Philosophical work of Transmutation because its Sulphur being once Coagulated loses all Power of Motion for the future and therefore is unfruitful and dead But 't was this same Seminal Sulphur that when the Gold was produc'd did Coagulate it self with Mercury and thereby convert it into Gold And there appears not any solid Reason against the possibility of the Transmutation so much sought after since though Seeds cannot be converted into other Seeds yet those that are endow'd with a weaker Mover may be overcome by and brought under the Dominion of such Seeds as are furnished with a stronger And now having establish'd the Material and Formal Principles of Natural Bodies the Efficient only remains to be consider'd Prop. XVIII The chief Mover under God of all Natural Bodies that actuates and foecundates all Animal Vegetable and Mineral Seeds that Coagulates Elementary Water into all sorts of Bodies according to the various Ideas of those Seeds that applies the same Water to those Ideas and in a word the chief Efficient in all the Phaenomena of Nature is a certain subtil Spirit of an Igneous nature diffus'd through the whole visible World but chiefly treasur'd up at the Center thereof in the Sun N.B. 1. BY Spirit here is not meant an Immaterial Substance but a Body consisting of very Minute and very Active Particles peculiarly fitted for Motion and endow'd with a great measure of it 2. By the visible World I understand here that part of the Corporeal Universe which contains the Earth with the other six Planets and makes up one great Vortex whereof the Sun is the Center As for the rest of the Universe it is altogether unknown to us only as that most ingenious conjecture of the incomparable Des Cartes concerning it is very likely to be true namely that every one of the fixt Stars we see is the Center and Sun as 't were of a distinct Vortex So 't is no less likely that each of them has the same relation to its own Vortex and the same Influence upon the Planets or whatever Bodies they are which it contains that the Sun has to our Vortex and upon the Bodies comprehended there in particularly the Terraqueous Globe And though this Part of our Authors Hypothesis concerning the Anima Mundi or Vniversal Spirit may be applicable in the sense newly explain'd to the whole Universe of Bodies yet his other Principles of Water and Seeds are not so comprehensive and whatever he says of them must be limited to the Bodies contain'd in this little Point of the Universe that the Almighty Creator has given to Mankind for an Habitation And the truth is we have but little certain knowledg of the other Parts of the World and that little we have is very superficial 3. This Vniversal Spirit is actually Igneous in its Fountain the Sun and after it is incorporated in Terrestrial Bodies even the coldest of them it differs but in the slower Motion of its Particles from actual Fire and therefore when-ever they are put into a rapid motion it turns into actual Fire again And those Particles of Combustible Bodies that being in a vehement Agitation do chiefly constitute our Culinary Fire were once Particles of this Vniversal Spirit and came Originally from the Sun 4. This is the Spirit that mov'd upon the Water at the beginning of the Creation For when God created the Matter of which he intended to form this Terraqueous Globe namely a great Mass of simple Elementary Water he endow'd it with all sorts of Seeds and made use of this Spirit to Coagulate a great part of the foresaid Mass according to the Signatures of those Seeds into Mineral Vegetable and Animal Bodies of all kinds And the Word in the Original which our Translators render Mov'd seems to agree very well with this Hypothesis For it properly belongs to Birds sitting upon and fluttering over their Eggs and young ones to excite quicken and foecundate the Seed contain'd in the Eggs and so bring forth the young ones and to cherish them when they are brought forth so that in this place the Word may be very reasonably suppos'd to imply that the Vital Spirit which God had Created did as 't were sit upon and move it self in the Waters to actuate the Seeds they contain'd and by this means Hatch'd as 't were and brought forth the after-mention'd Bodies 5. Tho' this Spirit by Coagulating the Elementary Water into several Bodies was it self Coagulated and Incorporated together with it and tho' it has been propagated to all sorts of Bodies that have been produc'd by Generation ever since the Terraqueous Globe was first Created so that every fruitful Seed has a Particle of this quickning Spirit connate with it Yet this