Part 2. and _Dr. ~Cockburn~’s Essays on Faith_, Part 1. Essay 5.

[b] _Ad hanc providentiam Naturæ tam diligentera ~[of which he had been before speaking]~ tamque solertem adjungi multa possunt, è quibus intelligatur, quantæ res hominibus à Deo, quamque eximiæ tributæ sunt: qui primùm eos humo excitaros, celsos & erectos constituit, ut Deorum cognitionem, cœlum intuentes, capere possunt. Sunt enim è terra homines non ut incolæ, atque habitatores, sed quasi spectatores superarum rerum, atque cœlestium, quarum spectaculum ad nullum aliud genus animantium pertinet._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. L. 2. c. 56.

[c] _Ut autem sapientissimum animalium est Homo, sic & Manus sunt organa sapienti animali convenientia. Non enim quia Manus habuit, propterea est sapientissimum, ut Anaxagoras dicebat; sed quia sapientissimum erat, propter hoc Manus habuit, ut rectissimè censuit Aristoteles. Non enim Manus ipse hominem artes docuerunt, sed Ratio. Manus autem ipsa sunt artium organa, ~&c.~_ Galen. de Us. Part. L. 1. c. 3. After which, in the rest of this first Book, and part of the second, he considers the Particulars of the _Hand_, in order to enquire, as he saith, ch. 5. _Num eam omnino Constitutionem habeas ~[manus]~ quâ meliorem aliam habere non potuit._

Of this Part, (and indeed of the other Parts of human Bodies) he gives so good an Account, that I confess I could not but admire the Skill of that ingenious and famed Heathen. For an Example, (because it is a little out of the Way,) I shall pitch upon his Account of the different Length of the Fingers, _L. 1. 2. 24._ The Reason of this Mechanism, he saith, is, That the Tops of the Fingers may come to an Equality, _cùm magnas aliquas moles in circuitu comprehendunt, & cùm in seipsis humidum vel parvum corpus continere conantur.——Apparent verò in unam circuli circumferentiam convenire Digiti quinque in actionibus hujusmodi maximè quando exquisitè sphæricum corpus comprehendunt._ And this Evenness of the Fingers Ends, in grasping sphærical, and other round Bodies, he truly enough saith, makes the Hold the firmer. And it seems a noble and pious Design he had in so strictly surveying the Parts of Man’s Body, which take in his own translated Words, _Cùm multa namque esset apud veteres, tam Medicos, quàm Philosophos de utilitate particularum dissensio (quidam enim corpora nostra nullius gratiâ esse facta existimant, nullâque omnino arte; alii autem & alicujus gratiâ, & artificiosè,——) primum quidem tantæ hujus dissensionis κριτήριον invenire studui: deinde verò & unam aliquam universalem methodum constituere, quâ singularum partium corporis, & eorum quæ illis accidunt utilitatem invenire possemus._ Ibid. cap. 8.

[d]

_Pronaque cum spectant animalia cætera terram,_ _Os Homini sublime dedit, cœlumque tueri_ _Jussit, & erectos ad sidera tollere vultus._

Ovid. Metam. L. 1. car. 84.

[e] If any should be so curious, to desire to know how far a Man’s Prospect reacheth, by Means of the Height of his Eye, supposing the Earth was an uninterrupted Globe; the Method is a common Case of right-angled plain Triangles, where two Sides, and an opposite Angle are given: Thus in Fig. 4. _A H B_ is the Surface, or a great Circle of the terraqueous Globe; _C_ the Center, _H C_ its Semidiameter, _E_ the _Height_ of the Eye; and foreasmuch as _H E_ is a Tangent, therefore the Angle at _H_ is a right Angle: So that there are given _H C_ 398,386 Miles, or 21034781 _English_ Feet, (according to _Book II. Chap. 2. Note (a)_;) _C E_ the same Length with the Height of the Eye, on the Mast of a Ship, or at only a Man’s Height, _&c._ added to it; and _E H C_ the opposite right Angle. By which three Parts given, it is easy to find all the other Parts of the Triangle. And first, the Angle at _C_, in order to find the Side _H E_, the Proportion is, As the Side _C E_, to the Angle at _H_; so the Side _H C_, to the Angle at _E_, which being substracted out of 90 _gr._ the Remainder is the Angle at _C_. And then, As the Angle at _E_, is to its opposite Side _H C_, or else as the Angle at _H_ is to its opposite Side _C E_; so the Angle at _C_, to its opposite Side _E H_, the visible Horizon. Or the Labour may be shortned, by adding together the Logarithm of the Sum of the two given Sides, and the Logarithm of their Difference; the half of which two Logarithms, is the Logarithm of the Side requir’d, nearly. For an Example, We will take the two Sides in Yards, by Reason scarce any Table of Logarithms will serve us farther. The Semidiameter of the Earth is 7011594 Yards; the Height of the Eye is two Yards more, the Sum of both Sides, is 14023190.

Logar. of which Sum is, 7,1468468 Logar. of two Yards (the Differ.) is, 0,3010300 --------- Sum of both Logar. 7,4478768 --------- The half Sum, 3,7239384

is the Logar. of 5296 Yards = three Miles, which is the Length of the Line _E H_, or Distance the Eye can reach at six Feet Height.

This would be the Distance, on a perfect Globe, did the visual Rays come to the Eye in a strait Line; but by Means of the Refractions of the Atmosphere, distant Objects on the Horizon, appear higher than really they are, and may be seen at a greater Distance, especially on the Sea; which is a Matter of great Use, especially to discover at Sea the Land, Rocks, _&c._ and it is a great Act of the divine Providence, in the Contrivance and Convenience of the Atmosphere, which by this Means enlargeth the visible Horizon, and is all one, as if the terraqueous Globe was much larger than really it is. As to the Height of the Apparent above the true Level, or how much distant Objects are rais’d by the Refractions, the ingenious and accurate Gentlemen of the _French Academy Royal_, have given us a Table in their _Measure of the Earth_, Art. 12.

[f] See _Book VI. Chap. 5. Note (g)._

[g] See _Book IV. Chap. 8. Note (c)._

[h] The Mechanism of the Foot, would appear to be wonderful, if I should descend to a Description of all its Parts; but that would be too long for these Notes; therefore a brief Account, (most of which I owe to the before-commended Mr. _Cheselden_,) may serve for a Sample: In the first Place, It is necessary the Foot should be concave, to enable us to stand firm, and that the Nerves and Blood-Vessels may be free from Compression when we stand or walk. In order hereunto, the long _Flexors_ of the Toes cross one another at the Bottom of the Foot, in the Form of a St. _Andrew_’s Cross, to incline the lesser Toes towards the great One, and the great One towards the lesser. The _short Flexors_ are chiefly concern’d in drawing the Toes towards the Heel. The _transversalis Pedis_ draws the Outsides of the Foot towards each other; and by being inserted into one of the _sesamoid_ Bones, of the great Toe, diverts the Power of the _abductor Muscle_, (falsly so call’d,) and makes it become a _Flexor_. And lastly, the _peronæus Longus_ runs round the outer Ankle, and obliquely forwards cross the Bottom of the Foot, and at once helps to extend the _Tarsus_, to constrict the Foot, and to direct the Power of the other _Extensors_ towards the Ball of the great Toe: Hence the Loss of the _great Toe_, is more than of all the other Toes. See also Mr. _Cowper_’s _Anat._ Tab. 28. _&c._

[i] It is very well worth while to compare here what _Borelli_ saith, _de motu Animal._ Par. 1. cap. 18. _De statione Animal._ Prop. 132, _&c._ To which I refer the Reader, it being too long to recite here.

