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
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
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
an envious and covetous Mind And these are Phrases used by the Hebrew Doctors and Talmudists We might farther take notice that this Light was wisely placed in the uppermost and highest Region of the Body as on a Watch-Tower that thereby we may look about and discern Dangers afar off and that by this means the Eye might preside over the whole Body and all the other Senses What the Sun is to the great World that the Eye is to the lesser It is the Guide Light Life and Cherisher of it And finally to put a Period to our Remarks on this Head as there is a double Organ for the Sense of hearing so there is for this of seeing there is a Pair of these glorious Lights in the Body that if one fails the other may supply its room Therefore we may justly look upon Pliny's Relation as fabulous where he talks of People of some Parts of the World with but one Eye for indeed such is the Goodness and Liberality of our Creator that there is not any Animal monocular in the World Thus I have gone thro' the various Parts which constitute the Face or Countenance and I have only this one thing to add which the Lord Bacon in his Essays suggests to us that a Man shall see Faces which if you examine Part by Part you shall find never a good one and yet all together do well Which is a farther Illustration of the Divine Art Wisdom and Providence So much for the Face which consists of several Parts and thence perhaps 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Word in the Plural Number is used among the Hebrews to express it CHAP. III. The Neck contains two Passages or Chanels of a very admirable Contrivance viz. the Wind-pipe with its Larynx and Epiglottis and the Throat or Gullet The second or middle Partition of the Body viz. the Breast is also shewed to be the Product of â—n omnipotent and intelligent Operator The particular Vse and Serviceableness of the Lungs and the peculiar Composure of them in order to this The proper Office of the Heart Its Vessels for conveying of Blood The Circulation of this noble Liquor The Swiftness of its Motion The Situation of the Heart The useful Membrane which encloses it The several Vses of the Diaphragm I Should now descend from the Head to the next celebrated Partition of Man's Body and that is his Breast But first we must take notice of the Passage to it the Neck that fair and streight Isthmus which joyns these Regions This is the round Pillar that sustains the Head This is the Atlas that upholds that Heavenly Part The Inside of it is the Throat which is furnished with two most useful and admirably contrived Cavities or Pipes The first is that which is feared in the â—orepart of the Neck and is that Vessel by which The Air is taken and sucked in and also breathed forth And therefore this Pipe leads to the Lungs yea is inserted into them and several Branches of it are spread through the Mass of the Lungs Besides this is the principal Instrument made use of in forming the Voice and questionless the peculiar composure of it the admirable Fabrick of its grisly Rings was in order to this The Vppermost Part of it is more particularly and signally instrumental to the Speech and Modulation of the Voice and it is to be observed that the all-wise Contriver hath added a Cover which is a small Flap or cartilaginous Membrane somewhat like a Tongue and thence hath its Name to this Head or Top of the Wind-pipe that when we are swallowing none of the Meat or Drink may go down into this Cavity For so it is that what we eat and drink cannot be conveyed into the other Passage the Gullet of which I shall speak next but it must first pass over the uppermost End of this Pipe Wherefore this Flap covers this End when we swallow and hinders the passing down of the Meat and Drink into the Weasand So that it appears hence this little Piece of Flesh is of absolute Necessity and we can neither eat nor drink without it Can the most hardned Atheist perswade himself that these things were by chance or from mere Matter moved Indeed I can scarcely think that any Man can entertain such Thoughts Nay it might be added as farther remarkable that this Cover we have been speaking of is not so close but some humid Liquors as Lohocs and the like lambitive Medicines for Distempers in the Lungs and Breast may be gently conveyed that way and descend by the sides of the Larynx unto the Lungs which still shews the Art and Wisdom of the Contriver The second Passage or Pipe is that which is placed behind this Cover and the Wind-pipe to which that belongs and is seated next to the Vertebrae of the Neck This is that by which we let down our Meat and Drink and therefore leads directly to the Stomach As the forenamed Cavity is the Fistula of the Lungs so this is the Tunnel of the Stomach and accordingly is adjoyned to the upper Orifice of it as that is to the Lungs Both these Vessels are of indispensable Necessity Without the one we can neither breath nor speak and without the other we cannot have any Food or Nourishment conveyed to us to support our Natures And it may be this latter as well as the former is someways serviceable to the making of a Vocal Sound For there are several Instruments that concur to promoting the Pronunciation and rendring the Sound Articulate Thence the Hebrews and others divide their Letters into Guttural Dental Labial Lingual and others are denominated from the Palat. And now having observed what Passages are into the Breast I will speak of that it self that large and capacious Venter that middle Region of Man which contains all the Parts between the Neck and the Midriff And here we are to take notice of the divine Workmanship in those two principal Vessels which the Breast contains viz. the Lungs and the Heart From the admirable Structure and exact Motions of the former a pious Physitian of our Age takes occasion to admire though he saith he cannot do it enough the excellent Artifice of the divine Creator evidently adapted even unto Mathematical Rules for here he plainly appears as he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How duly and orderly do these Bellows for so they are not improperly call'd discharge their Office of attracting and emitting the Air How faithfully do they serve to Respiration which is for the ventilating and cooling of the Blood or as others think for the attenuating and refining the subtilizing and enkindling of it For by means of the Subtilty of the Air which is taken in the Heat in the Heart is provoked and blown up into a vital Flame I will not here dispute whether the Lungs follow and depend upon the Motion of the Breast and Midriff and are filled and moved
