all natures contayned therein if it shall please God to giue vs grace as he hath giuen vs wils to performe it True it is that we haue now taken in hand a very long piece of worke and not greatly necessary in respect of the principall cause of our meeting together if we meant here to make an entire and perfect Anatomy of mans body This duetie belongeth to Physicions which we will not take vpon vs but it shall suffice vs to open a gappe to the consideration first of the matter whereof the body is made and of the diuersitie thereof then of the fourme which God hath giuen vnto it and lastly of the profit and vse of them both For through a litle vnderstanding and knowledge which wee may haue of these things if we consider them as we ought we shal haue great occasion to maruayle at the worke of God in the frame of the body yea wee shall see therein store of testimonies of his almighty power knowledge wisdome goodnesse and prouidence But as for the soule we will labour to make her to behold herselfe in the glasse of her wonderfull actions so farre forth as she is able to contemplate herselfe and to measure her greatnesse by her owne compasse Wherefore we will here make as it were an Anatomy of the soule and of all her partes powers vertues and faculties instructing our selues at large in the consideration of her nature creation and immortalitie and eschewing in all our discourses as much as we may obscure words and phrases subtill curious and vnprofitable disputations which the ancient Philosophers haue vsed in the searching out of such matters we wil apply our selues to the greatest number of such as haue not haunted the schooles of philosophy that we may profit many and instruct our selues in the truth by familiar speaches so farre forth as our weake iudgement is able to comprehend being directed by the gift and grace of God and made coÌ„formable to his word which is the true touchstone whereby all doctrine is to be examined Moreouer we wil obserue in our discourses the same order which we kept in our Academical treatises but only that I thinke it meetest for our present purpose that euery one of vs after he hath discoursed of some point should offer matter subiect to his companion to prosecute and speake of as if he gaue him instructions concerning that thing which he propoundeth vnto him And thus we will deale all foure of vs euery one in his course making one discourse round in the morning and another the afternoone continuing vntill we haue finished as it were a naturall history of man and of his parts the body and soule First therefore thou shalt instruct vs ASER in the creation of first man and in the matter whereof mans body is made Par la prieres Dieu m'ayde ¶ THE FIRST DAYES worke of the second part of the French Acadamy Of the creation of the first man and of the matter whereof the body of manis made Chap. 1. ASER God only hath his being of himselfe therefore he is eternal without beginning without end But because hee would not be alone he created the creatures and by their creation gaue being to that which was nothing before Therefore all natures tooke their beeing and essence and do hold it of that first euerlasting essence Thus also he answered to Moses who asked of him what his name was I will be that I will be or I am that I am Moreouer he said Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel I am hath sent me vnto you We see heere what name hee giueth himselfe whereby hee sheweth that he onely is and hath an immutable essence and existence which onely to speake properly a man may call a Being Wherefore seeing God is the first essence and that onely that hath being of it selfe and from which all others proceede as riuers from their spring and fountaine we shall easily come vnto the Eternitie of God if we know how to ascend thither by the degrees of the essences of all those creatures which descended from his eternall and vnchangeable essence by reason whereof he is called Iehouah by the Hebrews If then we consider our selues euery one of vs shal know that he had a beginning that he made not himselfe neither came into the worlde but by the help of another This consideration wil leade euery one to his father and mother that begat him being come so far he wil passe on and ascend step by step to his ancestors making the like iudgement of al his predecessors as of himselfe For he wil by and by think that they came into the world after the same maner that he did and not otherwise and that they were not the first men Thus if a man ascend vp stil from father to father he must needes in the ende come to some one father that was the first father of all of whome all others tooke their beginning as hee that was the stocke of all mankinde This first father must either haue his being of one or be eternall or come of some eternall matter like to God or bee God himselfe Which because heâ— coulde not be â—hee must needes haue some beginning and bee borne after another fashion then they were that descended of him Now what 〈◊〉 can we say he had but the Creator of the whole world Being come to his first beginning wee can mount no higher but must stay there and conclude that this first builder of nature was without beginning that he is infinite and eternall otherwise we shall neuer find place to stay at Thus we see how the creature leadeth vs from essence to essence proceeding from one to another vntill it come to the first essence which is infinite and eternall the spring and fountaine of all others which we call God But let vs speake of this creation of the first man After the almighty power of 〈◊〉 Eternal had within nothing and of nothing made the onely matter of the world had seucred out of this Chaos the ayre the fire the earth and the water inriched the whole with celestiall lights herbes plants earthy ayery and watry liuing creatures Let vs sayd he make man in our owne image according to our likenesse and let them rule ouer the 〈◊〉 of the sea and oâ—er the foule of the heauen and ouer the beasts and ouer all the earth and ouer euery thing that creepeth and moouethon the earth Nowe we will note here in the first place three things well worthy of consideration First that God did not barely command that man should be made and created as he commanded for the other creatures but he speaketh as though some great king or prince should ideliberate with his Councill about the making of some great worke declaring afterward himselfe why he tooke this way in the cruation of man onely and not in the creation of the other creatures like wise
of their places in mans body I meane in the whole masse and distribution of the blood and in the coniunction they haue together euen as the elements haue their places each after other For as the fire of it owne nature is light and therefore laboureth alwayes to ascend vpward to attaine to his naturall place so the cholerike humour which agreeth with the nature thereof occupieth the highest place among the humours mingled with the blood as we may perceiue by that that hath beene already spoken of the floure and skimme of blood according to that comparison which wee made betwixt blood and wine The like may be saide of the rest For as the aire is lightest next to the fire and the neerest element vnto it and to the rest of the celestiall fires so the blood properly so called keepeth the place of the aire among the humours of the body For it is not so light as the fire nor so heauie as the water or the earth And so consequently the flegmatike and melancholike humours occupy the lower places according to their degrees as the water and the earth doe in this great world For this cause all these humours besides their common offices and effects haue others more speciall agreeable to their nature as God willing we wil declare heereafter And namely the flegmatike humour that holdeth of the nature of the water is to be considered of For as in this great visible world there are waters both aboue and beneath I meane those that are contained and retained within the clouds in the ayre those that are in the sea in riuers kept within their bounds assigned them for their course so the like is to be foūd in the litle world which is mā Nowe hitherto haue wee learned howe the water and the other humours are carried with the