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
Knowledg But for Man to know Man which is the Subject of this Treatise it is an Art as full of incertitude as any The lineaments of the Face and lines of the Hands are not streight enough to lead us unto it though Vultus be Index Animi though the Eyes be as the Casements of the Soul yet many times they prove false Glasses though as the Turk believes every Man's Fate and Fancy be written in his Forehead yet the letters are so obscure that we cannot read them and the Poet tells us Fronti nulla fid es Indeed the probablest way to get this Art is by Conversation and Discourse according to the Italian Proverb A Roma ti viddi a Venetia ti conobbi I saw thee at Rome I knew thee at Venice which made the Philosopher say to a man who had a promising Face of Wisdom I thought thee wise till I heard thee speak This Sagacious and sharp-sighted Author hath gone very farr in this Art as appears in this Discourse and in other acute Notions that I have read of His which shew him to be full of pensees desliees Moreover I had the good hap and occasion to know Him and converse with Him in Paris and truly I believe He may well be ranked among the Philosophers of the Vpper House which this Age affords Therefore Sir besides your great Ingenuity you discover also much Judgment in the Election of your Authors who are much oblig'd to you for your exact fidelity in rendring them And consequently it may well be said that You have attain'd the Art of knowing Men by penetrating the true sence and every Souls of those Authors you deal withall JAM HOWEL THE PREFACE Wherein is treated of the Excellency of the ART HOW TO KNOW MEN and of the Author's Design IT was a groundless complaint of him who wish'd Nature had plac'd a window before mens hearts that their thoughts and secret designs might be seen There was I say no reason for that complaint not only in regard those are not things which fall under the Senses and that though the eyes saw the very bottom and all the windings turnings of the heart yet could they not observe any thing therein from whence they might derive the least knowledge of it but also in as much as Nature hath made other provision for this discovery and found out more certain means to make it then would have been that strange openness which Momus imagin'd to himself For she hath not only bestow'd on Man voice and tongue to be the interpreters of his thoughts But out of a certain distrust she conceiv'd that he might abuse them she hath contriv'd a language in his forehead and eyes to give the others the Lye in case they should not prove faithful In a word she hath expos'd his soul to be observ'd on the out-side so that there is no necessity of any window to see his Motions Inclinations and Habits since they are apparent in his face and are there written in such visible and manifest characters From these characters it is our design to frame the greatest and most advantageous work that haply was ever undertaken a work wherein the Noblest and most necessary discoveries of knowledg which Man can arrive unto are contained in fine a work wherein may be found the secret and perfection of Wisdom and humane Prudence These great promises will be thought the more attainable when it shall be known that what we undertake is THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN an Art whereby every man is taught to know himself wherein consists the highest point of Wisdom and withall to know others which is the Master-piece of Prudence The secret of Wisdom consists in this that a man knows what he is himself what he may do and what he ought to do and that of Prudence in knowing also what others are what they may do and what they are desirous to do Can any knowledg be more delightful or more profitable then these And may not he who hath acquir'd them justly pretend to the acquisition of the greatest advantages of this life Now the Art of Knowing Man teaches all these things For though it seems to have no other end then to discover the Inclinations the Motions of the Soul the Vertues Vices which are observable in others yet does it with the same labour teach every one to find them out in himself and to deduce more rational and more impartial judgments thereof then if he first considered them in his own person For it is most certain that we cannot by our selves come to a perfect knowledge of our selves and our Souls may in that respect be compar'd to our Faces inasmuch as the former as well as the latter can only view themselvs in Mirrours If she attempts the beholding of herself the trouble she is at in that self-reflection distracts and wearies her and self-love corrupts and poysons all the judgments she makes of her-self For instance a person transported with Anger cannot make any just judgment of his passion which how furious soever it may be still thinks that all the reason and justice is of its side A covetous person thinks his most sordid cares the effects of Prudence and Necessity In a word all our Inclinations and Habits please and humour us all our Passions seem rational to us Who therefore could be sensible of them much less condemn them having the recommendation of pleasure being maintain'd by an appearance of Reason which are the two greatest corrupters of our sentiments To apprehend therefore their imperfections it is requisite we saw them in another that being a glass which flatters not and though those we make use of do represent such Images as are immediately blotted out of the memory the case is not the same with this which makes constant and permanent draughts the remembrance whereof is not easily lost In fine it is a thing out of all dispute that there is no better way for a man to come to the knowledg of himself then by studying that knowledg in others Thus is it then that the Art weteach is able to bring a man to the knowledg of himself But inasmuch as there are two kinds thereof one Physical and Natural which examines the composition of Man the nature of the Soul's faculties and the admirable Oeconomy observable in their functions the other Moral which relates to Morality and makes a discovery of the Inclinations Passions and Vices it must be acknowledg'd that it undertakes not to give an account of the former to the utmost extent it is capable of but leaves the absolute and exact disquisition thereof to Medicine and Philosophy But being oblig'd to make the strictest examination of things relating to Manners it is impossible but that enquiring into their causes and the manner whereby they are framed in the Soul there falls within its design the noblest and most intricate part of Physick or natural Philosophy and treating of the conformation of parts
man requires not an excessive vivacity of Imagination nor an over-circumspect Judgment nor a too happy memory Nay it cannot bear with these sublime Spirits which are alwaies fixt on the contemplation of things high and difficult not only upon this account that having design'd man for society it expects he should equally apply himself to Contemplation and Action but principally in regard that it is impossible the body should have its natural perfection when it hath the dispositions requisite to sublimity of Spirit For the Body must needs be weak when the Spirit is too strong as the over-great strength of Body lessens and weakens the Spirits as we shall shew more at large hereafter The case is the same with all the other faculties for if the Appetite be too apt to move if the Senses too subtile if the Concoctive virtue the evacuative or retentive be too strong they are so many defects and irregularities they should all be proportionate to the equality of the Temperament which does not admit of these vicious perfections Art 3. That all the Faculties ought to be in a Mean ANd that this is true even in those faculties which are spiritual may be deduced hence That the action and the power ought to be conformable one to the other in as much as the action is only a progress and effusion of the active power If therefore actions cannot be perfect but so far as they are moderate it is necessary that the faculties should derive their perfection from their moderation But it is a receiv'd maxim in morality That actions to be virtuous ought to be in a mediocrity and consequently the faculties from which they proceed should also be in the same mediocrity Now the first spring of this mediocrity is the Indifference which is natural to the rational Soul for since the Action is conformable to the power the actions should be as indifferent as the other is and though it be determined by the action it does yet does it nevertheless preserve its indifference by the mediocrity which the action receives from it The reason is that what is in the mean is indifferent in respect of the extremities and that what is in the extremity is less indifferent and more determinated then what is in the mean as we have shewn already And thence proceeds the necessity there is of moderating the passions For though in other animals they are the more perfect the greater and stronger they are and that the more fearful a Hare is and the more cruel a Tigre the more perfect is each of them in its kind yet is not so in those of man in as much as they ought to be in a mean between excess and defect that they may be the more conformable to the indifference of the superiour part Art 4. That all natural Inclinations are defects I Conceive it will be no hard matter to apprehend and subscribe unto all these truths because they are maintain'd by reason and experience But there is yet another may be deduc'd from the same principles which I question not will be thought very strange though it be no less certain It is this That though there be some Inclinations which are good in themselves and deserve commendation such as those men have for the virtues yet are they defects and alter the natural perfection which is conformable to humane nature And certainly