together and holds them in their right Places lest by the Motion of the Body they should be shaken and misplaced Thus the Care of the Almighty is every where seen None can observe these Parts but must confess that they were purposely framed by divine Providence There are other observable things yet behind in this Region but it was not my Design to treat of all And besides I may before I end this Discourse have occasion to speak of some of them I hope I have already in good measure performed the Task I undertook i. e. given Proof of the Existence of a Deity or divine Intellect from the Frame of humane Bodies by considering distinctly the three celebrated Regions of them The Brain the Heart the Stomach are the chief Wonders of these several Apartments The first elaborates the animal Spirits the second commutes the Chyle into Blood which the third had before prepared and fermented All things in the Body depend on the mutual Correspondence of these three We owe it to the Heart that the Spirits never fail in the Brain and we are beholding to the Brain that the Motion of the Heart never ceaseth For all that Force and Vigour which are in this latter are communicated to it by the brisk Spirits flowing from the Head But then again these must be made there and continually supplied by sending forth of Blood out of the Heart to the Brain If one of these be interrupted there follow Apoplexies Lethargies c. If the other be suppressed there are Syncopes and Lipothymies And both these great Operators the Heart and Brain are obliged to and even depend upon the grand Laboratory for the whole Body the Stomach the Kitchin where the Food is prepared and dressed for there can be no laudable Spirits or Blood without good Chyle and well concocted In these three chiefly consists our Life viz. that the Meat be prepared in the Stomach that the finer and choicer Part of it be transmitted to the Heart and neighbouring Vessels there to be assimilated into Blood and lastly that the purest and subtilest Part of the Blood be sent and extill'd to the Brain and there refined into animal Spirits These these are the Quintessence both of the Chyle and the Blood They are the ultimate Result of all the Concoctions they are the Perfection of Natures Operations By these volatile Parts of the Blood it is that both Motion and Sensation are performed in the Body and that after this wonderful manner those subtile Particles which by continual Pulsation of the Heart are hurried with the Blood by the carotidal Arteries up into the Brain are there by that laxe and boggy Substance imbibed and separated from the Blood and thence are transmitted to all the Parts of the Body Which is done by the Mediation of the Spinal Marrow i. e. the Pith of the Back Bone called the Silver Cord by Solomon Eccles. 12.6 and accordingly in the Caldee chut is filum funiculus and also medulla spinae dorsi because this descends like a white Thread or Cord. This I may call a Label descending from the Brain and it is indeed an Appendix of it or the Brain at length And the Nerves or Sinews which are originally planted in the Brain and the foresaid Marrow of the Back Bone are spread through the Body on purpose to carry these fine subtile Spirits from the Brain into all the Parts and there are seven Pairs or Conjugations of them for that Use. Because the Parts belonging to the Head are the most considerable there are therefore six of these Pairs appropriated to them One Couple constitutes the optick Nerves another appertains to the Muscles of these Parts a third is proper to the Ears and three Couples go to the Tongue and its adjacent Parts The remaining Pair is divided into several small Nerves that are inserted into the Lungs Stomach and other Parts belonging to the second and third Ventricle Bartholine assignes three Pair more which have their Rise also within the Cranium And he as well as the Ancients reckons thirty Pair that proceed from that Part of the Medulla which is in the Vertebrae and are distributed over the whole Body These and the whole genus nervosum though they are useful for the fastning and linking of the Parts of the Body together which is no inconsiderable Use of them are more especially designed to be the Organs of Motion for this is caused by those active Spirits before mentioned in these Nerves in concurrence always with the Muscles which are purposely framed for the promoting of it For into these are inserted the Nerves which are the proper Vehicles of the Animal Spirits and bring them from the Brain hither and thereby produce Motion For the Muscle swells by an Influx of those Spirits into it and so moves the Part or Member This Action of the Muscles is performed not only by the Nerves but the Fibres and Tendons which are of most exquisite Contexture insomuch that an English Philosopher avoucheth that in the Muscles there seems to be more Geometry than in all the artificial Engins in the World All the Motion of the Body depends on these which are so set one against another that when one is contracted it draws with it that Part of the Body which it is joyned to so that the opposite Muscle at the same time is extended And at another time if this Muscle be contracted the other necessarily is shrunk up and draws to it the Part that is annexed And the only reason why this Muscle is thus affected rather than that which is opposed to it is because the same Quantity of Spirits flows not from the Brain to one that doth to the other The short then is that a Gale a Current a Blast of Animal Spirits is the Spring of all voluntary Motion and Progression for though the Limbs are moved by the Muscles which slip up and down and these by the Nerves yet both are originally moved by those agile Spirits And Sensation as well as Motion is performed by these for the feeling Power is then exerted when the Threads of the Nerves by occasion of the sensible Objects which make some Vibration on them affect the Brain To which purpose these Strings are spread over all the Body so that whenever any Object touches them either mediately or immediately the Brain presently discerns it just as a Spider feels the shaking of her Web if any Thread of it be touched Thus the Nerves and the Spirits in them which are continually diffused are the Cause and Principle of all Sense This is the Reason which perswades me to believe that the Brain the chief and principal Part of all the Body is the Seat of the Soul For where should we fix its Throne but in that Place where there is the original of all Sense and Motion And this is the Brain which as you have heard is the Source of all the Nerves and all Spirits conveyed in
