
 tions as compared to the primitive and sometimes 
 poisonous ones then in use. 
 
 [219]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Again, we now know what selections must be 
 made from among the patients themselves before 
 they are subjected to such treatment. I present 
 full details on these points and as to how to 
 carry out such a treatment in my book on "Old 
 Age Deferred," laying special stress upon the ne- 
 cessity of great caution in cases of heart disorder. 
 
 I must here add, however, that at the last Con- 
 gress on Diseases of Nutrition at Homburg in 
 September of last year, Prof. Lichtwitz advocated 
 the use of thyroid even in heart cases, on the basis 
 of his observations, providing certain special pre- 
 cautions were used. At the same Congress Prof. 
 Strauss recommended that one should use only 
 the thyroids of well nourished animals. 
 
 At the same Congress Prof, von Noorden men- 
 tioned, in the discussion following the address on 
 internal secretions by Prof. Biedl, of Prague, the 
 fact that, following my example, he had also 
 treated several cases of aged persons with thyroid 
 gland, observing a rejuvenation similar to that 
 described by me in "Old Age Deferred." Some 
 time previously he had made the same statement 
 in his "Handbook on Dietetics," published with 
 the collaboration of Prof. Salomon, of Vienna. 
 
 I have treated several hundred persons with 
 thyroid extracts, and have taken them myself, and 
 have never seen any disagreeable symptoms fol- 
 
 [220]
 
 Animal Gland Preparations 
 
 lowing their use, It is true, however, that I have 
 selected my patients very carefully. Diabetic per- 
 sons or those suffering from Graves's disease (ex- 
 ophthalmic goiter) must, of course, be excluded; 
 likewise other persons presenting symptoms of 
 exaggerated activity of the thyroid gland, This 
 is but natural, for what we seek to obtain through 
 the treatment is an improvement of the functions 
 of a degenerated or insufficient and inactive thy- 
 roid gland. 
 
 Again, I have made it a rule to examine the 
 pulse and heart of the patients every three or four 
 days, and also to keep the condition of the urine 
 under observation. I cannot see any possibility 
 that while keeping the patients under such strict 
 supervision thyroid treatment could present the 
 least danger. For even if, after large doses, the 
 earliest symptoms of intolerance should begin to 
 show themselves, all that would be required would 
 be to suspend the treatment for a time, 
 
 It is to be understood that the preparations 
 used should be carefully selected, and only such 
 preparations employed as are already known 
 through previous experience to have given good 
 results. I have knowledge of quite a few cases 
 in which it had been maintained that thyroid treat- 
 ment gave no results whatever, but in which I 
 was able to convince myself that ineffective thyroid 
 
 [221]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 extractives had been used, for the same extracts 
 administered to other patients likewise gave no 
 results. 
 
 In general, even in the early years of thyroid 
 treatment, twenty-eight to thirty years ago, it 
 caused bad results only when poor preparations 
 were used or excessive use had been made of good 
 preparations. Of course any other very active drug 
 may lead to disagreeable consequences if it is 
 abused of. 
 
 In conclusion, I may state that I feel well jus- 
 tified in giving preference, for purposes of re- 
 juvenation, to the internal treatment by glandular 
 extracts, for in experienced hands any disagreeable 
 consequences of it are with certainty obviated, 
 something that cannot be said for the operative 
 treatment. At the same time the internal treat- 
 ment produces results that are but little inferior 
 to those obtained by operation in man. Especially 
 is this the case if one enhances the effects of the 
 gland treatment by using at the same time certain 
 drugs, such as arsenic, iron, or the iodides, and 
 the ultra-violet rays of sunlight. 
 
 [222]
 
 IV 
 
 REJUVENATION BY THE USE OF IODIDES AND 
 CERTAIN OTHER DRUGS 
 
 HTHE rejuvenating effects of arsenic have already 
 been known for a long time. I mentioned them 
 in my book on "Old Age Deferred," attributing 
 the effects of arsenic to a stimulation of the sex 
 glands, especially in women, in whom the rejuve- 
 nating effects are greater than those obtained in 
 men. 
 
 Iron, in its different preparations, acts similarly, 
 although its effects do not approach those of 
 arsenic. If it is combined with arsenic, however, 
 the effects of the latter, especially in women, be- 
 come far more pronounced. Iron also acts through 
 its influence upon the sex glands, especially those 
 of the female sex, stimulating them to increased 
 activity. 
 
 In the book above referred to, I also pointed 
 out the rejuvenating effects of the iodides. These 
 stimulate the activity of the thyroid gland. In 
 fact, as shown by Dr. Charles E. de M. Sajous, 
 of Philadelphia, in his classic work on "Internal 
 Secretions," the various active drugs availed of in 
 the art of healing all at first excite or in some way 
 
 [223 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 modify the activity of these various glands, the 
 effects they produce being consequent upon this 
 stimulating or modifying action. 
 
 In treating arteriosclerosis, the disease most con- 
 stant in old age, we give iodides as the best remedy 
 at hand. In doing so we administer the main ele- 
 ment contained in the thyroid gland. But we can 
 give it to old persons even for the sole reason that 
 in old age the thyroid, as a rule, shows less 
 iodine a fact established by prominent authorities, 
 such as Magnus-Levy. 
 
 A thyroid that contains little or no iodine is 
 not an active thyroid. When we give iodides un- 
 der these conditions, as shown by Kocher and 
 others, we increase the iodine content of the thy- 
 roid gland. Therefore I have recommended the 
 use of iodides in very small quantities even to 
 healthy persons who are on the borderland of old 
 age, as a preventive. I would like to add here 
 that the quantities to be given depend upon the 
 age of the subject and upon whether more or less 
 pronounced symptoms of incipient old age are 
 present. 
 
 More can be given in confirmed cases, in per- 
 sons suffering from the effects of old age, espe- 
 cially men in the fifties or sixties. In advanced 
 old age we may give less. 
 
 In persons between fifty-five and sixty-five years 
 
 [224]
 
 Use of Drugs 
 
 of age I have witnessed a rejuvenation following 
 doses of about eight, ten, twelve, or fifteen grains 
 of iodine a day, ingested in the various preparations 
 of the iodides. One should proceed only with great 
 caution with such doses, however, not exceeding ten 
 grains a day unless it is quite necessary. 
 
 The rejuvenating effects of such doses can be 
 explained on the basis of the researches of Steinach. 
 He has shown that agencies which produce a 
 degenerative effect upon the externally secreting 
 portions of the testicles, i.e., the seminiferous por- 
 tions, at the same time induce an increase in the 
 normal activity of the internally secreting portion 
 which may go so far that even an actual hyper- 
 trophic condition, with the growth of many new 
 cells, follows. 
 
 Such a condition may be a result of ligation 
 of the seminal ducts, but it may also be brought 
 about by such other procedures or drugs as pro- 
 duce a degenerative effect upon the seminiferous 
 structures. Now, the Roentgen rays are capable 
 of producing such an effect, a fact already well 
 known years ago. In conjunction with the Roent- 
 gen specialist, Holzknecht, Steinach carried out 
 researches in this direction and found, indeed, a 
 certain degree of rejuvenation following his 
 experiments. 
 
 That x-ray exposure may destroy the fertility 
 
 15 [ 225 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 of male and female animals is a fact that was 
 demonstrated years ago and applies to human be- 
 ings. Indeed there are cases in which, for the relief 
 of certain diseases of the female sexual organs, 
 x-ray or radium treatment is substituted for an 
 operation, and results may follow which are quite 
 similar to those of operative removal of the ovaries. 
 
 Thus, there are two ways of obtaining the effects 
 of removal of the ovaries: (1) By operation, 
 (2) by Roentgen ray treatment. 
 
 There are also certain drugs which exert a simi- 
 lar deleterious influence upon the seminiferous 
 portions of the testicles, viz., the iodides. Years 
 ago there were published reports from different 
 parts upon the destructive effects of large doses 
 of iodides on the testicles, with harmful results as 
 regards fertility. When iodides are given in cer- 
 tain quantities the symptoms of intolerance may 
 present themselves, constituting a condition we 
 term iodism. 
 
 These symptoms are due very probably to an 
 exaggeration of thyroid activity. Iodine being 
 contained in the thyroid gland in larger amount 
 than in any other gland and constituting its most 
 important component substance, it will readily be 
 understood that if too much of it is given it will 
 excite an unduly pronounced activity of the gland. 
 Strange to say, I have myself observed and with 
 
 [226]
 
 Use of Drugs 
 
 me a number of others that frequently even rela- 
 tively small doses of the iodides produce such an 
 effect, viz., iodism, yet if afterwards larger doses 
 are given, they are well borne and bring about a 
 feeling of well being and all the beneficial effects 
 known to be characteristic of this drug. 
 
 I am not among those who look with alarm upon 
 these symptoms of thyroid excitation. 
 
 I do not consider it an untoward result if an 
 arteriosclerotic person, with symptoms of sclerosis 
 of the brain vessels, suffers from one of the typi- 
 cal symptoms of iodism, viz.., a running at the 
 nose. Indeed, as I show in my book on the im- 
 provement of human intellect, such persons ought 
 to be thankful if the circulation of the brain is 
 relieved this way, close relations existing between 
 the circulation of the blood-vessels of the brain 
 and that in the vessels of the nose. 
 
 Nor can it be considered as a serious drawback 
 if toxic substances are carried out and deposited 
 at the periphery of the body, in the skin, giving 
 rise to pimples. 
 
 A feeling of marked lassitude may also be pres- 
 ent as one of these symptoms, and not infrequently 
 also an attenuation of the sexual function. 
 
 Not by any means do I consider such a condition 
 of iodism as an unfortunate event, for it is only 
 a passing stage, and if larger doses are given, it 
 
 [227]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 may disappear altogether. Indeed, in such cases 
 as I have noted recently, in which large doses of 
 iodides had been given on account of previous 
 syphilitic infection, a marked state of well being 
 can be produced for a certain period of time, with 
 an increase of muscular strength. 
 
 Long walks and climbing in the mountains be- 
 came possible without the subsequent feeling of 
 great fatigue. Likewise the sexual desire re- 
 appeared, sometimes even in a higher degree than 
 before the treatment. These persons, furthermore, 
 began to look younger than their age, and in 
 general became decidedly more vigorous. 
 
 I feel inclined to account for these rejuvenat- 
 ing effects on the basis of the experiments of 
 Steinach. After having first exercised a deleteri- 
 ous effect upon the seminiferous structures, a 
 stimulation of the internally secreting portion 
 probably took place. 
 
 I would also venture the same explanation in 
 regard to the well known rejuvenating effects of 
 arsenic. Here again, only large doses are efficacious. 
 
 A very good illustration of this fact is presented 
 by the Styrian arsenic eaters. In Styria, a prov- 
 ince of Austria, it is the habit of many persons 
 to eat large quantities of arsenic, which is taken 
 in such doses as would prove fatal to others. They 
 begin the course with small doses, and then slowly 
 
 [228]
 
 Use of Drugs 
 
 habituate their systems to the use of larger ones 
 until they reach poisonous amounts. Probably this 
 habituation is induced by the fact, noticed by them- 
 selves, that upon taking arsenic habitually their 
 bodily strength improves and they are enabled 
 more easily to climb over the steep, high moun- 
 tains that form the greater part of their country. 
 
 These persons appear much younger than one 
 would expect from their real age. A few women 
 about fifty-eight to sixty-two years of age, whom 
 I saw, looked like young women. 
 
 Strange to note, rejuvenating effects similar to 
 those in Steinach's old rats can be observed in such 
 persons. They grow an abundance of hair on the 
 head, as well as in the form of a beard, are very 
 vigorous, and look many years younger than their 
 actual age. 
 
 I think it probable that arsenic produces these 
 effects through its deleterious influence in large 
 doses upon the sexual glands, with subsequent 
 stimulation of the internally secreting portions of 
 these organs. 
 
 Probably there exist several drugs having this 
 effect. From certain observations I feel strongly 
 inclined to include mercury among them. I have 
 certainly seen in several syphilitics, after a radical 
 cure by mercury, such rejuvenating effects as an 
 abundant growth of new hair but have not had 
 
 [229]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 the courage to recommend such a cure for pur- 
 poses of rejuvenation. 
 
