He held that the life most conducive to length of years was that of the scholar--his own, in fact--regular, uneventful, reflective, and sedentary.

I, on the other hand, thought that the man who passed much of his time in the open air, moving about and using his limbs, would live the longer--other things being equal, and assuming that both observed the accepted rules of health.
The result of our discussion was a friendly wager.

"You try your way; I will try mine," said Giessler, "and we will see who lives the longer--at any rate, the survivor will.

The survivor must also publish an account of his system, _pour encourageur les autres_." As we were of the same age, equally sound in constitution and strong in physique, and not greatly dissimilar in temperament, I accepted the challenge.

The competition is still going on.