call'd in a signal manner the Living God To conclude as Solomon saith of the Ants so we may say of all Insects they are a People not strong Prov. 30.25 they are puny and feeble Creatures and some of them may seem to be altogether Useless and might very well be spared in the Great Heap of Beings if they where wholly destroy'd and all the Brood of them annihilated it may seem a Courtesy to Mankind who are often pester'd with them But this is the reasoning of Ignorance and Presumption for it becomes us not to dislike the Workmanship of Heaven be it never so little and weak and we must remember that what it wants in Bulk and Strength is recompensed some other way An Insect is an Argument of the Divine Wisdom as well as an Animal of the first Magnitude Even the pettiest Creatures in some respect far surpass these CHAP. XI It is from a Divine Author that all Animals are fashion'd and contrived in their Parts and Organs in their Senses and Faculties according to the Employment Use and End for which they are serviceable The Natural Propension in them to propagate their Kind is from God So is their Sagacity This latter is voted for Reason by some Writers who also attribute Speech to them It is proved that this is groundlesly asserted and that Reason is the Sole Prerogative of those Beings that are capable of Religion To those who object the Uselesness nay Hurtfulness of several Animals as if this were an Argument against Providence it is answered 1. Though we are not able to assign the Vse of some Creatures yet it doth not follow thence that they are Vseless 2. The Creatures which seem most Vile are a Foil to the rest 3. There is something worthy of our Observation in every one of them 4. Some of these are Food for others 5. Most of them are useful to Mankind in a Medical way The Author's Conjecture concerning the benefit of Gnats Fleas Lice Flies Spiders Venomous Creatures carry an Antidote with them 6. The most hurtful Animals may be beneficial to Man as Crosses and Afflictions are which are welcome to the Vertuous 7. That they generally do so little harm when they are able to do so much is a Manifestation of the Divine Care and Providence 8. The Enjoyment of their Essence is from the Divine Bounty which none ought to repine at 9. They are made use of by God sometimes to plague notorious Offenders Lastly That any Creatures are Noxious proceeds from the Sin of Man and the Curse which followed it wherefore we have no reason to complain of them or to question the Goodness and Providence of God The Vast Numbers and Various Kinds of Insects are some Proof of their Vsefulness All Creatures are someways Good and made for some Vse Though we do not see their Vsefulness at present afterâ— Ages may discover it THUS I have particularly instanced in the Works of the Creation and have shew'd that the Existence and Providence of God are to be seen in them all Especially as to Animals this grand Truth appears to be undeniable viz. that they are all fram'd and shap'd exactly according to the several Ends and Uses they were designed for which is an irrefragable Evidence of an infinitely Wise Contriver and Disposer The Hare and Hart that are very fearful have swift Feet to fly away and the timorous Dove hath swift Wings So the most fearful Animals have the quickest hearing as the Hart and Hare the Coney c. by this means Nature takes care for their Safety that they may secure themselves by flight To the Boar that is fierce and pugnacious are given prominent Tusks to the Lion Teeth and Paws of a peculiar make Beasts that have no other way to defend themselves are supplied with Horns Those Creatures which are for working or travelling as Oxen Horses Mules Asses Camels Dromedaries have such Hoofs as are capable of being shod that they may thereby be the more serviceable To Birds are given Feathers for the Lightness of their flying and also Claws and Beak as proper Instruments in order to the Fooâ— they live upon And briefly all Animals aâ—â— furnish'd with proper Organs Fowls are fitted by the frame of their Bodies to the Element they converse in So Fishes are shaped purposely for the Water and Beasts for the Earth and all the Parts of these several Animals are accommodated to their peculiar Uses and Purposes God hath given them particular Figures and Operations as to their Bodies according to the Indoles of their sensitive Souls as Aristotle well said if he be rightly quoted by one of the Antients Their outward Texture is fitted to their inward Faculty and Nature There are certain Reasons to be assign'd of every distinct frame of Bodies in Brutes It is not without cause that they are thus and thus shap'd and not otherwise and whence is this but from a Divine Author Also the Natural Instinct which is in these Creatures to propagate their Kind shews that it was from a Higher Power and Principle that is such a one that is Intelligent and intends the Good and Preservation of the World And Providence is particularly seen in this that