Particle is not sufficient to accomplish the Evolution of the seminal Ideas and actuate the Body in all the Functions that belong to it unless it be maintain'd corroborated and multipli'd by constant fresh supplies from that Inexhaustible Treasure of this Vital Fire which is plac'd in the Sun and thence diffus'd with the Rayes of that glorious Body to all Parts of the visible World and particularly to the Terraqueous Globe where it maintains and actuates the fore-mention'd Native Spirit of all Animals Vegetables and Minerals 6. The Vital Substance that flows continually from the Sun is equally capable of all Forms and unites it self indifferently with all Seeds But when 't is once united it loses its indifferency and is specifi'd according to the determinate nature of every particular Seed that it incorporates with Hence the Sulphurs of Vegetables are quite different from those of Animals and both from the Sulphurs of Minerals nor can they be transmuted into one another by humane Art So streightly does the Vniversal Spirit unite it self with particular Seeds The reason of this so close an union is because the Native pre-existent in every Seed is of the same Spirit Nature and Original with this Vniversal Spirit As for the Proof of the Proposition hitherto explained the Vniversal Spirit asserted in it is manifest 1. From the absolute necessity of constant Respiration to Men and most other Animals for hence it is evident that there is a certain Vital Substance in the Air that they cannot live a Minute without fresh supplies of now that the Air is but the Vehicle of this Vital Substance flowing continually from the Sun and the Medium through which it is convey'd to sublunary Bodies shall be prov'd hereafter So that it must be the Vniversal Spirit cloath'd with Air that is constantly receiv'd into the Lungs by Inspiration and thence transmitted to the Heart which being the chief Fountain of the Animal Life that constantly diffuses a Vital Spirit through the Arteries together with the Blood to all Parts of the Body and thereby maintains and cherishes the Native Heat and Vital Spirit residing in each of them must have constant supplies from the Vniversal Spirit to Corroborate Maintain and Multiply its own Particular Spirit For the
Vniversal Spirit that flows from the Sun to all Parts of the Macrocosm is of the same Nature with this Particular Spirit that flows from the Heart to all Parts of the Microcosm and is therefore very fit to nourish and support it with constant new supplies 2. The same Vniversal Spirit is no less evident from what has been deliver'd under the former Proposition concerning the Generation of Animals To which I shall only add that Nature has solicitously provided to secure the Seed from External Air because if it were expos'd but a moment to the Air the Vniversal Spirit that dwells there would instantly suck up so to speak the Congeneal Spirit that foecundates the Seed as not being yet incorporated Wherefore the Seed of Oviparous Animals is carefully shut up from the Contact of the External Air within the Egg. And in Viviparous Animals presently after the Injection of the Masculine Seed into the Womb and the Union thereof with the Feminine the Orifice of that Part is exactly clos'd and the two united Spirits do presently fall to Work and begin the Evolution of the seminal Ideas and the Apposition of Aliment thereunto But this Work could never be accomplish'd nay nor even begun unless the seminal Spirit were excited cherish'd corroborated and supported by the Heat of the Womb and by constant supplies of the Mothers Vital Spirit convey'd with the Arterial Blood from her Heart to the Placenta Vterina and thence transmitted through the Vmbilical Vein into the Vena Cava and so into the Heart of the Foetus which is the Centre of Evolution and the chief Spring of all the Animal Actions both in and out of the Womb But no sooner is the Foetus separated from the Mother and thereby depriv'd of the supplies that the Vital Spirits residing in the Heart receiv'd from her in the Womb than it begins to draw supplies for maintaining of the same Vital Substance from the Vniversal Spirit lodg'd in the Air as was said before 3. 