blood throughout the body aswell vpwarde as downewarde by meanes of the veines which water all the partes of it howe high or lowe soeuer they be and therewithall carrie vnto them their foode and nourishement And this agreeth fitly to the woonderfull worke of GODS prouidence in nature which of the vapours arising out of the earth gathereth the cloudes together and these like to sponges sucke vp vapours from the waters of which themselues are engendered and which afterward they cary about as it were in chariots to distribute them into all quarters of the worlde according as it shall please God to dispose of them by sending his blessing vpon the earth by the meanes of raine wherewith being watred it nourisheth all those herbs trees plantes and fruites which it bringeth foorth not onely for the sustenance of men but also of beasts Let vs then imagine before vs a garden wherein is infinite varietie of trees and plantes of all sortes and that this garden is watred either by raine from heauen or by pipes and conduites whereby the water is brought thither and dispersed in all places thereof We shall see that in this great diuersitie of nature there is but one and the same nourishment for them all and but one place And albeeit the liquor that affoordeth this nourishment to so many sorts of plants be but one neuerthelesse it is conuerted into the nature of all those things which it nourisheth so that the nature of it is changed according to the distinct propertie of each of them For there are plants and herbes of all qualities and of all tastes and colours Some are hote others colde some drie others moist either in the first or second or third or fourth degree or else are tempered and intermingled according to their seuerall natures As for their tastes some are sweet others sharpe or bitter or of no certaine taste In a worde there are of all kindes of tastes both simple and compound And yet the humour or liquor is but one that receiueth all these qualities as in wormwood it becommeth bitter and in the Vine or Figge-tree sweete And if the herbes bee either for food or for physicke or of a poysonfull nature the same may be saide of the humour that nourisheth them The like is seene also in colours Neither doe wee obserue all this by experience onely in some great diuersitie of trees and of all sortes of plantes but euen in eche of them seuerally For I pray you what difference is there in euery herbe or in euery seuerall tree I meane betweene the roote and the stalke the body and the branches the boughes and the leaues the floures seedes and fruites And yet all these sundry partes receiue nourishment from one Mother and from one and the same substance and liquor Moreouer we see that as man and all other liuing creatures haue their heart in the midst of their bodies which is the fountaine of life so all trees herbes and plantes haue their heart in the middest of them according to their nature without which they could not liue For we call their heart the inwarde part within which their pith remaineth which is vnto them as the heart is to liuing and sensible creaatures Whereupon we haue further to note in regard of those herbes that haue weak stalks especially hollow ones or such as haue strawes insteede of stalkes that the prouidence of God hath giuen vnto them knots seuered as it were into sundry smal knees which are vnto thē in place of their stomack and of other nutritiue members to reteine their nourishment the longer to concoct it the better as also to strengthē them thereby And this we may euidently see in all sorts of corne and pulse Euen so doth nature or rather the prince therof worke in a mans body which is as it were a garden that hath a soule Wherein the Creator of this whole frame sheweth himselfe no lesse wonderful nay rather much more then in this great garden of the whole earth and of the great world of both which he is the Gardener that watreth them to nourish all the fruits they bring forth to cause them to grow For frō whence proceed or are nourished the bones gristles ligamēts sinews arteries veines flesh kernels fatte together with all the other partes of which the body is compounded May not the like be saide of the eyes of their coats and humors of the eares nose tongue teeth belly stomack guts liuer spleene kidneies of all the other bowls and inward parts And if we come to the hands and feet and to the other outward members to al the other parts called Instrumentall distinguished according to their office we shall finde that onely through the alteration of their foode into liquor they all receiue such nourishment as is proper to eche of them Yet notwithstanding one and the same sustenance is offered to so many sundry members beeing made familiar and of the same nature with that part vnto which it is ioyned For if it goe to the eyes it becommeth of the same temperament that the nerues and spirites
that nothing is so secrete in nature which they knowe not and whereof they are not able to shewe the causes and reasons But experience sheweth vnto vs daily how farre short they are of that which they thinke and in what ignorance the best learned are wrapped at this day For how many things are daily manifested vnto them which the greatest searchers of nature that euer haue beene were ignorant of vnto whome notwithstanding they that nowe liue are but disciples And how many things doe continually come to passe into which the chiefest sharpest sighted and most expert haue no sight at all or very small And among them that suppose they haue good knowledge howe are they deceiued oftentimes Howe many are doubtfull in many thinges whereof they haue but small coniectures whereupon they gesse at all aduenture and as they imagine We may easily iudge hereof by this that continually one reprehendeth correcteth another and that the later writers condemne sundry things in the former But not to seeke afarre off for examples we may see them daily in the science of the Anatomie of mens bodies For there was neuer yet Physicion or Anatomist either olde or newe that attayned to perfect knowledge and coulde render a reason of euerie thing that is but in one bodie notwithstanding that they are continually conuersant in that matter Therefore to leaue vnto God that secrete which is hidden from our vnderstanding let vs consider of that which wee may knowe touching the forme of a childe in the wombe If wee looke narrowely into that order that nature followeth in the framing of man who is the little worlde wee shall finde it like to that which the Authour of nature obserued in the creation of the worlde which Moses calleth the generations of the heauens and of the earth For in the beginning the earth was without forme and voyd and couered with a great gulph of waters so that the earth and waters and matter of all the elements and of all creatures created afterwardes were mingled and confounded together in this great heape Vnto this the Almightie afterwards added a forme and created so manie goodly creatures and of so diuers natures and kindes as are to bee seene in the whole worlde which hee hath adorned with them and endued with so great beautie that it hath receiued the name of that which is as much as Ornament or Order of things well disposed After the same manner doeth nature or rather God by nature woorke in the creation and generation of men For the seede of which they are formed and which is the matter prepared disposed and tempered by the same prouidence of God for the worke he hath in hand receiueth not fashion presently vpon the conception but remaineth for a time without any figure or lineaments or proportion and shewe of a humane body or of any member thereof The naturall Philosophers and Physicions who haue searched most carefully into this woorke and haue had greatest experience they say that there are certaine membranes and skinnes that are wrapped round about the infant in the wombe which some commonly call the Matrix others call the Mother and that within these skinnes which are three in number as some Anatomistes say others but two as it were within certaine bandes the fruite is preserued vntill the birth Wherein wee are to acknowledge the prouidence of GOD who hath so disposed of nature that euen from our mothers wombe shee is in steade