the motion of the body and so all those things which are said to be attracted by these qualities are mov'd by another kind of motion then that of Attraction And indeed who can easily conceive that a simple quality should be able so of a sudden and so powerfully to offer violence to things solid and weighty What motion can have an incorporeal vertue to go and find out and bring away massy bodies How is it to be apprehended that contrary to all other qualities which advance forward this only should return back Would there not be a necessity that while it brings back the bodies which it draws after it it should quit the space where it found them which yet continues still full of the same quality True it is and must be acknowledg'd that the Loadstone hath a magnetick vertue which it diffuses out of it self But this vertue is not attractive it only causes in the iron a certain feeling of its presence and thereupon the iron makes towards it of it self as it is in like manner inclin'd towards the iron For if they be both set on the water so as that they may freely swim on it they will approach one another if they be of equal force and if the iron be the more weighty or that it be stopp'd the Loadstone only will move towards it So that it is clear they draw one another no otherwise then as it is said the Sun draws the vapours which by reason of their lightness ascend of themselves after they have felt the heat Art 12. That there is not any attractive vertue in Purgative Medicines NOr is it by Attraction that purgative Medicaments do operate For of these these are some which cause vomiting being apply'd to the soals of the feet and other inferiour parts then which there cannot be a more certain argument of their not attracting the humours since that instead of obliging them to come to themselves they cause them to make a contrary motion Besides the purgative vertue being a natural Faculty should attract the humours which are conformable and consonant to it self in what subject soever they are found whereas far from that it attracts them not at all in bodies which are weak or depriv'd of life And indeed those who have more exactly examin'd the manner how purgation is wrought have shewn that purgatives have no other vertue then that of dissolving and separating the humours as the Rennet does the parts of the Milk And that the separation being made Nature being incens'd thereat expels and drives them out So that the evacuation thereof is wrought not by Attraction but Impulsion Art 13. That Grief and Heat are not attractive THere are yet others who affirm that grief and heat are attractive but they are only the Spirits which Nature sends with the blood into the parts for their support and assistance And this is no true attraction no more then that which is made by a vacuum For a privation which in effect is nothing cannot have any vertue But in this case the bodies put themselves forward to prevent a disorder which Nature cannot bear withall There are not therefore any Attractive vertues and consequently we are not to look for any in Animals in order to the causing of any conveyance of the blood into the veins But there remains this yet to be urg'd to the particular in dispute that it is true the Blood is not attracted but that it moves of it self as does the iron which is sensible of the magnetick vertue of the Loadstone and that having in like manner a certain feeling of the sympathetical vertue inspir'd by the parts it is of it self inclin'd towards them It must be acknowledg'd this expedient would do pretty well if this sympathetical vertue could be well establish'd But how shall we imagine it can subsist in such different subjects as Plants and Animals are or members of a different constitution and temperament such as are those of sound and unsound or diseas'd parts Nay though it should be granted in them What allyance can there be imagin'd between that vertue and the blood which is often alter'd or corrupted between it and the mineral waters which are drunk in fine between it and the poisons which are dispers'd all over the body Nay when all is done neither this means nor any of the others that have been propos'd doth satisfie the regularity which Nature observes in the motions of the blood nor most of the agitations it suffers in the Passions of the Soul nor yet the transportation of the chylus and other humours which is wrought in the body So that there is a necessity of having recourse to the Spirits as the general cause of all these effects And certainly whereas the Blood moves not of it self and that whatsoever is mov'd by another must be either forc'd or attracted or inclin'd neither impulsion nor attraction having any place here it is accordingly necessary that some Body which hath the vertue of moving it self should combine with it and convey it whereever it goes Now since we know that the Spirits are the chief instrmments of the Soul sent by Nature to all the parts to dispose them to action mixt by her with the blood to render it fluid and which she insinuates even into the humours against Nature as well to concoct as force them away there is no question to be made of their being the transporters of the moisture which is in the Vessels since they are beforehand in them to keep them fluid and that there are not any other substances which may be mixt with them to convey them to the places whereto they ought to go And consequently that they are bodies most susceptible of motion which being animated or immediately mov'd by the Soul are the only instruments that can move the blood in all the differences of situation which we observe therein Art 14. That the Blood is convey'd to the parts only by the Spirits FRom what hath been deliver'd it is apparent that in the ordinary course of the Blood the Spirits are the only instruments which cause it to ascend without trouble descend without precipitation and direct and convey it into all the parts nay even to the depth of the Bones for their nourishment By the same Spirits it is diversly stirr'd in the Passions according to the different designs which the Soul proposes to her self they convey it to the wounded parts to relieve them and confine it to an exact observance of that rectitude and regularity which is remarkable in all its motions In a word Nature is the principle and source of all these operations and that Nature is no other then the Soul and her Faculties all which stand in need of Organs in order to their action and can have no other then the Spirits whereto all these effects may be referred They are therefore intermixt with the Blood and as the Air being stirr'd carries along with it the vapours that are got
her Notwithstanding these last reasons whereto it is no hard matter to answer we must stick to the former which prove that it is the Sensitive Soul that causes the Spirits to move in the Passions True it is that the motions of the Vegetative are many times joyn'd with hers as we find by experience in extraordinary Griefs but it is when the Good and Evil are considerable and make so deep an impression that they force their way quite to her for when they are light she is not mov'd thereat and leaves the Sensitive part to act alone which yet fails not to stir the Spirits In effect they are the general Organs of all the functions of the Soul and all the faculties what order soever they are of equally employ them in their service They are serviceable as to life sentiment motion nay reason it self and in the highest meditations they are stirr'd as well as in natural actions They are like an Instrument whereof divers Artizans make use in several works For as the same pair of Compasses wherewith a Mason hath taken his measures serves the Geometrician to draw his figures and the Astronomer to measure the Heavens and the Stars So the Spirits which have serv'd the natural faculty for the meanest actions of life are employ'd by the sensitive Soul in the animal functions and the Understanding it self makes use of them in operations of the highest consequence But what their motion is not free in the Passions as it might seem it ought to be if the sensitive Appetite were Director thereof as it is of voluntary motions It matters not since even the Animal Spirits which flow through the nerves to make those motions and no doubt are mov'd by the sensitive Appetite have not their motion more free then that which is made in the Veins and Arteries The necessity of motion is many times found in the sensitive faculty as well as in the natural and though the Muscles be the Organs of free motion yet we find that respiration which is wrought by their means is necessary that the motion of the Heart which is as it were a composure of several Muscles and receives a Nerve from the Brain to give it sentiment and motion is not to be ranked among those that are voluntary Nay the Will it self notwithstanding that Soveraign liberty which it hath is not free in its first sallies and what time soever it may take to consider of the Good and Evil yet is it not in its power to hate the Good and love the Evil. Whence then proceeds this diversity Doubtless from the Instinct which is a Law that forces the Soul to do what it commands for the welfare of the Animal It is this Law that guids all the actions of the Natural faculty that assigns the sensitive Soul the motions which she ought to make not only those that are not to be balked as those of the Heart and Lungs and those of the Animal Spirits but also all those that are done casually wherein the knowledge of the Senses is of no advantage For though the motion of the Spirits in the Passions be not made precisely by it yet does the Soul cause them to do it according to the coppy which the Instinct gives her upon other occasions as we have shewn elswhere Art 1. Of what kind the motion of the Heart and Spirits is in the other Passions THus far as to what concerns the motion of the Heart and Spirits in the Passions of the sensitive Appetite we now come to examine whether it be performed after the manner in those of the Will and natural Appetite We may in the first place affirm that there are many Passions rais'd in the Will so as that neither the Heart nor Spirits are thereby stirr'd in regard it is a spiritual Faculty which may act of it self without the assistance of any Organ But it is to be observ'd that they must be very slight ones for when they come to be of any force they fail not both of them to be mov'd thereby as well as in the Passions of the sensitive Appetite Not but that the Will consider'd in it self might be able alone to excite the most violent Passions as we know it does in Angels But in Man in whom there is an union between the Corporeal and Spiritual faculties it is impossible but that one must assist and relieve the other when any considerable Good or Evil presents it self to either of them Which happens either hence that there is a necessary communication of their motions one to the other as we have declared or that the Soul upon such occasions is distrustful of her own strength and would rally together all the forces she hath Thence it comes that she thinks it not enough to move the sensitive Appetite in extraordinary Griefs to shun the Evil that presses hard upon her but she also excites sadness in the superiour part in order to the same design and as if all that were not sufficient she many times raises a Fever in the natural Faculty to force away and destroy that enemy As to the Passions of that inferiour part of the Soul there is not any one wherein the Spirits are not stirr'd but it is requisite they should be violent ere they can move the Heart For the case is not the same in them as in those of the other Appetites which though ever so much inclining to mediocrity are nevertheless capable of altering her motion Accordingly we find that in wounds and swellings the Spirits have their recourse thither with a certain impetuosity yet so as there happens not any change in the beating of the Heart and Arteries and there are considerable evacuations made in Crises without any alteration in those motions But in a Fever which is the choler of the natural Appetite in the Consternation which Nature is sometimes subject to in malignant diseases and in the agonies immediately preceding death there may be observ'd a remarkable alteration in the Pulse The reason of this difference proceeds from the nature of the Vegetative Faculty which is more material and consequently more heavy then the Sensitive For as a slothful person engages himself only in those things that are most easily done and never undertakes the more difficult but when he is thereto constrain'd by necessity So that faculty which is mov'd with some trouble thinks it enough in the lighter Passions to stirr the Spirits because they are easily mov'd but it attempts not therein the moving of the Heart by reason that is an Engine stirr'd with greater difficulty unless it be when the Evil seems considerable and that it thinks it requisite to imploy all its organs and all its force towards the resistance thereof SECT 4. How the Soul causes the Body to move BUt we are not yet come to the most difficult point of any in this whole matter to wit how the Soul gives motion to the Heart and Spirits and to express it in a
the temperaments Spirits Humours Inclinations Passions and Habits It should not discover what is most secret in Body and Soul Nay I have this further to affirm that by all these discoveries of Knowledg it elevates the spirit of Man to the Soveraign Creator of the Vniverse For acquainting it with the infinite miracles remarkable in Man it insensibly inclines him to glorify the Author of so many wonders and by that means directs him to the end whereto he is design'd For should he consider only the structure of Man's body how can he forbear being ravished with astonishment to see the order and symmetry of all the springs and Ressorts from which this admirable Machine derives its motion And the unimitable Art which is concealed therein would it not discover to him the hand that was employed about it and the understanding and design of the great Master whose work it is But if he would raise his thoughts yet a little higher and make a privy-search into the secrets of the Soul to find out there the manner whereby she comes to the knowledge of things how she moves and how many several motions she assigns her-self What excess of ravishment would not the knowledge of so many miraculous operations cause in him What sentiments would he not have of the Goodness and Wisdom of God who hath lodg'd so many vertues in so small a space and not only epitomiz'd all the creatures in Man but would also make in him an abbreviation of himself For not to enter into any discourse of our ineffable Mysteries keep within the bounds of Nature the Inclination he hath infus'd into him towards all sorts of good things the Light wherewith he hath illuminated him in order to the knowledge of all things are they not the effusions of his infinite Goodness and Wisdom But what is yet more astonishing hath he not enclos'd within the spirit of Man which hath its limits and boundaries the whole extent and infinity of his Power And by a miracle which is hardly conceivable hath he not invested him with a power of creating all things as himself For if the understanding produces and in a manner creates the images and representations of those things which it knows it must needs follow since it hath the power to know them all that it also according to its manner creates them all and consequently that it is the Creator of a new world or at least the Copist or after-drawer of all the works of God It must be so inasmuch as when it thinks on the Sun it cannot do so without making at the same time another Sun in it self By the same rule it makes also Starrs Heaven Elements in a word whatsoever is in the Vniverse But if God hath wrought one miracle by bestowing an infinite power on a limited thing he hath also done another in joyning greatness and power with misery and weakness For it is certain that of all the Creatures there is not any subject to such a multitude of miseries and infirmities as Man Nay these are raisâ—d even out of his advantages and if he had not that pregnancy of wit and the delicate composure of body which he hath he would not be so unfortunate and miserable as he is So that it may be said by instancing him alone we may decide that famous Probleme which hath been so often propos'd to wit What thing is that in the world which is at the same time both the greatest and least He therefore is only to contemplate himself who would enter