Paracelsus
(Theophrastus 1650), laboured studiously to discover some means for
prolonging life. Like Bacon, and Verulam, he maintained that the human
body may be rejuvenated to a certain extent by a fresh supply of
vitality ; and it was his great aim to find the means by which such a
supply could be obtained. As reasons for his belief, he argued thus, "
Metals may be preserved from rust; and wood may be protected against
rot. Blood may be preserved a long time if the air is excluded.
Egyptian mummies have kept their form for centuries without undergoing
putrefaction. Animals awaken from their winter sleep ; and flies,
having become torpid from cold, grow nimble again when they are warmed.
(" Such a hot day was it" ;— Dickens ; in the dull, sunny little town
favoured with a visit by Mrs. Jarley, and her renowned Waxworks ; that
" the very dogs were all asleep ; and the flies. drunk with moist
sugar, in the grocer's shop, forgot
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