as Bellows are because they are distended or whether as some of late contend they are dilated by the elastick Force of the Air rushing in and so upon their Extension follows the swelling of the Diaphragm and thereupon the Motion of the Thorax This is Inspiration And then in Expiration the Diaphragm is contracted and returns to its right Figure and the Air is expelled Neither will I question Whether it be a collateral End of Respiration to discharge and expel an excrementitious Fluid out of the Mass of Blood as the excellent Author whom I have formerly cited thinks he can sufficiently prove But this we are sure of laying aside all Disputes that the Lungs are the great Instrument of breathing and that they are absolutely requisite for the admiting of the Air in order to the rouzing of the vital Spirits and quickning and maintaining the Flame of Life for the sensitive Soul is fed by Air as the Body by Food And we are sure of this likewise that they are necessary Organs of Speech and Voice of articulate and significant Sounds And we have no reason to doubt of this that the great Architect and Framer of Man's Body hath particularly fitted and composed the Lungs for these Purposes for they are light spongy and flexible and full of hollow Places to hold the Air and convey it through hidden Passages to all the Body And they are wide and capacious that the Air may play in them and have its full Scope in the Cavity of the Thorax And moreover that they may be firm and steady and so perform their Operations with the greater Certainty and Accuracy they are on the Back of them fastened to the Spina and thereby become fixed This may convince us that they are the Work of a supreme and primary Cause who is Owner of infinite Understanding and doth all things with Skill and Counsel Wherefore that is an excellent Spark of Devotion in the Talmud At every Breath that a Man breatheth he ought to praise God his Creator The other rich Treasure in this Chest is the Heart the Fountain of natural Heat which it disperses over all the Body by vertue of its peculiar Office which is to make Blood and to distribute it by the Arteries into the Parts Whether the so deservedly admired Motion of the Blood be from an infinite Faculty as Galen thought or from Rarefaction which expands the Heart as Cartes determines or from the Air taken into the Lungs as Mr. Hobbes suggests or from the Quantity or Copiousness of the Blood falling into the Heart which labors to expel it thence by a Constriction of its Fibres whereby the Cone of it is brought nearer to the Basis as Dr. Charlton thinks I will not here dispute but this we are certain of that an intellectual Spirit was the first Cause and Efficient of it And any considerate Man that takes notice of the wonderful Make and Figure of the Heart and of all the Vessels subservient to it cannot but acknowledg as much Therefore a celebrated Anatomist of our own resolves the Motion of them and of the Blood into a divine and supernatural Principle not to be conceived and explained by us We know that when the Blood flows into the right Ventricle of the Heart this is dilated and when it is thrust out thence this is contracted but the true natural Spring of this double Motion is hid from us Whether the Motion of the Heart depend upon the Blood or the Motion of this depend on the Heart because if it be a great Muscle as not only Hippocrates and Galen but some modern Philosophers and Physitians have averred it seems of it self to be made for Motion being actuated by Spirits and drawn by Fibres it is not my Business here to enquire but this is the thing which ought to employ our Thoughts and excite our Devotion that whatever second and natural Causes may be assigned of this Phaenomenon the supreme Author and Contriver of it is some intelligent Substance and it is impossible it should be otherwise For the whole stupendous Contexture of the Heart and its double Ventricle with the four Vessels in them viz. two Veins in the right and two Arteries in the left Side the former to convey the Blood to the Heart the latter to carry it off together with the various Nerves Fibres c. is a Work of Understanding Prudence and Judgment for all these Parts have Relation to one another and are mutually helpful in their Operations and they all apparently conspire for the Good and Welfare of the Body Who can sufficiently admire the Circular Conveyance of that noble Liquor through the greatest Vein of the whole Body into which all the other Veins empty and disembogue their Blood into the right Ventricle of the Heart out of this into the Lungs through a capacious Artery falsly called a Vein which hath its Original from the Heart and is divided into many Branchâ—s which are dispersed through the Lungs out of this Parenchyma of the Lungs into the left Ventricle of the Heart through a remarkable Vein corruptly call'd an Artery which hath its Rise from the Lungs and is mixed with the Branches of the Aspera Arteria and the Arterious Vein And so when the Blood is digested and perfected in both those Ventricles of the Heart and Lungs it is carried out of the left Ventricle into the bigger Sort of Arteries through the great Artery which proceeding out of the Heart disperses its Branches through the whole Body and out of the lesser Arteries not by Anastomoses or Inosculations as some have thought but through the Substance of the Flesh into the lesser and then the greater Veins and thence thro' the Vena Cava into the right Ventricle of the Heart again and so the Circulation is made Or the short is that the Heart hath on one side of it the Vena Cava and on the other the Arteria magna both which great Trunks have Branches dispersed through all the Body even the extremest Parts and are continued to one another by capillary or small Vessels and so there is no Interruption of the circular Course of the Blood but it returns to the Place from whence it first set out These are the Journeys of the Blood these are its several Stages these are the distinct Chanels and Vessels it moves through Thus by the Heart and other Passages as 't were in a Water-engine it is carried in a constant Course round Which is a sufficient Evidence that these Machines were at first made and then set into Motion by an omnipotent and wise Being And the Speediness of this Motion is as remarkable as the Circulation it self For from the Pulses which are the sensible moving and beating of the Arteries and are made as often as the Blood rusheth out of the Heart into these Vessels we may gather the swift Career of this liquid Substance Primrose is singular in