Animals that are shorter liv'd have a great many little ones and produce them often as Dogs Swine all Birds and Fishes the frequent Production reparing the short living But those Creatures that live longer breed seldomer and one at a time generally as Elephants Deers Horses c. And here 't is observable also that the less perfect Animals are soonest set up because they decline and make an end apace therefore they begin sooner And that Sagacity which we have so often observ'd to be in Brutes yea in the very Insects is an Evidence that they are the Workmanship of a Wise Maker and are guided by a Wise Director Besides what hath been said already we might mention how the angry Porcupine knows when it is his time to dart sorth his Bristles to wound his Adversary the Ichneumon the Rat of Nilus takes the opportunity of the Crocodile's gaping and leaps into his Mouth and thence descends into his Belly and so dispatches him the Iackal hunts always with the Lion for part of his Prey and withal it is observable that this latter cannot be without the assistance of the former for he is neither swift nor quick-scented and therefore is happily befriended by the Iackal who hath both these Properties and so he is a fit Caterer for the other Therefore this may be the meaning of the Psalmist Psal. 104.21 The young Lions roar after their Prey and seek their Meat from God they seek it and procure it in this notable way which is by the singular Providence of God This their natural way of getting their Food is call'd seeking it from God because he hath given them this particular Instinct and Sagacity And several other strange Expedients and Methods which Animals use in providing their Food making
break the food Besides these there are the Grinders which are peculiarly fitted for their employment for after the Meat hath been cut and broken by the other two sorts of Teeth these bruise and macerate it and give it its last preparation for the Stomach There are generally Ten of these in a Jaw and they are bigger broader and flatter than the rest that they may perform their Grinding the better And because they are made use of most of all and have the toughest work therefore the Provident Maker furnish'd them with stronger Hold-fasts than any of the Teeth These great Iew-teeth as they were call'd of old as well as they are now have three or four Roots or â—angs because these only are used in Chewing which requires Strength One hath lately taken notice of Divine Providence in this that the Fabrick of the Grinders is fitted to that kind of Food which Creatures feed upon in Men they are Obtuse because their Meat is generally soft in Dogs and some other Animals that live usually on harder Food they are Sharp with several points in those Creatures that feed on Grass and Hay or Corn they rise up with ridges and answer to the inequalities of a Mill-stone And in other Animals that feed on Flesh as well as Grass they are of a middle nature and fit for the mastication of both This must be said that most of the Teeth as well as the Iaws in which they are set were designed for Chewing and it is certain that a considerable time should be employ'd in this work for all solid Meat we take should be chew'd well We English are often negligent herein from whence follow Indigestion and other great Inconveniences as a Thinking Writer hath observ'd I will only take notice here in the Close that some are born with Teeth which is thought by some to be as Ominous as it is Strange but this we are certain of that it is an Indication of more than ordinary Strength and Vigour of Nature M. Curius Dentatus who had his Name on that account and Papyrius Carbo are mention'd as Examples of this by Pliny And our King Richard III. was another Instance of it and it is said that a Neighbouring Prince who is a Biter was born into the World with these Weapons CHAP. II. The excellent Fabrick of the Ear and the several Parts and Organs which contribute to the Sense of Hearing The peculiar Structure of the Eyes where a large and full Account is given of their Humours Coats Muscles of the Eye-brows and Eye-lids and the Hair belonging to both The transcendent Usefulness and convenient Situation of this part of the Body THE Rare and Artificial Composition of the Ear and the Organs that are serviceable to Hearing is next to be consider'd Who can so much as doubt whether an Almighty Power and an Immense Wisdom were concern'd in the Texture of these Parts when he observes that the Ear consists of these three wonderful Cavities 1. A large one call'd the Tympanum or Drum because it with the Membrane over it hath such a resemblance In this are the four little Bones which are call'd the Hammer because 't is of that shape the Anvil something like it the Stirrup and the Orbicular Bone 2. An other lesser Cavity stiled the Labyrinth which hath a hole in which the Stapes is terminated This Labyrinth consists of four little round Holes or Caverns into which the Air is received and defecated