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
and savage according to the quality of the air they breath and which produces that effect by the impression it makes upon the Temperament Lastly that the very Animals themselves are fearful or venturous docile or untractable proportionably to the coldness or heat the thickness or subtility of their blood The reason for which the Temperament is the cause of all these effects is deduced from the secret knowledge which the soul hath of the instruments whereof she makes use in her actions for being so neerly united or joyned to them she knows the weakness or strength thereof and consequently is soon satisfi'd what she may and what she may not do by their means Now though this knowledge be secret yet does it not proceed from the instinct for the instinct is a clear and distinct knowledge which is bestow'd only on the species and consequently ought to be common to all the individuals that are under it whereas this knowledge is different in every one of them and is withall obscure and confused For the Soul hath but a confused knowledge of choler and thence it comes that she represents it to her self in dreams by certain Images which do not absolutely resemble it but have only a certain conformity to it such as are those of fire fighting bright colours c. She does the same thing in Melancholy which she figures to her self by spectres obscurity and inextricable disturbances and so proportionably of the others as we shall press more particularly in the Treatise of the TEMPERAMENTS Now this knowledge how confus'd soever it may be is sufficient to instruct the soul how far she may be able to act or not to act by the assistance of these humours For it teaches her by the experience she makes of it ever and anon that choler is an active and unconstant humour and that it may be serviceable to her in assaulting fighting with and destroying whatever injures her That on the contrary Melancholy is not easily stirr'd troublesome and opposite to the principles of life and so of the rest And upon this knowledge the Estimative faculty frames its judgment conformably to the effects produced by these humours which it keeps in the memory and every foot refreshes by new apprehensions by that means rendring them perfectly representative and capable of producing the inclinatiâ—ns which we commonly observe therein Art 4. That the Conformation of the parts is a cause of the Inclination AS to the Conformation of the parts I do not think any body doubts but that it is a certain sign of many Inclinations in as much as it is observable that without any art but only by the bare inspection of the lineaments of the face the humour and thoughts of some persons may be in some measure discovered That those men in whom there is a certain resemblance to certain other Animals are inclinable to the same passions as they are That such as deal in Horses and Huntsmen consult it very exactly that they may thereby judge of the docility and tractability of Horses and Dogs And lastly that it is come into a Proverb affirming that those are not to be trusted who are guilty of any strange default or miscarriage of Nature But I am further to add that this Conformation of the parts is not only the sign but is also the cause of those inclinations for it gives the soul a bent to certain actions as the Temperament doth Yet is it not to be said that the Conformation is the effect of the Temperament and consequently that it does not denote the inclinations upon any other ground then that it denotes the Temperament which is the true cause thereof and not it For though this may be true in many occasions and that it is certain also that ordinarily the parts are lengthned contracted and assume several figures according to the quality of the predominant humour yet does it very often happen that the Conformation agrees not with the Temperament and that for instance a cold complexion may be consistent with a Conformation which seems to denote heat Accordingly the heart and brain are sometimes too great or too little in the same Temperament which must needs cause a notable difference in the passions over which those two parts have any power Add to this how many cholerick persons are there who have thick and short noses and how many subject to melancholy have them long and sharp contrary to the nature of those humours Who would affirm that all the Tartars and all the Chineses are of the same Temperament because all the former have large faces and that the latter are all flat-nos'd Are there not some creatures of different species that have the same Temperament and yet the figure of their parts is wholy different To be short it is not the Temperament which penetrates the veines and arteries which makes the articulation of the bones divides the fingers and builds up that admirable structure of the parts of every animal But it is the formative vertue is the Architect which the soul imployes to build up a body such as may be fit to perform the actions whereto it is designed and whereas this vertue alwaies endeavours to make the Animal it frames like unto that which produces it if this latter have parts of such a largness and figure the aforesaid vertue which bears the character of it alwaies frames the like if it be not obstructed It is true that many times the Temperament opposes its