,transcriber's ,note ,footnotes and section headers were both printed in the margins as sidenotes4 ,for this text version1 numbered marginal footnotes have been moved to the end of their paragraphs4 ,the headers have been moved to appear on a separate line at the beginning of each section4 ,redundant sidenotes merely indicating ,part and ,section numbers have been removed4 ,those marginal notes which serve as paragraph descriptions1 at or near the head of a paragraph1 precede that paragraph4 ,those which serve to annotate specific points are inserted parenthetically as ,,sn3 notes4 ,the ,annotator's note which precedes ,religio ,medici uses marginal notes as references to the relevant sections and pages in the printed text4 ,on occasion1 the ,latin passages employ a scribal abbreviation 'q2' for 'qus'1 which has been retained4 ,descriptive notes have been inserted at the beginning of the sentence to which they refer1 like this3 ,sidenote3 ,use of ,italics ,italics are used freely1 and have been rendered using underscore characters4 ,please consult the more detailed notes at the end of this text4 ,,the ,,english ,,library ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,sir ,,thomas ,,browne ,,volume ,i ,illustration ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,sir ,,thomas ,,browne ,edited by ,,charles ,,sayle ,,volume ,i ,,london ,,grant ,,richards #aijd ,,prefatory ,,note ,this edition is an endeavour to arrive at a more satisfactory text of the work of ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 and to reproduce the principal part of it1 as faithfully as seems advisable1 in the form in which it was presented to the public at the time of his death4 ,for this purpose1 in the first volume1 the text of the ,religio ,medici follows more particularly the issue of #afhb4 ,the ,pseudodoxia ,epidemica here given is based upon the sixth edition of ten years earlier1 with careful revision4 ,in every case in which a spelling or punctuation was dubious1 a comparison was made of nearly all the issues printed during the lifetime of the writer1 and their merits weighed4 ,by this means it is hoped that the true flavour of the period has been preserved4 ,the ,annotations upon the ,religio ,medici1 which were always reprinted with the text during the seventeenth century1 are here restored4 ,they will appeal to a certain class of readers which has a right to be considered4 ,it is to be regretted that every quotation given in these pages has not been verified4 ,several have been corrected2 but to have worked through them all1 in these busy days1 would have been a labour of some years1 which it is not possible to devote to the purpose4 ,it has been thought best to leave these passages therefore1 in the main1 as they stand4#a ,the portrait of ,sir ,thomas ,browne here prefixed is reproduced from the engraving published in #afgb with the edition of the ,religio ,medici and ,pseudodoxia ,epidemica4 ,c4,s4 ,august1 #aijc4 #a ,the quotation1 now corrected1 from ,montaigne1 on p4 xxii1 is a typical example of the pitfall into which one is liable to stumble4 ,the passage there cited is in chapter xl4 of the ,french author's later arrangement3 a clear indication of the edition of the ,essais used by the author of the ,annotations4 ,what is one to make of the readings in ,lucretius on p4 xxv8 ,no light is thrown upon these difficulties by the edition of ,browne's works published in #afhf4 ,wilkin did not reprint the ,annotations1 except in selection4 ,,contents ,,page ,,prefatory ,,note ,,by ,,the ,,editor1 v ,,annotations ,,upon ',,religio ,,medici1' ix ,a ,,letter ,,sent ,,upon ,,the ,,information ,,of ,,animadversions1 #a ,,to ,,the ,,reader4 #c ,,religio ,,medici1 #g ,,pseudodoxia ,,epidemica1 #aac ,,to ,,the ,,reader1 #aae ,,the ,,first ,,book3 #a4 ,of the ,causes of ,common ,errors1 #aba #b4 ,a further ,illustration of the same1 #abg #c4 ,of the second cause of ,popular ,errors2 the erroneous disposition of the ,people1 #acb #d4 ,of the nearer and more ,immediate ,causes of ,popular ,errors1 #adj #e4 ,of ,credulity and ,supinity1 #adg #f4 ,of ,adherence unto ,antiquity1 #aeb #g4 ,of ,authority1 #afa #h4 ,a brief enumeration of ,authors1 #afh #i4 ,of the ,same1 #agh #aj4 ,of the last and common ,promoter of false ,opinions1 the endeavours of ,satan1 #ahb #aa4 ,a further ,illustration1 #aic ,,the ,,second ,,book3 #a4 ,of ,crystal1 #bjb #b4 ,concerning the ,loadstone1 #baf #c4 ,concerning the ,loadstone1 #bcc #d4 ,of ,bodies ,electrical1 #bed #e4 ,compendiously of sundry other common ,tenents1 concerning ,mineral and ,terreous ,bodies1 #bfb #f4 ,of sundry ,tenets concerning ,vegetables or ,plants1 #bhe #g4 ,of some ,insects1 and the ,properties of several ,plants1 #bii ,,the ,,third ,,book1 ,,chapters ,i4-,x43 #a4 ,of the ,elephant1 #cjh #b4 ,of the ,horse1 #cad #c4 ,of the ,dove1 #cag #d4 ,of the ,bever1 #cba #e4 ,of the ,badger1 #cbf #f4 ,of the ,bear1 #cbh #g4 ,of the ,basilisk1 #cca #h4 ,of the ,wolf1 #cch #i4 ,of the ,deer1 #cdj #aj4 ,of the ,king-fisher1 #cdh ,,annotations ,,upon ,,religio ,,medici ,nec satis est vulgasse fidem4-- ,pet4 ,arbit4 fragment4 ,,the ,,annotator ,,to ,,the ,,reader ,a4 ,gellius 7noct4 ,attic4 l4 #bj4 cap4 ult47 notes some ,books that had strange ,titles2 ,pliny 7,prefat4 ,nat4 ,hist47 speaking of some such1 could not pass them over without a jeer3 ,so strange 7saith he7 are the ,titles of some ,books1 ,ut multos ad vadimonium deferendum compellant4 ,and ,seneca saith1 some such there are1 ,qui patri obstetricem parturienti fili accersenti moram injicere possint4 ,of the same fate this present ,tract ,religio ,medici hath partaken3 ,exception by some hath been taken to it in respect of its ,inscription1 which say they1 seems to imply that ,physicians have a ,religion by themselves1 which is more than ,theologie doth warrant3 but it is their ,inference1 and not the ,title that is to blame2 for no more is meant by that1 or endeavoured to be prov'd in the ,book then that 7contrary to the opinion of the unlearned7 ,physitians have ,religion as well as other men4 ,for the ,work it self1 the present ,age hath produced none that has had better ,reception amongst the learned2 it has been received and fostered by almost all1 there having been but one that ,i knew of 7to verifie that ,books have their ,fate from the ,capacity of the ,reader7 that has had the face to appear against it2 that is ,mr4 ,alexander#b ,rosse2 but he is dead1 and it is uncomely to skirmish with his shadow4 ,it shall be sufficient to remember to the ,reader1 that the noble and most learned ,knight1 ,sir ,kenelm ,digby1 has delivered his opinion of it in another sort1 who though in some things he differ from the ,authors sense1 yet hath he most candidly and ingeniously allow'd it to be a very learned and excellent ,piece2 and ,i think no ,scholar will say there can be an approbation more authentique4 ,since the time he ,published his ,observations upon it1 one ,mr4 ,jo4 ,merryweather1 a ,master of ,arts of the ,university of ,cambridge1 hath deem'd it worthy to be put into the universal ,language1 which about the year #afdd he performed2 and that hath carried the ,authors name not only into the ,low-,countries and ,france 7in both which places the ,book in ,latin hath since been printed7 but into ,italy and ,germany2 and in ,germany it hath since fallen into the hands of a ,gentleman of that ,nation#c 7of his name he hath given us no more than ,l4,n4,m4,e4,n47 who hath written learned ,annotations upon it in ,latin1 which were ,printed together with the ,book at ,strasbourg #afeb4 ,and for the general good opinion the ,world had entertained both of the ,work and ,author1 this ,stranger tells you#d3 ,inter alios ,auctores incidi in libruni cui ,titulus ,religio ,medici1 jam ante mihi innotuerat lectionem istius libri multos prclaros viros delectasse1 imo occupasse4 ,non ignorabam librum in ,anglia1 ,gallia1 ,italia1 ,belgio1 ,germania1 cupidissime legi2 coustabat mihi eum non solum in ,anglia ac ,batavia1 sed et ,purisiis cum prfatione1 in qua ,auctor magnis laudibus fertur1 esse typis mandatum4 ,compertum mihi erat multos magnos atq2 eruditos viros sensere ,auctorem 7quantum ex hoc scripto perspici potest7 sanctitate vit ac pietare elucere1 etc4 ,but for the worth of the ,book it is so well known to every ,english-man that is fit to read it1 that this attestation of a ,forrainer may seem superfluous4 #b ,in his ,medicus ,medicatus4 #c ,that he was a ,german appears by his notes page #ce1 where he useth these words1 ,dulcissima nostra ,germania1 etc4 #d ,in ,prfat4 ,annotat4 ,the ,german1 to do him right1 hath in his ,annotations given a fair specimen of his learning1 shewing his skill in the ,languages1 as well antient as modern2 as also his acquaintance with all manner of ,authors1 both sacred and profane1 out of which he has ammas'd a world of ,quotations3 but yet1 not to mention that he hath not observed some ,errors of the ,press1 and one or two main ones of the ,latin ,translation1 whereby the ,author is much injured2 it cannot be denyed but he hath pass'd over many hard places untoucht1 that might deserve a ,note2 that he hath made ,annotations on some1 where no need was2 in the explication of others hath gone besides the true sense4 ,and were he free from all these1 yet one great ,fault there is he may be justly charg'd with1 that is1 that he cannot manum de ,tabula even in matters the most obvious3 which is an affectation ill-becoming a ,scholar2 witness the most learned ,annotator1 ,claud4 ,minos4 ,divion4 in prfat4 commentar4 ,alciat4 ,emblemat4 prfix4 ,prstat 7saith he7 brevius omnia persequi1 et leviter attingere qu nemini esse ignota suspicari possint1 quam quasi ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho ,,with ,,dasia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,psi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu1 perq2 locos communes identidem expatiari4 ,i go not about by finding fault with his1 obliquely to commend my own2 ,i am as far from that1 as 'tis possible others will be3 ,all ,i seek1 by this ,preface1 next to acquainting the ,reader with the various entertainment of the ,book1 is1 that he would be advertized that these ,notes were collected ten#e years since1 long before the ,german's were written2 so that ,i am no ,plagiary 7as who peruseth his ,notes and mine1 will easily perceive73 ,and in the second place1 that ,i made this ,recueil meerly for mine own entertainment1 and not with any intention to evulge it2 ,truth is my witness1 the publication proceeds meerly from the importunity of the ,book-seller 7my special friend7 who being acquainted with what ,i had done1 and about to set out another ,edition of the ,book1 would not be denied these notes to attex to it2 'tis he 7not ,i7 that divulgeth it1 and whatever the success be1 he alone is concern'd in it2 ,i only say for my self what my ,annotations bear in the ,frontispiece-- ,nec satis est vulgasse fidem---- ,that is1 that it was not enough to all persons 7though pretenders to ,learning7 that our ,physitian had publish'd his ,creed1 because it wanted an exposition4 ,i say further1 that the ,german's is not full2 and that 7----,quicquid sum ,ego quamvis infra ,lucilli censum ingeniumq2----7 my explications do in many things illustrate the ,text of my ,author4 #bd ,martii1 #afed4 #e ,excepting two or three particulars in which reference is made to some ,books that came over since that time4 ,,annotations ,,upon ,,religio ,,medici ,the ,epistle to the ,,reader ,certainly that man were greedy of life1 who should desire to live when all the ,world were at an end2 ,this ,mr4 ,merryweather hath rendred thus2 ,cupidum esse vit oportet1 qui universo jam expirante mundo vivere cuperet2 and well enough3 but it is not amiss to remember1 that we have this saying in ,seneca the ,tragoedian1 who gives it us thus1 ,vit est avidus quisquis non vult mundo secum pereunte mori4 ,there are many things delivered ,rhetorically4 ,the ,author herein imitates the ingenuity of ,st4 ,austin1 who in his ,retract4 corrects himself for having delivered some things more like a young ,rhetorician than a sound ,divine2 but though ,st4 ,aug4 doth deservedly acknowledge it a fault in himself1 in that he voluntarily published such things1 yet cannot it be so in this ,author1 in that he intended no publication of it1 as he professeth in this ,epistle1 and in that other to ,sir ,kenelm ,digby4 ,,the ,,first ,,part ,sect4 #a4 ,pag4 #a4 ,the general scandal of my ,profession4 ,physitians 7of the number whereof it appears by several passages in this ,book the ,author is one7 do commonly hear ill in this behalf4 ,it is a common speech 7but only amongst the unlearn'd sort7 ,ubi tres ,medici1 duo ,athei4 ,the reasons why those of that ,profession 7,i declare my self that ,i am none1 but ,causarum ,actor ,mediocris1 to use ,horace his ,phrase7 may be thought to deserve that censure1 the ,author rendreth ,sect4 #ai4 ,the natural course of my studies4 ,the vulgar lay not the imputation of ,atheism only upon ,physitians1 but upon ,philosophers in general1 who for that they give themselves to understand the operations of ,nature1 they calumniate them1 as though they rested in the second causes without any respect to the first4 ,hereupon it was1 that in the tenth ,age ,pope ,silvester the second pass'd for a ,magician1 because he understood ,geometry and natural ,philosophy4 ,baron4 ,annal4 #iij4 ,and ,apuleius long before him laboured of the same suspicion1 upon no better ground2 he was accus'd1 and made a learned ,apology for himself1 and in that hath laid down what the ground is of such accusations1 in these words3 ,hc ferm communi quodam errore imperitorum ,philosophis objectantur1 ut partem eorum qui corporum causas meras et simplices rimantur1 irreligiosos putant1 eosque aiunt ,deos abnuere1 ut ,anaxagoram1 et ,lucippum1 et ,democritum1 et ,epicurum1 coeterosq2 rerum natur ,patronos4 ,apul4 in ,apolog4 ,and it is possible that those that look upon the second ,causes scattered1 may rest in them and go no further1 as my ,lord ,bacon in one of his ,essayes observeth2 but our ,author tells us there is a true ,philosophy1 from which no man becomes an ,atheist1 ,sect4 #df4 ,the indifferency of my behaviour and ,discourse in matters of ,religion4 ,bigots are so oversway'd by a preposterous ,zeal1 that they hate all moderation in discourse of ,religion2 they are the men forsooth--qui solos credant habendos esse ,deos quos ipsi colunt4 ,erasmus upon this accompt makes a great complaint to ,sir ,tho4 ,more in an ,epistle of his1 touching one ,dorpius a ,divine of ,lovain1 who because1 upon occasion of discourse betwixt them1 ,erasmus would not promise him to write against ,luther1 told ,erasmus that he was a ,lutheran1 and afterwards published him for such2 and yet as ,erasmus was reputed no very good ,catholick1 so for certain he was no ,protestant4 ,not that ,i meerly owe this ,title to the ,font as most do1 taking up their ,religion according to the way of their ,ancestors2 this is to be blamed among all persons3 ,it was practised as well amongst ,heathens as ,christians4 ,per caput hoc juro per quod ,pater ant solebat1 saith ,ascanius in ,virgil3 and ,apuleius notes it for an absurdity4 ,utrum ,philosopho1 putas turpe scire ista1 an neseire8 negligere1 an curare8 nosse quanta sit etiam in istis providenti ratio1 an de diis immortalibus ,matri et ,patri cedere8 saith he in ,apolog4 and so doth ,minutius4 ,unusquisq2 vestrum non cogitat prius se debere deum nosse quam colere1 dum inconsulte gestiuntur parentibus obedire1 dum fieri malunt alieni erroris accessio1 quam sibi credere4 ,minut4 in ,octav4 ,but having in my ripers examined1 etc4 according to the ,apostolical ,precept1 ,omnia probate1 quod bonum est tenete4 ,sect4 #b4 ,pag4 #h4 ,there being a ,geography of ,religion i4e4 of ,christian ,religion1 which you may see described in ,mr4 ,brerewood's ,enquiries3 he means not of the ,protestant ,religion2 for though there be a difference in ,discipline1 yet the ,anglican1 ,scotic1 ,belgic1 ,gallican1 and ,helvetic ,churches differ not in any essential matter of the ,doctrine1 as by the ,harmony of ,confessions appears4 #e4 ,epist4 ,theod4 ,bez ,edmundo ,grindallo ,ep4 ,londinens4 ,wherein ,i dislike nothing but the ,name that is ,lutheran1 ,calvinist1 ,zuinglian1 etc4 ,now the accidental occasion wherein1 etc4 ,this is graphically described by ,thuanus in his ,history3 but because his words are too large for this purpose1 ,i shall give it you somewhat more briefly1 according to the relation of the ,author of the ,history of the ,council of ,trent4 ,the occasion was the necessity of ,pope ,leo the ,tenth1 who by his profusion had so exhausted the ,treasure of the ,church1 that he was constrained to have recourse to the publishing of ,indulgencies to raise monies3 some of which he had destined to his own ,treasury1 and other part to his ,allyes1 and particularly to his ,sister he gave all the money that should be raised in ,saxony2 and she1 that she might make the best profit of the donation1 commits it to one ,aremboldus1 a ,bishop to appoint ,treasurers for these ,indulgences4 ,now the custome was1 that whensoever these ,indulgences were sent into ,saxony1 they were to be divulged by the ,fryars ,eremites 7of which ,order ,luther then was71 but ,aremboldus his ,agents thinking with themselves1 that the ,fryars ,eremites were so well acquainted with the trade1 that if the business should be left to them1 they should neither be able to give so good an account of their ,negotiation1 nor yet get so much themselves by it as they might do in case the business were committed to another ,order2 they thereupon recommend it to 7and the business is undertaken by7 the ,dominican ,fryars1 who performed it so ill1 that the scandal arising both from thence1 and from the ill lives of those that set them on work1 stirred up ,luther to write against the abuses of these ,indulgences2 which was all he did at first2 but then1 not long after1 being provoked by some ,sermons and small ,discourses that had been published against what he had written1 he rips up the business from the beginning1 and publishes xcv ,theses against it at ,wittenberg4 ,against these ,tekel a ,dominican writes2 then ,luther adds an explication to his4 ,eckius and ,prierius ,dominicans1 thereupon take the controversie against him3 and now ,luther begins to be hot2 and because his adversaries could not found the matter of ,indulgences upon other ,foundations then the ,popes power and infallibility1 that begets a disputation betwixt them concerning the ,popes power1 which ,luther insists upon as inferiour to that of a general ,council2 and so by degrees he came on to oppose the ,popish ,doctrine of ,remission of sins1 ,penances1 and ,purgatory2 and by reason of ,cardinal ,cajetans imprudent management of the conference he had with him1 it came to pass that he rejected the whole body of ,popish doctrine4 ,so that by this we may see what was the accidental occasion wherein1 the slender means whereby1 and the abject condition of the person by whom1 the work of ,reformation of ,religion was set on foot4 ,sect4 #c4 ,pag4 #h4 ,yet ,i have not so shaken hands with those1 desperate ,resolutions1 7,resolvers it should be1 without doubt7 who had rather venture at large their decayed ,bottom1 than bring her in to be new trimm'd in the ,dock2 who had rather promiscuously retain all1 than abridge any2 and obstinately be what they are1 than what they have been2 as to stand in a diameter and at swords point with them3 we have reformed from them1 not against them1 etc4 ,these words by ,mr4 ,merryweather are thus rendred1 sc4 ,nec tamen in vecordem illum pertinacium hominum gregem memet adjungo1 qui lubefactatum navigium malunt fortun committere quam in navale de integro resarciendum deducere1 qui malunt omnia promiscu retinere quam quicquam inde diminuere1 et pertinaciter esse qui sunt quam qui olim fuerunt1 ita ut iisdem ex diametro repugnent3 ab illis1 non contra illos1 reformationem instituimus1 etc4 ,and the ,latine ,annotator sits down very well satisfied with it1 and hath bestowed some notes upon it2 but under the favour both of him and the ,translator1 this ,translation is so far different from the sense of the ,author1 that it hath no sense in it2 or if there be any construction of sense in it1 it is quite besides the ,author's meaning2 which will appear if we consider the context3 by that we shall find that the ,author in giving an account of his ,religion1 tells us first1 that he is a ,christian1 and farther1 that he is of the reform'd ,religion2 but yet he saith1 in this place1 he is not so rigid a ,protestant1 nor at defiance with ,papists so far1 but that in many things he can comply with them1 7the particulars he afterwards mentions in this ,section7 for1 saith he1 we have reform'd from them1 not against them1 that is1 as the ,archbishop of ,canterbury against the ,jesuit discourseth well4 ,we have made no new ,religion nor ,schism from the old2 but in calling for the old1 and desiring that which was novel and crept in might be rejected1 and the ,church of ,rome refusing it1 we have reform'd from those upstart novel ,doctrines1 but against none of the old3 and other sense the place cannot bear2 therefore how the ,latine ,annotator can apply it as though in this place the ,author intended to note the ,anabaptists1 ,i see not1 unless it were in respect of the expression ,vecordem pertinacium hominum gregem1 which truly is a description well befitting them1 though not intended to them in this place3 howsoever1 ,i see not any ground from hence to conclude the ,author to be any whit inclining to the ,bulk of ,popery 7but have great reason from many passages in this ,book to believe the contrary17 as he that prefix'd a ,preface to the ,parisian ,edition of this ,book hath unwarrantably done4 ,but for the mistake of the ,translator1 it is very obvious from whence that arose4 ,i doubt not but it was from mistake of the sense of the ,english ,phrase ,shaken hands1 which he hath rendered by these words1 ,memet adjungo1 wherein he hath too much play'd the ,scholar1 and show'd himself to be more skilful in forraign and antient customs1 then in the vernacular practise and usage of the language of his own ,country2 for although amongst the ,latines protension of the ,hand were a ,symbole and sign of ,peace and ,concord 7as ,alex4 ab ,alexandro2 ,manum ver protendere1 pacem peti significabunt 7saith he7 ,gen4 ,dier4 lib4 #d4 cap4 ult4 which also is confirmed by ,cicero pro ,dejotaro2 and ,csar4 l4 #b4 de ,bellico ,gallico7 and was used in their first meetings1 as appears by the ,phrase1 ,jungere hospitio ,dextras2 and by that of ,virgil1 ,oremus pacem1 et ,dextras tendamus inermes1 ,and many like passages that occur in the ,poets1 to which ,i believe the ,translator had respect2 yet in modern practise1 especially with us in ,england1 that ceremony is used as much in our ,adieu's as in the first ,congress2 and so the ,author meant in this place1 by saying he had not shaken hands2 that is1 that he had not so deserted1 or bid farewel to the ,romanists1 as to stand at swords point with them3 and then he gives his reasons at those words1 ,for omitting those improperations1 etc4 ,so that instead of memet adjungo1 the ,translator should have used some word or ,phrase of a clean contrary signification2 and instead of ex diametro repugnent1 it should be repugnem4 ,sect4 #e4 ,pag4 #aa4 ,henry the ,eighth1 who1 though he rejected the ,pope1 refused not the faith of ,rome4 ,so much ,buchanan in his own life written by himself testifieth1 who speaking of his coming into ,england about the latter end of that ,king's time1 saith1 ,sed ibi tum omnia adeo erant incerta1 ut eodem die1 ac eodem igne 7very strange67 utriusque factionis homines cremarentur1 ,henrico #h1 jam seniore su magnis securitati quam ,religionis puritati intento4 ,and for the confirmation of this assertion of the ,author1 vide ,stat4 #ca4 ,h4 #h1 cap4 #ad4 ,and was conceived the state of ,venice would have attempted in our dayes4 ,this expectation was in the time of ,pope ,paul the ,fifth1 who by excommunicating that ,republique1 gave occasion to the ,senate to banish all such of the ,clergy as would not by reason of the ,popes command administer the ,sacraments2 and upon that account the ,jesuits were cast out1 and never since receiv'd into that ,state4 ,sect4 #f4 ,pag4 #ab4 ,or be angry with his judgement for not agreeing with me in that1 from which perhaps within a few days ,i should dissent my self4 ,i cannot think but in this expression the ,author had respect to that of that excellent ,french ,writer ,monsieur ,mountaign 7in whom ,i often trace him74 ,combien diversement jugeons nous de choses8 ,combien de fois changeons nous nos fantasies8 ,ce que je tien aujourdhuy1 ce que je croy1 je le tien et le croy de toute ma ,creance1 mais ne m'est il pas advenu non une fois mais cent1 mais mille et tous les jours d'avoir embrasse quelque autre chose8 ,mountaign lib4 #b4 ,des ,essais4 ,chap4 #ab4 ,every man is not a proper ,champion for truth1 etc4 ,a good cause is never betray'd more than when it is prosecuted with much eagerness1 and but little sufficiency2 and therefore ,zuinglius1 though he were of ,carolostadius his opinion in the point of the ,sacrament of the ,eucharist against ,luther1 yet he blamed him for undertaking the defence of that cause against ,luther1 not judging him able enough for the encounter3 ,non satis habet humerorum1 saith he of ,carolostad1 alluding to that of ,horace1 ,sumite materiam vestris qui scribitis quam ,viribus1 et versate diu quid ferre recusent ,quid valeant humeri4----,so ,minutius ,flix2 ,plerumq2 pro disserentium viribus1 et eloquenti potestate1 etiam perspicu veritatis conditio mutetur4 ,minut4 in ,octav4 ,and ,lactantius saith1 this truth is verified in ,minutius himself3 for ,him1 ,tertullian and ,cyprian1 he spares not to blame 7all of them7 as if they had not with dexterity enough defended the ,christian cause against the ,ethniques4 ,lactant4 de justitia1 cap4 #a4 ,i could wish that those that succeeded him had not as much cause of complaint against him3 surely he is noted to have many errors contra fidem4 ,pag4 #ac4 ,in ,philosophy----there is no man more ,paradoxical then my self1 but in ,divinity ,i love to keep the ,road1 etc4 ,appositely to the mind of the ,author1 saith the ,publisher of ,mr4 ,pembel's ,book de origine formarum1 ,certe 7saith he7 in locis ,theologicis ne quid detrimenti capiat vel ,pax4 vel ,veritas ,christi---- novarum opinionum pruritu prorsus abstinendum puto1 usq2 adeo ut ad certam regulam etiam loqui debeamus1 quod pie et prudenter monet ,augustinus 7de ,civ4 ,dei4 #a4 #aj1 cap4 #bc47 ne verborum licentia impia vi gignat opinionem1 at in pulvere ,scholastico ubi in nullius verba1 juramus1 et in utramvis partem sine dispendio vel pacis1 vel salutis ire liceat1 major conceditur cum sentiendi tum loquendi libertas1 etc4 ,capel4 in ,ep4 ,dedicat4 ,pembel1 de origin form4 prfix4 ,heresies perish not with their ,authors1 but like the ,river ,arethusa1 though they lose their ,currents in one place1 they rise again in another4 ,who would not think that this expression were taken from ,mr4 ,mountaigne1 l4 #b1 des ,ess4 cap4 #ab4 ,where he hath these words1 ,nature enserre dans les termes de son progress ordinaire comme toutes autres choses aussi les creances les judgements et opinions des hommes elles ont leur revolutions2 and that ,mountaigne took his from ,tully4 ,non enim hominum interitu sententi quoque occidunt1 ,tull4 de nat4 deorum l4 #a1 etc4 ,of the ,river ,arethusa thus ,seneca4 ,videbis celebratissimum carminibus fontem ,arethusam limpidissimi ac perludicissimi ad imum stagni gelidissimas aquas profundentem1 sive illas primum nascentes invenit1 sive flumen integrum subter tot maria1 et confusione pejoris und servatum reddidit4 ,senec4 de consolat4 ad ,martiam4 ,sect4 #g4 ,pag4 #ad4 ,now the first of mine was that of the ,arabians4 ,for this ,heresie1 the ,author here sheweth what it was2 they are called ,arabians from the place where it was fostered2 and because the ,heresiarch was not known1 ,euseb4 ,st4 ,aug4 and ,nicephorus do all write of it3 the reason of this ,heresie was so specious1 that it drew ,pope ,john #bb4 to be of the same perswasion4 ,where then was his infallibility8 ,why1 ,bellarmine tells you he was nevertheless infallible for that3 for1 saith he1 he maintained this opinion when he might do it without peril of ,heresie1 for that no definition of the ,church whereby 'twas made ,heresie1 had preceded when he held that opinion4 ,bellar4 l4 #d1 de ,pontif4 ,roman4 cap4 #d4 ,now this definition was first made 7'tis true7 by ,pope ,benedict in the #ad ,age3 but then ,i would ask another question1 that is1 ,if 'till that time there were nothing defined in the ,church touching the beatitude of ,saints1 what certainty was there touching the