into the knowledg he ought to have of the Divinity and there he will find eternal subjects of the praises and respects and thanksgivings which he is obligâ—d to render upon all occasions and at all times These are the high Lessons which may be learn'd by the ART HOW TO KNOW MEN. But when it shall be advanc'd to those whereby it would discover the inclinations manners and designs of others there will be a necessity of making this general acknowledgment that it is the surest guide can be taken for a man's conduct in civil life and that he who shall make use of it will avoid thousands of dangers and inconveniences into which from time to time he runs the hazard of falling There need no reasons to prove a thing so clear since it is certain that if the ART is able to perform what it promises there are few actions wherein it is not necessary as for instance the Education of children the choice of Servants Friends Company and most others which cannot be well done without it It shews the opportunities and favourable conjunctures of time wherein a man ought to act or speak a thing and teaches him the manner how he ought to do it And if it be requisite to suggest an advice to inspire a passion or design it knows all the passages through which they are to be derived into the Soul In fine if we may rely on the advice of the Wise-man who forbids our conversing with an angry or envious person and going into the company of the wicked What can rescue us from those unhappy accidents but the ART we treat of For the account commonly given of Man is deceitful if a man go only according to the reputation they have and dangerous if their acquaintance be gotten by conversation but that which our ART promises is only without fraud or hazard Yet is it not to be imagin'd as some at first sight are apt to do that this ART is no other then PHYSIOGNOMY and that its power reaches no further then to make a discovery of the present inclinations and thence draw some light conjectures in relation to Vertues and Vices For besides that it does all this as well as the other but with greater exactness as shall be seen hereafter it goes much further since it promises to shew what were or will be the inclinations and passions past and to come the strength and weakness of mens minds the dispositions they have to certain Arts and Sciences the Habits they have acquir'd and what is most important it teaches the way to discover secret designs private actions and the unknown Authors of known actions In a word there is no dissimulation so deep into which it does not penetrate and which in all likelihood it will not deprive of the best part of those veils under which it lurks Now forasmuch as all these things may be reduc'd to four principal heads to wit the INCLINATIONS the MOTIONS OF THE SOVL VERTVES VICES it is oblig'd ere we pass any further to tell us in the first place What Inclination is what are the causes of it and how it is framed in the Soul 2. How the Soul is Mov'd nay how and why it causes the heart and spirits to move in the passions In fine 3. Wherein Vertue and Vice consist and what is the number of the Species of both whereof it may make its judgment Besides since it ought to denote
to motion then Levity and Rarity and consequently it is requisite that the Organ and first Subject of the Appetite should be of a rare and light matter and that it should be present in all those places where all the motions of the Appetite are made So that there not being any part whereto this may be attributed but only the Spirits it follows that the Appetite hath its residence in them as its first and chiefest subject But in regard there are two kinds of Spirits in general those that are fixt and restrain'd to some part which are the first Bonds whereby the Soul and Body are joyned together and those which are errant and unconfin'd which distribute to all the members the heat particularly assign'd them by the heart it is requisite that they should be the fixt Spirits that have the Prerogative of being the first subject of the Appetite for it is the part the most apt to motion of any that enter into the composition of the Members one that hath a durable and permanent consistence as the Appetite and is without dispute animate it being certain that the faculties of the Soul cannot be in a subject which is not animate For it is not to be imagin'd that the errant Spirits which are not only depriv'd of Soul and Life as it is commonly held but also have not any durable subsistence no more then the Flame which assoon as lighted is thence-forward continually decaying can support a Faculty of the Soul which is fixt and permanent as the Appetite is Whence it may be concluded that the Heart is indeed the Seat of the generall Appetite but it is by reason of the fixt Spirits which enter into its composition and the case is the same of every Member in reference to the particular Appetite Art 2. The Seat of the naturall Appetite ALl that we have said of the Sensitive Appetite may be apply'd to the Naturall Appetite For of this also there are two kinds one Generall which hath a care of the whole Body and is accordingly plac'd in the heart and this is the same with that which disperses the Spirits and humours into all the parts which shakes them in Fevers and makes the Crises and such like motions which regard the whole Body The other is Particular and hath its Seat in every part it attracts what is good for it it drives away what is hurtfull it causes the contraction of the Fibres the convulsion of the Nerves c. But whereas the Sensitive Appetite is not plac'd in the Heart and other parts but upon the accompt of the fixt Spirits which enter into their composition the case is the same with the Naturall Appetite they are also the same Spirits which serve it for a first subject and first Organ upon the same grounds as they are so of the other For since that part is the most apt to motion of any of the Vegetative Soul it should accordingly have a Subject furnished with the dispositions proper to make its motions and there are not any other then these Spirits as we said before I question not but some will make this Objection against what hath been deliver'd That diverse Faculties require diverse Organs and that these two Appetites being different not only in the Species but also in the Genus as belonging to several orders of the Soul cannot have for their subject the same Spirits But it is easily answer'd since we have experience on our side and opposite to these maximes for the same animal Spirits dispose of sentiment and motion the same Substance of the Brain becomes the subject of all the superiour powers of the Sensitive Soul and the flesh as simple as it is hath both the sensitive and vegetative vertue But after all the motion of the sensitive Appetite is not different from that of the naturall Appetite as to the nature and species of motion it is made after the same manner in both and all the diversity found therein is accidental and not relating to the motion For it proceeds only from the cause and condition of the object that moves it which are things not relating to the motion In the one it is the Sensitive faculty that moves for the sensible good or evil in the other the natural faculty moves for the natural good or evil but both move after the same manner and frame the same Passions as we have shewn and consequently there is not any inconvenience that these two powers should have the same Subject in order to the same action We have not any thing to add hereto save that according as the parts have a greater or lesser portion of these fixt Spirits they have proportionably one or the other Appetite more strong and vigorous As also that the general Appetite and particular Appetite do many times assist one the other and many times also they act distinctly But we shall ever and anon have occasion to hint at these matters when we come to treat of the Passions in particular Art 3. How the Passions are compleated NOw to put a period to that which appertains to the general discourse of the Passions we are to consider all the passes in the body after the emotion of the Soul and the fixt Spirits For though the nature of every Passion consists in this emotion yet may it be said that it is not compleat if there be not joyn'd thereto the agitation which the Heart endures and the alteration which is occasion'd in the whole body We are therefore to observe that after the Soul hath been mov'd the Heart and vital Spirits follow her motion and if she would execute without what she hath propos'd in her self she at last causes the Muscles to move in the Passions of the Will and sensitive Appetite and the Fibres in those of the natural Appetite in regard the Muscles are the instruments of voluntary motion as the Fibres are of that which is made by the natural Appetite But how these motions are made we shall treat more at large in the ensuing Chapter CHAP. IV. Of the Motion of the Heart and Spirits in the Passions THe motion of the Heart is made for the Spirits and that of the Spirits for the whole Body For the Heart is mov'd in order to the production and conservation of the Spirits and these are also moved for the communication of the vital heat to all the parts to bring into them the aliment whereby they are to be nourish'd and to transport the humours from one place to another as the Soul thinks it necessary as it happens in the Passions as also in Crises and upon other occasions That this may be the better comprehended it is requisite that we ascend to a higher disquisition of things and since there is so much spoken of the Spirits our next examination must be to find out what they are of what matter they are compos'd and how they are framed And indeed it may be affirm'd that neither Philosophy nor
Medicine have sufficiently explain'd themselves upon this Subject and the difficulties they have left therein give every man the liberty to propose his conjectures in order to the clearing up of a thing so obscure and so intricate Art 1. Of the Nature of the Spirits WIthout engaging our selves upon an exact disquisition of the Elements whereof bodies are compos'd it is a thing both certain and sensibly acknowledg'd that there are three sorts of parts which enter into the composition of all mixt bodies Of those parts some are subtile active and volatile others gross passive and heavy and the third are moist as being design'd to joyn together those two so opposite extreams For they have somewhat of the subtilty of the first and of the grossness of the others and when these are resolved the whole mixt body is destroy'd in regard they are the cement whereby all the parts are united together Those subtile parts are called Spirits inasmuch as they have so little matter and so much activity that they seem not fit to be ranked among bodies and while they are united with the others they serve for principal Organs to the forms as being the most active parts and they are as it were the bond which keeps them within the body The reason whereof is that Nature which ever joyns the extreams by a certain mean that hath some rapport thereto employs the subtile parts which have little of matter to joyn and unite the forms which have not any to the grosser parts that have much True it is that they may be separated and yet be afterwards conserv'd as we find by experience in distillations for so it is that the Spirit of Wine Sulphur c. is extracted And being so extracted though they lose the use they had when they were united to their natural forms yet do they not lose any thing of their substance or subtilty Art 2. Of the matter of the Spirits NOw as Plants are nourish'd by the juices which they draw out of the Earth so have these juices their subtile and spirituous parts as well as all the other Mixt bodies which parts not being lost as we said before pass into the Animals which feed on those Plants as those of the Animals pass into such as they become nourishment to So that it is not to be doubted but that the blood is full of these subtile essences which the natural heat afterwards digests and refines in the veins to be made the instruments of the Soul and that they are the matter us'd by Nature to frame and entertain the vital Spirits since subtile things are to be made of those which are of the same nature with them Art 3. How the Spirits are framed BUt to find out the secret of all this Oeconomy we are to represent to our selves that the blood which is in the Hollow Vein enters into the right ventricle of the Heart where it is warm'd by the heat and motion of that part which is the hottest of any about the body After its being warm'd there it issues out boyling and reeking and enters into the Lungs where it meets with the air attracted in by respiration which by its coolness thickens the fumes which it exhales from all parts which fumes are no other then the spirituous parts wherewith it is fill'd and which upon the accession of the least heat are separated and evaporated So that Nature does in this what commonly happens in the distilling of Aqua-Vitae in which work there is cold water cast about the Recipient as it were to gather together and reduce into a body the spirits of the wine then chang'd into vapour and to promote their passage along with the others Thence it comes that the vein which carries this reeking blood into the Lungs is as big as an Artery as it were to prevent the dissipation which might be made thereof before it be so cooled On the contrary the Artery which receives it after it hath been cool'd is as small as any vein there being not then any fear of dissipation And it is not unlikely that this is the reason why that Artery hath but two valvula whereas the other Vessels which enter into the Heart have three For as these valvulae whatever some others may be pleased to say were made only to prevent the impetuosity of the blood which is to enter into the heart and afterwards to come out of it so was there not any necessity that the veiny Artery should have so many obstacles to retain the impetuosity of the blood it carries in regard it must needs have left much thereof after it hath been cool'd and temperated by the air which is in the Lungs But however it be hence proceeds the indispensable necessity of respiration for if those parts of the blood which are so reduc'd into fumes should not be condens'd and reassume a kind of body they would be immediately dissipated And whereas this must be the matter of the Spirits as being the most subtile and most pure portion thereof there would not be made any new generation if nature had not found out a means to condense these vapours by the coolness of the air which is continually attracted by the Lungs Thence it comes that there is no possibility of continuing long without respiration in regard that all parts of the body standing in need of the continuall influence of the Spirits it is requisite the Heart should continually repair them and that cannot be done without respiration for the reason we gave before Art 4. An Objection against the precedent Doctrine answered I Know well enough that the common Doctrine would have the Air to enter into the composition of the Spirits and that natural heat nay indeed fire it self stands in need of air to moderate thâ—m as not being able to conserve themselves without it And that this is the reason why respiration is necessary in regard it conducts air to the Heart and moderates the excessive heat thereof But we are taught by Anatomical observations that there is not any vessel which conducts the air into that part and that the veiny Artery which was heretofore conceiv'd to serve for that use is alwaies full of blood and does undoubtedly convey to the Heart all that which is entered into the Lungs Besides it may be urged that Fishes have their vital Spirits though there be not any air which may contribute to their production True it is they have the motion of the Gills as also of the holes at which they sprout out the water and that is answerable to that of the Lungs and causes the same effect with the water which they ever and anon attract as the Lungs do with the air they respire Yet is there not any thing to be deduc'd hence which may imply my not being of opinion that the air respir'd which is all full of these spirituous parts exhal'd by all bodies do not furnish the vitall Spirits with some portion of themselves which
