grossness for every humour may be either subtile or gross and a subtile Melancholy is more different from a gross then it is from choler Accordingly the effects of it are promptitude inconstancy anger as they are of choler whereas the productions of the gross melancholy are slothfulness stupidity obstinacy And it is upon this particular that medicine hath not sufficiently explicated it self in the division of the Temperaments for it hath set down but nine one temperate and the other eight in excess which might have been multiplied by addition of subtilty and grossness and by the interchangeable mixtures which may be assign'd in men as the Cholerick-Sanguine the Melancholick-Sanguine c. as we shall shew more exactly in the Treatise of the Temperaments Art 7. Of the nature of Aversion Thus have we given an account of all we could discover in a business which haply is the most obscure and most abstruse of any relating to Animals I must for my part ingenuously confess that I never met with any thing more hard to conceive then the nature of the inclination the manner after which it is fram'd in the soul and how it causes the Appetite to move But if I have perform'd what I aim'd at in this disquisition I may say that I have made two discoveries for one for the reasons I have used to clear up these difficulties may also serve for those that may occur in the knowledge of Aversion and are in all respects like unto them Accordingly the tearm Aversion is not here taken for that motion of the Appetite which frames Hatred but only for a Disposition and facility that it hath to assume that motion the account we have to give of this as to our meaning thereby being the same we have already given of the word Inclination Suitably to this explication we are to affirm that as the Inclinations are either Natural or Acquired so are there the same divisions of Aversion The Appetite also is the seat of both All the same causes whether Natural or Moral or Next or Remote act therein after the same manner and equally dispose the soul to move All the difference is that they have contrary objects and that they alwaies tend to contrary motions For the inclination looks only after things agreeable and gives the soul a bent towards them but Aversion is for those that are unpleasant and disposes the Appetite to avoid them So that it may be thus defin'd Aversion is a permanent Disposition and a facility attain'd by a long progress of time which the Appetite hath to recede from certain objects which are disagreeable thereto There is no necessity of any further explication how the soul comes to attain and contract this facility for whatever we have said concerning that which is in the Inclination is common to both CHAP. III. Of the Motions of the Soul SECT I. That the Soul moves ALL people talk of the motions of the Soul 't is generally said that she is inclin'd towards the good and avoids evil that she grows resolute or is discourag'd at the meeting of difficulties and there is no language but hath certain terms whereby to express the agitations she gives her self so that it is a thing manifest and such as ought not to be admitted into dispute that the soul can move and that she effectually hath such motions as are proper and peculiar to her And certainly as it is to be granted that she ought to know the things that are good and evil and that this knowledge were of no advantage nay would be prejudicial to her if she had not the means to enjoy the good and shun the evil In like manner is it necessary that with the said knowledge she should have the vertue of moving that so she may approach the good and recede from the evil which she knows Art 1. What part of the Soul moves FOr this reason therefore hath the Soul two principal flaculties one in reference to her knowledge the other to her motion which faculties are in all the orders of the soul For in the Intellectual Soul the Vnderstanding knows and the Will moves in the Sensitive the Imagination supplies the place of the knowing faculty and the sensitive Appetite frames the motions And in the Natural there is also a certain vertue which after its manner knows what is good or bad for it and an appetite which causes all the motions that we observe therein Art 2. That the motions of the Soul are not metaphorical THe greatest difficulty of all is to know of what nature these motions are and whether the soul does effectually move or that this is a figurative manner of speaking representing the actions of the soul according to a certain conformity which may be between them and the motions of the body For my part I am fully satisfy'd as to the question and therefore affirm though contrary to the Tenents of all Philosophy and the Schools maintaining that they are only metaphorical motions that they are true and real motions whereby the Soul changes place and puts her self into diverse situations Art 3. That the rational Soul hath a real motion as the Angels have TO establish therefore this doctrine which must serve to explicate the nature of the Passions we are in the first place to consider the motions of the rational Soul For if it can be shewn that being wholy spiritual as she is she nevertheless moves it will be a great presumption for the others which are fasten'd and chain'd to matter Now to do this would be no hard task could we but comply so far with Theology as to grant that Angels really move that they pass from one place to another that they dilate and contract themselves taking up a greater or lesser space For this verity presuppos'd it may be inferr'd that the rational soul which is of the same nature with them ought to have the same advantage But what is not the soul dilated when a child grows bigger Is she not contracted and restrain'd into a less space when some members are cut off And when one dies does she not depart out of the body and remove into some other place Which if it is not to be doubted that she is susceptible of a reall motion since that in all these there is a change of situation and place as in the Angels And certainly it cannot well enter into a man's imagination that being Noble as she is she should be depriv'd of a vertue which is common to all things created For there is not any body but hath the power to move it self either by the weight or lightness it hath all things having life grow and diminish all animals move of themselves and if to all this we add the motion of Angelical substances it is not probable the soul should be the only thing in the Universe that hath not any motion and should of its own nature be immovable Art 4. That the motions of the Will are reall
to motion then Levity and Rarity and consequently it is requisite that the Organ and first Subject of the Appetite should be of a rare and light matter and that it should be present in all those places where all the motions of the Appetite are made So that there not being any part whereto this may be attributed but only the Spirits it follows that the Appetite hath its residence in them as its first and chiefest subject But in regard there are two kinds of Spirits in general those that are fixt and restrain'd to some part which are the first Bonds whereby the Soul and Body are joyned together and those which are errant and unconfin'd which distribute to all the members the heat particularly assign'd them by the heart it is requisite that they should be the fixt Spirits that have the Prerogative of being the first subject of the Appetite for it is the part the most apt to motion of any that enter into the composition of the Members one that hath a durable and permanent consistence as the Appetite and is without dispute animate it being certain that the faculties of the Soul cannot be in a subject which is not animate For it is not to be imagin'd that the errant Spirits which are not only depriv'd of Soul and Life as it is commonly held but also have not any durable subsistence no more then the Flame which assoon as lighted is thence-forward continually decaying can support a Faculty of the Soul which is fixt and permanent as the Appetite is Whence it may be concluded that the Heart is indeed the Seat of the generall Appetite but it is by reason of the fixt Spirits which enter into its composition and the case is the same of every Member in reference to the particular Appetite Art 2. The Seat of the naturall Appetite ALl that we have said of the Sensitive Appetite may be apply'd to the Naturall Appetite For of this also there are two kinds one Generall which hath a care of the whole Body and is accordingly plac'd in the heart and this is the same with that which disperses the Spirits and humours into all the parts which shakes them in Fevers and makes the Crises and such like motions which regard the whole Body The other is Particular and hath its Seat in every part it attracts what is good for it it drives away what is hurtfull it causes the contraction of the Fibres the convulsion of the Nerves c. But whereas the Sensitive Appetite is not plac'd in the Heart and other parts but upon the accompt of the fixt Spirits which enter into their composition the case is the same with the Naturall Appetite they are also the same Spirits which serve it for a first subject and first Organ upon the same grounds as they are so of the other For since that part is the most apt to motion of any of the Vegetative Soul it should accordingly have a Subject furnished with the dispositions proper to make its motions and there are not any other then these Spirits as we said before I question not but some will make this Objection against what hath been deliver'd That diverse Faculties require diverse Organs and that these two Appetites being different not only in the Species but also in the Genus as belonging to several orders of the Soul cannot have for their subject the same Spirits But it is easily answer'd since we have experience on our side and opposite to these maximes for the same animal Spirits dispose of sentiment and motion the same Substance of the Brain becomes the subject of all the superiour powers of the Sensitive Soul and the flesh as simple as it is hath both the sensitive and vegetative vertue But after all the motion of the sensitive Appetite is not different from that of the naturall Appetite as to the nature and species of motion it is made after the same manner in both and all the diversity found therein is accidental and not relating to the motion For it proceeds only from the cause and condition of the object that moves it which are things not relating to the motion In the one it is the Sensitive faculty that moves for the sensible good or evil in the other the natural faculty moves for the natural good or evil but both move after the same manner and frame the same Passions as we have shewn and consequently there is not any inconvenience that these two powers should have the same Subject in order to the same action We have not any thing to add hereto save that according as the parts have a greater or lesser portion of these fixt Spirits they have proportionably one or the other Appetite more strong and vigorous As also that the general Appetite and particular Appetite do many times assist one the other and many times also they act distinctly But we shall ever and anon have occasion to hint at these matters when we come to treat of the Passions in particular Art 3. How the Passions are compleated NOw to put a period to that which appertains to the general discourse of the Passions we are to consider all the passes in the body after the emotion of the Soul and the fixt Spirits For though the nature of every Passion consists in this emotion yet may it be said that it is not compleat if there be not joyn'd thereto the agitation which the Heart endures and the alteration which is occasion'd in the whole body We are therefore to observe that after the Soul hath been mov'd the Heart and vital Spirits follow her motion and if she would execute without what she hath propos'd in her self she at last causes the Muscles to move in the Passions of the Will and sensitive Appetite and the Fibres in those of the natural Appetite in regard the Muscles are the instruments of voluntary motion as the Fibres are of that which is made by the natural Appetite But how these motions are made we shall treat more at large in the ensuing Chapter CHAP. IV. Of the Motion of the Heart and Spirits in the Passions THe motion of the Heart is made for the Spirits and that of the Spirits for the whole Body For the Heart is mov'd in order to the production and conservation of the Spirits and these are also moved for the communication of the vital heat to all the parts to bring into them the aliment whereby they are to be nourish'd and to transport the humours from one place to another as the Soul thinks it necessary as it happens in the Passions as also in Crises and upon other occasions That this may be the better comprehended it is requisite that we ascend to a higher disquisition of things and since there is so much spoken of the Spirits our next examination must be to find out what they are of what matter they are compos'd and how they are framed And indeed it may be affirm'd that neither Philosophy nor