sanctity of any man8 and upon what ground were those canonizations of ,saints had1 that were before the #ad ,age8 ,the second was that of ,origen4 ,besides ,st4 ,augustine1 ,epiphanius1 and also ,s4 ,hierom1 do relate that ,origen held1 that not only the souls of men1 but the ,devils themselves should be discharged from torture after a certain time3 but ,genebrard endeavours to clear him of this4 ,vid4 ,coquum1 in #ba4 lib4 ,aug4 de4 ,civ4 ,dei4 cap4 #ag4 ,these opinions though condemned by lawful ,councils1 were not ,heresie in me1 etc4 ,for to make an ,heretique1 there must be not only ,error in intellectu but pertinacia in voluntate4 ,so ,st4 ,aug4 ,qui sententiam suam quamvis falsam atque perversam nulla pertinaci animositate defendunt1 qurunt autem cauta solicitudine veritatem1 corrigi parati cum invenerint1 nequaquam sunt inter ,hreticos deputundi4 ,aug4 cont4 ,manich4 #bd1 qu4 #c4 ,sect4 #i4 ,pag4 #af4 ,the deepest mysteries ours contains have not only been illustrated1 but maintained by ,syllogism and the ,rule of ,reason1 and since this ,book was written1 by ,mr4 ,white in his ,institutiones ,sacr4 ,and when they have seen the ,red ,sea1 doubt not of the ,miracle4 ,those that have seen it1 have been better informed then ,sir ,henry ,blount was1 for he tells us that he desired to view the passage of ,moses into the ,red ,sea 7not being above three days journey off7 but the ,jews told him the precise place was not known within less than the space of a days journey along the shore2 wherefore 7saith he7 ,i left that as too uncertain for any ,observation4 ,in his ,voyage into the ,levant4 ,sect4 #aj4 ,pag4 #ah4 ,i had as lieve you tell me that ,anima est ,angelus hominis1 est corpus ,dei1 as ,entelechia2 ,lux est umbra ,dei1 as actus perspicui4 ,great variety of opinion there hath been amongst the ,ancient ,philosophers touching the definition of the ,soul4 ,thales1 his was1 that it is a ,nature without ,repose4 ,asclepiades1 that it is an ,exercitation of ,sense4 ,hesiod1 that it is a thing composed of ,earth and ,water2 ,parmenides holds1 of ,earth and ,fire2 ,galen that it is ,heat2 ,hippocrates1 that it is a spirit diffused through the body4 ,some others have held it to be ,light2 ,plato saith1 'tis a ,substance moving itself2 after cometh ,aristotle 7whom the ,author here reproveth7 and goeth a degree farther1 and saith it is ,entelechia1 that is1 that which naturally makes the body to move4 ,but this definition is as rigid as any of the other2 for this tells us not what the essence1 origine or nature of the soul is1 but only marks an effect of it1 and therefore signifieth no more than if he had said 7as the ,author's ,phrase is7 that it is ,angelus hominis1 or an ,intelligence that moveth man1 as he supposed those other to do the ,heavens4 ,now to come to the definition of ,light1 in which the ,author is also unsatisfied with the ,school of ,aristotle1 he saith1 ,it satisfieth him no more to tell him that ,lux est actus perspicui1 than if you should tell him that it is umbra ,dei4 ,the ground of this definition given by the ,peripateticks1 is taken from a passage in ,aristot4 de anima l4 #b1 cap4 #g1 where ,aristotle saith1 ,that the colour of the thing seen1 doth move that which is perspicuum actu 7i4e4 illustratam naturam qu sit in aere aliove corpore trunsparente7 and that that1 in regard of its continuation to the eye1 moveth the eye1 and by its help the internal sensorium2 and that so vision is perform'd4 ,now as it is true that the ,sectators of ,aristotle are to blame1 by fastening upon him by occasion of this passage1 that he meant that those things that made this impress upon the ,organs are meer accidents1 and have nothing of substance2 which is more than ever he meant1 and cannot be maintained without violence to ,reason1 and his own ,principles2 so for ,aristotle himself1 no man is beholding to him for any ,science acquir'd by this definition3 for what is any man the near for his telling him that ,colour 7admitting it to be a body1 as indeed it is1 and in that place he doth not deny7 doth move actu perspicuum1 when as the perspicuity is in relation to the eye2 and he doth not say how it comes to be perspicuous1 which is the thing enquired after1 but gives it that donation before the eye hath perform'd its office2 so that if he had said it had been umbra ,dei1 it would have been as intelligible1 as what he hath said4 ,he that would be satisfied how ,vision is perform'd1 let him see ,mr4 ,hobbs in ,tract4 de nat4 human1 cap4 #b4 ,for ,god hath not caused it to rain upon the ,earth4 ,st4 ,aug4 de ,genes4 ad literam1 cap4 #e1 #f1 salves that expression from any inconvenience2 but the ,author in ,pseudodox4 ,epidemic4 l4 #g1 cap4 #a1 shews that we have no reason to be confident that this ,fruit was an ,apple4 ,i believe that the ,serpent 7if we shall literally understand it7 from his proper form and figure made his motion on his belly before the curse4 ,yet the ,author himself sheweth in ,pseudodox4 ,epidemic4 lib4 #g1 cap4 #a1 that the form or kind of the ,serpent is not agreed on3 yet ,comestor affirm'd it was a ,dragon1 ,eugubinus a ,basilisk1 ,delrio a ,viper1 and others a common ,snake3 but of what kind soever it was1 he sheweth in the same ,volume1 lib4 #e1 c4 #d1 that there was no inconvenience1 that the temptation should be perform'd in this proper shape4 ,i find the tryal of ,pucelage and the ,virginity of ,women which ,god ordained the ,jews1 is very fallible4 ,locus extat1 ,deut4 c4 #bb1 the same is affirm'd by ,laurentius in his ,anatom4 ,whole ,nations have escaped the curse of ,child-birth1 which ,god seems to pronounce upon the whole sex4 ,this is attested by ,m4 ,mountaigne4 ,les doleurs de l'enfantiment par les medicins1 et par ,dieu mesme estimees grandes1 et que nous passons avec tant de ,ceremonies1 il y a des nations entieres qui ne'n fuit nul conte4 l4 #a1 des ,ess4 c4 #ad4 ,sect #aa4 ,pag4 #ai4 ,who can speak of ,eternity without a ,soloecism1 or think thereof without an ,extasie8 ,time we may comprehend1 etc4 ,touching the difference betwixt ,eternity and ,time1 there have been great disputes amongst ,philosophers2 some affirming it to be no more than duration perpetual consisting of parts2 and others 7to which opinion1 it appears by what follows in this ,section1 the ,author adheres7 affirmed 7to use the ,authors ,phrase7 that it hath no distinction of ,tenses1 but is according to ,boetius 7lib4 #e1 consol4 pros4 #f71 his definition1 interminabilis vit tota simul et perfecta possessio4 ,for me1 non nostrum est tantas componere lites4 ,i shall only observe what each of them hath to say against the other4 ,say those of the first opinion against those that follow ,boetius his definition1 ,that definition was taken by ,boetius out of ,plato's ,timus1 and is otherwise applyed1 though not by ,boetius1 yet by those that follow him1 than ever ,plato intended it2 for he did not take it in the ,abstract1 but in the ,concrete1 for an eternal thing1 a ,divine substance1 by which he meant ,god1 or his ,anima mundi3 and this he did1 to the intent to establish this truth1 ,that no mutation can befal the ,divine ,majesty1 as it doth to things subject to generation and corruption2 and that ,plato there intended not to define or describe any species of duration3 and they say that it is impossible to understand any such species of duration that is 7according to the ,authors expression7 but one permanent point4 ,now that which those that follow ,boetius urge against the other definition is1 they say1 it doth not at all difference ,eternity from the nature of ,time2 for they say if it be composed of many ,nunc's1 or many instants1 by the addition of one more it is still encreased2 and by that means ,infinity or ,eternity is not included1 nor ought more than ,time4 ,for this1 see ,mr4 ,white1 de dial4 mundo1 ,dial4 #c4 ,nod4 #d4 ,indeed he only is1 etc4 ,this the ,author infers from the words of ,god to ,moses1 ,i am that ,i am2 and this to distinguish him from all others1 who 7he saith7 have and shall be3 but those that are learned in the ,hebrew1 do affirm that the words in that place 7,exod4 #c7 do not signifie1 ,ego sum qui sum1 et qui est1 etc4 but ,ero qui ero1 et qui erit1 etc4 vid ,gassend4 in animad4 ,epicur4 ,physiolog4 ,sect4 #ab4 ,pag4 #bj4 ,i wonder how ,aristotle could conceive the ,world ,eternal1 or how he could make two ,eternities3 7that is1 that ,god1 and the ,world both were eternal47 ,i wonder more at either the ignorance or incogitancy of the ,conimbricenses1 who in their ,comment upon the eighth book of ,aristotle's ,physicks1 treating of the matter of ,creation1 when they had first said that it was possible to know it1 and that actually it was known 7for ,aristotle knew it7 yet for all this they afterwards affirm1 ,that considering onely the light of ,nature1 there is nothing can be brought to demonstrate ,creation3 and yet farther1 when they had defined ,creation to be the production of a thing ex nihilo1 and had proved that the ,world was so created in time1 and refused the arguments of the ,philosophers to the contrary1 they added this1 ,that the ,world might be created ab terno3 for having propos'd this question ,num aliquid ,deo ex ternitate procreari potuit8 they defend the affirmative1 and assert that not onely incorporeal substances1 as ,angels2 or permanent1 as the celestial ,bodies2 or corruptible as ,men1 etc4 might be produced and made ab terno1 and be conserved by an infinite time1 ex utraq2 parte2 and that this is neither repugnant to ,god the ,creator1 the things created1 nor to the nature of ,creation3 for proof whereof1 they bring instances of the ,sun which if it had been eternal1 had illuminated eternally1 7and the virtue of ,god is not less than the virtue of the ,sun47 ,another instance they bring of the divine ,word1 which was produced ab terno3 in which discourse1 and in the instances brought to maintain it1 it is hard to say whether the madness or impiety be greater2 and certainly if ,christians thus argue1 we have the more reason to pardon the poor heathen ,aristotle4 ,there is in us not three1 but a ,trinity of ,souls4 ,the ,peripatetiques held that men had three distinct ,souls2 whom the ,heretiques1 the ,anomi1 and the ,jacobites1 followed4 ,there arose a great dispute about this matter in ,oxford1 in the year #abgf1 and it was then determined against ,aristotle1 ,daneus ,christ4 ,eth4 l4 #a4 c4 #d4 and ,suarez in his ,treatise de causa formali1 ,quest4 ,an dentur plures form in uno composito1 affirmeth there was a ,synod that did anathematize all that held with ,aristotle in this point4 ,sect4 #ad4 ,pag4 #bc4 ,there is but one first1 and four second causes in all things4 ,in that he saith there is but one first cause1 he speaketh in opposition to the ,manichees1 who held there were ,duo principia2 one from whom came all good1 and the other from whom came all evil3 the reason of ,protagoras did it seems impose upon their understandings2 he was wont to say1 ,si ,deus non est1 unde igitur bona8 ,si autem est1 unde mala8 ,in that he saith there are but four second ,causes1 he opposeth ,plato1 who to the four causes1 material1 efficient1 formal1 and final1 adds for a fifth exemplar or ,ida1 sc4 ,id ad quod respiciens artifex1 id quod destinabat efficit2 according to whose mind ,boetius speaks1 lib4 #c4 met4 #i4 de cons4 ,philosoph4 ,o qui perpetua mundum ratione gubernas1 ,terrarum ,coeliq2 sator qui tempus ab vo ,ire jubes1 stabilisq2 manens das cuncta moveri3 ,quem non extern pepulerunt fingere caus ,materi fluitantis opus1 verum insita summi ,forma boni livore carens3 tu cuncta superno ,ducis ab exemplo1 pulchrum pulcherrimus ipse ,mundum mente gerens1 similique in imagine formans1 ,perfectasq2 jubens perfectum absolvere partes4 ,and ,st4 ,augustine l4 #hc4 quest4 #df4 where 7amongst other7 he hath these words1 ,restat ergo ut omnia ,ratione sint condita1 nec eadem ratione homo qua equus2 hoc enim absurdum est existimare3 singula autem propriis sunt creata rationibus4 ,but these ide ,plato's ,scholar ,aristotle would not allow to make or constitute a different sort of cause from the formal or efficient1 to which purpose he disputes1 l4 #g4 ,metaphysic4 but he and his ,sectators1 and the ,ramists also1 agree 7as the ,author7 that there are but the four remembred ,causes3 so that the ,author1 in affirming there are but four1 hath no ,adversary but the ,platonists2 but yet in asserting there are four 7as his words imply7 there are that oppose him1 and the ,schools of ,aristot4 and ,ramus4 ,i shall bring for instance ,mr4 ,nat ,carpenter1 who in his ,philosophia ,libera affirmeth1 there is no such cause as that which they call the ,final cause3 he argueth thus2 ,every cause hath an influence upon its effect3 but so has not the ,end1 therefore it is not a ,cause4 ,the major proposition 7he saith7 is evident1 because the influence of a cause upon its effect1 is either the causality it self1 or something that is necessarily conjoyned to it3 and the minor as plain1 for either the ,end hath an influence upon the effect immediately1 or mediately1 by stirring up the ,efficient to operate2 not immediately1 because so it should enter either the constitution or production1 or conservation of the things2 but the constitution it cannot enter1 because the constitution is only of matter and form2 nor the ,production1 for so it should concur to the production1 either as it is simply the end1 or as an exciter of the ,efficient2 but not simply as the end1 because the end as end doth not go before1 but followeth the thing produced1 and therefore doth not concur to its production3 if they say it doth so far concur1 as it is desired of the agent or efficient cause1 it should not so have an immediate influence upon the effect1 but should onely first move the efficient4 ,lastly1 saith he1 it doth not enter the conservation of a thing1 because a thing is often conserved1 when it is frustrate of its due end1 as when it's converted to a new use and end4 ,divers other ,arguments he hath to prove there is no such cause as the final cause4 ,nat4 ,carpenter ,philosoph4 liber ,decad4 #c4 ,exercitat4 #e4 ,but for all this1 the ,author and he differ not in substance3 for 'tis not the ,author's intention to assert that the end is in nature prexistent to the effect1 but only that whatsoever ,god has made1 he hath made to some end or other2 which he doth to oppose the ,sectators of ,epicurus1 who maintain the contrary1 as is to be seen by this of ,lucretius which follows4 ,illud in his rebus vitium vehementer et istum1 ,effugere errorem vitareque premeditabor ,lumina ne facias oculorum clara creata ,prospicere ut possimus2 et1 ut proferre viai ,proceros passus1 ideo fastigia posse ,surarum ac feminum pedibus fundata plicari3 ,brachia tum porro validis ex apta lacertis ,esse1 manusq2 datas utraq2 ex parte ministras1 ,vt facere ad vitam possimus1 qu foret usus3 ,ctera de genere hoc1 inter qucunq2 precantur ,omnia perversa prpostera sunt ratione3 ,nil ideo quoniam natum'st in corpore1 ut uti ,possemus2 sed quod natum'st1 id procreat usum1 ,nec fuit ante videre oculorum lumina nata1 ,nec dictis orare prius1 quam lingua creata'st1 ,sed potius longe lingu prcessit origo ,sermonem2 multoq3 creat sunt prius aures ,quam sonus est auditus1 et omnia deniq2 membra ,ante fuere1 ut opinor1 eorum quam foret usus3 ,haud igitur potuere utendi crescere causa4 ,lucret4 lib4 #d4 #hbb-hda4 ,sect4 #ae4 ,pag4 #bd4 ,there are no ,grotesques in nature1 etc4 ,so ,monsr4 ,montaign1 ,il n'ya rien d'inutil en nature1 non pas l'inutilit mesmes1 ,rien ne s'est inger en cet ,univers qui n'y tienne place opportun4 ,ess4 l4 #c4 c4 #a4 ,who admires not ,regio-montanus his ,fly beyond his ,eagle8 ,of these ,du ,bartas4 ,que diray je de l'aigle1 ,d'ont un doct ,aleman honore nostre siecle ,aigle qui deslogeant de la maistresse main1 ,aila loin au devant d'un ,empereur ,germain2 ,et l'ayant recontr suddain d'une aisle accorte1 ,se tournant le suit au seuil de la porte ,du fort ,norembergois1 que lis piliers dorez1 ,les tapissez chemins1 les arcs elabourez1 ,les fourdroyans ,canons1 in la jeusnesse isnelle1 ,in le chena ,senat1 n'honnoroit tant come elle4 ,vn jour1 que cetominer plus des esbats1 que de mets1 ,en priv fasteyoit ses seignieurs plus amees1 ,vne mousche de fer1 dans sa main recelee1 ,prit sans ayde d'autroy1 sa gallard evolee3 ,fit une entiere ,ronde1 et puis d'un cerveau las ,come ayant jugement1 se purcha sur son bras4 ,thus ,englished by ,silvester4 ,why should not ,i that wooden ,eagle mention8 7,a learned ,german's late admir'd invention7 ,which mounting from his ,fist that framed her1 ,flew far to meet an ,almain ,emperour3 ,and having met him1 with her nimble ,train1 ,and weary ,wings turning about again1 ,followed him close unto the ,castle ,gate ,of ,noremberg2 whom all the shews of state1 ,streets hang'd with ,arras1 arches curious built1 ,loud thundring ,canons1 ,columns richly guilt1 ,grey-headed ,senate1 and youth's gallantise1 ,grac'd not so much as onely this device4 ,once as this ,artist more with mirth than meat1 ,feasted some friends that he esteemed great2 ,from under's hand an ,iron ,fly flew out1 ,which having flown a perfect round about1 ,with weary wings1 return'd unto her ,master1 ,and 7as judicious7 on his arm she plac'd her4 ,or wonder not more at the operation of two souls in those little bodies1 than but one in the ,trunk of a ,cedar8 ,that is1 the vegetative1 which according to the common opinion1 is supposed to be in ,trees1 though the ,epicures and ,stoiques would not allow any ,soul in ,plants2 but ,empedocles and ,plato allowed them not only a vegetative ,soul1 but affirm'd them to be ,animals4 ,the ,manichees went farther1 and attributed so much of the rational ,soul to them1 that they accounted it ,homicide to gather either the flowers or fruit1 as ,st4 ,aug4 reports4 ,we carry with us the wonders we seek without us4 ,so ,st4 ,aug4 l4 #aj4 de civ4 c4 #c4 ,omni miraculo quod fit per hominem majus miraculum est homo4 ,sect4 #af4 ,pag4 #be4 ,another of his servant ,nature1 that publique and universal ,manuscript that lies expansed1 etc4 ,so is the description of ,du ,bartas #g4 jour de la sepm4 ,oyes ce ,docteur muet estudie en ce livre ,qui nuict et jour ouvert t'apprendra de bien vivre4 ,all things are artificial1 for ,nature is the ,art of ,god4 ,so ,mr4 ,hobbes in his ,leviathan 7in initio7 ,nature is the ,art whereby ,god governs the world4 ,sect4 #ag4 ,pag4 #bg4 ,directing the operations of single and individual ,essences1 etc4 ,things singular or individuals1 are in the opinion of ,philosophers not to be known1 but by the way of sense1 or by that which knows by its ,essence1 and that is onely ,god4 ,the ,devils have no such knowledge1 because whatsoever knows so1 is either the cause or effect of the thing known2 whereupon ,averroes concluded that ,god was the cause of all things1 because he understands all things by his ,essence2 and ,albertus ,magnus concluded1 ,that the inferiour intelligence understands the superiour1 because it is an effect of the superiour3 but neither of these can be said of the ,devil2 for it appears he is not the effect of any of these inferiour things1 much less is he the cause1 for the power of ,creation onely belongs to ,god4 ,all cannot be happy at once1 because the ,glory of one ,state depends upon the ruine of another4 ,this ,theme is ingeniously handled by ,mr4 ,montaigne livr4 #a4 des ,ess4 cap4 #bb4 the title whereof is1 ,le profit de l'un est dommage de l'autre4 ,sect4 #ah4 ,pag4 #bi4 ',tis the common fate of men of singular gifts of mind1 to be destitute of those of ,fortune4 ,so ,petron4 ,arbiter4 ,amor ingenii neminem unquum divitem fecit1 in ,satyric4 ,and ,apuleius in ,apolog4 ,idem mihi etiam 7saith he7 paupertatem opprobravit acceptum ,philosopho crimen et ultro profitendum2 and then a little afterwards1 he sheweth that it was the common fate of those that had singular gifts of mind3 ,eadem enim est paupertas apud ,grcos in ,aristide justa1 in ,phocyone benigna1 in ,epaminonde strenua1 in ,socrate sapiens1 in ,homero diserta4 ,we need not labour with so many arguments to confute judicial ,astrology4 ,there is nothing in judicial ,astrology that may render it impious2 but the exception against it is1 that it is vain and fallible2 of which any man will be convinced1 that has read ,tully de ,divinat4 and ,st4 ,aug4 book #e4 de ,civ4 dei4 ,sect4 #ai4 ,pag4 #ca4 ,there is in our soul a kind of ,triumvirate----that distracts the peace of our ,commonwealth1 not less than did that other the ,state of ,rome4 ,there were two ,triumvirates1 by which the peace of ,rome was distracted2 that of ,crassus1 ,csar and ,pompey1 of which ,lucan1 l4 #a4 ----,tu causam aliorum---- ,facta tribus ,dominis communis ,roma1 nec unquam ,in turbam missi feralia foedera ,regni4 ,and that other of ,augustus1 ,antonius and ,lepidus1 by whom1 saith ,florus1 ,respublica convulsa est lacerataque1 which comes somewhat near the ,author's words1 and therefore ,i take it that he means this last ,triumvirate4 ,sect4 #ai4 ,pag4 #cb4 ,would disswade my belief from the miracle of the brazen ,serpent4 ,vid4 ,coqueum in1 l4 #aj4 ,aug4 de ,civ4 ,dei1 c4 #h4 ,and bid me mistrust a miracle in ,elias1 etc4 ,the ,history is #ah4 #a ,reg4 ,it should be ,elijah4 ,the ,author in #ae4 cap4 lib4 #g4 ,pseudodox4 sheweth it was not perform'd naturally2 he was 7as he saith7 a perfect miracle4 ,to think the combustion of ,sodom might be natural4 ,of that opinion was ,strabo1 whereupon he is reprehended by ,genebrard in these words3 ,strabo falsus est----dum eversionem addicit sulphuri et bitumini e terra erumpentibus1 qu erat assignanda ,coelo1 i4e4 ,deo irato4 ,tacitus reports it according to the ,bible1 fulminis ictu arsisse4 ,sect4 #bj4 ,pag4 #cc4 ,those that held ,religion was the difference of man from ,beasts1 etc4 ,lactantius was one of those3 ,religioni ergo serviendum est1 quam qui non suspicit1 ipse se prosternit in terram1 et vitam pecudum secutus humanitate se abdicat4 ,lactant de fals4 ,sapientia1 cap4 #aj4 ,the ,doctrine of ,epicurus that denied the providence of ,god1 was no ,atheism1 but1 etc4 ,i doubt not but he means that delivered in his ,epistle to ,menceus1 and recorded by ,diogenes ,laertius1 lib4 #aj4 ,quod beatum ternumque est1 id nec habet ipsum negotii quicquam1 nec exhibit alteri1 itaque neque ira1 neque gratia tenetur1 quod qu talia sunt imbecillia sunt omnia2 which the ,epicurean ,poet hath delivered almost in the same words4 ,omnis enim per se divum natura necesse 'st ,immortali vo summa cum pace fruatur1 ,semota nostris rebus sejunctaq2 long3 ,nam privata dolore omni1 privata periclis ,ipsa suis pollens opibus nihil indiga nostri ,nec bene pro meritis capitur1 nec tangitur ira4 ,lucret4 lib4 #b4 ,that ,villaine and ,secretary of ,hell1 that composed that miscreant piece of the three ,impostors4 ,it was ,ochinus that composed this piece2 but there was no less a man than the ,emperour ,frederick the ,second1 that was as lavish of his tongue as the other of his pen2 ,cui spe in ore1 ,tres fuisse insignes ,impostores1 qui genus humanum seduxerunt3 ,moysem1 ,christum1 ,mahumetem4 ,lips4 monit4 et exempl4 ,politic4 cap4 #d4 ,and a greater than he1 ,pope ,leo the ,tenth1 was as little favourable to our ,saviour1 when he us'd that speech which is reported of him1 ,quantas nobis divitias comparavit ista de ,christo fabula4 ,sect4 #ba4 ,pag4 #cd4 ,there are in ,scripture1 stories that do exceed the fables of ,poets4 ,so the ,author of ,relig4 ,laici4 ,cert mira admodum in ,s4 ,s4 plus quam in reliquis omnibus ,historiis traduntur2 7and then he concludes with the ,author7 sed qu non retundunt intellectum1 sed exercent4 ,yet raise no question who shall rise with that ,rib at the ,resurrection4 ,the ,author cap4 #b l4 #g4 ,pseudodox4 sheweth that it appeares in ,anatomy1 that the ,ribs of ,man and ,woman are equal4 ,whether the world were created in ,autumn1 ,summer1 or the ,spring1 etc4 ,in this matter there is a consent between two learned ,poets1 ,lucretius and ,virgil1 that it begins in ,spring4 ,at novitas mundi nec frigora dura ciebat1 ,nec nimios stus1 nec magnis viribus auras4 ,lucretius4 ,which he would have to be understood of ,autumn1 because that resembles old age rather than ,infancy4 ,he speaks expresly of the ,fowls4 ,principio genus alituum variq2 volucres ,ova relinquebant exclus tempore verno4 ,lucret4 ,then for ,virgil4 ,non alios prima nascentis origine mundi ,illuxisse dies aliumve habuisse tenorem ,crediderim1 ver illud erat1 ver magnus agebat ,orbis1 et hibernis parcebant flatibus ,euri4 ,virgil #b4 ,georgic4 ,but there is a great difference about it betwixt ,church-,doctors2 some agreeing with these ,poets and others affirming the time to be in ,autumn3 but truly1 in strict speaking1 it was not created in any one1 but all of the seasons1 as the ,author saith here1 and hath shewed at large4 ,pseudodox4 ,epidemic4 lib4 #f4 cap4 #b4 ,sect4 #bb4 ,pag4 #ce4 ',tis ridiculous to put off or down the general floud of ,noah in that particular inundation of ,deucalion1 as the ,heathens some of them sometimes did3 ,confuderunt igitur spe ,ethnici particularia illa diluvia1 qu longe post secuta sunt1 cum illo universali quod prcessit1 ut ex fabulis in ,diluvio ,deucaliono sparsis colligere licet2 non tamen semper nec ubique4 ,author4 ,observat4 in ,mytholog4 ,nat4 ,com4 ,then amongst those that confound them1 he reckons ,ovid and ,plutarch4 ,how all the kinds of ,creatures1 not onely in their own bulks1 but with a competency of food and sustenance1 might be preserved in one ,ark1 and within the extent of #cjj ,cubits1 to a reason that rightly examines it will appear very feasible4 ,yet ,apelles the ,disciple of ,mercion1 took upon him to deride the ,history of ,moses in this particular1 alledging that it must needs be a fable1 for that it was impossible so many creatures should be contain'd in so small a space4 ,origen and ,st4 ,aug4 to answer this pretended difficulty1 alleadge that ,moses in this place speakes of ,geometrical 7and not vulgar7 cubits1 of which every one was as much as six vulgar ones2 and so no difficulty4 ,but ,perer4 l4 #aj4 com4 in ,genes1 quest4 #e4 de arca1 rejects this opinion of ,origen1 as being both against reason and ,scripture4 #a4 ,because that sort of ,cubit was never in use amongst any people1 and therefore absurd to think ,moses should intend it in this place4 #b4 ,if ,moses should not speak of the same ,cubits here1 that he mentions in others places1 there would be great quivocation in ,scripture3 now in another place1 i4e4 ,exod4 #bg4 he saith1 ,god commanded him to make an ,altar three ,cubits high2 which if it shall be meant of ,geometrical ,cubits it will contain #ah vulgar ,cubits2 which would not only render it useless1 but would be contrary to the command which he saith ,god gave him1 ,exod4 #bj4 ,thou shall not go up by steps to my ,altar4 ,for without steps what man could reach it4 ,it must therefore be meant of ordinary ,cubits2 but that being so it was very feasible4 ,i can more easily believe than understand it4 ,and put the honest ,father to the ,refuge of a ,miracle4 ,this honest father was ,st4 ,aug4 who delivers his opinion1 that it might be miraculously done1 lib4 #af4 de ,civ4 ,dei1 cap4 #g4 where having propos'd the question how it might be done1 he answers1 ,quod si homines eas captas secum adduxerunt1 et eo modo ubi habitabant earum genera instituerunt1 venandi studio fieri potuisse incredibile non est1 quamvis jussu ,dei sire permissu etiam opera ,angelorum negandum non sit potuisse transferri2 but ,st4 ,aug4 saith not that it could not be done without a miracle4 ,and #aejj years to people the ,world1 as full a time1 etc4 ,pag4 #cf4 ,that ,methusalem was the longest liv'd of all the children of ,adam1 etc4 ,see both these ,points cleared by the ,author1 in ,pseudodox4 ,epidemic4 the first lib4 #f4 cap4 #f4 the other lib4 #g4 cap4 #c4 ,that ,judas perished by hanging himself1 there is no certainty in ,scripture1 though in one place it seems to affirm it1 and by a doubtful word hath given occasion to translate it2 yet in another place1 in a more punctual description it makes it improbable1 and seems to overthrow it4 ,these two places that seem to contradict one another are ,math4 #bg4 #e4 and ,acts #a4 #h4 ,the doubtful word he speaks of is in the place of ,matthew2 it is ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,xi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron1 which signifieth suffocation as well as hanging1 7,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,with ,,varia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,xi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron1 which may signifie literally1 after he went out he was choak'd7 but ,erasmus translates it1 abiens laqueo se suspendit3 the words in the ,acts are1 ,when he had thrown down himself headlong1 he burst in the midst1 and all his bowels gushed out2 which