[k] Borel. ibid. Prop. 142.

CHAP. III.

_Of the FIGURE and SHAPE of Man’s BODY._

The Figure and Shape of Man’s Body, is the most commodious that could possibly be invented for such an Animal; the most agreeable to his Motion, to his Labours, and all his Occasions. For had he been a rational Reptile, he could not have moved from Place to Place fast enough for his Business, nor indeed have done any almost. Had he been a rational Quadrupede, among other Things, he had lost the Benefit of his Hands, those noble Instruments of the most useful Performances of the Body. Had he been made a Bird, besides many other great Incoveniencies, those before-mentioned of his Flying would have been some. In a word, any other Shape of Body, but that which the All-wise Creator hath given Man, would have been as incommodious, as any Posture but that of erect; it would have rendered him more helpless, or have put it in his Power to have been more pernicious, or deprived him of Ten thousand Benefits, or Pleasures, or Conveniences, which his present Figure capacitates him for.

CHAP. IV.

_Of the STATURE and SIZE of Man’s BODY._

As in the Figure, so in the Stature and Size of Man’s Body, we have another manifest Indication of excellent Design. Not too Pygmean[a], nor too Gigantick[b], either of which Sizes would in some particular or other, have been incommodious to Himself, or to his Business, or to the rest of his Fellow-Creatures. Too Pygmean would have rendered him too puny a Lord of the Creation; too impotent and unfit to manage the inferiour Creatures, would have exposed him to the Assaults of the weakest Animals, to the ravening Appetite of voracious Birds, and have put him in the Way, and endangered his being trodden in the Dirt by the larger Animals. He would have been also too weak for his Business, unable to carry Burdens, and in a word, to transact the greater part of his Labours and Concerns.

And on the other hand, had Man’s Body been made too monstrously strong, too enormously Gigantick[c], it would have rendered him a dangerous Tyrant in the World, too strong[d] in some Respects, even for his own Kind, as well as the other Creatures. Locks and Doors might perhaps have been made of sufficient Strength to have barricaded our Houses; and Walls, and Ramparts might perhaps have been made strong enough to have fenced our Cities. But these Things could not have been without a great and inconvenient Expence of Room, Materials, and such Necessaries, as such vast Structures and Uses would have occasioned; more perhaps than the World could have afforded to all Ages and Places. But let us take the Descant of a good Naturalist and Physician on the Case[e]. “Had Man been a Dwarf (said he) he had scarce been a reasonable Creature. For he must then have had a Jolt Head; so there would not have been Body and Blood enough to supply his Brain with Spirits; or he must have had a small Head, answerable to his Body, and so there would not have been Brain enough for his Business—Or had the Species of Mankind been Gigantick, he could not have been so commodiously supplied with Food. For there would not have been Flesh enough of the best edible Beasts, to serve his Turn. And if Beasts had been made answerably bigger, there would not have been Grass enough.” And so he goeth on. And a little after, “There would not have been the same Use and Discovery of his Reason; in that he would have done many Things by mere Strength, for which he is now put to invent innumerable Engines—. Neither could he have used an Horse, nor divers other Creatures. But being of a middle Bulk, he is fitted to manage and use them all. For (saith he) no other cause can be aligned why a Man was not made five or ten Times bigger, but his Relation to the rest of the Universe.” Thus far our curious Author.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] What is here urged about the Size of Man’s Body, may answer one of _Lucretius_’s Reasons why _Nil ex nihilo gignitur_. His Argument is

_Denique cur Homines ramos natura parare_ _Non potuit, pedibus qui pontum per vada possent_ _Transire, & magnos manibus divellere monteis?_

Lucret. _L. 1. Carm. 200._

[b] _Haud facile fit ut quisquam & ingentes corporis vires, & ingenium subtile habeat._ Diodor. Sic. L. 17.

[c] Altho’ we read of _Giants_ before _Noah_’s Flood, _Gen._ vi. 4. and more plainly afterwards in _Numb._ xiii. 33. Yet there is great Reason to think the Size of Man was always the same from the Creation. For as to the _Nephilim_ or _Giants_, in _Gen._ vi. the Ancients vary about them; some taking them for great Atheists, and Monsters of Impiety, Rapine, Tyranny, and all Wickedness, as well as of monstrous Stature, according as indeed the _Hebrew_ Signification allows.

And as for the _Nephilim_ in _Numb._ xiii. which were evidently Men of a Gigantick Size, it must be considered, that it is very probable, the Fears and Discontentments of the Spies might add somewhat thereunto.

But be the Matter as it will, it is very manifest, that in both these Places, _Giants_ are spoken of as Rarities, and Wonders of the Age, not of the common Stature. And such Instances we have had in all Ages; excepting some fabulous Relations; such as I take to be that of _Theutobotchus_, who is said to have been dug up, _Anno_ 1613, and to have been higher than the Trophies, and 26 Feet long; and no better I suppose the Giants to have been, that _Ol. Magnus_ gives an Account of in his 5ᵗʰ Book, such as _Harthen_, and _Starchater_, among the Men; and among the Women, _reperta est_ (saith he) _puella——in capite vulnerata, ac mortua, induta chlamyde purpureâ, longitudinis cubitorum 50, latitudinis inter humeros quatuor._ Ol. Mag. Hist. L. 5. c. 2.

But as for the more credible Relations of _Goliath_ (_whose height was 6 Cubits and a Span_, 1 Sam. xvii. 4. which according to the late curious and learned _Lord Bishop of ~Peterborough~_ is somewhat above 11 Feet _English_, _vid._ Bishop _Cumberland of Jewish Weights and Measures_) of _Maximinus_ the Emperor, who was 9 Feet high, and others in _Augustus_, and other Reigns, of about the same Height: To which we may add the Dimensions of a _Skeleton_, dug up lately in the Place of a _Roman_ Camp near St. _Albans_, by an Urn inscribed, _Marcus Antoninus_; of which an Account is given by Mr. _Cheselden_, who judgeth by the Dimensions of the Bones, that the Person was 8 Foot high, _vid._ _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 333. These antique Examples and Relations, I say, we can match, yea, out-do, with modern Examples; of which we have divers in _J. Ludolph. Comment. in Hist. Æthiop._ L. 1. c. 2. §. 22. _Magus_, _Conringius_, Dr. _Hakewill_, and others. Which later relates from _Nannez_, of Porters and Archers belonging to the Emperor of _China_, of 15 Feet high; and others from _Purchas_, of 10 and 12 Feet high, and more. See the learned Author’s _Apolog._ p. 208.

These indeed exceed what I have seen in _England_; but in 1684, I my self measur’d an _Irish_ Youth, said to be not 19 Years old, who was 7 Feet near 8 Inches, and in 1697, a Woman who was 7 Feet 3 inches in Height.