in his forming of the World CHAP. VI. Vegetables are next consider'd and their Different Parts enumerated and shew'd to be Arguments of a Divine Contriver Their Fragrancy Delightfulness Beauty Their Various Natures Kinds Properties Their Vsefulness in respect of Food Particular Instances of some Foreign Plants viz. the Metla the Cocus-tree They are serviceable for Physick The Signature of some of them declares their Properties and is a Divine Impression TO the Earth properly belong Vegetables i. e. Trees Plants Herbs Flowers and all Fruits that are the natural Product of them which whether you consider their Excellent Make or their Great Variety or their known Vsefulness bear witness that they are the Offspring of a Wise Parent First let us contemplate the Curious and Exact Composure of these Vegetative Creatures They consist of 1. A Root by which they suck Moisture Sap and Nourishment from the Earth and from which also these are convey'd into all the Parts of the Tree or Plant. 2. A Trunk or Body Or in Herbs 't is call'd the Stalk which is remarkable for its distinct Knots and Ioints which are at convenient Distances and were design'd to uphold and sustain the Plant for these Joints strengthen the Stalk 3. A Bark which is for the Preservation of the Trunk And this is lined with an inward Skin Peel or Rind The Barks of some Trees especially are very remarkable and particularly that of the Cinamon Tree is worth more than the whole Body 4. Pith Medulla Cor by this the Aliment is carried from the Root to the other Parts It answers to the Spinal Marrow in Animals 5. Branches the extreme Parts or Limbs and they answer to Arms and Legs in sensitive Creatures The lesser ones are Surculi Twigs 6. Fibres or Filaments little hollow Strings for carrying the alimental Juice or something of that nature to all Places 7. Flowers with their initial and progressive Buds Blooms Blossoms 8. Fruit in order to which all the other Parts are 9. Seed which is for the Propagation of the Species and is admirable for its Make for a Microscope will inform us that it contains the Whole Plant in it All the different Parts before-mention'd are to be found here shut up in a Shell or Husk So that every Seed is a Plant epitomized Lastly Leaves which may perhaps seem to be a very inconsiderable Part of Vegetables and might well be spared but if we make Enquiry into them we shall find that they are for several uses In respect of the Flowers and Fruit-trees to which they belong they are a Shelter and Guard to defend them from the Inconveniencies and Injuries of the Weather viz. the Insults of sharp and boisterous Winds the excessive fall of Rain or Hail and the immoderate heat of the Sun Leaves are likewise an Ornament as well as a Fence and their great variety of work is worth the Observation of the Curious for some are open and spread out others are folded together some are even and smooth others are wrinkled or crumpled or rough Others are either shining or winged or perforated or threaded or spotted or full of veins or hairy or prickly or flowry Some are round some are triangular some are oval others are sharp-pointed or forked or cut and divided into several Partitions some of them into 8 or 9. And as to the Edges some are plain others are uneven and these latter are either indented or waved or engrailed c. or they look as if they were rent and torn Further if we may give credit to Malpighius a very good Author in this matter who is seconded by Mr. Ray who is another very good Judg in the case Leaves are for the concoction of the Aliment derived to the Trees In respect of others they have their use also for they afford a cool shade in Summer which in hot Climates especially is unspeakably welcome because comfortable and refreshing pleasant and delightful I could add that in some places where there is abundance of Trees the Leaves when they fall and are dry do for a little time serve poor Folks for Firing and I remember I have seen them rake them together for that purpose Or if they be let alone upon the Ground they are a sort of Compost and do in some small measure improve the Soil Now can any Thinking Head entertain such a Thought as this that all these several parts which have all a plain relation to one another and have also a general reference to the good of Mankind for which we see they are useful and wherein we may evidently see there is so much Design and Contrivance were produced by mere Chance or which is the same by a blind Operation of Unintelligent Matter No certainly this cannot enter into the Mind of a Man that thinks and considers especially if he takes notice of what the excellent Malpighius and others have demonstrated viz. that there is not any part or function in Animals but 't is answer'd by something of the like nature in Plants There are in this Rank of Creatures distinct Organs and Vessels for the managing of Concoction Nutrition Procreation c. though they are in a different shape and guise from what they are in Beasts and Birds and such like perfecter Animals This was not