 In describing the various means for effecting 
 rejuvenation I am simply fulfilling the task of a 
 writer on the subject, viz., that of discussing the 
 different measures which lead to the desired result. 
 But this certainly does not mean that I advocate 
 every one of them. Indeed, I must emphatically 
 warn against the use of large doses of iodides or 
 arsenic for such purposes, except in cases in which 
 syphilitic infection has previously been acquired. 
 
 On the other hand, I do not see any harm in 
 the use of small doses of these drugs, if this be 
 done under intelligent and immediate medical con- 
 trol, especially as an auxiliary agency in the treat- 
 ment by gland extracts as a species of stimulant 
 to the thyroid and sexual glands. 
 
 Arsenic is capable of doing much good in cases 
 of anemia, neurasthenia, and hysteria, and iodides 
 can be of great value in arteriosclerotic conditions. 
 The latter, while most frequently present in old 
 age, was also found in the course of numerous 
 autopsies during the late war in younger individ- 
 uals previously free of any apparent symptoms of 
 such a condition. 
 
 It is useless to wait to administer iodides until 
 arteriosclerosis has become established in a high 
 degree and irremediable organic changes have 
 
 [230]
 
 Use of Drugs 
 
 taken place. A slow, sluggish circulation is nearly 
 always present in aged persons, and sometimes 
 even in younger subjects, and I should like to 
 insist upon the important fact that the iodides, by 
 diminishing the viscosity of the blood, assist in the 
 rapid passage of the blood through the smaller 
 arteries and capillaries. 
 
 [231]
 
 REJUVENATION BY MEANS OF THE ULTRA-VIOLET 
 RAYS OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL SUN- 
 LIGHT (QUARTZ LIGHT) 
 
 G EVE HAL thousand years ago, in the sacred 
 books of the Hindus, a rejuvenating effect 
 was attributed to the sun's rays. The latter were 
 stated therein to restore vigor to the muscles of 
 the aged, and to enliven their minds. Indeed, such 
 a belief in the healing and conserving properties 
 of sunlight can be traced in many of the nations 
 of remotest times, not only in Europe, Asia, and 
 Africa, but likewise in America, where both in 
 Mexico and Peru the sun was worshipped as one 
 of the principal deities, as described in the won- 
 derful works of the great American historian, 
 Prescott. 
 
 As the renowned English astronomer, Sir Wil- 
 liam Herschell, puts it, the sun is the source of 
 all energies on earth. There can be no doubt of 
 this fact. In the last analysis, it is the rays of 
 the sun that drive the wheels of all machines and 
 all ships, for the coal, oil, or gasoline they burn 
 is nothing else but stored up energy of sun's rays 
 which shone many thousands or even millions of 
 years ago upon prehistoric plants and trees. The 
 
 [232 ]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 oil substituted for coal is also a product of the 
 energy of these rays stored up in the grains and 
 seeds of the plants. 
 
 The sun is the greatest motor on earth, and even 
 the source of electricity can likewise be ascribed 
 to the effects of sun, which takes up the water 
 from the surface of the sea and lets it fall again 
 elsewhere as rain, thus not only procuring food 
 for animals and man, but creating the rivers and 
 augmenting their flow, which yields energy to be 
 transformed into electricity. 
 
 Everywhere we come back to the sun's rays as 
 the driving agency to all living creatures, and the 
 source of all forces on earth. 
 
 The sun's rays actually constitute the driving 
 force behind the human mechanism. Every beat 
 of our heart can be traced back to the sun as the 
 causal agent. The heart is a muscle, and as with 
 other muscles, its work is done at the expense of 
 a carbohydrate, known as glycogen, which is stored 
 up in it. After work has been done by the mus- 
 cles, less of this carbohydrate is to be found in 
 them, depending upon the amount of work done. 
 To create this carbohydrate, however, sunshine is 
 indispensable. For only with the help of the sun's 
 rays is starch created and deposited in the plants, 
 which, when ingested by us, are transformed in 
 our systems into sugar and deposited in the muscles 
 
 [233]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 in the form of the above mentioned substance, gly- 
 cogen. 
 
 If, now, we remove the heart from an animal 
 while it is still living, after the heart has stopped 
 beating already for hours it can be made to beat 
 again, even for days, if a solution of sugar is placed 
 in its cavities. 
 
 I recommend the giving of plenty of sweets, 
 especially honey or cane sugar, to persons suffer- 
 ing with weak hearts. 
 
 The sun's rays do not merely act favorably on 
 bodily health, but also on the condition of the 
 mind, improving it markedly. I have observed the 
 deleterious effect amongst others of lack of sun- 
 shine on the mentality, and here I would like to 
 add an observation made on 157 Hungarian pris- 
 oners who, after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, 
 were kept for some years in the deep dungeons of 
 the Spielberg at Brlinn (Moravia), wherein no 
 sunlight penetrated. As a result, about 10 per 
 cent, of them became hopelessly insane, and the 
 remainder sank into a melancholic condition or deep 
 mental depression from which they continued to 
 suffer for some time after being set free. 
 
 In "Old Age Deferred" I have already praised 
 the effects of sunshine as a means of treatment 
 for old age, and I would now add a series of new 
 facts, especially of my own observation, upon the 
 
 [234]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 rejuvenating effects of the ultra-violet rays of sun- 
 light. 
 
 As was already proved by Sir Isaac Newton, 
 the spectrum of the sun, which shows an apparently 
 white light, is composed of several rays of different 
 colors. If one causes the sun's rays to pass 
 through a glass prism, or if one holds a diamond 
 ring against a piece of white paper and lets the 
 sunshine pass through it, there is seen a kind of 
 rainbow with its various colors. One sees the fol- 
 lowing colors: Red, yellow, green, blue and violet. 
 But after the violet there come still other rays, 
 which, however, have such short wave lengths that 
 we cannot see them. These are the ultra-violet 
 rays, which are invisible. There exist also rays 
 with wave lengths much shorter still, of very great 
 intensity and healing power, but sometimes of 
 fatal, destructive action the Roentgen rays or 
 x-rays. 
 
 These radiations differ in their wave lengths, 
 rate of vibration, and likewise in their actions. 
 
 The most active rays contained in sunlight are 
 the blue, the violet and especially the ultra-violet 
 rays. This fact has been proved experimentally 
 by the researches of a number of prominent scien- 
 tists, of whom I may mention as one of the earliest 
 and greatest the Dane, Finsen. Indeed, we can 
 easily study the effects of these rays, for we are 
 
 [235]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 able to produce by certain means a light consist- 
 ing mainly of ultra-violet rays. For example, if 
 we pass an electric current through mercurial va- 
 pors, thus rendering them incandescent, we obtain 
 a blue-green light of the greatest intensity, which 
 is enormously rich in ultra-violet rays. In fact, 
 it contains scarcely any others except the blue and 
 violet rays, and very little if any of the red or 
 heat rays. 
 
 The ultra-violet rays do not develop any marked 
 activity if they are passed through glass, for glass 
 arrests about 90 per cent, of these rays. But 
 quartz allows them to pass through easily without 
 absorbing any of their strength. We can thus 
 readily study their effects by exposing persons for 
 a certain time to their action. 
 
 The first thing observed is that after this light 
 has been directed from a short distance for at 
 least ten to fifteen minutes or more on the un- 
 covered body surface, there appears a reddening 
 of the skin. After more prolonged exposure, an 
 inflamed condition of the skin may result, which 
 may persist for a few days. 
 
 No doubt this reddening of the skin is the proof 
 of a more rapid passage of the blood through the 
 smaller arteries and capillaries, which have become 
 dilated and thus allowed the blood to pass through 
 more quickly. These vasodilator effects of the 
 
 [236]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 ultra-violet rays were already demonstrated by 
 Finsen. 
 
 It will readily be understood that in exposing a 
 large surface of the skin to such light one has an 
 excellent means of favorably influencing the gen- 
 eral circulation. 
 
 When more blood gets to the periphery of the 
 body, more of it is taken away from the internal 
 organs, and this might prove most beneficial in 
 congestive conditions, and especially in reducing 
 high blood pressure. 
 
 Thus, it will not seem surprising that a reduc- 
 tion of high blood pressure has been reported by 
 various observers, e.g., Bach, in his book on the 
 actions of the quartz lamp (artificial sunlight). I 
 have also myself recently observed a few such cases. 
 
 Even the natural sunlight, if rich in such rays, 
 is capable of producing similar effects, as was first 
 ascertained by the late Dr. Malgat, of Nice, 4 and 
 as is also stated in the report of D'Oelsnitz on 
 "L'heliotherapie, complement du traitement cli- 
 matique," at the Congress in Monaco (April, 1920). 
 
 It is a fact of great importance that, as the 
 researches of the Danish physician, Hasselbach, 5 
 demonstrate, exposure to these rays powerfully 
 promotes the respiratory processes. Indeed, it has 
 
 4 Malgat: La cure solaire de la Tuberculose, Paris, 1911. 
 
 5 Hasselbach: Hospitalstidende, 45, 47, 1905. 
 
 [237]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 been found by several observers that the organic 
 combustion and processes of oxidation in the tis- 
 sues are very much increased through the action 
 of the ultra-violet rays, the blue rays also being 
 active in this direction. Quincke, years ago, em- 
 phasized these facts, 6 and likewise Bering, 7 who 
 reported an increase of the red blood corpuscles 
 and of the hemoglobin content of the blood under 
 the influence of the violet and ultra-violet rays. 
 
 The ultra-violet rays also have a marked influ- 
 ence upon muscular agility, as I found by ex- 
 periments on myself consisting of exposure at over 
 100 sittings to the ultra-violet rays from a large 
 quartz lamp. I have often noticed in my patients 
 a disappearance of lassitude and fatigue and a 
 very notable increase of muscular strength. They 
 were able to climb the mountains about Carlsbad 
 more easily after having taken several times such 
 a bath of ultra-violet rays at the bathing establish- 
 ment at the Spa. I noticed this even in anemic 
 young girls and women, whose general condition 
 was very markedly improved by this treatment. 
 
 In view of the fact that, as a general rule, there 
 is a slow, sluggish blood circulation in old age, 
 very frequently a high blood pressure, and in ad- 
 dition a diminution of the processes of oxidation 
 
 6 Quincke: Archiv fur die gesammte Physiologic, Bd. 57. 
 7 .Bering: Med. Natiirwissenschaftliches Archiv, Bd. 1. 1907. 
 
 [238]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 and marked muscular weakness all these being 
 typical of old age it was but natural that the 
 thought should come to me to apply these remark- 
 able rays, which improve the circulation, condition 
 of the blood, organic combustion, and the agility 
 of the muscles, to the treatment of old age. In- 
 deed, the results obtained were excellent, and from 
 observations made on several patients last summer, 
 and likewise on myself, I can recommend exposure 
 to the ultra-violet rays, whether those of the quartz 
 lamp or of very pure sunshine, as an excellent 
 measure for purposes of rejuvenation. 
 
 My first patient other than myself was a mer- 
 chant of fifty-two years, who had been operated 
 two years before by Prof. Finsterer, of Vienna, for 
 ulcer of the duodenum, and was directed to my 
 treatment in Carlsbad by Prof. Salomon, also of 
 Vienna. At his first visit I found an anemic, very 
 weak man, not equal to any lengthy walks, and 
 looking fully as old as his age suggested. I rec- 
 ommended, in addition to a very mild water cure, 
 daily light baths with the quartz light. After three 
 weeks of daily exposure to the ultra-violet rays 
 this patient could hardly be recognized as the same 
 man. He now appeared to be between thirty-five 
 and forty years of age, and presented an aspect of 
 blooming health, with rosy cheeks. He had gained 
 more than ten pounds in weight. 
 
 [239]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 An increase in the bulk of the muscles and of 
 the weight in thin persons has often been reported 
 in consequence of the use of these rays. On the 
 other hand, in the case of fat persons, frequently 
 a very notable reduction of weight takes place, 
 which agrees with the fact that, as mentioned 
 above, the processes of oxidation are greatly in- 
 creased by these rays and the fat in the system 
 therefore better burnt. 
 
 The best rejuvenating results obtained by me 
 were secured through combination of the treatment 
 by gland extracts with the light bath with the ultra- 
 violet rays. 
 