a free passage into them How can this be done unless they be animate for the faculties of the Soul are not separated from her Some indeed have maintain'd that they convey'd not the faculties but only a certain quality which put them into the exercise and without which they could not act But they do not make it out of what nature that quality is and there is no great probability that one single quality should relate to so many different faculties and functions But how ere it be the greatest Philosophers who have examin'd these matters to the bottome have found themselves so much at a loss to give a reason of the motion of the Spirits according to the common opinion have ingenuously acknowledg'd that it is one of the hardest things to comprehend of any in Nature and all they have said thereof hath neither satisfy'd themselves nor those who would have follow'd their sentiments What inconvenience then is there in maintaining that the Spirits are animate since that position takes away the difficulties which arise in others and that there is a necessity the Organs which act with so much discernment and move in all situations and perform so many different actions should have in themselves a principle of life Art 1. Objections answered ALl this presuppos'd there remain yet two things which hold the mind in suspence and keep it from giving an absolute consent to this truth One is that there is no likelihood that bodies which are in perpetual motion and disperse themselves every moment can be animate The other that life which ought to be common to all the parts cannot be found in those that are separated from their whole and that the Spirits are of that rank as having not any union or continuity with the solid parts As to the former it is not certain that they alwaies disperse themselves so suddenly as is affirm'd Those Spirits which conduct the blood through the veins are conserv'd a long time and make the same circulation as the other doth and it is frequently observ'd that after they have apply'd themselves to some part and there acted according to the orders of the Soul they fall back and return to their source But be it granted that they should so disperse themselves why may they not be nevertheless animate The long continuance is not a disposition necessary to life and there are some parts as the softest pieces of the Flesh which in a short time after they have been animated may be resolv'd and dispers'd by a violent heat As soon as the Spirits have acquir'd the dispositions necessary for their being instruments of the Soul she insinuates her self among them and animates them When they are dispers'd or have lost the continuity which they ought to have with their principle she leaves them after the same manner as she does other parts that are separated from the Body But what Can the Soul animate such a simple and homogenious body as the Spirits are Why not since she animates the radical moisture the Flesh the Fibres and all the other similar parts When it is said that the Soul requires an organical Body it is meant of the whole Body which she is to animate and not of its parts which ought to be simple Nay indeed there was a necessity that as most of these parts are fixt and solid so there should be some apt to motion and subtile to perform the severall functions for which it is design'd and since the Soul is alwaies in action it was requisite she had an Organ that should continually move Art 2. The union between the Spirits and the Parts AS concerning the union there is between the Spirits and the other parts there is no doubt to be made of it since the least interruption that happens therein causes an immediate cessation of the actions of life For hence proceed faintings and swoundings and Syncopes in the excess of joy and grief the Spirits being forc'd with such impetuosity that they lose the continuity which they ought to have with the Heart Hence also proceed Apoplexies by the interception of the veins as Hippocrates speaks the matters which are therein contained obstructing the fluxion of the Spirits and interrupting the union which was between them and the others But with what can they be united so as to participate of the union which is common to the whole body It is no doubt with the spirituous parts which enter into the composition of the Heart it is with the fixt Spirits which are of the same nature with them And 't is possible this may be the end for which the beating of the Heart serves For by the agitation it gives them it makes them penetrate one into another it binds and soders and cements them together if we may use such expressions of things so subtile Art 3. How the foresaid union is consistent with the intermixture of the Spirits with the blood and humours ALl that is now left to give occasion of doubt is that the Spirits are intermixt with the blood and humours and that it is a hard matter to comprehend how in this intermixture they can conserve the union which ought to be between them But to take away this we are only to represent to our selves the light which passes through the clouds for it hath certain beams which cannot pass through them and those that make their way through appear at certain distances one from another yet so as that not any one of them loses the continuity which it hath with the luminous body Or not to go out of the order of Bodies the case is the same as in those exhalations which are intermixt with the Air they have several lines which are diffus'd of all sides but those lines have commonly a continuity with the matter from which the exhalation proceeds The same thing is to be imagin'd in the Spirits for they issue out of the heart as a mass of beams and spirituous lines which scatter themselves on all sides and penetrate into the humours yet without any division from their principle And this is the more easily imagin'd in that besides the difficulty which things of the same nature find to be separated one from the other the Soul who knows that this interpretation of the Spirits must cause a cessation of all actions does all that lies in her power to prâ—vent it But whether the Spirits be animate or not certain it is that they move and that it is the Soul which gives them their motion For though it may be said that they derive their agitations in the Passions from the Heart by reason it opens shuts dilates and contracts it self as they do and that it is most likely that it being the principle both of life and the Spirits themselves should also be the same principle of aâ—l their motions yet we know by experience that there are many Passions rais'd in the Soul so as that there can be no change observ'd in the beating
of the Heart and Arteries though no doubt but the Spirits are therein agitated And indeed they are bodies so light and susceptible of motion that the least agitation of the Soul must needs stirr them Which thing cannot be said of the Heart which is massy and heavy of it self and hath a function so necessary to life that it ought not without great necessity or a great effort to interrupt or disturb it In light Passions therefore the Spirits only are agitated and stirr'd but when they become strong not only the Spirits but the Heart also follows the emotion and disturbance of the Soul SECT 2. Why the Heart and Spirits move in the Passions BUt what end does the Soul propose to her self in all these motions What advantages can she receive thereby It is not to be doubted but that as she hath a design to be united to the good and to shun or oppose the evil so does she imploy these Organs to attain those ends and believes that the motions she puts them upon are absolutely necessary thereto And it is true there are some which produce the effect she expects from them but there are also some that contribute nothing to the obtaining of her desires For example when in Anger the Spirits separate the venome and the choler and convey them into the teeth and tusks of animals it is certain they are so many offensive arms fit to assault and destroy the enemy When in Love and Joy the Spirits stirr the purest and gentlest part of the blood that is conformable to the condition the Soul is in which then requires only agreeable objects would not be disturbed by the agitation of choler and melancholy which are troublesome and malignant humours And so it may be affirm'd that in all the other Passions the Spirits are put upon such motions as are conducible to the designs of the Soul as we shall make it appear when we come to discourse of every one of them in particular But for one of this nature there are a thousand others which are no way advantageous and which rather serve to discover the precipitation and blindness the Soul is in then to obtain what she proposes to her self For that the Heart opens and dilates it self in Love and Joy that it shuts and contracts it self in Fear and Sadness That the Spirits should diffuse themselves and issue out in the former and that they should retreat and draw up together in the latter all this contributes nothing towards the attainment of her end I know her persuasion is that opening the heart she makes a freer passage for the Good to enter in that shutting it she excludes the Evil that commanding the Spirits to march out she imagines that she comes neerer the objects and ordering them to retreat to the Heart she is at so much the greater distance from them But the troth on 't is that neither Good nor Evil enter into the Heart and the motion of the Spirits causes not a greater or a lesser distance between the Soul and them then there was before For it being acknowledg'd that she is spread over the whole Body she is already where the Spirits conduct her and quits not those places from which they endeavour to remove her Yet are we not much to wonder at the errour she falls into upon those occasions for having not an exact knowledge of all things that concern her she is surpris'd by the unexpected arrival of the Good and Evil which present themselves to her and in the distraction they put her into she does all that lies in her power she bestirs her self and sets her organs in motion according to the aim she takes and among many things which contribute to her design she does an hundred others that are of no advantage thereto nay may be prejudicial In the actions which are ordinary to her and have been ascrib'd her by Nature she is very seldom deceived for she regularly commands the Spirits into the parts to inspire them with vital heat to supply them with the blood whereby they are to be nourish'd to make the evacuations which are necessary it being the instinct which guids her and justly appoints her what she ought to do But when this assistance fails her she does as a man who punctually executes what he finds in his Instructions but is extreamly at a loss when he is to do something which he finds not in his papers He then regulates himself according to what he had done before upon the like occasions and being in hast he hazards the success of the affair which sometimes comes to a good period but most commonly happens otherwise then the man had imagin'd The case is the same with the Soul when Good and Evil surprise her For she not finding in the instructions of the Instinct what she ought to do upon such occasions proceeds according to her ordinary manner of action she causes the Spirits to advance forwards or retreat as she is wont to do in the necessary actions of life and considering the precipitation she is in and the little knowledg she hath she has neither the time nor discernment to see whether they will be advantageous or disadvantageous to her design SECT 3. What Faculty it is that moves the Spirits IT is therefore manifest that the Soul causes the Spirits to move to the end they should communicate the vital heat to all the parts that they should supply them with the blood whereby they are to be nourish'd and that they should transport the humours from one place to another when she thinks it necessary as it happens in the Passions in Crises and others The question now is to know what part of the Soul gives them their motions whether the Vegetative or the Sensitive As to the distribution of the vital heat and aliment as also for the transportation of the humours in diseases it is most certain that the Vegetative soul is the principle of all these actions But the difficulty still remains concerning the motions of the Spirits in Passions For on the one side it seems that the sensitive Soul ought to move them since she it is that excites the Passions that they move in effect with a respect to the sensible Good and Evil and that they propose to themselves the same end as she does On the other side the motions of the sensitive Soul are voluntary and may or may not be made at the pleasure of the animal as may be seen in the motion of the Members In the mean time that which the Spirits suffer is necessarily made and the Soul can neither excite nor hinder it when she pleases So that it seems that belongs to the jurisdiction of the Vegetative Soul and that in the association there is between the faculties and the mutual assistance they give each other this latter is joyn'd with the Sensitive to promote its possession of the good or recession from the evil which presents it self to
word how she causes all the parts to move For it is hard enough to conceive how a thing which hath no body is able to move a Body and yet much more to imagine that what is it self immoveable as it may be thought the Soul is can cause the members of the Animal to move It is indeed easily seen that they move by the means of the Muscles and that the Muscles act by the contraction of the Fibres which enter into their composition But the question is how the Soul causes that contraction of the Fibres Let not any one think to urge here that the Appetite commands the motive vertue which is in the members and that the said vertue executes what commands it hath received from the other These are but words which instead of clearing up the thing render it more obscure and hard to be comprehended And he who shall narrowly consider the nature of that command and the manner how it may be made by the Appetite as also that whereby it ought to be receiv'd by the motive vertue will be no further instructed in what we enquite after then he was before and shall not find how the Fibres meet together and are contracted To express our selves therefore clearly and in few words in order to the clearing up of these difficulties we affirm that all the parts are mov'd in regard the Soul between whom and them there is a strict union moves her self and that she forces them to follow the same motion which she hath given herself So that the Fibres are contracted because the Soul by whom they are animated closes and reinforces her self first and afterwards causes them to contract The same thing is to be said of the Spirits for when they go from one place to another when they dilate or contract themselves in the Passions it is the Soul that gives them these motions consequently to her giving of them to her self This will not be hard to conceive it we reflect on what was said in the fourth Chapter of this work where we have shewn that the Soul was movable in all her substance and having a proper extension she had also some parts which she might move as she pleas'd For this presuppos'd it is certain that being united with the members it is impossible she should give her self any motion but she must also give the like to them But it may be said that if the case stands thus there is no necessity the Animal Spirits should flow into the Muscles to cause them to move in asmuch as the Soul being wholy in every part hath no need that those Spirits should convey into it that vertue which it is already possess'd of We have already touch'd at this difficulty which hath put all the Scholes into so much distraction For some would have the Animal Spirits carry the motive faculty along with them and others affirm that what they do so carry with them is only a certain quality which is not animal and serves only for a disposition to set the motive faculty residing in the parts upon action But the maintainers of both these opinions are no doubt mistaken though it were only in this that they suppose as they do the Spirits not to be animate the former in that they assign animal vertues to Bodies which they conceive have no life the latter in that they advance an imaginary quality whereof they make no explication and which leaves the thing as doubtful at is was before We must therefore affirm that the Animal Spirits do not convey the motive vertue to the parts but that the command of the Estimative faculty does it without which there can no motion be made That this may be the better understood we are to remember what hath been delivered in the precedent discourses to wit That the