Discourses on the Sober Life

by Luigi Cornero

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: Health

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

As my 3-stars indicate, I enjoyed this short couple of duplicating treatises on the virtue of "sobriety": eating and drinking only that little that the ageing body requires and following consistent habits of moderate exercise (walking and, what was common to the Renaissance moderately wealthy, horseback riding) and sufficient sleep at regular hours.

Cornaro exhorts his readers to review their (probably) intemperate lives and adopt his regimen of reduced intake, but easily allows that each individual should closely observe his reactions to the foods he eats and tailor his diet to those that agree with him. And as an interesting inducement to striving to prolong a long and healthy life, the author continually stresses his joys at being of assistance to others in encouraging this temperate lifestyle in order to provide his readers with the great satisfaction Cornaro has achieved in serving his beloved community of Venice with the designs and supervisions of projects improving the health (draining swamps) and independence (shipping improvements) of his fellow citizens.

Being written in the mid-1500s, some of the concepts are quaint, such as there being "humours" that govern the body's general health, and the blessed peaceful death of old age, rather than illness, being caused by the final drying-out of the innate internal repository of "vapors". Cornaro, like most of his generation, believed in astrology and the influence of stars and planets on a person's general constitution but believed also that by shedding youthful gluttony and undertaking rational temperance any natural weaknesses could be overcome and a long and healthy life achieved. It's a fine idea, if perhaps not as absolutely true as could be hoped.

[Christine Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's worth the read and contemplation.

It is not a detailed diet book, what to eat exactly and when to eat. It is a treatise on why we should eat and drink with strict temperance in general and what kind of beautiful life one could obtain if only one is willing to try.

[Mike Cheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of short essays by Luigi Cornaro, who came up from somewhat modest beginnings to be extremely wealthy. What makes Mr. Cornaro special is not his financial success but the advices given in these essays - namely how he has found the Philosopher's Stone for living a long and healthy life. By Mr. Cornaro’s own account, at the age of 40 he found himself in a debilitated state, suffering from a variety of maladies including “stomach issues, colic, gout, slight fever, and perpetual thirst”. Mr. Cornaro concluded that “intemperance is the parent of gluttony”, and it is “excess that causes disease which leads to death”. He thereafter decided to implement an ascetic lifestyle change of caloric restriction, which can be summarized into two tenets: (1) eat far less than you desire (i.e., always leave the table still hungry); and (2) eat only that which your stomach agrees with - which in practical terms means be cognizant of foods that you individually have no issue digesting. “Simple” certainly does not mean “Easy” here, as Mr. Cornaro’s total daily sustenance was about 12 ounces of food (bread, egg yolk, meat, and soup) and 14 ounces of wine. Within a few days of implementing his approach Mr. Cornaro’s ailments were quickly lessened, and one year later had completely abated. Living past 100 (he wrote the first discourse when he was 83 and the fourth when he was 95), Mr. Cornaro disabuses the notion that life past 75 is not worth living, as he claims to have youthful vigor even in his 80s and 90s enjoying perpetual good humor, clear thought, a tenacious memory, and the ability to move with ease (e.g., mounting his horse, climbing steps). Mr. Cornaro’s work is not without its detractors, and perhaps somewhat rightly so as it is unscientific and totally anecdotal (Nietzche criticized it as confusing cause and effect). At the same time, however, Mr. Cornaro’s work has also received a fair amount of praise. Thomas Edison, for example, famously adopted the lifestyle. Numerous books about health and longevity, and curiously books about finance, have referenced this work. (In addition to #Edison by Edmond Morris, Mr. Cornaro was also discussed in #Lifespan by David Sinclair, #Outlive by Peter Attia, and #AgainsttheGods” by Peter Bernstein.) For those interested in this type of work, this was reminiscent of William Banting’s Letters on Corpulence (published in 1869 considered by many as the original “low carb” diet book) though Mr. Cornaro’s work came over 300 years earlier, with the first essay that was written in the year 1550.

[Brim Peabody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being written 5 centuries ago, Cornero's discourses on the importance of self restraint and the beauty of foregoing pleasure ring true today.

I discovered the book through another where it was referenced as the "first diet book". My curiousity was piqued. How much pseudo-science and foolishness would writers 500 years ago have employed when prescribing a way of living to their readers? Looking back on other medical practices of the time, the answer seems obvious. In a world of blood-letting, the prospects for evidence-based, productive dieting advice are shaky at best.

Despite my reservations, this book was remarkably good. Obviously not a light read, but one that left me with the remarkable sense of connection to a period of time that can only be described as abstract. Here was an author who had struggled with excess, learned the values of restraint, and effectively communicated them in a book. Looking past the differences in vernacular between modern day New England and 17th century Italy, the message was exactly the same as we find in self-help and discipline books today. In no particular order: the ability to delay gratification is fundamental for long-term happiness. The mindset "here for a good time not a long time" is fundamentally flawed, and, on one's deathbed, those who chose this path likely would love to go back-in-time and shake themselves silly. And last, but not least, the food and drink we consume is one of the most powerful levers we can pull to live a long and happy life.

To be clear, Cornero has some misses, as one would expect from a health-focused book from this time period. Often, he wanders past reasonable self restraint of consumption and into dialogue that encourages anorexic behavior, and readers should take his actual dieting advice with a massive grain of salt, perhaps the whole shaker. To limit one's food intake to an obsessive degree can be one of the single most harmful courses one can take.

Ideally, readers will recognize that Cornero is directionally correct, even if he is too extreme. The lesson to walk away with is: self restraint can be a great asset; the ability to delay gratification is the key to success in many dimensions of life.

I will close with a favorite passage:

"Hence, they often expose themselves rashly to every kind of danger, and, banishing reason, bow their necks to the yoke of concupiscence, and endeavor to gratify all their appetites, not minding, fools as they are, that they thereby hasten the approach of what they would most willingly avoid, sickness and death."

[Roberto Bovina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libretto di cento pagine in tutto, scritto in quattro momenti della sua vita, dagli 83 ai 95 anni di età. L'autore svela il segreto per rimanere sani e felici fino a cent'anni. Una vita sobria, contenendosi nel mangiare, vivendo regolarmente.

[Tom Vanmatre · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Christian-centric Treatise on Temperance and Sobriety

An elated, albeit egocentric, account of a temperate and sober life. Cornaro does well in explaining the virtues and values of temperance and sobriety in daily life; in fact, he does so convincingly and enthusiastically. The weakness of his treatise lies in its composition- twenty unnecessary pages of self-congratulatory prose and excessive pontification.