Enquiries into human nature in VI. anatomic prælections in the new theatre of the Royal Colledge of Physicians in London / by Walter Charleton ... Charleton, Walter, 1619-1707. 1680 Approx. 683 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 192 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2004-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A32698 Wing C3678 ESTC R15713 12100016 ocm 12100016 54082 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A32698) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 54082) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 863:56) Enquiries into human nature in VI. anatomic prælections in the new theatre of the Royal Colledge of Physicians in London / by Walter Charleton ... Charleton, Walter, 1619-1707. [44], 149, [1], 369-544, [5] p. : ill. Printed by M. White, for Robert Boulter ..., London : 1680. Reproduction of original in Cambridge University Library. Advertisement: p. [12] Epistle dedicatory signed Walter Charleton. I. Of nutrition -- IV. Of life -- V. Of fevers -- VI. Of motion voluntary. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Hygiene -- Early works to 1800. Nutrition -- Early works to 1800. Soul -- Early works to 1800. 2003-09 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-10 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-11 Olivia Bottum Sampled and proofread 2003-11 Olivia Bottum Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-12 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ENQUIRIES INTO Human Nature , IN VI. Anatomic Praelections IN THE New THEATRE of the Royal Colledge of Physicians in LONDON . BY WALTER CHARLETON , M. D. and Fellow of the same Colledge . Publish'd by Order of the Most Learned PRESIDENT . Furori ac dementiae proximum est , suprema inquirere , & aliena perscrutari , iis ignoratis quae sunt in nobis . Socrates . LONDON , Printed by M. White , for Robert Boulter , at the Turks Head in Cornhill , over against the Royal Exchange . 1680. J. P. Sc. Printed for Robert Boulter at the Turks head in Cornhill against the Exchange . 1680. TO THE Right Worshipfull Sr. JOHN CUTLER , Knight and Baronett . WHatsoever Sacrifices Men have at any time offer'd up to God , they had first receiv'd from His Bounty : nor were they therefore the less Acceptable to Him , if offer'd with humility , gratitude , and sincere devotion . I have reason then to hope ( Noble Sir ) that this Book , which I now bring as an Oblation of Honor to your Name ; and bring with grateful sentiments of your exemplary Munificence so happily exercis'd upon our Illustrious Colledge of Physicians ; will not be the less acceptable to You , because it is already Yours , by unquestionable right . I call it Yours ; because , though it be an abortive Child of my weak brain , 't was begotten by a Conjunction of my Obedience to the Command of our Most Worthy President , with my honest Ambition to contribute my Mite toward the advancement of the Noble Art of Dissection , to which You have given so ample Encouragement : because 't was born in Your Magnific Theatre , at the Inauguration thereof : and because it now comes abroad into the World with no other aim , but publickly to acknowledge Your Heroic Beneficence . Nor do I indeed know any other way of making that Acknowledgement , so agreeable either to the Generosity of Your Mind , or to the Nobility of Your Design , in erecting the Anatomic Theatre ; as this I have taken , is . For , to Your Great Spirit , 't is much more delightful to accumulate Benefits , than to receive Thanks and Eulogies from Your Beneficiaries : and You are alwayes best pleas'd with those acts of Your Charity , which are done in secret , and which are not otherwise to be known , than by the light of their own Merit . Whence it is , that Your Liberality walks in paths new and remote from the Common rode , yet direct , and leading at length into most spatiose fields of public Utility , where industrious Men may reap a more plentiful harvest of rewards , than they can at first expect : and that the streams of Your Goodness resemble those Rivers , which , though running under ground , diffuse fertility to whole Countreys and Provinces through which they pass . Of this , the Mechanic Lecture You have founded in Gresham Colledge , for the promotion of Manual Trades ; and Your Anatomic Theatre , are illustrious Examples , worthy the imitation of Good Kings , and the envy of Bad : being Both so deeply founded upon Wisdom , that the Advantages they promise , are of Universal concernment to the present Age , and ( if Men be not wanting to themselves ) cannot but extend to all in Ages to come ; rendering their Usefulness more and more Conspicuous , the lower they descend to Posterity . And as for the Nobility of Your Design in the later ; that can not be deny'd to be full of Piety toward God , and of Benevolence toward Men. Of Piety toward God ; in that it aims at the incitement of even Philosophers , to make farther researches and discoveries of the infinite Goodness , Wisdom , and Power of God , discernable in all his Creatures , but more eminently in the admirable fabric of Man's Body : and by consequence , to encrease their Love and Veneration of the Divine Majesty . For most certain it is , that profound Contemplation of the Works of Nature , is of it self powerful enough even to compell Human Reason to admire , love , praise , and adore the Transcendent Perfections of the Author of Nature ; that we are all naturally disposed to form in our Minds such Notions of the Deity , as are proportionate to the discoveries we make of the Excellencies thereof , in the Objects we contemplate ; and in fine , that our Devotion toward the same Deity , is alwayes proportionate to those Notions . Hence doubtless it was , that the most inquisitive Naturalists amongst the Antients , were also the greatest Celebrators of the Supreme Being : and that the Indian Gymnosophists , the Persian Magi , the Egyptian Sacrificers , the Gallic Druids , and the Athenian Hierophantae , were to their several Nations both Philosophers and Priests ; teaching at once the mysteries of Nature , the duties of Religion , and the rites of Divine Worship . Evident it is then , that Your Theatre may be properly enough call'd , a Temple of Natural Theology , where the Perfections of God are studied in the Works of His hands , and His Praises celebrated with Understanding . Deum enim colit , qui novit . Of Good-will toward Men ; in that it hath provided the fittest Means to bring the most Antient , the most universally Useful , and therefore the Noblest of all Arts , the Art of Healing , to Perfection . For , Anatomy being the Grand fundament of Medicine , and yet ( with sorrow I write it ) incomplete ; it cannot be , but every new discovery thence arising to the Learned and Judicious Professors , must conduct them , not only to more certain Science , first of the true Oeconomy of Mans body , in the state of Nature ; and then of the disorders and perversions of that Oeconomy , by Diseases , with their respective Seats and Causes : but also to the most rational and propre Indications , for the preservation of that , and the cure of these . Nor can You think me to speak rather from affection or partiality , than from right judgement ; if I affirm , that no Men are more likely to make such Discoveries by accurate Dissections , than some of the now flourishing Fellows of our Colledge are : so great are the Testimonies they have already given to the World of their unwearied Diligence , solid Erudition , and admirable Sagacity of Spirit . So that 't is not easie for me to determine , whether these Gentlemen be more Worthy of Your Theatre , or Your Theatre more Worthy of them . But of this I am sure , that such a Theatre hath been most fitly conjoyn'd to such a Colledge : and I dare prophesie , they will mutually add more and more Honor each to the other . Now ( Honor'd Sir ) if You please to reflect upon what I have said , of the Generose Temper of Your Mind , and of the Wisdom of Your Design in this Magnificent Structure ; You will ( I presume ) be soon induced to believe , what I before affirm'd , that I could give no testimony of the great Respect and Gratitude I owe You , more decent and congruous to Both , than the Dedication of these my late Anatomic Praelections to You is , in which ( how imperfect soever ) I have shewn my self willing at least , and Zealous to be serviceable to Your End , without offending Your Modesty . The Reasons I have brought , seem sufficient , both to evidence the Right this Book hath to Your Favor , and to justifie my Election of it , as the least indecent Sacrifice I could offer to Your Glory : and the same may serve also to incline You to receive it benignly , as a specimen of my Devotion to so Eminent a Benefactor ; and to permit me to expose the same to the Censorious World , under Your Auspicious Patronage ; which will certainly afford it defense from Contempt , and might also give it long Life , were it not of an infirm constitution , as having been form'd in haste , and in the declining age of its Author , and , March the 27th A. D. 1679. Noble Sir , Your most sincerely devoted , humble servant , Walter Charleton . Advertisement . LEst the Errors of the Press ( which yet are neither many , nor great ) be imputed to the Author , who wanted leisure to prevent them ; the Reader is civilly desired to correct them thus . In Page 19. Line 26. of the Preface , read , of one and the same part : p. 26. l. 30. of the Preface , r. Trismegistus in Asclepio . In the Book . Pag. 23. l. 31. r. Pelican and most other fowls : p. 52. l. 19. r. betwixt it and the second or middle coat : p. 130. l. 20. r. spontaneous : p. 132. l. 13. r. and is not only convenient : p. 421. l. 19. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 430. l. 11. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — p. 436. l. 2. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — p. 437. l. 31. r. purification of the bloud : p. 438. l. 1. r. or not yet despoiled of its spirits : p. 473. l. 26. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 478. l. 7. r. which threatning a flux : p. 498. l. 5. r. a force by transmission : and l. 16. r. of such a power : and l. penult . r. framed : p. 502. l. 25. r. Kingdom of Fairies : p. 505. l. 20. r. Philosophy : p. 513. l. 24. r. arise : p. 515. l. 22. r. divine Wit : and l. 33. r. so like a bogg : p. 519. l. 9. r. Caspar Barlaeus : p. 544. l. 25. r. coadjuvantesque omnium operas . PREFACE . OF THE Antiquity , Uses , Differences , &c. OF ANATOMY . THIS Place is sacred to the study of God's Works , for the benefit of Mankind ; the Occasion of this Assembly , rare , inaugural , and worthy of the greatest solemnity ; the Assembly it self , frequent , and consisting ( for the major part ) of Men Noble , Wise , Learned and Curiose ; and my talent , but a mite . Highly then it concerns me , before I advance one step , to stand still , a moment or two , and seriously consider , what my Subject is , and what my Province . My SUBIECT is , the most abstruse Oeconomy of Nature in the body of Man ; a System of innumerable smaller Machines or Engines , by infinite Wisdom fram'd and compacted into one most beautiful , greater Automaton : all whose parts are among themselves different in their sensible elements , in their magnitudes , figures , positions , textures , motions , actions and uses ; yet all ordain'd and adjusted to one common End , namely , to compose a Living Ergasterium or Work-house , in which a Reasonable and Immortal Soul may , not only commodiously , but also with delight , exercise all her divine Faculties , to her own felicity , and to the praise and glory of her Omnipotent Creator . A Subject ( as ye , Noble and most judicious Auditors , will all readily acknowledge ) admirable even to astonishment ; full of variety , and no less full of wonders : a Subject , wherein the most acute and piercing Wits have found more , much more to amuse , than to satisfie their Curiosity ; and which hath forced them , after all their anxious disquisitions , to sigh forth that pious Exclamation of King David , Quàm admirabili nos structurâ Deus formavit ! My PROVINCE is , the Anatomic Administration of these ruines of a Man , i. e. to take asunder some few at least of the various Organs of this Master-piece of the Creation , so that we may explore their several conduit-pipes , their springs , movements , actions , communications , offices , in fine , their whole Mechanism or Construction , upon which their respective Functions necessarily depend . For , most certain it is , that the Divine Architect hath fram'd all things , as in the Greater World , so likewise in this Microcosm , in number , weight , and measure : and we have it , as a precept , from our Oracle Hippocrates ( lib. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) that a genuine Physician ought [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] to evince whatsoever he delivers as doctrine ( if it be possible ) by demonstration . These things consider'd , I appeal to You , Most Prudent and Venerable President , who have been pleas'd , from Your good opinion , not of my sufficiency , but only of my diligence , this day to place me where I deserve not to sit ; and to You , my most Learned Collegues of this Illustrious Society , who honour me by your presence : whether it be not necessary for me to set before you , in a short Proem , some at least of the many sentiments I have conceiv'd in my mind , of the singular Dignity and Excellency of the task assign'd me . When by so doing , I shall at once pay some part of the debt I owe , both to the honour of this Temple of Philosophy , in which we now sit ; and to the Solemnity of this Convention : and shew my self , however unfit worthily to administre so noble a Province , yet duely conscious of the weight of it ; which may perhaps somewhat conduce to render my faileurs the more Venial . That I may therefore both invite your Attention , and pre-ingage your Candor ; I ask leave to make my self , for a few minutes , your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Remembrancer , by recalling into your memory , what ye have heretofore read , in the monuments of the Antients , concerning the Antiquity of the Art of Dissection ; and what ye have , from your own happy Experience and Observation , collected , touching the great and manifold Utility of the same . Which , I shall endeavour to do , with as much of Perspicuity , as the Umbrage of the Argument , and the Scantness of my Readings will permit ; with as much of Conciseness , as can be brought to consist with that Perspicuity . ¶ . As for the ANTIQUITY of Anatomie ; that doubtless is , if not equal , yet not much inferiour in age to Medicine it self , which seems to have been invented by men in the very infancy of the World. For , ( 1. ) If Necessity be , as hitherto on all hands it hath been admitted , to have first suggested to Man all those profitable inventions , whereby Humane life has been render'd either more defensible , or more comfortable : we may with good reason infer , that the Art of Medicine , i. e. of preserving and restoring health , had its beginning as early in the morning of Time , as any of the rest : it being certain that mens bodies were then not only liable to , but actually infested with various distempers , pains , infirmities and other maladies ; the Laws and Constitutions of Nature continuing perpetually the same : and no less certain , that men observing what things were agreeable , what disagreeable to the body , what mitigated , what exasperated their maladies , were by the very dictates of Reason taught to provide for the conservation of their Health , by abstaining from things noxious , and for the restitution of it when impair'd , by using things convenient and beneficial ; as the Divine old man of Coos hath with admirable sagacity observ'd in his excellent Book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Now if Medicine be so antient , 't is highly probable , that Anatomy , which is the principal fundament thereof , is not much less antient , if not equal . Could Men ( think ye ) feel themselves tormented in any member or part of the body , or unable to use the same in the actions to which it was originally destin'd and comparated , and which it had with facility and indolency alwayes perform'd before ; could they ( I say ) be sensible of this , and at the same time not highly solicitous to know in what part of that disaffected member the pain or defect chiefly lay , what piece of the Organ had been broken , stopp'd , displaced or otherwise vitiated , so as to discompose the whole frame , and make it unfit to execute its proper functions ? Or how was it possible for them to acquire this knowledge , unless by first acquainting themselves with the natural composition of that same member , i. e. with the various similar parts whereof it is made up , with their several constitutions , slzes , figures , textures , positions , connexions , &c. in fine , with the whole Mechanical ration of the organ , upon which its aptitude to perform its proper actions necessarily depends ? But this they never could do , otherwise than by dextrous dissection of that member in the body of some one or more defunct . I ghess therefore , that the Art of Dissection and that of Medicine were Twins , that had Humane Wit for their Father , and Necessity for their Mother : and ( 2. ) That they neither were born in Grece , nor are so young by a thousand years , as even most Antiquaries themselves have concluded them to be . For , tho' that great devourer of its own productions , Time , hath consumed the greatest part of the monuments of the younger world ; leaving us very few , and those too imperfect , full of chasms and decayes : yet I am able to prove , from the records of an Author or two of unquestion'd credit , and venerable antiquity , that both are much elder than most Learned men have , after long raking in the rubbish of old Athens , determin'd them to be . It is not unknown to the Learned part of this assembly , that Ptolomaeus Philadelphus King of Aegypt , a Prince of a curious spirit and large heart , finding in the immense treasure of Books he had collected and stored up in his Library , the Histories of most other Nations , but none of his own the Aegyptians ; to supply that defect , imploy'd one Manetho , a man of solid Erudition , a Priest and Master of the Rolls kept in the Temple of Memphis , to compose a History de rebus Aegyptiacis , from the first original of that mighty people , down to his own times : and that accordingly Manetho , consulting the antique Volumes of Mercurius Secundus , which had been many hundred of years preserved in the most sacred recesses of the Temple , and the more antique Hieroglyphic Marbles , compiled out of them a true History of Aegyptian Antiquities ; a Book , whose loss all Learned Chronologers lament , whose dispers'd fragments they religiously venerate . From this Book , Syncellus , an excellent Chronographer , who flourish'd in the year 800. after our Saviours Nativity , is said to have transcribed whatever he wrote in Graec in his so much admir'd work , concerning the Dynasties of the Kings of Aegypt , and other Antiquities of that Nation ; which our most profound Reformer of the vulgar Computation of Times , Sr. John Marsham , thus commends . Quicquid supellectilis hodie superest ad instaurandas Aegyptiorum origines , id fere totum debetur Syncello ; neque tanti sunt momenti quoe Herodotus omnium primus , aut illum secutus Diodorus Siculus , de Regibus Aegypti tradiderunt . This Syncellus , among many other memorable things recounted of the Aegyptian Kings of the first Age , delivers , That after the decease of Menes , first King of the Thinites , Son of Cham , Founder of Memphis , call'd by the Hebrews Ham , by the Aegyptians Jupiter Hammon ; Aegypt came to be divided into two Kingdoms , Thebes and Memphis : this , under Athothes or Mercury ; that , under Tosorthus or Aesculapius ; both after honor'd with Divine titles and worship . Then commemorating the virtues and merits of these two Kings , he saith of Mercury , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : he built a palace in the City of Memphis , and wrote Books of Anatomy ; for he was a Physician : of Aesculapius , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. he is held to be Aesculapius by the Aegyptians for his skill in Medicine ; and he found out the art of building with squar'd stones . This Record is attested also by Clemens Alexandrinus , an Author of no less credit , and near upon six hundred years elder than Syncellus , who saith expresly ; Ex 42. Mercurii Libris , 36. ad Aegyptiorum Philosophiam , 6. reliqui ad artem Medicam pertinent ; quorum primus fuit Anatomicus , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , de constructione corporis . I am not ignorant , that some great Scholars of this our Age , hold it more probable , that the Art of Anatomy here attributed to Mercury the first , was the invention rather of his equal Aesculapius , who is esteem'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Medicinae Autor . But since these same Critics deny not Mercurius and Aesculapius Aegyptius to have been Contemporaries ; it makes no difference , as to the Antiquity of Anatomy , which chiefly we are now seeking , to which of the two the glory of its first invention be ascrib'd . Let others then contend about this nicety , while we remarque , that from the Texts just now recited , three considerable things are evident . ( 1. ) That the Aegyptians have a just and clear right to the honor of the invention of the noblest of all Arts , Medicine : and therefore Pliny did them no wrong in saying , non immeritò Medicinam Aegyptii apud ipsos volunt repertam fuisse ; & Aesculapius Memphites inter primos hominum numeratur , qui opinione humani Dii facti sunt . ( 2. ) That the most useful inventions of the first of Historical Times , were Medicine and Architecture : one to furnish mankind with helps against infirmities of the body , the other to defend him from injuries of the air : both suggested by Necessity . Hinc quippe praematurum medicandi aedificandique studium . ( 3. ) That this our Aegyptian Aesculapius was one thousand years elder than the Aesculapius of the Graecs , who was of Epidaurus , and there for many hundred years worship'd with solemn rites and religious devotion , as the God of Health . For , Clemens Alexandrinus casteth the Apotheosis or Consecration of this Aesculapius Epidaurius into the fifty third year before the sackage of Troy : telling us from Apollonius the Rhodian , that he accompanied Jason in his voyage . Which , tho' the name of Aesculapius be not found in Apollonius his list of the Argonauts , is yet probable from the consent of Times : for Machaon , son to the same Aesculapius , is by Homer numbred among the noble Graecians that bore arms at the siege of Troy. Iliad . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : Quos duo ducebant , Medicorum principe nati , Praestantes Medici , Podalirius atque Machaon . So that if we compute from the second King in the first Dynastie of the Aegyptians , down to the fifty third year precedent to the Excidium Trojae , we shall find the intervenient space of time to amount to about a thousand years . Of so much greater antiquity is the first Inventor of Medicine among the Aegyptians , than that Aesculapius to whom the Graecs erroneously or arrogantly ascribe it , and of whom Lactantius saith , quid fecit aliud divinis honoribus dignum , nisi quòd sanavit Hippolytum ? This I have noted , only to shew the great Antiquity of my Profession , not to detract from the renown of the Graecian Aesculapius , who being also excellent in the Art of Medicine , augmented the honor of it in his own Nation ; and therefore deserves from me the incense of a little breath in sacrifice to his memory . Give me leave then , I pray , to speak a few words concerning him , toward the satisfaction of those among my Auditors , who perhaps have been less conversant in Books . At Epidaurus a City in Argolis or Argia ( at this day call'd by some , Saconia , and Romania Moreae by others ) situate near the Aegean sea , he was worship'd as a Divine Numen ; having there erected to him a magnific Temple , in which the Sick , after due oblations , were lay'd to sleep , and said to be secretly taught by the God himself in their dreams , by what remedy they might certainly be heal'd . This is more fully deliver'd by Pausanias : and Strabo reports farther , that among many others in that place and manner restor'd to health , one Archias , son of Aristaechmus of Pergamus , was freed from dreadful Convulsions in all his limbs , only by following the counsel of his dream : and that returning to Pergamus , in gratitude he brought with him the religion and worship of the Epidaurian Temple , building another in imitation of it . De quo templo etiam Corn. Tacitus ( Annal. 3. ) in asylorum apud Graecas civitates antiquitùs constitutorum origines inquirens , haec habet : Consules apud Pergamum Aesculapii compertum asylum retulerunt : caeteros obscuris ob vetustatem initiis niti . From Pergamus the same Superstition was in process of time transferr'd also to Smyrna , and a third Temple rais'd there : in which one C. Claudius Valerius Licinnianus was Chief Priest ; as appears from a Marble not long since brought from Smyrna , and now extant in the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxon. in number the forty sixth Marble . The testimonies I have brought , are ( you see ) authentic ; nor can you longer doubt , that among the few reliques of the younger world that have escap'd the jaws of Oblivion , some are yet extant to attest the great Age and honor of this pair of Noble Sisters , Medicine and Anatomy . So solid were their Principles , so durable have been their Constitutions , so illustrious their Propagators , so sacred their Records , and ( if I may be permitted to speak as a Platonist ) so powerful a Genius has preserv'd them . ¶ . Was Anatomy then taught by the Founder of Memphis ? Is it by a whole Age at least elder than the eldest of those mountains of brick , or as Diodorus Siculus vainly calls them , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Eternal Habitations , the Aegyptian Pyramids ? And has it from that time to this day continued in use and esteem among wise men wheresoever Letters and Civility have flourish'd ? This certainly , is alone sufficient to evince the great UTILITY of it , were all other arguments wanting . For , Human Inventions , however subtil and grateful at first to the Curious , are never long-liv'd , unless afterward they be found useful also and beneficial to Mankind . But in what do's the Utility of it consist ? In so many things , I want time to enumerate them , and must therefore content my self to touch only two or three , such as lye most open and obvious even to vulgar observation . I say then , that the study of Anatomy is singularly profitable to a Man , in respect of Himself , in respect to God , in respect of the Divine Art of Healing : each of which requires to be singly consider'd . ( 1. ) In respect of Ones-self . That Apollo , when from his Delphic Oracle ( as Plato in his Alcibiades relates ) he deliver'd that most wise precept , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Know thy self , thereby implicitly injoyn'd the study of Anatomy ; is more than I shall venture to avouch ; but this I dare boldly affirm , that no Mortal can attain to any profound knowledge of Himself , without long and strict scrutiny into the mysterious Oeconomy of Human nature ; which can be no otherwise made , than by the helps and light of Anatomy . Of the simple essence of the Rational Soul , we seem in this umbratil life uncapable to know much ▪ For , She being , as Wise men teach , and most of us believe , a pure Spirit ; we can have of her no idea or image in our Phantasie , and consequently no Notion : all our Cognition being built upon Idols or Images stamp'd in the mint of Imagination ; and all our Reasonings or Discourses , nothing but connection of many of those Images into chains , sometimes of more , sometimes of fewer links . We cannot therefore deny our ignorance of the nature of that noblest part of our selves , from which we derive all our little Science : and must be content to entertain our irrequiet Curiosity with the faint glimmerings of light , that shine through the acts and operations of that Celestial Ghest in our frail and darksom Tabernacles of flesh . What then remains to be known by us of our selves ? Nothing , I think , but the Divine Architecture of the Body , the fabrique of the various Organs , by which the Soul acts , while she sojourns in it : and these ( ye know ) are not to be understood but by dissecting and distinctly contemplating the several parts of each Organ , so as to investigate the Mechanical reason of its aptitude to its proper motions , actions and uses . Doth any man here conceive , that the Oracle is to be expounded only of the Passions of the Mind , and the Art of moderating them by the dictates of Prudence , and rules of Virtue ? I say , that neither is the knowledge of the Passions to be acquir'd without frequenting the Scholes of Anatomists . For , the Passions seem to be in the general , only certain Commotions of the Spirits and bloud , begun in the seat of the Imagination , propagated through the Pathetic nerves to the heart , and thence transmitted up again to the brain : and therefore whosoever would duly enquire into their nature , their first sources and resorts , their most remarkable differences , tides , forces , symptoms , &c. will soon find himself under a necessity to begin at Anatomy , thence to learn the course of the bloud , the structure of the brain , the origin and productions of the nerves , the fabric of the heart with its pulses , and the wayes by which a reciprocal communication or mutual commerce is so swiftly effected , so continually maintain'd betwixt the Animal and Vital machines . Otherwise , how highly soever he might think of his own speculations , he would hardly be able clearly to solve any one of the Phaenomena of this or that particular Passion ; for instance , whence it is , that Blushing is the proper sign of Shame , Paleness the Character of suddain Fear , Sadness the inseparable concomitant of Hate , & sic de caeteris . In a word , he would as soon be at a loss in tracing the intricate Labyrinth of Human Affections , as a blind man that should undertake to give the Chorography of a whole Countrey , meerly from a relation of some memorable action done in some part of it . Nor should I believe such a man half so likely to temper and compose the tumults of his inordinate Passions , as a skilful Anatomist , who understands , by what impressions they are occasion'd , upon what parts of the brain those impressions are made , what sympathy and confederation Nature has instituted between those parts and the Cardiac nerves , how those nerves divided into innumerable fibres contract the ventricles of the heart , and how that Contraction , according to the various degrees of its force and velocity , necessarily impells the blood more or less copiously and violently through the arteries into the parts most concern'd in the Passion at that time most urgent . For , certainly , he that hath the advantage to understand all these things , is better instructed to appease the impetuous Commotions at any time rais'd within his breast , by reducing the rebellious appetites of his inferior Faculties to obedience to the contremands of his Superior or Reason ; in which one thing the summ of all Moral Philosophy consists , and which advanced into a Habit , becomes Virtue it self . So that take the Counsel given by Apollo , in which of the two senses ye like best , viz. either as directing to learn the admirable frame of the Body , or as intimating that wisdom consists chiefly in the regulation of the Affections ; still the study of Anatomy will be requisit to acquiring the Knowledge of Ones-self . ( 2. ) Requisite it is also to conduct even a Naturalist to the Knowledge of GOD. I mean the knowledge of not only the Existence of a Supreme Being in the World , but also of his Eternity , omnipotent Power , infinite Wisdom ▪ and inexhaustible Goodness ; for as to the Divine nature it self , that we must all with holy astonishment confess to be to Human Understanding incomprehensible ; for , how can a finite have an adaequate notion of an Infinite ? Most true it is indeed , that there are in every part of the Universe certain marks or impresses of a Divine hand ; and the smallest Insect that creeps upon the earth , the very grass whereon we tread , yea , even things Inanimate proclaim the Glory of their Maker , inciting us to venerate , praise and adore Him : so that St. Paul preach'd true Natural Theologie to Infidels , when he taught , that the invisible things of God are known by the visible things of his Creation ; and Heraclitus gave a memorable hint of his piety toward the Summum Numen , when inviting into his poor smoaky cottage some proud strangers that disdain'd to put their heads under so vile a roof ; Enter , said he , nam etiam hîc Dii sunt , here also are Gods. And in truth , every page in the great Volume of Nature , is full of real Hieroglyphicks , where ( by an inverted way of Expression ) things stand for words , and their Qualities for Letters . Whence perhaps Plato ( in Timaeo ) took a hint of that sublime thought of his , that the World is Gods Epistle written to mankind . But if we survey the Epitome of the World , the Temple of Mans Body , in which as in a Model or Exemplar , all parts of the Greater World are represented in little ; we shall there find something more august , more Majestical . Who can observe , that so magnificent a pile is rais'd only è luto , out of a little slime ; that from a few drops of the Colliquamentum or Genital humor , of a substance Homogeneous or simple , are formed more than two hundred bones , more Cartilages , very many ligaments , membranes almost innumerable , myriads of arteries and veins , of nerves more than thirty pair with all their slender branches and continued fibres ▪ near upon four hundred muscles , a multitude of glandules , and many other parts , all divers each from other in substance , consistence , colour , texture , fabric , &c. Who can , I say , observe this , without being forced to acknowledg the infinite Power of the Divine Architect ▪ who makes the very Materials of his building ? Who can look into the Sanctum Sanctorum of this Temple , the Brain , and therein contemplate the pillars that support it , the arch'd roof that covers and defends it , the fret-work of the Ceiling , the double membrane that invests it , the resplendent partition that divides it , the four vaulted cells that drain away impurities , the intricate labyrinths of arteries that bring in from the heart rivulets of vital blood to heat and invigorate it , the Meanders of veins to export the same blood , the Aqueducts that preserve it from inundation , the infinite multitude of slender and scarce perceptible filaments that compose it , the delicate nerves or chords spun from those threds , the original of that silver chord ( as Ecclesiastes calls it ) or Spinal marrow , upon which the strength of back and limbs chiefly depends ; and many other parts of the wonderful Engine : and not discern an infinite Wisdom in the design and construction of them ? And as for the infinite Goodness of God ; that is no less conspicuous in the connexion of so many and various instruments into one complex Automaton , by which they are so admirably combin'd , that every one works for it self and for the public at once ; that every one performs its peculiar office apart , yet all co-operate to one and the same common end , the subsistence , safety , and welfare of the whole ; and that if any one happen to be put out of order or tune , all the rest sympathize with it , and the whole Harmony of Functions is discompos'd . Add to this stupendous Machine an internal Principle to give it life , sense , voluntary motion , and understanding : and then ye may say with Cicero ; Jam verò animum ipsum mentémque hominis , rationem , consilium , prudentiam , qui non Divinâ curâ perfecta esse perspicit ; is his ipsis rebus nobis videtur carere . If then the admirable fabric of our Body demonstrates the Power , Wisdom and Goodness of the Maker ; ( whom the Scripture most emphatically calls [ Yotzêr Hakkôl ] ( the Former of all things , Jer. 10. 16. ) and if it be by the help of Anatomy alone , that we come to contemplate and understand the excellency of that fabric : we may safely conclude , that to study Anatomy diligently and reverently , is to learn to know God , and consequently to venerate Him ; Deum enim colit , qui novit . After this , what others , out of ignorance , may think or speak to the prejudice of this so useful Art of Dissection ; I am neither concern'd , nor solicitous to know : but this I openly declare , that if I knew an Atheist ( if there can be such a Beast in the world ) I would do my best to bring him into this Theatre , here to be sensibly convinced of his madness . For , sure I am , that some of the Antient Heathens have call'd the structure of Mans Body , the Book of God : and that even Galen himself , an Ethnic too , slow of belief , and most alien from Superstition , learn'd so much of Piety from dissections , that in his whole seventeen Books de usu partium , he sings a perpetual Hymn as it were in praise of the Divine Architect that form'd them . Of which laudatory Hymns I have chosen one , which seeming to me more lofty and harmonical than any of the rest , and more proper for this place , deserves my recital and your remark . In his third Book , contemplating the skin that invests the sole of the foot ( a part despicable to vulgar eyes ) He breaks forth into this rapture of admiration . Cutem ipsam ( sayes he ) non laxam , aut subtilem , aut mollem ; sed constrictam , & mediocriter duram , sensilémque , ut non facilè pateretur , subdidit pedi Sapientissimus Conditor noster : cui Commentarios ego hos , ceu hymnos quosdam , compono : & in eo pietatem esse existimans , non si Taurorum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ei plurimas quispiam sacrificarit , & casias aliáque sexcenta unguenta suffumigarit : sed si noverim ipse primus , deinde exposuerim aliis , quaenam sit ipsius Sapientia , quae Virtus , quae Providentia , quae Bonitas ; ignorantia quorum summa impietas est , non si à sacrificio abstineas . Quòd enim cultu convenienti exornavit omnia , nullique bona inviderit ; id perfectissimae Bonitatis specimen esse statuo : invenisse autem quo pacto omnia adornarentur , summae Sapientiae est ; ac effecisse omnia quae voluit , Virtutis est invictae . A Hymn not unworthy to be sung , with solemn Music , even in our Churches . ( 3. ) Besides these two noble uses of Anatomy , by me now explain'd , there remains here to be consider'd yet a third use , not , as the former , common to all mankind , but proper to Physicians : to whom the study of it is , not only profitable and delightful , as to their private speculations ; but also necessary , as to their well understanding the divine Art of Medicine which they profess . This Necessity is indeed so universally known and acknowledged by all wise men , that to go about to prove it , would be as supervacaneous , as to light a candle to shew the Sun at noon : yet because there are some , who either blinded with the smoak of fallacious Chymists , or corrupted by some private interest , perceive it not ; give me leave , I pray , toward the disenchantment of these , briefly to set before them two or three of the plainest causes or reasons that make Anatomy the grand fundament of Medicine . Hippocrates ( I remember ) doth often inculcate to his Disciples , the genuine Sons of Art , three cardinal precepts , in which the whole duty of a Physician seems to be comprehended . The first is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to understand the present state of the sick , the nature of the malady , and the part affected : the second , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to prognosticate the event of the disease : the third , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to relieve or heal the sick . But in all these three duties , he that is ignorant of Anatomy , must needs be shamefully deficient . In the Diagnostic part , because no good judgment can be made of the nature and kind of any disease , unless it be first known , what part of the body is thereby chiefly affected ; and the most certain indieia or distinctive signs of the part affected , are taken principally from the situation of the part , and from the action of it hurt . For instance , he that knows the Liver to be naturally seated in the right Hypochondrium , if in that place pain be felt , or swelling appear from a Tumor within , will easily thence collect , that the Liver is the part then affected : and he that knows , that the principal action of the Stomach is Concoction , will soon know , if Concoction be hurt , that the Stomach is misaffected . But both the places and actions of the parts are learn'd only from Anatomy : and therefore whoever is ignorant of Anatomy , can have no certain knowledge of either those , or these . In the Prognostic part he must likewise fail , because the best Ostenta or Signs of the future good or evil event of any Sickness , are all derived from these three heads , viz. the Excretions , the Action hurt , and the Habit of the body , in colour , figure and bulk : none of all which are to be known without Anatomy : and he is likely to make but an ill Predictor of events to come , who has not skill enough to observe and discern the signs that portend them . In the Curative part also he must be equally deficient , because the true and exquisite Method of Healing is grounded upon , and design'd by rational Indications , and every Indication is desumed not only from the nature of the Malady , but also from the part thereby affected ; and therefore according to the various constitution , temper , site , connexion , sense and other qualities of the affected part , the remedies to be used , ought to be various . And with what face can a Chirurgeon pretend to recompose broken , or restore dislocated bones , who is ignorant of their site , figure , structure , and articulations ? Manifest it is then , that whoever pretends to the cure of diseases , and yet remains ignorant of Anatomy ; is either an impudent Impostor , or at best a Fool. What then are they , who put their life into the hands of such men ? From these nobler Uses of Anatomy in Physic , Natural Theologie , and Medicine now explicated , I might descend to many others , less noble indeed , yet not unworthy the notice and consideration even of Wise men , observable in various inferior Arts ; more particularly in those two Arts so highly inservient to Magnificence , Ornament and Delight , Architecture , and Painting , both which borrow their exemplars , rules , graces , perfection and estimation from the proportions , symmetry and pulchritude of the parts of Mans body . But these being alien from my task , and the hours assign'd me for the performance thereof , being few ; I am obliged to pretermit them . Notwithstanding , lest I should by mentioning them en passant , excite in some of my ingeniose Auditors of the Yonger sort , a curiosity which I have not now leisure to satisfie : 't is fit I should refer them to two or three Authors of good note , to be by them fully inform'd how requisite the study of the fabric of mans body is to all who desire to excell in either of these Arts. For Architecture then , I would direct them , first to Vitruvius , ( who in lib. 3. cap. 1. ) laying this down for a fundamental Maxim ; non potest aedes ulla sine symmetria atque proportione rationem habere compositionis , nisi uti ad Hominis benè figurati membrorum habuerit exactam rationem ; and immediately after measuring the proportions that the several parts of a well-shap'd Man hold one to another ; proceeds to commensurate the parts of sacred Aedisices or Temples by the like proportions : and ( in lib. 4. cap. 1. ) treating of the Columns of the three Orders , expresly derives the dimensions of those of the Tuscan Order , with their bases , diminutions , pedestals , capitals , &c. all from the proportions observ'd by Nature in the feet , leggs and thighs of man ; pursuing the same Analogie , upon all occasions , throughout his whole work : and after to Albert Durers excellent Book de Symmetria corporis humani . To these may be added Spigelius , who in his first Book of Anatomy , from the seventh Chapter to the end of the Book , hath with singular diligence describ'd the proportions of the exterior parts . For Painting , I recommend to them the incomparable Lionardo Da Vinci , della Pittura : not only because he was eminently skill'd in all parts of Anatomy , as appears by the accurate Figures that illustrate and adorn Vesalius ' s noble Volume De Corporis humani fabrica , all which were drawn and cut by Da Vinci ' s own hands ; and the original Draughts of which are yet extant in a large Manuscript of his in Folio , in the Italian language ( but written from the right hand to the left ) carefully preserv'd in His Majesties Cabinet at White-Hall , where I have had the good fortune sometimes to contemplate them : but also because in his Treatise Della Pittura just now mention'd , he seems to me to have describ'd the figures , motions , forces and symmetry of the limbs , their Articulations and Muscles , in various postures , more clearly than any other Writer I have hitherto read . ¶ . Having thus compendiously enquir'd into the Antiquity , and recounted some of the principal Uses of Anatomy ; 't is now opportune for us to explain , what notion we have , and what are the most remarkable DIFFERENCES of the same . Be it known therefore , that by Anatomy , according to the strict use and proper signification of the Graec word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , I with all Learned Physicians and Chirurgeons understand , a diligent , accurate and artificial dissection of the body of any Animal , chiefly of a Man , in order to acquiring knowledge of the substance , magnitude , figure , site , structure , connexion , action and use of all and every part thereof . In the true notion of Anatomy then , two acts are comprehended ; a work of the hands , Dissection ; and an exercise of the Mind or Intellect , Speculation . Of these , the first is call'd by Galen , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Administratio anatomica , manual operation : the other , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , mental contemplation . And hence arises the first Difference of Anatomy , viz. the discrimination of it in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , into Practic and Theoretic . The former of these is to be acquir'd by long use and experience , and natural dexterity : the later , by reason and sagacity , by hearing the Lectures , reading the Writings of Learned men concerning that subject , and by intent Meditation . Again , the former may ( for distinction sake ) be named Historical ; the later , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Scientific . To Anatomic Administration are requir'd , not only many instruments of various kinds , too well known to be here singly named , much less described : but various manual Operations also , besides meer dissection , all subordinate thereto : viz. exact commensurations and ponderations of parts inquir'd into , injections of divers liquors by syringes , inflations , extensions , ligations , excarnation , application of Microscopes , and many others : and all to one general End , the attaining to perfect knowledge of the subject , and every the most minute part thereof ; at least as much Knowledge , as the narrow limits of Human Wit can comprehend . To the Theorical or Speculative part it is requisite that the Anatomist accurately observe ( 1. ) the Universal Structure of the whole , and all its proportions , beauties , and general defects ; also it s general Communities and Differences with other Animals , and above all with other individuals of the same species : ( 2. ) the Conformation and Texture of every part , with their Similar particles or visible Elements ; also the Symmetrie or proportion the parts hold both among themselves , and compared with the whole ; the Communities and Differences of one and the same parts in various Animals , and in other individuals of the same kind ; the comparison and disparity of any one part with the rest of the same individual ; and finally the various Sympathies and Antipathies of every single organical part : ( 3. ) the various Faculties , Actions and Uses of every part . Of both , the most proper SUBJECT is the body of Man extinct , consider'd as an Universal Organ adaequately accommodate to all Faculties of the Soul , and compos'd of a great multitude of less Organs , the retexture or unweaving of which , so as to find out the Mechanical reason of their motions and actions , is the grand scope of the Anatomist . I say , the most proper Subject ; not to exclude the bodies of Brute Animals , the dissection of which also , though less properly , belongs to the Art of Anatomy , as being subservient to the principal End thereof , nor a little helping to the more facil investigation of what is sought for in the most proper subject . For which reason , Zootomie or the dissection of Brutes of various kinds , hath been commended and diligently practis'd by many as well Antient as Modern Physicians , as a thing of good use toward the advancement of the History of Nature . Nor is Dendranatomia or the Anatomy of Plants and Trees , begun ( as it seems ) many hundred years past by Theophrastus , and very lately with happy success cultivated by Malpighius and our Dr. Grew , to be neglected : forasmuch as from thence may be learned the admirable Analogy betwixt Plants and Animals , chiefly as to their Generation , Nutrition and Augmentation ; and how far that Resemblance holds . I say also , the body of Man extinct ; to intimate my just abhorrence and detestation of dissecting Men alive : a cruelty condemn'd by Celsus , forbidden even by Humanity it self , nor ever ( for ought I have hitherto read ) publickly permitted by any Nation how barbarous and sanguinary soever , no not in the most flagitious of Criminals . I am not ignorant , either that Herophilus hath been by some * accused of inhumanly raking in the bowels of condemn'd Malefactors , while they lay roaring under his knife : or that Fabius Quintilianus , that excellent Orator , in his eighth Declamation , intitled Gemini Languentes , introduces the Wife impeaching the Husband Malae Tractationis , for that he had given leave to an Empiric ( for I cannot vouchsafe him a better title , nor easily find a worse ) to dissect one of her Twinns while yet alive , that he might find out the way to preserve the other , who languish'd of the same sickness : and yet notwithstanding I think my self free to choose whether I will believe or doubt the verity of these Accusations . For , the Works of Herophilus being lost , and nothing of his Memoirs remaining , but what hath been transmitted to us by such as either impugned his doctrine , or aemulated his glory : 't is not improbable , but his frequent dissections of Living Beasts might give occasion to his Adversaries to feign him guilty of greater cruelty upon Men , by cutting up them also while alive . And as for Quintilian ' s Twinns ; I should tell you no news perhaps , if I affirm'd , that the Roman Orators sometimes feign'd the subjects or arguments of their Declamations , . supposing knotty and perplex cases , on purpose to shew the dexterity of their Wit , and power of their Rhetoric in unravelling them : and that therefore I think this case of the Twinns to be not really true , but only imagined by Quintilian , as a fit subject whereon he might make an elegant Harangue or pleading . But were it granted that these are no fictions ; yet would it still remain to be prov'd , that the Dissection of Men alive , hath at any time been used with public permission or connivence among either Graecians or Romans . The parts of a body dissected , whether it be of Man or Brute , are consider'd either Absolutè , as they appear in that body ; or Relativè , as they have more or less of Analogie to the same parts in other Animals either of the same , or of a divers kind . And hence arises a second division of Anatomy into Simple and Comparative : of which the former is wholly conversant about the observation and knowledge of those parts , which pertain in general to the Body of Man , without farther scrutiny : the later , tho' inservient to the former , is yet of much greater extent . For , to Comparative Anatomy it belongs ( 1 ) to compare the whole body with all its most remarkable parts ; and to note the weight , measure , proportion , symmetrie and pulchritude of both that and each of these : ( 2. ) to compare the same parts in human bodies of different Ages , different Sexes , different Climats , Countreys , &c. for these things may cause a visible disparity , and there is no doubt but that the figure and structure of the interior parts is very little inferior , for variety and lineaments , to the exterior ; and that the Hearts , Livers and Ventricles are as different in Men , as either their foreheads , or noses , or ears : ( 3. ) to compare the parts of Brutes of various kinds , Quadrupeds , Fowls , Fishes , yea even of Infects and Worms , with the same or like parts in Man ; that so the Communities and Proprieties may be observ'd and register'd . Nemo enim de partis alicujus usu sive officio rectè determinaverit , qui ejus in pluribus animalibus fabricam , situm , annexa vasa , aliaque accidentia non viderit , secúmque diligenter pensitaverit . Harv . in praef . ad lib. de Generat . Animal . This COMPARATIVE Anatomy , how recent soever as to the name , was yet most certainly held in great estimation , and much practis'd by the Antients , chiefly Graecians . For , well known it is , that Democritus of Abdera exercis'd himself assiduously in dissection of Brutes of various kinds , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( as himself expresly declared to Hippocrates come to visit him ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not from hatred of Gods works , but curiosity to find out the nature and seat of Choler and Melancholy . Nor is it less known , that Aristotle also spent some years in the same work , as is most evident from his elaborate Books de generatione , de partibus , and de historia Animalium : being to that end furnish'd with Living Creatures of all sorts , that whole Asia and Graecia , in Land or Seas , afforded , at the charges of his Royal Disciple , Alexander the Great , to the expense of no less than eight hundred Talents : and that this mighty Conqueror , in the heat of his Wars and pride of his Triumphs , gloried in his great proficiency in the knowledge of the nature and fabric of the parts of various Animals , under so wise a Teacher ; as if he had obtain'd by his Learning no less glorious victories over the secrets of Nature , than he had gotten from Nations by his sword . How much Galen was vers'd in this Comparative Anatomy , is sufficiently apparent , not only from his excellent Volums de Administrationibus Anatomicis , & de usu partium , and the accompt he gives of his many public dissections at Rome in the presence of the Noblest Romans , and among them of Boetius and Paulus Sergius Consuls ; but also from this , that some of the Neoterics , and principally Vesalius , objected against him , that he had been less conversant in the dissection of Human bodies . What progress the Graec Physicians that succeeded long after Galen , made in the same part of Anatomy , is indeed difficult to be collected from their Works , now grown almost obsolete among us : but whoever hath perused the monuments of Aretaeus , Theophilus , and Oribasius , needs not to be advertis'd by me , that they have not wholly neglected it . If we come down to this last Century of years , we find the dissection of Brutes , in order to the collation of their inwards with those of Man , to have been diligently persued , first by Falopius , Casserius Placentinus , and Bauhinus ; and after them , by Fabricius ab Aquapendante , M. Aurelius Severinus , and our immortal Harvey , &c. Iust cause therefore I have to admire , why the Lord Chancellor Bacon , a man of almost infinite reading , strong memory , and profound judgement , and who doubtless had look'd into the Writings of many , if not of all the Eminent Authors by me now mention'd ; should yet notwithstanding ( in lib. de Augmento Scientiarum 4. cap. 2. ) among the Desiderata Medicinae , put down this Comparative Anatomy , and so positively define it to be deficient ; accusing Physicians to have altogether neglected it . Nor can I easily solve this my admiration , unless by conceiving , either that this Great Man understood much more of his own Profession , the Law , than of ours , the Art of Medicine ; or that by the word , Deficient , he meant Imperfect . If this later Solution be admitted ; then indeed he will be the less culpable : because it is too true , that the ample field of Anatomy Comparative hath not been hitherto so fully cultivated , as to bring forth a harvest rich and abundant enough to satisfie our hopes and expectation . But that Physicians have been guilty of so much sloth and ignorance , as to suffer it to lye barren and wholly neglected , through so long a series of Ages : this , I humbly conceive , ought not to have been affirm'd , unless it could have been fully prov'd . ¶ . Nevertheless I gratefully acknowledge , and applaud the Heroic Zeal this Illustrious Lord had for the improvement of our Art , among others useful to human life : yea I interpret his censure , not as a reproche , but incitement of our industry . And this I the more willingly do , because if he were somewhat too severe in his sentence of Comparative Anatomy , he hath bin ( in the very same place of his Book ) as much too favorable to Simple ; concluding it to have been most clearly handled , and observed even to a curiosity : whereas in truth we are not so happy , as to have just cause to say so at this day . For , after all the new Discoveries made in Human bodies by Anatomists who have liv'd since his time , Simple Anatomy must be confess'd to be still in its Youth , far short of Maturity and Perfection . There are yet , alas ! terrae incognitae in the Lesser World , as well as in the Greater , the Island of the Brain , the Isthmus of the Spleen , the Streights of the Renes Succenturiati and some other Glandules , the Northeast passage of the drink from the Stomach to the * Kidnies , and many other things , remain to be farther inquir'd into by us , and perhaps by Posterity also . In fine , this Simple Anatomy is a study so abstruse and difficult , and withal so vast and diffuse ; that the last complement of it cannot with reason be expected from the diligence of any one Man how sagacious and industrious soever . 'T is therefore seriously to be wish'd , that the work were so divided among those curious Wits , that are by secret instinct disposed to digg in this mine of knowledge , as that every one might take to his share some one single part of those that are not yet fully explain'd , and do his best devoirs to explore and demonstrate the whole Mechanic frame of it . If this were done , doubtless we should in few years find a very considerable Accession made to the late inventions in Mans body , and with more justice than now we can , approve the Lord Verulam ' s opinion , that Simple Anatomy is alredy arriv'd at Perfection . To advance this so noble , so useful Art of Anatomy , and accelerate its progress toward Consummation ; that so the Pathologic part of Medicine being by degrees rais'd from the darkness of uncertain Conjectures , to the light of even sensible Demonstrations , the infirmities of Mens bodies may at length be more certainly and easily cured , their pains and torments sooner eas'd , and their Lives prolong'd : to this Noble End , I say , this Magnificent THEATRE , wherein we now sit , hath been with so great cost and art erected by the Generose FOUNDERS ; whose private Munificence , exceeding that of Kings , admits of no rival but the Wisdom that directed it ; whose large hearts were at the same time fill'd , with Charity toward all Mankind of the present Age , and with Providence for the relief of all in Ages to come . Among these , Gratitude it self exacts , that I should with singular honor mention our Principal Benefactor , Sr. JOHN CUTLER ; a Person to whom God hath given that double blessing of great Riches , and as great Prudence how to use them to the noblest of Human Ends , the Public Good ; and who having no Augustus to favor and assist his Beneficence , is by so much a greater Patron to Learning than Mecaenas was . Doth any here think , that this stream of His Bounty might have been deriv'd upon some other ground more fruitful of benefits , than this Garden of Philosophy ? Let me , to undeceive that man , advise him seriously to consider , first that excellent sentence of Pythagoras ( to whom all Philosophers ow that modest name ) that there are two things which most ennoble Man , and raise him up to a resemblance of the Divine Nature , namely , to know truth , and to do good : and then , that there is no Human Science that doth either more gratifie and enrich the Understanding with variety of choice and useful truths ; or more enable a Generose Mind to exercise its Faculties to the good and benefit of others , than that of Anatomy , as it is a principal fundament of Medicine , doth . For , both these are certain and evident Verities : and after due consideration of them , no man can longer doubt , that he who placeth his Munificence upon erecting an Anatomic Theatre , for advancement of the Art of Healing the Sick ; doth a Work as conducive both to the Glory of God , and to the Common Good of Mankind ; as he that builds a Church , or as he that founds and endows an Hospital . I say , to the Glory of God ; because I am taught , not only by Galen ( 3. de usu partium . ) that the discerning ones self , and discovering to others the Perfections of God displaid in His Creatures , is a more acceptable act of Religion , than the burning of Sacrifices or perfumes upon His Altars ; nor only by Trismegistus ( in Asclepium cap. 15. ) that the thanks and praises of Men are the most grateful incense that can be offer'd up to God : but even by God Himself , in His Written Word , that he who sacrificeth Praise ( for so 't is in the Original ) honors Him. I say , to the common Good of Mankind ; as well because the Necessity of Medicine is Universal ; so that even Kings themselves are sometimes forced to obey the precepts of Physicians , when the pains they feel assure them , that a Crown cannot mitigate the Head-ake ; nor an Army deliver from the horrors of a Fever , nor the Roial Garter drive away the torments of the Gout : as because to heal the sick , is by so much a nobler act of Charity , than to feed the Hungry , or cloth the Naked , by how much Intellectual Powers of the Mind are both more difficult to be attain'd , and more Excellent in their nature , than the transitory gifts of Fortune . Riches many times come easily , and unexpected , even to Men ignorant of the right use of them : the Art of Healing is never acquir'd but by hard , anxious , and long study , and by accurate Observations . Manifest therefore it is , that whosoever by his Munificence contributes to the advancement of this so difficult , so noble , so universally useful Art , doth thereby signalize both his Piety toward God , and his Charity toward Men , in a way most acceptable to Him , most beneficial to them . More , much more I would say in Commemoration of this Worthy Knight ' s Exemplary Bounty ; but that I know , that to him it is far more grateful to conferr Benefits , than to receive Acknowledgments ; and that this very Fabrick hath alredy rais'd him , as above all Envy , so above all Praises . The same will ( I prophesie ) remain a perpetual Moniment of his Heroic Zeal for the promotion of Natural Science , and recommend his Name to all posterity . For , Fame built upon Universal Beneficence , cannot but be immortal ; because it can be no mans interest to suppress it , and all are by gratitude obliged to propagate it . Some Great Men ( as the Vulgar call them ) hunt after Renown , by enlarging Empires and Kingdoms ; some by conducting mighty Armies , and fighting bloudy Battles ; others again by erecting Pyramids , massy Tombs , and other the like Pageants of human injustice , pride , or cruelty : but these , alas ! all these persue only flying shadows : and either the gulph of Oblivion will soon swallov them down , as ignoble and obscure ; or if any memory of them chance to survive their funerals , 't will be conjoin'd with contempt and detestation . Quae saxo struuntur ( saith Tacitus , Annal. lib. 4. ) si iudicium posterorum in odium vertit , pro sepulchris spernuntur . Only those happy Men shall florish in the esteem and veneration of all future Generations , who have acquir'd fame and honor by doing good . This therefore is true Glory , and of this our Noble Benefactor , of whom I speak , may rest secure . Multos veterum velut inglorios & ignobiles oblivio obruet : CUTLERUS posteritati narratus & traditus , aeternum superstes erit . ¶ . Would I were equally secure of Your good acceptance ( I dare not say , Approbation ) of the mite I am about to contribute toward the accomplishment of his so gloriose Design . But , alas ! this is a wish without hope ; so destitute I know my self to be of all the Faculties of Mind requisite to so difficult an Atchievement ; my Zeal for the promotion of Anatomy , only excepted : and much more reason there is , why I should apologize for my insufficiency , before I farther expose it . Notwithstanding this discouragement , considering with my self , that profound Erudition , and great Humanity are ( like Love and Compassion ) inseparable : I think it much safer to confide in Your Candor and Benignity for pardon of my Defects , than to attempt to palliate them , by Excuses , however just and evident . Not to be conscious of my faileurs and lapses in my following Lectures , would argue me of invincible ignorance ; not freely to acknowledge them , would be tacitly to defend them : to seek by speciose praetences of hast , of frequent diversions , of natural impatience of long meditation , of bodily indispositions intervenient , and other the like vulgarly alleged impediments , to extenuate them ; were the most certain way to aggravate them : and to conceal them from your sight , is in this place and occasion impossible . Having then no other Refuge but in Your Grace and Favor , I fly to that alone , to secure me from the danger of malignant Censures , which I am more than likely to incurr : nor will I fore-arm my self with any other defense , but this . If the Matters of my subsequent discourses shall appear to be , neither Select , nor of importance enough to compensate Your time and patience ; be pleas'd to remember that saying of Aristotle , ( Metaphys . lib. 2. cap. 1. ) Non solùm illis agendae sunt gratiae , quorum opinionibus quis acquiescet ; sed iis etiam , qui superficie tenus dixerunt . Conferunt enim aliquid etiam isti : habitum namque nostrum exercuorunt . Si enim Timotheus non fuisset , multum melodiae nequaquam habuissemus . Si tamen Phrynis non fuisset , nè Timotheus quidem extitisset , &c. If my Stile shall sound somewhat harsh and ungrateful many times to Ears unatcustomed to any but their Mother tongue , as coming too near to the Latin ; I intreat you to consider , this is either no indecency in this place , or such a one at worst , which I could not otherwise avoid , than by involving my sense in the obscurity of words less proper and significant ; the nature and quality of the Subjects treated of , being such , as cannot be fully expressed in our yet imperfect Language . So that I have a clear right to that honest plea of Lucretius , Abstrahit invitum patrii sermonis egestas . ¶ . PRAELECTIO I. Of Nutrition . MAN being consider'd , ut Animal Rationale , as a living Creature naturally endow'd with Reason , and compos'd of two principal parts , a Soul and a Body ; each of which hath various Faculties or Powers : the summe of Human Nature must be comprehended in those Powers conjoyn'd . Of these Powers , some are peculiar to the Soul or Mind , others belong to the Body , as Organical and animated by the Soul. To the Former sort are referr'd the Faculties of thinking , knowing , judging , reasoning or inferring , concluding , electing , and willing ; all commonly signified by Understanding and Will. All which being remote from the Province of Anatomists , I leave them to be handled by Philosophers inquiring into the nature of the Soul. Of the Later , some are requisite to the complement of Man , as single or individual ; viz. the Faculties of Nutrition , of Life , of Sense , and of Voluntary Motion : and there is one that respects the Procreation of Mankind , namely the Power Generative . And these are the natural Faculties , to which as principal Heads , the Learned Anatomist is to referr all his Disquisitions ; that at length he may ( if it be possible ) attain to more certain knowledge of the Mechanic frame of the Organs in which they are founded . But being more than can be , tho' but perfunctorily , enquir'd into in so few hours as are assign'd to this publick Exercise ; I have therefore chosen to treat of only some of them at this time , viz. Nutrition , Life , and voluntary Motion ; not as more worthy to be explain'd than the rest , but as more comprehensive or of larger extent . I have chose also to begin from NUTRITION ; not only because the Stomach , Gutts and other parts principally inservient thereto , being , by reason of impurities contain'd in them , more prone to putrefaction , ought therefore first to be taken out of the cavity of the Abdomen , to prevent noisomnes : but because Nutrition seems to be , if not one and the same thing with , yet at least equal or contemporany to Generation it self ; and that both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in respect of Time ; and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in respect of Nature . For tho' the operation of the Power Gen rative , or Formative Virtue , may seem to precede that of the Nutritive : yet in truth the Stamina or first rudiments of an Embryo are scarcely delineated , when they begin to be augmented also by nutrition ; so that 't is consentaneous as well to the observions of Dr. Harvey and others since , as to reason , that Formation and Nutrition are but different names of one and the same act of the Plastic power . Again , Generation and Accretion are not perform'd without Nutrition : nor Nutrition or Augmentation without Generation . To nourish , what is it but to substitute such , and so much of matter , as is , by reason of exhaustion , wanting to the solid parts of the body , namely flesh , nerves , veins , arteries , & c. ? and what is that in reality , but to generate flesh , nerves , veins , arteries , & c. ? In like manner Accretion is not effected without Generation ; for all natural bodies capable of Nutrition , are by accession of new parts augmented , and these new parts must be such as those of which the bodies were at first composed : and this is done according to all their dimensions . So that in verity , the parts of an Animal are increas'd , distinguish'd , and organiz'd all at the same time , by the same Formative power . Moreover if we reflect upon the Efficient cause of Formation and Nutrition , and upon the Matter it uses ; we shall on both sides find it necessary , that those two works ( if ye will have them to be distinct ) be carried on together . On the part of the Efficient ; because idem esse principium efficiens , nutriens , & conservans in singulis Animalibus , necesse est : nisi aliam formam in puero , aliam in adolescente , & in sene aliam constituamus ; quod absurdum est . On the part of the Matter ex qua ; because all Animals ( such as are produced per Epigenesin , of which alone is our discourse : not of such Infects that are generated per Metamorphôsin ) are made of one part of the Matter prepar'd by the Formative Spirit , and nourish'd and augmented out of the remainder , not out of a divers matter . For , whatsoever is superadded to the first rudiments of the parts , ought certainly to be of the very same substance with what was praeexistent , and so must consist ex congenere materia : their renovation , as well as first corporation , being effected by Aggeneration or superstruction , i. e. per Epigenesin . So that from all these reasons put together it is constant , that Nutrition is nothing else but Generation continued ; and as necessary to the conservation of every individual Animal , yea every individual Plant also , as Generation it self is , to the conservation of the Universe . Which our most sagacious Sr. G. Ent well understanding , recommends to the belief of his Readers in these few , but memorable words ( in Antidiatribae pag. 40. ) Nutritio sane videtur esse veluti continuata quaedam generatio ; quae est opus ideale , ad exemplar primitivum actiones suas dirigens , &c. That I may both illustrate and confirm this Theorem , give me leave to represent to you in a few lines , the method and process of Nature in the formation of a Chick out of an Egg according to the most accurate Observations of Malpighius , the summe of which is this . From those Observations , containing eight several acts of the Formative power , it is highly probable , ( 1. ) That the Spirit , Plastic Virtue , or Archeus ( call it by what name you please ) of the Egg , lies dormant as it were and unactive for some time after the Egg hath been laied , as if it expected the incubation of the Hen , or some other warmth equivalent thereto , to help it to exsert its power , and begin the great work of building for it self a house , according to the idea or modell prescrib'd by the Divine Architect , whose instrument it is : and that having obtain'd that requisite aid , it soon acts upon the genital humor , in which it is lodged , by way of attenuation or eliquation , . that so the Matter may be made more fluid and obedient to its energy . Which seems to be the first Act. ( 2. ) That this Spirit , having drawn the first lines or threds of the solid parts of the Embryo , and dispos'd them into their proper seats , doth immediately after design certain wayes or passages , by which those slender and delicate Stamina may be commodiously supplied with vital and nutritive liquors , for their enlivening and nutrition : and to that end , mark out and appoint three Fountains as it were in the now more fluid Colliquamentum , and thence deduce as many Canales or rivulets ; two of which are from their origine united , and therefore somewhat greater ; one out of the first rudiments of each ventricle of the Heart ( not yet conspicuous , because not coagulate , but pellucid ) and a third consisting of many smaller rills flowing from the like rudiments of the Brain . So that we may thence collect , that the two former of these Canales are made to bring in the vital humor from the Heart , the third to bring in the Succus Nutritius from the Brain , to the first rudiments of the Chick : and that in process of time , those are turn'd into the Aorta and arteria Pulmonaris ; these into pairs of Nerves . And this I take to be the whole work of the second Act. ( 3. ) Lest these so necessary fountains should by exhaustion fail , the same Architect , directed by divine instinct , provides also for their perpetual supply . To irrigate the Brain , Rivulets are brought thither from the trunc of the grand canale of the Heart : and to feed the current of the Heart , three new streams are deriv'd to it ; one from the interior Lake or Colliquamentum , a second from the exterior by the wayes of the Navill , and a third from the yolk of the Egg by veins , that by all these importing conduit-pipes fresh liquors may be continually deduced from the parts nourished into the Heart . Which pipes are soon after compacted into veins , either such as are design'd to bring back the Bloud , or such as are ordain'd to convey the Chyle , or the Lympha . And this may be call'd the third Act. ( 4. ) 'T is evident , that the same invisible Agent advances in the next place to distribute the vessels derived from the rudiments of the Heart , viz. the Arteria Pulmonaris and Aorta , first whole , then divided and subdivided into branches still smaller and smaller , till at last they dwindle into Capillaries : and on the contrary , to collect and by degrees unite all the rivulets that return from the Stamina of the solid parts to the Heart , till they all meet and make a confluens in the single trunc of either the vena portae , or vena cava . For even common sense teaches us to call that the original or sourse of a Canale , from whence the liquor which it conveys , flows : as every River is truely said to begin from its head or spring . And Malpighius hath , by the help of Microscopes , observ'd , and in his sixteenth and eighteenth Figures faithfully ( as I believe ) represented , certain varicose veins lying in the Umbilical area or space , not yet extended to either the Heart or Liver : and therefore also , not the Heart , but the Stamina of the parts circumjacent , ought to be reputed the Origin of the veins . And this distribution of one sort of Canales , and collection of another , completes the fourth Act. ( 5. ) No less evident it is , that from the beginning the Vital Nectar is clear and transparent , and so remains , till somewhat of the Yolk hath been mix'd with it . For , not only Malpighius , but our equally curiose Dr. Glisson ( de ventriculo & intestinis cap. 20. num . 