Appetite moves not but upon the command of the Estimative faculty which orders what things are to be done That the said command consists in the Image or Idaea which that faculty frames in it self And that after such an Image hath been therein produced it is multiplicable and diffusive as a light into all the parts of the Soul Now it is by the Spirits that this communication is wrought For as corporeal actions are done by means of the Organs that are proper thereto so knowledge ought to be made in the Brain in which are all the Organs necessary for that action And whereas the parts which ought to execute what the Estimative Faculty commands are remote from it there is a necessity the Soul should have certain ministers whose work it is to carry about the resolutions she hath taken in her Privy-councel without which as in a well-govern'd Commonwealth nothing either ought or can be done And this is the proper imployment of the Animal Spirits which communicate the orders and decrees of the Estimative Faculty to the parts which upon receipt thereof move as we said before CHAP V. Of the Vertues and Vices whereof the Art how to know men may judge SInce The Art how to knâ—w Men pretends to the discovery of Vertues and Vices how secret soever they may be it may be also expected from it that it would acquaint us what Vertues and Vices are thereby meant and withall whether it hath that prerogative as to all in general or only as to some of them In order to the prosecution of that design it ought to make an enumeration thereof that it nay afterwards give us a particular account of those which are within its jurisdiction and falls under its cognizance But before we come to that this is to be premis'd as of necessary knowledge that the Vertues and Vices are certain Habits fram'd in the Soul by several Moral actions which often reiterated leave in her an inclination and facility to do the like Art 1. What Moral actions are FOr the clearing up of this doctrine we are to observe that our Souls may do two kinds of actions whereof some are necessary the others free The former are called in the Scholes the Actions of Man and those which are free Humane Actions in regard they are proper to man as he is Rational he only of all Animals having liberty There are some who confound the latter with the Moral Actions which have a reference to good and evil manners which deserve praise or dispraise reward or punishment But if among the free actions there are such as may be called indifferent which are neither good nor bad as many Philosophers are of opinion it is necessary there should be some difference between Humane Actions and Moral Actions and that the former should be as it were the Genus of the latter so as that all Moral Actions may be Humane in regard they are free and that all Humane Actions may not be Moral in regard there be some which are neither good nor bad Art 2. What Right Reason is BUt howere the case stand as to the distinction of Actions it is to be noted
less certain Whereto this may be added that the Common Signs do not signifie any thing certain unless there be some proper Sign whereby they should be determinated Art 2. Of the Means assign'd by Aristotle to discover the efficacy of Signs ARistotle proposes another Maxim tO find out the efficacy and certitude of Signs For he affirms that such as are observable in the principal and most excellent parts are accordingly the most certain and that among those the Head is the most considerable but in that the Eyes challenge the preheminence the Forehead hath the next place and then the Face comprehending all that is below the Eyes Next to the Head are accounted the Breast and shoulders in the third place come the Arms and Legs The Belly is the last of all and the least considerable But this Rule seems somewhat disconsonant to the Maxims of Aristotle nay indeed to Reason it self For he who assigns the Heart for the principle of all Actions as being that part wherein he affirms the Passions to be framed should have bestow'd the first and most excellent place on the Breast and not on the Head and have maintain'd that the most certain signs of the Inclinations and Passions are derivable from that part which encompasses the place where they have their first birth But it is to be observed that Aristotle does not there pass his judgment of the excellency of the parts as a Philosopher or Physician would do he considers them only upon this reflection that the Passions are more discoverable in those then others And accordingly he places the Arms and Leggs before the Belly though they be much less excellent and less considerable as to the essence and nature of the Animal Now it is certain that there is not any part wherein the Passions are sooner and more apparently observable then they are in the Head as we shall shew more particularly in the next Article Art 3. That the Passions are most apparent in the Head THe first reason we shall give for the more remarkable manifestation of the Passions in the Head is this that they are not fram'd without the use of the Senses from which is derived the first knowledge of those things that move the Passions and that all of them Touching only excepted are placed in the Head Add to this that the Estimative Faculty whose work it is to conceive the things which are good and bad and gives the first shock to the Appetite is in the Brain and that the strength and weakness of mind which have also a dependence on the same part hath a great influence over the Inclinations and Passions For it is certain that Children Sick persons and Women are ordinarily enclin'd to Anger out of pure weakness of mind as having not that heat of blood and heart which is requisite for a disposition to that Passion But the principal reason hereof proceeds from the impression which the Passions make on that part For as the Soul hath no other design in the motions of the Appetite then to bring the Animal to the enjoyment of that Good which she conceives necessary thereto and to remove the Evil whereby it may be injur'd so to compass her desires she employs all the parts that are under her jurisdiction and causes them to move answerably to the intention she hath Now of these some being more susceptible of motion then others they accordingly make a speedier discovery of the agitation wherein she is and the progress she makes therein for there are several degrees in every Passion In the first place there is the emotion or first stirring of the Appetite which does not issue out of the Soul as being an immanent action Then the Heart and Spirits are stirr'd as being the chief Organs of the sensitive Appetite and if the Passion increase the eyes the forehead and the other parts of the Head are shaken but if it still advance and come to execution and that the Soul would really arrive at the enjoyment of the Good and shun the Evil she moves the parts design'd for that purpose till at last she puts the whole body into motion if she be not prevented So that it is to be hence observ'd that the Heart and Spirits are those parts of the body which are first moved in the Passions But the motion of the Heart is not sensible as that of the Spirits which is immediately to be seen in the Countenance in regard they carry the blood along with them the sudden arrival or departure whereof alters in a moment the colour and figure of the face which alteration happens not to the other parts and that for two reasons One is because the Spirits make their recourse to the face more abundantly then to any of the other parts upon this account that the Senses are lodg'd therein which stand in need of spacious channels whereby the Spirits may flow thither in greater quantities and with more ease The other is that the skin of the Face is of a particular constitution which is not to be found in any of the other parts For all elswhere unless it be in the palms of the hands or the soals of the feet the skin may be separated from the flesh But in the Face they are both so united together that they cannot be separated one from the other without tearing and rending it Whence it comes that the colour which proceeds from the motion and quality of the blood is more manifest there then in all the rest of the body and this also so much the more for that the skin there is very thin and delicate which is not to be found in the hands and feet So that it being shewn that the Passions do principally and more easily change the colour of the Face then that of any of the other parts it is to be maintain'd as certain that in such a case it must be the place where they appear soonest and most evidently Moreover whereas the Soul being stirr'd moves not onely the Heart the Spirits and Humours but also those parts which move voluntarily it is not to be question'd but that those which are most apt to motion are the first stirr'd by her though their motion contribute but very little to the execution of her design For to what end serves the wrinkling of the forehead the lifting up of the Eye-brows and the widening of the nostrils in the Passion of Anger or in Bashfulness the casting down of the eyes blushing and being out of countenance And yet it is not to be doubted but that all these motions proceed from the disturbance caus'd by the Passion in the Soul and whereby she is hurried to make use of whatever stands in her way though it be no advantage to her as we said before Since therefore that of the parts there are not any so susceptible of motion nor so suddenly betray their resentment of the Passions as those which are in the Head Aristotle had reason to assign
man requires not an excessive vivacity of Imagination nor an over-circumspect Judgment nor a too happy memory Nay it cannot bear with these sublime Spirits which are alwaies fixt on the contemplation of things high and difficult not only upon this account that having design'd man for society it expects he should equally apply himself to Contemplation and Action but principally in regard that it is impossible the body should have its natural perfection when it hath the dispositions requisite to sublimity of Spirit For the Body must needs be weak when the Spirit is too strong as the over-great strength of Body lessens and weakens the Spirits as we shall shew more at large hereafter The case is the same with all the other faculties for if the Appetite be too apt to move if the Senses too subtile if the Concoctive virtue the evacuative or retentive be too strong they are so many defects and irregularities they should all be proportionate to the equality of the Temperament which does not admit of these vicious perfections Art 3. That all the Faculties ought to be in a Mean ANd that this is true even in those faculties which are spiritual may be deduced hence That the action and the power ought to be conformable one to the other in as much as the action is only a progress and effusion of the active power If therefore actions cannot be perfect but so far as they are moderate it is necessary that the faculties should derive their perfection from their moderation But it is a receiv'd maxim in morality That actions to be virtuous ought to be in a mediocrity and consequently the faculties from which they proceed should also be in the same mediocrity Now the first spring of this mediocrity is the Indifference which is natural to the rational Soul for since the Action is conformable to the power the actions should be as indifferent as the other is and though it be determined by the action it does yet does it nevertheless preserve its indifference by the mediocrity which the action receives from it The reason is that what is in the mean is indifferent in respect of the extremities and that what is in the extremity is less indifferent and more determinated then what is in the mean as we have shewn already And thence proceeds the necessity there is of moderating the passions For though in other animals they are the more perfect the greater and stronger they are and that the more fearful a Hare is and the more cruel a Tigre the more perfect is each of them in its kind yet is not so in those of man in as much as they ought to be in a mean between excess and defect that they may be the more conformable to the indifference of the superiour part Art 4. That all natural Inclinations are defects I Conceive it will be no hard matter to apprehend and subscribe unto all these truths because they are maintain'd by reason and experience But there is yet another may be deduc'd from the same principles which I question not will be thought very strange though it be no less certain It is this That though there be some Inclinations which are good in themselves and deserve commendation such as those men have for the virtues yet are they defects and alter the natural perfection which is conformable to humane nature And certainly this will occur upon common observation and experience that those who have from their birth some excellent virtues have had them attended by greater vices for a man must needs fall into defects and imperfections so far as he is at a distance from perfection Now the perfection of man is to be indifferent and not determinated to any particular virtue he should be capable of all For the Virtues that come along with the birth are not real virtues they are only the initiatios of them or rather they are but inclinations which a man hath for them In a word they are bounds and limits confining the capacity of the Soul which is universal to a particular habit The Soul of its own nature is not determinated and ought to be capable of all humane actions And as it may know all things so is it requisite that the Appetite which follows her knowledg should have also the freedom to incline it self to all things And this universal capacity is at the same time an effect of the spirituality of her nature and the cause of the liberty she hath For if she were material she would be determinated and if she were not indifferent she should not be free The Inclinations therefore which man may have though they might be for the most excellent virtues are imperfections he ought not to have any for any one in particular but for all together And this is that which the Angel of the Scholes hath so judiciously deliver'd when he affirm'd That there is no Animal but hath some inclination to a Passion conformable to his nature but that man only is the mean of all and that it is requisite he should be equally susceptible thereof in as much as he is of his own nature indifferent and indeterminate To conclude since the Temperament and the Conformation of the parts are the two principal causes of natural Inclinations as we shall shew hereafter and that they make the Soul incline to those actions which are conformable to them it is not to be doubted but that the mediocrity and the mean which they ought to be guided by in man does also invest the Soul with an equal bent towards both the extremities Art 5. That every species hath its proper Temperament BUt it is to be observed that in the distribution of the Temperament made by Nature to Animals she hath in the first place considered their species and hath appointed every one that which was most convenient for it For example she hath assign'd a hot and dry Temperament for the species of the Lion a hot and moist for that of a Horse a cold and dry for that of an Asse and so all the rest But as she hath been careful of the conservation of these species and to that end hath bestow'd on them the two Sexes which were to receive different qualities she hath been oblig'd to divide this first Temperament and to give one part of it to the male and the other to the Female For though in the species of the Lyon the male and female are hot and dry yet is it certain that the female is such in a lower degree then the male and the same thing is to be said of all the rest It is therefore to be granted that the just and equal Temperament we have spoken of before is that which is most convenient to humane Nature But in as much as it was also requisite that the man and Woman should have different qualities that just Temperament was divided between them and without straying too much from that perfect Temperature the man hath receiv'd a