 All the effects above described as resulting from 
 the gland treatment appeared more rapidly and 
 in greater measure. The persons thus treated pre- 
 sented a flourishing appearance, and looked con- 
 siderably younger than their age. They showed 
 marked muscular endurance and were able to make 
 long excursions on foot without feeling very tired. 
 One of them, a weak neurasthenic of fifty-five 
 years, was able to dance night after night most 
 indefatigably, and also gave evidences of virility 
 becoming a man of much younger years. 
 
 I wish to call particular attention to the great 
 influence of these rays as regards improvement of 
 muscular agility and increased endurance. 
 
 In cases of diminished sexual desire and potency, 
 
 [240]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 and in general in neurasthenic conditions, the treat- 
 ment proved excellent. 
 
 It is interesting to note that, just as in the rats 
 and human subjects operated on by Steinach's 
 method, the condition of the hair notably improved 
 in addition to the other symptoms of old age. 
 Indeed, such treatment has been employed for 
 several years with the best results in cases of fall- 
 ing out of the hair, an abundant growth of hair 
 sometimes resulting even on bald heads. Here 
 again the results were far more notable in women 
 than in men, but in the latter also they were some- 
 times of a very satisfactory nature, especially in 
 seborrheic conditions. 
 
 In obtaining rejuvenation with the ultra-violet 
 rays it is not indispensable to apply solely the 
 ultra-violet rays of artificial origin, such as those 
 of the quartz light. 
 
 Similar results can be secured more or less per- 
 fectly with natural sunlight. It is then necessary, 
 however, to employ only a very pure, clear sun- 
 shine. In many regions, especially in cities, this 
 is very difficult to obtain. One cannot expect to 
 get ultra-violet rays from sunlight that has had 
 to pass through layers absorbing these rays, which 
 are easily intercepted by dust, smoke, vapors, etc. 
 
 The purest sunshine, and the richest in ultra- 
 violet rays, is to be had at the seaside, where the 
 
 16 [ 241 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 air is purest, as also on the tops of very high 
 mountains. 
 
 In lying down on the beach at a seaside resort 
 in California the great content of ultra-violet rays 
 in the sunshine is further enhanced by reflection 
 from the glittering sand and the mirror-like sur- 
 face of the sea. Similar conditions in Europe are 
 to be found on the Riviera in France and Italy, 
 where, for instance, as in Nice, Monte Carlo, 
 Menton, and San Remo, there is on one side the 
 gleaming mirror of the Mediterranean, and from 
 its surface the rays are reflected upon the high, 
 bald mountains in the background. The deep blue 
 sky greatly augments the effects. It is a proof 
 of the great content of blue rays in the air (the 
 blue color of the sky is an effect of polarisation). 
 
 Increased temperature of the air enhances its 
 content of ultra-violet rays, according to the ob- 
 servations of Vallot. 
 
 Sunlight is also very rich in ultra-violet rays in 
 the high mountains, as in Colorado and Arizona, 
 especially at places situated at a high altitude or 
 where there are high, bald, white, glistening moun- 
 tains in the background. In Europe such condi- 
 tions are found in the high mountains of Switzer- 
 land, e.g., at Leysin, where Dr. Rollier is obtain- 
 ing such splendid results in children with tuber- 
 culosis of the osseous system, and at St. Moritz 
 
 [242 ]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 and Davos. In such places there is the effect of 
 reflection of the sun's rays from the gleaming snow 
 to the high mountains in the background. Simi- 
 lar conditions prevail in the High Tatra in Czecho- 
 slovakia. 
 
 For those whose means do not permit of their 
 going so far away from home, the best expedient 
 will be to lie down at the seaside or on a river 
 bank without clothing and let the sun shine on 
 him. If there is no sea or river nearby, a terrace 
 in a garden with plenty of sunshine, or a room 
 with southern exposure on the top floor of a house, 
 will do. 
 
 To obtain the full effect of the ultra-violet rays 
 the body must be kept motionless. The least move- 
 ment may diminish the results. The same holds 
 good in treatment with the quartz light. 
 
 It is very important not to expose the body for 
 a long time at first, but only gradually ten 
 minutes the first day, and then gradually increas- 
 ing up to thirty, fifty, and sixty minutes expos- 
 ing different sides of the body alternately. It has 
 been found by Bach, however, that good results 
 can be obtained likewise if only a part of the body 
 is uncovered and exposed, e.g., the chest and back. 
 To this I can subscribe from my own observations. 
 
 In strong sunshine the head should be covered. 
 
 After the sunbath, whether in artificial or natural 
 
 [243]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 ultra-violet rays, the quantity of urine passed is 
 augmented, and enhanced elimination of uric acid 
 takes place. This can be judged roughly from the 
 fact that a urine previously of a light color now 
 looks dark red, thus affording evidence that the 
 processes of oxidation have actually increased 
 through the effects of the light bath. 
 
 We can convince ourselves of the remarkable 
 effects such light baths are capable of producing 
 in the external appearance by considering the 
 photographs of young girls treated for a time in 
 this manner in the clinics of Rollier, as published 
 in the last volume of Eulenburg's Encyclopedia. 
 Looking at these illustrations one observes how 
 from homely, thin, and wretched looking creatures, 
 literally skeletons, these girls were transformed 
 into beauties with well-rounded limbs and promi- 
 nent mammary glands, the pictures of splendid 
 health. 
 
 One of the assistants of Rollier, Bardenheuer, 
 observed the additional good effects of such treat- 
 ment upon the condition of the blood, the result 
 being an increase of the red blood corpuscles and 
 hemoglobin similar to that noted after treatment 
 with the artificially produced ultra-violet rays. 
 
 Indeed, all of the effects of the ultra-violet rays 
 of the quartz lamp can be produced by natural 
 sunlight, provided it is very rich in ultra-violet 
 
 [244]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 rays. In fact, personally I give preference, as 
 always and everywhere, to the natural means, the 
 natural sunlight, if only it can be secured in all 
 its purity. 
 
 As previously mentioned, the ultra-violet rays 
 possess the shortest wave lengths of any rays in 
 the spectrum of the sun. At the same time the 
 number of their vibrations mounts up into the bil- 
 lions. If these reach our skin, no doubt marked 
 effects must be produced, and the immense ener- 
 gies contained in them be transmitted to the tissues. 
 
 They also reach the terminals of the numerous 
 nerves at the periphery of our body, causing there 
 a certain stimulating impression, and according to 
 the great French investigator, Bouchard, the en- 
 ergies thus taken up by the nerve ends are trans- 
 ferred to the central nervous system and from 
 there to all the internal organs, imparting energy 
 to them. 
 
 If, when tired, we rest for a time under the 
 quartz light or exposed to the rays of a pure sun- 
 shine rich in ultra-violet rays, we feel markedly 
 invigorated (except if the sun is too hot, contain- 
 ing too much of the red rays, which impart heat), 
 and at the same time very often we may find our- 
 selves much heightened in spirit. The energies of 
 these rays transmitted to the central nervous sys- 
 tem make their effects felt in the mind itself. 
 
 [245]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 Thus, against a mental depression, a melancholic 
 condition, a morose disposition, a stay for a cer- 
 tain period in such sunny regions as California, 
 Arizona, Colorado, Mexico, the Bahama Islands, 
 Florida, Cuba, and in Europe on the French and 
 Italian Riviera, Andalusia (Malaga), the Portu- 
 guese Riviera, Greece, etc., is frequently capable 
 of yielding the best results, as also travelling in 
 Egypt. 
 
 In my book, "Building Human Intelligence," 
 and in my latest book on the "Improvement of 
 Poor Memory by Hygienic and Therapeutic 
 Means," I have clearly shown the favorable effects 
 of such a climate, and I would now like to add 
 that, as the report of Armand Delille on "Helio- 
 therapie preventive," at the last Congress on Light 
 Treatment in Monaco pointed out, similar results 
 have been observed among the children kept in the 
 asylums and sanatoriums on the Riviera. He lays 
 stress upon the improvement of the dispositions 
 and mental condition of these children, and says, 
 for example, "1'harmonie et la gaiete regnent d'une 
 maniere constante parmi les eleves de 1'ecole au 
 soleil," thus proving what I stated in my book on 
 "Building Human Intelligence," in which I advo- 
 cated the institution of open-air schools. 
 
 An English physician, Dr. Truby King, visiting 
 the establishment of Dr. Delille at Sylvabelle, con- 
 
 [246]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 firmed these observations, finding the children, as 
 Delille says, "exuberants de vie et de gaiete." Dr. 
 Rollier, of Leysin, had already published similar 
 observations concerning the great improvement in 
 the mental capacities of the children, and Revillet 
 noticed the same thing among the Swiss children 
 who were kept at the Asylum for Children of the 
 Swiss Republic at Cannes, on the French Riviera. 
 
 Thus we see that the ultra-violet rays in which 
 the sunlight in these regions is exceedingly rich- 
 act also upon the mental condition, producing re- 
 sults similar to those following the operations of 
 Steinach on rats and human subjects. 
 
 I was able to observe improvement of the mental 
 condition likewise in aged persons after treatment 
 by the ultra-violet rays from the quartz lamp. 
 They showed more interest in reading scientific 
 books, and found it easier to retain in their mem- 
 ory things they had just read. Past events were 
 also better recollected. Mental arithmetic became 
 easier for them. 
 
 Similar observations on aged persons may be 
 made also after a sojourn in regions enjoying pure 
 sunshine rich in ultra-violet rays. If we send over- 
 worked and neurasthenic business men into such 
 regions for a vacation, we can often see marked 
 improvement not only in their bodily but also in 
 their mental condition. After a prolonged stay in 
 
 [247]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 such districts we not infrequently see them pre- 
 senting a more youthful aspect when they return. 
 
 We can also often note that in such sunny cli- 
 mates aged persons who are doing work in the 
 open air, out in the sun, appear considerably 
 younger than their actual age. 
 
 I would like now to take up the question as to 
 how the rejuvenation is brought about through the 
 ultra-violet rays. Here, as always, when rejuve- 
 nation occurs, it is effected, as my observations 
 and the operative results of Steinach demonstrate, 
 in one, and only one, way, viz., through stimulation 
 of the endocrin glands, especially the thyroid and 
 sexual glands, by the ultra-violet rays. 
 
 I can prove by direct evidence that this is more 
 than a mere supposition. The ultra-violet rays, 
 like the Roentgen rays, to which they are closely 
 related, exercise a direct influence upon these 
 glands; only, the intensity of their action is dif- 
 ferent, that of the x-rays being much more power- 
 ful actually deleterious than that of the ultra- 
 violet rays, which are more of a stimulating nature, 
 upon both the externally and the internally secret- 
 ing portions of the testicles and ovaries. The 
 x-rays, however, as previously mentioned, destroy 
 the externally secreting portion, and in conse- 
 quence are powerfully stimulating to the internal 
 secretion.
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 Last summer I treated several young girls and 
 women for goiter by exposure to the sun, at the 
 same time administering thyroid and iodine treat- 
 ment. I found that upon combining the drug 
 treatment with the treatment by the sun's rays the 
 results were far better. These persons took the 
 sunbath on the shores of a river flowing on the 
 outskirts of Carlsbad, or lying in a canoe on the 
 river. This is an especially efficacious procedure, 
 and upon lying in a rowboat on the river, in the 
 sunshine, for a certain time an intense pigmenta- 
 tion of the skin can be obtained as proof of the 
 direct action of the ultra-violet rays. It would 
 not be wise, however, to take such a sunbath on 
 very hot summer days and certainly not at noon. 
 
 The method requires a clear, pure sunshine, rich 
 in ultra-violet rays, but not the excessively warm 
 rays of the sun on hot summer days with a close 
 atmosphere. On such days the morning hours up 
 to about 10:30 or 11, or the afternoon after 4 
 o'clock, are most suitable, in order to avoid sun- 
 stroke. 
 
 There can be no doubt that this measure, espe- 
 cially in regions where the sun is rich in ultra- 
 violet rays, is capable of powerfully assisting in 
 the treatment of the diseases of the thyroid by 
 thyroid gland. 
 