of a mother to vs folding vs vp within bandes before shee that hath conceiued vs can perfourme the same But let vs proceede on with our matter so farre foorth as wee haue learned of the fashion of the childe in the discourse of Philosophers and Physicions They say then that after the wombe hath receaued the seedes ioyned together of both which the childe is to bee framed it commeth to passe that the heate of the Matrix warmeth all this matter as it were in a litle fornace and so rayseth a skinne ouer it which beeing as it were rosted by little and little waxeth crustie and harde rounde about the seede This causeth the whole matter to resemble an egge by reason that this skinne compasseth about the seede which boyleth inwardly through the abundance of naturall spirites that are within it This is that skinne which is commonly called the Secundine or After-burthen beeing ioyned on euerie side to the wombe by reason of a great number of Orifices veynes and arteries reaching thereunto to the ende that by them the blood spirites and nourishment shoulde bee conuayed to the infant For as the whole wombe imbraceth the seede so likewise it heateth and nourisheth the same Therefore this skinne that serueth in steade of little bandes hath two vses the first is to take fast holde of the wombe the other to serue for the nourishment of the burthen and of the childe For this cause there are two veynes and two arteries in it besides a passage in the middest which are as it were the rootes of the burthen and make the Nauill This woorke with other circumstances belonging thereunto which wee omitte for breuitie sake is brought to passe the first sixe dayes of the conception After this skinne they that make three speake of a seconde skinne that is in the middest which they saye was created to receiue the vrine of the childe which in the former monethes is voyded by the Nauill and in the latter moneths by the ordinarie passage This voyding place is ordayned to this ende that the vrine might not frette and rent in sunder the tender skinne of the infant who is therefore couered with a thirde skinne next to the other and that is very tender So that the vrine toucheth not the infant but is voyded by the middle way as I haue alreadie declared Thus you see the beginning of the conception before the burthen bee wholly formed like to an infant Whereunto that saying of the Prophet hath relation Thine eyes sayeth hee did see mee when I was without forme for in thy booke were all things written which in continuance were fashioned when there was none of them before Then hee compareth the secrete partes seruing for generation especially the bellie and wombe of the woman vnto the earth and to an obscure secrete and hidde place euen to deepe and darke caues in the ground For as the earth hauing receiued the seede in which is the vigour keepeth cherisheth increaseth the same euen so fareth it with the wombe and with the mother On the other side as these parts are lowest in regard of the trunke of the body and of all the receptacles and vessels thereof so are they very secret and hidden and as it were in the midst and center of the body if the whole be considered together namely the trunke with both endes thereof For this cause the worke that is there wrought by God is so much the more marueilous because euen in
desire were both ouertaken with the reuenging hand of God the one of them causing his seruant to be his Butcher and the other embruing his hands in his owne blood The like befell Lucretius a most notorious Atheist who being depriued of the right vse of his senses abused by him to the denying of God and of all religion slewe himselfe in the middest of his madnesse Pope Iohn the 13. may woorthily be enrolled in this band as he that was not ashamed to put vp ◠supplication to the deuill to send him goodlucke at dice and one day in the middest of his iollitie hee tooke a cuppe of wine and dranke to the deuill But by the iust iudgement of God hee was stabbed in with a dagger by one who tooke him committing adultery with his wife so that hee died thereof within eight dayes after Leo the tenth Pope of that name who thought there was neither heauen nor hell after this life and blasphemously saide that the Gospel of Christ was but a fable was sodainely striken dead with an extreame laughter which he fell into by reason of newes brought him of the slaughter and ouerthrowe of certaine French men in Italie by his meanes The French histories make mention of one Frances Rabelais who hauing sucked in this poison of Atheisme made a mock at al religion as Lucretius his forerunner had done before him but the selfe-same author defender of true religion that tooke frō Lucretius al vse of reason did so depriue this beast of all sense that as he led a brutish life so he died like a swine in the midst of his drunkennes deriding those that spake vnto him of God and of his mercy Iodellus likewise a French Poet and a professed Atheist as he gaue himselfe in his life time to write tragedies so he made a right tragicall end For hauing through gluttony and riot wasted his patrimony and wealth he fell into such extreame neede that hee was miserably famished for want of sustenance It would aske a long time to set downe the iudgements of God that haue iustly ouertaken sundry others of this abominable crew only I will rehearse one history worthy our knowledge concerning this matter mentioned by Enguerran in the second volume of his Histories In the raigne of Lewes the eleuenth and vpon the fift day of Iune 1464. there happened saieth he a wonderfull accident in the Palace at Paris whilest there was a controuersie in pleading betweene the Bishop of Angiers and a rich citizen of that towne whome the Bishop accused of notorious Atheisme namely that he had saide in the hearing of many that he beleeued not there was any god or deuill either any heauen or hell Now as the Bishops Aduocate rehearsed these woordes the place where they were pleading trembled very sore insomuch that with the shaking a stone fell downe from the toppe to the bottome but hurt no body albeit they were all taken with a great feare Whereupon they went all presently out of the place vntill the next day when the matter was to be heard againe And then also the saide roome beganne to shake againe so that one of the sommers of the chamber sprang out of the mortesse and bowed downeward two feete but fell not All that were present supposed they should haue died no other death which caused them so violently to rush out that for haste some left their hattes some their cappes some their slippers behinde them neither durst any pleade any more there before it was throughly mended Nowe albert Enguerran speaketh nothing of the determination of that suite yet for asmuch as nothing commeth to passe by happe-hazard as they vse to speake but all things are guided by the good prouidence of God it is out of question that the Lorde woulde teach vs heereby howe wee shoulde detest and abhorre such execrable thoughtes and speeches seeing the very dumbe creatures as the stones the timber and the earth it selfe which of it owne nature is vnmooueable were so affected with the horrour thereof that they coulde not abide so much as to heare it spoken of without shaking But here some will say vnto mee that this labor might well haue bin spared considering that the sunne-shine of the Gospel which breaketh forth so cleerely in all quarters of the lande will quickely descry if any such ougly bird should once beginne to peepe out of the shell within the nest of this Iland And if the Athenians being meere heathen men banished Protagoras out of their territories and burnt his Bookes in a publike place because in the beginning of one of them he called the deity into question wee may not think but that in this land ouer-spread with the knowledge of God this monstrous brood shal be nipped in the head so soone as euer it shall dare to shew it selfe Indeed a man would thinke that Atheisme should not once be dreamed of or named amongst vs considering that we liue in those times of which the Prophets foretold That the earth should be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters that couer the sea that all the childrē of the Church should be taught of the