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
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
wrinkled and raised up it is a sign all will be well But that the Event may exactly answer the Prediction it is necessary to consider what part of the Body the Disease possesseth for if it chance tâ— be the upper part that is afflicted as the Hend or Stomach then will it not so well appear by the Members which frequently are unconcerned with such Grievances but the lower part of the Body exactly sympathizing with them their liveliness on the contrary makes it apparent for Natures force and the Spiâ—it that have their intercourse first manifest themselves therein which occasions Midwifeâ— to feel the Genitals of Chilâ—â—en to know in what part the Grief is resident and whether Life or Death be portended thereby the Symptom being strongly communicated by the Vessels that have their intercourse with the principal Seats of Life CHAP. IX The cause of the Green-sickness in Virgins with its Symptoms and Directions for its cure Together with the chiefest occasion of Barrenness in Women and by what means to remove the Cause and render them fruitful THE former of these ill conveniences is too apparent in Virgins especially such as are of a Flegmatick Complexion evidently shewing it self by discolouring the Face in making it look green pale or of a dusky yellow which proceeds from raw undigested Humours nor only doth it appear to the Eye but sensibly afflicts such as it possesses with difficulty of breathing pains in the Head Palpitation of the Heart unusual beatings and small throbings of the Arteries in the Temples Neck and Back many times casting them into Fevers if the humour be very vitious also loathing of Meat and the distension of the Hypocondriack part by reason of the inordinate Efflux of Menstrual Blood to the greater Vessels and by reason of the abundance of humour the whole Body is often trouble with Swelling or if not at least the Thighs Legs and Ankles all above the Heels And also there is a weariness of the whole Body without any reason at all for it The Galenists say that this Distemper proceeds chiefly from the obstruction of those Vessels that are about the Womb occasioned by the abundance of gross viscid and crude Humours arising from the several inward causes but there are also outward causes which have a share in the production of it as taking cold on the Feet drinking of Water Intemperance in Diet and also the eating of things which are wholly contrary to Nature viz. raw or burnt Flesh Ashes Coals old Shoes Chalk Wax Nut-shells Mortar Lime Oat meal Tobacco-Pipes which occasion not only a Suppression of the Menses but likewise obstructions thro' the whole Body Therefore the first thing necessary to eradicate the Cause is Matrimonial Conjunction and such Copulation that may prove to the satisfaction of her that is afflicted for by that means the Menses will begin to flow according to their natural and due course and the Humourt being diffused and dispersed will soon waste themselves and then no more matter being administred to increase them they will vanish and a good temperament of Body will return but in case such a Conjunction cannot be had so soon as necessity requires then let the Damsel Blood in the Ankle and if she be about 16 you may do it likewise in the Arm though suffer her not to bleed overmuch especially if the Blood be good If the Diseases be of any continuance then it is to be eradicated by purgation preparation of the humour being first considered which may be done by the Virgins drinking Decoction of Guaicum with Dittany of Creet but the best Purge in this case ought to be made of Aloes Agrick Senna Rhubard And then for strengthning the Bowels and open obstructions Chalybeet Medicines are chiefly to be used The Diet must be moderate and sharp things as Vinegar c. be by all means avoided Aâ—d for the unobstructing of the Humour take prepaâ—ed Steel Bezoar-stoâ—e the Root of Scorzonera and Oyl of Chrystal in small Wine and let the Diet be moderate but in no wise let Vinegar be used therewith nor upon any other occasion And in so oâ—serving the Humours will be dilated dissipated and transfused by which means the Complexion will return and the Body be lively and full of Vigour And now since Barrenness daily occasions discontent and that Discontent creates Difference between Man and Wife or by immoderate Grief frequently casts the Woman into one or other violent Distemper I shall somewhat largely treat thereof Sterility proceeds from divers Causes but most commonly from some defect in the Organs of Generation Upon the Womans part it most commonly happens from the strict closure of the Mouth of the Womb which will not admit the Seed and sometimes from the straitness of the Share-Bone which denies entrance to the Penis Sometimes also from Ulcers or Excrescencies in the Neck of the Womb. To these may be added too much Fatness which sâ—raitens the passage of the Matrix Most of the Antients are of opinion that â—â—nception is hindred commonly by the Humidity and moisture of the Womb when by reason thereof it cannot retain the Seed or by bad Humours heaped up there and â—urrupting it or strange defect of the Menstrâ—oâ—s Blood But certain it is that it preceeds either from some Tumour Ulcer Excâ—escence or by some fault or other of the Womb Ovaria or Ovi-Ducts For if the Eggs are not impregnated with the Aura Virilis or Seminal Spirit there can be no Conception the Testicles of Women having no such Office as those of Men but containing Eggs analogous to those of Fowls and other Creatures Now if the Orâ—fice of the Womb be closed that the Seed cannot enter or rather the two Wings or Nymphae so â—ar that â—he Penis cannot pass the Neck of the Womb it must be opened by an Instrument and subject to this defect in Natâ—re are many Women especially in hot Countrys but most of all in Egypt where the Chirurgeons are forced with Silver Instruments to make way for the Instrument of Generation a thiug not altogether unpracticable in England In case the Neck of the Womb be so strait that the Yard cannot enter then is the case to be inquired into whether it be naturally so or proceed from some swelling or Schirrus either within or without and if such things appears it is for the most part incurable but if it be a natural straitness then sâ—pple it with a Tent dipped in Oyl of Roses and the white of Eggs and drink Camomile Posset sweetned with Sugar-Candy Morning and Evening and by the proportion thereof the Womb will in all parts distend or if it so happen in a young Woman Nature will increase the passage and time produce things fitting to their mutual Satisfaction but let no Man by violence endeavour to force the Passage lest he break the Vessels nay endanger the Bladder it self which has been broke with such violent Intrusion and so coft the Woman her Life If the