place and at present proceed to unravel other Mysteries of Nature CHAP. III. The reason why Children are often like their Parents and what the Mothers Imagination contributes thereto whence grows the Kind viz. Whether the Man or Woman is the cause of the Male or Female Childâ— c. THAT if a Woman in the Act of Copulation afford most Seed her likeness will have the greater impression upon the Child but if on the contrary then will follow the contrary effects or if a proportionable quantity proceed from either then will the Similitude depend upon either Lanctantius is of Opinion That when a Man's Seed falls on the left side of the Womb a Male Child may be gotten but by reason it is the proper place for a Female there will be something in it greatly resembling a Woman viz. It will be fairer whiter and smoother not very subject to have Hair on the Body or Chin long lank Hair on the Head Voice small and sharp and the Courage feeble and arguing yet further he says that a Female may perchance be procreated if the Seed fall on the right Side but then thro' extraordinary heat she will be very large boned full of Courage indued with a big Voice and have her Chin and Bosom hairy not being so clear as others of the Sex subject to quarrel with their Husband when married for the Superiority c. In case of the similitude nothing is more powerful than the Imagination of the Mother for if she conceive in her Mind or do by chance fasten her Eyes upon any Object and imprint it in her Memory the Child in its outward Parts frequently has some representation thereof so whilst a Man and Woman are in the Act of Copulation if the Woman earnestly he hold his Countenance and fix her Mind thereon without all peradventure the Child will resemble the Father nay so powerful is its Operation that though a Woman be in unlawful Copulation yet if fear or any thing else causes her to fix her Mind upon her Husband the Child will resemble him tho' he never got it The same effect according to the Opinion of the Learned proceeds from Imagination in cause of Warts Mold spots Stains Dashes and the Figures of strange things tho' indeed they sometimes happen thro' frights or extravagant Longings Many Women there are that seeing a Hare cross them when great with Child will through the strength of Imagination bring forth a Child with a hairy Lip Some Children again are born with flat Noses wry Mouths great blubber Lips and ill shaâ—ed Bodies and most ascribe â—he reason to the strange conceit of the Mother who has bâ—sied her Eyes and Mind upon some ill-shaped or distorted Creatures therefore it greatly behoves all Women â—ith Child to avoid any monstruous sight or at least to have a stedfast Mind not easily fixed upon any one thing more than another And this Opinion Pliny confirms in his 7th Book of natural things and the 12th Chapter The famous Sir Thomas Moore likewise conâ—irms it and discants merrily on a Passage of his times wherein a Person having divers Children would own none but one that was like him when in the end it proved by the asseveration of the Mother that all except that were of his own begetting but whilst another Man was mounted in his Saddle she fearing that he would come and detect her in the Act had her Imagination so fixed on him that as she conceived the similitude could proceed from no other cause wherefore it is apparent that likeness can confirm no Child to be a lawful Fatheâ—'s own Yet in manners wit and prophension of the Mind daily Examples teach us that Children are commonly of the same condition with their Progenitors and of the same nature but there is much in this whether venery be used with great or weak desire for many are less inclined to it and not so hot and consequensly not so desirous of Copulation but rather decline it unless Civility to their Wives cause them to compliance therein and then they procâ—â—d fainting and drowsily whence it happens that the Children fall short of the Parents nature wit and manners and hence it is that wise Men frequently beget stupid sloathful Children of feeble Minds because they are not much given to these delights But as I said on the contrary when the Progenitors are not in venerious Actions and do liberally abundantly employ themselves therein it oftentimes happens that the Children are of the same desires manners and actions of the Mind with thâ—ir Parents And thus much for the first point now I shall proceed to the second which is to shew what share each of the Parents have in begetting the Child c. And first we will give the Opinion of the Ancients about it Though it is apparent say they that the Seed of Man is the chief efficient and beginning of Action Motion and Generation yet that the Woman does afford Seed and effectually contributes in that particular to the Procreation of the Child is evinced by strong reasons In the first place Seminary Vessels had been given them in vain and genital Testicles interverted if the Woman wanted Seminal excessence for being Nature doth nothing in vain therefore it must be granted that they were made for the use of Seed and Procreation and fixed in their proper places both the Testicles and Receptacles of Seed whose nature and force is to operate and afford fruitful vertue to the Seed and to prove this there needs no stronger Argument say they than that if a Woman do not use Copulation to eject her Seed she oftentimes falls into strange Diseases as appears by young Widows and Virgins A second reason they urge that although the Society of a lawful Bed consist not altogether in these things yet it is apparent that the Female Sex is not better wonâ— and appear more blithe and jocund than when they are often satisfied this way which is an inducement to believe that they have greater Pleasure and receive more Contenâ— than a Man For since by Nature much Delight accompanies the Ejectionâ— by breaking forth of the swelling Spirit and the â—â—iffness of the Nerves in which case the operaâ—ion of the Womans part is double she suffering both ways even by ejection and reception whereby she is more recreated and delighted in the Veneral Act. Hence it is say they that the Child more frequently resembles the Mother than the Father because the Mother confers the most towards its Generation And they think it may be further instanced from the great love they bear them for that besides their contributing Seminal matter they during the time they are in the Womb feed and nourish the Child with the purest Fountain of Blood which Opinion Galen confirms by allowing the Child to participate more of the Mother than the Father and refers the difference of the Sex to the influence of menstrual Blood but the reason of the likeness he attributes
Courses for in case she have forgot or by not rightly understanding their natural Efflux or is puzzled therein by reason of some unnatural retention or extraordinaâ—y evacuation she may rectifie her Judgment by these directions viz. From the Age of 14 to 21 Women have their Coursesâ— according to the most natural Courses in the New Moon from 21 to 30 in the first Quarter from 30 to 37 or 38 in the full Moon and from that time to the time they cease in the last Quarter Beside what is before-mentioned she will be made sensible of the approaching time by pain in her Groin Thighs the small of her Belly the lower part of her Navel together with swelling and hardness in the said places shivering and quaking through out the body as if possess'd with an Ague and suddenly after with flushing heat feebleness and lassitude small Sweats on the Face and flushings of the blood there and her body will be in a manner restless she shall perceive the Child move downward with more force than ordinary and a bloody Water will distil from the inferior parts in case of these Fore-runners she may be assured her time is at hand when as she must not delay sending for her Midwife whose Office 't is to order her to the best advantage directions for which I have already given for wonderful it is that Nature has so well ordered her works that the Matrix opens not unless upon some Extraordinary Casualty before the time prefixed and not till then do these signs appear But appearing they ought to be much regarded if the Woman desire her own safety and the preservation of the Child In case the Woman be subject to Miscarriage or to come before her time let her take Mint Roses Marjorumâ— of each a small handful Saâ—fron â—nd Musk of each three Grains bruise thâ—m togethâ—r put them in a Bag flat and hang it about the Woman`s Neck so that it mâ—y reach the pit of her Stomach and iâ— will draw the Womb upward or keep it in its place that it shall not fall down or give the Child occasion to seek for unâ—imely passage CHAP. XXV Of the Washing of Women after Delivery with Dirâ—ctions how to make them FOR the first Wash take a good handful oâ— young â—hâ—rvil boil it in two pints of Water whiâ—h having done add to it a spoonful of Honey of Roses and let the Midwife use it at her discretion and it will draw down the Puâ—gations heal and cleanse the affâ—icted part There are some that use Milk instead of Water affiâ—ming that it greatly mitigates the painâ— bâ—t by those whom Experience has taughâ— better it is rejected this having beâ—n used eight days the second wash may be made Take Province Roses moist if you can but if not the dry Cakes put them in a little Linnâ—n Bag and boil them sufficiently in half a pint of Water and half a pint of white Wine and use it as the former fâ—r the other eight Days viz. The liquid part being well strained The third and last Wash must be made of the decoction of Province Roses in a pint of white Wine and a quarter of a pint of Mirrh Water and used only four days CHAP. XXVI An Astringent for Women when occasion requires as also Directions for a Cere-Cloth and how to cleanse her before she rose TO make an Astringent Take Pomegranates Roach-Allum and Galls of each Two Ounces Knot-Grass a handful of Province Roses four Ounces the Rinds of Cassia and Pomegranates each threâ— Ounces of Scarlet berries and Spermaceti of each one ounce The waters of Roses Myrrh and Burnet of each one ounce and a half White-wine and Water of the Smiths Forg of each a quarter of a Pint then take two little Bags about a quarter of a yard long and half a quarter broad boyl them in the Waters with the drugs of Simples in them and in a new glaz'd Pipkin and use them successively as occasion requires To make an exceeding convenient Sear-cloth to ease the pain and reduce the Body into a good temperament Take Virgins Wax 8 ounces Spermaceti and Venice Turpentine well washed in Rose and Plantine Water of each an ounce and a half adding to them whilst they are melting an ounce of white Lead of Venice pulverized and having by the operation of the Fire well mixed them together spread them Plaister-wise upon a Cloath fit to cover the Belly as far as it is convenient some of this you may lay upon the Nipples having first anointed them with the Oyl of Acorns or Spermaceti and it will allay the Inflammation and much strengthen them To cleanse a Woman before she rises Take a considerable quantity of bitter Almonds pell them bruise them well and make them into a Paste with the Yolk of an Egg and Powder of Grise put the Past â—nto a bag of Shamy and dip it in black VVine tempering it well and use it upon â—he place where the Sear-cloths have been â—aid one after that wash the said places with black VVine wherein Orange flowers have been steeped and it will cleanse these parts to admiration CHAP. XXVII How to expel the Cholick from Women in Child-Birth and the violent Gripings that attend the first Delivery THese pains frequently afflict the VVoman no less than the pangs of her Labour and are by the Ignorant taken many times the one for the other sometimes again they joyn forces and happen at the same instant which is occasioned by the crudy Maâ—ter in the Stomach contracted â—hrough indigestion and while such a pain â—asts the VVoman advanceth nothing towards her Travel to expel the Fits of the Cholick therefore Take two Ounces of sweet-Almond Oyl and an Ounce of Cinnamon Water with three or four drops of Spirit of Ginger and let the Woman drink it off and if this work not your Desire make a Glyster of Camomile Baum Leaves Olive Oyl and new Milk boiling the former â—n the latter and having strained it very well administer it as 't is usual in such cases nor are Fomentations proper for dispelâ—ing mind amiss If the pain prove the griping or fretting of the Guts continuing long after Delivery or if it happen upon the Courses descending by reason of the smalness of the Veins which convey the Blood into the Matrix which often befalls Women lying in of the first Child wherefore it is altogether convenient to use such a Remedy at such a time as may eradicate the cause for the future and above all I recommend this most approved one used with success by many noble Women Receipt Take the Root of great Camfry a Dram Nutmegs and Peach Kernels of each two Scruplâ—s yellow Amber and Amber-Grease of the former a Dram and the latter a Scruple bruise them togethe and give them the Woman as soon as she is lay'd down in two or three Spoonfuls of White-wine but if it so happen that she be Fevâ—rish then let it be in as much warm Broth.