But for the ordinary size of Mankind, in all Probability, it was always (as I said) the same, as may appear from the Monuments, Mummies, and other ancient Evidences to be seen at this Day. The most ancient Monument at this Day, I presume is that of _Cheops_, in the first and fairest Pyramid of _Ægypt_; which was, no doubt, made of Capacity every Way sufficient to hold the Body of so great a Person as was intended to be laid up in it. But this we find by the nice Measures of our curious Mr. _Greaves_, hardly to exceed our common Coffins. _The hollow Part within_ (saith he) _is in Length ~only~ 6,488 Feet, ~and~ in Breadth ~but~ 2,218 Feet: The Depth 2,860 Feet. A narrow space, yet large enough to contain a most potent and dreadful Monarch, being dead; to whom living, all ~Ægypt~ was too streight and narrow a Circuit. By these Dimensions, and by such other Observations, as have been taken by me from several embalmed Bodies in ~Ægypt~, we may conclude there is no decay in Nature (though the Question is as old as ~Homer~) but that the Men of this Age are of the same Stature they were near 3000 Years ago_, vid. _Greaves_ of the Pyr. in 1638, in Ray’s Collect. of _Trav._ Tom. 1. pag. 118.

To this more ancient, we may add others of a later Date. Of which take these, among others, from the curious and learned _Hakewill_. The Tombs at _Pisa_, that are some thousand Years old, are not longer than ours; so is _Athelstane_’s in _Malmesbury_-Church; so _Sehba_’s in St. _Paul_’s, of the Year 693; so _Etheldred_’s, &c. Apol. 216, _&c._

The same Evidence we have also from the Armour, Shields, Vessels, and other Utensils dug up at this Day. The Brass Helmet dug up at _Metaurum_, which was not doubted to have been left there at the _Overthrow of Asdrubal_, will fit one of our Men at this Day.

Nay, besides all this, probably we have some more certain Evidence. _Augustus_ was 5 Foot 9 Inches high, which was the just Measure of our famous Queen _Elizabeth_, who exceeded his Height 2 Inches, if proper Allowance be made for the Difference between the _Roman_ and our Foot. _Vid._ _Hakew. ib. p. 215._

[d] To the Stature of Men in the foregoing Note, we may add some Remarks about their unusual _Strength_. That of _Sampson_ (who is not said to have exceeded other Men in Stature as he did in Strength) is well known. So of old, _Hector_, _Diomedes_, _Hercules_, and _Ajax_ are famed; and since them many others; for which I shall seek no farther than the before commended _Hakewill_, who by his great and curious Learning, hath often most of the Examples that are to be met with on all his Subjects he undertakes. Of the After-Ages he names _C. Marius_, _Maximinus_, _Aurelian_, _Scanderberge_, _Bardesin_, _Tamerlane_, _Siska_, and _Hunniades_. Anno 1529, _Klunher_, Provost of the great Church at _Misnia_, carry’d a Pipe of Wine out of the Cellar, and laid it in the Cart. _Mayolus_ saw one hold a Marble Pillar in his Hand 3 Foot long, and 1 Foot diameter, which he toss’d up in the Air, and catched again, as if it were a Ball. Another of _Mantua_, and a little Man, named _Rodamas_, could break a Cable, _&c._ _Ernando Burg_, fetched up Stairs an Ass laden with Wood, and threw both into the Fire. At _Constantinople_, _Anno 1582_, one lifted a Piece of Wood, that twelve Men could scarce raise: then lying along, he bare a Stone that ten Men could but just roll to him. _G._ of _Fronsberge_, Baron _Mindlehaim_, could raise a Man off his Seat, with only his middle Finger; stop an Horse in his full Career; and shove a Cannon out of its Place. _Cardan_ saw a Man dance with two Men in his Arms, two on his Shoulders, and one on his Neck. _Patacoua_, Captain of the _Cossacks_, could tear an Horse-Shoe (and if I mistake not, the same is reported of the present King _Augustus_ of _Poland_.) A Gigantick Woman of the _Netherlands_ could lift a Barrel of _Hamburgh_ Beer. Mr. _Carew_ had a Tenant that could carry a But’s Length, 6 Bushel of Wheaten Meal (of 15 Gallon Measure) with the Lubber, the Miller of 24 Years of Age, on the top of it. And _J. Roman_ of the same County, could carry the Carcass of an Ox. Vid. _Hakewill_, ib. p. 238.

_Viros aliquot moderna memoria tam à mineralibus, quàm aliis Seuthia & Gothia provinciis adducere congruis, tantâ fortitudine præditos, ut quisque eorum in humeros sublevatum Equum, vel Bovem maximum, imò vas ferri 600, 800, aut 1000 librarum (quale & alique Puellæ levare possunt) ad plura stadia portaret._ Ol. Mag. ubi supr.

[e] Grew’s _Cosmol. Sacr._ B. 1. ch. 5. §. 25.

CHAP. V.

_Of the STRUCTURE of the PARTS of Man’s Body._

Having thus taken a View of the Posture, Shape, and Size of Man’s Body, let us in this Chapter survey the Structure of its Parts. But here we have so large a Prospect, that it would be endless to proceed upon Particulars. It must suffice therefore to take Notice, in general only, how artificially every Part of our Body is made. No Botch, no Blunder, no unnecessary _Apparatus_ (or in other Words) no Signs of Chance[a]; but every Thing curious, orderly, and performed in the shortest and best Method, and adapted to the most compendious Use. What one Part is there throughout the whole Body, but what is composed of the fittest Matter for that Part; made of the most proper Strength and Texture; shaped in the compleatest Form; and in a word, accouter’d with every Thing necessary for its Motion, Office, Nourishment, Guard, and what not! What so commodious a Structure and Texture could have been given to the Bones, for Instance, to make them firm and strong, and withal light, as that which every Bone in the Body hath? Who could have shaped them so nicely to every Use, and adapted them to every Part, made them of such just Lengths, given them such due Sizes and Shapes, chanelled, hollowed, headed, lubricated, and every other Thing ministring, in the best and most compendious manner to their several Places and Uses? What a glorious Collection and Combination have we also of the most exquisite Workmanship and Contrivance in the Eye, in the Ear, in the Hand[b], in the Foot[c], in the Lungs, and other Parts already mention’d? What an Abridgment of Art, what a Variety of Uses[d], hath Nature laid upon that one Member of the Tongue, the grand Instrument of Taste, the faithful Judge, the Centinel, the Watchman of all our Nourishment, the artful Modulator of our Voice, the necessary Servant of Mastication, Swallowing, Sucking, and a great deal besides? But I must desist from proceeding upon Particulars, finding I am fallen upon what I propos’d to avoid.