seems to differ much from the expression of ,matthew2 yet the ,ancient ,writers and ,fathers of the ,church do unanimously agree that he was hanged4 ,some ,i shall cite4 ,anastas4 ,sinaita1 l4 #g4 ,anagog4 ,contempl4 ,unus latro ingratus cum esset typus ,diaboli1 et ,serpentis1 et ,jud1 qui se in ligno suffocavit4 ,gaudentius ,brixiens4 tract4 #ac4 de natal4 ,dom4 ,mortem debitam laqueo sibimet intulit prparato1 etc4 ,droggotoshen4 de sacram4 dominic4 pass4 ,jamdiu erat quidem quod ,christo recesserat1 et avariti laqueo se suspenderat1 sed quod fecerat in occulto1 palam omnibus innotuit4 ,s4 ,martialis in ,ep4 ad ,tholosanos4 ,non sustinuit poenitentiam1 donec laqueo mortis seipsum consumpsit4 ,ignat4 ad ,philippens4 ,diabolus laqueum ei ostendit1 et suspendium docuit4 ,leo ,serm4 #c4 de passion4----,ut quia facinus omnem mensuram ultionis excesserat1 te haberet impietas tua judicem te pateretur sua pna ,carnificem4 ,theodoret4 lib4 #a4 hretic4 fabul4 ,ille protinus strangulatus est1 qu fuit merces ejus proditionis4 ,chrysostom4 ,hom4 #c4 de proditore4 ,pependit ,coelum ,terramque intermedius vago funere suffocatus1 et cum flagitio suo tumefacta1 viscera crepuerunt1 etc4 ,bernard4 ,serm4 #h4 in ,psal4 #i4 ,judas in ,aere crepuit medius4 #a4 ,there are those that are so particular1 that they acquaint us with the manner1 as that it was done with a ,cord4 ,antiochus ,laurensis1 ,spem omnem a se cum abjecisset1 insiliente in eum inimico 7sc4 ,diabolo7 funiculo sibi prfocavit gulam4 ,oecumen4 in ,act4 ,fracto funiculo quo erat suffocatus decidit in terram prcipitio4 #b4 ,that it was done on a ,fig-,tree1 ,beda4 ,portam ,david egredientibus fons occurrit in ,austrum per vallem directus1 ad cujus medietatem ab occasu ,judas se suspendisse narratur3 ,nam et ficus magna ibi et vetustissima stat4 ,juvenc4 lib4 #d4 ,hist4 ,evangelic4 ,exorsusq2 suas laqueo sibi sumere pnas1 ,informem rapuit ficus de vertice mortem4 #c4 ,some acquaint us with the time when it was done1 viz4 the next day after he had given the kiss4 ,so ,chrysostom4 ,homil4 #a4 de proditor4 et ,mysterio ,coen4 ,dominic4 ,guttur prophanum quod hodie ,christo extendis ad osculum1 crastino es illud extensurus ad laqueum4 ,but there are two1 that is ,euthymius and ,oecumenius1 that tell us1 that the hanging did not kill him1 but that either the ,rope broke1 or that he was cut down1 and afterwards cast himself down headlong1 as it is related in the before mentioned place of the ,acts3 ,agnitus quibusdam depositus est ne prfocaretur1 denique postquam in secreto quodam loco modico vixisset tempore prceps factus sive prcipitatus1 inflatus diruptus1 ac diffisus est medius1 et effusa sunt omnia viscera ejus2 ut in ,actis4 ,euthym4 cap4 #fg4 in ,math4 ,judas suspendio vita non decessit1 sed supervixit1 dejectus est enim prius quam prfocaretur1 idque ,apotolorum ,acta indicant1 quod pronus crepuit medius4 ,oecumen4 in ,act4 ,and this may serve to reconcile these two seemingly disagreeing ,scriptures4 ,pag4 #cg4 ,that our ,fathers after the ,flood erected the ,tower of ,babel4 ,for this see what the ,author saith in his ,pseudodox4 ,epidemic4 l4 #g1 cap4 #f4 ,and cannot but commend the judgment of ,ptolemy4 ,he means of ,ptolemus ,philadelphus1 who founded the ,library of ,alexandria1 which he speaks of in the next ,section4 ,he was ,king of ,egypt2 and having built and furnish'd that ,library with all the choicest ,books he could get from any part of the world1 and having good correspondence with ,eleazer the high ,priest of the ,jews1 by reason that he had released the ,jews from ,captivity1 who were taken by his ,predecessor ,ptolemus ,lagi2 he did by the advice of ,demetrius ,phalereus the ,athenian1 whom he had made his ,library-,keeper1 write to ,eleazer1 desiring him that he would cause the ,books of the ,jews1 which contained their ,laws1 to be translated for him into ,greek1 that he might have them to put into his ,library3 to which the ,priest consents2 and for the ,king's better satisfaction1 sends to him ,copies of the ,books1 and with the same #gb ,interpreters skilled both in the ,greek and ,hebrew ,language1 to translate them for him into ,greek2 which afterwards they performed4 ,this is for certain2 but whether they translated only the ,pentateuch1 as ,st4 ,jerome would have it1 or together with the ,books of the ,prophets also1 as ,leo de ,castro and ,baronius contend1 ,i undertake not to determine3 but as to that part of the story1 that these ,interpreters were put into so many several ,cells1 whilst they were about the work of translation2 and notwithstanding they were thus severed1 that they all translated it totidem verbis2 it is but reason to think with ,st4 ,jerome 7notwithstanding the great current of ,authority against him7 that it is no better than a fable4 ,the ,alcoran of the ,turks 7,i speak without prejudice7 is an ill-composed piece1 containing in it vain and ridiculous errors in ,philosophy1 etc4 ,it is now in every mans hand1 having been lately translated into ,english2 ,i shall therefore observe but these few particulars in it1 in regard the book it self is so common2 and indeed they are not mine own1 but ,lipsius his observations4 ,he begins1 ,o nugas1 ,o deliria6 primum 7saith he7 commentus est1 ,deum unum solidumq2 7,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,phi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,grci exprimunt7 eundemq2 incorporeum esse4 ,christum non ,deum1 sed magnum vatem et prophetam2 se tamen majorem1 et proxime ,deo missum1 prmia qui ipsum audient ,paradisum1 qui post aliquot annorum millia reserabitur1 ibi quatuor flumina lacte1 vino1 melle1 aqua fluere1 ibi palatia et dificia gemmata atque aurata esse1 carnes avium suavissimarum1 fructus omne genus quos sparsi jacentesque sub umbra arborum edent3 sed caput flicitatis1 viros foeminasque1 majores solito magnis ,genitalibus assidua libidine1 et ejus usu sine tdio aut fatigatione4 ,these and some others that are in the ,alcoran he reckons up4 ,sed et ,physica quoq2 miranda 7saith he7 nam facit ,solem et ,lunam in equis vehi1 illum autem in aquam calidam vespere mergi1 et bene lotum ascendere atque oriri1 ,stellas in aere catenis aureis pendere3 terram in bovini cornus cuspide stabilitum1 et agitante se bove ac succutiente fieri terr motum2 hominem autem ex hirundine aut sanguisuga nasci1 etc4 ,just4 ,lips4 ,monit4 et exempl4 ,politic4 cap4 #c4 ,sect4 #bc4 ,pag4 #ch4 ,i believe besides ,zoroaster there were divers others that wrote before ,moses4 ,zoroaster was long before ,moses1 and of great name2 he was the father of ,ninus1 ,justin4 lib4 #a4 ,si quamlibet modicum emolumentum probaveritis2 ego ille sim ,carinondas vel ,damigeron1 vel is ,moses1 vel ,joannes1 vel ,apollonius1 vel ipse ,dardanus1 vel quicunq2 alius post ,zoroastrem et ,hostanem1 inter ,magos celebratus est4 ,apuleius in ,apol4 ,sect4 #bd4 ,pag4 #ch4 ,others with as many groans deplore the combustion of the ,library at ,alexandria4 ,this was that ,library before spoken of1 set up by ,ptolemus ,philadelphus2 in which 'tis reported by ,ammianus ,marcellinus there were #gjj1jjj volumes2 it was burnt by ,jul4 ,csar's means1 whose ,navy being environed before ,alexandria1 he had no means to keep off the ,enemy1 but by flinging of fire1 which at length caught the ,library and consumed it1 as ,plutarch hath it in ,vita ,csaris3 but notwithstanding we have no reason to believe it was quite consumed1 because ,sueton4 in ,claudius1 tells us1 that that ,emperour added another to it2 and there must be somewhat before1 if it were an addition2 but true it is1 too many of the ,books perished2 to repair which loss1 care was taken by ,domitian the ,emperour1 as the same ,sueton4 and ,aurel4 ,victor4 do relate4 ,i would not omit a ,copy of ,enoch's ,pillars1 had they many nearer ,authors than ,josephus1 etc4 ,for this the ,story is1 that ,enoch1 or his father1 ,seth1 having been inform'd by ,adam1 that the world was to perish once by water1 and a second time by fire1 did cause two ,pillars to be erected1 the one of ,stone against the water1 and another of ,brick against the fire2 and that upon those ,pillars was engraven all such ,learning as had been delivered to1 or invented by mankind2 and that thence it came that all knowledge and learning was not lost by means of the ,floud1 by reason that one of the ,pillars 7though the other perished7 did remain after the ,floud1 and ,josephus witnesseth1 till his time1 lib4 #a4 ,antiq4 ,judaic4 cap4 #c4 ,of those three great inventions of ,germany1 there are two which are not without their incommodities4 ,those two he means are ,printing and ,gunpowder1 which are commonly taken to be ,german ,inventions2 but ,artillery was in ,china above #aejj years since1 and ,printing long before it was in ,germany1 if we may believe ,juan ,concales ,mendosa in his ,hist4 of ,china1 lib4 #c4 cap4 #ae1 #af4 ,the incommodities of these two inventions1 are1 well described by ,sam4 ,daniel1 lib4 #f4 of the ,civil ,wars4 ,fierce ,nemesis1 mother of fate and change1 ,sword-bearer of th' eternal providence1 ,turns her stern look at last into the ,west1 ,as griev'd to see on ,earth such happy rest2 ,and for ,pandora calleth presently1 ,pandora ,jove's fair gift that first deceived ,poor ,epimetheus in his imbecility4 ,that though he had a wondrous boon received1 ,by means whereof curious mortality ,was of all former quiet quite bereaved4 ,to whom being come deckt with all qualities1 ,the wrathful goddess breaks out in this wise3 ,dost thou not see in what secure estate1 ,those flourishing fair ,western parts remain8 ,as if they had made covenant with fate1 ,to be exempted free from others pain1 ,at one with their desires1 friends with debate1 ,in peace with ,pride1 content with their own gain4 ,their bounds contain their mindes1 their mindes applyed ,to have their bonds with plenty beautified4 ,devotion 7,mother of ,obedience7 ,bears such a hand on their credulity1 ,that it abates the spirit of eminence1 ,and busies them with humble piety3 ,for see what works1 what infinite expence1 ,what ,monuments of zeal they edifie1 ,as if they would1 so that no stop were found1 ,fill all with ,temples1 make all holy ground4 ,but we must cool this all-believing zeal1 ,that hath enjoy'd so fair a turn so long1 etc4 ,dislike of this first by degrees shall steal1 ,as upon souls of men perswaded wrong2 ,and that the sacred power which thus hath wrought1 ,shall give her self the sword to cut her throat4 ,go therefore thou with all thy stirring train ,of swelling ,sciences 7the gifts of grief7 ,go loose the links of that soul-binding chain1 ,enlarge this uninquisitive ,belief3 ,call up mens spirits1 that simpleness retain1 ,enter their hearts1 and knowledge make the ,thief ,to open all the ,doors to let in ,light1 ,that all may all things see but what is right4 ,opinion arm against opinion 7grown7 ,make new-born contradictions still arise1 ,as if ,thebes ,founder 7,cadmus7 tongues had sown ,indent of teeth1 for greater mutinies3 ,bring new defended faith against faith known1 ,weary the soul with contrarieties1 ,till all ,religion become ,retrograde1 ,and that fair lye the mask of sin be made3 ,and better to effect a speedy end1 ,let there be found two fatal ,instruments1 ,the one to publish1 th' other to defend ,,sn3 ,printing ,impious contention1 and proud discontents3 ,make that instamped characters may send ,abroad to thousands1 thousand mens intents2 ,and in a moment may dispatch much more1 ,than could a world of pens perform before2 ,whereby all quarrels1 titles1 secrecies1 ,may unto all be presently made known1 ,factions prepar'd1 parties allur'd to rise1 ,seditions under fair pretences sown2 ,whereby the vulgar may become so wise ,that with a self-presumption overgrown1 ,they may of deepest mysteries debate1 ,controul their betters1 censure acts of ,state4 ,and then when this dispersed mischief shall ,have brought confusion in each mystery1 ,call'd up contempts of ,state in general1 ,and ripen'd the humour of impiety1 ,then take the other engine wherewithal ,,sn3 ,guns ,they may torment their self-wrought misery2 ,and scourge each other in so strange a wise1 ,as time or tyrants never could devise1 etc4 ,see ,bellermontan4 in his ,dissertat4 politic4 dissert4 #bi4 and #cj4 ,for the other ,invention1 the ,latine ,annotator doubts whether the ,author means ,church-,organs1 or ,clocks8 ,i suppose he means ,clocks1 because ,i find that ,invention reckon'd by a ,german1 with the other two1 as a remarkable one4 ,it is by ,busbequius1 speaking of the ,turks1 who hath these words3 ,testes majores minoresque bombard1 multaque alia qu ex nostris excogitata ipsi ad se avertunt2 at libros tamen typis excuderent1 horologia in publico haberent1 nondum adduci potuerunt4 ,epist4 ,legat4 ,turcic4 ,i suppose if he had known any ,invention which next to the other two had been greater than this1 he would not have named this1 and this being the next considerable1 we have no cause to doubt but the ,author meant it4 ,to maintain the ,trade and ,mystery of ,typographers4 ,of this ,cunus in his ,satyre ,sardi voenates4 ,qui bis in anno nomen suum ad ,germanorum nundinas non transmittit1 eruditionem suam in ordinem coactam credit1 itaq2 nunquam tot fungi una pluvia nascuntur1 quot nunc libri uno die4 ,sect4 #be4 ,pag4 #dj4 ,the ,turk in the bulk that he now stands1 is beyond all hope of conversion4 ,that is1 in respect of his great strength1 against which it is not probable the ,christians will prevail1 as it is observed by ,monsieur de ,silhon4 ,la ,race des ,ottomans 7saith he7 qu oste a ,dieu la ,religion qu'il a revelee1 et aux hommes la liberte que le droit des ,gens leur laisse a fait tant de progres depuis trois ,cens et quelques annees qu'il semble qu'elle n'ait plus rien a craindre de dehorse1 et que son empire ne puisse perir que par la corruption de dedans1 et par la dissolution des parties qui composent un corps si vaste4 ,mr4 de ,silhon en son ,minist4 ,d',estat4 l4 #a4 c4 ,none can more justly boast of persecutions1 and glory in the number and valour of martyrs4 ,of the fortitude of the ,christians in this particular1 ,minutius ,felix1 in the person of the ,ethnique1 hath these words1 ,per mira stultitia et incredibili audacia spernunt tormenta prsentia1 dum incerta metuunt et futura2 et dum mori post mortem timent1 interim mori non timent4 ,and afterwards1 when he speaks in the person of the ,christian1 he saith1 that ,christian women and children have in this surpassed ,scvola and ,regulus3 ,viros 7saith he7 cum ,mutio vel cum ,atilio ,regulo comparo3 pueri et muliercul nostr cruces et ,tormenta1 feros et omnes suppliciorum terriculas inspirata patientia doloris illudunt4 ,minut4 in ,octav4 vide ,aug4 de ,civit4 ,dei1 lib4 #a4 c4 #bc1 #bd4 ,if we shall strictly examine the circumstances and requisites which ,aristotle requires to true and perfect valour1 we shall find the name onely in his ,master ,alexander1 7that is1 no more than the name7 and as little in that ,roman worthy ,julius ,csar4 ,aristot4 #c4 ,ethic4 cap4 #f4 amongst other requisites1 requires to valour1 that it keep a mediocrity betwixt audacity and fear2 that we thrust not our selves into danger when we need not2 that we spare not to shew our valour when occasion requires3 he requires for its proper object1 ,death2 and to any death1 he prefers death in ,war1 because thereby a man profits his ,country and ,friends2 and that he calls mors honesta1 an honest or honourable death3 and thereupon he defines a valiant man to be1 ,is qui morte honesta proposita1 iisq2 omnibus qu cum sint repentina mortem adfuerunt metu vacat4 ,so that by the ,author's saying1 there was onely the ,name in ,alexander1 he means only that which is rendred in the two last words1 metu vacans1 and not the rest that goes to make up the definition of a valiant man1 which is very truly affirmed of ,alexander1 who exposed himself to hazzard many times when there was no cause for it3 ,as you may read in ,curtius1 he did1 in the siege of ,tyrus1 and many other ways4 ,cettuy-cy semble rechercher et courir force les dangiers comme un impetueux torrent1 qui choque et attaque sans discretion1 et sans chois tout ce qu'il rencontre1 saith ,montaign1 speaking of ,alexander1 l4 #b4 des ,ess4 cap4 #cd4 ,and for ,csar1 it cannot be denied1 but in his ,wars he was many times 7though not so generally as ,alexander7 more adventrous than reason military could warrant to him2 and therefore ,lucan gives him no better ,character than ,acer et indomitus quo spes quoq2 ira vocasset ,ferre manum1 etc4 ,lucan4 lib4 #a4 ,to instance in some ,particulars3 with what an inconsiderable strength did he enterprize the conquest of ,egypt1 and afterwards went to attaque the forces of ,scipio and ,juba1 which were ten times more than his own8 after the ,battle of ,pharsalia1 having sent his ,army before into ,asia1 and crossing the ,hellespont with one single ,vessel1 he there meets ,lucius ,cassius with ten men of ,war1 he makes up to him1 summons him to render1 and he does it4 ,in the famous and furious siege of ,alexia1 where he had #hj1jjj men to make defence against him1 and an ,army of one hundred and nine thousand ,horse1 and two hundred and forty thousand foot1 all marching towards him1 to raise his siege2 yet for all that he would not quit the siege1 but first fought with those without1 and obtain'd a great ,victory over them1 and soon afterwards brought the besieged to his mercy4 ,sect4 #bf4 ,pag4 #da4 ,the ,council of ,constance condemns ,john ,husse for an ,heretick1 the ,stories of his own ,party style him a ,martyr4 ,john ,husse did agree with the ,papists against us in the ,point of ,invocation of ,saints1 ,prayers and ,sacrifice for the ,dead1 free ,will1 ,good ,works1 confession of ,sins1 seven ,sacraments1 etc4 ,gordon4 ,hunt4 l4 contr4 #c4 de ,sacr4 ,euch4 cap4 #ag4 ,yet was he condemned for maintaining certain ,articles said by that ,council to be heretical and seditious1 and was burnt for ,heresie4 ,now as ,i will not say he was an ,heretick1 so can ,i not maintain that he was a ,martyr1 if it be but for this one ,article1 which in the #ae4 ,sess4 of that ,council was objected against him1 which he did acknowledge1 but would not recal1 i4e4 ,nullus est ,dominus civilis1 dum est in peccato mortali4 ,if that ,doctrine should be believed1 we shall have little obedience to ,civil ,magistrates2 and without that1 how miserable is humane condition8 ,that which begat compassion towards ,husse in those of his own ,party was1 that he had a safe conduct from the ,emperour ,sigismund2 and therefore it was1 say they1 a violation of publick faith in the ,council and ,emperour in putting him to death4 ,that wise heathen ,socrates that suffered on a fundamental point of ,religion1 the ,unity of ,god4 ,that ,socrates suffered on this ,point1 divers ,christian ,writers do object to the ,ethniques1 as ,justin ,martyr1 ,apol4 #b4 ,euseb4 l4 #e4 de prparat4 ,evangelic4 c4 #ad4 ,tertul4 in ,apolog4 cap4 #ad4 and ,lactant4 de justitia1 cap4 #ae4 whose words are these3 ,plato quidem multa de uno ,deo locutus est1 quo ait constitutum esse mundum1 sed nihil de ,religione2 somniaverat enim ,deum1 non cognoverat4 ,quod si justiti defensionem vel ipse vel quilibet alius implere voluisset1 imprimis ,deorum ,religiones evertere debuit1 quia contrari pietati4 ,quod quidem ,socrates quia facere tentavit in carcerem conjectus est1 ut jam tunc appareret quid esset futurum iis hominibus qui justitiam veram defendere ,deoque singulari servire coepissent4 ,i have often pitied the miserable ,bishop that suffered in the cause of ,antipodes4 ,the suffering was1 that he lost his ,bishoprick for denying the ,antipodes4 ,vid4 ,aventin4 in ,hist4 ,boio4 ,besides him1 there were other ,church-men of great note1 that denyed ,antipodes1 as ,lactantias1 ,augustin1 and ,bede4 ,sect4 #bg4 ,pag4 #dc4 ,i hold that ,god can do all things3 ,how he should work contradictions1 ,i do not understand1 yet dare not therefore deny4 ,who would not think the ,author had taken this from ,mr4 ,montaign1 whose words are1 ,il m'a tousjours semble qu'a un homme ,christien1 cette sorte de parler est plein d'indiscretion et d'irreverence ,dieu ne se peut disdire1 ,dieu ne peut faire cecy ou cela4 ,je ne trouve pas bon d'enfermer ainsi la puissance divine sous les loix de nostre parole4 ,et l'apparence qui s' offre nous en ses propositions1 il la faudroit representer plus reverement1 et plus ,religieusement4 ,liv4 #b4 des ,ess4 c4 #ab4 ,i cannot see why the ,angel of ,god should question ,esdras to recal the time past1 if it were beyond his own power1 or that ,god should pose mortality in that which he was not able to perform himself4 ,sir ,k4 ,digby in his ,notes upon this place saith1 ,there is no contradiction in this1 because he saith it was but putting all things that had motion into the same state they were in at that moment1 unto which time was to be reduced back1 and from thence letting it travel on again by the same motions1 etc4 which ,god could do4 ,but under favour1 the contradiction remains1 if this were done that he mentions2 for ,time depends not at all upon motion1 but has a being altogether independent of it1 and therefore the same revolution would not bring back the same time1 for that was efflux'd before2 as in the time of ,joshua1 when the ,sun stood still1 we cannot but conceive1 though there were no motion of the ,sun1 but that there was an efflux of ,time1 otherwise1 how could the ,text have it1 ,that there was not any day1 before or after1 that was so long as that8 for the length of it must be understood in respect of the flux of time4 ,the reasoning of ,sir ,kenelme is founded upon the opinion of ,aristot4 who will needs have it1 that ,time cannot be without mutation2 he gives this for a reason1 because when we have slept1 and cannot perceive any mutation to have been1 we do therefore use to connect the time of our sleeping and of our awaking together1 and make but one of it3 to which it may be answered1 although some mutation be necessary1 that we may mark the mix of time1 it doth not therefore follow that the mutation is necessary to the flux it self4 ,sect4 #bh4 ,pag4 #dc4 ,i excuse not ,constantine from a fall off his ,horse1 or a mischief from his enemies1 upon the wearing those nails1 etc4 ,hac de re videatur ,p4 ,diac4 hist4 miscell4 ,sect4 #bi4 ,pag4 #dd4 ,i wonder how the curiosity of wiser heads could pass that great and indisputable miracle1 the cessation of ,oracles4 ,there are three opinions touching the manner how the predictions of these ,oracles were perform'd3 ,some say by vapour1 some by the intelligences1 or influences1 of the ,heavens1 and others say by the assistance of the ,devils4 ,now the indisputable miracle the ,author speaks of1 is1 that they ceas'd upon the coming of ,christ2 and it is generally so believed2 and the ,oracle of ,delphos delivered to ,augustus1 mentioned by the ,author in this ,section1 is brought to prove it1 which is this3 ,me puer ,hebroeus divos ,deus ipse gubernans ,cedere sede jubet1 tristemq2 redire sub orcum4 ,aris ergo dehinc tacitus discedito nostris4 ,but yet it is so far from being true that their cessation was miraculous1 that the truth is1 there never were any predictions given by those ,oracles at all4 ,that their cessation was not upon the coming of ,christ1 we have luculent testimony out of ,tully1 in his #b4 lib4 de ,divinat4 which he writ many years before ,christ was born2 who tells us that they were silent 7and indeed he never thought they were otherwise7 long before that time1 insomuch that they were come into contempt3 ,cur isto modo jam oracula ,delphis non eduntur1 non modo nostra oetate1 sed jamdiu jam ut nihil possit esse contemptius4 ,so that for that of ,delphos1 which was the most famous of them all1 we see we have no reason to impute the cessation of it to ,christ2 ,why therefore should we do so for any of the rest8 ,for their predictions1 let us consider the three several ways before mentioned1 whereby they are supposed to operate2 and from thence see whether it be probable that any such ,oracles ever were4 ,the first ,opinion is1 that it was by exhalation or vapour drawn up from the earth2 and gives this for a reason of their being1 that they were for a time nourished by those exhalations2 and when those ceased1 and were exhausted1 the ,oracles famish'd and died for want of their accustom'd sustenance3 this is the far-fetcht reason given by ,plutarch for their defect2 but 'twas not devised by him1 but long before1 as appears1 in that ,tully scoffs at it1 lib4 de divinat4 ,de vino aut salsamento putes loqui 7saith he7 qu evanescunt vetustate4 ,this seem'd absurd to others1 who do therefore say this was not to be attributed to any power of the ,earth1 but to the power of the ,heavens1 or ,intelligences ,coelestial2 to certain aspects whereof1 they say1 the ,statua's of those ,oracles were so adapted1 that they might divine and foretel future events4 ,but yet to others1 this way seemeth as absurd as the others2 for1 say they1 admitting that there were an efficacy in the ,heavens1 more than in the ,earth2 yet how can it be that men should come by the skill to fit the ,statua's to the ,aspects or influences of the ,heavens8 or if at any time they had such skill1 why should not the same continue the rather1 because men are more skilled in the motions of the ,heavens1 of later than in the former time8 ,again1 they do not see how it should be that the cause should be of less excellency than the effect2 for if a man 7say they7 can by his industry make such ,oracles1 why can he not produce the same effect in another man8 for if you affirm that the ,heavens influence is requisite1 they will tell you that ,influence may happen as well to a man1 as to a ,statue of wood or stone4 ,therefore the third sort being unsatisfied1 which either of the former ways conclude1 that this was perform'd by the ,devil2 but for that it will appear as contrary to ,reason and ,philosophy1 as either of the former2 for ,philosophy teacheth that things singular1 or individual1 are to be known only by sense1 or by such an ,intellect1 as doth know by its ,essence2 and ,theology teacheth that ,god only knoweth the heart1 and that the ,devil doth not know by sense1 nor by essence2 and since 'tis admitted by all1 that most of the answers that were pretended to be given by those ,oracles1 were de rebus singularibus1 or individuis2 it is evident that these predictions were not perform'd by ,devils4 ,how then8 why those predictions which the ignorant ,heathen took to come from ,heaven1 and some ,christians 7not less ignorant7 from the ,devil1 was nothing but the jugling and impostures of the ,priests1 who from within the ,statua's gave the answers2 which ,princes connived at1 that they might upon occasion serve their turns upon the ignorance of the people2 and the learned men1 for fear of their ,princes1 durst not speak against it4 ,lucian hath noted it1 and so a more ,authentick ,author1 ,minut4 ,felix41 in ,octav4 ,authoritatem quasi prsentis numinis consequuntur dum inspirantur interim vatibus4 ,but in process of time1 the people grew less credulous of their ,priests1 and so the ,oracles became to be silent3 ,cum jam 7saith he7 ,apollo versus facere desisset1 cujus tunc cautum illud et ambiguum deficit oraculum3 ,cum et politiores homines et minus creduli esse cperunt4 ,sir ,h4 ,blount in his ,levantine voyage1 saith he saw the ,statua of ,memnon so famous of old2 he saith it was hollow at top1 and that he was told by the ,egyptians and ,jews there with him1 that they had seen some enter there1 and come out at the ,pyramid1 two ,bows shoot off2 then 7saith he7 ,i soon believ'd the ,oracle1 and believe all the rest to have been such2 which indeed1 is much easier to imagine than that it was perform'd by any of the three wayes before mentioned4 ,st4 ,aug4 hath composed a ,book1 where he handleth this point at large1 and concludeth that the ,devils can no more foretel things come1 than they are able to discern the thoughts that are within us4 ,aug4 lib4 de ,scientia ,dmon4 ,till ,i laughed my self out of it with a piece of ,justin1 where he delivers that the ,children of ,israel for being scabbed were banished out of ,egypt4 ,these words of ,justin are1 ,sed cum scabiem gyptii et pruriginem paterentur1 responso moniti1 eum 7se4 ,moysen7 cum gris1 ne pestis ad plures serperet1 terminis gypti pellunt4 l4 #cf4 ,but he is not singular in this1 for ,tacitus tells us1 ,hist4 lib4 #e4 ,plurimi authores consentiunt orta per gyptum tabe quoe corpora foeduret1 ,regem 7,ochirum7 7he means ,pharaoh7 adito ,hammonis oraculo remedium petentem purgare4 ,regnum et id genus hominum----alias in terras avertere jussum4 ,et paulo inferius1 ,quod ipsos scabies quondam turpaverat4 ,sect4 #cj4 ,pag4 #de4 ,i have ever believed1 and do now know that there are ,witches4 ,what sort of ,witches they were that the ,author knew to be such4 ,i cannot tell2 for those which he mentions