67. ) expresly affirms , that he had seen bloud of a rusty colour in the coats involving the Embryo of a Chick , before any the least signe of bloud could be discern'd in or about the Heart . But this so early beginning of bloud may be ascrib'd , either to the speedy excitation of the Spirits by the incubation of the Hen , to whose heat those veins are somewhat nearer than the Heart is : or to this , that perhaps somewhat of a yolky tincture had preceded and caus'd that rusty or dark red . However , this beginning of Change in the Vital liquor from transparency to redness , seems to be the fifth Act. ( 6. ) All the Canales just now describ'd , being fix'd and open'd , and the vital liquor exalted some degrees nearer to perfection ; the Plastic Spirit proceeds to finish the whole body : so regulating its operations , as to augment those parts first , which ought to be first used ; and then to add to the dimensions of others , whose use may be longer wanted without detriment . And this slower work of accomplishing all parts , by way of Nutrition and Augmentation , may be accounted the sixth Act. ( 7. ) The same Architectonic Spirit as it spinns the first Stamina of all the solid parts , so doth it gradually augment and complete them all out of one and the same homogeneous liquor , viz. the Colliquamentum , or spermatic humor clarified by Eliquation : and this by transmuting the same into as many several forms , as there are different kinds of similar Spermatic parts in the whole body ; namely into bones , cartilages , ligaments , tendons , membranes , fibres , &c. So that all the Organs are at length compos'd of dissimilar parts by wonderful artifice context , without the least of confusion or incongruity . Which deserves to be reckon'd the seventh Act. ( 8. ) In that work of Organization , 't is credible , the inimitable Artist divides without section , only by terminating the parts ; and unites without glew or cement , only by continuing them to the common term or bounds , which depends more upon union of matter , than upon union of nature . By these admirable artifices of Division and Unition , the Plastic Spirit perforates , separates , conjoins , cements the yet fluid , at least soft Stamina of the parts , where how , and as often as need requires : it deduces and runns out their Rivulets terminated in the fluid matter as by chanels ; it preserves from confusion the two different Colliquamenta , and the Yolk , divided as it were by partitions : it so distinguishes and disterminates even contiguous and semblable parts ; that they may be diversly moved at the same time without interfering or impediment , and each yield to other when occasion requires : and thus almost all fibres , very many membranes , and ( in many sorts of Animals ) the Lobes of the Lungs and Liver , and the Cartilages mutually touching each other in the joints , &c. are divided among themselves . In a word , by these wayes and degrees here by me from Malpighius his Microscopical Observations collected and rudely described , it seems most probable , that the Embryo is form'd , augmented and finish'd in an Egg. Now therefore ( that we may accommodate this Epitome to our present Argument ) if this be the method and process that Nature uses in the Generation of Oviparous Animals ; and if she uses the like in the production of Viviparous also , as Dr. Harvies observations , and our own assure us that she doth : we may safely conclude , that Human Embryons are in like manner form'd , augmented and finish'd , by one and the same Plastic Spirit , out of one and the same matter , the Colliquamentum . Quod er at probandum . I add , that the same Plastic Spirit remaining and working within us through the whole course of our life , from our very first formation to our death ; doth in the same manner perpetually regenerate us , out of a liquor analogous to the white of an Egg , by transmuting the same into the substance of the solid parts of our body . For , as I said before , Nutrition is necessary to all Animals , not only in respect of the Augmentation of their parts , while they are little Embryons ; but also in respect of their Conservation after during life : because their bodies being in a natural consumption or exhaustion , would inevitably be soon resolv'd into their first elements , unless the providence of Nature had ordain'd a continual renovation or reparation of the parts , by substitution and assimilation of fresh matter , in the room of those particles dispers'd and consum'd . Having therefore , to some degree of probability explain'd the former necessity of Nutrition , and the causes of it , my next business must be , to inquire into the Later . Which that I may the more effectually do , I find my self obliged to begin my scrutiny from the Causes of the perpetual Decay or Depredation of the substance of our bodies , viz. the Efficient or Depraedator , and the Matter or substance thereby consum'd , and the Manner how . The Depraedator then , or Efficient cause of the perpetual consumtion of our bodies , seems to be , what all Philosophers unanimously hold it to be , the Vital Heat of the bloud , therein first kindled by the Plastic Spirit , continually renew'd by the Vital Spirit , and by the arteries diffus'd to all parts of the body , that they may thereby be warm'd , cherish'd , and enliven'd . This Lar familiaris , or Vital Heat continually glowing within us , and principally in the Ventricles of the Heart , call'd by Hippocrates , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ingenitus ignis ; by Aristotle , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , accensio animae in corde ; and flamma Biolychnii , the flame of the Lamp of Life , by others ; and by others again , ignea pars Animae Sensitivae : is what Physicians generally have heretofore understood by Calidum innatum , tho' they seem to have had but an obscure and inadaequate notion of the thing it self , as I hope to evince , when I shall come to inquire , what life is , and upon what it chiefly depends . Meanwhile supposing it to be an Actual Heat consisting in a certain motion of the various particles of the bloud , and in some degree analogous to fire or flame ; I cannot conceive , how 't is possible for it to subsist or continue , for so much as one moment of time , unless it be maintain'd by convenient fewel , which is thereby uncessantly fed upon , and by degrees consum'd : for it is of the nature of all fire , how gentle or mild soever , to generate and conserve it self only by preying upon and destroying the matter in which it is generated . This Vital Heat therefore without intermission agitating , dissolving and consuming the minute and most easily exsoluble particles of the body ; must be the Depraedator here sought after . So that in truth , we have one and the same cause both of our life , and of our death ; or ( to speak more properly ) our very life is nothing but a continual death , and we live because we die . For , we live so long , as while this internal Vestal Heat is kept glowing in the bloud : and when it ceases to glow , either from want of convenient sustenance , or by violent suffocation , life is instantly extinguish'd . So true even in this natural sense is that Distich of Euripides ; Quis novit autem , an vivere hoc sit emori : An emori , hoc sit quod vocamus vivere ? The Matter consum'd , I humbly conceive to be , for the greatest part , the fluid parts of the body , chiefly the bloud and spirits , which are most easily exsoluble ; and somewhat , tho' but little , of the substance also of the solid parts . For , Experience teaches , that divers Animals , Bears , Dormice , Swallows , &c. sleep the whole Winter , without receiving any supply of aliment : and yet have all the solid parts of their bodies as large and firm , when they awake again in the Spring , as when they first betook themselves to their dens or dormitories : and the Reason hereof seems to be this , that their Vital Heat being all that time calm and gentle , consumes their bloud and spirits but slowly , and very little of their solid parts ; as a lamp burns long , when the oyl that feeds it , is much , and the flame but little and calm . We have Examples also of Leucophlegmatic Virgins , who from a gradual decay of Appetite , have fall'n at length into an absolute aversion from all food , and endur'd long abstinence , without either miracle or imposture ; and yet notwithstanding have not been emaciated in proportion to the time of their fasting . Whence 't is probable , that in our bodies there is not so rapid and profuse an expense or exhaustion of the substance of the solid parts , as heretofore many learn'd Physicians have imagin'd to be made by the activity of the Vital Heat . If it be objected , that in many diseases , the habit of the body is wont to be very much extenuated : we are provided of a double answer . First , That extenuation seems to proceed rather from a meer subsidence or flaccidity of the Musculous flesh , for want of bloud and the nourishing juice to fill and plump it up ; than from any great deperdition of the substance of the fibres , of which the Muscles are mostly made up : otherwise such decayes could not be so soon repair'd , as we observe them to be in the state of convalescence . Secondly , Whatever be the cause of the extenuation objected , it impugns not our present supposition , which extends not beyond the natural and ordinary depraedation made by the Vital Heat in the state of Health . And as for the Manner how the bloud , spirits , and other fluids ( and if ye please to have it so , also the less fixt , and more easily exsoluble particles of the solid parts ) are consum'd by the Vital Heat ; this may be sufficiently explain'd by the familiar example of oyl consum'd by the flame of a Lamp. Whether we take fire or flame to be a substance luminose and heating ; or conceive it to be only a most violent motion of globular particles in its focus : most certain it is , that it consisteth in a perpetual fieri , i. e. in a continual agitation or accension of the particles of its 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , pabulum or fewel , and perishing as fast as it is propagated : so that fire is made fire , and again ceaseth to be fire , in every the shortest moment of time ; and when in the combustible matter there remain no more particles , in which it may generate it self anew , it instantly perishes . Now continual Dispersion being the proper and visible effect of fire or flame ; the matter or fewel wherein it subsisteth , cannot but be in continual flux or decay . In like manner , the Vital Heat of Animals subsisting by a continual accension of new spirits in the blood , as that is passing through the Heart ; those vital spirits , transmitted from thence through the arteries to the habit of the body , no sooner arrive there , but having warm'd and enliven'd the solid parts , they immediately fly away , and disperse themselves by insensible transpiration , carrying along with them many watery vapors , and ( perhaps ) some sulphureous exhalations . Moreover , there being in all the solid parts of the body , certain mild , sweet and balsamic spirits , as it were affixt unto and concorporated with them ; 't is very probable , that the Vital Spirits acting upon them also by way of exagitation , by little and little dislodge them , render them Volatil , and at length wholly disperse them : whereupon the minute particles in which they did reside , become mortified , and as excrements , are excluded together with the exhalations of the blood . And this I apprehend to be the reason and manner of the depraedation made upon the body by the Vital Heat . Here no man will I hope , exact from me an accurate computation of the daily expenses of this Vital Heat , which like some Governors , rules by exhausting . If any should , I might perhaps applaud his curiosity , but should not be able to satisfie it . For , so great is the difference among men , in respect of temperament , diet , age , exercise , the season of the year , and various other circumstances , that no definite calculation can be made of this dispense , no not in those who keep to the strictest rules of an Ascetic life , weighing themselves and their meat and drink , as Cornaro is reported to have done , daily . We may indeed conjecture from the Static experiments of Sanctorius , that the expense is great ; for instance , if forty pounds of meat and drink be suppos'd sufficient to maintain a man of a middle stature , sober , and of good health , for ten days ; and about twenty pounds be assign'd to the excrements voided by stool and urine in that time : the other twenty pounds may be reasonably ascribed to insensible transpiration : but still this is mere conjecture . Let it then suffice , that we certainly know the quantity of bloud and spirits daily exhausted by the Vital Heat that conserves life in us , is very great : and that the greatest part of the matter of insensible transpirations , is the Vital Spirits , which are continually generated , and continually dispers'd . How apt and powerful these Vital Spirits are , by reason of their subtility and brisk motions , to exagitate and disperse the more exsoluble particles of even the nerves , fibres , membranes and other tender and sensile parts ; may be in some measure collected from various diseases and symptoms , that seem to arise from their various depravations or vicious qualities . I shall not therefore goe much out of my way , if I make a short Digression , to recount a few of those painful and contumacious Maladies , which are with good reason referrible to the vices of the Spirits , rendring the tone of the nervous parts either more strict or more lax than it ought to be ; at least according to the doctrine of Prosper Alpinus , not long since reviv'd and illustrated by Dr. Franc. Glisson , whose name is Elogie sufficient . If it happens , that the Blood is too vinose , i. e. too abundant in Spirits ( as in Good fellows commonly it is ) many times it induceth diseases depending upon Fluxion . For being by the arteries protruded into the more tender parts with greater force and impetuosity than is fit , it rather invades than cherishes them , by that violence putting their unfixt particles into a flux . And this Fluxion usually first invades such parts , as being weaker than the rest , are therefore more dispos'd to receive it . If the prevailing Spirits of the bloud be , not only Vinose , but Saline also ; many times there insues the like Fluxion conjoin'd with a languor and laxity of the tone of the parts , such as is alwayes observ'd in Catarrhs , in moist Coughs , in Ebriety , great heaviness to sleep , the running Gout , &c. And 't is remarkable , that these Fluxions are usually so much the more fierce and vexations , by how much the more infirm and yielding the nerves and fibres of the part invaded are ; because these want strength to make resistence by vigorous contraction of themselves : whereas nerves naturally strong and tense ; somewhat repress and break the force of the bloud rushing in upon them . Which is perhaps one , if not the chief reason , why men of firm and vigorous nerves are very seldom or never infested by the Gout . If this resolving fluxion chance to be accompanied with a Fermentation of the bloud ; then commonly the evil consequent is a rheumatic , arthritic , or pleuritic Fevre . On the contrary , if the Spirits that have obtain'd dominion in the bloud , be Sulphureous or oyly ; there follows a Fluxion causing a Constriction and shutting up of the invaded part . For tho' the arteries poure out bloud abounding in impetuous Spirits , and so cause a Fluxion : yet notwithstanding those Spirits , by reason of their oyliness , neither easily pass through the habit of the parts , as the Saline do , nor are dispers'd by insensible transpiration ; but remain shut up , as in a close prison , and striving for liberty , raise great tumults and pains . Hence are excited various Symptoms , according to the various parts into which the Fluxion rusheth : in particular , if the Fluxion be determin'd upon the Gutts , there follow grievous Colic pains ; if in the Stomach , a dire inflation of it ; if upon the Limms , that sore affect which Physicians generally call a Rheumatisme , which is not , as some have erroneously thought , rain'd down from the head , but proceeds only from sulphureous Spirits effused out of the arteries into the habit of the body , and therein imprison'd , their own oyliness making them unapt to transpire ; and their tumultuous distension of the parts conteining them , causing acute pains . Hence also come wandring Scorbutic pains , Hypochondriac winds , rumblings in the stomach and gutts , Head-aches , the Tooth-ake , &c. And all these evils are the more aggravated , by how much the more firm and tense the nerves of the part affected are : whereas in Saline fluxions the contrary happens , tho ▪ they be no less pernicious in the end , by relaxing , fretting , and as it were melting the tone of the parts affected . Finally , if the strength of the nerves and fibres be greater than the force of the bloud flowing in from the arteries ; in that case succeeds a Disease è diametro contrary to Fluxion ; viz. Obstruction and Infarction , and for the most part transpiration hinder'd . The manner how , seems to be this : The too rigid tension of the nerves and fibres in any part , rendring the passage of the arterial bloud through it more difficult than is requisite to the circuition of it freely ; the thicker and more viscid parts thereof must of necessity stick in their passage , and so produce Obstructions . And this vice alwayes is the more intended , by how much the more languid and sluggish the Vital Spirits are . For when these are copious and vigorous , they easily prevail over the light renitence or reluctance of the nerves , and maugre their opposition carry on the bloud in its circuit : but when they flagg and act but dully , they yield to the opposition of the nerves and fibres , and leave the grosser and more viscid parts of the bloud sticking in the passages . In a Cachexy , Dropsy , Asthma , Scorbute , obstruction of the pipes of the Lungs , tumors and imflammations of the viscera , &c. the nerves commonly are more strict or tense than they ought to be . But if a Saline fluxion chance to be conjoyn'd with , or to supervene upon such an excessive tension of the nerves , it either wholly solves the disease , or very much mitigates it at least . Whereas on the contrary , if while the nerves and fibres continue strong , such a constriction of them be accompanied with a Sulphureous fluxion , then it causes dismal tempests in the parts affected ; Convulsions , Epileptic fits , Apoplexie , extreme difficulty of breathing , Suffocation , Hysteric and other the like passions . Now , if the Genealogie of these Fluxions here describ'd , be consentaneous to reason and experience ; it doth not a little confirm what hath been deliver'd , touching the depraedation of the more easily exsoluble substance of the parts by the Spirits of the bloud . For , tho' what happens in a praeternatural state of the body , be not alwayes a good Argument of what is done in the natural state : yet in this case ; considering that the motion of the bloud , is the same , and that the Spirits also continue Spirits , in both states ; so that the whole difference consists only in this , that in the fluxions alleged , the Spirits are suppos'd to be only deprav'd with Saline or Sulphureous qualities , not wholly alienated from their nature : considering this , I say , the inference I have made , is not ingenuine . For , to argue from the identity of the effect , to the identity of the cause , or è converso , is no Paralogism . And so I conclude this not impertinent digression . ¶ . FROM the causes and manner of the continual consumtion of substance in Animals , we may opportunely proceed to an inquiry into the causes and manner of the continual Restauration of the same by way of Nutrition . Of this Restauration , the Efficient principle ( or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ( as Aristotle calls it ) is certainly the very same with the Generant or Formative : because , as I said before , Generation cannot be effected without Augmentation , and Augmentation is Nutrition . Not that I am of their opinion , who hold that Life and Nutrition differ , not in re , but only in ratione ; for the Human Embryo perhaps is nourish't before the Empsychosis : but that I conceive , that Life consists in and depends upon a continual generation of the Vital Spirits out of the most subtil , active and volatile parts of the bloud ; and that Nutrition consists in reparation or instauration of what is absumed , by apposition and assimilation of consimilar or congenerous matter . So that according to the distinct notions I have of these Twinns , Life is maintain'd by Dispersion of the most spirituose parts of the bloud : and Nutrition is , on the contrary , affected by apposition and assimilation of new matter . The Material or constituent Principle , I take to be a certain mild , sweet and balsamic liquor , analogous to the white of an Egg , or at least the Colliquamentum , out of which the Chick is formed . For , since all Animals are nourish'd with the same out of which they were at first made up , according to that common Axiom , iisdem nutrimur , ex quibus constamus ; and that of Aristotle , eadem materia est , ex qua augetur ▪ animal , & ex qua constituitur primùm : and since they are all corporated ex colliquamento : we may well conclude , that the Succus nutritius , sive ultimum nutrimentum partium , is in all qualities semblable to the Colliquamentum of the white of an Egg. Farre from the white of truth therefore are they who think , that the parts of the body being in substance divers , the parts of the Aliment also ought to be equally divers , as if Nutrition were really nothing but selection and similar attraction of convenient aliment : and that there were not requir'd in every single part a concoction , assimilation , apposition and transmutation of one matter common to all . For , first , 't is a difficult question , whether there be in nature any such thing as Attraction , or not ; and to prove Similar Attraction , is yet more difficult : so that the very fundament of this opinion is merely precarious : and then 't is most evident from what we have said of the constitution and augmentation of all parts of an Embryo ex colliquamento , that the Aliment common to all parts , is Similar , not Heterogeneous : it being the proper work of the Plastic power , still remaining in every Animal , as to form all the various parts out of the same Homogeneous matter at first , so to augment and repair them all , during life , out of like matter , by transforming that into the substance of every part , which is indeed potentially all parts , but actually none ; as out of the same rain-water all sorts of Plants receive their nourishment . Which is no more than what the Philosopher long since taught , when opposing the doctrine of Anaxagoras , Principium rerum qui dixit Homoeomeriam , he saith expresly , Distinctio partium non , ut quidam opinantur , propterea fit , quia simile suapte natura ad simile sertur : nam praeter alias multas , quas ratio ista habet , difficultates , accidet , ut quaevis pars similaris scorsum creetur , verbi gratiâ , ossa per se , & nervi , & carnes , si quis eam causam amplectatur , &c. Finally , as to the Manner how this Homogeneous matter is by the Plastic power accommodated to the Refection of all the various parts of the body ; most probable it is , that this admirable work is gradually done by distribution , apposition , affixion or agglutination , and assimilation or transmutation : all which acts must be successivè perform'd , before the operation can be complete . For the Succus nutritius being prepar'd , first in the Stomach and Gutts , and then in other parts to that end ordain'd , must be distributed , brought home and apponed to all parts that need refection ; then from contiguity by apposition , it must be advanced to continuity by affixion or agglutination ; and in fine made of the same substance with each part , by assimilation or transmutation , which is the perfection or ultimate term of Nutrition . Now if we reflect upon what hath been here briefly said concerning the double necessity of Nutrition , and concerning the different wayes by which Life is maintain'd , and the substance of the solid parts recruited ; it will plainly appear , that the expense of Aliment taken in by the mouth , at least of the Chyle extracted from it , is double ; viz. that one part of it is converted into the Succus nutritius , for instauration of the solid parts ; the other ( much the greater ) is chang'd into Bloud , which is the subject , and as it were the fewel of the Vital Heat . That we may therefore trace the footsteps of Nature in both these so necessary Operations , and at length discover as much of her whole processes therein , as our poreblind reason will permit us to discern ; let us inquire into the Method used by her in the work of Chylification first , and then into that of Sanguification . For , these being well and diligently explor'd , we shall with the less difficulty comprehend the whole History of Nutrition from the beginning to the end . Begin we then from CHYLIFICATION , i. e. the turning of all the convertible parts of our Aliment or sood into Chyle , the common matter of which both the Succus nutritius , and the Bloud are , tho' by different wayes , confected . But because the Organs by Nature fram'd for , and used in this work , are various ; and because , as the Chorography of a Countrey is highly conductive to the clearer understanding of the History of it , so the Knowledge of the fabric of those Organs is necessarily praerequisite to our attaining competent knowledge of their respective Actions and Uses : we are therefore obliged first to survey these Organs singly , and to examine the nature and frame of each apart ; proceeding from one to another , according to their natural order , not of dignity , but of position ; and Anatomically administring each , ( that I may use the words of Aristotle , at least if that Book de Respiratione by most of his Interpreters ascrib'd to him , be truely his ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , both to satisfie the sight of the Spectators , and to inform the Understanding , if our diligence may extend so farre . ¶ . HISTORIA GULAE . OF these Organs then , the First to be treated of is the Pipe or Funnel by which the meat and drink is carried from the mouth down into the Ventricle , to which as an Appendix it is continued . This part hath obtain'd more than one Name , as well among the Antient Graecs , as among the Latines . By Hippocrates 't is sometimes call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Ventriculi osculum , the mouth or inlet of the Ventricle , from the narrowness of it ; as in lib. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : and indeed among the Graecians the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was common to every thing that was narrow , oblong , and hollow : sometimes , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , quasi solus comedens , from its devouring faculty ; as in lib. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to which Aristotle seems to allude ( 3. de part . animal . cap. 3. ) where describing the Oesophagus , it is ( saith he ) via , qua cibus & potus devoratur , ideoque nonnullis fistula cibaria dicitur . By the Latines also , in imitation of the Graecs , 't is sometimes named Stomachus ; as by M. T. Cicero ( lib. 2. de natura Deorum ) where he saith ; linguam autem , ad radices ejus haerens excipit stomachus , quò primùm illabuntur ea , quae accepta sunt ore , &c. and by Cornelius Celsus ( lib. 4. cap. 1. & 5. ) but more often , Gula , most probably 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifies a little basket or wicker snapsack , wherein souldiers upon a march used to carry their victuals ; and which some wrote with a double 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; so that our English name , Gullet , from thence deriv'd , comes nearer by a little to the Original than the French , Goulet , which is abus'd to express the Larinx or head of the Wind-pipe . But this Latine word Gula is not exempt from ambiguity . For , tho' in its native and genuine sense , it denote the part of an Animal now expos'd to sight ; yet sometimes 't is used to signifie the fore-part of the neck , as in that vulgar phrase , gulam frangere ; and sometimes , any inanimate body whatsoever , that is ( like the Gullet ) narrow , oblong , hollow , and ending in an ample cavity ; as gula maris , gula montium , gula phialae ; and in all Wind-instruments of Music , the neck or narrow part next to the Mouth-piece , is call'd gula . Here some perhaps may think I mispend my time upon such Grammatical niceties . If so , I shall only advertise them , that no less man than Plato recorded this as a maxime worthy the remark of a Wise man , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , he that understands the names of things , understands also the things themselves . This Gula is not , as Aristotle ( de hist. animal . lib. 1. cap. 2. & lib. 4. cap. 3. ) expresly affirms it to be , Common to all kinds of Animals whatsoever : but to all that respire . Nor is it consentaneous , that the neck was design'd by nature for the elongation of the Gullet ; ( 1. ) Because the Vertebrae of the neck are of themselves sufficient to evince , that it is subservient to the various motions of the head ; and in Animals of very long necks , it serves also to reach their food ; as in Cranes , Storks , Swans , &c. ( 2. ) Because many Animals that have Respiration , have yet no neck , as the Toad and Frogg , among the Amphibious ; and among Fishes , the Porcpisce , Dolphin , with most , if not all others of the Cetaceous tribe : but on the contrary , it seems rather that the Gullet was made long to correspond with the neck , that so it might reach from the Mouth to the Stomach : as in Birds . Wherefore Aquapendente's Climax or Isadder , which lie made of Aristotles timber ; viz. Those Animals only have a Gullet , that have a neck ; those only have a neck , that have a throat and wind-pipe ; those only have throat and wind-pipe , that have a voice ; those only have a voice , that have respiration ; those only have respiration , that have lungs and breast : will not bear the weight he layes upon it , every rong almost being instable . Nor can I assent to his doctrine , ( in tract . de Gula ) that all Crustaceous , and all Testaceous Fishes want the Gullet ; because my eyes have assur'd me , that both Oysters and Lobsters have it , and a lively repraesentation thereof is to be seen in the figures inserted into Dr. Willis his Book de anima Brutorum , ad finem cap. 3. So that the Gullet seems to have been granted by Nature to some other Animals also , besides those that respire ; for neither Oysters , nor Lobsters have respiration . But much Difference of this Gullet is observable in living creatures of various kinds : and that in various respects . ( 1. ) In respect of Substance : which in some , is more membranose ; as in most feather'd fowl : in others , more fleshy ; as in man , in a horse , ox , swine , &c. in others , almost horny , as in Crabs and Lobsters , as also in the Cormorant , which feeding altogether upon fish , and swallowing them whole even while they are yet alive , might otherwise have his gullet rased or cut by the prickles and scales of some of them . ( 2. ) In respect of Length : for 't is in some longer , as in the Giraffa , Crane , Heron , Stork , Swan , Vulture , Emeu or Cassoware , Ostrich , Onocrotalus or Pellican , or most other Fowl of the greater size : in others shorter , as in the Frogg , Crevice , &c. in all , according to the length of the thorax and neck . ( 3. ) In respect of Magnitude ; which in some is extremely great , in proportion to their bodies ; as in the Gull , Duck , Viper , Pike , and all other Animals that devour their prey whole , and swallow great gobbets without chewing : in others mean , as in Man and all other Animals that divide their food into morsels , and break it into smaller pieces by mastication : in others again extremely little in comparison of their bulk ; as in the Whale , whose throat ( as Schonfeld in Ichthyologia tells us ) is so narrow as not to admit any fish bigger than a Whiting . ( 4. ) In respect of site . For in Man , and in all terrestrial four-footed beasts , it is carried down from the root of the tongue betwixt the Aspera arteria and the spine ; and therefore the Aspera arteria is made of cartilagineous circles , not perfect , but ending in a membranose substance , where it bears upon the Gullet , that so it may yield and give way to the dilatation thereof in the act of deglutition : but in most Birds , it descends on the right side of the Aspera arteria , which not resting upon it , is therefore made of perfectly circular cartilages ; a pretty contrivance of Nature , and probably conducing to render the voice of singing birds more shrill and musical . Only in the Bustard , the Gullet goes winding , like the streaks in the bore of a screw'd gun , one whole turn about the neck . Other differences there are , but of so small moment , that their notice could hardly compensate your patience to hear , or my labour to recount them . Omitting them therefore , I pass to the description of it . 'T is ( ye see ) a body round , long , hollow as a pipe , soft and tensil , and therefore easily distended and contracted again both in wideness and length ; so that being open'd by the meat and drink passing through , it naturally closes it self again , and the sides come together . The upper orifice of it , when not used , is exactly constring'd by a transverse Muscle ; as the mouth of a purse is drawn together by the strings : the lower also is in like manner shutt , but by the circular fibres of the upper mouth of the Stomach . Placed it is immediately behind the Larynx : not that by reason of this position , some few drops of the drink may slide down into the Wind-pipe to bedew and moisten the sides thereof ; as Fabric . ab Aquapendente dream'd ; for if we well contemplate the constructure of the Larynx it self , we may even from thence be convinced , that nature was solicitous to prevent the falling of any the least drop of liquor down into the Aspera arteria , and that if any chance to slip down , it is by accident , and against her intention : but rather that the act of deglutition may be the more exactly perform'd , and to prevent the slipping down of any bit of meat into the bore of the Wind-pipe , to endanger the stopping of it ; as will be more fully shewn when we come to consider the reason of swallowing . It descends in a streight line betwixt the Aspera arteria and the Vertebrae or Sphondyls of the neck ; then enters the Thorax , and arriving at the fourth Vertebra thereof , inclines by degrees to the right side , to give way to the ascending trunc of the great Arterie : but attaining to the ninth Vertebra , returns a little to the left side ; where climbing over the same Artery , till it come to the eleventh Vertebra , it passeth through the nervose part of the Diaphragm or Midriff toward the left side , by a hole clearly distinct from that of the great Artery . The Similar parts of which this instrument of Deglutition is compos'd , are Common , and Proper . Of the first sort , are the vessels and outward membrane or coat , wherewith it is vested . Arteries it receives , in the neck , from the Carotides ; in the Thorax , from the intercostal ; in the Abdomen , from the Coronary branch of the Stomach : and Veins in like manner , in the neck , from the jugular ; in the Thorax , from the Azygos or Non-parielle ; in the Abdomen , from the Coronarie vein of the Stomach . Nerves it borrows from the sixth pair or par vagum , and chiefly from the anterior branches of it . Lymphaeducts it hath none , at least none hitherto have been discover'd in it ; tho' some of our Modern Anatomists have conjectured , that the two Glandules on each side connected to it in the Thorax , spew out a certain humor into it , to keep it alwayes slippery and moist . But this Conjecture hath been sufficiently enervated , first by Dr. Wharton ( in cap. de gland . Oesophagaeis ) and since by Dr. Glisson ( in lib. de Ventric . & intest . cap. 1. ) both adferring stronger reasons to prove , that the liquor falling from the Tonsills and glandulae Maxillares is destin'd to the lubrication and humectation of the Gullet , all along from upper to lower end . The Exterior Membrane that , to strengthen and secure it from cruentation , invests it , as the Skarf skin do's the true skin ; is deriv'd , by some from the peritonaeum ; by some , from the Pleura ; by others , from the Ligaments of the sphondyls of the back ; and by others again from the Diaphragm ; and in truth it is united to all these parts , so that 't is difficult to determine from whence it hath its principium originationis ; unless it be lawful to say , that it arises from the first proper tunica of the Oesophagus it self , as the Cuticula comes from , and is sustain'd by the Cutis . However , consisting of only membranose fibres , and those too extremely slender ; it seems to be of no other use but only to cover the Gullet on the outside , and so to prevent cruentation . The Proper parts , are only two other Membranes , the Middle and Inmost . The Former is very thick and fleshy , as if it were an oblong , round Muscle bored through from end to end ; whence Hoffman took the hint of his assertion , that it is really a Muscle , and liable to Palsy and Convulsions . The Fibres of it , according to the accurate description of Steno , are Spiral , and of two distinct orders , mutually decussating or intersecting each other , so as to make two skrews as it were running contre one to the other : and according to Dr. Willis's observation , they seem to constitute two compound Muscles , that make four Parallelogramms with fibres tending contrary wayes , and mutually decussate . And this , he saith , may be plainly perceiv'd by the eye , if this middle tunic of the Gullet , being dextrously separated from the other two , be first tyed at both ends , then blown up , and dipp'd twice or thrice in boyling water , to swell or plump up the fibres : which by that means will become so conspicuous , as that two contrary orders with their tendons may be distinctly discern'd . After , if the same tunic be turn'd the inside outward , and again blown up ; two opposite orders of ascending fibres will in like manner shew themselves . Lastly , if the Tunic be cut length-ways in the middle of the tendons , and laid flatt upon a plane , two Parallelo gramms will appear in one Superfice , and two other lying contrary to them , in the other . Whence it may be inferr'd , that this Middle Membrane was thus artificially fram'd by Nature , to adapt the Oesophagus to all the various Motions requisite to its office or use , viz. expansion and constriction of its cavity , distension and contraction secundum longitudinem , and each of these either downward or upward , and in various degrees , as occasion requires . Nor is it improbable , that the Descending order of double fibres is inservient chiefly to deglutition , by constringing the Gullet from above downward ; and the Ascending , to ructation , expuition , and vomition , by constringing the Gullet from below upward . The later or inmost Membrane lining the Gullet , hath on its inside a kind of Scarf , thinner than Tisfany , woven of threads or fibres extremely sine ; which veils its whole cavity over as it were with a downy superfice : but all the rest of it is nervose , furnisht with fibres of different kinds and diversly context . This Membrane is continued to that which lines the palate , throat , mouth and lipps : and descending to the stomach , covers the mouth thereof round about within , reaching three inches below it : where it appears very thick and of a close texture , discernable from the inmost Tunic of the Stomach , which there it covers , by the extreme whiteness it acquires by a little parboyling . Now from the nervose substance , and delicate interior superfice of this Membrane , 't is not unreasonable to conjecture , that it serves chiefly to render the Gullet of exquisite sense . Whence perhaps it is , that we feel somewhat of complacency and pleasure from grateful meats and drinks , after they have pass'd the mouth and palate , and are entering into the Stomach : and on the contrary , of nauseousness and offense from ingrateful , even while they descend , and before they can come to displease the stomach , so as to cause it to complain to the brain of the irritation . And the deep insertion of this membrane into the stomach , even below the upper orifice thereof , may be ( as Dr. Willis ingeniosely guesses ) the reason of the intimate commerce betwixt the Gula and Ventricle , which is so great and quick , that if either be excited to expell what is offensive , the other instantly sympathizes and cooperates to its relief by vomiting , expuition , or eructation . Having thus surveyed the whole fabrique of the Gullet , 't is from thence sufficiently manifest , that the proper Action to which it was adapted , is Deglutition or Swallowing , which is thereby chiefly perform'd . I say chiefly ; because in truth the whole process of Swallowing consisteth in a certain series of many actions , by an admirable providence of Nature combin'd in order to one end . For , the Faculty or power of transmitting meat and drink from the mouth into the Stomach , is founded , not only in the Oesophagus , but in many parts of the Mouth also ; in the tongue , palate , uvula and its little muscles ; in the Larynx and its muscles , as well those that draw it up , as those that pull it down ; in the Pharynx and its three muscles ; and in the Sphincter of the Gullet . Yea more , there is farther requir'd also a concurrence of two Humors , one from the Glandulae Salivales , t'other from the Tonsils , to render the mouth and gullet conveniently moist and slippery . For , we have it from the Oracle of Experience , that when these humors fail , as in Fevers they often do , the swallowing of solids becomes more difficult than the swallowing of liquids : and on the contrary , when they are redundant , as in Catarrhs commonly it happens , solids are more easily swallow'd than liquids ; because the muscles inservient to this motion , need not be constringed so closely to gripe and depress solids , as to squeez down liquids . Now in this Syndrome or concurse of various Actions requisite to the whole work of Deglutition , some are Praeparatory or antecedaneous : others , constituent or proper . The Praeparatory are ( 1. ) Direction of the meat and drink toward the fauces by the tongue and cheeks ; ( 2. ) Compression of the Atmosphere , or ( as they vulgarly call it ) Suction ; ( 3. ) Compression of the thing to be swallowed , betwixt the tongue and palate , that it may tend inward ; and ( 4. ) A double clausure in the throat , to hinder the same from slipping any but the right way . All which have been so fully explain'd by Dr. Fr. Glisson ( de ventric . & intestin . cap. 16. ) that 't is enough for me only to mention them . The Proper also are four , viz. ( 1. ) The ascent or raising of the roots of the tongue , and head of the Larynx ; ( 2. ) The vigoration or tension of the muscles of the Pharynx , whereby the orifice of the Gullet is open'd , and at the same time drawn up to meet the matter to be swallow'd ; ( 3. ) The Contraction of the Sphincter of the Gullet , to press the matter downward ; and ( 4. ) The Peristaltic or compressing motion of the same Gullet , to continue the protrusion till the matter be thrust down into the Stomach . Each of which actions , as more pertinent to my present theme , I shall endevor briefly to explicate . ( 1. ) The elevation or raising up of the roots of the tongue , together with the head of the Larynx , necessarily compresses the bolus sticking in the throat , and by that compression forces it into the mouth of the Gullet . For , being so environ'd , as that it cannot slipp away either by the funnells above leading to the nosestrills , or by the palate , it must be cramm'd into the orifice of the Gullet : there being no other way or door left open , by which it may free it self from compression . Nor doth this compression instantly cease , but is continued till the roots of the tongue , and head of the Larynx filling up the whole cavity of the throat , have thence driven all the matter contain'd therein , and thrust it down into the Gullet . ( 2. ) Whilst this action is perform'd , the Muscles of the Pharynx being also vigorated , i. e ▪ set on work by tension , cause its membrane closely to embrace the roots of the tongue and head of the Larynx in their ascent ; but so , as that the orifice of the Gullet is at the same time carried upward , and a little forward , to meet the matter to be swallow'd . No wonder then , if the describ'd compression easily squeez into the Gullet all the matter brought into the throat : when the same is promoted by a clausure on each side , from below by the ascent of the tongue and Larynx , from above by the tension of the muscles of the Pharynx ; and at the same time the mouth of the Gullet is offer'd , as a door by which it may slipp away , and evade the compression . ( 3. ) No sooner is the matter in this manner thrust down into the orifice of the Gullet , than the Sphincter Muscle thereof constringing it self , so girds the orifice , as that it not only prevents the recoiling or slipping back of the matter into the mouth , but squeezes it somwhat farther down . And then ( 4. ) The Peristaltic or Compressing motion of the spiral fibres of the Gullet beginning , and by degrees girding the sides thereof farther and farther downward , soon thrusts the matter into the cavity of the Stomach . And this seems to me to be the most reasonable and plain accompt , that hitherto hath been given , how the whole complex work of Deglutition is perform'd Mechanically . A work of so great Use to the whole body , that all men know and acknowledge it to be absolutely necessary to the conservation of the whole : Experience teaching even the most illiterate , that when it happens to be abolish'd , as in various diseases of the throat , chiefly in inflammations , tumors , and palseys of the muscles of the Larynx and Pharynx it often is , miserable famin and death inevitably insue . It is not then without good cause , that Nature hath ( according to her accustom'd bounty in works of publick utility , either to the subsistence of individuals , or to propagation of the species ) to the exercise of the faculty of Deglutition annex'd an ample reward , viz. a grateful Complacency of the instruments therein used , yea a pleasure so inviting , that many Animals are thereby allured to hurt themselves by eating more than they can digest ; and above all intemperate Man , whose diet is in variety of tasts the most delicious . With which vulgar remark I conclude this short and imperfect history of the Oesophagus . ¶ PRAELECTIO II. HISTORIA VENTRICULI . THAT we may not in our surveys divide parts that Nature hath so closely conjoyn'd , let us in the next place convert our contemplation upon the principal Organ of Chylification , wherein , as in a publick Kitchin , nourishment for the whole body is praepar'd , viz. the STOMACH . This common Receptacle of all our meat and drink , and Laboratory in which all the profitable parts of both are , by the inimitable Chymistry of Nature , converted into a certain whitish liquor somwhat resembling barly cream , and call'd Chyle ; hath been by the Antient Graec Physicians describ'd under three divers names . By Hippocrates 't is sometimes call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifies to receive or contein , because it receives all the Aliment swallowed down ; and wherever in his works we meet with the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , without addition to appropriate it to the Head or Thorax , which by him are also named 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , bellies , there we are to understand this part alone : sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , i. e. Cavity ; and sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Heart , from the vicinity of the upper orifice of the Stomach to the Heart , and the symptoms thence arising . But of these Appellations , the two first are common to all great cavities or receptacles in the body : and the last , in stricter sense , denotes , not the whole stomach , but only the principal and most sensil part of it , the Mouth . Among the Latines likewise we find an equal variety of denominations . For Celsus ( lib. 1. cap. 2. & lib. 4. cap. 5. ) uses the words , Venter , Ventriculus , and Stomachus indifferently to signify this whole part : and Cicero ( de nat . Deor. lib. 2. ) expresses the same by Ventriculus and Stomachus indiscriminately . But now use hath obtain'd , that the diminutive Ventriculus ( quasi minor ventor ) without a limitation annext , stand for the proper name of what the Vulgar calls the Stomach . For tho' Anatomists name the cavities of the Heart and Brain , also Ventricles ; yet they never do so without adding , for distinction sake , the name of the part , viz. Heart or Brain , of which they speak . This Ventricle then , being an Organical part , of great dignity , but greater necessity ; well deserves our strictest scrutiny . Let us then with diligence and patience consider , ( 1. ) The Structure or Organization , ( 2. ) The Elements or similar parts , and ( 3. ) The Actions and Uses of it . For if we can attain to a competent knowledge of all these things , I do not see what can remain to hinder us from coming at length to understand the nature of it fully and perfectly . Begin we then from the Site or situation of it : which being not the same in Animals of all kinds , but various ; requires to be consider'd , first in genere , and then speciatim ; to the end that Comparative Anatomy may go hand in hand with simple or Positive . In all Animals that have bloud , Fowls that feed upon corn only excepted , the Ventricle is seated in the upper part of the Abdomen . The superior Orifice of it , in Man , in all four-footed Beasts , and in all Fishes that have lungs , is immediately under the Diaphragm : but in all Fishes that respire not , immediately appendant to the mouth ; as well because having neither thorax nor neck , they consequently want the Gullet ; as because in them the belly is disterminated from the mouth , by a certain membraneous partition , not much unlike to , and , as to separation , supplying the defect of the midriff . Whereas in Animals that respire , the Gullet is requisite , because of the interposition of the breast betwixt the mouth and the Ventricle ; which could not be commodiously placed above the diaphragm in the thorax , for more than one reason : viz. ( 1. ) Because it would have straitned and compress'd the Lungs , especially when fill'd and distended with food ; ( 2. ) Because the Thorax being inviron'd with strong bones , could not be distended enough to make room for the expansion of the lungs , and repletion of the Ventricle , both at once ; and ( 3. ) Because the steams arising from the meat and drink fermenting in the Ventricle , would much infest the vital parts . Which last incommodity , Nature seems to have prudently prevented , both in Birds that have the ingluvies or Cropp placed , not in the lower belly , but under the neck before , and without the furcula ; and in Fishes also that want respiration : by separating the heart from the ventricle with a certain membraneous partition , instead of a diaphragm . Again , the same upper orifice of the ventricle , in Man , and in all Quadrupeds , is placed immediately under the diaphragm , to prevent the farther elongation of the Gullet , which would have been unprofitable at least , if not in many respects incommodious . Nor is the providence of Nature less admirable in placing the Ingluvies ( in Granivorous Fowls we call it the Kropp or Craw , and the Gorge in Carnivorous ) of Birds under the neck , betwixt the horns of the os jugale , call'd by us the Fork or merry-thought : she seeming to have had three inducements thereto . ( 1. ) The Crop having no commerce with any part in the Abdomen , but only with the Gizard , to which it is continued by a peculiar pipe or inferior Gullet , and by which the corn steep'd and softned in the Crop is converted into Chyle ; there is no necessity why it should be seated therein . ( 2. ) The Crop serves also to keep the body of the Fowl aequilibrated upon the leggs : whereas if it were in the lowest belly , it would , when full of food , make the hinder part much too weighty for the fore part . ( 3. ) Fowls for the most part , chiefly the Granivorous , feed their young with half-digested chyle , or corn macerated , puking it from the crop into their mouth , as is commonly observ'd in Doves and Rooks ; which they could not so commodiously have done , if the crop had not been seated so near the mouth . And as to the situation of the Ventricle consider'd in Specie ; it is placed in the highest region of the Abdomen , partly in the left hypochondrium , partly under the pitt of the stomach , having on the right side , the Liver not only accumbent but incumbent upon it ; on the left side , the Spleen adhaering to it ; at the bottom , the Omentum or Kell or Caul fastned all along ; and behind , the Pancreas subjacent ( from thence named by some , the Pillow or Cushion of the Ventricle ) and on the fore part , the Colon : and in this position it is establish'd by various connexions : the superior orifice is continued to the Gullet , and by the mediation thereof firmly annex'd to the midriffe : the inferior , united to the Duodenum , and by the mediation of the Omentum , connex'd to the Liver , Back , Spleen , Colon , and Pancreas . The second thing remarkable in the Structure of the Ventricle , is the Magnitude or Capacity of it : which being various , not only in Animals of divers kinds , but in some individuals also of the same species , chiefly in men ; requires therefore to be consider'd first Comparatively , and then Positively . If we compare the Magnitude of the Ventricle , with that of the whole body of the same Animal ; we shall find it in weight not to exceed the hundredth part of it . So that we might well admire , that a part so small should suffice to cook provision for the whole ; did we not at the same time remember , that the Gutts help it not a little in that office . If we compare the Ventricle of Man , with those of other Animals ; we shall find it to be in him less , in proportion to the whole body , than in them . So that Aristotles general rule ( de hist. animal . 2. cap. 17. ) Animalia majora , majorem ; minora , minorem habent ventriculum ; seems not to exclude all exception : and there is reason for us to believe , that Nature adjusted the capacity of the Ventricle in all sorts of Animals , rather to the nature of their proper food , than to the magnitude of their bodies . For ( 1. ) Where the food is coarse , yielding but little nourishment out of a great mass ; there much of it is required to satiate the appetite , and recruit the body ; and consequently the greater the capacity of the Ventricle . Hence perhaps it is , that the Horse , the Ass , the Ox , Sheep , Goats , &c. that feed upon herbs , grass , hay , stubble , and other the like lean and poor aliments , from a great quantity of which , but little nourishing juice can be extracted , have great bellies . On the contrary , where the food is rich , i. e. conteining much of nutriment in a little ; there is requir'd a less quantity of it to satiate the appetite , and repair the body ; and by consequence a less ventricle : as in Man , who living upon delicate meats that nourish much in little quantity , hath but a small ventricle , in comparison of his whole body ; and 't is observ'd , that men of a more delicate diet , such as is used at the tables of Princes and Grandees , have generally less Ventricles , than others that live upon coarse fare . ( 2. ) Animals that eat but seldom , ought to have the Ventricle of large capacity , because they devour much at once , to compensate their long fasting . Which is exemplified in Lions , Tygres , Wolves , &c. beasts of prey , which tho' carnivorous , and consequently of an opime or highly nourishing diet , are yet compell'd many times to undergo the sharp pinches of hunger long , till they meet with food : and then they gorge themselves , as if they intended to barrell up in their panches , flesh for many dayes to come ; and are to that end furnished with ample stowage in their bellies . The like may be said also of those Men , who are accustom'd to eat but one meal a day ( whether it be a dinner or a supper ) and that a great one : for by that surcharge , they so distend their stomach , as of necessity to render it in tract of time thinner , and by consequence weaker , than is requisite to health . And hence in all probability it is also , that great Drinkers enlarge the capacity of the Ventricle , by stretching the coats of it ; till at length they come to destroy the tone and strength thereof by habitual extenuation , and to verifie Seneca's saying of intemperate men , ( epist. 39. ) quae fecere , patiuntur , they are their own tormentors . Finally , if we compare Human Ventricles among themselves , we shall find the variety to be great , in respect of difference in age , sex , stature , diet , and above all in habitual temperance or intemperance . Greater is the capacity of the Ventricle commonly in men than in women , in proportion to their bodies ; and yet women are not , as Aristotle believ'd , greater gluttons than men , but rather less ; as having less room in their bellies to receive , and less of heat to concoct food . Greater in men of middle age , and of tall stature , than in old , and of low stature . Greater also in Gluttons and Drunkards , than in the Sober . Difficult it is therefore to determine , what is the Positive Magnitude of it in men ; especially since we are yet uncertain , whether the Ventricle may by strong inflation or pouring in of liquors , after it hath been taken out of the body of a dead man , be brought to hold more than before while he was alive and in health . But if we may be permitted to take the gage thereof from some experiments to that end made , and from vulgar observation ; we may conjecture , that the Ventricle of a man of middle age and stature , nor given to excess , cannot contain above seven pints , of sixteen ounces to the pint : and Loselius affirms , that he having cleans'd and dried the Ventricle of a man , together with the whole Oesophagus , found the weight of both together not to exceed two ounces and two drachms . Considering this , I have often admired what the grave Plutarch delivers concerning the draught of wine drank by Alexander the Great in the close of his last supper . For , all Historians that have written the life and gests of this great Troubler of Mankind , describe him to have been of mean stature : and the Scyphus Herculeus or ( as Seneca in Epist. 83. calls it ) Herculaneus , ( a silver bowl or kind of Grace cup , consecrate to Hercules , in memory of his excellent faculty in drinking ) is expresly said by Athenaeus ( lib. 11. cap. 9. ) and by Budaeus and other Antiquaries vers'd in the Measures of the antient Graecs , allow'd to contain duos Congios , two Gallons , or sixteen Pints . A huge Romer to be drank off in the end of a great Supper , and by a little man too , one at least to whom that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( as Euripides calls it ) or Dignitas formae ( as Cicero 1. de Offic. ) that majestical stature so commendable in a Prince , was wanting . Let others believe ( if they please ) that he died by poison ; I , for my part , believe , that draught of wine was poison enough to destroy him , and therefore conclude with Seneca ; Alexandrum intemperantia bibendi , & ille Herculaneus ac fatalis scyphus condidit . Nor can I believe Suetonius , where among other private debauches of Tiberius , he relates , that one of his favorites was advanced by him to an office of eminent trust and dignity , ob epotam in convivio vini amphoram . Amphora enim est octava pars ejus vasis , quod modium vini Galli dicunt ; quodque vini tricenos senos sextarios Parisinos capit : sextarius autem octonas eas , quas pintas vocant . The third thing considerable in the Structure of the Ventricle , is the Singularity of it in some kinds of Animals , and Plurality in others . To Man , the most perfect Animal , Nature hath granted but one Ventricle . True it may be indeed , that she somtimes , tho' very rarely , produces men with more than one ; as Riolan . writes , that twice he had found a double Ventricle in man ; and Sperlinger , that he had observ'd the like in a woman of Wittemberg ; and Thom. Bartholin . forbids us to doubt there was a double stomach in a man that chew'd the cudd , describ'd by Salmuth and others : but such are to be number'd among Monsters , of which there are some few among Animals of whatsoever kind . She hath likewise granted no more than one to all Four-footed Beasts , that either live upon flesh , as the Lion , Panther , Tigre , Wolf , Fox , Dogg , Catt , &c. or have teeth in both jaws , as the Horse , Ass , Mule , Elephant , &c. to all Birds of prey , as the Eagle , Kite , Hawk , Owl , Raven , &c. and to all Fishes of what sort soever . Nor doth it consist with her wisdom to multiply organs , where a singular may serve the turn as well : chiefly when it is of greater perfection , that one suffices . I will not therefore say , she hath been more bountiful , where she hath doubled , or quadrupled that donative . In all Granivorous Fowls , she hath fram'd two Ventricles ; the Crop and Gizard ; the one , membraneous ; th' other , fleshy and muscular : and the reason seems to be this . These Fowls wanting teeth in the mouth , and for their sustenance swallowing hard grains of corn whole ; 't was therefore requisite , they should have two Ventricles : one , wherein their hard food , mixt with the water they sip in , might be steep'd or macerated , and softned ; another , by which the corn so prepar'd , might be broken , and as it were ground . For , the Gizard may with good reason be compar'd to a mill ; the opposite sides of its interior coat , being broad , hard , and rough , and so far resembling the upper and nether mill-stones ; and by their motion of mutual confriction or rubbing against each other , performing the like office that the mill-stones do . Again , the two contrary Muscles investing that hard and rough coat , set and keep the mill a going ; by turns contracting and moving themselves , so that the rough sides of the machine rubbing hard one against the other , break and grind the grains of corn lying betwixt them . And hereof , such Fowls seem to be themselves conscious . For they peck up among the grains of corn , small fragments of stones , pebbles , or flints ; which being carried together with the macerated grains , out of the Craw into the cavity of the Gizard , are there of great use to the more facil and expedite grinding of them into chyle , serving instead of teeth . Nor do they this by chance , but guided by natural instinct . For before they swallow any such small pebble , they try it in their mouth , whether it be angular or sharp edg'd , or not : and then if they find it to be rough and pointed , they swallow , if smooth and blunt , they reject it , as useless . So that doubtless there is Election in the case . Now those two Ventricles being necessary to the preparation and confection of the Chyle in all Granivorous Birds ; Nature prudently furnished them with more than one : and two sufficing , she furnished them with no more . But other kinds of Animals there are , on which she hath conferr'd no less than four Ventricles : viz. all that have no teeth in the upper jaw , as Bievs , Sheep , Goats , in a word all Quadrupeds that bear Horns , and all that bear no horns , and yet chew the Cudd , as Camels , Dromedaries , Hinds , Does , and some sorts of Sheep : not so much perhaps , because they have no teeth in the upper jaw ( for they want them not , as Dr. Glisson well observes ) as because they gather their food by whole mouthfulls at once , and so instantly swallow it ; the incisores or cutting teeth of the lower jaw , serving them instead of cutting-hooks to shear the grass or hey , and the callose gumms of the upper , together with the tongue , serving them , instead of hands , to grasp and hold the same steady the while . So that considering , they at first swallow the food whole , they have no need of teeth above , but require to have four Ventricles for the preparation and concoction of it after . To which may be added another Use or final cause of Rumination first assigned by Sr. G. Ent ( in Diatrib . p. 24. ) in these words . In hunc finem [ viz. succi nutritii copiosiorem ex ore ad cererum , quod est ejusdem promptuarium , delationem ] animalia Ruminantia cibum è ventriculo per oesophagum reducunt , ut succo ibidem expresso bis fruantur : totámque eorum palatum ex conglomeratis exilibus glandulis intùs construitur forisque tunicâ crassâ multis minim is for aminulis pertusâ , prominentisque papillaribus loricatur . Of these four Ventricles , common to all Animals that eat the same food twice over , i. e. that Ruminate , or chew the Cudd , the first Aristotle names 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the great cavity ; the Latines Rumen ; and we , the Cudd or grass-bagg : for in this , as in a Kettle , the collected food is macerated , and parboyl'd as it were , before it is return'd up into the mouth to be chew'd : the second , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , reticulum , from the resemblance the interior surface of it bears to a caul of net-work ; and our Butchers , the Paunch ; which ( according to Dr. Glisson's opinion ) is a passage either into the first , before rumination , or into the third , after : the third , Omasum , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , from the wrinkles and roughness of it ; and we , the Tripe ; the office of which is , not only to receive the food , after rumination , but farther to soften it , and pressing out the juice by closing its wrinkles , then to transmitt the same into the Fourth , reteining , by reason of its great asperity , the harder and unprofitable dreggs , to be excluded as excrements : the Fourth , Abomasum , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , quasi perficiens ; in English the Hony-tripe ; because the many and great folds of its inmost membrane , intersecting each other , represent the cells of an Hony-comb . This Ventricle receives the half concocted juice from the third , and at length perfects the work of Chy lification . But this may withal be noted , that in Calfs , and Fawns , and Lambs , while they suck ; the first Ventricle remains much contracted , and the third almost empty ; but the fourth bigger than the rest , which seem therefore to lye idle till the young beasts begin to feed upon grass . And the reason perhaps may be this , that Milk being very fine aliment , and so requiring no preparation , or defaecation in the other three Ventricles ; is convey'd directly into the fourth ; where are alwayes found certain reliques of it , curds , whey , and somtimes milk not yet coagulate ; none of which can be found in either of the other Ventricles . The fourth considerable in the Structure of the Ventricle , is the Figure or shape of it . Which when the cavity is fill'd , nearly resembles a Bagg-pipe , chiefly if the Oesophagus and Duodenum be taken in to heighten the similitude : partly round , that it may have the greater capacity ; partly oblong , that it may be adjusted to the latitude of the back . Before , it is equally gibbose , and in corpulent men bears up the higher region of the belly ; a thing by all Eastern Nations much affected , as manly and graceful : behind , while it remains in its place in the body , it makes two swellings , one on the right side , t'other on the left , giving way in the middle to the vertebrae of the back and the trunes of the great Arterie and vena cava . The left side or end of it is greater than the right ; that on the right hand , it may make room for the greatness of the Liver , and compensate the smalness of the Spleen ; perhaps also that it may be more easily exonerated by the Pylorus , than by the Gullet ; because the peristaltic or compressive motion is alwayes stronger in a less and oblong cavity , than in one greater and exquisitely round . The length of it runs along from the left side to the right , not in a streight , but crooked line , making a semicircular figure representing a crescent . For , the superior orifice almost touches the Midriff ; but the middle parts recede a little from it : and the Pylorus recurrs toward it as much , yea more , so as to make an arch ; and therefore in truth , what we call the lower orifice of the Ventricle , is the higher of the two . And the reason of this exaltation of the outlet somwhat above the inlet , seems to be , lest the food , chiefly the liquid part of it , should too soon slide down out of the Ventricle ; which would easily happen , if the Pylorus were lower . But not in all sorts of Living creatures is the figure of the Ventricle the same . For in Quadrupeds that ruminate , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Great Ventricle is rather perfectly round ; because being of so ample capacity , if it were extended longwaies cross the back , as the Ventricle of Man is , it would trouble the situation , not of the Liver only , but also of the other three . Round it is likewise in the Rana piscatrix , with many cartilagineous nodes on the outside opening inward ; and almost round in the Hound-fish or Galeus piscis , nearly representing the great earthen jarrs wherein oyl is kept . But in Animals that have one Ventricle , it is for the most part oblong . So also is the fourth Ventricle even in those that chew the Cudd : perhaps that by its peristaltic motion , which ( as I said afore ) is more powerful in an oblong cavity , than in a round , it may the more easily expell either upward or downward what is offensive . In the Lobster , the figure of the Ventricle is triangular , that the three teeth placed within , on each side one , may be brought to touch , and by contrition grind the food . In the last place occurr to our contemplation , the two Orifices of the Ventricle , both situate in the upper region thereof . Of these , that on the left side is somtimes call'd simply the Mouth of the Ventricle , somtimes by way of excellence , the Stomach ; by the Antients , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Heart ; because the Affects of it cause swoonings and other terrible symptoms like those of the Heart when the pulse or motions of it are perturbed or intercepted : and this , both because of the most exquisite sense of this Orifice , which is furnish'd with various nerves : and because the Heart sympathizes with it , as well by reason of vicinity , the Stomach being but a very little distant from the cone of the Heart ; as of community of nerves deriv'd from the sixth pair or conjugation . Wider it is , and thicker than the other ; but like a Sphincter , keeps it self alwayes contracted even to a point , unless in the time of swallowing , belching , and vomiting . The other on the right side , call'd Pylorus , i. e. the janitor , tho' likewise girt about with circular fibres , is not drawn so close together , nor kept so constantly shut ; only during digestion , it is somwhat contracted , so as to keep in all solids , and give way to liquids to slide down into the gutts . Dilated it is sometimes , either in great diseases , the Lienteria , Cholera , and iliaca passio ; or in great exigents , after solid and indissoluble things have been casually swallow'd ; as is evident from many examples of men , women and children , who having swallow'd gold rings , pieces of money , nutts , bullets , lizards , loches alive , &c. voided them by stool intire : tho' somtimes such things stick in the Pylorus , and produce dismal , torments , and death , a memorable example whereof is recorded by that excellent Anatomist , Theodorus Kerckringius of Amstredam ( Spicilegii Anatomici observ . 1. ) in a little Girl of five years of age , who died of a stoppage of the Pylorus , caus'd by a Dutch Stiver she had swallow'd , which in her Ventricle open'd after her death , was found so firmly to have plugg'd up the Pylorus , that nothing could pass out by that door . And this is all the shortness of my time would permit me to speak concerning the things chiefly remarkable in the Organization of the Ventricle , viz. the situation , the magnitude , the number , the figure , and the two orifices thereof ; as well in genere , as in specie . ¶ . We come in the next place to the visible Elements or SIMILAR parts whereof this so necessary Organ is compos'd . Of these constituent parts , some are Common also to other organs ; others Proper and peculiar to the Ventricle only . To the former classis belong the vessels , whether importing , as Nerves , and Arteries ; or exporting , as Veins , both sanguiferous , and chyliserous : to the later appertain the three Tunics , with their fibres and parenchymata . All which require to be describ'd and consider'd singly . Which I therefore , incourag'd by your patience and attention , will endevor to do as briefly as is possible : observing the same order in which I have now mention'd them . The Nerves by which the Ventricle is made participant of sense and the invigorating influence of the brain , are all deriv'd from one original , viz. the sixth pair , or par vagum . For , this pair , of all others the most liberal , distributes to the parts below the Midriff , four principal branches ; from the anterior two , of which proceed the two anterior and superior nerves of the Ventricle ; the left , from the right branch ; the right , from the left : and the posterior branches , call'd by Dr. Willis ( in Neurologia ) the Intercostals , coasting along the spine of the back on each side , descend to joyn with the superior plexus of the Abdomen ; and there uniting with some surcles of the anterior branches , make a little nervose chord , which connects the Renes succenturiatos or glandulas renales , and from which , as from a common stalk , almost all other parts contein'd in the Abdomen receive their nerves . Among the rest , some surcles shooting forth from this complication , and accompanying the Coeliac Arterie , distribute themselves , partly to the bottom of the Ventricle , partly to the left prominency of it , and partly to the spleen . The Ventricle then being thus plentifully furnish'd with nerves , and those too continued to the principal branches that send forth surcles to most other parts in the same great cavity contain'd : it seems not difficult to conjecture , that the remarkable consent and sympathy betwixt those parts and the Ventricle , arises chiefly from that community of nerves ; nor to give a probable reason , why vomitings usually accompany the Colic , Hypochondriac winds , and Hysteric fits ; the irritation being , by continuity of the nerves , easily propagated from one part to another . The Arteries that continually bring in bloud and life to the Ventricle , are reckon'd to be in number five , each served by a vein , to export the bloud after it hath done its office of heating , cherishing , and enlivening . These Arteries and veins are call'd , arteria & vena pylorica ; arteria & vena gastro-epiplotca dextra ; arteria & vena gastrica , from whence proceeds the coronary branch ; arteria & vena gastro-epiploica sinistra ; and the vas breve arteriosum & venosum . All the divarications and branchings of which vessels , discernable in the coats of a human ventricle artificially blown up , are most accurately represented in the first table of Dr. Willis's Book intitled Pharmaceutice Rationalis : whither , for expedition sake , I refer the unsatisfied : mean-while commending to their notice three observables concerning these numerose vessels . ( 1. ) That they all tend inwards , and in their progress subdivided into innumerable spriggs smaller still and smaller , till they dwindle into Capillaries , are at last terminated in the inmost coat or nervose membrane of the Ventricle ; infecting the interior surface thereof with redness , as if it were bloudshot . Which will be conspicuous , if after the Ventricle hath been blown up , and dipt a little in boyling water , it be turned the inside outward , and the downy lining neatly separated : for , then the innumerable terminations of the arteries and veins , will appear to cover the nervose membrane , as with a bloudy nett . ( 2. ) That their capillary surcles are equally dispers'd upon all parts of each Tunic , as if their uses were thereby signified to be equal in all parts . This also is apparent to sense ; for , tho' all the three Tunics be white , yet in living dissections , wherever the Ventricle is prickt with the point of a needle , there will be seen bloud to wooz forth . ( 3. ) That the Arteries and Veins respectively official to them , are exactly proportionate among themselves , as well in the amplitude of their truncs , as in the distribution of their branches , and in the portion of the Tunic to which they are distributed : so that the vein correspondent to each artery , is adjusted to export as much bloud , as the artery imports . Whereas in most , if not all other parts of the body , the arteries are generally observ'd to be less than the reducing veins : because in those , the motion of the bloud is stronger and swifter ; in these , weaker and slower . This proportionate distribution is most clearly discernable in the branches of the Gastric vein and artery , which in their Coronary divarications , no less than in their turncs , are exactly correspondent each to other . The reason whereof , according to the judgement of Dr. Glisson , who seems first to have remarkt the thing , may be because the arteries and veins have their origines near at hand and together , and the three last have theirs from proportionate vessels , the Splenic artery and vein ; not that they bring in any thing from the Spleen to the Ventricle ( as the Antients , ignorant of the Circulation of the bloud , erroneously held ) but that they are more commodiously derived from thence , than they could be from any other vessel whatever ; the vicine situation of the Spleen consider'd . The Venae lacteae of the Ventricle appear to be but few , in comparison of the great multitude issuing from the Gutts . Dr. Glisson tells us , that those shew'd to him by Dr. Wharton in the Ventricle of a Dogg dissected alive , were not many : adding this description of them . They took their original ( saith he ) from the bottom of the Ventricle , and not far from thence , supported by the anterior membrane of the Omentum or kell , they were carried along to the greater Glandule thereof ; and after entrance into it , they crept along the right margin of the Pancreas ; then sustain'd by the Mesentery , they went on directly to the Common Receptacle , and into that discharg'd their milky freight . And this perfectly agrees with what I have more than once observ'd , and can visibly demonstrate in living dissections of Doggs . 'T is somwhat strange then that the curious Dr. Willis should never perceive any of these Chyliferous vessels in the Ventricle ; or at least , not so much as mention them in his Anatomic history of that part , wherein he pretends to so much accurateness : but much more strange , that he should in the same book teach , that the sanguiserous veins of the Ventricle take in part of the Chyle out of its cavity , and carry it immediately into the mass of bloud ; when if he had considered the use of the Glandules of the Mesentery , and the separation of the purer parts of the Chyle from the impure and excrementitious , performed in the Gutts ; he might have inferr'd from either of those reasons , that while the Chyle remains , either not perfectly concocted , or not sufficiently defaecated , in the stomach , no part of it ought to be so immaturely commixt with the bloud . But this is my opinion , and that was his : and therefore every man is free to approve which he thinks most consentaneous . As for Lymphaeducts , if we take them as contradistinct to the Venae lacteae ; hitherto I have heard of none discover'd , and therefore believe there are none in the Ventricle ; the rather because there are some Venae lacteae , which are congenerous to them ; nor is it Natures use to multiply kinds of vessels , where one kind is sufficient . True it is indeed , that in the Mesentery , both venae lacteae and lymphaeducts are found : but this objection hath been fully answer'd by Dr. Glisson ( in libr. de ventric . & intest . cap. 3. num . 8. ) saying , they those vessels differ more in respect of the liquors that carry , than of the structure or constitution of their similar parts . For , the Lympha is a thin , hungry liquor ; the Chyle thicker , succulent , and rich : this is brought from parts newly recruited with fresh aliment ; that , from parts that want refection : though both are discharg'd into the Common Receptacle . Wherefore although Lymphaeducts pass through the Mesentery , yet are they not to be reputed the genuine vessels thereof , but aliens travelling along the nearest way through it . And if they staid to bait at any part well stored with Chyle , 't is probable the liquor they would suck in , would make them of the same milky colour with the true venae lacteae . And these are all the Common Similar parts of the Ventricle . ¶ . The Proper are ( as I said afore ) three Tunics or Membranes , with their Fibres and Parenchymata . The three Tunics , although they seem to cohaere but slightly , so that being moved by a little impulse of the finger any way , they slip one upon another ; are notwithstanding connected with that pretty artifice , that each hath its Fibres implicated with those of the next ; which fibres must be dextrously cut off , before the Tunics can be separated , whether the Ventricle be raw or boyl'd . That which first offers it self to the view , is the Exterior Tunic ; which some will have to be borrowed of the Midriff , and others , from the peritonaeum : both which opinions will be found light , if put in the ballance against the moments of reasons brought to refute them , by the most judicious Dr. Glisson ( de ventric . & intest . cap. 4. num . 