 Sometimes there are good results even without 
 
 [249 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 the thyroid. Thus Revillet, of Cannes, obtained 
 very good effects in children with congenital myxe- 
 dema who were sent from Switzerland to the 
 Asylum for Children of the Swiss Republic. 
 Through simple exposure to the sun's rays of the 
 Riviera, rich in ultra-violet rays, these children 
 were cured without the use of thyroid preparations. 
 
 In recording these results Revillet 8 also draws 
 attention to a very interesting fact, mentioned in 
 a report by Prof. Dupasquier, of the University 
 of Lyons. He found at a small place called Al- 
 levard, in the Alpes Dauphinoises, that on the 
 shady side of a street there were cases of cretinous 
 goiter to be found in nearly every house the sun 
 never shone on this side of the street whereas no 
 such case could be found on the other side of the 
 same street, which was the sunny side. It is a 
 fact that idiocy and cretinous goiters are to be 
 found with the greatest frequency in the deep, sun- 
 less valleys of Switzerland and Italy. 
 
 That the salutary results above referred to are 
 brought about by the ultra-violet rays of the sun- 
 shine is best proved by the fact that the artificial 
 sunlight, the quartz light (from the large quartz 
 lamp), which consists mainly of ultra-violet rays, 
 exercises a very wholesome influence upon the thy- 
 
 8 Revillet: Le myxoedeme endemique, La Province Medicale, 1911. 
 
 [250]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 roid gland. Thus, Haselberg 9 reported in a Swiss 
 medical periodical that such treatment yielded ex- 
 cellent results in a number of girls and women 
 suffering from goiter. 
 
 The ultra-violet sun's rays exert a similar favor- 
 able influence upon the other endocrin glands, in- 
 cluding the sex glands. This is shown by the fact 
 that in southern countries, with sunshine rich in 
 ultra-violet rays, menstruation appears in young 
 girls much earlier than in the north. The interest- 
 ing fact has been recorded by Arctic travellers 
 that with the appearance of the polar night, or 
 several weeks thereafter, the Eskimo women some- 
 times cease menstruating, the function reappearing 
 only after the sun has returned. 
 
 A similar direct influence of sunlight rich in 
 ultra-violet rays has been reported by Revillet. In 
 eighteen young, anemic girls in whom menstrua- 
 tion had been absent for several months he ob- 
 served reappearance of the same after exposure 
 for a certain time to the ultra-violet rays of the 
 Mediterranean sun. 
 
 Solar treatment is also capable of giving the 
 best results in the treatment of affections of the 
 uterus and ovaries. But this applies even more 
 to the treatment with the ultra-violet rays of the 
 quartz light. Indeed, in modern gynecology such 
 
 9 Haselberg: Correspondenzblatt fur Schweizer Aerzte, 1911. 
 
 [251]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 treatment is availed of with great profit. As the 
 results of Bach and others have shown, such treat- 
 ment is also very efficacious where menstruation 
 has been absent for a long time on account of 
 certain diseased conditions. 
 
 On the basis of the above facts I have come to 
 the conclusion that the ultra-violet rays serve as 
 activators of the functions of the thyroid and sex 
 glands. 
 
 According to my observations, there exist also 
 a series of symptoms which prove that the effects 
 obtained with the ultra-violet rays are to be at- 
 tributed to stimulation of the endocrin glands, 
 especially the sex and thyroid glands. Not only 
 may, as already mentioned, exposure to the ultra- 
 violet rays induce some of the symptoms which 
 Steinach obtained through stimulation of the sex 
 glands by operation, but we find appearing after 
 sunlight treatment, whether with the artificial or 
 natural sunlight, such symptoms as are known to 
 be characteristic of stimulation of thyroid activity, 
 viz. f increase of the pulse rate, temperature, activ- 
 ity of the sweat glands, and output of urine; better 
 elimination of the urinary solids, such as urea, uric 
 acid, sodium chloride, etc., and also an increase in 
 the number of red blood corpuscles and in the 
 hemoglobin. 
 
 As in the case of thyroid gland, these rays also 
 
 [ 252 ]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 act very favorably upon the osseous system. They 
 assist in the retention of lime in the system if it 
 is present in sufficient quantities in the food. The 
 best proof of their influence upon the osseous sys- 
 tem is afforded by the fact that upon exposure 
 to these rays for a certain period of time, ulcera- 
 tions and all other lesions of the bones are so suc- 
 cessfully influenced that there is no other treat- 
 ment comparable to it. 
 
 Likewise healing of wounds of the soft tissues, 
 including the formation of granulations, can be 
 promoted by these wonderful rays as though by 
 thyroid treatment. 
 
 Their action upon the nervous system and men- 
 tality can also be classed as nearly up to that ex- 
 erted by thyroid gland, and when both are used 
 together, they are capable of producing these re- 
 sults in a still higher degree. 
 
 Not only the ultra-violet rays, but also the other 
 forms of radiation, such as the Roentgen rays and 
 the rays emitted by radio-active substances, are 
 capable of exercising direct effects upon the sex 
 glands and the thyroid. 
 
 The action of the Roentgen rays upon the sex 
 glands has already been mentioned. Radium also 
 exerts a direct effect, for it has been found that 
 the sex glands of animals exposed to such radia- 
 tion show destructive effects and that subsequently 
 
 [253]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 sterility results. Even tumors of these glands can 
 be destroyed by these rays. 
 
 Such deleterious effects of the Roentgen rays 
 and of the rays emitted by radio-active substances 
 may also be applied to the thyroid gland. This 
 fact is availed of with success in the treatment of 
 exaggerated activity of this gland, 
 
 Indeed, these rays seem to have a kind of af- 
 finity for the parenchymatous cells of the thyroid 
 and other glands, for while leaving the skin un- 
 harmed, they act directly upon the secreting cells 
 of these glands, causing their destruction. In 
 Graves's disease, therefore generally in its first 
 stages, when the secreting cells are still hyper- 
 trophied prophylactic treatment along these lines 
 may give the best results. 
 
 These effects are obtained with the greatest de- 
 gree of certainty in young girls and women in 
 whom the disease is not yet advanced. Of course, 
 the treatment must be carried out with great pru- 
 dence, the object being to cause the overdeveloped 
 tissues that are the cause of the exaggerated ac- 
 tivity of the gland to disappear, but to avoid undue 
 injury by destroying the whole gland, thus ex- 
 posing the patient to the opposite condition, myxe- 
 dema. Therefore, just as with the prophylactic 
 thyroid treatment, merely the symptoms of hyper- 
 thyroidia should be controlled in these cases, and 
 
 [254]
 
 Ultra-violet Rays 
 
 the treatment continued only as long as such 
 symptoms are present. 
 
 At all events, in cases in which the disease has 
 not yet led to the formation of much connective 
 tissue, such treatment is capable of giving the best 
 results and is always to be preferred to operation. 
 
 An American, Francis Williams, of Boston, was 
 the first to treat this disease with the Roentgen 
 rays. 
 
 The x-ray treatment also often gives excellent 
 results in enlargements of another small gland, 
 not larger than a hazelnut, which lies at the base 
 of the skull, the pituitary gland. The resulting 
 disease, acromegaly, is characterized by enlargement 
 of the hands, feet and nose and by severe head- 
 ache and progressive loss of sight. 
 
 [255]
 
 VI 
 
 PRODUCTION OF A YOUTHFUL APPEARANCE BY 
 MEANS OF THE ULTRA-VIOLET RAYS 
 
 IF we consider the faces of the young girls and 
 women of ancient Egypt, painted on the sar- 
 cophagi which contain their bodies, the nicely 
 bronzed color of the faces of these daughters of 
 sunny Egypt is likely to make a favorable appeal 
 to us. Indeed, at the present time there is a craze 
 among the young ladies of several countries of 
 northern Europe to expose their faces for hours 
 to the direct action of the sun's rays in order to 
 obtain such a color, and in Paris I have seen in 
 the windows of the perfumery shops powders of 
 a similar bronze color, intended for the artificial 
 imitation of this facial appearance. 
 
 A bronze color of the face very often imparts 
 a more youthful aspect, and indeed, it is at the 
 same time an expression of excellent health, ad- 
 vertising this condition and from this fact alone 
 producing a favorable impression on the observer. 
 But there exist also facts which prove that it is 
 more than a popular belief that a sunburnt, bronze- 
 like color is an evidence of good health, for it 
 has been observed by quite a number of medical 
 authorities that patients, e.g., tuberculous subjects, 
 
 [256]
 
 A Youthful Appearance 
 
 who are sent to countries rich in ultra-violet rays 
 these being the most effective owing to their bac- 
 tericidal action show the best therapeutic results 
 if they acquire a pigmentation of their faces from 
 the effects of the sun's rays. Now such a pig- 
 mentation can be best and most rapidly acquired 
 in the presence of sunlight rich in ultra-violet rays. 
 That this is true is best proved by the fact that 
 the quartz light, which is extraordinarily rich in 
 such rays, can produce such pigmentation in the 
 shortest time. It first produces a hyperemic con- 
 dition of the skin, and afterwards there remains 
 a pigmentation. I know quite a number of ladies 
 who have used the quartz light merely to produce 
 such a condition. 
 
 The pigmentation is best obtained when the skin 
 has been gradually exposed to the sunlight. If 
 the face is abruptly exposed for too long a time 
 to sunlight rich in ultra-violet rays or to the 
 quartz light, then after the hyperemic condition, 
 its higher degree, an erythema, and even an ac- 
 tual inflamed condition of the skin may result. A 
 few days later, however, the skin will scale off 
 (desquamate) and a healthy new skin with fine 
 complexion will appear. The same thing will hap- 
 pen as in cases of erysipelas that have healed. 
 Young girls previously distressed on account of 
 their swollen and inflamed faces then see appear- 
 
 17 [ 257 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 ing by way of compensation a much finer skin 
 and fresher complexion than they had ever had 
 before; indeed, they often look much younger. 
 
 Such treatment also gives excellent results in 
 the case of various blemishes of the skin of the 
 face such as pimples, redness of the face and 
 especially the nose, exaggerated sebaceous secre- 
 tion, etc. 
 
 Since at the same time, as the hyperemia shows, 
 the skin is being better nourished with blood, 
 sunken features are benefited by this treatment, 
 and the cheeks, better supplied with blood, look 
 fuller and rounder, such a condition frequently 
 resulting as if arsenic had been taken for beauti- 
 fying purposes. 
 
 Rejuvenation by the ultra-violet rays can thus 
 be produced both by the internal and the external. 
 i.e., cosmetic, action of these rays. 
 
 But their internal action also has marked cos- 
 metic results. Acting like treatment through the 
 thyroid and sex glands, or better, through stimu- 
 lation of these glands, which govern the processes 
 of general nutrition and organic combustion, the 
 appetite is much increased, and through the con- 
 sentaneous improvement of digestion and assimi- 
 lation, the muscles become better developed and a 
 full, round face and round limbs will result, con- 
 stituting a picture of youth and health similar to 
 
 [258]
 
 A Youthful Appearance 
 
 that presented by the young girls and boys who 
 had been admitted several months before as ca- 
 chectic skeletons, with prematurely old faces, for 
 sunlight treatment at the sanatoriums of the high 
 mountain stations in Switzerland or on the Riviera. 
 
 As in the case of treatment with thyroid and 
 and sex glands, the fat is better burned under 
 the influence of the ultra-violet rays. Thus, we 
 observe both after treatment by natural sunlight 
 in regions with an abundance of ultra-violet rays, 
 and after treatment by the quartz light, a con- 
 siderable loss of weight, stout women and men 
 becoming transformed into persons with a more 
 youthful appearance. On the other hand, under 
 such treatment thin, skinny bodies develop rounder 
 forms. 
 
 After natural or artificial sun treatment (by the 
 ultra-violet rays, which do not contain the ener- 
 vating heat rays), the muscular agility likewise 
 being greater, the patient enjoys a better appe- 
 tite, and in consequence of the better feeding de- 
 velopment of the muscles and an increase of weight 
 take place. 
 
 I would like to recall here the fact that Steinach 
 observed like results after the operation on his old 
 rats, which, while quite lacking in appetite before 
 the operation, developed a voracious appetite after 
 it, with such effect that at their autopsy he found 
 
 [259]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 a striking development of the muscles and a 
 marked increase of the fatty layers. 
 