in the next ,section1 which proceed upon the principles of ,nature1 none have denyed that such there are2 against such it was1 that the ,lex ,julia de veneficiis was made1 that is1 those1 ,qui noxio poculo aut impuris medicuminibus aliquem fuerint insectati4 ,at4 ab ,alex4 ,gen4 ,dier4 l4 #e4 c4 #a4 ,but for the opinion that there are ,witches which co-operate with the ,devil1 there are ,divines of great note1 and far from any suspition of being irreligious1 that do oppose it4 ,certainly there is no ground to maintain their being from the story of ,oracles1 as may be seen from what hath been said on the precedent ,section4 ,nor have the power to be so much as ,witches4 ,pliny saith1 so it fared with ,nero1 who was so hot in pursuit of the ,magick ,arts1 that he did dedicate himself wholly to it1 and yet could never satisfie himself in that kind1 though he got all the cunning men he could from the ,east1 for that purpose4 ,plin4 l4 #c4 ,nat4 ,hist4 c4 #a4 ,pag4 #df4 ,by conjunction with the ,devil4 ,though1 as the ,author saith1 it be without a possibility of ,generation1 yet there are great men that hold1 that such carnality is performed2 as ,august1 in ,levit4 ,aquin4 l4 #b4 de qu4 #gc4 art4 ad #b4 and ,justin ,martyr1 ,apol4 #a4 ,sect4 #cc4 ,pag4 #dh4 ,it is no new opinion of the ,church of ,rome1 but an old one of ,pythagoras and ,plato4 ,this appears by ,apuleius a ,platonist1 in his ,book de ,deo ,socratis1 and elsewhere4 ,see ,mede's ,apostasie of the latter times1 where out of this and other ,authors1 you shall see collected all the learning de ,geniis4 ,pag4 #ej4 ,i cannot with those in that great ,father securely interpret the work of the first day1 ,fiat lux1 to the creation of ,angels4 ,this great ,father is ,s4 ,chrysost4 ,homil4 in ,genes4 ,but yet 'tis his opinion1 as also of ,athanasius and ,theodoret1 that there is express mention of the creation of ,angels1 so that they need not rest upon this place1 which they admit to be somewhat obscure4 ,the place which they take to be express1 is that of the #acj ,psalm1 where ,david begins to speak of the ,majesty of ,god1 in this manner3 ,confessionem sive majestatem et decorem induisti1 amictus lumine sicut vestimento3 ,next he speaks of the ,heavens1 saying1 ,thou hast stretched them out over us like a ,tent4 ,then he speaks of the ,angels1 ,qui facis ,angelos tuos spiritus4 ,now if it shall be objected1 that this expression is onely of the time present1 and without relation to the ,creation3 ,answer is given by ,divines1 that the ,hebrews have but three ,tenses in their ,verbs1 the ,preterperfect1 ,present1 and ,future ,tense2 and have not the use of the ,preterimperfect1 and ,preterpluperfect1 as the ,greeks and ,latines have2 whence it ariseth1 that the ,present ,tense with the ,hebrews1 may1 as the sentence will bear it1 be translated by the ,preterimperfect1 as also by the ,preterperfect and ,preterpluperfect ,tense2 and this 7they say7 is practised in this very passage1 where the ,phrase1 as it is in ,hebrew1 may be rendered as well qui faciebas1 as qui facis ,angelos1 etc4 ,vid4 ,hieronym4 in ,ep4 ad ,titum1 et ,thom4 ,aqu4 #a4 p4 qu4 #fa4 art4 #c4 ,the ,latine ,annotator saith1 the ,father meant by the ,author1 is ,st4 ,aug4 and quotes him1 l4 ,,ii4 de ,civ4 ,dei cap4 #i4 which place ,i have perused1 and find the expression there used by ,st4 ,aug4 is but hypothetical2 for these are his words3 ,cum enim dixit ,fiat lux1 et facta est lux1 si rect in fine luce creatio intelligitur ,angelorum1 etc4 ,where you see 'tis but with a ,si1 and therefore ,i conceive the ,author intends not him1 but ,chrysostom4 ,where it subsists alone1 'tis a ,spiritual ,substance1 and may be an ,angel4 ,epicurus was of this opinion1 and ,st4 ,aug4 in ,euchirid4 ad ,laurentium4 ,sect4 #ce4 ,pag4 #eb4 ,moses decided that ,question1 and all is salved with the new term of ,creation4 ,that is it which ,aristotle could not understand2 he had learned that ex nihilo nihil fit1 and therefore when he found those that disputed that the ,world had a beginning1 did maintain that it was generated1 and he could not understand any generation1 but out of matter pr-existent in infinitum1 therefore he took their opinion to be absurd1 and upon that ground principally1 concluded the ,world to be eternal3 whereas1 if he had understood that there may be such a thing as ,creation1 he had not done it1 for that solves his processus in infinitum4 ,take from ,plato1 that the ,world had a beginning1 and from ,aristot4 that it was not generated1 and you have the 7true7 ,christian opinion4 ,sect4 #cf4 ,pag4 #ed4 ,in our study of ,anatomy1 there is a mass of mysterious ,philosophy1 and such as reduced the very ,heathens to ,divinity4 ,so it did ,galen1 who considering the order1 use1 and disposition of the parts of the body1 brake forth into these words3 ,compono hic profecto ,canticam in creatoris nostri laudem1 quod ultra res suas ornare voluit melius quam ulla arte possent4 ,galen1 #c4 de usu partium4 ,sect4 #cg4 ,pag4 #ee4 ,i cannot believe the wisdom of ,pythagoras did ever positively1 and in a literal sense1 affirm his ,metempsychosis4 ,in this the opinion of ,grotius is contrary to the ,author1 who saith this opinion was begotten by occasion of the opinion of other ,philosophers1 who in their discourses of the life that is to be after this1 brought such arguments1 ,qu non magis de homine quam de bestiis procedunt4 ,and therefore1 saith he1 mirandum non est1 si transitum animarum de hominibus in bestias1 de bestiis in homines alii commenti sunt4 ,lib4 #b4 de ver4 ,relig4 ,christ4 7vide etiam ,annotat4 ejusd474 ,but yet there is a shrewd objection against the opinion of ,pythagoras1 if he did mean it literally1 which is cast in by the ,sectators of ,democritus and ,epicurus1 which ,lucretius remembers in these ,verses3 ,prterea si immortalis natura anima ,constat1 et in corpus nascentibus insinuatur1 ,cur super anteactam tatem meminisse nequimus8 ,nec vestigia gestarum rerum ulla tenemus8 ,namsi tantopere 'st animi mutata potestas1 ,omnis ut actarum excideret retinentia rerum1 ,non ut opinor ea ab lto jam longiter errat4 ,lib4 #c4 ,this ,argument1 'tis true1 is pro falso contra falsum1 but yet holds ad hominem so far1 that it is not likely 7as the ,author saith7 but ,pythagoras would observe an absurdity in the consequence of his ,metempsychosis2 and therefore did not mean it literally1 but desired only to express the ,soul to be immortal1 which he1 and the other ,philosophers that were of that opinion1 who had not heard of ,creation1 could not conceive1 unless it must be taken for truth1 that the soul were before the body2 so saith ,lactantius of them4 ,non putaverunt aliter fieri posse ut supersint anim post corpora1 nisi videntur fuisse ante corpora4 ,de fals4 ,sap4 c4 #ah4 ,sect4 #da4 ,pag4 #ei4 ,i do not envy the temper of ,crows or ,daws4 ,as ,theophrastus did1 who dying1 accused ,nature for giving them1 to whom it could not be of any concernment1 so large a life2 and to man1 whom it much concern'd1 so short a one4 ,cic4 ,tusc4 qust4 l4 #c4 ,how long ,daws live1 see in ,not4 ad ,sect4 #da4 ,sect4 #db4 ,pag4 #fa4 ,not upon ,cicero's ground1 because ,i have liv'd them well4 ,i suppose he alludes to an expression in an ,epistle of ,cicero1 written in his ,exile1 to his wife and children1 where he hath these words to his wife3 ,quod reliquum est1 te sustenta mea ,terentia ut potes1 honestissime viximus1 floruimus4 ,non vitium nostrum sed virtus nos afflixit1 peccatum est nullum nisi quod non un animum cum ornamentis amisimus1 l4 #bd1 ,ep4 #d4 ,and stand in need of ,eson's bath before threescore4 ,eson was the ,father of ,jason1 and1 at his request1 was by ,medea1 by the means of this ,bath1 restored to his youth4 ,ingredients that went into it1 and the description of ,medea's performance1 ,ovid gives you1 l4 #g4 ,metam4 ,interea calido positum medicamen aheno ,fervet et exultat1 spumisq2 tumentibus albet4 ,illic monia radices valle resectas1 ,seminaq2 et flores1 et succos incoquit atros ,adjicet extremo lapides ,oriente petitos1 ,et quas ,oceani refluum mare lavit arenas3 ,addidit exceptas lun de nocte pruinas1 ,et ,strigis infames ipsis cum carnibus alas1 ,inq2 virum soliti vultus mutare ferinos ,ambigui prosecta lupi1 nec defuit illi ,squamea ,cinyphei tenuis membrana ,chelidri1 ,vivacisq2 jecur cervi2 quibus insuper addit ,ora caputq2 novem cornicis secula pass4 ,his et mille aliis1 postquam sine nomine rebus ,propositum instruxit mortali barbara munus ,arenti ramo jampridem mitis oliv ,omnia confudit1 summisq2 immiscuit ima4 ,ecce vetus calido versatus stipes aheno ,fit viridis primo1 nec longo tempore frondes ,induit1 et subito gravidis oneratur olivis4 ,at quacunq2 cavo spumas ejecit aheno ,ignis1 et in terram gutt cecidere calentes1 ,vernat humus1 floresq2 et mollia pabula surgunt4 ,qu simulac vidit1 stricto ,medea recludit ,ense senis jugulum1 veteremq2 extare cruorem ,passa replet succis1 quos postquam combibit son1 ,aut ore acceptas1 aut vulnere1 barba comoeq2 ,cunitie posita1 nigrum rapuere colorem4 ,pulsa fugit macies3 abeunt pallorq2 situsque3 ,adjectoq2 cav supplentur corpore rug2 ,membraq2 luxuriant4 son miratur1 et olim ,ante quater denos hunc se reminiscitur annos1 ,dissimilemq2 animum subiit1 tate relicta4 #bfb-bic4 ,sect4 #dd4 ,pag4 #fb4 ,extol the ,suicide of ,cato4 ,as doth ,seneca in several places2 but ,lactantius saith1 he cast away his life1 to get the reputation of a ,platonick ,philosopher1 and not for fear of ,csar2 and 'tis very probable1 he was in no great fear of death1 when he slept so securely the night before his death1 as the story reports of him4 ,pag4 #fc4 ,emori nolo1 sed me esse mortuum1 nihil curo4 ,were ,i of ,csar's ,religion4 ,i doubt not1 but here is a fault of the ,press1 and that instead of ,csar it should be ,cicero4 ,i meet not with any such saying imputed to ,csar1 nor any thing like it1 but that he preferr'd a sudden death 7in which he had his option7 to any other2 but ,i meet with such a saying in ,cicero quoted out of ,epicharmus ,emori nolo1 sed me esse mortuum nihili stimo4 ,where ,cicero sustaineth the part of the ,epicure that there is no hurt in being dead1 since there remaineth nothing after it4 ,cic4 #a4 ,thusc4 qu4 non procul ab initio4 ,sect4 #de4 ,pag4 #fd4 ,or whence ,lucan learn'd to say1 ,communis mundo superest rogus1 etc4 ,why1 ,lucan was a ,stoique1 and 'twas an opinion among them almost generally1 that the world should perish by fire2 therefore without doubt from them he learned it4 ,clum quoque cum omnibus qu in clo continentur1 ita ut coepisset desinere1 fontium dulci aqua marisve nutriri1 in vim ignis abiturum4 ,stoicis constans opinio est1 quod consumpto humore mundus hic omnis ignescat4 ,minutius in ,octav4 ,but ,minutius should have excepted ,boetius1 ,possidonius1 ,diogenes ,babylonius1 and ,zeno ,sidonius1 who were ,stoiques1 and yet did not think the world should be destroyed by fire1 nor yet by any other means4 ,sect4 #df4 ,pag4 #fe4 ,how shall we interpret ,elias #fjjj years1 etc48 ,lactant4 is very positive that the world should last but #fjjj years2 but his reason for it is somewhat strange2 thus it is1 ,quoniam sex diebus cuncta ,dei opera perfecta sunt1 per secula sex1 i4e4 annorum sex millia manere in hoc statu mundum necesse est4 ,de ,divino prmio1 cap4 #ad4 ,sect4 #dg4 ,pag4 #fg4 ,ipsa sui pretium virtus sibi1 is but a cold principle4 ,it is a ,stoical principle4 ,quris enim aliquid supra summum1 interrogas quid petam extra virtutem ipsam4 ,nihil enim habet melius4 ,pretium sui est4 ,senec4 de vit4 beat4 c4 #ai4 ,that honest artifice of ,seneca4 ,what that article was1 is to be seen in ,senec4 l4 #a4 ep4 #aa4 ,aliquis vir bonus nobis eligendus est1 et semper ante oculos babendus1 ut sic tanquam illo spectante vivamus1 et omnia tanquam illo vidente faciamus4 ,et paulo post2 ,elige itaq2 ,catonem2 si hic videtur tibi nimis rigidus1 elige remissioris animi virum ,llium1 etc4 which though1 as the ,author saith1 it be an honest ,artifice1 yet cannot ,i but commend the party1 and prefer the direction of him 7whoever he were7 who in the ,margin of my ,seneca1 over against those words1 wrote these3 ,quin ,deo potius qui semper omnibus omnia agentibus non tanquam sed reipsa adest1 et videt2 ac etiam ut ,testis1 vindex et punitor est male agentis4 ,i have tried1 if ,i could reach that great ,resolution of his 7that is of ,seneca7 to be honest without a thought of ,heaven or ,hell4 ,seneca#f brags he could do this1 in these words3 ,si scirem deos peccata ignoscituros1 et homines ignoraturos1 adhuc propter vilitatem peccati peccare erubescerem4 ,credat ,judus ,appela3 non ego4---- #f ,tho4 ,aquin4 in com4 in ,boet4 de ,consolat4 prope finem4 ,and ,atheists have been the onely ,philosopher4 ,that is1 if nothing remain after this life4 ,st4 ,aug4 was of this opinion4 ,disputabam---- ,epicurum accepturum fuisse palmam in animo meo1 nisi ego credidissem post mortem restare anim vitam1 etc4 ,aug4 l4 #f4 conf4 cap4 #af4 ,sect4 #dh4 ,pag4 #fh4 ,god by a powerful voice shall command them back into their proper shapes4 ,so ,minutius4 ,cterum quis tam stultus est aut brutus1 ut audeat repugnare hominem ,deo ut primum potuit fingi1 ita posse denuo reformari1 nihil esse post obitum1 et ante ortum nihil fuisse2 sicut de nihilo nasci licuit1 ita de nihilo licere reparari4 ,porro difficilius est id quod sit incipere1 quod quam id quod fuerit iterare4 ,tu perire ,deo credis1 si quid nostris oculis hebetibus subtrahitur4 ,corpus omne sive arescit in pulverem sive in humorem solvitur1 vel in cinerem comprimitur vel in nidorem tenuatur1 subducitur nobis1 sed ,deo elementorum custodi inseruntur4 ,in ,octav4 ,vide ,grot4 de veritate ,relig4 ,christian4 ubi 7lib4 #b47 solvit objectionem1 quod dissoluta corpora resititui nequeunt4 ,sect4 #ej4 ,pag4 #ga4 ,or conceive a flame that can either prey upon1 or purifie the substance of a soul4 ,upon this ground ,psellus lib #a4 de ,energia ,dmonum1 c4 #g holds1 ,that ,angels have bodies1 7though he grants them to be as pure1 or more pure than ,air is7 otherwise he could not apprehend how they should be tormented in ,hell2 and it may be upon this ground it was1 that the ,author fell into the error of the ,arabians1 mentioned by him1 ,sect4 #g4 ,sect4 #ea4 ,pag4 #gc4 ,there are as many ,hells as ,anaxagoras conceited worlds4 ,i assure my self that this is false printed1 and that instead of ,anaxagoras it should be ,anaxarchus2 for ,anaxagoras is reckon'd amongst those ,philosophers that maintain'd a ,unity of the world1 but ,anaxarchus 7according to the opinion of ,epicurus7 held there were infinite ,worlds4 ,that is he that caus'd ,alexander to weep by telling him that there were infinite worlds1 whereby ,alexander it seems was brought out of opinion of his ,geography1 who before that time thought there remained nothing1 or not much beyond his ,conquests4 ,sect4 #ed4 ,pag4 #ge4 ,it is hard to place those souls in ,hell4 ,lactantius is alike charitably disposed towards those4 ,non sum equidem tam iniquus ut eos putem divinare debuisse1 ut veritatem per seipsos invenirent 7quod fieri ego non posse confiteor7 sed hoc ab eis exigo1 quod ratione ipse prstare potuerunt4 ,lactant4 de orig4 error4 c4 #c4 which is the very same with ,sir ,k4 ,digbie's expression in his ,observations on this place4 ,i make no doubt at all 7saith he7 but if any follow'd in the whole tenour of their lives1 the dictamens of right reason1 but that their journey was secure to ,heaven4 ,sect4 #ee4 ,pag4 #gg4 ,aristotle transgress'd the rule of his own ,ethicks4 ,and so they did all1 as ,lactantius hath observed at large4 ,aristot4 is said to have been guilty of great vanity in his ,clothes1 of ,incontinency1 of ,unfaithfulness to his ,master ,alexander1 etc4 ,but 'tis no wonder in him1 if our great ,seneca be also guilty1 whom truely notwithstanding ,st4 ,jerome would have him inserted in the ,catalogue of ,saints1 yet ,i think he as little deserv'd it1 as many of the ,heathens who did not say so well as he did1 for ,i do not think any of them liv'd worse3 to trace him a little4 ,in the time of the ,emperour ,claudius we find he was banish'd for suspition of incontinency with ,julia the daughter of ,germanicus4 ,if it be said that this proceeded meerly from the spight of ,messalina1 7and that ,lipsius did not complement with him in that kind ,apostrophe1 ,non expetit in te hc culpa1 ,o ,romani nominis et ,sapienti magne4 ,sol4 ,not4 in ,tacit47 why then did she not cause him to be put to death1 as well as she did the other1 who was her ,husbands ,niece8 ,this for certain1 whatever his life were1 he had paginam lascivam1 as may appear by what he hath written1 de ,speculorum usu1 l4 #a4 ,nat4 ,qu4 cap4 #af4 ,which 7admitting it may in a ,poet1 yet7 how it should be excus'd in a ,philosopher ,i know not4 ,to look upon him in his exile1 we find that then he wrote his ,epistle ,de ,consolat4 to ,polybius1 ,claudius his creature 7as honest a man as ,pallas or ,narcissus7 and therein he extols him and the ,emperour to the ,skies2 in which he did grosly prevaricate1 and lost much of his reputation1 by seeking a discharge of his exile by so sordid a means4 ,upon ,claudius his marriage with ,agrippina1 he was recall'd from ,banishment by her means1 and made ,prtor1 then he forgets the ,emperour1 having no need of him1 labours all he can to depress him and the hopeful ,brittanicus1 and procured his ,pupil ,nero to be adopted and design'd ,successor1 and the ,emperours own ,son to be disinherited2 and against the ,emperour whom he so much praised when he had need of him1 after his death he writes a scurrilous ,libel4 ,in ,nero's ,court1 how ungratefully doth he behave himself towards ,agrippina6 who although she were a wicked woman1 yet she deserv'd well of him1 and of her ,son too1 who yet never was at rest till he had taken away her life1 and upon suspition cast in against her by this man4 ,afterwards not to mention that he made great haste to grow rich1 which should not be the business of a ,philosopher1 towards ,nero himself1 how well did it become his ,philosophy to play the ,traitor against him1 and to become a complice in the conspiracy of ,piso8 ,and then as good a ,tragedian as he was1 me thinks he doth in extremo actu deficere1 when he must needs perswade ,paulina1 that excellent ,lady his wife1 to die with him3 what should move him to desire it8 it could in his opinion be no advantage to her1 for he believ'd nothing of the immortality of the soul2 ,i am not satisfied with the reason of ,tacitus1 ,ne sibi unice dilectam ad injurius relinqueret1 because he discredits it himself1 in almost the next words1 where he saith1 ,nero bore her no ill will at all1 7and would not suffer her to die7 it must surely be then1 because he thought he had not liv'd long enough 7being not above #aad years old1 so much he was7 and had not the fortitude to die1 unless he might receive some confirmation in it by her example4 ,now let any man judge what a precious ,legacy it is that he bequeaths by his nuncupative will to his friends in ,tacitus4 ,conversus ad amicos 7saith he7 quando meritis eorum referre gratiam prohiberetur1 quod unum jam tamen et pulcherrimum habebat1 imaginem vit su relinquere testatur4 ,it cannot be denyed of him1 that he hath said very well2 but yet it must as well be affirmed1 that his ,practice hath run counter to his ,theory1 to use the ,author's phrase4 ,the ,scepticks that affirmed they knew nothing4 ,the ancient ,philosophers are divided into three sorts1 ,dogmatici1 ,academici1 ,sceptici2 the first were those that delivered their opinions positively2 the second left a liberty of disputing pro et contra2 the third declared that there was no knowledge of any thing1 no not of this very proposition1 that there is no knowledge1 according to that1 ----,nihil sciri siquis putat1 id quoq2 nescit ,an sciri possit1 quod se nil scire fatetur4 ,the ,duke of ,venice that weds himself to the ,sea by a ,ring of ,gold1 etc4 ,the ,duke and ,senate yearly on ,ascension-day use to go in their best attire to the ,haven of ,lido1 and there by throwing a ,ring into the water1 do take the ,sea as their spouse4 ,vid4 ,hist4 ,ital4 by ,will ,thomas ,cambrobrit4 ,busbequius reports that there is a custom amongst the ,turks1 which they took from the ,greek ,priests1 not much unlike unto this4 ,cum ,grcorum sacerdotibus mos sit certo veris tempore aquas consecrando mare clausum veluti reserare1 ante quod tempus non facile se committunt fluctibus2 ab ea ,ceremonia nec ,turc absunt4 ,busb4 ,ep4 #c4 legat4 ,tursic4 ,but the ,philosopher that threw his money into the ,sea1 to avoid avarice1 etc4 ,this was ,apollonius ,thyaneus1 who threw a great quantity of ,gold into the ,sea with these words1 ,pessundo divitias1 ne pessundarem ab illis4 ,polycrates the ,tyrant of ,samos cast the best ,jewel he had into the ,sea1 that thereby he might learn to compose himself against the vicissitude of ,fortune4 ,there go so many circumstances to piece up one good action4 ,to make an action to be good1 all the causes that concur must be good2 but one bad amongst many good ones1 is enough to make it vitious1 according to the rule1 ,bonum ex causa integra1 malum ex partiali4 ,sect4 #ef4 ,pag4 #gh4 ,the vulgarity of those judgements that wrap the ,church of ,god in ,strabo's ,cloak1 and restrain it unto ,europe4 ',tis ,strabonis tunica in the translation1 but ,chalmydi would do better1 which is the proper expression of the word that ,strabo useth3 it is not ,europe1 but the known part of the world that ,strabo resembleth to a ,cloak1 and that is it the ,author here alludeth to2 but we have no reason to think that the resemblance of ,strabo is very proper1 ,vid4 ,sir ,hen4 ,savil4 in not4 ad ,tac4 in vita ,agricol4 ,sect4 #eg4 ,pag4 #gi4 ,those who upon a rigid ,application of the ,law1 sentence ,solomon unto damnation1 etc4 ,st4 ,aug4 upon ,psal4 #abf4 and in many other places1 holds that ,solomon is damned4 ,of the same opinion is ,lyra1 in #b ,reg4 c4 #g4 and ,bellarm4 #a ,tom4 lib4 #a4 ,controv4 c4 #e4 ,,the ,,second ,,part ,sect4 #a4 ,pag4 #hc4 ,i wonder not at the ,french for their ,frogs1 ,snails and ,toad-stools4 ,toad-stools are not peculiar to the ,french2 they were a great delicacy among the ,romans1 as appears every where in ,martial4 ,it was conceived the ,emperor ,claudius received his death by ,poyson1 which he took in ,mushroom4 ,suet4 and ,tac4 ,sect4 #b4 ,pag4 #hg4 ,how among so many millions of faces1 there should be none alike4 ,it is reported there have been some so much alike1 that they could not be distinguished2 as ,king ,antiochus1 and one ,antemon1 a ,plebeian of ,syria1 were so much alike1 that ,laodice1 the ,kings widow1 by pretending this man was the ,king1 dissembled the death of the ,king so long1 till according to her own mind1 a ,successor was chosen4 ,cn4 ,pompeius1 and one ,vibius the ,orator2 ,c4 ,plancus1 and ,rubrius the ,stage-player2 ,cassius ,severus the ,orator1 and one ,mirmello2 ,m4 ,messala ,censorius1 and one ,menogenes1 were so much alike1 that unless it were by their habit1 they could not be distinguished3 but this you must take upon the ,faith of ,pliny 7lib4 #g4 c4 #ab47 and ,solinus1 7cap4 #f47 who as this ,author tells elsewhere1 are ,authors not very infallible4 ,sect4 #c4 ,pag4 #hi4 ,what a ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,beta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha and hot skirmish is betwixt ,s4 and ,t4 in ,lucian4 ,in his ,dialog4 judicium vocalium1 where there is a large ,oration made to the ,vowels1 being ,judges1 by ,sigma against ,tau1 complaining that ,tau has bereaved him of many words1 which should begin with ,sigma4 ,their ,tongues are sharper than ,actius his razor4 ,actius ,navius was chief ,augur1 who 7as the story saith7 admonishing ,tarqu4 ,priscus that he should not undertake any action of moment1 without first consulting the ,augur1 the ,king 7shewing that he had little faith in his skill7 demanded of him1 whether by the rules of his skill1 what he had conceived in his mind might be done3 to whom when ,actius had answered it might be done1 he bid him take a ,whetstone which he had in his hand1 and cut it in two with a ,razor2 which accordingly the ,augur did4 ,livy4 ,and therefore we must conceive it was very sharp4 ,here the ,adage was cross'd1 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,xi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,varia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu1 i4e4 novacula in cotem4 ,vid4 ,erasm4 ,chiliad4 ,pag4 #ij4 ,it is not meer ,zeal to ,learning1 or devotion to the ,muses1 that wiser ,princes ,patronize the ,arts1 etc4 but a desire to have their names eterniz'd by the memory of their ,writings4 ,there is a great ,scholar1 who took the boldness to tell a ,prince so much4 ,est enim bonorum principum cum viris eruditis tacita qudam naturalisque ,societas1 ut alteri ab alteris illustrentur1 ac dum sibi mutuo suffragantur1 et gloria principibus1 et doctis authoritas concilietur4 ,politian4 ,ep4 ,ludovic4 ,sfort4 qu extat1 lib4 #aa4 ,ep4 ep4 #a4 ,and to this ,opinion astipulates a ,country man of our own1 whose words are these3 ,ignotus esset ,lucilius1 nisi eum ,epistol ,senec illustrarent4 ,laudibus ,csareis plus ,virgilius et ,varus ,lucanusq2 adjecerunt1 quam immensum illud rarium quo urbem et orbem spoliavit4 ,nemo prudentiam ,ithaci aut ,pelid vires agnosceret1 nisi eas ,homerus divino publicasset ingenio3 unde nihil mihi videtur consultius viro ad gloriam properanti fidelium favore scriptorum4 ,joan4 ,sarisb4 ,polycrat4 l #h4 c4 #ad4 ,and that ,princes are as much beholding to the ,poets ,pens as their own ,swords1 ,horace tells ,censorinus with great confidence4 ,od4 #h4 l4 #d4 ,non incisa notis1 etc4 ,sect4 #d4 ,pag4 #ij4 ,st4 ,paul that calls the ,cretians ,lyars1 doth it but indirectly1 and upon quotation of one of their own ,poets4 ,that is1 ,epimenides2 the place is ,tit4 #a4 v4 #ab4 where ,paul useth this verse1 taken out of ,epimenides4 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,varia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,psi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota1 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,varia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha1 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia4 ,it is as bloody a thought in one way1 as ,nero's was in another4 ,for by a word we wound a thousand4 ,i suppose he alludes to that passage in ,sueton4 in the life of ,nero1 where he relates that a certain person upon a time1 spoke in his hearing these words1 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,perispomeni ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia4 i4e4 ,when ,i am dead let ,earth be mingled with ,fire4 ,whereupon the ,emperour uttered these words1 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,perispomeni ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,zeta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma1 i4e4 ,yea whilst ,i live3 there by one word1 he express'd a cruel thought1 which ,i think is the thing he meant2 this is more cruel than the wish of ,caligula1 that the people of ,rome had but one ,neck1 that he might destroy them all at a blow4 ,sect4 #f4 ,pag4 #ie4 ,i cannot believe the story of the ,italian1 etc4 ,it is reported that a certain ,italian having met with one that had highly provoked him1 put a ,ponyard to his breast1 and unless he would blaspheme ,god1 told him he would kill him1 which the other doing to save his life1 the ,italian presently kill'd him1 to the intent he might be damned1 having no time of ,repentance4 ,sect4 #g4 ,pag4 #ig4 ,i have no sins that want a ,name4 ,the ,author in cap4 ult4 lib4 ult4 ,pseudodox4 speaking of the ,act of carnality exercised by the ,egyptian ,pollinctors with the dead carcasses1 saith we want a name for this1 wherein neither ,petronius nor ,martial can relieve us2 therefore ,i conceive the ,author here means a venereal sin4 ,this was the ,temper of that ,leacher that carnal'd with a ,statua4 ,the ,latine ,annotator upon this hath these words3 ,rom refertur de ,hispano quodam4 ,but certainly the ,author means the ,statue of ,venus ,gnidia made by ,praxiteles1 of which a certain young man became so enamoured1 that ,pliny relates1 ,ferunt amore captum cum delituisset nocta simulachro cohsisse1 ejusq2 cupiditas esse indicem masculum4 ,lucian also has the story in his ,dialog4 ,amores4 ,and the constitution of ,nero in his ,spintrian recreations4 ,the ,author doth not mean the last ,nero1 but ,tiberius the ,emperour1 whose name was ,nero too2 of whom ,sueton4 ,secessu vero ,capreensi etiam sellariam excogitavit sedem arcanarum libidinum1 in quam undique conquisti puellarum et exoletorum greges monstrosiq2 concubitus repertores1 quos spintrias apellabat1 triplici serie connexi invicem incestarent se coram ipso1 ut adspectu deficientes libidines excitaret4 ,suet4 in ,tib4 #dc4 ,sect4 #h4 ,pag4 #ih4 ,i have seen a ,grammarian toure and plume himself over a single line in ,horace1 and shew more pride1 etc4 ,movent mihi stomachum ,grammatist quidam1 qui cum duas tenuerint vocabularum origenes ita se ostentant1 ita venditant1 ita circumferunt jactabundi1 ut pr ipsis pro nihilo habendos ,philosophos arbitrentur4 ,picus ,mirand4 in ,ep4 ad ,hermol4 ,barb4 qu extat lib4 nono ,epist4 ,politian4 ,garsio quisq2 duas postquam scit jungere partes1 ,sic stat1 sic loquitur1 velut omnes noverit artes4 ,pag4 #ii4 ,i cannot think that ,homer pin'd away upon the ,riddle of the ,fishermen4 ,the ,history out of ,plutarch is thus3 ,sailing from ,thebes to the ,island ,ion1 being landed and set down upon the shore1 there happen'd certain ,fishermen to pass by him1 and he asking them what they had taken1 they made him this ,enigmatical answer1 ,that what they had taken1 they had left behind them2 and what they had not taken1 they had with them3 meaning1 that because they could take no ,fish1 they went to loose themselves2 and that all which they had taken1 they had killed1 and left behind them1 and all which they had not taken1 they had with them in their clothes3 and that ,homer being struck with a deep sadness because he could not interpret this1 pin'd away1 and at last dyed4 ,pliny alludes to this ,riddle1 in his ,ep4 to his ,friend ,fuscus1 where giving an account of spending his time in the ,country1 he tells him1 ,venor aliquando1 sed non sine pugilluribus1 ut quamvis nihil ceperim1 non nihil referam4 ,plin4 ,ep4 lib4 #i1 ,ep4 #cf4 ,or that ,aristot4----did ever drown himself upon the flux or reflux of ,euripus4 ,laertius reports that ,aristotle dyed of a disease at #fc years of age4 ,for this and the last1 see the ,author in ,pseudodox4 ,aristotle doth but instruct us as ,plato did him1 to confute himself4 ,in the matter of ,idea's1 ,eternity of the world1 etc4 ,sec4 #i4 ,pag4 #ajj4 ,i could be content that we might procreate like trees without conjunction1 or that there were any way to perpetuate the world without this trivial and vulgar way of ,coition3 ,it is the foolishest act a wise man commits in all his life4 ,there was a ,physitian long before the ,author1 that was of the same opinion1 ,hippocrates2 for which vide ,a4 ,gel4 l4 #ai4 ,noct4 ,attic4 c4 #b4 ,and so of late time was ,paracelsus1 who did undertake to prescribe a way for the generation of a man without coition4 ,vide ,campanel4 de sensu rerum1 in ,append4 ad cap4 #ai4 l4 #d4 ,monsieur ,montaignes words on this subject1 are worth the reading2 these they are3 ,je trouve apres tout1 que l'amour n'est autre chose que la fame de cette jouyssance1 et considerant maintes fois la ridicule titillation de ce plaiser par on il nous tient1 les absurdes movements escervelez et estourdis dequoy il agite ,zenon et ,cratippus1 ceste rage indiscrete1 ce visage inflamme de fureur et de cruaute au plus doux effect de l'amour1 et puis cette morgue grare severe et extatique en une action si folle1 et que la supreme volupte aye du trainsy et du plaintiff commer la douleur1 je croye qu'on se joue de nous1 et que c'est par industrie que nature nous a laisse la plus trouble de nos actions les plus communes pour nous esgaller par la et apparier les fols et les sayes1 et nous et les bestes4 ,le plus contemplatif et prudent homme quand je l'imagin en cette assiette je le tien pour un affronteur1 de faire le prudent et le contemplatif3 et sont les pieds du paon qui abbatent son orgueil4 ,nous mangeons bien et beuvons comme les bestes1 mais ce ne sont pas actions1 qui empeschent les operations de nostre ame1 en celles-la nous gardons nostre advantage sur elles3 cettecy met tout autre pensee sous le joug1 abrutist et abesiit par son imperieuse authorite toute la ,theology et ,philosophy1 qui est en ,platon et si il ne s'en plaint pas4 ,par tout ailleurs vous pouvez garder quelque decence2 toutes autres operations souffrent des ,regles d'honestete3 cettecy ne se peut sculement imaginer que vitieuse ou ridicule2 trouvez y pour voir un proceder sage et discret4 ,alexander disoit qu'il se cognossoit principalement mortel par cette action et par le dormir3 le sommeil suffoque et supprime les facultez de nostre ame1 la besoigne les absorbe et dissipe de mesme4 ,certes c'est une marque non seulement de nostre corruption originelle1 mais aussi de nostre vanite et disformite4 ,d'un coste nature nous y pousse ayant attach ce desire la plan noble1 utile et plaisante de toutes ses operations1 et la nous laisse d'autre part accuser et fuyr comme insolent et dishoneste1 en rougir et recommander l'abstinence1 etc4 ,montaign liv4 #c4 chapit4 #e4 ,sect4 #aj4 ,pag4 #ajc4 ,and may be inverted on the worst4 ,that is1 that there are none so abandoned to vice1 but they have some sprinklings of vertue4 ,there are scarce any so vitious1 but commend virtue in those that are endued with it1 and do some things laudable themselves1 as ,plin4 saith in ,panegyric4 ,machiavel upon ,livy1 lib4 #a4 cap4 #bg4 sets down the ensuing relation as a notable confirmation of this truth4 ,julius ,pontifex ejus nominis secundus1 anno salutis #aeje4 ,bononiam exercitus duxit1 ut ,bentivolorum familiam1 qu ejus urbis imperium centum jam annos tenuerat1 loco moveret4 ,eudemque in expeditione etiam ,johannem ,pagolum1 ,bagloneum tyrannum ,perusinum sua sede expellere decreverat1 ut cteros item1 qui urbes ,ecclesi per vim tenerent4 ,ejus rei causa cum ad ,perusinam urbem accessisset1 et notum jam omnibus esset quid in animo haberet3 tamen impatiens mor1 noluit exercitus expectare1 sed inermis quasi urbem ingressus est1 in quant ,johannes ,pagolus defendendi sui causa1 non exiguas copias contraxerat4 ,is autem eodem furore1 quo res suas administrare solebat1 una cum milite1 cui custodiam sui corporis demandarat1 sese in pontificis potestatem dedidit2 quo abductus est relictusque alius1 qui ,ecclesi nomine urbem gubernaret4 ,hac ipsu in re magnopere admirati sunt viri sapientes1 qui ,pontificem comitabantur1 cum ,pontificis ipsius temeritatem1 cum abjectum vilemq2 ,johannis ,pagoli animum3 nec causam intelligebant1 ob quam permotus idem ,pagolus1 hostem suum inermem 7quod illi cum perpetua nominis sui memoria facere licebat7 non subit oppresserit1 et tam pretiosa spolia diripuerit2 cum ,pontifex urbem ingressus fuisset1 ,cardinalibus tantum suis stipatus1 qui pretiosissimas quasq2 suarum rerum secum habebant4 ,neque enim credebatur ,pagolus a tanto facinore vel sua bonitate1 vel animi conscientia abstinuisse3 quod in hominem sceleratum1 qui et propria sorore utebatur1 et consobrinos nepotesque dominandi causa e medio sustulerat hujusmodi pii affectus cadere non viderentur4 ,cum igitur hac de re vari essent sapientum virorum sententi2 concluserunt tandem id ei accidisse1 quod ita comparatum sit1 ut homines neque plane pravi esse queant1 neque perfecte boni4 ,pravi perfecte esse nequeant1 propterea quod1 ubi tale quoddam scelus est1 in quo aliquid magnifici ac generosi insit1 id patrare non andeant4 ,nam cum ,pagolus neq2 incestam prius horraisset1 neque patricidio abstinnisset3 tamen cnm oblata esset occasio1 pravi quidem sed memorabilis1 atque tern memori facinoris patrandi1 id attentare non ausus fuit1 cum id sine infamia prestare licuisset1 quod rei magnitudo omnia priora scelera obtegere potuisset1 et a periculo conservare4 ,quibus accedit1 quod illi gratulati fuissent etiam quam plurimi1 si primus ausus esset ,pontificibus monstrare rationem dominandi2 totiusque human vit usum ab illis nimis parei pendi4 ,poysons contain within themselves their own ,antidote4 ,the ,poyson of a ,scorpion is not ,poyson to it self1 nor the ,poyson of a ,toad is not ,poyson to it self2 so that the sucking out of ,poyson from persons infected by ,psylls1 7who are continually nourished with venomous aliment7 without any prejudice to themselves1 is the less to be wondred at4 ,the man without a ,navil yet lives in me4 ,the ,latine ,annotator hath explicated this by ,homo non perfectus1 by which it seems he did not comprehend the ,author's meaning2 for the ,author means ,adam1 and by a ,metonymie original sin2 for the ,navil being onely of use to attract the aliment in utero materno1 and ,adam having no mother1 he had no use of a ,navil1 and therefore it is not to be conceived he had any2 and upon that ground the ,author calls him the man without a ,navil4 ,sect4 #aa4 ,pag4 #ajf4 ,our grosser memories have then so little hold of our abstracted understandings1 that they forget the story1 and can onely relate to our awaked senses a confused and broken tale of that that hath pass'd4 ,for the most part it is so4 ,in regard of the ,author's expression of forgetting the story1 though otherwise it be not very pertinent to this place1 ,i shall set down a relation given by an ,english ,gentleman1 of two dreams that he had1 wherein he did not forget the story1 but 7what is more strange7 found his dreams verified4 ,this it is4 ,whilst ,i lived at ,prague1 and one night had sit up very late drinking at a feast1 early in the morning the ,sun beams glancing on my face1 as ,i lay in my bed1 ,i dreamed that a shadow passing by told me that my ,father was dead2 at which awaking all in a sweat1 and affected with this dream1 ,i rose and wrote the day and hour1 and all circumstances thereof in a ,paper-book1 which book with many other things ,i put into a ,barrel1 and sent it from ,prague to ,stode1 thence to be conveyed into ,england4 ,and now being at ,nurenburgh1 a ,merchant of a noble ,family well acquainted with me and my friends1 arrived there1 who told me my ,father dyed some two months ago4 ,i list not to write any lyes1 but that which ,i write1 is as true as strange4 ,when ,i returned into ,england some four years after1 ,i would not open the ,barrel ,i sent from ,prague1 nor look into the ,paper-book in which ,i had written this dream1 till ,i had called my ,sisters and some friends to be witnesses1 where my self and they were astonished to see my written dream answer the very day of my ,father's death4 ,i may lawfully swear that which my ,kinsman hath heard witnessed by my brother ,henry whilst he lived1 that in my youth at ,cambridge1 ,i had the like dream of my ,mother's death1 where my brother ,henry living with me1 early in the morning ,i dreamed that my ,mother passed by with a sad countenance1 and told me that she could not come to my ,commencement3 ,i being within five months to proceed ,master of ,arts1 and she having promised at that time to come to ,cambridge4 ,and when ,i related this dream to my brother1 both of us awaking together in a sweat1 he protested to me that he had dreamed the very same2 and when we had not the least knowledge of our ,mother's sickness1 neither in our youthful affections were any whit affected with the strangeness of this dream1 yet the next ,carrier brought us word of our ,mother's death4 ,mr4 ,fiennes ,morison in his ,itinerary4 ,i am not over-credulous of such relations1 but methinks the circumstance of publishing it at such a time1 when there were those living that might have disprov'd it1 if it had been false1 is a great argument of the truth of it4 ,sect4 #ab4 ,pag4 #ajg4 ,i wonder the fancy of ,lucan and ,seneca did not discover it4 ,for they had both power from ,nero to chuse their deaths4 ,sect4 #ac4 ,pag4 #ajh4 ,to conceive our selves ,urinals is not so ridiculous4 ,reperti sunt ,galeno et ,avicenna testibus qui se vasa fictilia crederent1 et ideirco hominum attactum ne confringerentur solicite fugerent4 ,pontan4 in ,attic4 bellar4 7,hist4 #bb47 ,which proceeds from extremity of ,melancholy4 ,pag4 #aji4 ,aristot4 is too severe1 that will not allow us to be truely liberal without wealth4 ,aristot4 l4 #a4 ,ethic4 c4 #h4 ,sect4 #ae4 ,pag4 #aab4 ,thy will be done though in mine own undoing4 ,this should be the wish of every man1 and is of the most wise and knowing1 ,le ,christien plus humble et plus sage et mieux recognoissant que c'est que de luy se rapporte a son createur de choisir et ordonner ce qu'il luy faut4 ,il ne le supplie dautre chose que sa volunte soit faite4 ,montaign4 ,a ,letter sent upon the information of ,animadversions to come forth1 upon the imperfect and surreptitious copy of ,religio ,medici1 whilst this true one was going to ,press4 ,honoured ,sir1 ,give your ,servant1 who hath ever honour'd you1 leave to take notice of a ,book at present in the ,press1 intituled 7as ,i am informed7 ,animadversions upon a ,treatise lately printed under the name of ,religio ,medici2 hereof1 ,i am advertised1 you have descended to be the ,author4 ,worthy ,sir1 permit your ,servant to affirm there is contain'd therein nothing that can deserve the ,reason of your ,contradictions1 much less the ,candor of your ,animadversions3 and to certifie the truth thereof1 ,that ,book 7whereof ,i do acknowledge myself the ,author7 was penn'd many years past1 and 7what cannot escape your apprehension7 with no intention for the ,press1 or the least desire to oblige the ,faith of any man to its assertions4 ,but what hath more especially emboldened my ,pen unto you at present1 is1 ,that the same ,piece1 contrived in my private study1 and as an ,exercise unto my self1 rather than ,exercitation for any other1 having past from my hand under a broken and imperfect ,copy1 by frequent transcription it still run forward into corruption1 and after the addition of some things1 omission of others1 transposition of many1 without my assent or privacy1 the liberty of these times committed it unto the ,press2 whence it issued so disguised1 the ,author without distinction could not acknowledge it4 ,having thus miscarried1 within a few weeks ,i shall1 ,god willing1 deliver unto the ,press the true and intended ,original 7whereof in the mean time your worthy ,self may command a view72 otherwise when ever that ,copy shall be extant1 it will most clearly appear how far the ,text hath been mistaken1 and all ,observations1 ,glosses1 or ,exercitations thereon1 will in a great part impugn the ,printer or ,transcriber1 rather than the ,author4 ,if after that1 you shall esteem it worth your vacant hours to discourse thereon1 you shall but take that liberty which ,i assume my self1 that is1 freely to abound in your sense1 as ,i have done in my own4 ,however you shall determine1 you shall sufficiently honour me in the ,vouchsafe of your ,refute1 and ,i oblige the whole ,world in the occasion of your ,pen4 ,your ,servant4 ,t4 ,b4 ,norwich1 ,march #c1 #afdb4 ,,to ,,the ,,reader ,certainly that man were greedy of ,life1 who should desire to live when all the world were at an end2 and he must needs be very impatient1 who would repine at death in the society of all things that suffer under it4 ,had not almost every man suffered by the ,press or were not the tyranny thereof become universal1 ,i had not wanted reason for complaint3 but in times wherein ,i have lived to behold the highest perversion of that excellent invention1 the name of his ,majesty defamed1 the ,honour of ,parliament depraved1 the ,writings of both depravedly1 anticipatively1 counterfeitly imprinted2 complaints may seem ridiculous in private persons2 and men of my condition may be as incapable of affronts1 as hopeless of their reparations4 ,and truely had not the duty ,i owe unto the importunity of friends1 and the allegiance ,i must ever acknowledge unto truth1 prevailed with me2 the inactivity of my disposition might have made these sufferings continual1 and time that brings other things to light1 should have satisfied me in the remedy of its oblivion4 ,but because things evidently false are not onely printed1 but many things of truth most falsely set forth1 in this latter ,i could not but think my self engaged4 ,for though we have no power to redress the former1 yet in the other1 reparation being within our selves1 ,i have at present represented unto the world a full and intended ,copy of that ,piece1 which was most imperfectly and surreptitiously published before4 ,this1 ,i confess1 about seven years past1 with some others of affinity thereto1 for my private exercise and satisfaction1 ,i had at leisurable hours composed2 which being communicated unto one1 it became common unto many1 and was by ,transcription successively corrupted1 untill it arrived in a most depraved ,copy at the ,press4 ,he that shall peruse that ,work1 and shall take notice of sundry particularities and personal expressions therein1 will easily discern the intention was not publick3 and being a private ,exercise directed to my self1 what is delivered therein1 was rather a memorial unto me1 than an ,example or ,rule unto any other3 and therefore if there be any singularity therein correspondent unto the private conceptions of any man1 it doth not advantage them3 or if dissentaneous thereunto1 it no way overthrows them4 ,it was penned in such a place1 and with such disadvantage1 that 7,i protest7 from the first setting of pen unto paper1 ,i had not the assistance of any good ,book1 whereby to promote my invention1 or relieve my memory2 and therefore there might be many real lapses therein1 which others might take notice of1 and more than ,i suspected my self4 ,it was set down many years past1 and was the sense of my conception at that time1 not an immutable ,law unto my advancing judgement at all times2 and therefore there might be many things therein plausible unto my passed apprehension1 which are not agreeable until my present self4 ,there are many things delivered ,rhetorically1 many expressions therein meerly ,tropical1 and as they best illustrate my intention2 and therefore also there are many things to be taken in a soft and flexible sense1 and not to be called unto the rigid test of ,reason4 ,lastly1 all that is contained therein is in submission unto maturer discernments2 and1 as ,i have declared1 shall no further father them than the best and learned judgments shall authorize them3 under favour of which considerations ,i have made its secrecy publick1 and committed the truth thereof to every ,ingenuous ,reader4 ,,tho4 ,,browne4 ,,religio ,,medici ,,sect4 #a ,for my ,religion1 though there be several ,circumstances that might perswade the ,world ,i have none at all1 as the general scandal of my ,profession1 the natural course of my ,studies1 the indifferency of my ,behaviour and ,discourse in matters of ,religion1 neither violently ,defending one1 nor with that common ardour and contention ,opposing another2 yet1 in despight hereof1 ,i dare1 without usurpation1 assume the honourable ,stile of a ,christian4 ,not that ,i meerly owe this ,title to the ,font1 my ,education1 or ,clime wherein ,i was born1 as being bred up either to confirm those ,principles my parents instilled into my ,understanding1 or by a general consent proceed in the ,religion of my ,country3 ,but having in my riper years and confirmed ,judgment1 seen and examined all1 ,i find my self obliged by the ,principles of ,grace1 and the ,law of mine own ,reason1 to embrace no other name but this3 ,neither doth herein my zeal so far make me forget the general ,charity ,i owe unto ,humanity1 as rather to hate than pity ,turks1 ,infidels1 and 7what is worse7 ,jews2 rather contenting my self to enjoy that happy ,stile1 than maligning those who refuse so glorious a ,title4 ,,sect4 #b ,but because the ,name of a ,christian is become too general to express our ,faith1 there being a ,geography of ,religion as well as ,lands1 and every ,clime distinguished not only by their ,laws and ,limits1 but circumscribed by their ,doctrines and ,rules of ,faith2 to be particular1 ,i am of that ,reformed new-cast ,religion1 wherein ,i dislike nothing but the ,name2 of the same belief our ,saviour taught1 the ,apostles disseminated1 the ,fathers authorized1 and the ,martyrs confirmed1 but by the sinister ends of ,princes1 the ambition and avarice of ,prelates1 and the fatal corruption of times1 so decayed1 impaired1 and fallen from its native ,beauty1 that it required the careful and charitable hands of these times to restore it to its primitive ,integrity4 ,now the accidental occasion whereupon1 the slender means whereby the low and abject condition of the ,person by whom so good a work was set on foot1 which in our ,adversaries beget contempt and scorn1 fills me with wonder1 and is the very same ,objection the insolent ,pagans first cast at ,christ and his ,disciples4 ,,sect4 #c ,yet have ,i not so shaken hands with those desperate ,resolutions1 who had rather venture at large their decayed bottom1 than bring her in to be new trimm'd in the ,dock2 who had rather promiscuously retain all1 than abridge any1 and obstinately be what they are1 than what they have been1 as to stand in ,diameter and ,swords point with them3 ,we have reformed from them1 not against them2 for omitting those ,improperations and ,terms of ,scurrility betwixt us1 which only difference our ,affections1 and not our ,cause1 there is between us one common ,name and ,appellation1 one ,faith and necessary body of ,principles common to us both2 and therefore ,i am not scrupulous to converse and live with them1 to enter their ,churches in defect of ours1 and either pray with them1 or for them4 ,i could never perceive any rational ,consequence from those many ,texts which prohibit the ,children of ,israel to pollute themselves with the ,temples of the ,heathens2 we being all ,christians1 and not divided by such detested impieties as might prophane our ,prayers1 or the place wherein we make them2 or that a resolved ,conscience may not adore her ,creator any where1 especially in places devoted to his ,service2 where1 if their ,devotions offend him1 mine may please him2 if theirs prophane it1 mine may hallow it4 ,holy-water and ,crucifix 7dangerous to the common people7 deceive not my judgment1 nor abuse my devotion at all3 ,i am1 ,i confess1 naturally inclined to that which misguided ,zeal terms ,superstition3 my common conversation ,i do acknowledge austere1 my behaviour full of rigour1 sometimes not without morosity2 yet at my ,devotion ,i love to use the civility of my knee1 my hat1 and hand1 with all those outward and sensible motions which may express or promote my invisible ,devotion4 ,i should violate my own arm rather than a ,church2 nor willingly deface the name of ,saint or ,martyr4 ,at the sight of a ,cross or ,crucifix ,i can dispense with my hat1 but scarce with the thought or memory of my ,saviour3 ,i cannot laugh at1 but rather pity1 the fruitless journeys of ,pilgrims1 or contemn the miserable condition of ,fryars2 for though misplaced in ,circumstances there is something in it of ,devotion4 ,i could never hear the ,ave-,mary ,bell#g without an elevation1 or think it a sufficient warrant1 because they erred in one circumstance1 for me to err in all1 that is1 in silence and dumb contempt2 whilst therefore they directed their ,devotions to ,her1 ,i offered mine to ,god1 and rectifie the ,errors of their ,prayers by rightly ordering mine own3 ,at a solemn ,procession ,i have wept abundantly1 while my consorts blind with opposition and prejudice1 have fallen into an excess of scorn and laughter3 ,there are questionless both in ,greek1 ,roman1 and ,african ,churches1 ,solemnities and ,ceremonies1 whereof the wiser ,zeals do make a ,christian use1 and stand condemned by us1 not as evil in themselves1 but as allurements and baits of superstition to those vulgar heads that look asquint on the face of ,truth1 and those unstable ,judgments that cannot resist in the narrow point and centre of ,virtue without a reel or stagger to the ,circumference4 #g ,a ,church ,bell that tolls every day at six and twelve of the clock2 at the hearing whereof1 everyone in what place soever1 either of ,house or ,street1 betakes himself to his prayer1 which is commonly directed to the ,virgin4 ,,sect4 #d ,as there were many ,reformers1 so likewise many ,reformations2 every ,country proceeding in a particular way and method1 according as their national ,interest1 together with their ,constitution and ,clime1 inclined them2 some angrily1 and with extremity2 others calmly1 and with mediocrity2 not rending1 but easily dividing the community1 and leaving an honest possibility of a reconciliation2 which though peaceable ,spirits do desire1 and may conceive that revolution of time and the mercies of ,god may effect1 yet that judgment that shall continue the present antipathies between the two extreams1 their contrarieties in condition1 affection1 and opinion1 may with the same hopes expect an union in the ,poles of ,heaven4 ,,sect4 #e ,but to difference my self nearer1 and draw into a lesser ,circle1 ,there is no ,church1 whose every part so squares unto my ,conscience2 whose ,articles1 ,constitutions1 and ,customs1 seem so consonant unto reason1 and as it were framed to my particular ,devotion1 as this whereof ,i hold my ,belief1 the ,church of ,england1 to whose ,faith ,i am a sworn ,subject2 and therefore in a double ,obligation subscribe unto her ,articles1 and endeavour to observe her ,constitutions2 whatsoever is beyond1 as points indifferent1 ,i observe according to the rules of my private reason1 or the humour and fashion of my ,devotion2 neither believing this1 because ,luther affirmed it1 or disproving that1 because ,calvin hath disavouched it4 ,i condemn not all things in the ,council of ,trent1 nor approve all in the ,synod of ,dort4 ,in brief1 where the ,scripture is silent1 the ,church is my ,text2 where that speaks1 'tis but my ,comment3 where there is a joynt silence of both1 ,i borrow not the rules of my ,religion from ,rome or ,geneva1 but the dictates of my own reason4 ,it is an unjust scandal of our adversaries1 and a gross errour in our selves1 to compute the ,nativity of our ,religion from ,henry the ,eighth1 who1 though he rejected the ,pope1 refus'd not the faith of ,rome1 and effected no more than what his own ,predecessors desired and assayed in ,ages past1 and was conceived the ,state of ,venice would have attempted in our days4 ,it is as uncharitable a point in us to fall upon those popular scurrilities and opprobrious scoffs of the ,bishop of ,rome1 to whom as a temporal ,prince1 we owe the duty of good language3 ,i confess there is cause of passion between us2 by his sentence ,i stand excommunicated1 ,heretick is the best language he affords me2 yet can no ear witness ,i ever returned him the name of ,antichrist1 ,man of ,sin1 or ,whore of ,babylon4 ,it is the method of ,charity to suffer without reaction3 ,those usual ,satyrs and invectives of the ,pulpit may perchance produce a good effect on the vulgar1 whose ears are opener to ,rhetorick than ,logick2 yet do they in no wise confirm the faith of wiser ,believers1 who know that a good cause needs not to be pardon'd by passion1 but can sustain it self upon a temperate dispute4 ,,sect4 #f ,i could never divide my self from any man upon the difference of an opinion1 or be angry with his judgment for not agreeing with me in that from which perhaps within a few days ,i should dissent my self4 ,i have no ,genius to disputes in ,religion1 and have often thought it wisdom to decline them1 especially upon a disadvantage1 or when the cause of truth might suffer in the weakness of my patronage3 ,where we desire to be informed1 'tis good to contest with men above our selves2 but to confirm and establish our opinions1 'tis best to argue with judgments below our own1 that the frequent spoils and ,victories over their reasons may settle in ourselves an esteem and confirmed ,opinion of our own4 ,every man is not a proper ,champion for ,truth1 nor fit to take up the ,gauntlet in the cause of ,verity3 ,many1 from the ignorance of these ,maximes1 and an inconsiderate ,zeal unto ,truth1 have too rashly charged the ,troops of ,error1 and remain as ,trophies unto the enemies of ,truth3 ,a man may be in as just possession of ,truth as of a ,city1 and yet be forced to surrender2 'tis therefore far better to enjoy her with peace1 than to hazzard her on a battle3 if therefore there rise any doubts in my way1 ,i do forget them1 or at least defer them till my better setled judgement and more manly reason be able to resolve them2 for ,i perceive every man's own reason is his best ,o,edipus1 and will upon a reasonable truce1 find a way to loose those bonds wherewith the subtleties of error have enchained our more flexible and tender judgements4 ,in ,philosophy1 where ,truth seems double-fac'd1 there is no man more ,paradoxical than my self3 but in ,divinity ,i love to keep the ,road2 and1 though not in an implicite1 yet an humble faith1 follow the great wheel of the ,church1 by which ,i move1 not reserving any proper ,poles or motion from the ,epicycle of my own brain2 by this means ,i leave no gap for ,heresie1 ,schismes1 or ,errors1 of which at present ,i hope ,i shall not injure ,truth to say ,i have no taint or tincture3 ,i must confess my greener studies have been polluted with two or three1 not any begotten in the latter ,centuries1 but old and obsolete1 such as could never have been revived1 but by such