Medicine have sufficiently explain'd themselves upon this Subject and the difficulties they have left therein give every man the liberty to propose his conjectures in order to the clearing up of a thing so obscure and so intricate Art 1. Of the Nature of the Spirits WIthout engaging our selves upon an exact disquisition of the Elements whereof bodies are compos'd it is a thing both certain and sensibly acknowledg'd that there are three sorts of parts which enter into the composition of all mixt bodies Of those parts some are subtile active and volatile others gross passive and heavy and the third are moist as being design'd to joyn together those two so opposite extreams For they have somewhat of the subtilty of the first and of the grossness of the others and when these are resolved the whole mixt body is destroy'd in regard they are the cement whereby all the parts are united together Those subtile parts are called Spirits inasmuch as they have so little matter and so much activity that they seem not fit to be ranked among bodies and while they are united with the others they serve for principal Organs to the forms as being the most active parts and they are as it were the bond which keeps them within the body The reason whereof is that Nature which ever joyns the extreams by a certain mean that hath some rapport thereto employs the subtile parts which have little of matter to joyn and unite the forms which have not any to the grosser parts that have much True it is that they may be separated and yet be afterwards conserv'd as we find by experience in distillations for so it is that the Spirit of Wine Sulphur c. is extracted And being so extracted though they lose the use they had when they were united to their natural forms yet do they not lose any thing of their substance or subtilty Art 2. Of the matter of the Spirits NOw as Plants are nourish'd by the juices which they draw out of the Earth so have these juices their subtile and spirituous parts as well as all the other Mixt bodies which parts not being lost as we said before pass into the Animals which feed on those Plants as those of the Animals pass into such as they become nourishment to So that it is not to be doubted but that the blood is full of these subtile essences which the natural heat afterwards digests and refines in the veins to be made the instruments of the Soul and that they are the matter us'd by Nature to frame and entertain the vital Spirits since subtile things are to be made of those which are of the same nature with them Art 3. How the Spirits are framed BUt to find out the secret of all this Oeconomy we are to represent to our selves that the blood which is in the Hollow Vein enters into the right ventricle of the Heart where it is warm'd by the heat and motion of that part which is the hottest of any about the body After its being warm'd there it issues out boyling and reeking and enters into the Lungs where it meets with the air attracted in by respiration which by its coolness thickens the fumes which it exhales from all parts which fumes are no other then the spirituous parts wherewith it is fill'd and which upon the accession of the least heat are separated and evaporated So that Nature does in this what commonly happens in the distilling of Aqua-Vitae in which work there is cold water cast about the Recipient as it were to gather together and reduce into a body the spirits of the wine then chang'd into vapour and to promote their passage along with the others Thence it comes that the vein which carries this reeking blood into the Lungs is as big as an Artery as it were to prevent the dissipation which might be made thereof before it be so cooled On the contrary the Artery which receives it after it hath been cool'd is as small as any vein there being not then any fear of dissipation And it is not unlikely that this is the reason why that Artery hath but two valvula whereas the other Vessels which enter into the Heart have three For as these valvulae whatever some others may be pleased to say were made only to prevent the impetuosity of the blood which is to enter into the heart and afterwards to come out of it so was there not any necessity that the veiny Artery should have so many obstacles to retain the impetuosity of the blood it carries in regard it must needs have left much thereof after it hath been cool'd and temperated by the air which is in the Lungs But however it be hence proceeds the indispensable necessity of respiration for if those parts of the blood which are so reduc'd into fumes should not be condens'd and reassume a kind of body they would be immediately dissipated And whereas this must be the matter of the Spirits as being the most subtile and most pure portion thereof there would not be made any new generation if nature had not found out a means to condense these vapours by the coolness of the air which is continually attracted by the Lungs Thence it comes that there is no possibility of continuing long without respiration in regard that all parts of the body standing in need of the continuall influence of the Spirits it is requisite the Heart should continually repair them and that cannot be done without respiration for the reason we gave before Art 4. An Objection against the precedent Doctrine answered I Know well enough that the common Doctrine would have the Air to enter into the composition of the Spirits and that natural heat nay indeed fire it self stands in need of air to moderate thâ—m as not being able to conserve themselves without it And that this is the reason why respiration is necessary in regard it conducts air to the Heart and moderates the excessive heat thereof But we are taught by Anatomical observations that there is not any vessel which conducts the air into that part and that the veiny Artery which was heretofore conceiv'd to serve for that use is alwaies full of blood and does undoubtedly convey to the Heart all that which is entered into the Lungs Besides it may be urged that Fishes have their vital Spirits though there be not any air which may contribute to their production True it is they have the motion of the Gills as also of the holes at which they sprout out the water and that is answerable to that of the Lungs and causes the same effect with the water which they ever and anon attract as the Lungs do with the air they respire Yet is there not any thing to be deduc'd hence which may imply my not being of opinion that the air respir'd which is all full of these spirituous parts exhal'd by all bodies do not furnish the vitall Spirits with some portion of themselves which
the motion of the body and so all those things which are said to be attracted by these qualities are mov'd by another kind of motion then that of Attraction And indeed who can easily conceive that a simple quality should be able so of a sudden and so powerfully to offer violence to things solid and weighty What motion can have an incorporeal vertue to go and find out and bring away massy bodies How is it to be apprehended that contrary to all other qualities which advance forward this only should return back Would there not be a necessity that while it brings back the bodies which it draws after it it should quit the space where it found them which yet continues still full of the same quality True it is and must be acknowledg'd that the Loadstone hath a magnetick vertue which it diffuses out of it self But this vertue is not attractive it only causes in the iron a certain feeling of its presence and thereupon the iron makes towards it of it self as it is in like manner inclin'd towards the iron For if they be both set on the water so as that they may freely swim on it they will approach one another if they be of equal force and if the iron be the more weighty or that it be stopp'd the Loadstone only will move towards it So that it is clear they draw one another no otherwise then as it is said the Sun draws the vapours which by reason of their lightness ascend of themselves after they have felt the heat Art 12. That there is not any attractive vertue in Purgative Medicines NOr is it by Attraction that purgative Medicaments do operate For of these these are some which cause vomiting being apply'd to the soals of the feet and other inferiour parts then which there cannot be a more certain argument of their not attracting the humours since that instead of obliging them to come to themselves they cause them to make a contrary motion Besides the purgative vertue being a natural Faculty should attract the humours which are conformable and consonant to it self in what subject soever they are found whereas far from that it attracts them not at all in bodies which are weak or depriv'd of life And indeed those who have more exactly examin'd the manner how purgation is wrought have shewn that purgatives have no other vertue then that of dissolving and separating the humours as the Rennet does the parts of the Milk And that the separation being made Nature being incens'd thereat expels and drives them out So that the evacuation thereof is wrought not by Attraction but Impulsion Art 13. That Grief and Heat are not attractive THere are yet others who affirm that grief and heat are attractive but they are only the Spirits which Nature sends with the blood into the parts for their support and assistance And this is no true attraction no more then that which is made by a vacuum For a privation which in effect is nothing cannot have any vertue But in this case the bodies put themselves forward to prevent a disorder which Nature cannot bear withall There are not therefore any Attractive vertues and consequently we are not to look for any in Animals in order to the causing of any conveyance of the blood into the veins But there remains this yet to be urg'd to the particular in dispute that it is true the Blood is not attracted but that it moves of it self as does the iron which is sensible of the magnetick vertue of the Loadstone and that having in like manner a certain feeling of the sympathetical vertue inspir'd by the parts it is of it self inclin'd towards them It must be acknowledg'd this expedient would do pretty well if this sympathetical vertue could be well establish'd But how shall we imagine it can subsist in such different subjects as Plants and Animals are or members of a different constitution and temperament such as are those of sound and unsound or diseas'd parts Nay though it should be granted in them What allyance can there be imagin'd between that vertue and the blood which is often alter'd or corrupted between it and the mineral waters which are drunk in fine between it and the poisons which are dispers'd all over the body Nay when all is done neither this means nor any of the others that have been propos'd doth satisfie the regularity which Nature observes in the motions of the blood nor most of the agitations it suffers in the Passions of the Soul nor yet the transportation of the chylus and other humours which is wrought in the body So that there is a necessity of having recourse to the Spirits as the general cause of all these effects And certainly whereas the Blood moves not of it self and that whatsoever is mov'd by another must be either forc'd or attracted or inclin'd neither impulsion nor attraction having any place here it is accordingly necessary that some Body which hath the vertue of moving it self should combine with it and convey it whereever it goes Now since we know that the Spirits are the chief instrmments of the Soul sent by Nature to all the parts to dispose them to action mixt by her with the blood to render it fluid and which she insinuates even into the humours against Nature as well to concoct as force them away there is no question to be made of their being the transporters of the moisture which is in the Vessels since they are beforehand in them to keep them fluid and that there are not any other substances which may be mixt with them to convey them to the places whereto they ought to go And consequently that they are bodies most susceptible of motion which being animated or immediately mov'd by the Soul are the only instruments that can move the blood in all the differences of situation which we observe therein Art 14. That the Blood is convey'd to the parts only by the Spirits FRom what hath been deliver'd it is apparent that in the ordinary course of the Blood the Spirits are the only instruments which cause it to ascend without trouble descend without precipitation and direct and convey it into all the parts nay even to the depth of the Bones for their nourishment By the same Spirits it is diversly stirr'd in the Passions according to the different designs which the Soul proposes to her self they convey it to the wounded parts to relieve them and confine it to an exact observance of that rectitude and regularity which is remarkable in all its motions In a word Nature is the principle and source of all these operations and that Nature is no other then the Soul and her Faculties all which stand in need of Organs in order to their action and can have no other then the Spirits whereto all these effects may be referred They are therefore intermixt with the Blood and as the Air being stirr'd carries along with it the vapours that are got