 The favorable influence of these rays upon the 
 osseous system may, in common with thyroid treat- 
 ment, lead to a better growth of the bony skeleton. 
 But it also exerts a favorable influence upon the 
 condition of the teeth. A youthful appearance 
 depends to a marked extent upon a good condition 
 of these structures. The greatest cause of loss of 
 the teeth is pyorrhea. Now I have found that by 
 exposing the gums daily for a certain period to 
 the quartz light or to the direct rays of a pure, 
 intense sunshine, this condition can be very much 
 improved or at least checked. A very efficacious 
 treatment against this condition is also the appli- 
 cation of fluids containing the emanations of radio- 
 active substances. 
 
 Thus, not alone the ultra-violet rays, but also 
 other kinds of rays are capable of yielding cos- 
 metic results. 
 
 The condition of the hair can be improved not 
 only with the ultra-violet rays but also with the 
 Roentgen rays. These must, however, be used with 
 extreme caution, only the very soft rays, which 
 are less penetrating, being employed. In cases 
 where the ultra-violet rays exert no effect, such 
 rays may yield results. But great caution is then 
 necessary, for not only might the hair that has 
 
 [260]
 
 A Youthful Appearance 
 
 fallen out never grow again, but even the hair 
 that still remains might be destroyed, never to 
 return. 
 
 The radiations from radio-active substances may 
 also yield very good results for falling out of the 
 hair and for the growth of new hair. 
 
 Under their influences, it has been found, the 
 thickness of each individual hair becomes greater, 
 and the hair gets stronger and longer, and gen- 
 erally grows better. 
 
 The rays cause a kind of inflammatory hyper- 
 emia of the root of the hair, thus producing better 
 growth a fact demonstrated by Werner. 10 
 
 Thus we see that each of these three kinds of 
 rays may give good results in the production of 
 rejuvenation. Indeed, these rays, in respect to 
 their more intimate constitution, are closely related 
 as to wave length, though their powers of pene- 
 tration present certain differences. After the 
 luminous rays of the solar spectrum follow the 
 ultra-violet rays, which especially the extreme 
 ultra-violet rays have the shortest wave lengths, 
 i.e., 0.02 p. The spectrum of the x-rays could be 
 united to these extreme ultra-violet rays if by some 
 means the wave length of the very soft x-rays 
 (rays of lesser penetrating power, the wave length 
 
 10 Werner: Zur biologischen Wirkung der Radiumstrahlen, Munch. 
 Med. Wochenschrift, No. 37, 1919. 
 
 [ 261 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 of which is 0.0175^) could be prolonged and a 
 missing link thus discovered. 
 
 The ultra-violet rays have no great penetrating 
 power, as is generally maintained. They are sup- 
 posed not to get much farther than into the skin, 
 but according to Rollier they are transformed 
 after their penetration into the body into long rays, 
 which are able to penetrate further. At any rate, 
 these rays certainly exert a marked action in the 
 interior of the body, as is shown by the pronounced 
 effects they produce. 
 
 The radiations from radio-active substances pos- 
 sess the greatest power of penetration. Thus, the 
 x-rays have such enormous penetrating power that 
 they can pass through lead plates nine inches thick. 
 
 We have already mentioned the extraordinary 
 number of vibrations of the ultra-violet rays. But 
 these are far surpassed in frequency and rapidity 
 by the x-rays and the radiations from radio-active 
 substances. The particles of which these consist 
 the electrons travelling at an incredible speed, 
 carry out a veritable bombardment upon our body, 
 and we are thus led to understand the marked ef- 
 fects they may produce. 
 
 The ultra-violet rays may produce only a red- 
 dening of the skin, but if they act from only a 
 short distance for a certain period of time, a mild 
 inflammation results. 
 
 [262 ]
 
 A Youthful Appearance 
 
 In order to study the effects of these rays, I 
 have subjected myself to a number of sittings, 
 and upon exposing my head very close to the 
 glowing column of mercury vapor in the quartz 
 light for about ten to twelve minutes I experienced 
 a burn of the scalp, followed by crust formation. 
 After a few days, however, these crusts fell off 
 and not the least scar remained. 
 
 As a rule burns from the ultra-violet rays cause 
 no scarring, but the same certainly cannot be said 
 of the after effects of the x-rays or radium and 
 its derivatives, for these are capable of producing 
 serious burns and inflammatory conditions even 
 ulcerations of the skin, with subsequent formation 
 of disfiguring scars, unless the greatest precautions 
 are taken and treatment given only by specialists. 
 
 It seems, at least in the case of radium, that the 
 skin of women, and especially of fair haired ones, 
 is far more sensitive to these rays than that of 
 others. At any rate, for cosmetic purposes, for 
 producing a youthful appearance of the face and 
 in general for the purposes of rejuvenation, I 
 prefer the ultra-violet rays to the other rays. 
 
 Radium may likewise give good results, however, 
 if it is employed not in substance, as pure radium 
 or its salts, but in the form of a gaseous product 
 or emanation, such as is contained in certain 
 markedly radio-active mineral waters. 
 
 [263]
 
 VII 
 
 REJUVENATION BY THE USE OF RADIUM BATHS AND 
 MUD BATHS 
 
 DADIUM can rightly be considered as a sym- 
 bol of eternal youth. For it is constantly 
 giving off energy, yet remains apparently un- 
 changed all the time. 
 
 In the earliest periods after the discovery of 
 the radium, this strange fact created a great sen- 
 sation among the scientists, for it seemed to con- 
 tradict the natural law of the conservation of 
 energy, well established by Robert Mayer, whose 
 sad fate was mentioned in the first part of this 
 book. This mystery was solved, however, when it 
 was detected that there is in reality even in this 
 case no exception to the general law, for even if 
 slowly and almost imperceptibly, radium in the 
 long run dissipates some of the energy which had 
 been stored up in the interior of its constituent 
 atoms. 
 
 Whereas this property of radium in itself sug- 
 gests to us its use as a weapon with which to 
 combat old age, there is another of its properties 
 which makes it especially suitable as a means for 
 rejuvenation. 
 
 [264]
 
 Radium Baths and Mud Baths 
 
 As previously mentioned, it exerts a direct ac- 
 tion upon the sex glands a fact established by 
 experiments upon animals, radium producing, if 
 applied in a certain strength, destruction of the 
 seminiferous cells and sterility in consequence. 
 Judging from the effects of the x-rays, stimulation 
 and hypertrophy of the internally secreting portion 
 will most probably occur likewise after radium. 
 
 Being averse to the employment of violent 
 measures as long as there are milder and very 
 efficacious ones at our disposal, I rather advocate 
 the use of the radium emanations for our purpose. 
 Their marked influence upon the ductless glands 
 had already been shown years ago through the ex- 
 periments of Bouchard and Balthazard. 11 These 
 investigators injected fluids containing radium 
 emanations into animals, and at the autopsy these 
 emanations were found to have accumulated in the 
 ductless glands, especially the adrenals and the 
 spleen. They lay special stress upon the preference 
 shown by the emanations for these glands, i.e., the 
 internally secreting glands. 
 
 The emanations are the result of spontaneous 
 decomposition of radium substances, forming a 
 gaseous product which occurs in most mineral 
 waters. It is thus a product of the transforma- 
 
 11 Bouchard and Balthazard: Comptes-Rendus de la Societe de 
 Biologic, Vol. 143. 
 
 [ 265 ]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 tion of radium, and of course possesses radio-active 
 properties, giving off certain radiations continu- 
 ally, viz. f the gamma rays. 
 
 This gaseous product, resulting from the trans- 
 formation of radium, is contained in considerable 
 quantities in some mineral waters, and in small 
 quantities in almost all of them. There can be 
 no doubt but that a good many of the actions 
 ascribed to mineral waters are actually to be at- 
 tributed to the emanation they contain, especially 
 in the case of such mineral springs as are very 
 slightly mineralized. Sometimes there are found 
 springs which contain scarcely any mineral matter, 
 e.g., only a little iron and lithium, and yet they 
 prove very active. In such cases the effects pro- 
 duced may be ascribed to their high radio-activity, 
 on account of the rather large quantities of 
 emanations they contain. 
 
 Such springs are, e.g., those of Joachimsthal 
 (St. Jachymow, in the Czech language) in Bo- 
 hemia, Czecho- Slovakia, and those of Gastein, Aus- 
 tria, and a spring called Urgeirica, in Nellas, 
 Portugal. 
 
 Of all the springs of the world, those of 
 Joachimsthal and of Nellas are probably the rich- 
 est in emanations, for these springs originate in 
 mines of uranium metal, which yield radium in 
 considerable quantities. It is in the uranium pitch- 
 
 [266]
 
 Radium Baths and Mud Baths 
 
 blende of Joachimsthal that Mme. Curie discovered 
 radium, thus perpetuating her name forevermore. 
 
 It was observed a long time ago that persons 
 taking the baths at Gastein often looked younger, 
 more vigorous, and fresher after their cure than 
 before. Indeed, this place was considered a spe- 
 cial spa for gouty and rheumatic persons of ad- 
 vanced age. When the radio-active properties of 
 these springs were demonstrated, a clue was given 
 to the special action of the water. In a higher 
 degree, like things have been stated regarding the 
 action of the springs of Joachimsthal after they 
 had begun to be used for therapeutic purposes, 
 this spa having been erected scarcely more than 
 twenty years ago. 
 
 Steinach, in his monograph, draws special atten- 
 tion to the rejuvenating effects of Joachimsthal 
 and Gastein, ascribing them to the special action 
 of these springs upon the sex glands. I can en- 
 tirely subscribe to this opinion on the basis of 
 personal observations, Joachimsthal being in the 
 close vicinity of Carlsbad. 
 
 Among the cases treated with these springs, 
 which I often prescribe in cases of gout and rheu- 
 matism as an aftercure to Carlsbad, I would like 
 to mention the case of a Belgian gentleman seventy- 
 six years of age, who was suffering from arterio- 
 sclerosis, gout, and marked muscular weakness. 
 
 [267]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 After a few weeks' cure in Carlsbad I sent him 
 to Joachimsthal to consolidate the results already 
 obtained. When I visited him there two weeks 
 later he accompanied me to my train and as I 
 was in danger of missing it, this old gentleman 
 to my great amazement ran swiftly up the high, 
 steep hill before coming to the station, and strange 
 to say, he was apparently not much the worse 
 for it. 
 
 I was also able to make similar observations on 
 myself. 
 
 In order to study the effects of these baths, 
 and having much leisure in the summer fol- 
 lowing the war, I frequently went over to the 
 neighboring Joachimsthal, walking a little over two 
 miles from my house to the station. I noticed 
 that after taking these baths my muscular agility 
 was much improved, and I could walk much more 
 easily and swiftly and with a much lighter step 
 to my home than on the way to the station. I 
 was using thyroid extract at the same time, as 
 was also the above mentioned patient. 
 
 The rejuvenating effects of the radium bath can 
 no doubt with full justification be ascribed to their 
 special effects upon the endocrin glands, particu- 
 larly the sex glands and in my opinion also the 
 thyroid gland. Increase of sexual desire and po- 
 tency after the use of these baths has been noted 
 
 [268]
 
 Radium Baths and Mud Baths 
 
 by several authorities. Sommer 12 reported an in- 
 crease of sexual desire in a monograph on radium 
 and radio-activity. Waldes 13 made the same ob- 
 servation in diabetics after the use of baths con- 
 taining a large amount of emanations. Gottlieb 14 
 records an improvement of potency in neurasthenic 
 patients after the baths of Joachimsthal. 
 
 The effects on the thyroid gland are evidenced 
 by the fact that after the use of radium emana- 
 tions, as has been demonstrated experimentally, 
 there follows an increase of the processes of oxida- 
 tion, a rise of temperature, and a number of 
 other evidences of increased activity of the thyroid 
 gland. Increased elimination of uric acid is one 
 of these, and the same effect can be produced by 
 giving thyroid extracts. 
 
