little more heat and drought and the Woman a little more cold and moisture And this is the true interpretation that â—â—e must give to the Fable of Androgyne when Plato saies that Man and Woman at the beginning made up but one body which was of a round figure that they were afterwards divided into two and that the Love they have one for the other is onely the desire they have to be re-united and a means of their perpetuation For this first union of Man and Woman is nothing else but humane nature comprehending both Sexes and having for its body that just temperament which may be compar'd to a round figure whereof all the parts are equal and uniform But in the distinction which was made of this nature into two Sexes that Temperament was divided into two parts and thence were fram'd two bodies unlike one to the other in respect of the different qualities which they receiv'd in order to the conservation of the species Art 6. Why Sexes were bestow'd on Animals and why the Male is hot and dry and the Female cold and moist THe bestowing of Sexes on Animals was onely in order to Generation and where there is no generation to be made there are no Sexes as in Angels But in regard this action as all others whatsoever stands in need of two principal causes to wit the Efficient the Material there was a necessity that every species of Animals should be divided into two Sexes to execute the function of these two causes And that is also the reason there are but two Sexes for as much as â—hese two causes are sufficient for any action whatsoever But whereas there is not any vertue or power which stands not in need of certain dispositions to execute the function whereto it is design'd and that among the corporeal dispositions the first qualities are most efficacious and most necessary it must follow that heat and drought as being the most active should be bestow'd on the Sex which executes the function of the Efficient cause and that cold and moisture as being the most passive should be most observable in that Sex which represents the Material cause And this is the original reason why Man is hot and dry and Woman cold and moist for that Man hath the vertues and qualities of the Efficient cause and the Woman those of the Passive cause For though there be some dispute among the Philosophers concerning the function of the Female in the business of generation and that it is maintain'd by some that she is concurrent to the production of the Animal as well as the male yet not thinking it necessary to produce the reasons and experiences which destroy that opinion this at least is certain that if the said assertion should be granted it must be acknowledg'd that the active vertue which the Female may have is much weaker in it and that the Passive cause is the more predominant Which is enough to prove that the passive qualities are also the more prevalent in the same work And certainly to make this truth the more clear we need onely consider the natural constitution of the Woman For her weakness as to body a smaller conformation of the parts the fearfulness which is natural to her the delicacy softness of the skin and flesh and the many humours wherewith she abounds are infallible demonstrations of the cold and moist temperament she is of Art 7. Wherein the Beauty of Sexes consists That there are two sorts of general effects 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IT being therefore granted that the Temperament of Man is hot and dry and that of the Woman cold and moist we are now to consider what dispositions these Temperaments raise in the Soul and what constitution the whole body receivs from them For the Perfection and Beauty of each Sex consists on these two things for as much as the intellectual Beauty which ought to be in them is nothing else than a combination or concurrence of all the faculties which are necessary to them for the execution of those functions whereto they are design'd and that the corporeal Beauty is also nothing else than a concourse and compliance of all the dispositions which these faculties require in the parts to become organs subservient to their functions For that part is beautifull which hath the largeness figure and all the other dispositions necessary for the performance of the action it ought to do and if all these are not in it or that it have any dispositions which are not requisite it must needs appear ugly and deformed Howere it be we are here to observe one thing which is very considerable in this matter and in all the effects of Nature which is that there are two kinds of these effects some wrought for a certain end which Nature proposes to her self others wrought out of pure necessity so as that Nature had not any design in the working of them That a man should have hair on the chin the eye-lids and eye brows is for some particular end which Nature proposes to her self wherein she never fails of her purpose she disposing the matter of the hair and directing it her self into those parts But that he should have any on his breast is not an effect proceeding from the design of Nature for if it were all men would have some there and therefore abundance of matter is onely the cause thereof it being the property of that to make us way where ever it can This is also most evidently apparent in the Passions for that a man transported with anger should keep a stirr that he should threaten that he should strike all these are actions whereby he pretends to revenge himself which is the end of that Passion But that his countenance should be enflam'd that his forehead should be wrinckled that his words should fall from him with certain interruptions these are effects wrought by necessity so as that the Soul had no design in the production of them in regard they do not contribute to the revenge whereto she is inclin'd Art 8. That there are some Faculties and Inclinations which it is Nature's design to bestow on the Sexes others not UPon these grounds we may affirm that there are some Faculties and Inclinations which Nature hath out of a formal design bestow'd on the several Sexes such as are the faculties of the Soul considered in themselves and in their origin excluding all modification by the Temperament as the rational the sensitive the vegetative Faculties and consequently the Inclinations which accompany them for every Animal power leaves in the Appetite an inclination to perform its proper actions But as to the powers and inclinations which proceed from the Temperament as the strength or weakness of those first faculties the Inclination to confidence or fearfulness to liberality or avarice c. Nature hath not any design to bestow them on either Sex in as much as the natural perfection of the humane species
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
Animals it cannot well be without Geography and Natural Philosophy That treating further of the Proportions and Figure of parts it it might seem not well able to do it without Arithmetick and Geometry And in fine that its judgments being grounded on a continual ratiocination and one of its Rules deriving its name from Syllogism it were requisite that he who would apply himself thereto should be an excellent Logician And no doubt to proceed further in this consideration we may affirm that there is not any Science but may be made serviceable to this But there is no necessity that a Man should go and consult Hippocrates Aristotle Euclid and Ptolemy to become a Proficient therein and balking all those studies that of the present work will in my judgment be sufficient to learn It and to make an advantageous use thereof But for this latter I require in him who would exercise himself therein two things which I cannot absolutely teach him One shall promote the good use he may make of this Science and the other shall prevent his abusing of it as shall be deduc'd in the two next ensuing Articles Art 1. Of the Genius requisite or in order to the exercise of this Art OF those two things the former is the particular Genius we spoke of under which denomination I comprehend all the endowments and qualities requisite to this Art For I dissent from those who derive it from the Starrs It is a fantastick imagination of the Astrologers to assign to every man two Genius's one to have the presidence of Life and is such as proceeds from the disposition of the Heavens at the time of the Nativity the other to preside over the profession which the party is afterwards to follow and that does not proceed from the general constitution of the Heavens as the former but from the particular disposition of some certain Starrs to which they assign the direction of the Art and Profession which a man is to exercise and these they affirm to be Mars Venus and Mercury in the first seventh or tenth House And this is that they call the Ascendent of whose influence this Genius is the effect This is that which the Platonists keep so much stirr about and whose acquaintance and familiarity they so earnestly endeavour to acquire But these are no better then ridiculous and dangerous Visions which insinuate a certain false representation of those Truths taught us by Theology and such as Faith and Philosophy do justly condemn For my part I am of Opinion that we may say of this Genius what Hippocrates says of the good fortune of the Physician that this latter proceeds not from any occult cause which produces its effects without him and contrary to his expectation but is absolutely the effect of his Abilities and Conduct And in a word that his Prudence makes his own good fortune and his Patient's For without question the case is the same with the Genius which is necessary for the Art we treat of It is not some invisible Daemon that illuminates the mind by secret lights and guides and directs it in particular discoveries of this Science But it is a just and exact application of its Rules or rather that Prudence which putting the general Maximes in use fitly applies them to particular Subjects Now this Prudence proceeds partly from the Nativity and party from Study and Exercise From the Nativity do proceed the natural Qualities and Endowments of the Mind requisite for the exercise of a Habit. This is properly the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Greeks whichich we may call good or fortunate Discent whereof as Plato affirms there are three kinds one proper to Sciences another to Manners and the last to Arts such as is that which THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN does require Art 2. Of the natural Qualities which are requisite for the exercise of this Art THe natural Qualities of the Mind necessary in order to the exercise of this Art are strength of Imagination and soundness of Judgment For though Memory be also requisite therein in regard there is a necessity of remembring many Precepts a great number of Signs and the connexion and correspondence of many things whereof this Art is full yet is it certain that the greatest burthen lies upon the Imagination and the Judgment For a man must of a sudden frame to himself several Images he must observe divers conformable and disconformable Signs and afterwards make a comparison between the one and the other to distinguish the stronger from the weaker in which operation it is out of all doubt that the Understanding and the Judgment are more put to it than the memory which hath made its provision long before whereas the others are hastily set on work and not allow'd the leisure to prepare themselves for it But to these natural Qualities there are yet two other things to be added Method and Exercise For the latter brings a man to a