of some other Creatures have the same Inclinations with those Creatures it is to be examin'd what Creatures those are which may give a ground for this rule For all are not fit to be admitted into that predicament either in regard that sufficient observations have not been made of them or that they are at too great a distance from the nature of man as Insects Serpents Fishes c. Aristotle therefore in his Physiognomy hath pitch'd upon twenty seven to wit fifteen four-footed Beasts and seaven Volatiles The former are the Lion the Panther the Horse the Hart the Ox the Ass the Dog the Wolf the Swine the Goat the Sheep the Ape the Fox the Cat and the Frog The other are the Eagle the Hawk the Cock the Raven the Quail Sea-Fowl and small Birds Others have added to these the Owl and the Ostrich It is therefore requisite there should be so many Chapters design'd wherein must be treated of the natures of these Animals and especially of those parts of them whereto those of men may have any resemblance and of the Inclinations they denote Art 3. How the said Art makes use of the third Rule AS to the third Rule which shews that he who hath any semblance to Men of some other Climate hath the same Inclinations as they have this is grounded on the Figure of the Body and such Inclinations of the Soul as that Climate causes But in asmuch as the Climate is to be consider'd not only by the position of the Heavens but also by the nature of the Soil by the Scituation by the Winds reigning there it is requisite in the first place to treat of that Constitution of the Body and the Inclinations which a hot dry cold or moist Climate may cause and afterwards of those which may proceed from a moist or dry fruitful or barren soil In the third place of that which is consequent to the scituation as it is oriental or occidental high or low maritime or mediterranean In fine what contribution may be made thereto by the several Winds East West North and South Thence it must descend to the Figure and Manners of those Nations which depend partly on these causes partly on the original of the people themselves whereof they still retain some tincture as also on the good or ill fortune which hath attended them and causes them to change their former discipline and their antient course of life This Treatise must needs be long and will require great pains to bring it to a period For besides that there must be some reason given of the particular Figure of every People and its Inclinations which is a thing very hard to do it must also give an account of the Laws which are proper thereto in regard that the Law as Plato sayes is the finding out of Truth all sorts of Laws being not convenient for all manner of Nations but only such as are conformable to their natural dispositions and he who hath lighted on that Conformity and Correspondence hath met with Truth But howere it may be this Discourse is to be divided into so many Chapters as there are Climates and those subdivided again into so many Sections as there be Nations inhabiting each of them Art 4. How the said Art makes use of the fourth Rule THe fourth Rule teaches us That those men who have any thing in their countenances approaching the Beauty of Women have the same Inclinations as they have and on the contrary This is grounded on the Beauty which is peculiarly answerable to either Sex as also upon the Inclinations which are natural to each of them It is therefore requisite there should be a discourse concerning Beauty and that it should be divided into two Treatises whereof the former shall shew how all the parts ought to be made which frame the Beauty of Man and the Inclinations attending it And the other is to give a particular account of the parts whereof the Beauty of the Woman consists and the Inclinations correspondent to her Sex All this shall be treated in fifty Chapters there being no less then twenty five parts in each Sex whereby they are represented as differing one from the other the Colour and Proportion which ought to be between them being comprehended therein Art 5. Why The Art how to know Men treats of the Temperaments BUt in regard these two last Rules are principally grounded on the Temperament before we come to the examination of them it is requisite there should be a previous Treatise of the Temperaments and a discovery made of the Inclinations which each of them causes in the Soul and the Figure it gives to the parts of the Body And this is to be done in fifty two Chapters wherof the first sixteen shal treat of the Temperaments which are conformable to the whole Body and the other thirtysix of those of the Nobler parts For there are some principal temperaments correspondent to the four Humours when they are only predominant to wit the Sanguine the Cholerick the Melancholick and the Flegmatick then each of these hath some one of the other humours predominant under it as the Cholerick-Sanguine the Melancholick-Sanguine c. and that makes up the number of sixteen In fine every noble part is either temperate or hot cold dry or moist or is hot and moist hot and dry cold and moist cold and dry So that there being four noble parts and each of those having nine differences of Temperaments all put together make up two and fifty kinds of Temperaments which must be known in order to a judgment of the Inclinations Art 6. That there are other Rules besides those of Physiognomy whereby the Inclinations may be discover'd THus is it that The Art how to know Men makes use of the Rules of Physiognomy for the discovery of the Inclinations and how upon small foundations it designs the greatest superstructure whereof Science ever attempted the carrying on But it does not think that sufficient as having added thereto some other means whereof Physiognomy makes no advantage For besides that it makes the very effects of the Inclinations to contribute to the discovery of them to wit the desire of doing the actions and the pleasure there is in doing them often it being a thing out of all dispute that if a person be observ'd to be often desirous to do the same thing or that he does it many times with a certain pleasure it is a certain sign of the Inclination he hath thereto Besides this I say it very advantageously makes use of the remote causes whereof we have made mention before for though the judgments which may be deduced from them be not absolutely certain yet do they either fortifie or weaken those which proceed from the next causes which are as we said the Instinct the Temperament and the Conformation of the parts Accordingly if a man be of such a Temperament and Conformation as may be proper for courageous actions and that he
the Excesses and Defects of all things and shew those that are and are not consonant to the nature of Man in general but also to the different sexes ages nations and kinds of life it is necessary above all things that it give us a Modell and Idaea of that perfection which is consonant to the nature of Man that it may be the rule and measure of all the good and evil which may happen to every one in particular For it is certain that the excess and defect cannot be known without a praevious knowledg of the perfection from which both decline and recede and to judge of the distance of the Extremities a man ought to know the Mean to which they relate Having made an examination of all these things we are further to be shewn what MEANS it uses to perform what it promises what SIGNS it ought to employ therein and what is their Nature Strength and Weakness It is also to tell us what Vse it makes of the Rules of PHYSIOGNOMY and whether CHIROMANCY and METOPOSCOPY are serviceable to its design whereof we ought to have a general Draught or Platform These are the Praeliminaries which serve for an Introduction to the whole Science and are contained in this Part which shall be divided into Two Books the former whereof shall treat of the matters which are the Object of the ART HOW TO KNOW MEN to wit the Inclinations Motions of the Soul Vertues and Vices The second shall examin the Means whereby it ought to discover all these things THE ART How to know MEN. The First BOOK CHAP. I. An Idaea of the natural Perfection of Man EVERY thing is perfect to which there is nothing wanting and which hath whatsoever is necessary for the accomplishment of its Nature It is therefore requisite that Man who consists of Body and Soul should to be absolutely perfect have whatever is necessary for the accomplishment and perfection of these two parts Now the natural Perfection of the Soul consists in its having all the faculties and powers which are necessary in order to the performing of those functions whereto she is design'd The perfection of the Body consists in the dispositions which those faculties require therein to serve for Organs to their functions But since some of the faculties are nobler then others and that in the order of things unequal the more excellent are the rule of the others it follows that the Understanding which is the noblest faculty in Man should be the rule and measure of all those that are inferiour to it and that these last should be so dispos'd as that as much as possibly they may be conformable to that superiour faculty to the end they should not obstruct the actions it ought to do So that the Understanding being of its own nature indifferent and indeterminate in order to the judgment it is to make of all things and consequently that it is all things in potentia that is potentially as not being determined to any one in particular it is requisite that the faculties subordinate to it should as much as may be comply with that indifference Which indifference since they cannot have in the same degree of perfection as the Understanding in regard they are material and consequently determinate they ought nevertheless to have it so far as they are capable thereof Now all the indifference they are capable of is reduc'd to that which consists in a mediocrity for the mean is less determinate then the extremities as being indifferent in respect to both Those faculties therefore which consist of the mean or mediocrity are more conformable to the Understanding then those in the excess or defect But forasmuch as the Instruments ought to be proportioned to the powers by which they are employ'd it follows that the Conformation of the parts and the Temperament which are the instruments of the Soul's faculties should have the same mediocrity as they have So that the parts ought to be neither too big nor too little nor the qualities whereof the Temperament consists be predominant one over another but all ought to be in a just aequilibrium and mediocrity Article 1. That only Man hath the Sense of Touching in perfection ANd that this is according to the design of Nature may be deduc'd hence that she hath bestow'd this perfect Temperament only on Man for there is alwaies some excess in that of other Creatures one being too hot or too cold another too dry or too moist But in man all these qualities are united in a just moderation and therefore the Senses which follow this Temperament as the Touching and Tasting which is a kind of Touching as Aristotle affirmes are more perfect in him then in any other Animal For these Senses and especially the Touching require an exact Temperature in their Organs it being requisite that what ought to judg should be in the mean that it may judg without any pre-occupation Now as there are two sorts of means one consisting in the absolute privation of the Objects and the other in their equal participation only the Touch judges by this latter For all the others are destitute or depriv'd of the qualities whereof they judg as the Ey which judges of colours ought to be without any colour But in regard the Touching judges of the first qualities whereof its Organ cannot be depriv'd it is requisite for its more perfect knowledg thereof that it should have them united in a just mediocrity that it may judg of their extremities which it hath not and of their moderation by not assigning any excess therein But howere it be Nature hath no other motive in enduing man with this perfect Temperature then to make conformable to the noblest faculty of the Soul the general instrument of its functions and to place it in the mean that it might be less determinate and that it as well as the faculty should have all the indifference whereof it is capable which was not necessary for other Animals all whose faculties are determinated Art 2. All in Man should be in a mediocrity FRom this truth thus establish'd there may be drawn a consequence which confirms what we have said concerning the mediocrity which ought to be in the powers of the Soul not only in those which are subalternate but also in the superiour such as are the Understanding and the Will For since the Temperament moderates all the faculties rendring them more or less strong according to the degrees it hath and that if it be hot for instance it strengthens the Imagination and weakens the Judgment and that on the contrary if it be cold it assists the Judgment and injures the Imagination and so of the rest It follows that if there be an equality requir'd to render the man perfect it is also requisite that all the faculties of the Soul should participate of that equality and that they should observe the same moderation which is in the Temperament So that the natural perfection of