 There is no doubt that uric acid plays an im- 
 portant role in the production of old age, pre- 
 mature old age often resulting in this way, 
 according to my recent observations. With an 
 increased content in uric acid of the blood there 
 is almost constantly an elevation of blood pressure, 
 and with it a long step forward is taken toward 
 the development of arteriosclerosis. The findings 
 
 12 Sommer : Radium und Radioactivitat bei Altersschwache. Emana- 
 tion und Emanationstherapie, Miinchen, 1908. 
 
 13 Walder: Radiumemanation als Heilmittel, Dissertation, Zurich, 
 1909. 
 
 14 Gottlieb: Wiener med. Woch., 1910. 
 
 [269]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 of Prof. Hiss 15 show clearly that through the use 
 of radium emanations the blood entirely loses its 
 content of uric acid, and the patient feels, as he 
 says, "born all over again!" This explains the 
 excellent effects of these emanations in gout and 
 rheumatic disturbances. 
 
 As with thyroid treatment, the use of radium 
 baths is followed by a marked increase in the out- 
 put of urine, and in addition uric acid and sodium 
 chloride are eliminated in larger quantities a fact 
 of great importance in diseases of the kidneys. I 
 would personally not advocate the use of such 
 baths in the latter disease, however, for such 
 emanations have been found to act very unfavor- 
 ably in renal disease, increasing the albumin con- 
 tent of the urine. 
 
 Radium baths also have a marked influence upon 
 the blood pressure, and a considerable drop from 
 a high blood pressure can often be observed after 
 their use. 
 
 Upon combining the radium baths with gland 
 treatment the results obtained are more satisfac- 
 tory, as I was able to observe in several personal 
 cases. 
 
 Similar effects can also be obtained with mud 
 baths. There have been published a series of com- 
 munications demonstrating a drop of the high 
 
 15 Hiss: Berl. klin. Woch., 1910; Med. Klinik, 1910-16. 
 
 [270]
 
 Radium Baths and Mud Baths 
 
 blood pressure following the use of mud baths, pro- 
 vided too high a degree of heat was not applied. 
 
 These baths contain iron compounds and other 
 mineral substances, and also the shrunken remains 
 of plants and animals that lived hundreds of thou- 
 sands of years ago. Some of the most active of 
 this muddy earth is found in the neighborhood of 
 Franzensbad in Bohemia, a spa used mainly for 
 the disorders of women and having a special effect 
 upon disturbances of the ovaries and uterus, and 
 also, according to my observations, on the prostate. 
 The same mud, transported to the two other spas 
 in the neighborhood Marienbad and Carlsbad- 
 is used there also in the form of baths. 
 
 These baths produce effects which, although not 
 equalling those of Joachimsthal, may nevertheless 
 be considered as approaching those obtained there. 
 Very probably also the mud obtained from a place 
 in the neighborhood of Joachimsthal embodies 
 radio-active properties. It seems to have special 
 stimulating effects upon the sex glands, owing to 
 its content of iron. 
 
 I have often observed, especially in women, a 
 rejuvenating effect following the use of these mud 
 baths. They also impart marked vigor to the mus- 
 cles, but only if excessive heat in their use is avoided, 
 for where employed too hot they may, on the con- 
 trary, induce a sensation of great fatigue. With ex- 
 
 [271]
 
 Life Shortening Habits 
 
 cessively hot baths, too, the radio-active properties 
 are lost. 
 
 It has often been noted that women using such 
 baths look much fresher and become more slender, 
 the baths producing a considerable loss of fat, like 
 thyroid treatment. At the same time there is a 
 very marked effect upon the functions of the ova- 
 ries, menstruation reappearing sometimes after an 
 interval of months. They have been used since a 
 long time as one of the most efficacious measures 
 against sterility in women. 
 
 These baths also have a marked effect on sexual 
 impotence in men. They likewise increase the 
 sexual desire, but only if they are not applied at 
 a high temperature, otherwise the contrary effect 
 may result. They produce hyperemia in the pelvic 
 organs, and it is probably on account of the im- 
 proved blood supply to these organs and also to 
 the tonic effects of the baths (if used at a mod- 
 erate temperature) upon the nervous system, that 
 a decided improvement of the functions of the 
 male as well as the female sexual glands can be 
 observed after their use. The rejuvenating ef- 
 fects are the consequence of their stimulating ac- 
 tion upon these functions. 
 
 I hope that in these lines on rejuvenation I 
 have succeeded in showing that our therapeutic 
 arsenal is not lacking in means for bringing about 
 
 [ 272 ]
 
 Radium Baths and Mud Baths 
 
 rejuvenation without having recourse to forcible 
 measures such as surgical operations or other vio- 
 lent agencies. Here and elsewhere, in all our 
 therapeutic activities, the main rule should be to 
 give preference and first trial to the milder and 
 more harmless methods. There is a Latin proverb 
 which says: "Quid quid agis prudenter agas, et 
 respice finem" "whatever you do, do it prudently, 
 and reflect upon the possible consequences." 
 
 18 
 
 [273]
 
 INDEX 
 
 Ablutions, ritual, 61 
 
 Abortion, serious consequences of, 
 
 127 
 Acromegaly, 91 
 
 x-ray treatment in, 255 
 Adrenals, effect of radium ema- 
 nations on, 265 
 Age, relationship of overeating 
 
 to, 29 
 
 Ageing of women, rapid, 143 
 Airing of rooms, 65 
 Albuminous food, 25, 26, 157, 163 
 Alcohol, 11 
 
 effects of, on blood-vessels, 18 
 on endocrin glands, 15, 16, 17 
 on kidneys, 18 
 on liver, 15 
 Ambition, 68 
 Anemia, 164 
 arsenic in, 230 
 in girls, 126 
 Anger, 95 
 
 as cause of angina pectoris, 96 
 of apoplexy, 95 
 of arteriosclerosis of brain, 
 
 96 
 
 of diabetes, 98 
 of gall-stone attacks, 99 
 of gouty attacks, 99 
 of nervous disturbances, 96 
 as sign of disease, 97 
 Angina pectoris, anger as factor 
 
 in, 96 
 
 overeating as cause of, 28 
 tobacco abuse as cause of, 36 
 Animal extracts in rejuvenation, 
 196, 212, 240, 249 
 
 Animals, sacrifices for the young 
 among, 134 
 
 Anthokyan, 105 
 
 Anticonceptional practices, 179 
 arteriosclerosis due to, 183 
 rapid ageing due to, 179 
 
 Apathy in thyroid disease, 151 
 
 Apoplexy, 37, 71 
 following anger, 95 
 
 Appetite, poor, in smokers, 157 
 
 Aranea saccata, 134 
 
 Arsenic eaters of Styria, 228 
 for rejuvenation, 223, 228 
 
 Arteriosclerosis, 18, 26, 28, 29, 32, 
 35, 44, 69, 96, 122, 154, 183, 
 213, 269 
 
 relationship to stinginess, 89 
 sudden death due to, 48 
 treatment of, by iodides, 224, 
 230 
 
 Artificial sunlight, 237 
 
 Ascites from abuse of alcohol, 15 
 
 Avarice, 84 
 
 life-shortening effects of, 86 
 relationship of, to physical dis- 
 turbances, 91 
 
 Avoidance of parenthood, 115 
 
 Balaninus elephas, 135 
 
 Baldness due to lack of potash, 
 
 165 
 
 ultra-violet rays in, 241 
 Bees, cleanliness of, 65 
 Beethoven, poverty of, 83 
 Beggars in Morocco and Spain, 
 
 92 
 Beneficence, 92 
 
 [275]
 
 Index 
 
 Bergonie treatment, 160 
 
 Beriberi, 165 
 
 Bird of Paradise, nuptial dance 
 of, 102 
 
 Birds, cleanliness of, 65 
 marital union among, 119 
 singing of, 102 
 
 Blood, effects of sunlight treat- 
 ment on, 244, 252 
 viscosity of, 26, 231 
 
 Blood-pressure, high, 69, 96, 237, 
 269, 270 
 
 Boils, 62, 63 
 
 Bones, effect of ultra-violet rays 
 on, 253, 260 
 
 Bowel action improved by thy- 
 roid medication, 213 
 
 Bradycardia, thyroid medication 
 in, 213 
 
 Brain, arteriosclerosis of, factors 
 favoring, 37, 71, 96 
 
 Brain vessels, congestion of, in 
 anger, 95 
 
 Bran, 167 
 
 Brown-Sequard's experiments, 
 197 
 
 Buddha, teachings of, 78, 81 
 
 Carbon monoxide in tobacco 
 
 smoke, 40 
 
 Celibacy, harmful effects of, 121 
 Cellulitis, 63 
 Charity, 92 
 favorable physiological effects 
 
 of, 93 
 
 Children, advantages of an abun- 
 dance of, 130, 141 
 hand washing among, 63 
 harmful effects of alcohol in, 
 
 13, 14, 19 
 of smoking in, 39 
 Chlorosis, 164 
 Cholera, transmission of, 60 
 
 Cigarette smoking by women, 147, 
 
 156 
 
 Cigars, 155 
 Cleanliness among animals, 64 
 
 of the hog, 59 
 Cold, sensitiveness to, 151 
 Colors as sex attraction, 103 
 Complexion, effects of ultra-violet 
 
 rays on, 258 
 poor, due to constipation, 170, 
 
 175 
 
 due to improper diet, 166 
 due to insufficient water 
 
 drinking, 169 
 due to ovarian and uterine 
 
 disorders, 181 
 
 Conservation of species, 118 
 Conspicuous dressing, 106 
 Constipation, 173 
 and gall-stones, 169 
 diet in, 173 
 Corset, effects of, 109 
 Cosmetics, 176 
 
 fallacy of, 176 
 Cretinism, thyroid medication in, 
 
 17 
 
 Cretinous goiter, 250 
 Crime and insanity, 50 
 Cysts of the uterine cervix, 184 
 
 Damp dwellings, 87 
 Davy, Sir Humphrey, 72 
 Defective children from inherited 
 
 syphilis, 49 
 Delire de ruine, 90 
 Diabetes, 28, 50, 90 
 
 arteriosclerosis in, 90 
 
 caused by mental shock, 98 
 
 iodine in, 91 
 
 Dictyophora phalloidea, 105 
 Diet, improperly constituted, 163 
 
 in constipation, 173 
 
 in obesity, 160 
 
 [276]
 
 Index 
 
 Digestive disturbances due to in- 
 sufficient water drinking, 
 168 
 
 Diseases of women, 124 
 
 Disposition, change of, after 
 thyroid and sex gland 
 treatment, 218 
 
 Dizziness due to smoking, 38 
 
 Don Juan as a voluptuary, 54 
 
 Drug treatment of old age, 212, 
 223 
 
 Ductless glands, effects of noxi- 
 ous agents on, 197 
 effects of smoking on, 40 
 
 Dysentery, transmission of, 60 
 
 Earthworm, value of the, 140 
 
 Emaciation due to hair dye, 111, 
 112 
 
 Endocrin glands, 40, 197, 199 
 
 Enemas, 172, 174 
 
 Energy, law of conservation of, 
 23, 75 
 
 Engine, the body compared to an, 
 22 
 
 Enterocleaner, 172 
 
 Epilepsy due to alcoholic inherit- 
 ance, 20 
 
 Erysipelas, 62 
 
 Excessive acidity of gastric juice 
 due to sexual restraint, 121 
 
 Experimental rejuvenation, 201 
 
 Faraday, 72 
 
 Fat as fuel in the body, 25 
 
 reduction of, 159, 213, 240, 259 
 Fat-forming foods, 160 
 Fecundity of animals, 161 
 Feet, washing of the, 64 
 Fertilizing insects, 104 
 Fishes, brilliant coloring of, 120 
 Fitness for marriage, 125, 187 
 
 for smoking, 37 
 
 Flabby musculature due to smok- 
 ing, 148 
 
 Flies, 65 
 
 Fluid intake, insufficient, 168 
 
 Food material, three kinds of, 23 
 
 Foods, fat-forming, 160 
 
 Franzensbad mud baths, 271 
 
 French Canadians, large families 
 among, 130 
 
 Frigidity, sexual, 215 
 
 Fruits rich in potash, 165 
 
 Furuncles, 62 
 
 Gall-stone attacks brought on by 
 
 anger, 99 
 
 Gall-stones, 110, 151 
 frequency of, among lawyers, 
 
 100 
 
 in thyroid disturbance, 151 
 insufficient fluid intake as cause 
 
 of, 169 
 
 Galvagni's frog experiment, 76 
 Gamblers, sudden death among, 
 
 41 
 
 Gamma rays, 266 
 Gastein mineral springs, 267 
 Gastric disturbances due to sex- 
 ual restraint, 121 
 Geniuses, short life among, 70 
 Girls, smoking by, 39 
 Gluttony, 30 
 Glycogen, 24 
 Goiter, 19, 149 
 quartz light in, 251 
 sunlight and gland treatment in, 
 