ARISTOTLE'S MASTER-PIECE OR THE SECRETS of GENERATION Displayed in all the Parts thereof CONTAINING 1. The Signs of Barrenness 2. The way of getting a Boy or Girl 3. Of the likeness of Children to Parents 4. Of the Infusion of the Soul into the Infant 5. Of Monstrous Births and the reasons thereof 6. Of the benefit of Marriage to both Sexes 7. The prejudice of unequal Matches 8. The discovery of Insufficiency 9. The cause and cure of the Green Sickness 10. A Discourse of Virginity 11. How a Midwife ought to be qualified 12 Directions and Cautions to Midwives 13. Of the Organs of Generation in Women 14. The Fabrick of the Womb. 15. The Use and Action of the Genitals 16. Signs of Conception and whether of a Male or Female 17. To discover false Conception 18. Instructions for Women with Child 19. For preventing Miscarriage 20. For Women in Child-bed 21. Of ordering New born Infants and many other very useful Particulars To which is added a word of Advice to both Sexes in the Act of Copulation and the Pictures of several Monstrous Births Very necessary for all Midwives Nurses and Young-Married Women LONDON Printed for W. B. And are to be sold by most Booksellers in London and Westminster 1694. The Effigies of a Maid all Hairy and a Infant that was black by the Imaginatioâ— of their Parents The Introduction IT plainly appears in Holy Writ that this glorious Universe be spangled with gaudy Fires and every where adorned with wonderful Objects proclaiming the Wisdom and Omnipotence of the Great Work-Master who in Six Days Erected all Things for his Pleasure was at first drawn out of Nothing or at most a Formless Chaos of Confusion a Disordered and Confounded Hâ—ap of Iarring Elements toss'd and jumbled together under the Dismal Shades of Dying Night Eldest of Things no Fruits nor Pleasures no Creature that hath Breath had Being in the place this lower World possesses till GOD out of the Abundance of his Goodness sent forth his Holy Spirit who Dove-like with mighty out-spread Wings sat brooding on the Vast Abyfs and made it Pregnant Then Light put Darkness soon to flight and all the glorious Lamps of Heaven appear all Creatures soon had being and every Plant Tree Herb or Flower of fragrant smell sprung from the Verdant Earth raised by Command above the VVater every thing of use having Seed in it self that no second Creation needed But still that Lordly Creature whâ— should rule the Creatures being wanting he was framed more glorious than all Creatures as not made without mature Counsel and Deliberation and stamped in the divine Similitude inspired with the infused Breath of Lifeâ— beyond what any other Creature durst to boast The contemplating of which long since made the Royal Psalmist break out into this Rapture What is Man that thou art mindful of him and the Son of Man that thou visitest him Thou madest him a little lower than the Angels and hast Crowned him with Glory and Honour Thou makest him to have Dominion over the Works of thy Hands and thou hast put all things under his Feet Psal. 8. 4 5 6. Thus I say when God hath created the World and furnished it with whatsoever seemed good in his sightâ— and that there was nothing wanting for necessary use commodity and pleasure it seemed good to him then to make one that might use them to his Glory and take delight in rejoycing in them Wherefore when Natures Ornaments were all compleat He brought Man into the World as into his own Possession and that he might not be disconsolate nor solitary gave him a Woman for a Helper and Companiâ—n infusing into them a source of Love and Desire towards each other and of procreating their Likeness having prepared for that purpose a swelling Humour or Spirit and Organical Parts and that the one through fear of neglect should not be induced to decline the Society of the other he added Allurements and desire of mutual Embracing that so they might in Procreation be sweetly affected and delighted by wonderous ways For unless this was natural to all kind of Creatures they would be regardless of Posterity and Procreation would cease whereby Mankind would quickly be lost and the affairs of Mortals of no continuance But that this Passionate Desire might strongly operate as well in Sensual Felicity as on the Imagination GOD has firmly imprâ—ssed it in all Creatures subject thereto both Male and Female but more especially on Man And least it should prove unruly in him and not easily subdued He has thought it convenient to prescribe him Bounds and confine him to the Use of the Matrimonial Bed that so they might not defile themselves with wandring Lust who want the gift of Continency Wherefore so soon as Copulation is finished and the Woman happens to prove with Child great is Natures Cunning in furnishing the Embryo with convenient Nutriment that at the set time when Nine Months are run over Man that Ruler and Ornament of the Sublunary World may come forth in relation to which Mystery of Generation Holy Job in the Tenth Chapter of his Book thus expresses himself Hast thou not poured me out as Milk and curdled me like Cheese Thou hast cloathed me with Skin and Flesh and hast fenced me with Bones and Sinews Thou hast granted me Life and Favour and thy Visitation hath preserved my Spirit But not to be too tedious upon this Subject I shall proceed to unravel the Mystery of Generation and divers other Mysteries which I hope will be to the Satisfaction of the Learned and Ingenious of the Age whose Discretion I need not doubt will keep them from wresting it to any other end than what it was designed for viz. The Benefit and Advantage of the Modest of either Sex not dâ—siring that this Book should fall into the Hands of any Obscene or Wanton Person whole Folly or Malice may turn that iâ—to Ridâ—cule that loudly proclaims the Infinite Wisdâ—m of an Omnipotent Creator who by his mighty VVorking is able to sundue all things to Hâ—msâ—lf Gloria DEO in Excelsis Aristotle's Master-Piece OR The Secrets of Generation DISPLAY'D CHAP. I. Of Maeriage and at what Age Virgins and Youths are capable of the Marriage-Bed and the Reasons that prompts them to desire it with the Signs of Barrenness and how long a Man or Woman are Capable of having Children THAT Marriage is an Honourable State ordained by God in Paradice and since Confirmed by our Blessed Saviour who wrought his first Miracle at a Wedding I hope none will deny therefore it is convenient that Parents will take care of their Daughters Chastity and when they find them inclinable and when they find them inclinable to Marriage not violently to restrain their Affections but rather to provide for them if possible such Husbands as may be for their Advantage and with whom they may live comfortably in that blessed State lest being crossed in their purposes and delayed they part with their
oâ— Embryo that is a Concretion that springs forth but is held to be a perfect and absolute Child Males for the most part are perfect by the 30 day but Females seldom till the 42 or 45 day and the reason why the one is sooner perfected than the other is That the heat of the Womb is greater in producing the Male than the Female For heat extends the Humour like soft Wax diffusing and dilating it and then by its force Contracting Framing and Fashioning it so Heat and Vigour of the Body and Alacrity of Nature in the Man makes the Male to move in 3 Months but the Female rarely under 4 at which time also his Hair and Nails come forth and the Child begins to stir kick and tumble in the VVomb so that the motion is plainly perceived and the Women are troubled with Nauseating and Loathing of their Meat and oftentimes covet and greedily long for things contrary to the Nutriment as Coals Rubbish Chalk Lime Starch Oat-meal raw Flesh and Fish or the like which desire proceeds from a former contraction of evil Humours occasioning impure Blood in their containing Vessel within and often occasions Abortion and Miscarriage some Women as it has been noted by divers Authors of Credit have been so extravagant in their longings that they have coveted Hob-Nails Leather Man's-flesh Horse-flesh and the flesh of divers Ravenous Beasts for want of which they have cast their Birth untimely or the Child has continued dead in the Womb for many days to the eminent hazard of the Woman's Life But to proceed in this great Mystery I shall unfold by what means the Infant is sustained in the Womb and the posture it there remains in The disputes among both Phylosophers and Physicians with what and by what way the Faetus is nourished have been very great some affirming by Blood only from the Umbilical Vein others only by Chyle received in by the Mouth but the Truth is it is nourished diversly according to the different degrees of Perfection than an Ovum or Egg passes from a Conception to a Faetus ready for the Birth But before we proceed it will not be amiss to explain what we mean by this Ovam or Egg. You must know then that there are in the Generation of the Faetus two Principles Active and Passive The Active is the Man's Seed which is elaborated in the Testicles out of the Arterial Blood and Animal Spirits The Passive Principle is an Ovum or Egg impregnated by the Man's Seed For to say that Woman has true Seed is false and erroneous But the manner of Conception is thus The most Spirituous part of Man's Seed in the Act of Generation reaching up to the Ovarium or Testicles of the Woman which contain divers Eggs sometimes more sometimes fewer secundates one of them which being conveyed by the Ovi-ducts to the bottom of the Womb presently begins to swell and grow bigger and imbibes the moisture that is sent plentifully thither after the same manner that Seeds in the Ground suck the fertile moisture thereof to make them sprout Then the parts of the Embryo begin to be a little more perfect and the Chorion becomes so thick that the Liquor cannot soak through it that Umbilical Vessels begin to be formed and to extend to the side of the Annios which they pass through and also thro' the Allanteides and Chorion and are implanted in the Placenta which gathering upon the Chorion joyns it to the Uterus And now the Arteries that before sent out the nutritious Juice into the cavity of the Womb open by their Orifices into the Placenta where they deposite the said Juice which is drunk up by the Umbilical Vein and conveyed by it first by the Liver of the Faetus and then to the Heart where it s more thin and spiritous part is turned into Blood whilst the grosser part of it descending by the Aorta enters the Umbilical Arteries and is discharged into its Cavity by those Branches of them that run thro' the Amnios Assoon as the Mouth Stomach and Gullet c. are formed so perfectly that the Faetus can swallow it sucks in some of the grosser Nutritious Iuice that is deposited in the Amnios by the Umbilical Arteries which descending into the Stomach and Intestine is received by the Lacteal Veins as in Adust Persons The Faetus being perfected at the times before specified in all its parts it lies equally ballanced in the midst of the Womb as in the Center all on a Heap and being something long is turned round so that the Head a little inclines and it lays its Chin on its Breast his Heels and Ancles upon its Buttocks its Hands on its Cheeks and its Tumbs to its Eyes but its Legs and Thighs are carried upwards with its Hams bending so that they touch the bottom of its Belly the former and that