design and hinders the parts from receiving that figure which the formative vertue had design'd to give them but many times also it does not oppose but leaves it to act according to the measures it hath taken Hence it comes that the imagination of Women with child causes it to change the figure of the Embryo's parts so as that the Temperament makes no opposition Thus the Stars imprint on the body such marks as are not correspondent to the natural complexion thereof c. Art 5. How Figure acts ALl this presuppos'd the next question is to know how Figure which is a barren quality and does not act at all may cause inclinations Nor is it to be imagin'd that it produces them by an active vertue for the Temperament it self though it have that vertue yet does not employ it upon the soul which is not susceptible of material qualities there being not any thing that can really either warm or cool the soul So that both the Temperament and Conformation of the parts are only occasional causes and motives which excite her to the performance of her actions When she hath taken cognizance of the heat which is predominant in the body she frames her judgements conformably to the effects which she is able to produce and afterwards disposes her self to set the organs on work according to the design she hath taken The same thing is to be said of Figure she knows which is which is not proper for certain functions she afterwards makes
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
and the affectation of novelty have since brought into vogue Art 18. Whence proceeds the regularity which Nature observes in her evacuations ANd certainly if a recourse be not had to this direction of the Spirits it would be impossible to give an account of the regularity which Nature observes in her motions when they are absolutely at her disposal and which Medicine imitates in the evacuations prescrib'd by it For when in inflammations of the Liver the right Ear becomes red when ulcers rise in the right Hand and right Foot when blood issues out at the nostrill of the same side or when there happen imposthumes and swellings in the right Ear And on the contrary when all the same accidents are observable on the left side in inflammations of the Spleen When I say Medicine prescribes Phlebotomy on the same side that the disease is and teaches us withall that all the evacuations made on the opposite side are dangerous in case they are made of themselves or naturally or to no purpose if done by Art What other reason can be assign'd for this regularity at least such as may be satisfactory to the mind then that alledged by us For what is said of the streight Fibres which enter into the composition of the vessels whereby some are of opinion that the humours are attracted is to give it no worse tearm impertinent since they are incapable of making any such attraction as we have shewn elsewhere since they are found equally on all sides of the vessel and consequently cannot determine or direct the motion of the humours to one rather then another since there are not alwayes Fibres to promote that regularity in as much as from the Spleen to the left Nostril there cannot be any at all the veins of the Nose proceeding from the hollow Vein between which and the Spleen there is no connexion And in fine since the humours which are without the vessels nay the very vapours and the most simple qualities are communicated from one part to another after the same manner so as that the Fibres act not at all upon those occurrences they in case there were any not contributing any thing to the transportation of the vapours and qualities Moreover if any shall affirm that this may be done by those secret conduits that are in some parts of the flesh and ascend from the lower parts to the upper yet so as that those which are of one side have no communication with those of the other we answer that it is a pure imagination without any likelihood of truth in as much as most commonly these evacuations are wrought by the veins and that it is requisite the humours which flow through those secret conduit-pipes should enter into the veins where it must be asserted there are not any passages nay further that there should be some conduits cross the body since the humours sometimes pass from the Right side to the Left sometimes from Before to Behind and most commonly from the Centre to the Circumference But all consider'd reflecting on either of these opinions we cannot find why there should be so much danger when the regularity is not observ'd in the evacuations of the humours But it being supposed that the said evacuations are wrought by the direction of the Spirits it is easily concluded to be necessary that Nature must needs be extremely oppress'd when she follows not the order which had been prescrib'd her and when she gets out of her ordinary road to shun the enemy that presses upon her For it is to be attributed to this very reason that the motions she makes in sharp Fevers upon even days are always dangerous in as much as it is an argument of the violence she suffers and the disorder into which the violence of the Disease forces her when it makes her forget the odd days on which she ought to engage against the choler which is the cause of those Diseases But however the case stands we may confidently affirm that the regularity we speak of without