And therefore for a Close of this Chapter, I shall only add Part of a Letter I receiv’d from the before-commended very curious and ingenious Physician Dr. _Tancred Robinson_, _What_, (saith he,) _can possibly be better contriv’d for animal Motion and Life, than the quick Circulation of the Blood and Fluids, which run out of Sight in capillary Vessels, and very minute Ducts, without Impediment, (except in some Diseases,) being all directed to their peculiar Glands and Chanels, for the different Secretion, sensible and insensible; whereof the last is far the greatest in Quantity and Effects, as to Health and Sickness, acute Distempers frequently arising from a Diminution of Transpiration, through the cutaneous Chimneys, and some chronical Ones from an Augmentation: Whereas Obstructions in the Liver, Pancreas, and other Glands, may only cause a Schirrus, a Jaundice, an Ague, a Dropsy, or other slow Diseases. So an Increase of that Secretion may accompany the general Colliquations, as in Fluxes, hectick Sweats and Coughs, Diabetes, and other Consumptions. What a mighty Contrivance is there to preserve these due Secretions from the Blood, (on which Life so much depends,) by frequent Attritions, and Communications of the Fluids in their Passage through the Heart, the Lungs, and the whole System of the Muscles? What Mæanders and Contortions of Vessels, in the Organs of Separation? And, What a Concourse of elastick Bodies from the Air, to supply the Springs, and continual Motions of some Parts, not only in Sleep, and Rest; but in long violent Exercises of the Muscles? Whose Force drive the Fluids round in a wonderful rapid Circulation through the minutest Tubes, assisted by the constant Pabulum of the Atmosphere, and their own elastick Fibres, which impress that Velocity on the Fluids._

_Now I have mention’d some Uses of the Air, in carrying on several Functions in animal Bodies; I may add the Share it hath in all the Digestions of the solid and fluid Parts. For when this System of Air comes, by divine Permittance, to be corrupted with poysonous, acrimonious Steams, either from the Earth, from Merchandise, or infected Bodies, What Havock is made in all the Operations of living Creatures? The Parts gangrene, and mortify under Carbuncles, and other Tokens: Indeed, the whole animal Oeconomy is ruin’d; of such Importance is the Air to all the parts of it._ Thus my learned Friend.

[Illustration]

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It is manifestly an Argument of Design, that in the Bodies of different Animals, there is an Agreement of the Parts, so far as the Occasions and Offices agree, but a difference of those, where there is a difference of these. In an Human Body are many Parts agreeing with those of a Dog for Instance; but in his Forehead, Fingers, Hand, Instruments of Speech, and many other Parts, there are Muscles, and other Members which are not in a Dog. And so contrariwise in a Dog, which is not in a Man. If the Reader is minded to see what particular Muscles are in a Man, that are not in a Dog; or in a Dog that are not in an Humane Body, let him consult the curious and accurate Anatomist Dr. _Douglass_’s _Myogr. compar._

[b] _Galen_ having described the Muscles, Tendons, and other Parts of the Fingers, and their Motions, cries out, _Considera igitur etiam hìc mirabilem CREATORIS sapientiam!_ De Us. Part. L. 1. c. 18.

[c] And not only in the Hand, but in his Account of the Foot (_L. 3._) he frequently takes notice of what he calls _Artem, Providentiam & Sapientiam Conditoris_. As Ch. 13. _An igitur non equum est hìc quoque admirari Providentiam Conditoris, qui ad utrumque usum, eisi certè contrarium, exactè convenientes & consentientes invicem fabricatus est totius membri ~[tibiæ]~ particulas?_ And at the end of the Chap. _Quòd si omnia quæ ipsarum sunt partium mente immutaverimus, neque invenerimus positionem aliam meliorem eâ quam nunc sortita sunt, neque figuram, neque magnitudinem, neque connexionem, neque (ut paucis omnia complectar) aliud quidquam eorum, quæ corporibus necessariò insunt, perfectissimam pronunciare oportet, & undique recte constitutam præsentem ejus constructionem._ The like also concludes, Ch. 15.

[d] _At enim Opisicis indistrii maximum est indicium (quemadmodum antè sapenumerò jam diximus) iis quæ ad alium usum fuerunt comparata, ad alias quoque utilitates abuti, neque laborare ut singulis utilitatibus singulas faciat proprius particulas._ Galen. ub. supr. L. 9. c. 5.

CHAP. VI.

_Of the PLACING the PARTS of Man’s Body._

In this Chapter, I propose to consider the Lodgment of the curious Parts of Man’s Body, which is no less admirable than the Parts themselves, all set in the most convenient Places of the Body, to minister to their own several Uses and Purposes, and assist, and mutually to help one another. Where could those faithful Watchmen the Eye, the Ear, the Tongue, be so commodiously plac’d, as in the upper Part of the Building? Where could we throughout the Body find so proper a Part to lodge four of the five Senses, as in the Head[a], near the Brain[b], the common Sensory, a Place well guarded, and of little other Use than to be a Seat to those Senses? And, How could we lodge the fifth Sense, that of _Touching_ otherwise[c], than to disperse it to all Parts of the Body? Where could we plant the Hand[d], but just where it is, to be ready at every Turn, on all Occasions of Help and Defence, of Motion, Action, and every of its useful Services? Where could we set the Legs and Feet, but where they are, to bear up, and handsomely to carry about the Body? Where could we lodge the Heart, to labour about the whole Mass of Blood, but in, or near the Center of the Body[e]? Where could we find Room for that noble Engine to play freely in? Where could we so well guard it against external Harms, as it is in that very Place in which it is lodg’d and secur’d? Where could we more commodiously Place, than in the Thorax and Belly, the useful _Viscera_ of those Parts, so as not to swag, and jog, and over-set the Body, and yet to minister so harmoniously, as they do, to all the several Uses of Concoction, Sanguification, the Separation of various Ferments from the Blood, for the great Uses of Nature, and to make Discharges of what is useless, or would be burdensome or pernicious to the Body[f]? How could we plant the curious and great Variety of Bones, and of Muscles, of all Sorts and Sizes, necessary, as I have said, to the Support, and every Motion of the Body? Where could we lodge all the Arteries and Veins, to convey Nourishment; and the Nerves, Sensation throughout the Body? Where, I say, could we lodge all these Implements of the Body, to perform their several Offices? How could we secure and guard them so well, as in the very Places, and in the self same Manner in which they are already plac’d in the Body? And lastly, to name no more, What Covering, what Fence could we find out for the whole Body, better than that of Nature’s own providing, the Skin[g]? How could we shape it to, or brace it about every Part better, either for Convenience or Ornament? What better Texture could we give it, which although less obdurate and firm, than that of some other Animals; yet is so much the more sensible of every touch, and more compliant with every Motion? And being easily defensible by the Power of Man’s Reason and Art, is therefore much the properest Tegument for a reasonable Creature.

[Illustration]

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Sensus, interpretes ac nuntii rerum, in capite, tanquam in arce, mirificè ad usus necessarios & facti, & collocati sunt. Nam oculi tanquam speculatores, altissimum locum obtinent; ex quo plurima conspicientes, fungantur suo munere. Et aures cum sonum recipere debeant, qui naturâ in sublime fertur; rectè in illis corporum partibus collocata sunt._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. L. 2. c. 56. ubi plura de cæteris Sensibus.

[b] _Galen_ well observes, that the Nerves ministring to Motion, are hard and firm, to be less subject to Injury; but those ministring to Sense, are soft and tender; and that for this Reason it is, that four of the five Senses are lodg’d so near the Brain, _viz._ partly to partake of the Brain’s Softness and Tenderness, and partly for the Sake of the strong Guard of the Skull. Vid. _Gal. de Us. Part._ L. 8. c. 5. 6.