unknown to the Antient Stagarite according to whom a Plant or Tree is a Man invers'd the Root is the Head and Mouth the Trunk is the Body the Bark is the Skin the Pith is the Heart the Fibres are in lieu of Veins Arteries and Nerves the Boughs and Branches are the Arms and Feet and the Leaves are the Hair But this Old Notion hath been lately improved and more than ever illustrated by that Learned Italian who hath so highly merited of Medicks and Natural Philosophy To proceed what excellent Things doth the Vegetable Kingdom afford us Who is not ravish'd with the excellent Shape Colour and Smell of the Plants and Flowers which a choice Garden is stock'd with Hence perhaps some of the Grecians philosophized in the Walks and Gardens about their Cities and made their serious Studies pleasurable by this means Besides that here was administred occasion enough for Philosophy Here a Man is as 't were transplanted into Paradise again and is inviron'd with Innocent and Harmless Delights So that 't is no wonder that One forsook his Crown and turn'd Gardiner He prefer'd Botanicks before Politicks or he reckon'd a Florist's Employment to be Royal and Princely he counted a Garden a Kingdom unriddling that of the Poet Inscripti nomina Regum Nascuntur flores Indeed there are some of these that seem to be formed for Sight and Beauty only or chiefly as Tulips Anemonies c. of which there is scarce any other use to be made And that use is sufficient for hereby they shew the more Transcendent Beauty of their Maker And as for the rest whose Virtue and Efficacy we are well acquainted with even they are endowed with their pleasant and
Life the great Laboratory of Animal Spirits the Spring and Fountain of all Sense and Motion for these are caused by those nimble and active Spirits which are dispers'd through the whole Body and diffused into all the Members of it in order to Sensation and all the Functions and Exertments of Life These are those fine and exalted Particles of Matter that are the Medium by which the Soul acts on the Body that produce such great Wonders in Nature and work such excellent Effects and Operations in us Now the Almighty Operator hath made it the Office of the Brain to elaborate these Spirits and to send them thence by the Nerves into the several parts of the Body And that this Useful Agent may be always set on work for the good of the whole Body God hath appointed the Heart another Strange and Wonderful Engine in us which we shall distinctly speak of afterwards to yield a continual stock and supply of Subtile Vapours from its warm Blood exhaled through the Iugular Arteries into the midst of the Brain and the Vessels that environ the Conarion which when they are there sufficiently sublimated and refined are thence diffused with great force into the Nervous Chanels and the whole Body Thus there is a continual Correspondence and Conformity between the Brain and the Heart to which purpose it may be observ'd that when the spirituous parts of the Blood exhale up into the Brain by the Diastole of the Heart the Brain is heaved up and when they cool by the Hearts Systole and the taking in of fresh Air into the Nostrils it subsides So that the Brain hath its Pulsation and beats as the Heart and Arteries do as hath been observ'd by Physicians and Chirurgeons in Fractures of the Cranium who then had an opportunity of discerning this Motion And here by the by we might remark that the Sides of the fore-part of the Head are call'd Tempora i. e. Times in many Languages because they have a set and successive Motion like Time and the Hours may be reckon'd by these Temple-Pulses as by a Clock for there are about 3000 of them hourly in a Man of perfect Health Thus by the Contrivance of the Heavenly Artist the Brain and Heart keep time and so the Harmony of this Divine Machin to which they belong is preserv'd But that we may be convinced that there is nothing here but mighty Wonders we are to observe that the Brain which is as hath been said the Seat of Sense and Life and the Efficient of Animal i. e. the Finest Spirits is it self the most dull phlegmatick and coldest part of the Body The substance of it is lax spongy and porous and is but a Glandule saith Dr. Wharton It is made of soft Pith and Pulp which is liable to be shatter'd and displaced But the Divine Hand hath cast a Net over it and through it as 't were which holds the parts together and hinders their Dislocation Which strange Contexture of innumerable little Twisted Strings and Fibres as well as its Matter shews it to be framed for some special use and Design which no other part of the Body is made for and it calls upon us to admire and adore the Composer Next the Face or Countenance which is that fore-part of the Head which is always bare and expos'd to view is to be consider'd by us The Excellent Features of it are the greatest Discrimination between Man and Brutes for either they have no Face properly and strictly so call'd or it looks not forward as Man 's doth who hath a Body erect which no other Creature hath and consequently a Countenance of that posture Here the Supreme Creator's Image is most especiâ—lly discern'd this is a Transcript of the Heavenly Spirit this is the Mirror of that Divine Soul which is within And therefore this part of Man is the chief Subject of Physiognomy which so far as 't is natural and sober may contain some Reality in it and hath been approved of and practis'd by the Wisest among the Ancients as Pythagoras Aristotle Hippocrates Galen and others There are generally some external Signs and Marks in the Visage which demonstrate the Temper of the Mind From inspection of the constant and natural Lineaments in the Countenance we may sometimes guess at the Soul For God hath imprinted these Characters there that we may read the Dispositions and Inclinations