BOOK VI.

_A ~Survey~ of QUADRUPEDS._

[Illustration]

CHAP. I.

_Of their Prone ~Posture~._

In taking a View of this Part of the Animal World, so far as the Structure of their Bodies is conformable to that of Man, I shall pass them by, and only take notice of some Peculiarities in them, which are plain Indications of Design, and the Divine Super-intendence and Management. And, 1. The most visible apparent Variation is the _Prone Posture of their Body_: Concerning which, I shall take notice only of two Things, the Parts ministring thereto, and the Use and Benefit thereof.

I. As for the Parts, ’tis observable, that in all these Creatures, the _Legs_ are made exactly conformable to this Posture, as those in Man are to his erect Posture: And what is farther observable also, is, that the Legs and Feet are always admirably suited to the Motion and Exercises of each Animal: In some they are made for Strength only, to support a vast, unwieldy Body[a]; in others they are made for Agility and Swiftness[b], in some they are made for only Walking and Running, in others for that, and Swimming too[c]; in others for Walking and Digging[d]; and in others for Walking and Flying[e]: In some they are made more lax and weak, for the plainer Lands; in others rigid, stiff, and less flexible[f], for traversing the Ice, and dangerous Precipices of the high Mountains[g]; in some they are shod with tough and hard Hoofs, some whole, some cleft; in others with only a callous Skin. In which latter, ’tis observable that the Feet are composed of Toes, some short for bare-going; some long to supply the Place of a Hand[h]; some armed with long and strong Talons, to catch, hold, and tear the Prey; some fenced only with short Nails, to confirm the Steps in Running and Walking.

II. As the Posture of Man’s Body is the fittest for a rational Animal, so is the Prone Posture of _Quadrupeds_ the most useful and beneficial to themselves, as also most serviceable to Man. For they are hereby better made for their gathering their Food, to pursue their Prey, to leap, to climb, to swim, to guard themselves against their Enemies, and in a word, to do whatever may be of principal Use to themselves; as also they are hereby rendered more useful and serviceable to Man, for carrying his Burdens, for tilling his Ground, yea, even for his Sports and Diversions.

And now I might here add a Survey of the excellent Contrivances of the Parts ministring to this Posture of the four-footed Animals, the admirable Structure of the Bones[i], the Joints and Muscles; their various Sizes and Strength; their commodious Lodgment and Situation, the nice Æquipoise of the Body, with a great deal more to the same purpose. But I should be tedious to insist minutely upon such Particulars, and besides, I have given a Touch upon these Kinds of Things, when I spake of Man.

Passing by therefore many Things of this Kind, that might deserve Remark, I shall only consider some of the Parts of _Quadrupeds_, differing from what is found in Man[k], and which are manifest Works of Design.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] The Elephant being a Creature of prodigious Weight, the largest of all Animals; _Pliny_ saith, hath its Legs accordingly made of an immense Strength, like Pillars, rather than Legs.

[b] Deer, Hares, and other Creatures, remarkable for Swiftness, have their Legs accordingly slender, but withal strong, and every way adapted to their Swiftness.

[c] Thus the Feet of the _Otter_ are made, the Toes being all conjoined with Membranes, as the Feet of Geese and Ducks are. And in Swimming, it is observable, that when the Foot goes forward in the Water, the Toes are close; but when backward, they are spread out, whereby they more forcibly strike the Water, and drive themselves forward. The same may be observed also in Ducks and Geese, _&c._

Of the _Castor_ or _Beaver_, the _French_ Academists say, _The Structure of the Feet was very extraordinary, and sufficiently demonstrated, that Nature hath designed this Animal to live in the Water, as well as upon Land. For although it had four Feet, like Terrestrial Animals, yet the hindmost seemed more proper to swim than walk with, the Five Toes of which they were compos’d, being joined together like those of a Goose by a Membrane, which serves this Animal to swim with. But the fore ones were made otherwise; for there was no Membrane which held those Toes joined together: And this was requisite for the Conveniency of this Animal, which useth them as Hands like a Squirrel, when he eats._ Memoirs for a Nat. Hist. of Animals, _pag. 84._

[d] The _Mole_’s Feet are a remarkable Instance.

[e] The Wings of the _Bat_ are a prodigious Deviation from Nature’s ordinary Way. So ’tis in the _Virginian Squirrel_, whose Skin is extended between the Fore-Legs and its Body.