part of the Body which is over against us as the Forehead Nose Face are turned towards the Mothers Back and the Head inclining downwards towards the Cocyx or Rump-bone that joyns to the Os Sacrum which Bone together â—ith Os Pubis in the time of the Birth parts and is loosned whence it is that Male Children commonly come with their Faces downwards or with their Heads turned somewhat Oblique that their Faces may be seen but the Female Children with their Faces upwards tho' someâ—imes it happens that Births follow not according to Natures Order but Children comes forth with their Feet stradling their Necks bowed and their Heads lying Oblique with their Hands stretched out which greatly endangers themselves and the Mother giving the Midwife great trouble to introduce them into the World but when all â—hings proceed orderly and naturally the Child when Natures sets bounds are accomplished is desirous to break its bounds and come forth of the Womb and by inclining himself he roles downward for he cannot longer be obscured in those hiding places and the heat of the Heart can subsist without external respitation wherefore being grown great he is more and more desirous of Nutriment and Light when coveting the Etherial Air he by strugling to obtain it breaks the Membranes and Coverings whereby he was restrained and fenced against attrition and for the most part with bitter pangs of the Mother issueth forth to view the Days commonly in the ninth Month for then the Matrix divided and the Os Pubis being loosened the Woman strives what she can to cast forth her Burthen and the Child doing the like to get forth by the help of its inbred strength the Birth comes to be perfect but if the Child be dead the more dangerous is the Delivery tho' Nature as a kind Commisserator often helpeth the Women's Weakness herein But the Child that is quick and lively labours no less than the Woman Now these are Births at Seven or Eight Months and some Women go to the Tenth Month. But of these and the reason of them I shall speak more largely in another
to the force of the Seed for as Plants receive more from fruitful Ground than from the industry of the Husband-man so the Infant in more abundance receives from the Mother than the Father for first the Seed of both is heaped and fostered in the Womb and there grows to perfection being nourished with Blood And hence they will have it that Children for the most part effect their Mothers best for it proceeds from the nearness of Nature by a natural instinct because the Mothers forces were most employed about ' em For 9 Months and sometimes 10 she nourisheth the Child with her purest Blood then her love towards it newly born and the likeliness do clearly demonstrate that the Woman affordeth Seed and that Women do contribute more towards making the Child than Men. But in all this the Ancients were very much in an Error for the Testicles so called in Women do not afford any Seed but are true Eggs anulogous to those of Fowls and other Creatures neither have they any such Office as those of Men but are indeed Ovarium wherein these Eggs are nourished by the Sanguinary Vessels dispersed through them and from whence one or more as they are secundated by the Man's Seed separated and are convey'd into the Womb by the Ovi duces The truth of this is plain for if you boil them their Liquor will have the same colour Taste and Consistency with the white of Birds Eggs to say that they want shells is nothing at all for the Eggs of Fowls while â—hey are in the Ovary nay after they have fallen down into the Uterus have no shell And though when they are laid they have one yet that is more than a Fence which Nature has provided them against outward Injuries while they are hatched without the Body whereas those of Women being hatched within the body need no other fence than the womb by which they are sufficiently guarded And thus much for the clearing of this point also and now to the third thing proposed viz. Whence grows the kind and whether the Man or the Woman is the cause of the Male or Female Infant The primal cause is as is justly due in this and all other Causes we must ascribe to God the Ruler and Disposer of all things yet many things by his high Sufferance proceed in regular order by the Rules of Nature and are carried by their in-bred motion according to their usual and natural Course without variation tho' indeed by favour from on high Sarah conceived Isaac Hannah Samuel and Elizabeth Iohn the Baptist but these were to fulfil the Almighty's Decree nor since those times have the Prayers of the righteous been unsuccessful in obtaining Children but passing over such Supernatural and Extraordinary causes that have their peculiar effects I shall proceed to speak of things natural and common The Antient Physicians and Philosophers say that since there are two Principles out of which the Body of Man is made and which render the Child like the Progenitors and to be of one of the other Sex viz. Seed common to both Sex and menstrual Blood proper to the Woman only The Similitude say they must needs consist in the force of the Male or Female Seedâ— so that it pgoves like to the one or the other as more or less plenty is afforded by either but that the difference of Sex is not refered to the Seed but to the menstrual Blood which is proper to the Woman for were that force say they altogether retained in the Seed the Mans Seed being of a hotter quality than the Womans Male Children would be superabundant and none of the other Sex or very rarely would be propagated whereof the kind of the Creature is attributed to the temperament of the active qualities which consist in heat and cold and to the substance or nature of the matter under them that is to the flowing of the menstrual Blood Now the Seed say they affords both force to procreate and form the Child and matter for its Generation and that in the menstrual Blood there is both matter and force for as the Seed most helps the material Principles so likewise the menstrual Blood the potential Seed is saith Galen Blood well concocted by the Vessels that contain it so that Blood is not only the matter of generating the Child but also Seed in possibility that menstrual Blood hath both principles as matter and faculty of offering The Ancients say further that the Seed is the strongest efficient the matter of it being very little in quantity but that the potential or efficient faculty of it is very feeble wherefore if the material part or principle of Generation according to which the Sex is made were only say they in the menstrual Blood then would the Children be all or mostly Females as if the efficient force was in the Seed they would be all Males but that since both have operation in menstrual Blood Matter predominates in quantity and in the Seed Force and Vertue Deservedly saith Galâ—n the Child receives its Sex rather from the Mother than from the Father although his Seed do contribute something to the material Principles though more weakly But as for similitude although Imagination say the Ancients be of extraordinary force it is referred rather to the Father than the Mother as to the quality of the Seed at or for a short time after Copulation but continues not long so to do for that the Woman's Seed receiving faculty from the menstrual Blood for the space of Nine Months over-powers the Man's as to that particular because the menstrual Blood flowing into the Vessels rather cherishes and augments the one than the other from which it may be more easily conjectured that the Woman not only affords Matter to make the Child but force and vertue to perfect the Conception though the Womans Seed be fit Nutriment for the Man's by reason of the moisture and thinness of it being more fit to frame and make up Conception thereby for as soft Wax and moist Clay the Work-man can frame what he intends so say they the Man's Seed mixing with the Woman's as also with the menstrual Blood helps effectually to make the form and perfect part of Man but with all the respect deferance imaginable to the Wisdom of the Ancients we must needs say that their Ignorance in Anatomy has led them into many and great mistakes and their Hypothesis of the formation of the Embryo from a Commixture of Seeds and the Nutrition of it from the menstruous Blood being altogether false their Opinion in this case must needs be false also Therefore to conclude this Chapter we say that although a strong Imagination of the Mother may sometimes determine the Sex that is make it Male or Female according as her imagination is yet the main Agent in this case is the Plastick or formative Principle which is the Efficient in forming the Child that gives it this or that Sex according to those
of Man consisteth in the Soul the which although subject to Passion by reason of the gross composture of the Body in which it has a temporary confinement yet it is immortalâ— and cannot in it self corrupt or suffer change it being a spark of the Divine Mind and a blast of Almighty Breath that distinguishes Man from other Creatures and renders him Immortal and that every Man has a peculiar Soul it plainly appears by the vast difference between the Wit Judgment Opinion Manners Affections c. in Men. And this David observes when he says God hath in particular fashioned the Hearts and Minds of all Men and has given to every one it s own Being and a Soul of its own Nature Hence Solomon rejoyced that God had given him a happy Soul and Body agreeable and suitable to it It has caused many disputes amongst the Learned especially Philosophers in what part of the Body the Soul chooses to reside and some have given their Opinion that its residence is in the middle of the Heart and from thence communicates its self to every part which Solomon in the Fourth of his Proverbs seems to assert when he says Keep thy Heart with all thy diligence because Life proceedeth there from but many curious Physicians searching the Works of Nature in Man's Aâ—atomy c. do give it as their Opinion that its chief Seat is in the Brain from whence proceed the Senses Faculties and Actions diffusing the operation of the Soul through all parts of the Body whereby it is enlivened with heat and force but it doth communicate particular force to the Heart by Arterieâ— Carotides or sleepy Arteries that part upon the Throat the which if they happen â—o be broke or cut cause Barrenness and if stopped an Apoplexy for there must necessarily be some ways thro' which the Spirits Animal and Vital may have intercourse and convey Native Heat from the Soul For although the Soul is said to reside in one place it operates in every paâ—t exercising every Member which are the Souls Instruments by which she manifesteth her power but if it so happen that any of the Organical parts are out of Tune the work is confused as it may appear in case of Idiots Mad-men c. Though in some of them the Soul by forcibly working recovers her supernatural vigour and they become right after a long dispondency of Mind and in some it is lost in this Life For as Fire under Ashes nor the Sun obscured from our sight by thick Clouds afford not their full lustre so the Soul overwhelmed in moist or faulty matter is darkned and Reason thereby overclouded and altho' Reason shines less in Children than in those that are arrived to maturity yet no Man must imagine that the Soul is an Infant and grows up with the Child for then