of Men in them And the strange Diversity of Mens Countenances is no contemptible Argument of the Wisdom and Goodness of the Creator in making them so wonderfully Various It is to be admir'd that though all Men have the same shape and figure of their Faces yet there are different strokes and lines in every one of them Sic similes universi videmur inter se singuli dissimiles invenimur as Minutius Felix speaks If Men were alike in Face as Sheep and some other Animals what a strange Confusion would be in the World How many Evils and Mischiefs would follow upon it If the Visage significantly call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the fashion of the Countenance Luke ix 29 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the particular appearance or form of the face Mat. xxviii 3 were alike in all Persons Parents could not know their Children Husbands their Wives Relations their Kindred Magistrates could not discern the Guilty Creditors could not know their Debtors So Injustice Fraud Murder Bloodshed Adultery Incest would reign among Men and yet there would be no way to discover and detect them This must needs happen if one person could not be discern'd from another which could not possibly be if they were all alike And thus the Society of Men would have been broken and there could have been no humane Converse It was therefore the work of Divine and Infinite Reason to make this great Variety of Faces which we see to give Men distinct Lineaments that so they might certainly be known one from another This different shaping of humane Countenances is a proof of an All-wise Being and one that had a regard to the good of Mankind But if we particularly survey the several Parts which constitute this Divine Form in Mens Faces we shall have yet a greater Sense of this Supreme Disposer The Forehead is a singular Ornament full of Grace and Majesty it is the Index of Joy or Sorrow of Severity or Mildness of Anger or being pleas'd of Shame or Impudence and in brief if the Roman Orator spoke good sense it is the door of the Soul The Protuberancy of this part is useful for it conveniently shades the Eyes it beats off the excess of Light which would be troublesome and offensive and be some hinderance to the sight The Nose or Nostrils were made not only to contribute toward the Beauty and Comeliness of the Countenance but to be of great Use and Necessity For their Offices are first to draw in and let out the Breath they are the proper Organ of Respiration
his Opinion and reckons but seven Hundred Pulses in an Hour Other Physitians rise much higher but with great Inequality they being more used to feel than tell the Pulses Harvey reckons two Thousand Regius three Thousand Bartholine about four Thousand for according to the different Temper and Habit of the Body the Agitation of the Blood varies and consequently the Circulation of it is finished sooner in some than in others If we speak of what is commonly experienced in most Persons that are healthful and well disposed in Body and are of a just Stature it is generally agreed that the Heart usually gives in the Space of an Hour about three thousand Strokes The whole Mass of Blood which in a Man's Body who is adult seldom exceeds Twenty four Pounds Weight or is less than fifteen passes through the Heart and whole Body six or seven times in an Hour in some oftner in others Yea a late learned and applauded Physitian tells us that in some Persons all the Blood passes through the Body thirteen times in one Hour And he endeavours to shew exactly that the Situation and Structure of the Heart are fitted for this swift Motion that the Vessels are wonderfully made to distribute the Blood through the Body in so short a time and to perform their whole Circle and Periodical Revolution This more particularly may be observed that this noble Mover is placed exactly in the Middle of the Breast and in a manner of the whole Body that the Influence of it may equally reach all Parts Though indeed the Pulse is more sensible on the left Side which is by reason of the left Ventricle wherein the vital Spirits are elaborated and where is situated the great Artery that conveys them forth thence both which are on the left And besides the Cone or Point of the Heart deflects rather to the left Side to give way perhaps to the Ascention of the Midriff That this choice Vessel of the Heart may be defended and preserved it is encompassed with the Lungs which hang on both sides of it and are call'd by some Anatomists the Hearts Pillow And add to this that this precious Treasure is enclosed in a Membranous Covering which is stiled the Pericardium As the Heart is fastned to a Part of the Spina to keep it steady so this Capsula is fastned to the Midriff to keep it in its right Situation and also to defend it from Injuries And it is not to be omitted that within this Membrane there is a serum or thin Liquor which is placed here on purpose to keep the Heart moist and consequently to promote its Motion Whereas if the outward Superficies of the Heart were depriv'd of this serous Matter it would it is probable through continual Agitation and Heat grow dry and wrinkle and be made unfit for Motion This Lympha therefore is of great Use and as all the other things before mentioned convinces us that the Fabrick of the Heart was from an understanding Mind and could not be from any other And after all this may be observed which is very strange and wonderful that the Heart is insensible as Dr. Harvey proves from one who had a Fracture in his left Side so that this Part was exposed to view and was handled but not perceived So much for the Heart which is the lower Heaven as 't were in this little World the Head being the upper one where the divine Soul hath its Throne Having viewed the middle Cavity or Partition of humane Bodies and