this will occur upon common observation and experience that those who have from their birth some excellent virtues have had them attended by greater vices for a man must needs fall into defects and imperfections so far as he is at a distance from perfection Now the perfection of man is to be indifferent and not determinated to any particular virtue he should be capable of all For the Virtues that come along with the birth are not real virtues they are only the initiatios of them or rather they are but inclinations which a man hath for them In a word they are bounds and limits confining the capacity of the Soul which is universal to a particular habit The Soul of its own nature is not determinated and ought to be capable of all humane actions And as it may know all things so is it requisite that the Appetite which follows her knowledg should have also the freedom to incline it self to all things And this universal capacity is at the same time an effect of the spirituality of her nature and the cause of the liberty she hath For if she were material she would be determinated and if she were not indifferent she should not be free The Inclinations therefore which man may have though they might be for the most excellent virtues are imperfections he ought not to have any for any one in particular but for all together And this is that which the Angel of the Scholes hath so judiciously deliver'd when he affirm'd That there is no Animal but hath some inclination to a Passion conformable to his nature but that man only is the mean of all and that it is requisite he should be equally susceptible thereof in as much as he is of his own nature indifferent and indeterminate To conclude since the Temperament and the Conformation of the parts are the two principal causes of natural Inclinations as we shall shew hereafter and that they make the Soul incline to those actions which are conformable to them it is not to be doubted but that the mediocrity and the mean which they ought to be guided by in man does also invest the Soul with an equal bent towards both the extremities Art 5. That every species hath its proper Temperament BUt it is to be observed that in the distribution of the Temperament made by Nature to Animals she hath in the first place considered their species and hath appointed every one that which was most convenient for it For example she hath assign'd a hot and dry Temperament for the species of the Lion a hot and moist for that of a Horse a cold and dry for that of an Asse and so all the rest But as she hath been careful of the conservation of these species and to that end hath bestow'd on them the two Sexes which were to receive different qualities she hath been oblig'd to divide this first Temperament and to give one part of it to the male and the other to the Female For though in the species of the Lyon the male and female are hot and dry yet is it certain that the female is such in a lower degree then the male and the same thing is to be said of all the rest It is therefore to be granted that the just and equal Temperament we have spoken of before is that which is most convenient to humane Nature But in as much as it was also requisite that the man and Woman should have different qualities that just Temperament was divided between them and without straying too much from that perfect Temperature the man hath receiv'd a
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
move So that when it is said of some body that he hath an inclination for such a person it is meant of the friendship he hath towards him or the disposition he hath to love him This is the true inclination the other onely the effect of this Art 2. The distinction of Inclinations HAving nothing to say here of that kind of inclination which is improperly so called we shall speak onely of that which truly deserves that name Of this also there are two kinds one Natural and proceeding from Nature the osher acquir'd and proceeding from habit and custom There are some men naturally inclin'd to Love Anger Justice c. others acquire an inclination to Vertues Vices and Passions whereto they were not naturally inclin'd Art 3. The Seat of the Inclinations BUt the kinds before mentioned reside in the Soul as their true and proper seat For besides that of the Inclinations some are wholly Spiritual as those which Arts and Sciences leave in the mind others are Corporeal as for example the ease and facility wherewith a Trades-man works when he hath good tools for this facility is not in the tools though it proceeds from them In like manner the inclination which a man hath to be angry is not in the organs though it proceeds from the constitution of the organs in as much as the disposition which a thing hath to move as well as the motion whereby it is afterwards agitated ought to be in the thing it self and not in the causes from which it receives that disposition and motion It follows therefore since it is the Soul which ought to move that the disposition to move should be in the Soul From hence it may be easily inferr'd that the Appetite is the seat of the Inclinations in regard that is the onely part of the Soul which may be moved And whereas there are three sorts of Appetite the Will the Sensitive appetite and the Natural appetite each of them hath such inclinations as are suitable and conformable thereto that is to say the spiritual are in the Will as those which Arts and Sciences leave in the mind the Sensible are in the Sensitive appetite as those which a man hath to the passions of the sensitive Soul and those which are purely corporeal make their aboad in the Natural appetite such as are those which Nature hath for certain motions of the humours in diseases and for all the actions for which the organs are design'd For even before the parts are in a capacity and condition to act the Soul hath an inclination to the functions which they ought to perform Whence it comes that a young Ramm runs his head against things before his horns are in sight a young wild Boar will offer to bite before his tusks are grown out and Birds endeavour to flie though though they are not fully fledg'd Yet are we to make this observation by the way that the inclinations of one Appetite are many times communicated to another For the Inclination a man hath to passions is at last entertain'd into the Will and those of the Natural appetite commonly spread themselves into the Sensitive as the examples we have alledged sufficiently evince Art 4. How Inclination is to be defin'd FRom all these considerations me thinks it were no hard matter to frame an exact definition of Inclination which may be this Inclination is a certain disposition deeply rooted in the Appetite which receives from it a bent towards certain objects acceptable thereto But to speak more significantly we are to acknowledge that these Metaphorical kinds of expression are not proper to define things and the words of bending or bowing or weighing whereby Inclination is commonly defin'd cannot be properly said of any thing but bodies and are not to be attributed to the Soul Let us endeavour then to find out some other expedient to clear up this matter and to look after some other notions and terms which may be more proper to the thing now under our examination Art 5. Whence proceeds the Disposition wherein the Inclination consists OUt of all controversie then it is that the Appetite hath certain motions whereto it is commonly more inclin'd then to others and it may be said that it hath a disposition to perform them and that the said disposition consists in the facility which it meets with in the performance of them The question then is to know whence it receives this disposition and facility for it cannot proceed from the weight scituation figure or any other circumstances of that kind which cause in Bodies a disposition and facility to move themselves To discover this secret it is to be laid down as granted that the Inclination is a disposition and a fixt and permanent facility that happens to the Appetite and consequently it is necessary that the cause which produces it should also be durable and permanent Now all the causes of that order which may be imagin'd as to the present enquiry are reducible either to the disposition of the organ of the appetite or to the habit which it may have acquired or to the images which are preserv'd in the memory and frame the knowledge precedent to its motion for these things onely are permanent and may cause that disposition and constant facility wherein the inclination consists It might then be affirmed that if the Spirits are the organs and immediate seat of the Appetite as we shall have occasion to shew hereafter it must follow that according as they are more subtile or more gross they are the more or the less â—asily mov'd and that the Appetite which moves along with them receives its motion with greater slowness or activity And that hence it proceeds there are some constitutions which are so changeable love with so much facility and desire things with so much earnestness and on the contrary there are others whose Souls are so heavie that it is almost impossible to stirr them and prosecute the attainment of their desires with a lethargick supinity and negligence But this reason is not general for all the Inclinations for besides that there are some which proceed from the instinct and have no dependance on the qualities of the spirits there are some also in the Will which is not engag'd to any organ nay we acknowledge that there are such even in Angels in whom it is out of all dispute that neither that cause nor any other corporeal disposition can have any place The same thing is to be said concerning the habit which the Appetite may have contracted since the habit is a quality acquired by many actâ—ons and that there are some natural inclinations which are derived from the very birth If these things be as they are laid down there remain only the Images preserv'd in the memory which may be the general and immediate cause of this disposition and facility wherein the Inclination consists Art 6. How the motions of the Appetite are wrought TO understand how this is done
