sanguine of any about the Face and such as wherein the alterations of the Liver and Bloud are soonest and most evidently apparent so is there not any doubt to be made of it but that they are under the same direction as the other Besides that the Moles which are seen on the Cheeks denote others on the Thighs which have a correspondency to the Cheeks and are govern'd by the Sign Sagittary wherein is the House of Jupiter For we have shewn in the precedent Discourse of Chiromancy that the Astrologers have learn'd of Hippocrates to distribute the Veins to all the exteriour parts of man's body according to the correspondence and sympathy there is between the said parts Art 10. That Mercury hath the like government over the Ears THere is some difficulty to know whether Mercury hath the government of the lips as some affirm or whether Mars hath the conduct thereof But there is a greater probability that the Ears are the parts govern'd by Mercury in regard the Moles to be seen on them have others correspondent to them on the Arms between which and them there is a sympathy Now it is a thing generally acknowledg'd in Astrology that Mercury hath the government of the Arms and that the Sign Gemini wherein he hath establish'd his principal House and his exaltation does also govern those parts Art 11. That Mars hath the government of the Lips MOreover there is correspondence between the Lips and the Belly and the Moles to be seen on the former denote others on the Latter which is under the direction of Mars Add to this that the Lips are ulcerated in Tertian Fevers which no doubt proceed from Choler which is under the government of that Planet And this is an observation which deserves to be exactly consider'd in this place For this ulceration being critical and in a manner proper to those kinds of Fevers it must needs be inferr'd that there is a particular sympathy between the Lips and the humour which is the source of the disease and that thence proceeds its fastning on that part rather then any other whatsoever I am SIR Your most humble and most affectionate Servant LA. CHAMBRE CHAP. IX What Judgment is to be made of Chiromancy and Metoposcopy WHat we have deliver'd in the two precedent Discourses is all we can say upon a Subject which hath not yet come under the examination of Philosophy For though there have been some great Wits who have addicted themselves very much to the study of Chiromancy and Metoposcopy yet is there not any one of them that hath taken the pains to produce the least reason to maintain the principles thereof Not that I am absolutely of opinion that those which I have made use of are such as may satisfie either the expectation which some may have conceiv'd thereof or yet the severity which Philosophy observes in these matters To give them their just desert they are only conjectures and light presumptions but with this encouragement that we must expect to run some hazard in the disquisition of natural things since there are so few of them wherein Demonstrations and convincing proofs can find any place For what advantages soever we may have in order to the discovery of man we shall find it still a work of so much delicacy and wherein there are so many several pieces to be consider'd that the number of those we are ignorant of very much exceeds that of those which we know And whereas he is in effect a little World it may accordingly be affirm'd that we are as little acquainted with the things which are abbreviated in him as those whereof the great World consists which are wholy conceal'd from our knowledge The Head is no doubt the Epitome of the whole Heaven it hath its Constellations and Intelligences as well as the other But if we observe the Stars their situation and their motion and yet not know what their Nature is nor why they are so dispos'd the same thing may be said of all the parts of the Face For not to speak any thing of the figure of those which are the most considerable the Lines that are in the Forehead and about the Eyes the strokes and features which are of each side of the Nose and those that compass the mouth and a hundred other Lineaments which diversifie that Part and make it unlike in all men All this I say is easily discover'd and as easily imagin'd that Nature hath not done it without some design But the manner after which she does it and the end whereto she designs it are not yet fully known For the Observations which have been made upon that account have made but a weak discovery thereof the number of them being not considerable enough nor they made with that strictness and exactness they ought to have been Nay most of those that are found in books are temerarious and force the Science beyond its just limits For it must be granted that the greatest jurisdicton that Metoposcopy and Chiromancy can have reaches no further then to judge of the Dispositions of the Body and the natural Inclinations of the Soul and that if they pretend to the Confidence of Judicial Astrology which would fain bring free and contingent actions under its Jurisdiction they deserve the same contempt and are lyable to those punishments which Religion hath alwaies condemn'd the other to But if they keep within the limits we have assign'd them it must be acknowledg'd that there are some general reasons very favourable to them and such as evidently shew that there may be some truth in them For it cannot be doubted in the first place but that the Stars act by vertues which are different from Light in as much as all the effects which they produce cannot be attributed only to that quality and that there is a necessity of having a recourse to to the Influences to give a reason of the flowing of the Sea and some diseases which without all dispute follow the motion of the Moon Secondly it is as certain that there are some parts of mans body over which those Stars have a particular government and that since the Heart and Brain are of that order in respect of the Sun and Moon it is an invincible presumption that the other noble Parts are govern'd by the other Planets And lastly that there is a connexion and correspondence between those parts and some of the exteriour whereto they ought to communicate the vertues and qualities which they have received from the Stars Now from these general Maxims it follows that there is a correspondence and sympathy between all the Parts of the Face and Hand and the Interiour parts of the Body and the Planets whereby they are governed And consequently that there is a possibility of discovering the Dispositions by those latter and consequently to that the Inclinations which accompany them by the experience which hath been made of the nature and power which those Starrs have I
