Dissemblers in regard that both Timorousness and Dissimulation proceed from the weakness which attends the melancholick Temperament and then it is that the effect is sign of an effect Now since causes and effects serve for Signs to the Art we treat of the next thing to be known is what these causes and effects are Art 1. What Causes they are which serve for Signs IT is not to be doubted but that the Causes which contribute to the discovery of men must be such as have an influence over Man and are in him that is such as cause some alteration in the Body and Soul and promote and change the actions of both Of these there are two Orders some are Internal some External The Internal causes are the Faculties of the Soul the Temperament the Conformation of the parts Age Nobleness or meanness of Birth the Habits as well Intellectual as Moral and the Passions The External are Parents the Celestial Bodies the Climate the Seasons Aliment prosperous or adverse Fortune Example Advice Punishments and Rewards For all these Causes make different impressions upon Man and according to the strength they have they produce in him different effects and dispose him to such and such actions So that every Faculty of the Soul every Temperament every Age every several kind of Birth hath its proper actions its particular dispositions its inclinations and aversions Parents do many times derive to their children those qualities of body and mind which are natural to themselves the Climate Health and Sickness course of Life Prosperity and Adversity Good and Bad Example in fine the different aspects of the Celestial Bodies cause an alteration in the Body and Soul imprinting in them divers qualities and making them inclinable to certain Actions Art 2. What the Effects are which serve for Signs THe Effects which proceed from these Causes are also of two kinds for some are Corporeal others Spiritual The Spiritual are the qualities of the mind the Inclinations the Habits all the actions and motions of the Soul for that they have been numbred among the Causes was in consideration of the Effects which they produce as here they are ranked among the Effects by reason of the Causes from which they proceed For instance the Inclination which a man hath to Anger is the cause of the Anger but it is also the effect of the cholerick Temperament which gives birth to that Inclination The Corporeal Effects consist in the Bulk of the Figure of the parts in the first and second Qualities in the Air of the Countenance in the Carriage and motion of the Body as we shall shew more particularly hereafter So that upon cognizance taken of these Causes and a knowledge of the power they have some judgment may be made of their present or future effects And on the other side upon an observation of the Effects and a knowledge of that whereto they ought to be referred the present or past causes may be ghess'd at Thus are they Signs one of the other and THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN hath a priviledge to make its advantage of them in order to the performance of what it promises But in regard all these Signs create not an equal knowledge of the things whereto they are referr'd that some of them denote the same with more certainty then others it is requisite there should be a careful examination taken of their Strength and Weakness since that is the chiefest and most solid ground of this Art CHAP. 2. Of the Strength and Weakness of Signs Art 1. What Judgment is made by the Causes GEnerally speaking the judgment which is made by the Causes is more uncertain then that which is made by the Effects in regard that from the knowledge of the cause of some thing it does not follow that it should produce the effect it is imagin'd to do by reason of divers obstructions which may happen in the production thereof But when an effect is seen it must of necessity be that the cause did precede Thence it comes that the knowledge which is had of the Temperaments by the marks they leave upon the Body is more certain then that which is had of the inclinations by the Temperament in asmuch as these marks are the effects of the Temperament and that the Temperament is the cause of the Inclinations Art 2. Of the next Causes MOreover the causes are of two kinds some are termed the Next Causes others are Remote From the former a more certaine judgment may be deduced in regard they have a stricter connexion with their effects Accordingly the knowledge which is had of the Temperament better discovers the inclinations then any thing that can be inferr'd from Birth Age or the Climate c. But there is not any Cause from which there may be a more certaine judgment deduc'd of a mans actions then the Habit For he who shall know one to be a just person will be the more apt to affirm that upon such or such an occasion he will do an act of justice Into this rank may also be reduced the Passions themselves in reference to those others which are wont to accompany them for the Passions never march alone and there is not any of them but produces some others which either appear with it or follow it very closely Thus Arrogance Impatience Indiscretion accompany Anger and therefore he who knows a man to be sometimes transported with the latter may affirm that he is apt to fall into the others And this observation is so considerable that it makes way for the Noblest rule of all Physiognomy whereof Aristotle is the author and which he calls Syllogistick and of which we shall have occasion to speak hereafter The Qualities or Endowments of the mind do also give a certain judgment of the good bad productions which shall proceed from them And it may be affirmed that when some man shall conceive himself oblig'd out of the bent of his own inclination to embrace some opinion or to speak to some business he will judge and discourse of it answerable to the opinion the world hath of his capacity and endowments Art 3. Of the Remote Causes AS to the remote Causes if there were so great certainty in Astrology as some imagine to themselves no question but the judgments which might be made upon consideration of the Celestial Bodies would be the most certain of any But we do not acknowledge so great a power in those Bodies as is attributed to them and we can grant them at most but some small advantage over the Climate which gives some ground to judge of the Inclinations upon the accompt of the Temperament whereof it is a Remote cause as well as they Age and Sickness may be put in the some rank But good and bad Fortune Nobleness or meanness of Birth Examples under which I comprehend Counsels Advice Rewards and Punishments afford but very doubtful conjectures Lastly the Seasons and Aliment make the most uncertain
and soft parts are the productions of the moisture for they denote abundance of flegmatick bloud But of the round some have their dependance on the cold others on the moisture for they either proceed from the fat which fills the vacant places of the muscles as in the arms cheeks thighs or from the cold which contracts the figure of the parts and presses them of all sides whereas the heat always spreading it self forward causes unevenness angles which prevent the roundness of them Hence it comes that the forehead and face of the Man are of a square figure and those who are inclin'd to Melancholy have corners of the forehead ending in a sharp point and long faces contrary to the â—legmatick who have them almost of a round figure The mildness modesty and the bashfulness which appear in the countenance and actions of the Woman are also effects of the cold which abates the courage and checks or remits the motion of the parts To the same principle is also to be attributed the smalness and weakness of the voice by contracting the throat in which it is framed and weakning the vital faculty But all these things fall more particularly under consideration in the Treatise of Beauty it shall suffice here to observe in the main that the natural conformation of the Woman follows the Temperament of cold and moist in that degree which Nature hath prescrib'd for the perfection of her Sex Art 6. That all these parts denote the Inclinations which are proper to the Woman OUr next work must be to shew that all these parts have a dertain ceâ—ation to the qualities of the mind whereof we have given an account that they are the signs which discover them how secret soever they may be and lastly that of all the figures and lineaments which contribute to the Beauty of the Woman there is not any one but denotes a vicious inclination We need produce no other proof of this truth than the natural weakness which is remarkable in the â—ody of the Woman and the conformation of all her parts whereof there is not any one but is the effect either of the coldness of her Temperament or the moisture predominant in her as we have shewn already For since the weakness of the body and of natural heat is ever attended by an inclination to fearfulness distrust avarice c. and that the superabundance of moisture accompanying it causes softness of nature effeminacy inconstancy and fickleness c. it follows that she hath not any part which does not discover some one of the Inclinations before-mentioned But for the further