if they be not often renewed they are so lost or weakned that they cannot make a perfect representation of things 'T is true there are certain objects which upon the first sight make so strong an impression in the Soul that the species thereof are preserv'd a long time in the memory and that the first apprehension which is had of them hath as great an influence upon him as many several apprehensions often reiterated would have upon some other occasion Hence it comes that the first sight of a very beautifull person many times raises a Love which continues many years Upon this account it is said commonly in the Schools that there are certain acts which alone and upon the first performance of them may produce habits But otherwise that is those onely excepted there is a necessity that the Images which the Soul frames and continues in the memory should be often renew'd and as it were receive a second touch by several subsequent reflections that they may be perfectly expressive and representative For as often as ever the Soul makes an apprehension or a commemoration of some object so often does she frame an Image thereof to her self in regard that by apprehending or remembring she acts and that she can have no other action then the production of Images which Images joyn'd with those that are in the memory render them stronger and more lively much after the same manner as the colours which are often touched over as we have shewn in the place before alledged Art 9. That the disposition and facility of the Appetite 's motion proceeds from the same Images THese Images therefore which are in the memory and are accordingly perfectly expressive are those from which the disposition and facility which the Appetite hath to motion toward certain objects does proceed And certainly it may be affirm'd that the Soul which finds her self stored with these Images and sees her self in a condition to produce the apprehensions necessary to her is raised up to a certain confidence in her self and without any reflection of hers thereupon she is sensible of her own strength and courage And as a man who hath a vigorons body much wealth or is of noble extraction assumes a confidence in himself and is at all times in a condition to undertake things conformably to his power though he thinks not of it in like manner the Soul does the same when she hath the Images in a readiness in order to the making of her judgments she hath all her faculties in a disposition fit to act and when she is in action it may be easily perceiv'd she was prepar'd thereto And thence it will not be hard to judge that the Instinct the Temperament the Habits c. cause the inclinations because all these things presuppose Images perfectly expressive For those of the Instinct are strong and deep as we have already shewn those of the Habits ought to be often reiterated and the Temperament the Conformation of the parts kind of life c. which the Soul knows and is sensible of have the same effect on the Images as the Habit. Whence it may be inferr'd that in all these the Images are perfectly representative the Appetite is in a condition to move as soon as the Practick understanding or the Estimative faculty shall present them to it And here does consist the facility which it hath to be inclin'd thereto as the Inclination consists in that facility as we have already affirmed These things thus laid down we may define the Inclination by proper notions and terms thus The Inclination is a permanent disposition and a facility attain'd by a long progress of time which the Appetite hath to move towards certain objects which are acceptable and delightfull thereto SECT 2. What are the Causes of the Inclinations Art 1. The several distinctions of the said causes THus farr have we discoursed concerning the nature object and seat of the Inclinations we now come to an examination of the causes thereof For though we have already spoken of the principal cause and that which is the immediate source of them to wit the Images which are preserv'd in the memory yet are there yet remaining some others which albeit not so nearly adjacent to the Inclination are nevertheless in a certain degree necessary thereto nay they are such as being better known and more manifest will accordingly give a greater light to a thing so obscure as this is Besides therefore that secret and immediate Cause we have treated of before there are two other kinds to wit Next causes and Remote and both of them are either Natural or Moral Of the Natural the Next are the Instinct the Temperament and the Conformation of the parts The Remote are the Starrs the Climate difference of Age of Sustenance and indispositions of the body The Moral are nobleness or meanness of Extraction Riches and Poverty Power and Subjection good and bad Fortune and kind of Life which comprehends Arts Sciences Habits and Counsels Examples Punishments and Rewards For all these things raise particular inclinations by disposing the Soul to judge whether the things are good and givng her a bent towards them We are now to consider how this is done Art 2. That the Instinct is one of the causes of the Inclinations AS to the Instinct there is no doubt but that it must be numbred among the said Causes when it shall be found that it consists in the Images which have their birth with the Animal in order to its apprehension of those things which are necessary for its conservation and whereof he cannot come to the knowledg by the Senses For as these Images are perfectly expressive as being perfectly present to the Soul so upon all occasions they are the Sollicitours and remembrancers of the Estimative faculty that it would propose them to the Appetite and raise in that as we said before the inclination it hath to the action which they command should be done Thus is it that the Soul apprehends and is inclin'd to the functions whereto she is design'd and to a search after most of those things which are necessary for her For thence proceeds the inclination which Birds have to flie Fish to swim Men to discourse and which all living Creatures have to seek out the sustenance and remedies which they know are naturally fit and profitable for them Art 3. That the Temperament is one of the causes of the Inclinations AS concerning the Temperament it is unanimously acknowledged by all to be the most general and most eminent cause of the Inclinations that according to that quality of the humours which is predominant in the body men are inclin'd to such and such passions that such as are subject to Melancholy are naturally sad and ingenious the Cholerick active and angry the Sanguine jovial and affable the Flegmatick stupid and slothful As to Climates there are some in which men are more ingenious and more civiliz'd in others more dull
her judgment of them and lastly sollicits the Appetite to move conformably to the resolution she hath taken Now as there are some figures which are fit for the motion of natural bodies others opposite thereto so is it certain that every organicall function hath a certain figure that is suitable to it and without which it cannot be otherwise then imperfectly performed Thence it comes that every part nay every species of living creature hath a different figure because the functions of it are different And as the body which should have been square and was consequently design'd for rest receives a property and aptitude to motion when it is reduc'd to a round figure in like manner when any one of the organical parts which should have been of such a figure receives some other it is deprived of the disposition it had for the function for which it was design'd and acquires that which hath some correspondence with the extraordinary figure it hath receiv'd The case is the same as when an Artisan makes use of an Instrument which is not convenient and fit for the design he had propos'd to himself for instead of doing what he intended he does the quite contrary he cuts off that which he should have bored he makes uneven what he should have smooth'd and whereas his design was to cast the statue of a man he does that of a Lyon if the mold he makes use of be such as may represent that creature Such is the procedure of the soul when she hath such organs as have not the natural figure they ought to have For there is nothing more certain then that man as well as all other Animals hath a proper and peculiar figure design'd by nature to every one of his parts And therefore as the soul hath an inclination to perform the actions which are proper to the organs she ought to have so must it needs follow that that inclination will be chang'd when the organ is chang'd But there remains yet a difficulty which seems nor easily resolvable It is this that the soul knows by the instinct the action which the organs ought to perform when they have the conformation proper and natural to them On the contrary this cannot be said when the organ hath not the figure it ought to have because the Instinct gives her not the apprehension of the action which is not proper to her since it is a particular default and that the Instinct is a general apprehension bestow'd on the whole species To rid our hands of this difficulty we are to observe that the figure of the parts is the effect of the formative vertue and that the said vertue follows the Temperament or the impression and image it hath receiv'd from the animal engendring If it follow the Temperament the figure is not the cause of the inclination it is only the sign of it in regard the Temperament is the true cause thereof and in that case the soul knows the action of the part by means of the Temperament as we have said before But if it follow the impression or the image of the animal which engenders the