[c] See _Book IV. Chap. 6. Note (c)._

[d] _Quàm verò aptas, quamque multarum artium ministras Manus natura homini dedit?_ The Particulars of which, enumerated by him, see in _Cic. ubi supr._ c. 60.

[e] See _Book VI. Chap. 5._

[f] _Ut in ædificiis Architecti avertunt ab oculis & naribus dominorum ea, quæ profluentia necessariò tetri essent aliquid habitura; sic natura res similes (scil. excrementa) procul amandavit à sensibus._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. L. 2. c. 56.

[g] Compare here _Galen_’s Observations _de Us. Part._ L. 11. c. 15. Also _L. 2. c. 6._ See also _Cowper. Anat._ where in Tab. 4. are very elegant Cuts of the Skin in divers Parts of the Body, drawn from microscopical Views; as also of the _papillæ Pyramidales_, the _sudoriferous Glands_ and Vessels, the _Hairs_, &c.

CHAP. VII.

_Of the PROVISION in Man’s Body against EVILS._

Having taking a transient View of the Structure, and Lodgment of the Parts of human Bodies; let us next consider the admirable Provision that is made throughout Man’s Body, to stave off Evils, and to discharge[a] them when befallen. For the Prevention of Evils, we may take the Instances already given, of the Situation of those faithful Sentinels, the Eye, the Ear, and Tongue, in the superiour Part of the Body, the better to descry Dangers at a Distance, and to call out presently for Help. And how well situated is the Hand to be a sure and ready Guard to the Body, as well as the faithful Performer of most of its Services? The Brain, the Nerves, the Arteries, the Heart[b], the Lungs; and in a Word, all the principal Parts, how well are they barricaded, either with strong Bones, or deep Lodgments in the Flesh, or some such the wisest, and fittest Method, most agreeable to the Office and Action of the Part? Besides which, for greater Precaution, and a farther Security, what an incomparable Provision hath the infinite Contriver of Man’s Body made for the Loss of, or any Defect in some of the Parts we can least spare, by doubling them? By giving us two Eyes, two Ears, two Hands, two Kidneys, two Lobes of the Lungs, Pairs of the Nerves, and many Ramifications of the Arteries and Veins in the fleshy Parts, that there may not be a Defect of Nourishment of the Parts, in Cases of Amputation, or Wounds, or Ruptures of any of the Vessels.

And as Man’s Body is admirably contriv’d, and made to prevent Evils; so no less Art and Caution hath been us’d to get rid of them, when they do happen. When by any Misfortune, Wounds or Hurts do befal; or when by our own wicked Fooleries and Vices, we pull down Diseases and Mischiefs upon our selves, what Emunctories[c], what admirable Passages[d], are dispers’d throughout the Body; what incomparable Methods doth Nature take[e]; what vigorous Efforts is she enabled to make, to discharge the peccant Humours, to correct the morbifick Matter; and in a Word, to set all Things right again? But here we had best take the Advice of a learned Physician in the Case: “The Body, (saith he,) is so contriv’d, as to be well enough secur’d against the Mutations in the Air, and the lesser Errors we daily run upon; did we not in the Excesses of Eating, Drinking, Thinking, Loving, Hating, or some other Folly, let in the Enemy, or lay violent Hands upon our selves. Nor is the Body fitted only to prevent; but also to cure, or mitigate Diseases, when by these Follies brought upon us. In most Wounds, if kept clean, and from the Air,——the Flesh will glew together, with its own native Balm. Broken Bones are cemented with the _Callus_, which themselves help to make”. And so he goes on with ample Instances in this Matter, too many to be here specify’d[f]. Among which he instanceth in the Distempers of our Bodies, shewing that even many of them are highly serviceable to the Discharge of malignant Humours, and preventing greater Evils.

And no less kind than admirable is this Contrivance of Man’s Body, that even its Distempers should many Times be its Cure[g]; that when the Enemy lies lurking within to destroy us, there should be such a Reluctancy, and all Nature excited with its utmost Vigour to expel him thence. To which Purpose, even Pain it self is of great and excellent Use, not only in giving us Notice of the Presence of the Enemy, but by exciting us to use our utmost Diligence and Skill to root out so troublesome and destructive a Companion.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] One of Nature’s most constant Methods here, is by the _Glands_, and the _Secretions_ made by them; the Particulars of which being too long for these Notes, I shall refer to the modern Anatomists, who have written on these Subjects; and indeed, who are the only Men that have done it tolerably: Particularly, our learned Drs. _Cockburn_, _Keil_, _Morland_, and others at Home and Abroad: An Abridgment of whose Opinions and Observations, for the Reader’s Ease, may be met with in Dr. _Harris_’s _Lex. Tech._ Vol. 2. under the Words _Glands_, and _Animal Secretion_.

[b] In Man, and most other Animals, the Heart hath the Guard of Bones; but in the _Lamprey_, which hath no Bones, (no not so much as a Back-bone,) _the Heart is very strangely secur’d, and lies immur’d, or capsulated in a Cartilage, or grisly Substance, which includes the Heart, and its Auricle, as the Skull——doth the Brain in other Animals_. _Powers_ Micros. Obser. 22.

[c] _Here ~[from the Pustules he observ’d in Monomotapa]~ were Grounds to admire the Contrivance of our Blood, which on some Occasions, so soon as any Thing destructive to the Constitution of it, comes into it, immediately by an intestine Commotion, endeavoureth to thrust it forth, and is not only freed from the new Guest; but sometimes what likewise may have lain lurking therein——for a great while. And from hence it comes to pass, that most Part of Medicines, when duly administred, are not only sent out of the body themselves; but likewise great Quantities of morbifick Matter: As in Salivation_, &c. Dr. _Sloane_’s Voy. to _Jamaica_, p. 25.

[d] _Valsalva_ discover’d some Passages into the Region of the _Ear-drum_, of mighty Use, (among others,) to make Discharges of Bruises, Imposthumes, or any purulent, or morbifick Matter from the Brain, and Parts of the Head. Of which he gives two Examples: One, a Person, who from a Blow on his Head, had dismal Pains therein, grew Speechless, and lay under an absolute Suppression and Decay of his Strength; but found certain Relief, whenever he had a Flux of Blood, or purulent Matter out of his Ear; which after his Death _Valsalva_ discover’d, was through those Passages.

The other was an _apoplectical Case_, wherein he found a large Quantity of extravasated Blood, making Way from the Ventricles of the Brain, through those same Passages. _Valsal. de Aure hum._ c. 2. §. 14. and c. 5. §. 8.

[e] _Hippocrates Lib. de Alimentis_, takes notice of the Sagacity of Nature, in finding out Methods and Passages for the discharging Things offensive to the Body, of which the late learned and ingenious Bishop of _Clogher_, in _Ireland_, (_Boyle_,) gave this remarkable Instance, to my very curious and ingenious Neighbour and Friend, _D’Acre Barret_, Esq; _viz._ That in the Plague Year, a Gentleman at the University, had a large Plague Sore gather’d under his Arm, which, when they expected it would have broken, discharg’d it self by a more than ordinary large and fœtid Stool; the Sore having no other Vent for it, and immediately becoming sound and well thereon.