clearing up of a Proposition that seems so strange we must fall into a more particular consideration of things and make it appear by those rules of Physiognomy which Aristotle and other great Persons among the Antients have left us that there is no truth so well establish'd as this Aristotle hath given us this observation That a little face is a sign of pusillanimity and lowness of spirit By that character he designs those who are not abe to bear good or bad fortune who upon the least smile of prosperity become insolent upon the least frown of adversity are utterly cast down and discourag'd who entertain the least delay or denial as a great misfortune a small negligence for a great injury continually complaining distrustfull of all they have to do with full of suspence in the taking of any resolution c. as we shall shew more at large when we come to the particular characters of this vice The round face denotes maliciousness and an easie inclination to anger The narrow forehead is an argument of a fickle and incorrigible disposition The round forehead is a sign of testiness and weakness of mind The high forehead and very smooth signifies flattery and disâ—imulation Black eyes denote fearfulness the large eye argues inconstancy Thick and soft lips are marks of Loquacity an over-busie enquiry into the affairs of other people and a negligence of their own Some affirm that they are the significators of avarice and lying which two vices are commonly observable in the Moors whose lips are of that making The little mouth is a sign of weakness and lying The round chin denotes envie The long and small neck denotes a timorous disposition and a person inclin'd to loquacity When the upper part of the breast is smooth and fleshy it is an argument of credulity and weakness of judgment The shoulders little and close together are signs of avarice When the thighs feet and hands are fleshy the back streight and weak the hands little all these are signs of a soft and effeminate constitution that is they denote a delicate and voluptuous person one who is not able to endure any hardship or pains-taking to whom the slightest inconveniences are insupportable and one that impatiently bears the want of the least pleasures and enjoyments of life Art 7. Wherein perfect Beauty consists THis is all the account we have to give of the Beauty as well of the Man as the Woman There remains yet onely one difficulty which no doubt will occurr to all those who shall read this Discourse and may if not resolv'd bring the truth we have established into some dispute It is this that the Beauty whereof we have given a description is proper and correspondent onely to our climats and not to be accommodated to others for there is no Countrey but admits a diversity of judgments and opinions concerning this point nay there are some Nations that are so much at a distance from the sentiments we have of Beauty that they account beautifull such persons as in our apprehensions are little remov'd from deformity it self If the case stand thus how can any one frame to himself a certain and determinate Idaea of Beauty which is so indeterminate and full of diversity and restrain to the designs of Nature a thing which seems wholly to depend on the opinions of men Nay it being suppos'd that it is a natural perfection what Judge shall be able to decide which is the most perfect and accomplish'd since every People and Nation will imagine it hath good grounds to bestow the prize on that which is proper to it self We answer then that Reason onely is that soveraign Judg of all Nations who is able to pronounce a final sentence in a business so nice and prosecuted with so much partiality Yet is it not paricular Reason that shall have this prerogative but the general Reason which is grounded on common notions and principles not admitting of any dispute This Reason it is which teaches us that the Body is the Instrument of the Soul and the greater number of faculties and different powers this latter hath so much the greater diversity of parts must the former have to be employ'd as the organs thereof for the Instrument ought to be proportionate both to the cause by which it is used and to the action which it is by its
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
judgments of any Art 4. What Judgment that is which is made by the Effects AS to what concerns the discovery which may be of the Causes by the Effects we are to presuppose the distinction we have already made thereof that is that of these latter there are some Spiritual some Corporeal For generally speaking the judgment which is made by the Corporeal is more certain then that deduc'd from the Spiritual in as much as the former immediately proceed from the Temperament and the Conformation of the parts which are the Next Causes of the Inclinations or they viz the effects proceed from the Passion it self which produces them on the Body when the Soul is stirr'd thereby And as to the Spiritual which are the Qualities or Endowments of the mind the Inclinations the Actions and Motions of the Soul and the Habits as there are many several Causes whereby each of them may be produc'd so the judgment made thereof is the more indeterminate and uncertain For the Passion may be caus'd by divers objects by the Weakness of the Mind by the Inclination c. In like manner the Inclination may be the product of the Instinct to the Temperament and of Custome The Habits also have diverse Principles as well as the Qualities of the mind so that it is no easie matter precisely to assigne the Cause from which each of these Effects proceeds Now since there may be a more exact knowledge deduced from the Corporeal Effects and that it is of them only that Physiognomy makes use in order to the discovery of the Inclinations it concerns us to engage upon a more careful examination of them and to see what their number may be what the causes thereof are and what Strength and Weakness they have that so we may judge not only of the Inclinations as Physiognomy does but also of the Qualities of the mind the Passions and Habits which THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN pretends it self able to discover by them CHAP. III. Of the Natural Signs IN the first place we are here to presuppose that there are two kinds of Effects or Signs which are imprinted on the Body Of these one is the Natural which proceeds from the constitution of the Body and the other Elementary Causes the other the Astrological which proceeds from the Stars or Celestial Bodies whereof Metoposcopy and Chiromancy make use We shall hereafter examine whether there be any certainty in those Sciences and whether the Signs upon which they have fram'd their Rules may contribute any knowledge of the Inclinations the Passions and the Habits as they pretend to do As to the Natural Signs Aristotle hath reduc'd them to nine Heads or Articles which are these 1. The Motion of the Body as the Cate the Gesture and Carriage of it 2. Beauty and Deformity 3. Colour 4. The Air of the Countenance 5. The quality of the Skin 6. The Voice 7. The Fleshiness of the Body 8. The Figure Of the Parts 9. The Largness Of the Parts All these Signs proceed from Internal or External Causes And this distinction is so necessary that it makes in a manner the whole difference there is between those which are advantageous and those that are otherwise as we shall make appear The Internal Causes are the Conformation of the Parts the Temperament and the Motive Vertue the External are all those things which come from without and work some alteration in the Body Thus a man may go slowly either out of his natural Inclination or out of Design or through Weakness Beauty and Deformity proceed from Nature Artifice or Accident The Colour ought to be consonant to the Temperament but the Air and such other things may alter it The Air of the Countenance and the Voice the Skin and the Fleshiness of the parts may receive alteration upon the same account In fine the Figure of the Parts â—s either Natural or Accidental for a man may become crooked and crump-shoulder'd either by a Fluxion or by a Fall or by Nature True it is that of these Signs some are not so easily changed by the External Causes as the Figure the Air of the Countenance and Motion but the Colour the Skin and the Voice do easily receive the impressions thereof But it being suppos'd as it is certain that the Internal causes are those which produce the most certain Signs we make this further observation That the Figure and Largness of the Parts proceed from the Conformation the Temperament gives the Colour the quality of the Skin and the Fleshiness of the Parts The particular kind of Gate and the other Motions proceed from the Motive Vertue But Beauty the Voice the Air of the Countenance proceed from all these three Causes joyned together For Beauty consisting in a symmetry and just proportion of the Members as to colour and grace the proportion proceeds from the Conformation Colour from the Temperament and the grace from Motion The Voice is answerable to the Conformation of the Organs their Temperament and the motion of the Muscles In fine the Air of the Countenance and the Carriage of the Body have their principal dependence