certain facility of judging well which cannot be acquir'd by any other means and creates a kind of confidence which may be interpreted an Enthusiasm and Divine Distraction or Fury in these Sciences Art 3. Of the Method necessary in order to the Exercise of this Art THe Method we spoke of consists in certain general Rules which are to be observ'd in order to the making of a more infallible judgment We shall here set down those we conceive the most considerable The First is That our Artist ought very-carefully to examine the Signs which proceed from the external causes which of them are transient and which are common and not to make any judgment by them The Second One single Sign is not to be thought sufficient to make a judgment of the Inclinations and Habits but it is requisite there should be more For it is imprudence as Aristotle affirms to give credit to one single mark 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Third When there happen to be contrary Signs it is requisite a particular Observation be made of the stronger and the judgment is to proceed according to them Now we have given an account of the strength and weakness of Signs in the Second Chapter of this Second Book The Fourth Our Artist is above all things to consider the Temperament of the person whose humour he would discover and use it as a Rule whereby he is to measure all the other Signs For being the present and inseparable instrument of the Soul it fortifies or weakens the other Signs proportionably to its conformity or opposition thereto The Fifth It is further requisite that he strictly examine the strength or weakness of the party's mind for both these have a great influence over the passions and habits in as much as most of the passions are rais'd in the Soul for want of knowing the causes thereof It is possible one may conceive himself injur'd when there is not any injury done him and some other may be seiz'd by an apprehension who hath no cause
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
and savage according to the quality of the air they breath and which produces that effect by the impression it makes upon the Temperament Lastly that the very Animals themselves are fearful or venturous docile or untractable proportionably to the coldness or heat the thickness or subtility of their blood The reason for which the Temperament is the cause of all these effects is deduced from the secret knowledge which the soul hath of the instruments whereof she makes use in her actions for being so neerly united or joyned to them she knows the weakness or strength thereof and consequently is soon satisfi'd what she may and what she may not do by their means Now though this knowledge be secret yet does it not proceed from the instinct for the instinct is a clear and distinct knowledge which is bestow'd only on the species and consequently ought to be common to all the individuals that are under it whereas this knowledge is different in every one of them and is withall obscure and confused For the Soul hath but a confused knowledge of choler and thence it comes that she represents it to her self in dreams by certain Images which do not absolutely resemble it but have only a certain conformity to it such as are those of fire fighting bright colours c. She does the same thing in Melancholy which she figures to her self by spectres obscurity and inextricable disturbances and so proportionably of the others as we shall press more particularly in the Treatise of the TEMPERAMENTS Now this knowledge how confus'd soever it may be is sufficient to instruct the soul how far she may be able to act or not to act by the assistance of these humours For it teaches her by the experience she makes of it ever and anon that choler is an active and unconstant humour and that it may be serviceable to her in assaulting fighting with and destroying whatever injures her That on the contrary Melancholy is not easily stirr'd troublesome and opposite to the principles of life and so of the rest And upon this knowledge the Estimative faculty frames its judgment conformably to the effects produced by these humours which it keeps in the memory and every foot refreshes by new apprehensions by that means rendring them perfectly representative and capable of producing the inclinatiâ—ns which we commonly observe therein Art 4. That the Conformation of the parts is a cause of the Inclination AS to the Conformation of the parts I do not think any body doubts but that it is a certain sign of many Inclinations in as much as it is observable that without any art but only by the bare inspection of the lineaments of the face the humour and thoughts of some persons may be in some measure discovered That those men in whom there is a certain resemblance to certain other Animals are inclinable to the same passions as they are That such as deal in Horses and Huntsmen consult it very exactly that they may thereby judge of the docility and tractability of Horses and Dogs And lastly that it is come into a Proverb affirming that those are not to be trusted who are guilty of any strange default or miscarriage of Nature But I am further to add that this Conformation of the parts is not only the sign but is also the cause of those inclinations for it gives the soul a bent to certain actions as the Temperament doth Yet is it not to be said that the Conformation is the effect of the Temperament and consequently that it does not denote the inclinations upon any other ground then that it denotes the Temperament which is the true cause thereof and not it For though this may be true in many occasions and that it is certain also that ordinarily the parts are lengthned contracted and assume several figures according to the quality of the predominant humour yet does it very often happen that the Conformation agrees not with the Temperament and that for instance a cold complexion may be consistent with a Conformation which seems to denote heat Accordingly the heart and brain are sometimes too great or too little in the same Temperament which must needs cause a notable difference in the passions over which those two parts have any power Add to this how many cholerick persons are there who have thick and short noses and how many subject to melancholy have them long and sharp contrary to the nature of those humours Who would affirm that all the Tartars and all the Chineses are of the same Temperament because all the former have large faces and that the latter are all flat-nos'd Are there not some creatures of different species that have the same Temperament and yet the figure of their parts is wholy different To be short it is not the Temperament which penetrates the veines and arteries which makes the articulation of the bones divides the fingers and builds up that admirable structure of the parts of every animal But it is the formative vertue is the Architect which the soul imployes to build up a body such as may be fit to perform the actions whereto it is designed and whereas this vertue alwaies endeavours to make the Animal it frames like unto that which produces it if this latter have parts of such a largness and figure the aforesaid vertue which bears the character of it alwaies frames the like if it be not obstructed It is true that many times the Temperament opposes its design and hinders the parts from receiving that figure which the formative vertue had design'd to give them but many times also it does not oppose but leaves it to act according to the measures it hath taken Hence it comes that the imagination of Women with child causes it to change the figure of the Embryo's parts so as that the Temperament makes no opposition Thus the Stars imprint on the body such marks as are not correspondent to the natural complexion thereof c. Art 5. How Figure acts ALl this presuppos'd the next question is to know how Figure which is a barren quality and does not act at all may cause inclinations Nor is it to be imagin'd that it produces them by an active vertue for the Temperament it self though it have that vertue yet does not employ it upon the soul which is not susceptible of material qualities there being not any thing that can really either warm or cool the soul So that both the Temperament and Conformation of the parts are only occasional causes and motives which excite her to the performance of her actions When she hath taken cognizance of the heat which is predominant in the body she frames her judgements conformably to the effects which she is able to produce and afterwards disposes her self to set the organs on work according to the design she hath taken The same thing is to be said of Figure she knows which is which is not proper for certain functions she afterwards makes
into it or as the exhalations of the Earth raise up the matters that are join'd with them so the Spirits having receiv'd the motion and direction of the Soul carry away the blood and humours to all those places which they have orders to convey them For it is not to be doubted but that an oeconomy so just and so regular in the variety of its operations is guided and govern'd by some power which hath a preheminence above the elementary vertues and participates of that secret intelligence which God hath been pleas'd to entrust the Soul withall for the conservation of the Animal It is therefore she alone that causes the Spirits to move and gives them orders for the conduct of the humours SECT 1. Of the animation of the Spirits THe difficulty now remaining is to know how the Soul causes the Spirits to move whether it be as instruments separated from the Body or as Organs animated by her In a word the question is to know whether they are animated or not The common opinion is for the Negative and maintains that they are only distinct instruments which communicate the vertue of the Soul to the parts and are themselves guided by the direction they receive from her as the Arrow which is shot by the Archer and flies towards the mark at which he took his aim But if we consider this Direction a little more narrowly as also the manner whereby it may be made we shall find all this to amount to no more then fair words which do not explain the thing but leave in the mind a thousand difficulties inducing it to affirm the contrary Now if this Motion and Direction ought to be given to the Spirits as to distinct instruments it is necessary it should be done in the Heart which is the place where they have their birth and from which they derive all their force and vertue Nay it is further requisite that the whole mass of Spirits which issue thence should receive the same impression in asmuch as they are not divided one from the other If it be so this question will arise How it comes to pass that some of them go to one place rather then another As also these others How comes it that in one Passion they are directed to the forehead as in Love How in another to the eyes as in Anger How in others to the lower part of the cheeks and the ears as in Shame How happens there a greater confluence of them on the indâ—spos'd parts then on those which are sound and well For as in the springs the impetuosity of the water is equally communicated to all the channels or rivulets and that the art of the Designer cannot make the water flow into one rather then another if they be all equally open so can it not be conceiv'd that the Spirits should rather go to one part then another since the several branches of the Arteries through which they are to flow are all equally open Moreover he who shall consider how that in Anger they choose out the venome which is in the veins that it may be