 249 
 Golden scarabaeus, nuptial habits 
 
 of, 116 
 
 Gonorrhea, 44, 124 
 Gout, 27, 28, 30, 50, 99, 267, 270 
 Graves's disease, x-rays in, 254 
 Gray hair in thyroid failure, 150 
 Greed, 85 
 
 [277]
 
 Index 
 
 Hair dyes, harmful effects of, 110 
 effect of Roentgen rays on, 260 
 
 of ultra-violet rays on, 260 
 new growth of, after operation 
 
 on seminal duct, 210 
 under arsenic medication, 229 
 under thyroid medication, 214 
 under ultra-violet rays, 241 
 Hands, contamination of, 60 
 
 washing of, 61, 62 
 Hard labor, 126 
 Hardened arteries in young men, 
 
 155 
 
 Headache due to smoking, 38 
 Heart disease, diet in, 166 
 effects of alcoholism on, 18 
 
 of heavy smoking on, 35, 36 
 symptoms due to improper diet, 
 
 166 
 
 weakness from underfeeding, 86 
 Heliotherapy, 238, 241, 252 
 Hemorrhages from uterus, 128 
 High blood-pressure, 69, 96, 269, 
 
 270 
 reduction of, by ultra-violet 
 
 rays, 237 
 Honey as remedy for weak heart, 
 
 24 
 Housefly, maternal care in the, 
 
 134 
 
 Hysteria due to alcoholic inherit- 
 ance, 20 
 
 Impotence, 44, 121, 152, 203, 209, 
 240, 272 
 
 Idiocy, 17, 20 
 psychic, 215 
 
 Impracticality of great discover- 
 ers and inventors, 72 
 
 Infectious diseases, impaired re- 
 sisting power to, 18, 47, 86 
 
 Insanity the result of syphilis, 45 
 
 Insects, nuptial habits among, 115 
 
 Insomnia due to smoking, 147 
 
 Insomnia in women, 128 
 
 Interruption of sexual act, 121 
 
 Intestinal disorders due to lead, 
 178 
 
 Iodides for rejuvenation, 223 
 in arteriosclerosis, 224 
 in syphilis, 228 
 
 Iodine in treatment of the arterio- 
 sclerosis of diabetics, 91 
 
 lodism, 227 
 
 Iron, 161, 164 
 for rejuvenation, 223 
 
 Irrational eating by women and 
 girls, 163 
 
 Irregular pulse, unfitness for 
 smoking in, 37 
 
 Jaundice after a fit of temper, 99 
 Jawbone, absorption of, 163 
 Joachimsthal mineral springs, 267 
 physiologic effects of, 267, 268 
 
 Kidney disease, overeating as 
 
 cause of, 28 
 function improved by thyroid 
 
 medication, 213 
 
 Kidneys, effects of alcohol on, 18 
 Killing animals, 80, 81 
 
 Lactation, 186 
 
 Lassitude due to poorly balanced 
 
 diet, 166 
 
 in thyroid insufficiency, 150 
 removal of, by iodides, 228 
 by thyroid medication, 213 
 by ultra-violet rays, 238, 245 
 Lead as ingredient of cosmetics, 
 
 178 
 
 harmful effects of, 110, 111 
 Lean days, 31 
 Leydig, cells of, 204 
 Liberality of talented persons, 91 
 
 of youth, 89 
 Life-shortening habits, 11 
 
 [278]
 
 Index 
 
 Lime, need of, in the diet, 163 
 Lions, marital union in, 119 
 Lipoids, 161 
 Liver disease, overeating as cause 
 
 of, 28 
 
 disturbances due to lead, 178 
 effects of alcohol on, 15 
 of tight lacing on, 109 
 Locomotor ataxia, 36, 45 
 Loss of hair in thyroid failure, 
 
 150 
 Lutein cells of the ovaries, 216 
 
 Marital union among animals, 119 
 Marriage among relatives, 49 
 Married life, health advantages 
 
 of, 130 
 
 Maternal love among animals, 133 
 Mayer, Robert, origin of insanity 
 
 of, 75 
 
 Meat, overeating of, 27, 28, 32 
 Memory impairment due to smok- 
 ing, 38 
 
 in thyroid insufficiency, 150 
 improvement of, after operation 
 
 on seminal duct, 210, 217 
 by thyroid medication, 217 
 Meningitis, 62 
 Menopause, 149, 152 
 Menstruation, cessation of, due to 
 
 insufficient nutriment, 162 
 effect of gland treatment on, 
 
 216 
 
 of mud baths on, 272 
 of ultra-violet rays on, 251 
 irregular, in thyroid insuffici- 
 ency, 150 
 
 swelling of thyroid during, 149 
 Mental condition, effect of sun- 
 shine on, 234 
 of ultra-violet rays on, 246, 
 
 253 
 
 Mental disturbances due to lead, 
 111 
 
 Mental disturbances in the off- 
 spring of alcoholics, 20 
 effect of ultra-violet rays on, 
 
 246, 253 
 effect of sunshine on, 234 
 
 labor and smoking, 38, 39 
 Mercury, rejuvenating effects of, 
 
 229 
 
 vapor lamps, 263 
 Milk, lime in, 164 
 
 potash compounds in, 165 
 Mineral waters, radio-active, 266 
 Miscarriages, 124, 126 
 Miserliness, 85 
 
 Misfortune as result of impru- 
 dence, 51 
 
 Mohammed, teachings of, 61, 92 
 Monogamy, 58 
 Moses, teachings of, 61, 92 
 Mountain flowers, coloring of, 104 
 Mountains, sunlight treatment in 
 
 the, 242 
 Mozart, 83 
 Mud baths, 270 
 
 rejuvenating effects of, 271 
 Murder of the offspring among 
 
 animals, 132 
 Muscles, glycogen in, 24 
 Mushrooms glowing at night, 105 
 odor of, attracting insects, 105 
 Myxedema, 150, 195, 196 
 ultra-violet rays in, 250 
 
 Nature, apparent cruelty of 52, 
 
 118, 136 
 
 foresight of, 43, 52, 104, 138, 
 170 
 
 Nectar in flowers, 120 
 
 Nephritis due to alcoholism, 18 
 
 Nervous disturbances due to an- 
 ger, 96 
 
 due to resistance to sex im- 
 pulse, 121 
 
 [279]
 
 Index 
 
 Nervousness as evidence of gen- 
 eral paralysis, 97 
 due to poorly balanced diet, 166 
 in children, 49 
 
 due to alcoholic inheritance, 
 
 20 
 
 in thyroid disturbance, 151 
 in women, 128 
 
 Neurasthenia due to alcoholic in- 
 heritance, 20 
 
 due to anticonceptional prac- 
 tices, 183 
 smoking in, 39 
 Nicotine, effects of, 154 
 Nose picking, dangers of, 62 
 Nourishment, effects of insuf- 
 ficient, 158 
 Nutrient salts, 161 
 
 Obesity, 28, 50 
 at the menopause, 181 
 due to lack of potash, 165 
 to thyroid failure, 150 
 mud baths in, 272 
 sex gland administration in, 213 
 thyroid medication in, 213 
 ultra-violet rays in, 240, 259 
 Old age due to degeneration of 
 
 ductless glands, 197 
 Operation for rejuvenation, 201 
 
 in man, 209 
 
 Osseous system, effect of ultra- 
 violet rays on, 253, 260 
 Ovarian disorders due to anti- 
 conceptional practices, 184 
 medication, 216 
 transplantation, experimental, 
 
 207 
 
 Ovaries, harmful effects of to- 
 bacco on, 153 
 hyperemia of, 122 
 mud baths in disturbances of, 
 
 271 
 physiological influence of, 123 
 
 Overeating, 22 
 Overwork, 69 
 
 Painting the face, 110, 177 
 Pallor due to smoking, 148 
 Parenthood, avoidance of, 115 
 Paralysis, general, of the insane, 
 
 36, 38, 46 
 
 anger as sign of, 97 
 Paresis, 36, 38, 46 
 Peacock, vanity in the, 101 
 Pellagra, 166 
 Perfumes, 106 
 Pessaries, 182, 184 
 Phosphorus compounds in the 
 
 diet, 163 
 
 Pigmentation of skin by ultra- 
 violet rays, 257 
 Pimples, quartz light treatment 
 
 of, 258 
 
 Pituitary disease, 91, 255 
 Plants as workers, 140 
 
 brilliant colors among, 104, 108 
 Podagra, 30, 99 
 
 Potash a necessity in the diet, 164 
 Potassium permanganate, 59 
 Potatoes, 159, 160, 165, 167 
 Potency, restoration of, 209, 215, 
 
 269, 272 
 Poverty as the fate of great men, 
 
 82 
 Praying cricket, nuptial habits of, 
 
 115 
 Pregnancy, effect of, on personal 
 
 appearance, 186 
 
 enlargement of thyroid in, 149 
 Premature ageing due to changes 
 
 in thyroid, 151 
 Prostate, disturbances of, 44 
 effect of mud baths on, 271 
 Proteins, 25, 26 
 Pseudo-angina, 36 
 Puerperal sepsis, discovery of the 
 
 cause of, 73 
 
 [ 28 ]
 
 Index 
 
 Puffiness below the eyes, 151 
 Purgatives, overuse of, 172 
 Putrefaction a necessary process, 
 
 56 
 
 Pyemia, 62 
 Pyorrhea, quartz light treatment 
 
 in, 260 
 
 radio-active emanations in, 260 
 sunlight treatment in, 260 
 
 Quartz light, 237, 239, 250, 257 
 effect of, on thyroid gland, 250 
 
 Radio-active mineral waters, 266 
 Radium, effect of, on sex glands, 
 
 253, 265 
 emanations, 265 
 effects of, on blood-pressure, 
 
 269, 270 
 
 on ductless glands, 265 
 on uric acid in blood, 270 
 on urine, 270 
 Radium baths, 264 
 
 rejuvenating effects of, 268 
 Rainbow fish, 103 
 Rapid ageing of women, 143 
 Rats, rejuvenation experiments 
 
 in, 198, 201 
 
 Rays of the sunlight, 235 
 Red face, of heavy eaters, 32 
 
 quartz light treatment in, 258 
 Reduction cures, 158, 213, 240, 
 
 259 
 
 Rejuvenation, 189 
 by animal gland preparations, 
 
 212 
 
 by arsenic, 228 
 by iodides, 223 
 by mercury, 229 
 by mud baths, 271 
 by natural sunlight, 241 
 by radium baths, 264, 268 
 by surgical methods, 201 
 by ultra-violet rays, 239, 256 
 feasibility of, 195 
 
 Rheumatism, 267, 270 
 
 as a result of miserliness, 87 
 Rhubarb, 174 
 Rice, 159, 160 
 Ritual ablutions, 61 
 Roentgen rays, 261 
 
 effects of, 225, 254 
 on testicles, 226, 248 
 on thyroid gland, 254 
 Rustic labor, advantages of, 141 
 
 Scalp, infection of, 62 
 
 Schubert, poverty of, 82 
 
 Scorpion, Languedoc, nuptial hab- 
 its of, 117 
 
 Scratching, possible dangers of, 
 63 
 
 Scurvy, 166 
 
 Seashore, sunlight treatment at 
 the, 242 
 
 Sebaceous secretion, exaggerated, 
 treatment of, 258 
 
 Self-fertilization among plants, 
 140 
 
 Seminiferous tubules, 204 
 
 Semmelweis, hardships suffered 
 by, 73 
 
 Septic poisoning, 62 
 
 Sex gland administration for re- 
 juvenation, 212 
 
 Sex glands, effects of smoking on, 
 40 
 
 Sexual activity, how nature im- 
 poses moderation in, 43, 45 
 functions improved by gland 
 
 treatment, 214, 215 
 by iodides, 228 
 by radium baths, 268 
 indiscretion, 42 
 instinct, 42, 57, 80, 101, 119 
 overactivity, harmful effects of, 
 43, 53 
 