[f] Of the Legs of the _Elk_, the _French_ Academists say, _Although some Authors report, that there are ~Elks~ in ~Moscovia~, whose Legs are jointless; there is great Probability, that this Opinion is founded on what is reported of those ~Elks~ of ~Muscovia~, as well as of ~Cæsar~’s ~Alce~, and ~Pliny~’s ~Machlis~, that they have Legs so stiff and inflexible, that they do run on Ice without slipping; which is a Way that is reported that they have to save themselves from the Wolves, ~&c.~_ ibid. p. 108.

[g] The common tame _Goat_ (whose Habitation is generally on Mountains and Rocks, and who delighteth to walk on the tops of Pales, Houses, _&c._ and to take great and seemingly dangerous Leaps) I have observ’d, hath the Joints of the Legs very stiff and strong, the Hoof hollow underneath, and its Edges sharp. The like, I doubt not, is to be found the _Wild Goat_, considering what Dr. _Scheuchzer_ hath said of its climbing the most dangerous Craggs of the _Alps_, and the Manner of their hunting it. _Vid._ _Iter. Alpin._ 3. p. 9.

[h] Thus in _Apes_ and _Monkeys_, in the _Beaver_ before, and divers others.

[i] It is a singular Provision Nature hath made for the Strength of the _Lion_, if that be true, which _Galen_ saith is reported of its Bones being not hollow (as in other Animals) but solid: Which Report he thus far confirms, that most of the Bones are so; and that those in the Legs, and some other Parts, have only a small and obscure Cavity in them. _Vid._ _Galen. de Us. Part._ L. 11. c. 18.

[k] _These Sorts of Differences in the Mechanism of Animals, upon the Score of the Position of their Bodies, occur so often, that it would be no mean Service to Anatomy——if any one would give us a History of those Variations of the Parts of Animals, which spring from the different Postures of their Bodies._ Drake Anat. V. 1. B. 1. c. 17.

CHAP. II.

_Of the HEADS of QUADRUPEDS._

It is remarkable, that in Man, the Head is of one singular Form; in the four-footed Race, as various as their Species. In some square and large, suitable to their slow Motion, Food, and Abode; in others less, slender, and sharp, agreeable to their swifter Motion, or to make their Way to their Food[a], or Habitation under Ground[b]. But passing by a great many Observations that might be made of this Kind, I shall stop a little at the Brain, as the most considerable Part of this part of the Body, being the great Instrument of Life and Motion in _Quadrupeds_, as ’tis in Man of that, as also in all Probability the chief Seat of his immortal Soul. And accordingly it is a remarkable Difference, that in Man the Brain is large, affording Substance and Room for so noble a Guest; whereas in _Quadrupeds_, it is but small. And another Thing no less remarkable, is the Situation of the _Cerebrum_ and _Cerebellum_, or the greater or lesser Brain, which I shall give in the Words of one of the most exact Anatomists we have of that Part[c]: “Since, saith he, God hath given to Man a lofty Countenance, to behold the Heavens, and hath also seated an immortal Soul in the Brain, capable of the Contemplation of heavenly Things; therefore, as his Face is erect, so the Brain is set in an higher Place, namely, above the _Cerebellum_ and all the Sensories. But in Brutes, whose Face is prone towards the Earth, and whose Brain is capable of Speculation, the _Cerebellum_, (whose Business it is to minister to the Actions and Functions of the _Præcordia_, the principal Office in those Creatures) in them is situated in the higher Place, and the _Cerebrum_ lower. Also some of the Organs of Sense, as the Ears and Eyes, are placed, if not above the _Cerebrum_, yet at least equal thereto.”

Another Convenience in this Position of the _Cerebrum_ and _Cerebellum_, the last ingenious Anatomist[d] tells us is this, “In the Head of Man, saith he, the Base of the _Brain_ and _Cerebell_, yea, of the whole Skull, is set parallel to the Horizon; by which Means there is the less Danger of the two Brains joggling, or slipping out of their Place. But in _Quadrupeds_, whose Head hangs down, the Base of the Skull makes a right Angle with the Horizon, by which Means the Brain is undermost, and the _Cerebell_ uppermost; so that one would be apt to imagine the _Cerebell_ should not be steady, but joggle out of its Place. To remedy which Inconvenience he tells us, And lest the frequent Concussions of the _Cerebell_ should cause a Fainting, or disorderly Motion of the Spirits about the _Præcordia_, therefore, by the Artifice of Nature, sufficient Provision is made in all, by the _dura Meninx_ closely encompassing the _Cerebellum_; besides which, it is (in some) guarded with a strong bony Fence; and in others, as the Hare, the Coney, and such lesser _Quadrupeds_, a part of the _Cerebell_ is on each Side fenced with the _Os Petrosum_: So that by this double Stay, its whole Mass is firmly contained within the Skull.”