little more heat and drought and the Woman a little more cold and moisture And this is the true interpretation that â—â—e must give to the Fable of Androgyne when Plato saies that Man and Woman at the beginning made up but one body which was of a round figure that they were afterwards divided into two and that the Love they have one for the other is onely the desire they have to be re-united and a means of their perpetuation For this first union of Man and Woman is nothing else but humane nature comprehending both Sexes and having for its body that just temperament which may be compar'd to a round figure whereof all the parts are equal and uniform But in the distinction which was made of this nature into two Sexes that Temperament was divided into two parts and thence were fram'd two bodies unlike one to the other in respect of the different qualities which they receiv'd in order to the conservation of the species Art 6. Why Sexes were bestow'd on Animals and why the Male is hot and dry and the Female cold and moist THe bestowing of Sexes on Animals was onely in order to Generation and where there is no generation to be made there are no Sexes as in Angels But in regard this action as all others whatsoever stands in need of two principal causes to wit the Efficient the Material there was a necessity that every species of Animals should be divided into two Sexes to execute the function of these two causes And that is also the reason there are but two Sexes for as much as â—hese two causes are sufficient for any action whatsoever But whereas there is not any vertue or power which stands not in need of certain dispositions to execute the function whereto it is design'd and that among the corporeal dispositions the first qualities are most efficacious and most necessary it must follow that heat and drought as being the most active should be bestow'd on the Sex which executes the function of the Efficient cause and that cold and moisture as being the most passive should be most observable in that Sex which represents the Material cause And this is the original reason why Man is hot and dry and Woman cold and moist for that Man hath the vertues and qualities of the Efficient cause and the Woman those of the Passive cause For though there be some dispute among the Philosophers concerning the function of the Female in the business of generation and that it is maintain'd by some that she is concurrent to the production of the Animal as well as the male yet not thinking it necessary to produce the reasons and experiences which destroy that opinion this at least is certain that if the said assertion should be granted it must be acknowledg'd that the active vertue which the Female may have is much weaker in it and that the Passive cause is the more predominant Which is enough to prove that the passive qualities are also the more prevalent in the same work And certainly to make this truth the more clear we need onely consider the natural constitution of the Woman For her weakness as to body a smaller conformation of the parts the fearfulness which is natural to her the delicacy softness of the skin and flesh and the many humours wherewith she abounds are infallible demonstrations of the cold and moist temperament she is of Art 7. Wherein the Beauty of Sexes consists That there are two sorts of general effects 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IT being therefore granted that the Temperament of Man is hot and dry and that of the Woman cold and moist we are now to consider what dispositions these Temperaments raise in the Soul and what constitution the whole body receivs from them For the Perfection and Beauty of each Sex consists on these two things for as much as the intellectual Beauty which ought to be in them is nothing else than a combination or concurrence of all the faculties which are necessary to them for the execution of those functions whereto they are design'd and that the corporeal Beauty is also nothing else than a concourse and compliance of all the dispositions which these faculties require in the parts to become organs subservient to their functions For that part is beautifull which hath the largeness figure and all the other dispositions necessary for the performance of the action it ought to do and if all these are not in it or that it have any dispositions which are not requisite it must needs appear ugly and deformed Howere it be we are here to observe one thing which is very considerable in this matter and in all the effects of Nature which is that there are two kinds of these effects some wrought for a certain end which Nature proposes to her self others wrought out of pure necessity so as that Nature had not any design in the working of them That a man should have hair on the chin the eye-lids and eye brows is for some particular end which Nature proposes to her self wherein she never fails of her purpose she disposing the matter of the hair and directing it her self into those parts But that he should have any on his breast is not an effect proceeding from the design of Nature for if it were all men would have some there and therefore abundance of matter is onely the cause thereof it being the property of that to make us way where ever it can This is also most evidently apparent in the Passions for that a man transported with anger should keep a stirr that he should threaten that he should strike all these are actions whereby he pretends to revenge himself which is the end of that Passion But that his countenance should be enflam'd that his forehead should be wrinckled that his words should fall from him with certain interruptions these are effects wrought by necessity so as that the Soul had no design in the production of them in regard they do not contribute to the revenge whereto she is inclin'd Art 8. That there are some Faculties and Inclinations which it is Nature's design to bestow on the Sexes others not UPon these grounds we may affirm that there are some Faculties and Inclinations which Nature hath out of a formal design bestow'd on the several Sexes such as are the faculties of the Soul considered in themselves and in their origin excluding all modification by the Temperament as the rational the sensitive the vegetative Faculties and consequently the Inclinations which accompany them for every Animal power leaves in the Appetite an inclination to perform its proper actions But as to the powers and inclinations which proceed from the Temperament as the strength or weakness of those first faculties the Inclination to confidence or fearfulness to liberality or avarice c. Nature hath not any design to bestow them on either Sex in as much as the natural perfection of the humane species
do's not admit of any in particular as oblig'd to be equally capable of all by reason of its being indeterminate and indifferent as we have shewn before It is therefore out of pure necessity that they are raised in the Soul and by the connexion and unavoidable consequence there is between the effects and their causes True it is indeed that Nature hath propos'd to her self to bestow on Man besides the Faculties convenient for his species those also which are proper to his Sex to wit the active vertue in order to generation and heat and drought to serve as instruments to that vertue as she hath bestow'd on the Woman the passive power and cold and moisture to perform the function of the material cause But all the Inclinations consequent to those qualities as confidence or fearfulness liberality or avarice c. are onely dispositions fram'd in the Soul without her knowedge and beside or against her intention It must be confess'd they are natural because they are by accident in the order of Nature and follow the causes which depend on the matter Nay they are allow'd to be perfections and if they should be wanting there would be a defect in as much as the causes from which they proceed necessarily require that consequence and concatenation which is between them For a Man who should not be couragious or a Woman who should not be timorous would be guilty of the same imperfection as a Lion that should be fearfull and a Hare that should be couragious Art 9. That there are some parts fram'd by Nature out of design others not THE same thing may be said of the Conformation of the parts for Nature hath in her Idaeas that figure which is most convenient to every species and which she would bestow on every individual were she not prevented by the particular causes such as is the Temperament And though she gives each Sex a different structure of body yet does she as much as lies in her power always preserve the character of the figure which is proper to the species For though the Conformation of the Woman's parts be different from that of the Man's yet is there a greater resemblance between her and Man than any other Animal whatsoever Now it is certain there are some parts which are proper to each Sex and such as Nature hath a design to frame after such and such a fashion as those that serve for organs to perform the functions whereto each of them is ordered But for the rest as height of stature largeness of head a square figure of the face c. which are to be observ'd in Man or lowness of stature littleness of head and roundness of face c. which are proper to the Woman all this variety I say proceeds not from the design of Nature but pure necessity consequently to the Temperament which is proper to either though it contributes to the perfection and beauty of the body for the reasons we have given already SECT 2. Wherein the Perfection of the Male consists Art 1. Of the Inclinations proper to Man THis presuppos'd we now come to observe the Inclinations consequent to the Temperament of Man Nature hath made him hot and dry for the end we have already assign'd But according to the proportion of his being hot he must necessarily be strong and consequently thereto that he should be naturally Couragious desirous of Fame Magnanimous Sincere Liberal Mercifull Just Gratefull and consequent to his being dry he should be Resolv'd Constant Patient Modest Faithfull Judicious The reasons of all these effects are easily found For as the Soul makes use of these qualities knows what she is able to perform by their means and is inclin'd to the actions conformable to their vertue So upon heâ— being sensible of the heat which is the principle of strength and courage she takes a confidence in her self and upon that she would command she courageously undertakes and slights small dangers And being courageous she is forward free and without artifice She is also liberal not onely upon this account that it is the property of heat to dilate it self but also for this reason that the confidence she hath of her self takes away the apprehension of wanting those things that shall be necessary for her She easily pardons because she thinks she cannot be injur'd She is just because she desires little as being satisfy'd with her self in fine she is gratefull because she is just and liberal On the other side as drought obliges things to keep within their bounds and hinders them from spreading and dispersing themselves so she accommodates her self to this vertue and is fortify'd within her self not easily changing the resolutions she hath taken patiently enduring the inconveniences which happen to her constantly endeavouring to perform the promises she hath made and not suffering her self to be carried away with the vanity of those honours which she deserves not In a word drought contributes to the purity of the Spirits and checks the impetuous sallies of the Imagination allowing the time required by the understanding for the consideration of things whence proceed prudence and soundness of judgment Art 2. That the Temperament of Man is hot and dry in the first degree BUt it is her to be observed that all these natural vertues are not consistent with these two qualities if they be excessive For if the heat be too great instead of Courage it will raise Temerity the desire of Fame will be chang'd into Pride Magnanimity into Insolence Liberality into Prodegality Justice into Severity Clemency into Induigence and Gratitude into Ostentation and Vanity In like manner if drought be predominant the Constancy of the Soul degenerates into Obstinacy Harshness Insensibility Austerity The perfection therefore of the Temperament convenient to Man in respect of his Sex should come as near as may be to the exact Temperature proper to humane Nature as we have shewn And so it may be affirm'd that it ought not to be hot and dry but in the first degree whatever goes beyond it leading to excess and imperfection The reason this that Nature which always endeavours to give the several Sexes the Temperament convenient to the species recedes no further from that Temperament than is necessary for the disposing of them into the order of those causes whereof they are to perform the function Whence it may be inferr'd that the least degree of heat and drought which Man may have beyond the exact Temperature is sufficient to give him the vertue and efficacy of the efficient cause The same thing is to be advanc'd concerning the Conformation of the parts for there is one conformation which is convenient to the species and is a mean between those which are proper to the several Sexes For as all things should aim at a certain mediocrity in humane nature for the reasons before alledged so ought the conformation of the body to be in the mean between the excess and defect which may