greatest weight is that Motion is of its own nature successive and that succession implies time wherereas most part of the Souls motions are instantaneous that is made in an instant But we have shewn in our Treatise Of Light that there are real motions of those taht are momentany That those of Light and those of Angels which after they have been contracted resume their former dilation or extent are so wrought And consequently that the motions of the Will being eminent are of that order since it is a thing affirm'd by many eminent Philosophers that those Motions of immaterial substances which are transient are made in an instant It is therefore a thing to be maintain'd as manifest that the rational Soul moves That being a limited substance she hath some extension without which we cannot conceive any limits That the said extension cannot be without parts and that those parts are movable as well as the whole That accordingly she may move within her self by moving her parts and that thence proceed all the interiour motions of the Will Art 6. The Motions of the Appetites NOw if this be true of the Rational Soul which is spiritual it will be much more easily comprehended to be so in the others which are fastened to matter and there will be no question made but that they are susceptible of the same motions in as much as motion belongs principally to things material Accordingly therefore the sensitive and natural Appetites suffer the same agitations as the Will when it loves when it hates c. and these motions are interiour and immanent and are fram'd in a moment as those of the Will But what wil some body say If these two Appetites are chain'd to matter there is a necessity the matter should move along with them and how can matter move in an instant It may be said in the first place that we are not to imagine the matter whereto the Appetite is chain'd to be gross and weighty as most of the parts of the body are but it is requisite that the power have a subject proportionable to it self and that the Appetite which is the most movable part of the Soul should have a subject the most movable of any Thus though the Appetite have its seat in the heart yet it is not to be inferr'd that the whole heart is its first and principal seat No that seat is the spirits and that moist heat which is the source of life and ever in motion as Hippocrates affirms So that it is not to be admir'd the matter whereto it is fastned should so easily and so readily follow the agitation which it gives it self Secondly it is to be noted that matter doth not always hinder things from moving in an instant in regard there are massie bodies that do move so For it is not to be doubted but that a weighty body sustain'd in the air makes some effort to descend that it presses upon the hand that stays it there and that a man feels every moment the impulsion which it makes therein which impulsion is no doubt a real motion Moreover Light which is a material quality and requires a subject to support it does nevertheless move in an instant as we have shewn in its proper place Now these two examples do not onely make it manifest that material things are mov'd instantaneously but they also give us a certain apprehension of the manner whereby the Appetite moves the Soul and whereby it moves it self in the body For it may be said that it is like a weight which thrusts the Soul to that whereto it would have her to go And it moves in the heart as Light does in a transparent body that is it enters into it it comes out of it it dilates it self in it it also contracts it self yet so as the diaphanous body hath no sense of all those motions though it be the subject whereto the light is annexed The case is the same with the Appetite which though fastened to its subject may dilate it self in joy contract it self in grief issue out of and return into it self in love and hatred and all so as that the body suffers nothing of all these motions True it is that the heart and spirits are agitated and stirr'd in great passions but not to urge that they are effects which follow and come after the emotion of the Soul it is to be observ'd that there are some passions which continue in the Appetite without making any impression on those parts And this may suffice to shew that the Appetite may move so as that the body be not chang'd thereby SECT 2. How Good and Evil move the Appetite BUt in order to a more exact knowledge of all these motions we are yet to find out what it is that engages and excites the Appetite to make them which is one of the most abstruse things of any in the nature of the Soul and the most hard to be conceiv'd according to the maximes of the Schools For though it be out of all controversie that Good and Evil are the onely objects which cause all the motions of the Appetite yet is it not easie to express the manner how it is done since Good and Evil make no impression on the Soul otherwise then by the Images which the knowing Faculties frame thereof of and that those Images have not any other vertue then to represent For if that representation be not subservient to the knowledge of things it will not be any way usefull to the Appetite which is a blind power and as it is affirmed not capable of any knowledge I am content that the Practick Vnderstanding and the Estimative faculty should judge whether things are Good or Evil that they should present them to the Appetite and command it to move in order either to its union with them or recession from them But how does the Appetite see How does it know when it neither sees nor knows any thing but those Images those judgments and commands being fram'd in the said faculties What is it that teaches the Appetite that it ought at that time to move after such or such a manner in order to its union with the Good and after another manner to recede from the Evil when it knows not whether the Good or Evil have been presented to the Soul All these difficulties are the brood of two principles which some have brought into the Schools One is that the Images which are fram'd in the Soul depart not out of the faculty whereby they are produced the other that the Appetite of what order soever it be hath noâ— any knowledge And upon these two foundations they imagin'd that this inference must necessarily be built that the faculties act one after another by a certain sympathy there is between them or by the direction of the Soul in the substance unto which they are reunited Now we shall elsewhere make it appear that these two means cannot be maintain'd and
faculties because they have the Instruments of knowledge for we have shewn in the place alledg'd that a faculty cannot know but it must withall produce in it self the images of the things So that these not producing the images which they have and onely receiving them as an effect of the first image fram'd by the Imagination they cannot know it by a clear and perfect knowledge but onely according to that which is competent to all natural things which if we may use an odd kind expression Know without knowing what is conformable or contrary to them Thus is it that the Magnetick vertue which is communicated to Iron makes it know and sensible of the presence of the Load-stone and afterwards excites it to move and make towards it When therefore there is an image fram'd in any one of the knowing faculties it is as it were a Light which is multiply'd and diffuses it self into all parts of the Soul susceptible thereof Our meaning is that that which is spiritual is communicated to the spirial faculties and that which is material to the corporeal faculties and both kinds act therein according to the nature of the faculty into which they are entertain'd For if it be movable as the Appetite that Image moves if it hath no action as the Memory it produces nothing but is onely preserv'd in it if it be alterative as the formative vertue it serves for a model for the alteration which it causes in the members and so of the rest The case is the same with it as with that Magnetick vertue we spoke of before which though equally communicated to all bodies does not equally act upon them it alters and moves the Load-stone Iron and glaz'd Tiles yet without causing any alteration or motion in all the rest If it be so it will be no hard matter to affirm how the Appetite blind as it is may know Good and Evil and move conformably to the nature of either For since the Imâ—ge which the Estimative faculty or Practick Vnderstanding hath fram'd thereof is multiply'd and diffus'd through all the parts of the Soul the Appetite receives it feels it and afterwards moves as it ought in order to its union with the Good or recession from the Evil to its assaulting or opposing of it according to the instruction receiv'd from the Instinct and the knowledge which all natural things have either to be united to that which is conformable or to avoid and resist that which is contrary to them SECT 3. What are Motions of the Soul TO resume the Discourse we have interrupted we say further that of what kind soever the motions of the â—ppetite are whether real or metaphorical they are those which frame the Passions of the Soul For though the Schools have restrained that name to the Motions of the sensitive Appetite either by reason of the violence they do Reason or that the body sensibly suffers thereby yet if we consider the agitation which the Soul endures we shall find that not onely that which is made in the Will but also that in the natural Appetite is like that which the Sensitive Appetite suffers For the Will loves and hates rejoyces and is sad as well aâ— the other and there are in the natural Appetite such motions as are answerable to those others since Nature seeks that which is behovefull and shuns what is prejudicial to it is satisfy'd or troubled at the occurrence thereof is heightned or discourag'd as we shall shew more particularly hereafter And as to the violence which the Sensitive Passions do Reason and the alteration they cause in the body they are the effects which they produce yet enter not into their essence but are common to all the motions of the Appetite of what order soever it be and do not always accompany the emotions of the sensitive Appetite Accordingly as the Appetite is the principle of all corporeal motions so is it requisite that it should be moved before any Part of the body can be and consequently the agitation of the Spirits which is observ'd in the Passions and causes all the changes that happen in the body is not wrought till after the Soul is moved Moreover the Motions of the Will are many times contrary to reason as well as those of the sensitive Appetite and in the most spiritual Passions such as Ambition Envie c. it alters the body as well as the other Nay it may be affirmed that in the motions of the natural Appetite the body sometimes endures a greater alteratâ—on then in those of the sensitive Appetite as it appears in a Fever which is the choler of the natural faculty To be short neither doth that violence nor that alteration always follow the emotions of the sensitive Appetite Of these there are some conformable to Reason there are some that remain in the Soul and do not descend to the corporeal faculties as being raised up and dispers'd so of a sudden that they have not the time to spread themselves into them Whereto may be added that Angels are susceptible of love hatred joy sadness c. as Theology teacheth Whence it may be inferr'd that there is no ground for the taking away of the name of Passions from the motions of the Will and natural Appetite and consequently it may be affirm'd that all the motions of every Appetite are Passions since the agitation which the Soul endures thereby is equal in them all and that the end which she proposeth to her self therein is as to them also alike for by them all she is agitated and mov'd either towards the enjoyment of Good or the eschewing of Evil. True it is that these motions are called by divers names according as they are more or less vehement For as we call those winds which are more then ordinarily violent by the name of Storms and Tempests so when the Passions are great and extraordinary they are called Perturbations And certainly it may with some ground be affirm'd that the Passions are as it were the winds of the Soul For as the Air which continues in a constant calmness and tranquility is unwholesom and yet is purify'd by moderate winds but if they are too violent they raise tempests in it in like manner the Soul which is not stirr'd by any passion must needs be heavie and of an unhealthy constitution and therefore it is requisite it should be moderately agitated that it may be the more pure and more susceptible of vertue But if it happen that the passions become too violent they raise in her such tempests as disturb Reason confound the humours and alter the whole constitution of the body SECT 4. Of the Number of the Passions THE ART HOW TO KNOW MEN Having promised to discover the motions of the Soul we now come to examine how many ways it may be mov'd and what number there may be of the Passions whereby it may be so mov'd In order to the prosecution of that design it is
that she should also know and pursue that which is good for her and this cannot be done unless she have a love to it since Love is the first motion fram'd by the Appetite in order to the pursuit of Good and as the presence of evil procureth Grief to her so is it necessary that the presence of Good should cause pleasure to her But as we said before these passions are so weak and obscure that the senses cannot easily take notice of them and indeed they are not easily discoverable otherwise then by reason and discourse The cause of this diversity proceeds not only hence that these Appetites are more inclin'd to motion one then another For the Will being disengag'd from matter moves more easily then the sensitive Appetite and this more easily then the natural in regard it hath for its subject a more subtile matter and consequently more inclinable to motion then it But it proceeds also from the more or less perfect knowledge which directs them For as the Understanding knows more perfectly and more things then the Imagination so does it withall inspire the Will with a greater variety of motions then the other does and this latter also having a greater and more exact knowledge then the natural faculty does accordingly frame more Passions in the sensitive Appetite than there are in the Natural Appetite SECT 5. How the Passions of one Appetite are communicated to another THere is yet another thing to be considered which is of very great importance to wit that the Passions framed in either of the three Appetites are ordinarily communicated from one to another so that those of the Will descend into the sensitive Appetite and the natural Appetite as theirs do ascend into the Will For it is certain that the Will does many times suffer it self to be transported with the Love Pleasure and Grief by which the sensitive Appetite is stirr'd in the same manner as Love and the gladness and sadness of the mind spread themselves into the body and cause conformable emotions therein But the difficulty is to know how this communication is wrought For it might seem since things material can have no action upon the spiritual that neither sensible goods nor sensible evils can touch the Spirit nor consequenly be acceptable or delightful objects thereto On the other side though the Understanding may heighten the Phantasmes of the Imagination and render them spiritual yet is it not in the power of the Imagination to change the Idaea's of the Understanding which are spiritual into corporeal Phantasms consequent whereto it is that the goods and evils of the mind cannot touch the sensitive Soul nor raise any Passion therein To answer these reasons and resolve this great difficulty we might affirm with the Schools that there is a Sympathy between the faculties of the Soul and that they are so strictly combin'd together that it is impossible one should not have a sentiment of what passes in the other or haply that being all reunited in the substance of the Soul which is the Centre and principle thereof and as it were the main wheel which keeps them all in their several motions It is the Soul her self that causes them to act one after another conformably to the actions that are to be done So that for example the Appetite moves after the knowledge of Imagination and the members move after the emotion of the Appetite in regard there is a certain sympathy betwixt these faculties or that the Soul excites them and disposes them to act in that order This being so it would be no hard matter to tell how the Passions of one Appetite pass into another in as much as these powers acting one after another according to the sympathy there is between them or by the particular direction of the Soul it is necessary not onely that the Soul should move after she hath been enlightned by the Understanding but it is also requisite that the Sensitive Appetite should stirr