all doubt proceeds from the Spirits which conduct the humours all over one half of the body and dispose them not at all into the other unless there be some great obstruction For Nature hath so great a tenderness for the conservation of things living and animate that she hath in a manner divided them all into two parts out of this design that if it happened one suffered any alteration the other might secure it self from it and so in it self preserve the nature of the whole Now this division is real and manifest in some subjects as in the seeds and kernels of some Plants all which consist of two portions which may be separated one from the other as also in all those members of the Animal that are double In others it is obscure and not observable in an actual separation of the parts but onely in those operations which shew that they have each of them their distinct jurisdiction and different concernments such as is that whereof we speak which distinguishes the whole body into two halfs whereof one is on the right the other on the left Of the same kind is also that which may be observed in the members that are single as the Brain Tongue Nose c. where we many times see one half which is assaulted by some Disease the other free from it though there be not any separation between them If then it be true that Nature to preserve one half of the body charges the other with all the disorder that happens thereto and permits not the humours wherewith it is troubled to exceed her limits and by that means to fasten on the other it is not to be doubted but that the Spirits which are her first and principal organs do serve her in that enterprize and that the transportation of the humours from one place to another is their charge but onely so farr as she hath given them order to do And if to compass this transportation there be any necessity of making use of the Veins that are on the oâ—her sâ—de yet does not that make them forget Nature's dâ—sâ—gn and the commands they had received from her and so they onely pass along if I may so express it the borders of their neighbours to get to the place whereto they are directed Thus for example when to disburthen the Spleen of the humours whereby it is incommodated there happens a bleeding of the Nose by the left Nostril it is absolutely necessary that they should go out of the Spleen-veins into the Hollow-vein which is on the right side But the Spirits can conduct them in such manner as at last to make them return all along the same line and within that half of the body wherein the Spleen is But this is to enter too farr into the secrets of Medicine it shall therefore suffice at the present to affirm that the communication there is between the Veins according to the distribution made thereof
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
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
the temperaments Spirits Humours Inclinations Passions and Habits It should not discover what is most secret in Body and Soul Nay I have this further to affirm that by all these discoveries of Knowledg it elevates the spirit of Man to the Soveraign Creator of the Vniverse For acquainting it with the infinite miracles remarkable in Man it insensibly inclines him to glorify the Author of so many wonders and by that means directs him to the end whereto he is design'd For should he consider only the structure of Man's body how can he forbear being ravished with astonishment to see the order and symmetry of all the springs and Ressorts from which this admirable Machine derives its motion And the unimitable Art which is concealed therein would it not discover to him the hand that was employed about it and the understanding and design of the great Master whose work it is But if he would raise his thoughts yet a little higher and make a privy-search into the secrets of the Soul to find out there the manner whereby she comes to the knowledge of things how she moves and how many several motions she assigns her-self What excess of ravishment would not the knowledge of so many miraculous operations cause in him What sentiments would he not have of the Goodness and Wisdom of God who hath lodg'd so many vertues in so small a space and not only epitomiz'd all the creatures in Man but would also make in him an abbreviation of himself For not to enter into any discourse of our ineffable Mysteries keep within the bounds of Nature the Inclination he hath infus'd into him towards all sorts of good things the Light wherewith he hath illuminated him in order to the knowledge of all things are they not the effusions of his infinite Goodness and Wisdom But what is yet more astonishing hath he not enclos'd within the spirit of Man which hath its limits and boundaries the whole extent and infinity of his Power And by a miracle which is hardly conceivable hath he not invested him with a power of creating all things as himself For if the understanding produces and in a manner creates the images and representations of those things which it knows it must needs follow since it hath the power to know them all that it also according to its manner creates them all and consequently that it is the Creator of a new world or at least the Copist or after-drawer of all the works of God It must be so inasmuch as when it thinks on the Sun it cannot do so without making at the same time another