as to its Indefatigable Industry and Sagacity both which are celebrated by all sorts of Antient Writers The admirable Artifice of the Spider in making and hanging her Web and catching her Prey A Flea is the Workmanship of Divinity Mites have Organized Bodies p. 202. CHAP. XI It is from a Divine Author that all Animals are fashion'd and contriv'd in their Parts and Organs in their Senses and Faculties according to the Employment Use and End for which they are serviceable The Natural Propension in them to propagate their Kind is from God So is their Sagacity This latter is voted for Reason by some Writers who also attribute Speech to them It is proved that this is groundlesly asserted and that Reason is the sole Prerogative of those Beings that are capable of Religion To those who object the Uselesness nay Hurtfulness of several Animals as if this were an Argument against Providence it is answered 1. Though we are not able to assign the Vse of some Creatures yet it doth not follow thence that they are useless 2. The Creatures which seem most Vile are a Foil to the rest 3. There is some thing worthy of our Observation in every one of them 4. Some of these are Food for others 5. Most of them are useful to Mankind in a Medical way The Author's Conjecture concerning the Benefit of Gnats Fleas Lice Flies Spiders Venomous Creatures carry an Antidote with them 6. The most hurtful Animals may be beneficial to Man as Crosses and Afflictions are which are welcome to the Vertuous 7. That they generally do so little Harm when they are able to do so much is a Manifestation of the Divine Care and Providence 8. The Enjoyment of their Essence is from the Divine Bounty which none ought to repine at 9. They are made use of by God sometimes to plague notorious Offenders Lastly That any Creatures are Noxious proceeds from the Sin of Man and the Curse which followed it wherefore we have no reason to complain of them or to question the Goodness and Providence of God The vast Numbers and various Kinds of Insects are some proof of their Vsefulness All Creatures are some ways Good and made for some Vse Though we do not see their Vsefulness at present after-Ages may discover it p. 220. CHAP. XII This Argument which hath been used all along in this Discourse to prove a Deity and Providence was made use of in the Old Testament by Job and by David in several of his Divine Hymns which are distinctly Commented upon by St. Paul in the New Testament by the Christian Writers of the succeeding Ages by Pagan Philosophers and Poets whose memorable Testimonies are cited The proper Inferences from the whole are these 1. We are obliged to own a Deity in the visible Works of the Creation 2. We have hence Encouragement to contemplate the Creatures and to study the Works of Nature 3. By this Contemplation and Study we should be induced not only to acknowledg but to worship love and obey the Omnipotent Creator and to devote our whole Lives to his Service and Honour p. 246. PART II. CHAP. I. THE Body of Man is more excellent and perfect than those of other Creatures as to its Stature and several of its Organs and Vessels This singular and peculiar Workmanship is elegantly expressed in Psal. Cxxxix 14 15 16. which Words are Commented upon In the first Noble Cavity viz. the Head are observable the Skull with its Sutures and its Membranes with which it is lined the Brain the Face with its Forehead Nostrils Cheeks Lips Chin Mouth to which latter belong the Palate Uvula Tongue Teeth The wonderful Contexture particular Vse and Design of all which Parts are distinctly set forth and shew'd to be the Effect of stupendous Wisdom Page 1. CHAP. II. The excellent Fabrick of the Ear and the several Parts and Organs which contribute to the Sense of Hearing The peculiar Structure of the Eyes where a large and full Account is given of their Humours Coats Muscles of the Eye-brows and Eye-lids and the Hair belonging to both The transcendent Usefulness and convenient Situation of this part of the Body p. 26. CHAP. III. The Neck contains two Passages or Channels of a very admirable Contrivance viz. the Windpipe with its Larynx and Epiglottis and the Throat or Gullet The second or middle Partition of the Body viz. the Breast is also shewed to be the Product of an omnipotent and intelligent Operator The particular Vse and Serviceableness of the Lungs and the peculiar Composure of them in order to this The proper Office of the Heart Its Vessels for conveying of Blood The Circulation of this noble Liquor The Swiftness of its Motion The Situation of the Heart The useful Membrane which encloses it The several Vses of the Diaphragm p. 42. CHAP. IV. The Frame of the third and lowest Region of the Body speaks a Divine Artist The convenient Position of the Stomach It s wonderful Operation in the Concocting of Food The diverse Opinions of Writers concerning the Cause of it The Author 's particular Sentiment An Account of the Intestines and of the proper Vses of them The several Passages and Conveyances of the Chyle The distinct Offices of the Liver Spleen Pancreas How this Lower Partition of the Body is guarded and secured The mutual and necessary Correspondence of the Brain Heart and Stomach which are the principal Contents of the three Regions of the Body How by the Nerves and Animal Spirits convey'd in them all Motion and Sensation are performed in Humane Bodies p. 58. CHAP. V. The several Kinds of Flesh and how exactly fitted and placed in the Body according to their several Vses and Purposes Why the hinder part of the Cranium is so strong and thick The admirable Conformation and Contrivance of the Vertebra of the Neck and Back The particular Structure of the Hip-bones The Nature and Vse of the Ribs How smiting under the fifth Rib 2 Sam. 2.23 is to be understood The peculiar Configuration of the Bones of the Hands The general Vse of the Bones together with the Marrow of the whole Body They are numerous The Nature and Serviceableness of the Gristles A distinct Enumeration of the several Sinks and Dreins which are made to carry off excrementitious Humours What is the immediate Matter of the Seed What of the Milk The Author interposes his Opinion The Lymphatick Vessels The Pores of the Skin p. 81. CHAP. VI. The wonderful Formation of the Foetus in the Womb is an irrefragable Argument of the Divine Wisdom and Power It is so acknowledg'd by David Solomon Hippocrates Harvey Glisson Whether the Child all the time of its close Confinement be nourish'd with Blood or Chyle by the Navel or by the Mouth As its living in the Womb so its safe coming forth thence is the Effect of a Divine Conduct and Providence The Secret Parts are Proofs of a Wise and Intelligent Creator A Reflection on the whole