formative vertue is the cause of the inclination inasmuch as it is a faculty which brings along with it not only the character of the parts of the animal engendring but also the disposition which it had to act conformably to their figure And this is so unquestionable that many times the child betrayes the same inclinations as his parents had done before him though he do not resemble them the Temperament having opposed the figure of the parts yet not had strength enough to deface the disposition to the inclination which they had Now it is certain that it is only the formative vertue which brings the character of these inclinations there being not any thing which the animal engendring communicates to that which is engendred but only that vertue as several modern experiences have made apparent Now as the formative vertue which is in the organs of the animal engendring moves with those organs so it acquires the same bent and the same disposition to move which those organs have so that coming to frame another animal it carries along with it that very same disposition which it hath acquir'd and communicates it thereto And whereas this disposition is as it were a weight continually pressing and solliciting the soul to move the soul sensible of that sollicitation at last frames the judgment conformable to the impression she hath receiv'd from it and afterwards derives it to the Appetite which entertains the same bent and this bent is the true Inclination in regard the Inclination cannot be any where but in the appetite Art 6. How Inclinations are produc'd by the remote Causes THus far have we discours'd of the Natural and Next causes of the Inclinations As to the Remote they are all in a manner reducible to the Temperament For the Stars the Climate Age Aliment and the Indispositions of body have no other influence on the inclinations then what is caus'd by the alteration they make in the temperament True it is there are some diseases which alter them by destroying the Conformation of the parts as a man who is maim'd in the hand or leg looses the inclination he had to play on the Lute or dance As concerning the Moral Causes they dispose the Estimative faculty to make its judgments according to the apprehension it receives from them of the strength or weakness they have as Nobleness of birth Wealth good Fortune raise in men an inclination to Ambition Pride and Courage in regard they are perswaded by the power they derive from them that they deserve honours and that there is not any thing which they may not attempt whereas on the contrary the inclinations arising from meanness of birth poverty and ill fortune are opposite to the other All the rest as course of Life Arts Sciences Vertues and Vices are grounded on Custome which renders things easie and agreeable upon the recommendation of the profit or pleasure that may be reaped thereby For all this being frequently represented to the Estimative faculty it makes favourable judgments thereof which are preserv'd in the memory and at last cause the Appetite to incline as we have shewn elswhere But we must not in this place omit one advertisement which is absolutely necessary in reference to the subject we treat of It is this that when we speak of the Temperament we do not understand only by that word the conjunction and mixture of the first qualities but our meaning is to add thereto the second qualities And therefore we do not speak only of the hot cold dry or moist Temperament but also of the Sanguine Cholerick Plegmatick and Melancholick Temperament in regard the humours which give the denominations to these Temperaments comprehend these two sorts of qualities But of all the second qualities there are not any so considerable in reference to the Inclinations as subtilty and
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
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
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
the effort of that part We shall not make it our business to oppose this circulation and though it be accompany'd with great difficulties yet may it nevertheless be affirmed that it is true and that it is effectually wrought though haply not after the same manner as is held by the maintainers thereof It is sufficient for the prosecution of our design to shew that the beating of the Heart is not the cause of the blood's motion especially that which comes into the veins For that done it will be easie to make it appear that they are only the Spirits which can transport it to the places whither it goes and consequenlty that they are bodies distinct from the humours which follow the motions of the Soul and not that of the Heart and may be mov'd by an agitation different from that of the latter Art 8. The heating of the Heart forces not the Blood into all the Parts IT being suppos'd then as the Patrons of this opinion would have it that the Heart by a certain compression or contraction of it self drives out into the arteries the blood which it hath receiv'd into its ventricles and that by the violence of that motion it forces it even to their extremities so to make its passage into the small veins which are near them and thence into the hollow vein and at last to the Heart whence it afterwards passes back again into the arteries and then into the veins perpetually running out of one into another by a continuall circulation This I say being sâ—ppos'd it might be said that there is some probability that this impulsion which it receives from the Heart may cause it to flow along into the arteries but it can never be conceiv'd how this impulsion should be continu'd even into the veins after that its force hath been check'd and broken by so many windings and so many obstructions which the blood must needs meet with in its way What! it shall open the moâ—ths of the vessels it shall force its passage through the fleshy parts as they pretend it shall surmount the impressions which the air and other external causes every moment make in the parts and after all this by vertue of that first impulsion it shall reascend to the Heart with the same agility that it descended thence But this is a thing cannot enter into a man's imagination I am content that as it passes through the small vessels the compression it suffers therein may continue the impetuosity of its motion but that it should be so when it flows into the greater veins and the spaciousness of their channels gives it more liberty is a thing which cannot be affirm'd without a defiance of experience and reason and there is a necessity it should have the same fate as rivers and torrents which flowing out of a narrow into a broad channel abate much of the impetuosity of their course And certainly if the beating of the Heart and arteries causes the blood to be thus moved Nature hath forgot her self extreamly that she gave not the same agitation to the veins especially those in the lower parts where the blood is more gross and heavy and hath so great a way to get up to the Heart For there it is that the cause and instruments of this miraculous transportation ought to be the more powerful having a greater and heavier weight to conduct nay indeed to force upward then is the arterial blood which is more subtile more susceptible of motion and at that time only descends downwards It may then be conceiv'd that those who first advanc'd this opinion never consider'd that fluid bodies cannot long conserve the vertue and impulsion if it be not extreamly strong and that that which is made in the Heart is too weak to maintain the motion of the blood in so long a course and through so many obstacles That if it were forc'd out as they pretend it would so much swell the veins that they would alwayes seem full and stretch'd out especially when it should be forc'd to ascend And in fine that opening the veins it should issue out by certain sallies and reiterations as that which comes out of the arteries since it is the same impulsion that makes both move and that we find in Water-Engines that the water alwayes flows proportionably to the violent shocks it received at the entrance of its channell But why should there be imagin'd in the veins a motion of the blood different not only from that which is made in the bones into the depth whereof it penetrates in order to their nourishment but also from that which conveys the sap of plants to all their parts For this sap and the blood we speak of is the last Aliment whereby they are sustein'd and therefore it is but one and the same Faculty that hath the direction and conveyance thereof and Nature who loves uniformity in all her operations will not easily change this since it may and ought to be performed after the same manner Moreover if the impulsion be the only cause of the motion of the blood it must be also the same of all the natural motions whereby it is agitated And yet that transportation of the humours which Nature makes in Crises and the regularity punctually observ'd by her when she conveys them from one place to another depends on another principle For the violence done in the Heart ought to be equally communicated to all the vessels and cannot determine the blood to flow towards one part rather then another How shall it then cause it to ascend to the left nostril in Inflammations of the Spleen rather then to the right Shall it be also the impulsion that shall force choler to the Intestines in Fluxes without inflammation And convey the serosities to the skin in critical sweats For all these sorts of motions proceed from nature and are made or at least begun in the veins though the beating and impulsion of the Heart and Arteries contribute nothing thereto To conclude since Nature multiplies not the ways of acting in those operations which are of the same kind it is necessary that she cause the blood to ascend by the same vertue whereby she causes the chylus to do so making it to pass out of the Intestines into the Vessels and afterwards conducting it to those places where it is necessary Now I do not think there is any body will affirm that the beating of the Heart contributes ought to this motion as having no communication with the Intestines at least so great as to force the chylus upwards and consequently it may be said that the blood is no more mov'd then it by that impulsion We must therefore find out some other cause then that whereto we may referr not only the ordinary transportation of the blood and all its other motions which though they seem extraordinary are nevertheless natural thereto as those which happen in the Passions but also those of the chylus and the other