'T is the Vital Spirit residing in every particular Part of the Human or any other Animals Body maintain'd by the Influence of the Vniversal Spirit convey'd with the Air by Respiration into the Lungs and from thence communicated by means of the Circulation of the Blood first to the Heart and from that to the whole Body 't is this Spirit I say that Coagulates the Fluid Blood into the solid substance of that Part and is the true Efficient of all the Vital Functions belonging to it Those Animals that are destitute of Lungs are nevertheless endow'd with Organs of Resparation of an equivalent use For that excellent Anatomist Malpigius has happily discover'd that those blackish Points which we observe in Insects all along the length of their Body on both sides are really the Orifices of so many Tracheas or Wind-Pipes which convey the Air into the Stomach Spinal Marrow and all the other Bowels as well as the Heart so that the Air has immediate access to seed the Vital Spirit that resides in each of them because there is no Circulation of the Alimentary Juice in these Animals or if there be it is too slow to convey sufficient supplyes of the Vniversal Spirit from any one Part to all the rest as it doth from the Heart and Lungs in perfect Animals And the constant ingress and egress of the Air by these little Holes is so necessary to the life of Insects that if you immerge their whole Body into Oyl or but anoint these little spots with it they presently dye whereas if you anoint only the Intervals with Oyl without touching these little Holes they receive no harm And tho' Fishes have no Lungs nor Air Pipes because they live in the Water yet instead thereof they have Gils which are Dilated and Contracted by a perpetual Reciprocation to give ingress and egress to the Water as the Lungs of other Animals are to Inspire and Exspire the Air. Nor can Fishes live without Water any more than Land-Animals can do without Air. Whence 't is highly probable that the former receive constant supplyes of some vital substance from the Water as well as the later do from the Air especially if we farther consider that the Vital Liquor Circulates through the Gils of the one by the Ramifications of their Arteria Bronchialis as well as it do's through the Lungs of the other by those of the Arteria Pulmonaris Wherefore if in Land-Animals the said Vital Liquor divide it self into little Rivulets in its passage through the Lungs that every part thereof may at each Circulation receive fresh supples of Vital Spirit from the Air that is diffus'd through the whole substance of those Respiratory Organs by the numerous Ramifications of the Wind-pipe if this be so I say as we formerly prov'd it to be we may very reasonably suppose that in Fishes the same Vital Liquor Circulates in like manner through the Gils that it may receive constant fresh supplies of a vital substance from the Water that washes the Gils perpetually N. B. The Gils of Crusted Fish as Lobsters c. and of Shell-fish as Oysters c. are spongious and not only receive the Water into all their innermost parts where it communicates with the numerous Vessels that diffuse the Vital Liquor through the whole substance of the Gils but give it a Passage also into all the Internal Cavities of the Body where it is laid up as in Bottles to supply the foresaid Fishes with Vital Spirit when the Ebbing of the Sea leaves them in sicco whereas the Gils of sanguineous Fishes that live constantly in the Water are not spongious and the Water washes only their outward surfaces without penetrating any farther But instead of enlarging any more upon this point I shall refer the curious Reader to Dr. Willis's Book of the soul of Brutes Chap. 3. where he will find it very fully and accurately handled 4. The Existence of an Vniversal Spirit is evident from what has been said concerning the Growth of Vegetables For 't is a Particle of this Spirit in the seed excited strengthn'd and maintain'd by the Suns Vital Influence that Explicates the Seminal Idea and Coagulates the Water into solid substances as Wood Bark c. which could never be produc'd out of simple Water without this Coagulating Spirit 5. The same Argument may with equal if not greater force be applied to Minerals and especially to Metals which tho' they be the solidest substances yet known are nevertheless made of Mercury which of all Liquors is the most fluid In the next place To evince that the Sun is the chief Fountain of this Vniversal Spirit I need only put the Reader in mind of what was formerly observ'd concerning vegetable seeds namely that they would be perpetually barren if their Native Spirit were not actuated by that vital substance which is every where diffus'd with the Rayes of the Sun But to confirm this a little farther 't is evident beyond contradiction