This is certain that Vegetables are sundry ways beneficial to Mankind Flax Cotton Hemp with several others of which I may have occasion to mention some afterwards bear Clothing And who knows not the Vsefulness of Plants as they are serviceable to Food and Physick Tho there are some Trees and those the best in some respect as the Oak Fir Elm c. which yield no Fruit or such as is very inconsiderable the firmness and usefulness of their Timber making amends in that kind yet the greatest number of Trees bear Fruit and yield some sort of Food The Earth is yearly a Teeming Mother from whose pregnant Womb all sorts of Fruits are produced for the nourishing and sustaining that numerous Company and Variety of Creatures that live upon it And this wonderful Pregnancy and Fruitfulness argue a God Whence we find this to be the religious Language of the Psalmist He causeth the Grass to grow for the Cattle and Herb for the Service of Man that he may bring forth Food out of the Earth He giveth thence Wine that maketh glad the Heart of Man and Bread which strengthneth Man's Heart Which was gratefully taken notice of long before by that pious Observer of the Works of Nature As for the Earth saith he out of it cometh Bread the support and staff of Man's Life This is one of the most visible and sensible Arguments of a Deity that the World and particularly the Earth affords us We taste as well as see that there is a God and that he is Good Though there was a Fruit at first which was forbid to be eaten by not attending to which our First Parents lost Paradise yet now all are freely indulged to us and there is no transgressing but by Intemperance and Unthankfulness The cooler Fruits of the Summer of which there is great Variety as they are for Pleasure so they are given on purpose by Providence to temper and allay the heat of our Bodies and to cool and refresh the Stomach in that Season of the Year The warmer Fruits Roots and Herbs are in the Winter when they are most serviceable to the Body And even the former Ones when they are laid up and more digested and ripen'd by time are useful then likewise The American or Indian Plants far excel the Europaean Ones as we learn from those who have given us an account of the Coca the Hovia the Indian Fig-tree the Tuna the Cacoa-nut the Cocus-tree the Metla The last of these is thus admirably described by the Immortal Cowley The Man that hath the Metla may supply Himself with almost all things he can want From Metla's almost all-sufficient Plant. Her very Tree is Fruit her Leaves when young Are wholesom Food for Garments serve when strong Nor only so but to make up the Cloth They furnish you with Thread and Needle both A Thorn grows at the end of every Leaf which together with the Stringy part joining to it is used as a Needle and Thread to sow withal What though her Native Soil with Drought is curs'd Cut but her Bark and you may slake your Thirst. A sudden Spring will in the Wound appear Which through streight Passes strain'd comes forth more clear For Liquorish Palats Honey thou dost bear For those whose Gust wants quickning Vinegar But these are Trifles thou dost Wine impart That drives dull Care and Trouble from the Heart To all these Gifts of Luxury and Wealth Thou giv'st us Soveraign Medicines too for Health Choice Balm from thy concocted Bark breaks forth No Antidote affords more present aid 'Gainst doubly mortal Wounds by pois'nous Arrows made Of all the Exotick Plants or Trees that we read of the Cocus-tree or Indian Palm-tree as some call it is the most Admirable and Remarkable For besides that it bears clusters of Coco-nuts every Month it affordeth Water Vinegar Oil Sugar Yea it supplies the Inhabitants with Bread Wine Clothing for the Pith of this Tree serves for the first the Juice of it for the second and the Down of its Leaves for the third This Tree alone is said to be sufficient to build rig and freight a Ship This alone is both Vessel and Cargo Some describe it thus the Body and Branches of it yield Timber for Houses and Ships the large Kernel is Meat the Shell is big enough to make Drinking Cups the Rind affords Materials for Cables Sails Ropes c. The Milky Liquor in the Nut makes good Drink and an admirable sweet Oil is pressed from the Kernel of it Mr. Herbert hath thus deciphered it Sometimes thou dost divide thy Gifts to Man Sometimes unite The Indian Nut alone Is Clothing Meat and Trencher Drink and Kan Boat Cable Sail and Needle all in one Or take it more largely in the Words of Mr. Cowley's Muse What senseless Miser by the Gods abhorr'd Would covet more than Cocus doth afford House Garments Beds and Boards even while we dine Supplies both Meats and Dish both Cup and Wine Oil Honey Milk the Stomach to delight And poinant Sauce to whet the Appetite Nor is her Service to the Land confin'd For Ships entire compos'd of her we find Sails Tackle Timber Cables Ribs and Mast There with the Vessel fitted up at last With her own Ware is freighted all she bears Is Cocus growth except her Mariners Nor need we ev'n her Mariners exclude Who from the Coco-nut have all their Food Among the Foreign Plants we may reckon Tobacco and Coffee the former is the Product of the Plantations in the West-Indies the latter grows on little Trees or Shrubs in the Deserts of Arabia and scarcely any where else And both are of great use at this Day in the Europaean parts whether more for Diversion than real Benefit I will not now dispute As to Physick the use of Plants is notorious as we may learn from every Herbalist and the Common Dispensatory The Roots Barks Fruits Seeds Flowers Tears Juices Rosins Balsams are particularly serviceable to Medical Purposes It hath been observ'd and approved of by the most Inquisitive Naturalists that Plants are appropriated to particular parts of the Body and though they may be serviceable for curing Diseases of other parts yet they are chiefly and more signally destined for the redress of such and such individual Ones Thus Piony Betony Rosemary Marjoram c. are appropriated to the Head and Brain Eye bright Clary Celandine Rue c. to the Eyes Parsley Marshmallows Saxifrage Drop-wort c. to the Reins and Bladder Angelica Saffron Balm Buglosse c. to the Heart Cardamom Pepper Ginger Nutmeg c. to the Stomach Sebesten Iujube Lungwort Horehound Coltsfoot c. to the Breast and Lungs There are other Simples that are good against the Distempers of the Womb as Arach Mother-wort Birth-wort c. Herbs available for Ruptures are Solomon's-Seal Rupture-wort c. Wound-Herbs are St. Iohn's-wort Sanicle Tutsan Self-heal Saracens Consound c. And here I might mention what is asserted by