2. ) who with more justice affirms it to belong to the Ventricle by right of origination , as properly as either of the other two ; at least in respect of its peculiar fibres and parenchyma . Thicker it is , and furnish'd with more nervose fibres , and consequently stronger than any membrane deriv'd from the Peritonaeum : in substance , texture , and course of fibres , exactly resembling the exterior coat of the Gullet ; so that if ye remember our description of that , ye will need no other idea of this . The uses of it are many , viz. ( 1. ) To invest , and corroborate the Ventricle , and to preserve it from cruentation on the convex side ; ( 2. ) To sustain the great multitude of vessels that are divided and subdivided into innumerable surcles , as they diffuse themselves betwixt it and second or middle coat ; ( 3. ) To conserve the heat of the Ventricle , so requisite to concoction ; ( 4. ) To concurr to the peristaltic motion of the same , which it doth by vertue of its transverse fibres contracting or shortning themselves spontaneously . Here recurrs to my memory a certain Pathological remark added by Dr. Willis to his description of this utmost coat of the Ventricle : I have observ'd ( saith he ) in the bodies of many who had long languish'd under loss of appetite , continual nauseousness , and frequent vomitings , dissected after death ; that somtimes a serose humor , somtimes an effusion of bile , somtimes an abscess , upon the outside of the Ventricle , had by irritation of it , been the cause of those dismal symptomes . A singular observation , which I the more willingly recount , because 'thas been my luck once or twice to meet with the like . The second or Middle Tunic is much thicker and more fleshy than the first , laced every where with fibres , and consequently both stronger , and more potent to perform the Peristaltic motion , to which chiefly it seems to be adapted . The position and course of these fibres are various in the various parts and sides of it . On the Concave or inside , strong fleshy fibres run down obliquely from the left hand toward the right , till they arrive at the bottom : so that when they contract themselves , they must of necessity pull the bottom of the Ventricle obliquely upward toward the left orifice ; and therefore conduce to vomiting and other expulsive motions by the same . On the top or ridge of the same convex side , are many fibres of a distinct order , which hemming in the left orifice of the Ventricle , tend to the right , and rising a little therewith , cover it , and then terminate therein . So that they seem , by their action , which is contraction , to bring the right orifice nearer to the left , which is alwayes done in vomiting : which motion being continued somtimes even to the bottom of the Duodenum , both the Bile or Gall , and Pancreatic humor are pumpt up into the stomach , and thence ejected by vomit . On the Convex or outside , are likewise fibres of two sorts , tho' both circular . For some incircling the mouth of the stomach , where the Oesophagus ends , gird it about , and so close it : and others , incomparably more in number , incompass the whole Ventricle , tending from the upper parts , to the bottom , in parallel lines , and thence ascending again from the bottom to the top , like so many Zones or girths : so that when they are put into action , they must needs bring the bottom of the whole Ventricle nearer to the top , and the sides also nearer together , and so lessen the cavity thereof ; so that whatever is at that time contain'd therein , being rais'd upward and pressed on every side , can hardly evade being expelled by one of the two orifices , or by both ; as it often happens from violent irritations of the stomach , and alwayes in the Cholera . Now from these various orders of strong fleshy Fibres wherewith this Middle coat is garded , we may easily collect , that it was so fram'd by Nature , to be the principal instrument of the Peristaltic motion of the stomach , as well as to corroborate and defend it . The third or Inmost Membrane , is remotely different from either of the other two . For , in substance 't is , though not wholly nervose ( as most Anatomists have affirm'd ) yet much less fibrose , and less tenacious or tough , and consequently less extensible . Which seems to be the reason , why Nature has made it so much larger than either of the two coats that invest it , that when by their compressive motion or contraction , the cavity of the Ventricle is minorated , this falls into many wrinkles or plaits , and so remains till the Ventricle be again distended by repletion , and then all the wrinkles disappear : the largeness compensating the want of tenacity , and the wrinkles making it capable of equal extension with its fellows , without danger of rupture . Moreover , the inner surface of it is spongy or porose , and unequal ; as being cover'd with a downy veil consisting of threads exremely fine , and perpendicularly inserted into the coat , resembling the right side of velvet or plush . A singular artifice of Nature , and such wherein she seems to have had more than a single aim . For ( 1. ) This plushy lining serves to defend the coat from the injuries of solid and hard meats , which otherwise might , by their immediate contact , offend and irritate it . ( 2. ) It conduces somwhat to the firmer detention of the meat , and not yet perfectly concocted Chyle ; which otherwise , if the supersice of this coat were smooth and polite , would easily slip down too soon . ( 3. ) It helps to cover the extremities of the innumerable arteries and veins terminate in this coat , and so prevents the cruentation of it . ( 4. ) It makes way for the exsudation of humors brought thither with the bloud , by the arteries . For , in Man and all Carnivorous Animals , the Ventricle is alwayes found to be sinear'd all over within , with a certain slimy or pituitose humor , which sticks so fast to the inner or plushy surface of this Coat , as if it were a kind of vegetable growing out of the pores of it . Which Mucus or Phlegm , tho' an Excrement in respect of the whole mass of blood , from which it was by secretion separated ; is nevertheless of great use to the Ventricle into which it is excern'd ; and that in three considerable respects . ( 1. ) By lining the concave side of this inmost membrane with its mucilagineous substance , it serves to secure it the more from Cruentation . For though the stomach of a dead man , when invers'd , doth not appear bloudy , even after this Mucus hath been wiped or scrap'd off ; perhaps because the motion of the bloud is then ceas'd , and the cold of death hath shut up the pores by which it might wooz out : yet in the living , this Mucus cannot be wholly purged away , but cruentation will soon insue ; as is seen in the Dysenterie , and superpurgations by violent and corrosive Medicaments , in which cases bloudy stools happen , and yet without the rupture of any vessel , or exulceration of either Ventricle or Gutts . ( 2. ) The same Mucus conduceth to render the inside of this coat more slippery , so that it may more easily expell any offensive matter , upward or downward , as occasion requires . ( 3. ) By growing acid or sowre , it serves , both to excite hunger , and to facilitate the dissolution and fermentation of the meat and drink in the stomach . Of this Mucus much more might here be said , did I not foresee that I shall be obliged to resume it , when I come to inquire into the actions and uses of the Stomach . Meanwhile I must not omitt to observe , that the Convex side of this Plushy lining of the inmost Membrane thereof , is set thick with small Glandules : which Dr. Willis conjectured to be there placed , both to cover the mouths of the arteries and veins there terminated , and to receive and separate some humor , by way of percolation ; nor do I dislike that conjecture . We are now arrived at the two last of the proper constituent parts of the Ventricle , the Fibres and Parenchymata ; which will fully compensate our patience , if we fix our thoughts awhile upon the consideration of them . The various significations , and more various Etymologies of the Latine word , Fibra ( about which there has been no little hacking and slashing among Grammarians ) I willingly pass by ; and with Salmasius deriving it from the Aeolic 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which according to the interpretation of Hesychius , denotes a soft and slender thread ; take it , according to the use of Anatomists , to express a certain similar part , nearly approaching to the nature of a nerve , and continued to one , but much more slender : so that I am apt to believe it to be a single filament elonged from some nerve , after its division into many threads , each as fine as that spun by the Silk-worm , if not finer . The best description of it , that I have hitherto read , hath been given us by Dr. Glisson ( de ventric . & intestinis cap. 4. ) which I will therefore recite , as worthy to be known by those who have not perused that most elaborate Book , and to be revived in the memory of those who have . A Fibre is ( saith he ) a body in figure like a thread , slender , tenacious , tensil and irritable , made of a spermatic matter , and destined to some motion and strength . ( 1. ) In figure like a thread , i. e. oblong , round and smooth ; ( 2. ) Slender , as a Spiders thread ; ( 3. ) Tenacious , i. e. tough , or whose parts firmly cohaering , are not easily broken ; ( 4. ) Tensil , i. e. capable of being extended in length , the latitude the while diminish'd , and of being thickned in bredth , the longitude the while abbreviated ; ( 5. ) Irritable , i. e. such as may be by irritation excited to contract it self , and is naturally apt to relax it self again , when the irritation ceaseth ; ( 6. ) Made of a Spermatic matter , i. e. if it be a naked or simple fibre such as those of all the Muscles ; but if stufft with any parenchyma , perhaps then not made of only a spermatic matter , and such are all the fibres of the Ventricle and Gutts ; ( 7. ) Designed for motion and strength ; because being of a tough consistence , it cannot but add to the strength of a part ; and being capable of extension and contraction , it must therefore be destined to motion . This description , though true and plain , seems yet somwhat too narrow to comprehend the whole nature of Fibres generally consider'd . Let us therefore enlarge it by subnecting a few lines more , concerning the constitution , uses , action and passion of them . ( 1. ) The Constitution of a Fibre is either insita or influens , native or adventitious . The Native is again Similar , or Organical . The Similar consisteth in a mattar fitly disposed , in a just temper , corpulency , cohaerence of parts , tensibility , flexibility , continuity , hardness and softness . The Matter is wholly Spermatic , although sometimes it be stuff'd with a bloudy pulp , as is observ'd in the fibres within the Ventricles of the heart . Wherefore the native temperament of all fibres is cold and moist indeed , but enrich'd with delicate and noble spirits , however fixt : and consequently they require to be nourish'd with a spermatic aliment . The Corpulency or fleshiness of fibres is variable , somtimes greater , as in strong and laborious men ; somtimes less , as in weak , lean and sedentary . The Cohaerence of parts ought to be firm and tough , that they may be extended without danger of divulsion or rupture , and return to their natural posture , by spontaneous contraction , after extension . Their Flexibility depends , partly upon their tenacity , partly upon their middle constitution betwixt hardness and softness ; that they may be neither rigid or stiff , nor flaggy . The Organical native constitution of fibres , consisteth in their due situation , figure , magnitude and continuity ; all which are included in their former description . The influent constitution of them , is either Vital , or Animal . If the vital influx be deficient , the force and strength of the fibres soon languishes , as in swoonings and faintings . Yea , if it be but depraved , as in fevers , their vigour in a few hours decayes . If the Animal influx be intercepted , as in the palsy ; they quickly become languid and stupid : yea , if the brain and nerves grow dull and sluggish , the fibres at the same time grow flaccid and loose , unapt for vigorous motion . ( 2. ) The general Uses of all fibres are to corroborate the parts to which they belong , and to move them . The special uses are various , respective to their various formation in divers parts : as ( for instance ) in the Stomach and Gutts , they serve chiefly to their Peristaltic motion . ( 3. ) The Action of Fibres is either Common , or Proper . Common , when being invigorated , i. e. set on work by extension , which is against their nature , they pull and move the part to which they are connex'd ; as a chord pull'd by a mans hand , pulls a plummet or any other body fastned to it : but this seems to me to be , in strictness of truth , rather Passion , than action , in respect of the fibres themselves ; for , they suffer extension , being , notwithstanding their natural renitency , stretcht in length , by the pulling of the nerves from which they are elonged . Wherefore ( according to my weak judgment ) their Proper action is only Self-contraction , by which they restore themselves to their natural posture . A motion common indeed to all Tensil bodies whatever ; and therefore rightly term'd by Philosophers , motion of Restitution ; the cause whereof I take to be the strong cohaerence of the parts of which they are compos'd . If so , what need we amuse our selvs by striving to deduce the spontaneous Contraction of nerves and fibres , either from natural Instinct , which implying I know not what secret suggestion , pro re nata , from some forein cause , whether God , or His servant Nature , is to me unintelligible : or ( what is equally abstruse ) from Natural Perception , which supposes even inanimate things , yea every the least particle of matter in the whole Universe , to be naturally endowed with knowledge of what is good or evil to their nature , with appetites to embrace the good , and eschew the evil ; and with power to move themselves accordingly : faculties that my Philosophy will not grant to any but rational creatures ? ( 4. ) The Passion therefore of a Fibre , is the extension of it , which is a passive motion coming from a cause without the essence of the fibre it self . Which cause , unless it actually relax or stupesie the fibres , incites or irritates them to contract themselves : and the more violent the irritation , the stronger is the renitency and spontaneous contraction ; as is observ'd in convulsions . To me it seems impossible , that a simple fibre should by its own action alone extend it self in length : nor have I wit enough to conceive how this can be done : since all extension is a less or greater degree of force tending to the tearing asunder of the parts of the tensible body , against which divelling force the firm cohaerence of the parts makes it strive . And as for the Cessation of fibres ; that is when they neither act , nor suffer , but rest from all either extension or contraction , having restor'd themselves to their natural posture of laxity . This they attain to chiefly in sleep , when all fibres of the whole body , ( those that serve to respiration and the motions of the heart , only excepted ) are at rest , and thereby refresh'd , acquiring after labour and weariness , new strength and vigor , from the sweet , mild and balsamic juice dispensed to them from the brain by the nerves . After this concise survey of the fibres in the membranes of the Ventricle , there remains only their peculiar Parenchyma to challenge our observation : which it may with the greater right pretend to , because there are many who question whether it be real , or imaginary ; because the whole Ventricle being of a white color , seems therefore to be made up only of fibres and membranes . It concerns us then to be certified ( 1. ) Of the real existence , ( 2. ) Of the necessity , ( 3. ) Of the quality , and ( 4. ) Of the various uses of what we call the Parenchyma of the Ventricle , as a distinct part thereof . ( 1. ) To be assured even by our own eyes , that there is really such a thing ; we need only to essay the excarnation of the stomach , by laying it extended upon a plain bord , and then scraping it moderately hard with a blunt knife ; in the same manner as Sheep skins are scrap'd by those who make Velom and Parchment ; or gutts by those who make Sawciges . For , by this easie means , you may scrape off so great a quantity of soft white pulp , as will by nineteen parts of twenty exceed all that you leave behind of membranes and fibres , which will yet remain as strong and tenacious as they were before . Against which experiment , I see not what can be objected . For if the firm cohaerence of the fibres of the Stomach be not only not abolish'd , but not at all diminish'd , by this scraping away of the pulp that stufft them ; it follows , that the pure fibres , in which alone the strength of the stomach consists , still remain intire , and that nothing but the Parenchyma or pulp hath been taken away . From the same experiment it appears also , that the membrane and pure fibres of the Ventricle are in themselves pellucid or transparent ; as we see in the skins of Sawciges : and that they owe all their opacity to their stuffing with this Parenchyma . ( 2. ) Which is necessary to the constitution of the Stomach , in more than one respect . Necessary it seems to fill up and make smooth and plain the inequalities arising from the contexture of the fibres , which running various courses , and riding each over other somtimes , would otherwise render the surfaces of the membranes uneven . Necessary it is also to stop the pores of the Stomach , that it may hold liquors the better , and be stanch even to vapors and wind : as linnen cloth is made to hold water by dipping it into melted wax , oyle and turpentine , which fill up the void spaces betwixt the threads , in the same manner as this mucilaginous pulp fills up the interstices betwixt the fibres , and so makes the membranes impervious . Necessary it is to the augmentation and extenuation of the fibres themselves . For , the fibres of the Stomach , although seldom or never liable to fatness , are yet easily capable of plumpness and leanness . In men sick of a Consumtion , they are alwayes extenuated : in fat men , alwayes plump and thick . But these mutations could not so easily happen , if the fibres were not stuff'd with some pulp : for all Parenchymata are easily melted a way by degrees , but fibres not without great difficulty ; nor do I know any thing more apt to colliquate their substance , and destroy their tone , than Brandy and other corroding Spirits , how highly soever extoll'd by Chymists that distill them . We may see in men languishing of Hectic fevers , and ulcers of the lungs , the Tendons of the muscles remaining intire , when the pulp of them is in the mean time almost wholly consumed . Whence 't is evident , that the fibres , which are more easily obnoxious to augmentation and diminution than other solid parts , have much of a pulpy substance in their composition . ( 3. ) This pulp , if softned and diluted with water , is like a mucilage or gelly ; otherwise , tenacious , tensible , and strong , like paste : so as to be impervious to winds and liquors , though apt perhaps to imbibe the thinner and spirituose part of the Chyle . Different from the Parenchyma of the bowels ; and from that of the Muscles also : as being neither bloody , but white and spermatic ; nor congested into a mass , but spread abroad , like plaister , so as to bear extension and contraction together with the fibres ; part of it being stuff'd or cramm'd into the fibres , the rest dawbed upon and betwixt them , so as to fill up and plane their interstices . ( 4. ) Besides which two Uses , it seems to serve also to three others : viz. to the safe conduct of the Venae Lacteae proceeding from the Stomach , which probably have their roots in the parenchyma of the inmost tunic thereof , where the small Glandules observ'd by Steno and Malpighius , are seated : to the separation of the mucus or pituita emortua from the bloud brought by the arteries into the coats of the Ventricle ; of which we shall more opportunely inquire , when we come to the uses of the Stomach : and lastly to make way for a larger current of blood to pass through the membranes of the Stomach , than otherwise they and their pure fibres could through their substance transmitt . For , Fibres , by how much more firm and tenacious they are than the Parenchyma is , by so much more they resist the transition of the blood : and therefore if here were no Parenchyma , certainly the Ventricle would be irrigated with more slender streams of blood , and consequently colder than it ought to be . Whereas now no less than five conspicuous arteries discharge themselves into its coats . Certain therefore it is , that a more liberal afflux of bloud is requir'd to the constitution of the stomach , than seems possible to be transmitted through the naked membrane and fibres without this pulp . Having now at length finish'd ( I wish I might say , perfected ) my survey of all visible Elements , or constituent parts of the Ventricle ; I should proceed to the functions , actions and uses of it . But remembring that an empty Stomach hath no ears , and considering that it would be double wrong to you , should I at once starve both your bodies and your curiosity : I choose rather here to break off the thread of my discourse , than to weaken that of your life , by detaining you longer from necessary refection . ¶ . PRAELECTIO III. Of the ACTIONS and USES of the VENTRICLE . AFTER dinner sit a while ; is an old and good precept to conserve health . Let us then ( if ye please ) now observe it . And that we may repose without idleness , let us calmly inquire into the method , causes , and manner of Digestion : resuming the clew of our discourse where hunger and thirst brake it off , when it had brought us to that place , where we might most opportunely consider the ACTIONS and USES of the Ventricle , whose admirable Structure and various Parts we had so particularly contemplated , in order to our more accurate investigation of them . In this disquisition , Nature her self hath plainly mark'd out the steps wherein we are to tread ; having assign'd to the Ventricle eight distinct operations or actions to be perform'd in order successively . These Actions are ( 1. ) Hunger , ( 2. ) Thirst , ( 3. ) The Peristaltic motion , ( 4. ) Reception , ( 5. ) Retention , ( 6. ) Concoction , ( 7. ) Secretion , ( 8. ) Expulsion : each of which hath a peculiar Faculty respondent to it ; for every action in specie distinct , necessarily implies a distinct power . But because each distinct faculty , and the action respondent to it , are , though in reason different , yet in reality one and the same thing : I shall not treat of them separately , but describe them together under the more familiar name of action ; the rather because if we can be so lucky to find out the true reason of any one operation here specified , we need search no farther to know the nature of the faculty to which it belongs ; all mechanical operations conducting our understanding to the knowledge of the proper powers by which they are perform'd . Following then the order of Nature in examining these Actions , I begin from the first , viz. HUNGER . Among the many differences betwixt Plants and Animals , this is not the least remarkable ; that Plants are fixt by their roots which serve them also instead of mouth and stomach , in the earth , so that they remove not from their places in quest of nourishment : Unde facundiss . noster Entius ( in Antidiatribae pag. 5. ) Plantae , inquit , non sunt quidem gressiles , sed humo affixae , secum continuè habitant : quòd pluviâ solùm ac rore ( tenuissimo scilicet victu ) pascantur . Ideoque cùm ad rivulos potatum ire nequeant , expansis veluti brachiis , facundos imbres à Jove pluvio implorant : But Animals having their Stomach within their bodies , and sucking no juice immediately from the earth , are therefore forced to change their stations , and range from place to place to find food convenient for their sustenance . And because the capacity of their Ventricles and Gutts , is not so great , as at once to contain a quantity of food sufficient to maintain life for many dayes together ; necessary it is , they should often be recruited by eating fresh aliment . To obtain which , they must seek it : and to oblige them to seek it , they must be excited and urged by somthing within them to that quest : and to that excitation is requir'd an internal goad as it were , and that a sharp one too and irresistible , the inevitable necessity of their nutrition consider'd : otherwise they would neglect to supply themselves in due time with new sustenance , and consequently soon pine away , and perish . Now the goad that compells them to feed , is Hunger and Thirst ; the one urges them to seek meat , the other , drink : both by Aristotle express'd by the name of Appetite ; by Galen call'd Sense ; and by Dr. Glisson ( who from the singular goodness of his nature , took pleasure to reconcile the different opinions of the Antients ) more truly defin'd to be , Appetite of meat and drink , conjoyn'd with Sense of the want of them . For , impossible it is , an Appetite Sensitive should be excited to desire , unless there be represented to it an object to be desired . If therefore , according to Aristotle , hunger and thirst involve the Appetite of meat and drink , it praesupposes a sense of the absence of them . And granting a sense of them as things desirable , there is necessarily excited an Appetite of them . For , sense of want is of its own nature querulous and craving : and by how much more important to the conservation of life the thing wanted is , by so much the more urgently doth it stimulate the Appetite to crave it . Whence it follows of necessity , that hunger and thirst are both Appetite and Sense ; quod erat probandum . To dispell all umbrage of doubt that may arise from ambiguity of words , to eclipse this verity ; it concerns me to put ye in mind , that hunger and thirst are each of them taken in a double signification ; somtimes for the object of which the stomach is sensible , somtimes for the affect of the stomach by which its appetite is excited . In the former acception , by hunger or thirst is meant only the want of meat or drink in the stomach : in the later , a sense of that want , together with an appetite of one of the two . Now according to the former of these two notions , the truth is , neither hunger nor thirst can be either sense or appetite ; but the objective cause of both : but according to the later , each of them is both sense and appetite . And that this later is the most proper and commonly receiv'd notion , is evident even from hence , that frequently there is want of meat in the stomach , when there is no sense of that want , and then it is not call'd hunger : as in fevers , and after profuse vomiting . The same is confirm'd by that disease call'd Appetitus caninus , a Dogg-like appetite , in which tho' the Stomach be even surcharged with abundance of meat , yet still it craves more , and sends up to the imagination a sad complaint , that it feels hunger , and desires a farther supply of meat . We may therefore from both these opposite instances conclude , that Hunger doth properly signifie sense of want of meat ; and Thirst , sense of want of drink : and consequently that one includes Appetite of meat ; the other , Appetite of drink , to supply that want . But what kind of Sense is this by which the Stomach perceives the want of food ? Is it referrible to any of the five external senses ? Or do hunger and thirst constitute peculiar sorts of senses proper only to the stomach ? I answer , that the senses of hunger and thirst seem to have great cognation with the sense of Touching , as also with those of tasting and smelling ; and yet notwithstanding are , not only gradually , but specifically discrepant from every one of them . For , Faculties are in specie different among themselves , if they necessarily require absolute Constitutions in specie different , in which they may be founded . For a sensitive Faculty is really nothing else , but an aptitude of the sensorium to perceive : and this aptitude is of necessity diversified , if the absolute constitution , in which it is rooted , be divers . Now that the senses of Hunger and Thirst necessarily require an organ or sensorium in a peculiar manner framed , that they may therein be founded ; is sufficiently manifest even from this , that no part of the whole body , but the Stomach only , is sensible of the want of meat or drink . In the last degree of a Consumption , call'd Marasmus , in which all parts of the body are extremely emaciated , and in want of nourishment ; there is no part , but only the Stomach , touched with sense of hunger : and in a fever likewise , though almost all parts be parch'd and dried by heat , yet none feel thirst , but that to which the faculty of thirsting peculiarly belongs , which is the Stomach . Certain it is then , that to the founding of these peculiar Faculties , a peculiar constitution , whether similar , or organical , and such as is diverse from that in which the faculty of Touching is founded , is of necessity required : seeing that the sense of Touching is exquisite in many parts of the body , in which notwithstanding neither hunger nor thirst is ever felt . Wherefore the sense of Touching is of a different kind from those of hunger and thirst . Besides , the pain of the Touching is specifically different from the pain of hunger and thirst : as every man may observe in himself , if he compare the one with the other , either at divers times , or together , in the same organs : if he estimate them at divers times , he shall easily distinguish the gnawing trouble of extreme hunger , from exquisite pain of his stomach : yea it frequently happens , that vehement pain of the stomach prevents hunger , or extinguishes it ; and on the contrary , that hunger is then sharpest , when the stomach is free from pain . If he compare them when they are coincident , he shall even then perceive a manifest difference betwixt the pain of the stomach , and the craving sense of hunger . Nor is it indeed possible that these sensations should be not specifically discrepant each from the other ; because two Accidents of the same species cannot at the same time inhaere in the same subject : because one will necessarily drown the other . As for the senses of Smelling and Tasting ; true it is indeed , that they have somwhat more of affinity to hunger and thirst , than that of Touching hath ; for they both judge of the qualities of the meat and drink , before they are admitted into the stomach ; and hunger hath so powerful an influence upon them , that the tast and smell of the very same viands that are most grateful to an empty stomach , become loathsom to a full one : and yet notwithstanding this affinity , they are senses specifically different from both hunger and thirst , as is most evident even from hence , that they are founded by Nature in organs of peculiar constitutions , and accommodate to the perception of their proper objects . Constant therefore it is , that hunger and thirst are querulous senses , and specifically discrepant from all other senses , and peculiar to the Ventricle . Which is the proposition here examined . I add , that they are essentially different also one from the other , though seated in one and the same organ . But this position being much more nice and intricate than the former , requires us to consider them apart , that we may the more distinctly investigate the peculiar nature and proper essence of each . Begin we then from HUNGER ; inquiring ( 1. ) What is the Object of it , and ( 2. ) What the Constitutions of the Ventricle , wherein it is rooted . The OBIECT of Hunger is either absent , or present : the former of which is , not only specifically different from , but in some sort opposite to the later . For , the present object is displeasing and troublesom to the stomach : the absent , grateful , and when present , satisfactory . ( 1. ) The Absent object proper to hunger , I conceive ( with our most excellent Dr. Glisson ) to be that nutritive Succulencie or juiciness , which all wholsom meats contain in them more or less , and which being alterable , is apt to be changed into Chyle ; viz. a certain substance or matter , mild , tender , easily mutable , abounding in sweet and fixt spirits , not destitute of fatness , temper'd with a due portion of earth , and condited with some salt of its own . These are the qualities of that matter which I call succulent and nutritive , and which I hold to be the proper absent object of the faculty of feeling hunger . For , all aliments contain in them copious spirits , and those for the most part fixt ; which the stomach , by inducing fermentation upon them , excites , and brings to a certain moderate fluor , that they may more commodiously be thence transmitted into the milky veins , and become nourishment , partly to the bloud and vital spirits , partly to the spermatic and solid parts of the body . They all contein also some fat , more or less , in them ; which fat , as the Oracle of experience teacheth , is highly profitable to appease the importunity of hunger , and desirable for nourishment . In fine , they all contein also somwhat of salt and somwhat of an earthy substance ; and without the alloy of these two ingredients , neither could the spirits conserve their fixation , nor the fat its sweetness . Now this nutritive Succulency , the proper object of hunger , is said to be absent , not that it is perpetually so , or that it is not perceiv'd when it is present ; but only because in the principal action of the Faculty , namely hunger , from which the whole is denominated , it is really absent . Besides , the utility of things is better understood by the want , than by the full fruition of them : nor should we take notice , that the stomach perceives the meat contain'd in it , and is therewith appeas'd and satiated ; unless we were somtimes urged and molested by hunger upon the want of meat . However , most certain it is , that this Object , when present , is alwayes perceiv'd by the stomach with complacency and delight : and when absent , is much more esteem'd : and therefore the object , in hunger , is justly call'd absent ; and the whole Faculty as justly defined , Sense of hunger , and Appetite of meat . ( 2. ) The Praesent object , is that offensive and gnawing kind of pain that molesteth the Stomach , whensoever it wants and craves meat . The formal Reason of this ingrateful sensation , seems not to consist ( as our Master Galen , and the whole Schole of Physicians ever since his dayes have taught ) in a certain Suction ; for neither can any of the constituent parts of the Ventricle cause any such motion in it , nor can the Ventricle suck it self , because no natural Agent can do an action displeasing to it self : but to arise merely from Acid humors contain'd in the cavity of the stomach ; which by astriction , asperity , rosion , and fretting of the inmost membrane of the Stomach ( as if they endeavor'd to draw forth a tincture from it ) cause it to feel a kind of Vellication or gnawing , and to complain to the imagination of the want of that mild , sweet and nutritive Succulency , that is requisite to mitigate and extinguish that offensive Vellication , and to induce complacency in the room of it . And these Acid humors in this manner causing a sense of Vellication in the Ventricle , seem to be , partly the reliques of meat still remaining in the cavity thereof , partly the soure Phlegm brought with the arterial bloud into the inmost tunic of it , and there separated : of both which we shall have occasion ere long to speak more opportunely . Mean while , having thus concisely proposed to your more judicious examen , what seem'd to me most probable concerning the double object of Hunger ; I haste to the Constitutions of the Stomach , in which that offensive sense of want of meat is founded . These CONSTITUTIONS are ( according to the division of the parts of the Ventricle mentioned in my first Lecture ) either common , or proper . The Common are ( 1. ) The Temperament , ( 2. ) The firm Tone , ( 3. ) The Cavity , ( 4. ) The Asperity of the inmost coat , ( 5. ) The acute Sensation , and ( 6. ) The Porose or spongy substance of the same inmost coat of the Ventricle . Among these , the first place is due to the Temper of the Stomach ; upon the justice of which the natural vigor of this Faculty of craving meat , so necessarily depends , that if but the influent temper ( to praetermitt the insite or native ) happen to be deficient , or depraved ; the appetite soon comes to be impaired or vitiated accordingly . Of this we have an eminent instance in a fever , which no sooner invades , than it dejects all appetite of meat , inducing great thirst in the room of it : and the reason seems to be this , that by the febrile heat of the bloud brought into the inmost tunic of the stomach by the arteries , the acid ferment therein lodged is destroyed . For Acids ( ye know ) are apt to extinguish thirst , and all inflammations of the bloud augment it , by overcoming their acidity . The second is due to the firm Tone of the membranes and fibres of the Ventricle . For if this Eutonia of the whole organ be any way vitiated , the appetite of necessity more or less languisheth , flaggs , and vades : because the stomach , having its fibres relaxed , can neither contract it self enough to embrace the food it receives , nor be duely sensible of the complacency thence resulting . For , both the relaxation , and the infirm cohaerence of the tone of any part , very much diminish the vigor of it , and induce sluggishness and stupidity instead of it . How requisite to the excitation of a good appetite , the firmness of the tone of the stomach is , may be collected , not only from the experience of great Drinkers , who by excessive distension of the coats , by continual soaking the fibres , and by diluting and rinsing away the Acidum esurinum ( as Helmont calls it ) of the stomach ; have little or no appetite to wholesom and nutritive meats , and at length so ruinc the tone of the stomach , that they become insensible of hunger , and dye languishing , most commonly of Dropsies ( some of the Lymphaeducts being broken in their bellies ) or Consumptions from want of nourishment : but also from our own observation of the diminution of our hunger , in the heats of Summer , and the reviving of it in Winter . The reason of which remarkable alteration and vicissitude , seems to consist in this , that in the Summer , the whole body being as it were dissolved and enervated by immoderate heat , and the spirits continually exhausted by sweats and profuse transpiration , the tone of all parts becomes softer and more lax than it ought to be in the state of health ; and consequently the appetite of the stomach to solid meat , dwindles into thirst : but in Winter , when all parts are constringed and render'd more dense by cold , the appetite grows strong again , and craves more of solid meat to satiate it . Which doubtless was well understood by the wise Author of that vulgar Aphorism ( lib. 1. aphor . 15. ) Ventres hyeme & vere sunt natura calidissimi , somnique longissimi : iis igitur temporibus cibi accessio est adjungenda , &c. and which holds true also in hot and cold countreys compared together . This may be farther confirm'd from hence also , that as all remedies used by Physicians to relieve languishing stomachs , have somwhat in them of astriction ; as wormwood , roses , mint , coriander , quinces , pomegranates , and generally all acids : so all that soften and relax the tone of the stomach , weaken the appetite ; as syrup of Althaea , violets , conserve of mallows , oyl of sweet almonds , fat pottages , &c. The third constitution requisite to hunger , is a just capacity of the stomach . For , if the stomach were not hollow within , it could be neither sensible of emptiness , nor capable of repletion . If its cavity be not of a just magnitude , it can neither crave , nor receive a proportion of food necessary to supply the indigence of the body . Hence it is , that such who have the stomach less than is fit , are commonly subject to frequent vomitings after full meals : and that on the contrary , they who have wide and deep paunches , often eat more than they can digest , and so render themselves liable to surfeits . The fourth is , a moderate Asperity or roughness of the inmost membrane of the stomach . For , where this is wanting , as in the Lienteria it alwayes is ; there the appetite continually languishes , till it be wholly extinct . And all Lubricantia , or things that induce a complanation and slipperiness upon the inside of the Ventricle , whether they be alimenta or medicamenta , sensibly blunt the edge of hunger ; as Manna , Cassia , Elect. Lenitive , &c. as on the contrary , all things that conserve or increase the asperity of the lining of the stomach , as verjuice , unripe fruits , pomegranate flowers and rinds , &c. whet the appetite . The fifth is , an acute Sensation of the stomach . For , were the stomach a part endowed with a dull sense , how could it be sensible of the vellication of hunger ? 'T was not therefore without singular providence , that Nature made the inner superfice of the Ventricle extremely tender and delicate , and dispers'd so many nerves ( more than can be found in any other part ) upon the membranes composing it ; more particularly upon the superior orifice of it , where hunger seems chiefly to reside . And it hath been observed by Physicians , that in what maladies soever the nerves of the stomach are disaffected by relaxation , stupefaction , or diminution of the Animal influx from the brain ; in the same the appetite is equally injured and dull'd ; as in the Lethargy , inveterate Scorbute , Tabes dorsalis , &c. Manifest it is therefore , that an acute Sensation is requir'd to the perception of hunger . So is also ( in the sixth and last place ) a Porosity or spunginess of the inmost membrane of the stomach . For if the pores happen at any time to be fill'd up with the mucus or dead Phlegm separated from the bloud in that membrane , as usually they are in leucophlegmatic Virgins , and such as are troubled with the Green-sickness ; or dawb'd over with any viscous humor , and closed up , as in all scirrhose tumors of the Ventricle they always are : in either of these cases , the Appetite fails , the membrane ceasing to imbibe the Chyle . Hence most probably it is , that mints , red roses , marmalade of quinces , and other the like grateful Astringents , which are otherwise beneficial to the stomach , prove highly noxious , if used by those who have obstructions in it : when wormwood , wine , steel , and almost all Aperient remedies , in that case excite and revive the languishing Appetite . Evident therefore it is , that to complete the reason of Hunger , is requir'd at least a freedom of the inmost Tunic of the stomach from obstruction . Having thus run through the Common constitutions of the Ventricle , in which Hunger is necessarily rooted , we are arriv'd at the Proper : of which there are two Organic , and one Similar . Of the Organic , the first consisteth in the wrinkles and folds of the inmost membrane of the Ventricle , which being larger , and capable of greater distention than the two that invest it , cannot therefore be constringed by their contraction , without falling into wrinkles or folds . Now this Corrugation both augments the Asperity of the inner surface of this Tunic , and makes it more sensible of emptiness , which is a part of hunger , and such a part , without which the essence of hunger cannot be intire or complete : in both respects not a little conducing to the more easie and effectual perception of the vellication of the fibres by the Acid ferment . The other consisteth in the nakedness of the same superfice of the inmost membrane , which renders it more apt to perceive , both the ingrateful gnawing of the Acid humors , when it is empty ; and the grateful juice of meat , while it is replenish'd ; the very nerves lying bare to the touch of both . The Similar ( and last ) constitution proper , wherein hunger is founded , is a certain praedatory or devouring quality of the same inmost membrane of the Ventricle , consisting in an acid impraegnation , by which it is adapted to dissolve , melt , and ferment solid meats , so that being commixt with liquids , they are changed into a milky broth or Chyle . Here we find an eminent instance of that vulgar axiome , that Nature takes the most compendiose way to attain to the ends at which she aims , as often as is possible , designing one instrument to various effects . For , this very similar constitution , in which the faculty of hunger is chiefly founded , is the fundament also of the principal faculty of the stomach , the power of Concoction . And hence it is , that if at any time the Digestive power happen to languish , the Appetite also grows proportionably dull and weak ; and on the contrary , while that continues in vigor and full energy , this likewise is quick and sharp : as if they were two stalks shooting forth from , and dependent upon the same root , they thrive and decay together . True it is ( I confess ) that there somtimes occurr to the observation of Physicians certain anomalous cases , in which this confederation fails ; the Concoctive power of the stomach being much dejected and weakned , while the Appetite is but little diminished ; and on the contrary , the Appetite being weak , where the Digestion is good and laudable . But this faileur always happens where all the constitutions , in the syndrome or concurse of which the Appetite of meat is founded , are not coincident with that constitution , in which the power Digestive is rooted : in which case commonly men are greedy of , and cramm their stomachs with more meat , than they can digest , to the great detriment of their health , and the generation of crudities , the common seminary of many diseases , the origin of which is to be ascribed to the disproportion betwixt the forces of these two confederate powers , the Appetite and the faculty Digestive . Let those therefore , who have this Appetite in excess , to prevent the innumerable evils consequent to surfeits and crudities , observe the good old rule of rising from the table before they have satiated it : because in them , Satiety is not the measure of eating , as it is in others , in whom the faculties of hunger and concoction are ( as they ought to be ) aequivalent . For , according to the institute of Nature , This Satiety is a certain grateful cessation of the sense of hunger , arising from a perception of moderate repletion of the stomach with food . For , the stomach being replete , the sense of inanition immediately ceaseth ; because the inanition it self is then taken away . Besides , the succulency and nutritive benignity of the meat , foments as it were , and cherishes the nakedness of the inmost tunic of the stomach , mitigating the querulous sensation of it , and inducing a complacency in the room thereof : and at the same time , the sowr reliques of the former repast , and the Acid Phlegm in the stomach , being contemper'd by the mild and sweet juice of the meat , gnaw and vellicate the stomach no longer , but set themselves to act upon the newly receiv'd aliment , and by their acidity to melt and dissolve it . So doth also the Praedatory and Chylific quality of the stomach it self , having new matter whereon to exercise its corrosive and dissolving energie . So that upon this saturity or repletion , the stomach soon finds a kind of delightful satisfaction within it self , and by the mediation of its nerves , communicates that grateful sensation to the brain : and in this manner the industry of Animals , excited by the sharpness of hunger , and imploy'd in quest of nourishment , is when they have obtain'd it , fully recompensed with the pleasure of repletion . But the government of this mighty Prince , Hunger , is ( as other Empires ) liable to great and dangerous disorders , somtimes too remiss and dissolute , somtimes corrupt , and somtimes tyrannic : whence arise various diseases and symptomes that perturb , pervert , and not seldom also subvert the whole Oeconomy of the body . These may be commodiously refer'd , either to the Diminution , or to the Excess , or to the Depravation of Hunger : to Diminution , when the Appetite is less than it ought to be : which is commonly call'd , by the Graecs , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by the Latins , dejectio appetitûs , and by us , weakness or decay of appetite : and divided into Simple dejection , and dejection mixt with nauseousness or loathing . The former is varied by degrees , according to the less or greater laesion of the faculty , and the variety of the constitutions in which the same is founded ; as may be easily collected from the accompt I have given of those constitutions . The last degree of Diminution is named by some , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , prostratio appetitûs ; by others , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , fames planè abolita ; by others again , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , simplex carentia famis , but ( as hath been well observed by the most accurate Dr. Glisson ) improperly , because the word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies rather the cause driving away hunger , than the abolition of it . In this extreme debility , the Constitutions of the stomach proper to this faculty are so far infringed and hurt , that they neither perceive the inanition of the stomach , nor complain of the want of food . The later is subdivided into Nauseousness or loathing cum materia , whether meat lately eaten , or vitiose humors congested in the stomach ; and sine materia , when the praedatory constitution of the inmost membrane of the Ventricle , which consisteth ( as I have said ) in Acidity , is alienated from its nature and proper object ; as alwayes it is in fevers , the inflammation of the bloud being è diametro repugnant to that acidity , and inducing insatiable Thirst , in stead of moderate hunger . The vice opposite to this , is Augmentation or Excess of hunger ; which likewise afflicts in various degrees , the last of which , is distinguisht from the rest by the peculiar appellation , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , vehemens fames , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , appetitus caninus . In this exorbitant Affection , the praedatory quality of the Stomach is highly intended , and becomes outragious , even to cruelty : and for the same reason , the Acid phlegm , which the inmost membrane spews out into the cavity of the Ventricle , acquires a greater and sharper acidity , that even corrodes the nerves and fibres , like Worms incesfantly gnawing them . Hence the stomach is afflicted with great anxiety , and by reason of the excessive strength of its praedatory constitution , devours , digests , dissolves , dissipates and consumes whatever is brought into it in a trice , and when full , still craves more ; seldom ceasing , till surcharged , it be forced to eject , upward or downward , what it hath lately devour'd with insatiate greediness . If therefore any of the Virtuosi should interrogate me concerning the monstrose Voracity of some Gluttons , such as were Wood the great Eater of Kent , and Marriot ( whom most of the Seniors here present ( I believe ) knew , at least by sight ) I should venture to ascribe it , partly to the extraordinary amplitude of the stomach in such unhappy men ; for otherwise where can they have stowidge for so great a mass of meat , as they usually devour at a meal : but chiefly to a certain piercing and corrosive Acidity lodged in the cavity of the stomach , that both renders their hunger insatiable , and dissolves and consumes the meat almost as fast as they swallow it down . And this Conjecture seems to me the more probable , because Marriot himself more than once told me , that his Greedy worm ( as he call'd it ) first began to bite him , within two or three dayes after he had eaten a large break-fast of a salted gammon of Bacon . For , certain it is , that salt , though it retain its native favour , while it continues fixt , doth notwithstanding , when brought to the state of fusion , acquire acidity ; and that so much the more sharp and fierce , by how much the nearer it is , by fermentation or heat , advanced toward the state of volatility : nor is any thing more solenne to Chymists , than to draw out of salts distill'd , liquors acid and corrosive to the last degree , illustrous examples of which we have in the spirits of common salt , nitre , and vitriol . Why then may it not be supposed , that the like effect may be somtimes produced in the body of man ? that the great quantity of salt eaten by Marriot , being partly by the heat of his stomach , partly by fermentation therein made , brought to a state of fluxility ; and commixt with his bloud , be farther advanced to so high a degree of volatility , as to become extremely corrosive ? If this be supposed possible , 't will not be found unreasonable to guess , that the Mucus or pituita emortua spew'd out by the arteries into the inmost tunic of his Ventricle , and impraegnate with corrosive Acidity , might be the principal cause of his excessive Appetite , and of the quick dissolution and consumption of whatever he devour'd . So that in strict truth , his stomach , not he , was the great Eater ; or rather the corrosive acidity of humors contein'd in his stomach . The third enormity incident to this faculty , is Depravation of appetite , call'd in the general , Pica , in women with child , Malacia : seldom afflicting men , frequently women , and among these such chiefly who have either the green sickness , or great bellies ; and proceding in them à suppressis Catamenus . Which stagnating circa uterum , and acquiring a peculiar kind of corruption ; when they have therewith infected the whole mass of the b'oud , leave such a vitious tincture in the Mucus or dead Phlegm thereof , separated from the b'oud in the inmost coat of the stomach , as that from thence arises a perverse hunger , not of good and wholesom meats , but of things absurd and uncouth , such as chalk , loam , charcoal , ashes , unripe and austere fruits , turfs , and other the like trash . If I do not persue this extravagant Appetite farther in this place , 't is not because I have no more to say concerning the Conjunct Cause of it ; but because the Law of decency obliges me to be reserv'd , where the Argument belongs only to the knowledge of the grave Physician , who alone is priviledg'd to philosophize chastly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Contenting my self therefore with what hath been said concerning the first Action of the Ventricle , Hunger ; I proceed to contemplate the nature of the Second , viz. THIRST . ¶ . The Faculty of THIRST is also necessary to nutrition , as respecting the Vehicle of solid aliment , whereby it is diluted , and reduced into a thin and liquid substance , call'd Chyle . Yea more , a Vehicle is requisite also in respect of the Bloud , which would be of too thick a consistence , and unfit to perform its circuits round the body , if it were not now and then diluted by fresh supplies of drink : nor could this Vital Nectar be commodiously purged and defaecated from various impurities and excrementitious parts , namely the Bile , salt , tartar , and mucus ; unless it were daily rinsed as it were with a sufficient portion of thinner liquor . For , it is by the help of our drink alone , that the saline and earthy excrements of our bloud are driven out by urine . Ye may add yet another use of liquids suggested first by Sr. G. Ent ( in Antidiatribae pag. 28. ) in these words ▪ Quo chyli pars tenuior expeditius [ è ventriculo per oesophagum , per viam filtrationis , ad cerebrum ] sursum ascendat , humectatione opus est ; quemadmodum in filtratione usu venit : atque hinc etiam potandi necessitas ; sicca enim ascensum hujusmodi frustrantur . Ideóque ardente febre correpti , quibus lingua faucésque arent , subitò macrescunt . And these are the principal reasons that seem to have induced Nature to institute thirst , or Appetite of drink , in all Animals . That this Appetite of drink is seated in the Ventricle , as in its subject , can not be denyed : but that it is confined to the Ventricle only , can not be granted . ( 1. ) Because drink receiv'd into the stomach , doth not always mitigate thirst : and therefore that part of thirst that remains after a competent quantity of drink , must reside in some other parts vicine to the stomach . For , it is unconceivable that the stomach , when replete with cold and moist , should still feel and complain of want of both . ( 2. ) Because they who in fevers are tormented with insatiable thirst , complain not so much of heat in the stomach , as driness and parching of their tongue , throat and gullet . Nay they find more alleviation and relief from frequent washing of their mouths and throats with fountain water , small beer , and other convenient liquors ; than from all the cold drink they can pour in . The like solace they find also from holding in their mouths , such things as any way promote the flowing forth of the Humor Salivalis or spittle , though they be neither actually cold nor moist in themselves ; such as Prune stones , polisht Crystal , pieces of gold ( all which by their weight and pressure upon the tongue , further the profusion of the spittle ) and sal prunellae , which detain'd only in the mouth , and there slowly melted , palliates the thirst . We may therefore conclude , that the adaequate subject of thirst includes not only the Stomach , but the gullet also , and the throat , with the tongue : all which are cover'd with one and the same membrane , and must therefore sympathize . The OBIECT of this faculty is ( as of Hunger ) twofold , Absent , and Praesent . The Absent Object is in the general , whatsoever liquor is fit to be drunk , and to satisfie thirst . For we thirst after Wine , Water , Beer , Ale , Whey , Cydre , and any other delectable juice or tincture whatsoever . But to render any of these , or any other Potulent matter , the genuine and formal object of thirst , are requir'd these Conditions following . ( 1. ) That it be liquid , or fluid , like water . For solid bodies are unapt to quench thirst , unless they be such as may be melted or dissolv'd in the mouth , or by irritation cause the glandules of the mouth to discharge the spittle sooner or more copiously , than otherwise they would do : which is but to abate thirst by accident , as a pipe of Tobacco somtimes doth , only by bringing rheum down , that moistens the mouth . ( 2. ) That it be Humid or moist also , at least effectively . For certainly whatsoever potulent matter appeases thirst , doth some way or other moisten the parts that were dry and thirsty before . Vinegre and Sal prunellae , though in some respect they may be said to be cold and dry ; yet being taken into the mouth , may be nevertheless allowed to mitigate thirst , in so much as they dissolve the viscid and adust humors adhaering to the surface of the tongue , and open the sluices of the spittle , that were before obstructed . ( 3. ) That it be thin , penetrating , and in some sort cutting or sharp . Thin it must be , to irrigate the thirsty parts the sooner : but not too thin , lest it slide away before it hath moistned them , which perhaps is the reason , distill'd waters , without any other mixture , are ineffectual to quench thirst : but a little thickned with cooling syrups , and contemper'd with acids , they make good julebs to that purpose . It must be penetrating also , and sharp or acid , to insinuate the deeper into the membrane which is the seat of thirst , and moisten more than the superficial parts thereof . For , daily experience teaches , that thick , viscid , sweet and heavy drinks , rather increase than abate thirst . It appears then , that the formal reason of drink , in respect of which it is said to be the absent object of thirst , doth consist in its fluidity , humidity , moderate tenuity , and aptitude to penetrate and cutt . If any accuse me of forgetfulness , for that I have here omitted to list coldness among the qualities of drink most convenient to extinguish thirst ; I intreat such to take notice , that I did it ex professo : dissenting from this opinion of the Peripatetics , that the absent object of thirst , is frigidum & humidum . For , in the Schole of experience I have learn'd , that drinks actually hot quench thirst , as well as actually cold ; witness those many hundreds of men now living in this City , who alwayes warm their ordinary drink , and yet are seldom or never molested with inordinate thirst . And as for drinks potentially hot ; many of them also mitigate thirst : as several sorts of wines , as well strong and generous , as weak and subacid ; as also strong beer , and Hydromel . Notwithstanding these observations I deny not but liquors , whether actually or potentially cold , caeteris paribus , are to be preferr'd by men in health , as to the extinction of thirst . The Manner how we become sensible of thirst , seems to be , not positive , but negative or privative . For the parts in which thirst is placed , perceiving themselves to be drier than their natural constitution requires , transmit to the brain , by the nerves , their sense of the want of convenient liquor to moisten and relieve them : and this sense of want being thus propagated to the internal sense , whose organ is the brain , instantly stimulates it to desire and seek after drink , to supply that want . The Praesent Object , that causes the sensation of this defect of moisture in the external organ , and more urgently soliciteth the phantasy than the Absent object doth ; consisteth in the adventitious and offensive driness of the membrane investing the stomach , gullet , throat and tongue . Which being ordain'd by nature to be perpetually irrigated with a certain mild humor ; whensoever that irrigation fails , immediately perceives its natural constitution to be changed , and communicates that ungrateful perception to the nerves , and by them to the brain . But this Driness which we conceive to be the praesent object of Thirst , is not so much a superficial siccity ( though that also is perceiv'd ) as a profound and internal in the membrane therewith affected : and in that very respectclearly differs from that external siccity , that falls under the perception of the sense of Touching . For the Touch judges indeed of driness , but only as of an object occurring from without , not as of an intrinsecal affection of its own organ , wherewith it is profoundly altered . And hence may be collected that conspicuous and evident distinction between the sense of Thirst , and the sense of Touching . The Touch perceives the superfice dry or moist , of another body : the sense of Thirsting , on the contrary perceives the internal and profound driness of its own organ , the membrane in which it resides . For example , a man in a burning fever , may with his finger feel the driness and asperity of his tongue ; but not his thirst : nor is the finger , or any other part of the body , howsoever dry and parch'd , ever sensible of thirst , but only the membrane to which Nature hath confined the sense thereof . Nor doth this membrane perceive thirst by the same sense of Touching , by which it feels external objects that touch it , but by a certain faculty proper and peculiar to it self . Wherein then doth that peculiar Faculty consist ? Certainly in the syndrome or confederation of its Constitutions . These CONSTITUTIONS ( as those in which Hunger is founded ) are either Common or Proper . The Common are ( 1. ) Exquisite sensibility , ( 2. ) Tenderness , ( 3. ) Mobility , ( 4. ) Permeability , ( 5. ) Cleanliness of the membrane or proper organ . The Proper are the native moistness , the proclivity to driness , and impatience of bearing that driness without anxiety , of the same membrane . Of each of which Constitutions I shall speak singly , but briefly . ( 1. ) That the Organ of Thirst is of delicate sense , is evident even from this , that it is endowed also with the faculties of touching and tasting : for needs must that part be exquisitely sensible , which is the subject of three several senses . It was not then for nothing , that Nature made it nervose , and furnish'd it with plenty of nerves . ( 2. ) That Tenderness or softness ( which is a quality very near of kin to sensibility ) also is competent to it , is manifest to the Touch ; and from hence , that if it were not easily alterable , by reason of its fine and delicate contexture , it could not so familiarly be affected by simple driness , which is otherwise but a dull and sluggish quality . ( 3. ) Mobility also , i. e. flexibility and tensibility , is requisite to the same membrane , in some sort . For , the subtle motions of the tongue and palate , are sufficiently known from the very articulation of letters ; those of the Gullet , from the deglutition of meat and drink ; and those of the stomach , from its repletion , inanition , ructation , vomiting , &c. And this constitution of it also is hurt by driness . ( 4. ) The Permeability or porosity of this membrane , is in the tongue , palate and throat very conspicuous , as well from the many little asperities every where discernable in it , which adapt it to spew out into the mouth , the spittle which the glandulae sublinguales brings into them : as from this , that ( like a sponge ) it imbibes and retains any moisture put into the mouth . And in the stomach too the same porosity is no less evident from the acid phlegm that is daily emitted from the arteries through this membrane , as it were by way of exsudation , into the cavity of the Ventricle . ( 5. ) Cleanness also is requisite to the constitution of this membrane . For , in the state of health , it is not polluted with any sordid excrements or impurities , nor obstructed with humors sticking in the pores of it , nor discolour'd with any adventitious tincture , but alwayes neat and clean . And these are the five common qualifications required in the organ of Thirst. Of the three Proper , the first is a certain natural Mador or moderate moistness : for a perpetual supply of which Nature has placed in the mouth , six conspicuous fountains , the two ductus Salivales , the two Tonsills or almonds , and two rivulos catarrhales bringing moisture from the brain : and not thinking those enough , she hath superadded innumerable glandulose Asperities in the tongue , palate and throat , which also with their dew contribute to the perpetual irrigation of this membrane . And therefore this may be reputed , the fundamental Constitution , in which the faculty of Thirsting is grounded , and upon which the two following are superstructed , as complemental additions . The Second , Proclivity to exsiccation , if it be not ever now and then refresht with moisture . For the heat in the stomach and gullet , and the vicinity of the heart , contribute much to this arefaction : and in the mouth and throat , the driness of the air inspired , and the heat of the breath expired , concurr to the same effect . But above all these causes , the descent of the Chyle , and Venae Lacteae , introduce driness upon the stomach , by exhausting the liquors out of it , and consequently by renewing the want of fresh drink , to supply the Universal Latex serosus , which failing , the sources of the Glandulae Salivales , and other fountains of moisture in the mouth , must soon be exhausted . No wonder then , if the natural moisture of this membrane , unless now and then recruited , be apt to fail , and arefaction soon succeed into the room of it . The third and last , is a certain impatience of driness , without a querulous sensation of it . For , since this membrane ought , according to the institute of nature , to be alwayes moistned ; and yet notwithstanding is , for the reasons newly alleged , apt to be left destitute of its natural moisture ; and since it is , as I have already evinced , of acute sense : it follows of necessity , that it can not but be sensible of , and impatiently tolerate driness , which is so repugnant to its natural constitution . And so at length have we attain'd to the knowledge of the reason of Thirst , and of the manner of its Sensation . And as for the various degrees of it ; they arise from the various degrees of exsiccation , and the shorter or longer continuation thereof . Having thus found , both the formal reason , and the proxime cause of Thirst ; it follows , that we inquire into the remote Causes of the same . These therefore may be all referr'd to six heads , whereof four are General or more remote , and the other two Particular and less remote . The General Causes are ( 1. ) Too long abstinence from drink , ( 2. ) Immoderate heat of the body , and chiefly feverish distempers of the bloud , ( 3. ) Defect of the general Latex serosus , ( 4. ) Diversion of the same Latex from the organ of thirst , to other parts . The Particular are ( 1. ) Defect of the Latex in the Glands that serve particularly to supply the membrane with moisture , and ( 2. ) The depravation of the same Latex by qualities aliene from its natural constitution . Each of which causes I should particularly have explain'd , had I not consider'd , that a simple enumeration of them may be sufficient to the Learned part of my Auditors , and that I want time fully to explicate them to the rest . Trusting therefore in the memory of those , and the equity of these ; I here conclude my jejune discourse of the second action of the Ventricle , Thirst ; and following the clew of my method , pass to the third , viz. The PERISTALTIC or COMPRESSIVE MOTION of the Stomach . The appetites of hunger and thirst being satisfied , the Ventricle pleas'd with that relief , closely embraces the newly receiv'd meat and drink on all sides , spontaneously contracting it self into a narrower compass , and thereby lessning its cavity , so as to compress the contents : and this spontaneous contraction is therefore by Galen named in his language , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , motus compressivus circumquaque ; as the faculty or power by which the action is perform'd , is call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Facultas circum-constrictiva . The same Faculty is well defined by Gorrhaeus ( a faithful Interpreter of Galen ) in these words ; est quae alimentum attractum arctè complectitur , quò meliùs concoquatur ; ministra est virtutis retentricis , atque inde concoctricis . But this definition , though convenient to the nature of the thing , so far as it extends , and to the notion Galen seems to have had of it : is notwithstanding too scanty to comprehend the formal reason of the Faculty , or to explain the Manner of its operation . Let us therefore seek farther , in hope at length to discover both . To found this Peristaltic Power in the stomach and gutts ( for we are not now considering any other of the various cavities in the body , all which are also endowed with the like power ) five things are of necessity requir'd , viz. ( 1. ) A Cavity or receptacle , ( 2. ) Matter contain'd in that Cavity , ( 3. ) Tunics or membranes invironing the same , ( 4. ) Fibres to gird or constringe those membranes , ( 5. ) Distinct orders , and different texture of those fibres . For , in what part soever these five constitutions are concurrent , as they certainly are found in the Ventricle and gutts ; that part hath a just and clear title to a Peristaltic power , and may exercise it whenever occasion requires . But the two last constitutions are those in which the power is principally founded : the Fibres alone being the active cause of the compressive motion ; and the different orders and texture of them , the causes of the differences of the same motion . Our business therefore must be , to inquire chiefly into the actions of the several orders of Fibres formerly described by us in the Tunics of the Ventricle , from the variation of which the various kinds of this compressive motion receive their distinction . This Motion then is observed to be threefold , ( 1. ) Downward , ( 2. ) Upward , ( 3. ) Partly downward , and partly upward : and the last sort is subdivided into ( 1. ) That which is perform'd with a certain Luctation or strife , and ( 2. ) That which is perform'd , not only without strife , but with a kind of sport . Besides these differences , there are yet others subordinate to them . The Peristaltic motion with strife , is either equal , and then it may be call'd Tonic or Aequilibrate ; or unequal , and then it is in the yielding fibres , repressing and inverting ; in the prevailing , the Peristaltic motion inverted . The Sportive motion is , from its use , call'd , the distributive motion of the Chyle . Moreover all those different sorts of the Peristaltic motion have their various degrees , by which also they are remarkably discriminate among themselves : as being somtimes robust , somtimes languid ; one while torpid and sluggish , another while vigorose and quick ; somtimes placid and sedate , somtimes turbulent and tumultuous . And in handling all these , we are to consider the manner of the conspiracy and co-operation of three orders of fibres : beginning from the Peristaltic motion downward , which in the order of nature is praecedent to the motion upward ; because the matter moved must first descend into the cavity of the stomach , before it can be therein agitated hither and thither . Not that this motion is to be understood to be downward in respect of the Centre of the Earth , but of the ductus or passage continued from the mouth to the fundament . This Peristaltic motion downwards being sensibly perform'd in the swallowing down of meat and drink , in the descent of the Chyle , and exclusion of the excrements , is sufficiently demonstrated from those actions : and perform'd by virtue of all sorts of fibres . First , By contraction of the Transverse fibres , which like Zones , making intire circles , must by shortning themselves , make less circles , and consequently by drawing the cavity they gird into a narrower compass , compress and squeez out the matter therein contain'd , upward or downward . Supposing then , that they begin their contraction from above , as about the upper orifice of the stomach ; 't is necessary they should depress or squeez down the matter contain'd in the cavity of it . For , the inferior fibres are supposed to be not yet vigorated or put into action , but to give way , and to suffer distention from the matter contain'd : and this very distention it is , that causes them to act by restoring themselves to their natural state of moderate laxity . So that by this means the inferior fibres being successively excited to persue this motion from above downward , contract themselves successively , till they thrust the matter contein'd quite out of the cavity that conteined it . Secondly , Of the Right fibres , which also conspire to this Peristaltic motion downward . For , so soon as the Transverse contract themselves from above , they compress the Right contiguous to them , and thereby incite them to contract themselves upward , by the spontaneous endeavor of restitution ; so that they pulling the sides of the cavity upward , cause it to forsake the matter contein'd , and by that means promote the descent of it . For in this case , it is all one , whether the matter contein'd be depress'd , or the cavity conteining be drawn upward from it . And this subduction of the cavity or ductus from the matter contein'd , answers successively to every descendent contraction of the Right fibres , until the matter be brought thither , whither Nature ordein'd it should be detruded . Wherefore this complex motion of Transverse and Right fibres , may be not unfitly compared to motion of Earthworms crawling upon the ground . They take hold of the surface of the ground with their foreparts , which are to that end furnish'd with little circular asperities , and then shortning themselves in the middle , draw up their hinder parts towards their foreparts , and so slide over the ground . Exactly so do the Right fibres withdraw the sides of the ductus from the matter contein'd in it . Thirdly , By the contraction of the Oblique fibres , which contribute their help too to this Peristaltic motion downward . For , as they obtain a middle situation betwixt the Tranverse and Right , so they perform a middle Action : partly depressing the contein'd matter , partly drawing the sides of the cavity upward ; so cooperating with the Transverse fibres , in the depression of the matter , with the Right , in the retraction of the cavity . And in this manner all three orders of Fibres seem to concurr to the performance of the Peristaltic motion downward . To which the motion Upwards being contrary , and effected by the concurrent constriction of the very same fibres ; the Manner of it must be contrary , viz. by inversion of order . For , if the contraction of the Transverse fibres begin from below , and proceed upward , they must press the matter that they gird , upward : and the Right at the same time put into action first from below , must draw down the sides of the cavity from the matter therein contein'd , and consequently help to impell it upward . And as for the Oblique ; they , as in the former motion , partly assist the action of the Transverse , and partly promove that of the Right . So that this Peristaltic motion from below upwards , is ( as I said ) coincident in all things with the motion from above downward , unless it be that the order of moving is inverted , and the terms of the motion contrary . The two contrary Peristaltic motions being thus explain'd , 't is easie to comprehend the reason and manner of the Mixt motion , which is partly downward , partly upward ; and belongs only to the stomach and gutts . Of this , the most acute Dr. Glisson hath observ'd three different species ; two with luctation , and a third delightsom : all to be also ascribed to the same three orders of Fibres ( for , as ye may remember , there are no more ) but moved in different manners , and more complexly . First , If it happen , that fibres near in situation to , but sufficiently distinct from each other , superiors and inferiors , set upon the work of Peristaltic motion together ; and that some by compression squeez the contain'd matter downward , others urge it upward : in this case , there must arise , in stead of a concurrence , a luctation or contention of the two mutually repugnant forces , and the Peristaltic motion must be Laboriose . Secondly , That this Luctation may be determined to aequality , or inaequality , 't is requisite the forces or devoirs of the fibres contending , be aequal or unaequal accordingly . To equality of the forces , are requir'd on both sides circular fibres shutting or closing the ductus or cavity . For , if the matter contein'd , should freely slip away , the scope at which Nature aim'd , when she instituted this motion , would certainly be frustrate , viz. the Retention of the aliment . Which great inconvenience she foreseeing , wisely provided against it , by placing strong circular fibres about each of the two Orifices of the stomach ; which seems to be the reason , why in the stomach , and only in the stomach , this luctation is naturally found Aequal . I say , naturally ; because there may happen to be in the Gutts also the like Aequality , when they are obstructed both above and below at the same time , so that the matter contain'd in the intermediate space can not be propell'd either upward or downward : but this case is very rare , and preternatural . Notwithstanding this aequal contention be peculiar to the two Orifices of the stomach , we are not to imagine it to be so constant , but that somewhat of the Chyle , during the act of Concoction , or part of the drink also , chiefly if it be spirituose , may now and then slip out through the Pylorus , being urged by the delightsome strife of the fibres intermediate between the two orifices . We may therefore conclude , that this Peristaltic motion proper to the stomach , is rooted , chiefly in the Annular fibres of its two Orifices , and partly in the fibres intermediate between them : and we may define the same to be a close comprehension of the meat in the stomach , so aequilibrate , that the meat can neither slip thence either upward or downward praematurely , nor remaining there fluctuate . But many times there happens as well in the stomach , as in the gutts , an Unaequal and fluctuating Peristaltic luctation ; as may be inferr'd from slow and difficult Concoction , from wind pent in , from a laborious distribution of the Chyle , and many other Hypochondriac affects . And in this motion also , as in the former , the contending fibres are Antagonists , the superior striving on one part , the inferior on the other : those endevoring to thrust down the matter contein'd , these to impell it upward ; but with unaequal forces : whence it comes , that the matter is agitated up and down by a kind of fluctuating motion : and therefore this Unaequal contention is rightly enough call'd a Peristaltic motion Fluctuating . Commonly it praecedes , and portends eructation , vomiting , praemature descent of the Chyle , torments of the Gutts , colic pains , fluxes of the belly , and the like symptoms , arising from offensive irritation of the fibres of the stomach and gutts . The fibres concern'd in this turbulent motion , may be divided into two parties , the Praevailing , and the Yielding . The Praevailing fibres do , not only suppress , but also invert the Peristaltic motion of the yielding ; yea more , they persue their victory , till either other fibres rise up and repell the force of the former , or they themselves , the irritation by little and little ceasing , become