on the Motion for in the disturbance of the Passions the Air which accompanies them is nothing else then a certain proportion of the parts resulting from the diverse motions they make in pursuit of Good and Evil which moves the Appetite But that disturbance of the Passion being calm'd and taken away the Air which remains fix'd on the Countenance relates to the Conformation and the Temperament as may be observ'd in those who naturally have the same constitution and disposition of the Parts with those which the Passion is wont to cause Art 1. Of the Difference of Signs OF the Signs before-mentioned some are Common others Proper The Common Signs are not determinated to any one quality but may signifie many on the contrary the Proper are determinated only to one Moreover there are some Signs which in a manner never change as the Conformation all the rest may be chang'd And among these last some are Stable and Permanent others are Transient and continue but a short time Thus those which proceed from Age and the Climate are Stable but such as proceed from Sickness and the Passions are of small continuance From these Distinctions something may be deduc'd which may contribute to the discovery of the Strength and Weakness of the Signs for those which proceed from external causes do not denote any thing certain And of those which the Internal causes have produc'd the Stable are significators of Permanent Inclinations the others may possibly denote the present Passions but not the natural Inclinations unless it be by accident as Aristotle speaks Besides the signs which are the least easily chang'd by the External causes are the most certain such as are the Figure the Air of the Countenance and Motion but the Colour the Skin the Fleshiness of the parts and the Voice are consequently the
of some other Creatures have the same Inclinations with those Creatures it is to be examin'd what Creatures those are which may give a ground for this rule For all are not fit to be admitted into that predicament either in regard that sufficient observations have not been made of them or that they are at too great a distance from the nature of man as Insects Serpents Fishes c. Aristotle therefore in his Physiognomy hath pitch'd upon twenty seven to wit fifteen four-footed Beasts and seaven Volatiles The former are the Lion the Panther the Horse the Hart the Ox the Ass the Dog the Wolf the Swine the Goat the Sheep the Ape the Fox the Cat and the Frog The other are the Eagle the Hawk the Cock the Raven the Quail Sea-Fowl and small Birds Others have added to these the Owl and the Ostrich It is therefore requisite there should be so many Chapters design'd wherein must be treated of the natures of these Animals and especially of those parts of them whereto those of men may have any resemblance and of the Inclinations they denote Art 3. How the said Art makes use of the third Rule AS to the third Rule which shews that he who hath any semblance to Men of some other Climate hath the same Inclinations as they have this is grounded on the Figure of the Body and such Inclinations of the Soul as that Climate causes But in asmuch as the Climate is to be consider'd not only by the position of the Heavens but also by the nature of the Soil by the Scituation by the Winds reigning there it is requisite in the first place to treat of that Constitution of the Body and the Inclinations which a hot dry cold or moist Climate may cause and afterwards of those which may proceed from a moist or dry fruitful or barren soil In the third place of that which is consequent to the scituation as it is oriental or occidental high or low maritime or mediterranean In fine what contribution may be made thereto by the several Winds East West North and South Thence it must descend to the Figure and Manners of those Nations which depend partly on these causes partly on the original of the people themselves whereof they still retain some tincture as also on the good or ill fortune which hath attended them and causes them to change their former discipline and their antient course of life This Treatise must needs be long and will require great pains to bring it to a period For besides that there must be some reason given of the particular Figure of every People and its Inclinations which is a thing very hard to do it must also give an account of the Laws which are proper thereto in regard that the Law as Plato sayes is the finding out of Truth all sorts of Laws being not convenient for all manner of Nations but only such as are conformable to their natural dispositions and he who hath lighted on that Conformity and Correspondence hath met with Truth But howere it may be this Discourse is to be divided into so many Chapters as there are Climates and those subdivided again into so many Sections as there be Nations inhabiting each of them Art 4. How the said Art makes use of the fourth Rule THe fourth Rule teaches us That those men who have any thing in their countenances approaching the Beauty of Women have the same Inclinations as they have and on the contrary This is grounded on the Beauty which is peculiarly answerable to either Sex as also upon the Inclinations which are natural to each of them It is therefore requisite there should be a discourse concerning Beauty and that it should be divided into two Treatises whereof the former shall shew how all the parts ought to be made which frame the Beauty of Man and the Inclinations attending it And the other is to give a particular account of the parts whereof the Beauty of the Woman consists and the Inclinations correspondent to her Sex All this shall be treated in fifty Chapters there being no less then twenty five parts in each Sex whereby they are represented as differing one from the other the Colour and Proportion which ought to be between them being comprehended therein Art 5. Why The Art how to know Men treats of the Temperaments BUt in regard these two last Rules are principally grounded on the Temperament before we come to the examination of them it is requisite there should be a previous Treatise of the Temperaments and a discovery made of the Inclinations which each of them causes in the Soul and the Figure it gives to the parts of the Body And this is to be done in fifty two Chapters wherof the first sixteen shal treat of the Temperaments which are conformable to the whole Body and the other thirtysix of those of the Nobler parts For there are some principal temperaments correspondent to the four Humours when they are only predominant to wit the Sanguine the Cholerick the Melancholick and the Flegmatick then each of these hath some one of the other humours predominant under it as the Cholerick-Sanguine the Melancholick-Sanguine c. and that makes up the number of sixteen In fine every noble part is either temperate or hot cold dry or moist or is hot and moist hot and dry cold and moist cold and dry So that there being four noble parts and each of those having nine differences of Temperaments all put together make up two and fifty kinds of Temperaments which must be known in order to a judgment of the Inclinations Art 6. That there are other Rules besides those of Physiognomy whereby the Inclinations may be discover'd THus is it that The Art how to know Men makes use of the Rules of Physiognomy for the discovery of the Inclinations and how upon small foundations it designs the greatest superstructure whereof Science ever attempted the carrying on But it does not think that sufficient as having added thereto some other means whereof Physiognomy makes no advantage For besides that it makes the very effects of the Inclinations to contribute to the discovery of them to wit the desire of doing the actions and the pleasure there is in doing them often it being a thing out of all dispute that if a person be observ'd to be often desirous to do the same thing or that he does it many times with a certain pleasure it is a certain sign of the Inclination he hath thereto Besides this I say it very advantageously makes use of the remote causes whereof we have made mention before for though the judgments which may be deduced from them be not absolutely certain yet do they either fortifie or weaken those which proceed from the next causes which are as we said the Instinct the Temperament and the Conformation of the parts Accordingly if a man be of such a Temperament and Conformation as may be proper for courageous actions and that he