Besides these Peculiarities, I might take notice of divers other Things no less remarkable, as the _Nictitating Membrane_ of the Eye[e], the different Passages of the _Carotid Arteries_[f] through the Skull, their Branching into the _Rete Mirabile_[g], the different Magnitude of the _Nates_, and some other Parts of the Brain in Beasts, quite different from what it is in Man: But the Touches already given, may be Instances sufficient to prevent my being tedious in inlarging upon these admirable Works of God.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] Thus _Swine_, for Instance, who dig in the Earth for Roots and other Food, have their Neck, and all Parts of their Head very well adapted to that Service. Their Neck short, brawny, and strong; their Eyes set pretty high out of the Way; their Snout long; their Nose callous and strong; and their Sense of Smelling very accurate, to hunt out and distinguish their Food in Mud, under Ground, and other the like Places where it lies concealed.

[b] What hath been said of _Swine_ is no less, rather more remarkable in the _Mole_, whose Neck, Nose, Eyes and Ears, are all fitted in the nicest Manner to its subterraneous Way of Life.

[c] _Willis Cereb. Anat._ cap. 6. _Cumque huic Deus os sublime dederit, ~&c.~_

[d] Id. paulo post. _In capite humano Cerebri & Cerebelli, ~&c.~_

[e] See _Book IV. Ch. 2. Note (kk)._

[f] _Arteria Carotis Aliquanto posterius in homine quàm in alio quovis animali, Calvariam ingreditur, scil. juxta illud foramen, per quod sinus lateralis in Venam jugularem desiturus cranio elabitur; nam in cæteris hæc arteria sub extremitate, seu processu acuto ossis petrosi, inter cranium emergit: verùm in capite humano, eadem, ambage longiori circumducta (ut sanguinis torrens, priusquam ad cerebri oram appellit, fracto impetu, leniùs & placidiùs fluat) prope specum ab ingressu sinûs lateralis factum, Calvariæ basin attingit;——& in majorem cautelam, tunicâ insuper ascititiâ crassiore investitur._ And so he goes on to shew the Conveniency of this Guard the Artery hath, and its Passage to the Brain, and then saith, _Si hujusmodi conformationis ratio inquiritur, facilè occurrit, in capite humano, ubi generosi affectus & magni animorum impetus ac ardores excitantur, sanguinis in Cerebri oras appulsum debere esse liberum & expeditum, ~&c.~ Atque hoc quidem respectu differt Homo à plerisque Brutis, quibus, Arteria in mille surculos divisa, ne sanguinem pleniore alveo, aut citatiore, quàm par est, cursu, ad cerebrum evehat, Plexus Retiformes constituit, quibus nempe efficitur, ut sanguis tardo admodum, lenique & æquabili fere stillicidio, in cerebrum illabatur._ And then he goes on to give a farther Account of this _Artery_, and the _Rete mirabile_ in divers Creatures. _Willis_, ibid. cap. 8.

[g] _Galen_ thinks the _Rete mirabile_ is for concocting and elaborating the Animal Spirits, as the _Epididymides_, [the Convolutions κιρσοειδοῦς ἕλικος] are for elaborating the Seed. _De Us. Part._ L. 9. c. 4. This _Rete_ is much more conspicuous in Beasts than Man; and as Dr. _Willis_ well judges, serves, 1. To bridle the too rapid Incursion of the Blood into the Brain of those Creatures, whose Heads hang down much. 2. To separate some of the superfluous serous Parts of the Blood, and send them to the Salival Glands, before the Blood enters the Brain of those Animals, whose Blood is naturally of a watery Constitution. 3. To obviate any Obstructions that may happen in the Arteries, by giving a free Passage through other Vessels, when some are stopped.

