Sinclair, John

The code of health and longevity. 4 vols. Contemp diced calf, rebacked

      Edinburgh: A Constable, 1807. pSinclair, John (1754-1835). The code of health and longevity. . . . 4 vols., 8vo. 3 engraved frontispieces, folding table. Edinburgh: A. Constable, 1807. 212 x 131 mm. 19th cent. diced russia, rebacked, corners repaired. Light foxing and browning, minor worming in Vol. 2, but very good. Engraved armorial bookplate of the Earl of Morley in each volume./p#11;pFirst Edition. G-M 1602.1. One of the most comprehensive works on gerontology ever written, containing a bibliography of 1800 works on aging, "supplemented by abstacts, translated excerpts from ancient authors, national data, consilia, personal communications, some gossip, and pictures of many old people" (Freeman, Aging: The History and Literature,p. 81; see also pp. 44, 53-54, 58). Sinclair, a lawyer and member of Parliament, was called "the most indefatigable man in Britain"; he wrote voluminously on many subjects, and is credited (wrongly) with introducing the word "statistics." His Code of Health was intended to form part of a massive "Codean System of Literature," in which "all knowledge was to be summarised in four departments, comprising agriculture, health, political economy, and religion" (DNB); only the first two "Codes" (agriculture and health) were published. 36433/p#11;