This must be attributed to the particular Make of their Organs And this particular Make must be ascribed to the Will and Wisdom of the Creator who knew this was most suitable to Humane Nature CHAP. IV. The Frame of the third and lowest Region of the Body speaks a divine Artist The convenient Position of the Stomach It s wonderful Operation in the concocting of Food The diverse Opinions of Writers concerning the Cause of it The Author 's particular Sentiment An Account of the Intestines and of the proper Vses of them The several Passages and Conveyances of the Chyle The distinct Offices of the Liver Spleen Pancreas How this lower Partition of the Body is guarded and secured The mutual and necessary Correspondence of the Brain Heart and Stomach which are the principal Contents of the three Regions of the Body How by the Nerves and Animal Spirits conveyed in them all Motion and Sensation are performed in humane Bodies I Come now to speak of the lower Region it self which is the largest i. e. the longest and broadest of the three Divisions of the Body the Abdomen or Belly i. e. all that Space in the Body which reacheth from the lowest Part of the Breast to the Fundament Here first the Stomach deserves our Consideration and that which we shall take notice of in the first Place is its Situation By which I do not only mean its Position immediately under the Diaphragm which without doubt is for the best but I take notice that as the Heart the most useful Part in the middle Region of the Body is encompassed and kept safe by the Lungs so this which is most considerable in the lowest Venter is seated between the Liver and the Spleen That on the right This on the left Side of it and is kept warm by both The former especially â—herishes and comforts this Part and that is the reason why it is placed so contiguous to it Besides the Liver and Spleen on both sides of the Stomach guard and defend it from the Ribs Nor is the Pancreas or Sweet bread a mere Explâ—â—ive to fill up the void Places between the Stomach Liver and Spleen but is as it were a Pillow to the former of these as some Anatomists have call'd it lest when it is full it should be hurt by the Hardness of the Vertebrae This Guard about it shews it was designed to be a Vessel of great value But the admirable Operation of it doth much more discover it to be so For after it hath taken in the Food it doth by means of that Variety of Fibres with which it is set about enclose and wrap it up and then betakes it self to Concoction a most amazing Work and such as speaks a divine Author The toughest and hardest Meats are digested in three or four Hours Space and turned into a soft Pap which could scarcely be effected in a Pot over never so hot and fierce a Fire and therefore the Food is not concocted by the mere Heat of the Stomach as the old Philosophers thought nor by any Heat brought to the Stomach from the Heart as Des Cartes and his Followers positively determine But whence this fermenting acid vellicating Juice which is the Cause of this strange Alteration of the Meat and turns it in so short a time into a whitish kind of Substance like to Cream hath its Original in the Body is not easie to tell We have no Assurance that this sharp corroding Humour comes from the gastrick and meseraick Arteries as some think Nor can we prove that it is an acid Menstruum derived to the Stomach from the Spleen as others imagine yea some think there is Ground to believe the contrary because there is no proper Vessel to promote that Commerce between them But though herein they are mistaken for the Spleen is joyned to the Stomach by a little Meatus call'd Vas breve yet no Man can certainly tell whether there be any such sharp Liquor carried by this Passage And 't is known that Dogs when they have their Spleen cut out are no less voracious and concoct what they eat assoon as before Others hold that this stomachick Ferment proceeds immediately from the Blood i. e. the salt Humour in it Whence melancholick and hypocondriacal Persons who abound with this saline Liquor have oftentimes a Boulimy But there are Objections levelled against this by some learned Men and they are not easily satisfiâ—d Some think that a Pancreatick Juice is the great Promoter of this Work Riolanus and other Moderns impute it to the sour Reliques of the Chyle which remain in the Stomach and are turned into a Leven Dr. Willis refers it to a sulphureous Acidity and to the active Spirits which issue from the stomachick Nerves The Glandules at the bottom of the Stomach afford a certain Ferment say others The Heat of the adjacent Parenchyma the Liver contributes much to it saith Dr. Glisson It is from a nitrous Principle say Tilingius and Dr. Mayow Which is in a manner the same with Dr. Willis's Opinion It is an odd Notion of Dr. Harvey that it is made by Trituration Some have thought that the Saliva which is mixed with the Meat in the Mouth is the great Instrument of Concoction Thus thinks Diemerbroek and I find that Monsieur Rohault is one that enclines this way but this kind of Moisture is sometimes very defective in those that have a very sharp Appetite and digest their Meat very quickly and therefore I can't think that this is the Aqua-fortis that dissolves the solidest Food so quickly This is all that we know in the matter and are sure of that viz. it is a most stupendous Fermentation that thus dissolves all the Parts of the Food and turns them into that milky Subsistence in so short a time That whatever is taken into the Stomack is consumed so suddenly is a most strange surprizing and prodigious thing Any thoughtful Man will grant this Yet I do not say this as if I questioned whether it is done by natural Means or no for to offer my Opinion and Sentiment in the Point I hold that it is performed by the particular Make and Structure of this Part of the Body It hath that individual Substance Shape Contexture and Formation whereby it is fitted for this Use viz. Concoction And the Reason why no other Vessel of the Body doth or can discharge this Office is because it hath not Parts thus adapted And this is the general Solution which I would give of the Operation and Function of any other Vessel in the Body as the Brain Lungs Heart c. When there are Disputes about the particular Manner of their executing their Offices I conceive the best Answer is that all that is done is done by a peculiar and singular Fabrication of the Parts God hath given them a particular Turn and Form and thereby they effect such and such things This is signally true of that Part which I am now treating 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