having found it to be a Structure worthy of its Creator I should now with religious Admiration pass to the lowest Region of the Body which answers to the Earth in the sublunary World But because this is separated from the foregoing Region by a certain cross Bound called the Diaphragm or Midriff we ought therefore to take notice of that first This Muscular Partition lies over-thwart the lower Part of the Breast and is sometimes known by the Name of Praecordia because the Heart touches it with its Cone Through this fleshy Skin the Gullet descends And to this Part likewise the Pericardium the Liver Spleen Stomach are all fastened whence there is a Communication between them and it The Use of this Partition is to divide the vital Parts from the natural ones i. e. the Heart and Lungs from the Stomach and other lower Bowels as it was fit there should be a Distance between these Parts of so great Difference in their Nature and Use therefore this Wall was made between them Again it is useful to help the Exoneration of the Intestines for by pressing these the Faeces are more easily evacuated But its chiefest Use is for Respiration for by contracting it self it extends the Breast and by that Extension is Inspiration wrought So by extending it self it contracts the Breast and by that means Expiration is performed Thus it is next to the Lungs which it immediately touches as well as the Heart the principal Instrument of free breathing And besides these Uses already mentioned it is concluded by the most judicious Searchers into the Secrets of Nature that this Part of the Body is useful for Laughter that innocent and healthful Diversion of Man's Life if it be used lawfully and moderately For this peculiar Posture of the Countenance with that sonorous but inarticulate Voice which attends it is to be ascribed in great part of the shaking of the Muscles of the Diaphragm caused by an Agitation of the Spirits dilating the Heart and consequently this Part and the Breast which being moved affect the Muscles of the Face and cause this pleasant Figure of it Hence one of our learnedest Masters in Physicks gives an Account of this particular Motion of the Countenance from the peculiar Frame of the Midriff and the Heart of Man which is different from that of all other Animals This is the Reason why Laughter is proper to Man only And the same inquisitive Person takes notice that the intercostal Nerve is of a particular and unparallell'd Composure in Man whence there is a wonderful Consent between the Praecordia and the Parts of the Mouth and Face insomuch that assoon as Grief invades the Breast the Face corresponds and is troubled Hence Men of all Creatures only weep as well as Laugh This we may entertain as a Truth whatever Virgil or Pliny suggest to the contrary who tell us of weeping Horses But every Moisture or Distillation from the Eyes which is seen even in some Brutes sometimes is not to be call'd Tears Homer who tells us of weeping Horses mentions speaking Brutes of the same Species he that gave them Tears could give them humane Speech And the same Poet talks of immortal Horses that feed on Ambrosia instead of Oats or any such ordinary Provender There is no Creature properly speaking weeps but Man for this comes from that inward Sense and Perception which are not in irrational Animals
viz. the Stomach And though all is done here in a natural way yet it was caused at first by a supernatural Efficient the supreme divine Author of all things who framed this Vessel after this particular manner and most wisely designed and contrived the Operation and Office of it in order to the nourishing and sustaining of the whole Body Which will appear if we consider what becomes of the Chyle that milky Juice into which the Food is here dissolved It is sent through the lower Orifice or Mouth of the Stomach into the Guts which are fitted and prepared on purpose to receive it and to give it a farther and higher Digestion Properly there is but one Intestine which hath divers Names according to its divers Parts or Offices That which immediately adheres to the Bottom of the Stomach hath its Name from its being thought to be in its full Dimensions twelve Fingers in Length though the expertest Anatomists find it not half so long This hath no Windings but descends streight from the Pylorus that the Chyle may pass thence the better And it hath a narrow Cavity that it may pass by degrees and not all together The next for I will mention them all because they have some particular Service though not very distinctly known to us is the hungry one so call'd because it is often empty by reason of the abundance of lacteal Veins that are there which suck up the Chyle The third is much larger than these two before mentioned and is therefore capable of receiving more of the Faeces and of retaining them a longer time Here is the Iliack Passion Note that these three first Intestines are generally known by the Name of the small Guts The fourth is an obscure or blind Appendix whence perhaps it hath its Name of the Intestine last mentioned and of that which I shall name next for it rises out of the End of the one and the Entrance of the other It hath its peculiar Use in the Reception of the Excrements in preparing them for Ejection in correcting the Flatus that proceeds from them and in serving also as a Ligament to fasten and uphold the Peritonaeum The fifth is the largest and thickest of all and the chief Receptacle for the Faeces Here is the Scene of the Cholick Pains bred of Winds and Vapours which arise in this lower Region of the little World Lastly there is the streight one so nominated because it directly tends to the Anus And here for there are Wonders in every Part of the Body between the Podex and the Vesica is that so useful and excellently contrived Muscle whereby untimely