ration for their aged, as well as their proverbial
charity to their own poor and sick, and their provident habits and
hygienic regulations imposed upon them by the Mosaic law, are all
conditions that conspire to induce longevity.

That the Hebrew is generally found in such conditions as above described
is undisputed; but it is questionable if all these conditions are
necessarily such as are favorable to health and long life, and that,
therefore, the longevity of the Jewish race cannot altogether be
ascribed to the above conditions. Looking at the subject of occupation,
if we consult Lombard, Thackrah, and the later works on the effects of
occupation on life, we must admit that the Jew has no visible advantage
in that regard, as he follows hardly any out-of-door occupation, being
often in-doors in a confined and foul atmosphere. To those who have
closely observed the race in this country,--coming as they do from the
cold-wintered climates of Germany, Austria, or Poland, bringing with
them the habit of living in small, close rooms, for the sake of economy
and comfort,--it must be admitted that among the lower classes and the
poorer of the race, their shops being connected, as they usually are,
with their living-rooms, the _toute ensemble_ is anything but conducive
to a long life. Their anaemic and undeveloped physical condition and weak
muscular organization are sufficient evidence that their surroundings
are not calculated to improve health. In England, statistics
sufficiently prove that the fisherman on the coast, exposed to all kinds
of weather, is not as prone to disease as is his brother Englishman who
deals out the groceries in his snug shop. Exercise has been held an
important element in the factory of the long-lived. From the time of
Hippocrates down to Cheyne, Rush, Hufeland, Tissot, Charcot, Humphry,
and all authorities on the factors of old age, exercise has been looked
upon as favoring long life. Exercise cannot be said to enter in any way
as a factor in the longevity of the Jew; but, on the contrary, his
in-door life is known to be very productive of phthisis in other races.
His recreations are, as a rule, of the home social order. They visit and
spend the time allotted to recreation in social intercourse, which their
hospitality always insists on accompanying with a generous lunch, which,
to say the least, is not an element that is conducive to either health
or long life; for no people excel the Jew in home h