move So that when it is said of some body that he hath an inclination for such a person it is meant of the friendship he hath towards him or the disposition he hath to love him This is the true inclination the other onely the effect of this Art 2. The distinction of Inclinations HAving nothing to say here of that kind of inclination which is improperly so called we shall speak onely of that which truly deserves that name Of this also there are two kinds one Natural and proceeding from Nature the osher acquir'd and proceeding from habit and custom There are some men naturally inclin'd to Love Anger Justice c. others acquire an inclination to Vertues Vices and Passions whereto they were not naturally inclin'd Art 3. The Seat of the Inclinations BUt the kinds before mentioned reside in the Soul as their true and proper seat For besides that of the Inclinations some are wholly Spiritual as those which Arts and Sciences leave in the mind others are Corporeal as for example the ease and facility wherewith a Trades-man works when he hath good tools for this facility is not in the tools though it proceeds from them In like manner the inclination which a man hath to be angry is not in the organs though it proceeds from the constitution of the organs in as much as the disposition which a thing hath to move as well as the motion whereby it is afterwards agitated ought to be in the thing it self and not in the causes from which it receives that disposition and motion It follows therefore since it is the Soul which ought to move that the disposition to move should be in the Soul From hence it may be easily inferr'd that the Appetite is the seat of the Inclinations in regard that is the onely part of the Soul which may be moved And whereas there are three sorts of Appetite the Will the Sensitive appetite and the Natural appetite each of them hath such inclinations as are suitable and conformable thereto that is to say the spiritual are in the Will as those which Arts and Sciences leave in the mind the Sensible are in the Sensitive appetite as those which a man hath to the passions of the sensitive Soul and those which are purely corporeal make their aboad in the Natural appetite such as are those which Nature hath for certain motions of the humours in diseases and for all the actions for which the organs are design'd For even before the parts are in a capacity and condition to act the Soul hath an inclination to the functions which they ought to perform Whence it comes that a young Ramm runs his head against things before his horns are in sight a young wild Boar will offer to bite before his tusks are grown out and Birds endeavour to flie though though they are not fully fledg'd Yet are we to make this observation by the way that the inclinations of one Appetite are many times communicated to another For the Inclination a man hath to passions is at last entertain'd into the Will and those of the Natural appetite commonly spread themselves into the Sensitive as the examples we have alledged sufficiently evince Art 4. How Inclination is to be defin'd FRom all these considerations me thinks it were no hard matter to frame an exact definition of Inclination which may be this Inclination is a certain disposition deeply rooted in the Appetite which receives from it a bent towards certain objects acceptable thereto But to speak more significantly we are to acknowledge that these Metaphorical kinds of expression are not proper to define things and the words of bending or bowing or weighing whereby Inclination is commonly defin'd cannot be properly said of any thing but bodies and are not to be attributed to the Soul Let us endeavour then to find out some other expedient to clear up this matter and to look after some other notions and terms which may be more proper to the thing now under our examination Art 5. Whence proceeds the Disposition wherein the Inclination consists OUt of all controversie then it is that the Appetite hath certain motions whereto it is commonly more inclin'd then to others and it may be said that it hath a disposition to perform them and that the said disposition consists in the facility which it meets with in the performance of them The question then is to know whence it receives this disposition and facility for it cannot proceed from the weight scituation figure or any other circumstances of that kind which cause in Bodies a disposition and facility to move themselves To discover this secret it is to be laid down as granted that the Inclination is a disposition and a fixt and permanent facility that happens to the Appetite and consequently it is necessary that the cause which produces it should also be durable and permanent Now all the causes of that order which may be imagin'd as to the present enquiry are reducible either to the disposition of the organ of the appetite or to the habit which it may have acquired or to the images which are preserv'd in the memory and frame the knowledge precedent to its motion for these things onely are permanent and may cause that disposition and constant facility wherein the inclination consists It might then be affirmed that if the Spirits are the organs and immediate seat of the Appetite as we shall have occasion to shew hereafter it must follow that according as they are more subtile or more gross they are the more or the less â—asily mov'd and that the Appetite which moves along with them receives its motion with greater slowness or activity And that hence it proceeds there are some constitutions which are so changeable love with so much facility and desire things with so much earnestness and on the contrary there are others whose Souls are so heavie that it is almost impossible to stirr them and prosecute the attainment of their desires with a lethargick supinity and negligence But this reason is not general for all the Inclinations for besides that there are some which proceed from the instinct and have no dependance on the qualities of the spirits there are some also in the Will which is not engag'd to any organ nay we acknowledge that there are such even in Angels in whom it is out of all dispute that neither that cause nor any other corporeal disposition can have any place The same thing is to be said concerning the habit which the Appetite may have contracted since the habit is a quality acquired by many actâ—ons and that there are some natural inclinations which are derived from the very birth If these things be as they are laid down there remain only the Images preserv'd in the memory which may be the general and immediate cause of this disposition and facility wherein the Inclination consists Art 6. How the motions of the Appetite are wrought TO understand how this is done
her judgment of them and lastly sollicits the Appetite to move conformably to the resolution she hath taken Now as there are some figures which are fit for the motion of natural bodies others opposite thereto so is it certain that every organicall function hath a certain figure that is suitable to it and without which it cannot be otherwise then imperfectly performed Thence it comes that every part nay every species of living creature hath a different figure because the functions of it are different And as the body which should have been square and was consequently design'd for rest receives a property and aptitude to motion when it is reduc'd to a round figure in like manner when any one of the organical parts which should have been of such a figure receives some other it is deprived of the disposition it had for the function for which it was design'd and acquires that which hath some correspondence with the extraordinary figure it hath receiv'd The case is the same as when an Artisan makes use of an Instrument which is not convenient and fit for the design he had propos'd to himself for instead of doing what he intended he does the quite contrary he cuts off that which he should have bored he makes uneven what he should have smooth'd and whereas his design was to cast the statue of a man he does that of a Lyon if the mold he makes use of be such as may represent that creature Such is the procedure of the soul when she hath such organs as have not the natural figure they ought to have For there is nothing more certain then that man as well as all other Animals hath a proper and peculiar figure design'd by nature to every one of his parts And therefore as the soul hath an inclination to perform the actions which are proper to the organs she ought to have so must it needs follow that that inclination will be chang'd when the organ is chang'd But there remains yet a difficulty which seems nor easily resolvable It is this that the soul knows by the instinct the action which the organs ought to perform when they have the conformation proper and natural to them On the contrary this cannot be said when the organ hath not the figure it ought to have because the Instinct gives her not the apprehension of the action which is not proper to her since it is a particular default and that the Instinct is a general apprehension bestow'd on the whole species To rid our hands of this difficulty we are to observe that the figure of the parts is the effect of the formative vertue and that the said vertue follows the Temperament or the impression and image it hath receiv'd from the animal engendring If it follow the Temperament the figure is not the cause of the inclination it is only the sign of it in regard the Temperament is the true cause thereof and in that case the soul knows the action of the part by means of the Temperament as we have said before But if it follow the impression or the image of the animal which engenders the formative vertue is the cause of the inclination inasmuch as it is a faculty which brings along with it not only the character of the parts of the animal engendring but also the disposition which it had to act conformably to their figure And this is so unquestionable that many times the child betrayes the same