and sent to the Cochlea 3. Then the other Cavity smaller than the former is this Cochlea call'd so because 't is in the figure of a Snails shell Now no Man of any consistency of mind can think that all this Artifice shew'd in the framing of these Tortuous Caverns and Various Meanders was the blind effect of Matter and Motion No here was Design and Contrivance all this Apparatus was to compleat and perfect the Sense of Hearing The Ear hath these Curious and Various Hollows that the Air and Sound may be retain'd in them for some time and not easily vanish thence that so the Hearing may be the more orderly and distinct And even Musick it self is beholding to the particular Fabrication of this part of the Body for though the Nature and Essence of Musical Sounds depend upon the Tremulous and Uniform Motion of the Air and some other Causes as an Ingenious Person hath lately shew'd yet it is not to be doubted that these Harmonious Strokes are much beholding to the constitution of the Organs of Hearing and the particular frame of the Ear in some persons especially By reason of these Anfractres and Ambages the sudden Irruption of the Air either very cold or hot cannot hurt the Brain nor can the excess of Noise endamage it for by this Obliquity and Crookedness of the Passages the Air is qualified and moderated These are the Reasons without doubt of this particular Workmanship of the Ear the many Windings and Turnings of it And as all these Parts which I have mention'd are of absolute use and necessity so the outward Lobe or Flap of the Ear that little soft and fleshy part seems to have been made to be an Ornament it self and for the receiving of one and accordingly we learn from the most Authentick Monuments of Antiquity that this was the first and earliest as well as the most natural piece of Finery that was used especially by the Fairer Sex The stupendous Fabrick of the Eyes invites us next to behold them and therein to see a God There are three Celebrated Humours as Anatomists stile them or Diaphanous Liquors which this part of the Body is famed for the foremost of which is the Watry one call'd so because 't is a thin Lympha and void of all Colour This is placed in the fore-part of the Eye that the Images of things may be first rudely formed here and thence more exactly delineated in the Crystalline Which is the next and is call'd so by reason of its Transparency its situation is in the middle or center of the Eye The third which is the Vitreous Humour is the remotest being seated behind the Watry and Crystalline ones and being much bigger and of a greater consistency than these it is useful somewhat to stop and terminate the Visive species and accordingly is conveniently placed at the bottom of the Eye nearest to the Brain These are the Clear and Pellucid Casements of the Body to let in Light and to transmit its Beams in order to Vision for from the fit refraction of the Luminous Rays which pass through these different Humours different not only as to their quantity but consistency the Sight is made and promoted So that before we go any farther we have enough to convince us that this particular Make of the Eye was from an Intelligent and Provident Director who fram'd the several Parts of Man's Body to special and peculiar Ends and particularly design'd the Eye to be the
This must be attributed to the particular Make of their Organs And this particular Make must be ascribed to the Will and Wisdom of the Creator who knew this was most suitable to Humane Nature CHAP. IV. The Frame of the third and lowest Region of the Body speaks a divine Artist The convenient Position of the Stomach It s wonderful Operation in the concocting of Food The diverse Opinions of Writers concerning the Cause of it The Author 's particular Sentiment An Account of the Intestines and of the proper Vses of them The several Passages and Conveyances of the Chyle The distinct Offices of the Liver Spleen Pancreas How this lower Partition of the Body is guarded and secured The mutual and necessary Correspondence of the Brain Heart and Stomach which are the principal Contents of the three Regions of the Body How by the Nerves and Animal Spirits conveyed in them all Motion and Sensation are performed in humane Bodies I Come now to speak of the lower Region it self which is the largest i. e. the longest and broadest of the three Divisions of the Body the Abdomen or Belly i. e. all that Space in the Body which reacheth from the lowest Part of the Breast to the Fundament Here first the Stomach deserves our Consideration and that which we shall take notice of in the first Place is its Situation By which I do not only mean its Position immediately under the Diaphragm which without doubt is for the best but I take notice that as the Heart the most useful Part in the middle Region of the Body is encompassed and kept safe by the Lungs so this which is most considerable in the lowest Venter is seated between the Liver and the Spleen That on the