able to make a discovery of all the Species of Temperance For there are many Passions of the Concupiscible Appetite whereto it hath not assign'd particular Vertues for their regulation as for example Hatred Aversion and Sadness Nay it hath not express'd all the differences of Desires and Pleasure 〈◊〉 wherein here may be some failing as well as in what concerns the use of the superiour â—enses since the same excesses which happen in the Tasting and Touching do also occur in the Sight Hearing and Smelling But as Moral Philosophy hath by the general tearm of Temperance made provision for all the particular Vertues requisite for that purpose So our Art hath assum'd the freedom to comprehend under moderation all that concerns the ordering and direction of these Passions We therefore place the Moderate person between the Voluptuous and the Insensible The Studious is comprehended under the Curious the extreams whereof are the Over-curious and the Negligent The Frugal person lies between the same opposite Vices as the Liberal those two being distinguish'd only by the different ends which they have in the disposal of Wealth The Humble the Modest the Magnanimous have in a manner the same extreams There be only the Proud and the Ambitious which are different That Modesty which consists in the Gesture is confounded with the character of the Wise or Discreet person That which relates to Cloaths is called Handsomness which hath for opposites the Gawdy and the Slovenly But our Art considers not that Vertue which is only in the external part as being easily perceiv'd of it self The Sober person is attended by two Vices both which are in the excess and hath not any defect at all The rest may be seen by the ensuing Table The Moderate person hath for opposites The Voluptuous The Insensible The Curious The over-Inquisitive The Negligent The Frugal The Prodigal The Covetous The Humble The Proud The Abject The Magnanimous The Presumptuous The Pusillanimous The Modest The Ambitious The Over-bashful The Sober or Temperate The Glutton The Drunkard The Chast The Vnchast The Impotent The Cheerful The Ridiculous The Austere To these may be added The excessive Gamster The excessive Huntsman SECT 4. Of FORTITVDE FORTITVDE moderates the Passions of the Irascible Appetite for this is the Vertue which regulates the Soul upon the occurrence of things troublesome and difficult Now though there be three kinds of Passion in this Appetite to wit Hope Audacity and Anger yet are the two latter the more violent and the least tractable so that this Vertue is more apparent in Anger and Audacity then it is in Hope And whereas Audacity relates to Dangers and particularly that which is most to be fear'd of any to wit Death thence it proceeds that most of the Philosophers assign this Vertue to moderate that Passion alone But following the Order we have propos'd to our selves it is to be extended to all those Passions Nevertheless before we come to treat of the Species of it this observation is to be premis'd to wit that there are three sorts of Fortitude that of the Body that of the Mind and that of the Appetite The first is purely natural the last is acquir'd by Study and Reason the other is partly natural partly acquir'd All these three have two principal functions which are to assault or set upon and oppose Now as Anger is the strongest and most ordinary Passion of this Appetite Meekness is accordingly put in the first place as being the Vertue by which this Passion is moderated There are several Species of Audacity according to the several objects which oblige it to attack or oppose For in attacking the Evil if it be done in Arms it makes Valour in all other cases it is Audacity or Confidence But if it slight and contemn great Dangers it is tearmed Magnanimity or Greatness of Courage On the contrary in opposing it is Constancy and Patience As concerning Hope it is regulated by Patience and Perseverance The latter hath a respect to the delay the former considers all the other difficulties which may occur in the expectation of Good According to this Order our Art ought in the first place to examine the Strength and Weakness of the Body and Mind then speak of Meekness which hath for its opposites Anger and Insensibility and so of the rest as may be seen in the ensuing Table A Person of a strong Constitution of Body hath but one contrary which is The Weak of Body A strong Constitution of Mind hath also but one which is Weakness of Mind The Meek or Courteous The Angry The Insensible The Valiant The Rash The Coward The Bold The Impudent The Timorous The Magnanimous The Presumptuous The Pusillanimous The Constant The Vnconstant The Obstinate The Patient The Impatient The Stupid The Perseverant The Self-will'd The Faint-hearted The End of the First Book THE ART How to know MEN. The Second Book CHAP. I. Of the Means whereby Men may be known HAving in the precedent Book explicated the Nature of the Inclinations the Motions of the Soul and the Habits which THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN pretends it self able to discover our design call upon us now to an examination of the Means whereby this Knowledge is to be attain'd Now whereas it is impossible to come to the knowledge of things obscure otherwise then by that of those which are already known to us there is a necessity that if there be an Art whereby may be taught what lies hid in men it ought to make use of some manifest and known means between which and the things it would know there should be such a rapport and connexion as that some certain consequences might be drawn from the one to the other And whereas there is not any rapport of this nature other then what is between the cause and its effect or the effect and its cause or between one effect and another upon this account that both of them proceed from the same source it follows that there are three means whereof this Art may make use to arrive at the end which it proposes to it self and that it may discover a secret effect by the cause which is known to it or an obscure cause by a manifest effect and an unknown effect by another which is evident And these means are called Signs because they denote signifie and design the things that are obscure Thus when we know a man to be of a Temperament subject to Melancholy it may be said that he hath an inclination to Sadness in asmuch as that Temperament is the cause of such an Inclination and then the cause is the sign of the effect On the contrary by the natural inclination which some man may have to Sadness it is presum'd that he is of a Melancholick Temperament and in that case the effect is the sign of the cause In fine by the Timorousness which may be observ'd in both these persons it may be judg'd that they are
judgments of any Art 4. What Judgment that is which is made by the Effects AS to what concerns the discovery which may be of the Causes by the Effects we are to presuppose the distinction we have already made thereof that is that of these latter there are some Spiritual some Corporeal For generally speaking the judgment which is made by the Corporeal is more certain then that deduc'd from the Spiritual in as much as the former immediately proceed from the Temperament and the Conformation of the parts which are the Next Causes of the Inclinations or they viz the effects proceed from the Passion it self which produces them on the Body when the Soul is stirr'd thereby And as to the Spiritual which are the Qualities or Endowments of the mind the Inclinations the Actions and Motions of the Soul and the Habits as there are many several Causes whereby each of them may be produc'd so the judgment made thereof is the more indeterminate and uncertain For the Passion may be caus'd by divers objects by the Weakness of the Mind by the Inclination c. In like manner the Inclination may be the product of the Instinct to the Temperament and of Custome The Habits also have diverse Principles as well as the Qualities of the mind so that it is no easie matter precisely to assigne the Cause from which each of these Effects proceeds Now since there may be a more exact knowledge deduced from the Corporeal Effects and that it is of them only that Physiognomy makes use in order to the discovery of the Inclinations it concerns us to engage upon a more careful examination of them and to see what their number may be what the causes thereof are and what Strength and Weakness they have that so we may judge not only of the Inclinations as Physiognomy does but also of the Qualities of the mind the Passions and Habits which THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN pretends it self able to discover by them CHAP. III. Of the Natural Signs IN the first place we are here to presuppose that there are two kinds of Effects or Signs which are imprinted on the Body Of these one is the Natural which proceeds from the constitution of the Body and the other Elementary Causes the other the Astrological which proceeds from the Stars or Celestial Bodies whereof Metoposcopy and Chiromancy make use We shall hereafter examine whether there be any certainty in those Sciences and whether the Signs upon which they have fram'd their Rules may contribute any knowledge of the Inclinations the Passions and the Habits as they pretend to do As to the Natural Signs