inclinations as his parents had done before him though he do not resemble them the Temperament having opposed the figure of the parts yet not had strength enough to deface the disposition to the inclination which they had Now it is certain that it is only the formative vertue which brings the character of these inclinations there being not any thing which the animal engendring communicates to that which is engendred but only that vertue as several modern experiences have made apparent Now as the formative vertue which is in the organs of the animal engendring moves with those organs so it acquires the same bent and the same disposition to move which those organs have so that coming to frame another animal it carries along with it that very same disposition which it hath acquir'd and communicates it thereto And whereas this disposition is as it were a weight continually pressing and solliciting the soul to move the soul sensible of that sollicitation at last frames the judgment conformable to the impression she hath receiv'd from it and afterwards derives it to the Appetite which entertains the same bent and this bent is the true Inclination in regard the Inclination cannot be any where but in the appetite Art 6. How Inclinations are produc'd by the remote Causes THus far have we discours'd of the Natural and Next causes of the Inclinations As to the Remote they are all in a manner reducible to the Temperament For the Stars the Climate Age Aliment and the Indispositions of body have no other influence on the inclinations then what is caus'd by the alteration they make in the temperament True it is there are some diseases which alter them by destroying the Conformation of the parts as a man who is maim'd in the hand or leg looses the inclination he had to play on the Lute or dance As concerning the Moral Causes they dispose the Estimative faculty to make its judgments according to the apprehension it receives from them of the strength or weakness they have as Nobleness of birth Wealth good Fortune raise in men an inclination to Ambition Pride and Courage in regard they are perswaded by the power they derive from them that they deserve honours and that there is not any thing which they may not attempt whereas on the contrary the inclinations arising from meanness of birth poverty and ill fortune are opposite to the other All the rest as course of Life Arts Sciences Vertues and Vices are grounded on Custome which renders things easie and agreeable upon the recommendation of the profit or pleasure that may be reaped thereby For all this being frequently represented to the Estimative faculty it makes favourable judgments thereof which are preserv'd in the memory and at last cause the Appetite to incline as we have shewn elswhere But we must not in this place omit one advertisement which is absolutely necessary in reference to the subject we treat of It is this that when we speak of the Temperament we do not understand only by that word the conjunction and mixture of the first qualities but our meaning is to add thereto the second qualities And therefore we do not speak only of the hot cold dry or moist Temperament but also of the Sanguine Cholerick Plegmatick and Melancholick Temperament in regard the humours which give the denominations to these Temperaments comprehend these two sorts of qualities But of all the second qualities there are not any so considerable in reference to the Inclinations as subtilty and
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
it the first place as to what concerns Physiognomical Signs and to dispose the eyes in the most excellent place therein then to bring in the forehead and so consequently the others for the reasons we have alledged Art 4. That the Inclinations are most apparent in the Head IT might be said that all this Discourse does indeed demonstrate the appearance of the Passions more remarkably in the Face then any where else but that the same thing is not to be concluded as to the inclinations and that all this alteration and all these motions which are consequent to the agitation of the Soul are only transient Signs incapable of denoting permanent disposition such as are those of the Inclinations and Habits But we conceive it no inconsiderable advancement to have shewn that the Characters of the Passions are principally apparent in that part of the Body since that according to the rule of conformity whereof we shall speak hereafter those who naturally have the same air which the Passion causes are inclinable to the same Passion However it may happen if the Temperament the Conformation of the parts and the Motive vertue be the causes of permanent Signs it is consequently certain that there are not any parts wherein the Formative vertue acts more efficaciously then it does in the Head by reason of the excellency of its Operations and its Organs no parts wherein the Temperament can be more easily discover'd by reason of the particular constitution which the skin is of in fine no parts wherein the motive vertue is stronger and more free in its motions since there it is in its proper seat and vigour To these reasons this may be added that the great variety of the organs which are in the Head supplies us with a greater number of Signs then any other part whatsoever and that Audacity and Fear taken away as also some others which have dependance on them there is not any Passion that leaves its marks on the parts whereby the Heart is encompass'd So that without any further difficulty we may allow the Head the preheminence as to what concerns the Signs observable in Physiognomy Art 5. That the Inclinations are discoverable by the Arms and Leggs IT may seem deducible from these last reasons that we are willing to allow the second rank to the Arms and Leggs and admit them to be the places from which next to the Head there may be drawn such Signs as may pretend to most certainty and whereof there are a greater number and consequently that the Breast is not so considerable as they are And indeed if the Air of the Face the Behaviour and motion be more certain Signs then the Figure as Aristotle in these words seems to affirm 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 placing the Figure after the Motions it is certain that they are much more apparent in the Gesture and Gate then in the Breast where it may be thought there is only the Figure to be consider'd But we are here to call to mind what we have said elsewhere to wit that the Passions may be consider'd in their first stirring and in their execution and that the execution is not alwaies consequent to the stirring and emotion Now the Arms and Legs are the principal organs in order to the execution of what the Appetite commands and the Heart is the principle and source of the emotion So that the marks which this latter gives are more universal and more certain then those of the others it being affirmed that the Heart is alwaies mov'd in the Passions and that every Passion comes not to execution I add further that the Breast and Shoulders have also their particular carriage and motion as well as the Arms besides that the motion of the Arms and the manner of Going may be chang'd by custom whereas the same thing cannot be said of the Figure of the Breast which alwaies denotes the Temperament of the Heart and consequently the Inclinations And as for Aristotle we are to affirm that he does not make any comparison between the Air of the Countenance and Motion and Figure but he compares these three together with the other Signs as for example the Colour the Voice the quality of the Skin and the Fleshy parts which no doubt are much less certain then the former as we said elsewhere So that it is to be maintain'd as manifest that the most excellent place from which the most remarkable Signs of Physiognomy are to be drawn is the Head the next to that the parts which enclose the Heart the third the Arms and Leggs and the last the Belly For though this last hath some right to dispute the precedence with the Arms by reason of the many Signs found therein especially as to what concerns the Temperament yet it is most certain that modesty does not easily permit that part to be consider'd whence it must needs follow that the Signs are so much the less manifest whereto may be added this also that they do not principally denote the operations of the sensitive Soul but only of the Vegetative and that it is only by accident that it makes any signification of the other Art 6. From what places the Signs are taken THe most considerable places from which the Signs are to be taken are as Aristotle affirms those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In quibus sapientiae multae apparentia fit which assertion may be explicated two ways The former that the parts where Wisdom and Modesty ought to be most apparent are those which discover the most certain marks of the Inclinations So that the air of the countenance and the carriage or deportment of the Body making the principal discovery of Wisdom in a man it is accordingly from those places that we are to derive the most assured Signs of Physiognomy For as Prudence brings along with it a general disposition to all the other Vertues So on the other side Imprudence invests a man with a susceptibility of all sorts of Vices and Imperfections So that the places where those two qualities are most remarkable must of necessity furnish us with the Signs of all the other Inclinations The second Explication of that Assertion and in my judgment the better is that the external parts whereof the Soul seems to stand most in need and wherein she imploys the more art and conduct whether as to the framing of them or keeping them after they are fram'd are those from which we are to extract the most certain Signs of the Inclinations The reason this that the Soul making a fuller discovery of her self and in some sort more manifestly producing her self in those parts than in the others may in them also make a greater discovery of her Inclinations Now it is generally acknowledg'd that there are not any wherein her cares her conduct and her industry are more apparent than in the eyes and in the other parts of the Head in regard that all the Senses nay Reason it self are lodg'd therein