convey'd to the teeth of Animals how that in diseases they discern the humours from which they have proceeded to the end they might be forc'd out will easily find that there is not any direction of the Soul which can satisfie all these effects and there is requisite a vital knowledge and discernment such as cannot proceed from any other then an animated instrument For if any should affirm that the soul makes this discernment and choice there will follow a necessity that she should be mixt with those humours that so she may be able to separate them and they will be forc'd to acknowledge that the Soul is in those humours which will be a far greater inconvenience then to maintain the animation of the Spirits Now we have already shewn that it is by their means these motions are wrought We may adde further that the Direction of things forc'd or thrust forward does only regulate their motion towards the mark whereto they are to tend it does not diminish ought of the impetuosity which hath been imprinted on them and it is necessary their motion should persist to the end with all the force the mover hath given them And yet the Spirits go many times to other places then those whereto the Soul had ordered them to repair when they receiv'd her first impulsion And sometimes in their course they move more vigorously or more faintly then the impetuosity they had receiv'd might require For example in Shame they have order to spread the blood over the whole face as it were to cover and conceal the Soul from the infamy ready to fall on her and yet they cast themselves on the extremities of the eares and the lower part of the cheeks contrary to her first design Many times they begin a Crisis of sweats which they end by Urins and some times they grow faint and retreat in the conflict wherein Nature had engag'd them It may be more closely urg'd that the Soul does not only cause the Spirits to advance but she also makes them retreat she dilates them and contracts them And if so what shall this pretended Direction do upon all these occasions How shall it cause them to rally about the heart when they have straggled from it There must then be suppos'd some Attractive vertue whose work it shall be to seize on them at the extremities of the Body and bring them back to their first rendezvous But we have made it clear that this vertue is but an imaginary one and that however the case stands there must be some subject to convey it to the place where it ought to do its operation which is not to be imagin'd There is yet a greater difficulty in assigning the manner how the soul is able to dilate and contract them when they are at some distance from the heart For there is not in nature any impulsion or direction whereby these motions may be communicated There is is only Heat and Cold that can do it and whereas these qualities require a considerable time for the performance of their action it follows that they cannot be causes of that dilatation and contraction of the Spirits which are wrought of a sudden Adde to this that there is a necessity the Soul should send these qualities into the vessels to produce that effect and that in Fear for example she should cause Cold to rise to make a contraction of the Spirits which can neither be said nor imagin'd without absurdity For if the Cold be discover'd in some Passions it is not a cause of the contraction of the Spirits but the effect of it In fine it is generally acknowledg'd by all the great masters of Medicine that the vital sensitive and motive faculties are convey'd to the parts by the Spirits And Experience confirms this truth in asmuch as life motion and sentiment cease in them when they have not
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
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
be withall a person well descended that he be young fortunate and rich that he have some military imployment and that he be of a warlike nation it is certain that the judgement which may be made of his being inclin'd to courageous actions shall be more creditable then if those circumstances did not occur But if with that fortunate Constitution he be of a mean extraction if he be poor and unfortunate and stricken in years if he be of a Profession that abates his courage and keeps it down if he be of a Climate over-hot or over-moist the Inclination which Nature hath bestow'd on him to courageous actions shall be much weakned by these causes how remote soever they may be and the judgment to be made thereof ought to be the more reserv'd It is therefore necessary that there should be a previous knowledge of the Inclinations which these causes produce that they should be compar'd together and that it be examin'd how far they fortifie or weaken the others Whence it comes that having treated of the Inclinations of the Inhabitants in general it must discourse of those of Children Young persons perfect Men and Old men Thence it must descend to the Moral Causes which are in number seventeen to wit Nobleness and Meanness of Birth Wealth and Poverty Soveraignty and Subjection Prosperity and Adversity and the course of Life to wit the Art Militaâ—y Medicine Musick Hunting Dancing Philosophy Mathematicks the study of the Laws Oratory and Poetry observing the Inclinations and Manners which accompany each of these Professions so that this will be the work of one and twenty Chapters And after all these disquisitions it may well be confident that it is able to discover not only the present Inclinations but also those which are past and those which may yet be to come through the change which either hath been or shall be made in the Temperament and the Moral Causes CHAP. VI. How the Actions and Motions of the Soul are known THe next work of our Art how to know Men must be to shew how the actions and motions of the Soul are to be known we mean not those which are evident and manifest for it were ridiculous to give Rules to find out whether a Man be in Anger when he is seen transported with the fury which that Passion inspires or whether he be sad when he complains and laments and seems to be over-whelm'd with affliction But in regard there are some Passions which are to be foreseen before they are framed and that of those which are so there are some that are not produc'd to any great height as Hatred that some of them are theatrical and feigned as those of Flatterers Nay that there are some cloak'd with contrary appearances as when a man would have it thought he loves another person though he hates him when one makes shew of a certain joy when he hath much ado to smother his grief in fine Designs closely carried on secret Actions the unknown Authors of known actions All these things I say are the main subject of the Art we speak of and the Rules it gives for the knowledge of them And no doubt but there are such Rules since there is not any thing considerable fram'd in the Mind which may not be discover'd by the Countenance by a mans Words by the Effects and some Circumstances from which there may certain or at least very probable conjectures be deduc'd Art 1. That there are two kinds of Actions BE it observed then that there are generally speaking two kinds of actions some simple and plain and such as they appear to be others deceitful and cloak'd with dissimulation All the difficulty to be overcome in the former is to discover the end for which they are done For in every Action there is alwaies the apparent and manifest motion which is the matter and as it were the body of the Action and the Intention which is the form and as it were the Soul of the Action and that is ever obscure and hidden Thus when there is a necessity of fighting against the Enemies of the State the act of fighting is the matter of the Action and is evident but the End and Intention of it is a secret in regard it is not known whether it be for Honour or Advantage whether it be done out of force or by example c. There will be therefore a particular Chapter for discovery of the Ends and Intentions of the Actions Art 2. Of Dissimulation AS concerning the other Actions which are cloak'd and cover'd with Dissimulation the discovery of them is much more difficult for that difficulty occurs not only in the body of the Action but also in the End of it which is shrowded in divers pretences And among Actions the External may be disguis'd under contrary appearances and the Internal which are the Thoughts and the Passions may be easily dissembled Besides Dissimulation insinuates it self into the Words the Countenance and the Effects whether it makes its advantage of them distinctly or altogether as we shall shew more at large in the Treatise of Dissimulation Now the means whereby the Art we teach pretends to the discovery of it are twelve in number The first is to examine the dissimulation by it self and to see whether there be any likelihood or probability the thing should be as it is pretended whether the countenance of the Dissembler belyes his words and whether the Effects are consonant or contrary one to another The second to oblige him who hath been caught in it to discover it himself by fair words and persuasions 3. To oblige him to it by punishments 4. By Rewards 5. By present punishments or rewards 6. By a threatning of future punishments and promises of future rewards 7. By importunity 8. By Wine and Good-fellowship 9. By a consideration of the person who acts as whether he be of a timorous or confident disposition whether he have the reputation of being sincere or be a noted dissembler whether he be an inferiour person who speaks c. 10. By a like consideration of the person against whom the dissimulation is acted as whether he be one who is dreaded whether a Prince Master c. 11. There is yet a further way of discovering the Dissimulation by a sudden motion of some Passion which breaks forth and betrayes what is in the Soul such as may be that of Anger 12. The same discovery may be made by a sudden sally of Joy And upon all these several means there are certain particular Rules which shall be explicated in so many Chapters Art 3. How Actions may be foreseen BUt we now come to examine whether there be any Rules whereby the Actions of the Mind and the Passions of the Soul may be foreseen before they are fram'd and whether it may be affirm'd that upon such or such an occasion a man will have rational apprehensions if he should chance to be transported with Anger or fall into