Like to which, is the Story of _Jos. Lazonius_, of a Soldier of thirty five Years of Age, who had a Swelling in his right Hip, accompany’d with great Pain, _&c._ By the Use of emollient Medicines, having ripen’d the Sore, the Surgeon intended the next Day to have open’d it; but about Midnight, the Patient having great Provocations to stool, disburthen’d himself three Times; immediately upon which, both the Tumor and Pain ceas’d, and thereby disappointed the Surgeon’s Intentions. _Ephem. Germ._ Anno 1690. Obs. 49. More such Instances we find of Mr. _Tonges_ in _Philos. Transact._ Nᵒ. 323. But indeed there are so many Examples of this Nature in our _Phil. Trans._ in the _Ephem. German. Tho. Bartholine_, _Rhodius_, _Sennertus_, _Hildanus_, &c. that it would be endless to recount them. Some have swallow’d Knives, Bodkins, Needles and Pins, Bullets, Pebbles, and twenty other such Things as could not find a Passage the ordinary Way, but have met with an _Exit_ through the Bladder, or some other Way of Nature’s own providing. But passing over many Particulars, I shall only give one instance more, because it may be a good Caution to some Persons, that these Papers may probably fall into the Hands of; and that is, The Danger of swallowing _Plum-stones_, _Prune-stones_, &c. Sir _Francis Butler_’s Lady had many _Prune-stones_ that made Way through an Abscess near her Navel. _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 165. where are other such like Examples. More also may be found in Nᵒ. 282, 304, _&c._ And at this Day, a young Man, living not far off me, laboureth under very troublesome and dangerous Symptoms, from the Stones of _Sloes_ and _Bullace_, which he swallow’d eight or ten Years ago.

[f] _~Grew~’s Cosmol._ §. 28. 29.

[g] _Nor are Diseases themselves useless: For the Blood in a Fever, if well govern’d, like Wine upon the Fret, dischargeth it self of all heterogeneous Mixtures; and Nature, the Disease, and Remedies, clean all the Rooms of the House; whereby that which threatens Death, tends, in Conclusion, to the prolonging of Life._ Grew ubi supr. §. 52.

And as Diseases minister sometimes to Health; so to other good Uses in the Body, such as quickning the Senses: Of which take these Instances relating to the Hearing and Sight.

_A very ingenious Physician falling into an odd Kind of Fever, had his Sense of Hearing thereby made so very nice and tender, that he very plainly heard soft Whispers, that were made at a considerable Distance off, and which were not in the least perceiv’d by the Bystanders, nor would have been by him before his Sickness._

_A Gentleman of eminent Parts and Note, during a Distemper he had in his Eyes, had his Organs of Sight brought to be so tender, that both his Friends, and himself have assur’d me, that when he wak’d in the Night, he could for a while plainly see and distinguish Colours, as well as other Objects, discernible by the Eye, as was more than once try’d._ Boyl. deter. nat. of Effluv. ch. 4.

_~Daniel Fraser~——continu’d Deaf and Dumb from his Birth, till the 17ᵗʰ Year of his Age——After his Recovery from a Fever, he perceiv’d a Motion in his Brain, which was very uneasy to him; and afterwards he began to hear, and in Process of Time, to understand Speech, ~&c.~_ Vid. Philos. Trans. Nᵒ. 312.

CHAP. VIII.

_Of the ~Consent~ between the PARTS of Man’s Body._

It is an admirable Provision the merciful Creator hath made for the Good of Man’s Body, by the Consent and Harmony between the Parts thereof: Of which let us take St. _Paul_’s Description, in 1 _Cor._ xii. 8. _But now hath God set the Members, every one of them in the Body, as it hath pleas’d him._ And (℣. 21) _The Eye cannot say unto the Hand, I have no need of thee: Nor again, the Head to the Feet, I have no need of you._ But such is the Consent of all the Parts, or as the Apostle wordeth it, _God hath so temper’d the Body together, that the Members should have the same Care one for another_, ℣. 25. So that _whether one Member suffer, all the Members suffer with it; or one Member be honoured_, (or affected with any Good,) _all the Members rejoyce_, [and sympathize] _with it_, ℣. 26.

This mutual Accord, Consent and Sympathy of the Members, there is no Reason to doubt[a], is made by the Commerce of the Nerves[b], and their artificial Positions, and curious Ramifications throughout the whole Body, which is admirable and incomparable, and might deserve a Place in this Survey, as greatly, and manifestly setting forth the Wisdom and Benignity of the great Creator; but that to give a Description thereof from the Origin of the Nerves, in the _Brain_, the _Cerebellum_ and _Spine_, and so through every Part of the Body, would be tedious, and intrench too much upon the Anatomist’s Province: And therefore one Instance shall suffice for a Sample of the Whole; and that shall be, (what was promis’d before[c]), the great Sympathy occasion’d by the _fifth Pair_ of Nerves; which I chuse to instance in, rather than the _Par vagum_, or any other of the Nerves; because although we may have less variety of noble Contrivance and Art, than in that Pair; yet we shall find enough for our Purpose, and which may be dispatch’d in fewer Words. Now this _fifth Conjugation_ of _Nerves_, is branch’d to the Ball, the Muscles, and Glands of the Eye; to the Ear; to the Jaws, the Gums, and Teeth; to the Muscles of the Lips[d]; to the Tonsils, the Palate, the Tongue, and the Parts of the Mouth; to the _Præcordia_ also, in some Measure, by inosculating with one of its Nerves; and lastly, to the Muscles of the Face, particularly the Cheeks, whose sanguiferous Vessels it twists about.

From hence it comes to pass, that there is a great Consent and Sympathy[e] between these Parts; so that a gustable Thing seen or smelt, excites the Appetite, and affects the Glands and Parts of the Mouth; that a Thing seen or heard, that is shameful, affects the Cheeks with modest Blushes; but on the contrary, if it pleases and tickles the Fancy, that it affects the _Præcordia_, and Muscles of the Mouth and Face with Laughter; but a Thing causing Sadness and Melancholy, doth accordingly exert it self upon the _Præcordia_, and demonstrate it self by causing the Glands of the Eyes to emit Tears[f], and the Muscles of the Face to put on the sorrowful Aspect of Crying. Hence also that torvous sour Look produc’d by Anger and Hatred: And that gay and pleasing Countenance accompanying Love and Hope. And in short, it is by Means of this Communication of the Nerves, that whatever affects the Soul, is demonstrated, (whether we will or no,) by a consentaneous Disposition of the _Præcordia_ within, and a suitable Configuration of the Muscles and Parts of the Face without. And an admirable Contrivance of the great GOD of _Nature_ this is; That as a Face is given to Man, and as _Pliny_ saith[g], to Man alone of all Creatures; so it should be, (as he observes,) _the Index of Sorrow and Chearfulness, of Compassion and Severity. In its ascending Part is the Brow, and therein a Part of the Mind too. Therewith we deny, therewith we consent. With this it is we shew our Pride, which hath its Source in another Place; but here its Seat: In the Heart it hath its Birth; but here it abides and dwells; and that because it could find no other Part throughout the Body higher, or more craggy[h], where it might reside alone._

