"
He thought an order of celibates ought to exist in every Protestant
community, and that its members should be self-supporting, and not
beggars; that the necessities and conscience of many in every civilized
community would be relieved if there were such an order open to them.
In admitting members, no property qualification is made; and in practice
those who come in singly, from time to time, hardly ever possess any
thing; but after a great revival of religion, when numbers come in,
usually about half bring in more or less property, and often large
amounts.
As to celibacy, he asserted in the most positive manner that it is
healthful, and tends to prolong life; "as we are constantly proving." He
afterward gave me a file of the _Shaker_, a monthly paper, in which
the deaths in all the societies are recorded; and I judge from its
reports that the death rate is low, and the people mostly long-lived.
[Footnote: In nine numbers of the _Shaker_ (year 1873), twenty-seven
deaths are recorded. Of these, Abigail Munson died at Mount Lebanon,
aged 101 years, 11 months, and 12 days. The ages of the remainder were
97, 93, 88, 87, 86, 82, six above 75, four above 70, 69, 65, 64, 55, 54,
49, 37, 31, and two whose ages were not given.
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