would it again decay but it suits it self to the weakness of Nature and the imbecility of Body wherein it is placed that it may the better operate And as the Body is more and more capable of receiving its influence so it shews its self in its proper lustre having force and endowments at the time it enters the former Child in the Womb for the substance of it can receive nothing less and thus much to prove that the Soul comes not from the Parents but is infused by God And the next thing now to be handled is its Immortality and thereby I shall demonstrate the certainty of its Resurrection That the Soul of Man is a Divine Ray infused by God I have already made apparent and now come to shew you that whatever immediately proceeds from him must participate of his Nature and from thence consequently be as immortal as its Original for although all other Creatures are indued with Life and Motion yet want they a reasonable Soul and from thence 't is concluded that Life is in their Blood and that being corruptible they perish and after their expiring are no more But Man being indued with a reasonable Soul and stamped with the Divine Image is of a different nature and though his Body be corruptible yet his Soul cannot perish but must when it is expelled its Earthly Tabernacle return to God that gave it either to receive reward or punishment now that the Body can sin of it self it is impossible because wanting the Soul it cannot act nor proceed to any thing either good or evil for could it do so additional Sins might be accumulated even in the Grave but 't is plain that after Death there is a cessation fox as Death leaves us so Iudgment finds us And St. Iohn in the Fifth Chapter of his Gospel tells us That the hour shall come that all that are in the Grave shall hear his Voice and they that have done well shall come forth to the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil to the Resurrection of Condemnation And Holy Iob in the 14 and 19 Chapter speaking to the same purposes says For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth And though after my Skin Worms destroy this Body yet in my Flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self and mine Eyes shall beâ—old and not another though my Reins be consumed within me By this 't is plainly proved that the Soul is made of immortal Essence incapable of Death having a place assigned it after its separation from the Body till the day of the general Resurrection not in the Grave but in a Mansionâ— prepared by the Almighty for its Reception and that through the mighty working of him that is able to subdue all things to himself it shall again enter the same Body that was laid down tho' the dust thereof be scattered to the â—our Winds of Heaven nay such force and vigour shall it have that it shall as it were take up the Body for Iob positively says I shall rise out of the Earth at the last day c. Which being applicable to the future Tense may be meant two waysâ— I shall or will rise plainly foreseeing the Reâ—urrection he claimed it as the promise of his Creator Nay so far were the Heathens by the Light of Nature from doubting the Immortality of the Soul thaâ— Plato in his Phaedro thus reasons viz. Whaâ— consists out of Elements says he is Immortal and can never dye The Soul is not made oâ— Elements nor of created matter but came froâ— God and therefore it cannot dye c. Theâ— may it be without difficulty granted thaâ— the Body which has been a long Companion of the Souls will once again enjoy it never more to be separated for the Bodâ— at the Resurrection shall be incorruptible and so as far from a capacity of perishing any more as the Soul made so by him that first created it For St. Paul speaking of the Resurrection saith He shall change our vile Bodies and make them like his glorious Body The consideration of which makes
him in another place cry out O the depth of the Riches of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his Iudgments and his ways past finding out For who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his Counsellor For by him and through him and to him are all things Nay the Resurrection of Man's Body may be proved by the renewing of many inconsiderable Creatures and their returning to Life after they seem dead nay some of them thereby also changed as who hath not observed that when a Grashopper is grown old and hath cast his Skin a lively new shrill insect will come forth of it From a dying and sluggish Catterpiller comes out a lively painted Butterfly From Ants a winged Fly The Silk-worm having spent her Bowels in weaving out her Web after many days seeming dead and motionless becomes a Butterfly proving for increase by laying a number of Eggs and then expires But above all the Phaenix that the Learned Lactantius writes of may put us in mind if not confirm to us the Resurrection for after she has lived in the Arabian Fields as some affirm about 600 Years and finding her self wasted with Age and Infirmity she gathers the Sprigs of Cassia Myrrh Frankincense and other Aromatick Combustibles when labouring with her Wings she firing them by the heat of the Sun which in those Countreys is excessive she expires upon the Funeral-Pile when out of her Ashes springs a Worm and from that Worm another Phaenix to supply her place nay further do wâ— not behold Grain thrown into the Ground continue there for a season as if lost and dead but when warmth and moisture gives it force it springs up and bears a hundred-fold Yea Herbs and Plants whilst Winter with his Icy Arms grasps the Earth seem dead retiring as it were into the Grave and wait the Resurrection of the Spring But to conclude as to this point the infinite love towards Man may convince him that he was not made to be annihilated since the second Person of the Trinity condescended to take his Nature upon him Even he who is the Wisdom of the Father and of whom the wise Man testifies in the 3 d. of his Proverbs viz. I was with God in the beginning before any thing waâ— made I was with him from Eternity whâ—â— be made the Heavens I was there when he compassed in the depth by a Law I was present when he sustained the Heavens above and the Earth beneath I was with him ordering all things and was continually delighted before him recreating my self in the Earth and my Delight was with the Sons of Men. CHAP. V. Of Monsters and monstrous Births and the reason thereof according to the Opinions of sundry Learned Men with serious Considerations whether Monsters are endued with reasonable Souls THAT many monstrous Births have happened contrary to the course of Nature is evident not only in this but in former Ages wherefore I shall take some pains for the satisfaction of the Reader to inquire into the cause of such preposterous Forms Now a monstrous Habit or Shape of Body is contracted divers ways as from Fear sudden Frights extraordinary Passion the influence of the Stars the Mothers strange Imaginations and divers Phantasms which the Mind conceive deform the Body â—nd render the â—hildren of an improper shape and many times not perfect in eitâ—eâ— Sex sometimes the whole course of Nature is changed either when the Principles of Generation are vitiated or the Organs unfit so that the natural Faculties to propagate and form the Child cannot perform their Office exactly for as the most ingenious Artist can bring nothing to perfection if his Materials be bad or out of order so Nature wanting the â—orce of her Faculties or not having fit matter must of necessity proceed preposterously in forming the Child As in the Art of melting Metals it may be observed if the matter be impure and not well cleansed the Vessels or Receiver Oblique and full of windings not well joynted the Corners set awry and full of Chinks or Plates if loosed or holds ill together it is apparent Men cast ill-shaped Figures So if the Womb or the Matter be unfit or ill tempered 't is possible without an extraordinary over-ruling Providence but above all unseasonable or intemperate Venery is the cause of so many monsterous shapes So the Low-Country Women especialâ—y those living near the Sea â—ide being â—estless and troubled in Copulation bring forth mishapen Embry's or rude and deformed Burthens not only without motion but some that pant and are alive and these most commonly happen in case of Sailors or Mariners who coming home rashly marry or run upon their Wives without any due regard to their Menstrual Flux or the Wombs cleansing it self to the Season of the Year or the Moon or Suns progress through the Coelestial Signs nor are the Women without regard to the Health or Shape of their posterity less desirous to receive them after a long separation which is not only exceeding hurtful to themselves from thence proceed not monstrous and untimely Births only but dangerous Diseases often to those who rashly proceed The first say the Ancients â—s because the Seed mixing with Menstrual Blood contracts an unnatural Mass of corrupt Matter which either turns to Miscarriage Abortion or a monstrous and deformed Birth for by that means the Faculty of the Womb say they looseth its force to Generation and success of Breeding the Child or if it try to come to any thing it is at most some monstrous Form not shaped like a Man unless in some parts which after a long continuance in the Womb will come forth with great pain and labour not like to this there is an Efflux that greatly troubles such as by their inconsiderate rashness are subject to it Our Women because Conception begins in the fourth Moon when the Menses flow down by force and that Planet in conjunction call it a Moon-Birth or many kinds And some are of opinion that this Conception may be made without the help of a Man by force of Imagination in those that are extreamly Lascivious for that by often seeing and touching their Husbands at the same time strongly fancying themselves in the Act their Seed flows to the Blood and is by the Heat of the Womb formed into a foul Mass but arrives at no perfection And to the same purpose is it when Men strive against the stream entring into Copulation in the fourth and silent Moon and in the fourth day of its Conjunction for then not observing Natures Rules he either loseth his labour or Generates a monstrous Birth or if it change which is almost next to a miracle to be perfect it is by the Latins called a Birth of the fourth Moon because the product is commonly unhappy in all the Series of its Life having had its entrance by Generation contrary to Nature's Orders which Moses considering or being so commanded by God strictly
