Cornaro's four tracts on longevity were first issued separately, then published together for the first time under the general title Discorsi della Vita Sobria in 1591. In his late 30's, Cornaro finding his health almost ruined by self-indulgence, undertook a major reformation of his habits, limiting himself to twelve ounces of solid food and fourteen ounces of wine per day, and avoiding all the excesses common to the noblemen of his time. The first of these tracts was written whe he was eighty-three, and the last when he was ninety-five, a fact that lent considerable weight to his arguments in the judgement of posterity.