The ages of the patriarchs before the flood have been a subject of critical dispute. With the exception ! of Enoch, whom "God took " at the age of 365, they are all represented in the Bible to have lived seven or eight centuries. Methuselah's age was 969, which is the greatest on record. After the deluge life gradually grew shorter. Shem died at 600, Abraham at 175, Isaac at 180, Jacob at 147, Joseph at 110. Commentators who reject the literal I interpretation of the statements concerning the earlier patriarchs suppose either that the name of each patriarch denotes a clan or family in-stead of an individual, or that the sacred biographies are allegorical. History shows that the natural term of life has varied little during some 4,000 years, and the proportion of extraordinary cases of longevity continues much the same at present as it was in former times. The average duration of existence is, however, quite another question; and this varies with the favorable or unfavorable habits of the people with regard to industry, morality, and civilized culture.

Nor has lati-tude or longitude much to do with the dura-tion of life, either with regard to average, or natural, or extraordinary periods; for in all latitudes and longitudes, where natural conditions are otherwise equally favorable, natural, exceptional, and average periods maintain re-spectively a similar ratio. The average dura-tion of life in Europe, according to statistical calculations, lies somewhere between 26 and 33 years; the highest average occurs in coun-, tries where wealth, commerce, and civilization are most generally diffused; the lowest where poverty and ignorance and despotism prevail. These facts have been carefully observed in our times by life insurance companies, as the basis of commercial calculations. In England the rate of mortality is said to be 2 1/4 per cent, per annum; while in Russia the returns of 1842 gave 3 1/2 per cent, for the mortality of the whole empire, and considerably more than this for certain provinces, including the basins of the Volga, the Dnieper, and the Don. The average duration of life is therefore higher in England than in Russia; but we might probably find as many cases of exceptional longevity in Russia as in England, if statistical returns were made with equal care in the two countries.

Comparative longevity has not received as much attention as the averages of mortality and the mean duration of existence in civilized states, but numerous authentic records of individual cases may be found in every nation. Pliny gives some instances of longevity taken exclusively from the region between the Apennines and the Po, as found on the record of the census instituted by Vespasian; and within these narrow limits he enumerates 54 persons who had reached the age of 100 years; 14, the age of 110; 20, 125; 40, 130; 40, 135; and 30, 140 years. In the single town of Valcia-tium near Placentia, he mentions 6 persons of 110, 4 of 120, and 1 of 150 years of age. Among the ancient philosophers and men of note, not to mention women, we find some cases of comparative longevity. Sophocles is said to have lived 90 years; Zeno, 98; De-mocritus, 99; Pyrrho, 90; Diogenes, 90; Isoc-rates, 98; Gorgias and Hippocrates, upward of 100; and numerous other instances of comparative longevity are recorded of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as of modern times and nations.

Dr. Van Oven gives 17 examples of age exceeding 150 years; and Mr. Bailey, in his records of longevity, gives a catalogue of 3,000 or 4,000 cases of old age, verging closely on 100 or exceeding it, and not a few of them reaching as high as 150 years. Many of these cases may be more or less satisfactorily authenticated, but there can be no doubt of the occasional prolongation of human life beyond the age of 100, even up to 170, and in at least one instance to 185, the age of Peter Czartan, a peasant of Hungary, who was born in 1539 and died in 1724. But these cases are always exceptional in comparison with the average duration of life, and therefore, as judicious writers have observed, "no fit exponents of the universal natural capacity for life in man." The average, which falls below the natural term, might certainly be raised by due attention to the laws of nature and the known requirements of healthy life in states and cities, families and individuals. The natural term of life differs to some extent, no doubt, in different persons, though not as the natural stature differs in different families; for all men attain to virility about 35 or 40, however slowly they decline into old age.

To this extent we may regard the natural term of human development as normal or constant; but some maintain their vigor many years, and then decline most rapidly and die, while others decline slowly and enjoy a long evening of life. This view of the fact might give some plausibility to the theory of continuing for all by artificial means that slow decline which nature, unassisted, manifests in some rare instances; but nothing being known of the causes of such exceptional lon-gevity, nothing can be logically predicated of the possible results of any human scheme for lengthening the descending period of human life. - Little is known of the age of animals, especially the non-domesticated tribes. Some isolated facts, however, have been noted with regard to the age attained by certain birds, fishes, reptiles, elephants, etc. The East Indians believe that the elephant lives about 300 years, and instances are on record of the animals having been kept in captivity as long as 130 years, their age being unknown when they were first taken wild from the forest. Camels live from 40 to 50 years; horses average from 25 to 30, oxen about 20, sheep 8 or 9, and dogs from 12 to 14 years.

As a general rule, the larger types of animals live longer than the smaller, in the vertebrated classes, quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and fishes. Some kinds of birds attain to a great age; the swan has been known to live 100 years; and there are instances on record of the raven having exceeded that age. Birds of prey attain to great longevity; the eagle has survived a century. Parrots have been known to live 6O, and as long as 80 years. The gallinaceous tribes live not so long. Pheasants and domestic poultry rarely exceed 12 or 15 years. Reptiles of some kinds live very long. A tortoise was placed in the garden of the archiepiscopal palace of Lambeth in 1G33, during the life of Archbishop Laud, and lived till 1753, when it perished by accident. Nothing is known of the age of large serpents, such as the boa, but small batra-chians, as the toad, are known to live about 15 years. Fishes, and animals that live in the water, attain in many instances to a great age. The carp has been known to live 200 years. Common river trout have been confined in a well 30 and even 50 years.