Aristotle hath reduc'd them to nine Heads or Articles which are these 1. The Motion of the Body as the Cate the Gesture and Carriage of it 2. Beauty and Deformity 3. Colour 4. The Air of the Countenance 5. The quality of the Skin 6. The Voice 7. The Fleshiness of the Body 8. The Figure Of the Parts 9. The Largness Of the Parts All these Signs proceed from Internal or External Causes And this distinction is so necessary that it makes in a manner the whole difference there is between those which are advantageous and those that are otherwise as we shall make appear The Internal Causes are the Conformation of the Parts the Temperament and the Motive Vertue the External are all those things which come from without and work some alteration in the Body Thus a man may go slowly either out of his natural Inclination or out of Design or through Weakness Beauty and Deformity proceed from Nature Artifice or Accident The Colour ought to be consonant to the Temperament but the Air and such other things may alter it The Air of the Countenance and the Voice the Skin and the Fleshiness of the parts may receive alteration upon the same account In fine the Figure of the Parts â—s either Natural or Accidental for a man may become crooked and crump-shoulder'd either by a Fluxion or by a Fall or by Nature True it is that of these Signs some are not so easily changed by the External Causes as the Figure the Air of the Countenance and Motion but the Colour the Skin and the Voice do easily receive the impressions thereof But it being suppos'd as it is certain that the Internal causes are those which produce the most certain Signs we make this further observation That the Figure and Largness of the Parts proceed from the Conformation the Temperament gives the Colour the quality of the Skin and the Fleshiness of the Parts The particular kind of Gate and the other Motions proceed from the Motive Vertue But Beauty the Voice the Air of the Countenance proceed from all these three Causes joyned together For Beauty consisting in a symmetry and just proportion of the Members as to colour and grace the proportion proceeds from the Conformation Colour from the Temperament and the grace from Motion The Voice is answerable to the Conformation of the Organs their Temperament and the motion of the Muscles In fine the Air of the Countenance and the Carriage of the Body have their principal dependence on the Motion for in the disturbance of the Passions the Air which accompanies them is nothing else then a certain proportion of the parts resulting from the diverse motions they make in pursuit of Good and Evil which moves the Appetite But that disturbance of the Passion being calm'd and taken away the Air which remains fix'd on the Countenance relates to the Conformation and the Temperament as may be observ'd in those who naturally have the same constitution and disposition of the Parts with those which the Passion is wont to cause Art 1. Of the Difference of Signs OF the Signs before-mentioned some are Common others Proper The Common Signs are not determinated to any one quality but may signifie many on the contrary the Proper are determinated only to one Moreover there are some Signs which in a manner never change as the Conformation all the rest may be chang'd And among these last some are Stable and Permanent others are Transient and continue but a short time Thus those which proceed from Age and the Climate are Stable but such as proceed from Sickness and the Passions are of small continuance From these Distinctions something may be deduc'd which may contribute to the discovery of the Strength and Weakness of the Signs for those which proceed from external causes do not denote any thing certain And of those which the Internal causes have produc'd the Stable are significators of Permanent Inclinations the others may possibly denote the present Passions but not the natural Inclinations unless it be by accident as Aristotle speaks Besides the signs which are the least easily chang'd by the External causes are the most certain such as are the Figure the Air of the Countenance and Motion but the Colour the Skin the Fleshiness of the parts and the Voice are consequently the
common or those which are proper to the Animals Art 5. How Aristotle makes use of the second Rule IT will be said that by this reason Aristotle destroys as well his own doctrine as that of the Antients it being found that in other places he makes use of this very Maxime That such or such a Figure denotes such or such an Inclination and that this is applicable to Lions Eagles Ravens c. It is true that Aristotle in appearance makes use of the same Rule but it is after another manner then the old Physiognomists had done For these consider'd not the marks and signs of Animals and thereupon they concluded that he who resembled them in that had the same Inclinations as were found in the Souls of those Animals On the contrary Aristotle considers not the Signs as proper to the Animals but as proper to the Inclinations which having not been observ'd by Baldus occasion'd that great person to fall into a manifest contradiction And accordingly he afterwards teaches how that observation is to be made and affirms that we ought to consider several persons who have the same natural habit such as may be for example Fortitude and mark in what particular Sign they agree and it shall be found that their resemblance will be in these particulars in having the mouth large and the extremities thick and strong Then you are to make your reflection on those Creatures which are known to be naturally strong as Lions Bulls Eagles and Tigres and finding that all these kinds of Animals have those parts after the same manner it will be very probably judg'd that they are the marks of Strength or Fortitude But this is not yet sufficient it is further requisite that we examine whether there may not be some other Creatures which though they be strong yet have not those marks for if there be not the Sign is certain otherwise some doubt may be made of it And the same course is to be taken in order to the discovery of all the other Inclinations But after what manner soever we may make use of this Rule yet is it not of extent enough to perform what may be made out by Physiognomy in regard there are but very few Creatures whereof we can have the knowledge of their particular inclinations and the Figure of the parts correspondent to those Inclinations So that it it is then only to be accounted certain when it is confirmed by the others and particularly by the Syllogistical Rule which supplies the defect of these four Art 6. What the Syllogistical Rule is NOw this Syllogistical Rule denotes the present inclinations and passions in a way contrary to the others in as much as it does not require proper Signs but from an inclination and a passion known by those marks it deduces the discovery of another which hath not any And this Rule is grounded on the connexion there is between the Inclinations the Habits and the Passions For one being the effect of the other it may be judged that a man hath an inclination to such a passion or habit though there be not any Sign proper thereto and which may make any discovery of it as being onely known that the man hath that which is the cause of this Thus having once known that a man is timorous it may be said that he hath a natural inclination to Avarice and consequently that he is a Miser that he is guilty of artifices and dissimulation that his fearfulness causes him to speak with a certain mildness and submission that it renders him distrustfull apt to suspect hard of belief a bad friend c. Thus Aristotle gives an example of this kind of Judgment affirming that if a man be subject to Anger and of small stature he is Envious But I conceive there is an errour in the Text and that instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies little it should be read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is as much as froward humoursome and one who is not pleased at any thing as we shall shew in its proper place As to the other four rules those which are taken from the Air of the countenance and the resemblance there may be between the Sexes are the most certain and the most generally acknowledg'd For there is hardly any Sign but may be referr'd to them as Aristotle affirms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That of the Climates is more generall then the other which is taken from the resemblance of Animals but it is not so certain in regard that all those who are of the same Climate are not of the same Temperament and have not the same Conformation of parts and therefore this is no necessary consequence that because a man is born in Greece he must be vain unconstant and a lyar and so of the rest CHAP. V. After what manner THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN makes use of the Rules of Physiognomy Art 1. How the said Art makes use of the first Rule of that Science THus have we given an account of the Means which Physiognomy makes use of in order to the discovery of the Inclinations and which the Art we teach ought also to employ in prosecution of the same design But besides that there are some others besides those and that it hath many more things to discover than the other it will not propose its Rules nakedly as Physiognomy hath done but establish the grounds thereof before they be reduced into practice When therefore the first Rule tells us that those who naturally have the same Air and the same Characters attending the motion of a Passion are inclin'd to the same Passion it is to be noted that the ground on which this Rule is establish'd is the knowledge of the Characters of the passions For it were to no purpose to affirm that he who naturally hath the Characters of Anger is inclin'd to Anger if it be not known what the Characters of Anger are This Art therefore pretends to draw a pourtraiture of every passion in particular to design the Air and Figure it gives to all the parts of the Body and all the motions it excites in the Soul For besides what it will contribute to the design the Art hath to make known the passions which cannot remain secret after so many indicia given thereof It will also by that means declare those which are consequent one to another and between which there is a connexion the ground of the Syllogistical Rule and by degrees make that rule conduce to the discovery of the passions It must therefore divide the Treatise of the Characters into two and twenty Chapters whereof the first eleven shall treat of the Simple Passions comprehending among them Desire Laughter and Weeping and the other eleven shall treat of the Mixt Passions according to the order we have set down before Art 2. How it makes use of the second Rule AS to the second rule which teaches that those men who have some parts resembling those