In _Quadrupeds_, as the _Carotid Arteries_ are branched into the _Rete Mirabile_, for the bridling the too rapid Current of Blood into the Brain; so the _Vertebral Arteries_, are, near their Entrance into the Skull, bent into an acuter Angle than in Man, which is a wise Provision for the same Purpose.

CHAP. III.

_Of the Necks of QUADRUPEDS._

From the Head pass we to the Neck, no principal Part of the Body, but yet a good Instance of the Creator’s Wisdom and Design, inasmuch as in Man it is short, agreeable to the Erection of his Body; but in the Four-footed Tribe it is long, answerable to the Length of the Legs[a], and in some of these long, and less strong, serving to carry the Mouth to the Ground; in others shorter, brawny and strong, serving to dig, and heave up great Burdens[b].

But that which deserves especial Remark, is that peculiar Provision made in the Necks of all, or most granivorous _Quadrupeds_, for the perpetual holding down their Head in gathering their Food, by that strong, tendinous and insensible _Aponeurosis_, or Ligament[c] braced from the Head to the middle of the Back. By which means the Head, although heavy, may be long held down without any Labour, Pain, or Uneasiness to the Muscles of the Neck, that would otherwise be wearied by being so long put upon the Stretch.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It is very remarkable, that in all the Species of _Quadrupeds_, this Equality holds, except only the _Elephant_; and that there should be a sufficient special Provision made for that Creature, by its _Proboscis_ or _Trunk_. A Member so admirably contrived, so curiously wrought, and with so great Agility and Readiness, applied by that unwieldy Creature to all its several Occasions, that I take it to be a manifest Instance of the Creator’s Workmanship. See its Anatomy to Dr. _A. Moulen_’s _Anat. of the ~Elephant~_, p. 33. As also in Mr. _Blair_’s Account in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 326.

_Aliorum ea est humilitas ut cibum terrestrem rostris facilè contingant. Quæ autem altiora sunt, ut Anseres, ut Cygni, ut Grues, ut Cameli, adjuvantur proceritate collorum. Manus etiam data Elephantis, qui propter magnitudinem corporis difficiles aditus habebant ad pastum._ Cic. de N. D. L. 2. c. 47.

_Quod iis animalibus quæ pedes habent fissos in digitos, Collum brevius sit factum, quàm ut per ipsum Cibum ori admovere queant: iis verò quæ ungulas habent solidas, aut bifidas, longius, ut prona atque inclinantia pasci queant. Qui id etiam opus non sit Artificis utilitatis memoris? Ad hæc quòd Grues at Ciconiæ, cùm crura haberent longiora, ob eam causam Rostrum etiam magnum, & Collum longius habuerint. Pisces autem neque Collum penitus habuere, utpote qui neque Crura habent. Quo pacto non id etiam est admirandum?_ Galen. de Us. part. L. 11. c. 8.

[b] As in _Moles_ and _Swine_, in _Ch. 2. Note (a)._

[c] Called the _Whiteleather_, _Packwax_, _Taxwax_, and _Fixfax_.

CHAP. IV.

_Of the STOMACHS of QUADRUPEDS._

From the Neck, let us descend to the _Stomach_, a Part as of absolute Necessity to the Being and Well-being of Animals, so is in the several Species of _Quadrupeds_, sized, contrived, and made with the utmost Variety and Art.[a] What Artist, what Being, but the infinite Conservator of the World, could so well adapt every Food to all the several Kinds of those grand Devourers of it! Who could so well sute their Stomachs to the Reception and Digestion thereof; one kind of Stomach to the Carnivorous, another to the Herbaceous Animals; one fitted to digest by bare Mastication; and a whole set of Stomachs in others, to digest with the Help of _Rumination_! Which last Act, together with the _Apparatus_ for that Service, is so peculiar, and withal so curious an Artifice of Nature, that it might justly deserve a more particular Enquiry; but having formerly mention’d it[b], and least I should be too tedious, I shall pass it by.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] The peculiar Contrivance and Make of the _Dromedary_’s or _Camel_’s Stomach, is very remarkable, which I will give from the _Parisian Anatomists_: _At the top of the Second ~[of the 4 Ventricles]~ there were several square Holes, which were the Orifices of about 30 Cavities, made like Sacks placed between the two Membranes, which do compose the Substance of this Ventricle. The View of these Sacks made us to think that they might well be the Reservatories, where ~Pliny~ saith, that Camels do a long Time keep the Water, which they drink in great Abundance——to supply the Wants thereof in the dry Desarts, ~&c.~_ Vid. Memoirs, _&c._ Anat. of Dromedary, p. 39. See also _Peyer_, _Merycol._ L. 2. c. 3.