after her in the same manner as we apprehend that the Will is oblig'd to move as soon as the Imagination hath excited some motion in the Sensitive Appetite But to deal ingenuously we must acknowledge that these opinions do not fully satisfie the mind For besides that the word Sympathy is one of those tearms that serve to elude difficulties and flatter our ignorance it may be farther press'd that if by it onely the rational Soul and the sensitive communicate their passions to each other it will be requisite that there should not be any passion in the latter which does not ascend into the Will and that all kinds of sadness should be attended by grief and in like manner all grief by sadness But this is not true since they are onely the greatest sadnesses whereof the body hath any resentment and that light griefs reach not the mind and cast it not into sadness Besides this Sympathy does not exclude that manner of acting which is natural to the faculties it is an order establish'd by Nature that the Sensitive Appetite should be enlightned by the â—magination and that the Imagination should take cognizance onely of things sensible How comes it then to pass that it should know the object of a spiritual passion On the other side how are we to conceive that the Understanding and Will which are spiritual powers suffer themselves to be mov'd by corporeal objects And how can Grief for example be said to excite sadness in the mind what Sympathy soever may be imagin'd between these powers In fine Sympathy does always presuppose some knowledge for the Iron ought to feel the presence of the Load-stone that it may move towards it And consequently it is requisite that every Appetite should know the judgment of the faculty which enlightens it whereas in the mean time the Appetite is a blind-power and such as hath not any knowledge Again if it be said that it is the substance of the Soul which sets these faculties in action which yet cannot be done without her having a knowledge of the order they ought to observe in their actions and a particular cognizance of the manner after which the Appetite ought to move in every passion it will follow that the Soul ought to have in her self the knowledge of an infinity of things and that she should know them by her own proper substance without the assistance of any faculty an excellency not to be found in any created Being and to be attributed onely to Divine Nature Let us therefore endeavour to find out some other plausible means whereby the Body Soul may be said to communicate one to the other the good and evil they resent To do that we are to observe that the Mind which is the noblest and most excellent part of Man is also as it were King of that little Monarchy taking notice of whatsoever passes therein that is worth the consideration and having a particular care of the Body as being the instrument
of most of its actions and together with it making up a Whole in the subsistence and preservation whereof it is no less concern'd then in its own In so much that it is not to be admir'd that it should have a certain sentiment of the good or evil things which happen to the other and that it should frame the same passions which they raise in the Sensitive Appetite And this is no hard matter for it to do in as much as it sees the phantasms which the imgination hath made thereof upon which it frames its idaeas and judgments and afterwards presents them to the Will By this means is it then that the passions of the Body are ordinarily communicated to the Mind But the case is not the same with those of the Mind in reference to the Body in as much as it is not by knowledge that the Understanding communicates them to the Sensitive Soul for the reason by us before alledged but it is immediately done by the motion which the Will imprints in the sensitive Appetite For there is no inconvenience in affirming that the Will moves the Appetite because motion is common as well to things spiritual as corporeal but in maintaining that the thoughts of the Understanding are communicated to the Imagination there is in regard spiritual things cannot ever become corporeal To clear up this Proposition a little further we are to observe that the Will hath an immediate command superintendency over all the parts of the Soul and Body which are moved voluntarily For it is in its power to move the members without any interposition of the Sensitive Appetite it being unlikely for example that in a resolution which the Understanding hath made to stretch forth the hand it should be requisite that that motion be made by the directions of the sensitive Soul which hath not any apprehension of the object or the motive of that action Now if it hath this power over the members with much more reason shall it have the same over the Appetite which being nearer and more apt to move then they are ought accordingly to be the more subject thereto and consequently the Will may stirr it and imprint in it the same motions which it hath given it self Hence it also follows that all those things which are in motion as well the corporeal as the spiritual produce in those others whereto they are apply'd a certain motive quality which may be called Impetuosity and that is as it were an impression and communication of their motion For it is by this communication that the bodies which are forced or darted continue the motion they have receiv'd from the hand though they be at a distance from it By the same communication is it also that Angels do enforce bodies chase away evil Spirits in regard they have not any vertue or means to act really and physically on things other then the motion they imprint in them This being certain it follows that the Will which moves should imprint its motion in the sensitive Appetite and that it should stirr yet so as that the latter stand not in need of any precedent knowledge of the imagination For though it be true that the sensitive Appetite cannot move but it must receive a previous illumination from that Faculty yet is this to be understood onely when it moves of it self and suffers no violence by any other strange cause as it is here Now as the Will imprints in this Appetite the emotion it gives it self in like manner when this latter is stirr'd it communicates its motion to the Will in regard that whatsoever moves may imprint its motion on the things which are near it if they do not oppose it either by the weight or some contrary motion For the Will and Appetite do many times oppose one the other by their contrary agitations Nor do the members and other bodies always obey them by reason of their weight which is stronger then the motion imprinted in them by the Will and Appetite All that may be said hereupon amounts onely to this that in this case the motions of the Will and Appetite would not be vital actions which cannot be forc'd nor proceed from without but ought to issue from the ground of that power by whâ—ch they are performed But it may be answer'd that the Will and Appetite having receiv'd that external motion move themselves and produce their own proper immanent and vital actions after the same manner that a man who is thrust forward moves afterwards and goes of himself or as he who is forc'd to do something against his will For his Will is immediately shaken by the violence that had been done him but at last it consents thereto and moves it self in order to the performance of the action So that those external motions which the Appetite and Will reciprocally give and receive one from the other are not real Passions while those powers move not of themselves But as there are some springs or resorts which immediately move upon the least touch in like manner these faculties have such an aptitude to motion that as soon as ever they have received the impression one from another they are stirr'd produce real Passions Not but that it happens very often they are shaken yet do not move themselves and no doubt when the Will which would not be transported with any Passion of the sensitive Appetite does nevertheless feel a sweet violence which gives her a certain bent towards it it may be said that the Will then suffers the impression of the motion which it receives from the Appetite but not that it does stirr or that any emotion can be attributed thereto Now the difference there is between the Passions which are thus excited consists in this that the Understanding hath an immediate sight of the object whereby the sensitive Appetite hath been moved But the Imagination which cannot know the object of the Will observing the motion excited by this latter in the Appetite frames to it self an object and motive conformable to that motion and so renders the Passion compleat just as it does in dreams in that kind of Love which proceeds purely from Inclination and in those Passions which Musick inspires as we have said elswhere For we have shewn that when the Soul observes in the Appetite or Spirits some motion which is proper to Passion though she be ignorant of the object which raises that motion frames to her self another of it which is proportionable to that Passion Hence it comes to pass that a man who falls asleep upon his anger represents to himself in his dreams enemies and fighting in regard the disturbance rais'd in the Spirits is observ'd by the Imagination which afterwards frames to its self objects conformable to that motion The same thing may be said of Musick and the forementioned Love of Inclination for both of these imprint in the Spirits such motions as being like those of the Passions cause the
being mixt therewith passes and insinuates it self into the Heart and Arteries through the Pores of the Vessels Hence it comes that Animals are sensible of the qualities of the air which they respire and Hippocrates affirms that the most sudden nourishment is wrought by odors But this is a thing happens by chance and is not to be admitted into the design of Nature And as to the cooling or refreshment which is caused by the air it is not intended to moderate the excess of the heat but for the reason given by us before which is common to fire and the spirits For the coldness of the air condenses the exhalations which should be enflam'd it gathers them together and hinders their rarefaction and dispersion And therefore when it is very cold the fire is the more violent and scorching in regard the matter of the flame suffers a greater contraction And the light of the Sun diminishes the heat of the fire in regard it rarifies and disperses the exhalation which feeds it Not but that the air does moderate the heat of the Heart when it is violent but that is not the main end at which Nature aims it is only a slender service and convenience which she derives by the by from her principal design But howere it be this is certain that after the blood which came out of the right ventricle hath travers'd the Lungs it is discharged into the left where it may be said it is return'd into the furnace and is stirr'd and agitated afresh and where it s more subtile parts are so refin'd that they acquire all the dispositions necessary to Spirits to make them vital and then they are endu'd with the form and vertue thereof and assume the place and function of those which have been distributed to the parts Art 5. Why the heart moves FRom what hath been deliver'd it may be inferr'd that the motion of the Heart serves for the generation of Spirits But that that should be the principal motive which oblig'd Nature to give it that motion is what cannot be easily affirm'd For in a word all Animals have those sorts of spirits but all have not that motion so that this may be stood upon that it is not absolutely necessary to their generation For my part I am of opinion that in this Nature had a greater regard to the conservation of the Spirits then to their production For whereas chings are conserv'd by that which is conformable and natural thereto and that motion is natural to the Spirits which are of a fiery nature and proportion'd to the Element of the Stars as Aristotle speaks it is accordingly requisite that they should be in perpetual motion as those bodies are And in effect we cannot stop the motion of fire without quenching it and all those things which hinder the Spirits from moving as Narcoticks and fulness deprave them and destroy the Animal It therefore concern'd the providence of Nature to find out some artifice whereby the vital Spirits should be continually stirr'd to the end they might be conserv'd by that which is most proper and natural to them And there could not be a more commodious way found then the motion of the Heart and Arteries which ever and anon excites and awakens the Spirits which are intermix'd with the blood For that humour being gross and heavy there would have been some danger of its smothering them by its weight if that miraculous ressort which gives a continual motion to the arterial blood should not hinder that disorder Hence it comes that the arteries alwayes accompany the greater veins that their agitation might excite the Spiâ—its which are mixt with the blood the lesser veins standing not in need of that attendance by reason of the small quantity of humour which they contain as such as is not capable of hindring their motion And in those Animals which have no blood that motion is neither so sensible nor so necessary in regard the humours there are more subtile and for the most part are only serosities which are in a more easie subjection to the Spirits It was therefore the principal intention of Nature to bestow motion on the Heart in order to the conservation of the Spirits yet with this precaution that it hinder not but that she may employ it to other uses For as a frugal and provident Housewife she makes that which is necessary to her main design to be subservient also to other conveniences which were it not for that she might have been without Upon this account is it that she employes the motion of the Heart to subtilize the matter of the Spirits to force away the impurities that are therein to moderate the heat thereof which might become excessive and to force the Spirits to the extremities of the Arteries so to disperse the heat and vital vertue into all parts Now of all these employments there are certain advantages yet are they not absolutely necessary since all this is done in many Animals without any motion of the Heart Art 6. That the Spirits are moved for three ends TO resume our discourse of the motion of the Spirits we said before that it was design'd for the communication of the vital heat to all the parts to convey into them the blood whereby they are to be nourish'd and to translate the humours from one place to another as it happens in the Passions in Crises and upon such other occasions As to the first it will be no hard matter to prove it for it is generally acknowledg'd and sense and reason teach us that all the heat and vigour of the parts proceeds from the vital Spirits which are produced by the Heart and as soon as this influence ceases they become cold and languishing Art 7. That the Spirits convey the blood into the parts BUt for the conveyance of the blood into the several parts there are not any Philosophers that have made it the employment of the Spirits but it is generally attributed by them either to the impulsion which it receives from the beating of the Heart or to some attractive vertue which draws it forth into every part It is therefore requisite we make it appear that these opinions cannot be maintain'd and that it is the proper work of the Spirits to dispose it into the veins For there is a necessity that it should be either forc'd out or attracted or convey'd so that when it shall have been shewn that there is not any thing whereby it is either forc'd out or attracted it will follow that there must be something to convey it and that only the Spirits can be capable of the employment Most of those who maintain the circulation of the blood do not admit of the Spirits at least as bodies distinct from the blood and affiâ—m that it is not mov'd in the veins but only by the impulsion which it receives from the beating of the Heart and that it admits not of any motion but that which proceeds from
