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
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
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
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
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
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
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
divine in the Disposition of the Parts of Man's Body Other learned Pens as Cardan Mizaldus Gauricus treat of this choice Theme the orderly and harmonious Conformation of the Parts So do Iohannes Baptista Ricciolus and Albertus Durerus the latter of whom endeavours to prove that the whole Art of limning and pourtraying is borrowed from the symmetrical Proportions of the Body Lucas de Burgo and Augustinus Gallus on Vitruvius insist upon these exact Figures and Delineations of the whole Humane Structure They inculcate this that there is a just and perfect Conformity in our Bodies and particularly that the Heighth of Man is the same with his Breadth i. e. the Space between Head and Feet and between the Hand stretched out is alike as was long since observed by a learned Naturalist So Man is of a quadrate Figure And yet if you place him thus with his Arms and Hands stretched out you 'll find that the Figure of his Body makes a perfect Circle the Center whereof is his Navel Here if I may so say we have found the Quadrature of a Circle we may discern the Symmetrical Mechanism of the Body As we observed before when we had occasion to speak of the Lungs and Heart and other Parts of the Body that the Motions and Operations of it are exact and geometrical so now it is evident that the Figure Shape and Proportion of it with the Situation of all the various Parts and Organs are so too And hereby they become the more subservient to one another and mutually assist in the Functions of Life Sense and Motion This is no Workmanship of Humane Skill here is no Automaton made by Art no Daedalus's walking Venus no Archytas's Dove no Regiomontanus's Eagle and Fly Here is none of Albertus magnus or Frier Bacon's speaking Head or Paracelsus's Artificial Homuncle Here is nothing but what proceeds from a divine Principle and Art and therefore cannot be reckoned among those mechanical Inventions which have an external Shew of Sensation and Life for a time but are destitute of a vital Spring If all other Arguments should be laid aside yet this single one from the Fabrick and Syntax of Man's Body is sufficient to evince the Truth of a Deity This particular Frame and Constitution will extort a Confession of the Existence of an infinitely powerful wise and Beneficent Being And this is a Topick which hath been constantly made use of by considerate Men in all Ages of the World Not only by the Psalmist in that excellent Hymn which I have so often quoted but by him again in Psal. 119.13 Thy Hands have made me and fashioned me Which Words it is probable he borrowed from holy Iob whose Writings were much ancienter than his where he more than once argues from the Structure of his own Body Thy Hands saith he have made me and fashioned me together round about Iob 10.8 Thy Hands i. e. thy divine Power hath elaborately and curiously formed me for the Words are very expressive in the Hebrew with Flesh Muscles Nerves c. for these as the Rabins observe are called gnatsabbim from the Verb gnatsab here used And the other Words are as observable together round about which expresses the Formation of every Part with the same Elaborateness and Exactness The whole Circumference of the Body shews the divine Art and Care He proceeds v. 10. Hast thou not poured me out as Milk and curdled me like Cheese Which is a modest and chast Simile to set forth the Conception in the Womb and to signifie how the tenuious and thicker Parts of the seminal Mass are separated and turned by degrees into a fleshy Substance Thou didst saith he in the first Formation of me temper my Body with a most transcendent Wisdom thou didst make some Parts of it liquid resembling a milky Substance but others thou wast pleased to make more firm and consistent and as it were to coagulate them that by this Solidity and Compactness they might be able to contain and keep in the other more loose and fluid Parts He adds v. 11. Thou hast cloathed me with Skin and Flesh as with an upper and an under Garment and hast fenced me with Bones and Sinews By this Diversity of Parts thou hast rendred my Body fit for those excellent Ends to which thou at first ordainedest it This mightily convinced him of the Power as well as of the Being of God and therefore he again Chap. 31.15 acknowledges this very thing viz. that God made him and fashioned him in the Womb. The Prophet Isaiah often endeavours to confirm his Countrymen in the steady Belief of the Almighty Jehovah from this very Consideration The Lord made thee and formed thee from the Womb Isaiah 44.2 24.49.5 c. And in the sacred Writings of the new Testament this Argument is not omitted as is clear from what I alledged before out of the great Apostle St. Paul from whose Words we learn that the merciful and indulgent Creator hath in the Configuration of Human Bodies consulted the Necessities yea the Health and Delight of Mankind There is another excellent Passage in this inspired Author concerning the same Subject which I will here set down at length that the Reader may observe the Philosophical Genius of this accomplished Man who was as great a Naturalist as he was a Divine and was perhaps as able to read a Lecture of Natural Philosophy as of Theology and Christianity The Body saith he is not one Member but many If the Foot shall say because I am not the Hand I am not of the Body is it therefore not of the Body And if the Ear shall say because I am not the Eye I am not of the Body is it therefore not of the Body If the whole Body were an Eye where were the hearing If the whole were hearing where were the smelling But now God hath set the Members every one of them in the Body as it hath pleased him i. e. they are disposed and ranked according to his infinite Wisdom c. These are the weighty Words of this incomparable Naturalist and the Summ of them is that the Frame of all the Parts and Members of the Body is suited exactly to the Service Advantage and Welfare of the whole and that this admirable disposing fashioning and tempering of the Body is an absolute Proof of the divine Skill and Providence Though I grant that he applies these things to a far higher Subject The Christian Fathers and ancient Writers of the Church were wont to insist upon this Theme Minutius Felix after he had been speaking of the peculiar Providence of God in the erecting of Human Bodies concludes at last that there is no one Member appertaining to them but is both for Necessity and Comeliness Lactantius hath a Book of the Workmanship of God wherein he descants on the Body and all the Parts of it arguing a Divinity and Providence from them Theodoret undertakes to prove the