Fear c. As to the Actions of the Mind as they must be necessarily conformable to the strength or weakness of the Faculties whereby they are produc'd so is it certain that a man who shall have the organs subservient to those Faculties well or ill dispos'd shall have good or bad productions of the mind and that it may be assur'd that when he shall be oblig'd to the reception of some sentiment or to speak of some affair he will judge and speak of it according to the capacity which the world was persuaded he had as we have said elsewhere The Habit and Inclination do the like for if it be known a man is Just Magnificent Valiant c. it will be undoubtedly said that when any occasion shall present it self his sentiments will be consonant to the Vertue and Inclination he hath Art 4. How the Passions may be foreseen BUt as to the Passions there cannot so certain a judgment be made of them and it may only probably be said that a man will be transported with Anger and suffer himself to be carry'd away with vanity or some other Passion in regard that Reason and the Study of Philosophy may keep him in and correct the dispositions which he might have to those Passions Nay there is this further consideration to be made in reference to these motions that they are two-fold primary and secondary The primary or first motions hurry us away like torrents and as it is commonly said come not within the jurisdiction of reason The others are not so impetuous and admit of some time to consider them and therefore they may be the more easily check'd But they are withall more hardly discoverable in as much as they are more easily corrected whereas the judgment which may be made of the former is more certain it being very hard that the Habit should be so perfect as that it might divert Nature from those first assaults and break that strong connexion which is between the Inclination and the Action We are to make this further observation that of the Passions there are some may be called the Principal and Predominant others which are only the Companions Attendants of the former When a man is angry his Predominant Passion is Anger as being that which hath possess'd it self of all his Soul and whereto are referred all the other Passions which are framed afterwards as Arrogance Insolence Obstinacy c. In like manner Sadness or Grief is the predominant Passion in him who is afflicted but Fear Languor Sloath Superstition are its Attendant Passions In fine there is not any one of them which when it is fram'd in the Soul does not call some others to its assistance and relief so that the Predominant Passion once known there 's no doubt but the others are wayting on it But in regard the connexion there is between them may be stronger or weaker and that there are some whereof the consequence is as it were necessary and others wherein it is only contingent For Languor or Dejection of Spirit and Sloath are in a manner necessarily attendant on Sadness but Superstition does not alwaies follow it Whence it may be thence inferr'd that the knowledge had of the former is more certain and that of the contingent doubtful Let us therefore conclude that there are two waies principally whereby future Passions may be foreseen to wit the Inclination and the Connexion there is between the Passions Whereto may be added the Strength or Weakness of his Mind who is to resent it and the greatness of the Good or Evil which is to happen to him For if it be known that a man is to receive a great injury and that he be a person of a weak Spirit some will not stick to affirm that he will be overcome by the Passion of Anger Art 5. Whether contingent Actions may be foreseen IT will peradventure be objected against us that there is not any certain knowledge of things to come which are Contingent in regard they may equally either happen or not happen otherwise if a certain judgment could be made thereof they would not be Contingent The Answer to this Objection which is made against all the Sciences of Divination is this That there are two sorts of Contingents some which have a natural and regulated cause whereby according to the common order of things they ought to be produced Others have no regular cause but a fortuitous or free as those things that happen by hazzard or the election of the Will Those last are purely contingent and cannot be determinately known any way whatsoever But the former are not purely contingent and the knowledge had of them may be certain in the sequel of things as not differing from that of things necessary save only in this that their causes may be prevented from producing their effects The actions and passions of the Soul are of that kind in as much as there is a connexion between them and the Faculties the Inclinations and the Habits for they are effects which by ordinary consequence depend on those causes and though some of these effects be free yet are they not absolutely such when they proceed from the said causes and that these concurr with the freer cause such as is the Will CHAP. VII How the Habits may be known Art I. Of the discovery of the Moral Habits IN order to our satisfaction whether the Habits are discoverable or not we are to remember that there are two kinds of them the Intellectual and the Moral and that these latter are more easily known then the Intellectual For it is more easie to judge whether a man be Just or Temperate then whether he be a Physician or Mathematician The reason given of this difference is that the Intellectual Habits make not any impression on the body and consequently leave no sensible mark whereby they might be known But I do not conceive this reason solid enough in regard the Moral Habits do not also make any manifest impression on the body no more then the Intellectual It is therefore more to our purpose to affirm that the Moral habits are more certainly known because the Moral inclinations are determinated to certain Passions which often reiterated produce Habits And whereas there are few who resist their inclinations by reason of the difficulty and trouble it is to change them and that every one commonly does what is most easie and delightfull to him it thence proceeds that the knowledge had of the inclinations which is well grounded and certain enables us to make a more probable judgment of the habits whereby they are attended Art 2. How the Intellectual Habits may be known BUt the case is otherwise in the Intellectual Habits in regard the Understanding is not determinated to any one Art or Science rather than another And though that of these some have a greater conformity to the Imagination then they have to the Judgment or Memory yet the great number there
man requires not an excessive vivacity of Imagination nor an over-circumspect Judgment nor a too happy memory Nay it cannot bear with these sublime Spirits which are alwaies fixt on the contemplation of things high and difficult not only upon this account that having design'd man for society it expects he should equally apply himself to Contemplation and Action but principally in regard that it is impossible the body should have its natural perfection when it hath the dispositions requisite to sublimity of Spirit For the Body must needs be weak when the Spirit is too strong as the over-great strength of Body lessens and weakens the Spirits as we shall shew more at large hereafter The case is the same with all the other faculties for if the Appetite be too apt to move if the Senses too subtile if the Concoctive virtue the evacuative or retentive be too strong they are so many defects and irregularities they should all be proportionate to the equality of the Temperament which does not admit of these vicious perfections Art 3. That all the Faculties ought to be in a Mean ANd that this is true even in those faculties which are spiritual may be deduced hence That the action and the power ought to be conformable one to the other in as much as the action is only a progress and effusion of the active power If therefore actions cannot be perfect but so far as they are moderate it is necessary that the faculties should derive their perfection from their moderation But it is a receiv'd maxim in morality That actions to be virtuous ought to be in a mediocrity and consequently the faculties from which they proceed should also be in the same mediocrity Now the first spring of this mediocrity is the Indifference which is natural to the rational Soul for since the Action is conformable to the power the actions should be as indifferent as the other is and though it be determined by the action it does yet does it nevertheless preserve its indifference by the mediocrity which the action receives from it The reason is that what is in the mean is indifferent in respect of the extremities and that what is in the extremity is less indifferent and more determinated then what is in the mean as we have shewn already And thence proceeds the necessity there is of moderating the passions For though in other animals they are the more perfect the greater and stronger they are and that the more fearful a Hare is and the more cruel a Tigre the more perfect is each of them in its kind yet is not so in those of man in as much as they ought to be in a mean between excess and defect that they may be the more conformable to the indifference of the superiour part Art 4. That all natural Inclinations are defects I Conceive it will be no hard matter to apprehend and subscribe unto all these truths because they are maintain'd by reason and experience But there is yet another may be deduc'd from the same principles which I question not will be thought very strange though it be no less certain It is this That though there be some Inclinations which are good in themselves and deserve commendation such as those men have for the virtues yet are they defects and alter the natural perfection which is conformable to humane nature And certainly this will occur upon common observation and experience that those who have from their birth some excellent virtues have had them attended by greater vices for a man must needs fall into defects and imperfections so far as he is at a distance from perfection Now the perfection of man is to be indifferent and not determinated to any particular virtue he should be capable of all For the Virtues that come along with the birth are not real virtues they are only the initiatios of them or rather they are but inclinations which a man hath for them In a word they are bounds and limits confining the capacity of the Soul which is universal to a particular habit The Soul of its own nature is not determinated and ought to be capable of all humane actions And as it may know all things so is it requisite that the Appetite which follows her knowledg should have also the freedom to incline it self to all things And this universal capacity is at the same time an effect of the spirituality of her nature and the cause of the liberty she hath For if she were material she would be determinated and if she were not indifferent she should not be free The Inclinations therefore which man may have though they might be for the most excellent virtues are imperfections he ought not to have any for any one in particular but for all together And this is that which the Angel of the Scholes hath so judiciously deliver'd when he affirm'd That there is no Animal but hath some inclination to a Passion conformable to his nature but that man only is the mean of all and that it is requisite he should be equally susceptible thereof in as much as he is of his own nature indifferent and indeterminate To conclude since the Temperament and the Conformation of the parts are the two principal causes of natural Inclinations as we shall shew hereafter and that they make the Soul incline to those actions which are conformable to them it is not to be doubted but that the mediocrity and the mean which they ought to be guided by in man does also invest the Soul with an equal bent towards both the extremities Art 5. That every species hath its proper Temperament BUt it is to be observed that in the distribution of the Temperament made by Nature to Animals she hath in the first place considered their species and hath appointed every one that which was most convenient for it For example she hath assign'd a hot and dry Temperament for the species of the Lion a hot and moist for that of a Horse a cold and dry for that of an Asse and so all the rest But as she hath been careful of the conservation of these species and to that end hath bestow'd on them the two Sexes which were to receive different qualities she hath been oblig'd to divide this first Temperament and to give one part of it to the male and the other to the Female For though in the species of the Lyon the male and female are hot and dry yet is it certain that the female is such in a lower degree then the male and the same thing is to be said of all the rest It is therefore to be granted that the just and equal Temperament we have spoken of before is that which is most convenient to humane Nature But in as much as it was also requisite that the man and Woman should have different qualities that just Temperament was divided between them and without straying too much from that perfect Temperature the man hath receiv'd a