humours which are mov'd in the body Now after we have throughly examin'd all the ressorts and instruments which Nature may make use of to that purpose it will be found that she cannot employ any other then the Spirits Art 9. That the blood is not attracted by the Fibres WE shall not here bring any thing upon the stage concerning Attraction though it were the only means whereby the Antients were of opinion that the motion of the blood was to be wrought inasmuch as it is an imaginary motion which opposes reason and experience Nor indeed can it be conceiv'd to be done but two wayes to wit either by some Boay which touching the blood brings and draws it to it or by some Magnetick vertue which may be in the parts and spreading it self into the vessels seizes on and drags it towards them much after the same manner as the quality of the Loadstone draws iron and causes it to approach it And these two wayes of attraction have bred two opinions which ever since the birth of Medicine even to the present age have been follow'd by some or other For some have imagin'd that the streight Fibres which enter into the structure of the veins had the power of attraction and that it was by their means the blood was convey'd to the several parts But they never consider'd that when some body is to attract a fluid and slippery thing there is a necessity it should touch it that it should seize on it and retain it in all its parts otherwise those which shall be at liberty will escape and will not be attracted Of this we have an experiment when we would take any liquor with our hand for those parts which shall not be comprehended within the hand will get away and not be gather'd in with the rest Now it is certain that the Fibres touch only the superficies of the humour which is in the vein and so whatsoever is in the bottome of the vessel will slip away notwithstanding all their endeavour to retain it To this we may add that the Fibres have no other way of attraction then by straining and compressing the veins and if so then would the senses perceive something of that motion as they do of that of the Intestines which is made after that manner Whence it follows that since we do not see any sign thereof how strong soever that contraction and compression of the veins might be for the making of that motion there is just ground to imagine that it is not made after that manner But what absolutely decides this question is that the aliment of Plants is convey'd by their channels after the same manner and by the same vertue as the blood may be in Animals and yet their Fibres suffer no such contraction as is imagin'd in the veins It is requisite therefore that we find out some other means whereby the moisture which nourishes them may ascend into the branches and withall such as may be found also in Animals to convey the blood into all the parts I add further that the bones attract as the common expression hath it their nourishâ—â—nt without any assistance of the Fibres and that sometimes the blood is so violently mov'd in the Passions that this pretended motion of the Fibres cannot be any way answerable to that swiftness as being made but slowly and by successive contractions which require much time in so long a transportation and conveyance as that of the blood is Art 10. That the blood is not attracted by any Magnetick vertue AS to the other opinion which admits a Magnetick vertue though it hath been more generally receiv'd yet is it not confirm'd by any other reason then the weakness of the precedent and the impossibility it imagin'd to it self of finding any other means then these two to make the blood flow into the veins So that it is maintain'd only upon the accompt of certain examples and instances as that of the Loadstone which draws iron to it and those of some purgative Medicines which attrract the humours and some others of the like kind But this is a very weak proof and such as the very ground thereof is of little certainty since we pretend to make it apparent that neither the Loadstone nor purgatives nor any other thing whatsoever have any attractive vertue But whether it be maintainable or not the Patrons of this opinion ought to suppose as they have done that this vertue is in every particular part since there is not any but does as they affirm attract blood for its nourishment The case being thus laid down they may be asked Whether all parts have this vertue equally or not For if it be equal in all there being superiour and inferiour parts it is impossible the blood should march up into the superiour parts in regard the inferiour have as powerful an attraction as the other there being no reason why they should follow the impression of the one rather then that of the other On the other side if there be any parts have this vertue in a higher degree then others they will attract all the blood to themselves and that just distribution which ought to be made thereof all over the body will never be perfected and compleated since it must needs be obstructed where that Magnetick vertue is most vigorous For to explain it by the example it must be done in the same manner as is observ'd in the iron which being plac'd near several Loadstones will alwayes make towards that which is most attractive Besides if it be true that the influence of natural vertues is performed by direct lines How is it to be imagin'd that the Attractive vertue shall observe that regularity in the innumerable turnings and windings of the veins and arteries What intermixture or to say better what confusion will there not be in the vessels wherein every part will spread its Magnetick vertue To conclude if the conformity of substance be the ground-work of this Attraction as is affirm'd by the maintainers of the foresaid opinion how is it to be conceiv'd that the blood which is alter'd and corrupted shall be able to flow into the veins By what means shall the mineral waters which admit not coction and are incapable of receiving the form of blood be able to pass wholly pure into the vessels What conformity or sympathy can we imagine between all these substances which are so different among themselves and the Liver or the Heart or any other part which attracts them to it self And lastly why should the blood ever go out of the body since that quality attracts it inwards and that it should be like the powder of steel which the Loadstone holds fast and suffers not to fall Art 11. That there are not any Attractive vertues BUt I shall proceed further and affirm that it is an errour to imagine there are in Nature any of these Attractive vertues she acknowledges not any other then that which is wrought by
to find out expedients and Docility to understand and follow good counsels To judge well a man must dive into the bottom and unravel the intricacy of affairs which requires a smartness of Apprehension and soundness of Judgment and to see at a distance the successes which things may have and that is Perspicacity or Foresight To enjoyn well he must examine all the circumstances of the actions and that is Circumspection he must consider the inconveniences and obstructions which may happen and that is Precaution In fine all three make their advantages of Ratiocination and Memory for nothing is to be said without reason and that which is grounded on experience is the most certain But in regard it is not sufficient to have consulted well judged well and enjoy'd well if things be not speedily put in execution we must add to all these qualities Diligence which is the final perfection and accomplishment of Prudence Moreover if these actions be apply'd to the conduct of a mans Person Family the Countrey wherein he lives or that of Warre they spread into those particular Species of Prudence which are called Monastical Oeconomical Political and Military And these are the true Species of Prudence the rest may rather be called the integral parts thereof Now though it be commonly affirm'd that Vertue lies between two vicious extremities yet is it not easie to set them down here For there are some whereto there cannot any thing be opposite but the defect as for example Memory Nay there are some which have for their contraries the same vices that are opposite to others He therefore who is endu'd with a vivacity of Spirit hath for his extreams the Extravagant person and the Stupid He who is Docile the Credulous and the Obstinate He who is Judicious hath the same extreams as the Ingenious The Fore-seeing or perspicacious person hath the Distrustful and the Stupid The Circumspect hath the Inconsiderate and the Negligent The Well-advis'd hath the Subtle and the Simple he who hath a good memory hath for opposite only him that hath a bad one as also he who hath the experience of things only him who hath it not The Diligent hath the Precipitate and the sloathful These are the Vertues and Vices which have some relation to Prudence according to the distribution which Moral Philosophy hath made thereof and which the Art we treat of promises to discover But it considers them not as they lie in that division nor under the same names For it makes no difference between the Circumspect the Perspicacious and the well-Advis'd person And whatever appertains to Ingenuity Judgment and Memory it comprehends under the name of Fortunate birth which ought to bring along with it vivacity of Spirit soundness or strength of Judgment and goodness of Memory it being requisite that he who is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 well or fortunately born should have all these qualities together True it is that it particularly examines those who have only one of these endowments as we shall shew anon Now the reason why this our Art does not alwaies follow the order of Moral Philosophy is that all its knowledge is grounded upon signs and that there are not such for all these habits so exactly distinguish'd For there being some of them which are diversify'd only by certain external circumstances they give not any precise marks whereby they may be distinguish'd one from the other it being sufficient that the Principle on which they depend should be known And when it shall be known that a man is Judicious it will be easie to conclude that he is well Advis'd Circumspect and Provident which are the effects of Judgment which considers both present and future circumstances The order therefore which our Art shall observe in this matter stands thus A person well or fortunately born hath for his opposites The Extravagant The Stupid The Ingenious and the Judicious have The same opposites He who hath a good memory Him who hath none The Wise or Considerate person The Heedless The Sottish The Prudent or well-Advis'd The Crafty or Subtle The Simple The Docile The Credulous The Obstinate The Diligent The over-Hasty The Sloathfull SECT 2. Of JVSTICE JVSTICE is a Vertue which renders every one what belongs to him For as we are not born of our selves nor only for our selves so must we be oblig'd to those from whom we derive our Being and also to those for whose sake we have receiv'd it And therefore both these have a certain right over us and we ought in Justice to render them that which belongs to them As therefore there are two Causes to whom we are oblig'd for our Being God and our Parents so is it requisite there should be two kinds of Justice whereby we ought to render what we ow them and these are Religion and Piety Now in regard we are born in order to Society and that Society is consider'd as a Whole whereof every one makes a Part it is accordingly requisite that every one should have that reference to Society it self and all those who contribute to the composition thereof which ought to be between the part and the whole and all the parts taken together otherwise the connexion and order which ought to be therein would be wanting and there will be nothing but disorder and confusion Whence it comes that the common Concernment and that of every one in particular oblige us to render them what we ow them upon this relation and union That Justice which regards the publick concernment is called Policy whereby we render to the Community what we ow it As to that which concerns particular persons there being some who are design'd to govern and command either upon the account of their dignity or by reason of the Excellence they have the Justice we ow them is Obedience and Respect In all others we are to consider what we may ow them upon a rigorous account of Justice or meerly upon a pure Moral obligation The former consists in Distributive and Commutative Justice of the other there are six Species to wit Friendship and Gratitude Affability and Truth Fidelity and Liberality whereof the two first are answerable to the Heart the two subsequent to the Words and the two last to Actions whatsoever we ow being to be derived from the Heart Words and Effects Thus it is that our Art makes use of these Maxims In the first place it considers the Honest Just or Upright person under whom is particularly comprehended whatsoever appertains to Politicall Commutative and Distributive Justice And to the Just person it opposes the Simple and Mischievous but it examines not the Simple person upon the same account as he makes one of the extreams of Prudence In the next place comes Religion which we call Piety for now that word is reduc'd to the business of Religion and the Justice we ow to our Parents is comprehended under Goodness The opposites to Piety are the Superstitious and
and the affectation of novelty have since brought into vogue Art 18. Whence proceeds the regularity which Nature observes in her evacuations ANd certainly if a recourse be not had to this direction of the Spirits it would be impossible to give an account of the regularity which Nature observes in her motions when they are absolutely at her disposal and which Medicine imitates in the evacuations prescrib'd by it For when in inflammations of the Liver the right Ear becomes red when ulcers rise in the right Hand and right Foot when blood issues out at the nostrill of the same side or when there happen imposthumes and swellings in the right Ear And on the contrary when all the same accidents are observable on the left side in inflammations of the Spleen When I say Medicine prescribes Phlebotomy on the same side that the disease is and teaches us withall that all the evacuations made on the opposite side are dangerous in case they are made of themselves or naturally or to no purpose if done by Art What other reason can be assign'd for this regularity at least such as may be satisfactory to the mind then that alledged by us For what is said of the streight Fibres which enter into the composition of the vessels whereby some are of opinion that the humours are attracted is to give it no worse tearm impertinent since they are incapable of making any such attraction as we have shewn elsewhere since they are found equally on all sides of the vessel and consequently cannot determine or direct the motion of the humours to one rather then another since there are not alwayes Fibres to promote that regularity in as much as from the Spleen to the left Nostril there cannot be any at all the veins of the Nose proceeding from the hollow Vein between which and the Spleen there is no connexion And in fine since the humours which are without the vessels nay the very vapours and the most simple qualities are communicated from one part to another after the same manner so as that the Fibres act not at all upon those occurrences they in case there were any not contributing any thing to the transportation of the vapours and qualities Moreover if any shall affirm that this may be done by those secret conduits that are in some parts of the flesh and ascend from the lower parts to the upper yet so as that those which are of one side have no communication with those of the other we answer that it is a pure imagination without any likelihood of truth in as much as most commonly these evacuations are wrought by the veins and that it is requisite the humours which flow through those secret conduit-pipes should enter into the veins where it must be asserted there are not any passages nay further that there should be some conduits cross the body since the humours sometimes pass from the Right side to the Left sometimes from Before to Behind and most commonly from the Centre to the Circumference But all consider'd reflecting on either of these opinions we cannot find why there should be so much danger when the regularity is not observ'd in the evacuations of the humours But it being supposed that the said evacuations are wrought by the direction of the Spirits it is easily concluded to be necessary that Nature must needs be extremely oppress'd when she follows not the order which had been prescrib'd her and when she gets out of her ordinary road to shun the enemy that presses upon her For it is to be attributed to this very reason that the motions she makes in sharp Fevers upon even days are always dangerous in as much as it is an argument of the violence she suffers and