that the Growth of Vegetables depends upon the Influences of the Sun since the different Seasons of the Solar Year have so constant and so powerful Effects upon them For in Winter the Influence of the Sun is very weak because of the Obliquity of his Rayes and the shortness of the dayes and therefore Seeds lye dormant in the Earth without any motion Herbs fade and wither or dye totally Trees are depriv'd of their Leaves and lively Verdure shoot forth no Twigs produce no Blossoms bear no Fruit and in a word cease from all Vital Actions Yea many Animals themselves loose much of their Vigour and some of them such as Flyes Frogs Swallows c. lye dead as it were all the Winter long in Chinks of Walls or in Cavities of the Earth or under Water without any motion Sense or the least appearance of Life But when the Sun comes to be more vertical and the Dayes grow longer every thing capable of Life is quickn'd or reviv'd and the whole Face of the Earth that look'd dead and lifeless before appears fresh verdant lively and quite new insomuch that 't is astonishing to behold so vast an alteration the Vital Spirit remaining in the Roots of such Herbs as did not quite dye in the preceeding Winter being Reviv'd Excited to Motion and Corroborated falls to work afresh and produces new Stalks Leaves Flowers Seed Fruit c. the Vital Spirit that had in a great measure retir'd from the Branches of Trees into their Roots and Body explicates it self anew restores their fresh and lively Verdure and adorns them with new Leaves Twigs Buds Blossoms Fruit c. Finally the Vital Spirit of the forementioned Animals that had Concentred it self in the middle of their Body actuates the Members anew which it had before deserted and restores to them Sense Motion and the Exercise of all their Vital Functions Lastly The Vniversal Spirit appears to be of an Igneous Nature 1. Because it flows from the Sun which is an actual Fire Yea the Solar Rayes themselves which diffuse this Vital Substance through the Visible World being Collected by a Burning Glass into a Center produce all the Effects of our Actual Culinary Fire 2. The Vital Spirit of Animals is fed by the Universal Spirit as has been evidently prov'd and by consequence is of the same Nature with it Now this Vital Spirit in Hot Sanguineous Animals has all the Essential Properties of an Actual Flame For it constantly diffuses a sensible Heat through all the Members of the Body it is maintain'd by constant fresh supplies of sulphureous Fuel from the Aliments that are taken into the Stomach and thence conveyed to the Blood where this subtil Flame invisibly burns and of an Aerial Pabulum from the Air that is taken into the Lungs by Inspiration and there communicated to the same Liquor it constantly emits Fuliginous Effluvia both through the Wind-Pipe also through all the Pores of the Skin which are like so many Chimneys appointed to ventilate this vital Fire It is kindled first in the Seminal Liquor either by another vital Fire as in viviparous Animals or by the Intestine Motion of the Sulphureous Parts excited and cherished by a continu'd External Warmth as in Oviparous Animals but so long as the Foetus is included in the Womb or Egg it burns very faintly and never breaks out into an actual Flame till the Air have free nccess to it by Respiration finally it dyes as soon as it is depriv'd of Sulphureous Fuel of Aerial Pabulum or of Ventilation Now these Properties seem to be peculiar to Flame and particularly there is nothing we know of in the World besides Life and Fire whose Motion is instantly suppressed by withdrawing the Air. See Willis de Accentione Sanguinis Prop. 19. The Vniversal Spirit that Coagulates Elementary Water into Solid Substances of the Animal Vegetable and Mineral Kingdoms consists of Acid Particles For 1. IT is of an Igneous nature and Fire has been prov'd to consist of Acid Particles put into a rapid Motion 2. All Chimists agree that the Concretion of Bodies depends upon the Saline Principle Now Acaline Salts are apt rather to Dissolve Bodies than either to Coagulate or be Coagulated Whereas we have a multitude of Instances of Coagulation and Fixation perform'd by Acid Salts which tho' they Corrode and so Dissolve many Bodies yet their Property is to Concoagulate with the Bodies they have Corroded Thus Quicksylver is Fixed and Coagulated by the Acid Particles of common or Antimonial Sulphur into Cinnabar by those of Salt and Vitriol into Sublimate Corrosive by Spirit of Nitre into Red Precipitate as the Chymists abusively call it by Oyl of Vitriol Oyl of Sulphur or Oyl of Alum into Turbith Mineral finally by the Acid Particles of Fire into Precipitate per se These Instances are the more pertinent to our purpose because Mercury is a more Fluid Body than Simple Water it self And the last of them