Thus I have dispatch’d what I shall remark concerning the Soul and Body of Man. There are divers other Things, which well deserve a Place in this Survey; and these that I have taken Notice of, deserv’d to have been enlarg’d upon: But what hath been said, may suffice for a Taste and Sample of this admirable Piece of God’s Handy-work; at least serve as a Supplement to what others have said before me. For which Reason I have endeavour’d to say as little wittingly as I could, of what they have taken Notice of, except where the Thread of my Discourse laid a Necessity upon me.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] See _Book 4. Chap. 8._

[b] _Tria proposita ipsi Naturæ in Nervorum distributione fuerunt. 1. Ut sensoriis instrumentis Sensum impertiret. 2. Ut motoriis Motum. 3. Ut omnibus aliis [partibus] daret, ut quæ si dolorem adferrent, dignoscerent._ And afterwards, _Si quis in dissectionibus spectavit, consideravitque justéne, an secus Natura Nervos non eâdem mensurâ omnibus partibus distribuerit, sed aliis quidem liberaliùs, aliis verò parciùs, eadem cum Hippocrate, velit nolit, de Naturâ omnino pronunciabit, quod ea scilicet sagax, justa, artificiosa, animaliumque provida est._ Galen. de Us. Part. L. 5. c. 9.

[c] _Book 4. Chap. 5._

[d] Dr. _Willis_ gives the Reason, _cur mutua Amasiorum oscula labiis impressa, tum præcordia, tum genitalia afficiendo, amorem ac libidinem tam facilè irritant_, to be from the Consent of those Parts, by the Branches of this fifth Pair. _Nerv. Deser. c. 22._

And Dr. _Sachs_ judges it to be from the Consent of the _Labia Oris cum Labiis Uteri_, that in _April 1669_, a certain breeding Lady, being affrighted with seeing one that had scabby Lips, which they told her were occasion’d by a pestilential Fever, had such like Pustules brake out in the _Labia Uteri_. Ephem. Germ. T. 1. Obs. 20.

[e] Consult _Willis ubi suprà_.

[f] Tears serve not only to moisten the Eye, to clean and brighten the _Cornea_, and to express our Grief; but also to alleviate it, according to that of _Ulysses_ to _Andromache_, in _Seneca_’s _Troas_, ℣. 762.

_Tempus moramque dabimus, arbitrio tuo_ _Implere lacrymis: Fletus ærumnas levat._

[g] _Plin._ Nat. Hist. L. 11. c. 37.

[h] _Nihil altius simul abruptiusque invenit._

CHAP. IX.

_Of the Variety of Mens FACES, VOICES, and HAND-WRITING._

Here I would have put an End to my Observations relating to Man; but that there are three Things so expressly declaring the Divine Management and Concurrence, that I shall just mention them, although taken Notice of more amply by others; and that is, The great Variety throughout the World of Mens Faces[a], Voices[b], and Hand-writing. Had Man’s Body been made according to any of the atheistical Schemes, or any other Method than that of the infinite Lord of the World, this wise Variety would never have been: But Mens Faces would have been cast in the same, or not a very different Mould, their Organs of Speech would have sounded the same, or not so great a Variety of Notes; and the same Structure of Muscles and Nerves, would have given the Hand the same Direction in Writing. And in this Case, what Confusion, what Disturbance, what Mischiefs would the World eternally have lain under? No Security could have been to our Persons; no Certainty, no Enjoyment of our Possessions[c]; no Justice between Man and Man; no Distinction between Good and Bad, between Friends and Foes, between Father and Child, Husband and Wife, Male or Female; but all would have been turn’d topsey-turvey, by being expos’d to the Malice of the Envious and Ill-natur’d, to the Fraud and Violence of Knaves and Robbers, to the Forgeries of the crafty Cheat, to the Lusts of the Effeminate and Debauch’d, and what not! Our Courts of Justice[d], can abundantly testify the dire Effects of mistaking Men’s Faces, of counterfeiting their Hands, and forging Writings. But now, as the infinitely wise Creator and Ruler hath order’d the Matter, every Man’s Face can distinguish him in the Light, and his Voice in the Dark; his Hand-writing can speak for him though absent, and be his Witness, and secure his Contracts in future Generations. A manifest, as well as admirable Indication of the divine Super-intendence and Management[e].

FOOTNOTES:

[a] If the Reader hath a Mind to see Examples of Men’s Likeness, he may consult _Valer. Maximus_, (L. 9. c. 14.) concerning the Likeness of _Pompey_ the Great, and _Vibius_ and _Publicius Libertinus_; as also of _Pompey_ the Father, who got the Name of _Coquus_, he being like _Menogenes_ the Cook; with divers others.

[b] As the Difference of Tone makes a Difference between every Man’s Voice, of the same Country, yea, Family; so a different Dialect and Pronunciation, differs Persons of divers Countries; yea, Persons of one and the same Country, speaking the same Language: Thus in _Greece_, there were the _Ionick_, _Dorick_, _Attick_, and _Æolick_ Dialects. So in _Great-Britain_, besides the grand Diversity of _English_, and _Scotch_, the different Counties vary very much in their Pronunciation, Accent and Tone, although all one and the same Language. And the Way of the _Gileadites_ proving the _Ephraimites_, Judg. xii. 6. by the Pronunciation of _Shibboleth_, with a _Schin_, or _Sibboleth_ with a _Samech_, is well known. So _à Lapide_ saith, the _Flemings_ prove whether a Man be a _Frenchman_ or not, by bidding him pronounce, _Act en tachtentich_; which they pronounce, _Acht en tactentic_, by Reason they can’t pronounce the Aspirate _h_.

[c] _Regi Antiocho unus ex æqualibus——nomine Artemon, perquam similis fuisse traditur. Quem Laodice, uxor Antiochi, interfecto viro, dissimulandi sceleris gratiâ, in lectulo perinde quasi ipsum Regem ægrum collocavit. Admissumq; universum populum, & sermone ejus & vultu consimili fefellit: credideruntque homines ab Antiocho moriente Laodicen & natos ejus sibi commendari._ Valer. Max. ib.

[d] _Quid Trebellius Calca! quàm asseveranter se Clodium tulit! & quidem dum de bonis ejus contendit, in centumvirale judicium adeò favorabilis descendit, ut vix justis & æquis sententiis consternatio populi ullum relinqueret locum. In illâ tamen quæstione neque calumniæ petitoris, neque violentiæ plebis judicantium religio cessit._ Val. Max. ib. c. 15.