extravagant and irregular heads as mine3 for indeed ,heresies perish not with their ,authors1 but1 like the river ,arethusa1 though they lose their currents in one place1 they rise up again in another3 ,one ,general ,council is not able to extirpate one single ,heresie2 it may be cancell'd for the present2 but revolution of time1 and the like aspects from ,heaven1 will restore it1 when it will flourish till it be condemned again4 ,for as though there were a ,metempsuchosis1 and the soul of one man passed into another2 ,opinions do find1 after certain ,revolutions1 men and minds like those that first begat them4 ,to see ourselves again1 we need not look for ,plato's year3#h every man is not only himself2 there hath been many ,diogenes1 and as many ,timons1 though but few of that name2 men are liv'd over again1 the world is now as it was in ,ages past2 there was none then1 but there hath been some one since that ,parallels him1 and is1 as it were1 his revived self4 #h ,a revolution of certain thousand years1 when all things should return unto their former estate1 and he be teaching again in his ,school as when he delivered this ,opinion4 ,,sect4 #g ,now the first of mine was that of the ,arabians1 ,that the ,souls of men perished with their ,bodies1 but should yet be raised again at the last day3 not that ,i did absolutely conceive a mortality of the ,soul2 but if that were1 which ,faith1 not ,philosophy hath yet throughly disproved1 and that both entred the grave together1 yet ,i held the same conceit thereof that we all do of the body1 that it should rise again4 ,surely it is but the merits of our unworthy ,natures1 if we sleep in darkness until the last ,alarm4 ,a serious reflex upon my own unworthiness did make me backward from challenging this prerogative of my ,soul2 so that ,i might enjoy my ,saviour at the last1 ,i could with patience be nothing almost unto ,eternity4 ,the second was that of ,origen1 ,that ,god would not persist in his vengeance for ever1 but after a definite time of his wrath1 he would release the damned ,souls from torture3 which error ,i fell into upon a serious contemplation of the great ,attribute of ,god1 his ,mercy2 and did a little cherish it in my self1 because ,i found therein no malice1 and a ready weight to sway me from the other extream of despair1 whereunto ,melancholy and ,contemplative ,natures are too easily disposed4 ,a third there is which ,i did never positively maintain or practise1 but have often wished it had been consonant to ,truth1 and not offensive to my ,religion1 and that is the ,prayer for the dead2 whereunto ,i was inclin'd from some charitable inducements1 whereby ,i could scarce contain my ,prayers for a friend at the ringing of a ,bell1 or behold his ,corps without an ,orison for his ,soul3 ',twas a good way1 methought1 to be remembred by posterity1 and far more noble than an ,history4 ,these opinions ,i never maintained with pertinacy1 or endeavoured to inveagle any mans belief unto mine1 nor so much as ever revealed or disputed them with my dearest friends2 by which means ,i neither propagated them in others1 nor confirmed them in my self2 but suffering them to flame upon their own substance1 without addition of new fuel1 they went out insensibly of themselves3 therefore these ,opinions1 though condemned by lawful ,councels1 were not ,heresies in me1 but bare ,errors1 and single ,lapses of my understanding1 without a joynt depravity of my will3 ,those have not onely depraved understandings1 but diseased affections1 which cannot enjoy a singularity without an ,heresie1 or be the ,author of an ,opinion without they be of a ,sect also2 this was the villany of the first ,schism of ,lucifer1 who was not content to err alone1 but drew into his ,faction many ,legions2 and upon this experience he tempted only ,eve1 as well understanding the ,communicable nature of ,sin1 and that to deceive but one1 was tacitely and upon consequence to delude them both4 ,,sect4 #h ,that ,heresies should arise1 we have the ,prophesie of ,christ2 but that old ones should be abolished1 we hold no prediction4 ,that there must be ,heresies1 is true1 not only in our ,church1 but also in any other3 even in doctrines heretical1 there will be super-heresies2 and ,arians not only divided from their ,church1 but also among themselves3 for heads that are disposed unto ,schism and complexionally propense to innovation1 are naturally disposed for a community2 nor will be ever confined unto the order or oeconomy of one body2 and therefore when they separate from others1 they knit but loosely among themselves1 nor contented with a general breach or dichotomy with their ,church1 do subdivide and mince themselves almost into ,atoms4 ',tis true1 that men of singular parts and humours have not been free from singular opinions and conceits in all ,ages2 retaining something1 not only beside the opinion of his own ,church or any other1 but also any particular ,author2 which notwithstanding a sober ,judgment may do without offence or heresie2 for there is yet1 after all the ,decrees of ,councils and the niceties of ,schools1 many things untouch'd1 unimagin'd1 wherein the liberty of an honest reason may play and expatiate with security1 and far without the circle of an ,heresie4 ,,sect4 #i ,as for those wingy ,mysteries in ,divinity1 and airy subtleties in ,religion1 which have unhing'd the brains of better heads1 they never stretched the ,pia ,mater of mine4 ,methinks there be not impossibilities enough in ,religion for an active faith2 the deepest ,mysteries ours contains have not only been illustrated1 but maintained1 by ,syllogism and the rule of ,reason4 ,i love to lose my self in a mystery1 to pursue my ,reason to an ,o altitudo6 ',tis my solitary recreation to pose my apprehension with those involved nigma's and riddles of the ,trinity1 with ,incarnation1 and ,resurrection4 ,i can answer all the ,objections of ,satan and my rebellious reason with that odd resolution ,i learned of ,tertullian1 ,certum est quia impossibile est4 ,i desire to exercise my faith in the difficultest point2 for to credit ordinary and visible objects is not faith1 but perswasion4 ,some believe the better for seeing ,christ's ,sepulchre2 and when they have seen the ,red ,sea1 doubt not of the ,miracle4 ,now contrarily1 ,i bless my self and am thankful that ,i lived not in the days of ,miracles1 that ,i never saw ,christ nor ,his ,disciples2 ,i would not have been one of those ,israelites that pass'd the ,red ,sea1 nor one of ,christ's patients on whom he wrought his wonders2 then had my faith been thrust upon me1 nor should ,i enjoy that greater blessing pronounced to all that believe and saw not4 ',tis an easie and necessary belief1 to credit what our eye and sense hath examined3 ,i believe he was dead1 and buried1 and rose again2 and desire to see him in his glory1 rather than to contemplate him in his ,cenotaphe or ,sepulchre4 ,nor is this much to believe2 as we have reason1 we owe this faith unto ,history3 they only had the advantage of a bold and noble ,faith1 who lived before his coming1 who upon obscure prophesies and mystical ,types could raise a belief1 and expect apparent impossibilities4 ,,sect4 #aj ',tis true1 there is an edge in all firm belief1 and with an easie ,metaphor we may say1 the ,sword of ,faith2 but in these obscurities ,i rather use it in the adjunct the ,apostle gives it1 a ,buckler2 under which ,i conceive a wary combatant may lye invulnerable4 ,since ,i was of understanding to know we knew nothing1 my reason hath been more pliable to the will of ,faith2 ,i am now content to understand a mystery without a rigid definition1 in an easie and ,platonick description4 ,that#i allegorical description of ,hermes1 pleaseth me beyond all the ,metaphysical definitions of ,divines2 where ,i cannot satisfie my reason1 ,i love to humour my fancy3 ,i had as live you tell me that anima est angelus hominis1 est ,corpus ,dei1 as ,entelechia2 ,lux est umbra ,dei1 as actus perspicui2 where there is an obscurity too deep for our ,reason1 'tis good to sit down with a description1 periphrasis1 or adumbration2 for by acquainting our ,reason how unable it is to display the visible and obvious effects of nature1 it becomes more humble and submissive unto the subtleties of ,faith2 and thus ,i teach my haggard and unreclaimed reason to stoop unto the lure of ,faith4 ,i believe there was already a tree whose fruit our unhappy ,parents tasted1 though1 in the same ,chapter when ,god forbids it1 'tis positively said1 the plants of the field were not yet grown1 for ,god had not caus'd it to rain upon the earth4 ,i believe that the ,serpent 7if we shall literally understand it7 from his proper form and figure1 made his motion on his belly before the curse4 ,i find the tryal of the ,pucellage and virginity of ,women1 which ,god ordained the ,jews1 is very fallible4 ,experience and ,history informs me1 that not onely many particular ,women1 but likewise whole ,nations have escaped the curse of ,childbirth1 which ,god seems to pronounce upon the whole ,sex2 yet do ,i believe that all this is true1 which indeed my ,reason would perswade me to be false2 and this ,i think is no vulgar part of ,faith1 to believe a thing not only above1 but contrary to ,reason1 and against the ,arguments of our proper ,senses4 #i ,sphra cujus centrum ubique1 circumferentia nullibi4 ,,sect4 #aa ,in my solitary and retired imagination 7,neque enim cum porticus1 aut me lectulus accepit1 desum mihi7 ,i remember ,i am not alone1 and therefore forget not to contemplate him and his ,attributes who is ever with me1 especially those two mighty ones1 his ,wisdom and ,eternity2 with the one ,i recreate1 with the other ,i confound my understanding3 for who can speak of ,eternity without a soloecism1 or think thereof without an ,extasie8 ,time we may comprehend2 'tis but five days elder then our selves1 and hath the same ,horoscope with the ,world2 but to retire so far back as to apprehend a beginning1 to give such an infinite start forwards as to conceive an end in an essence that we affirm hath neither the one nor the other1 it puts my ,reason to ,st4 ,paul's ,sanctuary3 my ,philosophy dares not say the ,angels can do it2 ,god hath not made a ,creature that can comprehend him2 'tis a privilege of ,his own nature4 ,i am that ,i am1 was his own definition unto ,moses2 and 'twas a short one1 to confound mortality1 that durst question ,god1 or ask him what he was2 indeed he onely is2 all others have and shall be2 but in ,eternity there is no distinction of ,tenses2 and therefore that terrible term ,predestination1 which hath troubled so many weak heads to conceive1 and the wisest to explain1 is in respect to ,god no prescious determination of our ,estates to come1 but a definitive blast of his ,will already fulfilled1 and at the instant that he first decreed it2 for to his ,eternity which is indivisible and all together1 the last ,trump is already sounded1 the reprobates in the flame1 and the blessed in ,abraham's bosome4 ,st4 ,peter speaks modestly1 when he saith1 a thousand years to ,god are but as one day3 for to speak like a ,philosopher1 those continued instances of time which flow into a thousand years1 make not to ,him one moment2 what to us is to come1 to his ,eternity is present1 his whole duration being but one permanent point1 without ,succession1 ,parts1 ,flux1 or ,division4 ,,sect4 #ab ,there is no ,attribute that adds more difficulty to the mystery of the ,trinity1 where1 though in a relative way of ,father and ,son1 we must deny a priority4 ,i wonder how ,aristotle could conceive the ,world eternal1 or how he could make good two ,eternities3 his similitude of a ,triangle1 comprehended in a square1 doth somewhat illustrate the ,trinity of our ,souls1 and that the ,triple ,unity of ,god2 for there is in us not three1 but a ,trinity of ,souls1 because there is in us1 if not three distinct ,souls1 yet differing faculties1 that can and do subsist apart in different ,subjects1 and yet in us are thus united as to make but one ,soul and substance3 if one ,soul were so perfect as to inform three distinct ,bodies1 that were a pretty ,trinity3 conceive1 the distinct number of three1 not divided nor separated by the ,intellect1 but actually comprehended in its ,unity1 and that is a perfect ,trinity4 ,i have often admired the mystical way of ,pythagoras1 and the secret ,magick of numbers4 ,beware of ,philosophy1 is a precept not to be received in too large a sense2 for in this ,mass of ,nature there is a set of things that carry in their ,front1 though not in ,capital ,letters1 yet in ,stenography and short ,characters1 something of ,divinity1 which to wiser ,reasons serve as ,luminaries in the ,abyss of ,knowledge1 and to judicious beliefs as ,scales and ,roundles to mount the ,pinacles and highest pieces of ,divinity4 ,the severe ,schools shall never laugh me out of the ,philosophy of ,hermes1 that this visible ,world is but a ,picture of the invisible1 wherein as in a ,pourtraict1 things are not truely1 but in equivocal shapes1 and as they counterfeit some more real substance in that invisible ,fabrick4 ,,sect4 #ac ,that other ,attribute wherewith ,i recreate my devotion1 is his ,wisdom1 in which ,i am happy2 and for the contemplation of this only1 do not repent me that ,i was bred in the way of ,study3 ,the advantage ,i have of the vulgar1 with the content and happiness ,i conceive therein1 is an ample recompence for all my endeavours1 in what part of knowledge soever4 ,wisdom is his most beauteous ,attribute1 no man can attain unto it1 yet ,solomon pleased ,god when he desired it4 ,he is wise1 because he knows all things2 and he knoweth all things1 because he made them all3 but his greatest knowledge is in comprehending that he made not1 that is1 himself4 ,and this is also the greatest knowledge in man4 ,for this do ,i honour my own profession1 and embrace the ,counsel even of the ,devil himself3 had he read such a ,lecture in ,paradise as he did at ,delphos1#aj we had better known our selves2 nor had we stood in fear to know him4 ,i know he is wise in all1 wonderful in what we conceive1 but far more in what we comprehend not2 for we behold him but asquint1 upon reflex or shadow2 our understanding is dimmer than ,moses ,eye2 we are ignorant of the back-parts or lower side of his ,divinity2 therefore to prie into the maze of his ,counsels is not only folly in man1 but presumption even in ,angels2 like us1 they are his ,servants1 not his ,senators2 he holds no ,counsel1 but that mystical one of the ,trinity1 wherein though there be three ,persons1 there is but one mind that decrees without ,contradiction3 nor needs he any2 his actions are not begot with deliberation1 his ,wisdom naturally knows what's best2 his intellect stands ready fraught with the superlative and purest ,idea's of goodness2 consultation and election1 which are two motions in us1 make but one in him2 his actions springing from his power at the first touch of his will4 ,these are ,contemplations ,metaphysical3 my humble speculations have another ,method1 and are content to trace and discover those expressions he hath left in his ,creatures1 and the obvious effects of ,nature2 there is no danger to profound these mysteries1 no sanctum sanctorum in ,philosophy3 the ,world was made to be inhabited by ,beasts1 but studied and contemplated by ,man3 'tis the ,debt of our ,reason we owe unto ,god1 and the homage we pay for not being ,beasts2 without this1 the ,world is still as though it had not been1 or as it was before the sixth day1 when as yet there was not a ,creature that could conceive1 or say there was a ,world4 ,the wisdom of ,god receives small honour from those vulgar ,heads that rudely stare about1 and with a gross rusticity admire his works2 those highly magnifie him1 whose judicious inquiry into ,his ,acts1 and deliberate research into ,his ,creatures1 return the duty of a devout and learned admiration4 ,therefore1 ,search while thou wilt1 and let thy reason go1 ,to ransome truth1 even to th' ,abyss below2 ,rally the scattered ,causes2 and that line ,which ,nature twists1 be able to untwine ,it is thy ,makers will1 for unto none1 ,but unto reason can he e'er be known4 ,the ,devils do know ,thee1 but those damn'd ,meteors ,build not thy ,glory1 but confound thy ,creatures4 ,teach my indeavours so thy works to read1 ,that learning them in thee1 ,i may proceed4 ,give thou my reason that instructive flight1 ,whose weary wings may on thy hands still light4 ,teach me to soar aloft1 yet ever so1 ,when neer the ,sun1 to stoop again below4 ,thus shall my humble ,feathers safely hover1 ,and1 though near ,earth1 more than the ,heavens discover ,and then at last1 when homeward ,i shall drive1 ,rich with the ,spoils of nature to my hive1 ,there will ,i sit like that industrious ,flie1 ,buzzing thy praises1 which shall never die1 ,till death abrupts them1 and succeeding ,glory ,bid me go on in a more lasting story4 ,and this is almost all wherein an humble ,creature may endeavour to requite and some way to retribute unto his ,creator3 for if not he that saith1 ,lord1 ,lord1 but he that doth the will of his ,father1 shall be saved2 certainly our wills must be our performances1 and our intents make out our ,actions2 otherwise our pious labours shall find anxiety in our ,graves1 and our best endeavours not hope1 but fear a resurrection4 #aj ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,varia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu1 ,nosce teipsum4 ,,sect4 #ad ,there is but one first cause1 and four second causes of all things2 some are without efficient1 as ,god2 others without matter1 as ,angels2 some without form1 as the first matter3 but every ,essence created or uncreated1 hath its final cause1 and some positive end both of its ,essence and ,operation2 this is the cause ,i grope after in the works of ,nature2 on this hangs the providence of ,god3 to raise so beauteous a structure as the ,world and the ,creatures thereof1 was but his ,art2 but their sundry and divided operations1 with their predestinated ends1 are from the ,treasure of his wisdom4 ,in the causes1 nature1 and affections of the ,eclipses of the ,sun and ,moon1 there is most excellent speculation2 but to profound farther1 and to contemplate a reason why his providence hath so disposed and ordered their motions in that vast circle as to conjoyn and obscure each other1 is a sweeter piece of ,reason1 and a diviner point of ,philosophy2 therefore sometimes1 and in some things1 there appears to me as much ,divinity in ,galen his books ,de ,usu ,partium1 as in ,suarez ,metaphysicks3 ,had ,aristotle been as curious in the enquiry of this cause as he was of the other1 he had not left behind him an imperfect piece of ,philosophy1 but an absolute tract of ,divinity4 ,,sect4 #ae ,natura nihil aget frustra1 is the only indisputed ,axiome in ,philosophy2 there are no ,grotesques in nature2 not any thing framed to fill up empty ,cantons1 and unnecessary spaces3 in the most imperfect ,creatures1 and such as were not preserved in the ,ark1 but having their ,seeds and ,principles in the womb of ,nature1 are every where1 where the power of the ,sun is2 in these is the ,wisdom of his hand discovered4 ,out of this rank ,solomon chose the object of his admiration2 indeed what reason may not go to ,school to the wisdom of ,bees1 ,ants1 and ,spiders8 what wise hand teacheth them to do what reason cannot teach us8 ruder heads stand amazed at those prodigious pieces of ,nature1 ,whales1 ,elephants1 ,dromidaries and ,camels2 these1 ,i confess1 are the ,colossus and ,majestick pieces of her hand3 but in these narrow ,engines there is more curious ,mathematicks2 and the civility of these little ,citizens1 more neatly sets forth the ,wisdom of their ,maker4 ,who admires not ,regio-,montanus his ,fly beyond his ,eagle1 or wonders not more at the operation of two ,souls in those little ,bodies1 than but one in the ,trunk of a ,cedar8 ,i could never content my contemplation with those general pieces of wonder1 the ,flux and ,reflux of the ,sea1 the increase of ,nile1 the conversion of the ,needle to the ,north2 and have studied to match and parallel those in the more obvious and neglected pieces of ,nature1 which without further trouble ,i can do in the ,cosmography of my self2 we carry with us the wonders we seek without us3 ,there is all ,africa and her prodigies in us2 we are that bold and adventurous piece of nature1 which he that studies wisely learns in a compendium what others labour at in a divided piece and endless volume4 ,,sect4 #af ,thus there are two ,books from which ,i collect my ,divinity2 besides that written one of ,god1 another of his servant ,nature1 that universal and publick ,manuscript1 that lies expans'd unto the ,eyes of all1 those that never saw him in the one1 have discovered him in the other3 this was the ,scripture and ,theology of the ,heathens3 the natural motion of the ,sun made them more admire him1 than its supernatural station did the ,children of ,israel2 the ordinary effects of nature wrought more admiration in them than in the other all his ,miracles2 surely the ,heathens knew better how to joyn and read these mystical ,letters than we ,christians1 who cast a more careless ,eye on these common ,hieroglyphicks1 and disdain to suck ,divinity from the flowers of ,nature4 ,nor do ,i so forget ,god as to adore the name of ,nature2 which ,i define not with the ,schools1 to be the principle of motion and rest1 but that streight and regular line1 that settled and constant course the ,wisdom of ,god hath ordained the actions of ,his creatures1 according to their several kinds4 ,to make a revolution every day1 is the ,nature of the ,sun1 because of that necessary course which ,god hath ordained it1 from which it cannot swerve but by a faculty from that voice which first did give it motion4 ,now this course of ,nature ,god seldome alters or perverts1 but like an excellent ,artist hath so contrived his work1 that with the self same instrument1 without a new creation1 he may effect his obscurest designs4 ,thus he sweetneth the ,water with a ,word1 preserveth the ,creatures in the ,ark1 which the blast of his mouth might have as easily created2 for ,god is like a skilful ,geometrician1 who when more easily and with one stroak of his ,compass he might describe or divide a right line1 had yet rather do this in a circle or longer way2 according to the constituted and fore-laid principles of his ,art3 yet this rule of his he doth sometimes pervert1 to acquaint the ,world with his ,prerogative1 lest the arrogancy of our reason should question his power1 and conclude he could not2 and thus ,i call the effects of ,nature the works of ,god1 whose hand and instrument she only is2 and therefore to ascribe his actions unto her1 is to devolve the honour of the principal agent upon the instrument2 which if with reason we may do1 then let our hammers rise up and boast they have built our houses1 and our pens receive the honour of our writings4 ,i hold there is a general beauty in the works of ,god1 and therefore no deformity in any kind or species of creature whatsoever3 ,i cannot tell by what ,logick we call a ,toad1 a ,bear1 or an ,elephant ugly1 they being created in those outward shapes and figures which best express the actions of their inward forms4 ,and having past that general ,visitation of ,god1 who saw that all that he had made was good1 that is1 conformable to his ,will1 which abhors deformity1 and is the rule of order and beauty2 there is no deformity but in ,monstrosity2 wherein1 notwithstanding1 there is a kind of ,beauty4 ,nature so ingeniously contriving the irregular parts1 as they become sometimes more remarkable than the principal ,fabrick4 ,to speak yet more narrowly1 there was never any thing ugly or mis-shapen1 but the ,chaos2 wherein1 notwithstanding1 to speak strictly1 there was no deformity1 because no form2 nor was it yet impregnant by the voice of ,god2 now ,nature was not at variance with ,art1 nor ,art with ,nature1 they being both servants of his providence3 ,art is the perfection of ,nature3 were the ,world now as it was the sixth day1 there were yet a ,chaos3 ,nature hath made one ,world1 and ,art another4 ,in brief1 all things are artificial2 for ,nature is the ,art of ,god4 ,,sect4 #ag ,this is the ordinary and open way of his providence1 which ,art and ,industry have in a good part discovered1 whose effects we may foretel without an ,oracle3 to foreshew these1 is not ,prophesie1 but ,prognostication4 ,there is another way1 full of ,meanders and ,labyrinths1 whereof the ,devil and ,spirits have no exact ,ephemerides1 and that is a more particular and obscure method of his providence1 directing the operations of individuals and single ,essences3 this we call ,fortune1 that serpentine and crooked line1 whereby he draws those actions his wisdom intends1 in a more unknown and secret way3 ,this cryptick and involved method of his providence have ,i ever admired1 nor can ,i relate the ,history of my life1 the occurrences of my days1 the escapes of dangers1 and hits of chance1 with a ,bezo las ,manos to ,fortune1 or a bare ,gramercy to my good ,stars3 ,abraham might have thought the ,ram in the thicket came thither by accident2 humane reason would have said1 that meer chance conveyed ,moses in the ,ark to the sight of ,pharoh's daughter3 what a ,labyrinth is there in the story of ,joseph1 able to convert a ,stoick8 ,surely there are in every man's ,life certain rubs1 doublings1 and wrenches1 which pass a while under the effects of chance1 but at the last well examined1 prove the meer hand of ,god4 ',twas not dumb chance1 that to discover the ,fougade or ,powder-plot1 contrived a miscarriage in the ,letter4 ,i like the victory of #hh4 the better for that one occurrence1 which our enemies imputed to our dishonour and the partiality of ,fortune1 to wit1 the tempests and contrariety of ,winds4 ,king ,philip did not detract from the ,nation1 when he said1 he sent his ,armado to fight with men1 and not to combate with the ,winds4 ,where there is a manifest disproportion between the powers and forces of two several agents1 upon a ,maxime of reason we may promise the ,victory to the ,superiour2 but when unexpected accidents slip in1 and unthought of occurences intervene1 these must proceed from a power that owes no obedience to those ,axioms2 where1 as in the writing upon the wall1 we may behold the hand1 but see not the spring that moves it4 ,the success of that petty province of ,holland 7of which the ,grand ,seignour proudly said1 if they should trouble him as they did the ,spaniard1 he would send his men with shovels and pick-axes1 and throw it into the ,sea17 ,i cannot altogether ascribe to the ingenuity and industry of the people1 but the mercy of ,god1 that hath disposed them to such a thriving ,genius2 and to the will of his ,providence1 that disposeth her favour to each ,country in their pre-ordinate season4 ,all cannot be happy at once2 for1 because the glory of one ,state depends upon the ruine of another1 there is a revolution and vicissitude of their greatness1 and must obey the swing of that wheel1 not moved by ,intelligences1 but by the hand of ,god1 whereby all ,estates arise to their ,zenith and ,vertical points according to their predestinated periods4 ,for the lives1 not only of men1 but of ,commonwealths1 and the whole ,world1 run not upon an ,helix that still enlargeth2 but on a ,circle1 where arriving to their ,meridian1 they decline in obscurity1 and fall under the ,horizon again4 ,,sect4 #ah ,these must not therefore he named the effects of ,fortune1 but in a relative way1 and as we term the works of ,nature3 it was the ignorance of mans reason that begat this very name1 and by a careless term miscalled the ,providence of ,god3 for there is no liberty for causes to operate in a loose and stragling way2 nor any effect whatsoever1 but hath its warrant from some universal or superiour ,cause4 ',tis not a ridiculous devotion to say a prayer before a game at ,tables2 for even in sortilegies and matters of greatest uncertainty1 there is a setled and preordered course of effects4 ,it is we that are blind1 not ,fortune3 because our ,eye is too dim to discover the mystery of her effects1 we foolishly paint her blind1 and hoodwink the ,providence of the ,almighty4 ,i cannot justifie that contemptible ,proverb1 ,that fools only are ,fortunate2 or that insolent ,paradox1 ,that a wise man is out of the reach of ,fortune2 much less those opprobrious epithets of ,poets1 ,whore1 ,bawd1 and ,strumpet4 ',tis1 ,i confess1 the common fate of men of singular gifts of mind to be destitute of those of ,fortune1 which doth not any way deject the ,spirit of wiser judgements1 who throughly understand the justice of this proceeding2 and being inrich'd with higher donatives1 cast a more careless eye on these vulgar parts of felicity4 ,it is a most unjust ambition to desire to