Sun in it self By the same rule it makes also Starrs Heaven Elements in a word whatsoever is in the Vniverse But if God hath wrought one miracle by bestowing an infinite power on a limited thing he hath also done another in joyning greatness and power with misery and weakness For it is certain that of all the Creatures there is not any subject to such a multitude of miseries and infirmities as Man Nay these are raisâ—d even out of his advantages and if he had not that pregnancy of wit and the delicate composure of body which he hath he would not be so unfortunate and miserable as he is So that it may be said by instancing him alone we may decide that famous Probleme which hath been so often propos'd to wit What thing is that in the world which is at the same time both the greatest and least He therefore is only to contemplate himself who would enter into the knowledg he ought to have of the Divinity and there he will find eternal subjects of the praises and respects and thanksgivings which he is obligâ—d to render upon all occasions and at all times These are the high Lessons which may be learn'd by the ART HOW TO KNOW MEN. But when it shall be advanc'd to those whereby it would discover the inclinations manners and designs of others there will be a necessity of making this general acknowledgment that it is the surest guide can be taken for a man's conduct in civil life and that he who shall make use of it will avoid thousands of dangers and inconveniences into which from time to time he runs the hazard of falling There need no reasons to prove a thing so clear since it is certain that if the ART is able to perform what it promises there are few actions wherein it is not necessary as for instance the Education of children the choice of Servants Friends Company and most others which cannot be well done without it It shews the opportunities and favourable conjunctures of time wherein a man ought to act or speak a thing and teaches him the manner how he ought to do it And if it be requisite to suggest an advice to inspire a passion or design it knows all the passages through which they are to be derived into the Soul In fine if we may rely on the advice of the Wise-man who forbids our conversing with an angry or envious person and going into the company of the wicked What can rescue us from those unhappy accidents but the ART we treat of For the account commonly given of Man is deceitful if a man go only according to the reputation they have and dangerous if their acquaintance be gotten by conversation but that which our ART promises is only without fraud or hazard Yet is it not to be imagin'd as some at first sight are apt to do that this ART is no other then PHYSIOGNOMY and that its power reaches no further then to make a discovery of the present inclinations and thence draw some light conjectures in relation to Vertues and Vices For besides that it does all this as well as the other but with greater exactness as shall be seen hereafter it goes much further since it promises to shew what were or will be the inclinations and passions past and to come the strength and weakness of mens minds the dispositions they have to certain Arts and Sciences the Habits they have acquir'd and what is most important it teaches the way to discover secret designs private actions and the unknown Authors of known actions In a word there is no dissimulation so deep into which it does not penetrate and which in all likelihood it will not deprive of the best part of those veils under which it lurks Now forasmuch as all these things may be reduc'd to four principal heads to wit the INCLINATIONS the MOTIONS OF THE SOVL VERTVES VICES it is oblig'd ere we pass any further to tell us in the first place What Inclination is what are the causes of it and how it is framed in the Soul 2. How the Soul is Mov'd nay how and why it causes the heart and spirits to move in the passions In fine 3. Wherein Vertue and Vice consist and what is the number of the Species of both whereof it may make its judgment Besides since it ought to denote
humours which are mov'd in the body Now after we have throughly examin'd all the ressorts and instruments which Nature may make use of to that purpose it will be found that she cannot employ any other then the Spirits Art 9. That the blood is not attracted by the Fibres WE shall not here bring any thing upon the stage concerning Attraction though it were the only means whereby the Antients were of opinion that the motion of the blood was to be wrought inasmuch as it is an imaginary motion which opposes reason and experience Nor indeed can it be conceiv'd to be done but two wayes to wit either by some Boay which touching the blood brings and draws it to it or by some Magnetick vertue which may be in the parts and spreading it self into the vessels seizes on and drags it towards them much after the same manner as the quality of the Loadstone draws iron and causes it to approach it And these two wayes of attraction have bred two opinions which ever since the birth of Medicine even to the present age have been follow'd by some or other For some have imagin'd that the streight Fibres which enter into the structure of the veins had the power of attraction and that it was by their means the blood was convey'd to the several parts But they never consider'd that when some body is