Pericardium Peritonaeum Amnios and Chorion 4. Glandulous Flesh which is slippery and porous on both which accounts it is fit for the purposes it is made use of in the Body viz. to move with Ease to imbibe excrementitious Liquors and to transmit them Of this sort are the Kernels about the Throat Paps Arm-holes the Groin c. Thus this Variety of Carnous Substances in the Body is according to the different Use of them which establishes yet further the Notion of a Deity a wise and provident Creator who suits all things in the lesser as well as in the greater World to their proper Ends and Uses And it is a Demonstration that Humane Bodies have plain Impresses of Divine Wisdom upon them As to the Bones they likewise are a worthy Subject to treat of For as the Philosopher of old said in another Case Et hic Dii sunt here as in other Parts of the Body the divine Workmanship is seen it is evident that God is here i. e. The Heavenly Power and Wisdom are plainly discernible in the Fabrick of these Parts I intend not to expatiate here by transcribing the common Treatises of Anatomy and giving you a particular Account of the whole Compages of the Bones but I will only give a Glance on some few of them I have already mentioned the Bony Cap which is the outward Cover of the Brain and is as 't were stitched together by its Sutures of different Forms only here let me observe this that because the hinder Part of the Brain where the Animal Spirits are bred is of the greatest Use and is the chief Source and Original of the Nerves therefore the Heavenly Architect hath made the back Part of the Skull harder and stronger than the other Parts of it either that before or on the Top or those on the Sides And there was another Reason why this hinder Part of the Cranium should be thicker and stronger than the rest because this is otherwise unfenced against Casualties For if a Man falls upon his Head backwards there is nothing to help and defend him wherefore this Part is fortified by Nature In the next place I will take notice of the commodious Vertebrae of the Neck which are a great many little Bones set together in such a manner that the Neck may turn or bend this or that way with Ease whence without doubt they had their Denomination Moreover it was with Wisdom contrived that the Medulla of the Brain being lengthned out should be securely conveyed from the Head through this Guard of turning Bones into those of the Back to which it is joyned which were made to be a larger Case to hold the prolonged Brain or now I may call it the Brains of the Back This Spina call'd so perhaps because its back Part is set with many little ragged sharp Bones like Thorns but 't is vulgarly call'd the Chine which it may be is a gross Corruption of Spine is so marvellously placed and framed by the divine Disposer that it is the most able and substantial as well as the greatest Supporter of the whole bodily Structure The Composure of it is admirably advantagious because it is not one Bone for then it would have been inflexible but it is a Ridg of Bones from the Head to the Hips and consists of no less than 24 Vertebrae which are made to bend so that a Man may conveniently stoop when there is occasion Again this long Ledg of Bones is framed with continued Interstices and Apertures out of which all the Nerves with their enclosed Spirits proceed and are spread into the several Parts of the Body for the strengthning and nourishing of it Whence as I conceive when these Vertebrae are out of order and displaced as in those Bodies that are crooked the Strength and Growth are impeded The Rickets a Disease of Children and if we may credit Dr. Skinner known in the British Isles only and in no other Part of the World hath its Denomination from this Part for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is spina dorsi because it is the chief Scene of this Distemper as our Dr. Glisson determines Toward the lower and further Part of these Vertebrae are placed the Hip or Huckle Bones which are two thick massy Bones that are fastned to the Os sacrum on both sides of it And there is in these a most remarkable Pan or Cavity where these are joyned together and into which the Head of the Thigh-bone is inserted and therefore is called the Hollow of the Thigh Gen. 32.25 which the Angel forcibly put out of joint when he wrestled with Iacob Skilful and observing Anatomists speak very great things concerning the peculiar Fabrication of these Bones concerning the strange Commissures and Junctures of them the admirable locking of them in that they may be both strong and useful The Bones of the Thighs Legs and Feet support the other Bones which are above them and therefore may justly be reckoned the Basis the moveable Foundation of this Humane Building and accordingly a singular and inconceivable Care is taken in the fashioning of them witness about 30 Bones in one Foot The Ribs those crooked Bones which are the Limits and Boundaries of the Thorax on the Sides of it are next to be mentioned They were designed by the Heavenly Artificer to be a Fence to this noble Region of the Body and the Viscera of it viz. the Heart and Lungs And the convex Figure and Flexure of them are not a little conducive to the Safety of those Parts which they environ And perhaps that is the moral Intent of the Woman's being made of the Man's Rib that she should be in her Capacity a Safeguard and Protection to her Husband according to that primitive and emphatick Epithet of a Wife Gen. 2.18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the LXX render it and according to the V. Lat. adjutorium And Pagnin and Buxtorf translate it Adjuvamen Auxilium which is suitable to that excellent Character of a married Woman Prov. 3.11 12. The Heart of her Husband doth safely trust in her so that he shall have no Need of Spoil i. e. of Riches violently got She will do him good and not evil all the Days of her Life All Men and Women have 24 Ribs 12 on one side and 12 on the other There are on each side seven greater ones and they are uppermost and known by the Name of Legitimate which are all joyned to the Breast-Bone The other five lesser which are situated below these and are called spurious are shorter on both sides and do not reach so far as the middle of the Breast Perhaps smiting under the fifth Rib or in or about the fifth Rib for the Praeposition el is of a large Signification as the learned know which is mentioned in the old Testament may signifie that Place in the Body which is under or near the last of these spurious Ribs viz. the