right This on the left Side of it and is kept warm by both The former especially â—herishes and comforts this Part and that is the reason why it is placed so contiguous to it Besides the Liver and Spleen on both sides of the Stomach guard and defend it from the Ribs Nor is the Pancreas or Sweet bread a mere Explâ—â—ive to fill up the void Places between the Stomach Liver and Spleen but is as it were a Pillow to the former of these as some Anatomists have call'd it lest when it is full it should be hurt by the Hardness of the Vertebrae This Guard about it shews it was designed to be a Vessel of great value But the admirable Operation of it doth much more discover it to be so For after it hath taken in the Food it doth by means of that Variety of Fibres with which it is set about enclose and wrap it up and then betakes it self to Concoction a most amazing Work and such as speaks a divine Author The toughest and hardest Meats are digested in three or four Hours Space and turned into a soft Pap which could scarcely be effected in a Pot over never so hot and fierce a Fire and therefore the Food is not concocted by the mere Heat of the Stomach as the old Philosophers thought nor by any Heat brought to the Stomach from the Heart as Des Cartes and his Followers positively determine But whence this fermenting acid vellicating Juice which is the Cause of this strange Alteration of the Meat and turns it in so short a time into a whitish kind of Substance like to Cream hath its Original in the Body is not easie to tell We have no Assurance that this sharp corroding Humour comes from the gastrick and meseraick Arteries as some think Nor can we prove that it is an acid Menstruum derived to the Stomach from the Spleen as others imagine yea some think there is Ground to believe the contrary because there is no proper Vessel to promote that Commerce between them But though herein they are mistaken for the Spleen is joyned to the Stomach by a little Meatus call'd Vas breve yet no Man can certainly tell whether there be any such sharp Liquor carried by this Passage And 't is known that Dogs when they have their Spleen cut out are no less voracious and concoct what they eat assoon as before Others hold that this stomachick Ferment proceeds immediately from the Blood i. e. the salt Humour in it Whence melancholick and hypocondriacal Persons who abound with this saline Liquor have oftentimes a Boulimy But there are Objections levelled against this by some learned Men and they are not easily satisfiâ—d Some think that a Pancreatick Juice is the great Promoter of this Work Riolanus and other Moderns impute it to the sour Reliques of the Chyle which remain in the Stomach and are turned into a Leven Dr. Willis refers it to a sulphureous Acidity and to the active Spirits which issue from the stomachick Nerves The Glandules at the bottom of the Stomach afford a certain Ferment say others The Heat of the adjacent Parenchyma the Liver contributes much to it saith Dr. Glisson It is from a nitrous Principle say Tilingius and Dr. Mayow Which is in a manner the same with Dr. Willis's Opinion It is an odd Notion of Dr. Harvey that it is made by Trituration Some have thought that the Saliva which is mixed with the Meat in the Mouth is the great Instrument of Concoction Thus thinks Diemerbroek and I find that Monsieur Rohault is one that enclines this way but this kind of Moisture is sometimes very defective in those that have a very sharp Appetite and digest their Meat very quickly and therefore I can't think that this is the Aqua-fortis that dissolves the solidest Food so quickly This is all that we know in the matter and are sure of that viz. it is a most stupendous Fermentation that thus dissolves all the Parts of the Food and turns them into that milky Subsistence in so short a time That whatever is taken into the Stomack is consumed so suddenly is a most strange surprizing and prodigious thing Any thoughtful Man will grant this Yet I do not say this as if I questioned whether it is done by natural Means or no for to offer my Opinion and Sentiment in the Point I hold that it is performed by the particular Make and Structure of this Part of the Body It hath that individual Substance Shape Contexture and Formation whereby it is fitted for this Use viz. Concoction And the Reason why no other Vessel of the Body doth or can discharge this Office is because it hath not Parts thus adapted And this is the general Solution which I would give of the Operation and Function of any other Vessel in the Body as the Brain Lungs Heart c. When there are Disputes about the particular Manner of their executing their Offices I conceive the best Answer is that all that is done is done by a peculiar and singular Fabrication of the Parts God hath given them a particular Turn and Form and thereby they effect such and such things This is signally true of that Part which I am now treating of
