Abipones are indebted for their strength and longevity partly to their parents, partly to themselves. The vigour of youth, preserved by temperance, accompanies them during the whole of their lives, and is even transmitted to their children. The Abipones never indulge in licentious gratifications during youth, and though of a fiery temperament, debilitate their constitutions by no irregularities. They amuse themselves with conversation, mirth, and jesting, but always within the limits of modesty. By a sort of natural instinct peculiar to themselves, both boys and girls, hold in abhorrence all means and opportunities of infringing the laws of decorum: you never see them talking together either publicly or privately; never idling in the street. The girls love to assist their mothers in domestic employments; the continual exercise of arms and horses engrosses the chief attention of the young men.
The Indians of other nations are often shorter, slenderer, and less robust. Many of them consume away before they arrive at manhood; others grow prematurely old, and die an untimely death. Do you enquire the cause? I will tell you my opinion on the subject. Many are unhealthy because their parents are so; others from being oppressed with Labour, and very poorly provided with food, clothes, and lodging; the majority because they have exhausted their natural vigour by indulging from their earliest youth in shameful pleasures. Libidinosa etenim, et intemperans adolescentia effœtum corpus tradit senectuti, as Cicero observes, in his treatise on Old Age. How many of those who die a premature death would deserve to have this epitaph engraven on their tomb, Nequitia est quæ te non sinit esse senem. Too early marriages are often a cause why we find the other Indians weaker and less vigorous and long-lived than the Abipones, who never think of entering the matrimonial state till they are near thirty years old, and never marry a woman under twenty; which, as philosophers and physicians say, conduces much to the preservation of strength, lengthening of life, and producing robust children. It cannot be doubted, that tender parents never produce very strong children; and since the affections of the mind are consequences of the habit of the body, as Galen teaches with much prolixity, it cannot be wondered that such children should be as imbecile in mind as in body.
Their education also conduces greatly to form the manners and strengthen the bodies of the Abipones. For, as Quintilian observes, in his first book of Institutes, that soft kind of breeding, which we call indulgence, relaxes all the nerves both of the mind and body. No one can object to the education of the Abipones on account of its delicacy. The children are plunged into a cold stream, if there be one at a convenient distance, as soon as they see the light. They know of no such things as cradles, feathers, cushions, swathing-clothes, blandishments, and toys. Covered with a light garment of otters' skins, they sleep wherever chance directs, and crawl upon the ground like little pigs. Whenever a mother has to take a journey on horseback, she places the child in a bag made of boars' skins, and suspended from the saddle along with the puppies, pots, gourds, &c. The husband will often come and snatch his little son, as he is sucking, from its mother's arms, set him on his own horse, and behold him riding with eyes sparkling with pleasure. When a mother is swimming in a river for the sake of a bath, she presses her infant to her breast with one hand, while she uses the other as an oar. If the child be pretty big, it is thrown into the water, that it may learn to swim while it is but just beginning to walk. You seldom see little boys but just weaned walking in the street without a bow and arrow. They shoot birds, flies, and all kinds of small animals. Their usual amusement is shooting at a mark. They go out every day on horseback, and ride races with one another. All these things undoubtedly conduce much towards strengthening and enlarging the body. Would that European mothers could be brought to discard the unnatural artifices and indulgences used in the bringing up of their children! Oh that they would moderate the bandages and cloths with which they bind, and as it were imprison and enchain the tender little bodies of their infants! then should we see fewer bandy-legged, hump-backed, dwarfish, weak, and diseased persons in Europe.
The Abipones wear a garment not tight to their bodies, but loose and flowing down to their heels; calculated to cover, not load and oppress the body, and to defend it from the injuries of the weather, without preventing the perspiration, or impeding the circulation of the blood. All the wise people of the east, and most of the ancient Germans, made choice of a large wide garment. What if we say that their bodies were consequently larger, and filled a wider space? Those who wish to enjoy their health, should attend to the maxim ne quid nimis, in dress as well as in other things. On the other hand too scanty clothing is assuredly prejudicial to health. Prudent persons vary their dress according to the state of the air, as seamen shift their sails. Even the Abipones of both sexes, and of every age, though satisfied at other times with a woollen garment, put on a kind of cloak, skilfully sewed, of otters' skins, when the cold south wind is blowing. This skin garment bears some sort of resemblance to the cloak which we priests wear to sing vespers in the church.
Galen, in his work on the preservation of the health, boldly and truly asserts that too great repose of body is highly prejudicial, but moderate and proper motion, on the other hand, of the utmost utility. This is consonant to the words of Celsus, Lib. I. c. 1. Ignavia corpus hebetat, labor firmat; illa præmaturam senectam, iste longam adolescentiam reddit. You cannot therefore be surprized that the Abipones are athletic like the Macrobii. They are in continual motion. Riding, hunting, and swimming are their daily employments. War, either against men or beasts, occasions them to take very long excursions. Their business is to swim across rivers, climb trees to gather honey, make spears, bows, and arrows, weave ropes of leather, dress saddles, practise every thing, in short, fatiguing to the hands or feet. But if they indulge themselves with an intermission of these employments, they ride horseraces for a sword which is given to him who reaches the goal first. Another very common game amongst the Abipones is one which they play on foot. The instrument with which it is performed is a piece of wood about two hands long, rounded like a staff, thicker at the extremities and slenderer in the middle. This piece of wood they throw to the mark, with a great effort, in such a manner that it strikes the ground every now and then, and rebounds, like the stones which boys throw along the surface of a river. Fifty and often a hundred men stand in a row and throw this piece of wood by turns, and he who flings it the farthest and the straightest obtains the sword.
This game, which from boys they are accustomed to play at for hours together, amuses and fatigues them with wonderful benefit to their health. The same piece of wood which serves both as an instrument of peace and war, is made formidable use of by many of the savages to crush the bodies of their enemies and of wild beasts. The Abipones hate to lead the life of a snail, idle and listless, and consequently do not undergo a swift and miserable decay, like those who are stupefied with sloth, confined to their bed, table, or gaming-table, and seldom stir out into the street or country. The Abiponian women, though debarred from the sports and equestrian contests of the men, have scarce time to rest or breathe, so much are they occupied day and night with the management of their domestic affairs. Hence that masculine vigour of the females in producing almost gigantic offspring, hence their strength and longevity.
The food also to which the Abipones are accustomed, in my judgment contributes not a little to prolong their lives. What Tacitus says of the ancient Germans is applicable to them: Cibi simplices, agrestia poma, recens fera, aut lac concretum, sine apparatu, sine blandimentis expellunt famem. They feed, as chance directs, upon beef, or the flesh of wild animals, mostly roasted, but seldom boiled. If the plain afford them no wild beasts to hunt, the water will supply their hunger with various kinds of fish besides otters, ducks, capibaris, &c. From the air also they receive birds that are by no means to be despised, and from the woods divers fruits, to appease the cravings of appetite. Should all these be wanting, roots concealed beneath the ground or the water are converted into food. Necessity alone will induce them to taste fishes, though excellent. Tigers' flesh, spite of its vile odour, is in such esteem amongst them that if one of them kills a tiger, he cuts it into small portions, and divides it amongst himself and his companions, that all the hordesmen may share in what they think so delightful a delicacy. It is an old complaint amongst physicians that new seasonings of food imported from the new world have brought with them new diseases into Europe. This complaint cannot affect the Abipones, who are unacquainted with seasonings, and feed upon simple fare. They detest vinegar; and salt, though as fond of it as goats, they are seldom able to obtain, their land producing