the several Plates of which they consist lying one over another their superficial Cavities their Blood-Vessels c. all which have their special Uses and Ends. That which is most obvious and which none can doubt of is that the Bones were made by the all-wise Being to sustain and support to fasten and corroborate the whole Body And that they might do this the more effectually their Number is very great There are in Human Bodies if we reckon great and little moveable and immoveable Bones no fewer of them than 248 according to Hippocrates and Galen's Arithmetick And it seems this very Number was receiv'd among the Iews for their Rabins aver that there are 248 affirmative Precepts in the Law just so many say they as there are Bones in the Body of Man Riolanus will have us bate one of this Number but Albertus magnus adds considerably to it and reckons 276. some have fancifully reduced them to the Number of the Days in the Year But I find that the most skillful Anatomists of late count above three hundred Leaving others to compute the precise Number of them we are certain of this that it is very considerable and that they were all designed to render the Body more stable firm and steady These are the Posts and Studs or rather these are the Pillars of this House of our Bodies These are Props and Supports of our fleshly Tabernacle These are the Upholders and Sustainers of this Corporeal Building And that this was the main End of them appears from this that most Fishes because they live in another sort of Element which is soft and liquid and hath no Resistances made to it at any time have no Parts of such hard Substance as Bones properly so called but rather Cartilages or Gristles which are more convenient and proper for the Use of that sort of Animals which still convinces us of the universal Wisdom and Providence of God towards all his Creatures And further as to this Cartilagineous Substance which I last mentioned we may take notice how fitly it is made use of in Human Bodies that is in those Parts where it is most useful Thus because it is serviceable for shaping and fashioning those Places which are hollow or which have a Prominency above the rest we see that the Ears the Nose the Larynx Epiglottis c. are made of it For this is not so stiff and hard as Bone but gives way and therefore is not easily broken or hurt Because it is an useful Medium for uniting of hard and soft Parts together it being it self of a middle Nature between them we continually find it among the Ioints and the Articulations of the Members and Limbs We may observe that the Ribs are at both Ends of them tipp'd with this And the Breast-bone it self to which the greatest Part of the Ribs are joyned hath a Mixture of this Substance Yea the lower Part of it which reaches to the Diaphragm and the Mouth of the Stomach and defends them is a perfect Cartilage of a Sword-fashion whence it hath its Name i. e. it is sharp and pointed at the End like that Weapon If some great Coward should chance to read this perhaps it will make him tremble to think that there is a Sword or Dagger so near his Heart To proceed it was necessary that the Body which is daily contracting superfluous and noxious Humours should have some Vessels and Chanels on purpose to drain them away And accordingly the divine Wisdom when it erected this House of Flesh made several Sinks and Drains to carry these off and thereby to purge and clear the Body And yet this must be said that some of them serve not chiefly to this End but only by the by as may be gathered from what was said when I had occasion to speak of them before The Nostrils are for the Evacuation of a particular pituitous Excrement that flows from the Brain The Palate and Mouth are for receiving and ejecting the Spittle Though here I make a Difference between the insipid Spittle I mean that superfluous and viscid Humour which troubles the Mouth and is useless and proceeds from Catarrhs and Corruption of the Saliva and the Saliva it self which properly is not an Excrement for 't is of great Use. It moistens the Jaws and Oesophagus and the Organs of Speech and makes them slippery and thereby serviceable It is useful to quench the Thirst it mixes it self with the Food when it is masticated and by its Moisture fetches out the Sapor of it This Salival Humour promotes and facilitates the swallowing down of the Meat and it is a necessary Preparation and an initial Fermentation in Order to Concoction In the Eyes the Carunculae lachrymales are for the serous Defluxion of Tears which come from the Arteries of the Head into these Places And as Weeping is contrary to Laughter so it is produced in a contrary way for it is caused by the Compression and contracting of the Vessels as the other by the Dilatation of them The Ears are the Evacuators of the bilious Excrement that flows thither That learned Person whom I have so often mentioned is of opinion that the Lungs are the grand Emunctory of the Body And he promises to prove by several Experiments that there passes out of the Body a greater Quantity of fluid matter this way i. e. upwards and through the Lungs than there doth of Urine by the Kidneys downwards The Gall-Bladder in the hollow Part of the Liver is the Dreiner for Choler and the Spleen is the proper Sink for Melancholy or black Choler The Reins or Kidnies are for the Reception and Excretion of the Vrine the watry Part of the Meat and Drink which is conveyed to them together with the Blood from the emulgent Arteries but is here separated from the Blood and then conveyed from these Parts to the Vreters and thence to the Bladder which is of singular Use to receive contain and hold it till it be replenished and then it dischargeth it by the Vrinary Passage Though truly there may be some doubt whether all the Vrine be an Excrement of the Blood For it may be conceived improbable that all the Liquor a Man drinks goes through his Heart If he takes down Mineral Waters in great abundance he evacuates them so speedily that one can scarcely imagine that they went about that way And when he drinks vast Quantities of the strongest and hottest Wines one would think there should be a greater Inflammation and Commotion in that Part viz. by a mighty Increase of the Quantity of the Blood than is usually felt This may prompt us to believe that Liquor hath some other way to the Reins that some of it goes into the Blood and that other Parts of it go more directly to the Reins by some Passage which is not yet discovered The Use also of the Glandules or Kernels which are dispersed up and down the Body is to separate and strain