do's not admit of any in particular as oblig'd to be equally capable of all by reason of its being indeterminate and indifferent as we have shewn before It is therefore out of pure necessity that they are raised in the Soul and by the connexion and unavoidable consequence there is between the effects and their causes True it is indeed that Nature hath propos'd to her self to bestow on Man besides the Faculties convenient for his species those also which are proper to his Sex to wit the active vertue in order to generation and heat and drought to serve as instruments to that vertue as she hath bestow'd on the Woman the passive power and cold and moisture to perform the function of the material cause But all the Inclinations consequent to those qualities as confidence or fearfulness liberality or avarice c. are onely dispositions fram'd in the Soul without her knowedge and beside or against her intention It must be confess'd they are natural because they are by accident in the order of Nature and follow the causes which depend on the matter Nay they are allow'd to be perfections and if they should be wanting there would be a defect in as much as the causes from which they proceed necessarily require that consequence and concatenation which is between them For a Man who should not be couragious or a Woman who should not be timorous would be guilty of the same imperfection as a Lion that should be fearfull and a Hare that should be couragious Art 9. That there are some parts fram'd by Nature out of design others not THE same thing may be said of the Conformation of the parts for Nature hath in her Idaeas that figure which is most convenient to every species and which she would bestow on every individual were she not prevented by the particular causes such as is the Temperament And though she gives each Sex a different structure of body yet does she as much as lies in her power always preserve the character of the figure which is proper to the species For though the Conformation of the Woman's parts be different from that of the Man's yet is there a greater resemblance between her and Man than any other Animal whatsoever Now it is certain there are some parts which are proper to each Sex and such as Nature hath a design to frame after such and such a fashion as those that serve for organs to perform the functions whereto each of them is ordered But for the rest as height of stature largeness of head a square figure of the face c. which are to be observ'd in Man or lowness of stature littleness of head and roundness of face c. which are proper to the Woman all this variety I say proceeds not from the design of Nature but pure necessity consequently to the Temperament which is proper to either though it contributes to the perfection and beauty of the body for the reasons we have given already SECT 2. Wherein the Perfection of the Male consists Art 1. Of the Inclinations proper to Man THis presuppos'd we now come to observe the Inclinations consequent to the Temperament of Man Nature hath made him hot and dry for the end we have already assign'd But according to the proportion of his being hot he must necessarily be strong and consequently thereto that he should be naturally Couragious desirous of Fame Magnanimous Sincere Liberal Mercifull Just Gratefull and consequent to his being dry he should be Resolv'd Constant Patient Modest Faithfull Judicious The reasons of all these effects are easily found For as the Soul makes use of these qualities knows what she is able to perform by their means and is inclin'd to the actions conformable to their vertue So upon heâ— being sensible of the heat which is the principle of strength and courage she takes a confidence in her self and upon that she would command she courageously undertakes and slights small dangers And being courageous she is forward free and without artifice She is also liberal not onely upon this account that it is the property of heat to dilate it self but also for this reason that the confidence she hath of her self takes away the apprehension of wanting those things that shall be necessary for her She easily pardons because she thinks she cannot be injur'd She is just because she desires little as being satisfy'd with her self in fine she is gratefull because she is just and liberal On the other side as drought obliges things to keep within their bounds and hinders them from spreading and dispersing themselves so she accommodates her self to this vertue and is fortify'd within her self not easily changing the resolutions she hath taken patiently enduring the inconveniences which happen to her constantly endeavouring to perform the promises she hath made and not suffering her self to be carried away with the vanity of those honours which she deserves not In a word drought contributes to the purity of the Spirits and checks the impetuous sallies of the Imagination allowing the time required by the understanding for the consideration of things whence proceed prudence and soundness of judgment Art 2. That the Temperament of Man is hot and dry in the first degree BUt it is her to be observed that all these natural vertues are not consistent with these two qualities if they be excessive For if the heat be too great instead of Courage it will raise Temerity the desire of Fame will be chang'd into Pride Magnanimity into Insolence Liberality into Prodegality Justice into Severity Clemency into Induigence and Gratitude into Ostentation and Vanity In like manner if drought be predominant the Constancy of the Soul degenerates into Obstinacy Harshness Insensibility Austerity The perfection therefore of the Temperament convenient to Man in respect of his Sex should come as near as may be to the exact Temperature proper to humane Nature as we have shewn And so it may be affirm'd that it ought not to be hot and dry but in the first degree whatever goes beyond it leading to excess and imperfection The reason this that Nature which always endeavours to give the several Sexes the Temperament convenient to the species recedes no further from that Temperament than is necessary for the disposing of them into the order of those causes whereof they are to perform the function Whence it may be inferr'd that the least degree of heat and drought which Man may have beyond the exact Temperature is sufficient to give him the vertue and efficacy of the efficient cause The same thing is to be advanc'd concerning the Conformation of the parts for there is one conformation which is convenient to the species and is a mean between those which are proper to the several Sexes For as all things should aim at a certain mediocrity in humane nature for the reasons before alledged so ought the conformation of the body to be in the mean between the excess and defect which may
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
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
able to make a discovery of all the Species of Temperance For there are many Passions of the Concupiscible Appetite whereto it hath not assign'd particular Vertues for their regulation as for example Hatred Aversion and Sadness Nay it hath not express'd all the differences of Desires and Pleasure 〈◊〉 wherein here may be some failing as well as in what concerns the use of the superiour â—enses since the same excesses which happen in the Tasting and Touching do also occur in the Sight Hearing and Smelling But as Moral Philosophy hath by the general tearm of Temperance made provision for all the particular Vertues requisite for that purpose So our Art hath assum'd the freedom to comprehend under moderation all that concerns the ordering and direction of these Passions We therefore place the Moderate person between the Voluptuous and the Insensible The Studious is comprehended under the Curious the extreams whereof are the Over-curious and the Negligent The Frugal person lies between the same opposite Vices as the Liberal those two being distinguish'd only by the different ends which they have in the disposal of Wealth The Humble the Modest the Magnanimous have in a manner the same extreams There be only the Proud and the Ambitious which are different That Modesty which consists in the Gesture is confounded with the character of the Wise or Discreet person That which relates to Cloaths is called Handsomness which hath for opposites the Gawdy and the Slovenly But our Art considers not that Vertue which is only in the external part as being easily perceiv'd of it self The Sober person is attended by two Vices both which are in the excess and hath not any defect at all The rest may be seen by the ensuing Table The Moderate person hath for opposites The Voluptuous The Insensible The Curious The over-Inquisitive The Negligent The Frugal The Prodigal The Covetous The Humble The Proud The Abject The Magnanimous The Presumptuous The Pusillanimous The Modest The Ambitious The Over-bashful The Sober or Temperate The Glutton The Drunkard The Chast The Vnchast The Impotent The Cheerful The Ridiculous The Austere To these may be added The excessive Gamster The excessive Huntsman SECT 4. Of FORTITVDE FORTITVDE moderates the Passions of the Irascible Appetite for this is the Vertue which regulates the Soul upon the occurrence of things troublesome and difficult Now though there be three kinds of Passion in this Appetite to wit Hope Audacity and Anger yet are the two latter the more violent and the least tractable so that this Vertue is more apparent in Anger and Audacity then it is in Hope And whereas Audacity relates to Dangers and particularly that which is most to be fear'd of any to wit Death thence it proceeds that most of the Philosophers assign this Vertue to moderate that Passion alone But following the Order we have propos'd to our selves it is to be extended to all those Passions Nevertheless before we come to treat of the Species of it this observation is to be premis'd to wit that there are three sorts of Fortitude that of the Body that of the Mind and that of the Appetite The first is purely natural the last is acquir'd by Study and Reason the other is partly natural partly acquir'd All these three have two principal functions which are to assault or set upon and oppose Now as Anger is the strongest and most ordinary Passion of this Appetite Meekness is accordingly put in the first place as being the Vertue by which this Passion is moderated There are several Species of Audacity according to the several objects which oblige it to attack or oppose For in attacking the Evil if it be done in Arms it makes Valour in all other cases it is Audacity or Confidence But if it slight and contemn great Dangers it is tearmed Magnanimity or Greatness of Courage On the contrary in opposing it is Constancy and Patience As concerning Hope it is regulated by Patience and Perseverance The latter hath a respect to the delay the former considers all the other difficulties which may occur in the expectation of Good According to this Order our Art ought in the first place to examine the Strength and Weakness of the Body and Mind then speak of Meekness which hath for its opposites Anger and Insensibility and so of the rest as may be