quiet of their own accord . To explain this by an Example ; in the fluctuation of the stomach , if the Peristaltic motion begin about the upper orifice , it proceeds thence to the fibrose neck of the lower , and is there , by reason of the strength of those fibres , repress'd and inverted : then the motion ascends by degrees to the upper orifice , where it is again repress'd and inverted downward ; nor doth the fluctuation cease , till the wind be by belching discharged , or the cause of the irritation , whatsoever it be , expell'd , whereupon the contending fibres are appeas'd , and the warre comes to an end . In like manner , if in the gutt Ileum the Peristaltic motion begin about the Colon , and drives the matter contein'd in the Ileon upward ; the motion is hardly repress'd , till part of the matter be brought up to the fibrose neck of the Pylorus ; and then it is not only stopp'd , but inverted . The same may be conceived to happen in the Colon & intestinum Rectum , in which the two terms of the motion are the Valve of the Colon , and the Sphincter of the fundament . The Third and last kind of the Mixt Peristaltic motion , is that which distributes the Chyle , and which is rather placid and grateful to both stomach and gutts , than tumultuous or offensive . The manner of this subtile and complex motion may be conceiv'd from an inspection of the gutts of an Animal newly kill'd , and opened while some reliques of the vital heat are yet remaining in them . For one shall see the Gutts variously shortning , wrigling and wresting themselves , like a heap of Earthworms crawling some over others , and striving as it were to creep upward and downward by turns ; but without a directing faculty . Now the use of this admirable motion is double , viz. ( 1. ) An aequal distribution of the Chyle and other matters contein'd in the stomach and gutts , ( 2. ) The Agitation of the Chyle it self . For , all things admitted into the stomach and gutts , require an equal distribution in them ; but the Chyle requires also a peculiar agitation , that it may be in all parts of the gutts brought home to the very mouths of the Venae Lacteae . Finally , as for the Gradual Differences of the Peristaltic motion ; they are either simple or complex . The Simple arise from the strength , irritability , and actual irritation of the three orders of fibres ; and therefore cannot exceed the number of three . For , from the strength of the fibres , the Peristaltic motion is said to be strong , moderate , or weak : from the various degrees of their irritability , it is named quick , moderate , or sluggish : from the greater or less actual irritation , it is call'd tumultuous , moderate , or sedate . The Complex proceed from the various combinations of the Simple , and therefore may be collected from our praecedent descriptions of the same . Let this therefore suffice concerning the Peristaltic motion of the Ventricle and gutts ; and let us progress to that which many excellent Men , in imitation of Galen , have call'd , the Attractive Faculty of the Stomach . ¶ . In hunting after Verity in the works of Nature , they are of all men most liable to error , who neglecting the use of their own sagacity , and shutting the eye of reason , follow the cry of Autority , and run on in the tract of their Leaders , without stopping to examine whether it be right or not . Of this , we here are fall'n upon a remarkable example . For , some Anatomists , neither few in number , nor of obscure name , blindly adhaering to the opinion of their Predecessors , as Geese go in a file to the water , have rashly ascribed to the stomach , I know not what Attractive Faculty , by which they imagined the meat and drink to be drawn into it , as iron is by the Vulgar believ'd to be drawn by a Loadstone : placing this power ( forsooth ) in the Right fibres thereof ; than which it is not easie to find a grosser absurdity . For , this supposed Power is neither necessary , nor probable . ( 1. ) Not necessary ; because all meat and drink is brought into the stomach by Deglutition or swallowing alone ; and that action is performed ( as we have formerly demonstrated ) not by way of Attraction , but depression and protrusion . What need is there then of Attraction to do the same work ? or is it the custome of Nature to multiply faculties to no purpose ? ( 2. ) Not Probable ; because perhaps there is really no such thing in nature as Attraction ; all motions thereto ascribed , being more truly referrible to simple impulse . And if there were , the Attraction here imagined , must be either Similar , or Organic . But that there is no Similar Attraction in the case , is manifest even from this ; that Similar Attraction supposes a certain congregation or spontaneous concurse of things like to their like : but betwixt the meat and the stomach is , neither spontaneous coition , nor similitude ; nay , somtimes it happens , that by deglutition are brought into the stomach things highly ungrateful , and unlike to it , as purging medicaments . Whence we may safely conclude , that the admission of things into the Ventricle is not perform'd by virtue of Attraction Similar , but only of swallowing . And as for Attraction Organic ; here are no instruments fit to effect it . These Authors indeed are pleas'd to affirm , that the Right fibres draw down the meat : but they have omitted to shew how . Have these fibres hooks to take hold of every bit of meat that comes into the mouth ? can they , like chords , pull it down ? Should these Litterati seek refuge in the old Peripateric dream of attraction ob fugam vacui , they could not defend this their opinion : ( 1. ) Because that fantastic Sanctuary hath long since been demolish'd ; ( 2. ) Because the Stomach can not possibly form any such cavity , as is requisite to introduce a competent vacuity . For , if it contract its fibres on all sides , it must of necessity diminish its cavity : and if it relax them , the sides of it instantly flagging , come together : in both postures excluding vacuity . In fine therefore , seeing this Attractive Faculty ascribed to the Ventricle , is neither necessary , nor explicable either by the hypothesis of Similar attraction , or by mechanic principles , or by the Aristotelean supposition of Natures abhorrence from vacuity : what remains to support it ? Certainly nothing , but the credulity of those servil spirits , who choose rather to err with their Teachers , than to recede from them ; as if Philosophical doctrines were , like the principles of Religion , not to be examined , but implicitely believ'd . Let us then wholly expunge this Attractive power out of the list of Faculties belonging to the Stomach , not only as fictitious , but absurd also and impossible . This was well understood by our incomparable Dr. Glisson , who thereupon endevor'd , instead of this imaginary faculty of attraction , to substitute another less improbable , which he call'd the Receptive faculty of the Ventricle ; defining it to be , a certain aptitude of the stomach , by which it relaxes its fibres , and inlarges its cavity , to receive meat and drink brought into it , without reluctation : and the Reason that induced him so to do , is this ; that whenever the stomach dislikes the thing to be swallow'd , the act of deglutition is perform'd with difficulty , and accompanied with nauseousness and great aversation : but on the contrary , things grateful to the stomach , though bitter perhaps and unpleasant to the Taste , are yet easily swallow'd , and receiv'd by the stomach with complaisance and delight . Nevertheless , such ( I acknowledge ) is the dulness of my brain , that I do not yet comprehend the necessity of this substitution . For , although the stomach be , by reason of its cavity , apt to : receive meat and drink ; it does not necessarily follow , that therefore this Aptitude deserves the name of a Faculty : unless ye shall judge it reasonable for a man to say , that because a sack is capable to be fill'd with corn , and a bladder with liquor or wind , therefore they have a Receptive Faculy . A Faculty ( ye know ) implies an Action ; but the Receptive faculty here spoken of , seems to me to be a mere Passion . Is it not manifest even to sense , that the stomach is alwayes more or less distended , in proportion to the quantity of nourishment brought into it ? and whence comes that distension ? certainly not from spontaneous relaxation of the fibres of the stomach , but on the contrary , from their forced extension by the weight and bulk of the meat and drink admitted . For , no Tensile body whatsoever can extend it self , because extension is an endevor and degree toward the solution of its continuity , and therefore repugnant to its nature ; and no natural Agent can act towards its own destruction . The proper and sole action of all fibres , is spontaneous Contraction , whereby they restore themselves to their native posture and quiet , so soon as the stretching they suffer'd , ceases . How then the fibres of the stomach should come to be able to stretch themselves in length , I do not understand . And as for the difficult swallowing of things which the stomach abhorrs , and the nauseousness accompanying it ; why may not that be referr'd to the praejudice of the Imagination consequent to the perception of their ungrateful sme'l or taste ? the rather , because when Reason hath master'd that praejudice , as it alwayes doth in men taking vomits , purges , and other ungrateful medicaments , even the most unpleasant things are without difficulty admitted into the stomach . So is Wine also in excessive quantity pour'd in by Drunkards , notwithstanding the reluctancy of the stomach . So that it is not constant , that the stomach hath a Receptive Faculty , whereby it is empower'd to admit what it likes , and to reject what it dislikes , as this Paradox supposes it to have . This I have taken liberty to say , not from a petulant itch of contradiction , not from vain ambition to have the glory of contending with so great a Champion , but merely from the uncertainty of my judgement : which induced me to set before you the arguments for and against this opinion of a Receptive faculty in the stomach , to the end that I might learn from you , which are the more weighty . Leaving this nice quaestion then to your decision , I proceed to the fifth action , or , RETENTIVE FACULTY of the Stomach , Which is highly necessary to Nutrition . For , the transmutation of the newly receiv'd meat and drink into Chyle , being not perform'd in a moment , but a work of some hours ; unless they be retein'd in the stomach a competent time , till that work be finisht , both the Concoction , and the immediately following Distribution of the Chyle , without which there can be no Nutrition , must be imperfect . This Retentive power seems to me to be wholly Organic , and to consist , partly in a moderate and gentle Contraction of all the fibres of the Stomach , but chiefly of those that close the two Orifices of it ; partly in a due Asperity of the inmost Tunic of the same . ( 1. ) In a moderate Contraction of all the fibres ; because otherwise the stomach could not closely embrace the food while it is concocted , which requires a Tonic motion of all the fibres , and such a one too , as renders their forces in a manner equal , in all parts of the stomach ; except the two orifices , where the constriction is stronger and closer , and chiefly in the superior , which during the whole action of Concoction remains closed even to a point . And this Contraction must be moderate and gentle , because all violent and impetuose Contraction , either causeth expulsion , or at least makes the retention turultuose and inordinate ; both which equally frustrate the design of Nature in the work of Chylification . During which the Ring of the Pylorus is not so closely shut , but that it gives way to liquids to slide down now and then into the gutts ; though at the same time it strictly retains whatsoever is solid , and not yet converted into Chyle , that it may be farther digested . Nor doth it seem necessary , that liquids should undergo any farther concoction , being in that form fit to be admitted into the Venae Lacteae ; whereas Solids are not fit , till they have been melted . Which seems to be the reason , why those who drink the Spa , Tunbridge , and other the like subacid mineral waters , stay not expecting any concoction of them , but piss them out in a short time after , just such as they drank them . So do Good Fellows for the most part render their wine by urine , almost as fast as they pour it into their stomachs , at least much sooner than it can be digested . And all know , that Wine is no sooner received into the stomach , but in a moment it enters into the veins , cheers the heart ( as they say ) and recruits the spirits , rendring the pulses stronger than before . From all which instances we may collect , that liquids , chiefly such as are full of spirits , stay not long in the stomach , but soon slip through the Pylorus into the gutts , and insinuate themselves into the Venae Lacteae , leaving the grosser and solid parts of the food behind , to receive farther elaboration . ( 2. ) In a due Asperity of the inmost membrane of the stomach . For , as lubricity and smoothness of any surface favors the slipping away of bodies touching it : so doth the Roughness conduce to their adhaesion . And all Astringent remedies , unless they some way or other induce a loathing or nauseousness upon the stomach , as they cause a contraction of the fibres , so do they corroborate the Retentive faculty of the stomach : whereas on the contrary , all Lubricantia conduce more to Expulsion , than to Retention . Again , in the Lienteria there is alwayes too great a slipperiness of the stomach and gutts : as too great an Asperity in Costiveness . Finally , crude or raw food hath alwayes in it somwhat of asperity ; but being praepared by fire , becomes more soft , tender and slippery . Which may be the reason , why raw meats generally are more easily retain'd in the stomach , and such as are throughly boil'd , baked , or roasted are more easily expell'd : those inducing roughness , these smoothness upon the parts of the stomach they touch . So that from all these instances it may be inferred , that to the Retentive power of the stomach , a certain Asperity in the surface of the inmost coat thereof is requir'd . To these two Organical Constitutions of the stomach , in which it is apparent , that the Retentive power thereof is founded , some have added a third , not Organic , but Similar , and consisting in a certain Complacency or delight , which the fibres receive from the praesence and contact of the meat and drink . But this opinion being grounded wholly upon the Hypothesis of Natural Perception , which yet seems obscure , intangled with various difficulties , and therefore doubtful ; I suspend my assent thereunto , till I shall have learn'd from you , whether I ought to embrace , or reject it . Meanwhile I take liberty so far to justifie this my suspence , as to allege a reason or two in defence of it . That not only the stomach , but all other sensile parts of the body are , from the very first moment of their formation , naturally endowed with a certain power , by which they distinguish what is grateful and profitable , from what is ungrateful and noxious ; and which is the cause of all those motions and actions by Physicians generally and truly ascribed to irritation ; is most certain , and to all men that consider Human nature ▪ evident even from these arguments following . ( 1. ) In an egg , the very Vesicula pulsans , before it is formed into a heart , and a day or two before any the least rudiment of brain or nerve can be discerned ; if it be , though never so gently , toucht with the point of a needle , doth instantly contract , and ( like the sensitive plant ) shrink in it self , as feeling the hurt done to it . ( 2. ) And the first modell or draught of the Embryon , while it appears to be a mere mucilage or gelly , before there is any distinction of members , and when the brain is yet nothing but clear water ; if it be in any part likewise prickt , contracts , and wreaths it self , like a maggot or caterpiller : demonstrating to the eye of the Spectator , that it feels the puncture , and endevors to avoid it . ( 3. ) After the whole work of Formation hath been consummated , from the hour of our nativity to that of our death , there are performed within us many secret motions and actions , which are by Physicians ( for distinction sake ) call'd Natural , because they are done , not only without our knowledge or direction , but even against our will ; so that we cannot moderate , accelerate , retard , or inhibite them , as being independent upon the regimen of the Brain : and yet notwithstanding this independency , they must proceed from some kind of Sensation , by which the parts wherein they are done , are incited , irritated and altered . For instance ; in the Heart it self there often happens great disorder of its motions , causing palpitations , tremblings , convulsions , faintings , swounings , and various alterations of the Pulse , in magnitude , celerity , rhythm , &c. and all from some morbifick matter offending the fibres , and hurting their natural sense . For , whatsoever by its own motions endevors to deliver it self from offences and harms , must certainly be endowed with a power to perceive or feel them . Nor is the skin it self destitute of this distinct faculty . For , Experience convinceth us , that it easily distinguishes a venenate or poysonous prick , from a simple one ; and thereupon constringeth it self , and becomes more dense , so that an inflammation and burning Tumor arises from thence ; as may be observ'd in the invisible punctures made by the sting of a Wasp , the tooth of a Spider , or the proboscis of a Gnat. To be the more ascertain'd of this , our most sagacious Dr. Harvy made a pretty experiment upon himself , and hath left it upon record in 56. exercitat . of his incomparable Book de Generat . Animal . I prick'd my hand with a needle , saith he ; and soon after rubbing the same needle against the tooth of a Spider , I thrust the point of it into my hand in another place : nor could I perceive any thing of difference betwixt the two little punctures . But in the skin it self there was somwhat that discerned betwixt them . For , in the place where the venenate prick had been made , the skin soon contracted it self into a little hard tumor , accompanied with redness , great heat , inflammation , and acute pain ; as if it fortified it self against the invading enemy , and strove to expugne it . To come to the stomach , our praesent subject ; this part also , and the gutts , being offended and provok'd by ill humors , often raise great commotions , nauseousness , belching , vomiting and fluxes of the belly : and as it is not in our power , at pleasure either to suppress , or to promote those disorders ; so neither do we know any sense depending upon the brain , that can exstimulate those parts to such violent and tumultuous actions . 'T is wonderful even to a Philosopher , that a little of the infusion of Crocus Metallorum should produce such strange commotions in the stomach . We can not distinguish that infusion , from good Sack , by the taste ; nor perceive any trouble or offence in swallowing it : and yet there is in the stomach a certain sense that soon discerns the Antimony from the Wine , that abhorrs it , and incites the stomach with all its forces to eject it by vomiting . Hence also it is perhaps , that Alum , Vitriol , Salt of Vitriol , and ( sometimes ) Salt of Steel ; though by their astriction they augment the asperity of the inmost membrane , and the contraction of the fibres of the stomach ( which are the two Organical Constitutions , in which the Retentive power of it is , according to my opinion , wholly founded : ) are observed notwithstanding commonly to excite vomiting ; and this only , because they have somwhat in them that is highly ingrate and offensive to the natural sense of the stomach . Now from these Arguments and particular instances ( to omit others of the like importance in other sensile parts of the body ) it seems most evident , that there is in us a certain sense of Touching , that cannot be referr'd to the common sense , nor belong to the jurisdiction of the brain ; and therefore is rightly distinguished from the Animal sense of Touching . Such a sense we observe in Zoophytes or Plant-animals , the Sensitive plant , sponges , and the like . And as Physicians teach , that Natural actions differ from Animal : so with equal reason may we say , that this Natural sense of Touching , whereof we are not conscious ; differs from the Animal sense of Touching , whereof we alwayes are conscious ; and that it constitutes a distinct species of Touching . This , manifest from its effects , but perplexingly obscure in its origin and essence , Campanella ( who wrote large and most subtile Commentaries concerning it , now almost neglected ) and our Excellent Dr. Harvy call'd by the name of Tactus Naturalis : but their Equal , Dr. Glisson , coming after to consider the thing more Metaphysically , and founding the very life or substantial Energie of Nature wholly upon the same , denominated it Perceptio Naturalis , thereby to distinguish it from all the Senses , as well internal , as external ; from which he will have it to be really different , as for many other Reasons ( alleged in cap. 15. lib. de Vita Naturae ) so chiefly for this ; that it is not immediately communicated to the Brain , or Common Sensory , as Nature hath instituted that all Sensations of the Organs of the External Senses should be communicated , before the act of Sense can be complete ; though the same Natural Perception may be , and often is , by various degrees , changed into Sense . Now therefore , that I may draw all the lines of this Digression quite home to the Centre of my praesent scope ; that there is such a thing as Natural Feeling or Perception , I acknowledge : that the name of Natural Perception is more distinctive , and therefore more proper , I confess : I grant also , that this discerning faculty is , by the immense bounty of the Omnipotent Creator , conferr'd upon all the sensile parts of the body , and among these upon the stomach in a high degree : I farther grant , that by virtue of the same , the Retentive Faculty of the Stomach may be , in some cases , much aided and promoved : All these things I hold my self obliged to concede . What then remains to be the subject of my doubting and suspense ? Two things there are , which yet I can not bring my weak reason to admit , though they have been , and with strong arguments too , asserted expresly by a Man , whose doctrin I often follow , and whose autority I venerate . The First is , that not only the sensile parts of Animals , but this inanimate , yea , every single particle of Matter in the Universe , is from the Creation , endowed with this faculty of Natural Sense , or Perception , ( call it what ye please ) and with its inseparable Adjuncts , natural Appetite and Motion . For , who can believe , that any part of this dead body hath a perception of the knife of the Dissector , and that the fibres of the flesh suffer as much of irritation from the solution of their continuity now , as when the body was animated by a soul , and they were invigorated by the heat of the arterial bloud , and the influence of the vital spirits ? Who can be persuaded , that a marble pillar , when knock'd with a mallet , feels as much pain , as the limbs of an Animal , that is beaten with a cudgel ? And yet both these things must be true , if the supposition of Natural Sense or Perception be so . What then shall I do to extricate my thoughts from the perplexing difficulties of this Aenigmatic Paradox ? My Curiosity urges me to examine them , my Understanding is unable to solve them , and the Theorem is most noble in it self . Wherefore my desire of Knowledge will be alone sufficient to excuse me , if despairing of satisfaction from my self , I humbly seek it from the Oracle of your more discerning judgement . The Other ( more neerly touching the point in quaestion ) is this . I do not perceive any necessity , why Natural Perception should be brought in to concurre with the two newly explain'd Organical Constitutions of the Stomach , in which the Retentive Faculty thereof seems to me to be wholly founded . For ( 1 ) that placid quiet which the Stomach is observ'd to enjoy , when satiated with good and wholsom food , may arise only from the cessation of the anxiety and trouble it suffer'd from the vellication or gnawing of Hunger ; the biting Acidity of the Fermentum Esurinum being now blunted by the benign juice of the Aliment newly receiv'd . After which , the fibres , that before were irritated , gently and placidly restore themselves to their natural posture ( as all other Tensil bodies also do ) and therein attain to quiet and ease . So that the Complacency of which the stomach is then sensible , seems referrible to the Sense of Touching , common to all sensile parts of the body . For , if Hunger be an ungrateful Sense of emptiness or want of food ; why should not Satiety be a grateful sensation of the supply of that want ? since contraries are ever comprehended sub eodem genere . ( 2 ) But were the Complacency transferr'd from Sense to Natural Perception , yet would it not be necessarily consequent , that therefore the same is required to consummate the Retentive faculty , because usually the meat is retain'd in the stomach a good while , some hours , after the complacency ceaseth ; and therefore the Retention seems , not to depend upon it . And this may be confirm'd from hence , that it is observed , that by how much more delicate and grateful to the stomach the meat receiv'd is , by so much the less while it is therein retain'd . Now these are the reasons that withhold me from assenting to that opinion , which placeth the Retentive power of the stomach , chiefly in the Natural Perception of it . But whether they be of weight enough to justifie my suspense , or not ; I leave to your determination ; and here turn over leaf to a new lesson , viz. The CONCOCTIVE Faculty of the Ventricle . WHICH , according to the order of Nature , is next to be consider'd ; for all food is swallow'd , receiv'd , and then retain'd by the stomach , in order to its concoction or conversion into Chyle . That this operation is , not organic ( as we have shewn all the praecedent to be ) but wholly Similar , is sufficiently evident from hence ; that the Chyle it self , when confected , is similar ; and all the Actions , by which it is made Chyle , are so too : nor dos the Cavity of the Stomach contribute more to this work , than a pot doth to the boyling of the flesh , that is put in it over the fire . Most true it is nevertheless , that the Organ in which the work of Chylification is perform'd , is principally the Ventricle , in which the Concoctive power is most vigorose , and to which Nature hath committed the most difficult part of the whole operation . I say Principally the Ventricle ; because I would not wholly deprive the Gutts of their right to the like power of changing aliments into Chyle , though they do it less efficaciously than the stomach , and as it were at second hand ; that is , if any part of the Chyle happen to descend into them not perfectly elaborate , they farther concoct it , finishing the work the stomach had begun . Hence it is worthy our observation , that the Chyle taken in by Venae Lacteae immediately from the stomach , is thinner and more spirituose , than that imbibed from the Gutts ; and that receiv'd from the superior Gutts , thinner than that exported out of the inferior ; and in fine , the thickest is convey'd out of the Colon , and intestinum rectum . So that we may conclude , the stomach is the primary seat or place of Chylification , and the Gutts , the secondary . Having thus easily found , what kind of operation the conversion of meat and drink into Chyle , is ; and where it is performed : we are in the next place diligently to inquire ( 1. ) What are the capital Differences of Aliments to be concocted in the stomach ; ( 2. ) What various Mutations or Alterations the food ought to undergo , before it can be brought to the requisite perfection of Chyle ; and ( 3. ) What are the Causes , by which those Mutations are effected . And these are the three general heads of this our disquisition . As for the FIRST , viz. the differences of Aliments to be digested ; 't is well known , that all our food is either Meat or Drink , solid , or liquid ; and all our drink , either spirituose , or watery . That all Potulent liquors require less coction in the stomach , than solid meats , is not to be doubted ; because they serve rather to dilute the thicker aliments , and give them a consistence requisite to their conversion into Chyle , than to nourishment : and because daily Experience teaches , that by how much the thinner and more penetrating , or diuretic they are , by so much the sooner they pass by urine , without any notable alteration ; as we have already declared of the Spa and Tunbridge waters : and spirituose or vinose drinks , ( caeteris paribus ) are sooner digested , than such as are not vinose ; yea more , they are justly preferr'd for their virtue to promove and accelerate the digestion of other things . The reason of which perhaps is , as well because their spirits augment the influent heat of the stomach , as because they soon grow acid , and so quicken the activity of the dissolving ferment therein contain'd . For , most certain it is , that all wines turn acid , almost as soon as they are receiv'd into the stomach ; because by the Fermentation therein made , their sweet and more fugitive spirits are dispers'd in a trice : and those being gone , the reliques soon grow sowre , from the operation of the acid ferment upon them ; and by that newly acquir'd sharpness , further concoction . Liquid or spoon-meats also , as pottages , milk and the like , are sooner and more easily digested , than solid : because their nutritive parts being actually dissolv'd afore-hand , they require only a light elevation of their spirits , by the fermentation of the stomach , to make them perfect Chyle , and fit to be admitted into the Venae Lacteae . Provided , that if they be of a thick consistence , as pap , barly cream , frumentry , gellies , butter'd eggs , and such like , they be first diluted with drink , that they may more easily pass into the milky veins . Solid meats are , as of greatest nourishment , so most difficult of digestion . For , they must pass through all the various Alterations requisite to the concoction of any Aliment whatsoever , before they can be brought to the state of perfect Chyle . While they remain in a solid form , 't is impossible for them to enter into the inconspicuous mouths of the Venae Lacteae : and therefore it is necessary , they should be melted , and reduced into the form of liquor , at least that the tincture drawn from them may be such , before they be offer'd to them . ¶ . Now those various ALTERATIONS requisite to the perfect concoction of solid meats , are ( besides those that are common also to liquids ) but two , viz. Liquation , and Extraction of Tincture . By the first , they are dissolved into a kind of Gelly or Mucilage . For , bread is by digestion turn'd into a papp , and the softer parts of flesh into a gelly or Consummè . The harder parts of neither are wholly dissolv'd , but for the most part commixt with the Excrements of the belly , voided whole . Hence it is , that experienc'd Nurses judge of the good or bad concoction of Infants , from inspection of their stools . For , if they therein discern any reliques of flesh undissolv'd , they truly conclude from thence , that their digestion is imperfect , and that food of easier concoction is more convenient to their weak stomachs , and accordingly abstain from giving them flesh , till they are more able to digest it . By the other , the Tincture of solid meats is extracted : and this Alteration is competent to such tough and stubborn meats , as refuse to be dissolved . Some things indeed are now and then swallow'd down , that by reason of their hardness , are incapable either of dissolution , or of yielding any tincture ; such as Cherry-stones , the kernells of grapes or raisins , &c. but these deserve not to be reckon'd among Aliments , nature alwayes rejecting them whole and unchanged , among the Excrements . And these are the two requisite Alterations proper to solid meats : besides which , there remain yet three others common to both solid and liquid . Of these The First is Dilution or through-mixtion of them with the drink ; without which even liquids themselves , if of a consistence tending to thickness , could never be transmitted into the Venae Lacteae . To this Dilution of solids is requir'd , at first a small quantity of liquor : because a large draught in the beginning of a meal , doth dissolve , not the whole substance of the meat , but only the more tender and thinner parts of it , and extract them by way of tincture , leaving the rest untouch't . But after the substance of the meat hath been eliquated into a gelly , a larger proportion of drink is requisite to give it a thinner consistence . On the contrary , to the Extraction of a tincture , a copious Menstruum ( as Chymists well observe ) is requir'd . Which our skilful Farriers and Grooms having from experience learn'd , keep their Horses from water for an hour or two after they have eaten their oats . 'T is therefore a good rule for conservation of health , to drink sparingly in the beginning of a repast ; and freely toward the end of it , when the meat hath been dissolved , and requires to be farther diluted . The second is , an Exaltation of the spirits of the meat to the degree , not of Volatility , but Fusion , that they may be more easily admitted into the Venae Lacteae , and passing thence into the bloud , serve to recruit the vital spirits . For , the proper office of the stomach is , to make of the food a permanent liquor , not fugitive vapors , that would inflate and torment it : and that permanent liquor ought to be replete with gentle spirits , that the vital spirits , which are continually dissipated and consumed , may be from thence supplied . Whence we may collect what the reason is , that Wine and all vinose drinks do less require this alteration , than other liquors , viz. because their spirits are in the state of fusion before they are admitted into the stomach , and so need but little farther elevation . The third and last Alteration common to both solids and liquids , is an Assimilation in some measure of the nourishment to the nature of the body to be thereby nourished ; at least a bringing of it nearer to the constitution of the body . For , by how much the more of similitude is betwixt two bodies , so much the more easily is the one transmuted into the other . Of this Assimilation are two parts ; of which , one takes away the qualities of the food that made it unlike to the constitution of the body assimilant ; the other introduces new qualities more agreeable and conform to it . The first is destructive of the old form ; the second eductive of a new one . The destructive part consists in , first a gradual debilitation , and then a total subduing or taming of the reliques of the former seminal impressions of the aliments : in all which there certainly remain some vestigia or prints as it were of their pristine form , which may properly enough be call'd their seminal impressions : and these are to be at least so far subjugated , as to leave the matter capable of , and disposed to admit new specific impressions . Not that it is necessary they should be utterly abolished or eradicated , which perhaps is more than either the acid serment , or heat of the stomach , or both together can do . For , in all Aliments , Vegetables or Animals , there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( as Hippocrates de prisca Medicina , calls them ) certain indelible characters , or insuperable qualities , that may be as it were tamed or kept under , but can never be totally destroy'd . Our meat indeed is cookt by fire , broken into small pieces by our teeth , softned by the liquor salivalis , boyl'd in the stomach , melted by the acid ferment , exagitated by the peristaltic motion of the gutts , and therein farther elaborated , and separated from its dreggs , squeez'd into the milky veins , thence transmitted into the common receptacle , thence propell'd by the Chyliferous pipes into the subclavian veins , and so mixt with the bloud , exagitated again by the motions of the heart , and impraegnated with vitality by the powerful energy of the vital spirits ; all these alterations , I say , it doth undergo , and yet notwithstanding it still reteins much of those invincible reliques of its former nature , which the Chymists have named , mediae vitae characteres , and others , Seminales impressiones . And hence it is , quòd omnia animalia sapiant alimenta quibus vescuntur , All Animals , however praepared or cook't , still retain some savor , some ragoust of their usual food : as Birds that live upon little fishes , yield a sishy Haut-goust ; and the flesh of Swine fed with Sea-Onions , is apt to cause vomiting in the Eaters of it , &c. Wherefore by this last act of Concoction , we are to understand only such a change of the Aliment , as renders it more familiar and assimilable to the nature of the parts of the body therewith to be nourished : for , a perfect Assimilation is not to be expected , till the same shall be intimately united with them . Nor is Chylification , what many have conceiv'd it to be , an absolute Metamorphosis of the Aliment , or corruption of its first form , and change of it into a new species ; there seeming to be no such thing as Corruption in the case , but an Exaltation rather , or Melioration of the nature of the food , by advancing it from the state of fixation , to that of Fusion , that it may be praedisposed to its succeding conversion into bloud and the Succus Nutritius . True it is indeed , that the meat is somtimes corrupted in the stomach , by vitious humors therein contem'd and depraving it , and by various other causes : but it doth not from thence follow , that absolute Corruption is necessary to the praeparation of the Chyle ; but rather that the meat , if by accident it be absolutely corrupted in the stomach , is thereby render'd unprofitable to nutrition for the most part . True it is also , that the dreggs of the Chyle , being by way of Degradation from their former nature , changed into Excrements , put on a new form in the Colic Gutt , and differ in specie from that part of the meat out of which they are made : and yet notwithstanding , we can not from thence rightly inferr , that the Chyle , which is by a perfective motion gradually meliorated , is necessarily changed also into a new species , before it can actually nourish . Is no part of the Aliment then , in the act of Chylification , metamorphosed from one species to another ? I conceive not ; unless the Version of the Acidum Vegetabile in salsum Animale , be accounted a Specific Mutation . If so , then this must be excepted from the general rule . For , certain it is , and acknowledged even by Chymists themselves , that Vegetable Salt , such as is usually extracted from Plants , is no where to be found in the bodies of Animals ; neither in their bloud , nor in urine , nor in flesh , nor in bones , hairs , nails , &c. and therefore very probable , that every Acidum Vegetabile is transmuted in Salsum Animale , either in the stomach , or in the descent of the Chyle into the Gutts , or soon after . Nor is it ( in my poor judgement at least ) a thing of small moment , or lightly to be regarded , that all parts of all Animals , are composed of a Saline principle , of a divers nature from that of either Vegetables , or Minerals ; yea more , that the Saline , volatile spirits of Animals , come much nearer to the nature of Sal ammoniac , than to that of Salts Vegetable , or Mineral . But whether these saline spirits of Animals may in all things be consistent with the Nitro-aereous spirit asserted by the ingenious Dr. Mayow ; may with good reason be doubted . For , although it be said , that this Nitro-aereous spirit doth , in passing through the Lungs , put on the genius of Animal Salt : yet it remains still to be inquir'd , why Nature should ordain that spirit to be fetch 't from without from the Aire , which Animals have in abundance within them , in the Aliments praepared in themselves . This nicety therefore I leave , as I found it , doubtful : and proceed to inquire , Whence it is , that the Stomach infects all meats and drinks with Acidity . This requisite and remarkable quality seems to be superinduced by the Stomach upon the newly receiv'd aliment , by four several wayes , viz. ( First ) By educing and separating the sweet and benign spirits of the Aliments , from the grosser parts of them ; and then either absorbing them into its Venae Lacteae , or transmitting them by the Pylorus into the Gutts , or dissolving them into wind . For all nutritive juices whatsoever , so soon as the sweet and easily dissipable spirits , that praeserve them , are exhaled , grow acid : as is commonly observed even in Milk , whose fugitive spirits being for the most part drawn forth by the stomach , and thence discharg'd by belching ; the remaining part soon acquires to it self somwhat of acidity . But the truth is , this Eduction of spirits , though it make way for acidity to succeed , doth not yet produce it in that degree which we frequently perceive in very sowr belchings : and therefore we are obliged to advance to the Second Cause , which consists in this ; that the stomach turns liquors sowr , by bringing their Saline principle or element , to the state of Fusion . For , this Saline Principle , while it remains fixt , retains its saltness : but being advanced to the state of fusion , soon becomes acid , and that so much the more fiercely , by how much the nearer it is promoted to Volatility . Whence it is , that meats and drinks long detained in the stomach , are observ'd to acquire vehement acidity . So likewise when any of the Glandules , that serve either to secretion , or to reduction , have , by reason of their obstructions , long detain'd in them the humors that remain to be carried off , after the distribution of the Succus nutritius ; they cause them by that means to grow more and more acid by degrees , to the no small detriment of health . Of this we have a remarkable Example in sharp and acid Catarrhs ; which seem to owe their origin to the recrements of the brain and nerves , longer than is fit retain'd in the Glands destined to their secretion and exportation ; and by reason of their stagnation , grown acid ; and which somtimes become so extreamly sharp , as to corrode and ulcerate the Tonsills , throat , nose and other parts they touch . Of this way of converting the fixt salt of mixt bodies into an Acid , only by Fusion , I should here have said much more , had I not saved my self that labour , by explaining the same expresly and copiously in the seventh Chapter of my Book de Scorbute , where I endevor to trace out the Genealogie of that sort of Scorbute , which seems to arise from the praedomination of Acid Humors . Referring therefore the unsatisfied to that discourse , I shall add only this necessary advertisement ; that this seems to be the cause , why the reliques of the former meal often contract so great a sharpness , that if they chance to be thrown up by vomit , they set the very teeth on edge , and excoriate the throat by their cutting sowrness ; and that the natural use of this acid liquor in the stomach , is that , as a kind of Menstruum , it may serve to dissolve the solid meat , or at least to extract a tincture of it the sooner . For , so far is it from being nutritive , that it is on the contrary , a great depraedator , if consider'd apart by it self , and not mitigated by commixture with the sweeter parts of the Chyle . It cannot then be design'd by Nature , as requisite to the natural constitution of the Chyle , but only as a fit instrument for the dissolution of solid food . Which is abundantly confirm'd by the very taste of the Chyle , which in its natural state , is alwayes sweet . ( Thirdly ) The stomach produces this Acidity , by mixing with the newly receiv'd meat , both the acid reliques of the former meal remaining in it , and the acid Phlegm brought into it from the arteries . Which mixture is yet so far from conducing to the perfection of the Chyle , that it rather renders the same so much the more impure . For the Venae Lacteae admit not the Chyle , until the pure and sweet part of it hath been separated in the Gutts from the acid : as appears from the sweet and mild taste of the liquor contain'd in them . Which is another argument , that the Acidity contracted in the Stomach belongs not to the nature of the Chyle , but is requisite only to the dissolution of the solid meats . ( Fourthly and Lastly ) The stomach induces acidity , by this , that the principles or elements praedominant in its native constitution , namely hungry spirits and a sharp salt , being actuated and instigated by the vital influx , act powerfully upon the newly admitted aliments , and ( according to the manner of all natural Agents ) endevor to assimilate them to their own nature , i. e. to imbue them with their qualities . To effect this , 'T is necessary they should promote the fixt salt of the food , to the state of Fusion : which being once atchiev'd , that sat soon grows acid , and comes near to the sharpness of Vinegre , if it be a Vegetable salt , such as is contain'd in bread , sugar , honey , beer , wine , and almost all sorts of drink . For , Flesh indeed doth not with equal facility turn sowr , nor suffer its spirits to be so soon exalted . Whence we may learn , that to put flesh into ale , beer , wine , or any other drink , in hope to render the liquor more nutritive and strong , is a vain thing ; because it communicates to the liquor , little or nothing of its nutritive virtue . And in the stomach , all flesh is sooner or later dissolved into a kind of gelly , or at least leaves a strong tincture in the drink commixt with it : and if detain'd too long therein , it becomes salt , egre or rancid ; the fixt salt of it being fused , acquiring acrimony or rancor , rather than acidity . But this happens , not in the natural state of Concoction , but when the stomach is by some error committed in diet , hinder'd from doing its office rightly . From what hath been here said , concerning the four Causes of the Acidity induced upon the Aliment , by the stomach , in the act of Chylification , we may collect , That all food consisting of Vegetables , passes through three several States or Conditions , before it is brought to the perfection of Chyle , first it is made Acid , then salt , and at length sweet . How it comes to acquire to it self the first and second of these Qualities , we have already seen . It remains then to be inquir'd , How the Chyle comes in fine to be sweet . To solve this Quaestion , 't is requisite I should advertise you , ( 1. ) That the Acidity of which we have been speaking , is not vehement , but gentle and little ; and consequently the Saltness into which it is resolv'd , is likewise but gentle and weak : for , both are to be distinguisht , as well from the acid reliques of the former meat , as from the dissolving ferment of the stomach , neither of which are hardly ever elaborated into good Chyle . ( 2. ) That this gentle Acidity when it is converted into as gentle saltness , loseth it dominion to the fixt spirit of the meat , which now advanced to the middle degree of Fusion , over-powers and conquers it : and yet this praevailing saltness is no more , than what may just serve to a due conditure of the Chyle . For , as it did not abound in the food before concoction ; so neither doth it exceed that proportion after in the Chyle , there being nothing of new salt added to it in this mutation . As therefore , in the ripening of Fruits , there intervenes an Acid taste betwixt an Austere or Styptic and a Sweet ; and yet nevertheless , as the spirits of the fruits attain to maturity , that Acid taste gives place to the succeding Sweet : so it seems probable , that in the Concoction of the stomach , the meat , its fixt salt being fused , and substance melted , doth first become acid ; and soon after , its spirits that lay bound up and idle , being excited , become sweet again , or is digested into a sweet juice . And this in short is the most rational account I have hitherto met with , of the reason and manner how the Chyle at length comes to be sweet , after the several changes it hath suffered in the stomach . But What becomes of the Acid reliques of the meat , and of the saline dissolving Ferment of the Stomach ? I answer , that as to this particular , I am of their opinion , who hold , that the volatile parts of those Reliques , being transmitted out of the Ventricle into the Gutts , and therein exagitated , are receiv'd into the milky veins together with the Chyle , as of further use to the bloud it self : and that the gross and unactive parts , mixt with the unprofitable residue of the Aliments , are excluded with the Excrements of the belly . For , as to the Volatile parts ; they seem fit to be inservient to Nature even in one of her noblest actions , the generation of vital spirits in the blood : which in all Animals consist , partly of saline spirits , partly of Sulphureous . For , in no part of any Animal hath hitherto been found any such spirit , as that which is drawn from Plants after fermentation . This is well known to those Philosophers by fire ( as they call themselves ) who have long sweat in extracting the spirits of blood : and yet notwithstanding have never been able , after all their pains and taedious processes , to draw any thing from thence , but a certain salt spirit , not much different from the spirits of Urine , of Harts-horn , or of Sal Ammoniac ; unless that perhaps it was somwhat more subtile , less acrimonious , and less ingrate . And certain therefore it is ( as I before affirm'd ) that whatsoever of Acid salt hath not been actually converted into salt in the stomach , is soon after , when the Chyle arrives at the Gutts , changed into Animal Salt ; no such thing as Vegetable Salt being to be found in any part of any living creature . ¶ . Having now at length , ( with more of haste perhaps , than of satisfaction to my Auditors ) run through all the general Differences of Aliments to be concocted , and all the various Alterations they undergo in the stomach , before they can be brought to the perfection of good and profitable Chyle : we come next to the Third Head of our praesent Disquisition , viz. the CAUSES of those Alterations . WHICH , though many and of various kinds , may nevertheless be commodiously enough reduced to two general Classes or Orders ; viz. such as are Foreign , or Extra-advenient to , and such as are Indigenary or Inbred in the stomach . To the First classis belong all things that any way conduce to the promotion of Concoction , either by praevious Alteration of the Aliments , or by fortifying the stomach . Of those that remotely conduce to the work of Concoction only by Praeparation of the food ; some correct the Crudity of it by the help of fire , namely by boyling , roasting , frying , or baking : others render it more mild and tender by maceration , in brines , lixivia's , pickles , vinegre and the like : others make the Aliments more familiar by way of hastning their Maturation : and others again intenerate , and dispose them to dissolution , by mixture of some wholsom and agreeable Ferment . Where it may be observed , that whatsoever Aliments , whether solid , as bread , or liquid , as wine , beer , ale , hydromel , &c. that have undergone Fermentation , before they are receiv'd into the stomach , invite other Aliments , with which they are therein commixt , to fermentation . Hence it is , that good wine , strong beer , vinegre , bread made light by leaven , and the like , help very much to digestion . Those that do so by corroboration of the stomach , are Peptic or Digestive Remedies , as mints , roses , wormwood , Aromatics , &c. But all these ( of both sorts ) being only Accessories and forein , require not to be farther prosecuted in this place . The Inbred Causes of Concoction are , either Instruments generated in the stomach , or the Constitutions of the stomach in which the Faculty of Concocting is founded . 1. The Instruments are the Ferments contein'd in the stomach , four in number , whereof two are Principal , and the other two only Adjuvant . The Adjuvant or less powerful , are the Humor Salivalis , and the Acid Phlegm of the stomach ; both which help somwhat toward the inteneration of the meat . But because they help but little , in comparison of the other two , I content my self with the bare mention of them en passant . The More powerful , are the Acid reliques of the former meal , which tho' more efficacious than both the Adjuvant ferments , are yet in comparison of the grand one , less considerable ; and therefore I may well be excused , if I pass them also over in silence : and the proper Ferment of the stomach , which being the Principal instrument of Concoction , deserves to be particularly consider'd . The origin and nature of this admirable dissolving Ferment ( the only true Alkahest in nature ) having been first investigated , not many years past , by the great industry of the learned and judicious Moebius , and professedly proved by convincing experiments and observations , in a prolix dissertation conteined in his Book de Fundament . Medicinae ; and since that time , much illustrated by our happy Dr. Glisson ( de ventric . & intestin . cap. 20. ) all that remains for me to do concerning it , is only to recall to your memory the most remarkable heads of those things ye have read in those discourses , by giving you a Breviary of them . This therefore I will do , and in as few words as can with reason be expected . This Ferment then is nothing else , but the spirituose and saline effluvia stirr'd up by the vital motion of the arterial bloud , effused out of the arteries into the cavity of the stomach and gutts , but chiefly of the stomach , and therein condensed again into a sharp , penetrating and dissolving liquor ; apt to dissolve the solid meat , and to cause such a benign fermentation , as tends , not to volatilization , but only to Fusion of the same ; and in fine , acting upon it , not by open force or violent invasion , but ( after the manner of Contagiose ferments ) rather by clancular insinuation , and mixing it self , first with the saline and spirituose parts , and then with the grosser and less exsoluble . In this concise Abridgement , I have ( I confess ) omitted two Positions , both zealously asserted by the later of these two excellent Authors , out of whose doctrine I abstracted it . One is , that that part of the blood , which is by the Coeliac and two Mesenteric arteries , dispensed to the stomach and gutts , chiefly to the inmost coat of them , is somewhat more salt and sharp , than the blood distributed to other parts of the body . The Other is , that the Saline and spirituose parts of the Meat newly admitted into the stomach , perceiving that they are ill lodg'd , and that the Ferment with which they there meet , is really semblable or like to them , and with all more noble ( as retaining some reliques of vitality , with which it had so lately been ennobled , while it pass'd through the heart and arteries ) do easily admit , embrace and conjoyn themselves with it . But I declare withal , that I omitted these Positions , not from inadvertency , nor for brevity fake ; but only because I doubt of the verity of them . For the first supposes Similar Attraction , or mutual coition of things alike , ob similitudinem naturae ; which yet I do not find my self obliged to grant . And the other depends upon the Hypothesis of Natural Perception , which is not yet establish'd beyond disputation . However , it seems to me sufficiently probable , that this dissolving Ferment is peculiar to , and generated in the stomach ; because nothing like it is to be found in any other part of the whole body : that to the constitution of it , is required a concurse of both salt and sulphureous spirits ( such are the vital spirits themselves ) but chiefly of Salt ( than which nothing is more sharp , penetrating and dissolving ) : and that therefore it may be call'd , as Moebius named it , Sal spiritibus impragnatum , acre ac pungens ; or , as Dr. Glisson , Fermentum Ventriculi fusorium , feu principale coctionis instrumentum ; because it doth not only efficaciously dissolve the solid parts of the food , but also give it the first degree of Assiimilation to the nature of the Animal , out of whose blood the ferment it self is derived . Which may be one reason , why the same Aliment receives a divers praeparation in the stomachs of Animals of divers kinds ; the ferment being in some sorts different from that in others , respectively to the difference of the blood . And this is all I have to say of the chief instrument of Concoction , the proper and inbred Ferment of the stomach . 2. The Constitutions of the stomach , in which the Concoctive Faculty seems to be founded , are three ; viz. Vital , Animal , and Natural . Of these , the two former are influent , the first from the fountain of life , the blood ; the second , from the brain : the third , insite or implanted in the stomach it self from its very formation . From all these Constitutions concurrent , and by an admirable contrivance of the Divine Wisdom combined , there results a certain power , which is the Principal Cause of all the operations of the stomach . Hence we properly enough say , the stomach craves meat , and the stomach digesteth . For the Seminal Principle of the stomach , including both the Vital and Animal influences , together with the native Constitution , is the whole , and so the Principal cause of all its operations . But this being a Complex cause , cannot be well understood , unless the three Constitutions here named , of which it is composed , be singly consider'd . What the Vital and Animal are , will be easily collected from what I have designed to say , when I come to inquire concerning life , and the influence of the brain . And as for the insite or congenite Constitution ; that consisteth in the Temperament , in the Habit , in the Tone , and chiefly in the implanted spirit ( as the Galenist calls it ) or ( as the Chymists and Helmontians ) Archeus , which assisted by the influent vital heat , and by the Animal influx , is doubtless the grand cause of Concoction , and together with the newly describ'd Ferment , performs the whole work . Which being accomplish'd , there immediately succeeds another operation equally necessary to Nutrition , viz. The DISTRIBUTION of the Chyle . WHICH is perform'd by three distinct actions of the Distributive Faculty of the stomach and Gutts , viz. ( 1 ) the Exclusion of the Chyle out of the stomach into the Gutts : ( 2 ) The Agitation of it to and fro by the Peristaltick motion , partly in the stomach , but chiefly in the gutts ; and ( 3 ) the Transmission of it into the Milky Veins . The reason and manner of all which actions I shall endeavor briefly to explain ; supposing them to be Organical . As to the FIRST , viz. the Transfusion of the Chyle out of the stomach into the gutts , I conceive it to be effected by a double motion of the Chyle ; one , impress'd upon the Chyle ; the other , natural to it , or spantaneous : The first , upward ; the second , downward . The impress'd and upward motion , by which the Chyle is elevated to the Pylorus , I ascribe to the Constriction or closing of the whole stomach . For , all the fibres of the stomach , by the motion of self-restitution ( common to all Tensiles , after they have been extended in length ) more and more contracting themselves by degrees , of necessity lessen the cavity in which the Chyle is contein'd ; and this coangustation of the cavity , of equal necessity raises it up to the Pylorus , and ( the other orifice remaining closely shut up , while the whole act of Concoction lasteth ) forces it out at the same : in the same manner as the liquor of a Clyster is squeez'd out at the pipe ; only by compression of all parts of the bladder including it . The natural and downward motion , by which the Chyle slides down into the gutts , is to be attributed to its Gravity , which causes it to descend from the Pylorus into the gutts spontaneously . But this later motion belongs not to that part of the Chyle , which is carried off immediately from the stomach by the milky veins that are proper to it . Which yet cannot be much , perhaps not the hundredth part of the whole mass of Chyle , because the Venae Lacteae of the stomach are but few , their number scarcely holding the proportion of a hundred to one , with the great multitudes of those that take in their fraught from the Gutts . Nor is all the other part of the Chyle devolved into the gutts together and at once , but by degrees , as it comes to be concocted . For , it is constant from the dissection of Animals alive , that the Chyle , when it is confected , is fluid or liquid , and visibly distinct , yea easily separable from the solid meats not yet dissolved ; as broath is in a pot distinguishable from the flesh boyl'd in it . And because the solid meat is for the most part heavier than the liquor , and therefore sinks to the botom of the stomach ; it must needs by pressure cause the liquor to rise to the Pylorus , to give way to what presses it : So that the thinner part of the Chyle is always first express'd . For the two orifices of the stomach are of equal height , and both a little higher than any other part of the same . Whence may be collected one good reason , why 't is more conducible to health , to sit or stand , than to lie down , upon a full stomach . For in a man that keeps the Trunc of his body in an erect posture for some time after meat : the load of the stomach creates little or nothing of trouble to the orifices of it , but beareth only upon the bottom and sides . Whereas he that lies down soon after he has fill'd his belly , inverts the order of his meat , and turns the liquid part out by the Pylorus , before it hath been sufficiently concocted ; and so fills his body with crudities , than which I scarce know any thing more pernicious to health . And this seems to me sufficient to explain the reasons and manner of the devolution of the Chyle into the gutts , which is the first act of the Distributive Faculty . As to the SECOND , viz. the Agitation of the Chyle to and fro ; this equally distributes the Chyle to all the gutts , as is not only convenient , but of absolute necessity to Nutrition . For , since Nature hath dispens'd Venae Lacteae equally to all the Gutts , 't is fit the Chyle al so should be equally distributed to them all , sooner or later , that each one may have its share of the dividend . Again , since only the outward superfice of the matter contein'd in the stomach and gutts , bears against the orifices of the Venae Lacteae , and since the Venae Lacteae do not hang forth , or stand strutting into that matter , but are terminated in the interior membrane : 't is requisite , the matter should be turned and revolv'd to and again , that the whole may at length be brought to their doors and offer'd to them . Now this is effected wholly by an operation Organical , and the Efficient is the Peristaltic Motion of the stomach and gutts , proceeding from the alternate contraction and extension of their Fibres , as we have this day shewn , when we described the Peristaltick motion , and gave a Mechanic account of it . Choosing therefore rather to exercise your Memory , than to abuse your Patience by a vain repetition of the same things ; I will here consider only the Congruity of the figures of the stomach and gutts , to the Distribution of the Chyle , by virtue of this Agitation . As the stomach has the advantage in the office of Concoction , so is the power of the Gutts , paramont in the business of Distribution : and therefore Nature , which conferr'd these powers in different degrees upon them , and always accommodates her instruments to their proper uses and ends , fram'd them of Figures most commodious respectively to their peculiar functions . In particular , she made the stomach more ample , but shorter : and therefore fitter to Fermentation of the aliment : because by how much the more profound any Cavity is , by so much more contracted is the superfice of the matter therein contain'd ( supposing the quantity equal ) and consequently so much the less of it comes to touch the sides of the cavity within ; and è contra . The Gutts she made slenderer , but longer ; and therefore the apter to Distribution ; because gracility conjoin'd to longitude , promotes Distribution , in three several respects . ( 1 ) The narrow or slender cavity of the Gutts , wanting deep profundity , applies it self to the more parts of the Chyle contein'd in it at once : ( 2 ) by reason of its great length , it affords room sufficient to the greater number of Milky veins to range themselves in the interior superfice of it , and ( 3 ) by reason of the gracility and length conjoyn'd , the Chyle is more easily commoved from the centre to the circumference . Hence then we come to understand the reason , both of the gracility , and of the length of the Gutts . The Use of this distributive motion is threefold . ( 1 ) The reduction of all things contein'd , whether in the stomach or in the Gutts , to an equal diffusion , so that they may not lie congested in one place , and be deficient in another : ( 2 ) The opportune admotion of the whole mass of Chyle to the orifices of the Milky veins : ( 3 ) the facilitation of the descent of the Chyle . Of these Uses , the first and second are more eminent in the Gutts by much , than in the stomach : because ( as I said but even now ) but very little , scarce the hundredth part of the Chyle is brought to the orifices of the Venae Lacteae in the stomach ; the main stream of it running down into the Gutts . But the Third is more conspicuous in the stomach : because the Chyle that is by this motion devolved to the Pylorus , rarely slips back again , but falls down by that aperture into the Gutts , to the end it may be thence transmitted into the Venae Lacteae , which is the THIRD and last act of the Distributive Faculty , and seems to me to be done , chiefly by Constriction of the Gutts , and partly by their compression by the Muscles of the Abdomen assistant to Respiration ; not by Attraction or Exsuction of the Chyle by the Venae Lacteae . First I say , chiefly by Constriction or Contraction of the Gutts ; because 't is evident to sense , that the chyle coming into the gutts , fills their cavity , swells them up , and distends their membranes ; and consonant to reason and the law of all nervose and fibrose bodies , that the fibres of the Gutts , irritated by that distension , should endevour to recontract themselves to their natural state and position . Now this they cannot do , but they must at the same time gird in the membranes , and streighten the cavity of the gutts : nor can the cavity containing be lessened , without pressing the liquor contained , and forcing it to recede some way or other . Upwards it cannot retire , because the mouth of the stomach is barricadoed against it : downward it cannot evade , that gate being shut by the Sphincter of the fundament : other way there is none , but only that which leads into the Venae Lacteae . This way then the Chyle must take , to deliver it self from pressure by the spontaneous Constriction of the Gutts . Whence I am apt to conclude , that the Chyle is transmitted from the gutts into the Venae Lacteae , by way of Expression : and that the proxime and principal cause of that Expression , is the spontaneous Constriction of the fibres of the gutts . Secondly I say , partly by external Compression of the gutts , by the Muscles of the Abdomen cooperating to the motions of Respiration : because 't is most certain , that by the contraction of these Muscles , the Gutts are compress'd almost on all parts ; and no less certain , that this compression helps them to squeez out whatsoever is contein'd in them : as appears in exclusion of the excrements of the belly , in breaking wind , in belching , &c. If the Contraction of these Muscles ( such I mean , as is ordinarily made in Expiration ) be thought too weak to compress the gutts to a degree requisite to express the Chyle ; I can justly call in the depression of them by the Diaphragm in Inspiration , to the assistance thereof : and that hath been held of so great force to the Expression of the Chyle out of the gutts into the Milky veins , even by Monsieur Pecquet himself ( a man of solid Erudition , an acute judgement , and curiose to explicate natural things by Mechanic principles ) that writing of the motion of the Chyle ( in dissertationis Anatomicae cap. 11. ) he fear'd not to ascribe very much to it , in these words . Ad respirationem redeo , in qua dum pulmones dilatantur , etiam deorsùm diaphragma premunt , jecurque quod tum pistillum agens , succutientis per intervalla molis gravamine , non solum adigit chylum è ventriculo per Pylorum in intestina secedere ; sed corundem distendit porulos , illioque subtilissimam impellit in lacteas alimenti substantiam . If it be objected , that the depression of the stomach and gutts by the Midrif , cannot concurr with the Compression of them by the Muscles of the Abdomen ; because the contraction of these , is not Synchronic or coincident with the distension of that : I have this to answer . True it is indeed , that these motions are alternate , that is , when these Muscles are contracted , the Midrif is relax'd upward , and by filling the lower part of the chest , expels the breath upward ; and so Expiration is perform'd : and on the contrary , when the Midrif is distended , at the same time these Muscles are relaxed , the bowels depress'd , the cavity of the chest inlarged , and the air rushes into it from without , and so Inspiration is made . This , I say , is true : but this truth seems not to impugn the opinion I now defend . For , as often as the Compression of the Stomach and guts by the Contraction of these Muscles , is intermitted ; so often is their Depression by the distended diaphragm , repeated or renewed : So that though these motions be alternate , the pressure of the gutts , and consequently of the Chyle contein'd in them , is continued ; and as to the Expression of the Chyle into the Venae Lacteae , 't is all one whether the pressure be from above or on the sides . I have seen young Lads at Paris , for sport , take the skin of a Snake , neatly stript off from head to tail , fill it with water , then prick it through with a needle in many places , and in fine by either pressing the water from one end toward the other , or compressing it hard in the middle , force it to flow forth in as many slender streams , as the needle had made holes in the skin . And this ( methink ) is a pretty lively representation of the manner of the Expression of the Chyle out of the guts into the Milky veins . Thirdly I say , not by Attraction or Exsuction , as is generally believ'd . For ( 1 ) Natural Philosophers are not yet agreed upon the point , whether there be in nature any such thing as Attraction , properly so call'd , or not : and they that are on the Affirmative part , seem to me to have the worst end of the staff ; it being much more probable , that all the motions attributed to Attraction , are really perform'd by Impulsion . ( 2 ) Although it were granted , that some bodies may be moved by others by way of Attraction ; yet would it still remain extremely difficult to find , what should cause the motion of the Chyle , of which we are now speaking , by the same way . Of all Attractions mentioned by Philosophers , there are ( if my weak memory deceives me not ) but three differences or sorts , viz. Attraction ob fugam vacui , Attraction Organic , and Attraction Similar or ob similitudinem substantiae . But no one of these seems to have place in the effect here propos'd . Not the first ; because the Venae Lacteae are not , by reason of their exiguity , capable of such a vacuum coacervatum , as the Aristoteleans require to cause attraction of even fluid bodies : nor do they contain any disseminate vacuities ( as they call them ) when they are not fill'd with Chyle ; because then they close themselves and draw their sides together , in so much that they wholly disappear . Here then is no danger of vacuity , and consequently no necessity of Attraction for avoidance of it . Not the Second ; because the Venae Lacteae have no hooks , chords , or other instruments , wherewith to take hold of the Chyle , and draw it into their mouths out of the gutts . Nor the Last ; ( 1 ) because all Similar Attraction supposes Natural Perception , than which nothing is ( to me at least ) more doubtful : ( 2 ) because the affinity or similitude of nature required to be betwixt the Attrahent , and the thing to be attracted , is here wanting ; for , what is there of resemblance in substance , or qualities , betwixt the Milky veins , on one part , and the Chyle , on the other ? This is a fluid , those are solid bodies : the Chyle is a liquor composed of heterogeneous or dissimilar parts ; the Venae Lacteae , on the contrary , are Similar , spermatic parts . Wherein then consists the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Analogy , that should cause an attraction of the one by the others ? If it be said , that , not the Venae Lacteae themselves , but the reliques of the former Chyle remaining in them , attract the new Chyle , ob similitudinem substantiae . First we may deny , that , in the state of health , any thing of Chyle is to be found remaining in the Milky veins , after the work of distribution is finished ; and justify this our denial by the testimonies of all Modern Anatomists who have written of the motion of the Chyle , and of the Venae Lacteae . And then we may ask of the Patrons of Attraction Similar in this case , Why the Chyle contain'd in the gutts , being vastly more in quantity , should not rather attract the supposed reliques left in the Venae Lacteae ? Besides all these reasons daily Experience assures us , that not only pure and nutritive Chyle , but the particles of Purging and other ungrateful and offensive Medicaments , are received into the Venae Lacteae ; which they would never admit , in case they attracted the Chyle Electivè , by election or choice , as the supposition of Similar attraction implies . To conclude therefore ; it was not without reason I said , that the Chyle is not transferred from the gutts into the Milky veins by way of Attraction or Suction , but only of Expression . This may be confirmed by the very manner of the transmission of the Chyle into the Venae Lacteae , which seems to be , not immediately from the cavity of the intestines , but through the inmost Tunic of them , and that by way of percolation . First I say , not immediately from the cavity of the stomach and gutts ; because 't is demonstrable even to sense , by various Anatomic experiments made in the bellies of Animals alive or dead , that the Venae Lacteae do not perforate or pass through the stomach and gutts , but are all terminated in the inmost coat that lines them . For , neither by injection of liquors , nor by inflation with air , nor by the strongest compression whatsoever , can any thing be made to pass from the stomach or gutts into the Venae Lacteae , whether the Animal be open'd alive or dead , full or fasting Whence 't is sufficiently manifest , that these veins do not open themselves into the cavity of the stomach , or into that of the intestines ; for , if they did , what can be imagined to hinder the ingress of liquors , or air , when vehemently urged by compression , into them ? Wherefore I say Secondly , that the Chyle is transmitted by percolation , through the very Parenchyma of the stomach and gutts , tanquam per manicam Hippocratis , as through a streiner . For , it is not the custom of Nature to institute any secretion or separation of humors without a Colatory : nor doth she use , where there is need of a streiner , to ordain a single membrane , but some peculiar Parenchyma , to that purpose ; much less to delegate that office to the naked orifices of vessels of what kind soever . For , the orifice of a vessel , as simply such , i. e. as a mere organ , promiscuosely admitts whatever is brought to it ; not separating one liquor from another , the thinner from the thicker , the pure from the impure , but taking in without discrimination all that comes . Seeing therefore that Nature for the separation of different liquors confused , is always observed to use some Parenchyma as a Colatory or Streiner ; and seeing no other sufficiently noble and considerable use can be assign'd to the Parenchyma of the inmost Tunic of the stomach and gutts , but this I now attribute to it : these things ( I say ) duly consider'd , I think it most probable , that the Parenchyma of this Tunic doth perform the office of a Streiner to the Chyle , receiving and conveying into the Milky veins , the thinner parts thereof , and excluding the gross and excrementitious ; as an Hippocras bag transmitts the Wine , but retains the Spices infused in it . Now this very Percolation of the Chyle doth ( as I just now hinted ) not a little confirm my former assertion , that it is distributed from the cavities of the Ventricle and gutts , not by Attraction or Exsuction , but only by Expression . For , what can be imagin'd more likely to impell it , or drive the thinner parts of it into , and through the Streiner , than Pressure ? or whence can that pressure come , but from the Spontaneous Constriction of the stomach and gutts , conjoyn'd with the alternate Compression of them by the Diaphragme in inspiration ; by the Muscles of the Abdomen , in exspiration ? Why then should not Anatomists be able , by compression or any other way whatsoever , to force the Chyle , or other liquor injected , through this Parenchyma or supposed Streiner ? I answer ( First ) that the Mechanic Ration of this Colatory being not yet ( for ought I know ) discover'd , even by those curious Dissectors , who have with the best Microscopes contemplated the texture of it ; I dare not pretend to understand the true reason of the difficulty objected . ( Secondly , ) that if I were permitted to declare my present conjecture concerning the same , I should venture to say ; that the impediment to the manual expression of liquors out of the gutts into the Milky veins , in Animals dissected alive , may perhaps consist in one of these two things : either that of the several causes or motions , in the state of health and ease or indolency , concurring to this complex and organic operation , one ( or more ) is wanting ; and the Mechanism of the principal Organ , the interior Membrane of the gutts , altered and vitiated , in the praeternatural and dolorose state of the Animal dissected : or , that by reason of the cruel torments the miserable Beast feels , the Tone of the gutts becomes so strongly contracted and rigid , as to be wholly impervious . Which is the more probable , because 't is well known , that great and acute pain always irritates nervose and fibrose parts to contract themselves , even to rigidity ; which is opposite to the gentle compliance and yieldingness requir'd to permeability . Which may be one cause , why Nature hath endow'd all Glandules ordain'd for Secretion , with so little sense ; viz. lest otherwise , being sensible of every light irritation , they might be apt to shrink and condense themselves , to the interruption and hinderance of their office . And for Animals dissected after death ; I should guess , that in them , the Colatory of the Chyle is rendered impervious by Cold , which by strong constriction or constipation shutts up all slender and inconspicuous passages of the body , that had been kept open by the heat and motions of life . But these are my private Conjectures ( as I have already declar'd ) offer'd rather to your examen , than to your belief . So is whatsoever I have said in this disquisition , concerning the Distribution of the Chyle ; which I here conclude . ¶ . There remain yet two other Faculties of the stomach to be consider'd , viz. the SECRETIVE , by which it separates from the blood brought into its membranes by the Arteries , a certain slimy and subacid mucus , call'd pituita emortua , dead Phlegm , because the spirits thereof being exhausted , it is of no further use to the blood : and the EXCRETIVE , by which it exonerates it self of that dead Phlegm , of the sowre reliques of the food , of its own decay'd Ferment , and in fine of whatsoever else is unprofitable or offensive ; and that either upward , by Eructation , or by Vomit ; or downward into the intestines . But because the explication of the Constitutions of the stomach upon which these Powers are chiefly founded , and of the different motions and ways by which they are respectively executed , is less pertinent and requisite to the short History of Nutrition at this time by me design'd , than those precedent are , upon which I have hitherto insisted ; and because the Sands in my glass are a good while since all run down : therefore I find my self doubly obliged to pretermit the explanation of them ; lest I should at once , both rove from my principal scope , and further transgress the law of this Royal Colledge , which hath set bounds to all Exercises of this kind when here perform'd . By the later of which reasons I am hinder'd also from tracing the Chyle in the narrow , obscure , and anfractuose ways , through which it passes , before it can attain to the end of its journey ; and from observing particularly the Mutations it undergoes , the Exaltation and Refinement it gradually acquires , and the Secretion of its unassimilable parts , made in Organs by Nature to that use ordain'd . Let it therefore at present suffice , if to gratifie the Curiosity of the Yonger Students of Anatomie , I set before their eyes , not an accurate Map , but a rude Landskip of the Galaxy or Milky way , in which the greater part of the Chyle glides along through the purple Island of the body , to replenish the ocean of blood . The Chyle being now ( as I said ) squeez'd out of the stomach and gutts , into the slender pipes of the Venae Lacteae , flows gently on in them from the Circumference toward the Centre of the Mesentery ; the precedent parts of it being necessarily pusht forward by the succedent ( ut unda undam pellit ) till it enter into certain Glandules there placed . And this may be call'd , the First stage of the Chyles progess through the Galaxy . Extruded from thence , partly by more Chyle crowding in , partly by compression of the Glandules , by the distended Midrif , and contracted Muscles of the Abdomen , it flows into the Common Receptacle or Cistern , first discover'd by the Curiose and fortunate Monsieur Picquet , and thence call'd by his name . Which I accompt , the Second stage or remove of the Chyle . From the Common Receptacle ( which consisting of a membranose substance , situate at the very root of the Mesentery , upon the sphondyls of the Loins , and filling up the space between the Muscles Psoae , is incumbent upon the two long and fleshy productions of the Diaphragm ) the Chyle is transferr'd into the Ductus Chyliferus , which running upward , near the spine of the back , and continued quite home to the Subclavian branches of the Vena Cava , exonerate themselves into them , and commix the Chyle with the blood : and this also seems to be done by impulse or protrusion . Because the two Productions of the Diaphragm , lying immediately under the Common Receptacle , cannot be distended ( as together with the Diaphragm they always are , in every inspiration ) but they must force the Chyle therein contain'd , to give way , by ascending in the pipes that from thence tend upward ; after the same manner as in artificial fountains , the water is mounted into pipes , only by pressing the surface of that in the Cistern . Perhaps the so often mention'd Compression of all parts included within the Abdomen , by constriction of the Muscles thereof , may not a little contribute to this Elevation of the Chyle ; which is the Third remove of it . Next , the Chyle , by the said Subclavial veins brought into the Ascendent trunc of the Vena Cava , is immediately imported , together with the blood therein descending , into the right ear , and ventricle of the Heart . Which by its Systole or contraction , squeezes it into the Lungs , where by their Reciprocations it is more perfectly mixt with the blood , and whence it is devolv'd into the Left Ventricle of the Heart , and finally thence squirted into the Arteries , so soon as it hath receiv'd the form and name of blood . Which is the Fourth and last stage of its journy ; at least of so much of it , as is ordain'd to recruit the mass of blood , and afford matter for the supply of the Vital spirits or Heat . For , I blush not here to declare my adherence to the doctrin of that great Light and Ornament of this Colledge , Sir George Ent , that a considerable portion of the most delicate and spirituose Chyle , is never brought , through the Galaxy newly by me describ'd , into the blood ; but detach'd , and by other ways , by membranes and nerves and fibres ( perhaps by way of Filtration , as the nourishing juice of Plants seems to ascend from the roots up to the top of the highest spriggs ) transferr'd to the brain , and by Meteorization refin'd into the last aliment of the Spermatic parts . Which I do , not because I have hitherto zealously asserted this doctrin , both in Exercitat . 