together and holds them in their right Places lest by the Motion of the Body they should be shaken and misplaced Thus the Care of the Almighty is every where seen None can observe these Parts but must confess that they were purposely framed by divine Providence There are other observable things yet behind in this Region but it was not my Design to treat of all And besides I may before I end this Discourse have occasion to speak of some of them I hope I have already in good measure performed the Task I undertook i. e. given Proof of the Existence of a Deity or divine Intellect from the Frame of humane Bodies by considering distinctly the three celebrated Regions of them The Brain the Heart the Stomach are the chief Wonders of these several Apartments The first elaborates the animal Spirits the second commutes the Chyle into Blood which the third had before prepared and fermented All things in the Body depend on the mutual Correspondence of these three We owe it to the Heart that the Spirits never fail in the Brain and we are beholding to the Brain that the Motion of the Heart never ceaseth For all that Force and Vigour which are in this latter are communicated to it by the brisk Spirits flowing from the Head But then again these must be made there and continually supplied by sending forth of Blood out of the Heart to the Brain If one of these be interrupted there follow Apoplexies Lethargies c. If the other be suppressed there are Syncopes and Lipothymies And both these great Operators the Heart and Brain are obliged to and even depend upon the grand Laboratory for the whole Body the Stomach the Kitchin where the Food is prepared and dressed for there can be no laudable Spirits or Blood without good Chyle and well concocted In these three chiefly consists our Life viz. that the Meat be prepared in the Stomach that the finer and choicer Part of it be transmitted to the Heart and neighbouring Vessels there to be assimilated into Blood and lastly that the purest and subtilest Part of the Blood be sent and extill'd to the Brain and there refined into animal Spirits These these are the Quintessence both of the Chyle and the Blood They are the ultimate Result of all the Concoctions they are the Perfection of Natures Operations By these volatile Parts of the Blood it is that both Motion and Sensation are performed in the Body and that after this wonderful manner those subtile Particles which by continual Pulsation of the Heart are hurried with the Blood by the carotidal Arteries up into the Brain are there by that laxe and boggy Substance imbibed and separated from the Blood and thence are transmitted to all the Parts of the Body Which is done by the Mediation of the Spinal Marrow i. e. the Pith of the Back Bone called the Silver Cord by Solomon Eccles. 12.6 and accordingly in the Caldee chut is filum funiculus and also medulla spinae dorsi because this descends like a white Thread or Cord. This I may call a Label descending from the Brain and it is indeed an Appendix of it or the Brain at length And the Nerves or Sinews which are originally planted in the Brain and the foresaid Marrow of the Back Bone are spread through the Body on purpose to carry these fine subtile Spirits from the Brain into all the Parts and there are seven Pairs or Conjugations of them for that Use. Because the Parts belonging to the Head are the most considerable there are therefore six of these Pairs appropriated to them One Couple constitutes the optick Nerves another appertains to the Muscles of these Parts a third is proper to the Ears and three Couples go to the Tongue and its adjacent Parts The remaining Pair is divided into several small Nerves that are inserted into the Lungs Stomach and other Parts belonging to the second and third Ventricle Bartholine assignes three Pair more which have their Rise also within the Cranium And he as well as the Ancients reckons thirty Pair that proceed from that Part of the Medulla which is in the Vertebrae and are distributed over the whole Body These and the whole genus nervosum though they are useful for the fastning and linking of the Parts of the Body together which is no inconsiderable Use of them are more especially designed to be the Organs of Motion for this is caused by those active Spirits before mentioned in these Nerves in concurrence always with the Muscles which are purposely framed for the promoting of it For into these are inserted the Nerves which are the proper Vehicles of the Animal Spirits and bring them from the Brain hither and thereby produce Motion For the Muscle swells by an Influx of those Spirits into it and so moves the Part or Member This Action of the Muscles is performed not only by the Nerves but the Fibres and Tendons which are of most exquisite Contexture insomuch that an English Philosopher avoucheth that in the Muscles there seems to be more Geometry than in all the artificial Engins in the World All the Motion of the Body depends on these which are so set one against another that when one is contracted it draws with it