The Code of Health and Longevity

86 APPENDTX. There are habits which feem to be natural to, and con­ genial with, the feveral periods of life. The child Ihould merely fuck, deep and vegetate. The boy fliould ramble wild and unconftrained, little oppreffed with talks or lludies, and nouriflied with abundance of limple food- The youth ihould be temperate, fober, adive. The old man quiet, fedate, felf-indulgent *, fliould have long deep, delicate food, rich wines, and agreeable temperature; little labour, and a cheerful mind. Nature affigas us vigour, fpirit, enterprifc and forefight, in the early part of life, to treafure up the needful indulgencies for age. Parents are careful of our firft infancy j we ourfelves ought to provide for our latter childhood. The moft intelligent profeffional men have an opinion concerning the functions of the Ikin, confonant with that of the vulgar; and more refined, only from their affign- ing a general caufe for thofe elfefts, of which all of us arc confcious. The Ikin is not regarded merely as an organ of fecretion, deftined for draining off fuperfluousmoifture, or faline particles, from the general mafs of fluids, but as a furface of more a£live circulation, which folicits the blood to the very extremities of the veflels, and thus contributes to fupport and complete the circulation of the blood, and to nourilh the parts within. The Ikin is regarded as connefted, in a peculiar manner, with all the parts of the cellular fubftance, interpofed betwixt the mufcles, and involving the blood-veflels. The ftate of the Ikin indicates the condition of that cellular fubftarice, whofe office it is to condud the blood-veflels to all parts, efpecially to the mufcular flefh, and to nourifh the parts ; and while the circulation of the Ikin is lively anda£live, that of the involved parts cannever flag. The condition of the bowels, and of the Ikin, are the firftandmoft natural points for the physician to attend to. It is by regulating thefe.