means to perform And whereas every power hath some action proper thereto it is accordingly requisite that it should have an Instrument particular to it self that is such as may have the consistence and figure proper to that very action For if the Saw had not the hardness and figure which are convenient for it 't would not be of any use to the workman who hath any thing to do with it Now when an Instrument hath the qualities and dispositions requisite in order to the performance of its action we may affirm it hath its perfection in regard there is nothing wanting to it Moreover it is certain that in every order of things there is but one onely perfection in as much as there is but one principal end whereto every one is design'd and perfection consists in the end Whence it may be inferr'd that every power of the Soul hath but one perfection and that the Instrument whereof it makes use can also have but one So that Beauty which is the perfection of the parts and consists in the just Conformation they ought to have can be but onely one and that all those which have not that conformation have not the exact and perfect beauty which is consonant to the nature of Man Now the question is to know wherein this perfect and compleat beauty is to be found To do that let us proceed according to the principles which we have laid down before and affirm that the natural perfection of Man's body consists in the mediocrity or aequilibrium of the Temperament and the conformation of the parts for the reasons we have already alledged and that the Sexes which could not retain it by reason of the different qualities it was requisite they should have recede but very little from it For it follows thence that the Climate wherein perfect beauty is to be found is that which is least opposite to that mediocrity and which by its exact temperature preserves it and alters it not Now it is out of all dispute that those Countries where the Elevation is about fourty five degrees are the most temperate as being in the midst of all the extremities and consequently if we are to search after perfect Beauty in one place rather than another 't is in those Countries and the parts adjacent that it may be found I know there are some Countries so scituated where it is not to be met with as in those parts of China and America which are under the same degree But we are not here to consider onely the Position of the Heavens we must also examine the nature of the Soil the origine policy and government of the Inhabitants For that of China is too moist by reason of the many Lakes and Rivers that are thereabouts and that which is in America is too cold by reason of the Woods and Mountains as New-France is Add to this that there are some Nations which are seated in very temperate places but are not the original Inhabitants of them and yet have preserved the conformation which they receiv'd from their first habitations In fine these Nations are barbarous and destitute of policy and it is not to be doubted but that the disorders and imperfections of the Soul are communicated to the Body and in time alter its Temperament and many times distort its figure So that we are not to look after true Beauty out of Europe and that of the Countries comprehended within this part of the World France is the likeliest seat of it as being scituated just in the midst of the extremities of hot and cold dry and moist in a word of South and North. Thence it is that we have taken our Model of the Beauty which is convenient for Man and Woman 'T is true we have made but a rude draught or rather but drawn the first lines of it but we shall fully finish and give it its absolute perfection in the Treatise we have puposely design'd for so noble a Subject CHAP. II. Of the Inclinations SECT 1. Of the Nature of Inclination TO understand what is meant by Inclination methinks there needs no more than to consider the very word it self for it sufficiently discovers either that it is a Motion causing the Soul to incline or berd her self towards some Object or that it is a Disposition to move towards it since it cannot be imagin'd that a thing may have a bent or to bow it self towards some place or part without suffering any motion Now whereas it may be said that a man is inclined to Choler without being stirr'd or mov'd thereby and without feeling the effects of it the consequence is that Inclination is not a Motion and that it is onely a disposition to move But in regard there are some dispositions transient and others that are constant and permanent and that it is commonly said a man is inclin'd to a Passion when he is only dispos'd thereto by some extraordinary accident it is expected that the Inclination should be a constant disposition by process of time deeply rooted in the Soul Moreover since it makes the Soul bend towards certain objects it is requisite they should have the appearance of good for she is never bent towards that which is evil on the contrary she eschews it And though those objects may in effect be evil yet is it necessary that to her they should seem to be good to raise in her the bent and inclination she hath towards them So a Person inclin'd to Choler finds a pleasure in revenging himself and accordingly all the Passions how troublesome soever they may be give a certain satisfaction to Nature who by them provides for her own preservation For though it be the judgment of Reason that the Passion is evil yet the sensitive part of the Soul finds in it a certain content as in an action advantageous to it in order to the end she proposes to her self Art 1. The Object of the Inclination THe objects of the Inclination are of two kinds Things and Actions for a man hath an inclination for persons books pictures c. There may also be an inclination to Passions Vertues and Vices But there is this difference that it may be said people are inclin'd to actions but it is not in like manner said of Things for though it may be said of one that he hath an inclination for a certain person yet it is not said that he is inclin'd to that person Whence it may be easily apprehended that there are two kinds of Inclination in general one justly and properly so called the other improperly and figuratively That kind which communicates its form and name to the subject wherein it is ought to pass for the proper and true Inclination whereas the other is rather the effect of the Inclination then the inclination it self since it is the very motion which the Appetite suffers in loving and desiring something and the other kind of Inclination is not the motion but the disposition to
faculties because they have the Instruments of knowledge for we have shewn in the place alledg'd that a faculty cannot know but it must withall produce in it self the images of the things So that these not producing the images which they have and onely receiving them as an effect of the first image fram'd by the Imagination they cannot know it by a clear and perfect knowledge but onely according to that which is competent to all natural things which if we may use an odd kind expression Know without knowing what is conformable or contrary to them Thus is it that the Magnetick vertue which is communicated to Iron makes it know and sensible of the presence of the Load-stone and afterwards excites it to move and make towards it When therefore there is an image fram'd in any one of the knowing faculties it is as it were a Light which is multiply'd and diffuses it self into all parts of the Soul susceptible thereof Our meaning is that that which is spiritual is communicated to the spirial faculties and that which is material to the corporeal faculties and both kinds act therein according to the nature of the faculty into which they are entertain'd For if it be movable as the Appetite that Image moves if it hath no action as the Memory it produces nothing but is onely preserv'd in it if it be alterative as the formative vertue it serves for a model for the alteration which it causes in the members and so of the rest The case is the same with it as with that Magnetick vertue we spoke of before which though equally communicated to all bodies does not equally act upon them it alters and moves the Load-stone Iron and glaz'd Tiles yet without causing any alteration or motion in all the rest If it be so it will be no hard matter to affirm how the Appetite blind as it is may know Good and Evil and move conformably to the nature of either For since the Imâ—ge which the Estimative faculty or Practick Vnderstanding hath fram'd thereof is multiply'd and diffus'd through all the parts of the Soul the Appetite receives it feels it and afterwards moves as it ought in order to its union with the Good or recession from the Evil to its assaulting or opposing of it according to the instruction receiv'd from the Instinct and the knowledge which all natural things have either to be united to that which is conformable or to avoid and resist that which is contrary to them SECT 3. What are Motions of the Soul TO resume the Discourse we have interrupted we say further that of what kind soever the motions of the â—ppetite are whether real or metaphorical they are those which frame the Passions of the Soul For though the Schools have restrained that name to the Motions of the sensitive Appetite either by reason of the violence they do Reason or that the body sensibly suffers thereby yet if we consider the agitation which the Soul endures we shall find that not onely that which is made in the Will but also that in the natural Appetite is like that which the Sensitive Appetite suffers For the Will loves and hates rejoyces and is sad as well aâ— the other and there are in the natural Appetite such motions as are answerable to those others since Nature seeks that which is behovefull and shuns what is prejudicial to it is satisfy'd or troubled at the occurrence thereof is heightned or discourag'd as we shall shew more particularly hereafter And as to the violence which the Sensitive Passions do Reason and the alteration they cause in the body they are the effects which they produce yet enter not into their essence but are common to all the motions of the Appetite of what order soever it be and do not always accompany the emotions of the sensitive Appetite Accordingly as the Appetite is the principle of all corporeal motions so is it requisite that it should be moved before any Part of the body can be and consequently the agitation of the Spirits which is observ'd in the Passions and causes all the changes that happen in the body is not wrought till after the Soul is moved Moreover the Motions of the Will are many times contrary to reason as well as those of the sensitive Appetite and in the most spiritual Passions such as Ambition Envie c. it alters the body as well as the other Nay it may be affirmed that in the motions of the natural Appetite the body sometimes endures a greater alteratâ—on then in those of the sensitive Appetite as it appears in a Fever which is the choler of the natural faculty To be short neither doth that violence nor that alteration always follow the emotions of the sensitive Appetite Of these there are some conformable to Reason there are some that remain in the Soul and do not descend to the corporeal faculties as being raised up and dispers'd so of a sudden that they have not the time to spread themselves into them Whereto may be added that Angels are susceptible of love hatred joy sadness c. as Theology teacheth Whence it may be inferr'd that there is no ground for the taking away of the name of Passions from the motions of the Will and natural Appetite and consequently it may be affirm'd that all the motions of every Appetite are Passions since the agitation which the Soul endures thereby is equal in them all and that the end which she proposeth to her self therein is as to them also alike for by them all she is agitated and mov'd either towards the enjoyment of Good or the eschewing of Evil. True it is that these motions are called by divers names according as they are more or less vehement For as we call those winds which are more then ordinarily violent by the name of Storms and Tempests so when the Passions are great and extraordinary they are called Perturbations And certainly it may with some ground be affirm'd that the Passions are as it were the winds of the Soul For as the Air which continues in a constant calmness and tranquility is unwholesom and yet is purify'd by moderate winds but if they are too violent they raise tempests in it in like manner the Soul which is not stirr'd by any passion must needs be heavie and of an unhealthy constitution and therefore it is requisite it should be moderately agitated that it may be the more pure and more susceptible of vertue But if it happen that the passions become too violent they raise in her such tempests as disturb Reason confound the humours and alter the whole constitution of the body SECT 4. Of the Number of the Passions THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN Having promised to discover the motions of the Soul we now come to examine how many ways it may be mov'd and what number there may be of the Passions whereby it may be so mov'd In order to the prosecution of that design it is