that part such miracles as are not yet fully known and that if the knowledge thereof could be attain'd there would haply be acquir'd that which Chiromancy does so much pretend to Add to this that he who shall take notice that the Lines which are in the Hands are different in all men that in the self-same person they are chang'd at certain periods of time and that all this diversity cannot proceed from any internal cause to us yet known will in all likelihood be forc'd to acknowledge that all those Characters are the effects of some secret influence by which they are imprinted in that particular part And that nothing being superfluously done in Nature they have their particular use and do denote if not any thing else at least this to wit the alteration which happens in the principles whereby they are produc'd For to make these impressions relate to the Articulations and the motions of the hand as some have done is a thing which cannot be maintain'd since the Articulations are equal in all men who nevertheless have all their Lines unequal that there are many Hands wherein there is not any Articulation at all as in the space which lies between the joints of the fingers That children newly born who have their hands shut all after the same manner without making in a manner any motion have nevertheless many lines which are different in every one of them that those who exercise the same Art and consequently ought as neer as may be to use the same motions have them nevertheless as different as if they were of contrary professions That in the self-same person they are chang'd though there be not any change in his course of life And lastly that in the forehead where there is not any Articulation and which part all men move after the saâ—â— manner there are also such lines wherein may be observ'd the same diversity as in those of the Hand We may further add to these considerations the great Antiquity of the Science of Chiromancy which must needs have been studied before Aristotle's time in as much as what he sayes of the Lines of the Hand is one of its observations and rules the work it hath found so many learned men who search'd into the secrets of it and have honour'd it by their Writings And lastly the admirable judgments which have been made according to its Maximes For it is a thing comes not much short of astonishment that of forty and five persons whom Cocles had foreseen by his Art to be subject to dye violent deaths Cardan observ's that there were but two of them living in his time to whom that misfortune had not hapned But to come to a free acknowledgement of the truth all these as we have already observ'd are but so many slight suspicions which conclude not for the certainty of this Science For as to the order of the Planets which it hath chang'd it gives a great presumption that it hath not been done without some reason but the question remains still undecided to wit Whether it be true that those celestial Bodies have any kind of power or influence over the Hand and whether any one of them have some particular place assign'd it therein The Authority of Aristotle may also be question'd and all this diversity of Lines may proceed from other causes and have other uses different from those appropriated thereto by Chiromancy Moreover how ancient soever that Science may be it makes not much for its certainty since there are ancient errours whereby all the precedent Ages have been abused And though many great Wits have thought it not unworthy their study yet have there been in all times some who have employ'd their endeavors about curiosities as vain as possibly this may be In fine all the testimonies and examples which are commonly produc'd in defence of it can pretend to no more weight and validity then those brought for Geomancy Onomancy and other Arts of Divination all which are imaginary and superstitious and yet neither want Patrons to protect them nor fail of success in the judgments which are made by them On the other side neither do all these reasons absolutely condemn it and make not any otherwise against it then in that they render it doubtful leaving the inquisitive person in an uncertainty what he ought to believe and continuing him in the desire of being satisfi'd therein Now the only means to attain that satisfaction is to examine the Principles of it and to see whether there be any reasons whereby they may be maintain'd For if any of them be certain and well grounded there is not in my judgment any rational person who joyning the precedent suspitions with the truth of these Principles but will acknowledge that if the Science which hath been built thereupon is not arriv'd to the highest degree of certainty it may come to it in time by the diligent and exact observations which are yet to be added thereto And that if it cannot promise as much as Astrology pretends it should discover by the Stars which it hath plac'd in the Hand it may at least judge of the good or bad disposition of the interiour parts between which and it there is an undeniable sympathy and by that means conduce very much to the conservation and continuance of Health and the curing of diseases For when it shall be confin'd within these limits and quit all other pretences it will still be a very considerable Science and such as for the excellency of its discoveries and the advantage may be made thereof might be worthy the curiosity of the severest Philosophers and all those who make it their business to enquire into the wonderful things of Nature These are the considerations which I had before I fell to examin the Principle before-mentioned which is the main foundation on which the disposal of the Planets into several parts of the Hand is built and in a manner the only source from which all the judgments which Chiromancy can promise are deduced The method I have observ'd therein is according to the subsequent Articles to shew 1. That of situations some are more noble then others 2. That the nobler situations are design'd for the more excellent parts and that the excellency of the parts is deduc'd from the advantage they bring along with them 3. What advantages may be deduced from the Hands 4. That the Right Hand is more noble then the Left 5. That motion begins on the Right side 6. That the Hands have the greatest portion of the natural Heat 7. That the Hands have a greater communication with the nobler parts 8. That some secret Vertues are convey'd from the nobler parts into the Hands 9. That Nature does not confound the Vertues and consequently 10. That the Vertues of the nobler parts are not receiv'd into the same places of the Hâ—nd 11. That there is a Sympathy between the Liver and the Fore-finger 12. That there is a Sympathy between the
by Hippocrates proceeds from the Spirits which convey the humors from one to another consonantly to the relation and correspondence which there is between the parts or according to the regularity they observe among themselves Art 19. That the Starrs or Planets have a certain predominancy over the several parts of the Hand TO return to the Sympathy there is between the interiour members and the several parts of the Hand I am of opinion that the reasons alledg'd by us for the maintaining thereof if they do not absolutely convince the most obstinate will at least leave in their mind some doubt of the truth thereof And I make no question but that Chiromancy ought to be satisfy'd therewith since that having been hitherto unknown to it they make good the chiefest of its foundations as also that it will be easie for the said Science to establish thereupon the maximes of Astrologie which ought to furnish it with most of its rules and secure its preatest promises For if it be once granted that the interiour parts are govern'd by the Planets and that they receive from those Celestial Bodies some particular influence as Astrologie teaches it must of necessity follow that the vertue which is deriv'd from those parts to the Hand should be accompanied by that which the Planets communicate to them And that for example if the Heart communicates its influence to some finger the Planet under whose government the Heart is should also derive his to the same place it being