[b] _Book IV. ch. 11._

CHAP. V.

_Of the HEART of QUADRUPEDS._

In this Part there is a notable Difference found between the Heart of Man and that of Beasts, concerning the latter, of which I might take notice of the remarkable Confirmation of the Hearts of Amphibious _Quadrupeds_, and their Difference from those of Land-Animals, some having but one Ventricle[a], some three[b], and some but two (like Land-Animals) but then the _Foramen Ovale_ therewith[c]. All which may be justly esteemed as wonderful, as they are excellent Provisions for the Manner of those Animals living. But I shall content my self with bare Hints of these Things, and speak only of two Peculiars more, and that but briefly.

One is the Situation of the Heart, which in Beasts is near the middle of the whole Body; in Man, nearer the Head[d]. The Reasons of which I shall give from one of the most curious Anatomists of that Part[e]. “Seeing, saith he, the Trajection and Distribution of the Blood depends wholly on the Systole of the Heart, and that its Liquor is not driven of its own Nature so readily into the upper Parts as into Vessels even with it, or downwards into those under it: If the Situation of the Heart had been further from the Head, it must needs either have been made stronger to cast out its Liquor with greater Force; or else the Head would want its due Proportion of Blood. But in Animals that have a longer Neck, and which is extended towards their Food as it were, the Heart is seated as far from the other Parts; and they find no Inconvenience from it, because they feed with their Head for the most part hanging down; and so the Blood, as it hath farther to go to their Head than in others, so it goes a plainer and often a steep Way[f].”

The other peculiar Matter is, the fastning (I formerly mentioned) which the Cone of the _Pericardium_ hath in Man to the _Diaphragm_[g], whereas in all _Quadrupeds_ it is loose. By which Means the Motion of the _Midriff_, in that necessary Act of Respiration, is assisted both in the upright Posture of Man, as also in the prone Posture of _Quadrupeds_[h]; which would be hindred, or rendred more difficult, if the Case was otherwise: “Which must needs be the Effect of Wisdom and Design, and that Man was intended by Nature to walk erect, and not upon all-four, as _Quadrupeds_ do:” To express it in the Words of a great Judge in such Matters [i].

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Frogs_ are generally thought to have but one Ventricle in their Hearts.

[b] The _Tortoise_ hath three Ventricles, as the _Parisian Academists_ in their _Memoirs_ affirm. _Besides these two Ventricles ~[before spoken of]~ which were in the hinder Part of the Heart, which faceth the Spine; there was_, say they, _a third in the Fore-part, inclining a little towards the Right-side, ~&c.~_ Memoirs, _&c._ p. 259. But Mr. _Bussiere_ charges this as a Mistake in those ingenious Gentlemen, and asserts there is but one Ventricle in the _Tortoise_’s Heart. See his Description of the Heart of the _Land Tortoise_, in _Philos. Transact._ Nᵒ. 328.

[c] The _Sea-Calf_ is said by the _French Academists_, to have this Provision, and their Account of it is this: _Its Heart was round and flat. Its Ventricles appeared very large, and its Auricles small.——Underneath the great Aperture, through which the Trunk of the ~Vena Cava~ conveyed the Blood into the right Ventricle of the Heart, there was another, which penetrated into the ~Arteria Venosa~, and from thence into the left Ventricle, and afterwards into the ~Aorta~. This Hole called the ~Foramen Ovale~ in the ~Fœtus~, make the ~Anastomisis~, by the Means of which, the Blood goes from the ~Cava~ into the ~Aorta~, without passing through the Lungs._ French Anatomists, p. 124.

[d] Τὴν τε Καρδίαν περὶ τὸ μέσον πλὴν ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ, &c. Arist. Hist. An. L. 2. c. 17.

[e] Dr. _Lower_, _de Corde_, c. 1.

[f] I might have mentioned another wise Provision from the same Author, which take in his own Words: _In Vitulu & Equis, imò plerique aliis animalibus majoribus, non solas propagines à Nervo sexti paris ut in Homine, sed etiam plurimas à Nervo intercostali, ubi rectà cor transit, cor accedere, imò in parenchyma ejus dimitti: & hoc ideo à Naturâ quasi subsidium Brutis comparatum, ne capita quæ terram prona spectant, non satis facilè aut copiosè Spiritus Animales impertirent._ Blasii Anat. Animal. Par. 1. c. 4. ex Lowero. de Corde.