that Part of the Body which it is joyned to so that the opposite Muscle at the same time is extended And at another time if this Muscle be contracted the other necessarily is shrunk up and draws to it the Part that is annexed And the only reason why this Muscle is thus affected rather than that which is opposed to it is because the same Quantity of Spirits flows not from the Brain to one that doth to the other The short then is that a Gale a Current a Blast of Animal Spirits is the Spring of all voluntary Motion and Progression for though the Limbs are moved by the Muscles which slip up and down and these by the Nerves yet both are originally moved by those agile Spirits And Sensation as well as Motion is performed by these for the feeling Power is then exerted when the Threads of the Nerves by occasion of the sensible Objects which make some Vibration on them affect the Brain To which purpose these Strings are spread over all the Body so that whenever any Object touches them either mediately or immediately the Brain presently discerns it just as a Spider feels the shaking of her Web if any Thread of it be touched Thus the Nerves and the Spirits in them which are continually diffused are the Cause and Principle of all Sense This is the Reason which perswades me to believe that the Brain the chief and principal Part of all the Body is the Seat of the Soul For where should we fix its Throne but in that Place where there is the original of all Sense and Motion And this is the Brain which as you have heard is the Source of all the Nerves and all Spirits conveyed in
as to its Indefatigable Industry and Sagacity both which are celebrated by all sorts of Antient Writers The admirable Artifice of the Spider in making and hanging her Web and catching her Prey A Flea is the Workmanship of Divinity Mites have Organized Bodies p. 202. CHAP. XI It is from a Divine Author that all Animals are fashion'd and contriv'd in their Parts and Organs in their Senses and Faculties according to the Employment Use and End for which they are serviceable The Natural Propension in them to propagate their Kind is from God So is their Sagacity This latter is voted for Reason by some Writers who also attribute Speech to them It is proved that this is groundlesly asserted and that Reason is the sole Prerogative of those Beings that are capable of Religion To those who object the Uselesness nay Hurtfulness of several Animals as if this were an Argument against Providence it is answered 1. Though we are not able to assign the Vse of some Creatures yet it doth not follow thence that they are useless 2. The Creatures which seem most Vile are a Foil to the rest 3. There is some thing worthy of our Observation in every one of them 4. Some of these are Food for others 5. Most of them are useful to Mankind in a Medical way The Author's Conjecture concerning the Benefit of Gnats Fleas Lice Flies Spiders Venomous Creatures carry an Antidote with them 6. The most hurtful Animals may be beneficial to Man as Crosses and Afflictions are which are welcome to the Vertuous 7. That they generally do so little Harm when they are able to do so much is a Manifestation of the Divine Care and Providence 8. The Enjoyment of their Essence is from the Divine Bounty which none ought to repine at 9. They are made use of by God sometimes to plague notorious Offenders Lastly That any Creatures are Noxious proceeds from the Sin of Man and the Curse which followed it wherefore we have no reason to complain of them or to question the Goodness and Providence of God The vast Numbers and various Kinds of Insects are some proof of their Vsefulness All Creatures are some ways Good and made for some Vse Though we do not see their Vsefulness at present after-Ages may discover it p. 220. CHAP. XII This Argument which hath been used all along in this Discourse to prove a Deity and Providence was made use of in the Old Testament by Job and by David in several of his Divine Hymns which are distinctly Commented upon by St. Paul in the New Testament by the Christian Writers of the succeeding Ages by Pagan Philosophers and Poets whose memorable Testimonies are cited The proper Inferences from the whole are these 1. We are obliged to own a Deity in the visible Works of the Creation 2. We have hence Encouragement to contemplate the Creatures and to study the Works of Nature 3. By this Contemplation and Study we should be induced not only to acknowledg but to worship love and obey the Omnipotent Creator and to devote our whole Lives to his Service and Honour p. 246. PART II. CHAP. I. THE Body of Man is more excellent and perfect than those of other Creatures as to its Stature and several of its Organs and Vessels This singular and peculiar Workmanship is elegantly expressed in Psal. Cxxxix 14 15 16. which Words are Commented upon In the first Noble Cavity viz. the Head are observable the Skull with its Sutures and its Membranes with which it is lined the Brain the Face with its