commanded the Hebrew Men not to touch a Woman that was unclean of her Blood and these that have been so rashly profligate of either Sex have many times by sad experience found their wilful folly too late but especially the Female Sex for by the violent concussion and motion used in Copulation anâ— evil Mixture the contagion by degrees will seize upon the whole Body causing the Pox and Leprosie The like effects it has upon Men if the Woman be infected especially if he deal with Whores at such times who commonly are infected and may be accounted so many walking contagions or Emissaries of the Prince of Darkness for the Destruction of Mankind and at this day the grâ—â—â—â—st pest and grievance of the Nation These things rightly considered no Man need wonder at so many mis-shapen Births and monstrous People with Scald-Heads bowed and distorted Legs Arms and Backs wry-Necks crumpled Feet incident to Swellings and indifferent Diseases especially Swellings in the Groin Buboes and Emerods as also that their Minds are dull stupid forgeâ—ful foolish mad and unâ—easonable which are indeed the effects of unseasonable and unreasonable Venery which every Creature but Man observes in the Season Nature has alloted and when their Female have conceived they desire no lnnger but rest satisfied Therefore let Man who is indued with a rational Soul and ought above all other Creatures to have dominion over his Appetite and Affection consider how cruel he is to his Posterity that brings such mischief upon them and chiefly they are here to be understood that are conceived in the fourth Moon when the Woman 's Natural Flux is upon her therefore all Men ought to restrain neither should the Woman dare to copulate with Men as better knowing when that is upon her than some rash inconsiderate and un-experienced Novices of the Masculine-Gender do for the Children then conceived want all or most of those Gifts and Properties that Children begotten at seasonable times are endowed withal being capable of nothing that is good nor great and if it so happen they do any thing well they have ill success in their Undertakingâ— by reason their natural Faculties are short not by their own but their Parents fault who undecently in Procreation violate Natures Law whence it is that many things are wanting to them or else given them sparingly and with some ill qualities that others obtain bountifully and then suffer no less loss in their Mind for they want almost their common Senses and are extream dull without the sharpness of Wit quickness of Invention Counâ—il and Prudence that others have Lavinus Leminus a famous Physician tells of a monsterous Birth from his own knowledge the Relation of which I take in his words as I find them in his Bâ—ok of Generation In former years says he there was a Woman an Islander who had married a Mariner that took Physick of me and after Câ—pulation having Câ—nceived by him hâ—r Bâ—lly began to swell to such a vast magnitude that one would have thought it câ—uld not have held to support the burâ—hâ—n When 9 Months were expired the Mâ—dwife was called and first with great troubâ—e she was delivered of a rude lump which I conceive was a superfatatiâ—n after a lawful Conâ—epâ—ion there were fastned unto it on both â—ides two Handles like two Aâ—ms for the length and the fashion of them it panâ—ed and seemed to be alive as Sea Fishes called Vâ—tica and by the Dutch Elsâ—howe which float in the Sea in Summer in infinâ—tâ— numbers and being taken out they run abroâ—d and when you handle them melâ—â— wiâ—h a burning and prickling left behind them whence they had their Name after this a Monster came forth of her Womb with a crooked Back long round Neck and fiery Eyes and a pointed Tail being very nimble footed for as soon as it came forth it gave the affrighted Midwife the slip and run up and down the Room to seek a hiding place till at last one Woman more couragious than the rest fell upon it with a Cusheon and smothered it This Monster had sucked the Blood from the Child which came forth after it being a Male and so eaten the Flesh that it scarcely lived to be Christened nor could the Woman be in a long time restored to her strength And farther adds that upon his inquiry she told him that it had proceeded as she thought from unseasonable and extraordinary and insatiable Venery Hereupon says he I proscribed her a wholsom course of Life and Medicines to restore her Forces for she was become wonderful Lean. These and many such like things should teach all Men aud Women to use decency and orderly proceedings in their mutuaul Embracings lest Nature wronged thereby monstrous Births ensue in which respect some Lascivious People are much to be condemned who suppose they may do what they list and will by no means have their Pleasure bounded and above all Pocky and Gouty People are most Lascivious the one thro` the Heat contracted in the Blood and the other through the polite windiness passes through the Veins and afflicts the Nerves others again observe not whether their Stomach be full or empty or the Meat be raw or digested whether it be by Day or Night nay never râ—gard the season nor opportunity of time but as their Lusts and Desires prompts them but such insatiable Lechers seem to be or at least are wilfully ignorant to what end they were Created Male and Female which was to beget Children and propagate their kind not for obscene purposes and beastly pleasure but at last they pay for their unruly Lust when the Disorders of Body as Aches Gout and many Diseases contracted thereby Rack and Torment them The last thing in this Chapter to be considered is whether monstrous Births have reasonable Souls and whether such shall appear at the day of Resurrection in discussing of which I shall cite the opinions of such Learned Divines and Physicians as have made curious search and diligently weighed these great Mysteries And first it is their opinion not joyntly but severally that all those that are like Men according to the order of Generation deduced from our primitive Parents proceeded by natural means from either Sex though they are â—eformed and of monstruous shape having notwithstanding a reasonable Soul shall when they have run the date of Mortality be capable of Resurrection to Immortality but those that proceed not from Man but by the Womans unnaturally mixing with other Creatures shall not participate of Immortality but perish as brute Beasts because such a monstruous Birth is not capacitated to receive a divine part or Soul which should entail him to the Resurrection There are indeed amongst the number of Men and Women that read the Terrestrial Globe divers that are monstruously Deformed and of horrid Aspect with distorted Jaws and Gogle Eyes and many other marks of Deformity but these tho' by their pâ—rents rashness in incedent or unseasonable Copulation or the defect of
be dubbed â— Knight of the Forked Order and havâ— their Names inrolled in the Colony oâ— Cuckoldom especially if their Wives havâ— not been trained up in the Paths of Virtue and lie too much open to importunity anâ— temptation of lewd and debauched Menâ— And thus much for Errors or Oversightsâ— in rash unseasonable or preposterouâ— Marriages CHAP. VIII â—he Opinions of tâ—e Learned concerning Children conceived and born within the space of seven Months with lively Arguments upon the Subject to prevent suspitions of incontinency and the bitter Contests that thereon too often arise between Man and Wife To which is added Rules for knowing the disposition of Man's Body by the Genetal parts CErtain it is that many bitter Quarrels have arisen through mis-understandâ—ng when solid reason would have rectiâ—ied the Judgment and have prevented the Conception of such an Evil and from whence does this arise but through Suâ—picion and Jealousie when indeed it is many times founded upon a slender Foundation as the new married Woman's beâ—ng brought to Bed before the Expiration of Nine Months which is vulgarly taken from the time of Conception to the Birth To remove which Groundless Suspicion I shall endeavour not that 't is common dare I avouch but that 't is possible and has been frequently known that Children have been born at Seven Months but the matter being wholly left by the Lawyers who decide Controversies to the Physicians to judge of it is in their power to determine by inspecting the Child whether it is a Child of 7 8 9 or 10 Months Paul the Counsellor has this Passage in his nineteenth Book of Pleadings viz. It is now a received truth that a perfect Child may be born in the seventh Month by the Authority of the Learned Hypocrates And therefore we must believe that a Child born at the end of the seventh Month in lawful Matrimony may be lawfully begotten Gallen in Chap. 6 of his third Book handleth this Argument but rather according to Men's Opinionsâ— than according to the truth of the business or from natural Reasons who supposeth there is no certain time set for bearing Children And from the Authority of Pliny who makes mention of a Woman that went 13 Months with Child But as to what concerns the 7th Month saith Leminus I know many married People in Holland that had Twins who lived to extream old Age their Bodies lusty and their Minds apt and lively wherefore their Opinion is foolish and of no moment who assert That seven Months a Child cannot be perfect and long lived and that he cannot in all parts be perfect till the 9th Month and thereupon this Learned Author proceeds to tell a passage from his own knowledge as follows Of late saith he there hapned a great disturbance amongst us which ended not without Bloodshed and was occasioned by a Virgin whose Chastity had been violated descending of a Noble Family and ever before that time held to be of unspotted Fame Now several there were who charged the Fact upon a Person of Note viz. a Judge President of a City in Flanders who strongly denied the Fact saying that he was ready to swear it upon the Holy Evangelist that he never had Carnal Copulation with her and that he would by no means therefore be taken for the Faâ—â—er of the Child that was not his and furâ—her alledged that he verily believed that it was a Child born in seven Months and himself was many miles distance from the Mothor of it when it was conceived whereupon the Judges before whom the hearing was decreed That the Child should be viewed by able Physicians as also Experienced Women and that they should make their report who having made diligent Inquiry all of them with one accord concluded the Child without respecting who was the Father was a Child Born within the space of seven Months that it was carried in the Mother 's Womâ— but 27 Weeks and some odd days but iâ— she could have carried it to full 9 Months the Child's Part and Limbs would have been more firm and strong and the Structure of the Body more compact and fastâ— for the Skin was exceeding loose and the Breast-bone that defends the Heart and the Sword-like Gristle that lies over the Stomack were higher than naturally they should be not plain but crooked and sharp ridged or pointed like those of young Chickens that are hatched at the beginning of the Spring And being a Female Infant it wanted its Nails upon her Fingers and the outmost Joynts of her Fingers upon which from the Musculous or Cartilaginous Matter of the Skin Nails that are very smooth do come and by degrees harden she had instead of Nails a thin Skin oâ—â—â—m as for her Toes there was not the least appearance of Nails about them by reason that they wanted the heat that was communicated to the Fingers from the nearness of the Heart These and the like weighty Matters being considered and above all one Gentlewoman of Quality that assisted affirmeth that she had been the Mother of 19 Children and that divers of â—hem had been born and lived at 7 Months â—hey without favour to any Party made their report that the Infant was a Child of 7 Months and so must be accounted tho' it was born within the seventh Month or that in such cases the revolution or circuit of the Moon ought to be observed which perfects it self in 4 bare Weeks or somewhat less than 28 days in which space of her Revolution the Blood being agitated by the Moons force the Courses of the Woman flow from them which being spent and the Matrix cleansed from the Menstrual Blood which happens on the 5th Day then if on the 7th Day a Man lie with his Wife the Copulation is most natural and the Conception best and a Child then gotten may be borâ— in the 7th Month and prove very healthful so that upon this report the supposed Father was pronounced innocent upon proof that he was 100 Miles distance all that Month in which the Child was begot And as for the Mother she strongly denied that she knew the Father being foâ—ced in the dark and that thro' fear and surprize was left in ignorance As for Coition it ought not to be had unless the Parties be in Health lest it turn to the disadvantage of the Children so begotten creating in them through the abundant ill Humoâ—rs divers lingâ—ing and languishing Diseases wherefore Health is no where better to be discerned than by the Genitals of the Man wherefore Midwives and other skilful Women in former dayâ— were wont to see the Testicles of Children thereby to conjecture or guess at their temperate and state of Body and young Men may know thereby the Signs or Symptoms of Life and Death for if the Cases of Testicles be loose and feeble and and the Cods fall down it denotes the natural Faculties and vital Spirits which are the props of Life are fallen But if the secret part be