the Phlegmatick Humours For though 't is probable that some of them as Dr. Glisson hath observed are for Nutrition as the Tâ—ymus or great Glandule of the Thorax the Glandules of the Mesentery yet 't is not to be questioned that others and those the greatest Part are for Secretion Such is the Pituitary Glandule in the Brain which receives the superfluous Humours and conveys them to the Palate Nostrils c. Such are the Kernels behind the Ears and those about the Throat and Jaws called both by the Learned and Vulgar the Almonds of the Ears because they resemble them in Figure the Kernels under the Arm-pits c. also the Seminal Kernels and more especially the Prostatae which are proper Emunctories for the Seed which is produced from a Part of the arterious Blood which is brought from the Heart out of the Arteria magna through the spermatick Arteries into the Parastatae and there prepared Some hold that it is made wholly in these Vessels but it is denied by others who assert that 't is the proper Office of the Testicles The middle Opinion seems to be truest viz. that this seminary Matter is elaborated and made in these and thence flows into the Parastatae which further prepare it by a particular Secretion Some have thought that this is not the Product of the Blood but of the Succus Nutritius which is carried in the Nerves and is derived from the Brain and Spinal Marrow And others reckon it to be a lacteous Excrement But still it is granted by these dissenting Parties that the Glandules before mentioned are made use of for the separating or preparing of this seminal Liquor There are also the Glandules belonging to the Paps where Milk is made of the Blood which is sent from the Heart by the Arteries into these Parts for the nourishing of young ones Though 't is true others are of opinion that this lacteous Excrement is not blanched Blood but Part of the Chyle conveyed to the Breasts But from what I shall immediately suggest it will plainly appear that the old Opinion is the most rational and eligible That of Plutarch is undeniable that the admirable Confection and dispensing of Milk are sufficient to demonstate a Providence and a divine Sollicitude and Concern for Mankind Who can be an Atheist i. e. deny an intelligent and provident Disposer of the World who observes that in the time of the Pregnancy of Women that Blood which had another Chanel before is now directed to nourish the Foetus and assoon as the Time of Gestation is over i. e. assoon as the Infant is born the Passage of the Nourishment is again on a sudden changed and it finds its way to the Breasts and Paps for Nutrition of the Infant the Pores of the Glandules which we are speaking of being then fitted to receive and alter the Blood conveyed to them which assoon as it ascends thither is turned into that white Juice called Milk This seems to be a clear Evidence of the Truth of the ancient Doctrin that Milk is the more immediate Product of Blood But yet I do not say this to exclude the Modern Opinion wholly for in some Persons perhaps who exceedingly abound with Blood and at some times when the Vessels are more peculiarly adapted and qualified the lacteous Liquor may be made both ways I take leave thus to interpose in the Controversie and to compromise it because I observe that Nature delights to vary in her Operations and to do her Work more ways than one I only here add that Milk is of a peculiar Substance or rather contains three kinds of liquid Substance in it serous creamy caseous and hath a great nutritive Vertue in it and consequently is not properly an Excrement though it be reckoned to be such by Physicians in the laxer way of speaking And so is that other which I last mentioned but in a strict Sense they are both of them above the Nature of Excrements i. e superfluous and useless Humours of the Body For the one is for Procreation the other for Nourishing the Fruit of the Womb. Next some late Anatomists tell us of certain Pellucid Vessels which carry a limpid Liquor in them and perhaps have their Rise out of the Glandules of which I spoke before that are every where dispersed about the Body Bartholine the first Discoverer of them thought they were designed to convey that thin transparent Liquor to the Chyle-bearing Vessels and some have believed them to be spread up and down every where to moisten and cool the Body But as I have suggested before that there are several Uses of the same Parts these lymphatick Vessels may be likewise intended to be Receptacles of superfluous serous Excrements and to be of the Nature of common Sewers to the Body Besides all these there are the Pores of the Skin which are universal Emunctories for Sweat and Perspiration The Skin is a kind of Net-work as the excellent Malpighius represents it who often view'd it in a Microscope and tells us that it appears in the Form of a Net full of Holes by means of which our Bodies are perspirable Perpetual Exhalations and Steams issue forth thence from the Mass of Blood and thereby ill and offensive Humours are thrown off and evacuated which if they were kept in would be very destructive to the Body and become the Fuel of most Diseases Or if this be not performed with Freedom and Ease Diaphoreticks are seasonable to provoke this Evaporation which could not be done unless there were these little invisible Passages in the Skin these Eyelet-holes and Perforations as 't were all over it Sanctorius was the first that found out the exact Weight of insensibâ—â— Transpirations and made and used a weighing Chair for that purpose He first discovered that more than half of what we eat and drink exhales by these imperceptible Emanations These vaporous Excrements though not seen exceed in abundance all the other sensible Excretions and Purgations which I have been speaking of Lastly The Intestines and the various Foldings of them are and were designed to be Vents and Evacuatories for the grosser and more offensive Excrements which are separated from the alimental Parts of the Chyle and are thrust out of the Body by Siege Which as sordid as it seems to be is as necessary for the Welfare yea I may add the Being of Mankind as any of the Offices and Functions of the Body that have been named in this Discourse Thus you see how by these divers Sinks and Conveyances the useless Parts are carried off the ill Humours are separated and drained more especially the Blood is percolated and refined and the whole Body is scoured cleared and purified This cannot be the Result of Chance but argues Design and Contrivance It was a divine Director that disposed the several excrementitious Faeces into their proper and peculiar Receptacles in order to the good Plight and Health of the