Forehead Nostrils Cheeks Lips Chin Mouth to which latter belong the Palate Uvula Tongue Teeth The wonderful Contexture particular Vse and Design of all which Parts are distinctly set forth and shew'd to be the Effect of stupendous Wisdom Page 1. CHAP. II. The excellent Fabrick of the Ear and the several Parts and Organs which contribute to the Sense of Hearing The peculiar Structure of the Eyes where a large and full Account is given of their Humours Coats Muscles of the Eye-brows and Eye-lids and the Hair belonging to both The transcendent Usefulness and convenient Situation of this part of the Body p. 26. CHAP. III. The Neck contains two Passages or Channels of a very admirable Contrivance viz. the Windpipe with its Larynx and Epiglottis and the Throat or Gullet The second or middle Partition of the Body viz. the Breast is also shewed to be the Product of an omnipotent and intelligent Operator The particular Vse and Serviceableness of the Lungs and the peculiar Composure of them in order to this The proper Office of the Heart Its Vessels for conveying of Blood The Circulation of this noble Liquor The Swiftness of its Motion The Situation of the Heart The useful Membrane which encloses it The several Vses of the Diaphragm p. 42. CHAP. IV. The Frame of the third and lowest Region of the Body speaks a Divine Artist The convenient Position of the Stomach It s wonderful Operation in the Concocting of Food The diverse Opinions of Writers concerning the Cause of it The Author 's particular Sentiment An Account of the Intestines and of the proper Vses of them The several Passages and Conveyances of the Chyle The distinct Offices of the Liver Spleen Pancreas How this Lower Partition of the Body is guarded and secured The mutual and necessary Correspondence of the Brain Heart and Stomach which are the principal Contents of the three Regions of the Body How by the Nerves and Animal Spirits convey'd in them all Motion and Sensation are performed in Humane Bodies p. 58. CHAP. V. The several Kinds of Flesh and how exactly fitted and placed in the Body according to their several Vses and Purposes Why the hinder part of the Cranium is so strong and thick The admirable Conformation and Contrivance of the Vertebra of the Neck and Back The particular Structure of the Hip-bones The Nature and Vse of the Ribs How smiting under the fifth Rib 2 Sam. 2.23 is to be understood The peculiar Configuration of the Bones of the Hands The general Vse of the Bones together with the Marrow of the whole Body They are numerous The Nature and Serviceableness of the Gristles A distinct Enumeration of the several Sinks and Dreins which are made to carry off excrementitious Humours What is the immediate Matter of the Seed What of the Milk The Author interposes his Opinion The Lymphatick Vessels The Pores of the Skin p. 81. CHAP. VI. The wonderful Formation of the Foetus in the Womb is an irrefragable Argument of the Divine Wisdom and Power It is so acknowledg'd by David Solomon Hippocrates Harvey Glisson Whether the Child all the time of its close Confinement be nourish'd with Blood or Chyle by the Navel or by the Mouth As its living in the Womb so its safe coming forth thence is the Effect of a Divine Conduct and Providence The Secret Parts are Proofs of a Wise and Intelligent Creator A Reflection on the whole
Romans that after they had banished Physicians they six hundred Years together preserved themselves found and in perfect Health by eating only of Coleworts or Cabbage Some have an Averseness to Doctors as they call them because it is chargeable Nay there are some fantastick Folks that think these Persons can cure a Disease no other way than by killing the Patient The very Colledg-Dispensatory seems to them to be but the Office for Burial And the Aphotheeary's Mortar rings the Man's first Peal It is no wonder that such Cabbage-eaters as these vote our Artist to be a very bad Man Again this Conceit may be nourished by the particular Behaviour which is observed in them when they visit the sick They â—eem to be regardless of their Danger and though they know that their Case is deplorate and even desperate yet they remind them not of another State and of preparing themselves for it Whence some are apt to gather that they believe no such thing themselves But this is a very uncharitable Inference and those that make it consider not that the Physician and the Divine come to the Sick on different accounts and to discharge different Offices The latter is to take care of their immortal Part and to address himself to them accordingly But the business of the former is to advise and administer what is proper for the restoring of their Bodies to Health and if they faithfully employ their Care about this they discharge their Part. Not but that it is to be wished that they would and I doubt not but some of them do especially when there is no Clergyman at hand as Good Men and Fellow-Christians apply themselves to their Patients as they see occasion and