There is no period in life when those courtesies of good breeding which
recognize the relations of superior and inferior should be more
carefully cherished than when there is need of showing them toward
those of advancing age. To those who have controlled a household, and
still more to those who in public life have been honored and admired,
the decay of mental powers is peculiarly trying, and every effort
should be made to lessen the trial by courteous attention to their
opinions, and by avoiding all attempts to controvert them, or to make
evident any weakness or fallacy in their conversation.
In regard to the decay of bodily or mental faculties, much more can
be done to prevent or retard them than is generally supposed, and some
methods for this end which have been gained by observation or experience
will be presented.
As the exercise of all our faculties tends to increase their power,
unless it be carried to excess, it is very important that the aged
should be provided with useful employment, suited to their strength
and capacity. Nothing hastens decay so fast as to remove the
_stimulus_ of useful activity.
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