Excretion is prevented and hindred the Benefit of which cannot sufficiently be expressed I may justly call it the Key of the Postern-Gate of the Body with which it is opened and shut as often as there is occasion which is a thing not only of singular Use and Convenience but of absolute Necessity And as for the more general Use of the Intestines it is very observable and worthy of their Author For first they were designed to retain the Nourishment a considerable time in order to its better Fermentation and Concoction To which purpose they are made of a round long and concave Figure that they may be more capacious and hold the Chyle the longer time and that they may be the fitter for Motion Secondly the Intention of them was to separate what is brought into them the useful Parts from those that are of no Use. Thirdly to convey and distribute the wholesome Portion of the Chyle into its proper Receptacle for the Nourishment of the Body Fourthly to expel the useless Parts and Sediment downwards And though the other Employments be more honourable yet this is as necessary and admirable as they To these Ends their peristaltick Motion was given them which is singular and peculiar and ordained for this very purpose and no other By this Motion which is compared usually to that of Earth-Worms which move the Parts of their Bodies successively and gradually the pure profitable and defecate Parts of the Chyle are separated from the Excrementitious and the Faeces are by degrees depressed and carried off That there should be this peculiar Contrivance of these Parts and that they should have spiral Fibres peculiarly fitted for the Employment they are designed to whilst other Parts have Fibres of a quite different Nature shews whose Workmanship it is And the many Turnings Foldings and crooked Windings of these Vessels were designedly framed by God for the promoting of these Ends. Hereby the Chyle hath time to digest sufficiently and to send laudable Nourishment to the Body Otherwise it would too soon be ejected and precipitated If the Intestines had not these Windings we should be always hungry because the Meat would slip out of the Stomach too soon Therefore when there hath been the contrary Make of the Guts a perpetual Appetite and Voracity have been observed of which see Instances in Riolan Anthrop l. 2. and Cabrol Observat. 10. Nature doth not perform its Work too fast but leisurely and sedately by Help of these Meanders and anfractuous Passages of the Entrails I have only this to observe further that all the Intestines are joyned together by the Mesentery that they may not be loose and they are also fastned to the Vertebrae of the Back But because both the Stomach and Intestines were primarily intended for conveying and dispersing the useful and nutritive Part of the Food into the several Parts of the Body I will proceed to shew you the manner of this particular Conveyance and Distribution one of the greatest Arguments of the divine Contrivance of Man's Body that we can desire The Food i. e. the major Part of it being converted into Chyle in the Stomach and afterwards by the Contraction of its Fibres detruded down into the Guts the more tenuious Parts of it are directly conveyed to the lacteal Veins which are dispersed through the small Guts and the Mesentery Here is the first Preparation of the chylous Matter after its Descent out of the Stomach Then from these milky Veins 't is carried to the common Receptacle which is of a membranous Substance and is placed at the Root of the Mesentery and above the Vertebrae of the Loins to which it is fastned though some have lately exploded this common Receptacle of Pecquet From thence it ascends to the Ductuâ— Thoracicus and thence into the subclavian Veins call'd so from the Claviculae or Chanel Bones by which they pass and thence it flows into the upper Trunck of the Vena Cava where 't is mixed with the Blood and thence it runs directly into the right Ventricle of the Heart in its Diastole where 't is turn'd into Blood And thence into the Lungs by the Heart's Systole Thence into the left Ventricle of the Heart whence passing through the Aorta or great Artery it is poured into the Arteries of
the whole Body and thence returns again by the Veins For the lesser Veins bring it to the Vena Cava and from thence as was said before into the right Ventricle of the Heart Or briefer thus the prepared Chyle which is the nutritive Part of the Food is carried to the Heart by the Veins sent about by Arteries and goes back again by Veins This is the Passage of it this is its constant Circuit However though we may be mistaken in some of the chyliferous Passages yet as to the main the Progress is rightly stated and we cannot but acknowledge as the learnedest Enquirers have done that the Motion of this liquid Matter from one Place to another is surprizing and amazing The various Stages of it its sudden mounting and climbing up even from the Intestines to the Thorax its making way through so many different Chanels is all of it divine and heavenly Mechanism None can see and observe these things but they must be confirmed in the Belief of a God And now I should say something particularly of the Liver and Spleen though I had occasion to mention them before and observed they were a Guard to the Stomach and on that account were of use The former of these was said by the Ancients to be the Blood-making Vessel but now 't is otherwise agreed by the learned viz. that the Blood is made in the Heart Wherefore they assign that Part other Offices which yet are of no mean Advantage to the Body Dr. Glisson is of opinion that the Liver is of the Nature of a Streiner i. e. the Blood and other Humours are defecated as they pass through it And moreover he thinks that it promotes the Fermentation of the Blood running through it But