Lord so that one neighbor shal not teach another saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest saith the Lord. So a man woulde thinke that Fraunce hauing bin for these thirty yeeres vpwards almost continually scourged with ciuillwarres and that for the cause of religion shoulde bee so farre from being stained with the least spotte of Atheisme as that it might now at the length truely say with the Prophet Dauid It is good for me that I was afflicted for thereby haue I learned to keepe thy law And yet both this our Author and some other of that nation knowing that this infection hath seazed vpon many of their countrie-men haue laboured by their writings to suppresse the same And surely it is greatly to be feared that as their disguised attire couereth the bodies of many of our people maketh them deformed so this poison of Atheisme hath passed the narrow seas is landed in the hearts of no smal number to their vtter destruction both of bodie and soule Neither is this the feare of some few without any ground but of a great many wise and godly Christians who seeing the generall prophannesse of mens liues almost euery where both publikely crie out against the present infection and priuately bewaile the future euils that necessarily follow the same And albeit per aduenture there bee none amongest vs that are so farre gone in Atheisme as Ligneroles a French Courtier of late daies was who is said to haue made open profession thereof yet if the tree may be iudged of by the fruites the outward effects of mens liues doe shew the inward affections of their hearts he that hath but halfe an eye may see that there are a great many
he knoweth not But before we enter into a deeper and more particular consideration of the affections of the soule and of the heart wee must note this that all knowledge is giuen of God to this end to desire that Good which it knoweth and in desiring to followe the same vntill it hath ioyned and knit it vnto it selfe as neere as is possible For in this manner Good will be good vnto it and not otherwise To this ende sensuall knowledge is giuen for sensuall goods and spirituall knowledge for those goods that are spirituall And as the knowledge both of the one and the other is giuen to desire it so also is it giuen that it might turne aside and flee from euill which is contrarie to good to the ende that the Will might not ioyne it selfe thereunto by which meanes euill woulde indeede become euill vnto it and coulde not otherwise bee auoyded For as good coulde not bee good vnto vs but onely so farre foorth as wee did apply it and ioyne our selues therevnto so fareth it also with euill And because GOD hath not created beastes to enioy any other good then corporall goods and such as belong to their brutish life which goeth not beyonde this temporall life therefore he hath not giuen them the knowledge or appetite of any other good So that as they haue no other knowledge but that which is sensuall so they haue no other appetite but sensuall which is guyded onely by naturall inclination wherein they haue nature onely for their Mistresse which pricketh forwarde both their outwarde and inwarde senses without any direction at all of Vnderstanding and of Reason Therefore this sensuall appetite common to all liuing creatures cannot properly bee called Will. For as wee cannot call by the name of Vnderstanding and Reason that naturall inclination which is giuen to beastes for their direction seeing men onely are endued with Vnderstanding and Reason so is it with Will the name whereof agreeth not to that sensuall appetite except wee woulde call it sensuall Will in respect of the resemblance of Will which it hath wherein it differeth much from the Will in man as the sequele of our speech requireth that wee shoulde now learne to the ende wee may knowe the thirde kinde of appetite which wee set downe in the beginning of this discourse namely the voluntarie appetite which is proper and peculiar to man and the subiect of his Will Thou shalt tell vs therefore AMANA what Will is properly what her actions are what libertie and freedome she hath and what power Reason may haue ouer her Of Will and of the diuers significations and vses of these wordes Reason and Will of the actions freedome and nature thereof of the power which Reason may haue ouer her Chap. 34. AMANA The loue of GOD towardes men hath alwayes beene and is such that albeeit hee hath iust occasion to hate vs as sinners yet that hindereth him not from louing vs alwayes as men For hee considereth man otherwise in the nature and substance with which hee created him and as hee is his woorke then in that disorder and confusion which after entered vpon his nature by the woorke of Satan in him For this cause wee see that hee causeth his sunne to shine aswell vpon the euill as vpon the good sendeth raine to the one as well as to the other and powreth many benefites vpon all in generall But besides this loue whereof euery one receiueth fruite there is another more speciall towardes his elect whom hee loueth not onely as he loued vs all in Adam the stocke of mankinde and as his creatures created after his image but loueth them also as regenerated and newe creatures in Iesus Christ his Sonne the latter and iust Adam GOD and man and the stocke of spirituall men framed againe by him to the image and similitude of God Therefore we must vnnderstand that God hath and doeth loue men in regarde of the good hee hath put into them which is wrought chiefly through the benefite of spirituall regeneration the remnant of which Good he still loueth And in louing that he loueth himselfe because he is the soueraigne and onely good which is worthy to be loued in respect of it selfe Whereby we may see what is the true fountaine of all loue and of all the desires appetites and willes of all creatures For they must all bee drawen out of one and the same spring and fountaine namely the loue and will of God and that good which he loueth and willeth And the greater the Good is the more it ought to bee loued so that euery Will should desire to ioyne it selfe therevnto to follow after it and to haue the fruition thereof And because there can be no Good greater then God therefore no other can be loued but that So that whilest he loueth himselfe he loueth all the good that may bee because there is none but in him and from him Therefore this followeth necessarily that as all good things proceede from him so they must bee all referred to him and returne thither as to the Wel-head euen as all waters returne into the Sea from whence they came first of al. Hauing then learned of our former discourse that God hath giuen to man vnderstanding to know good and will to desire and follow it it is his duetie alwayes to referre all the good things he hath vnto him that is soueraigne and eternall Good and to account nothing good as in trueth it cannot be but him that ought to bee so accounted and to looke at him as the last and most blessed end We vnderstand then properly by Will that facultie and vertue of the soule whereby we desire that which is good and eschew euill by the direction and guyding of reason Therefore there are two actions of Will wherof the first is that inclination to good by which it imbraceth the same and the second is the turning aside from euill And when it is idle and inclineth to neither side it is depriued of both these actions Nowe although we saide before that reason helde the soueraignty amongst the powers vertues and offices of the soule yet wee must know that reason raigneth not ouer Will as Lady and Princesse but onely as Mistresse to teach and shew it what it ought to followe and what to flie from For the will hath no light of it selfe but is lightned by the minde that is to say by reason and iudgement which are ioyned with it not to gouerne and turne it from one side to another by commandement and authoritie either by force or violence as a Prince or Magistrate but as a counsailer or directer to admonish and to conduct it And so the will desireth or refuseth nothing which reason hath not first shewed that it is to be desired or disdayned Therefore the act of Will proceedeth indeede from Will but it is iudged of and counselled by reason so that a man may say that