seen in the ensuing Table A Person of a strong Constitution of Body hath but one contrary which is The Weak of Body A strong Constitution of Mind hath also but one which is Weakness of Mind The Meek or Courteous The Angry The Insensible The Valiant The Rash The Coward The Bold The Impudent The Timorous The Magnanimous The Presumptuous The Pusillanimous The Constant The Vnconstant The Obstinate The Patient The Impatient The Stupid The Perseverant The Self-will'd The Faint-hearted The End of the First Book THE ART How to know MEN. The Second Book CHAP. I. Of the Means whereby Men may be known HAving in the precedent Book explicated the Nature of the Inclinations the Motions of the Soul and the Habits which THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN pretends it self able to discover our design call upon us now to an examination of the Means whereby this Knowledge is to be attain'd Now whereas it is impossible to come to the knowledge of things obscure otherwise then by that of those which are already known to us there is a necessity that if there be an Art whereby may be taught what lies hid in men it ought to make use of some manifest and known means between which and the things it would know there should be such a rapport and connexion as that some certain consequences might be drawn from the one to the other And whereas there is not any rapport of this nature other then what is between the cause and its effect or the effect and its cause or between one effect and another upon this account that both of them proceed from the same source it follows that there are three means whereof this Art may make use to arrive at the end which it proposes to it self and that it may discover a secret effect by the cause which is known to it or an obscure cause by a manifest effect and an unknown effect by another which is evident And these means are called Signs because they denote signifie and design the things that are obscure Thus when we know a man to be of a Temperament subject to Melancholy it may be said that he hath an inclination to Sadness in asmuch as that Temperament is the cause of such an Inclination and then the cause is the sign of the effect On the contrary by the natural inclination which some man may have to Sadness it is presum'd that he is of a Melancholick Temperament and in that case the effect is the sign of the cause In fine by the Timorousness which may be observ'd in both these persons it may be judg'd that they are
common or those which are proper to the Animals Art 5. How Aristotle makes use of the second Rule IT will be said that by this reason Aristotle destroys as well his own doctrine as that of the Antients it being found that in other places he makes use of this very Maxime That such or such a Figure denotes such or such an Inclination and that this is applicable to Lions Eagles Ravens c. It is true that Aristotle in appearance makes use of the same Rule but it is after another manner then the old Physiognomists had done For these consider'd not the marks and signs of Animals and thereupon they concluded that he who resembled them in that had the same Inclinations as were found in the Souls of those Animals On the contrary Aristotle considers not the Signs as proper to the Animals but as proper to the Inclinations which having not been observ'd by Baldus occasion'd that great person to fall into a manifest contradiction And accordingly he afterwards teaches how that observation is to be made and affirms that we ought to consider several persons who have the same natural habit such as may be for example Fortitude and mark in what particular Sign they agree and it shall be found that their resemblance will be in these particulars in having the mouth large and the extremities thick and strong Then you are to make your reflection on those Creatures which are known to be naturally strong as Lions Bulls Eagles and Tigres and finding that all these kinds of Animals have those parts after the same manner it will be very probably judg'd that they are the marks of Strength or Fortitude But this is not yet sufficient it is further requisite that we examine whether there may not be some other Creatures which though they be strong yet have not those marks for if there be not the Sign is certain otherwise some doubt may be made of it And the same course is to be taken in order to the discovery of all the other Inclinations But after what manner soever we may make use of this Rule yet is it not of extent enough to perform what may be made out by Physiognomy in regard there are but very few Creatures whereof we can have the knowledge of their particular inclinations and the Figure of the parts correspondent to those Inclinations So that it it is then only to be accounted certain when it is confirmed by the others and particularly by the Syllogistical Rule which supplies the defect of these four Art 6. What the Syllogistical Rule is NOw this Syllogistical Rule denotes the present inclinations and passions in a way contrary to the others in as much as it does not require proper Signs but from an inclination and a passion known by those marks it deduces the discovery of another which hath not any And this Rule is grounded on the connexion there is between the Inclinations the Habits and the Passions For one being the effect of the other it may be judged that a man hath an inclination to such a passion or habit though there be not any Sign proper thereto and which may make any discovery of it as being onely known that the man hath that which is the cause of this Thus having once known that a man is timorous it may be said that he hath a natural inclination to Avarice and consequently that he is a Miser that he is guilty of artifices and dissimulation that his fearfulness causes him to speak with a certain mildness and submission that it renders him distrustfull apt to suspect hard of belief a bad friend c. Thus Aristotle gives an example of this kind of Judgment affirming that if a man be subject to Anger and of small stature he is Envious But I conceive there is an errour in the Text and that instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies little it should be read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is as much as froward humoursome and one who is not pleased at any thing as we shall shew in its proper place As to the other four rules those which are taken from the Air of the countenance and the resemblance there may be between the Sexes are the most certain and the most generally acknowledg'd For there is hardly any Sign but may be referr'd to them as Aristotle affirms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That of the Climates is more generall then the other which is taken from the resemblance of Animals but it is not so certain in regard that all those who are of the same Climate are not of the same Temperament and have not the same Conformation of parts and therefore this is no necessary consequence that because a man is born in Greece he must be vain unconstant and a lyar and so of the rest CHAP. V. After what manner THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN makes use of the Rules of Physiognomy Art 1. How the said Art makes use of the first Rule of that Science THus have we given an account of the Means which Physiognomy makes use of in order to the discovery of the Inclinations and which the Art we teach ought also to employ in prosecution of the same design But besides that there are some others besides those and that it hath many more things to discover than the other it will not propose its Rules nakedly as Physiognomy hath done but establish the grounds thereof before they be reduced into practice When therefore the first Rule tells us that those who naturally have the same Air and the same Characters attending the motion of a Passion are inclin'd to the same Passion it is to be noted that the ground on which this Rule is establish'd is the knowledge of the Characters of the passions For it were to no purpose to affirm that he who naturally hath the Characters of Anger is inclin'd to Anger if it be not known what the Characters of Anger are This Art therefore pretends to draw a pourtraiture of every passion in particular to design the Air and Figure it gives to all the parts of the Body and all the motions it excites in the Soul For besides what it will contribute to the design the Art hath to make known the passions which cannot remain secret after so many indicia given thereof It will also by that means declare those which are consequent one to another and between which there is a connexion the ground of the Syllogistical Rule and by degrees make that rule conduce to the discovery of the passions It must therefore divide the Treatise of the Characters into two and twenty Chapters whereof the first eleven shall treat of the Simple Passions comprehending among them Desire Laughter and Weeping and the other eleven shall treat of the Mixt Passions according to the order we have set down before Art 2. How it makes use of the second Rule AS to the second rule which teaches that those men who have some parts resembling those
Hands have had the best share and consequently that there is a greater correspondence between them and the nobler parts then there is between these last and the Feet or any other member whatsoever Art 8. That some secret Vertues are convey'd from the nobler parts into the Hands BUt besides this communication and correspondence which there is betweeen the Hands and the nobler parts by means of the Veins Arteries and Nerves there are yet others more secret such as have more obscure ways and passages and yet much more clearly discover the truth we search after For if it be certain that the Lines of the Hand denote the length and shortness of Life according as they are long or short of themselves as Aristotle and Experience have taught us it is necessary not onely that there should be a greater rapport and a stronger connexion between it and the principles of life then there is between them and all the other parts where those marks are not to be found But it is further necessary that the nobler parts which are the sources wherein those principles are comprehended should communicate to it some secret influence which must have no reference to the ordinary and manifest vertues it receives from them in as much as neither the bloud nor the spirits nor the heat nor the motion which they distribute and disperse into it do not contribute ought to the making of the Lines therein longer or shorter or denoting the length or shortness of Man's life Art 9. That Nature does not confound the Vertues THis secret Sympathy which is between the Hand and the nobler parts being presupposed at least till such time as we shall have prov'd it more at large by more full and particular observations we shall lay it down as a most certain principle that Nature does not confound the vertues especially the formal and specifick so there be ever so little opposition between them and that she always distinguishes them as much as lies in her power For not to bring on the Stage the Oaximes of Astrologie which hath divided the Heavens into so many Planets and Starrs into so many Signs and Houses differing one from another in point of vertue there is not any order of things in the Universe wherein this truth is not observable For example in perfect Animals the qualities necessary to generation have been divided between the two Sexes in each of those the faculties conducing to the government of life have every one of them its particular Seat And all the Senses have their proper