Instrument of Generation The Clytoris is a substance in the upper part of the Division where the two Wings concur and is the Seat of Veneral Pleasure being like a Yard in Scituation Substance Composition and Erection growing sometimes out of the Body two Inches but that rarely happens unless thro' extream lusâ— of extraordinary accident But to proceed this Clytoris consists of two spongy and skinny Bodies containing a distinct Original from the Pubis Bone the Head of it being covered with a tender skin having a hole or passage like the Penis or Yard of a Man tho' not quite through in which and the bigness it only differs from it The next thing in course are the fleshy Knobs and the great Neck of the VVomb And these Knobs are behind the Wings being four in number much resembling Mirâ—le Berries being placed in quadrangle one against the other and in this place is incerted to the Orifice of the Bladder which opens it self in the Fissure to evacuate the Urine for securing of which from cold or the like inconveniency one of these Knobs are placed before it and shuts up the passage The Lips of the VVomb that next appear being separated disclose the Neck thereof in which two things are to be observed viz. The Neck it self and the Hymen but more properly the Claustrum Virganale of which I have before discoursed But the Neck of the Womb is to be understood the Channel that is between the aâ—oresaid Knobs and the inner Bone of the Womb which receives the Penis like a Sheath and that it may the better be dilated for the pleasure of Procreation the Substance of it is Sinewy and a little Spongy and in this Concavity are divers Folds or Oâ—bicular Plights made by Tunicles wrinkled like an expanded Rose in Virgins they plainly appear but Women that have been used often in Copulation they are extinguished so that the inner side of the Wombs Neck appears smooth and in old Women it becomes more hard and grisly And now note that although this channel be sometimes writhed and crooked sinking down yet in the time of Copulation Labour or the Monthly Purgations it is erected and extended which over Extention occasioneth the great pain in Child-Birth The Hymen or Claustrum Virginale is that which closes the Neck of the Womb being as I have â—efore cited in the Chapter relating to Virginity broken in the first Copulation its use being rather to stay the untimely Courses in Virgins than to any other end and commonly when it is broke in Copulation or by any other accident a final quantity of Blood flows with some small pain passing Hence it is observed that between the duplicity of the two Tunicles which constitute the Neck of the Womb there are many Veins and Arteries running along and arising from the Vessels descending on both sides the Thighs and passing into the Neck of the Womb being extreamly large and the reason of their largements is for that the Neck of the Bladder requires to be filled with abundance of Spirits thereby to be extended and dilated for its better taking hold of the Penis great heat being required in some notions which becoming more intense by the act of frication does consume a considerable quantity of moisture in supplying which large Vessels are altogether necessary Another cause of the longness of these Vessels there is viz. By reason of the Menses have their way through them which often occasion Women with Child to continue their Purgations for altho' the Womb is shut up yet the passage in the Neck of the Womb through which these Vessels pass are open In this cause there is further to be observed that as soon as you penetrate the Pudendum there appears two litâ—le Piâ—s or Holes wherein is contained an Humour which by being expunged in time of Copulation greatly delights the Woman CHAP. XIV A Description of the Womans Fabrick the preparing Vessels and Testicles in Women as also of the Deferent or Ejaculatory Vessels IN the lower part of the Hypogastrion where the Hips are widest and broadest they being greater and broader thereabouts â—han those of Men which is the reason they have likewise broader Buttocks then Menâ— is the Womb joyned to its Neck and is placed between the Bladder anâ— strait Gut which keeps it from swaying or rowling yet give it liberty to stretch and dilate it self and again to contract as Nature in that cause disposes it Its figure is in a manner round and not unlike a Gourd lessening a little and growing more acute toward one end being knit together by its proper Ligaments its Neck likewise is joyned by its own substanceâ— and certain Membranes that fallen it to Os Sacrum and â—he Share-bone As to its largeness that much differs in Women especially the difference is great between such as have born Children and those that have born none In substance it is so thick that it exceeds a Thumbs breadth which after Conception it is so far from decreasing that it augments to a greater propotion and the more to strengthen and conâ—irm it it is interwoven with Fibres overthwart strait and winding and its proper Vessels are Veins Aâ—teries and Nerves and amongst these are two little Veins which pass from the Spermatick Vessels to the bottom of the Womb and two larger from the Hypogastricks which visits both the bottom and the Neck the Mouth of these Veins piercing as ' far as the inward concavity The Womb hath also two Arteries on both sides the Spermatick Vessels and the Hypogasticks which still attend or accompany the Veins and besides these there are divers little Nerves knit and intwined in the form of a Net which extend throughout even from the bottom to the Pudenda themselves being chiefly placed for sense and pleasure moving in Sympathy between the Head and Womb. Now it is to be farther noted that by reason of two Ligaments that hang on either side the Womb from the Share-bone and piercing through the Peritonaeum and are joyned to the Bone it self that the Womb is movable upon sundry occasions often falling low or rising high as for the Neck of the Womb it is of an exquisite feeling so that if it be at any time ouâ— of order by being troubled with a schirous brawn over-fatness moisture or relaxation the Womb is subjected thereby to Barrennessâ— In those that are with Child there frequently stays a most glutinous matter in the entrance to facilitate the Birth for at the time of Delivery the Mouth of the Womb is opened in a strange manner to such a widenes as is conformable to the bigness of the Child suffering an equal dilation from the bottom to the top As for the Preparatory or Spermatick Vessels in Women they consist of 2 Veins and 2 Arteries not differing from those in a Man but only in their largeness a manner of insertion for as to â—heir number there are so many Veins and the like proportion of Arteries as
Intricates or Windings to which those Vessels are subject for in the middle way they drive themselves into two branches though different in magnitude for one being greater than the other passes to the Stones The Stones in Women are very useful for they are very defective Generation is at an end for although those little Bladders which are on their outward Superficies contain nothing of Seed as the followers of Galen and Hipocrates did erroneously imagine yet they contain several Eggs commonly to the number of twenty in each Testicle one of which being impregnated by the most spiritous part of the Man's Seed in the Act of Coition descends through the Ovi-ducts into the Womb and from thence in process of time becomes a living Child Their Figure is not exactly round but flat and depressed on the sides in their lower part Oval but in their upper where the Blood-Vessels enter them more plain and have but one Membrane to encompass them probably that the heat may have the easier Access CHAP. XVI Of Conception and the infallible Signs thereof as also whether it be a Male or Female that is conceived or both at once commonly called Twins THE next thing convenient to be observed in this Treatise and as it falls in course is Conception and its Symptoms very material and worthy of note not only of Midwives but all young Women Now the signs of Conception three or four days after convenient and satisfactory are Pains in the Head Virtigo and Dimness of the Eyes the Apples of the Eyes decrease the Eyes themselves swell and become of a dull or dark colour their Veins waxing red and shut with Blood again if the Eyes sink the Eye-brows grow loose various colours appear in the Eyes and little red Pimples suddenly arise in the Face and almost as suddenly disappear Thirdly if the Veins between the Eyes and Nose are extended with Blood the Veins under the Tongue look greenish the Neck flusheth with heat the Back bone cold the Veins and Arteries swell and the Pulses are observed more easily Fourthly if the Veins in the Breast appear blackish and afterwards turn yellow the Teats look fiery and upon drinking cold Drink the Woman feels it as it were in her Breasts Fifthly If she on a sudden fall to loathing her Meat and Drink coveting things unreasonable and not fit for Sustenance be troubled with Pâ—kings weakness of Stomach sore declining and there be little Worms found about her Navel Sixthly If the lower part of the Belly swell and weakness be contracted in her Loins with inward Gripings and retention of the Courses 7 days after Copulation After which act there is a cold and trembling seizes on the Members External Seventhly it is a certain sign of Conception if the Mid wife putting up her finger find the interior Neck of the Womb exactly closed If the Womb wax round and swell the Courses stay the Thighs swell with some pain the whole Body grows weak the Face at times becomes Pale the Urine white with a little Cloud after some standing at the top of it if many Attoms appear in it Eightly if Urine be put in a Glass three days and the Woman have conceived certain live things will appear to stir in it If a bright Needle be put in a whole Night and she have conceived divers little red Specks will be thereon but if not it will be blackish or rusty Nor are these Imaginations but the proved