10. lib. de Oeconomia Animali , & lib. de Scorbuto cap. 8. but only because the Arguments and Experiments brought against it , by Deusingius and some other Defendents of that antique Placit of Aristotle , Sanguinem esse ultimum alimentum partium ; are not ( in my judgement ) half so weighty and cogent , as those brought to recommend it to the belief of an equal Arbiter . Of all the Objections hitherto put into the opposite end of the ballance , the most ponderose seems to be that , which hath been , by way of induction , alleged by my Learned Collegue , Dr. Lower , from a remarkable Anatomic Experiment made by himself , and recorded in his Book de motu Cordis & Sanguinis , cap. 5. Whence he inferrs , that the whole revenue of the Chyle is certainly expended upon the bloud : and yet notwithstanding , I dare affirm , that though the Experiment be true and ingeniose , the inference is more than can be , according to the Laws of right ratiocination , from thence deduced . The Experiment it self is ( in short ) this . If in a Dogg , or any other Animal , fed about three hours before , the pipe leading from the Common Receptacle , then fill'd with newly imported Chyle , be broken ( as without much difficulty it may , by making a convenient incision betwixt the two lowest ribbs of the right side , and tearing the Receptacle with the nail of the fore-finger ) so as the course of the Chyle into the Thoracic vessels be intercepted ; the poor Animal , how plentifully soever supplyed with food , will nevertheless perish by famine , within few dayes after ; and in his breast will be found a deluge of Chyle . The Inference , this . Certain it is therefore , that the Animal , though abounding with Chyle in the stomach , gutts , and milky veins , dies nevertheless of famine , by reason that the Chyle cannot ascend , by the Thoracic pipes , into the Subclavial veins , but is intercepted by the way : and by consequence , that the whole stock of Chyle is imported , by the chyliferous vessels , into the bloud . Which to me seems to be a Paralogism . For , granting , that whatever of Chyle is brought from the Common Receptacle into the mass of bloud , passes thither by no other way , but through the Thoracic pipes : it will not therefore necessarily follow , that the whole provision of Chyle made in the Ventricle , is convey'd thence into the Common Receptacle , and so into the bloud . For , why may not some part of it be diverted into other wayes , from the Ventricle by the membranes thereof , from the Glands of the Mesentery , from the Lumbares , and others vicine to them ? Chiefly when the wayes of that diversion or detachment are sufficiently probable ; as I have many years past shewn , ex professo , in my Exercitation de distributione Succi Nutritii per membranas & nervos : and when otherwise the spermatic parts of the body would all be destitute of requisite nourishment ; the bloud being so unfit to repair their exhaustion , that in all probability it rather preys upon , and consumes them ; as hath been with many nervose reasons asserted by Dr. Glisson , in lib. de Anatom . Hepat . Nor is it necessary , because the Doggs upon which this Experiment hath been tried , died within few daies after , that therefore they died of famin . For , why might not so great a wound , penetrating into the cavity of the Thorax , be sufficient of it self to destroy them , in that space of time ? Why is it not more consentaneous to conceive , that in those Doggs the bloud it self being depriv'd of the requisite afflux of new Chyle daily , and so alienated from its vital constitution , as to have been no longer fit to afford a continual recruit of spirits , became vappid ; and so inferr'd death , in a few dayes ? though the solid parts were not defrauded the while of their portion of the Chyle brought to them by other wayes . That in long fasting , when new Chyle is wanting , the bloud doth usually estuate , grow acrimonious , and prey upon the substance of the body : is a truth so well known by common experience , that it needs not farther probation . But how long after the wounds had been inflicted , did the Doggs live ? That our Author forgot to record ; leaving the number of the dayes undefin'd , notwithstanding the Circumstance of time be of great moment toward the strengthning his supposition , that they perish'd meerly by famin . For , if they surviv'd but two , three or four dayes , 't is more improbable they should be in so short time starv'd to death , than that they perish'd only by the wounds they had receiv'd . Again , 't was necessary , that by so great quantity of Chyle effused into the cavity of the Thorax , the motions of the Diaphragm , Heart , and Lungs , should be highly impeded ; that from the putrefaction of the same Chyle , an acute fever should be soon kindled ; and that the whole Oeconomy of Nature should be , in so great streights , perverted into mortal confusion , in those suffering Animals . There are then ( you see ) other causes , besides the interception of the Chyle , to which the death of the Doggs may be with more of verisimilitude ascrib'd . Where then is the necessity of that conclusion , that Famin alone kill'd them ? or how doth this Experiment demonstrate , that the whole revenue of Chyle is , as a due tribute , paid into the Exchequer of the bloud ? I am therefore to be excus'd , if I deny this mighty Objection to be of force enough to subvert the doctrine of the Nutrition of all the spermatic parts by the Succus nutritius , clearly distinct from the bloud . More considerable it is , that even that Great Man , Dr. Franc. Glisson , who had ( in lib. de Anat. Hepat . cap. ult . ) with so many , and so strong arguments drawn from reason and observations , propagated this doctrine ; hath notwithstanding , in his last and most elaborate work ( de Ventric . & intestin . cap. 8. ) taken occasion to retract it , in these very words . Hîc tres Errores à me olim admissos ultrò agnosco & revoco . Conjectabam quidem tunc ( 1. ) Materiam succi nutritii esse selectissimam Chyli partem ; ( 2. ) Hanc per viam secretionis in glandibus quibusdam , potissimum Mesenterii , à reliquo chylo separari , & per nervos ad cerebrum transmitti ; ( 3. ) Nervos splenicos è liene succum quendam tenuem & mitem , qui sit vehiculum prioris , eligere sive exsugere . Hisce tribus sententiis hîc valedico , & argumenta , in quantum iis stabiliendis inserviant , improbo ; & similiter Corollaria , si quae sint , in quantum ab iis solis dependeant , rejicio . This Palinodia of his did , I confess , not a little surprize me , when first I read it : but my amazement lasted not long . For , when I had found , that as to the Reasons inducing him to make that Recantation , his silence had left me wholly in the dark ; and that in the lines immediately following he had subjoin'd this limitation of it , Interim non nego , quin detur verus succus nutritius à cerebro per nervos ad omnes partes spermaticas dispensatus ; aut quin sit subjectum spirituum animalium . Sed aio , generari hunc succum in solo cerebro , inter corticem ejusdem & medullam , per viam secretionis ; & sanguims mitiorem partem magisque spermaticam esse materiam , &c. I perceiv'd , that though he had , by his Authority , shook some part , he had not yet demolish'd the whole of that fair structure by himself formerly erected . And I have reason to believe , that he had never affirm'd , that the true succus nutritius is deriv'd out of the bloud ; had not Fate , thinking the honor he had before acquir'd by other noble discoveries in Nature , sufficient to give him immortal renown , reserv'd the glory of farther revealing the mysterie of Nutrition , for Sr. George Ent. Who , in his incomparable Antidiatriba lately publish'd , hath eternally obliged the world by declaring his sentiments concerning the Matter , conditions , and generation of the true succus nutritius ; as also concerning the Manner and Wayes by which the same is distributed to all parts of the body thence to be recruited . To that Aphoristical Book therefore I referr all those of my Auditors , who desire to be more fully satisfied in this matter : and so conclude this my imperfect History of Nutrition . ¶ . PRAELECTIO IV. Of Life . THe Climax or Scale of Nature , by which she advances in her Works from less to greater Dignity and Perfection , and distinguishes all things Animate into three general Orders , consisteth ( as ye well know ) of only three Rungs or Degrees : of which the first is simple Vegetation , to which all Plants are confined ; the second , Sense , which includes Vegetation , and is the Ne ultra to all brute Animals ; the third , Reason , which comprehends both Vegetation and Sense , as inferior and subordinate , and Constitutes the royal Praerogative of Man , above all his fellow Creatures that are [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] composed of Soul and Body . To each of these degrees LIFE is annext ; for even Plants themselves are , by Universal consent of Mankind , allowed to live and dye , as well as Sensitive and Rational Creatures : and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicitur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Sic Plato ( in Timaeo ) quicquid 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , i. e. vivendi particeps est , jure Sane 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( quasi vitale dixeris ) id est animal rectissimè appellari potest . Insunt autem & plantis ipsis facultates vivendi , nutriendi , crescendi , suique simile producendi . Sic etiam Arist. ( de gen . Animal . l. 2. c. i. ) Sive planta , sive Animal est , inquit ; aeque omnibus inest , quod vim habet vegetandi , sive nutriendi , &c. but not Life of one and the same kind ; for the Life of Brutes is more Energetic , and consequently more Noble than the Life of Plants ; and the Life of Man much more Noble than that of Brutes . And this of absolute Necessity , because a sensitive Soul is endowed with more and higher Faculties or Powers , than a Vegetative ; and a rational Soul , with more and more excellent , than a Sensitive : and therefore the Life which results from the Conjunction of either of these Souls with its proper Body , conveniently Organiz'd , must be accordingly different from the Life of the other two . Which Aristotle well understanding , first defines Life in general to be , Animae , ejusque organici corporis , per conjunctionem & unionem utriusque actus & Vigor ; and then teaches particularly , that Plants live by the Sole act of their vegetant Soul , namely by Nutrition ; Brute Animals , by the Sole act of their Sentient , which includes the former ; and Man by the act of Reason , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is by Cogitation or Ratiocination , which as Supreme , praesupposes both Vegetation and Sension . Let this Scale of Nature then be our Method . Let us , who have proposed to ourselves to follow her steps , as near as our poreblind Reason shall permit us , ascend from the Life of Vegetation , to the Life of Sense ; from the Life of Plants , to that of Animals , and among them , of the most perfect Animal , Man himself , who is our principal Subject . And that we may the more directly conduct our present inquiries by the clew of her observable operations , let us consider diligently ( 1 ) What Life is , ( 2 ) Whence it originally proceeds , ( 3 ) What is the Subject wherein it primarily Subsists , ( 4 ) how it is perpetually generated a new , from the first moment of its accension , to that of its total extinction or period . ( 5 ) how it is continually diffused or Communicated from its Fountain to all parts of the Body . But because the Fundament of right Ratiocination is placed in the true signification of Names , 't is therefore requisite , that before I proceed to investigate the nature and formal reason of Life , I should recount and explain the various Names by which it hath been call'd : not only to prevent Ambiguity , by fixing their signification ; but also in hope of gaining from them somewhat of Light toward my Disquisition . From Holy Scriptures then I begin , both from the Veneration due to those Divine Oracles , and because they are of all Books whatsoever , most likely to afford me hints of the abstruse thing after which I am serching . The Writer of the Book of Genesis , in the short History of Mans Creation ( Cap. 2. v. 7. ) expresses the manner of it in these Words , according to the Graec Text of the Septuagint . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Which the Vulgar La in version renders thus . Formavit igitur Dominus Deus hominem de limo terrae , & inspiravit in faciem ejus Spiraculum vitae , & factus est homo in animam viventem : and our latest Translation thus . And the Lord God formed Man of the Dust of the Earth , and breathed into his Nostrils the Breath of Life ; and Man became a living Soul. Here then by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Spiraculum vitae , Life is signified : but whether the Author by those Words intimated or not , that God kindled Life in the Heart of Adam by a vital Breath blown by his Nostrils into his Blood , as fire is propagated by blowing ; or whether he meant only , that God gave to Adam Life , as some have interpreted them ; is not for me , who pretend not to interpretation of sacred Writ , to determine . Nevertheless I hope I shall not be thought to usurp the Province of Theologues , if I take the innocent liberty of believing , that this admirable act of Vivification done by the Omnipotent Creator upon Adam , was done by way of Inspiration ; by which , according to the genuine and proper Sense of the word , is to be understood , a blowing in of some subtil and energetic substance , into a place where before it was not , viz. into the Nostrils of the human Body newly formed of the Dust of the Earth . Which will perhaps be found somewhat the more reasonable , if the manner and circumstances of the miraculous Revivification of the good Shunamites Son , by the Prophet Elisha ( Kings 2. Cap. 4. ) be well considered . For , we read , that after the Prophet had layn some time , and much bestirred himself upon the Body of the dead Child , putting his Mouth upon his Mouth , and his Eyes upon his Eyes , and his Hands upon his Hands , and stretched himself again and again upon him ; [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] the Flesh of the Child waxed warm , and he Neesed seven times , and opened his Eyes . So that from thence it seems inferrible , that as the first Man was inlivened , so this Child was revived by Inspiration . Both acts doubtless were done miraculously , because by the same divine Agent , God : yet with this difference , that the former was performed immediately by God himself ; the latter , mediately by his Instrument , the Prophet ; to whose Breath blown into the Childs Mouth , and to whose Heat communicated to the Childs Flesh , and consequently to his Blood , the Author of Life was pleased to give a Virtue so Efficacious , as to restore and renovate the Vital motions of the Blood , Heart , Lungs , and Diaphragm of the Child , that had been stopped by the cold Hand of Death : and those Motions being recommenced , and the Brain reinvigorated by a fresh influx of arterial Blood , replete with vital Spirits ; by strong contraction of its Membranes , as it were by a Critical Motion , expell'd the material and conjunct cause of the Disease , by Sternutation seven times repeted , before the Child opened his Eyes . For , that the Seat of that most acute Disease was in the Brain , is manifest even from the Childs complaint to his Father ; [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] my Head , my Head. I am not ignorant , there are some , who expresly affirm , that the word inspiration is in sacred Scriptures used only Metaphoricaly ; whether truly or not , let Divines dispute . Meanwhile I am certain , the word Spirit , upon which inspiration depends , is in many places of the holy Bible used to express Life . In Job . ( c. 27. v. 3 ) quamdiu spiritus Dei est in naribus meis , signifies , so long as I shall live , or have Life . And in Ezech ( c. 1. v. 20. ) Spiritus vitae erat in rotis , seems to me to say , the Wheels were living . Other Instances I might easily collect , if these were not sufficient to my Scope , and if I were not obliged to hasten to other appellations and Characters of Life less liable to controversy ▪ and used , by Philosophers . By Hippocrates , Life is per periphrasin , call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ignis ingenitus ; & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , accensio animae in corde , by Aristotle . The Hebrews express it sometimes by nephesch , sometimes by neschama ; both which words indifferently signifie Soul , or Life . The Graecians , whose Language is more copiose , name it either 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which is derived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifies to Breath , or refrigerate by blowing ; nor unfitly , because to Breath or respire , is proper to living Creatures : or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ aliàs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; to which Hesychius addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . The Latines , commonly Vita ; which is deflected from the Graec 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by cutting off the Vowel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and changing b into v , as is usually done ; and sometimes Anima , whch is from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifies Wind ; an Etymology owned by Horace himself in this odd exprssion of his , Impellunt animae lintea Thraciae ; in Carmin lib. 4. Ode 12. and before him by Lucretius ( lib. 6. ) in these Words ; Ventus ubi , atque animae subitò vis maxima quaedam Aut extrinsecus , aut ipsa ab tellure coorta . Who often calls the Soul , Ventum Vitalem . FROM the various Names , we come to some few Notions that eminent Philosophers have formed to themselves of Life ; such as among many others , seem to me more memorable than the rest , as well for the credit they have obtained in the Schools , as for the great renown of their Authors . Cardanus ( a man of admirable Subtility of Wit , in his lucid intervalls ) defines Life to be , the Operation or action of the Soul : and ( as Iul. Scaliger , in Exercit. 102 Sect. 5. not without Signs of envy , observes ) hath therein many Followers . In the number of whom I must not list my self . ( 1 ) because if Life be an action of the Soul , the Body cannot be truly said to live . ( 2 ) if Life be an action , there must be an action of an action ; for the actions of Life in Man , are ( as Arist . 2. de anima , truly teaches ) to understand , to have Sense , to move voluntarily , to be nourished , to speak , &c. and to suppose an action of an action , is manifestly absurd . In this point therefore I declare my self to be no disciple of Cardans . Fernelius ( equal to Cardan both in time and fame , nor inferior in Sagacity of Spirit ) defines life thus , Est Animantium vita , facultatum actionumque omnium conservatio . But this definition is too narrow for the thing , as taking no notice of the Body , which yet is participant of Life , and upon whose Organs the exercise of all the faculties and actions of the Soul depends . Ludovicus Vives describes Life to be , Conservatio instrumentorum , quibus anima in corpore utitur : because ( saith he ) when the instruments are corrupted , life ceaseth . But neither in this description is it safe to acquiesce . ( 1 ) because Life is conserved , not so much by the integrity of the Instruments , as by the Faculties , which are before the Instruments , and upon which all the Functions proximly depend . ( 2 ) The conservation of the Instruments doth not make or constitute Life , but rather follow it , as an effect . ( 3 ) if Life were only the conservation of the Instruments , then would it necessarily follow , that part of Life is lost or destroyed , when any of the Instruments are corrupted or cut off : which is absurd ; life being indivisible , and daily experience attesting , that one or more of the Organs of the Body , as Hands , Feet , &c , may be cut off , without diminution of Life . Which even Lucretius himself acknowledged in these elegant Verses . At manet in vita , cui mens animusque remansit , Quamvis est circum-caesis lacer undique membris : Truncus , ademptâ animâ circum , membrisque remotis , Vivit , & aetherias vitaleis suscipit auras &c. Lib. 3. Neither of these three Select Definitions proving in all points absolute and Scientific ; some here perhaps expect , that I , who am so bold as to reject them , should dare also to substitute in the room of them , some new one of my own excogitation , if not more perfect , yet at least less culpable . To these expecting Gentelmen therefore I say , that much less of skill and strength being required to demolish , than to build ; a Pigmy may be able to pull down , what Giants have raised ; and that to form a true and complete definition of any the most obvious thing in Nature , much more of Life , which is extremly abstruse , would puzzel a much stronger Brain than mine . Well then may I be excused , if conscious of my imparity to a task so desperate , I forbear farther to expose my weakness by attempting it : and choose rather to leave them to collect , what my sentiments are of the nature of Life , from my following discourse . WHICH being designed only as a modest disquisition of the natural causes of Human Life , I professedly pass by what that over-curiose nation of Scholemen , impensly addicted to notions abstracted from all commerce with the Senses , and to Speculations Metaphysical , have delivered of the Life of Spirits , of Angells , Daemon's , and other Beings of that kind , subject neither to the Laws of Nature , nor to the Empire of Fate . And this I do , because some of their Doctrines far transcend the capacity of my narrow Wit , others seem more fine than useful , and all are remote from my present institute . I omit also what our equaly acute Dr. Glisson hath with admirable subtility of Wit , and immense Labour of Meditation excogitated , and not many Years before his Death , divulged , of the Energetic Life of Nature , and its Faculties ; by virtue of which he supposed , that even the most minute particles of this aspectable World do naturally perceive , desire , move themselves with Counsel , and ( what is yet more wonderful ) frame Bodies for themselves to inhabit , animate or inform them , and perform other most noble operations . Which I do , not only because this opinion , how favorable soever , hath not yet been received as canonical by common assent of Philosophers ; but also because I humbly conceive it to be in all things ( the Name only excepted ) the same with that antique Dogma first delivered by Plato , and after asserted by his Followers , that all things in the Universe are Animate , that is , are naturally endowed [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] with Sense and Self-motion ; which hath been sufficiently impugned by Aristotle , Lucretius , Gassendus , and all others , who have refuted Plato's Doctrine de Anima mundi , upon which it is grounded . Not that I reject this opinion of natural Sense , or Perception attributed to all things , but that I am not yet convinced of the truth of it : & , Insipientis est , aliis dogmata illa aut commendare , aut convellere , de quorum veritate ipsemet adhuc dubitat . And well may I suspend my assent to this opinion , which gives to things inanimate such Faculties , which my Philosophy will not grant to any but rational Creatures . Nor indeed would either Lucretius , or Des Cartes . For the former , though , according to the Epicurean Hypothesis , which he in all things followed , he attributes to Atoms ( or as he calls them ) Solida Primordia rerum , a Spontaneous Mobility ; nevertheless denies , that they are naturally moved with Knowledg or Design , in these Verses . ( Lib. 2. ) " Nam neque consilio debent tardata morari , " Nec perscrutari primordia singula quaeque , " Ut videant , qua quidque geratur cum ratione . And the Later , in one of his Epistles to Mersennus ( Epistol . parte 2. epist. 44. ) where he strictly examines the Doctrine of a certain Monk , that ascribed to even the most minute particles of Matter , a Power of moving themselves , and other ingenite propensions ( the very same , I guess , with those supposed to be inseparably conjoyn'd with Natural Perception ) plainly declares his Judgment of the unreasonableness thereof , in these Words . Non probo indivisibilia ista , neque naturales , quas illis tribuit , propensiones ; istiusmodi enim propensiones absque intellectu concipere nequeo , & ne irrationalibus quidem animalibus tale quidquam tribuo : Sed quicquid in illis appetitus , aut propensiones vocamus , per solas Mechanicae regulas explico . These two praeliminary Advertisements premised , I come into the direct way of my intended disquisition . That the Life of Man doth both originally spring , and perpetually depend from the intimate conjunction and union of his Reasonable Soul with his Body ; is one of those few Assertions in which all Divines and natural Philosophers unanimously agree . And they have reason . For , while the rational Soul continues in the Body , so long Life continues ; and when the same is separated from the Body , in that very moment of Time , Death succeeds . Now this rational Soul being by most wise Men granted to be a pure Spirit , or substance merely Spiritual ; it is from thence necessarily consequent , that the Life of it is Substantial , that is , the very substance of it , considered ( as Metaphysicians love to speak ) non in ordine ad esse per se , sed in ordine ad operationes . For , we dull-brain'd Mortals , to whom it is not granted , to be able to conceive the nature of Beings purely Spiritual , by notions adaequate to it ; according to the Module of our understanding , distinguish even in Angels , their subsistence Fundamental , from their Energetic Nature : although in reality both are the same substance , but diversly considered . For , this substantial Life , though it may be , as to its Operations , by the same Divine Power that gave it , suspended ; cannot yet be wholly taken away , so , as that it should after continue to be a Spirit . Because if a Spirit be supposed to be deprived of Life , the very substance of it must also be supposed to be at the same time annihilated . For , who can conceive so gross a contradiction , as a dead Angel ? The same may be as truly said also of a Rational Soul , which is allowed to be a Spirit too . Wherefore the Life of it is ( as I affirmed ) Substantial and Essential , and consequently incapable to be taken away , unless the Soul or Spirit it self be at the same time annihilated . Which the Omnipotent Creator can indeed , when he shall so please , do : but it doth not appear from any place of holy Scripture , that he either hath done , or ever will do it : and therefore let no man doubt of the Immortality of his Soul. Sic etenim lethi praeclusa ' st janua menti . From this our fundamental position then , that the Life of a Man is in his rational Soul essentially ; it follows of necessity , that the same Life cannot be in his Body too essentially , but by way of Participation or Communication . Nor is it difficult to conceive in our mind , that the Life of the Body , being separable from it , is only communicated to it , or derived from another thing of a different Nature . For , if a substance essentially living , be intimately united to another substance of its own nature void of Life ; the thing composed of those two substances so united , must have Life : but so , that the first part live substantially or by virtue of its Essence ; the other , only by participation of that essential Life . Certain therefore it is and evident , that the Life of a Man comes immediately from , and depends upon the Presence of his rational Soul in his Body . Which is the Truth we sought after . I say , immediately ; because the Life of the Soul is originally from God , who created it a living Substance . Of the Souls of Brute Animals , the same may not be affirmed . For though it be true indeed , that their Souls also are the Principle or Fountain whence Life is communicated to the Bodies they inform ; yet 't is equally true , that these Souls being Material or Corporeal , their Life cannot be essential to the matter , of which they are composed , but flows from , and depends upon the determinate Modification of that matter , from which their Souls Result . So that in Brutes , as it is the Mode or manner of the disposition of the Matter , not simply the matter it self , that constitutes the Soul : So it is the Hypostasis or subsistence of the same Mode , upon which alone the Life , that is , the Act , Energy and Vigor of the Soul depends . No wonder then , if we believe the Souls of all Brutes to be by their nature Mortal , and to be actually dissolved , together with their Bodies , by Death . That I may explain what I understand by the Modification of the matter which is here supposed to constitute the Soul of a Brute ; give me leave , in this place to make a short halt ( for it is not a digression ) while I briefly declare what my sentiments are concerning the Souls of Brutes . I humbly , and with Submission to wiser Heads , conceive ( 1 ) That the diversity of kinds observed among Brutes , proceeds immediately from the divers Modifications of the common matter of their Souls , and the respectively divers Organizations of their Bodies : from both which by admirable artifice conjoyned and united into one complex System or Machine , various faculties and proprieties must of necessity result , by which those several kinds are among themselves distinguished . ( 2 ) That the Specific or determinate Modification of the Soul , and respective Organization of the Body , in every distinct kind ; is to be wholly attributed to the Plastic virtue or formative Power innate and affixed to the Seed of the Generants . ( 3 ) That this Plastic virtue is originally founded in the still efficacious Fiat pronounced in the act of Creation , by the Divine Architect of all things : who commanding all Animals to increase and multiply , gave them at the same time power to fulfill that Command , by endowing their Seed with an active Principle to form , and impressing upon that Agent , a certain idea or exemplar , according to which it is obliged and directed how to form , and not otherwise ; provided the Matter upon which it operates , be obedient and susceptible of that Idea . So that the Idea first conceived in the Divine Intellect , and then prescribed as a Pattern to the Plastic Spirit , with which the genital matter is impregnated ; being not in all kinds , nay not in any two kinds of Animals one and the same , but a peculiar Idea assigned to each kind : it comes to pass , that the Plastic Spirit thus directed , regulated , and confined by the Law of Nature , doth out of that genital matter form the Soul , and Organize the Body of every Brute Animal of any one of those numerous kinds , exactly according to the prototype of that kind . And by this means I conceive all Brutes to be generated , both Soul and Body ; and their distinct Species , without confusion , or innovation , conserved throughout all ages . If I conceive amiss , be pleased to consider , that many excellent Wits , treating of the same Subject , have done so before me ; and that the Theorem it self is so abstruse , that , as Cicero ( 2. Tusculan . ) said of the various Opinions of Philosophers about the nature of a Soul , Harum Sententiarum quae verasit , Deus aliquis viderit ; quae verisimillima , magna quaestio est : so may I say , Man may dispute , what is most probable , but God alone knows what is true , concerning the Souls of Beasts , and their production . Notwithstanding this darkness of my way , I must adventure to go a little farther in it , and endevor to explain ( 1 ) What the Substance of a Sensitive Soul is , or of what Particles it is contexed ; ( 2 ) In what the Life or Act and Vigor of it consisteth ; and ( 3 ) What are the primary Functions and Operations of it . As to the First then , it seems highly probable , that a Sensitive Soul is not a pure Spirit ( such as the rational Soul of Man is ) but a meer Body , yet a most subtile and extremely thin one , as being context of most minute and most subtile Corpuscules or Particles . For , if it were Incorporeal , it could neither act , nor suffer in the Body which it animate's or informs : not Act , because it could not touch any part ; not Suffer , because it could not be touch't by any part of the Body . But that it doth both act and suffer in the Body , is most evident from its Sensations of external Objects , from its affects or Passions consequent to those Sensations , from the motions it causeth in the Members respective to those Passions , and from its Union and consension with the Body in all things . I call it therefore a Body , and say , that it is composed , or by an admirable contexture , made up of most thin and most subtile Particles , such perhaps as are most smooth and most round , like those of Flame or Heat : because otherwise it could not diffuse it self so swiftly through , nor cohere within with the whole Body and all parts of it ; and because when it departs out of the Body , the Body is not perceived to lose any the least thing of its former Bulk , Figure , or Weight ; no more than a Vessel of Wine loses by the exhalation of its Spirits , or a piece of Amber-Grise loses by emission of its Odor . So that we may imagine , that if the whole sensitive Soul of an Elephant were conglomerated or condensed , it might be contained in a place no bigger than a Cherry-stone . These constituent particles or Elements of a Sensitive Soul , I suppose to be for the most part analogous to the nature of Fire : because the natural heat of all Animals comes from the Soul , and their Life consisteth in that Heat . I also suppose them to be at first conteined in the genital matter : the most spirituose or active particles of which are in the act of formation , by the Plastic Virtue Selected , Disposed , Formed , and as it were contexed into a little Soul ; and the grosser or less agil framed by degrees into an organical Body of competent dimensions , and of Figure answerable to the Specific Idea by the Divine Creator pre-ordained and assigned to that Species , to which the Generants belong . And this I suppose , because the brisk , vigorous and swift motions of the Soul in the Body , require it to be composed of particles most subtile and active ; and because as well the Soul , as the Body , is by all Philosophers granted to be formed of the seminal matter ; and because otherwise Brutes cannot be properly said to generate their like in Specie , and by consequence , the Power to that end entailed upon them , by the first and universal command of God , increscite ac multiplicamini , would be rendr'd of no effect . I farther suppose , that this Embryon Soul after this manner newly formed , or as it were kindled , is dayly augmented , by accession and assimilation of like Particles , as the Body is augmented out of the grosser and less fugitive Parts , of the Aliment : till both Soul and Body have attain'd to the standard of Maturity , or perfection of growth ; thenceforth slowly declining in Vigor , by degrees answerable to those of their ascent , till they arrive at their final Period , Death , which dissolving the system or contexture of the Soul , leaves the Particles of which it was composed , to fly away , and vanish into Aire ; and the Body to be resolved into its first Principles , by slower corruption . For , Nutrition and Augmentation are ( as yesterday I proved ) Operations of the Plastic Virtue continually reforming the whole Animal : and the duration or subsistence of the Soul is the Vinculum of the whole composition or concretion . So that the Soul may be , by an apposite Metaphor , called the Salt or Condiment that preserves the fleshy parts of the Body from putrefaction ; as the Spirits of Wine preserve the whole Mass of Liquor through which they are diffused , from losing its Vigor and generose quality : and according to that oraculous saying of Hippocrates , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Soul is always generated anew till Death . Which very thing is argument enough to evince , that if it be not really a most thin Flame , finer and more gentle than that arising from the purest Spirit of Wine burning within a paper Lantern , it is at least very like to Flame . For , as this , so that is every moment regenerated , at once perishing and reviving : perishing by continual dissipation of some Particles , and reviving by continual accension of others out of its proper aliment ; the more subtile and sulphureous Particles of the Blood serving to repair the decays of the Soul , as the grosser Particles of the succus nutritius are convenient to recruit the exhausted substance of the Body . So that it was not without reason , that Democritus , Epicurus , Lucretius , and Hippocrates , among the Antients ; and among the Moderns , Fernelius , Heurnius , Cartesius , Hogelandus , Honoratus Faber , and Dr. Willis , held the Soul of a Brute to be of a firy substance : and that Aristotle himself called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; and that the Ld. Chancellor Bacon ( natural Hist. centur , 7. ) makes one of the two radical differences between Plants and Animals , to consist in this , that the Spirits of living Creatures hold more of Flame . Finally I conceive , that this sensitive Soul , however it be a thing mixt or composed of Particles among themselves in Magnitude , Figure , Position , and Motion somwhat various , is notwithstanding by admirable Artifice so constituted , and the parts of it so contemperate and context , that it is made one most thin , and yet continued and coherent substance , diffused through the whole Body . Nor can its component Particles , while it subsists in the Body , be dissociated ( otherwise than by their own evolation , which is instantly supplied by the accession and unition of others ) no more than the natural smell , colour , or tast can be separated from an Apple , Peach or any other Fruit. This universal diffusion of it through the Body , is what the Ld. Chancellor Bacon calls , Branching of the Spirits ( in Nat. Hist. Cent. 7. Paragraph . 1 ) where he saith , the Spirits of things Animate are all continued with themselves , and branched in Veins and secret Canales , as Blood is ; and what Dr. Willis calls , Coextension of the Soul to all parts of the Body . Granting then , that this most thin , continued and diffused Substance is conteined in the Body , and as it were coherent with the same , thereby sustained and bounded ; we may with the more probability conceive , that it is to the Body the cause of all the Faculties , Actions , Passions , and Motions belonging to its Nature , as the Organ of such a Soul ; that it keeps the Body together , at once both conserving , actuating , managing and governing it ; and that it can be no more separated from the Body , without the dissolution thereof , than the Odor can be separated from Frankincense , without destroying the nature of it . And this I think sufficient to explain what I conceive of the first quaestion proposed , viz. of what Substance the Soul of a Brute is , and of what Particles composed . As to the Second , viz. wherein the Life of such a Soul doth consist ; it seems to me probable , that since Life , according to the general notion of it , is nothing but Usura quaedam vigoris , mobilitatisque facultatum activarum ejus rei , cui inest ; the Life of a sensitive Soul is immediately founded in a certain Motion of the active and spirituose Particles of which it is composed : as the Life of an Animal consisteth in the continuation of the same determinate Motion of those Spirits , by which it was at first kindled ; and of the actual exercise of the Faculties that emerge or result from the union of the Soul with its Body , by the Fabrick of the various Organs thereof adapted to perform all the various Functions , Offices and Actions requisite to consummate the nature of such an Animal in Specie . What kind of Motion that is , in which , as in its Origine , I conceive this Life to be founded ; I shall by and by declare , when I come to enquire what is the immediate Subject or Seat of Life ; having first endeavor'd to solve the Third Question proposed , viz. what are the principal Faculties and Operations of a sensitive Soul. These then are ( as ye well know ) all comprehended in Life , Sense , and motion Animal : of which I shall here consider only the Second , reserving the First till by and by , and the Last till the Clew of my method hath brought me to treat of it in its proper place . As to the Faculty of Sense therefore , which constitutes the chief difference between living Creatures and things inanimate , which Lucretius elegantly call's animam ipsius animae , and the extinction or total privation of which is Death ; since I have supposed a sensitive Soul to be Material or Corporeal , I must seek for this noble Power , whereby she is qualified , not only to perceive external Objects , but to be also conscious of all her Perceptions , in Matter after a certain peculiar manner , so or so disposed or modified ; and in nothing else , lest I recede from that supposition . But in what matter is it most likely to be found , whatsoever the determinate modification requisite to create such a Power shall at length be imagined to be : in the Matter of the Soul herself , or in that of the Body she animates . Truly , if we distinctly examine either the Soul or Body of a Brute , as not conjoyned and united into one Compositum ; we shall have a hard task of it , to find in either of them , or indeed in any other material Subject whatsoever , any thing to which we may reasonably attribute such a Power of perceiving and self-moving . But , if we consider the whole Brute , as a Body animated , and by Divine Art of an infinite Wisdom designed , framed and qualified for certain actions , Uses and ends : then we may safely conclude , that a Brute is , by the law of the Creation or institute of Almighty God , so made and comparated , as that from such a Soul and Body united , such a confluence of Faculties should result , as are necessary and convenient to the uses and ends for which it was designed . Do but convert your thoughts awhile upon Mechanic Engines , and seriously contemplate the motions , powers and effects of them . Composed they are all indeed of gross , solid and ponderose Materials ; and yet such is the designe , contrivance and artifice of their various parts , as that merely from their Figures , positions and motions of them conjoyn'd into one complex Machine , there do necessarily result certain and constant operations , answerable to the intent and scope of the Artists , and far transcending the forces of their divided ingredients . Before the invention of Clocks and Watches , who could expect , that of Iron and Brass , dul and heavy Metalls , a Machine should be framed ; which consisting of a few Wheels indented in the circumference , and a Spring commodiously disposed , should in its motions rival the Celestial Orbs , and without the help or direction of any external mover , by repeted revolutions , measure the successive spaces of Time , even to Minutes and Seconds , as exactly almost as the revolutions of the Terrestial Globe it self ? And yet now such Machines are commonly made even by some Black-Smiths , and Mens admiration of their pretty artifice long since ceased . If then in vulgar Mechanics , the contrivance and advantagious dispositions of matter , be more noble and efficacious than matter it self : certainly in a living Automaton or Animal consisting of an active Soul and organic Body intimately united , the Powers emergent from the force of such a Soul , and from a conspiracy and cooperation of so many , and so various Organs , all so admirably formed , ought to be esteemed incomparably more noble , more Energetic . If the art of Man , weak and ignorant Man , can give to Bodies , of themselves weighty , sluggish and unactive , figure , order , connexion and motion fit to produce effects above the capacity of their single Natures : What ought we to think of the Divine art of the Creator , whose Power is infinite , because his Wisdom is so ? Cùm magnes ( cui Thales propterea animam attribuit ) ferrum ad se attrahit , domitrixque illa rerum omnium materia ( ut ait Plinius , l. 36. c. 16. ) ad inane nescio quid currit ; & acus ferrea eidem affricta , mundi cardines perpetuò respicit : cùm horologia nostra singulos diei noctisque hor as constanter indicant : an non corpus aliud ( praeter elementa ) idque divinius participare videntur ? Quòd si ex artis ' dominio & gubernatione , tam praeclara quotidie supra rerum ipsarum vires efficiantur ; quid ex Naturae praecepto ac regimine fieri putabimus , cujus ars solùm imitatrix est ? Et si hominibus serviendo , tam admiranda perficiant ; quid , quaeso , ab iis expectabimus , ubi instrumenta fuerint in manu Dei ? Harv . in lib. de generat . Animal . exercit . 70. Could not He , think ye , who by the voice of his Will call'd the World out of Chaos , and made so many myriads of distinct beings out of one and the same universal Matter ; could not He , I say , when he created Brutes , so fashion and organize the various Parts and Members of their Bodies , thereto adjust the finer and more active contexture of their Souls , and impress such motions upon them , as that from the union and cooperation of both , a syndrome or confederacy of Faculties should arise , by which they might be qualified and inabled to live , to perceive , to know their perceptions , to move and act respectively to the proper ends and uses of their Creation ? Undoubtedly He could ; and 't is an Article of my belief , that He did . When ye hear a Church Organ , is it not as delightful to your Mind , as the Musick is to your Ear , to consider how so many grateful Notes and Consonances , that compose the charming Harmony , do all arise only from Wind blown into a set of Pipes , gradually different in length and bore , and successively let into them by the apertures of their Valves ? and do ye not then observe , the effect of this artificial instrument highly to excell , both the Materials of it , and the Hand of the Organist that play 's upon it ? The like Harmony perhaps ye have sometimes heard from a musical Water-Work , that plaid of its self , without the Fingers of a Musician to press down the Jacks , merely by the force of a Stream of Water opening and shutting the Valves by turns , and in an order predesign'd to produce the harmonical Sounds , Consonances and Modes requisite to the composition , to which it had been set . Now to this Hydraulic Organ ye may compare a Beast , whose Soul being indeed , by reason of a certain modification of her matter , qualified to perceive the various impressions made by objects upon the Nerves of the instruments of the Senses ; and to perform many trains of Actions thereupon : is yet so limited in her Energy , that she can perform no other actions , but such as are ( like the various parts of an harmonical Composition ) regularly prescribed ( as the Notes of a Tune are prict down on the tumbrell of our Instrument ) by the Law of her Nature , and determined for the most part to the same scope , the Conservation of herself and the Body she animates . So that she seems qualified only to produce a Harmony of Life , Sense and Motion : and this only from a certain contexture of the spirituose Particles of the matter of which she is made , and from the respective Organization of the Body in which she acts . But from what kind of texture or modification of the supposed Particles , doth the faculty of Perceiving or discerning Objects arise ? For , what I have hitherto said , is too general to explain the particular reason of the thing here inquired , viz. qua ratione fiat , ut res sentiens creetur ex rebus insensilibus ; whence it is , that a corporeal Soul , composed of matter in it self wholly void of Sense , acquires the power of Sensation . I say therefore , that this is indeed the difficulty that remain's here to be solved : but such a difficulty , that I dare not attempt to solve ; having much more reason to believe , that it will to the end of the World remain indissoluble . For , to comprehend , what particular Mode of composition or contexture of insensil Matter , that is , that gives to it the nature of essence and faculties of a sensitive Soul ; seems to me far to transcend the capacity of human understanding : and whosoever shall with attention and Judgment read what that most acute , and no less profound Philosopher , Gassendus hath written on this Aenigmatic Question , Quî sensile gigni ex insensilibus possit ? ( in lib. 10. Diogen . Laertii ) will ( I presume ) with him conclude , Hanc rem videri omni humanâ perspicaciâ , & sagacitate superiorem . Leaving then this Problem , as I found it , desperate ; and ending the halt I , with your permission , made , to consider the nature , Life and Principal Faculties of a sensitive Soul : I proceed to the THIRD capital Enquiry designed in this discourse . ¶ WHAT Opinions I at present hold to be most probable , as well concerning the nature of Life in general , as touching the different origines of Human , and Brutal Life in particular ; ye have with obliging patience heard . Be pleased with like patience to hear also what I have to say , concerning the SUBIECT wherein the Life both of Man and Brutes seems primarily to Subsist . That the Life of all Animals is originally as it were kindled in their Blood , we may learn from the wisest of Men and Kings , Salomon himself . Who in his Book of Wisdom ( Cap. 2. v. 2. according to the Graec version of the LXX Interpreters ) introduceth impious Men discoursing among themselves of the short , incertain and easily extinguishable Life of Man , in this manner ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; quoniam fumus est afflatus in naribus nostris , & serino scintilla in motu cordis nostri ; which our last Translators have thus englished ; for the Breath in our Nostrils is as Smoke , and a little Spark in the moving of our Heart . For if by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Life be understood ; we may from this remarkable text safely infer , that Salomon was not far from holding the same Opinion concerning the Fountain or Origine of Life , that is asserted by all our modern Anatomists , viz. that Life first ariseth from , and is perpetually as it were kindled a new by the motion of the Blood : though it be scarce probable , he had any the least knowledg of the perpetual Circuition or Circulation of the Blood , first discovered to the World by our thence immortal Dr. Harvey . And by one infinitely greater than Salomon , even by the Author of Truth , and giver of Life , God himself , we are certainly taught ; that the Life of all Animals , of what kind soever , is seated primarily , and doth continually subsist in the Blood , tanquam in subjecto suo primordiali ; or at least in some certain humor analogous to Blood , and therefore not unworthy to be call'd a vital Humor . For ( in Levit. cap. 17. v. 14. ) He saith expresly , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : Ye shall eat the Blood of no manner of Flesh ; for the Life of all Flesh is the Blood thereof . Being then by Divine Authority assured , that Life is the Of-spring of the Blood , and perpetually resident therein ; we may with good reason distinguish Life into Original , and Influent . The Former is that , which is perpetually as it were kindled in the Blood passing through the Ventricles of the Heart , not from the influx of any adventitious Principle , but by the Sole power and energy of the vital Spirit itself contained in , and ruling the Bloud . For , the vital Motion itself comes immediately from no other Principle but that ruling Spirit : and therefore the Act of the same Spirit is , by consequence , Vital . And forasmuch as the reason of the actual Heat of the Blood , consisteth only and wholly in that vital Motion ; that Heat also must be Vital , and the regent Spirit , that suscitates that motion , first in it self , and then in the Blood , must be the true Fountain and Origin of the vital Heat . This great truth certainly was not unknown to the Antients . For Virgil seems to more than hint it in that Verse of his ( Aeneid . lib. 10. ) . Una eademque via sanguis animusque sequantur : And Suidas , where he saith , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; also ( as Aristotle relates ) Critias , who held , Sentire , maximè proprium esse animae , atque hoc inesse propter sanguinis naturam . To these may be subjoyned Thales Milesius , Diogenes , Heraclitus , Alcmaeon &c. who all consented in this position , id animam esse , quod sua natura vim movendi obtineret . Evident it is then , that this Doctrine , that the vital Spirit is the principle of motion or heat , and consequently of Original Life in the Blood , was taught by some of the antient Philosophers ; though probably not so clearly and fully , as by the Anatomists of our Age , who have had the advantage to know the whole mystery of the Circuition of the Blood , whereof the former seem to have been ignorant . Hence it appears , how far those of our late Writers have erred from the Truth , who permitting their Phantacy to overrule their Judgment , and indulging I know not what Chymical shall I say , or Chimerical Hypotheses drawn from the contrariety between Alchali's and Acids , have confidently taught , that Life ariseth from a conflict or Fight , of two Antagonists , whether of an Acid or Saline and a Lixiviose ; or of a Saline and Sulphureose ; or of the Bile , Chyle , or nitroaereal Spirit and the Blood. For , the vital Motion really proceeds ( as I said ) from the very nature of the thing which causeth it ; that is , in the Blood , from the vital Spirit regent of the Blood ; which being naturally agil , active and votatil , and alwaies endevoring to extricate itself , necessarily contends with the grosser parts that clogg and restrain it , and by that contention excites motion in the Blood , and such a motion upon which the vitality of the Blood depends . Impossible therefore it is , that Life should come to the Blood from a mutual conflict of extraneous or forein Principles , whatsoever they are supposed to be . The Later or Influent Life is communicated from the Blood now impregnated with vital Spirits , to all parts of the Body . Of which much remains to be spoke in its proper place . Meanwhile , that we may know what is to be understood per curriculum vitae , the race or cours of Life ; 't is necessary for us to run through all the Uses and Acts of the Blood , while it flows in a Circle to and through all parts of the Body . For , these being attentively survey'd , will at last reward our diligence with Light enough to direct us to judge more clearly of the Power and Energy of as well Original , as Influent Life . But first ( for perspicuites sake ) we must advert , that Arteriose Blood seems to differ from Venose , chiefly in this ; that in Arteriose Blood , the Heat or Motion Vital ( for both are one thing , and so we shall by and by find them to be ) is actual ; in venose , only in the way or disposition to become actual ; as will appear from our following discourse concerning the Acts of the Blood in the race of Life . Which are accompted in number five , viz. ( 1 ) Actual Generation of Original Life , or of vital motion or heat in the Blood itself ; ( 2 ) Excitation of the Pulse of the Heart and Arteries ; ( 3 ) Distribution of the Blood by virtue of that pulsation ; ( 4 ) Communication of Life to all parts of the Body , by means of that distribution ; and ( 5 ) Reduction of arteriose Blood to the state of Venose ; the exhalations of it being first , partly consumed , partly condensed and absorp't into the Lympheducts . Of each of the Acts we must particu-larly enquire . The FIRST Act , viz. the Generation of Original Life in the Blood it self , seems to be perform'd in this manner . The vital Spirit , rector of the Blood , by its own natural force and expansive energy endevors to exagitate and expand the Blood now again brought into the Ventricles of the Heart : while the grosser parts of the Blood , by their nature more sluggish and unactive , resist and hinder that endevor to expansion . From this resistence or checking , instantly arises a certain Colluctation or mutual striving between the expansive motion or endevor of the vital Spirits , on one part ; and the renitency of the grosser parts of the Blood , on the other . And from this Colluctation , an actual Heat is quickly excited or kindled in the Blood : actual Heat being nothing else but an expansive Luctation of the Particles of the Body or Subject in which it is ; as the illustrious Lord Chancellor Bacon hath with admirable sagacity , from many instances collected , in historia calidi , in novi Organi Pag. 218. Seeing therefore , that this motion of the Blood consisteth in the expansive endevor of the Spirits , and the reluctation of the other parts of it ; this Motion , consequently is actual Heat . But , because this expansive Luctation is not hostil or noxious , but Amicable , Benign , and tending not only to the conservation of the Blood , but also to the exaltation of all its Faculties and Operations ; and because it comes ( as I said a little before ) from within , from the Spirit conteined in , and ruling the Blood : therefore the Motion or Heat thence resulting , is also Vital . For in that very expansive motion of the Blood , doth the formal reason of Life originally consist . This being a Theorem not a little abstruse , and of very great Moment , chiefly to Physicians ; 't is requisite , I should endevor both to clear and establish it . That I may do so , I begg leave to set before you a short Series or Train of certain Propositions ; of which the subsequent depending ( like the Links of a Chain ) upon the antecedent , they may at length convince you of the Truth from thence to be concluded . PROPOS . I. The Heat is only Motion . THe verity of this is apparent ( 1 ) From Flame , which is perpetually and violently Moved . ( 2 ) From the like agitation of all parts of servent or boyling Liquors ; ( 3 ) From the incitation and increment of Heat caused by Motion ; as in blowing up Fire by Bellows or Winds : ( 4 ) From the very extinction of Fire and Heat by all strong compression , which arresteth the Motion thereof , and instantly causeth it to cease : ( 5 ) From hence , that most Bodies are destroyed , at least sensibly altered by all Fire , and by strong and vehement Heat ; which introducing a Tumult , Perturbation , and rapid Motion upon their parts , by degrees totally dissolves the cohesion or continuity of them . Nevertheless this Proposition is to be understood with due limitation , or as it stands for the Genus of Heat : not that Heat generates Motion , or that Motion generates Heat always ( tho both these be in some things true ( but that Heat it self , or the very essence of Heat is Motion , and nothing else ; yet a certain peculiar sort of Motion , or limited by the differences to be subjoyned . PROPOS . II. That Heat is an Expansive motion , by which a Body strives to dilate it self , and recede into a larger space , than what it before possessed . THis also is evident ( 1 ) In Flame , where the Fume or Fat Exhalation manifestly widens itself , and spreads into Flame ; ( 2 ) In all boyling Liquors , which sensibly swell , rise up , and emit Bubbles ; still urging the process of self-dilation , untill they become more extense , and are turned into Vapor , or Smoke , or Aire ; ( 3 ) In Wood and all other combustible matter set on Fire , where is sometimes an exudation of moysture , alwaies an evaporation ; ( 4 ) in the melting of Metals ; which being most compact Bodies , do not easily swell and dilate themselves ; and yet the Spirit of them , being once excited by Fire , begins instantly to dilate itself , and continues to push away and drive off the grosser parts , till their coherence being interrupted , they become liquid : and if the Heat be more and more intended , it dissolves and converts much of the fixed Metal into a volatil Substance ; Gold only excepted : ( 5 ) in a Staff of Wood or Cane , which being heat in hot Embers , becomes easily flexible ; a sign of internal dilatation : ( 6 ) In Aire above all things , which instantly and manifestly expands itself by a little Heat : ( 7 ) In the contrary nature of Cold ; which contracts most Bodies , forcing them into narrower spaces , and shrinking their dimensions ; so that in extreme Frosts , Nayls have been observed to fall out of Doors , and Vessels of Brass to crack , with many other admirable effects of great Cold , noted by the Honourable Mr. Boyl in his most accurate History of Cold. So that Heat and Cold , though they do many actions common to both , are yet è diametro contraries in this ; that Heat gives a Motion expansive and dilating , but Cold gives a Motion contractive and condensing . PROPOS . III. That Heat is a Motion expansive , not uniformly through the whole Subject , but through the lesser Particles thereof ; not free , but checkt , hinder'd , and repulsed or reverberate : So that the Motion becomes interrupt , alternative , perpetually trembling , and striving , and incited by that resistence and repuls . Whence comes the Fury of Fire and Heat pent in and opposed in their Expansion . OF this we have instances . ( 1 ) In Flame , boyling Liquors , melted Metals , glass Furnaces &c. all which perpetually tremble , swell up , and again subside alternately : ( 2 ) In Fire , which burns more fiercely , and scorches more ardently in frosty Weather : ( 3 ) in common Weather-glasses ; in which when the Aire is expanded uniformly and equally , without impediment or repuls , no Heat is perceived : but if you hold a Pan of burning Coals near the bottom , and at the same time put a Cloth dipped in cold Water upon the top ; the check and repuls thereby given to the expansion of the Aire , will cause a manifest trepidation in the Water , and intend the borrowed Heat of it . ( 4 ) In Winds pent in , which though they break forth with very great violence , so that their motion must needs be extremely rapid and dilating ; do not yet from thence conceive any sensible Heat : because the motion is in all the particles of them equally , and proceeds uniformly , without check or interruption : whereas in the burning Wind , from thence called by Aristotle ( in Meteor . ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , great heat seems to be generated from the frequent repulses and repercussions of its rapid Motion , insomuch that it scorches where it blows ; chiefly in narrow and deep Vallies , where it is kept in on both sides , and wheel'd about into eddies or Whirle-Winds . ( 5 ) In the very manner of Ustion or burning , which is always transacted through the minute Pores of the Body burnt ; so that Ustion doth always undermine , and penetrate , and prick , as if it were done by the points of a great many Needles . Thence it seems to come also that Aqua Fortis , Chrysulca and other dissolving Liquors ( if proportionate to the Body on which they act ) do the work of Fire , by their penetrating , pungent , and corroding Motions . PROPOS . IV. That this expansive , repuls'd , alternative and penetrating Motion requisite to the generation of Heat , ought to be also rapid ; and to be made by Particles , minute indeed , but not reduced to extreme subtilty . THe verity of this proposition may be collected ( 1 ) From a comparation of the works of Fire , with the works of Time or Age. For , Age dries , consumes , undermines , and incinerates , no less than Fire , yea far more subtilly : but because the motion that causes these effects , is both very slow , and performed by Particles extremely minute ; therefore no sensible Heat is thereby produced . ( 2 ) from comparing the dissolution of Gold , with that of Iron ; the first , in Aqua Regis ; the other in Aqua Fortis . For Gold is dissolved calmly , without tumult or effervescence raised in the dissolvent : Iron , not without vehement excitation of Heat : probably because in Gold , the ingress of the Water of Separation is slow , mild , and subtilly insinuating , and the yeilding of the parts of the Gold easy ; but in Iron , the ingress is rough , difficult , and with conflict , the parts of the Iron with greater obstinacy resisting the motion of the dissolvent . ( 3 ) From Gangrens and Mortifications ; which invade and spread without inducing much either of heat or pain , by reason the motion of putrefaction is both slow , and performed by Particles extremely subtil ; otherwise it would certainly cause Pain in the part affected . Now from these Propositions ( the three latter of which are certain necessary Limitations of the first ) we may deduce this genuine conclusion ; That Heat is a certain Motion , expansive , checkt or repuls'd , striving , quickned or incited by opposition , perform'd by minute Particles , and with conflict and some impetuosity . Which to me ( I declare ) seems to be so perspicuous and convincing , that I dare promise , that if any man be able to excite a Motion tending to dilatation or expansion of the Movent , and then to repress that motion , so as the dilatation may not proceed equally and uniformly , but prevail and be repulsed alternately : he shall thereby most certainly generate Heat in the Body whose parts are so moved , of what kind or constitution soever the Body shall be . For , whether it be a Body Elementary ( as they speak ) or luminose or opaque ; rare , or dense ; locally expansed , or contein'd within the bounds of its first dimensions ; tending to dissolution , or remaining in its stare ; whether it be Animal , Vegetable , or Mineral , Water , or Oyl , or Aire , or any other substance susceptive of the Motion described ; it will make no difference , as to the effect aimed at , the production of actual Heat . Why then should I not believe , that Nature hath instituted such an actual Motion or Heat in the Blood of Animals , that Life Original might be therein perpetually generated : since to make that actual Heat also Vital , nothing more is required ( as I said before ) but that it arise from an internal Principle or Mover , viz. the vital Spirits ingenite in the Blood ; and that it be amicable , benign and placid , as in the State of Health it always is ; and since both those requisite conditions or qualifications are found in the motion of the Blood ? If in the assertion of the precedent Propositions , or in the deduction of my conclusion from them , I have from weakness of Judgment , admitted any Paralogism ; I shall receive the discovery thereof as a singular favor from any man of greater perspicacity , and more skilful in the art of reasoning rightly , and will ingenuously acknowledg and retract my error . Meanwhile I acquiesce in this perswasion , that the vital Heat of Animals , is an expansive Motion of the Spirits of the Blood , somewhat checkt or repulsed , but still endevoring with sufficient force , and alternately prevailing : which I owe , partly to the Ld. Chancellor Bacon ( in novo Organo , ubi agit de praerogativis instantiarum , in vindemiatione 1. ) partly to his equal sectator , Dr. Glisson , who had the felicity to improve whatsoever he had borrowed , and to raise illustrous Theories from obscure hints . But hold a little , and give me space to reflect upon what I have lately said . Have I not in this place incurred the danger of being accused of contradicting myself ? 