to attract a fluid and slippery thing there is a necessity it should touch it that it should seize on it and retain it in all its parts otherwise those which shall be at liberty will escape and will not be attracted Of this we have an experiment when we would take any liquor with our hand for those parts which shall not be comprehended within the hand will get away and not be gather'd in with the rest Now it is certain that the Fibres touch only the superficies of the humour which is in the vein and so whatsoever is in the bottome of the vessel will slip away notwithstanding all their endeavour to retain it To this we may add that the Fibres have no other way of attraction then by straining and compressing the veins and if so then would the senses perceive something of that motion as they do of that of the Intestines which is made after that manner Whence it follows that since we do not see any sign thereof how strong soever that contraction and compression of the veins might be for the making of that motion there is just ground to imagine that it is not made after that manner But what absolutely decides this question is that the aliment of Plants is convey'd by their channels after the same manner and by the same vertue as the blood may be in Animals and yet their Fibres suffer no such contraction as is imagin'd in the veins It is requisite therefore that we find out some other means whereby the moisture which nourishes them may ascend into the branches and withall such as may be found also in Animals to convey the blood into all the parts I add further that the bones attract as the common expression hath it their nourishâ—â—nt without any assistance of the Fibres and that sometimes the blood is so violently mov'd in the Passions that this pretended motion of the Fibres cannot be any way answerable to that swiftness as being made but slowly and by successive contractions which require much time in so long a transportation and conveyance as that of the blood is Art 10. That the blood is not attracted by any Magnetick vertue AS to the other opinion which admits a Magnetick vertue though it hath been more generally receiv'd yet is it not confirm'd by any other reason then the weakness of the precedent and the impossibility it imagin'd to it self of finding any other means then these two to make the blood flow into the veins So that it is maintain'd only upon the accompt of certain examples and instances as that of the Loadstone which draws iron to it and those of some purgative Medicines which attrract the humours and some others of the like kind But this is a very weak proof and such as the very ground thereof is of little certainty since we pretend to make it apparent that neither the Loadstone nor purgatives nor any other thing whatsoever have any attractive vertue But whether it be maintainable or not the Patrons of this opinion ought to suppose as they have done that this vertue is in every particular part since there is not any but does as they affirm attract blood for its nourishment The case being thus laid down they may be asked Whether all parts have this vertue equally or not For if it be equal in all there being superiour and inferiour parts it is impossible the blood should march up into the superiour parts in regard the inferiour have as powerful an attraction as the other there being no reason why they should follow the impression of the one rather then that of the other On the other side if there be any parts have this vertue in a higher degree then others they will attract all the blood to themselves and that just distribution which ought to be made thereof all over the body will never be perfected and compleated since it must needs be obstructed where that Magnetick vertue is most vigorous For to explain it by the example it must be done in the same manner as is observ'd in the iron which being plac'd near several Loadstones will alwayes make towards that which is most attractive Besides if it be true that the influence of natural vertues is performed by direct lines How is it to be imagin'd that the Attractive vertue shall observe that regularity in the innumerable turnings and windings of the veins and arteries What intermixture or to say better what confusion will there not be in the vessels wherein every part will spread its Magnetick vertue To conclude if the conformity of substance be the ground-work of this Attraction as is affirm'd by the maintainers of the foresaid opinion how is it to be conceiv'd that the blood which is alter'd and corrupted shall be able to flow into the veins By what means shall the mineral waters which admit not coction and are incapable of receiving the form of blood be able to pass wholly pure into the vessels What conformity or sympathy can we imagine between all these substances which are so different among themselves and the Liver or the Heart or any other part which attracts them to it self And lastly why should the blood ever go out of the body since that quality attracts it inwards and that it should be like the powder of steel which the Loadstone holds fast and suffers not to fall Art 11. That there are not any Attractive vertues BUt I shall proceed further and affirm that it is an errour to imagine there are in Nature any of these Attractive vertues she acknowledges not any other then that which is wrought by