make use of this seasonable Opportunity to discourse religiously to them to admonish them concerning their former Actions to urge them to repent of the Evil of them to beg the divine Pardon and Favour and to fit themselves for a better World when they see they cannot keep them any longer in this But yet Discretion must go along with Religion and therefore though they perceive that the poor Clinick is incurable yet they are not obliged to tell him so with their own Mouths but it is better to commend this Office to some of his Friends and near Relations This is more seasonable and prudent than a personal Application to him for it doth not become the Physician to doom his Patient And let us be cautious of censuring and dooming the Physician Moreover this may be one cause why they are voted to be Irreligious because they are not seen so often at the solemn Places of Devotion they are not so frequent at the publick Prayers and at Sermons as other Men. A Physician oftentimes hath the Character that Horace gives of an Epicurean Parcus Deorum cultor infrequens But if the Law which is grounded on good Reason excuses them in this case I see no reason why we should not Their necessary Avocations are a sufficient Plea for them Yea an Act of Mercy is preferrable to Sacrifice To save a Man's Life is an high Act of Charity which is one of the most substantial Ingredients of our Religion To heal and to worship are expressed by the same Word in the Greek And a Healer and a Priest are synonimous in the same Language I am sure we may here make good use of the Criticism A Physician â— whilst he is conscientiously discharging his Office is accepted as if he were employed in divine Worship yea as if he were an immediate Minister of Religion Therefore the Cavil hath no Ground no more than that of the Pharisees against our Saviour that he healed on the Sabbath day Furthermore this Rank of Men may perhaps incur the Censure of Irreligious because their Converse is so promiscuous and they oftentimes are concerned in the worst Company I mean the worst that can be for Religion that is some who are professed Patrons of Atheism and whose Practice is suitable to such a Principle It is true if they frequently associate with such and in hope of a Fee comply with them in their Folly and Madness yea if they do but so much as connive at these they pay dear for their expected Guineas But if only in the way of their Profession they converse with such Persons that they may be serviceable to them by preventing the Maladies they fear or curing those they labour under I do not see Cause to condemn them The Objection will lie as reasonably against Divines who have the Charge of Souls who if they will fulfil their Ministry as the Apostle advises and perform all the Parts of their sacred Function must visit their Flock and hold Converse even with the worst to reclaim and reform them Which is no more than what our Lord did when he eat and drank with Publicans and Sinners Once more some devout and well-meaning Persons may think Physicians have no Religion because they have so much Philosophy They hear them talk so much of Bodies that they are ready to infer they have no Sense of the other Part of Man Whilest they solve things in a natural Way they are suspected to own no supernatural Principle But this is an erroneous â—urmise for these things do not exclude one another A Man may be a Philosopher and a Christian He may nay he must acknowledg a first Cause though he holds that there are secondary ones Divine and natural Agents are not inconsistent The Discourse of a Physician should savour of both these especially the former and then the observing World would have no Cause to object against them the want of Religion Then it would be seen that their excellent Employment hath Influence on their Practice and furnishes them with devout Thoughts of God and a firm Belief of his infinite Power and Wisdom Thus you have my Thoughts concerning the Occasion of that Calumny which Physicians generally lie under I have endeavoured to take off those Prejudices and Censures which seem to reflect a Scandal on that noble Profession But if it be further urged that many of them are really such as they are reported to be yet this doth not at all invalidate the Proposition which I have asserted For either we speak of Physicians improperly so called that is ignorant Quacks c. Or those that are learned and well skilled in the Faculty As to the former they deserve not the Name of Physicians and therefore though it could be proved that some of these are Atheists yet it cannot be imputed to the Faculty because they are not properly of it Yea I further grant that Ignorance in Medicks as well as in all other learned Arts capacitates Men for Atheism As for the latter i. e. those who are skillful in this Science and merit the worthy Title they bear it is not to be denied that even some of these have procured to themselves the Imputation of Atheism and Impiety by their prophane