IF METHUSELAH EXISTED,
WHY SO SHORT OUR LIVES?
At a Theosophical Society meeting the other day, it was stated
that in the early races, say the second and third, referred to
in the Secret Doctrine, many had a much more ethereal
body, which lived many more years than Methuselah, the aged.
In elaborating this, the objection was advanced that the body
of man is now much more compact and stable than it was in those
early races, because teh atoms of which it is composed know their
business better now than then, have greater affinity for certain
combinations and for each other, and are not so readily scattered
and disintegrated; and, if so, how is it explained that the length
of human life now is only three-score and ten years, against
several hundred in primitive times?
At first sight this seems to be perhaps a strong objection,
but a careful consideration will dissipate it.
In the first place, when the human body was in a nebulous
state the friction between the particles was much less than when
they had drawn closer together. If the theory of ultimate atoms
is admitted, we must also asent to the law that there is friction
between them which will develop heat or tend to reduce the cohesive
power. The heat evolved will have a tendency to destroy the interveninig
medium, or at least to so alter its state as to make it useless
as a medium for cohesions to act.
Further, if we suppose, as is perfectly justifiable, that
there are large and small combinations of atoms in each of which
athe units are closer to each other, the heat evolved will destroy
the constitution of the element, whatever it may be, that is
between that combination of atoms and the adjoining one. And,
still further, the friction between any two such bodies will
also tend to rub off or draw off atoms from either of two to
unite with the stronger, or be thrown entirely out of both collections.
Such a process as described will in the end bring about the
disintegration of the entire mass of atoms. Thus at first, the
atoms being farther removed, the destructive means can only act
at intervals or more slowly than when the union is more intimate,
and from this we reach the reason why the age of the combination
of atoms would be greater in the one case than in the other.
Coming down to the present period we find that, in addition
to ghe closer association of atoms in the physical frame, there
is also another disturbing element tending to destructuion of
the union, that is, the force of the mind and the emotions.
It is well known that as man increases his brain use and power
and the play of his emotions, he is able to affect his physical
frame thereby. Today many hold that the American people are becoming
too nervously organized. This reacts upon the atoms in the body,
and must make the average age less than those ancient races when
the mental and emotional natures did not have such sway over
the human being.
This is perfectlly in accord with the Secret Doctrine,
as it is shown that in the early ages everything went slower
in all departments and that now in Kali Yuga all things move
with great rapidity.
So it may be properly concluded that the great law of conservation
of energy, of correlation of forces, makes it now out of the
ordinary for men to live to the age of Methuselah.
F.T.S.
Path, May 1891
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