tho' at first it appear somewhat Paradoxical yet upon better examination it seems to be very reasonable since Precipitate per se as well as the rest of the newly mentioned Preparations of Quicksilver may be reviv'd into running Mercury by being distill'd from Salt of Tartar Quick-lime or such other Alcalisate Bodies as are very apt to be wrought upon by Acid Salts and thereby to disengage the Quicksilver that was Coagulated with them and since the Particles of Fire which have been prov'd to be Acid may penetrate Glass and many times increase the weight of the inclosed Bodies as Mr. Boyle has undeniably evinced by a great many Experiments and finally since Fire is the only Agent in this Preparation The Sulphur of Lead deprives Quicksilver of its Fluidity Volatil urinous Salts are so powerfully fix'd by Acid Spirits as to endure an open Fire for some time but they recover their former volatility as soon as they are disengaged from the Acid Salts that fixed them by the addition of any Alcalisate Body All sorts of Acid Salts do coagulate Milk and the Coagulation of the Creamy parts of Milk into Butter depends upon the internal Acid of the Milk for if you throw any Alcalisate Salt into it there can be no Butter obtain'd from it The Acid Salts of Nitre do so powerfully fix the vomitive Sulphur of Antimony as to render it a good Diaphoretic The Acid of Spirit of Wine instantly Coagulates Spirit of Vrine for if both these Liquors be highly rectified as soon as ever you have mingled them the whole mixture loses its Fluidity insomuch that tho' the Glass be inverted not one drop will fall out yea our Author affirms that if Spirit of Wine highly rectified be kept for some months upon Salt of Urine in a gently digestive heat they will unite together into a Calculus of a reddish Colour and which is yet more strange four parts of this Stone will convert one part of new Spirit of Urine into its own Substance and four parts of this one more and so on without any end and that the Stone in the may be Generated after the same manner by the Plaistick Vertue of an Internal Acidum joyned with the Salt of Urine and being mixt with Gravel by Fermentation concentrates into a Concreate Substance We found by a Stone being taken out of a Humane Bladder and Anatomized by Distillation to consist of Oyl Spirit and Volatile Salt with a very large Caput Mortuum but of this we shall say no more at present but leave the Reader to judge what may be gathered by the foregoing Experiment so that it 's believed the Universal Spirit that Coagulates Elementary Water as well as other Bodies into solid Substances consists of Acid Particles FINIS Some Books Printed for and sold by Stafford Anson at the three Pidgeons in St. Paul's Church-yard 1691. 1. DIctionarium Historicum Geographicum Poeticum Opus admodum utile apprime necessarium A Carolo Stephano Inchoatum Ad incudem vero revocatum innumerisque pene locis auctum emaculatum per Nicolaum Lloydium Collegii Wadhami in Celeberrima Academia Oxoniensi socium Editio novissima In qua Historico Poetica Geographica seorsim sunt Alphabetice digesta Liber totus tum emendationibus tum additamentis recentioribus tredicem Annorum Lloydii Elucubrationibus manuque ultima ita adornatur ut novus ac plane alius videripossit Cui accessit Index Geographicus ubi hodierna vernacula Locorum nomina Antiquis Latinis proponuntur 2. The History of the Council of Trent containing eight Books In which besides the ordinary Acts of the Council are declared many notable Occurrences which happened in Christendom during the space of forty years and more and particularly the Practices of the Court of Rome to hinder the Reformation of their Errors and to maintain their Greatness Written in Italian by Pietro Soave Polano and faithfully translated into English by Sir Nathaniel Brent Knight Whereunto is added the Life of the Learned Author and the History of the Inquisition in Folio 3. Dionysii orbis Descriptio Annotationibus Eustathii Hen. Stephani nec non Guil. Hill commentario Critico Geographico ac Tabulis illustrata 8vo 4. P. Virgilii Maronis opera Interpretatione notis Illustravit Car. Ruaeus ad usum Delphini Juxta Editionem novissimam Parisiensem 8vo 5. Horatii opera ad Vsum Delphini 8vo 6. Phaedri Fabulae ad Vsum Delphini 8vo 7. Virgilii operacum Annotationibus Johannis Minellii 8. Id. cum Notis T. Farnabii 12ves 9. P. Terentii Comoediae cum notis T. Farnabii 12ves 10. Isocratis Orationes duae 1. Ad Demonicum 2. Ad Nicoclem Nova methodo apprime utili quoad verbum sensum Latine redditae Graecismis Phrasibus sententiis in quibus maxima vis Rei consistit