 Silicates, 161 
 
 [281]
 
 Index 
 
 Singing, relationship of, to sex 
 
 instinct, 102 
 Skin eruptions due to insufficient 
 
 water drinking, 168 
 Sleeplessness due to smoking, 38 
 Smoking, 33 
 
 influence on the female organ- 
 ism, 147, 153 
 moderation in, 34 
 on an empty stomach, 38, 156 
 precautions in, 156 
 soothing effect of, 38 
 unfitness for, 37 
 
 Solicitude for the offspring, 132 
 Spasms in children, of alcoholic 
 
 origin, 20 
 
 Spectrum of sun, 235, 261 
 Spirochetcs of syphilis, 47 
 Starchy foods, 159 
 Steinach's method of rejuvena- 
 tion, 198, 201 
 Sterility, 40 
 
 due to undernutrition, 161 
 in women, treatment of, 216 
 mud baths in, 272 
 Stinginess, 87 
 
 in old age, 87 
 
 Stomach, catarrh of, due to pur- 
 gatives, 174 
 
 effects of overeating on, 27, 30 
 Stove, the body compared to a, 23 
 Sudden death, 41, 48, 71 
 Sulphur, 161 
 Sun as source of energy, 23, 24, 
 
 232 
 
 worship, 24 
 Sun's rays, rejuvenating effect of, 
 
 232, 241 
 
 Sunbath, 243, 249 
 Sunlight treatment, 241 
 Surgical methods of effecting re- 
 juvenation, 201 
 drawbacks of, 210 
 Sweets, 160 
 
 Syphilis, 35, 37, 45, 97, 124, 228, 
 
 229 
 
 alcohol as abettor of, 21 
 as cause of premature death, 46 
 effects of, on later generations, 
 
 48 
 
 Tabes dorsalis, 36, 45 
 
 Teeth, diseased, due to lack of 
 
 lime, 163 
 effect of ultra-violet rays on, 
 
 260 
 Testicle, functional divisions of, 
 
 204 
 Testicles, effects of iodides on, 
 
 226, 228 
 
 of radium baths on, 268 
 of ultra-violet rays on, 252 
 of x-rays on, 225 
 
 Testicular extract for rejuvena- 
 tion, 198 
 Theology, relation of, to natural 
 
 history, 107 
 Thyroid gland, effects of alcohol 
 
 on, 16 
 of radium emanations on, 
 
 269 
 
 of smoking on, 40, 148 
 of x-rays on, 254 
 enlargement of, 149 
 insufficiency of, 150 
 stimulation of, by iodides, 223 
 
 by ultra-violet rays, 252 
 Thyroid medication, 150, 160, 212 
 in bradycardia, 213 
 in feeblemindedness, 17 
 in impotence, 215 
 in myxedcma, 151 
 in obesity, 160, 213 
 in sterility, 216 
 possible untoward effects of, 
 
 151 
 
 precautions in, 221 
 transplantation, 210 
 
 [282 ]
 
 Index 
 
 Tight clothing, 109 
 
 lacing, 109 
 Tobacco, 33, 147 
 as cause of arteriosclerosis, 35, 
 
 154 
 
 effects of, on thyroid gland, 151 
 smoke, harmful effects of, 40 
 Transplantation of ovaries, 207 
 
 of thyroid, 210 
 Tuberculosis, 65, 69, 86, 113 
 favored by alcoholism, 19 
 of bones, sunlight treatment in, 
 
 242 
 
 Tumors of uterus, 128 
 Typhoid fever, military control 
 
 of, 60 
 
 Ultra-violet rays, 235 
 penetrating power of, 262 
 physiologic effects of, 236, 252, 
 
 263 
 
 rejuvenating effects of, 239, 248, 
 256 
 
 Uncleanliness, 60 
 Underfeeding, 86, 112, 157, 158 
 Undernutrition as cause of steril- 
 ity, 161 
 
 Uric acid, 26, 27, 111, 169, 213 
 in blood, effect of radium ema- 
 nations on, 270 
 Urine, effects of radium baths 
 
 on, 270 
 of sunlight treatment on, 244, 
 
 252 
 Uterine disorders due to anticon- 
 
 ceptional practices, 183 
 Uterus, cancer of, 122, 184 
 hemorrhages from, 128 
 hyperemia of, 122 
 mud baths in disturbances of, 
 
 271 
 
 suppurative inflammation of, 
 127 
 
 Valdes Leal, the masterpiece of, 
 
 55 
 
 Vanity, 101 
 as cause of premature death, 
 
 108 
 
 Vegetables rich in proteins, 26 
 Venereal infection, precautions 
 
 against, 59 
 Ventilation, harmful effects of 
 
 inadequate, 69 
 Viscosity of the blood, 26 
 effect of iodides on, 231 
 Vitamines, 161, 165, 167 
 Voronoff, surgical methods of, 
 
 210 
 
 Walking as an exercise, 160 
 Wasps, care of offspring among, 
 
 135 
 Wassermann blood test, 35, 97, 
 
 125 
 Water, insufficient drinking of, 
 
 168 
 
 Waters, radio-active mineral, 266 
 Wealth, love of, 85 
 Women, smoking by, 39 
 Woodcock, dance hall constructed 
 
 by, 102 
 
 Work and the sex instinct, 131 
 as a promoter of health, 141 
 as an instinct, 80, 139 
 Wounds, effect of ultra-violet 
 
 rays on, 253 
 
 importance of cleanliness in, 66 
 Wrinkles in thyroid failure, 150 
 reduction of, by sex gland ad- 
 ministration, 212 
 
 X-rays, 261 
 effects of, 225 
 on testicles, 226, 248 
 on thyroid gland, 254 
 
 Yellowish skin in thyroid insuf- 
 ficiency, 150 
 Youth, restoration of, 189 
 
 [283]
 
 OTHER BOOKS 
 
 OF 
 
 VITAL IMPORTANCE 
 
 BY 
 
 DR. ARNOLD LORAND
 
 Old Age Deferred 
 
 THE CAUSES OF OLD AGE AND ITS POSTPONEMENT BY 
 HYGIENIC AND THERAPEUTIC MEASURES. 
 
 BY 
 
 ARNOLD LORAND, M.D. 
 
 CARLSBAD, CZECHOSLOVAKIA. 
 
 Royal Octavo. 480 Pages. Attractively Bound in Extra Cloth, 
 Burnished Top. Price, $3.00, net. 
 
 NEW EDITION 
 
 With the Addition of an Important New Chapter on Premature Old 
 Looks : Their Prevention and Treatment. 
 
 DR. LORAND has taken into consideration not the faddists, 
 but the great physiologists and clinicians whose writings 
 are based upon sound premises, extensive research, and 
 vast experience. 
 
 The author discusses the agencies which govern the nutri- 
 tion of our bodies. Those which govern the condition of the 
 nervous system and mentality. The influence of the various 
 glands upon vitality and long life. The causation and rational 
 prevention of premature old age, and the treatment of old age. 
 The proper hygienic measures to be followed for the improve- 
 ment of the functions of the body. Personal hygiene in all its 
 phases from infancy on through youth, middle life and maturity. 
 Some of the topics discussed are: 
 
 "It is quite within the bounds of possibility, as we shall en- 
 deavor to demonstrate herein, to prolong our term of youthful- 
 ness by ten or twenty years. In other words we need no longer 
 grow old at forty or fifty ; we may live to the age of ninety or one 
 hundred years, instead of dying at sixty or seventy. All this 
 can be brought about by the observance of certain hygienic 
 measures, and by improving the functions of a certain few of the 
 glandular structures in our body." (From the author's preface.) 
 
 This work has now been published in nine languages, large 
 editions being necessary to supply the demand in each language. 
 
 BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL (London, England). 
 
 In his book on "OLD AGE DEFERRED." Dr. Lorand has put together a large 
 amount of learning and has dealt with an immense number of subiects. 
 
 F. A. DAVIS COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 
 1914-16 Cherry Street PHILADELPHIA, PA.
 
 Health and Longevity Through 
 Rational Diet 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS IN REGARD TO FOOD AND THE USEFULNESS 
 OR THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF THE VARIOUS 
 ARTICLES OF DIET. 
 
 BY 
 
 DR. ARNOLD LORAND 
 
 CARLSBAD, CZECHOSLOVAKIA. 
 
 Translated from the Original German Edition, with an Introduction by 
 VICTOR C. VAUGHAN, M.D., Ann Arbor, Mich. Being aj complete code of 
 instructions as to the different foods and how they can be best employed. 
 Royal Octavo. 425 pages. Handsomely Bound in Cloth (uniform with 
 "OLD AGE DEFERRED"). $3.00, net. 
 
 SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS: 
 
 Introduction, with remarks upon the importance of the Appetite and 
 the Object of the Processes of Nourishment. 
 
 I. The Influence of Food Upon Man. 
 
 II. The Fundamental Laws of Rational Feeding. 
 
 III. The Injurious Modes of Feeding. 
 
 IV. The Good and Evil Effects of Various Food Substances. 
 
 Meat Diet. Fish Diet. Milk Diet. Cereals. Green Vege- 
 tables. Fruit Diet. Beverages. 
 
 V. Vegetarianism and its Advantages and Disadvantages. Hints for 
 
 the Prevention of the Latter. 
 
 VI. The Practical Advantages of Rational Feeding. Useful Hints. 
 
 VII. Hints for Those Obliged to Take their Meals in Restaurants. 
 
 The Injurious Effects of the "Table d'Hote" Diet. 
 
 VIII. The Increased Activity of Certain Functions Brought About 
 
 by Food. 
 
 IX. The Increased Muscular Power Resulting from a Suitable Diet. 
 
 X. Conclusion. The Relationship of Food to Old Age and Lon- 
 
 gevity. Glossary. List of Diseases. Index. 
 
 MANY PEOPLE naturally sidestep books on diet because they 
 expect to be warned against their pet dietary follies. This is 
 not the Lorand way. In a most entertaining manner Dr. 
 Lorand explains to the reader the advantages, disadvantages and 
 nutritive values of different foods so clearly that a person of ordinary 
 intelligence can exercise good judgment. Obviously, no person of 
 reasonable common sense deliberately follows the path of error in 
 diet; if he has the facts he can go ahead and choose for himself; Dr. 
 Lorand's book provides the facts. 
 
 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (Chicago, 111.). 
 
 Methods of cooking are described and Interesting remarks are made as to the size 
 and distribution of the ill effects arising from various special and one-sided diets. It is full 
 of valuable bints from which all can profit. It may be recommended to the layman as well 
 us to the practitioner. 
 
 F. A. DAVIS COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 
 1914-16 Cherry Street PHILADELPHIA, PA.
 
 Building Human Intelligence 
 
 "Only that may enter our mind which 
 has made its way through the senses." 
 
 Si. THOMAS AQUINAS. 
 
 BY 
 
 Dr. ARNOLD LORAND 
 
 Physician to the Baths, Carlsbad 
 
 Author of "Old Age Deferred" and "Health Through 
 Rational Diet" 
 
 Translated from the German 
 
 BY 
 
 PHILIPP FISCHELIS, M.D. 
 
 Acting Associate Professor of Histology and Embryology, 
 University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 About 450 Pages, Octavo 
 
 PRICE, BOUND IN HANDSOME CLOTH, $3.00 
 
 This Includes Delivery, 
 
 In this work the gifted author correlates by careful 
 analysis those miscellaneous factors which conjointly pro- 
 duce what is known as human intelligence. Only a man 
 of very exceptional personal observation, clinical knowl- 
 edge, and thorough familiarity with the collateral sciences, 
 and the literature pertaining to same, could have produced 
 such a book. 
 
 Naturally the reader will be a great gainer by this 
 assembling into a harmonious sequence of such a great 
 variety of essential facts. The author's name is all that 
 is required as a guarantee that the book is interesting. 
 
 "BUILDING HUMAN INTELLIGENCE" is new 
 and well worth having in its freshness. 
 
 F. A. DAVIS COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 
 1914-16 Cherry Street PHILADELPHIA, PA.
 
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