that she should also know and pursue that which is good for her and this cannot be done unless she have a love to it since Love is the first motion fram'd by the Appetite in order to the pursuit of Good and as the presence of evil procureth Grief to her so is it necessary that the presence of Good should cause pleasure to her But as we said before these passions are so weak and obscure that the senses cannot easily take notice of them and indeed they are not easily discoverable otherwise then by reason and discourse The cause of this diversity proceeds not only hence that these Appetites are more inclin'd to motion one then another For the Will being disengag'd from matter moves more easily then the sensitive Appetite and this more easily then the natural in regard it hath for its subject a more subtile matter and consequently more inclinable to motion then it But it proceeds also from the more or less perfect knowledge which directs them For as the Understanding knows more perfectly and more things then the Imagination so does it withall inspire the Will with a greater variety of motions then the other does and this latter also having a greater and more exact knowledge then the natural faculty does accordingly frame more Passions in the sensitive Appetite than there are in the Natural Appetite SECT 5. How the Passions of one Appetite are communicated to another THere is yet another thing to be considered which is of very great importance to wit that the Passions framed in either of the three Appetites are ordinarily communicated from one to another so that those of the Will descend into the sensitive Appetite and the natural Appetite as theirs do ascend into the Will For it is certain that the Will does many times suffer it self to be transported with the Love Pleasure and Grief by which the sensitive Appetite is stirr'd in the same manner as Love and the gladness and sadness of the mind spread themselves into the body and cause conformable emotions therein But the difficulty is to know how this communication is wrought For it might seem since things material can have no action upon the spiritual that neither sensible goods nor sensible evils can touch the Spirit nor consequenly be acceptable or delightful objects thereto On the other side though the Understanding may heighten the Phantasmes of the Imagination and render them spiritual yet is it not in the power of the Imagination to change the Idaea's of the Understanding which are spiritual into corporeal Phantasms consequent whereto it is that the goods and evils of the mind cannot touch the sensitive Soul nor raise any Passion therein To answer these reasons and resolve this great difficulty we might affirm with the Schools that there is a Sympathy between the faculties of the Soul and that they are so strictly combin'd together that it is impossible one should not have a sentiment of what passes in the other or haply that being all reunited in the substance of the Soul which is the Centre and principle thereof and as it were the main wheel which keeps them all in their several motions It is the Soul her self that causes them to act one after another conformably to the actions that are to be done So that for example the Appetite moves after the knowledge of Imagination and the members move after the emotion of the Appetite in regard there is a certain sympathy betwixt these faculties or that the Soul excites them and disposes them to act in that order This being so it would be no hard matter to tell how the Passions of one Appetite pass into another in as much as these powers acting one after another according to the sympathy there is between them or by the particular direction of the Soul it is necessary not onely that the Soul should move after she hath been enlightned by the Understanding but it is also requisite that the Sensitive Appetite should stirr after her in the same manner as we apprehend that the Will is oblig'd to move as soon as the Imagination hath excited some motion in the Sensitive Appetite But to deal ingenuously we must acknowledge that these opinions do not fully satisfie the mind For besides that the word Sympathy is one of those tearms that serve to elude difficulties and flatter our ignorance it may be farther press'd that if by it onely the rational Soul and the sensitive communicate their passions to each other it will be requisite that there should not be any passion in the latter which does not ascend into the Will and that all kinds of sadness should be attended by grief and in like manner all grief by sadness But this is not true since they are onely the greatest sadnesses whereof the body hath any resentment and that light griefs reach not the mind and cast it not into sadness Besides this Sympathy does not exclude that manner of acting which is natural to the faculties it is an order establish'd by Nature that the Sensitive Appetite should be enlightned by the â—magination and that the Imagination should take cognizance onely of things sensible How comes it then to pass that it should know the object of a spiritual passion On the other side how are we to conceive that the Understanding and Will which are spiritual powers suffer themselves to be mov'd by corporeal objects And how can Grief for example be said to excite sadness in the mind what Sympathy soever may be imagin'd between these powers In fine Sympathy does always presuppose some knowledge for the Iron ought to feel the presence of the Load-stone that it may move towards it And consequently it is requisite that every Appetite should know the judgment of the faculty which enlightens it whereas in the mean time the Appetite is a blind-power and such as hath not any knowledge Again if it be said that it is the substance of the Soul which sets these faculties in action which yet cannot be done without her having a knowledge of the order they ought to observe in their actions and a particular cognizance of the manner after which the Appetite ought to move in every passion it will follow that the Soul ought to have in her self the knowledge of an infinity of things and that she should know them by her own proper substance without the assistance of any faculty an excellency not to be found in any created Being and to be attributed onely to Divine Nature Let us therefore endeavour to find out some other plausible means whereby the Body Soul may be said to communicate one to the other the good and evil they resent To do that we are to observe that the Mind which is the noblest and most excellent part of Man is also as it were King of that little Monarchy taking notice of whatsoever passes therein that is worth the consideration and having a particular care of the Body as being the instrument
being mixt therewith passes and insinuates it self into the Heart and Arteries through the Pores of the Vessels Hence it comes that Animals are sensible of the qualities of the air which they respire and Hippocrates affirms that the most sudden nourishment is wrought by odors But this is a thing happens by chance and is not to be admitted into the design of Nature And as to the cooling or refreshment which is caused by the air it is not intended to moderate the excess of the heat but for the reason given by us before which is common to fire and the spirits For the coldness of the air condenses the exhalations which should be enflam'd it gathers them together and hinders their rarefaction and dispersion And therefore when it is very cold the fire is the more violent and scorching in regard the matter of the flame suffers a greater contraction And the light of the Sun diminishes the heat of the fire in regard it rarifies and disperses the exhalation which feeds it Not but that the air does moderate the heat of the Heart when it is violent but that is not the main end at which Nature aims it is only a slender service and convenience which she derives by the by from her principal design But howere it be this is certain that after the blood which came out of the right ventricle hath travers'd the Lungs it is discharged into the left where it may be said it is return'd into the furnace and is stirr'd and agitated afresh and where it s more subtile parts are so refin'd that they acquire all the dispositions necessary to Spirits to make them vital and then they are endu'd with the form and vertue thereof and assume the place and function of those which have been distributed to the parts Art 5. Why the heart moves FRom what hath been deliver'd it may be inferr'd that the motion of the Heart serves for the generation of Spirits But that that should be the principal motive which oblig'd Nature to give it that motion is what cannot be easily affirm'd For in a word all Animals have those sorts of spirits but all have not that motion so that this may be stood upon that it is not absolutely necessary to their generation For my part I am of opinion that in this Nature had a greater regard to the conservation of the Spirits then to their production For whereas chings are conserv'd by that which is conformable and natural thereto and that motion is natural to the Spirits which are of a fiery nature and proportion'd to the Element of the Stars as Aristotle speaks it is accordingly requisite that they should be in perpetual motion as those bodies are And in effect we cannot stop the motion of fire without quenching it and all those things which hinder the Spirits from moving as Narcoticks and fulness deprave them and destroy the Animal It therefore concern'd the providence of Nature to find out some artifice whereby the vital Spirits should be continually stirr'd to the end they might be conserv'd by that which is most proper and natural to them And there could not be a more commodious way found then the motion of the Heart and Arteries which ever and anon excites and awakens the Spirits which are intermix'd with the blood For that humour being gross and heavy there would have been some danger of its smothering them by its weight if that miraculous ressort which gives a continual motion to the arterial blood should not hinder that disorder Hence it comes that the arteries alwayes accompany the greater veins that their agitation might excite the Spiâ—its which are mixt with the blood the lesser veins standing not in need of that attendance by reason of the small quantity of humour which they contain as such as is not capable of hindring their motion And in those Animals which have no blood that motion is neither so sensible nor so necessary in regard the humours there are more subtile and for the most part are only serosities which are in a more easie subjection to the Spirits It was therefore the principal intention of Nature to bestow motion on the Heart in order to the conservation of the Spirits yet with this precaution that it hinder not but that she may employ it to other uses For as a frugal and provident Housewife she makes that which is necessary to her main design to be subservient also to other conveniences which were it not for that she might have been without Upon this account is it that she employes the motion of the Heart to subtilize the matter of the Spirits to force away the impurities that are therein to moderate the heat thereof which might become excessive and to force the Spirits to the extremities of the Arteries so to disperse the heat and vital vertue into all parts Now of all these employments there are certain advantages yet are they not absolutely necessary since all this is done in many Animals without any motion of the Heart Art 6. That the Spirits are moved for three ends TO resume our discourse of the motion of the Spirits we said before that it was design'd for the communication of the vital heat to all the parts to convey into them the blood whereby they are to be nourish'd and to translate the humours from one place to another as it happens in the Passions in Crises and upon such other occasions As to the first it will be no hard matter to prove it for it is generally acknowledg'd and sense and reason teach us that all the heat and vigour of the parts proceeds from the vital Spirits which are produced by the Heart and as soon as this influence ceases they become cold and languishing Art 7. That the Spirits convey the blood into the parts BUt for the conveyance of the blood into the several parts there are not any Philosophers that have made it the employment of the Spirits but it is generally attributed by them either to the impulsion which it receives from the beating of the Heart or to some attractive vertue which draws it forth into every part It is therefore requisite we make it appear that these opinions cannot be maintain'd and that it is the proper work of the Spirits to dispose it into the veins For there is a necessity that it should be either forc'd out or attracted or convey'd so that when it shall have been shewn that there is not any thing whereby it is either forc'd out or attracted it will follow that there must be something to convey it and that only the Spirits can be capable of the employment Most of those who maintain the circulation of the blood do not admit of the Spirits at least as bodies distinct from the blood and affiâ—m that it is not mov'd in the veins but only by the impulsion which it receives from the beating of the Heart and that it admits not of any motion but that which proceeds from