not probable that the influence of the Planet should make a halt at the Heart while this last communicates to the Hand that which is proper and natural to it in as much as the truth of the Celestial influences being granted it must be affirm'd that those two vertues are combin'd into one which is the onely essential disposition and the specifick property of each part Now it is a conclusion of Astrologie confirm'd by its principles and observations That the Liver is govern'd by Jupiter the Spleen by Saturn the Heart by the Sun and so of the rest whereof the consequence is that the fore-finger should be accordingly govern'd by Jupiter the middle-finger by Saturn the Ring-finger by the Sun c. in regard there is a correspondence and sympathy between those principal parts and the said fingers and that the former communicates to the latter the vertue they have in themselves All which consider'd we are not any longer to think it much that Chiromancy hath chang'd the order of the Planets in the Hand nor yet ask why it should place Jupiter on the fore-finger and the Sun on the Ring-finger rather then on any other part in as much as the nature of the Heart and Liver and the sympathy there is between them and those fingers hath assign'd it those places to be as it were particular houses which the said Planets have in the Hand as they have in the Heavens such as are peculiar to them These things thus laid down the whole difficulty is reduced to this point viz to know whether those Starrs do really govern the principal parts of the body and communicate unto them some secret vertue which might be cause of the good or bad disposition they have But for any man to think to drive on this Question as farr as it might go and to examine al the consequences and circumstances thereof with the severity which Philosophy requires in these matters besides that it would bring into doubt those truths which Astrologie places in the rank of things already judg'd and such as its most irreconcileable enemies are for the most part forc'd to acknowledge it would require a Discourse which should exceed the limits of our design nay indeed contradict the method wherewith all Sciences would be treated For this admits not that all those things which occurr therein should be brought into dispute it particularly declares against the censuring of those principles upon which they are establish'd and would have all those which are deduced from the conclusions of the superiour Sciences how doubtfull soever they may be to be receiv'd with the same priviledge as the maximes and common notions of the Mathematicks may challenge It is therefore sufficient for Chiromancy that Natural Philosophy maintains its first foundations and so whatsoever it afterwards receives from Astrologie ought to be allow'd or at least the disquisition thereof left in suspence till the ground of Astrologie it self shall have been examined Art 20. That the Planets have a predominancy over the interiour parts TO remove therefore in some measure the distrust which some may have that the Conclusions which Chiromancy derives from Astrologie for principles are wholly imaginary and contrary to truth we are now to make it appear by some observations not admittable into dispute That some parts of the body are under the particular direction and government of certain Planets Nor will this be any hard matter to do as to some of them And though we should reject the experiences which Astrologie might furnish us with upon this occasion and that upon such a rejection we should not have others convincing enough to make an absolute proof of this truth yet would the former lay down a great presumption for the ascertainment of the rest and leave a very wel-grounded conjecture for us to imagine that every member is governed by one of those Starrs and that the Principle which Astrologie had made thereof in order to the furtherance of Chiromancy is not ill establish'd Art 21. That the Moon hath such a predominancy over the Brain LEt us then begin with the Brain and affirm that it is a thing out of all controversie that the Moon hath a secret superintendency over that part and that it is more apparently sensible of its power then any of the other parts For it swells and abates it increases and diminishes proportionably to the increase or decrease of that Planet Thence it comes that the Science of Medicine upon a certain knowledge of these changes takes a care that when Trepanning is prescrib'd it should be perform'd with the greater precaution in the full of the Moon in regard the Physicians know that then the Brain is also in its full and that causing the Membranes which encompass it to come neerer the bone it exposes them to the danger of being the more easily touched by the instrument But there cannot be a greater demonstration of the connexion and sympathy which there is between the Moon and the Brain then that the Diseases of that part have their intensions and remissions according to the course of that Planet For of these â—ndispositions there are some do so regularly follow her motions that they may be the Ephemerides or Prognostications thereof Nay though she be under the Horizon and that the person subject to those indispositions endeavour by all ways imaginable to secure themselves against her influences yet does not all this hinder but that the breaking out of a fluxion
which comes precisely at the time appointed in the change of her Quarters will cause them to be selt though they be not seen either in the Heavens or the Almanacks Moreover do not the fits of the Epilepsie or Falling-sickness ordinarily follow the motions of that Planet Are there not some kinds of distractions and extravagances which are called Lunaeies Nay to descend even to Horses are they not subject to diseases in the Head known by a name not much differing from the forementioned purely upon this account that both of them follow the motion of the Moon In a word is it not a thing generally acknowledg'd that the beams of that Planet cause stubborn distempers and discolour the countenance if one be a long time expos'd thereto especially if the party be asleep Now all these things cannot be referr'd to any other cause then the influences thereof in as much as most of them are many times observable when she is under the Earth and that granted to be there neither her light nor the Magnetick vertue attributed to her can have any action upon us Nor is there any doubt made of the truth of these secret qualities especially after the observations which have been made of an infinite number of effects they produce and among others of the â—bbing and flowing of the Sea which without all dispute follows the motion of the Moon beginning alwaies when she appears either above our Horizon or that of the Antipodes and being in her greatest force when she is come to their Meridian or ours For if it can be shewn as it would be easie for us to do would this place admit of a discourse so long as should be requisite thereto if I say it can be demonstrated that the Flowing of the Sea cannot proceed from the motion of the Earth nor from the light of the Stars nor from any Magnetick vertue nor by the impulsion of the Moon nor by the Rarefaction caus'd in the Water by Heat there remain only the Influences of this Planet to be the cause of that miraculous motion and no doubt to be also the like cause of all the accidents before-mentioned Art 22. That the Sun hath the like predominancy over the Heart NOw if it be acknowledg'd that the said celestial Body the Moon hath the influences we have mentioned and that it is by them it hath the direction and government of one of the principal parts of the body there is no question to be made but that the Sun which hath the Supremacy and is as it were the Father of all the other Planets should have such as are more powerful and that he whose concurrence is requisite for the generation of all things hath reseâ—v'd to himself the first and noblest part of Animals that he might have the conduct thereof and communicate his vertues thereto No doubt but it must be so and therefore it may be affirm'd that he hath made choice of the Heart for his Throne and the place of his exaltation and that as he is in the Heavens in the midst of all the Stars so is he plac'd in the midst of all the members of the Body which are govern'd by the Planets Thence is it that he dilates his vertue into all the parts of the little world and if in his course he comes to suffer some malâ—gnant Aspect that member is sensible of it and sympathizes with the disorders of its Soveraign Upon this discovery hath it been observ'd that those who are sick suffer an extraordinary weakness in Eclipses of the Sun nay that those who are of a more delicate Complexion do sensibly resent in themselvs the effect of that Constellation To this may be added that the vital faculty becomes languishing and weak during the time of the Solstices and the Aequinoxes and when ever any malignant Stars rise with him that Hippocrates hath forbidden the making use of any remedy till ten daies are past But we must not omit to bring in this place an observation which that incomparable person hath left behind him in his Book of Dreams whereby may