those who are perswaded that no Chyle or Blood is carried to the Liver because Anatomists do not find any Passage from the lacteal Veins thither assert that the chief Employment of this Part is to separate and prepare Choler for the use of other Parts of the Body and that the grosser Part of it is derived by the Gall-Bladder and Bilary Passage which are in the hollow Part of this Viscus into the Intestines to promote and facilitate the Evacuation of the Excrements out of those Parts which are thereby rendred fluid and so fitter for Motion But the better and milder Part of this Juice is sent into the Blood continually and is very serviceable to augment its Fermentation I will not interpose here to examine or judge which of these Opinions is most probable but any Man of rational Thoughts will determine that a Part of the Body which is of that Bigness and Consistency that the Liver is of was not placed there without good reason and for some considerable End Then as to the Spleen it was thought by the Ancients that its Employment was to separate the melancholick Part of the Chyle and to contain it in its particular Cavity as the Gall-Bladder is the Receptacle of the yellow Choler and after Concoction of it to transmit some of it to the Entrails some to the Veins and some to the Stomach Others lately assign other Offices of the Spleen but cannot well agree what they are Dr. Glisson will have it to be useful for the preparing of his succus nutritius Others think it is serviceable for the gathering and dreining of a certain acid excrementitious Juice But the most probable Function of it is to help and further the Ferment of the Blood and to advance its due Concoction in the Body It is certainly a necessary Vessel in humane Bodies and cannot be taken out of them without real Damage to them though some other Animals may make a shift to live without it after 't is cut out Or that a Man may live without it perhaps may not wholly be denied but yet 't is useful to the Health of the Body for a thing may be useful though not absolutely necessary Hear therefore what a Person of Understanding and Judgment in these things hath said The great Architect saith he never made any thing in our Bodies to no purpose What Man therefore in his right Senses can believe that so eminent and large a Bowel as the Spleen is should be given in vain to Men and Beasts without any Necessity or Use in order to Life And so I doubt not but the Pancreas or Sweet-bread which is a glandulous Substance seated under the back Part of the Stomach at the Bottom of it and so is as it were its Cushion to lean upon is of considerable Use in the Body It is said by some to send a Juice to the Stomach in order to the Concoction By others it is thought to afford a Liquor to the Guts for fermenting the Chyle there It is concluded by others to be a Dreyner viz. of some useless excrementitious Humour that passes that way Thus Physicians and Anatomists disagree about it some asserting one thing some another And here let me say this with relation not only to this Part but to those immediately before spoken of that though we have not a particular or full Knowledge of the Use of them yet we ought not to conclude thence that they are useless But rather as one of the Ancients said of Heraclitus's Writings that what he understood of them was good and he thence gathered that what he understood not was so too the like we may in a resembling manner say of the Parts of the Body we have a full Proof concerning most of them that they are very useful and there is reason to infer thence that the rest are of the like Nature though we cannot give a particular and distinct Account of them And now I will shut up all that I have to say concerning this last and lowest Region of the Body when I have observed to you that this being the only Partition that is not guarded with Bones for the Ribbs came no farther before than the Diaphragm there is other Provision made for it for it is in a special manner fenced and secured though not with Bones yet with several other Coverings As first there is that Skin which is called the Rim of the Belly This covers all the Entrails and not only defends them but keeps them warm and likewise keeps them together and thereby prevents a Rupture There is another Skin or Membrane which wraps up the Intestines and that is the Cawl or Kell This is under the Rim and is not so large as that but it is useful for the foresaid purposes and also to keep the Bowels glib by its Fatness and Moisture not to speak here of its Serviceableness to Concoction which might have been mentioned before for when this Part is corrupted and defective Digestion fails of which see an Example in the Philosophical Transactions Aug. 20. 1684. Furthermore there is the Mesentery in the middle of the Entrails which is another Tye and Security to these Parts for it laps them close
as by these so by the Muscles and Tendons furnished with Blood by Veins and Arteries whether greater or capillary joyned together with Ligaments another sort of Substance of a middle Nature between a Membrane and a Cartilage wherewith the Joynts of Bones and the Gristles are bound together Thus as the Apostle speaks like a natural Philosopher expressing the admirable Dependence of one Part of the Body on another for his Words are a plain Allusion to this the whole Body being fitly joyned together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and compacted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by that which every Ioint supplieth according to the effectual working in the Measure of every Part maketh Increase of the Body Eph. 4.16 And again with Reference to the natural Head and Body he saith and that most significantly the Head from which all the Body by Ioynts and Bands having Nourishment ministred and knit together