Heart and the Ring-finger 13. That there is a like Sympathy between the Spleen and the Middle-finger 14. That there is a Sympathy between all the interiour parts and the other parts of the Hand 15. That the Face is an Epitome of all the exteriour parts 16. That there is a mutual Sympathy between all the parts and 17. That the distribution of the Veins made by Hippocrates for the discovery of that Sympathy was not understood either by Aristotle or Galen 18. Whence proceeds the regularity which Nature observes in her evacuations 19. That the Planets have a certain predodominancy over the several parts of the Hand 20. That the Planets have also a predominacy over the interiour parts 21. That the Moon hath such a predominancy over the Brain 22. That the Sun hath the like predominancy over the Heart 23. That the other Planets have the government of the other interiour parts 24. That the principles establish'd regulate many doubtful things in Chiromancy Art 1. That of Situations some are more noble then others THat we may therefore give a solid beginning to this Disquisition it is to be observ'd that there are three orders of SITUATION wherein all the parts of Animals the Heart only excepted are placed to wit Above and Beneath Right and Left Before and Behind But these are not all equal as to their origine and dignity and there is a diversity of perfection not only among them but also between the tearms and differences whereof they consist For Before and Behind are more noble then Right and Left and these last more noble then Above and Beneath But further Before is more noble then Behind Right then Left and Above then Beneath The reason of this diversity proceeds in the first place hence that these three orders of Situation are answerable to the three dimensions observable in every natural body to wit Length Bredth and Depth as these last are answerable to the three kinds of Quantity which are admitted in every Mathematical body to wit Line Superficies and Solid For the Line makes the Length and the Length produces Above and Beneath From the Superficies comes Bredth and from this last Right and Left And the Solid body produces Depth as Depth does Before and Behind Now as the Line is more simple and by nature precedent to the Superficies and this last to the Solid Body in like manner Length naturally precedes Bredth and this last Profundity Accordingly the order of situation of Above and Beneath is more simple and previous to that of Right and Left as this last is in respect of Before and Behind So that Nature alwaies making her progress from those things which are in a lower to such as are in a higher degree of perfection it follows not only that the Line and Length are less perfect then Solidity and Profundity but also that the same diversity is found in the orders of situation which are answerable to every one of them And that consequently that of Before and Behind is the most noble that of Right and Left next and that of Above and Beneath least of all as being the first and simplest of all In effect we see that all these things have been distributed to Bodies according to the excellence they severally ought to have For those which have life do in the first place grow in Length and as they advance towards perfection they acquire Bredth and Profundity Plants have indeed the situation of Above and Beneath but are destitute of Right and Left Before and Behind only living Creatures are endued with these last differences nay there are some of these which have them not all that being a priviledge reserv'd for those which have the parts better distinguish'd and whose motions are more regular Yet is it to be affirm'd from what hath been said that all these kinds of situation may not be found in purely-natural bodies but they are uncertain and accidental as not having any principle whereby they are limited and determined and it is only by way of reference to things animate that they are admitted to be in them For what is the Above and the Before of a Pillar may as well be the Beneath and the Behind of it and he who is on the Right hand of it may be placed on the Left yet without any change of place But the case is not the same in things living and animate wherein all the differences of situation which the parts have are unchangeable as being fix'd and determinated by the vertues and operations of the soul And thus far of the kinds of situation compar'd among themselves But he who shall think fit to consider the tearms and differences whereof each of them consists will further find that there is still some one of them more noble then another in as much as one is the principle of another and that the principle is more excellent then that which depends on it For the Above is the principle of the Beneath the Right of the Left and the Before of the Behind And indeed the Beginning is a kind of Principle and the beginning of the three principal operations of the Soul is wrought in these three differences of situation For Nutrition begins by the Above Motion by the Right and Sentiment by the Before And accordingly the Mouth which is the first receptacle of the Aliment from whence it is afterwards distributed all over the Body makes the Above in all Animals as the root makes it in all Plants Whence it comes that the Latin Tongue calls those roots which are deepest in the Earth high And it is commonly said that Man is a Tree inverted not upon this accompt that his hair which hath some resemblance to the roots is above and those below but because he hath his mouth directly opposite to that of trees for it is not to be doubted but that the Root is the mouth of Plants since it is by that they receive their nourishment and that it is thence convey'd to all the other parts The Sentiment also begins by the Before for the Sense of Touching only excepted which it was requisite should be spread over all the parts of the Animal all the other Senses are placed before in regard it must have been the imployment of the Senses to conduct and regulate Motion which is alwaies made forward and begins on the Right side as we shall shew hereafter Whence it follows that the Above the Right and the Before are the Principles of the others and that they are consequently more noble then they Art 2. That the nobler Situations are design'd for the more excellent parts and that the excellency of the Parts is deduc'd from the advantage they bring along with them NOw Nature alwaies keeps to this Maxime that she disposes the most excellent things into those places which are most noble as it may be observ'd in the order wherein she hath put all the principal parts of the Universe And consequently it
and the affectation of novelty have since brought into vogue Art 18. Whence proceeds the regularity which Nature observes in her evacuations ANd certainly if a recourse be not had to this direction of the Spirits it would be impossible to give an account of the regularity which Nature observes in her motions when they are absolutely at her disposal and which Medicine imitates in the evacuations prescrib'd by it For when in inflammations of the Liver the right Ear becomes red when ulcers rise in the right Hand and right Foot when blood issues out at the nostrill of the same side or when there happen imposthumes and swellings in the right Ear And on the contrary when all the same accidents are observable on the left side in inflammations of the Spleen When I say Medicine prescribes Phlebotomy on the same side that the disease is and teaches us withall that all the evacuations made on the opposite side are dangerous in case they are made of themselves or naturally or to no purpose if done by Art What other reason can be assign'd for this regularity at least such as may be satisfactory to the mind then that alledged by us For what is said of the streight Fibres which enter into the composition of the vessels whereby some are of opinion that the humours are attracted is to give it no worse tearm impertinent since they are incapable of making any such attraction as we have shewn elsewhere since they are found equally on all sides of the vessel and consequently cannot determine or direct the motion of the humours to one rather then another since there are not alwayes Fibres to promote that regularity in as much as from the Spleen to the left Nostril there cannot be any at all the veins of the Nose proceeding from the hollow Vein between which and the Spleen there is no connexion And in fine since the humours which are without the vessels nay the very vapours and the most simple qualities are communicated from one part to another after the same manner so as that the Fibres act not at all upon those occurrences they in case there were any not contributing any thing to the transportation of the vapours and qualities Moreover if any shall affirm that this may be done by those secret conduits that are in some parts of the flesh and ascend from the lower parts to the upper yet so as that those which are of one side have no communication with those of the other we answer that it is a pure imagination without any likelihood of truth in as much as most commonly these evacuations are wrought by the veins and that it is requisite the humours which flow through those secret conduit-pipes should enter into the veins where it must be asserted there are not any passages nay further that there should be some conduits cross the body since the humours sometimes pass from the Right side to the Left sometimes from Before to Behind and most commonly from the Centre to the Circumference But all consider'd reflecting on either of these opinions we cannot find why there should be so much danger when the regularity is not observ'd in the evacuations of the humours But it being supposed that the said evacuations are wrought by the direction of the Spirits it is easily concluded to be necessary that Nature must needs be extremely oppress'd when she follows not the order which had been prescrib'd her and when she gets out of her ordinary road to shun the enemy that presses upon her For it is to be attributed to this very reason that the motions she makes in sharp Fevers upon even days are always dangerous in as much as it is an argument of the violence she suffers and the disorder into which the violence of the Disease forces her when it makes her forget the odd days on which she ought to engage against the choler which is the cause of those Diseases But however the case stands we may confidently affirm that the regularity we speak of without all doubt proceeds from the Spirits which conduct the humours all over one half of the body and dispose them not at all into the other unless there be some great obstruction For Nature hath so great a tenderness for the conservation of things living and animate that she hath in a manner divided them all into two parts out of this design that if it happened one suffered any alteration the other might secure it self from it and so in it self preserve the nature of the whole Now this division is real and manifest in some subjects as in the seeds and kernels of some Plants all which consist of two portions which may be separated one from the other as also in all those members of the Animal that are double In others it is obscure and not observable in an actual separation of the parts but onely in those operations which shew that they have each of them their distinct jurisdiction and different concernments such as is that whereof we speak which distinguishes the whole body into two halfs whereof one is on the right the other on the left Of the same kind is also that which may be observed in the members that are single as the Brain Tongue Nose c. where we many times see one half which is assaulted by some Disease the other free from it though there be not any separation between them If then it be true that Nature to preserve one half of the body charges the other with all the disorder that happens thereto and permits not the humours wherewith it is troubled to exceed her limits and by that means to fasten on the other it is not to be doubted but that the Spirits which are her first and principal organs do serve her in that enterprize and that the transportation of the humours from one place to another is their charge but onely so farr as she hath given them order to do And if to compass this transportation there be any necessity of making use of the Veins that are on the oâ—her sâ—de yet does not that make them forget Nature's dâ—sâ—gn and the commands they had received from her and so they onely pass along if I may so express it the borders of their neighbours to get to the place whereto they are directed Thus for example when to disburthen the Spleen of the humours whereby it is incommodated there happens a bleeding of the Nose by the left Nostril it is absolutely necessary that they should go out of the Spleen-veins into the Hollow-vein which is on the right side But the Spirits can conduct them in such manner as at last to make them return all along the same line and within that half of the body wherein the Spleen is But this is to enter too farr into the secrets of Medicine it shall therefore suffice at the present to affirm that the communication there is between the Veins according to the distribution made thereof