the disorder into which the violence of the Disease forces her when it makes her forget the odd days on which she ought to engage against the choler which is the cause of those Diseases But however the case stands we may confidently affirm that the regularity we speak of without all doubt proceeds from the Spirits which conduct the humours all over one half of the body and dispose them not at all into the other unless there be some great obstruction For Nature hath so great a tenderness for the conservation of things living and animate that she hath in a manner divided them all into two parts out of this design that if it happened one suffered any alteration the other might secure it self from it and so in it self preserve the nature of the whole Now this division is real and manifest in some subjects as in the seeds and kernels of some Plants all which consist of two portions which may be separated one from the other as also in all those members of the Animal that are double In others it is obscure and not observable in an actual separation of the parts but onely in those operations which shew that they have each of them their distinct jurisdiction and different concernments such as is that whereof we speak which distinguishes the whole body into two halfs whereof one is on the right the other on the left Of the same kind is also that which may be observed in the members that are single as the Brain Tongue Nose c. where we many times see one half which is assaulted by some Disease the other free from it though there be not any separation between them If then it be true that Nature to preserve one half of the body charges the other with all the disorder that happens thereto and permits not the humours wherewith it is troubled to exceed her limits and by that means to fasten on the other it is not to be doubted but that the Spirits which are her first and principal organs do serve her in that enterprize and that the transportation of the humours from one place to another is their charge but onely so farr as she hath given them order to do And if to compass this transportation there be any necessity of making use of the Veins that are on the oâ—her sâ—de yet does not that make them forget Nature's dâ—sâ—gn and the commands they had received from her and so they onely pass along if I may so express it the borders of their neighbours to get to the place whereto they are directed Thus for example when to disburthen the Spleen of the humours whereby it is incommodated there happens a bleeding of the Nose by the left Nostril it is absolutely necessary that they should go out of the Spleen-veins into the Hollow-vein which is on the right side But the Spirits can conduct them in such manner as at last to make them return all along the same line and within that half of the body wherein the Spleen is But this is to enter too farr into the secrets of Medicine it shall therefore suffice at the present to affirm that the communication there is between the Veins according to the distribution made thereof
the Reins the third in the Liver the fourth in the Eyes and the Fift in the Head from whence he draws four pair of Veins which are afterwards spread into divers places Art 17. That the distribution of the Veins made by Hippocrates for the discovery of the said Sympathy was not understood either by Aristotle or Galen FRom what is abovesaid it is not to be inferr'd that Hippocrates was of opinion that those were the first Sources from which the Veins derive their origine as Aristotle Galen and in a manner all their followers have impos'd upon him since he could not be ignorant that all of them have their root in the Liver whence they are distributed into all the parts of the Body in order to the conveyance of their nourishment into them as he afterwards makes it appear in the distribution he hath made of the Liver-vein and whereof he hath given a further account in the second Book of Popular diseases But it was only to denote the correspondence there is between those five parts and the rest the diseases and symptomes which they mutually communicate Accordingly when he saies that the left Eye receives a Vein from the Right and the latter another from the Left it is not to be taken literally as if those Veins did really derive their origine from those places but it is to shew that the indispositions of one eye are communicated to the other as if they had veins whereby they might be directly convey'd True indeed it is that this communication is wrought by the interposition of the veins and that these veins do also proceed from some common branch but that is at such a distance from the Eyes that it cannot be precisely affirm'd there is any intercourse of veins between them upon any other account then that of the sympathy there is between them And this is so certain that many times Hippocrates considers not the continuity of the veins in the distribution he makes thereof since he shews that the Head and Lungs hold a correspondence with the Spleen though the veins of the Spleen are not united nor continuous with those of the aforesaid parts in as much as it is sufficient in order to the correspondence whereof he speaks that there should be some kind of communication between those veins by some means or other as we shall shew hereafter But to make a more particular discovery of the secret and advantage of this admirable distribution it is requisite we should examin some articles of it For when he tells us that from these four pair of veins which issue from the Head there is one which hath two branches which falling from the Temples descend into the Lungs whereof one passes from the right side to the left and spreads into the Spleen and left Kidney and the other passes from the left side and goes into the Liver and right Kidney and afterwards both those branches end at the Hemorrhoidal veins Does he not thereby teach us not only why the opening of the Hemorrhoidal veins is good for those who are troubled with pains in the Reins Plurifies and Inflammations of the Lungs but also why the suppression of them causes the Dropsie and the Phthisick For though there be other places where it should seem that the reflux of the blood which they contain might be made yet the correspondence there is between them and the Liver and Lungs is the only reason why it is not made elsewhere And questionless those branches which descending from them pass from the right side to the left and from the left to the right acquaint us with the cause which hath been sought after to so little purpose to wit why the imposthumes and swellings which happen from the upper part to the lower are not alwayes on the same side where the source of the disease is observ'd but sometimes on the right sometimes on the left whereas those which happen from the lower part to the upper are alwayes consonant to the regularity of the part where the seat of the indisposition is For without this distribution of the Veins it is impossible to give a reason for all these accidents Nay further without the said distribution it would not be known why there is so great a correspondence between the Breast and the Genitals that the Cough ceases when those are swell'd that the swelling is asswag'd when the Cough follows nay that the swellings of the Veins which happens to them correct the defects that make the voice small or hoarse In a word this is the only secret to discover the wayes which Nature observes in her transportation of the humours from one part to another and for the discerning of the veins which are to be opened in every particular indisposition For though they have all the same root though divers of them have common branches which should equally distribute unto them the blood and humours which they contain yet the correspondence and friendship there is between the parts prevails with Nature to force them rather by one vein then another and she making choice of that which is most convenient for her purpose meddles not with the others which are near it and proceed from the self-same origine And this is evidently remarkable in the sympathy whereof we have heretofore given such pressing examples For in all probability it is by the Veins and Arteries that the secret vertue which is communicated from the Heart and Liver to certain fingers is convey'd into them and yet all those which are in the Hand are not employ'd in that conveyance and though they proceed from the same branch yet is there not any more then one whereby the vertue of the Heart and another whereby that of the Liver is convey'd Otherwise there would be no determinate place for the reception of their influence and all the fingers of the Hand which have veins and arteries would receive it equally the contrary whereof we find by experience Accordingly to say the truth all these vessels are only channels and conduit-pipes which cannot no more then those of springs or fountains give any motion to the humours But they are the Spirits only which convey and force them to those places where they are ordered to go And as the correspondence there is between the members is carry'd on and improv'd by means of these Spirits so is it not to be doubted but that the blood wherewith they are intermix'd marches along with them from one part to another and consequently occasions that miraculous harmony of the veins observ'd by Hippocrates For no doubt that Harmony was the ground upon which he and the ancient Masters of Medicine have in the same member observ'd veins that held a certain correspondence with several parts as in the Arm the Head-vein the Liver-vein and the Spleen-vein which they alwayes punctually opened in the particular indispositions of those parts slighting or at least not minding the weak reasons which the inspection of Bodies
by Hippocrates proceeds from the Spirits which convey the humors from one to another consonantly to the relation and correspondence which there is between the parts or according to the regularity they observe among themselves Art 19. That the Starrs or Planets have a certain predominancy over the several parts of the Hand TO return to the Sympathy there is between the interiour members and the several parts of the Hand I am of opinion that the reasons alledg'd by us for the maintaining thereof if they do not absolutely convince the most obstinate will at least leave in their mind some doubt of the truth thereof And I make no question but that Chiromancy ought to be satisfy'd therewith since that having been hitherto unknown to it they make good the chiefest of its foundations as also that it will be easie for the said Science to establish thereupon the maximes of Astrologie which ought to furnish it with most of its rules and secure its preatest promises For if it be once granted that the interiour parts are govern'd by the Planets and that they receive from those Celestial Bodies some particular influence as Astrologie teaches it must of necessity follow that the vertue which is deriv'd from those parts to the Hand should be accompanied by that which the Planets communicate to them And that for example if the Heart communicates its influence to some finger the Planet under whose government the Heart is should also derive his to the same place it being not probable that the influence of the Planet should make a halt at the Heart while this last communicates to the Hand that which is proper and natural to it in as much as the truth of the Celestial influences being granted it must be affirm'd that those two vertues are combin'd into one which is the onely essential disposition and the specifick property of each part Now it is a conclusion of Astrologie confirm'd by its principles and observations That the Liver is govern'd by Jupiter the Spleen by Saturn the Heart by the Sun and so of the rest whereof the consequence is that the fore-finger should be accordingly govern'd by Jupiter the middle-finger by Saturn the Ring-finger by the Sun c. in regard there is a correspondence and sympathy between those principal parts and the said fingers and that the former communicates to the latter the vertue they have in themselves All which consider'd we are not any longer to think it much that Chiromancy hath chang'd the order of the Planets in the Hand nor yet ask why it should place Jupiter on the fore-finger and the Sun on the Ring-finger rather then on any other part in as much as the nature of the Heart and Liver and the sympathy there is between them and those fingers hath assign'd it those places to be as it were particular houses which the said Planets have in the Hand as they have in the Heavens such as are peculiar to them These things thus laid down the whole difficulty is reduced to this point viz to know whether those Starrs do really govern the principal parts of the body and communicate unto them some secret vertue which might be cause of the good or bad disposition they have But for any man to think to drive on this Question as farr as it might go and to examine al the consequences and circumstances thereof with the severity which Philosophy requires in these matters besides that it would bring into doubt those truths which Astrologie places in the rank of things already judg'd and such as its most irreconcileable enemies are for the most part forc'd to acknowledge it would require a Discourse which should exceed the limits of our design nay indeed contradict the method wherewith all Sciences would be treated For this admits not that all those things which occurr therein should be brought into dispute it particularly declares against the censuring of those principles upon which they are establish'd and would have all those which are deduced from the conclusions of the superiour Sciences how doubtfull soever they may be to be receiv'd with the same priviledge as the maximes and common notions of the Mathematicks may challenge It is therefore sufficient for Chiromancy that Natural Philosophy maintains its first foundations and so whatsoever it afterwards receives from Astrologie ought to be allow'd or at least the disquisition thereof left in suspence till the ground of Astrologie it self shall have been examined Art 20. That the Planets have a predominancy over the interiour parts TO remove therefore in some measure the distrust which some may have that the Conclusions which Chiromancy derives from Astrologie for principles are wholly imaginary and contrary to truth we are now to make it appear by some observations not admittable into dispute That some parts of the body are under the particular direction and government of certain Planets Nor will this be any hard matter to do as to some of them And though we should reject the experiences which Astrologie might furnish us with upon this occasion and that upon such a rejection we should not have others convincing enough to make an absolute proof of this truth yet would the former lay down a great presumption for the ascertainment of the rest and leave a very wel-grounded conjecture for us to imagine that every member is governed by one of those Starrs and that the Principle which Astrologie had made thereof in order to the furtherance of Chiromancy is not ill establish'd Art 21. That the Moon hath such a predominancy over the Brain LEt us then begin with the Brain and affirm that it is a thing out of all controversie that the Moon hath a secret superintendency over that part and that it is more apparently sensible of its power then any of the other parts For it swells and abates it increases and diminishes proportionably to the increase or decrease of that Planet Thence it comes that the Science of Medicine upon a certain knowledge of these changes takes a care that when Trepanning is prescrib'd it should be perform'd with the greater precaution in the full of the Moon in regard the Physicians know that then the Brain is also in its full and that causing the Membranes which encompass it to come neerer the bone it exposes them to the danger of being the more easily touched by the instrument But there cannot be a greater demonstration of the connexion and sympathy which there is between the Moon and the Brain then that the Diseases of that part have their intensions and remissions according to the course of that Planet For of these â—ndispositions there are some do so regularly follow her motions that they may be the Ephemerides or Prognostications thereof Nay though she be under the Horizon and that the person subject to those indispositions endeavour by all ways imaginable to secure themselves against her influences yet does not all this hinder but that the breaking out of a fluxion