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
the Forehead which the Professors of it have divided into seven parts in order to the placing of the seven Planets therein So that they have assign'd the first and highest place to Saturn the second to Jupiter the third to Mars the fourth to the Sun the fifth which is above the left Eye-brow to Venus that which is above the right to Mercury and they lodge the Moon between those two And when these places are mark'd with any lines they denote the power of that Starr which is appropriated thereto But I fear me this orderly and regular disposal of the Planets is a product of Man's wit and invention which affects a kind of proportion and Symmetry in all things and imagin'd that those Celestial Bodies ought to be placed in the Face with a respect to the same order which they observe in the Heavens Chiromancy hath done much better when slighting that proportion it chang'd the order of the Planets and plac'd them in the Hand after a quite different situation For from thence it hath been with some reason concluded that there were some experiences which had oblig'd it to rank them as it hath done and to recede from that method which the imagination so industriously observes in all its operations wherein it â—â—ver wants references and resemblances to establish its Dreams and Visions Now what makes me to imagine the falling of Metoposcopy into the said errour is this that there are many who have not approv'd the Situation which some others have assign'd to those Planets as having dispos'd Venus into the place of the Sun and transferr'd the Sun and Moon over the two Eye-brows and set Mercury betwixt them And all this was done upon an imagination they had that it was more pertinent to place the two great Luminaries over the Ey-brows in order to their having a superintendency over the Eyes which are the clearest and most luminous parts of the whole Face But this observance of proportion though it seems sufficiently well imagin'd is not a rule for the conduct and guidance of Nature She proposes to her self such ends and means as are more solid then any of these vain Chimera's and those who are desirous to enter into the knowledge of her Secrets do not make a stand at these appearances but search after reasons grounded upon certain and well-establish'd experiences Moreover the acquaintance I had with a person admirable in the study of this Art gives me a rational encouragement to doubt of all these kinds of orderings and rankings of the Planets For he put Saturn in the place where the Sun was plac'd by some and Venus by others And whereas that is the most remarkable part of any in the Forehead and how scarce soever the lines may be in that part yet there never fails to be one there he conceiv'd that the Line of Saturn was proper and natural to the Forehead and that all the others were accidental and as it were scatter'd up and down there onely to denote the Aspects which that Planet hath to the others that upon a bare inspection of the Face he exactly discover'd the disposition of the Planets as it was at the minute of the Nativity In the mean time he made such certain judgments upon these grounds and I my self-have made such strange ones upon the rules I receiv'd from him that they have created in me a persuasion not onely that there is a true Science of Metoposcopy which is not so vain and deceitfull as some might be apt to imagine but also that that which is commonly found in Books and whereof such as are addicted to that study ordinarily make use is grounded on such false Principles and Rules as cannot attain the knowledge which may justly be expected from an Art so miraculous and of so great advantage But when all is done what place soever be assign'd to those Starrs the Question still remains to know whether there are any Physical experiences and observations whereby it may be maintain'd For if we must referr our selves to those of the Science it self it might produce an infinite number and I conceive my self able to establish the Systeme I spoke of before by those I have seen made by others and those I have often made my self But in as much as the testimony a man gives of himself is not legal and may be suspected accordingly it is not just to believe that which Metoposcopy might give on its own behalf and there is not any Art how vain or superstitious soever but may be establish'd by its own observations Let us thefore try whether we can elsewhere find out such reasons and proofs as may settle the grounds of this Art and give at least some presumption of the truth there may be in it Art 3. That not only the Forehead but also the other parts of the Face are to be considered in Metoposcopy BUt before we come to the examination of the aforesaid point it is requisite we should undeceive those who are of opinion that the Forehead is the onely part of the Face from which Metoposcopy deduces the signs and marks which it makes use of for it is certain that all the others do contribute somewhat thereto as well as it And indeed it is not to be imagin'd that it being granted there is a certain secret intelligence between the Starrs and noble parts of the body and the exteriour parts thereof in the Face the said correspondence and sympathy should be between them and the Forehead onely And that the Eyes the Nose and the Mouth which are such considerable parts and which Nature frames and conserves with so much care and tenderness should not have any communication with them And thence it comes that those Astrologers who have apply'd themselves to this Science have made every part of the Face subject to some particular Planet For not to mention the Forehead wherein as we said before they have plac'd them all they have consign'd the Right Eye to the Sun the Left to the Moon the Nose to Venus the Ears to Mercury the Cheeks to Jupiter and the Lips to Mars and according to the constitution of those parts they have laid down Rules whereby to judge of the good or bad disposition of those Starrs and of the effects they might work upon the persons So that those Rules and Judgments being under the jurisdiction of Metoposcopy there 's no doubt to be made but that it makes its use and advantage of all the parts of the Face and that it is a gross errour to imagine that it hath nothing to consider but the Forehead This presuppos'd we now come to examine the reasons whereby the situation which every planet hath of each of those parts may be establish'd and confirm'd Art 4. That the Sun and Moon have the government of the Eyes IN the first place then if it be observ'd that all the Passions are to be discern'd in the Eyes and that the Heart and Brain are