increaseth Col. 2.19 which is a brief and summary Account not only of the sovereign Influence of the Head the Fountain of Spirits on the whole Body but of the harmonious Connection of the several Parts of the close Conjunction and Agreement among themselves By those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as this holy Writer truly and properly stiles them those several Iunctures and Bands the Body is compacted made fast and firm and cannot be disordered easily by a violent Motion And yet at the same time it is by means of these rendred pliant and flexible Such is the various Work of the divine and wise Contriver such are the mighty Wonders that are interspersed through all the Operations of the Body This therefore is the thing I urge that in the Make of all these Parts of the Body there is observable a Design an acting for some End And this infallibly leads us to a God It was madly and sottishly said by Lucretius Lumina nè facias Oculorum clara creata Prospicere ut possimus and much more to that purpose the sum of which is this that the Eyes were not made to see nor the Ears to hear nor the Tongue to speak nor the Legs and Feet to walk but Men having Eyes Ears c. make use of them for seeing hearing c. It were to be wish'd that this Poet had not been englished by so fine a Hand as he is for by the extraordinary Goodness of the Verse the Badness of this Epicurean's Notions is I fear unhappily instilled into the Minds of young Gentlemen Though it is true also that the Extravagancy and Absurdity of them are their own Antidote where there is a considerate Reader So that it may be said the ingenious Gentleman who hath done this Author into our Language hath exposed him as well as translated him Certainly no Man can have the Face to deny that the Bodily Parts have a Correspondence with one another and are mutually helpful in their Offices which could never have been unless they had been with Wisdom fitted and accommodated for it No Man of tolerable Understanding can deny that the Eyes Ears Lungs Heart Stomach c. were made for those individual Purposes of seeing hearing breathing sanguification Concoction c. He that considers that the Veins have certain Valvulae of a peculiar Texture proper for promoting the Course of the Blood and that the Arteries have their convenient Filaments for dispersing the spirituous Parts of it cannot but own that they were appointed for these very Purposes All this shews wise Forecast and Design and consequently proves a supreme Intelligence that actuates the World Say that I have not exactly and punctually explained the Design and Intent of Providence in all the Parts and Vessels of the Body which I have mentioned say that there be various and different Opinions concerning the Use of some of them as will easily be granted yet we cannot possibly err as to this that the most of them were designed for those very particular purposes which we have named And as to the rest there is some great and noble Use for which they were made and this is promoted and effected whether we know it or no. Suppose some of those Hypotheses I have proceeded on should be false as Anatomy and Physick are improved daily and new Discoveries are made yet this will no ways invalidate the Design of my Discourse because though some of these things in the Body of Man be solv'd by other Principles and Maxims the things themselves will still be serviceable to shew the Wisdom and Providence of God Nay perhaps they will be more strange and wonderful according to other Hypotheses or Principles than in that way which I have offered for the Solution of them Whether Bartholine's or Sylvius's or Willis's Hypothesis be truest it is not requisite to be â—ully satisfied It is not necessary for us to know whether Pecquet or Des Cartes or Malpighius or our own Harvey Glisson Wharton or Needham have given the best Account of some Functions of the Body for however they may differ they agree in acknowledging the admirable Contrivance of them And from the things themselves which we have propounded it is apparent that the Body hath animal vital and natural Powers in it and that it is extremely fitted for the Discharge of the several Offices belonging to these and that there are different Vessels and Parts made use of in order to it And we see that all things are plainly contrived for the best and for promoting the Welfare of the Body This is that which I have been evincing and this is enough to prove the great Hand of God in the Make and Constitution of the whole And as for the exact Symmetry of all the Parts taken and considered together it hath been the Subject of many wise Heads and will yet further conduce to my present Design which is to assert a Deity from the Configuration of Man's Body They agree in this that the Proportions and Dimensions of it are extraordinarily accurate and harmonious and that the Parts exactly answer to one another both as to the Longitude and Latitude It is so excellently proportioned that if we may credit Vitruvius who was a good Judg in this Case the Measures of Temples Ships and Engines were taken from it And in another Place he saith that every well-built House must be according to the Proportion of the Members of a well-figured Man It was long since observed by two eminent Writers of the Church that there were the same Proportions in the Fabrick of the Ark that there are in the Body of Man So a curious Person of this latter Age takes notice that this ancient Structure was accommodated to the Dimensions of Humane Bodies that is its Longitude was sixfold to its Latitude and tenfold to its Profundity And hereupon he takes occasion to declare that there is such a Harmony and Symmetry of the Members that they all have an exact Reference to one another Whence he infers and that rightly that there is something