with great torments and griefs insomuch that either it must consume away and perish or els returne to his due order and place and the wil must know that she hath a mistres not onely to teach her but also to correct her when she shall do amisse and peruert her order But let vs speake of that which more particularly concerneth so wonderfull a part of the body namely the heart First wee must remember how wee diuided before the internall parts of the frame and building of man into three bellies and lodgings of which the first I meane the braine was shewed vnto vs with all his partes Nowe we will come to the second which is in the middest betweene the other two namely in the breast which containeth the vesselles and instruments of the vitall facultie and vertue and those are the heart the arteries the lungs the rough artery with the appurtenances thereof Heere of it is that the name of the heart is oftentimes taken in the holy Scriptures for the middest or for the inward and secret part of a thing as when it speaketh of the heart of the earth and of the sea and of the heauens Nowe as wee haue heard howe reason hath his throne and iudiciall seate in the braine what ministers and what secretary hee hath neere about him and in what chambers and lodgings they are placed as also what ministers and officers are ioyned with him for the execution of his iudgements and decrees namely the wil and the affections so also wee must consider what manner of lodgings and habitations are assigned to these latter sort in the heart And although these officers and ministers are not alwayes obedient to reason but rise vp against it oftentimes and doe cleane contrary to that which it iudgeth and appointeth to be done yet by that order which God set downe they were to obey and to agree well amongst themselues as he sheweth it by the disposition of their lodgings We haue heard before that the heart and the lungs are lodged within the breast as in a strong holde and are compassed rounde about therewith for their safegard and defence But wee must note that there is a partition called Diaphragma by the Graecians which separateth the 〈◊〉 of the vital partes from the nourishing parts that are in the third belly and lodging of the body of which wee wil speake heereafter in his order This partition is aboue in respect of the naturall instruments appointed for nourishment and beneath in regard of the spirituall instruments that serue the vitall part And because it is a great rounde muscle of the breast about the ende of the neather part thereof it hath two vses of which the first and greatest is to be an instrument of breathing the second is to helpe to purge and expell the excrements of the body Next to that there is a tunicle or skinne which is very thinne and slender much like to a Spiders webbe is spread ouer the whole capacitie of the breast out of which two others proceede that diuide it throughout to the end there might be two distinct places of receipt that if a man had some great wound in one part thereof whereby the office of respiration and breathing which it hath should vtterly perish yet the other part that is vnhurt might at leastwise retaine the one halfe These skinnes serue also to couer and binde together all the vesselles and instruments contained within the breast and the former of them which hemmeth in the ribbes serueth chiefely to defend the lungs on that side where it is ioyned to the bones of the ribbes to the ende they shoulde not touch the bare bones when they execute their office namely when wee breathe Concerning the heart it hath for his next dwelling house a membrane or skinne called by the Graecians Pericardion which signifieth as much as if in our language wee shoulde say in a worde a compasse-heart And therefore this skinne is made of the same fashion the heart is namely very large and ample beneath but afterward it narroweth by litle and litle so that it endeth pointwise being in proportion like to a pine apple or to a pyramide which is the figure of a flame of fire Whereby it seemeth that God hath made the heart of this fashion to admonish vs that it is the place of that naturall fire which is in the body and appointed to giue it so much naturall heate as is necessary for the life thereof This skinne which is also called the litle closet of the heart is of such capacitie that it is seuered from the same on euery side as much as is requisite that his motion might in no wise be impeached Some thinke that there is some water within this vessell or some moisture like to a dew to water the heart that it shoulde not drie vp through the great heate that commeth of continuall motion in which it is without ceasing Nowe because this humour cannot be seene but onely in dead bodies there be that thinke it is made there onely after death through the exhalation and gathering together of the spirites which are there dissolued And in deede it seemeth to be a hard matter to knowe this by Anatomy because commonly it is not practised but vpon dead bodies And although a man woulde trie the experiment vpon quicke and liuing bodies yet they woulde be alwayes dead before he should come to that part or at leastwise there woulde be such a change and alteration that it would be very hard for a man to giue a right iudgement Neuerthelesse this might be knowen by cutting vp that part in some beast or other For there is alwayes some moisture found there euen before it be starke dead although indeed it cannot liue long after that part is opened But let vs returne to that which we begunne to speake of the heart which being the roote and fountaine of naturall heate disperseth it abroade by the arteries into the whole body and giueth life to euery part therof For albeit the instruments of respiration serue the voyce yet they were created principally for the hearts sake that the naturall heate which is in it might bee refreshed increased and fedde by them For this cause hath the Diuine prouidence made the lungs to be as it were the forge and shoppe of respiration to this ende that the aire without might bee sent euen to the heart for the causes and endes before spoken of For the aire that is to be brought to the heart is first prepared in the lungs to the ende it might moderate the heate of the heart and spirites and not enter in thither either too hote or too colde or in too great abundance whereby it might be damnified or quite choaked vp Therefore hath God made the flesh and substance of the lungs very light soft and spungie more then any other part of the body so that it holdeth much of the nature
and euill to the ende that all the actions therof might agree with these rules which are the beames of heauenly wisedome in our selues For it is an order which God hath so ordained established And forasmuch as the soule was to dwell in the body God gaue vnto it this naturall power of the affections that it might bee wakened and stirred vp by them as it were with prickes thereby to be kept from idlenesse and from being lulled asleepe and oppressed with the heauines of the body and so neglect all care of good things of that which is very expedient profitable for it self For this cause the soule hath her affections of which some serue for spurres to pricke her hither thither as oftē as need requireth others serue for a bridle to keep her back to stay her from rushing vnto euill from following those things that are hurtful for her And indeede we stand in need of such spurtes and bridles but herein we erre greatly in that we knowe not howe to keepe a moderation betweene these twaine For because wee make these spurres too sharpe and pricke the horse too much which we haue to guide the bridle on the other side is two grieuous vnto him so that he lifteth vp and girdeth forward ouer furiously And this commeth to passe because wee doe not content our selues with that which is requisite for the succouring of our naturall necessities but we adde there vnto infinite superfluities For vpon some light necessitie that might soone be dispatched we torment our selues a great deale more then neede is because wee perswade our selues that our necessities are greater then they bee and so seeke after moe remedies and helpes then is requisite Of this wee haue daily experience in that care which wee take for thinges