Book of the Month: Luigi Cornaro – Sure and certain methods of attaining a long and healthful life
Luigi Cornaro (c.1467-1566) was a Venetian nobleman, famous for his treatise on a temperate life. Following a very serious illness at the age of around 40, he began, under medical advice, to gradually reduce his diet until, eventually, he found that he could support his life and strength with no more solid meat than an egg a day. For the remainder of his long life, he followed two cardinal rules; eat what agrees with your digestion (quality of food); and eat as little as possible (quantity of food).
Cornaro was over 80 years when he published his first treatise, translated into English as
The sure and certain method of attaining a long and healthful life. This was to go through numerous editions. RCPI's Dun's Library has a copy of the third edition, published in Dublin in 1740. In the work, Cornaro advocates a sober and regular life, with moderation in diet and drinking and regular exercise.
Cornaro went on to write three more treatise, including
Treatise on temperance and sobriety. Dun's Library holds a 1729 edition of this work printed in Dublin.
His work has remained in print up to the present time. The Irish medical historian
Dr John Fleetwood has an especially interest in long life (Fleetwood was over 90 years old when he died in 2007). His bequest of his personal library to RCPI includes an edition of Cornaro's
The Art of Living Long, published in the USA in 1917.
There is some doubt over the date of Cornaro's birth, but he was certainly at least 98 and possibly as much as 102 years old when he died in 1566. At all events, he was certainly well qualified to write on the subject of attaining a healthy old age.
Robert Mills,
RCPI Librarian
The works mentioned in this post are available for consultation in Dun's Library; see our
online catalogue for more details. To make an appointment to view these, or any other material held by the Heritage Centre please contact
heritagecentre@rcpi.ie.