be discover'd not only the sympathy there is between the Heart and the Sun but also that which is between the Moon and the Stars and the other parts of the Body For having suppos'd that the Sun hath a relation to the middle of the Body the Moon to the cavities that are in it and the Stars to the external parts he affirms that if those Celestial bodies appear in the dream with the purity and according to that regularity of motion which is natural to them it is a signification of perfect health and that there is not any thing in the body but is consonant to the rule and order which Nature requires But if the party dreaming seems to see any of the Planets dimm'd or disappearing or obstructed in its course it is a sign of some indisposition to happen in those parts between which and those bodies there is a sympathy and correspondence For if those disorders happen in the Stars the indisposition will be in the constitution and habit of the Body if in the Moon it will be in the Cavities but if it be in the Sun it will be so much the more violent and more hard to be cured as such as engages against the principles of life it being not to be imagin'd that the middle he speaks of can be understood of any thing but the vital parts which comprehend the Heart and the parts about it Now if this be true as Reason and Experience hath since frequently confirm'd it we are to conclude thence that since in dreams the Imagination frames all those Images of the Sun to represent to its self the good or ill disposition of the Heart it is necessary that it should have some ground to joyn together two things which are so different among themselves and that it should find in the said part of the body certain Solar qualities which may serve for a model for the figures and representations it makes of that Star And in a word it is requisite that the particular Influences which the Heart receives from the Sun should be the originals according to which the Soul in sleep draws all those admirable copies If the case were otherwise why should she not as well make them for some other member And why in the inflammation of the Liver for example where the heat is at that time greater then in any other part of the Body should she not make to herself a representation of that Star which is the source of all the heat in the world as well as she does in the least alterations of the Heart Certainly there are in this part some vertues so strange and so conceal'd that it is impossible to make any reference thereof to the Elements For that it should many times defie the flames so as not to be consum'd thereby That it should not grow softer by boyling if the Auricles be not taken away That
another upon the Breast and accordingly as the former shall be in the midst of the Forehead or in the upper or lower part thereof on the one side or the other that upon the Breast shall have the same differences of situation If there be one upon the Ey-brows the correspondent mark shall be upon the Shoulders if upon the Nose the other shall be about the Parts we spoke of in the precedent Article if on the Cheeks the other shall be on the Thighs if on the Ears the other shall be on the Arms and so of the rest It is certainly impossible for a man to consider the miraculous references of these correspondent marks and not take occasion thence to reflect on the infinite wisdom of God who reducing all things to unity that they may be the more confoâ—mable to himself after he had made an abridgment of all the World in man thought fit to make an Epitome of man in his own Face For it cannot be affirm'd that this correspondence whereof we speak is simply in those marks since they are all fram'd of one and the same matter and consequently they cannot have any more reference to one then to another But it must of necessity be in the parts themselves and that the association there is between them should be the cause that one cannot have a mark imprinted on it but the correspondent member must at the same time undergo the same impression Accordingly we find besides the secret concurrence they may have together a sensible and manifest rapport and resemblance in their situation and structure For the Breast which is that part of the Body below the Head which is most bony and most flat before is exactly answerable to the Forehead which hath the same qualities The parts necessary to Generation are in the midst of the Body with a certain prominency as the Nose is in the midst of the Face The Thighs which are very fleshy and sideling have a reference to the Cheeks which have the same situation The Ey-brow is answerable to the Shoulders by reason of the eminency remarkable in both the Ear to the Arm as being both on the sides and as it were our of play and so of the rest Yet is it not to be inferr'd hence that this resemblance is the true source of the said sympathy no it is not sufficiently adjusted and exact enough to produce effects so like and it is necessary that there should be some more secret tye and connexion whereby these parts might be so associated among themselves as they are and which may be the principal cause of that miraculous Harmony which is found among them whereof these natural Characters are the irreproachable witnesses Art 7. Whence the Lines of the Forehead proceed THe Forehead is no doubt that part of the Face wherein Metoposcopy finds most work to busie it self about and where it meets with the greatest number of those Signs upon which it makes its judgments which are therefore the more certain in regard there is a greater diversity of the said marks and that they are the more apparent in that part then in any other And this is also the reason why it hath taken the name it bears from that part as such as it looks upon as the most considerable and most necessary For certainly he who shall make it his business to observe that in so narrow a space which should naturally be smooth and eaven there is fram'd so great a variety of lines points and irregular figures That of these some start out as it were of a sudden and others vanish and are blotted out That some are more deep others more superficial some shorter some longer some pale and others in a manner betraying a certain colour That there are not any two men in the world in whom they are alike And lastly that all this diversity of lines may be observ'd in the same person He I say who shall take a particular notice of all these things will have just occasion to believe that there is in the Forehead some secret which is not known to men and that the impressions made therein have nobler and higher causes then any that are in Animals And indeed upon examination it will be found that all the reasons which may be alleged for this diversity of Lines cannot be deduc'd but either from Motion which gives a certain fold or wrinkle to the skin where it hath been often accustomed to be made as it happens in the joynts or from Drought which causes a contraction of the skin and wrinkles as may be seen in fruits that have been long kept and in the furrows and wrinkles which old Age spreads into all the parts But there is no probability that the Lines of the Forehead should be the effects of the motion which it is wont to suffer since they are different in all men who nevertheless move that part after the same manner For all persons have the same manner of dilating and contracting the Forehead every one hath the same muscles purposely design'd for those motions And Nature inspires into every one the same motives upon which they ought to be made Some may haply affirm that the Consistency of the skin is the cause of that diversity and according to its being more thin or thick the folds are more or less easily made in it But are there not abundance of persons who have the same constitution of Skin wherein yet there is not any line like one the others Are there not some whose skin is very delicate and thin wherein there is not any to be seen And are there not also those who have it thick which yet is full of them Nor can it be maintain'd on the other side that Drought is the cause of these Lines since it may be observ'd that some children of a sanguine Constitution have more of them then some decrepid old men And that it is found they are not alike in old people though 't is possible the Drought may have been equal Besides I would fain know it being suppos'd that this quality should be the cause of these impressions whence it comes that young people who have wrinkles in their Foreheads have not any in the other parts And why those which old Age imprints on the other parts of the skin are alike in all men and are not so in the Forehead Yet it is not to be inferr'd but that Motion and Drought contribute very much thereto but with this caution that they do not occasion the first draughts of them and only promote their sooner or more remarkable appearance There is some other Cause which draws the first design of them and as a Master-builder takes the first measures thereof and begins the structure which is afterwards compleated by the contributory labours of other workmen For to be short all the Lines are design'd on the Forehead even from the very birth though they do not immediately appear there but discover