Fast Long & Prosper by Todd T. Daly

Fast Long & Prosper

Todd T. Daly on Christian Asceticism & the Misguided Quest for Longevity

Most of us won’t be as fortunate as Madame Jeanne Calment, who lived to the age of 122. Somewhat of a local celebrity in her hometown of Arles, France, Ms. Calment was still bicycling in her early hundreds, consuming roughly two pounds of chocolate a week, and smoking two cigarettes per day (a habit she finally dropped at age 120). When asked about the secret of her long life, she attributed it to port wine and olive oil.

Ms. Calment’s life is one exceptional instance of a general trend of increasing life expectancies. Indeed, life expectancies in the twentieth century almost doubled, due primarily to the effective treatment of diseases like tuberculosis and smallpox, a reduction in infant mortality, and a general improvement in sanitary conditions.

THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:


subscription options

Order
Print/Online
Subscription

Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!

Order
Online Only
Subscription

Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!

bulk subscriptions

Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.

Transactions will be processed on a secure server.


more on christianity from the online archives

22.6—July/August 2009

Unhappy Fault

on the Integration of Anger into the Virtuous Life by Leon J. Podles

35.3—May/Jun 2022

Babylon's Furnace

Truth, Suffering & the Hard Road Ahead by Rod Dreher

25.3—May/Jun 2012

Just Sayin'

on What We Used to Know vs. What We Know Now by Thomas Howard


more from the online archives

32.4—July/August 2019

Sojourner Knight

on Single-Mindedness in Durer's Ritter, Tod, und Teufel by Anthony Costello

33.3—May/June 2020

Consolation in Death

Bach's Cantata BWV 106, Gottes Zeit ist die allerbesteZeit (God's time is the very best time) by Ken Myers

16.10—December 2003

Calculating Christmas

on the Story Behind December 25 by William J. Tighe

calling all readers

Please Donate

"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand

"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor

Support Touchstone

00