'T is not half an Hour since I declared my assent to that common Doctrine of all Theologs , and most Philosophers , that the Life of a Man doth originally spring from , and perpetually depend upon the union of his rational Soul with his Body . And now I affirm , that the Life of all Animals ( Man himself not excepted ) consists in the expansive motion of the Spirits in their Blood. Are not these two assertions to be numbred among 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , things inconsistent , yea manifestly repugnant each to the other ? If either of them be true , is not the other necessarily false ? To obviate this formidable accusation , I say ; that these two positions , though seemingly opposite , are yet really capable of reconciliation each to the other ; and by consequence , both may be true . For ( 1 ) well known it is to all versed in the Jewish Commentaries upon the Pentateuch , that the most learned Rabbins , interpreting these words in the History of Mans Creation ; Deus inspiravit in faciem hominis spiraculum vitae ; to shew the excellency of Man above all his fellow Creatures , give this Paraphrase upon them : Homini Deus in creatione imaginem suam indidit , & inspiravit halitum vitae duplicis , mortalis & immortalis . So that according to the Sense of this Paraphrase , at least if I understand it rightly , God was pleased to give to Man a double Life , not two lives successive , one before Death , the other after ; but two conjoyn'd in the Body : one Immortal , which can be no other but that which is essential to the rational Soul , and communicated to the Body , by virtue of the intimate union of those two so different substances ; the other Mortal , common to Brutes also , and extinguishable by death , which I deduce from the expansive motion of the Spirits of the Blood. Nor hath this interpretation of the Iewish Doctors been ( for ought I know ) rejected by the Christian Scholes , as unsound , much less as Heretical : and therefore I humbly conceive , it is not unlawful for me to embrace it . ( 2 ) That in this Life , every individual Man hath also two distinct Souls ; one Rational , by which he is made a reasonable Creature ; the other , Sensitive , by virtue of which he becomes a Sensitive Animal : and that these are coexistent , conjunct , and cooperating in him , untill death , which delivers the first into a free injoyment of her essential immortality , but dissolves the latter into the Elements or matter , of which it was composed ; is an opinion very antient , highly consentaneous to reason , and defended , not only by many eminent Philosophers as well antique as modern , but even by some Divines of great learning , Piety and Fame ; among whom I need name only Gassendus , of the Roman , and Dr. Hammond , of our Church . The former of which hath professedly asserted it in Physiologia Epituri , cap. de Animae sede : the other in Notes on the 23. Verse of the 5 Chap. of St. Pauls first Epist. ad Thess. Where interpreting these Words of the divinely inspir'd Author ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , integer vester spiritus , & anima , & corpus he conceived , that the Apostle divides the whole Man into his three constituent parts , viz. the Body , which comprehends the Flesh and Members ; the Sensitive or Vital Soul , which is common also to Brutes ; and the Spirit , by which is denoted the reasonable Soul originally created by God , infused into the Body , and from thence after death to return to God ; and this his exposition he confirms by agreeing Testimonies of many Ethnic Philosophers , and some antient Fathers . Much more I should here have said in defence of this opinion , had I not thought it less labour to direct the unsatisfied , to a little Treatise intitled a Natural History of the Passions , publish'd about three Years past , where the Author professedly handles it . Now if either of these two recited opinions be granted to be true ( and 't is no easy task to refute either of them ) then both my positions , that occasioned my recital of them , may be also true ; and so the supposed inconsistency of them solved . Presuming then , that what I have said concerning the First Act of the Blood , or the Generation of Original Life in the Blood , and the manner how it is performed , is probable , and sufficient to explicate the Theorem ; I here conclude my discourse of it . ¶ The SECOND Act of the Blood in the race of Life is , the Excitation of the Motion or Pulsation of the Heart and Arteries , which seems to be done in this manner . The Blood descended partly out of the Trunc of the Vena Cava , partly from the Arteria Venosa , into the Ears or Portals of the Heart ; and there beginning its expansive motion , fills them even to distention ; and by that distention irritates or incites their Fibres , which are numerose and strong , to contract themselves , by the motion of Restitution . By this constriction of the Fibres on all sides , the cavities of the Ears of the Heart are necessarily closed or streightned ; and by consequence , the Blood newly admitted into them is sequeez'd out into the two Ventricles of the Heart , forcing the Valves called Tricuspides , or Trisulcae , which are seated at the Gates or Mouths of the Ventricles , and open from without inward , to open themselves and give way . The Blood thus propuls'd into the Ventricles of the Heart , and somewhat increasing or intending its expansive Motion , fills them even to distention , and to the shutting of the Valves , which it so lately open'd , so that at that time no more Blood can be admitted , nor what is admitted , recoyl or return by the Wicket through which it enter'd . The Ventricles of the Heart being thus filled and distended , and by virtue of their Fibres spontaneously contracting themselves into a much narrower compass , strongly compress the Blood contained in them , and force it to thrust back three other Valves call'd Sigmoides , which open outwards , and to rush forth , partly into the Venae Arteriosa leading it into the Lungs from the right Ventricle , partly into the Aorta or great artery from the left . By this constriction of the two Ventricles of the Heart , which is their proper and natural Motion , the Circulation ( as they call it ) of the Blood is chiefly effected : that Blood which is out of the right Ventricle express't through the Vena Arteriosa into the Lungs , being impell'd forward till it arrive in the Arteria Venosa that brings it into the left Ventricle ; and that which is expell'd from the left Ventricle into the great Artery , being by the Branches thereof distributed into all the parts of the Body . The Blood being in this manner squirted out , and the irritation ceasing ; the Ventricles instantly restore themselves to their middle position , and make way for the reception of more Blood from the Ears of the Heart , as before ; and then being by the Influx and expansive Motion thereof , again distended and irritated , repeat their Constriction , and thereby eject it : and this reciprocation or alternate dilatation and constriction , or Diastole and Systole of the two Ventricles of the Heart , together with the Arteries continued to them , is what we call their Pulsation , and the grand cause of the perpetual Circuition of the Blood : as the alternate expansion and repression of the Spirits , during that pulsation , is that motion which Dr. Glisson first named , the Mication of the Blood , comprehending the double motion in that single appellation . The Blood then it is , that alone excites the Pulsation of the Heart and Arteries by distending them ; not by reason of any actual Ebullition , or any considerable Rarifaction , it undergoes in either of the Ventricles , or in their avenues ; but ( as I humbly conceive ) merely by its quantity rushing in . Not by Ebullition or Effervescence , as Aristotle , who gave it the Name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , believ'd ; ( 1 ) Because no ebullition of any Liquor whatsoever , proceeding either from external Heat , or from intestine Fermentation , is constantly equal or uniform ; whereas the Pulse of the Heart and Arteries , and consequently the motion of the Blood that causeth it , is in Men healthy , temperate , and undisturbed by Passion , constantly equal or of the same tenor and rhythm . ( 2 ) Because the greater the Ebullition of the Blood , the greater would be the pulsation of the Heart : but in burning Fevers , though there be a very great effervescence of the Blood , arising from an extraordinary effort of the vital Spirits contending against oppression by the putrefactive or febrile Ferment ; yet the Pulse most frequently is low and weak , as Galen himself observed . ( 3 ) Because , in living dissections , if either of the Ventricles of the Heart , or the great Artery be pierced with a lancet ; pure and florid Blood indeed will spring from the Wound , in every Systole ; but not frothy , not boyling , nor meteorized ; nay , not to be , by any sign of difference , distinguished from Blood at the same time emitted from the Vena Cava of the same Animal . An Argument certainly of itself sufficient to subvert the Ebullition of the Blood in the Ventricles of the Heart , excogitated by Aristotle ( at least if he were Author of the Book de Respiratione vulgarly ascribed to him ) to solve the Phaenomenon of the Pulse , and to this day obstinately defended by many learned men , seduced by the Authority of his great name . ( 4 ) If the Blood suffer'd any such Ebullition , an immersion or plunging of the Body into cold Water , would depress and calm it , and consequently repress the motion of the Heart : but the experience of divers attesteth the contrary . For these reasons , therefore , among many others here , for brevities sake , omitted , I reject the supposed Ebullition of the Blood passing through the Ventricles of the Heart . I reject also the suddain and impetuose Rarifaction attributed to it by the greatest of Aristotle's Rivals , Monsieure des Cartes , and strenuously propugned by Regius and others his Disciples . For ( 1 ) If you open the Thorax of any more perfect Animal alive , and while the Heart yet continues to beat strongly , thrust an incision Knife into either of the Ventricles , or into the great Artery ; the Blood thence issuing will not appear spumose or rarified at all , but indistinguishable from Blood taken out of the Vena Cava , just at its entrance into the right Ear of the Heart . ( 2 ) If you cut out the Heart itself , and squeez out all the Blood conteined in it ; you shall observe it to vibrate itself a little , and to continue the rhythm of its Pulses , till it be grown cold ; and this , not from Blood rarified , for now there remains none within its Ventricles ; but most probably from the reliques of the vital Spirits , which yet inhering in the Fibres and little Pullies of the Heart , are the cause that they alternately contract and relax themselves . ( 3 ) The musculose Flesh of the Heart is of a contexture too firm and solid , to be inflated by a little Froth ; and a greater force is requir'd so nimbly to agitate so massive and ponderose a Machine . ( 4 ) If the Blood were so impensly rarified in both the Ventricles of the Heart , doubtless the Orifices both of the Vena Arteriosa , and of the Aorta , ought to be much larger ; because the rarified Blood would require more of space to its egress , than to its ingress . ( 5 ) There would arise a confusion of the motion of the Heart and its Valves ; for the diastole of these would be coincident with the diastole of that , which would annihilate the use of the Valves : both which are repugnant to experience , and to the institute of Nature . ( 6 ) No reason , why the Blood should be pufft up by great rarifaction in the Heart , only that it may sink and be condensed again , so soon as it is thence emitted into the Arteries : for , what use can there be of the supposed rarifaction , which the very next moment ceaseth ? These then are the reasons that hinder me from believing , that a drop or two of Blood can be , by the heat of the Heart , so extremely rarified , as to replenish and distend the Ventricles thereof , when the Cavity of the least of the Ventricles , in a Man of middle Age and Stature , will easily contein , according to Harvey's accompt , two Ounces ; much more , according to Lower's ( lib. de corde cap. 3. and when I am fully convinced , that in the State of Health and Quiet , the whole mass of Blood is transmitted through the Heart at least thirteen times in the space of an Hour , supposing no more than 2000 Pulses in that time : which would be impossible , if only a few Drops were received into each Ventricle , in every Diastole , and expel'd again by the following Systole . For , evident it is even to Sense , that in the Diastole , both Ventricles of the Heart are filled with Blood even to distention ; so that if you feel them at that time with your Hand , they will be found tense and hard : and that by the Systole , all the Blood receiv'd is express'd ; the Sides being then strongly drawn together , and the Cone pull'd up toward the Basis , so that little or no room can be left within to contein Blood. If you open an Eel or Viper alive , you may observe the Heart to become white in the Systole , because all the Blood conteined in it , is then squeez'd out : and red again in the Diastole , from new Blood admitted and filling it . Nor are we to doubt , but the same happens in the Hearts of greater Animals also , though the Parenchyma or muscular Flesh of the Heart be in them so thick , as to hinder the Eye from discerning the like alternate change of Colours , in their constriction and dilatation . Taking then the total Repletion of the ventricles in every Diastole , and the total Exinanition of them , by every Systole , for granted ; and Supposing , that in a Man of a middle size , each of the Ventricles of the Heart conteins about two ounces of Blood , when it is fill'd ; and that the Pulses of the Heart made in the space of an Hour , exceed not the number of 2000 ( which yet is the lowest computation I have hitherto met with among Anatomists ) it will necessarily follow , that no less than 4000 Ounces of Blood are transmitted through the Heart in the space of an Hour , which amount to 332 Pints at 12 Ounces to the Pint ; whereas the quantity of Blood contein'd in the Body of a Man of a Sanguine complexion , tall Stature , and plentiful Diet , is not allowed by accurate Anatomists to exceed 25 Pints at most . Let us therefore grant our Man to have that proportion of 25 Pints , to be transmitted through his Heart by 2 Ounces at every pulsation : and the consequence will be , that the whole Mass of his Blood must pass and repass through his Heart thirteen times in the space of an Hour , or else the pulsation of his Heart , and his Life too must cease , for want of Blood to continue the Motion . But since few Men have either so much Blood , or ( in the state of Health ) so few Pulses , as we have now supposed ; 't is highly consentaneous , that in most Men all their Blood runs through the Heart oftner than thirteen times in every Hour . Now to come to the scope or use of this Computation ; if only a few drops of Blood rarified be transmitted through the Heart of a Man at every Pulse , 2000 pulses could not transmit so much as a fourth part of 25 Pints in an Hour ; and in the mean time all the rest of it must stagnate , and grow cold ; and then what would become of his Life , which depends upon the actual Heat and perpetual Circuition of the Blood ? This argument certainly is , if not apodictical , yet morally convincing , that Monsieur des Cartes his opinion of the impense Rarifaction of the Blood , in the Ventricles of the Heart , is manifestly erroneous . There remain's then nothing to which the Diastole of the Ventricles of the Heart can be reasonably attributed , but the Quantity of Blood flowing into and distending them . For , the substance of the Heart being , as well without as within , Musculose , Robust , Thick , and intertext with Fibres of all orders or positions ; and furnish't also with fleshy Columnes , which being commodiously placed in the Ventricles , help much to the constriction of them : so soon as the Blood flowing in , hath distended them , they being thereby irritated , instantly begin to contract themselves , by that contraction girding in the Ventricles , and squeezing out the Blood. After the same manner , that the Stomach , Gutts , Bladder , Womb , &c. membranose and fibrose Cavities of the Body , when they are above measure fill'd and distended , do , by spontaneously constringing themselves , forcibly expell whatever irritates them . And that in every Diastole of the Heart , Blood rushes into the Ventricles in a quantity sufficient to distend them ; seems inferrible even from this , that it is abundantly brought in , both by the Vena Cava , and by the Arteria Venosa ; and that it is continually driven on thitherward , partly from the habit of the Body , by the tonic motion of the parts , partly from the Lungs by help of their motion , according to the fundamental Laws of its Circuition . But why do I insist upon Reasons , when an easie Experiment offers itself to determine the Question ? In a Dog opened alive , if the two Vessels that bring Blood into the Heart , namely the Vena Cava and Arteria Venosa , be girt with Ligatures , so that the course of the Blood be there intercepted ; the Ventricles by three or four Systoles emptying themselves , their orderly pulsation will cease , only a little undulating Motion , and irregular vibration will thereupon immediately succeed : and upon solution of the Ligatures , and influx of Blood , the Heart will instantly repete its pulsation . I conclude therefore , that the Blood causeth the Dilatation of the Heart , not by its Ebullition , nor by its Rarifaction , but only by its replenishing and distending the Ventricles thereof : and that the Heart , by its spontaneous constriction expresses the Blood into the Lungs and great Artery ; and so the motion of both is perpetuated . I admit nevertheless a certain gentle and pacate expansive Motion of the Blood to be excited in the Ears and Ventricles of the Heart , as necessary to the generation of Original Life , though not of force sufficient to move the whole Machine of the Heart . For the vital Spirits in the Blood , though brisk and vigorose in their endevor to expansion , chiefly when they are agitated by the motion of the Heart , are notwithstanding somewhat checkt and repulsed by the reluctancy of the grosser Particles of the Blood ; and therefore it cannot be imagined , they should suffice to dilate the Heart also . I admit also a constant invigoration of the Fibres and fleshy Columns or Pullies of the Heart , by a continual Influx from the Brain ; that they may the more expeditely and strongly , and without lassitude , perpetuate the Systole of the Heart . For , that such an Influx is necessary every Moment to recruit their Vigor , and conserve the due firmness of their tone , is evident from this singular Experiment . If the Nerves of the eight pare be constringed closely by ligatures , in the neck of a Dog ; ye will admire what a suddain and strange mutation will thereupon ensue . The Heart ▪ which before performed its motions moderately and regularly , will instantly begin to tremble and palpitate , and the poor Animal will labour of anxiety and extreme difficulty of breathing , while the ligatures continue on the Nerves above : but upon removing them , all those dismal Accidents ( which are perhaps to be ascribed to the surcharge of the Heart and Lungs by Blood not so fast discharged , as it is imported ; and that by reason the Systoles are rendred weak and languid , the influx from the Brain , that should invigorate the contracting Fibres and Pullies , being intercepted ) all the Accidents , I say , will foon cease , and the Heart renew its pulsation , as before . To this Anatomic Experiment I might have added Arguments of the same importance , drawn from the Palsie and Convulsions to which the Heart itself is liable , had not the industrious Dr. Lower , Author of the alleged experiment , prevented me , lib. de motu cordis cap. 2. and were I not conscious , that I have staid too long upon the cause and manner of the Excitation of the Pulsation of the Heart and Arteries , or second Act of the Blood in the race of Life . ¶ . Proceed we therefore to the THIRD , viz. the Distribution of the Blood into all parts of the Body ; which is an act wholly Mechanic , and to be attributed to the Systole of the Heart and Arteries thereto continued . To the Constriction of the Heart , because the Blood contained in the right Ventricle , is thereby of necessity express'd into the Vena Arteriosa , and so into the Lungs ; and that in the left , is thence expell'd into the great Arterie , and driven on through the Branches thereof into all the parts of the Body . Nor can it seem strange , that this Constriction of the Heart should be effected with force sufficient to impell the Blood in a continued stream through the Pipes of the Arteries , till it arrive at the extremities of them , yea till it enter into the very substance of the parts in which they are terminated . For if we attently consider ( 1 ) the structure of the heart , that it is a Muscle of a substance Solid , thick , and firmly compacted ; every where intertext with various Fibres , and corroborated within with fleshy Columns and fibrose Pullies ; and of a Figure fit to perform vigorose Motions : ( 2 ) that if you put your Hand upon the Heart of any large Animal open'd alive , you shall find it hard and tense , not easily yielding to the Gripe : and if you thrust a Finger into either of the Ventricles , you shall feel it to be with great violence girt and pincht by the Systole thereof : ( 3 ) that if you pierce the great Arterie neer the Original of it , with a Lancet , the Blood will be in every contraction , squirted thence with incredible impetuosity , and to great distance : ( 4 ) that in some Men the Heart invaded by Convulsions , hath vibrated itself with such stupendous Force , that the very Ribbs have been thereby broken ; as the observations recorded by Fernelius , Hollerius , Forestus , and Carolus Piso attest : ( 5 ) that in Horses and Doggs , after they have run , the beating of their Hearts may be plainly and distinctly heard to a considerable distance : If ( I say ) we consider these things , we shall soon be induced to believe , that the Systole of the Heart is more than sufficient to impell the Blood to the extreme arteries . And as for the spontaneous Constriction of the Arteries ; that also must needs contribute somewhat to the Pulsion of the Blood , by less'ning the Pipes through which it flows . Remarkable it is , that the Contraction of the Arteries is not Synchronical or coincident with the contraction of the Heart . For , the Systole of the Heart is perform'd in the time of its contractive Motion ; and the Diastole , in the time of the remission thereof : but on the contrary , the Diastole of the Arteries is perform'd when they endevor to contract themselves ; and their Systole , when they remit that endevor . The reason is , because the exclusion of a sufficient quantity of Blood out of the Ventricles of the Heart being perform'd , the first cause that impugned the contraction of the Arteries , viz. their distention by that Blood rushing into them , instantly ceases , and the three Semilunar Valves are shut , to prevent the regress of it ; and at the same time , the rest of the Blood in the Arteries remits its expansive Motion , which was the other cause that hinder'd the Arteries from contracting themselves , and those two impediments removed for that time , the Fibres of the Arteries now prevail , and by contracting themselves , return to their middle posture of quiet ; by that contraction pressing the Blood forward on its Journey , till it be impell'd into the substance of the Parts . From , whence after it hath done its Office , it is soon forced to return toward the Heart , through the Veins ; partly by more Blood flowing after and pressing it behind ; partly by the renitency and tonic Motion of the parts ; partly by the tension of the Muscles in the habit of the Body ; and in fine , by the Pulsation of the Vena Cava , which though but light , is yet perceptible at its approach to the Heart , where ( to that end ) it is furnisht with fleshy Fibres ; so that from thence Walaeus ( in Epist. de motu Sanguinis ) concluded , that the circular Motion of the Blood beginn's from that part of the Vena Cava . If I do not here particularly explain the reason and manner how each of these various Causes conduceth to the effect ascribed to their Syndrome or concurse ; it is because I presume , that the whole History of the Circuition of the Blood , with all its helps and circumstances , is well known to the greatest part of my Auditors ; and because I hast to the FOURTH Act in the race of Life , which beginns where the distribution of the Blood through the Arteries end 's : and is the Communication of Life from the Blood distributed , to all parts of the Body . For these receiving the Blood impregnate with Original Life , are thereby in a moment heated anew , invigorated , incited to expand themselves , and made participant of Life Influent ; i. e. they are stirred up to the actual exercise of Augmentation or nutrition , and of all other their Faculties . And this Participation of Life is that vital Influx , with so great Encomiums celebrated by Anatomists ; and the Heat of the Body , both actual and vital ; and the general cause ( at least Sine qua non ) of all the noble Actions of the whole Body . I say , the General Cause ; because it is this influent Vital Heat , that revives and stirrs them up to activity , when without it all parts would be dull , flaggy and torpid : and yet notwithstanding it is not sufficiently able of itself to produce those Effects , unless so farr forth as it is at the same time contemperated and determinated to this or that particular effect , by that which some call the peculiar temperament , and others the Spiritus insitus , of that Member or Part , whose proper Office it is to cause that effect . For , this vital Heat , or general enlivening and invigorating influence operates one thing in the Liver , another in the Spleen , another in the Stomach and Gutts , another in the Kidneys , & Sic de caeteris : assisting and promoting the faculties of all parts , so that no one can execute its proper function without it : as , the irradiation of the Sun is requisite to make the Ground fruitful , and to excite the Seeds of all Vegetables lying in it ; and indeed this vital Heat is to Animals , the Sun within them , their Vesta , perpetual Fire , familiar Lar , Calidum innatum , Platonic Spark pepetually glowing : not that ( like our common Fire ) it shines , burns and destroys ; but that by a circular and incessant Motion , from an internal Principle , it conserves , nourishes and augments , first itself , and then the whole Body . Undè ( Entius noster ( in Antidiatribae pag. 6. ) in hunc finem extructum est cor , quod calentis sanguinis rivulis totum corpus perpetim circumluit . Cumque Plantae omnes , à Solis benigna irradiatione vigorem , vitamque adeo suam praecipùe mutuentur : animalibus caeteris cordis calor innascitur ; unde , tanquam à Microcosmi sole , partes omnes jugiter refocillantur . Ac propterea minùs placet , quòd plantarum germen Corculi nomine indigitaveris . Good reason then had our most Sagacious Harvey , to sing so many Hymns , as it were , to this Sol Microcosmi , that continually warms , comforts , and revives us . Discoursing of the Primogeniture of the Blood in an Embryon ( Lib. de Generat . Animal . exercit . 50. ) he falls into this elegant encomium of it . Ex observatis constat , Sanguinem esse partem genitalem , fontem vita , primùm vivens & ultimò ▪ moriens , sedemque animae primariam ; in quo ( tanquam in fonte ) calor primò , & praecipùe abundaet , vigetque & à quo reliqu●● omnes totius corporis partes calore influente foventur , & vitam obtinent . Quippe calor Sanguinem comitatus , totum corpus irrigat , fovet , & conservat . — Ideoque concentrato , fixoque leviter sanguine ( Hippocrates , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , nominavit ) veluti in lipothymia , timore , frigore externo , & febrium insultu contingit , videas illicò totum corpus frigescere , torpere , & pallore livoreque perfusum languescere : evocato autem rursum sanguine , hui ! quam subitò omnia calent denùo , florent , vigent , splendentque ? — Nec jecur munus suum publicum exsequitur , sine influentia sanguinis & caloris per arteriam Caeliacam . Imò vero Cor ipsum , per Arterias Coronarias , influentem unà cum sanguine caliditatem vitamque accipit . Quippe nullibi est caloris affluentia , citra sanguinis influxum per arterias . — Sanguis denique totum corpus adeo circumflùit , & penetrat , omnibusque ejus partibus calorem & vitam jugiter impertit ; ut Anima primò & principaliter in ipso residens , illiûs gratiâ , tota in toto , & tota in qualibet parte ( ut vulgò dicitur ) inesse , meritò censeatur . In another place ( Exercit. 51. ) vindicating the Supremacy of it over all parts of the Body , he breaks forth into this memorable expostulation : Si Neoterici quidam verè dicant , animalium semen coitu emissum , esse animatum ; quidni pari ratione affirmemus , animam esse in sanguine ; cùmque hic primò generetur , nutriatur , & moveatur ; ex eodem quoque animam primùm excitari , & ignescere ? Certè sanguis est , in quo vegetativae , & sensitivae operationes primò elucent ; cui calor , primarium & immediatum animae instrumentum , innascitur ; qui corporis animaeque commune vinculum est ▪ & quo vehiculo , animae omnibus totius corporis partibus influit . In a third place , ( Exercit. 70. ) where he , with cogent reasons , refutes the vulgar error de calido innato , he puts an end to all false notions , and all disputes concerning that Subject , and then concludes in these words : Solus sanguis est calidum innatum , seu primò natus calor animalis . — Habet profectò in se animam primò ac principaliter , non vegetativam modò , sed sensitivam etiam & motivam : permeat quoquoversum , & ubique praesens est ; eodemque ablato , anima quoque ipsa statim tollitur : adeo ut sanguis ab anima nihil discrepare videatur ; vel saltem substantiae , cujus actus sit anima , aestimari debeat . These remarkable texts I have recited , not to prolong my discourse , but to confirm whatsoever I have said of the generation of Life original in the Blood , and of the communication of influent Life , from the same Blood to all parts of the Body ; that so I might with more assurance leave this fourth Act of the Blood fully explain'd , and pass to the ¶ : FIFTH and last . Which consisteth in the dffusion of the exhalations of the Blood , raised by the expansive Motion or actual Heat of it ; and which reduceth it from the State of Arteriose Blood , to that of Venose . For the Blood newly impregnate with Life , and kept a while in restraint by the thick Walls of the Heart , and firm Coats of the Arteries , no sooner arrives at the habit of the parts , but instantly it begins to disperse its more volatile Particles in Steams or Exhalations : and those being diffused , it becomes calm and sedate , and is in that composed condition transferred into the capilray Veins , to be at length brought again to the Heart . Of these Exhalations , the more subtil and fugitive part exspires into the Aire by insensible transpiration ; the rest striking against membranose and impervious Parts , or perhaps against the very Parenchyma of them , is stopped and repercuss'd , and condensed into a Dew . Which after it hath moistned the parts , is by their tonic motion squeez'd into the Lympheducts , and by them carried off toward the Centre of the Body . In the mean time , the Blood after this manner calmed and recomposed , returns quietly and slowly toward the Heart , therein to be quickned , heated and impregnated anew by the expansive Motion of its Spirits : being driven on all the way by more Blood continually following and pressing it , and by other concurrent Causes , by me a little before particularly mentioned . And this I believe to be the manner and reason of the perpetual Circuition of the Blood during Life . Now reflecting upon the five Acts of the Blood described in the circular Race of Life ; the Sum of all my perplex and tedious disquisition concerning it , amounts to no more but this . That the Mication of the Blood proceeds originally from the expansive motion of the Spirits of it , somewhat restrain'd and repulsed by the gross and less active parts , and incited by that opposition : that from this Mication , Life Original is as it were kindled in the Blood passing through the Heart : that Life influent is communicated to all parts of the Body , from the Blood transmitted to them through the Arteries ; and from the union of the vital Spirits contain'd in the Blood , so brought into them , with the Spiritus insitus of every part that receives it : that to that noble end , Nature hath ordained , that the Blood should be speedily distributed to all parts through the Arteries , by the Heart spontaneously contracting itself : and so soon as it hath done that its grand Office of reviving them , and diffused its exhalations , be brought back again to the Heart , therein to conceive vital Heat anew : and in fine , that the Life of all Animals depends immediately or primarily upon the regular Mication , and next upon this perpetual Flux and reflux of the Blood , by the glorious Inventor of it , Dr. Harvey , rightly called ( not the Circulation , but ) CIRCUITION of the Blood , Quòd ejus semper redeat labor actus in orbem . How probable these things are , Ye , who are Philosophers and Anatomists , have indeed a right to Judge : but ye must pardon me , if I adventure to say , that ye have no right to Judge , whether they be true , or not . For , what Seneca ( Natural . Quaest. lib. 7. cap. 29 ) with great Wisdom and Modesty , spake of his own reasonings about the nature and causes of Comets , may be with equal reason applied also to mine concerning Life ( which in more then one thing resembles a Comet ) viz. Quae an vera sint , Dii sciunt , quibus est scientia veri . Nobis rimari illa , & conjecturâ ire in occulta tantum licet , nec cum fiducia inveniendi , nec sine spe . Huc item referri potest , quod Atheniensis hospes respondebat Clinio apud Platonem : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : Vera haec esse approbare , cùm multi de iis ambigant , solius Dei est . If you grant them to be consentaneous to right reason and observations Anatomic ; I may then not impertinently conclude this Disquisition with the same Sentence with which my Master Gassendus is said to have concluded his Life ; Quantula res est vita hominis ? ¶ : EPILOGUE . AUGUSTUS ( ye know ) notwithstanding he had long enjoyed whatever the greatest part of mankind calls Happiness , could not yet , when dying , afford to call Human Life by any better Name than that of a Comedy or Farce : asking his Friends that stood by him , Ecquid iis videretur mimum vitae commodè transegisse ? And that this Farce consisteth of five natural Acts too , I have endevored in my precedent Discourse to evince . Why then may not ye expect , that I should , in keeping of Decorum , so far persue this double Analogie , as to my short History of Life , to subjoyn an Epilogue ? Supposing therefore that ye do , I hold myself obliged to add one ; such as seems to me to be neither indecent , nor impertinent . It shall be a short History or Tale ( call it whether ye please ) Written by Philostratus in lib. 4. cap. 16. de vita Apollonii Tyanei : Which , I , through hast forgot to touch upon in its due place , and in which there occurrs more than one thing worthy to be remarked . Be pleased then to hear , first the Story itself , in the Authors own Words ; and then my brief reflections upon the things therein chieflly considerable . The Story is this . — The things I thence collect , are these . 1. That the Maid was not really Dead , but only seemed to be so : and consequently that the raising of her by Apollonius was no Miracle . For the Author himself , though in the first Line so bold as to call it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Miracle ; is yet so modest in the second , as to render it doubtful , by these Words ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Virgo mori visa est , the Maid seemed to be Dead , i. e. She was not really Dead : and after in his Philosophical descant upon the act of her resuscitation , in these ; Utrum verò scintillam animae in ipsa [ Apollonius ] invenerit , quae ministros , medicosque latuerat ; an decidens forte pulvia dispersam , & penè jam extinctam animam calefaciens , in unum congregaverit , difficile conjectatu est . Which is a plain confession , that probably she was only in a Swoun ; because the Rain that fell upon her Face might raise her . 2. That 't is probable , the Maid lay intranced from a violent fit of the Mother . For , this terrible Accident invaded her , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in the very Hour of her Marriage : a time when Virgins commonly are most prone to have their Blood and other Humours violently agitated by various Passions , which many times cause great commotions Hysteric , and contractions of the Nerves descending ad uterum , 3. That the custom of sprinkling cold Water upon the Face of Women in Swouns , is more antient than Philostratus . Otherwise he could not have been so easily inclined to believe , that a few drops of Rain that fell upon the Maids Face , might conduce to her restoration ; especially when the reason he brings , why an effect so considerable should proceed from so mean a cause , is weak and trivial ; and when a sprinkling with hot Water might have been more efficacious . 4. And lastly . That Philostratus nevertheless shews himself no small Natural Philosopher in this very Phrase ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , an scintillam animae in ipsa invenerit : than which none could have been more proper , more significant , more emphatic ; at least if the notion of Original Life , inkindled and perpetually glowing in the Blood , which I have laboured here to explain , be consentaneous to Truth . And ye may remember , that Salomon uses the very same Word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in his description of Life , in the forecited place of Ecclesiastes . Which is alone sufficient , as to give credit to the Expression itself , so also to excuse my induction of this Story into the place of an Epilogue . Now this Animae Scintilla is liable to Languors and Eclipses , chiefly in Women of more frigid and delicate Constitutions , i. e. of little Heat . and certainly , in every Syncope there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or ( as Plato calls it ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , animula infirma ; the vestal Fire in the Heart dwindling into a Spark . Whence it is , that , at such times , all parts of the Body , wanting a due influx of warm Blood , during the cessation of the Heart , become pale , wan , liveless , and torpid , imitating the Cold of Death . But when the same Vital Spark begins to glow again , and renew the Mication of the Blood ; it soon restores to the whole Body that vividam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or brisk Effulgency , whereof it was deprived , during the Eclipse . And this probably was the case of our Virgin. No wonder then , if Apollonius , either perceiving by her feeble Pulses , the Mication of her Blood not utterly extinguished ; or coming luckily in the very Article of Time , when the same began to be more discernible to the touch , than it had been awhile before to the Physicians that were retired ; made his advantage thereof , pretending to restore her to life by Miracle : He being an Impostor of singular cunning , and watching all occasions to raise his reputation among the credulous Vulgar , by appropriating to himself the causing of Events , which in truth , though perhaps rarely contingent , were yet nevertheless merely Natural . For , who can believe , that this Spark of Life , when once utterly extinct , can ever be rekindled in whatsoever Animal ; unless by a Power that can reverse , change , and surmount the fundamental Laws and Constitutions of Nature ? and that any such supernatural Power was at any time given to Apollonius , Philostratus himself was not able to prove . Safely then may we conclude , that this Bride was not really , but seemingly Dead , when Apollonius came to her . The same I dare say also of those Animals , which Malpighi , and some of our English Virtuosi have imagined , and written , they had restored to Life after Strangulation , only by blowing Air , sometimes into their Lungs , sometimes into the Ductus Pecquetianus . For , that those Animals had been propemodum suffocata , or brought by the Experimentors and confinium usque mortis ; is easy to believe : but that they were quite dead , and then revived ; extremely difficult to a Philosopher , who knows , that the Laws of Nature permit no regress to habit from total privation . I conclude therefore with Sr. G. Ent's most judicious reflection upon this so magnified Experiment ( Antidiatribae pag. 143. ) Mirandum sane magis , illis [ Authoribus ] cum Atropo , fatalia abscindente stamina , eam intercessisse necessitudinem , ut ipsum mortis articulum tam accuratè persentiscerent ; &c. For , in Patients oppressed by the Apoplexy , Epilepsy , Lethargy , Syncope , or Hysteric Passion ; chiefly where no Pulse is perceptible , and the outward parts of the Body are grown cold and stiff ; t is extremely difficult to distinguish , utrum scintillula illa vitalis tantum delitescat , an sit in corde penitus extincta . So that even Physicians themselves , and those too of the highest classis for learning , Experience and Iudgment , have sometimes mistaken the Living for the Dead . Of which we have an eminent example in that Prince of Anatomists , but most unfortunate Man , Andreas Vesalius : who ( as Hubertus Languettus hath left upon record , in an Epistle to Casper Pucerus ; and Melchior Adamus , in vita Vesalii ) dissecting the Breast of a certain Grandee of Spain , whom he thought to be dead the Day before , found his Heart yet panting , to his own and the spectators astonishment , to his eternal disgrace , the danger of his Life , and exile , in which he miserably perisht upon the Shore of the Island Zant , in his return from Palestine . Doth any Man here expect from me other Examples of the like Mistakes ? Let him seek them in Pliny ( Nat hist. l. 7. C. 52. ) Georgius Pictorinus ( Sermon . Convival . l. 1. ) Alexander Benedictus ( Practic . l. 10. c. 10. ) Paraeus , Forestus , Albertus Bottonus , Schenckius , Levinus Lemnius , Fabricius Hildanus , &c. for now I have not time to recount them . Prudenter itaque faciunt Magistratus ( saith Hildanus , Observat. Chirurgic . centur . 2. observ . 95. ) ( uti ego Genevae , & in quibusdam aliis locis observavi ) qui neminem sepeliri permittunt , nisi priùs à quodam viro artis Medicae perito , & ad hoc negotium destinato , inspecto atque explorato Cadavere . For the same reason , I approve not the vulgar Custome of setting great Pewter Dishes , Turfs of Earth , or other the like cold and ponderose things , upon the Breast and Belly of Men newly defunct . For by that means , though the putrefaction and consequent fermentations of Humors congested within those Cavities , may perhaps be somewhat checkt and retarded , chiefly in Dropsies , and great Apostems : yet in other cases , and where the person is not really , but only in appearance Dead ; the spark of Life , which is only eclipsed , and otherwise may shine forth again , is liable to be totally extinguished . Nor am I singular in this opinion . For I could at this very instant of time convert my eye upon one of the most Eminent Physicians , not only of this Royal Colledge , but of the whole World ; who languishing of a grievous and long Sickness , and well prepared for a decent Exitus : did nevertheless , in my hearing ( for I had the honour of watching with him that night ) give order to his Attendants , to omit that kind of treatment of his Body , after all signs of Life should cease in him ; adding the very same Reason I have here given . And this I have good reason to believe he did , not from fear of Death , but only from his deep insight into the Nature of Life ; of which he ceased not to Philosophize , even when he expected to arrive at the Period of his own within few Hours after . ¶ : PRAELECTIO V. Of Fevers . IT is the custom of Mathematicians ( as ye , most Candid Auditors , well know ) when from a Series of Propositions premised and verified , they have inferred the conclusion they sought ; to add , as overplus , certain useful Theorems or consectaneous Speculations , by the Graecs called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and Consectaria sive Coroltaria by the Latins ; the knowledg of which is many times of equal moment with that of the Verity on which they depend . Give me leave then ( I beseech you ) so far to imitate this Method of those great Masters in the art of Reasoning rightly , as from my discourse on Saturday last in the morning , concerning the Primordia , perpetual Source , and circular race of Life ; to deduce a few Pathological Consectaries , such as may perhaps afford some glimses of Light toward the discovery , and nature , and causes of a certain Malady , which is of all others incident to Mans frail Body , the most common , most grievous , and most dangerous . And this Leave I with the greater confidence ask , because I intend not to abuse it , by digressing impertinently from either my present Subject , or my Duty . For , the Subject of my Speculation designed , is the same with that of my antecedent disquisition , viz. the Blood : and to find out the most probable Causes , and reason of curing great Diseases , is the principal scope and end of all our Enquiries , as well Physiological , as Anatomical . Of which none can be ignorant , who hath perused that little , but oraculous Book of Hippocrates de Prisca Medicina , where he teacheth ; that it is the great Duty of all Physicians , who desire to render themselves worthy of that honourable appellation [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] not by discours alone , but also by their Works and real succoring of the Sick ; to be solicitous about investigating the true Nature , Causes and Remedies of Maladies , above all things . Nor is it new , to find in the Writings of Anatomists , Pathological reflexions subjoyned to the description of the part , which is known to be the primary Seat of the preternatural Assections incident thereunto . Secure then , that what I have resolved with my self at this time to speak , cannot in the end be justly esteemed a Parergon , or beside the principal purpose I have taken in hand ; and conceiving great Hope , both from the frequency , and from the benign Aspect of this learned Assembly , that hitherto my dulness hath not been able wholly to overcome your Patience : I will presume , ye are not unwilling to grant my so equitable Petition . In my last Exercitation , I endevored to evince ( as ye may be pleased to remember ) that the Vital Heat or Motion of the Blood doth formally consist in a certain expansive luctation of the spirituose Particles thereof , with the less moveable or unactive , repulsed and prevailing alternately ; but mild , amicable , benign , and conducing to the exaltation of all the faculties and Uses of the Blood. Now I come to add , that it is not only possible , but that it often happens , that this Vital Motion , although proceeding only from the Spirits that conserve and rule the Blood , is by causes beside the institute of Nature invading it , perturbed , interrupted , perverted , and sometimes also wholly extinguished : the vital Oeconomy being thereby sooner or later utterly subverted . Of this we have instances almost innumerable . Nor is there any one kind of preternatural Causes assignable , by which Nature may not be impeded in her production of this Vital Motion , and more or less perturbed : as we cannot but observe it within our selves to come to pass , sometimes from the immoderate Heat of the Aire surrounding us , as in Ephemera ; sometimes from Meats and Drinks potentially too Hot , as in Surfets and drunkenness ; sometimes from vehement Passions of the Mind , as in anger , Fear , Grief , &c. Sometimes from a fermentation of the Blood , as in putrid Fevers ; sometimes from venenate effluvia of Bodies , as in pestilential and contagious Fevers ; sometimes from a simple solution of continuity of the Parts , as in Wounds : so that in fine , to enumerate all the various causes , by the hostility of which this Life conserving work of the vital Spirits may be hindred and perverted , is a thing extremely difficult , if not plainly impossible . But in all these so various cases , this is worthy to be noted , as a general verity ; that the vital Spirits of the Blood are always preternaturally affected , and that the disorder from thence emergent , ought to be imputed to a p. n. Cause . Every thing then that pollutes the Blood , and that putts Nature to an effort or essay to separate and eject it from thence , as alien and hostile ; is wont more or less , according to the diversity of its Nature and Malice , to impugn and repress the vital Motion of the Blood. But nothing hath been observed to do it , either more frequently , or more contumaciously , than impurities arising from Crude Humours congested in the Mass of Blood , which cannot be separated and extirpated without previous Concoction or Digestion . For , these constituting a certain peculiar Inquinament or Pollution of the Blood , put on the nature , and acquire to themselves the efficacy of a Ferment ; not indeed such as the Leven of Bread , or as the Yest of Ale and Beer ; but such , that being in our Bodies mixt with the Blood , which perpetually conceives new vital Heat in itself , produceth the like commotions therein , that those domestic Ferments do in their respective Subjects ; and may therefore be not unfitly called a Ferment , according to the Name given to it by all Modern Physicians . For , it causeth a manifest Tumult , or intestine War in the Blood , after this manner . The inquinament of the Blood , by reason of the crudity and viscidity of its parts , impugnes and hinders the benign expansive Motion of the Spirits , in which I have declared the Generation of the vital Heat of it to consist : and the Spirits , on the contrary , by their natural tendency to expand themselves , oppose that repressive Force , and strive to defend themselves from oppression ; producing by their energy , a continuation of the Mication of the Blood , imperfect indeed , and mixt with Fermentation , but the best they are able , till they have gained the Victory , to produce . So that the Fermentation of the Blood in Fevers , seems to proceed , not from the impurities mixt with the Blood alone ; but partly from them , and partly from Nature , i. e. from the vital Spirits conserving the vitality of the Blood. For , while these are impugned , checkt , and hindred , by those ; the Motion resulting from that conflict , is indeed a certain Mication of the Blood , but tumultuous , violent , unequal , and interrupted with little Bubles and Froth . I say therefore , that this civil War in the Blood , as it includes a certain Vital , though imperfect and irregular Mication of the Blood ; cannot be denied so far forth to be the work of Nature : but as that Mication is supposed to be tumultuose , seditiose , hostil , and unequal ; it must be , in that respect , the product of the Fermentation arising from the inquinament or corruption of the Blood. This Fermentation certainly is the very same thing that the Antient Physicians meant by the Putrefaction of the Blood in Fevers : calling , for distinction sake , all such Fevers , which they conceived to arise from thence , Putrid Fevers . For it is not credible , that Men of so acute Judgment , and so curiose in observing , as their Writings declare them to have been ; by the Word Putredo , intended to signifie that sordid and noysom Corruption observed in dead and rotting Carcases , which is absolutely inconsistent with the Principles of Life ; but only a more mild manner of dissolution of the Blood , and such as doth impugn and hinder , but not wholly suffocate the vital Expansion of it . And of this we are certain , that they used to affix the Epithet , Putrid , to whatsoever doth by a swift Motion degenerate into the nature of Pus or Quitter . Which is generated , either slowly , by degrees , by a gentle and long process , and also without tumult ; as when any Humour is , without a Fever , digested and converted into purulent matter : or speedily , and with great Tumult and disorder of the State of the Body ; as in putrid Fevers , when the Materia Febrilis , or inquinament of the Blood hastens to Concoction , and the Disease runs through all its Times quickly and swiftly . Of these two so different ways of producing Purulent Matter in the Body , the former , which is alway simple and without a Fever , is called by the Antients , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Maturation or Ripening of the Matter : the Later , which is alwaies with a Fever , is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Putredo . Whence that Aphorism of Hippocrates ( lib. 2. aph . 47. ) Dum pus confititur , dolores atque febres incidunt magis , quam jam confecto . In their Sense therefore , Putredo , is the very motion of the matter of a Fever tending to purulency : and this Motion is the very same , that most of the Neoterics Name Fermentation . For , in Fevers , it is the Fermentation that brings the impurities to digestion or Concoction , and disposes them to separation from the Blood : and therefore the Putrid Matter , and the Fermenting Matter signify one and the same thing ; and by consequence , the Materia Febrilis , and Fermentum Febrile , are but two different Names of the Cause whence the Fever or fermentation of the Blood comes . Now if this be granted to be consentaneous to Reason and Experience ( as to me it seem's to be ) We need no longer amuse our selves with inquiring , either wherein the formal reason of a putrid Fever consists , or how those two Enimies , Life and a Fever can subsist together in the same Subject , the Blood ; for what I have said may serve to expound both those riddles . Confiding therefore in the firmness of this Foundation , I design to erect thereupon a short Theory of the nature , causes , differences , and principal Symptoms of Fevers ; and that according to the Model left to us by that most accurate Surveyor of Natures Works , Dr. Fr. Glisson , in his last incomparable Book ; reputing it well worth my diligence , to paraphrase upon the Text of so great an Author . And because to Physicians accurately investigating the differences of preternatural causes inducing Fevers , there occur to be considered more than one kind , as of Crudities , so likewise of Ferments : that I may not leave myself sticking in the shallows of Ambiguties , 't is requisite that I clearly and distinctly explain , first what I understand by CRUDE HUMORS commixt with the Blood. Which I take to be generally the Material Causes of putrid Fevers ; and then what I mean by the Fermentum FEBRILE , which I suppose to be the Efficient cause of them , for by this means , the Fogg of Equivocations being discussed , we shall by a clearer light of distinct notions , contemplate the nature of the things sought after . As to the FIRST thereof , viz. the CRUDITY of Humours ; 't is well known , that Physicians observing two kinds of Concoction or Digestion performed by Nature in the Body , viz. One of what is natural and familiar , of the Aliment requisite to the continual reparation of the Body ; which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : the other , of what is preternatural and hurtful , as the material cause of Diseases ; which is named , for distinction sake , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : have accordingly constituted two sorts of Crudity , one Alimenti , the other , Inquinamenti . Of which the former , that respects nutrition , is ordinary ; arising for the most part from some error committed in the use of the six Nonnaturals , and consisting chiefly in this , that the Spirits of our Food are either not sufficiently excited , or if excited , yet not sufficiently tamed and subdued by the concoctive faculty of the Stomach , to serve to promote the vital mication of the Blood. The Later , viz. Cruditas inquinamenti , is in the general , any pollution or corruption of the Blood whatsoever , arising from defect of its due preparation and fitness to admit the vital Mication . And this , being the Mother of Fevers , is that intended by Hippocrates in that most remarkable Aphorism ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; Concocta medicamento purgare ac movere oportet , non cruda This Crudity is subdivided into two sorts ; one Simple , which consisting only in defect of due preparation of the Blood , may be corrected per pepasmum or maturation , necessarily previous to Evacuation either natural , or artificial : the other Malignant , which always includes certain seminal Reliques of some precedent form of the matter mixt with the Blood , highly Hostile to the vital Spirits , and incapable of correction or mitigation , and many times of expulsion . Now from this Malignant crudity of matter mixt with the Blood , ariseth a Malignant Fever ; and from the simple Crudity , comes a Putrid . Of both which we shall speak more copiously , when we come to consider the differences of Fevers . As to the SECOND , viz. the difference of FERMENTS incident to our Bodies ; I advertise , that they also may be ( as to my present disquisition ) commodiously referred to two kinds . Of which the one may be called Fermentum irritans , because it doth primarily , by it self , and directly irritate the vital Spirits of the Blood , to begin an extraordinary commotion , and seditious Tumult , with the grosser parts of it ; and to endevor to deliver themselves from confinement , and by dissolving the common Bond of the whole Mass thereof , to fly away . And under this kind are comprehended all fermenting mixtures abounding with saline Spirits , highly volatile , and not easily tameable by the digestive faculty of the Stomack : among which the Stum of Wine is eminent . The other deserves to be named Fermentum Opprimens ; because it at first and immediately oppresses the vital Spirits of the Blood , impugning their expansive Motion ; tho afterward , secondarily , and by accident , it irritates them to a Pneumatic Fermentation ; not to dissolve the whole mixture thereof , and so to make way for themselves to fly away : but only to attenuate , discuss , eject and exterminate the Ferment , that by clogging and oppressing them , hinders their spontaneous expansion , and the vital Mication of the Blood thereon depending . And this to me seems to be that kind of Ferment , by which a Fermentation of the Blood is wont to be excited in putrid Fevers ; and which for that very cause , ought to be nominated Fermentum Febrile . It seem's also to consist of any crude humor whatsoever commixt with the Mass of Blood. For , this doubtless is that Crudity , which Hippocrates ( in the newly cited Aphorism ) forbids to be importunely attempted by purging Medicaments , until Nature hath mitigated , tamed , and prepared it for evacuation , by gradual digestion Of which Counsel , though many reasons have been , by the learned Commentators on his Aphorisms , chiefly by Cardan , alleged ; yet the most credible , and therefore the most considerable seems to be this ; That Nature hath provided no Organs for the Separation or Secretion of such Crude Humors from the Blood , the Spirits of which are not yet exhausted . Most true indeed , and evident it is , that Nature has with amirable Wisdom and Providence taken care to preserve the Blood pure and undefiled ; and to that end framed , and most advantagiously placed three conspicuous Secretory Organs , for the purifaction of it , viz. the Liver , Kidneys and Stomach with the conjoin'd Intestines : and yet it is no less true , that none of these is , by her primary institution destined to separate and drein from the Mass of Blood , any matter yet remaining in the state of Crudity , or no yet despoiled of its Spirits ; but all three ordained , lest the Blood , after it hath spent and consumed the sweet and profitable Spirits of the Aliment , and becomes thereby effete and ungenerose , should be longer detained in the Body ; and like a dead Body bound to a living , pollute and infect the Blood newly made of Chyle lately imported , and replenish'd with sweet and useful Spirits . Now the Humors here by us supposed to be both the antecedent and conjunct Causes of Fevers , are not such as have already been spoiled of their Spirits , and apt to turn vappid ; but such as abound with Spirits yet unvolatilized , and infest to the vital Mication of the Blood. For , the matter not sufficiently digested , altered , and elaborate in the Stomach , becomes at length apt to produce Fevers , in this respect only , that the Spirits contained in it , are either not sufficiently excited , or not sufficiently subdued and tamed . Likewise the matter that grows crude and apt to generate Fevers , either from defect of due eventilation by insensible transpiration , or from want of free motion , is not vitiose , because the Spirits of it are already dissipated , but only because they are , contrary to the institute of Nature detained , and because they at the same time impede and somewhat suppress the vital Mication of the Blood. In fine , the Seminia heterogenea , unalterable reliques of some precedent form remaining in the crude Matter commixt with the Blood , cause a Malignant Fever ; not because the Spirits of that matter have been already exhaled , but because they are hostile , highly infense and pernicious to the Vital Spirits , and incapable of being tamed . We have reason then to believe , that the material causes of Fevers are not the dead , useless and excrementitious parts of the Blood : not the Phlegm , not the Bile , nor that thin Humor consisting of the Serum , Salt and Tartar of the Blood , which is separated in the Kidneys : for all these have their peculiar Secretory Organs , by which they are daily separated and carried off : nor do they require any other Preparation to their Separation , but what consists in their transmutation into those Humors in Specie . Wich is done only by the gradual deflagration of the Blood , by which the vital Heat is sustained . For , hence it is , that in tract of Time , the nobler parts of the vital Juice are dissipated and consumed , and the remaining Parts , which they had before kept united , divided into various parties , and becoming excrementitious , pass some into Bile , some into Phlegm , and more into the matter of Urine : and all these now unprofitable Humors , being brought together with the Blood , to the respective Organs in which they ought to be separated , are there by way of percolation secerned , and by their proper excretory Vessels carried off and ejected . If this be admitted for true , what then are we to think of the long-lived and even to this Day flourishing Doctrine of the Antients , that attributes tertian Fevers to Choler , Quotidian to Phlegm , and Quartan to Melancholy ? I answer ( with Dr. Glisson , who in all arguments endevor'd , as far as his Devotion to Truth would permit him , to sustain the auctority of the Antients ) that those Humors were , or at least might be taken , either for the reliques of the Stale and vapid Blood , or for Humors analogous to them . The Reliques of the Blood are ( as was just now said ) resolved into Bile , Phlegm , and Urine ; in the last of which are contained four other kinds of Excrements , viz. the potulent matter , Salt , Serum , and a certain earthly liquamen , commonly distinguished by the name of Tartar. But as for Melancholy , no place is to be found for it among the reliques or stale and rejected parts of the Blood. For in the whole Body we find no peculiar Organ provided by Nature for the Secretion , reception and exclusion of any such Humor : and therefore , saving the respects and veneration due to those Fathers of our Art , the interest of Truth , which is still more sacred and venerable , obliges us to affirm , that they erred most egregiously , when they assigned that Office to the Spleen . The Humors Analogous to the newly enumerated Reliques of the Blood , are signified by the same Names ; in particular , the viscid , insipid , and white part of the Blood , is called Pituita or Phlegm ; the hot , drie , acrimonious , and pungent or corroding , Bilis or Choler ; the cold , drie , blackish , and adust , Melancholy ( if at least any such Humor may be admitted to lye concealed in the Mass of Blood. ) For , we must confess , we usurp more than a Physical License , when we call this an Analogous Humor , to which nothing that holds any the least resemblance or analogie , can be any where in the whole Body found : and yet nevertheless it may be lawful to say , that the Analogie that some parts of the Blood seem to have to that fictitious Humor , which the Antients imagined to be separated and received by the Spleen ; may serve to excuse us , if , out of compliance with custom and the vulgar Doctrine of the Schools , we retain the denomination , while we rectify the Notion of Melancholy . For , though the Analogatum be wanting ; yet if in reality a thing respondent thereto , hath existence in Nature ; the supposed Analogy is enough to justify the appellation . Considering this , I assert , that in the Mass of Blood are most commonly contained . ( 1 ) A sharp , pungent or corrosive Serum , such as is wont to be cast out by exsudation , in an Erysipelas , and in the little Bladders or Blisters raised by Epispastic emplasters ; which answers to the Bile or Choler . ( 2 ) A whitish and fibrose Grumus , that resembles Phlegm . ( 3 ) A duskish or blackish and friable Grumus , comparable to the Melancholy of the Antients ; for other Humor that may deserve that Name , there is none to be discerned in the Blood. Now , that we may see how far these Elements or constituent Principles of the Blood , can be brought to consist with the Humors of the Antients ; let us equitably compare these with those . According to their several Characters or descriptions , the pure and natural Serum , by which mixt with the Lympha , the Blood is made and kept fluid , seems to be the same with the natural and pure Biliose Humor of the Antients ; and the same corrupted , and thereby grown acrimonious and corrosive , what they understood by Choler , analogous to the Gall. ( 2 ) The white and viscid Grumus , while uncorrupt and in a natural State , seems to agree with their natural Phlegm ; when degenerate and corrupt , with that morbific Humor , which they called Pituita Analoga . ( 3 ) The black and friable Grumus , when pure and sincere , is the Humor Sanguineus specially so called , and that very part of the Blood , which impregnate with vital Spirits and the nitrose Spirit of the Air , gives it a florid red Colour : but despoiled of those Spirits , and receding from that Scarlet toward a sooty or black ( whence probably it received the Name of Melancholy ) is the Melancholy they imagined to be like the Humor of the Spleen . This Parallelism being granted , there seems to remain no difficulty in reconciling the Doctrine of the Antients concerning the Humors contained in the Blood , with the constituent Parts of it now observed by us : and by consequence , nothing hinders , but these Analogous Humors , as we have distinguisht and described them , may be the Material causes of putrid Fevers : yea more , t is necessary , that one or more of them be peccant in every putrid Fever . Which is what we sought , toward the establishing our present Genealogy of putrid Fevers , without demolishing what the Antients have delivered of the same . ¶ : Let us then proceed to enquire into the Origine of Malignant Fevers , which ought to be deduced from a certain Ferment of another kind , not yet described . For , malignant Fevers being by their Nature alwaies more pernicious , than simply putrid , and often also contagious : it must be therefore , that they take their Original from some Ferment more malicious , and more grievously hostile to the vital Motion of the Blood. This Ferment then , whatsoever we shall at length discover it to be , may justly be named in the general , FERMENTUM MALIGNUM ; as coming neer to the nature of Poison properly so called , about the reason of whose fierce and pernicious Operation upon the very principles of Life , Physicians are strangely divided in their Opinions . Omitting all which , I humbly conceive , that the deleterious or deadly force of any Poison whatsoever , doth consist , not in any manifest quality , but in some Seminal Nature highly adverse and destructive to the Mication of the Blood in Man , upon which his Life immediately depends . There are , ( I must confess ) too many other things , that with equal speed and cruelty break asunder the slender Ligaments of Life , even by their manifest qualities , if once admitted into the Stomach ; as Fire , Oyl of Vitriol , strong Spirit of Salt , Aqua Fortis , Lixivial Caustics , Arsenic , Sublimate , &c. Which by reason of the extreme subtility and most rapid Motions of their Particles , and of their force of Penetrating , cutting , corroding and dissolving almost all Bodies to which they are applied , are as mortal as a Sword or Bullet : but all these , if they be sufficiently diluted , lose their fatal Virtue , and become innoxious ; nor can they be rightly reckned among Venoms , no more than a Dagger or Halter , because they destroy by manifest Qualities , and wayes evident to the Sense . But Poyson , whose Power is founded in a seminal Nature ; secretly repugnant and pernicious to human Nature , whether it be bred in the Body , or introduced by contagion or otherwise , is always more or less noxious in a small quantity , and in a full Dose deadly ; so that t is dangerous to trust to a dilution of any such Venom . And to this kind are the Malignant Ferments , of which I am now speaking , to be referred : though some of them be more venomous than others , and some more contagious . For , the Malignity of all seems to consist in a Seminal Nature , which being communicated to the Blood , is apt to impugn , retard , oppress , and ( when it prevails ) totally extinguish the expansive Motions of the vital Spirits that conserve it . ¶ : HAVING thus concisely explained the formal reasons , and distinct proprieties of both sorts of Febrile Ferments , the Putrid and the Malignant , that work immediately and per se , by way of Oppression of the vital Spirits ; 't is opportune for us to inquire into the Nature of them considered , first absolutely , and then respectively to the manner of their Operation upon the Blood in generating Fevers . I advertise therefore , that when I speak of Crude Chyle brought into the Mass of Blood , and by degrees inducing putrefaction or Fermentation upon it , as I have briefly shewn in the Paragraph concerning putrid Humors rendring the Blood impure ; I do not call such Chyle Crude , because I think it wholly unfit to afford some nourishment to the solid Parts though impure and imperfect ; but because it is not sufficiently concocted and prepared , so as that being united with the Blood , it should be made the immediate Subject of the vital Spirits , or ( which is the same thing ) be impregnated with Vitality . Now Chyle in this sense Crude , hath not yet attained to a degree of inquinament high enough to give it the nature and force of a Febrile Ferment ; which strikes at the very Root of the vital Motion or Heat . For it consisteth in a certain Aptitude to infringe , diminish , retard , oppress , and ( if not overcome and expell'd by the Spirits of the Blood ) utterly extinguish the vital Mication of the Blood , whence Life results . For , consentaneous it is both to experience and to reason , that this appitude is not acquired in a few moments of time after Crudities have been commixt with the Blood ; nor doth it actually attack the vital Spirits so soon as the Ferment is diffused , but doth exsert its Power slowly , by insensible degrees , and as it were by creeping on , like an Enemy that designs to steal a Victory . First it gently , and by little and little insinuates itself into the Mass of Blood , and diffuses itself equally through all the parts of it . Then it comes to be united with the Spirits that conserve the Blood , as if it were a natural ingredient of the mixture . That done , if either the quantity or contumacy of it be so great as that the vital Spirits be unable to moderate and reduce it to conformity , or to expel and dissipate it ; it begins to operate , to weaken , and suppress them , affecting them with a kind of Torpor , and clogging them so as they cannot with requisite Vigor endevor to expand themselves , and then the Fever first invades , as shall be more fully explicated when we come to examine the process of Fermentation in the Paroxysm of an intermittent Fever . In the mean time it follows to be inquired , wherein this Aptitude of the Fermentum Febrile to fix the Spirits of the Blood , doth chiefly consist . I conceive with Dr. Glisson that it is radicated in a certain Lentor or clamminess of the Crudities mixt with the Blood ; analogous perhaps to that viscidity observed in Wine and Beer not perfectly fermented , which are therefore call'd Pendula , or Ropy ; nor can they be ever corrected unless by a new Fermentation , which exciting the oppressed and sluggish Spirits contained in the Liquor , and dissolving the clammyness of the grosser Parts , quickly clarifies it . For , what can be imagined more apt to Clog , oppress and fix the Spirits of the Blood , so as to hinder their expansive Motion , than such a pendulous clamminess of Crude Humors diffused through the whole Mass of it ? I believe therefore , that the formal reason of every febrile Ferment in putrid Fevers , doth consist in such a Lentor of the Blood. As for that kind of it , that arises from defect of Concoction in the Stomach , and that may therefore rightly enough be distinguished by the Name of Crude Chyle ; it seems not at first to be affected with the pendulous Clamminess here described , but only with a certain disposition or tendency toward it , by reason the Spirits of the Chyle have not been sufficiently excited and exalted from the State of Fixation to that of moderate fluxility , as they ought to have been : and yet this tendency may be sufficient by degrees to induce a clamminess upon the whole Mass of Blood , when crudities are daily increased and accumulated , as commonly they are before a Putrid Fever is generated . Other kinds of it are almost all derived , either from transpiration intercepted , or from extravasation of Humors , as in internal Apostems and in the Dropsy ; or from inflammations and tumors , where the course of the Blood is stopt . For part of the Blood so arrested , and for want of due Motion corrupted , being at length carried off by the Veins , and remixt with the whole Mass thereof , must of necessity more or less pollute it , But if we convert the Eyes of our Curiosity upon the Effects of this febrile Ferment , and consider the manner and process of its acting upon the Blood ; we shall soon find , that what hath been said of the narcotic and fixative Power of it , will be sufficiently consentaneous and evident to engage our Belief . For , from thence it will appear , by what reason and way the Ferment is wont to exert its forces , and exercise its tyranny upon the Vital Spirits , in the divers times of a Paroxysm or fit of a Fever , viz. in the begining or invasion , in the augment or increase , in the vigor or Achme , and in the declination . I say then , that before the actual invasion of a Paroxysm , the febrile Ferment is already diffused through the Blood , and united with the vital Spirits . Upon this , it of necessity comes to pass , that the Spirits being clogg'd and as it were inviscated by the pendulous clamminess thereof , remit somewhat of their vigor and endevor to expansion : and consequently with less briskness irritate the Ears and Ventricles of the Heart , and Arteries conjoyned to them , to contract themselves , in order to the distribution of the Blood. Hence it comes , that the free transpiration of the halitus or steams of the Blood is more or less checkt , and render'd more slow and weak than it ought to be . And this makes the first insult or surprise of the Cold Fit , which though scarcely perceptible in the beginning , comes creeping on more and more , till the Eclipse it brings upon the vital Spirits , be manifest from the weakness and languid Motion of the Pulse , and from the chilness of the whole Body , and dead paleness of the Face , &c. A little after , the Pulse is more retracted and languid , and the Eclipse increasing , the Nayles of the Fingers become pale and of a leaden Blew , the extreme parts grow sensibly cold , and all the other symptoms grow more strong and vexatious , so that the Patient is now compell'd to feel the Attacque his Enemy is making upon the Guards of his Life . And this is the second step of the cold Fit. Which ceases not yet , but is continued a good while after its first sensible Invasion ; the depression of the vital Spirits , the retraction of the Pulse , and the consequent diminution of Heat , still by degrees increasing . Nevertheless , soon after the beginning , the irritation of the vital Spirits to rise up and oppose their intestine Enimy , and to repell it by their spontaneous expansion , begins . For , first they strive to resist oppression by the clamminess of the febrile Ferment , and to shake off the Clogg , by their natural agility . Then the Mass of Blood , being slowly and heavily diffused into the parts of the Body , doth in some degree stagnate in the Avenues of the Heart , and by its resistence burden the Heart and Arteries , and so incite them to make more frequent Pulses , to discharge it . Then the Effluvia of the Blood , being by intercepted transpiration retained , and by the Veins returned to the Heart , serve somewhat to excite the Spirits , and to discuss a little of the clammy Ferment repressing them . But yet these three irritations conjoyned , are not from the beginning of so great Moment , as quickly to hinder the increase of the Cold , or farther depression of the vital Motion : only they so far avail , as to hinder the influent Life from being wholly eclipsed . And at this time it is , that the first certain Signs of actual Fermentation of the Blood , shew themselves to Physicians accurately observing them . For , so soon as the certain Signs of an universal oppression of the vital Spirits appear ; we may from that time date the commencement of the Fermentation immediately consequent thereunto : because they declare that the Ferment hath already actually begun its Work. These Signs and Symptoms then are ( as I have said ) first , retraction of the Pulse , chilness , paleness and sometimes blewness of the extreme Parts , chiefly of the Nayls , tipp of the Nose and Lips , and some light constriction of the whole Skin . Because at that time there happens some oppression of the vital Heat , which governs the Pulse , renders all parts actually hot , gives a vivid and grateful tincture of red to all , and plumps up the Skin that otherwise would shrink itself up . Secondly , a troublesom Sense of Cold , accompanied with a Horror , trembling , shivering or shaking . All from the difficult passage of the Blood through the habit of the Parts . For the Blood being but weakly emitted from the Heart , and passing slowly through the substance of the muscular Parts , hurts and offends them by vellication or attrition . Thirdly , a weak and quivering Voice , and shortness of Breath for the most part trembling and unequal : which seem to arise , partly from a depression of the vital Heat , partly from Cold unequally affecting the Lungs , and hindring the free ingress and egress of the Air ; and partly from the difficult passage of the Blood , either through the Lungs themselves , or through the Muscles , helping to move them . Fourthly , the moisture of the Mouth , and in the Glands circumjacent , begins to be dried up , and thereupon ensue thirst and driness of the Tongue . The reason of which seems to be this , that the Latex Serosus is , in the febrile Fermentation , so confounded with other Humors , that it cannot be separated from them in the Glandules destined to the Secretion of it . Other Effects or Signs of the Fermentation observable in this beginning of the Paroxysm , I reserve till we come to the Augment , in which they become more conspicuous . In the AUGMENT therefore , no new Motion arises , only the former are either by degrees lessned , or increased . Those that belong to the simple depression of the vital Spirits , are gradually diminished : but those that are referrible to the incitation or suscitation of them , are by little and little augmented . Of the former sort are , Chilness , Sense of Cold , shivering , trembling , quaking ; all which by degrees cease and vanish : because upon the raising of the Pulse , the Blood is transmitted more briskly and speedily through the habit of the Parts . The Voice also becomes more strong and uninterrupt , and the respiration more frequent and equal , for the same reason . On the contrary , the provoked vital Spirits now rising up against their intestine Enimy , cause a manifest increase of the febrile Fermentation and Tumult . For , the expansive luctation grows more and more fierce and exorbitant , and recedes farther from the natural State , till it becomes turbulent , hostile , and frothy , and unequal . The consequents of these irregular Motions are ( 1 ) inquietude , jectigation , and sometimes Pain of the outward parts , but chiefly of the Head ; all from the difficult transmission of the Blood through them . ( 2 ) Frequency of the Pulse , and now and then robust vibration of the Heart and Arteries ; probably from the intercepted course of the Blood , and the augmentation of Heat . ( 3 ) Diminution of Transpiration ; which though now somewhat greater than from the beginning , continues much less than it ought to be , considering the abundance of Effluvia or exhalations of the Blood raised by the intense Heat . ( 4 ) Greater Consumption of the Latex in all parts of the Mouth , and consequently more grievous Thirst. ( 5 ) Nauseousness , and sometimes vomiting or Flux of the Belly . For the Stomach and Gutts are of all parts most troubled and offended by the tumultuose afflux of the Blood , as well because of their nervose Texture , and their exquisite Sense thence arising ; as by reason of the matters contained in their Cavity , which ( the containing Parts being irritated ) fluctuate , and so become more apt to be moved and ejected upward or downward : and for the same Causes , the same parts are often molested with Winds and Eructations ; all Pneumatic Fermentations ( in the number of which our febrile Fermentation hath a place ) conducing much to the generation of Winds . During this time of the Paroxysm , the Fermentation and Heat , and all the consequents of them here recounted ( excepting perhaps the last ) are augmented by degrees , till they arrive at the Achme or State. But so soon as the Transpiration comes to be more free , and answerable to the abundance of Exhalations steaming from the Blood , so as they no longer recoyl by the Veins to increase the estuation of the Blood ; the Augment ends , and the State of the fit succeeds . In which the Fermentation and Ardor persist a while in their Violence and Fury . And though at this time some parts of the oppressing Ferment , begin to be discussed and expelled by laboriose Sweat : yet the vital Spirits are by that tumultuose Motion so profusely spent and exhausted , that nature suffers almost as much of loss by that exhaustion , as she receives relief from the Victory and Expulsion . Whence perhaps it comes , that yet the conflict appears doubtful and equal , till the beginning of the Declination , when the febrile Heat , and all its concomitants are by degrees mitigated . And then it is , that the Victory of the vital Spirits being complete , the remaining parts of the febrile Ferment are by an universal Sweat flowing without any considerable detriment of the strength of the Patient , dispersed and exterminated . For , this Sweat is a kind of despumation of the impurities of the Blood that caused the Paroxysm ; whereupon soon ensue a remission of the burning Heat , a cessation of anxiety and Pains , and a fresh diffusion of the Latex Serosus into the Throat and Mouth for the quenching of Thirst , and in fine a Cessation of all other vexatious Symptoms of the late Conflict ; and so at length the Paroxysm is ended . Now from this our congruous Solution of all the Phaenomena of the fit of a Fever , ye may easily judge of the reasonableness of the precedent Hypothesis , according to which I have endevored to explicate them ; and how far the same may deserve your approbation , or dislike . ¶ : Nevertheless I am willing , ye should suspend your Sentence , till I have carried on the Hypothesis farther . For there yet remain many other Appearances to be solved . I proceed therefore to the primary DIFFERENCES of Fevers , in hope that they also may be commodiously deduced from the same Principles . Forasmuch as it is probable from what hath been said of the nature of a Fever in general , that all Fevers arise from , and essentially consist in a Fermentation of the Blood : We may with reason infer , that the diversity of Fevers , how great soever it be , proceeds from nothing else but the divers fermentations of the same Blood. For the diversity of Effects is for the most part respondent to the diversity of efficients . And since it is scarce possible , but that from various Ferments , various kinds of Fermentations should arise ; it necessarily follows , that the various sorts of Fevers are to be deduced from equally various Ferments actually hindring the vital mication of the Blood. And I hold , that there are so many differences of febrile Ferments , as there are divers Natures or Dispositions of Crudities incident to the Blood , and apt to inquinate it . To know all these distinctly , and to explicate each of them by a particular discription , is perhaps impossible : so great is the variety of crude Humors that may be admitted into the Blood , and so manifold the Combinations of them that may happen to pollute it . Let it suffice then , if reflecting upon the chief sorts of Crudities alredy described , we shall from thence congruously derive the Primary , i. e. the most frequently observed Differences of Fevers . By Crudity I here understand any inquinament or depravation of the Blood whatsoever , proceeding from defect of due preparation thereof , for the generation of vital Spirits ; as I before declared . Now the matter in this Sense Crude , may be distinguished into Ordinary or familiar to human Nature , such as arises from the erroneous use of the six non-naturals : and Extraordinary or alien and hostile to human Nature . From the former come all Fevers call'd simply Putrid : from the Later , Malignant and Contagiose or Venenose . The Ordinary may be subdivided into ( 1 ) Recent or lately generated , such as is either carried out of the Stomach and Guts in the form of crude Chyle , or reduced from some part or other inflamed or otherwise corrupted : and ( 2 ) Inveterate or in a long tract of time by little and little congested , and adhering to the substance of the solid Parts . The former , if it happens to pass into a febrile Ferment , produces a Fever putrid indeed , but of only one Paroxysm . The Later likewise generates a Fever Putrid , either accompanying some other Malady , or Symptomatic ; but each of them , either Continual of uncertain exacerbation , or intermittent of uncertain Paroxysms . The Etraordinary or Malignant which includes some certain seminal Principle dangerous and hostile to human Nature , is also double , viz. either it is disseminated by contagion , or is primarily bred in the Body affected . The Former , though resolved into an exhalation and dispersed through the Air , still retains its poysonous Virtue , as the Miasma Pestilentiale , or infection of the Plague . The other is either not resolved into exhalations , as Arsenic ; or is , in the very resolution , despoiled of its seminal malignity , as the Breath of a mad Dog , which seldom or never infects alone , without the Saliva in forth . Having exhibited to your consideration this plain and brief Scheme of the different material Causes , from which I suppose the principal differences of Fevers to proceed ; I must reflect upon the Heads thereof more particularly , and in the first place resume the explication of Crudity not Malignant ; as that which both more frequently occurs to our observation , and is less obscure . The Matter of Putrid Fevers Not-Malignant , proceeds ( as I lately insinuated ) either ( 1 ) From defect of Concoction of the Chyle in the Stomach and Intestines , or ( 2 ) From defect of due eventilation and free motion of the Blood in its Circuit . Defect of Concoction of the Chyle , is a thing so common , and so fully explained by Physicians in their practical Writings , that it is sufficient for me to name it . And indeed in all Fevers , the concoctive faculty of the Stomach is wont so much to languish , that scarce any thing of aliment can be , without detriment , taken into the Stomach already troubled and inquinated with vitious and corrupt Humors . For then the Food is not digested , but whatever of either Juice or Tincture is drawn from it , remains crude , and turns to the Augment of the matter of the Fever . Whence it comes , that fasting and a thin Diet are so much commended by all , in putrid Fevers . Only in Pestilential , a Diet less spare , is sometimes allowed with good Success : because the benignity and sweet Spirits of the Aliment , are found to contemperate the Seminium Pestiferum , and reduce it to a milder disposition . Not of these Fevers therefore , but only of those are we to understand the Counsel given by Hippocrates ( Aphorism . n. Lib. 2. ) Corpora impura quò plus alimenti assumunt , eò pluribus damnis augentur : & ( Aphor. 