assertions of the Learned in Physick and skilful in Midwifry who have made it their study to search into the depths of Natures Secrets And next comes a nicer point to be treated of not without the Patâ—onage of suchâ— whose Wisdom and infatigable Labourâ— have rendered them famous to Posterity The which take as followeth After Conception and the Child becomâ— to some perfection so that the Sex may bâ— distinguished if it happen to be a Malâ— Child then the right Eye of the Womaâ— will to appearance move swifter anâ— sparkle more than the left The right Paâ—â— will rise swell and be more hard than thâ— left and the Teaâ—s colour will changâ— more suddenly and the increâ—se of thâ— Milk will be speedy and if it be milkeâ— out and set in the Sun it will look like Pearl contracting it self in a more solid matter than ordinary or if upon Milking it out you cast it upon the Woman's Urine it will sink to the bottom Her right Cheek will often glow and be more ruddy than the leâ—t and indeed the whole colour of the Face more lively than at other times she feels less Sadness than if she Conceived a Female And when first the Child stirs it is more brisk and strong in its motion than the other having commonly its first motion on the right side on the 60th day if her Courses flow the 40th day after Conception if her Belly be more acute towards the Navel and as she goes she puts her right Leg foremost and rising observe to ease her self on the right side more than of the left Now in case a Female be conceived thâ— tokens are averse to those for the most part the first motioâ— rarely happening before the 19th day after Conception and then it is made on the left side Females are carried with more pains than Males thro' defect of heat in the Womb to attract the substance also the Thighs and Genital Members of the Woman swell more than ordinary her Colour departs and her Longings are Extream and her Courses flow the Thirtieth day after Conception If Twins are conceived which many times happens through the impregnating of two Eggs at the same time the sign thereof will not appear till the third or fourth Month after Conception and then the first appearance will be by the motion of the Infants both ways that is on either side of the Womb at once for they receive their Souls at one and the same time also if her two Flanks swell higher than the middle of the Belly if there does appear a Line or as it were a Division from the Navel to the Groin making a kind of a Channel or if a Woman with more than ordinary pain support her burthen And thus much may suffice for these from whence I shall proceed to give the Reader an insight into false Conception that frequently deceive Women especially such as are over desirous of Children CHAP. XVII Of false Conceptions and how to know them HAving already treated of true Conceptions the next thing note worthy is what relates to false Conceptions and in this case Women are sometimes deluded thinking themselves with Child when their Belly only swell with the retention of their Natural Purgations that fall not according to their usual times Or else by a lump of indigested Flesh for the most part like the Gizard of a Fowl greater or leâ—ser according to the time of its continuance there which is frequently four Months and is called a Moon Calf At other times they are
soon than too late at what time let her prepare a little Bed or Couch of a moderate height and so scituate that it be far from the Door near the Fire and convenient for the Midwife and her Assistants to pass round and be aiding on eveâ—y side as occasion requires having change of Linnen and a small Cricket or little Log of Timber to rest her Feet against she having more force when they are bowed than otherwise Having thus provided when the Womau feels her pains come if â—he weather be not extream cold let her walk leisurely about the room resting her self by turns upon the Bed expecting so the coming down of her Water which is a Humour that is contracted in one of the outward Membranes and flows thence when it is broke by the strugling of the Child or some other accident there being no direct time affixed for its Efflux though for the most part it flows not above two hours before the Birth Motion likewise will cause the Womb to open and â—â—â—â—te it self when lying long in Bed will prove troublesome yet if she be much spent and weakned she may take some gentle Cordial to refresh her self if her pains will permit If her Travel be tedious to revive her Spirits she may take any Broth of Chickens or Mutton and after it a Poach'd Egg but must not take any thing to excess As for the Posture Women are Delivered in they are divers some lying in their Beds others sitting in a Chair supported and held by others or resting upon the side of the Bed or Chair some again upon the Knees being supported under their Arms but the safest and most commodious way is in the Bed when as the Midwife ought to observe these following Rules Let her see that the Woman be layed upon her Back her Head a little elevated by the help of a Pillow having the like help to support her Reins and Buttocks and that her Rump lie high for if she lie low she cannot be well delivered then let her keep her Knees and Thighs as far asunder as she can her Legs bowed together her Buttocks the Soles of her Feet and Heels being fixed upon a little Log of Timber placed for that purpose that she may have the greater force to strain Now in caâ—e her Back be exceeding weak a Swath-band may be cast under it the band being four double and about 12 Inches broad and this must be held by two Persons who with steady Hands and equal motion must raise her up at the time the pains happen but if they be not exact in their motion 't is better evaded and at the same time let two Women hold her Shoulders that she may the better strain out the Birth with more advantage and the better to facilitate it let a Woman stroak or press the upper part of her Belly gently and by degrees Nor must the Woman her self be faint-hearted but Couragious and of a good Heart forcing her self by straining and stopping her Breath In case of Delivery the Midwife must wait with patience till the Child's Head or other Members Burst the Membrane for through Ignorance or haste to be gon to other Women as some has done the Midwife tear the Membranes with her Nails she indangers both the Woman and the Child for it lying dry and wanting that slipperiness that should facilitate it its Egress comes forth with greater pain When the Head appears the Midwife must gently hold it between her two Hands and draw the Child at such times as the Womans pangs are upon her and at no other slipping by degrees her four Fingers under its Arm-pits not using a rough hand in drawing it forth lest by such means the Child through its tenderness receive any Deformity of Body As soon as the Child is taken forth which is commonly with its Face downwards let it be laid upon its Back that it may more freely receive External Respiration then cut the Navel-string with a sharp Instrument about three Inches from the Body tying that which adheres to the Bâ—lly with a silken string as near as you can then cover the Head and Stomach of the Child well suffering nothing to come upon the Face The Child being thus drawn forth and in Health lay it aside and let the Midwife regard the Patient in drawing or causing to come forth the Secundine And this may be done by wagging and stirring them up and down and afterwards with a gentle Hand drawing them forth or if the work be difficult let the Woman hold Salt in her Hands shut them close and breath hard into them whereby she shall know whether the said Membranes be broken or not The like may be known by causing a Strain or Vomitting by putting one Finger down her Throat by straining or moving her Inferiour parts being all observed to be done out of hand If this fail she may take a draught of raw Elder-water or the Yolk of a raw Egg or smell to a piece of Assa-Faedita especially if she be troubled with the Wind-Cholick a Remedy for which I shall hereafter prescribe If she have taken Cold it is a great obstruction to the coming down of the Secundines and in such cases the Midwife ought to chafe the Womans Bâ—lly with a gentle Hand which breaks not only the Wind but obliges the Secundine to come down And these proving ineffectual the Midwife must dilate with her Hand the exterior Orifice of the Womb and gently draw it forth Having discoursed of common Births or such as for the most part are easie I shall proceed to give Directions in case of Extremity CHAP. XXI In case of Extremity what ought to be observed especially to Women who in their Travel are accompanied with an Efflux of Blood Convulâ—ion or Fits of the Wind. IN case of Extremity greater regard must be had than at other times and first of all the Situation of the Womb and her posture of lying must be cross the Bed being held â—y such as have strength to prevent her slipping down or moving her self in the operation of the Man-Midwife or Chyrurgeon her Thighs must be sundered as wide aâ— may beâ— and so held whilst her Legs invert and bend backward towards her Hips her Head leaning upon a Bolster and the Reins of her Back supported with the like her Rump and Buttocks likewise Elevated observing to cover her Stomach Belly and Thighs with warm Linnen to keep them from cold winds The Woman being in the posture aforâ—said let the Operator put up his Hand if he finds the Neck of the Womb dilated and remove the contracted Blood that obstructs the passage of the Birth and having by degrees with much gentleness made way let him tenderly move the Infant his Hand being first anointed with sweet-Butter or a harmless Pomatum and if the Waters are not come down then without any difficulty may they be let forth when if the Infant attempts to break forth with the Head foremost or cross