organs and distinct functions Nay let us examine Plants Minerals and Stones and we shall find the same distinction and not to descend to the particulars which might be instanced we need only direct our observation to the Load-stone where it is so obvious to the Sense that without blindness or stupidity it cannot be doubted of For in an Homogenial body the composition whereof is equal every where and wherein it seems that all the parts should have one and the same power yet is it observ'd that of those parts there are some whereto the Magnetick qualities have been particularly distributed and that there are two Poles wherein they have been distinctly placed And if what some persons of late pretend that they have made it their discovery be true to wit that there is a fixt Meridian in the said Stone it is requisite that all the others should also be fixt and consequently they have each of them a different inclination So true is it that Nature loves to distinguish the Vertues and so averse is she to the intermixture and confusion of them And indeed if she did not exactly proceed according to this order things would be done many times contrary to her design one quality would destroy another and the effects would not be answerable to their causes nor to the end whereto they are design'd Art 10. That the Vertues of the nobler parts are not receiv'd into the same places of the Hand IF the case stand thus and it be granted that there are some particular Vertues communicated from the nobler parts to the Hand it is requisite that they should not be confounded together nor receiv'd into the same part of it And consequently it is necessary that there should be one place assign'd for that of the Liver another for that of the Heart and so of all the rest But the main difficulty is to find out which those particular places and parts are whereinto those influences are receiv'd For though Chiromancy assures us that there is a sympathy between the Fore-finger and the Liver between the Middle-finger and the Spleen between the Ring-finger and the Heart c. yet does it not produce any convincing proof of this truth and as for the Experiences it advances for the confirmation thereof they still leave those unsatisfy'd who allow nothing to be granted but what is back'd with sound reasons and are look'd upon by them as so many reveries and extravagances of man's curiosity But certainly he who could make good this Sympathy by other observations then those which may be deduc'd from Chiromancy and such as should be built upon Medicine or some other part of natural Philosophy might justly make it his boast that he had discover'd the mysterie of this Science and that he had found out the onely ground upon which the truth of all Celestial configurations is supported For my part I do not pretend that I can produce all those which might be necessary to make an absolute proof thereof yet dare I affirm that I have some which may as it were lay the foundations of such an eviction and are such as having demonstrated some part of it will leave an invincible presumption for the rest and a hope that it may be accomplish'd after there hath been a carefull observation made of what happens to this admirable organ Art 11. That there is a Sympathy between the Liver and the Fore-finger THe first Observation then which we have to propose is to shew the communication and sympathy which is between the Liver and the Finger commonly called by the Latines Index It is deduc'd from Medicine which teaches us that the Leprozie hath its source and principal seat in the Liver and that one of the first Signs it gives whereby it may be discover'd appears in that finger For when all the Muscles of the Hand and indeed of all the Body are full and succulent those which are subservient to the motion of that finger wither and dry up especially that which is in the Thenar that is in the space between the said Finger and the Thumb where all that is fleshy is consum'd and there remains onely the skin and the fibres which lye flat to the bone Now this could not happen thus if there were not some analogie and secret correspondence between the Liver and that part since it is one of the first that is sensible of the alteration which is wrought in
themselves after a certain time sometimes sooner sometimes later sometimes they are deeper sometimes more shallow and superficial according to the efficacy of the Cause whereby they are imprinted and consonantly to the nature of the Temperament of every particular person and the motions of the Forehead whereto he is accustomed Since it is not to be doubted but that a man often transported with anger or such a one as is of a froward peevish disposition is wont to bend or knit his brows that is to frown and by that means causes certain folds in the Forehead which contraction makes the Lines drawn therein to appear sooner and more remarkably then they would have done otherwise Since then it is to be inferr'd from what hath been deliver'd that the first impression of these Lines is not to be attributed to any Cause assignable within the Body we must endeavour to find one without it And whereas there are undeniable proofs that there are certain Planets which have the government and direction of some particular members wherein they produce such effects as cannot proceed from any thing else It must be concluded thence that the lines of the Forehead are of that rank and that they cannot be imprinted there but by some one of those celestial Bodies under whose government that part is There are therefore two things to be taken into our present examination the one What Planets they are which have the government of the Forehead the other What Reasons and Experiences there are whereby the said direction may be confirm'd Art 8. What particular Planet hath the government of the Forehead AS to the former Question there is some difficulty in it by reason of the several opinions of those who have written of that Science For some of them do make the Forehead subject to one particular Planet others are persuaded that all of them have a certain government of it But these latter are not agreed among themselves as to the situation of them in it as we said elsewhere Had they brought any proofs to make good what they advance 't were rational we should submit to their decisions But having not produc'd any we are left at liberty to make our own choice and after so many experiences as we have seen confirm'd upon other principles we may reject these and stand to such as are maintain'd upon better grounds We conceive it therefore more probable that the Forehead should be gâ—vern'd by one particular Planet rather then by all together in as much as all the other parts of the Face which are more noble and of greater advantage then that have each of them but one of those Stars whereto they are subject For if there be a correspondence and sympathy between the parts of the Body and that those between which there is such a correspondence are govern'd by the same Planets it being suppos'd that all the Planets have some government of the Forehead it must follow that every part of the Forehead wherein any Planet is placed should correspond with the other Members over wich the same Planet governs And whereas the Moles dispers'd up and down several parts of the Body are the certain marks of that sympathy it will be accordingly requisite that those which happen in the Forehead should denote others on all the Members govern'd by those Stars Now it is clear that they have not any correspondence but with those on the Breast And consequently the Forehead must be subject only to that Planet which commands the Breast And whereas those two viz. the Forehead and Breast are the most bony parts of the whole Body and that all the Bones are under the direction of Saturn as we are taught by Astrology it follows that the said Planet hath its particular seat in the Forehead But if that be not granted this at least will be very probable that if there be any place more noble then another in the said part it must be that wherein the said Star acts most powerfully and in which it imprints the Lines which are the effects and marks of its power And in that case the Line which is directly in the midst of the Forehead belongs to Saturn since the middle is as it were the centre and principle of the extremities From this Ratiocination it may be deduc'd that the Systeme of the Physiognomist I spoke of before is better grounded then that of the ordinary Metoposcopy and that besides the Line of Saturn which is in the midst of the Forehead and that which seems to be most proper and natural thereto all the others serve only to denote the rapports and aspects which there might be between Saturn and the other Planets But how ever the case stands he attributed to the said Planet those lines after a manner different from that which is commonly us'd For he assign'd to Mercury that which is immediately under that of Saturn and that above it to Mars the next to Venus and the uppermost to Jupiter and on the lowest which are just over the Eye-brows he placed the Sun and Moon And according to the constitution which each of them had he judg'd of the Aspects between Saturn and those Planets in the Horoscope which proceeding prov'd consonant to the calculation of Judiciary Astrologie So that according to his judgment all those lines belong'd as much or more to Saturn then to those other Planets and depriv'd him not of the absolute government he ought to have of the Forehead Upon which account I cannot forbear affirming that the said person had so exact a knowledge of this Art that he found in it certain Rules whereby to discover the day and hour of the Nativity And that I my self having made use thereof fail'd not above ten times at the most in an hundred judgments that I made of it Now if the Science may arrive to that pitch there is hardly any one but will conclude that it will be able to make good its promises in the discovery of things less obscure and abstruse such as are the dispositions of the noble parts the Inclinations and manners of Men. But to produce any other reasons of all these particulars then the experiences which the Art it self hath thereof is a thing not in the power of Philosophy which it seems hath been negligent in making such Philosophical observations as might have rendred the truth thereof more manifest Let it not however be accounted an inconsiderable assistance that she hath given us some light to discover that some parts of the Face are under the direction of certain Planets Let us now see whether she will help us to shew that Jupiter hath the government of the Cheeks Art 9 That Jupiter hath the government of the Cheeks NOr will it be any hard matter for our said Directress Philosophy to satisfy us that Jupiter hath the goverment of the Cheeks if it be true that the Liver is under his jurisdiction For as those parts are the most fleshie and most