necessarie for this life which is the cause that wee burne continually with insatiable couetousnesse which is such a marueilous spurre vnto vs that wee take very little rest for it For if wee woulde bee contented with enough it woulde not put vs to that torment which wee dayly suffer But nothing sufficeth vs and therefore the affections are in our soule as the windes vpon the sea For some windes are very small and mooue the water but a little others are more vehement and rayse vp certaine waues and some againe are so tempestuous and make such horrible stormes and gustes whereby the Sea is so mooued that sea and sande and fishe and all seeme to bee turned topsie toruie The like may bee sayde of the motions of the soule For some are so light that they seeme to bee nothing els but small beginnings of moouing There are others stronger which moue it somewhat more And some also are so violent that they altogether trouble the soule euen in such a vehement manner that they driue her from her seate of iudgement Therefore these two first kindes of motions are properly called affections and the other that are so violent are termed Commotions and Perturbations For they bring a kinde of blindnesse with them which is the cause that iudgement and reason see neuer a whit Whereupon it followeth seeing neither Reason nor Iudgement beare any more rule that the soule is as if shee had no more power ouer her selfe but were subiect to the iurisdiction of some other The Grecians terme such affections with a worde that signifieth as much as if wee shoulde say passions And in deede wee commonly say that a man is passionate when hee is tormented by such violent affections For as the whole bodie suffereth when it is mooued or thrust too and fro and stricken on euerie side so is it with the soule beeng violently mooued euerie way And as the moouing is more or lesse moderate so shee suffereth more or lesse and if the motion bee verie violent confusion followeth thereupon Nowe for the sequele of this speech let vs consider how the affections are more or lesse moderate according to the disposition of the iudgement and what is the spring and originall of so many sundry affections as we see in men It belongeth then to thee ARAM to handle this matter That according to the dispposition of the iudgement the affections are more or lesse moderate or immoderate of the cause of all the motions of the soule and heart of the varietie of affections of the generation nature and kindes of them Chap. 43. ARAM. Whatsoeuer we doe or wish for wee doe or desire it for some Good whether that which we iudge to bee good bee so in trueth or in opinion onely And therein wee resemble God our Creator who is not only good but also goodnes it selfe euen the perfection of all Good Wherefore if we desire to know what is the true Good we must vnderstand that there is but one onely true Good euen the same by participation of which we are first made good and then of good most happie For we cannot be happy and blessed which is the end we all looke for but we must first become good For as there is no true felicitie and blessednes but in Good being th source and fountaine yea the perfection of all happines and contentation so also there is no felicitie nor blesse dues but in goodnes which is as proper to God as his very diuinitie because that as he cannot be God except he be good so he cannot be good with that goodnesse that is in him but he must bee God And as he is the essence of all essences so he is the essential Good and the essential Goodnes of al Goods and of al Goodnesses But although our nature doeth of it selfe alwayes tend to that which is Good as wee haue shewed in the handling of the chiefe powers of the soule Vnderstanding and Will neuertheles we differ much nay we are cleane contrary to God when wee come to the election of Good because of the bad iudgement we haue by reason of the darknes of ignoraunce wherewith our mindes are blinded Hereof it commeth that the more the iudgement is corrupted infected and deeper plunged in the flesh the more euill and carnal are the affections the moe in number and the more violent yea such as doe not onely trouble and peruert the internal senses of the soule but the external senses also of the body This we may obserue in them that are caried away with loue who thinke oftentimes and are verily perswaded that they see and heare those thinges which indeede are nothing so Contrariwise the purer the iudgement is and the higher it is lifted vp from the fleshe and from the earth the fewe◠and lighter are the affections which trouble and molest it For then it taketh greater heed and marketh what trueth or what falsehood what good or what euill there is in all thinges Whereupon it commeth to passe that the iudgement is not so often nor so easily mooued And when it is mooued it is not so violent nor headie but more mature
that behold it so we may in some sort know our euill when it beginneth first but when it hath gathered full force it wholy dimmeth our reason and yeeldeth to no counsaile Therfore before any passion grow to be strong wee must labour that whatsoeuer shall be rashly desired may be suppressed by a prudent and an aduised discourse We haue heard by our former speech that Desire and Coueting is an appetite or longing to obtain some Good which we iudge is profitable vnto vs or to preserue it if wee haue it already For this cause we must always consider aduisedly what Goods we want whether they be necessary for vs or no whether we seeke after them either because we need them or for profite sake or else oâ—ly to satisfie the vanitie of our minde and our foolish and carnall affections For there are some Goods so necessary for vs that without them wee can neither liue nor preserue our life The necessitie and want of these is fitly called naturall and ought rather in deede to be termed appetites then desires In the number of these Goods are meates drinkes clothing dwelling places Physicke fire water such like things which mans life cannot be without Therefore our appetite to these things is awakened as it were by a certaine naturall instigation which pricketh and prouoketh the soule to make it desire seeke them so that they stay not vntill iudgement haue giuen sentence but proceede on forward as wee may see by experience in hunger and thirst It is not therefore without cause saide that the belly hath no eares But there are other goods not altogether so necessary for mans life which yet wee cannot be without when neede requireth and they serue to this vse that men might liue more commodiously and better at ease as wine exquisitenes in dressing and preparing of meates spices and many such like things For it is certaine that although there were no wine nor any artificial drinke yet nature would be content and coulde well away with water and although meate be not so delicate nor so well and finely dressed as it might be yet will it nourish well enough so it be naturall The same may be saide of the rest of which there is great vse in the life of man and of those pleasures and delights which wee take by all the corporall senses The desires of these things are not to be condemned seeing they are naturall also prouided alwayes that moderation be kept in them For God hath not created any creature which hee will not haue man to vse so that hee abuse it not but being contented with those pleasures which hee permitteth vnto him keepe himselfe within the limits thereof and fall into no excesse neither lash out beyond all reason and measure There is yet an other sort of goods wherof we haue spoken before which is more in fancie in opinion theÌ„ in any other thing namely the getting and possessing of siluer of riches of power of honor of glory These goods fil men ful of innumerable desires which haue neither measure terme nor ende insomuch that amongst all creatures liuing none is so burthened with them as man who notwithstanding might wel satisfie himself with a few if he could be content with that which wil suffice nature and followe her And therefore of all these sortes of desires mentioned by vs we may well say that those which concerne naturall things haue some limitation but such as concerne things found out and inuented by men haue no bounds nor measure at all