its substance it being a thing may be confidently affirm'd that there is not any disease which so much corrupts the nature of the Liver and destroys not only its vertue but also its substance as this does which upon that accompt is called the Universal Cancer of the Liver and the whole mass of bloud Galen no doubt was ignorant of this sympathy as being a thing which pure Ratiocination could never have discover'd when to be inform'd thereof it was requisite it should be reveal'd to him in a dream For he relates that being troubled with a violent pain which put him into a fright of being troubled with an Imposthume in the Liver he had an advice in his sleep to open the Artery which runs along that finger and that the said remedy immediately appeas'd the pain whereto he had been subject a long time before Which is a manifest sign that there is a particular communication between those two parts and a certain secret friendship and combination whereby they are united together Art 12. That there is a Sympathy between the Heart and the Ring-finger THe second Observation shall be to shew that there is sympathy between the Heart and the fourth finger which in regard Rings are worn on it is commonly called the Ring-finger For it is a thing cannot be reflected on without something of wonder that when the Gout falls into the Hands that finger is the last which it fastens upon And Levinus relates that in all those whom he met with troubled with that Disease the fourth finger of the left Hand that is the Ring-finger was ever free from it while all the others were extremly subject to pains and inflammations Now whereas the parts make a stronger or weaker resistance against Diseases according to the greater or lesser force they have and that their force depends on the greater or lesser degree of natural heat which is in them it must needs be inferr'd that that finger must have more of it then any of the others since it makes a greater resistance against the evil then they do And whereas the distribution of the natural heat proceeds either from the first Conformation of the parts or from the influence communicated to them by the principle of heat and that there is no probability the said finger having the same structure and composition with the rest should have a greater portion then they of that fixt and original heat whereof there is a distribution made at the birth it must needs follow that the divident it hath thereof should proceed from the influence which the principle of heat sends it in greater abundance then to any of the rest and consequently that there is a greater communication a greater dependence and connexion between it and the Heart which without all dispute is the principle of that heat then there can be between the Heart and all the other fingers put together Nor was Antiquity wholly ignorant of this sympathy in as much as History informs us that the Antient Physicians were of Opinion that this finger had a certain cordial vertue as making use of it exclusively to all the rest in the mixture of those medicaments whereof they made their Antidotes And thence it came that they gave it the denomination of the medical finger which it still keeps in the Latine Tongue that this is one of the reasons why Rings have been ever since worn on it and that many apply thereto remedies for the weaknesses of the Heart as Levinus affirms that he had often made experience as also for the curing of intermittent Fevers as some do still with good success Nor is it of late onely that some have made it their business to find out the cause of this intelligence and relation between these two parts For some as Appion in Anlus Gellius have affirmed that there was a nerve which proceeding from the Heart ended at the said finger others that that connexion was wrought by an Artery and that it is manifestly perceiv'd to beat in Women during the time of their Travel as also in those who are wearied with over-working and in all the Diseases which assault the Heart But though this last Opinion be the more probable yet doth it not absolutely take away the difficulty in as much as the other fingers have each of them an Artery at well as this which Artery proceeds from the same branch and the same source as that of the other does Whereto it may be added that it is not necessary there should be manifest conduits for the conveyance of these vertues Nature her self as Hippocrates affirms making secret paths and ways for the passage not onely of her own faculties but also for that of the humours themselves which she would rid her self of Art 13. That there is a like Sympathy between the Spleen and the Middle-finger I might add for a third observation to discover the Sympathy there is between the Spleen and the Long or Middle-finger the miraculous effects which the opening of the Salvatella produces in diseases of the Spleen For that Vein passing commonly between the Middle-finger and the Ring-finger as Hippocrates affirms or between the latter and the Little-finger but sending some branch to the Middle-finger it may with much probability be imagin'd that the vertue of the Spleen is convey'd by the said Vein to that Finger and that the Ring-finger being wholly taken up with the influence of the Heart cannot entertain that of the Spleen if it be true that the vertues are not confounded as we have shewn elsewhere And indeed what ever some late Practicers of Physick may say experience back'd by the authority of the first Masters of that Science is of more force then all the reasons can be alledged by them For besides that it is a thing of dangerous consequence for any one to think to make all the rules of Medicine subject to ratiocination which is many times weak and deceitful and to discard the sentiments of the Ancient Professors of that Art who were more exact observers of things then those who have come after them this I say not urg'd I can truly and safely affirm that having caus'd this vein to be opened in Quartan Agues above sixty times it never fail'd after the preparations necessary thereto either quite to take away the Fever or abate much of the violence of it and made the fits more easily supportable Let them not therefore argue any thing from the distribution nor yet from the largness of the Vessels For as one and the same boal of a tree hath several branches which have not the same vertue and that of these some bear flowers or fruits others nothing at all In like manner though all the veins of the Arm and Hand proceed from the same trunk yet have they not the same employments and they are only so many channels through which the several faculties may flow So that the faculty which proceeds from the Spleen may pass wholy in the
another upon the Breast and accordingly as the former shall be in the midst of the Forehead or in the upper or lower part thereof on the one side or the other that upon the Breast shall have the same differences of situation If there be one upon the Ey-brows the correspondent mark shall be upon the Shoulders if upon the Nose the other shall be about the Parts we spoke of in the precedent Article if on the Cheeks the other shall be on the Thighs if on the Ears the other shall be on the Arms and so of the rest It is certainly impossible for a man to consider the miraculous references of these correspondent marks and not take occasion thence to reflect on the infinite wisdom of God who reducing all things to unity that they may be the more confoâ—mable to himself after he had made an abridgment of all the World in man thought fit to make an Epitome of man in his own Face For it cannot be affirm'd that this correspondence whereof we speak is simply in those marks since they are all fram'd of one and the same matter and consequently they cannot have any more reference to one then to another But it must of necessity be in the parts themselves and that the association there is between them should be the cause that one cannot have a mark imprinted on it but the correspondent member must at the same time undergo the same impression Accordingly we find besides the secret concurrence they may have together a sensible and manifest rapport and resemblance in their situation and structure For the Breast which is that part of the Body below the Head which is most bony and most flat before is exactly answerable to the Forehead which hath the same qualities The parts necessary to Generation are in the midst of the Body with a certain prominency as the Nose is in the midst of the Face The Thighs which are very fleshy and sideling have a reference to the Cheeks which have the same situation The Ey-brow is answerable to the Shoulders by reason of the eminency remarkable in both the Ear to the Arm as being both on the sides and as it were our of play and so of the rest Yet is it not to be inferr'd hence that this resemblance is the true source of the said sympathy no it is not sufficiently adjusted and exact enough to produce effects so like and it is necessary that there should be some more secret tye and