7. Lib. 1. ) si morbus sit peracutus , tenuissima diaeta est utendum . Defect of due Transpiration , or Eventilation , and of free Circuition of the Blood , is sometimes the Cause , sometimes the Effect of Fermentation therein . The Cause , if no other vice , before disposing the Blood to Putrefaction , hath given fit matter for the Generation of a Fever : for , want of free Transpiration and Interception of the course of the Blood in any part of the Body , is alone sufficient to infer putrefaction upon the Blood ; but then the Fever is for the most part easily discussed , and with one universal Sweat wholly solved . It ariseth commonly from the diminished perspirability and permeability , either of the whole Body , or of some private part , whose inconspicuous pores are constipated , or obstructed ; and this happens either with , or without extravasation of Blood. With extravasation , comes a Tumor , if not an Aposteme , which most commonly produces a Fever of uncertain Exacerbation ; as is frequently observed in great Obstructions and Abscesses of the Lungs . Having concisely recounted the Procatartic or Antecedent Causes of crude Matter apt to induce putrid Fevers , I must come to explain what I said of the Aptitude of crude Chyle received into the Blood , to corrupt it Miasmate Febrili . That I may do this with perspicuity and coherence , two things occur here to be considered . One is , when that supposed Aptitude or Disposition of Chyle imperfectly concocted , comes to be matured or exalted to an actual fermentation of the Blood : the other , where that crude Chyle is wont to lurk or lie concealed , until attaining to ripeness , it hath acquired forces sufficient to induce fermentation upon the Blood. To the FORMER of these two questions therefore I answer , that crude Chyle , though from its first admission into the Blood it continually tend toward a febrile Ferment ; doth yet notwithstanding rarely attain to that last Degree of depravity , where it meets not with an Apparatus of like matter before congested in the Body , sufficient to augment its Forces , and serve for convenient Fewel to a Fever . For , it is by long experience found , that very few fall into any simply putrid Fever , unless after many errors admitted in the use of the six Non-naturals : nor is the febrile Ferment it self wont , so soon as it is existent in the Body to kindle a Fever , by breaking out into acts of open hostility upon the sudden , but by secretly creeping on , as it were , and passing through certain degrees of operation successively . First , it is insensibly diffused through , and intimately commixt with the whole Mass of the Blood , after the manner of other Ferments . Then inwrapping the vital Spirits by little and little with its clammyness , it diminishes their Agility , and disposes them to sloth . After this , it endeavours to inviscate , bind , and as it were suffocate them ; and then it is , that from their expansive reluctation , the conflict and fermentation commences . All which may be collected from intermittent Fevers , at least , if it be true ( what many eminent Physicians hold ) that the whole Febrile Matter that causes a Paroxysm , is as it were burn'd out and consumed in that Paroxysm : as in an intermittent Tertian , there intervenes a whole day of vacancy from a Fever , and of quiet betwixt every two Paroxysms ; during which interval , the febrile Ferment is only dispositive , and preparing to unite it self intimately with the vital Spirits . But in a simple Quartan , two whole days intervene betwixt the precedent Paroxysm and the Subsequent ; the febrile Ferment all that while recruiting its Forces . From whence it is highly probable , that the crude matter doth not presently produce a Fermentation , but by degrees , and by way of disposition . Which may be sufficient to solve the first Question , viz. When the crudities commixt with the Blood come to acquire he degree of exaltation requisite to induce an actual fermentation upon the Blood. As for the OTHER , viz. Where the same crude Matter is wont to be congested , and to lye in ambush till that time ; if the whole matter of the precedent Paroxysm , be spent and consumed in the Paroxysm , as hath been supposed : then it necessarily follows , that the matter of the subsequent Paroxysm , must either be generated anew , in the time intervenient betwixt the two Fits , or lie conceal'd somewhere in the Body , either in the Vessels carrying the Blood , or out of them ; from whence , as from its Fomes , it may after certain intervals of Time , sally forth to infect the Blood and invade the vital Spirits . For both these , cannot be true ; and therefore it remains to be inquired , which of the two is most likely to be so . My Opinion is , that the matter of every subsequent Paroxysm is not generated anew ; and my Reasons are these . ( 1 ) So soon as any Paroxysm is ended , the very essence of the Fever Ceases for that time , and the Blood quickly returns to an Apyrexia . Now if the Cause be extirpated together with the Disease , nothing will be left remaining in the Body to continue it : and by consequence , every new Paroxysm will be a new Fever ; which no experienced Physician , who hath observed the Disease to be of the same genius or nature from the first Fit to the last , will easily be brought to grant . ( 2 ) The same may be confirmed by this , that intermittent Fevers , even in poor Country People , frequently run through alll their times regularly , by degrees ascending to their State , and thenceforth gradually tending to their Declination , when no Physician is called to Succour Nature : So that merely from diligent Observation of the motion of the Fever , a certain prognostication of the State and final cessation of it , may be collected , which would be impossible , if the matter of the Disease were every Day generated de novo : for who could foresee , when that new Generation would Cease ? ( 3 ) The cause of the Fever coming ab extra , is accidental , and depends on a less or greater Error committed in Diet , and is constituted extra Febris essentiam ; nor can any indication be from thence desumed . And our Dr. Glisson affirms , that he knew a Man , who being of a strong Constitution , and afflicted with a Tertian Intermittent , obstinately abstained from all Meat and Drink , from one Fit to another ; and yet could not thereby elude the return of his Fever . It may be therefore with good reason inferred , that putrid Fevers have an internal Focus some where in the Body , whence the material Cause of them breaking forth , and gathering fresh Forces , invades and irritates the Vital Spirits again and again , even till the Fomes be utterly exhausted and consumed . There are ( I confess ) many great Wits , who in every intermittent Fever , seek for a peculiar Fomes or Seat of the Cause . I confess also , that sometimes such a particular and partial Fomes may be found ; as for Instance , in the Stomach , or in the Pancreas , or in the Mesentry , and other Parts of the Abdomen ; and an inflamation of the Lungs , is in some sort the Fomes of a Peripneumonia ; an inflamation of the Pleura , the Fomes of a Pleurisy , and sic de multis aliis partibus : So that itcannot be denyed , but both intermittent and continual Fevers may arise from particular Seats ; and that an Aposteme , chiefly an Empyema , may minister Fewel to a Fever ; yea more , that an inflamation repercu'st from the outward parts , and a Gangrene in any the remotest Member of the Body , may produce a continual Fever , by sending forth corrupt matter to pollute and infect the Blood. All this ( I say ) must be confessed . And yet nevertheless it must be acknowledged , that besides these particular Fomites of Fevers , there is a certain General one , common to all putrid Fevers : and this general Fomes I hold to be the very Parenchyma of the Parts nourished out of impure Juices . For this FOMES is of all others hitherto supposed , most consistent with the Circuition of the Blood , by which it is commodiously carried to all Parts ; and diffused universally : whereas other impurities can scarcely be so accumulated in the Solid Parts , but they must , when extravasated , obstruct the free course of the Blood. If they be supposed to stick , and be congested in the capillary Vessels , or in the inconspicuous Pores of the Parts ; they must be a manifest and intollerable Obstacle to the pertransition of the Blood. If out of the Vessels , they stagnate in the habit of the Parts , they must induce , not a Fever , but a Cachexia , or an Anasarcha . Compelled therefore we are to fly to the very Parenchyma of the Parts ; which in every putrid Fever are necessarily fused or melted by degrees , and being fused , as necessarily become Fewel to continue the Fever . For , in continual Fevers , the substance of the Parts amass'd out of Crude and impure Chyle , is continually melted , and so maintains the fermentation without intermission , until all the Fewel be consumed , and then the Fever is extinguished . But in intermittent , the same impurities are melted by turns , or Intervals ; and in every Paroxysm , some portion of them is colliquated into a kind of Sanies or putrid Matter ; which being remixt with the Blood , becomes , in a Tertian , the Fewel of a Paroxysm to recur on the third Day from its Fusion ; in a Quartan , of a Paroxysm to invade on the fourth ; in a Quotidian , of a Fit to return on the next Day ; & sic de caeteris , And as to the Duplication and Triplication of these intermittent Fevers : 't is probable , that when of a Simple Tertian , is made a double one , the Simple is not the direct Cause of the double : but the later arises from Causes like to those , from which the former took its beginning : So that a double Tertian may be rightly enough accounted to be two single Tertians alternately succeding and complicated with each other . And the same , mutatis mutandis , may be said , with equal congruity , also of the origin of a double and treble Quartan . But there remains yet another Difficulty greater than either of the two precedent ; viz. concerning the Suspension of the Action of the crude Matter , to the time of the Paroxysm , in which it is actuated . That the State of which Question may be the better understood , let us ( for instance Sake ) suppose , that in a double Tertian , A. B. C. D. are four distinct crude Matters , melted and set afloate in the Mass of Blood in four successive Paroxysms . Let us suppose also , that this Fever first invaded the Patient upon Munday , and that in the first Fit , it melted so much of the crude Parenchyma of the solid Parts , as may suffice to produce a new Fit on Wednesday following . Let us suppose farther , that on Tuesday another Tertian began , and during that first Fit in like manner melted so much of the Crude Parenchyma , as may be sufficient to raise a second Fit on Thursday following . These things being supposed , the Question is , why the crude Matter B. melted on Tuesday , is not dissipated or corrected on the Wednesday following , when the crude Matter A. causing a Fit , is by the Fermentation rarefied , and expelled by Sweat : Why , I say , the Matter B. being remixt with the Blood all Wednesday , when the Matter A. was fermented , is not by that Fermentation corrected and dissipated at the same time ; but suffered to lye dormant , and cause a Fit on Thursday following . To untie this Knot therefore , I say , that the febrile Fermentation doth not much alter any crude Matter , that doth not yet actually impede the vital motion of the Blood. For , the Fermentation is regulated by the vital Spirits , which in the Case proposed , chiefly oppose and dissipate the Matter A. which alone by its clamminess actually hinders their expansive Motion . Hence it is , that in the Fermentation hapning on Wednesday , the vital Spirits are not much offended with the new Matter B. then melted and sloating in the Blood , because it is not actually Febrile , nor doth it oppress them , so as to incite them to vindicate their Liberty by their expansive Motion . And thus the difficulty seems to be solved . ¶ : WHAT hath been said a little before , of the general Fomes of all putrid Fevers , as well continual , as intermittent , viz. that it is in the very Parenchyma or Substance of the solid parts amassed out of crude or impure Chyle ; may perhaps to some of my Auditors , long accustomed to the vulgar Doctrine of Physicians , concerning the Genealogy of Fevers , seem to be only precarious , and as easily denied , as affirmed : because it still remains doubtful , how Chyle crude or impure can be , instead of good and laudable Succus Nutritins , or Aliment , converted into the substance of the solid parts . To obviate this their doubting therefore before it settle into a prejudice more difficult to be removed ; it concerns me to assert , that there is many times an imperfect Nutrition , or Vegetation and Augmentation , as well as a perfect , observ'd in the Bodies of Men ; and consequently , that the Succus Nutritius , or proxime Aliment of all parts , is either pure , i. e. perfectly concocted ; or impure , i. e. imperfectly concocted . Whence it comes , that the Bodies of some Men are even vulgarly said to be more or less pure than those of others . Those few , who are so happy as to have Bodies in all parts pure and clean from crude and vitiose humours , do not only from the right use of the six Non-naturals , enjoy perfect health ; but have this farther advantage , that their solid parts not being augmented by the accretion of crude matter , they carry in them neither any Febrile Fomes congested in the habit of their solid parts , nor the least disposition to any other Disease . When on the contrary , impure Bodies , either through intemperance , or too full Diet , Surfeits , Compotations , and other Debauches and Disorders ; or from want of exercise to correct and dissipate the crudities they have congested ; are cramm'd and plump'd up with impure nourishment , and perhaps also augmented to an unprofitable and unwieldy Bulk . These then must of necessity abound with a great stock of crude Matter , accumulated chiefly in the Substance of their solid Parts . Which when a Fever comes , from what cause soever , are melted by degrees , and dayly afford new Matter , to serve as prepared Fewel to the long and dangerous Fever , whether continual , or intermittent . But Bodies clean and pure , though perhaps liable to be surprised with a light feverish Distemper ; are in much less Danger from thence : because their solid Parts have not been imperfectly recruited with impure Nourishment ; and consequently the Liquamen of them is not so Crude , as to suffice to renew often , or long continue the Fermentation . From the Testimony of our very Senses it is evident , that in all putrid Fevers , the parts of the Body are more or less extenuated and colliquated : and that the Crude Liquamina of them are the material Causes of new Exacerbations in continual Fevers , and of new Paroxysms in intermittent , is highly consentaneous to reason . Hence it is , that Men recovering from long Fevers , if they manage their Health circumspectly and with temperance , attain to a renovation as it were of their Youth : because all the substance of their Parts , that was amass'd out of Crude and impure Matter , being by the Fever consumed , their Bodies are now repaired with pure and convenient Juices , such as abound with sweet Spirits duly exalted and excited by Concoction in the Stomach . Hence also we are led to a clear understanding of the true Reason of that Aphorism commended to our Observation by Hippocrates : Si febricitanti , nec omnino leviter , suo in statu maneat corpus , nihilque concedat morbo ; aut hoc etiam plus aequo gracilescat , calamitosum : hoc enim aegri infirmitatem significat , illud vero diuturnitatem morbi . For , the prognostic holds certain , ratione tum causae , tum signi . If the habit of the Body be not extenuated in proportion to the Violence or duration of the Fever , the Cause must lye either in the abundance , or in the contumacy , that is the great viscidity or clamminess of the crude Matter congested and affixt to the Parenchyma of the Parts : and therefore an observing Physician may from thence safely predict , that the Fever will prove of long continuance at best , if not fatal in the end . On the other side , if the extenuation be too great , it must come from the great force of the heat or fermentation in the Blood , that dissipates all things , not only the crude Matter preexistent in the habit of the Parts , but even the vital Spirits themselves , and the insite Spirits , that being intimately united with the Vital , should reinvigorate the Parts with Life and conserve them . And therefore such impetuous Extenuation , is likewise both cause and signe of extreme Calamity . Exhaustis enim supra modum & spiritibus , & partibus Solidis , omnis ratio pepasmi desideratur . All these Reasons duely consider'd , it must be granted that Bodies cannot possibly continue in all points pure and clean , if they be nourish'd with impure or crude Juices . Sound indeed and healthy they may be said to be at present , because they seem to foster no proxime Cause of Sickness discernable by a Physician : and yet nevertheless , since they carry about Crudities secretly congested in the very substance of the solid Parts , which by occasion of any light feverish Distemper , that would not otherwise last above a Day or two , may be melted and remixt with the Blood , and long protract that Distemper : we are obliged to acknowledg , that such Bodies are really foul or impure , and contain in them a Disposition to a Fever more or less remote . Otherwise it will follow that all Bodies actually sound , are in respect of the habit of their Parts , either equally disposed , or equally indisposed to Fevers , and to the continuation of them : than which nothing certainly can be more false . For , have we not observed frequently , that Fevers , as well continual as intermittent , have in the beginning appear'd mild and gentle , so long as they were fomented only by Matter before contained in the Veins and Arteries : and yet afterward , when they began to be supplied with new Matter or Fewel from the colliquated Crudities that had been long congested in the habit of the Body , they have raged in extremity , and continued long before Nature , however accurately assisted and succour'd by our Art , could bring them to a Crisis ? Conclude we therefore , that in putrid Fevers , there is no other Fomes , but the described Crudities , by long intemperance and other errors in Diet , congested in the babit of the solid Parts . For , these are in all putrid Fevers daily resolved or fused into a certain Sanies or corrupt Matter , and constitute a new febrile Ferment : which is the thing we have gone so far about to find . But yet I must not omit to subjoin , that these Liquamina of the solid Parts imperfectly nourisht , are not confined within the narrow compass of one single Genus , but diffused through a large Field of indefinite variety . For , as indulgent Nature hath granted to us various kinds of Aliments , each of which is in its peculiar qualities or proprieties in some sort distinct from all the rest ; and as the Iuices or Tinctures extracted from them by the concoctive Faculty of the Stomach , are in diversity respondent to the diversity of our Meats and Drinks : So must it be granted , that the Crudities after imperfect digestion admitted , first into the Blood , and then into the habit of the Body , and there affix'd to the solid Parts , and at length resolved into a certain kind of Sanies , that is most apt to afford Fewel to putrid Fevers ( as hath been often affirm'd ) cannot be all of a Sort , but some different from others , respectively to the different matters of which they were generated . And of these doubtless the variety is greater than can possibly be known by any Physician however curiose ; so far are we from hope to reduce them all to Computation . It were hard then for me , if any here present should exact from me an accompt of more of these obscure Differences , than what my present institute requires me briefly to explain : and all my learned Hearers will ( I presume ) be contented , if I do my devoir to reduce them in general to the Analogous Humors of the Antients above described , namely Choler , Phlegm , and Melancholy ; not pure or natural , but Corrupt . For , from these Humors taken in the Sense afore explicated , may be commodiously and congruously deduced , both the principal differences of putrid Fevers , and the most probable causes of those Differences . First therefore , I must put you in remembrance of what I have more than once asserted , viz. That the Humors by this Hypothesis assigned to putrid Fevers for their Causes both antecedent and conjunct , are such which are not exolete or stale and despoiled of their Spirits , and grown vappid ; but sufficiently stored with Spirits , noxious and infest to the vital mication of the Blood. Then I with good reason suppose , that when the Crudities received first into the Mass of Blood , and after into the substance of the Parts , come neer to the nature of the Serum of the Blood , now corrupt , and by that putrefaction render'd acrimonious and well nigh Corrosive ( which emulating the Bile contained in the Bladder of Gall , makes the Choler of the Antients ) there is congested and prepared Matter most apt and disposed to produce Biliose Fevers , as they are call'd Tertians , either continual or intermittent . That in case the congested Crudities neerly resemble the white and viscid Grumus of the Blood ( which makes the Analogous Phlegm of the Antients ) but corrupt : then there is laid up Fewel most convenient to foment Pituitose Fevers , Quotidians continual or intermittent . That if it happens , that the Crudities congested be of such a Nature and Condition , as to be affine to the Analogous Melancholly of the Antients , i. e. to the blackish Grumus of the Blood , degenerate from its natural purity , and corrupt : then the Bodies carrying them about are obnoxious and prone to a Quartan ere long to invade them . And this may suffice to explain the Sentiments suggested to me by Glisson's new Doctrine , concerning the most general and obvious Differences of Crudities apt to produce Fevers , so far forth as they may be taken for the Conjunct Causes of putrid Fevers . ¶ : I come then to the Fundament of the so often mentioned division of putrid Fevers into CONTINUAL and INTERMITTENT ; that we may opportunely investigate , what that is , on which this remarkable difference seems immediately to depend . This in probability is nothing else but the very Fermentation of the Blood , in which alone the formal Reason of all Fevers doth consist ; and which by vehemently exagitating the whole Mass of the Blood , sometimes continually , sometimes by Intervals , and those one while certain and ordinate , another while uncertain and inordinate ; induces that Intense and afflicting Heat , in which alone the Antients have unanimously placed the essence of a Fever ; and renders the Pulses of the Heart and Arteries more frequent than they ought to be ; so that from thence alone , as from a Pathognomonic Sign , a Physician may certainly conclude of the presence of a Fever . A continual Fever therefore is that which from the first Moment of its Invasion , to the last of its duration , continnes and afflicts without Intermission , never coming in all that time to a perfect Apyrexia or utter Extinction . This Fever , if it be mild , gentle , unaccompanied with grievous Accidents or Symptomes , and but of one days continuance ; is thence call'd an Ephemera or Diaria : if in like manner mild , but of two , three , or four Days duration , it is denominated accordingly a Diaria of a few Days , or more properly , Synochus Simplex . An Intermittent Fever is that , in which the febrile Fermentation doth not dure from the beginning to the end continually , but is intermitted , and returns with diverse Paroxysms after Intervals , now shorter , now longer : and these Paroxysms running through their peculiar times , namely their beginning , augment , state , and declination , there alternately , i. e. after the end of every single Paroxysm , succeds an Apyrexia , not perfect perhaps , but quoad Sensum . From this vicissitude , or rather from the various Intercalation of the Paroxysms , various sorts of intermittent Fevers have , for distinction sake , obtain'd various Names . In particular , when a new Fit , in proportion respondent to the former , returns dayly , i. e. once in every twenty four Hours , the Fever is named an intermitting Quotidian . When a Paroxysm recurs every other Day , or on every third Day , t is called a Tertian , and by the Vulgar , a third-Days Ague . When the Paroxysm recurs not till after two whole Days of intermission , 't is call'd a Quartan , or fourth-Days Ague : and so forward ; for there have been observ'd also Quintans and Sextan's , though very rarely . Here give me leave en passant to note , that the word Ague , by which the common People understand an intermittent Fever , is derived from the French adjective , Aigù , which signifies Acute or sharp : perhaps because an intermittent Fever is acute during the Paroxysm at least , and afflicts the Patient with sharp Pains ; though by Physicians , respecting rather the duration , than the vehemency of this Disease , it is number'd , not among acute , but among Chronic Fevers . How properly therefore the English call an intermittent Fever , an Ague , I leave you to judge , while I return into my way . There is yet another Species of Fevers referrible neither to continual , nor to intermittent , but compounded of both kinds ; which though it continually augment the natural heat of the Blood , nor ever comes to an absolute Apyrexia , no not so much as quoad sensum , before it be wholly judged or ended ; and in that respect may pretend to a place among continual Fevers : yet hath certain Exacerbations and remissions of burning by intervals , and those sometimes every day , somtimes every third , somtimes only every fourth ; and in that respect seems to belong to Intermittent . Hence it is , that such a Fever is call'd a continual Quotidian , or a continual Tertian , or a continual Quartan , according to the time of its Exacerbation or grieving anew . Besides these three kinds of simple Fevers , Physicians have in all former Ages believed , that there are others , compounded of two or more intermittent . Of this sort are supposed to be . ( 1. ) Double , or Triple Quotidians ; when on one and the same Day , two , or three Paroxysms invade , in proportion respondent each to other successively . ( 2. ) Tertians double , or triple ; believ'd hitherto to consist of two , or three Tertians , whether in a double , two Paroxysms return in one Day , or single Paroxysms recur every third Day : or whether in a Triple , two Fits come in one Day , and a third on the next Day after ; or three in one day , and none the next Day . An intermittent Fever of this sort is distinguished from a simple Quotidian , by the time of its invasion , by the time of its duration , and by the Symptoms that are wont to accompany it . For , in all these Circumstances , the first Paroxysm answers to the third , and the third to the fifth ; but the second is respondent to the fourth , and the sourth to the sixth , and so forward . Whensoever therefore we shall observe this Analogy betwixt the Paroxysms alternately invading , we may with confidence pronounce , that the Fever is of that sort , which Physicians call a double Tertian . When we observe on the other side , that the first Fit is in all things like the second , the second like to the third , and so forward through the whole course of the Fever ; we may certainly judge , that the Patient labours under a simple Quotidian . Besides these Characters of distinction , Physicians have recorded one more , and 't is this : If a simple Tertian hath preceded : recurring every third Day , and after return every day ; we may be sure , the Fever is of that kind , which heretofore hath been taken for , not a simple Quotidian , but a double Tertian . Here perhaps ye will interrogate me about a Simple Quotidian , so frequently mentioned by me ; namely , Whether there be any such thing in nature , or not ? And ye have reason ; there being a kind of Civil War among the Sons of Aesculapius upon the question . For , some of the Princes among them have with great eagerness contended to blot out of the Catalogue of Diseases , the very name of a Quotidian , as if really there were no such intermittent Fevers : and others no less renowned , as fervently , but somewhat more modestly , maintain , that of six hundred sick Men that suffer new Paroxysms every day , scarce one is afflicted with a Quotidian . I answer therefore , that true it is indeed , that a Quotidian hath been by some Authors , of greatfame , banished into the darksome Island of Chimaeras ; but unjustly , and by those who being carried away by prejudice , and the authority of their Predecessors , rather than conducted by the light either of certain Experience , or of right Reason , have by their prevarication entangled their Followers in a gross and dangerous error : as I hope to evince , when I shall come to explain the causes of intermittent Fevers in particular ; if what hath been delivered just now of the distinct signs of a simple Quotidian , be not thought sufficient to end the Dispute . For now I must hasten to the third sort of supposed compound Intermittents , viz. ( 3 ) Quartans , double , or triple . For as often as it happens , that a sick Man , remaining free from a Fit only one day , is afflicted with two new Fits on the two days next following : so often it is concluded , that he hath a double Quartan . And when a new Fit recurrs every day ; but so , that the first Fit answer to the fourth , the fourth to the seventh ; the second to the fifth , and the fifth to the eighth ; in fine , the third to the sixth , the sixth to the ninth , and so forward : they conclude , that of a simple Quartan produced , first is made a double ; and then of a double , a triple Quartan . And this seems to be confirmed ( as Sylvius rightly observes ) sometimes from the reason of curing such Fevers , viz. if one Fit be first taken away , and then on the two consequent days the Fits yet return , one day of intermission interposed ; or if two Fits be taken away , one only remaining , and returning every fourth day : but more frequently from the symptoms , namely , the shivering , quaking , long-lasting cold , &c. which being more proper to Quartans , seldom occur in Tertians , and never but where the Tertians decline toward the nature and type of Quartans . Besides all these sorts of intermittent periodical Fevers , there have been observed others , intermittent also , but of uncertain Periods ; which they have therefore named Inordinate and Wandering or Erratic . Having thus briefly run through all the most remarkable differences of putrid Fevers , simple and malignant , continual and intermittent , intermittent ordinate and inordinate , single and double or triple ; and deduced the causes of those differences from diversity of febrile Ferments operating upon the Blood , either without or with intermission , by certain or uncertain intervals : pursuing the Glissonian Hypothesis I design'd to assert and explain ; it remains , that to prevent misunderstanding of what hath been said of the duplication and triplication of intermittent Fevers , according to the vulgar doctrine of Physicians , as if I adhered thereunto ; I repete what was before said of that nice point : namely , that when a double or triple Intermittent follows upon the Heels of a single , the single is not ( as hath been heretosore believed and taught ) the direct cause of the double or triple : but the double or triple arises from the causes of its own , like to those whence the single at first arose . So that every double or triple intermittent ought to be accounted for two or three single or simple intermittents of the same Species , alternately complicate among themselves . ¶ : COROLLARIUM THERAPEUTICUM . MY Pathalogic disquisition being now at length ended , before all the Sands in my Hour-glass are fal'n down ; I cannot ( as I think ) imploy the short remainder of my time more profitably , than if I subjoyn a brief Therapeutic Corollary , pertinent to my precedent discourse , and useful to Younger Students in Medicine ; for whose instruction chiefly it was , that the wise and prudent Authors of the Statutes of this our so worthily renowned Colledge , first instituted and ordained Anatomic Lectures to be therein read by the learned Fellows thereof , whensoever it should seem fit to the venerable President . I will therefore do my devoir to explicate , wherein chiefly consists that Pepasmus or Concoction of crude Humors , which Nature , and her great Minister , Hippocrates , require to their opportune Evacuation in putrid Fevers ; and by what kinds of Remedies the same may be best assisted and advanced . For , these things being well understood , will afford much of Light toward the direction of the younger Sons of Art , in the true and most rational method of curing Fevers ; in which no error can be little , no caution too great . I begin from that never to be forgotten precept of the Divine old Man , afore recited : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : Concocta medicamento purgare oportet , ac movere ; non cruda ; neque ineunte morbo , nisi materia turgeat . To which Seneca seems to have had respect , when he said , in morbis nihil est magis periculosum , quàm immatura medicina : and Livy , when he affirmed , Medicos plus interdum quiete , quàm movendo & agendo proficere . The Concoction or digestion here meant , is by Hippocrates expressed sometimes by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to contradistinguish it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which properly signifies the digestion of Aliment ; as I have before advertised : and according to the general Notion of all learned Physicians , Antient and Modern , it is , eorum quae sunt in corpore praeter naturam , ad moderatam & secuturae expulsioni percommodam temperiem deductio . In which Sense Duretus , the most faithful interpreter of the Oracle of Cous , expounds that place ( Lib. 1. Epidem . Anutii Foesii edit . Pag. 365. ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 eorum quae exeunt , concoctiones spectandas esse . Upon which Galen copiously commenting , gives this memorable definition of the thing : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; nempe coctio est quaedam eorum quoe sunt praeter naturam , morbi maturatio . And most rightly . For the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , was properly used by the Graecians to express the ripeness of the Fruits of Trees , by which they are advanced from the State of Crudeness or immaturity , to that of maturity or perfection ; and metaphorically , to signify that maturity of the matter of Diseases , which Nature by degrees induces , in order to the seasonable and beneficial expulsion of it , when she attempts a Crisis by ways most convenient . Not that this Maturation is always to be expected in acute Diseases . For we are to remember , there are two sorts of Crudity of Causes apt to induce Fevers : one capable of being brought to moderation and ripeness ; as that of the Blood in a Phlegmon , of the phlegm in a Quotidian , of Choler in a Tertian , &c. Another , incapable of correction and mitigation ; as the Febrile Ferment that causes Malignant and Pestilential Fevers , which being by its seminal Nature and unalterable Form , pernicious to the very principles of Life in Man , is sometimes by the force of Nature expelled and utterly exterminated out of the Body , but never can be so changed and brought into subjection , as to be made less hostile to the vital Spirits that conserve the Blood. And therefore in such Fevers , wise Physicians are not wont to stay expecting Maturation of the Poyson mixt with and fermenting the Blood , in the mean time losing the Opportunities of relieving Nature by proper Alexiterial and Sudorific remedies . To come then to the Marrow of the Question proposed . Considering : ( 1 ) That the Crudity of Humors inducing Fevers simply putrid , consisteth only in this , that the Spirits lodged in them are not sufficiently educed , excited , and prepared , so as to be fit to promote the vital mication of the Blood ; ( 2 ) that all Fevers are essentially founded in the fermentation of the Blood ; and ( 3 ) That the vital Motion or Heat of the Blood is always more or less impeded and perturbed , and often utterly extinguisht by that Fermentation : considering these things , I say , t is not difficult thence to infer , that the Pepasmus or Concoction requisite in all Fevers simply putrid , i. e. not Malignant , must consist chiefly in three things è diametro opposite to those now mentioned ; namely ( 1 ) In the Dissipation and Consumption of the crude Spirits mixt with the Blood ; ( 2 ) In the Moderation of the Fermentation begun ; and ( 3 ) In the Conservation and Corroboration of the vital Powers . And these certainly are the three principal Scopes to which a Physician ought to direct his Counsels , in the cure of putrid Fevers ; and which for their great importance , require to be singly explain'd . To the first of these principal Scopes , viz. the Dissipation and absumption of crude Spirits , and requisite eventilation of the Blood by them inquinated , we may most commodiously attain , by fasting , at least by a thin Diet ; by Remedies extenuating , acid , predatory and conducing to leanness ; by Diaphoretics , Sudorifics , and by letting of Blood. For ( 1 ) Fasting tends directly to dissipation of the crude Spirits ; because the Spirits , if not by intervals recruited out of new supplies of Aliment , must necessarily be soon exhausted and resolved into Air. But no mortal being able long to abstain from all sorts of Meat and Drink , or to endure absolute fasting ; we are therefore compell'd to substitute a thin and spare Diet , in the place of strict abstinence ; for the most part thin Broths made of things moystning , cooling , not prone to corruption , subacid , and of easie digestion . To these ( 2 ) are added moderate and grateful Acids , apt to attenuate , resolve and dissipate the Crudities congested in the habit of the Parts , and therefore predatory . ( 3 ) Diaphoretics , which promoting insensible Transpiration , must conduce to the dispersion and exhalation of the same Crudities . ( 4 ) Sudorifics , which do the same thing , but by a more expedite and conspicuous operation , at once rendring the Crudities fluxile , and exciting Nature to drive them forth by Sweat. For Medicaments of this Family , by the tenuity and mobility of their Particles , penetrate the inmost Recesses and slenderest Pores of the Body , cut , attenuate and rarefie Humors into Vapors , and irritate the Parts to expel them together with the Serum of the Blood , in the form of Sweat. But in the use of these Hidrotic Medicaments great circumspection is required , lest the matter of the Fever , being not yet mature and prepared for this evacuation , be both importunely and with too much Violence exagitated , to farther corruption of the Blood , and increase of the Fermentation . So that they cannot be safely administerd to impure Bodies , in the beginning , nor indeed in the augment , until certain Signs of some Concoction have been observed . ( 5 ) Letting forth of Blood by opening a Vein , which evidently detracts part of the Crude Matter floating in the Blood , and makes room for the remainder to be more freely fermented , and prevents eruption of the Blood out of its Vessels into some noble part . To satisfie the Second capital Intention , various things are required ; viz. such as may facilitate the Motion of Fermentation in the Blood ; such as may moderate the same , when it is excessive in point of velocity ; such as may incite nature to quicken and accelerate it , when too slow ; such as may keep it within due Bounds , lest it bring a dangerous flood upon any noble part . For , the motion of Fermentation is sometimes too turbulent and tumultuose , and in that respect exceedingly laboriose , requiring remedies to make it more sedate and easie : sometimes too dull and slow , and to be quickened ; sometimes it threatens a Flux upon some nobler parts , and then ought to be restrained . In particular , ( 1. ) The laboriose Fermentation ( which the Ancients seem to have meant by the name of Orgasmus or Turgescentia ) indicates remedies apt to compose it , and render it less prone to molest and offend the Vessels containing the Blood : such as taking away some Blood by Phlebotomy , which by diminishing the Mass , lessens the burden of nature , and makes room for the freer Fermentation of the rest ; such also are Acids and Refrigerating , and Moistning Juleps ( not given actually cold , but luke-warm , nor in the least vinose ) all which allay the ebullition of the Blood , and make it less prone to be frothy . ( 2. ) The too swift or vehement Fermentation , which makes the Fever more acute than the strength and spirits of the Patient can well bear , and by consequence ought to be moderated ; requires remedies that may somewhat retard it , and procure a truce to nature , that she may have respite to recollect and rally her Forces . Of which sort are Blood-letting , Anodynes , Hypnotics , and sometimes even Narcotics , either taken in the Mouth , or applyed outwardly to places convenient . ( 3. ) On the contrary , the too slow and lingring Fermentation , such as causes Lent Fevers , calls upon the Physician for Spurs to incite and stimulate nature to accelerate the Conflict . In this case therefore he ought to have recourse sometimes to Purging Medicaments , to be by Intervals repeated ; sometimes to Sudorifics , and those pretty hot , efficacious , vinose or rich in spirits : for all these quicken the Fermentation , and dissolve the clammyness of the Febrile Matter , and in both those respects bring great relief to the Patient . ( 4. ) The Turgent Fermentation , which threatens a Flux upon some noble part and imminent danger thereupon ; directs to the speedy use of the best means for Diversion . Here therefore the most urgent Symptom is without delay to be opposed , by Remedies Revellent , Divertent , Repellent ; as Phlebotomy , Cupping-Glasses , Leeches , Ligatures , Vesicatories , and other Topics . In sine , the Conservation of the vital powers , is in putrid Fevers of greatest moment ; because the Febrile Matter tends directly to the oppression of the vital Mication of the Blood , and the Fermentation it self proceeds no less from the Luctation of Nature , endeavouring to continue that motion in which life consists ; than from the Ferment that hinders it . Hence it comes , that the lighter causes of Fevers are sometimes discussed by Cardiacs only , by a bitter decoction of Chamomil Flowers , and the tops of Wormwood , by Carduus Benedictus boiled in Posset-Drink , and the like Euporista or domestick Remedies . For , if the expansive motion of the vital spirits be so far assisted and corroborated , as to enable it to overcome the clamminess of the febrile Ferment , that tends to the suppression of it ; Nature certainly will soon obtain the Victory , and easily exterminate her Enemy . Here then is the opportunity of giving Cordials ( as they are call'd ) Antidotes , and Specifics or Appropriate remedies , vulgarly so named : all which conduce to the Conservation of the vital Faculty . ¶ : Besides the just now described preparation of the matter in putrid Fevers offending , to the opportune expurgation of it , there is required also a certain preparation of the WAYS or passages , through which the same is to be most commodiously carried off , that so the evacuation , whether by nature her self critically , or by her Minister the Physician artificially instituted , may be not only seasonable , but easie too and beneficial . For , these being , either by their asperity , or by their narrowness , or by obstruction , less passable than they ought to be ; to attempt purgation , is vain and unsafe . Of which our Law-giver , Hippocrates , being fully conscious , left us this most prudent counsel ( Aphor. 10. lib. 2. ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; Si quis corpora purgare voluerit , meabilia ut reddat , est necesse . But how is the Body to be made more permeable ? By opening all the passages of it , and by cutting , dissolving and attenuating the gross and viscid humours that stick in them : which may be best effected , by Remedies Lubricant , Abstergent , and Aperient : the particular reasons of all which I shall endeavour briefly to explain . ( 1 ) Lubricantia certainly render the ways more fit to give passage to humors that require purgation , by smoothing their roughness , and inducing instead thereof a manifest slipperiness ; so that the humours slide along through them without any sensible renitency or attrition , which always causeth Gripes in the Stomach and Belly . Now of these Medicaments that are apt to induce slipperiness , some are simply Aqueous , and remove asperity only by their moisture , as Barley Water , thin Broaths , Whey , &c. Others are Mucilagineous , smoothing the ways with a certain friendly and pleasing Lentor , as the Syrups of Althaea , of the Flowers of Mallows , de Mucilaginibus , of Jujubs , &c. Others Oleagineous , as Oil of sweet Almonds , Linseed Oil , fresh Butter , Lard , &c. Others , Saline , as the Salt , Cream , and Magistery of Tartar. Others , Spirituose ; as New-laid Eggs , but little boiled , the Pulp of ripe Fruits . Again of these , some loosen the Belly also ; as the Pulp of Cassia and Damasco Prunes , which above all things contemperate the roughness of purging Medicines , being for that reason chiefly admitted into the composition of the Diaprun . Solut. ( 2 ) Abstergentia seem to have the like good effect , in facilitating the operation of purging Medicaments ; as Soap hath in cleansing of Linnen . For , whatsoever sticks to the inside of the Stomach and Guts , they wipe away ; and are found , in that respect perhaps , to conduce much to the correction of strong and churlish Cathartics ; by preventing their rough and grating Particles from pertinaciously adhering to the Coats of the Ventricle and Intestines , and so inducing Gripes and Contorsions . Hence 't is familiar to Physicians to tame fierce Purgers with Salts , viz. Sal Gemme , Salt of Tartar , of Nitre , Spirit of Vitriol , and of Nitre dulcified , Cremor Tartari , and the like . Not that they confer to the bridling of the fierceness of stronger Cathartics in this name only , but because they are usually prescribed chiefly to this end . ( 3 ) Nor are Aperient , i. e. cutting and attenuating Medicaments of less utility in this business , where the ways through which peccant humours are to be educed , are obstructed by any vitiose matter cramm'd into them . For , remedies of this Classis , by reason of the great tenuity , acuteness and agility of their Particles , penetrating into the smallest Vessels and Pores , and attenuating viscid and tenacious humours therein sticking , open all passages in the Body . No wonder then , if by rendring the clammy matter of Fevers more thin , fluid , and more obedient to nature endeavouring , upon irritation by Purgers , to expel it ; they conduce mightily to the more facile , and more successful operation of Purges . Nevertheless , we are to advert , that not all sorts of humours are to be made fluxil , before any be exterminated by artificial purgation : but that we are , in pertinacious obstructions of the Viscera , to act with Aperients and gentle Cathartics by turns . For , as there are degrees of Concoction , so likewise ought there to be degrees of evacuation ; and so soon as any part of the peccant matter is concocted and prepared ; we must attempt to carry it off ; to the end that nature being thereby exonerated of part of her Load , may with more facility digest the Remainder ; at least when we perceive her to be oppressed by too great weight . Of Aperients some are hot , which ought to be administred to Men of robust Bodies , and cold complexion , and such as labour of inveterate Oppilations : some cold , which are proper for persons of hot constitutions , and prone to abound with Biliose or Choleric Humours : others Temperate , and therefore most convenient to tender , soft , delicate and crazy Bodies . But these three sorts being judiciously contemperate , mutually refract each the others qualities , so as to reduce them to mediocrity . Other differences of Aperients there are , which I must lightly touch . Some remove Oppilations by attenuating simply , without the least of Astriction ; as the five opening Roots , the Bark of Tamarise , and of the Roots of Capers , the Leaves of Maiden hair , Hearts tongue , Ceterach , and Fern Roots , &c. Others both open , and moderately bind ; as Endive , Cichory , Agrimony , Rhubarb , Sage , &c. Others again are endowed with an aperitive faculty , but are withal vehemently astringent ; as Steel , which hath no fellow . Now , as to the seasonable use of these differences ; in the beginning , Aperients without Astriction are most convenient , because they best dispose the humours to fluxility , and clear the passages : yet are they to be prescribed with this caution , that the tone of the parts be not by the importune use of them dissolved , or irritated to a cruentation . The safer way therefore is , to mix with them one or two of the second Tribe , that have somewhat of Astriction in them . Aperients moderately astringent , are indeed in themselves most safe ; but they are given with best success after a general Evacuation . And more vehement Astringents are to be kept in reserve , to finish the cure , by restoring the weakned parts to their pristine tone and vigor . But is it not plainly dissonant to reason , ye will say , that the same remedies should be at once both Aperient and Astringent ? I answer , therefore , with Doctor Glisson ; that Aperients and Astringents are not directly opposite each to the others . For , the contraries to Aperients are Obstruents ; and to Astringents , Laxants . Besides , in a Cachexy and Dropsie , which either proceed from , or are commonly accompanied with great Obstructions ; the natural tone of the parts is always relax'd more or less . It must be confessed indeed , that in those maladies the tension of the Nerves is for the most part too great , by reason of their continual irritation by vitiose humours : but nevertheless it cannot be denied , that their natural tone is less firm than it ought to be . If therefore Obstruction may consist with Laxity , why may not Deoppilation as well consist with Astriction ? And thus have I run over the three principal things praerequisite to Evacuation in putrid Fevers , viz , correction of the peccant matter , conservation of the vital Mication of the Blood , and permeability of the ways . It remains only , that I adjust what hath been said , to a certain Rule of Hippocrates , that seems to render it doubtful . The precept is this ( Aphor. 29. lib. 2. ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; Ineuntibus morbis , si quid movendum videatur , move : Which some perhaps may think plainly repugnant to the former Aphorism , upon the explication whereof I have so long insisted . To reconcile therefore these two equally true Aphorisms , I must acknowledge , that it is not always requisite to expect a Pepasmus , or maturation of the Morbific Matter in Fevers simply putrid . For , there are various cases , in which whether they happen to be single , or concurrent ; the counsel of this latter Aphorism is to be preferred to that of the former . And all these Cases may be reduced to the number of five . The FIRST is , when any vitiose humor , either by its abundance , or irritating quality , or motion doth molest the patient , in the first region of the Body , that is , in the Stomach , or Guts , or Pancreas , or Liver , &c. which requires to be speedily expelled upward or downward . For 't is not to be doubted , but that a Physician may , and ought , in this case , to relieve molested nature , as soon as is possible , by carrying off the irrequiet humor [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] by ways most convenient . And by the Oracle of frequent experience we are taught , that not only intermittent , but continual Fevers also , are much diminished , if not totally eradicated by safe Vomits or Purges administred in the beginning . For , the fovent cause being taken away , the proxime cause is much more easily discussed ; which seems not to be any humor stagnating or congested , either in the Viscera themselves , or in their Confines , as hath been already shewn ; but floating in the Mass of Blood within the Arteries and Veins . This therefore is not to be attempted by any purging Medicament , until Concoction hath preceded : and the latter Aphorism advising Purgation in the beginning of putrid Fevers , is restrained to crude humors contained in the first Region of the Body ; nor doth it respect the times of Diseases , so much as the strength of the sick , ( which is very rarely exhausted in the beginning ) according to the judgment of Galen ( libr. ad Thrasybulum , cap. 38. ) who gives this reason of the Aphorism , Quòd natura , adhuc satis valida existens , detractâ oneris quo premitur , parte , quod reliquum est & faciliùs ferre , citiusque concoquendo mitigare possit . Hence it is , that not only Glysters , that rinse the Guts , but gentle Solutives also , such as may without any great tumult or commotion carry off any vitiose humor lodged in primis viis ; are commended by the most experienced Physicians in the beginning of putrid Fevers . The SECOND Case is , when any matter incapable of mitigation by Concoction , begins to shew its Turgescence , i. e. either from its abundance , or from its malign quality , flying from place to place , induceth a frequent mutation or shifting of Symptoms : all which Hippocrates comprehended in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifies rage or fury . Which for the most part happens in the beginning of the Fever ; and then arise various Symptoms , and dangerous , according to the various Temperament , Irritability , Action , Use , and Situation of the part upon which the turgent matter rusheth . As for instance , in Phrenetic Patients we observe an admirable change of Symptoms ; sometimes their Sight , sometimes their Hearing , sometimes their Tongue being invaded and disordered by the wandering humor that causes their Delirium , and often shifts the scene of its tragical fury . And the Reason seems to be this , that the inraged matter of the Disease is so highly offensive to Humane Nature , that no part of the whole Body can suffer it so much as one moment of time , without uniting the Forces of all its irritated Fibres to squeeze it out , so that it is transmitted from some parts to others in a trice . If it happen therefore , that any crude humor be in this impetuose manner transmitted to any Secretory Organ ( even though it be not redundant in the whole Body ( a considerable part of it may be , by help of purging Medicaments , respective to that Organ , speedily carried off to the preservation of the Patients life . For , the humor , so turgent , and rushing into the Organ , doth by its very motion irritate the Fibres of it to contract themselves vigorously to expel it ; no less than if it were redundant in the whole Body . If the storm then fall upon the Stomach , the danger thence impendent may be easily prevented by a moderate Vomit , given before the humor be removed to some other part ; if upon the Guts , a convenient Purge may serve to turn it downward . And yet I must confess , that such early Evacuations are commonly tumultuous and painful ; as promiscuously educing all humors they meet with ; and therefore never to be instituted , but where the matter of the Disease is turgent . The THIRD Case is , when some little portions of any one , or more of the Analogous Humors formerly described , chance to be carried , together with the stale and dead recrements of the Blood , to the Secretory Organs . In particular , when some of the acrimonious and corroding Serum of the Blood , is by nature therewith offended , transmitted , together with the Biliose Excrement of it , to the Liver : or some of the whitish and viscid Grumus of the Blood , together with the Pituita emortua , to the Stomach ; or finally , some of the aqueous or potulent matter , with that of the Urine to the Kidneys . Because Nature tends that way , and being assisted by a convenient Parge in the first Case ; in the second , by a gentle Vomit ; and by temperate Diuretics in the third ; may continue the same course , until she has brought the remainder of the peccant matter to a perfect Crisis . The FOURTH is , when any vitiose matter yet crude , is so redundant in the Blood , that nature , reduced to her last shift , is compelled to exclude it by parcels , by any Secretory Organ , not by that which is most proper and congruous to the nature of the humor . As it happens in the Yellow Iaundise , when part of the corrupt Choler is separated from the Blood in the Kidneys , and makes the Urine thick , turbid and yellow : and in that dreadful Disease call'd Cholera , all the Bilis ejected upward and downward , is not concocted and truly felleous , but for the greater part crude and only analogous to that which is separated from the Blood in the Liver , and thence brought into the Bladder of Gall , and seems to be generated by a certain malign or venenose corruption of the Blood. For , improbable it is , that so prodigious a quantity of biliose matter hath been separated , in so little time , by the Liver , or excreted by the Porus Bilarius ; but most probable , that the same is separated from the whole Mass of Blood in the inmost Coat of the Stomach and Guts . In like manner , they who drink Mineral Waters , or Wine profusely , make Urine indeed in abundance , but thin and crude . The FIFTH and last Case is , when the Febrile Fermentation appears to be slow and lingring . For , here 't is lawful , by just intervals , to ordain Evacuations by milder Cathartics ; not only in respect of the Focus , which in such Cases is wont to be recruited often , and therefore requires to be substracted by repeted Evacuations ; but also that the Fermentation it self may be quickned , and so nature excited to perform her work of digesting the Crudities with more vigor and expedition . Besides , since in lent and lingring Fevers , the crude matter is not brought to the state of maturation all at once ; but first some part , and then more and more successively : 't is fit the same should be evacuated per Epicrasin , or part after part accordingly : and this , lest that part of the matter that is first digested , remain still mixed with the Blood , and inquinate it ; or at least , being separated in the inmost Coat of the Stomach and Guts , pervert either the Concoction or Distribution of the Chyle , and so foment the Disease . And thus have ye at length succinctly set before you all the opportunities in which it is not only lawful , but expedient for a Learned Physician , directing his judgment [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as our Master Hippocrates speaks ] by certain observation of Signs and Symptoms in the sick ; to institute convenient Evacuations , at least by milder purging Medicaments , even in the beginning of putrid Fevers . Nor doth any thing else remain for me now to subjoyn concerning this Argument ; but this brief admonition , that no young Practitioner be so rash , as to purge , where he finds not one or more of these opportunities offered to him . For , if he attempt crude matter by strong and fierce Catharticks ; 't is ten to one , but he will exhaust much of the vital spirits , colliquate the Blood , and render the Disease mortal . ¶ . CONCLUSION ANAGNOSTICK . 'T is the custom of Travellers ( ye know ) when they have with panting Breast , and painful Steps , ascended to the top of a steep Mountain , to turn about , and look back upon the places and ways they have with so much labor and patience passed : and this , not only to take breath a while , but to imprint more deeply in their memory , the Images of whatever things they had in transitu observ'd ; uncertain whether or no Fortune may ever bring them that way again . Let us then ( most judicious , and most candid Auditors ) who are all Travellers too in the most darksome and rocky ways of Natural Knowledge , follow their Example ; and having now at length attain'd to the end of this Mornings Journey , take a short review of the things offered to your notice , as we passed along : to the end ye may the more easily recall them to mind , whenever ye shall be pleased to think them not altogether unworthy your Examen ; it being unlikely , that I shall at any time hereafter have the honour to serve you , in the quality , not of a Guide , but Torch-bearer in this place . The Heads therefore of the various things proposed by me to your consideration , are these . I shewed in the first Stadium , ( 1. ) That the vital motion of the Blood is sometimes disordered , impeded , and impugned by causes praeternatural ; and chiefly by crude humors constituting a peculiar Fermentative Inquinament of the Blood : and that from thence arises a duel or conflict between the vital spirits , on one side , and that Inquinament on the other ; which conflict , in putrid Fevers , is call'd by the Ancients , Putrefaction ; and Fermentation , by the Moderns . ( 2. ) That the same Ferment , in Fevers , tends naturally to the oppression of the vital Mication of the Blood , in which life it self immediately consists . ( 3. ) That the crudity of humors generating that Ferment , and consequently Fevers , doth consist chiefly in this ; that the spirits of our food receiv'd into the Stomach , either have not been by the concoctive faculty thereof sufficiently exalted ( which always happens in Fevers simply putrid ) or though excited , have not been subdued and tamed , so as to become useful and fit to promote the vital Mication of the Blood ( which always happens in Malignant Fevers . ( 4. ) That the principal reason , why in putrid Fevers it is unsafe to purge , before nature hath concocted the crude matter mixed with the Blood , seems to be this ; that in the whole Body are no Secretory Organs destined peculiarly to the separation of humors yet crude , from the Mass of Blood. ( 5. ) That the Analogous Humors of the Ancients are coincident with the Elements , by the Moderns supposed to constitute the Blood : and that it is plainly necessary , that in every Fever , of whatever sort , some one , or more of those Analogous Humors be in fault . ( 6. ) That the formal reason of a Malignant Ferment is radicated in some seminal nature pernicious to the principles of Life in Man. In the Second , ( 1. ) That the oppressive Energy of the Febrile Ferment described , comes immediately from the pendulous Lentor , or clamminess of it , by which it is apt to render the Blood soul and roapy , and to inviscate the vital spirits , that should by their expansive motion conserve its purity . ( 2. ) That these vital spirits are incited to raise a Fermentation , not by the exhalations of the Blood retained , but only by the said clamminess of the crude matter inducing the Fever . In the Third , ( 1. ) That the Symptoms contingent in the beginning of a Febrile Paroxysm , may be most commodiously referred to the aforesaid Conflict or Colluctation betwixt the expansive endeavour of the vital spirits , and the opposite clamminess of the Febrile Ferment . And ( 2. ) that the Symptoms succeeding in the Augment , State , and Declination , may be with equal congruity solved by the same Hypothesis . In the Fourth , ( 1. ) That the cardinal Differences of Fevers are most probably derived from the Different Ferments that induce them immediately . ( 2. ) That the Origin of all Fevers , simply putrid , i. e. free from all Malignity , may be most congruously deduced mediately from defect , either of Chylification , or Transpiration , and free motion of the Blood , whether this happen with , or without extravasation thereof . ( 3. ) That the Blood , when inquinated by crude Chyle , doth not presently conceive a Fermentation , but after some time , and by degrees . ( 4. ) That in intermittent Fevers , the matter of each single Fit is not generated anew ; but comes from a general Fomes , existent in the very substance of the solid parts imperfectly nourish'd with crude juices . ( 5. ) That this very substance of the solid parts is melted into a kind of Sanies or putrid matter , and remixt with the Blood , in all putrid Fevers . 6. That the Analogous Humors of the Ancients , result from various Crudities mixed with the Blood : and that from thence arise various sorts of Fevers ; namely , biliose , pituitose , and melancholic . ( 7. ) That the division of Fevers into continual , and intermittent , doth immediatly depend upon the Fermentation , sometimes continual , sometimes ceasing and recurring diversly by intervals . ( 8. ) That an intermittent Fever simple , is not the direct cause of an intermittent double or triple . In the Fifth , and Last , ( 1. ) That to the Maturation of the crude matter , are required three things , viz. Dissipation and Consumption of the unexcited spirits therein remaining , Moderation of the Fermentation already begun , and Conservation of the Vital Faculties . ( 2. ) That in order to safe and opportune Evacuation of the same peccant matter , is required also due preparation of the Ways or Passages , by which it is to be educed ; and that by Remedies Lubricant , Abstergent , Aperient . ( 3. ) That sometimes even in the beginning of putrid Fevers , Purgation is requisite ; specially when vitious humors molest in the first Region of the Body , or when the Febrile Matter is turgent , or when part of it is transmitted , together with the stale Recrements of the Blood , to any one or more of the three Secretory Organs ; or when Crudities are highly redundant in the Mass of Blood ; or finally , when the Fermentation it self is too sluggish and lingring : but in no other case whatsoever . And this , most candid Auditors , is the Sum of what hath been in this Session said concerning Fevers . Nor have I any thing more to add , but only this ; that if I have , by offering you this Abridgement , usurped the Office of your Anagnostes ; it was not from a vain conceit , that the positions therein contained , are worthy your belief : but only from hopes , that ye might be thereby more easily inclined , to let me understand from your judgment of them , how far they may be worthy mine . For , in this Argument , ( as in all others , whether Physical , or Pathological ) I pretend not to know truth , but to seek it : nor to seek it contumaciously and arrogantly , but modestly and doubtingly ; as becomes a Man , a Philosopher , and a Fellow of this Royal Colledge of Physicians , into which I entered with no other ambition , but that of being more and more instructed in Natural Science and all other Virtues . ¶ . PRAELECTIO VI. OF MOTION VOLUNTARY IN the beginning of time , when it pleas'd the Divine Majesty to call this visible University of things , the World , out of nothing , and to create Subjects whereon to exercise his infinite goodness ; having indowed all living Creatures with Appetites requisite to the conservation of their peculiar Beings ; and accommodated them with Objects proportionate to those Appetites : He saw it convenient , to consummate that Emanation of his Bounty , by furnishing them also with Faculties , by which they might be impowerd , not only to discern what Objects are good or convenient , what evil or inconvenient to their particular Natures ; but also to pursue , or avoide them accordingly . Now , among these so necessary Faculties , that by which all Animals are inabled to prosecute what is presented to them under the appearance of Good , and to eschew what they apprehend to be Evil ; is what Physiologists call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the faculty LOCOMOTIVE ; and rightly enough define to be , the Power by which a living Creature is inabled to move or transferr from place to place , either is whole Body or any Part thereof at pleasure . To the putting this noble Power into Act , are required as absolutly necessary , besides the Member or part of the Animal to be moved , three things ; which according to the Order of their Succession , are , ( 1. ) The Object , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( as Aristotle Lib. de communi Animalium motu cap. 7. terms it ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that which Invites ; or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that which Offends . ( 2. ) The Efficient , call it what you please , the Soul , Mind , or Intellect , in Man ; the Imagination , Phantasie , or Brain , in Brutes ; or Locomotive , Animal Faculty , in both : which being invited , or offended by the Object , moves the whole Body ; or some Member of it , in pursuance or avoidance thereof : and , ( 3. ) the Instrument used by the Efficient ; which seems to be double : viz. Mediatum , that , by the mediation or intervention of which the Appetite , Soul , or Imagination doth as it were dispense its Command , and Communicate Virtue motive to the Organ to be used : and Immediatum , that by which immediately the Command given is executed , and the intended Motion performed . As for the Necessity of the first and second of these three requisites to animal or voluntary Motion ; I think it needless for me to insist upon the explication thereof : because it is most evident , and on all Hands confessed , that the Soul , whether Rational , or Irrational , is the primary Agent in all voluntary Motions ; and that the same is thereunto incited by the good , or evil appearing in the Object . But as for the Instrumentum mediatum sive primum , that upon which the Soul or Appetite immediately acting , doth by the help thereof produce a Motion , first in the ultimate Instrument ( which undoubtedly is the Muscle ) and then in the Member , whose Motion conduces to the attainment of its end ; it is a Question , and a great one too , whether there be in truth a necessity of any such thing , or not . The Antients ( t is well known ) unanimously taught , that the Soul effects Motion in the Muscles , at pleasure , by transmitting from the Brain , by the Nerves , into them , a certain most thin , most subtil , and most agil Substance , ( which they call therefore Animal Spirits ) by whose swift and copiose Influx the Muscles to be moved being in an Instant as it were inflated and distended Secundum latitudinem , they are forced to contract or shorten themselves Secundam longitudinem , and by that Contraction to pull and move the Members to which they are fastned . And this Opinion hath been without any dispute embraced and asserted , through a long train of Ages , down to this in which we live . But in this our more illuminate Age , Fate has brought forth some Physicians of this Nation and Colledge , of most profound Learning , and admirable sagacity of Spirit ; who laying aside that so antique Hypothesis of Animal Spirits , as both improbable and unnecessary : hold it to be sufficient to solve all the Phaenomena of voluntary Motion , if it be supposed , that the dictates of the Soul are transmitted from the Brain to the Nerve and Muscle to be used , not by emission of any Substance whatsoever , but by a mere contraction of such Fibres of the Brain as are continued to that Nerve . For the Nerve ( say they ) having its origin from the Fibres of the Brain , and being at one end continued to them , at the other inserted into the Head of the Muscle ; so as to make one continued Cord all along : if a Motion be excited , ad nutum animae , in the Fibres of the Brain , the same must be at the same time excited in the Nerve also and in the Muscle , by reason of their Continuity . Betwixt these two so different and irreconcileable Opinions , I am forced to suspend my Judgment , not yet able to discern , which hath the advantage above the other , in point of Verisimilitude . To reject either of them , as Erroneous ; would hardly consist with the modesty of a Philosopher , who cannot but be conscious , and ought to confess , how abstruse a thing the nature of a Soul is ; how imperfect and confused the Notions are , that Men have formed of their own Mind ; and how extremely difficult it is for human Reason to compose a congruous and satisfactory Discourse , concerning the Oeconomy of the Brain in a living Creature , which is as obscure to our understanding , as the Effects of it are manifest to our Senses . To reject Both , because they are both embroyled with many Difficulties , some of which seem to me to be insuperable ; were to make my slender Capacity the Measure of Probability , to prefer the horrid darkness of Midnight to the hopeful dawning of Light in the Morning , and to oblige my self to excogitate some third Hypothesis less liable to incongruities and Objections , which is above my Power . What then remains for me to do in this perplexity of Thoughts ? Only this , to bring the whole Cause to the tribunal of your Judgment , Most wise and most equal Arbiters , there to be finally decided . I resolve therefore , by your Leave , to handle this weighty controversie , tanquam problema utrinque disputatum ; and while ye hold the Beam of the Balance , to put into the Scales the principal Arguments alleaged on both Sides , together with their respective difficulties not yet sufficiently solved : to the end , that ye may , afer due perpension , give Sentence , which of the two Opinions is the more probable . I begin from the FORMER , out of respect to the Antients ; assuming to myself , pro tempore , the Person of a Defendant of Animal Spirits , as the immediate instrument of the Soul in voluntary Motion , in Man. In the first place , therefore , I say ; That seeing every Instrument ought to be accommodate , both to the nature of the Agent that is to use it ; so as to hold some proportion to the Energie of the one , and to the Conditions of the other ; and seeing that voluntary Motion is commanded and executed in one and the same moment of Time , with Velocity equal to that of Lightning : considering this , I say , it seems necessary , that the Instrument upon which the Soul immediately impresses her Power motive , should be such , as is naturally fit to convey the same from the Brain , by the Nerves , into the Muscles , tanquam in instanti , and most easily . But in the whole Body nothing is found so easily and swiftly moveable , as that most subtile and meteoriz'd Substance , of which the Spirits Animal are supposed to consist ; and therefore it is consentaneous , that they are the immediate Instrument of the Soul in voluntary Motion . Here I foresee it will be Objected , that although these Spirits be supposed to consist of Matter the most refined , and most agil imaginable , more subtil than the Particles of Light , or Cartes's subtilis materia ; yet still they must be Bodies , and therefore can hold no conceivable proportion to the Soul , which is believed to be Incorporeal . Nor indeed am I so vain as to hope ever to hear this Objection fully Selved . Nevertheless I take liberty to observe , that it lies as heavy upon the other Hypoth sis of the Muscles being moved by the Nerves excited or invigorated at their original by Motion , begun in the Fibres of the Brain , by the Soul : it being no less difficult to conceive , how an incorporeal Agent cna Act upon a Corporeal Organ , by way of simple contact or impression than how it can communicate a forse by Trancmission of Spirits most subtile , most active : nay more , I may adventure to say , this latter supposition is so much the less inconceivable than the former , by how much more easily a most light and most agil Substance is put into Motion , than a heavy and gross one . Secondly , evident it is , that the motive Power of which we are speaking , is not inherent in the Muscles themselves , nor in the Nerves inserted into them ; but derived and immitted into them from the Brain , ad nutum animae , as she has occasion to use them . If so , what notion can we have for such a Power , unless we conceive it to be a certain invigoration or force , suddainly communicated to , or impress'd upon the Fibres of the Muscles ? and wherein can we imagine that invigoration to consist , if not in a distention of those Fibres , by some influx from the Brain ? This very consideration seems to have induced that great Man , Galen , to deliver this for an undoubted truth ( in lib. de motu musculor . cap. 2. ) Adeo certè magna quaedam vis est in nervis , supernè à magno principio affluens : non enim ex seipsis eam , neque connatam habent . &c. Thirdly , if there be no invigorating Influx from the Brain through the Nerves ; how comes it , that an Obstruction , or Compression of any one of them forthwith causes a Palsy in that part , to which the obstructed or compress'd Nerve belongs ? Is it not only from hence , that the intercourse betwixt the Brain and Muscles of that part , is wholly stopped ? If the Nerves were designed and fraimed by Nature to do the office of Strings or Cords only ; why were they not made of one continued Substance , but of many slender Filaments or Threads ? And why were not these small Threads closely twisted together into a strong Cord , but extended , as parallels , side by side , and intercepted with many narrow Canales or passages betwixt them , and all inclosed within a membraneous Coat extremely thin and tender ? Certainly , if we attently contemplate the artifice of Nature , in the Figure and contexture of a Nerve ; we shall find our selves almost obliged to acknowledge , that the Fibres were so disposed in Parallels , with small Canales running along betwixt them , to give free and quick passage to the subtile influence to be transmitted from the Brain into the Muscles , for the invigoration of their Fibres . And Galen reflecting upon this , that if a Nerve be cut asunder , the Muscle into which it was inserted , becomes ever after incapable of being used to voluntary Motion ; from thence with great assurance concludes ; Nervi igitur , rivorum in morem , à cerebro , ceu ex quodam fonte , deducunt musculis vires . Where 't is remarkable that he compares the Nerves , not to Strings or Cords , but to rivuletts or Conduit-Pipes , framed for the conveyance of the invigorating influence , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( as he calls it ) first impetus , from the Brain , as from a Fountain . And what could he have said , either more intelligible in it self , or more favorable to the doctrine of animal Spirits ? Fourthly and lastly , it is not unworthy consideration , that the voluntary Motion [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] of Reptils , such as Earth-Worms , Snails , and such like ( whose progression the Greeks call by a most proper Word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; most accurately described by Aristotle , lib. de incessu animal . cap. 9. ) is performed by the help of a certain aerial or spirituose Substance issuing from their Heads ; discernable , in Snail , by the sight . For , if you put a large grey Snail into a clear glass Phial , and hold him up against a good Light ; you may plainly perceive , that when he begins to creep , a Chain of little Bubbles will come from his Tail , and move along one after another to the middle of his Back , and thence up to his Head. When the Snail remains quiet , the motion of the Bubles ceaseth : and as he again begins to advance , they also begin their Course anew ; passing , by a kind of slow Circulation , from the Tail to the Head , along the Back ; and from the Head to the Tail , along the Belly . So that it seems probable , that these Bubbles being protruded or propelled in the manner described , are instrumental to the Motion of the Snails forepart , to which he afterdraws up his hinderpart , arcuatim , making an Arch in the middle ; and so advances . Quia postquam priore parte processerit , mox posteriorem ad illam , se convolvendo , trahit ; ita ut videatur arcuatim & annulatim progredi ; as the many-tongued Monsr . Bochart saith , in his discription of the Motion of a Horse-leech ; in Hierozoic . lib. 5. cap. 19. Now , though Nature be observed to diversifie the Instruments of voluntary Motion , in various Sorts of living Creatures , according to the diversity of their Bulks , Shapes , Functions , and necessities of Life ; and therefore to infer a parity of contrivance of them in more perfect Animals , from an observation of the Action of those in less perfect , be but an inartificial Argument : yet forasmuch as she seldom varies her more general ways of formation , but upon necessity ; and when she doth , her deflections from her common Method , are never so wide , but still they carry some Analogie to them : it seems not improbable , that as the progressive Motion of Reptils is performed by the help of an Aerial Substance , so likewise our muscular Motion is made by the help of a spirituose Influx from the Brain into the Nerves and Muscles . And this is the sum of the principal Arguments urged , partly by the Antient , partly by the modern defenders of animal Spirits , and of their necessary use in voluntary Motion . I will now , according to my promise , change my Person , and putting on that of an Opponent , plead a while against both their Existence , and their supposed use : taking the liberty to allege , what at present I remember to have been said by others , and what I humbly conceive may with reason be said , to weaken at least , if not wholly subvert the former doctrine . We Physicians indeed speak magnifickly of Spirits Animal , as of the plenipotent and immediate instrument of the Soul in all her operations upon the Body : confidently attributing to them , veluti Demiurgis quibusdam , whatever of designed Motions are performed by the Nerves and Muscles , whatever of natural Motions are performed by the Diaphragm , and Heart , whatever of violent Motions happen in our exorbitant Passions , in fine , whatever of commerce or communication there is betwixt the Brain and all inferior Parts , in the state of Nature , as if we assented to the Dream of Heraclitus Ephesius , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Diog. Laert. in vita . Yea more , in a Preternatural State also we make them only not omnipotent . For , what Disease of the Brain can ye name , which hath not been referred to their Vices , either to their defect , or excess ; to their stupidity and sluggishness , or their fury and tumults ; to their interception , or too copiose and impetuose Influx ; to their fixation , or incessant exagitation ; to their depravation by exotique and inconvenient Mixtures , to their dissipation by Opiates and Narcoticks ; or to some other of a thousand accidents , to which they are supposed to be Obnoxious . Nay some have gone yet much farther , and ( were it not-indecent to divert to Romantic Writings ) I could quote an Author of no small Fame , who hath not many Years past enrich'd the Commonwealth of Philosophy with a whole Legend of the Empire of Animal Spirits , their Laws and Constitutions politick , their quickness of perception , presagition of Dangers , Passions of Love , Anger , Hate ; their Seditions , Tumults , Insurrections , military Rangings , Sallies , Excursions , Combates , Incampings , Marches and Countermarches , Explosions or Fireings , Retreats in order , confused Flights , and infinite other admirable things , such as I , for my part , should not have had Wit enough to ascribe to any but Reasonable Creatures . Nor shall I blush to confess , that when I was reading this Fanciful Book , I could not but recall to mind many of the Witty Fictions of Lucian ( verar. historiarum Lib. 1. ) concerning the Militia and adventures of his Hippogypi , Lachanopteri , Cencroboli , Scorodomachi , Psyllotoxotae , Anemodromi , Struthobalani , Nubecentauri , Aeroculices , Solarii , Lunarii , Nephelococcygians , and other chimerical Nations by him in Drollery described ; and all the pleasant Dreams of a certain great Lady , recounted in her most delightful Histories of the Blazing World , and of the Kingdoms of Fayries in ever Mans Brain : though I at the same time considered , that Lucian and the Lady had written only in Jest , to exercise their Wit : but the other , in serious earnest , and with design to reform the State of Physic , by new discoveries . So true is that saying of a late ingenious Writer ; Ubi semel occupatum ingenium est novis Hypothesibus , licet solis innitantur conjecturis ; in infinitam conceptuum libertatem se diffundit : ne disputare quidem cum rei veritate amplius sustinet . Tam irrequieto & exultante impetu stimulat in ulteriora voluptas gloriosa . And yet notwithstanding , after all our speciose discourses of these Emissaries of the Soul , Animal Spirits ; we are distracted by various Opinions concerning them : still anxiously inquiring , of what matter , in what place , and how they are generated ; what are their Qualities , Motions , Ways , and Manner , of acting ; and in fine , uncertain , whether they be real Creatures of Nature , or only the Idols of human Imagination . Risum teneatis amici , an lachrymas ? Certè res est hand perfunctoriè lugenda . Some have affirmed , that the Fluid contained in the Pores and Fibres of the Nerves , is the more subtil part of the Blood , separated and sublimed in the Brain ; giving it the noble Name of Spirits : but they have not yet by certain reasons or Experiments , taught us , to which of all the Fluids that are known to us , that is like . Others therefore proceeding somewhat farther , pronounce that these Spirits consist of Saline and Sulphureous Particles highly analogous to the Spirits of Wine . But this is to feed our curiosity with fine Words that signifie little of certainty . True it is indeed , that upon drinking a little Glass of Spirit of Wine , we find our Strength suddainly recruited : but whether from the Humor we call Spirit , or from that other Matter that makes that Spirit Fluid , or is perhaps for some other reason joyned to it ; who hitherto has determined ? Besides , the animal Spirits ( if any such there be ) seem to be so so far remote from the subtility , Acrimony , and volatility of Spirit of Wine ; that we want not just reasons to convince us , they are nor volatile , nor actually Rarefied into Exhalations , nor acrimonious . Not Volatil ; because if they were such , certainly they would offend and trouble the Brain ; as may be inferred from the Lassitude , Headach , giddiness and other Symptoms that commonly invade Men next Morning after a Debauch with Wine ; all which come from the volatile Spirits of the Wine . Not actual Exhalations ; because in that State , being mixt with other Humors of the Body , they would produce Bubles or Froth , or cause also an inflation of the Parts containing them : neither of which is to be endured . Not Acrimonious , pungent , or offensive by asperity of their Particles ; because if such , they would continually irritate , prick , and corrode the Brain and Nerves , and necessarily force them into Convulsions , and other tumultuose Motions . I add , that they are not ( as Fr. Sylvtus imagined them to be ) apt to Ferment ; because if such , they could not but fret and dissolve the soft and tender Substance of the Brain , and the Pith of the Nerves . By these and other Reasons induced , our most excellent Dr. Glisson ( de Ventric . and Intestin . Cap. 8. num . 