[e] To the foregoing Instances of divine Management, with relation to the political State of Man, I shall add another Thing, that I confess hath always seem’d to me somewhat odd, but very providential; and that is, the Value that Mankind, at least the civiliz’d Part of them, have in all Ages put upon Gems, and the purer finer Metals, Gold and Silver; so as to think them equivalent unto, and exchange them for Things of the greatest Use for Food, Cloathing, and all other Necessaries and Conveniences of Life. Whereas those Things themselves are of very little, if any Use in Physick, Food, Building or Cloathing, otherwise than for Ornament, or to minister to Luxury; as _Suetonius_ tells us of _Nero_, who fish’d with a Net gilt with Gold, and shod his Mules with Silver; but his Wife _Poppæa_, shod her Horses with Gold. _Vit. Ner._ c. 30. Plin. N. H. L. 33. c. 11. So the same _Suetonius_ tells us, _Jul. Cæsar_ lay in a Bed of Gold, and rode in a silver Chariot. But _Heliogabalus_ rode in one of Gold, and had his Close-stool Pans of the same Metal. And _Pliny_ saith, _Vasa Coquinaria ex argento Calvus Orator fieri queritur._ _Ibid._ Neither are those precious Things of greater Use to the making of Vessels, and Utensils, (unless some little Niceties and Curiosities,) by Means of their Beauty, Imperdibility, and Ductility. Of which last, the great Mr. _Boyle_ hath among others, there two Instances, in his _Essay about are Subtilty of Effluviums_. Chap. 2. _Silver, whose Ductility, and Tractility, are very much inferior to those of Gold, was, by my procuring, drawn out to so slender a Wire, that——a single Grain of it amounted to twenty seven Feet._ As to Gold, he demonstrates it possible to extend an Ounce thereof, to reach to 777600 Feet, or 155 Miles and an half, yea, to an incredibly greater Length.

And as to Gems, the very Stories that are told of their prodigious Virtues, are an Argument, that they have very little, or none more than other hard Stones. That a _Diamond_ should discover whether a Woman be true or false to her Husband’s Bed; cause Love between Man and Wife; secure against Witchcraft, Plague and Poisons; that the _Ruby_ should dispose to Cheerfulness, cause pleasant Dreams, change its Colour against a Misfortune befalling, _&c._ that the _Sapphire_ should grow foul, and lose its Beauty, when worn by one that is Leacherous; that the _Emerald_ should fly to pieces, if it touch the Skin of any unchaste Person in the Act of Uncleanness: That the _Chrysolite_ should lose its Colour, if Poyson be on the Table, and recover it again when the Poyson is off: And to name no more, that the _Turcoise_, (and the same is said of a gold Ring,) should strike the Hour when hung over a drinking Glass, and much more the same Purpose: All these, and many other such fabulous Stories, I say, of Gems, are no great Arguments, that their Virtue is equivalent to their Value. Of these, and other Virtues, consult _Worm_ in his _Museum_, L. 1. §. 2. c. 17, _&c._

But as to _Gems_ changing their Colour, there may be somewhat of Truth in that, particularly in the _Turcoise_ last mention’d. Mr. _Boyle_ observ’d the Spots in a _Turcoise_, to shift their Place from one Part to another, by gentle Degrees. So did the Cloud in an _Agate_-handle of a Knife. A _Diamond_ he wore on his Finger, he observ’d to be more illustrious at some Times than others: Which a curious Lady told him she had also observ’d in hers. So likewise a rich _Ruby_ did the same. _Boyle_ of _Absol. Rest in Bodies_.

CHAP. X.

_The ~Conclusion~ of the ~Survey~ of MAN._

And now having taken a View of _Man_, and finding every Part of him, every Thing relating to him contriv’d, and made in the very best Manner; his Body fitted up with the utmost Foresight, Art and Care; and this Body, (to the great Honour, Privilege, and Benefit of Man,) possess’d by a divine Part, the _Soul_, a Substance made as ’twere on Purpose to contemplate the Works of God, and glorify the great Creator; and since this Soul can discern, think, reason, and speak; What can we conclude upon the whole Matter, but that we lie under all the Obligations of Duty and Gratitude, to be thankful and obedient to, and to set forth the Glories of our great Creator, and noble Benefactor? And what ungrateful Wretches are we, how much worse than the poor Irrationals, if we do not employ the utmost Power of our Tongue, and all our Members, and all the Faculties of our Souls in the Praises of God! But above all, should we, who have the Benefit of those glorious Acts and Contrivances of the Creator, be such wicked, such base, such worse than brutal Fools, to deny the Creator[a], in some of his noblest Works? Should we so abuse our Reason, yea, our very Senses; should we be so besotted by the Devil, and blinded by our Lusts, as to attribute one of the best contriv’d Pieces of Workmanship to blind Chance, or unguided Matter and Motion, or any other such sottish, wretched, atheistical Stuff; which we never saw, nor ever heard made any one Being[b] in any Age since the Creation? No, No! But like wise and unprejudic’d Men, let us with _David_ say, _Psalm_ cxxxix. 14. (with which I conclude,) _I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy Works, and that my Soul knoweth right well._

Having thus made what (considering the Copiousness and Excellence of the Subject,) may be called a very brief Survey of _Man_, and seen such admirable Marks of the divine Design and Art; let us next take a transient View of the other inferiour Creatures; and begin with QUADRUPEDS.

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FOOTNOTES:

[a] It was a pious, as well as just Conclusion, the ingenious _Laurence Bellini_ makes of his _Opusculum de Motu Cordis_, in these Words: _De Motu Cordis isthæc. Quæ equidem omnia, si à rudi intelligentiâ Hominis tantum consilii, tantum ratiocinii, tantum peritiæ mille rerum, tantum scientiarum exigunt, ad hoc, ut inveniantur, seu ad hoc, ut percipiantur postquam facta sunt; illum, cujus operâ, fabrefacta sunt hæc singula, tam vani erimus atque inanes, ut existimemus esse consilii impotem, rationis expertem, imperitum, aut ignarum omnium rerum? Quantum ad me attinet, nolim esse Rationis compos, si tantum insudandum mihi esset ad consequendam intelligentiam earum rerum, quas fabrefaceret nescio quæ Vis, quæ nihil intelligeret eorum quæ fabrefaceret; mihi etenim viderer esse vile quiddam, atque ridiculum, qui vellem totam ætatem meam, sanitatem, & quicquid humanum est deterere, nihil curare quicquid est jucunditatum, quicquid latitiarum, quicquid commodorum; non divitias, non dignitates; non pœnas etiam, & vitam, ipsam, ut gloriari possem postremo invenisse unum, aut alterum, & fortasse me invenisse quidem ex iis innumeris, quæ produxisset, nescio quis ille, qui sine labore, sine curâ, nihil cogitans, nihil cognoscens, non unam aut alteram rem, neque dubiè, sed certò produxisset innumeras innumerabilitates rerum in hoc tam immenso spatio corporum, ex quibus totus Mundus compingitur. Ab Deum immortalem! Video præsens numen tuum in hisce tam prodigiosis Generationis initiis, & in altissimâ eorum contemplatione defixus, nescio quo œstro admirationis conciter, & quasi divinè furens cohiberi me minimè possum quin exclamem._

_Magnus Dominus! Magnus Fabricator Hominum Deus! Magnus atque Admirabilis! Conditor rerum Deus quàm Magnus es!_ Bellin. de Mot. Cord. fin.

[b] _Hoc ~[_i.e._ mundum effici ornatissimum, & pulcherrimum ex concursione fortuita]~ qui existimat fieri potuisse, non intelligo cur non idem putet, si innumerabiles unius, & viginti formæ literarum, vel aureæ, vel qualeslibet, aliquo conficiantur, posse ex his in terram excussis annales Ennii ut deinceps legi possint, effici, ~&c.~——Quod si Mundum efficere potest concursus Atomorum, cur porticum, cur templum, cur domum, cur urbem non potest? Quæ sunt minus operosa, & multo quidem faciliora._ Cicero de Nat. Deor. L. 2. c. 37.

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