engross the mercies of the ,almighty1 not to be content with the goods of mind1 without a possession of those of body or ,fortune3 and it is an error worse than heresie1 to adore these complemental and circumstantial pieces of felicity1 and undervalue those perfections and essential points of happiness wherein we resemble our ,maker4 ,to wiser desires it is satisfaction enough to deserve1 though not to enjoy the favours of ,fortune2 let ,providence provide for ,fools3 'tis not partiality1 but equity in ,god1 who deals with us but as our natural ,parents2 those that are able of ,body and ,mind1 he leaves to their deserts2 to those of weaker merits he imparts a larger portion1 and pieces out the defect of one1 by the access of the other4 ,thus have we no just quarrel with ,nature1 for leaving us naked2 or to envy the ,horns1 ,hoofs1 ,skins1 and ,furs of other ,creatures1 being provided with ,reason1 that can supply them all4 ,we need not labour with so many ,arguments to confute ,judicial ,astrology2 for if there be a truth therein1 it doth not injure ,divinity3 if to be born under ,mercury disposeth us to be witty1 under ,jupiter to be wealthy2 ,i do not owe a ,knee unto those1 but unto that merciful ,hand that hath ordered my indifferent and uncertain nativity unto such benevolous ,aspects4 ,those that hold that all things are governed by ,fortune1 had not erred1 had they not persisted there3 ,the ,romans that erected a temple to ,fortune1 acknowledged therein1 though in a blinder way1 somewhat of ,divinity2 for in a wise supputation all things begin and end in the ,almighty4 ,there is a nearer way to ,heaven than ,homer's ,chain2 an easy ,logick may conjoin heaven and ,earth1 in one ,argument1 and with less than a ,sorites resolve all things into ,god4 ,for though we christen effects by their most sensible and nearest ,causes1 yet is ,god the true and infallible ,cause of all1 whose concourse though it be general1 yet doth it subdivide it self into the particular ,actions of every thing1 and is that ,spirit1 by which each singular ,essence not only subsists1 but performs its operation4 ,,sect4 #ai ,the bad construction1 and perverse comment on these pair of second ,causes1 or visible hands of ,god1 have perverted the ,devotion of many unto ,atheism2 who1 forgetting the honest ,advisoes of ,faith1 have listened unto the conspiracy of ,passion and ,reason4 ,i have therefore always endeavoured to compose those ,feuds and angry ,dissensions between ,affection1 ,faith and ,reason3 ,for there is in our ,soul a kind of ,triumvirate1 or triple ,government of three ,competitors1 which distracts the ,peace of this our ,common-wealth1 not less than did that other the ,state of ,rome4 ,as ,reason is a ,rebel unto ,faith1 so ,passion unto ,reason3 ,as the ,propositions of ,faith seem absurd unto ,reason1 so the ,theorems of ,reason unto ,passion1 and both unto ,reason2 yet a moderate and peaceable discretion may so state and order the matter1 that they may be all ,kings1 and yet make but one ,monarchy1 every one exercising his ,soveraignty and ,prerogative in a due time and place1 according to the restraint and limit of circumstance4 ,there is1 as in ,philosophy1 so in ,divinity1 sturdy doubts and boisterous ,objections1 wherewith the unhappiness of our knowledge too nearly acquainteth us4 ,more of these no man hath known than my self1 which ,i confess ,i conquered1 not in a martial posture1 but on my ,knees4 ,for our endeavours are not only to combat with doubts1 but always to dispute with the ,devil3 the villany of that ,spirit takes a hint of ,infidelity from our ,studies1 and by demonstrating a naturality in one way1 makes us mistrust a miracle in another4 ,thus having perused the ,archidoxes and read the secret ,sympathies of things1 he would disswade my belief from the miracle of the ,brazen ,serpent1 make me conceit that ,image worked by ,sympathy1 and was but an gyptian trick to cure their ,diseases without a miracle4 ,again1 having seen some experiments of ,bitumen1 and having read far more of ,naphtha1 he whispered to my curiosity the fire of the ,altar might be natural2 and bid me mistrust a miracle in ,elias1 when he entrenched the ,altar round with ,water3 for that inflamable substance yields not easily unto ,water1 but flames in the ,arms of its ,antagonist4 ,and thus would he inveagle my belief to think the combustion of ,sodom might be natural1 and that there was an ,asphaltick and ,bituminous nature in that ,lake before the ,fire of ,gomorrah4 ,i know that ,manna is now plentifully gathered in ,calabria2 and ,josephus tells me1 in his days it was as plentiful in ,arabia2 the ,devil therefore made the qure1 ,where was then the miracle in the days of ,moses3 the ,israelite saw but that in his time1 the ,natives of those ,countries behold in ours4 ,thus the ,devil played at ,chess with me1 and yielding a ,pawn1 thought to gain a ,queen of me1 taking advantage of my honest endeavours2 and whilst ,i laboured to raise the structure of my ,reason1 he strived to undermine the edifice of my ,faith4 ,,sect4 #bj ,neither had these or any other ever such advantage of me1 as to incline me to any point of ,infidelity or desperate positions of ,atheism2 for ,i have been these many years of opinion there was never any4 ,those that held was the difference of ,man from ,beasts1 have spoken probably1 and proceed upon a principle as inductive as the other4 ,that doctrine of ,epicurus1 that denied the ,providence of ,god1 was no ,atheism1 but a magnificent and high strained conceit of his ,majesty1 which he deemed too sublime to mind the trivial ,actions of those inferiour ,creatures4 ,that fatal ,necessity of the ,stoicks1 is nothing but the immutable ,law of his will4 ,those that heretofore denied the ,divinity of the ,holy ,ghost1 have been condemned1 but as ,hereticks2 and those that now deny our ,saviour 7though more than ,hereticks7 are not so much as ,atheists3 for though they deny two persons in the ,trinity1 they hold as we do1 there is but one ,god4 ,that ,villain and ,secretary of ,hell1 that composed that miscreant piece of the ,three ,impostors1 though divided from all ,religions1 and was neither ,jew1 ,turk1 nor ,christian1 was not a positive ,atheist4 ,i confess every country hath its ,machiavel1 every ,age its ,lucian1 whereof common ,heads must not hear1 nor more advanced ,judgments too rashly venture on3 ,it is the ,rhetorick of ,satan1 and may pervert a loose or prejudicate belief4 ,,sect4 #ba ,i confess ,i have perused them all1 and can discover nothing that may startle a discreet belief2 yet are there heads carried off with the ,wind and breath of such motives4 ,i remember a ,doctor in ,physick of ,italy1 who could not perfectly believe the immortality of the ,soul1 because ,galen seemed to make a doubt thereof4 ,with another ,i was familiarly acquainted in ,france1 a ,divine1 and a man of singular parts1 that on the same point was so plunged and gravelled with #aathree lines of ,seneca1 that all our ,antidotes1 drawn from both ,scripture and ,philosophy1 could not expel the poyson of his errour4 ,there are a set of ,heads1 that can credit the relations of ,mariners1 yet question the ,testimonies of ,st4 ,paul2 and peremptorily maintain the traditions of lian or ,pliny1 yet in ,histories of ,scripture raise ,queries and ,objections1 believing no more than they can parallel in humane ,authors4 ,i confess there are in ,scripture ,stories that do exceed the ,fables of ,poets1 and to a captious ,reader sound like ,garagantua or ,bevis3 ,search all the ,legends of times past1 and the fabulous conceits of these present1 and 'twill be hard to find one that deserves to carry the ,buckler unto ,sampson2 yet is all this of an easie possibility1 if we conceive a divine concourse1 or an influence but from the little ,finger of the ,almighty4 ,it is impossible that either in the discourse of man1 or in the infallible ,voice of ,god1 to the weakness of our apprehensions1 there should not appear irregularities1 contradictions1 and antinomies3 my self could shew a ,catalogue of doubts1 never yet imagined nor questioned1 as ,i know1 which are not resolved at the first hearing2 not fantastick ,queries or ,objections of ,air2 for ,i cannot hear of ,atoms in ,divinity4 ,i can read the ,history of the ,pigeon that was sent out of the ,ark1 and returned no more1 yet not question how she found out her ,mate that was left behind3 ,that ,lazarus was raised from the dead1 yet not demand where in the interim his ,soul awaited2 or raise a ,law-case1 whether his ,heir might lawfully detain his inheritance bequeathed unto him by his death1 and he1 though restored to life1 have no ,plea or ,title unto his former possessions4 ,whether ,eve was framed out of the left side of ,adam1 ,i dispute not2 because ,i stand not yet assured which is the right side of a man1 or whether there be any such distinction in ,nature3 that she was edified out of the ,rib of ,adam1 ,i believe1 yet raise no question who shall arise with that ,rib at the ,resurrection4 ,whether ,adam was an ,hermaphrodite1 as the ,rabbins contend upon the ,letter of the ,text1 because it is contrary to reason1 there should be an ,hermaphrodite before there was a ,woman2 or a composition of two ,natures before there was a second composed4 ,likewise1 whether the ,world was created in ,autumn1 ,summer1 or the ,spring1 because it was created in them all2 for whatsoever ,sign the ,sun possesseth1 those four ,seasons are actually existent3 ,it is the ,nature of this ,luminary to distinguish the several ,seasons of the year1 all which it makes at one time in the whole ,earth1 and successive in any part thereof4 ,there are a bundle of curiosities1 not only in ,philosophy1 but in ,divinity1 proposed and discussed by men of most supposed abilities1 which indeed are not worthy our vacant hours1 much less our serious ,studies4 ,pieces only fit to be placed in ,pantagruel's ,library1 or bound up with ,tartaretus1 ,de modo ,cacandi4 ,,sn3 ,in ,rabbelais4 #aa ,post ,mortem nihil est1 ipsaque ,mors nihil4 ,mors individua est1 noxia corpori1 nec patiens anim 444 ,toti morimur1 nullaque pars manet nostri4 ,,sect4 #bb ,these are niceties that become not those that peruse so serious a ,mystery3 ,there are others more generally questioned and called to the ,bar1 yet methinks of an easie and possible truth4 ',tis ridiculous to put off1 or down the general ,flood of ,noah in that particular inundation of ,deucalion3 that there was a ,deluge once1 seems not to me so great a ,miracle1 as that there is not one always4 ,how all the kinds of ,creatures1 not only in their own bulks1 but with a competency of food and sustenance1 might be preserved in one ,ark1 and within the extent of three hundred ,cubits1 to a reason that rightly examines it1 will appear very feasible4 ,there is another secret not contained in the ,scripture1 which is more hard to comprehend1 and put the honest ,father to the refuge of a ,miracle3 and that is1 not only how the distinct pieces of the ,world1 and divided ,islands should be first planted by men1 but inhabited by ,tigers1 ,panthers1 and ,bears4 ,how ,america abounded with ,beasts of prey1 and noxious ,animals1 yet contained not in it that necessary ,creature1 a ,horse1 is very strange4 ,by what passage those1 not only ,birds1 but dangerous and unwelcome ,beasts1 came over3 ,how there be ,creatures there 7which are not found in this ,triple ,continent72 all which must needs be strange unto us1 that hold but one ,ark1 and that the ,creatures began their progress from the ,mountains of ,ararat3 ,they who to salve this would make the ,deluge particular1 proceed upon a principle that ,i can no way grant2 not only upon the negative of holy ,scriptures1 but of mine own ,reason1 whereby ,i can make it probable1 that the ,world was as well peopled in the time of ,noah1 as in ours2 and fifteen hundred years to people the ,world1 as full a time for them1 as four thousand years since have been to us4 ,there are other assertions and common ,tenents drawn from ,scripture1 and generally believed as ,scripture1 whereunto notwithstanding1 ,i would never betray the liberty of my ,reason4 ',tis a ,paradox to me1 that ,methusalem was the longest liv'd of all the ,children of ,adam3 and no man will be able to prove it2 when from the process of the ,text1 ,i can manifest it may be otherwise4 ,that ,judas perished by hanging himself1 there is no certainty in ,scripture3 though in one place it seems to affirm it1 and by a doubtful word hath given occasion to translate it2 yet in another place1 in a more punctual description1 it makes it improbable1 and seems to overthrow it4 ,that our ,fathers1 after the ,flood1 erected the ,tower of ,babel to preserve themselves against a second ,deluge1 is generally opinioned and believed1 yet is there another intention of theirs expressed in ,scripture3 ,besides1 it is improbable from the circumstance of the place1 that is1 a plain in the ,land of ,shinar3 ,these are no points of ,faith1 and therefore may admit a free dispute4 ,there are yet others1 and those familiarly concluded from the ,text1 wherein 7under favour7 ,i see no consequence3 the ,church of ,rome1 confidently proves the opinion of ,tutelary ,angels1 from that ,answer when ,peter knockt at the ,door2 ',tis not he1 but his ,angel2 that is1 might some say1 his ,messenger1 or some body from him2 for so the ,original signifies1 and is as likely to be the doubtful ,families meaning4 ,this exposition ,i once suggested to a young ,divine1 that answered upon this point2 to which ,i remember the ,franciscan ,opponent replyed no more1 but ,that it was a new1 and no authentick interpretation4 ,,sect4 #bc ,these are but the conclusions and fallible discourses of man upon the ,word of ,god1 for such ,i do believe the holy ,scriptures3 yet were it of man1 ,i could not chuse but say1 it was the singularest and superlative piece that hath been extant since the ,creation3 were ,i a ,pagan1 ,i should not refrain the ,lecture of it2 and cannot but commend the judgment of ,ptolomy1 that thought not his ,library compleat without it4 ,the ,alcoran of the ,turks 7,i speak without prejudice7 is an ill composed ,piece1 containing in it vain and ridiculous ,errors in ,philosophy1 impossibilities1 fictions1 and vanities beyond laughter1 maintained by evident and open ,sophisms1 the ,policy of ,ignorance1 deposition of ,universities1 and banishment of ,learning1 that hath gotten ,foot by ,arms and violence3 ,this without a blow1 hath disseminated it self through the whole ,earth4 ,it is not unremarkable what ,philo first observed1 ,that the ,law of ,moses continued two thousand years without the least alteration2 whereas1 we see1 the ,laws of other ,common-weals do alter with occasions2 and even those1 that pretended their ,original from some ,divinity1 to have vanished without trace or memory4 ,i believe besides ,zoroaster1 there were divers that writ before ,moses1 who1 notwithstanding1 have suffered the common fate of time4 ,mens ,works have an age like themselves2 and though they out-live their ,authors1 yet have they a stint and period to their duration3 ,this only is a work too hard for the teeth of time1 and cannot perish but in the general ,flames1 when all things shall confess their ,ashes4 ,,sect4 #bd ,i have heard some with deep sighs lament the lost lines of ,cicero2 others with as many groans deplore the combustion of the ,library of ,alexandria3 for my own part1 ,i think there be too many in the ,world1 and could with patience behold the urn and ashes of the ,vatican1 could ,i1 with a few others1 recover the perished leaves of ,solomon4 ,i would not omit a ,copy of ,enoch's ,pillars1 had they many nearer ,authors than ,josephus1 or did not relish somewhat of the ,fable4 ,some men have written more than others have spoken2 #ab,pineda quotes more ,authors in one work1 than are necessary in a whole ,world4 ,of those three great inventions in ,germany1 there are two which are not without their incommodities1 and 'tis disputable whether they exceed not their use and commodities4 ',tis not a melancholy ,utinam of my own1 but the desires of better heads1 that there were a general ,synod2 not to unite the incompatible difference of ,religion1 but for the benefit of learning1 to reduce it as it lay at first1 in a few1 and solid ,authors2 and to condemn to the fire those swarms millions of ,rhapsodies begotten only to distract and abuse the weaker judgements of ,scholars1 and to maintain the trade and mystery of ,typographers4 #ab ,pineda in his ,monarchica ,ecclesiastica quotes one thousand and forty ,authors4 ,,sect4 #be ,i cannot but wonder with what exception the ,samaritans could confine their belief to the ,pentateuch1 or five ,books of ,moses4 ,i am ashamed at the ,rabbinical ,interpretation of the ,jews1 upon the ,old ,testament1 as much as their defection from the ,new4 ,and truly it is beyond wonder1 how that contemptible and degenerate issue of ,jacob1 once so devoted to ,ethnick ,superstition1 and so easily seduced to the ,idolatry of their ,neighbours1 should now in such an obstinate and peremptory belief adhere unto their own ,doctrine1 expect impossibilities1 and1 in the face and eye of the ,church1 persist without the least hope of ,conversion4 ,this is a vice in them1 that were a vertue in us2 for obstinacy in a bad ,cause is but constancy in a good4 ,and herein ,i must accuse those of my own ,religion2 for there is not any of such a fugitive ,faith1 such an unstable belief1 as a ,christian2 none that do so oft transform themselves1 not unto several shapes of ,christianity and of the same ,species1 but unto more unnatural and contrary ,forms1 of ,jew and ,mahometan2 that1 from the name of ,saviour1 can condescend to the bare term of ,prophet2 and from an old belief that he is come1 fall to a new expectation of his coming4 ,it is the promise of ,christ to make us all one ,flock2 but how and when this ,union shall be1 is as obscure to me as the last day4 ,of those four ,members of ,religion we hold a slender proportion2 there are1 ,i confess1 some new additions1 yet small to those which accrew to our ,adversaries1 and those only drawn from the revolt of ,pagans1 men but of negative ,impieties1 and such as deny ,christ1 but because they never heard of him3 but the ,religion of the ,jew is expressly against the ,christian1 and the ,mahometan against both4 ,for the ,turk1 in the bulk he now stands1 he is beyond all hope of conversion2 if he fall asunder1 there may be conceived hopes1 but not without strong improbabilities4 ,the ,jew is obstinate in all fortunes2 the persecution of fifteen hundred years hath but confirmed them in their ,errour3 they have already endured whatsoever may be inflicted1 and have suffered1 in a bad cause1 even to the condemnation of their enemies4 ,persecution is a bad and indirect way to plant ,religion3 ,it hath been the unhappy method of angry ,devotions1 not only to confirm honest ,religion1 but wicked ,heresies1 and extravagant ,opinions4 ,it was the first stone and ,basis of our ,faith2 none can more justly boast of ,persecutions1 and glory in the number and valour of ,martyrs2 for1 to speak properly1 those are true and almost only examples of fortitude3 ,those that are fetch'd from the field1 or drawn from the actions of the ,camp1 are not oft-times so truely precedents of valour as audacity1 and at the best attain but to some bastard piece of fortitude3 ,if we shall strictly examine the circumstances and requisites which ,aristotle requires to true and perfect valour1 we shall find the name only in his ,master ,alexander1 and as little in that ,roman ,worthy1 ,julius ,csar2 and if any1 in that easie and active way have done so nobly as to deserve that name1 yet in the passive and more terrible piece these have surpassed1 and in a more heroical way may claim the honour of that ,title4 ',tis not in the power of every honest ,faith to proceed thus far1 or pass to ,heaven through the flames2 every one hath it not in that full measure1 nor in so audacious and resolute a temper1 as to endure those terrible tests and trials2 who notwithstanding1 in a peaceable way do truely adore their ,saviour1 and have 7no doubt7 a ,faith acceptable in the eyes of ,god4 ,,sect4 #bf ,now as all that dye in the ,war are not termed ,souldiers2 so neither can ,i properly term all those that suffer in matters of ,religion1 ,martyrs4 ,the ,council of ,constance condemns ,john ,huss for an ,heretick2 the ,stories of his own ,party stile him a ,martyr3 ,he must needs offend the ,divinity of both1 that says he was neither the one nor the other3 ,there are many 7questionless7 canonised on earth1 that shall never be ,saints in ,heaven2 and have their names in ,histories and ,martyrologies1 who in the eyes of ,god are not so perfect ,martyrs1 as was that wise ,heathen ,socrates1 that suffered on a fundamental point of ,religion1 the ,unity of ,god4 ,i have often pitied the miserable ,bishop that suffered in the cause of ,antipodes1 yet cannot chuse but accuse him of as much madness1 for exposing his living on such a trifle2 as those of ignorance and folly1 that condemned him4 ,i think my conscience will not give me the lye1 if ,i say there are not many extant that in a noble way fear the face of death less than myself2 yet1 from the moral duty ,i owe to the ,commandment of ,god1 and the natural respects that ,i tender unto the conservation of my essence and being1 ,i would not perish upon a ,ceremony1 ,politick points1 or indifferency3 nor is my belief of that untractible temper1 as not to bow at their obstacles1 or connive at matters wherein there are not manifest impieties3 ,the leaven therefore and ferment of all1 not only ,civil1 but ,religious actions1 is ,wisdom2 without which1 to commit our selves to the flames is ,homicide1 and 7,i fear7 but to pass through one fire into another4 ,,sect4 #bg ,that ,miracles are ceased1 ,i can neither prove1 nor absolutely deny1 much less define the time and period of their cessation3 that they survived ,christ1 is manifest upon the ,record of ,scripture3 that they out-lived the ,apostles also1 and were revived at the ,conversion of ,nations1 many years after1 we cannot deny1 if we shall not question those ,writers whose testimonies we do not controvert in points that make for our own opinions2 therefore that may have some truth in it that is reported by the ,jesuites of their ,miracles in the ,indies2 ,i could wish it were true1 or had any other testimony than their own ,pens4 ,they may easily believe those ,miracles abroad1 who daily conceive a greater at home1 the transmutation of those visible elements into the ,body and ,blood of our ,saviour3 for the conversion of ,water into ,wine1 which he wrought in ,cana1 or what the ,devil would have had him done in the ,wilderness1 of ,stones into ,bread1 compared to this1 will scarce deserve the name of a ,miracle4 ,though indeed to speak properly1 there is not one ,miracle greater than another1 they being the extraordinary effects of the ,hand of ,god1 to which all things are of an equal facility2 and to create the ,world as easie as one single ,creature4 ,for this is also a ,miracle1 not onely to produce effects against1 or above ,nature1 but before ,nature2 and to create ,nature as great a ,miracle as to contradict or transcend her4 ,we do too narrowly define the ,power of ,god1 restraining it to our capacities4 ,i hold that ,god can do all things2 how he should work contradictions1 ,i do not understand1 yet dare not therefore deny4 ,i cannot see why the ,angel of ,god should question ,esdras to recal the time past1 if it were beyond his own power2 or that ,god should pose mortality in that1 which he was not able to perform himself4 ,i will not say ,god cannot1 but he will not perform many things1 which we plainly affirm he cannot3 this ,i am sure is the mannerliest proposition1 wherein1 notwithstanding1 ,i hold no ,paradox4 ,for strictly his power is the same with his will1 and they both with all the rest do make but one ,god4 ,,sect4 #bh ,therefore that ,miracles have been1 ,i do believe2 that they may yet be wrought by the living1 ,i do not deny3 but have no confidence in those which are fathered on the dead2 and this hath ever made me suspect the efficacy of reliques1 to examine the bones1 question the habits and appurtenances of ,saints1 and even of ,christ himself4 ,i cannot conceive why the ,cross that ,helena found1 and whereon ,christ himself dyed1 should have power to restore others unto life3 ,i excuse not ,constantine from a fall off his ,horse1 or a mischief from his enemies1 upon the wearing those nails on his bridle1 which our ,saviour bore upon the ,cross in his hands4 ,i compute among ,pi fraudes1 nor many degrees before consecrated ,swords and ,roses1 that which ,baldwyn1 ,king of ,jerusalem1 return'd the ,genovese for their cost and pains in his ,war1 to wit1 the ashes of ,john the ,baptist4 ,those that hold the sanctity of their ,souls doth leave behind a tincture and sacred faculty on their bodies1 speak naturally of ,miracles1 and do not salve the doubt4 ,now one reason ,i tender so little ,devotion unto ,reliques1 is1 ,i think1 the slender and doubtful respect ,i have always held unto ,antiquities3 for that indeed which ,i admire1 is far before ,antiquity1 that is1 ,eternity2 and that is1 ,god himself2 who1 though he be styled the ancient of days1 cannot receive the adjunct of ,antiquity1 who was before the ,world1 and shall be after it1 yet is not older than it2 for in his years there is no ,climacter2 his duration is ,eternity1 and far more venerable than ,antiquity4 ,,sect4 #bi ,but above all things ,i wonder how the curiosity of wiser heads could pass that great and indisputable ,miracle1 the cessation of ,oracles2 and in what swoun their ,reasons lay1 to content themselves1 and sit down with such a far-fetch'd and ridiculous reason as ,plutarch alleadgeth for it4 ,the ,jews1 that can believe the supernatural ,solstice of the ,sun in the days of ,joshua1 have yet the impudence to deny the ,eclipse1 which every ,pagan confessed1 at his death3 but for this1 it is evident beyond all contradiction1#ac the ,devil himself confessed it4 ,certainly it is not a warrantable curiosity1 to examine the verity of ,scripture by the concordance of humane history1 or seek to confirm the ,chronicle of ,hester or ,daniel by the authority of ,megasthenes or ,herodotus4 ,i confess1 ,i have had an unhappy curiosity this way1 till ,i laughed my self out of it with a piece of ,justine1 where he delivers that the ,children of ,israel for being scabbed were banished out of ,egypt4 ,and truely since ,i have understood the occurrences of the ,world1 and know in what counterfeit shapes1 and deceitful vizards times present represent on the stage things past2 ,i do believe them little more then things to come4 ,some have been of my opinion1 and endeavoured to write the ,history of their own lives2 wherein ,moses hath outgone them all1 and left not onely the story of his life1 but as some will have it1 of his death also4 #ac ,in his ,oracle to ,augustus4 ,,sect4 #cj ,it is a riddle to me1 how this story of ,oracles hath not worm'd out of the ,world that doubtful conceit of ,spirits and ,witches2 how so many learned heads should so far forget their ,metaphysicks1 and destroy the ladder and scale of creatures1 as to question the existence of ,spirits3 for my part1 ,i have ever believed1 and do now know1 that there are ,witches3 they that doubt of these1 do not onely deny them1 but spirits2 and are obliquely and upon consequence a sort not of ,infidels1 but ,atheists4 ,those that to confute their incredulity desire to see apparitions1 shall questionless never behold any1 nor have the power to be so much as ,witches2 the ,devil hath them already in a heresie as capital as ,witchcraft2 and to appear to them1 were but to convert them4 ,of all the delusions wherewith he deceives mortality1 there is not any that puzleth me more than the ,legerdemain of ,changelings2 ,i do not credit those transformations of reasonable creatures into beasts1 or that the ,devil hath a power to transpeciate a man into a ,horse1 who tempted ,christ 7as a trial of his ,divinity7 to convert but stones into bread4 ,i could believe that ,spirits use with man the act of carnality1 and that in both sexes2 ,i conceive they may assume1 steal1 or contrive a body1 wherein there may be action enough to content decrepit lust1 or passion to satisfie more active veneries2 yet in both1 without a possibility of generation3 and therefore that opinion that ,antichrist should be born of the ,tribe of ,dan1 by conjunction with the ,devil1 is ridiculous1 and a conceit fitter for a ,rabbin than a ,christian4 ,i hold that the ,devil doth really possess some men1 the spirit of ,melancholly others1 the spirit of ,delusion others2 that as the ,devil is concealed and denyed by some1 so ,god and good ,angels are pretended by others