The Art of Prolonging Life (Erasmus Wilson edition)

The Art of Prolonging Life is the English-language edition of Hufeland’s macrobiotic treatise used in this case for quotation. This is the Erasmus Wilson edition, printed at Philadelphia by Lindsay & Blakiston in 1867 from the last London edition. The table of contents and chapter structure set out the doctrine plainly: the work first inquires into “the nature of the vital power, and the duration of life in general,” then asserts that “vital consumption” is the “inseparable consequence of vital operation” and so fixes the “term of life,” and then turns to the “retardation of vital consumption” as the means of “prolonging life.” The practical chapters prescribe moderation in diet, regular sleep, pure air, exercise and friction of the body, and tranquillity of mind, and cite the spare daily ration of the Venetian Luigi Cornaro as an example of longevity attributed to abstemious living. The chapter headings and imprint quoted in this case were read from the Internet Archive scan (artofprolongingl00hufeuoft). The German first edition (Jena, 1797) is the separate primary source entry.