he may gently turn it to find the Feet which having done let him draw forth one and fasten it to a Ribbon then put it up again and by degrees find the other when bringing them as close and even as may be and between whiles giving the Woman leave to breathe urging her to strain in helping Nature to perfect the Birth he may draw it forth and the better to do it that his hold may be surer he must fasten or wrap a Linnen Cloth about the Child's Thighs observing to bring it into the World with its Face downward In case of a Flux of Blood if the Neck of the Womb be open it must then be maturely considered whether the Infant or the Secundines come first which often the latter happening to do stop the Mouth of the Womb and hinder the Birth to the endangering both the Woman and Child in such a case I say the Secundine must be removed by a swift turn and indeed they have by their so coming down deceived many who feeling their softness supposed the Womb was not dilated and by their being so deceived theâ— Woman and Child or at least the latter has been lost the Secundines removed the Child must be sought for and drawed forth as has been directed and if in such a case the Woman or Child dye the Midwife or Chyrurgeon is blameless because they did their true endeavour If it appear upon enquiry that the Secundine comes first let the Woman be delivered with all convenient expedition because great flux of Blood will follow for then the Veins are opened and upon this account two things are to be considered First the great or lesness of the Secundines advancing if the former and the head of the Child appear first it must be guided and directed towards the Neck of the Womb as in case of Natural Births but if there thro` the weakness of the Child or Mother appear any difficulty in the Delivery the best way is to search for the Feet and thereby draw it forth but if the latter the Secundines may be put back with a gentle hand and the Child first taken forth Another matter is note worthy viz. If the Secundine be far advanced so that it cannot be put back and the Child follow it close then are the Secundines to be taken forth with much care as swift as may be and laid aside without cutting the entail that is fastned to them for by that you may be guided to the Infant the which whether alive or dead must be drawn forth by the Feet with all Expedition tho' it is not to be acted unless in case of great necessity for in other cases the Secundine ought to come last As for a dead Child in drawing it forth let these directions be carefully observed by the Chirurgeon viz. if the Child be found dead with its Head foremost the danger is the greater and more difficult will be the Delivery for it is an apparent sign the Womans strength begins to fail her and that the Child being dead and wanting its imbred force can be no ways affisted to its Delivery wherefore the most certain and safe way isâ— for the Chyrurgeon to put up his left hand sliding it as hollow in the Palm as he can into the Neck of the Womb into the lower part thereof towards the Feet and that between the Head of the Infant and the Neck of the Matrix when having a Hook in the right hand couch it close and slip it up above the left Hand between the Head of the Child and the flat of his Hand fixing in it the Bone of the Temple towards the Ear or else in thâ— hollow of the Eye or for want of conveniently coming at these in the occipital Bone observing still to keep the left hand in its place with it gently moving and stirring the Head and so with the right Hand and Hook draw the Child forward admonishing the Woman to put forth her utmost strength still drawing when the Womans pangs are upon her The Head being drawn forth he must with all speed slip his hand under the Arm holes of the Child and take it quite forth giving these things to the Woman viz. a Toste of finâ— Wheat Bread in a quarter of a Pint oâ— Ipocrass Wine Now the former Application and Eâ—deavour failing and the following Medicines will not enable the Woman to cast forth the Birth you may proceed to Instrumentâ— after another manner First when the Woman is in her Bed let her receive the insuing portion hot abstaining fâ—om alâ— manner of Meats and rest till she feel the Operation which is this Take blue Figs to the number of Seven câ—â—â—â—em in pieces adding to them Fenegreek Mother wort and Seeds of Rue of each Five Drams Water of Peneroyal and Motherwort Six Ounces of each boil them till one half he consumed and having constrained them again add Trochischs of Myrrh a Dram and of Saffron Three Grains sweetning the Liquor with Loaf Sugar and spicing it with Cinnamon Having rested upon thisâ— let her labour again as much as may be and if she be not yet successful make a Suffumation of Castor Oppoponax Sulpuhur and Assa Foedita of each half a Dram beating them into Powder and wetting them with the Iuice of Rue till they become stiff then burthem upon Coals so that the Smoak or Fume may only come to the Matrix and no further If these effect not your Desire then this Emplaister is very fitly to be applied viz. Take of Galbanum an Ounce and a half Colocynthis without Grains Two Drams the Iuice of Motherwort and Rue of each half an Ounce and Two Ounces of Virgins Beez-wax bâ—uise and melt them together spreading them as a Cere-Cloth to râ—ach from the Navel to Os Pubis spreading likewise to the Flanks at the same time making a convenient Pâ—ssary of Wool closing it in a Bag of Silk and dipping it in a Câ—ncoction of round Birth-worth Savin Colocynthis with Grains Staves-Acur Black Elebore of each a Dram and of Rue a little sprig or two These things failing and the Woman in danger let the Chyrurgeon use his Instruments to dilate and widen the Womb to which purpose the Woman must be set in a Chair so that she may tâ—rn her Crupper as much from its Back as is conveniâ—nt drawing up her Legs as close as she can but spreading her Thighs as wide as may be or if through her weakness it appear more convenient that she be laid upon the Bed with heread downwards her Buttocks raised and her Legs drawn up as much as can be at what time the Chyrurgeon with his Speculum Matricis or his Apertory may dilate or widen the Womb and draw out the Child and Secundines together if it be possible after which the Womb must be well washed and anointed and the Woman laid in her Bed comforted there with Spice pleasant Meats and Cordials This course must be takon in the Delivery of
all dead Children likewise with Moles Secundines or otherwise false Births that will not of themselves come forth in due season or if the Instruments aforesaid will not sufficiently widen the Womb then other Instruments as the Drakes Bill and long Pincers ought to be used If it so happen that any Inflamation Swelling or concreet Blood be contracted in the Matrix under the Film of those Tumours either before or after the Birth where the Matter appears thinner the Midwife with a Pen-knife or Incision Instrument may Launch it and press out the Corruption healing it with a Pessary dipped in Oyl of Red Roses If at any time through cold or some violence the Child happen to be swelled in any part or have contracted a watery Tumour yet if it remain alive such means â—ught to be used as are least injurious to the Child or mother but if it be dead that Tumour must be let out by incision to faciliate the Birth It often happens that Children come with their Feet foremost and the Hands dilating themselves from the Hips in such a case the Midwife must be well provided of necessary Ointmens to stroke and anoint the Infant with thereby to help its coming forth lest it return again into the Womb before it can be drawn forth holding at the same time both the Arms of the Infant close to the Hips that so the Child may issue forth after its own manner but if then it prove too big then the Womb must be well anointed The Woman may likewise take sneezing Powder to cause her the more to strain and at the same time those that attend may gently stroke down her Belly to make the Birth descend and keep the Child when advanced from retiring back Sometimes it falls out that the Child comiâ—g with its Feet foremost has its Arms extended above its Head the which so happening the Midwife must not receive it in that posture but put it back into the Womb unless the Passage be extraordinary wide and then she must anoint both the Child and the Womb nor is it safe to draw it forth before it is put into due form which must be done after this manner the Woman lying upon her Back with her Head depressed and her Buttocks elevated the Midwife with a gentle hand must compress the Belly of the Woman towards the Midrif by that means to put back the Infant observing to turn the Face of the Child towards the Back of the Mother raising up its Thighs and Buttocks towards her Navel thereby to bring it to a more regular and natural Production Is a Child happen to come forth with one Foot the Arm being extended along â—he side and the other Foot turned backward then must the Woman be instantly brought to her Bed and laid in the posture aforesaid at what time the Midwife must carefully put away the Foot so appearing and the Woman rock her self from one side to the other till she find the Child is turned but she must not alter her posture nor turn upon her Face after which she may expect her Pains and must have great assistance Cordials especially not being wanting to revive and support her Spirits At other times it so comes to pass that the Child lies cross in the Womb and falls upon its side if it so happen the Woman must not be urged in her Labour neither can any expect the Birth in that manner Therefore the Midwife when she so perceives it must use great diligence to reduce it to its right form or such a form in the Womb as 't is possible to deliver it especially by moving the Buttocks and guiding the Head to the Passage but if she be sucâ—cessful herein let her again try by rocking her self to and fro and wait with patience till it changes its manner of lying Sometimes it falls out that the Child hastens to the Birth with it Legs and Arms distorted or expanded in which as in the former the Woman must rock her self but not with any violence till she find the Legs and Arms fall to their proper stations or it may be done by a gentle compression of the Womb but if neither of them prevail the Midwife with her Hand must closâ— the Legs of the Infant and if possible she can reach them do the like to the Arms and so draw it forth though if it could be reduced of it self to the composure or posture of a natural Birth it is better If the Infant come forward with both Knees formost the Hand hanging down upon the Thighs then must the Midwife put both Knees upward till the Feet appear taking hold of which with her Left Hand let her keep her Right Hand on the â—ide of the Child and in that posture endeavour to bring it forth but if she cannot then must the Woman rock her self till the Child is in a more convenient posture for Delivery When it happens that the Child presses forward wiâ—h one Arm extended upon the Thighs and the other elevated over his Head the Feet likewise stretched out at length in the Womb the Midwise in such a posture must not attempt to receive the Child but must lay the Woman upon the Bed in the manner often before recited making a soft and gentle compression upon her Belly to oblige the Infant to retire and if on its own accord it retire not then must the Midwife thruâ—t it back by the Shoulders and bring the Arm that was stretched above the Head to its right place for certain it is the most dangerous in these Extremities in this therefore the Midwife ought to take more care herein than ordinary And first she must observe well to anoint her Hands then the Womb of the Woman either with some sweet Butter or some convenient Pomatum â— thrusting up her Hand as near as she can to the Arm of the Infant and reduce it to the side but if she cannot recal it then must the Woman be laid on her Bed there to repose for a while and then again conducted to a Seat prepared for the most conveniency in that affair by which time perhaps the Child may be reduced to a better posture the which when the Midwife finds she must draw the Arms close to the Hips and so receive it If an Infant come with its Buttocks foremost being in a manner double then the Midwife anointing her Hand must thrust it up and by degrees by heaving the Buttocks and after them the Back strive to turn the Head to the passage but be not over-hasty in so doing lest the Infant retiring should shape it self worse therefore if it cannot be turned with the hand the Woman must to bed and rock her self taking such comfortable things as may support her Spirits till she perceive the Child turn If a Child come forward with its Shoulders the Neck being bowed as it often happens as also the Hands and Feet stretched upwards In such a case the Midwife must with much diligence move