in them For what ende is there in the coueting of riches honours glory and such like things True it is that of their owne nature and as being the creatures and giftes of God they are not ill but they become such through the fault of men I meane through their insatiable coueting and abusing of them and through that false opinion which commonly we haue of them For we propound these things to our selues that we may liue with greater ease pleasure and rest but it falleth out cleane contrary For being such goods as reach not vnto the spirit they cannot profit the same or if they do reach vnto it yet the profit that commeth by them is very light and vaine For they are not able to sound the bottome thereof it is so profound and capable much lesse are wee to thinke that they can make vs happy Nay they are so farre from performing this that it is impossible to beleeue how troublesom it is to the spirit to search and finde them out and to obtaine keepe them For after that ambition and couetousnesse be once mooued and pricked forward through false opinions and vaine iudgements they growe and waxe disordered out of measure For the spirit thinketh in it selfe that if once it could get either those honours and glory or that mony and riches which it wisheth for it shoulde be very happy and liue at great ease and rest But when it hath obtained that it is not only in the same estate wherein it was before but oftentimes farre worse and lesse contented The reason is because the spirit considereth not that those things which it laboureth to get are vnable of their owne nature to affoorde that which it requireth of them Whereupon not knowing his owne vice and foolish imagination it it perswaded that this falleth out so in respect of the greatnes excellencie of that thing whereunto it aspireth and therefore not hauing gotten so much as is requisite fully to satisfie the desire it hath it setleth it selfe to get more And when it hath proceeded in this sort yet is it alwayes newe to beginne being as farre from contentation yea a great deale further then it was before So that we may conclude that desire or coueting is bottomlesse and voyde of all stay Therefore wee must knowe that the meere wants of this life doe neither breede nor encrease these desires in vs but they proceede from a false opinion and perswasion which we haue of them For it is certaine that the opinion wee conceiue of those wants which we imagine wee may haue breedeth such a fearâ— in vs as engendreth and encreaseth these desires And the carking care to preserue those things that are without vs namely externall goods proceedeth from the same fountaine For our foresight stretcheth it selfe not onely to vrgent necessities or to such as wee verily thinke are to come to passe but euen to all those that may any way happen so that we propound to our selues all the wants in the world as if heauen and earth shoulde faile vs. Besides many doe not onely looke to those necessities which they may feare but also to those pleasures which they would haue For they suppose that by meanes of power riches authoritie and dignities they may attaine to the fruition of all the pleasures and delights they wish for And when a man hath tasted of pleasure this
belonging to the sight are of which bring the facultie and vertue of seeing vnto the eyes as likewise it is of the same temperament with the coats and humors of which the eyes are compounded being diuided and distributed to eche sundrie part by a naturall propertie inherent in them The like is done in the eares and in other members and instruments of the corporal senses and in all the other partes of the body euen to the very nailes and haires thereof Wherein truely wee see wonderfull alterations and a most admirable woorke of Gods prouidence whether it bee considered in the whole earth and in this great world or in man who is the litle world Now for the sequele of our speech before wee come to speake of the speciall offices and effectes of the three humours ioyned with the blood of which wee haue heere spoken wee are to consider besides this distribution made of the nourishment by meanes of the veynes as it hath beene tolde vs of another meane by which these humours and especially the flegmatike ascend vp vnto the braine whereby it commeth to passe that in man as well as in the great world there are waters aboue and belowe which are the cause that mans life swimmeth in the middest of a great danger Also wee are to knowe why the soule and the blood are often taken eche for other and to be instructed in the temperature of the humors necessarily belonging to the bodie for the health and life thereof as likewise to consider of the causes of health and sicknesse and of life and death But this shall bee for to morowe when thou ASER shalt vndertake the discourse of these things so farre foorth as is requisite for vs to know The end of the eight dayes worke THE NINTH dayes worke Of the vapours that ascend vp to the braine and of the waters and cloudes conteined therein and in what perils men are thereby why the soule and blood are put one for another of the temperature of the humors necessary for the health and life of the body of the causes of health and of diseases and of life and death Chap. 65. ASER It is the saying of an ancient Philosopher that they which saile vpon the water are not aboue two or three fingers breadth distant from death namely so farre off as the thicknes of the plankes and timber of the ship is in which they are caried into the Sea For if that timber were taken from vnder them they cannot auoyd drowning vnlesse they can swimme like fishes But not to saile on the sea or vpon a lake or riuer to approch neere to death we haue it a great deale neerer vs when we cary about vs infinite causes and meanes whereby we are euery houre in danger of stifling and as it were of drowning and that both waking sleeping eating and drinking within doores and without at all times and in al places whersoeuer we become Insomuch that of what estate and disposition soeuer men are we are oftentimes astonished to heare tydings of a mans death sooner then of his sickenesse whom wee saw not long before mery cheerefull and in good health Now we may learne some chiefe causes hereof by this dayes handling of that matter Subiect which was yesterday propounded to bee discoursed vpon And first we must know that besides the distribution of all the humours together with the blood into all parts of the bodie by the veines and that for the causes before learned there is yet another meane whereby these humors especially the flegmatike humour which is of the nature of the water ascend vp vnto the braine by reason of vapours arising vpward out of the stomacke like to the vapour of a potte seething on the fire with liquor in it and like to vapours that ascend vp from the earth into the ayre of which raine is engendred Now when these vapours are come vp to the braine they returne to their naturall place and into the nature of those humours of which they were bred as the vapours that are held in the aire turne againe into the same nature of water of which they came Therefore as the waters are contained within the cloudes in the region of the aire allotted vnto them so is it with our braine which is of a colde nature and of a spongie substance fitte for that purpose So that we alwayes carie within it as it were cloudes full of water and of other humours that distil and runne downe continually by the members and passages which God hath appointed to that ende as wee haue alreadie hearde And these places albeit they serue especially to purge seuerall humors as hath beene tolde vs yet oftentimes they voide them altogether both by reason of their mingling and coniunction as of their ouer great abundance Yea many times they are so plentifull namely the flegmatike humour that because the braine cannot sufficiently discharge it selfe of them by the ordinary way these humors ouerflowe on all sides wheresoeuer they can finde any vent and issue euen as when a thundering cloude bursteth asunder So that the water runneth not downe as it were a milde and gentle raine but as a mighty flood that bringeth great ruines with it or as a riuer passing his ordinary course breaketh downe both banke and wall