which comes precisely at the time appointed in the change of her Quarters will cause them to be selt though they be not seen either in the Heavens or the Almanacks Moreover do not the fits of the Epilepsie or Falling-sickness ordinarily follow the motions of that Planet Are there not some kinds of distractions and extravagances which are called Lunaeies Nay to descend even to Horses are they not subject to diseases in the Head known by a name not much differing from the forementioned purely upon this account that both of them follow the motion of the Moon In a word is it not a thing generally acknowledg'd that the beams of that Planet cause stubborn distempers and discolour the countenance if one be a long time expos'd thereto especially if the party be asleep Now all these things cannot be referr'd to any other cause then the influences thereof in as much as most of them are many times observable when she is under the Earth and that granted to be there neither her light nor the Magnetick vertue attributed to her can have any action upon us Nor is there any doubt made of the truth of these secret qualities especially after the observations which have been made of an infinite number of effects they produce and among others of the â—bbing and flowing of the Sea which without all dispute follows the motion of the Moon beginning alwaies when she appears either above our Horizon or that of the Antipodes and being in her greatest force when she is come to their Meridian or ours For if it can be shewn as it would be easie for us to do would this place admit of a discourse so long as should be requisite thereto if I say it can be demonstrated that the Flowing of the Sea cannot proceed from the motion of the Earth nor from the light of the Stars nor from any Magnetick vertue nor by the impulsion of the Moon nor by the Rarefaction caus'd in the Water by Heat there remain only the Influences of this Planet to be the cause of that miraculous motion and no doubt to be also the like cause of all the accidents before-mentioned Art 22. That the Sun hath the like predominancy over the Heart NOw if it be acknowledg'd that the said celestial Body the Moon hath the influences we have mentioned and that it is by them it hath the direction and government of one of the principal parts of the body there is no question to be made but that the Sun which hath the Supremacy and is as it were the Father of all the other Planets should have such as are more powerful and that he whose concurrence is requisite for the generation of all things hath reseâ—v'd to himself the first and noblest part of Animals that he might have the conduct thereof and communicate his vertues thereto No doubt but it must be so and therefore it may be affirm'd that he hath made choice of the Heart for his Throne and the place of his exaltation and that as he is in the Heavens in the midst of all the Stars so is he plac'd in the midst of all the members of the Body which are govern'd by the Planets Thence is it that he dilates his vertue into all the parts of the little world and if in his course he comes to suffer some malâ—gnant Aspect that member is sensible of it and sympathizes with the disorders of its Soveraign Upon this discovery hath it been observ'd that those who are sick suffer an extraordinary weakness in Eclipses of the Sun nay that those who are of a more delicate Complexion do sensibly resent in themselvs the effect of that Constellation To this may be added that the vital faculty becomes languishing and weak during the time of the Solstices and the Aequinoxes and when ever any malignant Stars rise with him that Hippocrates hath forbidden the making use of any remedy till ten daies are past But we must not omit to bring in this place an observation which that incomparable person hath left behind him in his Book of Dreams whereby may be discover'd not only the sympathy there is between the Heart and the Sun but also that which is between the Moon and the Stars and the other parts of the Body For having suppos'd that the Sun hath a relation to the middle of the Body the Moon to the cavities that are in it and the Stars to the external parts he affirms that if those Celestial bodies appear in the dream with the purity and according to that regularity of motion which is natural to them it is a signification of perfect health and that there is not any thing in the body but is consonant to the rule and order which Nature requires But if the party dreaming seems to see any of the Planets dimm'd or disappearing or obstructed in its course it is a sign of some indisposition to happen in those parts between which and those bodies there is a sympathy and correspondence For if those disorders happen in the Stars the indisposition will be in the constitution and habit of the Body if in the Moon it will be in the Cavities but if it be in the Sun it will be so much the more violent and more hard to be cured as such as engages against the principles of life it being not to be imagin'd that the middle he speaks of can be understood of any thing but the vital parts which comprehend the Heart and the parts about it Now if this be true as Reason and Experience hath since frequently confirm'd it we are to conclude thence that since in dreams the Imagination frames all those Images of the Sun to represent to its self the good or ill disposition of the Heart it is necessary that it should have some ground to joyn together two things which are so different among themselves and that it should find in the said part of the body certain Solar qualities which may serve for a model for the figures and representations it makes of that Star And in a word it is requisite that the particular Influences which the Heart receives from the Sun should be the originals according to which the Soul in sleep draws all those admirable copies If the case were otherwise why should she not as well make them for some other member And why in the inflammation of the Liver for example where the heat is at that time greater then in any other part of the Body should she not make to herself a representation of that Star which is the source of all the heat in the world as well as she does in the least alterations of the Heart Certainly there are in this part some vertues so strange and so conceal'd that it is impossible to make any reference thereof to the Elements For that it should many times defie the flames so as not to be consum'd thereby That it should not grow softer by boyling if the Auricles be not taken away That
humours which are mov'd in the body Now after we have throughly examin'd all the ressorts and instruments which Nature may make use of to that purpose it will be found that she cannot employ any other then the Spirits Art 9. That the blood is not attracted by the Fibres WE shall not here bring any thing upon the stage concerning Attraction though it were the only means whereby the Antients were of opinion that the motion of the blood was to be wrought inasmuch as it is an imaginary motion which opposes reason and experience Nor indeed can it be conceiv'd to be done but two wayes to wit either by some Boay which touching the blood brings and draws it to it or by some Magnetick vertue which may be in the parts and spreading it self into the vessels seizes on and drags it towards them much after the same manner as the quality of the Loadstone draws iron and causes it to approach it And these two wayes of attraction have bred two opinions which ever since the birth of Medicine even to the present age have been follow'd by some or other For some have imagin'd that the streight Fibres which enter into the structure of the veins had the power of attraction and that it was by their means the blood was convey'd to the several parts But they never consider'd that when some body is to attract a fluid and slippery thing there is a necessity it should touch it that it should seize on it and retain it in all its parts otherwise those which shall be at liberty will escape and will not be attracted Of this we have an experiment when we would take any liquor with our hand for those parts which shall not be comprehended within the hand will get away and not be gather'd in with the rest Now it is certain that the Fibres touch only the superficies of the humour which is in the vein and so whatsoever is in the bottome of the vessel will slip away notwithstanding all their endeavour to retain it To this we may add that the Fibres have no other way of attraction then by straining and compressing the veins and if so then would the senses perceive something of that motion as they do of that of the Intestines which is made after that manner Whence it follows that since we do not see any sign thereof how strong soever that contraction and compression of the veins might be for the making of that motion there is just ground to imagine that it is not made after that manner But what absolutely decides this question is that the aliment of Plants is convey'd by their channels after the same manner and by the same vertue as the blood may be in Animals and yet their Fibres suffer no such contraction as is imagin'd in the veins It is requisite therefore that we find out some other means whereby the moisture which nourishes them may ascend into the branches and withall such as may be found also in Animals to convey the blood into all the parts I add further that the bones attract as the common expression hath it their nourishâ—â—nt without any assistance of the Fibres and that sometimes the blood is so violently mov'd in the Passions that this pretended motion of the Fibres cannot be any way answerable to that swiftness as being made but slowly and by successive contractions which require much time in so long a transportation and conveyance as that of the blood is Art 10. That the blood is not attracted by any Magnetick vertue AS to the other opinion which admits a Magnetick vertue though it hath been more generally receiv'd yet is it not confirm'd by any other reason then the weakness of the precedent and the impossibility it imagin'd to it self of finding any other means then these two to make the blood flow into the veins So that it is maintain'd only upon the accompt of certain examples and instances as that of the Loadstone which draws iron to it and those of some purgative Medicines which attrract the humours and some others of the like kind But this is a very weak proof and such as the very ground thereof is of little certainty since we pretend to make it apparent that neither the Loadstone nor purgatives nor any other thing whatsoever have any attractive vertue But whether it be maintainable or not the Patrons of this opinion ought to suppose as they have done that this vertue is in every particular part since there is not any but does as they affirm attract blood for its nourishment The case being thus laid down they may be asked Whether all parts have this vertue equally or not For if it be equal in all there being superiour and inferiour parts it is impossible the blood should march up into the superiour parts in regard the inferiour have as powerful an attraction as the other there being no reason why they should follow the impression of the one rather then that of the other On the other side if there be any parts have this vertue in a higher degree then others they will attract all the blood to themselves and that just distribution which ought to be made thereof all over the body will never be perfected and compleated since it must needs be obstructed where that Magnetick vertue is most vigorous For to explain it by the example it must be done in the same manner as is observ'd in the iron which being plac'd near several Loadstones will alwayes make towards that which is most attractive Besides if it be true that the influence of natural vertues is performed by direct lines How is it to be imagin'd that the Attractive vertue shall observe that regularity in the innumerable turnings and windings of the veins and arteries What intermixture or to say better what confusion will there not be in the vessels wherein every part will spread its Magnetick vertue To conclude if the conformity of substance be the ground-work of this Attraction as is affirm'd by the maintainers of the foresaid opinion how is it to be conceiv'd that the blood which is alter'd and corrupted shall be able to flow into the veins By what means shall the mineral waters which admit not coction and are incapable of receiving the form of blood be able to pass wholly pure into the vessels What conformity or sympathy can we imagine between all these substances which are so different among themselves and the Liver or the Heart or any other part which attracts them to it self And lastly why should the blood ever go out of the body since that quality attracts it inwards and that it should be like the powder of steel which the Loadstone holds fast and suffers not to fall Art 11. That there are not any Attractive vertues BUt I shall proceed further and affirm that it is an errour to imagine there are in Nature any of these Attractive vertues she acknowledges not any other then that which is wrought by