connexion whereby these parts might be so associated among themselves as they are and which may be the principal cause of that miraculous Harmony which is found among them whereof these natural Characters are the irreproachable witnesses Art 7. Whence the Lines of the Forehead proceed THe Forehead is no doubt that part of the Face wherein Metoposcopy finds most work to busie it self about and where it meets with the greatest number of those Signs upon which it makes its judgments which are therefore the more certain in regard there is a greater diversity of the said marks and that they are the more apparent in that part then in any other And this is also the reason why it hath taken the name it bears from that part as such as it looks upon as the most considerable and most necessary For certainly he who shall make it his business to observe that in so narrow a space which should naturally be smooth and eaven there is fram'd so great a variety of lines points and irregular figures That of these some start out as it were of a sudden and others vanish and are blotted out That some are more deep others more superficial some shorter some longer some pale and others in a manner betraying a certain colour That there are not any two men in the world in whom they are alike And lastly that all this diversity of lines may be observ'd in the same person He I say who shall take a particular notice of all these things will have just occasion to believe that there is in the Forehead some secret which is not known to men and that the impressions made therein have nobler and higher causes then any that are in Animals And indeed upon examination it will be found that all the reasons which may be alleged for this diversity of Lines cannot be deduc'd but either from Motion which gives a certain fold or wrinkle to the skin where it hath been often accustomed to be made as it happens in the joynts or from Drought which causes a contraction of the skin and wrinkles as may be seen in fruits that have been long kept and in the furrows and wrinkles which old Age spreads into all the parts But there is no probability that the Lines of the Forehead should be the effects of the motion which it is wont to suffer since they are different in all men who nevertheless move that part after the same manner For all persons have the same manner of dilating and contracting the Forehead every one hath the same muscles purposely design'd for those motions And Nature inspires into every one the same motives upon which they ought to be made Some may haply affirm that the Consistency of the skin is the cause of that diversity and according to its being more thin or thick the folds are more or less easily made in it But are there not abundance of persons who have the same constitution of Skin wherein yet there is not any line like one the others Are there not some whose skin is very delicate and thin wherein there is not any to be seen And are there not also those who have it thick which yet is full of them Nor can it be maintain'd on the other side that Drought is the cause of these Lines since it may be observ'd that some children of a sanguine Constitution have more of them then some decrepid old men And that it is found they are not alike in old people though 't is possible the Drought may have been equal Besides I would fain know it being suppos'd that this quality should be the cause of these impressions whence it comes that young people who have wrinkles in their Foreheads have not any in the other parts And why those which old Age imprints on the other parts of the skin are alike in all men and are not so in the Forehead Yet it is not to be inferr'd but that Motion and Drought contribute very much thereto but with this caution that they do not occasion the first draughts of them and only promote their sooner or more remarkable appearance There is some other Cause which draws the first design of them and as a Master-builder takes the first measures thereof and begins the structure which is afterwards compleated by the contributory labours of other workmen For to be short all the Lines are design'd on the Forehead even from the very birth though they do not immediately appear there but discover
Art how to know men may judge 157 Art 1. What Moral actions are 158 2. What Right Reason is 159 3. Why the Vertues are in the mean 160 4. Of the Seat of Moral Habits 162 5. That there are four powers which may be regulated by Right Reason 166 SECT 1. Of PRVDENCE 167 SECT 2. Of JVSTICE 171 SECT 3. Of TEMPERANCE 175 SECT 4. Of FORTITVDE 180 THE SECOND BOOK CHAP. I. Of the Means whereby Men may be known 183 Art 1. What Causes they are which serve for Signs 185 2. What the Effects are which serve for Signs 186 CHAP. II. Of the Strength and Weakness of Signs 187 Art 1. What Judgment is made of the Causes ibid. 2. Of the next Causes 188 3. Of the Remote Causes 189 4. What Judgment that is which is made by the Effects 190 CHAP. III. Of the Natural Signs 191 Art 1. Of the Difference of Signs 194 2. Of the Means assign'd by Aristotle to discover the efficacy of Signs 195 3. That the Passions are most apparent in the Head 196 4. That the Inclinations are most apparent in the Head 199 5. That the Inclinations are discoverable by the Arms and Leggs 201 6. From what places the Signs are taken 203 CHAP. IV. Of the Rules which Physiognomy hath fram'd upon the natural Signs in order to the discovery of the Inclinations 205 Art 1. Of the Progress of Physiognomy 206 2. That the Syllogistical Rule was added by Aristotle 207 3. The defects of the first Rule of Physiognomy ibid. 4. The defectiveness of the second Rule 208 5. How Aristotle makes use of the second Rule 209 6. What the Syllogistical Rule is 211 CHAP. V. After what manner THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN makes use of the Rules of Physiognomy 212 Art 1. How the said Art makes use of the first Rule of that Science 212 2. How it makes use of the second Rule 214 3. How the said Art makes use of the third Rule 215 4. How the said Art makes use of the fourth Rule 216 5. Why The Art how to know Men treats of the Temperaments 217 6. That there are other Rules besides those of Physiognomy whereby the Inclinations may be discover'd 218 CHAP. VI. How the Actions and Motions of the Soul are known 220 Art 1. That there are two kinds of Actions 221 2. Of Dissimulation 222 3. How Actions may be foreseen 223 4. How the Passions may be foreseen 224 5. Whether contingent Actions may be foreseen 226 CHAP. VII How the Habits may be known 227 Art 1. Of the discovery of the Moral Habits ib. 2. How the Intellectual Habits may be known 228 CHAP. VIII Of Astrological Signs 230 The first Letter to Monsieur B.D.M. upon the Principles of CHIROMANCY 232 Art 1. That of Situations some are more noble then others 243 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 247 3. What advantages may be deduced from the Hands 248 4. That the Right Hand is more noble than the Left 250 5. That Motion begins on the Right side 252 6. That the Hands have the greatest portion of natural heat 253 7. That there is a greater communication between the Hands and the nobler parts 255 8. That some secret Vertues are convey'd from the nobler parts into the Hands 256 9. That Nature does not confound the Vertues 257 10. That the Vertues of the nobler parts are not receiv'd into the same places of the Hand 259 11. That there is a Sympathy between the Liver and the Fore-finger 260 12. That there is a Sympathy between the Heart and the Ring finger 261 13. That there is a like Sympathy between the Spleen and the Middle-finger 264 14. That there is a Sympathy between all the interiour parts and the other parts of the Hand 267 15. That the Face is the Epitome of all the exteriour parts 268 16. That there is a mutual Sympathy between all the parts 269 17. That the distribution of the Veins made by Hippocrates for the discovery of the said Sympathy was not understood either by Aristotle or Galen 270 18. Whence proceeds the regularity which Nature observes in her evacuations 274 19. That the Stars or Planets have a certain predominancy over the several parts of the Hand 278 20. That the Planets have a predominancy over the interiour parts 281 21. That the Moon hath such a predominancy over the Brain 282 22. That the Sun hath the like predominancy over the Heart 284 23. That the other Planets have the Government of the other interiour parts 287 24. That the Principles establish'd regulate many doubtful things in Chiromancy 289 The Second Letter to Monsieur B.D.M. upon the Principles of METOPOSCOPY 292 Art 1. That Metoposcopy hath the same Principles with Chiromancy 294 2. What parts of the Face are govern'd by the Planets 296 3. That not only the Forehead but also the other parts of the Face are to be considered in Metoposcopy 300 4. That the Sun and Moon have the government of the Eyes 301 5. That Venus hath the government of the Nose 304 6. That there is a correspondence between all the marks of the Face and others in other parts of the Body 305 7. Whence the Lines of the Forehead proceed 307 8. What particular Planet hath the government of the Forehead 311 9. That Jupiter hath the government of the Cheeks 314 10. That Mercury hath the like government over the Ears 315 11. That Mars hath the government of the Lips ibid. CHAP. IX What Judgment is to be made of Chiromancy Metoposcopy 317 SECT 1. Of the several parts which compleat THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN 322 CHAP. X. What qualities are requisite in that person who would apply himself to THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN 324 1. Of the Genius requisite or in order to the exercise of this Art 326 2. Of the natural Qualities which are requisite for the exercise of this Art 327 3. Of the Method necessary in order to the Exercise of this Art 328 4. Of the Moderation of Spirit indispensibly requisite in the Study of this Art 330 FINIS