and ouerfloweth euery where Therefore we may well say that many times we haue floods of water enclosed within our heads and braines when wee neuer thinke of it nor yet consider in what danger we are Which the more secrete and vnknowen it is vnto vs the more perillous it is and greatlier to be feared especially considering it is so neere vs and that wee haue fewer meanes to auoyde it as wee haue daily examples in many who being in health and mery are sodainely choked by catarrhes which like to floods of waters runne downewards as the very name deriued from the Grecians doeth import as much or by some sodaine Apoplexie how healthy soeuer before they seemed to bee Others also there are who if they be not presently choked with such floods from the brain yet they are taken with palsies lamenesse and impotencie in all their members or at leastwise in some of them as if some waterflood had caried them away so that nothing had beene saued but the bare life and that more fraile and miserable then death it selfe I speake not of gowtie persons who although they be not assaulted with such great and vehement floods of waters and with euill and superfluous humours so that some few droppes onely of which they are so called fall vpon some partes of them yet are they greatly tormented constrained to crie out and that oftentimes in extreme distresse Which consideration ought to stirre vs vp to know wherein our life and preseruation thereof consisteth and of whom we holde it And on the other side although we had no examples of floods and inundations of waters of earthquakes and such other
assigned the spleene for a seate to this blacke humour which beeing placed on the left side conteineth this humour in it hauing proper pipes and passages both to drawe from the liuer this dregges of the blood and also to communicate the same vnto the stomacke thereby to prouoke appetite as likewise to purge it selfe by diuers meanes The chiefe vse of it is to receaue the grosse and muddie blood and to that ende there is a great veine which beeing the pipe of this blood goeth from the Port-veine to the spleene which is nourished with the best of it and concocteth the aboundance of this humour Therefore God hath created it with such a flesh as is meete and apt for that office and further hath holpen it with certaine arteries whereby it is heated and made warme And when it hath taken so much of this grosse blood to nourish it selfe withall as is requisite the rest is partly reteyned still and partly thrust out and sent to the bottome of the stomacke by a veyne seruing for the same purpose to the ende that from thence this humour may bee voyded out of the bodie Now when these veines are stopt daungerous diseases follow thereupon chiefely when this happeneth to the first veine whereof I spake euen nowe For when the liuer is not purged his whole office is hindered and it selfe decayeth by little and little by retayning still the excrementes thereof from whence the vapours ascending vp to the brayne trouble it very much and cause it to fall into very strange and foolish conceiptes And when the body is burdened with this humour it causeth that man to bee very melancholicke and sadde and many times bringeth that yrkesomnesse vpon him that he desireth nothing but death It was very requisite therefore that God shoulde giue both a vessell and passages to this humour which is not without his great commodities if it bee tempered and distributed as it ought to bee For it serueth to stay and to retaine the floting spirites which arise out of the blood least if they shoulde bee made more pure and subtill then is expedient for the bodie they vanish and passe away altogether It is profitable also to thicken the blood and to helpe to restraine and keepe it from running ouer hastily besides it nourisheth therewithall the melancholicke members which holde most of the nature of that humour as namely the bones and the spleene Likewise the drinesse both of this and of the cholericke humour standeth the blood in some steade and the coldnesse thereof serueth to coole and moderate the heate of the blood and of the cholericke humour As for the flegmaticke humour which is also called Pituita it is not without his commodities For first it is the matter whereof the blood is made when it is by little and little concocted better it mitigateth the heate of the blood and is vnto it in place of nourishment and in steade of a bridle to restraine the burning and deuouring heate thereof from present consuming of all Besides it keepeth the blood from beeing too thicke and drie and beeing caried with the blood it nourisheth the flegmatike and colde members such as the braine is And as the other humours ioyned with the blood haue their superfluities and vessels to keepe them in and to purge them so is it with this For this humour is not onely caried with the blood to keepe it from ouermuch thicknesse that it may the better passe through the veynes but there proceedeth also from the whole masse of blood an excrement like to very thinne water which by reason of the thinnesse of it can no way bee profitable to the bodie For it is a water that differeth as much from blood and from the flegmatike humour ioyned with it as whay doeth from milke when the butter and cheese with all the substaunce that can bee had from it is drawen out of it For it is like to sweate with which it hath some resemblaunce Therefore it hath his proper place assigned vnto it in the kidneyes which drawe to themselues the watrish matter from the blood thereby purging it from water that woulde corrupt it and fill the veynes in steade of good blood as wee see it in the dropsie which bloweth vp the bodie that is stuffed with water in steade of good nourishment which by the veynes it shoulde drawe from the blood if the liuer were well affected and if all the other partes that ought to helpe it did well performe their dueties And to the ende that the kidneys may the better do their dutie God hath not only created two but hath so placed them by his prouidence that the right kidney is higher then the left so that they doe their dueties one after another For if they wrought both together if they were both in one place if both drewe vnto themselues with equall force in steede of mutuall helpe they woulde greatly hinder eche other which inconuenience the prouidence of God doeth very well meete with And as all the inwarde partes of which wee haue hitherto spoken haue their pipes both to drawe from the liuer that humour that is meete for them and to sende it where neede requireth and also for to purge themselues euen so the kidneyes haue their passages apt and meete for the performance of all these things For first they haue Emulgent veines so called because they drawe this waterish superfluitie as a child sucketh milke out of the breast and hauing receiued this water separated from the blood they sende it vnto the kidneyes It is true that a little blood passeth together with it to nourish the kidneyes withall with which there is some yellowe choller mingled that serueth afterwarde to helpe expulsion and the water beeing coloured therewith is made yellowe and brackish and then it is rightly called Vrine Nowe after the kidneyes haue drawen from the liuer this water whereby the blood is purged and themselues also in part nourished with some little of the blood and that by meanes of the veines and passages giuen vnto them for that purpose they haue two other passages called Vreteres or Vrine pipes whereby they purge and discharge themselues of that water that is called Vrine after the blood is wholly separated from it This done these pipes sende the water vnto the bladder which is a vessell meete for the receipt thereof and which doeth as it were distill the same by litle and litle through these pipes that enter into the bladder both on the right side and on the left Moreouer the bladder hath a necke and passage neere to the two vrine pipes whereby it dischargeth it selfe of this humour after it hath kept the same awhile voyding it forth of the body as a superfluous excrement For if this were not so after the body were full of this water ouerflowing in it not onely many partes and members woulde bee broken but men also shoulde bee stifled by reason of