7. ) formed his animal Spirits of a constitution exempt from all these inconvenient Qualities . He describes them to be Mild , Placid , Sedate , Fixt , Sweet , Nutritive , Corroborating , and apt to consolidate ; and in all these respects exactly like the Spirits conteined in the white of an Egg. Their Subject he held to be , the true Succus Nutritius , distributed from the Brain , through the Nerves , to all spermatick Parts : which he would have to be generated only in the Brain ( corticem inter & medullam ) by way of Secretion ; and that the matter of which they are in that manner generated , is the more mild and spermatic part of the Blood ; the acrimonious and more elabourated Part being reduced thence by the Veins , for that purpose perhaps distributed into the Cortex of the Brain : concluding , that the select part is changed into animal Spirits , not by sublimation or meteorization ( as all others held before ) but by mitigation , refrigeration , and Whitening . So that in fine , if their Nature agree with this Character ; I do not see by what right they can be called Spirits , according to the common notion Men have of all things known by that Name . In so dense a Mist of our understanding , in so great and irreconcilable a dissention of Opinions , concerning the matter , generation , and qualities of animal Spirits ; how shall we discern the truth ? Whom can ye give me , so sagacious , so happy above all other Mortals , in explicating the Secrets of the Oeconomy of mans Brain ; as to be able , by clearly defining what they are , whence they proceed , and how they are generated , to put an end to the Dispute ? For , till this be done , we shall still be to seek , how they can conduce to invigorate the Nerves and Muscles in voluntary Motion . In the mean time we can be certain only of this ; that so great a War of Opinions among the Princes of Phylosophy , is a strong Argument , that the thing about which they contend , is not yet sufficiently understood . Equally uncertain it is , by what kind of Motion these invisible Emissaries are transmitted from the Brain through the Nerves ; whether they fly swiftly , or creep along slowly . For , some there are , who fond of the Chimera's of their own Imagination , and carried away by affectation of Glory from the invention of I know not what new Theories in Physic , as if Philosophers were , like young Ladies , best pleased with Novels ; have confidently taught , that these Spirits are not only moved most rapidly in the Brain and Nerves , as Lightning is darted through the Air ; but as it were shot out , at command of the Phantasie , into the Nerves , and recall'd again by the same ways , in an instant , according to the exigence of the Actions to be performed by them . And yet neither of these seems consonant to right Reason . Not the Former ; because in their supposed Motion from without inward , by which these Gent. would have all sensation to be made ; the perception of a tangible Object ( for example ) which is made in the top of a Finger , is in the very same Moment perceived within in the Brain : and the Action of the Finger , and the Action of the Brain , make one continued total sensation of the whole Object . Which could never be , in case that Sensation were performed immediately by the Ministry of Animal Spirits . For , these Spirits , so soon as they are informed in the external Organ of Touching , of what nature the Object is ; cannot bring in tidings of what is done there unless they recur and fly in to give an account of their Embassy , and at the same time desert the outward Organ : So that the action of the outward Organ cannot be coincident with the action of the Brain : unless you can obtain of them , that the very same animal Spirits are in the Finger , and in the Brain , at the same time ; which is manifestly absur'd . Evident therefore it is , that Sensation cannot be made by the mediation of animal Spirits , as these Positive Wits have defined . Not the Later ; because we do not find , that Nature hath any where in the Body instituted contrary Motions of the same Fluid in the same Vessels ; unless in the branches of the Wind-pipe , and in the Guts . In respiration , the Air is both received into the Lungs , and thence quickly emitted , together with the Vapors of the Blood , by the aspera arteria : which being to that end made of round or circular Gristles , is alwaies open ; and the Thorax is always organically dilated and contracted alternately . In the Gutts also Nature hath ordained a Flux and reflux of the Chyle ; but they have a Peristaltic motion granted to them , to that end , in order to the frequent inversion , and more expedite distribution of the Chyle . But in the Nerves there occurs no sufficient reason , why the Spirits should be carried sometimes outward , and sometimes inward ; unless we attribute to them a Peristaltick motion , or imagine that the Spirits themselves , like Gnats playing in the Air , fly to and fro in the Nerves , at their own pleasure . Farther , to what end should they recur to the Brain through the Nerves ? To relate to the commmon Sense what is done in the external Organs ? If so , with what Tongue can they deliver their relation ? By what signs can they give notice of their meaning ? Do they bring in with them the idea of the impression made by the Object upon the external Organ ? Certainly , the idea in the outward and inward Organ , is one continuate representation , as the Object represented is one . But the sensation of the same Object doth sometimes dure two or three Hours together . Do the Animal Spirits all that while run forth and back uncessantly , to continue the sensation both without and within ? These truly are to me inextricable difficulties , Riddles never to be expounded , or rather extravagant fictions , such as might dissolve even Heraclitus himself into laughter . No wonder then if Dr. Glisson , plainly discerning the incongruity of this most rapid and reciprocal motion attributed to the animal Spirits , not only wholly rejected it , but excogitated another plainly contrary thereunto . For , he concludes , that the Spirits lodged in the Succus Nutritius , are carried from the Brain through the Nerves by a Motion , not impetuose or rapid , but gentle , Slow , and placid , inperceptible by the Sense , and tending only outward ; as the nourishing Juice of Plants is believed to creep up from the Roots along by their Fibres : and that they do not immediately move the Muscles , but by recruiting their Vigor , and corroborating the tone of their Fibres , render them habil to execute their Offices promptly and strongly . He adds , that in all voluntary Motion , the Fibres of the Muscles do , by their own proper vital Motion , abbreviate or contract themselves ; needing no copiose and suddain afflux of Spirits , either Animal or Vital , to shorten them by way of inflation , and put them upon performing the Motions commanded by the Phansie . How then are the votes or mandates of the Ruling Faculty in the Brain , communicated and made known to the Fibres of the Muscles destined to put them in execution ? He answers , that the motion of the Brain from within outward , by which it rules the Fibres of the Muscles , is made known to the Fibres to be moved , not by sense ( for the Intellect hath no notice or cognizance of it at all ) but only by Natural perception : and consequently that the Brain , by mediation of this Perception Natural , doth , at command of the Phansie , excite the Fibres of the Muscles to Motion , and recompose them , at pleasure . And to explain more clearly his sentiments concerning this supposed motion of the Brain ad extrà , that is , to the originals of the Nerves , which he seems first to have excogitated : he soon after subjoyns , that the Motion is not to be understood of the whole Brain , but only of that little part of it , the Fibres of which are conjoyned to the Fibres of the Nerve peculiarly designed to perform the action commanded by the Phansie ; and that this Motion is no other but a certain Striate or Streakt invigoration , running along the Threads of the Brain , toward the beginning of the Nerve to be excited , and requiring a Motion of the Nerve conform thereunto : By invigoration , meaning a Motion tending to a greater contraction of the part of the Brain then acting , than before . Contractio enim hic requisita ( saith he ) fortasse ducentesimam partem crassitiei digiti transversi non superat ; nec refert , quàm exigua sit mutatio sitús , modò tensura sit nervo perceptibilis , & gradibus variari possit , prout appetitus fortiorem aut debiliorem actionem à nervis exigit . An Hypothesis ( I must confess ) most subtle , and worthy the sublime Wit of the Author , and perhaps coming neerer to Truth , than any other hitherto excogitated . And yet notwithstanding , had not fate , by taking the Author from us , prevented me ; I should ere this have taken the liberty to beg his pardon of my foolishness , if out of an honest desire of learning from him , I presumed to trouble him with one or two Questions about things delivered in this Hypothesis , which to me seem doubtful , and extremely difficult to be conceived . The first is this . He supposes the Brain , not only to have power of moving itself at pleasure , but ( what is yet more amusing ) to be also the principle of our cogitations , of our Appetite and Motion Animal : which I cannot ( such is my dulness ) comprehend . For , though it be granted , that the medullary substance of the Brain , however soft and tender to the touch , may nevertheless , in respect of the small Fibres of which placed in streaks it is composed , be capable of some Tension and Remission : yet do I not see , by what reason it can , either think , desire , or move itself at pleasure , in order to voluntary Motion . Hitherto I have been so great a Bigot in the catholick Doctrine of Philosophers , as to believe the Brain to be merely an Organ of the Soul ( whether Rational , or Sensitive ) and govern'd , and invigorated to motion by the Mandates thereof , not by it self alone : and that it is of the Nature of every Organ , as an Organ , not to give Motion to it self , as absolute and independent , but to receive Motion from that , whose Organ it is ; never so much as dreaming , that the Brain itself hath the Faculties of thinking and desiring , which I always took to belong of right to the Soul alone . But now I hear one of the Princes of Anatomists expresly teaching the contrary , viz. Cerebrum per se percipere , & , quia sic percipit hoc vel illud objectum esse bonum vel malum , etiam appetere hoc fugere , illo frui ; & quia sic appetit , mox se movere , ut quod appetit , consequatur : and yet am not able to discern , how this new Doctrine can possibly be brought to consist with that antient and universally granted Axiom Physical ; nihil corporeum à seipso moveri , sed ubique in universitate rerum dari movens & mobile inter se quidem distincta ; ita tamen , ut movens & mobile sint simul , motúsque hoc modo sit compositum quid ex utroque . Ye will here tell me , I presume ; that my most sagacious Author speaks in this place , not of Animal , but Natural Perception , Appetite and Motion ; which three Faculties he asserts to be by so firm a confederation colligued , as to be inseparable , and to render their Subject sufficiently instructed to perform every work congruous to its Nature . I say therefore ; that although we should grant to the Brain this supposed Natural Perception , with its inseparable adjuncts ; yet this would by no means suffice to excite and cause Animal or Voluntary Motion , first in the Fibrills of the Brain , then in the Nerves , and after in the Muscles : because this Motion is far nobler than any Motion meerly spontaneous , and proceeds from , and depends upon a principle incomparably more sublime and energetic ; namely the Soul , which ( if all Mankind be not most grosly deceived , ) is Author of all Motion directed by Counsel and design to this or that certain end ; and which is always excited by the appearance of Good or Evil in the Object , when an Animal desires what is convenient , or flyes the contrary , and accordingly moves to obtain , or eschew it . Otherwise , or I am shamefully sottish , or no living Creature would need a Soul to excite him to intend and perform Motions convenient to his nature and end : Because the Brain it self , endowed with natural Perception and its Concomitants , would alone serve to do all the Offices of a sensitive Soul. And this is one of the two doubts , that hath hitherto perplext my weak Head , and with-held me from assenting to this new Hypothesis : chiefly when I recall'd to mind , that a Chicken begins to move himself in the Egg on the sixth day of the incubation ; though at that time nothing of Brain , besides clear Water included in vesicula , can be discerned . The other , this ; How so small a contraction of the Fibrils of the Brain , in that part which is moved by the Appetite , as He sapposes not to exceed the 200th . part of a Fingers bredth , can suffice to make a much greater Contraction in the Nerve destined to perform the action commanded . For , since the Fibrils of the Brain are not only conjoyned with the Fibres of the Nerves thence produced along to the Tendons of the Muscles , but so united also , as to constitute so many little Strings or Cords continued from their Original to their ends or insertions ; and since it is from mechanic experiments constant , that all Cords , when pull'd or stretch'd at one end more or less , are equally extended all along quite home to the other ; and this is by reason of the continuity of their Parts : considering these two certain and evident Truths , I cannot conceive , how in the said little Cords of the Brain and Nerves any Contraction or Tension can be made , that shall be in one of their Extremes , at least two hundred times less than in the other . It is indeed , among Physico-mathematicians , a mighty controversie , whether or no the Strings of a Lute , Viol , Harp or any other musical Instrument , when wound up , be equally stretch'd or strain'd in all their Parts ; because when they are strain'd above their strength , they are for the most part broken at the ends , rarely in any other part : which yet seems to happen only from hence , that the Strings are at both ends weakned by winding up the Peggs , and being tyed in a knot , whereby their coherence of Parts being violated , they must needs be more fragil there , than in any other part to which that Violence hath not extended . Nevertheless , that a Lute-String stretcht by a Plummet hung perpendicularly at one end , and held by a Mans Fingers at the other , is extended in all parts alike ; is beyond all controversie . And that is sufficient to my purpose . For from thence it is most evident , that howsoever , and in what part soever a Nerve is contracted , the contraction must be equal in all Parts of it : not only a Hairs bredth at one end , and two or three Inches perhaps at the other . But perhaps the Sense of my most judicious Author is this . That even the least vigoration of the Brain ( which he supposed to be the principal part of the whole Animal , the original of Cogitation , Appetite and Motion , composed of Fibrills , and endowed with a faculty of stretching and relaxing itself by turns , at pleasure ) may suffice to excite a much greater contraction in the Nerves ; not so much by immediately contracting them , as by so affecting their perception natural , as they may presently contract themselves by spontaneous Motion , and that so much as is sufficient to execute strenuously the command of the Phansy . Admitting therefore this interpretation of his words , I enquire , if that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or invigorating Virtue which he confers upon the Brain , consist only in the tonic Motion of its Fibrils , to which the Fibres of the Nerves are continued ; if this be so , I enquire ( I say ) first , whence it is , that a greater and stronger Force or Vigoration is excited in the Threads of the Nerves , than in the Fibrils of the Brain that move them ? Is the Spontaneous Motion of the Nerves , ( always conjoyned with natural perception ) more potent than the animal Motion of the Fibrils of the Brain , injoyned or commanded by the Will , or Phansie ? so , certainly , it must be granted to be by all who embrace this Hypothesis ; because a far greater Contraction is supposed to be made by the natural or spontaneous Motion , than by the animal or commanded Motion : and because it is of absolute necessity , that this disparity of the Effects arises from the like disparity in the Powers of the Agents . But to me ( I confess ) it seems alien from all belief , that Nature , whose Wisdom and Providence is so admirable in all things else , hath taken so little care of the Oeconomy of Mans Brain , as to subject the principal Instruments of voluntary Motion , the Nerves , more to the simple instinct of natural perception , than to the Empire and rule of the Will conceived from the dictates of Reason : chiefly when it is most evident , that the same Nature has granted to us a power of varying , intending , and remitting our voluntary Motion , as we please ; without control or impediment from the instinct of natural perception , of which we are not conscious . I inquire also , whether the so often mentioned Fibrils of the Brain have requisite Notice , both of the command given by the Phansy , and that it is their Office to put the same in execution ? My Author expresly affirms , they have : deducing the knowledge of this from their natural perception , and the notice of that , from their Tension by the Phansy . His Words are these ; Cum hae fibrae tensiles sint , & naturali perceptione advertant , exsecutionem voti cupiti ad suum officium spectare ; mox ( cùm simul sint agentia naturalia , nec deliberent ) se vigorant , & nervos , quibus continuantur , ad consimilem motum excitant . Naturalis enim perceptio ( seu Archeus ) innumer a propè novit , quae sensum latent ; & totam fabricam corporis , quam ipsa formaverat , & usum omnium partium , modumque quo omnia peragenda sint , callet . But if this be granted , certainly either the Phansie must be deprived of its dominion over the Fibres of the Brain , or ( what seems to be no less unjust ) there will be set up in the Brain a new Government by a kind of Duumvirate , the Regimen being divided betwixt the Will and natural Perception , so that neither of them can , without the assent of the other , excite any the least animal Motion . And how unstable , how obnoxious to Divisions must that State be , that hath two Heads ? Other Knots there are in this most intricate Hypothesis , which my weak Reason is not able to untie . But I pretermit them ; those two I have touched , seeming sufficient to evince , how little , how uncertain that knowledge is , which even the greatest Wits have attained unto , of the regiment of the Brain , of the Motion of animal Spirits , and of the reason of voluntary Motion . Perhaps then we are equally uncertain , whether there be in rerum natura any such things as animal Spirits , of a distinct Species from the vital Spirits , or not . Truely , my Opinion is , that we are so : and no less Man than Dr. Harvy expresly denyed their Existence ; de generat . animal . exercit . 70. Nihil sanè in corpore animalium , ( inquit ) sanguine prius aut praestantius reperitur ; neque spiritus , quos à sanguine distinguunt , uspiam ab illo separati inveniuntur . So do all the Peripatetiques hold against Galen , unum esse duntaxat Spiritum , vitalem singulis partium omnium officiis deservientem . Joan. Imperial . de ingen . human . pag. 52. And Scaliger ( exercit . 339. Sect. 2. ) affirms , Animam non egere spiritibus ad motum . Etenim si animae opus est instrumento ad movendum ; etiam opus erit instrumento ad movendum instrumentum . And Sr. G. Ent ( Antidiatribae p. 141. ) Ego , praeter unum sanguinis calorem , nullos in animali Spiritus agnosco : sed in partibus singulis privum hospitari sensum , qui ad animae imperium excitetur . So doth that most excellent Man here present , to whose incomparable Pen Dr. Harvey ows half his Glory , and to whose diving Wit both Natural Philosophy and Anatomy owe the hints at least of the best part of their new Discoveries . And truly if any man shall seriously , and without prejudice consider the great bulk , cold temperament , various parts , fabrick and texture of the Brain ; he will at length find but little reason to believe , that Nature hath framed it chiefly for a Laboratory of Spirits . They tell us , that these spirits are made of the most subtile , most refined , and volatilized parts of the arteriose blood , by way of sublimation . But can a part so dense , so cold , so clammy , and to like a bogg , as the brain seems to be , be thought an instrument fit for sublimation or rectification of a spirituose substance ? What Chymist hath at any time attempted to rectifie spirit of wine in a vessel whose head was stuffed with damp raw silk , or other the like villose matter , more apt to repercuss and condense , than to refine it ? Sure I am , that even Malpighius himself , a most accurate Enquirer into the structure of the brain , hath after all his Microscopic researches , made this ingenuous confession ( de structura viscerum , pag. 66. ) Ut verum fatear , quò magis manifesta mihielucescit cerebri structura , eò magis tot mirabilium operationum explicandi methodum spes excidit . Simplicem tandem dum agnoscocexebri structuram , ineptum omnino ad exponenda sensuum , & tam nobilium operationum phoenomena reor . It a ut hoc tantùm conjicere possim , à Cerebri & Cerebelli glandulis in continuatos nervos separari succum quendam , sicut in caeteris glandulis proprio vase Excretorio ditatis &c. A poor account of so long and diligent a scrutiny ! and yet would I could see the man that is able to give a better . Were it not a Parergon , I might here recount many observations , recorded by Eminent writers , of men , who retain'd the use of all their Senses , imagination , memory , reason , and voluntary motion , even to the last minute of life ; and yet notwithstanding , in their heads opened after death , there was found ( as in most fishes ) but very little of brains , and that too altogether confused and diluted with water . For a memorable Example of this kind , give me leave to put you in mind of that register'd by Nichol. Tulpius , an Author of good credit ( observat . Medicar . lib. 1. cap. 24. ) Who thereupon gravely concludes with this Laudable acknowledgment of his ignorance . Quantum est , quod nescimus ! velut namque in aliis , sic certè credibile est , potissimùm nos caecutire in genuino Cerebri regimine : Cujus opera multo fortassis sunt diviniora , quam quispiam bactenus suo comprehendit captu . Ye may add , two other Examples no less wonderfull : one observ'd by Gregor . Horstius , of a man who after a great abseess or aposteme in the head , and the taking away of a vast quantity of his brain , yet retain'd the use of all the Animal faculties : the other , by Kerckringius ( observat . anatomic . 46. ) of an infant , whose skull he had found full of a mucose water , in the place of the brain . Hither may be brought two other examples : one from Fontanus ( resp . med . & annot . in Vesal . ) of a boy , cui caput erat cerebro vacuum ; another from Arnoldus Villanovanus ( in Spec. intr . med . ) of a man whose skull was found likewise empty . Now if these be true Histories , what will become of the supposition , that the Animal spirits are generated in the brain ? Can they be made , and conserved in water , and after most part of the brain hath been taken away ? Here I am at a stand ; wanting the wit of Thom. Bartholin . Who ( in observat . centur . 6. Hist. 91. ) having told a very strange story of a Swedish Ox , whose brain was wholly converted into a stone ; and desirous still to prop up the antique opinion of Animal spirits , which that observation impugned : was first so ingenuous as to suspect , and after so lucky as to find certain holes and open passages reserved for them in the petrified brain , through which they might freely pass into the nerves to carry the heavy headed beast to and fro in the meadows for pasture . A wonderful providence of Nature this , to continue both the poor Animal in motion , and the doctrine of the spirits in reputation . And therefore lest ye should think I do the learned . Author wrong , I am obliged to recite his very words in the clause of the History . Quam prima ad nos fama rem novam & hactenus inauditam deferret , dub rare caepi , & hinc inde cogitationes volvere , quomodo integer bovi remanserit matus ad horam usque à lanione indictam , cerebro lapideo ; suspicabarque in vivi bovis cerebro indurato sinus patulos remansisse , per quos liberè spiritus animales ex arteriis nervisque commearent ; alióqui bovi omnis fuisset motus dudum ademptus . Nec vana fuit conjectura . Testabatur enim mihi Illustris Bielkius , foraminula hinc inde in lapide nominato conspici dispersa & perforata , per quae paleae possint intrudi . Here to question the truth of his relation , would be Incivility ; to believe all parts of it , shameful credulity ; and to conclude from thence , that there are Animal spirits , down right folly : the Author having omitted to bring any good reason to support his conjecture , that the holes observed in the petrified Brain , had been left for no other cause , but only to give free passage to them . I add , that in the head of the Rana piscatrix which yet is a fish of singular cunning in taking his prey , and of great strenght , no Brain , but only clear water , is to be found . To come then to a conclusion of this desperate Argument ; from what hath been said , it sufficiently appears , that we are still in great uncertainty , not only of the matter , generation , Nature , qualities , and motion of Spirits Animal ; but of their very existence also . I had reason therefore to appeal to your more discerning judgment , for a decision of this so difficult controversie concerning them : being my self unable to determine what I ought to conclude , of the Antient , and at this day vulgar opinion , of their being absolutely requisite , both to all sensation , and to all voluntary motion ¶ Nor do I blush to acknowledge this my ignorance of a thing which Nature seems to have wrapt up in clouds of impenetrable darkness , ne veritatis Inaccessibilis lux teneram ingenii humani aciem splendore nimio perstringeret : But frankly confess with Lucretius ; Multa tegit sacro involucro Natura neque ullis Fas est scire quidem mortalibus omnia . Multa Admirare modò , nee non venerare : neque illa Inquires , quae sunt arcanis proxima . Namque In manibus quae sunt , haec nos vix scire putandum est ; Est procul à nobis adèo praesentia veri . And enquire with Casper Barlaeus ( de anim . Human . admirandis ) Qua ratione , et quibus apparitoribus mandata mentis deferri possint momento ad membra remotissima ? cùm nec membra haec , nec spiritus internuncii , aut mandata capiant aut mandantem norint . Volo Currere pedes ? currunt : quiescere ? quiescunt . &c. Quin illud omni sapientiâ humana majus est , quomodo pulsantes citheram digiti , pari motu celerimas cogitationes assequantur ; ut nec a mente digitus , nec a digito mens relinquatur . But this my ignorance must not deter me from proceeding in the administration of my province . I come therefore to the instrumentum proximum sive ultimum , by which immediately and sensibly the act of voluntary motion is performed . This all men rightly hold to be the MUSCLES : in which there occur three Generals to be chiefly considered by the Anatomist ; viz. their common Constitution and structure ; their principal and senseble Differences ; and the Reason by which they move the parts to which they are affixt . For , these things being duely explain'd , may perhaps bring us at length to such a degree of knowledge of the manner of voluntary motion , as may , if not satisfie our Curiosity yet at least advance the noblest of all our intellectual delights , the grateful admiration of the infinite Wisdom of our Creator . Which as it is the principal End of our Being : so ought it to be also the grand scope of all our studies and Natural inquiries . Concerning the FIRST , therefore ; obvious it is to every mans reason , that the immediate organ of voluntary Motion ought to be of such a Constitution , as may render it apt both to receive invigoration , i. e. to be excited to motion , by the Brain , at the command of the will , appetite , or fancy : and to move the member or part to which it is affixt . Manifest therefore it is , that a hard inflexible , rigid and bony substance is so far incompetent to both those uses , that Galen ( de motu musculor . lib. 1. cap. 2 ) affirmed , that any part casually becoming hard and stiff , though only from a thick cicatrice or skar , is thereby rendred unfit for motion : and that consequently , the substance of a Muscle ought to be , as Nature has made it , soft , rare , flexible , extensible , and furnished with great store of fibres . Requisite it is also , in respect of the distance betwixt the Brain and the Muscle , that there should be some third thing intermediate and continued to both , by which the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or first impetus in the former , may be communicated [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] to the other , whether the invigoration be effected by influx of any substance from the Brain , or by Dr. Glissons way formerly described . And the Nerves being the only part of the whole body qualified for this use , Nature hath therefore most prudently inserted one , or more of them into each Muscle . Now these two parts , Flesh and Nerves , are the principal ingredients requisite to compleat the essence of a Muscle : as may be inferr'd from hence , that there are some perfect Muscles , particularly those of the Forehead , the Temples , Bladder , the fundament &c. In the composition of which neither Tendon , nor Ligament is to be found . But because there is in some parts to be moved , by reason of their greater Gravity , a greater resistance to Motion , than the musculous Flesh , in respect of its softness and tenderness , is of itself able to overcome , chiefly in some positions : therefore ought there to be an addition of some stronger and tougher Substance , which being connected or united to the Flesh of the Muscle , may both corroborate the same , and more firmly conjoyn it to the Bones , so as to inable it to overpower that resistance . Hence it is , that some Muscles , especially such as are destined to bear great stress , in surmounting the weight of great Members , or in strong Motions ; are furnished with Ligaments , as well for their better firmation to the Bones , as for augmentation of their strength . All which Galen ( de usu partium lib. 12. cap. 2. & de motu muscul . lib. 1. cap. 2. ) intimates in these few words ; Vinculo enim tuto quodam opus erat musculis , cum osse ab ipsis movendo ; nec erat aliud ad hoc aptius Ligamento . But this necessity not extending to all Muscles , and a ligament being of it self immoveable and insensible , and the Nerves being , in respect of the softness and laxity of their Substance , not sufficiently strong to pull great and heavy Bones , without some accession of strength : it was requisite , there should be of both those parts composed a Third , that might be firmer and stronger than a Nerve , but softer and weaker than a Ligament . Such is a Tendon , which in Sense , and Aptitude to Motion much exceed's a ligament ; and in strength a Nerve : and is therefore made a part of many Muscles . I say , of many Muscles , not of all : because some have no need of Tendons , as the Muscles of the Tongue , of the Testicles , of the Penis , Lipps , Forehead , and all Sphincters ; but those only that are ; framed for Motions either strong or continual . Those that were destined to the motion of Bones , do all end in Tendons , greater or less ; and are inserted , not into the Syntax or conjunction of two Bones , nor into the end of the same Bone from which they arise ; but near to the Head of another which they are to move . Those which are to be kept long in Motion , have likewise need of Tendons both to corroborate and facilitate their Motions : as is most evident in the Muscles of the Eye , all which are furnished with Tendons . Hence we come to understand , why Tendons are by Nature conferr'd upon all Muscles designed to perform strong Motions in Hexion , in extension , and in that which holding a part in a stiff and steady Posture , is termed Motus Tonicus : as in the Arms and Leggs , and in the Back for erection of the Spine , &c. and why other Muscles are made up without Tendons , being as in their Originals , so likewise in their ends , only Fibrose . That these four parts of a Muscle , namely Flesh , Nerve , Ligament , and Tendon , might not want either Covering , or Combination ; Nature has providently invested and bound them together with a proper Membrane or Coat which seems to have these two farther Uses ; to cause Muscles touching or incumbent upon each other , to slip up and down smoothly , easily , and without interfering ; and to unite the force of all the Fibres when they act . And finally , because the whole Organ requires to be continually supplied with Life , as being Pars Corporis Vivens ; therefore is it copiously furnished with Arteries and Veins : those to bring in Blood , by whose vital Heat all parts are impregnated with influent Life ; these , to return the same Blood to the Heart , after it hath performed that Office. And this may be sufficient to explain the Constitution of a Muscle : upon which if we reflect , we may conveniently enough define a Muscle to be ; an organical part of an Animal , participant of Life , composed ( always ) of Flesh and a Nerve , and ( many times also ) of a Tendon and Ligament ; covered with its proper Membrane ; and so framed to be the proxime instrument of voluntary Motion . ¶ : As for the SECOND general to be considered , namely the DIFFERENCES observed among various Muscles ; these are many , as being desumed from their diversity in Substance , Quantity , Figure , Position , Origination , Insertion , Parts , Actions and Uses : all which I will run over lightly . In respect of Substance ; some Muscles are mostly Carnose , as all the Sphincters , the Muscles of the Tongue , &c. others , mostly nervose or membraneous , as the fascia lata , abducing the Tibia , the Quadratus , call'd by Galen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , musculosa expansio , by others , Distortor oris , because it is first contracted involuntarily in that Convulsion named Spasmus Cynicus ; and some others . In respect of Quantity ( which comprehends all the three dimensions of Longitude , Latitude , and Profundity ) some are Long , as the Rectus abdominis , the Longissimus dorsi , the Sartorius in the Thigh , &c. Others , short , as the Pyramidales in the bottom of the Belly , Surrogates of the oblique ascendent Muscles , and by a peculiar right conducing to compression of the Bladder of Urine , when we make Water : Others , broad ; as the Oblique and Transverse Muscles of the Abdomen , the Latissimus dorsi , depressing the Arm , &c. Others , narrow , as those of the Fingers and Toes : Others , thick and bulky ; as the two Vasti of the Thigh , the Glutei of the Buttocks , &c. Others , thin and slender , as the Gracilis bending the Legg , &c. In respect of Figure , some are Triangular , some Square , some Pentagonal , some Pyramidal , some Round , some of other Shapes ; as is exemplified in the Deltoides , Rhomboides , Scalenus , Trapezius : &c. In respect of the Position or course of their Fibres , some are Oblique , some Transverse , some above , some below , some before , some behind , some on the Right , others on the Left Side . Where we may observe in the general , that all oblique Muscles serve to oblique Motions , all Right , to direct flection or extension ; all internal , to flection ; all External , to extention . In respect of their Origination ; some arise from Bones ; and that either from the Heads of them , as most of the greater Muscles do ; or a little below , or from some Glene , some Sinus or small cavity in the Bone : some only from one Bone , some from two or three : others from Cartilages or Gristles , as the Muscles proper to the Larynx : others from the Membrane inshrouding the Tendons , as the Musculi Vermiculares sive I umbricales in the Hands and Feet : and others again from other Parts , as the Sphincters . In respect of their Insertion , some are inserted into Bones , some into Cartilages , as the Muscles of the Eyelids , and of the Larynx ; others into a Membrane , as the Muscles moving the Eye ; others into the Skin , as those of the Lips : some arising from divers parts are inserted into one ; and on the contrary , others single in their Original , are divided in their terminations . In respect of their Parts ( by which we are now to understand , not only the Parts constituent already particularly described , but those also into which a Muscle is commonly divided in dissection , viz. the Beginning or Head , the Middle or Belly , and the Tail or Tendon . ) The differences are various : most Muscles have but one head , yet some have two , some three ; whence they are named Bicipites and Tricipites . Most have but one Venter , yet some are double bellied , as the Muscle shutting the lower Jaw , that of the Os Hyoides , whence they are called Digastrici and Biventres : Of some the Tails are broad and membranose , of others round and slender ; of some short , of others long ; of some perforate , of others entire ; of some single , of others double , triple , &c. In some places are found two , three , or more Muscles ending in one common Tendon , as the Gemelli in the Leg , and the Soleus are united into one Cord above the heel : In others , though contiguous , single and distinct Tendons ; as the Plantaris , though concealed betwixt the Gemelli and the Soleus , from a fleshy beginning dwindles into a long Tendon , that spreading it self again covers the whole plant of the Foot , and is inserted into the Roots of the Toes . Lastly , some borrow their Names from the parts upon which they are seated , as the Crotaphitae or Temporal Muscles , the Rachitae or Spinati of the Spine , the Iliaci , &c. In fine , in respect of the diversity of their Actions , the Muscles admit of a triple difference . The first this , that some are Confederates , both concurring to one and the same motion either of Flection or of Extension ; one being placed on the Right the other on the Left of the Member : Others Antagonists , which perform motions contrary each to the other ; and indeed there are but few Muscles that have not their Opponents ; to every flexor is opposed an extensor , to every adductor an abductor , to every Elevator a Depressor ; excepting only the Sphincters , the Cremasters , and the Oesophagus . The Confederates generally are equal in magnitude , number , and strength ; the Antagonists not , but different according to the weight of the part to be moved , and to the force of the motion . Thus the Muscles that bow down the head are but two ; when there are twleve to lift it up : Likewise those that pull up the lower Jaw are many , but no more than two suffice to draw it down , because the weight of heavy parts makes them easily fall down of their own accord . The second difference consisteth in this , that some of the Muscles move only themselves as the Sphincters , others move other parts besides themselves . The third and last difference arises from their proper motions ; whence some are named Flexores , others Extensores ; some Elevatores , others Depressores ; some Adductores , others Abductores ; some Rotatores , some Masseteres , some Cremasteres or Suspensores , some Constrictores , &c. And this is more than enough concerning the differences of the Muscles . ¶ As for the last general Theorem , namely the REASON and MANNER of the Muscles moving the parts to which they are affixt , when themselves are invigorate by the Will or Appetite ; forasmuch as the loco-motion of the whole body or any part thereof , if considered per se , i. e. merely as motion ; must be considered either as it is a certain Commensuration of the length of space , betwixt the terminus à quo and the terminus ad quem ; or as it is a countervailing of Gravity : In both these respects it requires to be explained by the help of Principles Mathematick . Let me therefore deprecate your impatience , if in compliance with this necessity , I now and then bring you to reflect occasionally upon a few Geometrical Propositions of Euclid and mechanick fundamentals ; such from whence we may borrow some beams of light to lessen , if not wholly overcome the obscurity of our subject . In the First place then , I observe : That every Muscle hath a double motion , the one Natural , in which the Fibres spontaneously retracting themselves , return to their native Position , after the cessation of that force that extended them ; as all other Tensil Bodies do by the motion of Restitution : The other Animal , in which the same Fibres are farther contracted or abbreviated by a force communicated to them from the brain , in order to the performance of some Action intended by the Will or Appetite . Now that the Natural Contraction of a Muscle is not sufficient to motion voluntary , though we should suppose it to have been at first made upon the stretch , is evident from hence , that betwixt every Muscle and its Antagonist , the natural power of retracting or relaxing themselves is equal , according to that remarkable Assertion of Galen , ( de motu musculor , lib. 1. cap. 9. ) Musculum suapte natura in extremam contractionem progredi , quantum in structura corporis est positum . Cum enim per sectionem solutus fuerit continuitate , quam habet cum osse obnitente , tunc quasi vinculo solutus , & perfectè liber factus , suam ipsius naturam ostendit : Quamdiu verò à Musculo in opposito constituto pars retrahitur , qui & ipse eandem naturam habet , ut statim ad extremam contractionem festinet , alter Musculus ab altero aequaliter privatur coitu in seipsum . Atque it a conting it oppositorum in membris musculorum utrumque in dimidio contractionis laedi . So that betwixt two contrary powers drawing equally , the Member must remain tanquam in aequilibrio , unmoved . The Reason of which Equilibration , may be illustrated by that proposition of Vitruvius ; quae corpora aequalia aequaliter & sub uno diametro à centro distant ; illa secant perpendicularem lineam ad angulos rectos : And may be thus demonstrated . Figure I. Page 528 Let two bodies of equal weight be placed , the one at A , the other at B , upon the Diameter of the Circle , whose Centre is at E ; and neither of them shall move because their Gravity is equal at that distance from the Centre E ; but supposing both to move , they shall hasten to the Centre of Gravity with equal velocity , because A and B make equal Angles with the Perpendicular D E C. Necessary it is then , that in voluntary motion of a Member , aequilibrated by two Antagonist Muscles of equal force , one of the opposite Muscles overpower the other ; not by its natural or spontaneous contraction which is equal on both parts ; but by the animal force derived from the Brain , which makes the natural contraction greater , and the invigorate Muscle to prevail : Whence it comes to pass , that the Member , which before the accession of the animal force was held unmoved , and as it were , suspended betwixt two contrary equal powers ; is determined to Motion according to the Command of the Will or Appetite . Which is much more elegantly expressed by Galen in these few words : Aequipollens motus ipsius corporis Musculorum sit , quando neuter tonum Animalem habet auxiliarem ; non aequipollens verò , quando alter solus dominatur : Quare necessum est ut vincat contractio illius Musculi , qui ab Animali facultate adjuvatur , de motu Musculor . lib. 1. cap. 9. I observe Secondly , that in all voluntary motion of whatsoever Member , there are two Terms to be acknowledged : One is the part quiescent or fulciment , to which the head of the acting Muscle is fastned ; because all motion is made upon something that is at rest , according to that Maxim of the Philosopher : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , quicquid movetur , movetur super aliquo , cui innititur . The other is in the part moved , at the insertion of the Muscle moving , and from whence the same Muscle doth , by contracting it self , draw the Member toward it self . And this is sometimes less sometimes more , elonged or remote from the Fulciment , according to the less or greater resistance of gravity in the Member to be moved , and according to the less or greater vehemence required to the motion it self . Which Nature ( whose Art is not more admirable in any thing , than in proportioning the length of the Insertion of every Muscle , from the Hypomochlion or point of Rest , to the weight of the part thereby to be moved , ) respecting , hath , with great sagacity , supplied the little strength of many slender Muscles , by inserting them at great distance from the Centre of their motion , or that point about which the Member whereto they belong , is to be moved . The Reason of which mechanical Contrivance seems to be this ; that all such remote insertions , by subtracting part of the length of the Bone to be moved , substract also part of the weight of it , and so render the Muscle able to countervail the remaining weight with less force . For , since there is no motion in the Centre , according to that proposition in Mechanicks , In centro omnis gravitas cessat , adeo ut neque grave , neque leve ad centrum deprehendatur : We may easily understand , why in many Muscles designed for strong motions , the Terminus stabilis is farther elonged from the Terminus mobilis , than in others destined to motions less strong , viz. that by even a small force , the Muscle ( which considered in its proper bulk , or inserted at less distance , would be insufficient to the effect intended ) might contrevail and elevate a great weight ; as is exemplified in the Muscles of the Hand , Arm , Thigh , and some other parts . Whence that excellent Mathematician and Painter , Lionardo da Vinci of Florence , seems to have deduc'd that universal maxim of his , deliver'd in Trattato de le Pittura , cap. 199. Concerning the tardity and velocity of Animals in the motion of their Legs . Quell ' animale harà il centro delle gambe suo sostentacolo tanto più vicino al perpendicolo del centro della gravità , il quale saràdi più tardi movimenti ; e cosi di converso , quello harà il centro de sostentacolo più remoto dal perpendicolo del centro della gravità sua , il guale fia di veloce moto . Now this Reason may be both confirm'd and illustrated , by three mechanick Propositions ; of which the first is this : Omnis potentia motûs variatur ratione centri ad peripheriam : The second is this , Quò quid remotius à centro , eo velocius movetur : The third this , Quo circuli peripheria est major , co major est diameter , & motus velocior . Which may be demonstrated from the former diagram , supposing a weight to be placed first at F upon the Diameter A B , and then at A ; for this weight falling from A , will be carried to the Centre C with greater velocity , than if it fall from F , by reason of its greater distance from E ; the degrees of Velocity and consequently of facility of the motion , always holding proportion to the degrees of Elongation from the point of rest or Centre E. For the same reason , ( viz. to augment the force of some Muscles , considered simply without the advantage of Position ) it was also that Nature has in many bones superadded to their ends , certain Knobs or buttings out , called Epiphyses and Apophyses to which the Muscles are fastned : Nor doth it seem to be of simple conveniency alone , that she has thus contrived the Originals of all great , and most other Muscles , higher or more elevated ( more or less ) than their insertions , but of absolute necessity : For First , were the Head of any Muscle incumbent upon another , or upon any other sensible part , placed lower then its Tail or Tendon ; the Muscle could not be contracted without manifest pressure and pain of the subjacent part . For demonstration sake , Figure II. Page 532 Suppose A B to be the bone to be moved or pull'd upward , and B C to be another bone , upon which as the Fulciment or Rest , the first is to be moved , and from which the two contiguous Muscles D E , and F G arise ; having their Heads at E F , and their Tails or Insertions at D and G. I say then , that the contraction of the incumbent Muscle D E , shall not press upon the subjacent Muscle F G , because the Head of it at E is raised higher than the Tail D. Whereas if we should invert the position of the incumbent Muscle , and make it lower at its Original E , than at its insertion D ; it could not possibly be contracted or abbreviated toward E , without pressure of the subjacent Muscle F G : which is an incommodity inconsistent with the Providence of Nature , and which she has wisely prevented by elevating the Heads of all incumbent Muscles higher than their Insertions . Secondly , Had the Head of any Muscle designed for the elevation of a bone , been placed upon the same level , or in a streight line with the Tail of it ; then could not the Muscle have been contracted at all , nor consequently could the bone , into which it is inserted , have been rais'd upward , because the Fulciment or Bone from which the head of the Muscle arises , being in a direct line to the other Bone that is to be raised , and into which the Tail of the same Muscle is inserted ; the ends of the two Bones must necessarily press one the other in a direct line , and by their mutual resistance hinder the contraction of the Muscle ; as may be thus demonstrated . Figure III Page 533 Let us imagine G H to be the Fulciment or immoveable Bone , and H I to be the other Bone , to be raised by the Muscle K L , whose Original is at K on the first Bone , and Insertion at L on the second : Then because the line K L is parallel to the lines G H , or the Original of the Muscle K , upon the same level with its insertion L ; if the Muscle pull toward K , the Bone H I must either penetrate the Bone G H , or oppose and wholly hinder the contraction of the Muscle . But the penetration of one Bone by the head of the other being impossible , the contraction of the Muscle must be impossible also , which is what I affirmed . Safely we may then conclude , that both to prevent pressure of the subjacent parts , and to facilitate the contraction of the Muscles themselves ; it was of absolute necessity , that the Originals of all muscles destined to the motion of Bones , especially great and heavy bones , should be elevated above their insertions . But Nature perhaps had yet another reason of this mechanick Artifice , which I conjecture to be this : Forasmuch as the use of all Muscles is to move the parts into which they are inserted , and that they cannot move those parts that stand in a direct Line with their Insertions , but by bringing them to make obtuse Angles with the Bone upon which they rest ; and that obtuse Angles cannot be made by contraction of the muscles , unless their Originals be higher than their Insertions , as was just now demonstrated ; therefore was it necessary they should be so framed : For where the Bone to be moved , is articulated in a direct Line with the Bone that remains quiet , as the Bones of the Limbs generally are , the movable Bone cannot possibly be moved , but it must make an Angle first more obtuse , and then less and less obtuse , until it come to a right Angle with the other Bone , that is the Hypomochlion or Rest. For the motion of a Bone made by contraction of a muscle , is but an Elevation or Translation of it from its former position in a right line with the superior Bone to which it is articulate , toward a perpendicular or right Angle with the same . And that Transition from a posture direct to a position rectangular , is made by Angles less and less obtuse successively betwixt the two Bones : And as for the elevation of a heavy Bone , by a muscle , in this manner ; that cannot be effected , where the force moving is either in a line parallel to , or lower than the Bone to be moved ( as hath been demonstrated . ) But where the movent is superior or higher , and by how much the higher the movent power is placed above the bone to be moved , by so much more easily is the motion performed ; as may be evinced by this mechanick Demonstration . Figure IV. Page 535 Let A B represent a Vectis or Leaver , C a weight hung at the end of it under A , B the fulciment or rest , D F a perpendicular Cord , and D G and D E two other Cords , but oblique . I say then , that the weight C , and the end of the Vectis A , are much more easily or with less force lifted up by the perpendicular Cord D F , than by either of the oblique Cords D G and D E : For since the power placed at E draws by the line E D , when the Vectis A B is pulled toward its fulciment B , part of the power is employed against the fulciment , the drawing of the oblique cord D E rather bringing the Vectis to bear against the Fulciment , than raising the weight C , and by consequence a great part of the force is spent in vain upon the Fulciment . But when the perpendicular Cord F D is pull'd , the whole force is employed only in raising of the weight ; and therefore by how much nearer to the perpendicular F , the points G and E are advanced ; by so much the more easily is the Vectis moved and the weight elevated : And on the contrary , by how much the farther they recede from the perpendicular toward a parallel with the Vectis , by so much the greater force is required to raise the weight ; because , in a position parallel , the Traction or Force is either directly from , or directly toward the Fulciment , and consequently can never raise the Vectis . Whence we may easily collect the Reason , why the Muscles generally have their Originals somewhat higher than their Insertions ; and why their motions are so much the stronger , by how much the higher their Heads are raised ; which is what was to be inquired . There is yet another mechanick artifice of Nature , both to facilitate and corroborate the force of Muscles , designed to effect strong motions or elevate weighty bones , and that is ( as hath been before hinted ) by prolonging their Tendons to greater length , than those of other Muscles : For although , to the sustaining of a weight upon a Vectis , it be all one whether the sustaining Cord be shorter or longer , provided the same degree of its advance toward a perpendicular be observed ; yet to the elevation of it by traction , the traction of a long oblique cord , is more powerful than that of a short oblique cord , which may be thus demonstrated . Figure V. Page 537 Imagine A B to represent a Vectis whose Fulciment is at A , and upon whose other end B a weight is hung ; C D a shorter oblique cord , and C E a longer in the same degree of Obliquity . Now to the sustaining of this weight at the end of the Vectis B , both these oblique cords are equally accommodate , as being equally remote from a parallel with the vectis , according to the Angle D C A , or E G A. But as to the raising of the same weight , there is need of a less force to draw by the longer cord E C , than to draw by the shorter cord D C ; for let the vectis be raised from B to G , and the point C to F , and then the cord D C will be transferred to D F , and the cord E C to E F ; and because the cord E F is more elevated over the vectis than the cord D F ( for the Angle E F A is greater than the Angle D F A ) by the proposition newly demonstrated , the weight will be raised with less force by the longer cord E F , than by the shorter cord D F ; and by consequence a Muscle with a longer Tendon , is more powerful to motion , than it would be if it had a shorter . Quod exat probandum . Again , as in the fuze of a Watch , the greatest strength of the Spring is made to work upon the shortest Vectis , and the least upon the longest , so as to adjust the whole traction to an equality ; so has Nature contrived the like artifice in the traction of Muscles upon two bones , with a turning joynt between their ends : For the two Bones , and the Muscles moving them , make a Triangle ; of which the acting muscle is the Basis , subtending the angular joynt ; and in the act of pulling the muscle is strongest , where the vectis is smallest , as lying most obliquely ; and vice versâ , when the muscle moving and the Bone moved , come to make a right Angle . These things being explained , I observe in the Third place , that no motion voluntary ( nor indeed involuntary ) can be effected , but the Figure , both of the muscle moving , and of the member moved , must be at the same time changed : The Reason of which Necessity may be drawn from that well known Proposition Geometrical of Euclid , Angulos aequales in triangulis , aequalia latera subtendunt . And because the altoration of Figure depends on the alteration of Angles , therefore must we admit a triple Figure , according to the triple difference of Angles ; namely a Right , in which neither of the two Antagonist or opposite muscles acteth ; an Obtuse , which being greater than a right , is consequently subtended by a greater side ; and an Acute , which being less than a right , requires a less subtending Line . Taking it then for granted , that in the middle Figure no motion can be made , because therein both the opposite Muscles are equally contracted by their Nixus or natural contraction : It remains to be inquired , how motion is effected in each of the extreme Figures . Now certainly this is done , when one of the two Antagonist Muscles is more contracted by the animal virtue or invigoration derived from the Brain , than the other is by its natural tendency to restitution ; whence it necessarily comes to pass , that the Figure of the prevailing muscle is at the same time altered , and the Angle of Articulation made more or less acute by that animal contraction ; and the segment detracted from the line , is in proportion to the space comprehended by the member moved . To explain this by an Example , Figure VI Page 540 Imagine the upper half of the Arm from the shoulder to the Elbow to be C A , and the Cubit or lower half from the Elbow to the Hand to be A B , the Muscle bending the Arm to be C F , and its Antagonist extending the Arm to be C G , and the Object to be apprehended by the Hand at D. Now I say , while these two opposite Muscles C F and C G , remain equally contracted , the Appetite must continue unsatisfied , i. e. the Hand cannot be brought up to lay hold of the Object desired , because the Figure of the Arm , or Angle of Articulation is kept unchanged . But that the Hand may be raised to the object at D , it is necessary that Angle be made more acute , by a farther contraction of the Muscle C F , and an extension of its Antagonist C G , in proportion to the motion of the Line B D ; and because that Angle is less than the former right Angle , therefore is the side subtending it also proportionately less or shorter , according to the Sixth Proposition of the First Book of Euclid . Again , Since the Line or Arch E F , is in proportion to the Arch D B ; it follows , that just so much is detracted from the length of the Muscle bending the Arm : Not that so much is really defalk'd from the body of the Muscle , because then the Muscle would be uncapable of Motion ever after ; but only that by the animal contraction of its Fibres it is made so much shorter , the Line C F that was before straight , being now changed into the Arch C H ; which is what I proposed to my self to prove . In the Fourth and last place I observe , that notwithstanding this alteration of the Figure of a Muscle by its contraction , yet is not the belly of it swell'd or augmented in bulk , as hath been believed by all , who held the Muscles when they act , to be inflated as it were by a Gale of Animal Spirits immitted into them from the Brain : But on the contrary rather lessened , as may appear from the Experiment described by Dr. Glisson ( de Ventric . & Intestin . cap. 8. numer . 9. ) which is this . Let there be provided a Tube of Glass , in length and bore capacious enough to hold a mans Arm ; and to the upper Orifice of it on the outside , affix another Tube of Glass of about an Inch Diameter in the Bore , shaped like a common Weather-glass , only with a wide mouth like a Tunnel ; so as the lower end may open into the greater Tube whose bottom is firmly stopp'd : Then having erected both Tubes , let a Man of strong and brawny Muscles thrust his whole naked Arm into the greater Tube up to the very Shoulder , about which the Orifice of the Glass must be closely luted , that no water may flow out that way . This done , let as much water be poured in by the Tunnel as both Glasses will receive , leaving only a little space at the top of the lesser , empty . In fine , let the man strongly vigorate all the Muscles of his Arm by clinching his Fist , and relax them again by turns ; and you shall observe that when he vigorates his Muscles , the water in the less Tube will sink somewhat lower , but rise again when he relaxes them : Whence it is evident , that the Muscles do not swell up , nor are inflated at the time of their invigoration or acting ; but rather are minorated and contracted in all their three dimensions , otherwise the water would at that time , not descend , but ascend in the Neck of the Tunnel . Good reason then had Dr. Lower to affirm , ( lib. de corde c. 2. pag. 76. ) Musculum in omni motu [ voluntario ] admodum arctè , & in sese introrsum constringi , minorari , & durescere ; adebque motu instationi prorsus contrario moveri . There is then ( it seems ) no necessity of any influx of Animal or Vital Spirits , to puff up the Muscles when they act ; but that their Fibres , invigorated by motion begun in the Brain , perform their work by simple abbreviation . But how this abbreviation can be made , without augmentation of the Muscles , either secundum latitudinem , or secundum profunditatem , or secundum utramque , in proportion thereunto ; seeing that all tensile Bodies have somewhat more of depth , or breadth , or both , when they are contracted , than when they suffer extension in length : This ( I confess ) I do no more comprehend , than I do how the Soul causeth the Abbreviation it self . To say with Dr. Glisson , Musculorum Fibres proprio vitali motu se abbreviare ; seems to me rather to farther intangle , than untie the Gordian knot ; amusing us with the Hypothesis of Natural Perception , and yet not solving the difficulty here pressing us , viz. how the Fibres lose somewhat of all their dimensions , in the act of their Contraction or Abbreviation . Leaving therefore this Problem to the consideration of wiser Heads than mine , and sitting down content with my Ignorance , lest I should farther expose it , I hast to a Conclusion . Reflecting upon what hath been said , we may easily understand , why most Muscles have their proper Antagonists , there being contrary motions to be successively performed by every Member , and it being impossible that one and the same Instrument should serve to both . Of these Antagonists , one bends the member by being it self contracted ; the other extends it again by being in like manner contracted successively , and both extend each other alternately . The contracted Muscle always acteth , the extended always suffers , and is transferred with the part moved . Some Muscles there are that have no Antagonists , because they need none , such are all circular Muscles , the reason of whose motion is very obvious : For , having circular Fibres , and all contraction being necessarily made secundum continuitatem lineae ; 't is most evident , that all Muscles of that figure close or draw together the parts to which they are affixt , by contraction of their Fibres toward their Centre , as is exemplified in the sphincters of the Bladder and Fundament , and in the shutter of the Eyelids . Nevertheless it may be inquired , why the Sphincters have no Antagonists , when to the clausor palpebrarum is opposed the Elevator ? The reason of which difference seems to be this , that the neck of the Bladder and the Fundament are forced open , not by Muscles , but by the excrements themselves , which being strongly pressed downward by the Midriff and the Muscles of the Abdomen , thrust open the sphincters by extending their circular Fibres from the Centre to the Circumference ; so that in strictness of truth , the excretion of the Urine and excrements of the Guts , is not an action altogether and immediately voluntary , as the closing of the Eye-lids is . And this is all the shortness of my time permits me to say at present , concerning the mediate and immediate Instruments of voluntary motion , concerning their common differences ; and concerning the reason and manner of their Actions in general . If in my devoir , to explain some few of the many Geometrical and Mechanical contrivances of Nature in the Fabrick of the Muscles , both to facilitate their motions and to augment their Forces ; I have not so well acquitted my self as the Argument deserves , and as ye expected ; I must intreat you to believe , that what I have adventur'd to deliver touching this Theme , extremely abstruse in it self , nor yet sufficiently handled by any man ; was designed only as an Essay , rather to excite the Industry , than to prescribe to the curiosity of the more perspicatious and more learned , to whose judgment mine shall be always ready to Conform . Mean while I content my self with this hope , that what hath now been said , may fuffice to raise up the minds of my Auditors to a just and pious admiration of the infinite Wisdom of our Omnipotent CREATOR , all whose works both in the greater World and in the less , the Body of Man , are most exactly adjusted by number , weight , and measure . How manifold are thy works , O Lord , in Wisdom hast thou made them all . Psal. 104. v. 24. ¶ EPIPHONEMA . I Nunc , quisquis Assecla es Epicuri , & dic , casu idfactum , quod non potuerit fieri sapientius : quodque si factum aliter fuisset , in hunc ipsum quo jam se habet modum , ut rectè haberet , necessariò restituendum fuisset . Scilicet , ut tibi casu factum detur , finge saltem fieri debuisse ex industria ; & agnosces fieri non potuisse praeclariùs ; agnoscendumque idcirco industrium potius Artificem , quàm temerariam fortunae manum . Quid de Humano ulteriùs corpore , quod jam dissectum hic , & ad intima usque vitae sensusque penetralia reclusum vidisti , dicam ? Cum illius ne una quidem pars sit , in qua ubi molem , substantiam , formam , connexionem , situm , ac officium simul usùmve consideraveris ; esse te captum mente oporteat , nisi extemplò agnoscas , nihil esse fortuitum , nihil non provisum , nihil non à solertissima sàpientissimaque mente destinatum . Ac si una quidem , alteravè aut paucae tantum essent partes , ex quibus foret corpus hominis ; tum esset fortassis minùs obstupescendum . At verò esse in ipso , ac una sub cute , varietatem propè infinitam partium inter se commistarum , durarum cum mollibus , solidarum cum cavis , quiescentium cum motis , fixarum cum fluentibus , excipientium cum subeuntibus , &c. ac nullam tamen nulli esse vel minimo obstaculo ; quinimò mutuas esse vices , coadjuvantesque operas ; & sic quidem ut si cujusquam magnitudinem augeas , vel imminuas , si figuram mutes , si cohaesionem solvas , si situm invertas , si in tota demum machina quid moveas : tum omnia pejùs habitura , vel etiam pessum ruitura sint ; quomodo id tandem stuporem non creet ? Horum equidem cogitatione adeò mihi confusum esse animum sentio , ut aequum sit , imo planè necessum hic conticescam . Mentis enim vocisque meae praecluditur usus . Nihil vos moramur , Patres conscripti ; discedite : FINIS . Books to be Sold by Robert Boulter , at the Turks-Head in Cornhil , Royal-Exchange . FOLIO . Rushworth's Collections . Baronage of England , in two parts , by William Dugdale , Esquire . Hooker's Ecclesiastical Policy . Cursellei Opera . Spiritual refinings , in two parts , by Anthony Burgess . — His 145 Sermons on Iohn 17. — His Treatise of Original Sin. Curia Politiae , or the Apologies of several Princes , justifying to the World their most eminent Actions by Reason and Policy . Reynold's Works . Sturmy's Magazin . Sixty five Sermons by the Right Reverend Father in God Ralph Brownrig , late Lord Bishop of Exeter , Published by William Martin M. A. sometime Preacher at the Rolls , in two Volumes . QUARTO . An Exposition with Practical Notes and Observations on the five last Chapters of the Book of Iob , by Ios. Caryl . Husbandry spiritualized , or the Heavenly use of Earthly things , by I. Flavel . A Treatise of the Sabbath , in four parts , by Mr. Dan. Cawdry . Vindiciae Legis , or a Vindication of the Law and Covenants from the Errors of Papists , Socinians , and Antinomians by Anthony Burgess . The Saints Everlasting Rest , or a Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints , in their enjoyment of God in Glory , by Richard Baxter . — His plain Scripture proof of Infant-Baptism . Thesaurus medicinae practicae , ex praestantissimorum tum Veterum tum Recentiorum Medicorum Observationibus , Consultationibus , Cunsiliis et Epistolis , summa diligentia collectus ordineque Alphabetico Aispositus , per Tho. Burnet . A Treatise of the right use of the Fathers , by Iohn Daily . Annotations on the Book of Ecclesiastes , by a Reverend Divine . Norwood's Works . Lightfoot in Lucam . Seamans Kalendar . The Doctrine of Justification by Faith , by Iohn Owen , D D. Man of Sin , or a Discourse of Popery ; wherein the numerous and monstrous Abominations in Doctrine and Practice of the Romish Church are by their own hands exposed to open sight , that the very Blind may see them . By no Roman , but a reformed Catholick . De Origine , Moribus & rebus Gestis Scotorum Libri decem , Authore Ioanne Leslaeo Episcopo Rossensi . Large OCTAVO . A Discourse of Growth in Grace , in sundry Sermons ; by Samuel Slater , late of St. Katherine's near the Tower. The Grounds of Art , teaching the perfect work and practice of Arithmetick , both in whole Numbers and Fractions , by R. Record . A Cloud of Witnesses , or Sufferers Mirrour ; made up of the Swanlike Songs , and other choice Passages of several Martyrs and Confessors , to the sixteenth Century , in their Treatises , Speeches and Prayers , by T. M. M. A. Norwood's Epitome . Philip's Manual . How 's Blessedness of the Righteous . Wilson of the Scripture . A Treatise of the Divine Promises in five Books , by Edw. Leigh , Esquire . The unreasonableness of Infidelity , in four parts , by R. Baxter . A Discourse of the State of Health in the Island of Iamaica , by Tho. Trapham , M. D. Coll. Med. Lond. Soc. Hon. Quakerism no Christianity clearly and abundantly proved out of the Writings of their chief Leaders , with a Key for the understanding their sense of their many usurped and unintelligible words , by Iohn Faldo . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Hesiodi ASCRAEI quae extant , Cum notis Cornelii Scrivelii . A Treatise of the Bulk and Selvedge of the World , wherein the Greatness , Littleness , and Lastingness of Bodies , are freely handled , with an Answer to Tentamina de Deo , by N. Fairfax , M. D. Small OCTAVO and DUODECIMO . Saint indeed , or the great Work of a Christian opened and pressed from Prov. 4. 23. by I. Flavell . Artificial Arithmetick in Decimals , shewing the Original , Ground , and Foundation thereof , by R. Iagar . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A32698-e1680 pag. 54. c. P. 55. 6. Stromat . lib. 1. p. 634. b. Nat. Hist. l. 29. c. 2. Stromat . l. 1. p. 322. Lib. 1. cap. 10. institutionum divi●●● . Lib. 2. Lib. 8. Lib. 4. c. 169. 1. Epidem . * Tertullianus ait , H●●opbilum plusquam septuaginta cadavera secuisse , & sape viva hominum corpera , & Galenus de eodem scribens , Herophilus ( inquit ) ad exquisitissimum anatomes 〈◊〉 gnitionem pervenit , ac majori ex parte , non in bruris , ut plerique solent ; sed in Hominil us ipsis periculum fecit . In Epistola Hippocratis ad Damagetum . Plin. lib. 8. cap. 16. Athenaeus lib. 9. cap. 13. * Serosi humoris iter ad renes , hactenus quasitum magis , quàm repertum arbitror : frustráque suisse omnes , qui Isthmum hunc fodere aggressi sunt , &c. Cl. Entius in Antidiatribe pag. 63 Notes for div A32698-e8900 In lib. de ovo incubato . In 〈◊〉 . Notes for div A32698-e19530 I. HUNGER . II. THIRST . III. The PERISTALTIC Motion of the Ventricle . IV. The RECEPTIVE power of the Ventricle . V : RETENTIVE faculty of the Stomach . VI. The CONCOCTIVE Faculty of the Stomach . VII . DISTRIBUTION of the Chyle . Notes for div A32698-e31510 Lib. de animae facaltat . cap. 26 Notes for div A32698-e49280 lib. de morb . agiosts par .