to fear So that upon such occasions weakness of mind is the cause of those emotions as on the other side soundness of judgment smother them The Sixth Whereas it is possible that vicious Inclinations may be reform'd by study and bad education may alter corrupt the good it concerns the Artist to add as much as may be the Moral marks to the Natural and endeavour to discover by the Words and Actions of the person whose humour he would be acquainted with whether he follows his Inclinations or hath reform'd them Art 4. Of the Moderation of Spirit indispensibly requisite in the Study of this Art NOw whereas all these Rules and all these Observations are very hard to be reduc'd to practice it must be laid down as a thing certain that it is very easie to make many temerarious judgments thereby and to abuse this art if great care be not taken Therefore among all the Qualities requisite in the person who is desirous to study it I wish him particularly Moderation of Spirit that he may not be partial or praecipitate in his judgments and above all things not to make any to the disadvantage of others but in the secret closet of his own Heart so as that neither his Tongue nor their Ears may be witnesses thereof Otherwise Religion and Prudence would not permit the exercise of this noble Science and in stead of being necessary and serviceable to Society it would become its greatest Enemy FINIS THE TABLE THE FIRST BOOK CHAP. I. AN Idaea of the natural Perfection of Man page 1 ART 1. That only man hath the sense of Touching in perfection 3 2. All in man should be in a mediocrity 4 3. That all the Faculties ought to be in a mean 6 4. That all natural Inclinations are defects 7 5. That every Species hath its proper Temperament 9 6. Why Sexes were bestowed on Animals and why the male is hot and dry and the female cold and moist 10 7. Wherein the Beauty of Sexes consists That there are two sorts of natural effects 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 12 8. That there are some Faculties and Inclinations which it is Natures design to bestow on the Sexes others not 13 9. That there are some parts fram'd by nature out of design others not 15 SECT 2. Wherein the perfection of the Male consists p. 16 ART 1. Of the Inclinations proper to Man ib. 2. That the Temperament of Man is hot and dry in the first degree 18 3. A model of Man's figure 19 4. Of the figure of Man's parts 21 5. The Reasons of the figure of Man's parts 22 6. That the figure of the parts denotes the inclinations 23 SECT 3. Shewing wherein consists the natural perfection of the Woman 24 ART 1. The Reasons of these Inclinations 26 2. That the Inclinations of the Woman are not defects 28 3. That the Inclinations of Man are defects in the Woman 30 4. Wherein the Beauty of the Woman consists 31 5. The causes assign'd of this figuration of parts in the Woman 33 6. That all these parts denote the Inclinations which are proper to the Woman 34 7. Wherein perfect Beauty consists 36 CHAP. II. Of the Inclinations SECT 1. Of the Nature of Inclination p. 40 Art 1. The Object of the Inclination 41 2. The distinction of the Inclinations 42 3. The Seat of the Inclinations 43 4. How Inclination is to be defin'd 44 5. Whence proceeds the Disposition wherein the Inclination consists 45 6. How the motions of the Appetite are wrought 47 7. Of the Judgments of the said Faculties 48 8. That the Images which are in the memory the causes of Inclination 50 9. That the disposition facility of the Appetites motion proceeds from the same Images 52 SECT 2. What are the Causes of the Inclinations 54 Art 1. The several distinctions of the said causes ibid. 2. That the Instinct is one of the causes of the Inclinations 55 3. That the Temperament is one of the causes of the Inclinations 56 4. That the Conformation of the parts is a cause of the Inclination 58 5. How Figure acts 60 6. How Inclinations are produc'd by the remote Causes 63 7. Of the nature of Aversion 65 CHAP. III. Of the Motions of the Soul 67 SECT 1. That the Soul moves ibid. Art 1. What part of the Soul moves 68 2. That the motions of the Soul are not metaphorical ibid. 3. That the rational Soul hath a real motion as the Angels have 69 4. That the motions of the Will are real motions 70 5. That Objections made against the motions of the Soul considered 73 6. The Motions of the Appetites 75 SECT 2. How Good and Evil move the Appetite 77 Art 1. How Knowledge is wrought 79 2. That the Images are multiply'd 81 SECT 3. What are Motions of the Soul 84 SECT 4. Of the Number of the Passions 87 Art 1. What the Simple Passions and how many there are 88 2. That there are but eight Simple Passions 89 3. Why there are but eight simple Passions ibid. 4. The Definitions of the simple Passions 91 5. The Definitions of the mixt Passions 92 6. The Natural order of the Passions 94 7. That there are three Orders of the Passions 95 SECT 5. How the Passions of one Appetite are communicated to the another 98 SECT 6. What is the Seat and first Subject of the Appetite 106 Art 1. What is the Seat of the Sensitive Appetite 107 2. The Seat of the natural Appetite 111 3. How the Passions are compleated 113 CHAP. IV. Of the Motion of the Heart and Spirits in the Passions 114 Art 1. Of the Nature of the Spirits 115 2. Of the matter of the Spirits 116 3. How the Spirits are framed ibid. 4. An Objection against the precedent Doctrine answered 118 5. Why the heart moves 120 6. That the Spirits are moved for three ends 122 7. That the Spirits convey the blood into the parts 123 8. The beating of the Heart forces not the Blood into all the Parts 124 9. That the blood is not attracted by the Fibres 128 10. That the blood is not atttracted by any Magnetick vertue 130 11. That there are not any Attractive vertues 131 12. That there is not any attractive vertue in Purgative Medicines 133 13. That Grief and Heat are not attractive 134 14. That the blood is convey'd to the parts only by the Spirits 136 SECT 1. Of the animation of the Spirits 137 Art 1. Objections answered 142 2. The union between the Spirits and the Parts 143 3. How the foresaid union is consistent with the intermixture of the Spirits with the blood and humours 144 SECT 2. Why the Heart and Spirits move in the Passions 146 SECT 3. What Faculty it is that moves the Spirits 149 Art 1. Of what kind the motion of the Heart and Spirits is in the other Passions 152 SECT 4. How the Soul causes the Body to move 154 CHAP. V. Of the Vertues and Vices whereof the
Art how to know men may judge 157 Art 1. What Moral actions are 158 2. What Right Reason is 159 3. Why the Vertues are in the mean 160 4. Of the Seat of Moral Habits 162 5. That there are four powers which may be regulated by Right Reason 166 SECT 1. Of PRVDENCE 167 SECT 2. Of JVSTICE 171 SECT 3. Of TEMPERANCE 175 SECT 4. Of FORTITVDE 180 THE SECOND BOOK CHAP. I. Of the Means whereby Men may be known 183 Art 1. What Causes they are which serve for Signs 185 2. What the Effects are which serve for Signs 186 CHAP. II. Of the Strength and Weakness of Signs 187 Art 1. What Judgment is made of the Causes ibid. 2. Of the next Causes 188 3. Of the Remote Causes 189 4. What Judgment that is which is made by the Effects 190 CHAP. III. Of the Natural Signs 191 Art 1. Of the Difference of Signs 194 2. Of the Means assign'd by Aristotle to discover the efficacy of Signs 195 3. That the Passions are most apparent in the Head 196 4. That the Inclinations are most apparent in the Head 199 5. That the Inclinations are discoverable by the Arms and Leggs 201 6. From what places the Signs are taken 203 CHAP. IV. Of the Rules which Physiognomy hath fram'd upon the natural Signs in order to the discovery of the Inclinations 205 Art 1. Of the Progress of Physiognomy 206 2. That the Syllogistical Rule was added by Aristotle 207 3. The defects of the first Rule of Physiognomy ibid. 4. The defectiveness of the second Rule 208 5. How Aristotle makes use of the second Rule 209 6. What the Syllogistical Rule is 211 CHAP. V. After what manner THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN makes use of the Rules of Physiognomy 212 Art 1. How the said Art makes use of the first Rule of that Science 212 2. How it makes use of the second Rule 214 3. How the said Art makes use of the third Rule 215 4. How the said Art makes use of the fourth Rule 216 5. Why The Art how to know Men treats of the Temperaments 217 6. That there are other Rules besides those of Physiognomy whereby the Inclinations may be discover'd 218 CHAP. VI. How the Actions and Motions of the Soul are known 220 Art 1. That there are two kinds of Actions 221 2. Of Dissimulation 222 3. How Actions may be foreseen 223 4. How the Passions may be foreseen 224 5. Whether contingent Actions may be foreseen 226 CHAP. VII How the Habits may be known 227 Art 1. Of the discovery of the Moral Habits ib. 2. How the Intellectual Habits may be known 228 CHAP. VIII Of Astrological Signs 230 The first Letter to Monsieur B.D.M. upon the Principles of CHIROMANCY 232 Art 1. That of Situations some are more noble then others 243 2. That the nobler Situations are design'd for the more excellent parts and that the excellency of the Parts is deduc'd from the advantage they bring along with them 247 3. What advantages may be deduced from the Hands 248 4. That the Right Hand is more noble than the Left 250 5. That Motion begins on the Right side 252 6. That the Hands have the greatest portion of natural heat 253 7. That there is a greater communication between the Hands and the nobler parts 255 8. That some secret Vertues are convey'd from the nobler parts into the Hands 256 9. That Nature does not confound the Vertues 257 10. That the Vertues of the nobler parts are not receiv'd into the same places of the Hand 259 11. That there is a Sympathy between the Liver and the Fore-finger 260 12. That there is a Sympathy between the Heart and the Ring finger 261 13. That there is a like Sympathy between the Spleen and the Middle-finger 264 14. That there is a Sympathy between all the interiour parts and the other parts of the Hand 267 15. That the Face is the Epitome of all the exteriour parts 268 16. That there is a mutual Sympathy between all the parts 269 17. That the distribution of the Veins made by Hippocrates for the discovery of the said Sympathy was not understood either by Aristotle or Galen 270 18. Whence proceeds the regularity which Nature observes in her evacuations 274 19. That the Stars or Planets have a certain predominancy over the several parts of the Hand 278 20. That the Planets have a predominancy over the interiour parts 281 21. That the Moon hath such a predominancy over the Brain 282 22. That the Sun hath the like predominancy over the Heart 284 23. That the other Planets have the Government of the other interiour parts 287 24. That the Principles establish'd regulate many doubtful things in Chiromancy 289 The Second Letter to Monsieur B.D.M. upon the Principles of METOPOSCOPY 292 Art 1. That Metoposcopy hath the same Principles with Chiromancy 294 2. What parts of the Face are govern'd by the Planets 296 3. That not only the Forehead but also the other parts of the Face are to be considered in Metoposcopy 300 4. That the Sun and Moon have the government of the Eyes 301 5. That Venus hath the government of the Nose 304 6. That there is a correspondence between all the marks of the Face and others in other parts of the Body 305 7. Whence the Lines of the Forehead proceed 307 8. What particular Planet hath the government of the Forehead 311 9. That Jupiter hath the government of the Cheeks 314 10. That Mercury hath the like government over the Ears 315 11. That Mars hath the government of the Lips ibid. CHAP. IX What Judgment is to be made of Chiromancy Metoposcopy 317 SECT 1. Of the several parts which compleat THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN 322 CHAP. X. What qualities are requisite in that person who would apply himself to THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN 324 1. Of the Genius requisite or in order to the exercise of this Art 326 2. Of the natural Qualities which are requisite for the exercise of this Art 327 3. Of the Method necessary in order to the Exercise of this Art 328 4. Of the Moderation of Spirit indispensibly requisite in the Study of this Art 330 FINIS