[g] _Diaphragmatis circulo nerveo firmiter adheret ~[Pericardium]~ quod Homini singulare; nam ab eo in Canibus & Simiis distat, item in aliis animalibus omnibus._ Bartholm. Anat. L. 2. c. 5.

[h] _Finalem causam quod atrinet,——cùm erectus sit Hominis incessus atque figura, eoque facilius abdominis viscera suo pondere descendant, minore Diaphragmatis nixu atque Systole ad Inspirationem opus est; porro, cùm in Exspiratione pariter necessarium sit Diaphragma relaxari,——cùm capsula cordis omnino connectendum fuit, in Homine, ne fortè, quamdiu erectus incedit, ab Hepatis aliorumque viscerum appensorum pondere deorsum adeò deprimeretur, ut neque Pulmo satis concidere, neque Expiratio debito modo peragi potuerit. Quocirea in Quadrupedibus, ubi abdominis viscera in ipsum Diaphragma incumbunt, ipsumque in pectoris cavitatem suo pondere impellant, ista partium accretio Exspirationi quidem inutilis, Inspirationi autem debitam Diaphragmatis tensionem impediendo, prorsus incommoda fuisset._ Lower, ib. p. 8.

[i] _Dr. ~Tyson~’s Anat. of the Orang-Outang, in ~Ray~’s Wisd. of God_, p. 262.

CHAP. VI.

_Of the Difference between MAN and QUADRUPEDS in the ~Nervous~ Kind._

There is only one Difference more between _Man_ and _Quadrupeds_ that I shall take notice of, and that is the Nervous Kind: And because it would be tedious to insist upon many Particulars[a], I shall, for a Sample, insist chiefly upon one, and that is, of Nature’s prodigious Care for a due Communication and Correspondence between the Head and Heart of Man, more than what is in the four-footed Tribe. For this Purpose, besides the Correspondence, those Parts have by Means of the Nerves of the _Par Vagum_ (common both to Man and Beast) there is a farther and more special Communication and Correspondence occasioned by the Branches[b] of the _intercostal Pair_ sent from the _Cervical Plexus_ to the Heart, and _Præcordia_. By which Means the Heart and Brain of Man have a mutual and very intimate Correspondence and Concern with each other, more than is in other Creatures; or as one of the most curious Anatomists and Observers of these Things saith[c], “Brutes are as ’twere Machines made with a simpler, and less operose _Apparatus_, and endowed therefore with only one and the same Kind of Motion, or determined to do the same Thing: Whereas in Man, there is a great Variety of Motions and Actions. For by the Commerce of the aforesaid _Cervical Plexus_[d] he saith, The Conceptions of the Brain presently affect the Heart, and agitate its Vessels and whole Appendage, together with the _Diaphragm_. From whence the Alteration in the Motion of the Blood, the Pulse and Respiration. So also on the contrary, when any Thing affects or alters the Heart, those Impressions are not only retorted to the Brain by the same Duct of the Nerves, but also the Blood it self (its Course being once changed) flies to the Brain with a different and unusual Course, and there agitating the animal Spirits with divers Impulses, produceth various Conceptions and Thoughts in the Mind.” And he tells us, “That hence it was that the ancient Divines and Philosophers too, made the Heart the Seat of Wisdom; and certainly (saith he) the Works of Wisdom and Virtue do very much depend upon this Commerce which is between the Heart and Brain:” And so he goeth on with more to the same purpose. Upon the Account of this _Intercostal Commerce_ with the Heart, being wanting in Brutes, there is another singularly careful and wise Provision the infinite Creator hath made in them, and that is, That by Reason both the _Par Vagum_ and the _Intercostal_ too, do not send their Branches to the Heart, and its Appendage in Brutes, therefore, lest their Heart should want a due Proportion of Nervous Vessels, the _Par Vagum_ sends more Branches to their Heart than to that of Man. This as it is a remarkable Difference between Rational and Irrational Creatures; so it is as remarkable an Argument of the Creator’s Art and Care; who altho’ he hath denied Brute-Animals Reason, and the Nerves ministring thereto, yet hath another Way supplied what is necessary to their Life and State. But let us hear the same great Author’s Descant upon the Point[e]; “Inasmuch saith he, as Beasts are void of Discretion, and but little subject to various and different Passions, therefore there was no need that the Spirits that were to be convey’d from the Brain to the _Præcordia_, should pass two different Ways, namely, one for the Service of the vital Functions, and another for the reciprocal Impressions of the Affections; but it was sufficient that all their Spirits, whatever Use they were designed for, should be conveyed one and the same Way.”

Here now in the _Nervous Kind_ we have manifest Acts of the Creator’s Design and Wisdom, in this so manifest and distinct a Provision for Rational and Irrational Creatures; and that _Man_ was evidently intended to be the one, as the _Genus_ of _Quadrupeds_ was the other.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] Amongst these, I might name the Site of the Nerves proceeding from the _Medulla Spinalis_, which Dr. _Lower_ takes notice of. In Beasts, whose Spine is above the rest of the Body, the Nerves tend directly downwards; but in Man, it being erect, the Nerves spring out of the Spine, not at Right, but in Oblique Angles downwards, and pass also in the Body the same Way. _Ibid._ p. 16.

[b] _In plerisq; Brutis tantùm hâc viâ ~(i.e. by the _Par vagum_)~ & vix omnino per ullos Paris Intercostalis nervos, aditus ad cor aut Appendicem ejus patescit. Verùm in Homine, Nervus Intercostalis, præter officia ejus in imo ventre huic cum cæteris animalibus communia, etiam ante pectoris claustra internuncii specialis loco est, qui Cerebri & Cordis sensa mutua ultra citraque refert._ Willis Nervor. descr. & usus, Cap. 26.

[c] Id. ib. _Dum hanc utriusque speciei differentiam perpendo, succurrit animo, Bruta esse velut machinas, ~&c.~_

[d] That our great Man was not mistaken, there is great Reason to imagine, from what he observed in dissecting a _Fool_. Besides, the Brain being but small, he saith, _Præcipua autem discriminis nota quam inter illius & viri cordati partes advertimus, bæcce erat; nempe quòd prædictus Nervi Intercacostalis Plexus, quem Cerebri & Cordis internuncium & Hominis proprium diximus, in Stulto hoc valde exilis, & minori Nervorum satellitio stipatus fuerit._ Ibid.

[e] Id. ib. cap. 29. _In quantum Bestiæ prudentiâ carent, & variis diversisque passionibus, ~&c.~_

CHAP. VII.

_The CONCLUSION._

And now ’tis Time to pause a while, and reflect upon the whole. And as from the Confederations in the preceding Book, we have especial Reason to be thankful to our infinitely merciful Maker, for his no less kind than wonderful Contrivances of our Body; so we have Reason from this brief View I have taken of this last Tribe of the Creation, to acknowledge and admire the same Creator’s Work and Contrivances in them. For we have here a large Family of Animals, in every particular Respect, curiously contrived and made, for that especial Posture, Place, Food, and Office or Business which they obtain in the World. So that if we consider their own particular Happiness and Good, or Man’s Use and Service; or if we view them throughout, and consider the Parts wherein they agree with Man, or those especially wherein they differ, we shall find all to be so far from being Things fortuitous, undesigned, or any way accidental, that every Thing is done for the best; all wisely contrived, and incomparably fitted up, and every way worthy of the great Creator. And he that will shut his Eyes, and not see God[a] in these his Works, even of the poor Beasts of the Earth, that will not say (as _Elihu_ hath it, Job xxxv. 10, 11.) _Where is God my Maker, who teacheth us more than the Beasts of the Earth, and maketh us wiser than the Fowls of the Heaven?_ Of such an one we may use the Psalmist’s Expression, _Psal_. xlxix. 12. That _he is like the Beasts[b] that perish_.

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FOOTNOTES:

[a]

_——Deum namque ire per omnes_ _Terrasque tractusque Maris, Cœlumque profundum,_ _Hinc Pecudes, Armenta, viros, genus omne Ferarum._

Virgil Georg. L. 4.

[b] _Illos qui nullum omnino Deum esse dixerunt, non modò non Philosophos, sed ne homines quidem fuisse dixerim; qui, mutis simillimi, ex solo corpore constiterunt, nihil videntes animo._ Lactant. L. 7. c. 9.

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