whereof the late defection of the ,maid of ,germany hath left a pregnant example4 ,sect4 #ca ,again1 ,i believe that all that use sorceries1 incantations1 and spells1 are not ,witches1 or1 as we term them1 ,magicians2 ,i conceive there is a traditional ,magick1 not learned immediately from the ,devil1 but at second hand from his ,scholars1 who having once the secret betrayed1 are able1 and do emperically practise without his advice1 they both proceeding upon the principles of ,nature2 where actives1 aptly conjoyned to disposed passives1 will under any ,master produce their effects4 ,thus ,i think at first a great part of ,philosophy was ,witchcraft1 which being afterward derived to one another1 proved but ,philosophy1 and was indeed no more but the honest effects of ,nature3 ,what invented by us is ,philosophy1 learned from him is ,magick4 ,we do surely owe the discovery of many secrets to the discovery of good and bad ,angels4 ,i could never pass that sentence of ,paracelsus1 without an asterisk1 or annotation2 #ad;,ascendens constellatum multa revelat1 qurentibus magnalia natur1 i4e4 opera ,dei4 ,i do think that many mysteries ascribed to our own inventions1 have been the courteous revelations of ,spirits2 for those noble essences in ,heaven bear a friendly regard unto their fellow ,natures on ,earth2 and therefore believe that those many prodigies and ominous prognosticks1 which fore-run the ruines of ,states1 ,princes1 and private persons1 are the charitable premonitions of good ,angels1 which more careless enquiries term but the effects of chance and nature4 #ad ,thereby is meant out good ,angel appointed us from our ,nativity4 ,,sect4 #cb ,now1 besides these particular and divided ,spirits1 there may be 7for ought ,i know7 an universal and common ,spirit to the whole ,world4 ,it was the opinion of ,plato1 and it is yet of the ,hermetical ,philosophers3 if there be a common nature that unites and tyes the scattered and divided individuals into one species1 why may there not be one that unites them all8 ,however1 ,i am sure there is a common ,spirit that plays within us1 yet makes no part of us2 and that is the ,spirit of ,god1 the fire and scintillation of that noble and mighty ,essence1 which is the life and radical heat of ,spirits1 and those essences that know not the vertue of the ,sun1 a fire quite contrary to the fire of ,hell3 ,this is that gentle heat that broodeth on the waters1 and in six days hatched the ,world2 this is that irradiation that dispels the mists of ,hell1 the clouds of horrour1 fear1 sorrow1 despair2 and preserves the region of the mind in serenity3 ,whatsoever feels not the warm gale and gentle ventilation of this ,spirit1 7though ,i feel his pulse7 ,i dare not say he lives2 for truely without this1 to me there is no heat under the ,tropick2 nor any light1 though ,i dwelt in the body of the ,sun4 ,as when the labouring ,sun hath wrought his track ,up to the top of lofty ,cancers back1 ,the ycie ,ocean cracks1 the frozen pole ,thaws with the heat of the ,celestial coale2 ,so when thy absent beams begin t' impart ,again a ,solstice on my frozen heart1 ,my winter 's ov'r2 my drooping spirits sing1 ,and every part revives into a ,spring4 ,but if thy quickening beams a while decline1 ,and with their light bless not this ,orb of mine1 ,a chilly frost surpriseth every member1 ,and in the midst of ,june ,i feel ,december4 ,o how this earthly temper doth debase ,the noble ,soul in this her humble place4 ,whose wingy nature ever doth aspire ,to reach that place whence first it took its fire4 ,these flames ,i feel1 which in my heart do dwell1 ,are not thy beams1 but take their fire from ,hell4 ,o quench them all1 and let thy light divine ,be as the ,sun to this poor ,orb of mine2 ,and to thy sacred ,spirit convert those fires1 ,whose earthly fumes choak my devout aspires4 ,,sect4 #cc ,therefore for ,spirits1 ,i am so far from denying their existence1 that ,i could easily believe1 that not onely whole ,countries1 but particular persons1 have their ,tutelary and ,guardian ,angels3 ,it is not a new opinion of the ,church of ,rome1 but an old one of ,pythagoras and ,plato2 there is no heresie in it2 and if not manifestly defin'd in ,scripture1 yet is it an opinion of a good and wholesome use in the course and actions of a mans life1 and would serve as an ,hypothesis to salve many doubts1 whereof common ,philosophy affordeth no solution4 ,now if you demand my opinion and ,metaphysicks of their natures1 ,i confess them very shallow1 most of them in a negative way1 like that of ,god2 or in a comparative1 between our selves and fellow-creatures2 for there is in this ,universe a ,stair1 or manifest ,scale of creatures1 rising not disorderly1 or in confusion1 but with a comely method and proportion4 ,between creatures of meer existence and things of life1 there is a large disproportion of nature2 between plants and animals or creatures of sense1 a wider difference2 between them and man1 a far greater3 and if the proportion hold one1 between ,man and ,angels there should be yet a greater4 ,we do not comprehend their natures1 who retain the first definition of ,porphyry1 and distinguish them from our selves by immortality2 for before his ,fall1 'tis thought1 ,man also was ,immortal2 yet must we needs affirm that he had a different essence from the ,angels2 having therefore no certain knowledge of their ,natures1 'tis no bad method of the ,schools1 whatsoever perfection we find obscurely in our selves1 in a more compleat and absolute way to ascribe unto them4 ,i believe they have an extemporary knowledge1 and upon the first motion of their reason do what we cannot without study or deliberation2 that they know things by their forms1 and define by specifical difference what we describe by accidents and properties2 and therefore probabilities to us may be demonstrations unto them3 that they have knowledge not onely of the specifical1 but numerical forms of individuals1 and understand by what reserved difference each single ,hypostasis 7besides the relation to its species7 becomes its numerical self4 ,that as the ,soul hath a power to move the body it informs1 so there's a faculty to move any1 though inform none2 ours upon restraint of time1 place1 and distance2 but that invisible hand that conveyed ,habakkuk to the ,lyons ,den1 or ,philip to ,azotus1 infringeth this rule1 and hath a secret conveyance1 wherewith mortality is not acquainted3 if they have that intuitive knowledge1 whereby as in reflexion they behold the thoughts of one another1 ,i cannot peremptorily deny but they know a great part of ours4 ,they that to refute the ,invocation of ,saints1 have denied that they have any knowledge of our affairs below1 have proceeded too far1 and must pardon my opinion1 till ,i can thoroughly answer that piece of ,scripture1 ,at the conversion of a sinner the ,angels in ,heaven rejoyce4 ,i cannot with those in that great ,father securely interpret the work of the first day1 ,fiat lux1 to the creation of ,angels1 though ,i confess there is not any creature that hath so neer a glympse of their nature1 as light in the ,sun and ,elements4 ,we stile it a bare accident1 but where it subsists alone1 'tis a spiritual ,substance1 and may be an ,angel3 in brief1 conceive light invisible1 and that is a ,spirit4 ,,sect4 #cd ,these are certainly the ,magisterial and master-pieces of the ,creator1 the ,flower1 or 7as we may say7 the best part of nothing1 actually existing1 what we are but in hopes and probability2 we are onely that amphibious piece between a corporal and spiritual ,essence1 that middle form that links those two together1 and makes good the ,method of ,god and ,nature1 that jumps not from extreams1 but unites the incompatible distances by some middle and participating natures3 that we are the breath and similitude of ,god1 it is indisputable1 and upon record of holy ,scripture2 but to call ourselves a ,microcosm1 or little ,world1 ,i thought it only a pleasant trope of ,rhetorick1 till my neer judgement and second thoughts told me there was a real truth therein3 for first we are a rude mass1 and in the rank of creatures1 which onely are1 and have a dull kind of being1 not yet privileged with life1 or preferred to sense or reason2 next we live the life of ,plants1 the life of ,animals1 the life of ,men1 and at last the life of ,spirits1 running on in one mysterious nature those five kinds of existences1 which comprehend the creatures not onely of the ,world1 but of the ,universe2 thus is man that great and true ,amphibium1 whose nature is disposed to live not onely like other creatures in divers elements1 but in divided and distinguished worlds3 for though there be but one to sense1 there are two to reason1 the one visible1 the other invisible1 whereof ,moses seems to have left description1 and of the other so obscurely1 that some parts thereof are yet in controversie4 ,and truely for the first chapters of ,genesis1 ,i must confess a great deal of obscurity2 though ,divines have to the power of humane reason endeavoured to make all go in a literal meaning1 yet those allegorical interpretations are also probable1 and perhaps the mystical method of ,moses bred up in the ,hieroglyphical ,schools of the ,egyptians4 ,,sect4 #ce ,now for that immaterial world1 methinks we need not wander so far as beyond the first moveable2 for even in this material ,fabrick the spirits walk as freely exempt from the affection of time1 place1 and motion1 as beyond the extreamest circumference3 do but extract from the corpulency of bodies1 or resolve things beyond their first matter1 and you discover the habitation of ,angels1 which if ,i call the ubiquitary and omnipresent essence of ,god1 ,i hope ,i shall not offend ,divinity3 for before the ,creation of the ,world ,god was really all things4 ,for the ,angels he created no new ,world1 or determinate mansion1 and therefore they are everywhere where is his ,essence1 and do live at a distance even in himself4 ,that ,god made all things for man1 is in some sense true1 yet not so far as to subordinate the ,creation of those purer ,creatures unto ours1 though as ministring ,spirits they do1 and are willing to fulfil the will of ,god in these lower and sublunary affairs of man3 ,god made all things for himself1 and it is impossible he should make them for any other end than his own ,glory2 it is all he can receive1 and all that is without himself3 for honour being an external adjunct1 and in the honourer rather than in the person honoured1 it was necessary to make a ,creature1 from whom he might receive this homage2 and that is in the other world ,angels1 in this1 ,man2 which when we neglect1 we forget the very end of our ,creation1 and may justly provoke ,god1 not onely to repent that he hath made the ,world1 but that he hath sworn he would not destroy it4 ,that there is but one ,world1 is a conclusion of ,faith4 ,aristotle with all his ,philosophy hath not been able to prove it1 and as weakly that the world was eternal2 that dispute much troubled the ,pen of the ,philosophers1 but ,moses decided that question1 and all is salved with the new term of a ,creation1 that is1 a production of something out of nothing2 and what is that8 ,whatsoever is opposite to something2 or more exactly1 that which is truely contrary unto ,god2 for he onely is1 all others have an existence with dependency1 and are something but by a distinction2 and herein is ,divinity conformant unto ,philosophy1 and generation not onely founded on contrarieties1 but also creation2 ,god being all things1 is contrary unto nothing1 out of which were made all things1 and so nothing became something1 and ,omneity informed ,nullity into an ,essence4 ,,sect4 #cf ,the whole ,creation is a ,mystery1 and particularly that of ,man2 at the blast of his mouth were the rest of the ,creatures made1 and at his bare word they started out of nothing3 but in the frame of ,man 7as the ,text describes it7 he played the sensible operator1 and seemed not so much to create1 as make him2 when he had separated the materials of other creatures1 there consequently resulted a form and soul2 but having raised the walls of man1 he has driven to a second and harder creation of a substance like himself1 an incorruptible and immortal ,soul4 ,for these two affections we have the ,philosophy and opinion of the ,heathens1 the flat affirmative of ,plato1 and not a negative from ,aristotle3 there is another scruple cast in by ,divinity 7concerning its production7 much disputed in the ,germane auditories1 and with that indifferency and equality of arguments1 as leave the controversie undetermined4 ,i am not of ,paracelsus mind1 that boldly delivers a receipt to make a man without conjunction2 yet cannot but wonder at the multitude of heads that do deny traduction1 having no other argument to confirm their belief1 then that ,rhetorical sentence1 and ,antimetathesis of ,augustine1 ,creando infunditur1 infundendo creatur3 either opinion will consist well enough with ,religion2 yet ,i should rather incline to this1 did not one objection haunt me1 not wrung from speculations and subtilties1 but from common sense and observation2 not pickt from the leaves of any ,author1 but bred amongst the weeds and tares of mine own brain3 ,and this is a conclusion from the equivocal and monstrous productions in the copulation of ,man with ,beast3 for if the ,soul of man be not transmitted1 and transfused in the seed of the ,parents1 why are not those productions meerly beasts1 but have also an impression and tincture of reason in as high a measure1 as it can evidence it self in those improper ,organs8 ,nor truely can ,i peremptorily deny1 that the ,soul in this her sublunary estate1 is wholly1 and in all acceptions inorganical1 but that for the performance of her ordinary actions1 there is required not onely a symmetry and proper disposition of ,organs1 but a ,crasis and temper correspondent to its operations4 ,yet is not this mass of flesh and visible structure the instrument and proper corps of the ,soul1 but rather of ,sense1 and that the hand of ,reason4 ,in our study of ,anatomy there is a mass of mysterious ,philosophy1 and such as reduced the very ,heathens to ,divinity3 yet amongst all those rare discourses1 and curious pieces ,i find in the ,fabrick of man1 ,i do not so much content my self1 as in that ,i find not1 there is no ,organ or ,instrument for the rational soul3 for in the brain1 which we term the seat of reason1 there is not any thing of moment more than ,i can discover in the crany of a beast3 and this is a sensible and no inconsiderable argument of the inorganity of the ,soul1 at least in that sense we usually so conceive it4 ,thus we are men1 and we know not how2 there is something in us that can be without us1 and will be after us1 though it is strange that it hath no history1 what it was before us1 nor cannot tell how it entred in us4 ,,sect4 #cg ,now for these walls of flesh1 wherein the ,soul doth seem to be immured1 before the ,resurrection1 it is nothing but an elemental composition1 and a ,fabrick that must fall to ashes4 ,all flesh is grass1 is not onely metaphorically1 but litterally1 true2 for all those creatures we behold1 are but the herbs of the field1 digested into flesh in them1 or more remotely carnified in our selves4 ,nay further1 we are what we all abhor1 ,anthropophagi and ,cannibals1 devourers not onely of men1 but of our selves2 and that not in an allegory1 but a positive truth3 for all this mass of flesh which we behold1 came in at our mouths2 this frame we look upon1 hath been upon our trenchers2 in brief1 we have devour'd our selves4 ,i cannot believe the wisdom of ,pythagoras did ever positively1 and in a literal sense1 affirm his ,metempsychosis1 or impossible transmigration of the ,souls of men into beasts3 of all ,metamorphoses1 or transmigrations1 ,i believe only one1 that is of ,lots wife2 for that of ,nebuchodonosor proceeded not so far2 in all others ,i conceive there is no further verity than is contained in their implicite sense and morality4 ,i believe that the whole frame of a beast doth perish1 and is left in the same state after death as before it was materialled unto life2 that the souls of men know neither contrary nor corruption2 that they subsist beyond the body1 and outlive death by the priviledge of their proper natures1 and without a ,miracle2 that the ,souls of the faithful1 as they leave ,earth1 take possession of ,heaven3 that those apparitions and ghosts of departed persons are not the wandring souls of men1 but the unquiet walks of ,devils1 prompting and suggesting us unto mischief1 blood1 and villany2 instilling and stealing into our hearts that the blessed spirits are not at rest in their graves1 but wander sollicitous of the affairs of the ,world2 but that those phantasms appear often1 and do frequent ,coemeteries1 ,charnel-houses1 and ,churches1 it is because those are the dormitories of the dead1 where the ,devil like an insolent ,champion beholds with pride the spoils and ,trophies of his ,victory over ,adam4 ,,sect4 #ch ,this is that dismal conquest we all deplore1 that makes us so often cry 7,o7 ,adam1 quid fecisti8 ,i thank ,god ,i have not those strait ligaments1 or narrow obligations to the ,world1 as to dote on life1 or be convulst and tremble at the name of death3 ,not that ,i am insensible of the dread and horrour thereof1 or by raking into the bowels of the deceased1 continual sight of ,anatomies1 ,skeletons1 or ,cadaverous reliques1 like ,vespilloes1 or ,gravemakers1 ,i am become stupid1 or have forgot the apprehension of ,mortality2 but that marshalling all the horrours1 and contemplating the extremities thereof1 ,i find not any thing therein able to daunt the courage of a man1 much less a well-resolved ,christian3 ,and therefore am not angry at the errour of our first ,parents1 or unwilling to bear a part of this common fate1 and like the best of them to dye1 that is1 to cease to breathe1 to take a farewel of the elements1 to be a kind of nothing for a moment1 to be within one instant of a spirit4 ,when ,i take a full view and circle of my self1 without this reasonable moderator1 and equal piece of ,justice1 ,death1 ,i do conceive my self the miserablest person extant2 were there not another life that ,i hope for1 all the vanities of this ,world should not intreat a moment's breath from me3 could the ,devil work my belief to imagine ,i could never dye1 ,i would not outlive that very thought2 ,i have so abject a conceit of this common way of existence1 this retaining to the ,sun and ,elements1 ,i cannot think this is to be a man1 or to live according to the dignity of humanity3 in exspectation of a better1 ,i can with patience embrace this life1 yet in my best meditations do often defie death3 ,i honour any man that contemns it1 nor can ,i highly love any that is afraid of it3 this makes me naturally love a ,souldier1 and honour those tattered and contemptible ,regiments1 that will dye at the command of a ,sergeant4 ,for a ,pagan there may be some motives to be in love with life2 but for a ,christian to be amazed at death1 ,i see not how he can escape this ,dilemma1 that he is too sensible of this life1 or hopeless of the life to come4 ,,sect4 #ci ,some ,divines count ,adam #cj years old at his creation1 because they suppose him created in the perfect age and stature of man4 ,and surely we are all out of the computation of our age1 and every man is some months elder than he bethinks him2 for we live1 move1 have a being1 and are subject to the actions of the elements1 and the malice of diseases1 in that other world1 the truest ,microcosm1 the ,womb of our ,mother4 ,for besides that general and common existence we are conceived to hold in our ,chaos1 and whilst we sleep within the bosome of our causes1 we enjoy a being and life in three distinct worlds1 wherein we receive most manifest graduations3 ,in that obscure ,world and womb of our mother1 our time is short1 computed by the ,moon2 yet longer then the days of many creatures that behold the ,sun1 our selves being not yet without life1 sense1 and reason2 though for the manifestation of its actions1 it awaits the opportunity of objects1 and seems to live there but in its root and soul of vegetation2 entring afterwards upon the scene of the ,world1 we arise up and become another creature1 performing the reasonable actions of man1 and obscurely manifesting that part of ,divinity in us1 but not in complement and perfection1 till we have once more cast our secondine1 that is1 this slough of flesh1 and are delivered into the last world1 that is1 that ineffable place of ,paul1 that proper ubi of spirits4 ,the smattering ,i have of the ,philosophers ,stone 7which is something more then the perfect exaltation of ,gold7 hath taught me a great deal of ,divinity1 and instructed my belief1 how that immortal spirit and incorruptible substance of my ,soul may lye obscure1 and sleep a while within this house of flesh4 ,those strange and mystical transmigrations that ,i have observed in ,silk-worms1 turned my ,philosophy into ,divinity4 ,there is in these works of nature1 which seem to puzzle reason1 something ,divine1 and hath more in it then the eye of a common spectator doth discover4 ,,sect4 #dj ,i am naturally bashful1 nor hath conversation1 age or travel1 been able to effront1 or enharden me2 yet ,i have one part of modesty which ,i have seldom discovered in another1 that is1 7to speak truely7 ,i am not so much afraid of death1 as ashamed thereof2 'tis the very disgrace and ignominy of our natures1 that in a moment can so disfigure us1 that our nearest friends1 ,wife1 and ,children stand afraid and start at us4 ,the ,birds and ,beasts of the field1 that before in a natural fear obeyed us1 forgetting all allegiance1 begin to prey upon us4 ,this very conceit hath in a tempest disposed and left me willing to be swallowed up in the abyss of waters2 wherein ,i had perished unseen1 unpityed1 without wondering eyes1 tears of pity1 ,lectures of mortality1 and none had said1 ,quantum mutatus ab illo6 ,not that ,i am ashamed of the ,anatomy of my parts1 or can accuse ,nature for playing the bungler in any part of me1 or my own vitious life for contracting any shameful disease upon me1 whereby ,i might not call my self as wholesome a morsel for the worms as any4 ,,sect4 #da ,some upon the courage of a fruitful issue1 wherein1 as in the truest ,chronicle1 they seem to outlive themselves1 can with greater patience away with death4 ,this conceit and counterfeit subsisting in our progenies1 seems to me a meer fallacy1 unworthy the desires of a man1 that can but conceive a thought of the next ,world2 who1 in a nobler ambition1 should desire to live in his substance in ,heaven1 rather than his name and shadow in the earth4 ,and therefore at my death ,i mean to take a total adieu of the world1 not caring for a ,monument1 ,history1 or ,epitaph1 not so much as the memory of my name to be found any where1 but in the universal ,register of ,god4 ,i am not yet so ,cynical1 as to approve the #ae,testament of ,diogenes1 nor do ,i altogether allow that ,rodomontodo of ,lucan2 ----,coelo tegitur1 qui non habet urnam4 ,he that unburied lies wants not his ,herse1 ,for unto him a ,tomb's the ,universe4 ,but commend in my calmer judgement1 those ingenuous intentions that desire to sleep by the urns of their ,fathers1 and strive to go the neatest way unto corruption4 ,i do not envy the temper of ,crows and ,daws1 nor the numerous and weary days of our ,fathers before the ,flood4 ,if there be any truth in ,astrology1 ,i may outlive a ,jubilee2 as yet ,i have not seen one revolution of ,saturn1 nor hath my pulse beat thirty years2 and yet excepting one1 have seen the ,ashes1 left under ground all the ,kings of ,europe2 have been contemporary to three ,emperours1 four ,grand ,signiours1 and as many ,popes3 methinks ,i have outlived my self1 and begin to be weary of the ,sun2 ,i have shaken hands with delight3 in my warm blood and ,canicular days1 ,i perceive ,i do anticipate the vices of age2 the ,world to me is but a dream or mock-show1 and we all therein but ,pantalones and ,anticks1 to my severer contemplations4 #ae ,who willed his friend not to bury him1 but hang him up with a staff in his hand to fright away the crows4 ,,sect4 #db ,it is not1 ,i confess1 an unlawful prayer to desire to surpass the days of our ,saviour1 or wish to outlive that age wherein he thought fittest to dye2 yet if 7as ,divinity affirms7 there shall be no gray hairs in ,heaven1 but all shall rise in the perfect state of men1 we do but outlive those perfections in this ,world1 to be recalled unto them by a greater ,miracle in the next1 and run on here but to be retrograde hereafter4 ,were there any hopes to outlive vice1 or a point to be super-annuated from sin1 it were worthy our knees to implore the days of ,methuselah4 ,but age doth not rectifie1 but incurvate our natures1 turning bad dispositions into worser habits1 and 7like diseases7 brings on incurable vices2 for every day as we grow weaker in age1 we grow stronger in sin2 and the number of our days doth make but our sins innumerable4 ,the same vice committed at sixteen1 is not the same1 though it agree in all other circumstances1 at forty1 but swells and doubles from the circumstance of our ages1 wherein1 besides the constant and inexcusable habit of transgressing1 the maturity of our judgement cuts off pretence unto excuse or pardon3 every sin the oftner it is committed1 the more it acquireth in the quality of evil2 as it succeeds in time1 so it proceeds in degrees of badness2 for as they proceed they ever multiply1 and like figures in ,arithmetick1 the last stands for more than all that went before it4 ,and though ,i think no man can live well once1 but he that could live twice1 yet for my own part ,i would not live over my hours past1 or begin again the thred of my days3 not upon ,cicero's ground1 because ,i have lived them well1 but for fear ,i should live them worse3 ,i find my growing ,judgment daily instruct me how to be better1 but my untamed affections and confirmed vitiosity makes me daily do worse2 ,i find in my confirmed age the same sins ,i discovered in my youth2 ,i committed many then because ,i was a ,child1 and because ,i commit them still1 ,i am yet an infant4 ,therefore ,i perceive a man may be twice a ,child before the days of dotage2 and stands in need of sons ,bath before threescore4 ,,sect4 #dc ,and truely there goes a great deal of providence to produce a mans life unto three-score3 there is more required than an able temper for those years2 though the radical humour contain in it sufficient oyl for seventy1 yet ,i perceive in some it gives no light past thirty3 men assign not all the causes of long life1 that write whole ,books thereof4 ,they that found themselves on the radical balsome1 or vital sulphur of the parts1 determine not why ,abel lived not so long as ,adam4 ,there is therefore a secret glome or bottome of our days3 'twas his wisdom to determine them1 but his perpetual and waking providence that fulfils and accomplisheth them2 wherein the spirits1 our selves1 and all the creatures of ,god in a secret and disputed way do execute his will4 ,let them not therefore complain of immaturity that die about thirty2 they fall but like the whole ,world1 whose solid and well-composed substance must not expect the duration and period of its constitution3 when all things are compleated in it1 its age is accomplished2 and the last and general fever may as naturally destroy it before six thousand1 as me before forty2 there is therefore some other hand that twines the thread of life than that of ,nature3 we are not onely ignorant in ,antipathies and occult qualities2 our ends are as obscure as our beginnings2 the line of our days is drawn by night1 and the various effects therein by a pensil that is invisible2 wherein though we confess our ignorance1 ,i am sure we do not err if we say it is the hand of ,god4 ,,sect4 #dd ,i am much taken with two verses of ,lucan1 since ,i have been able not onely as we do at ,school1 to construe1 but understand4 ,victurosque ,dei celant ut vivere durent4 ,felix esse mori4 ,we're all deluded1 vainly searching ways ,to make us happy by the length of days2 ,for cunningly to make's protract this breath1 ,the ,gods conceal the happiness of ,death4 ,there be many excellent strains in that ,poet1 wherewith his ,stoical ,genius hath liberally supplied him2 and truely there are singular pieces in the ,philosophy of ,zeno1 and doctrine of the ,stoicks1 which ,i perceive1 delivered in a ,pulpit1 pass for current ,divinity3 yet herein are they in extreams1 that can allow a man to be his own ,assassine1 and so highly extol the end and suicide of ,cato2 this is indeed not to fear death1 but yet to be afraid of life4 ,it is a brave act of valour to contemn death2 but where life is more terrible than death1 it is then the truest valour to dare to live2 and herein ,religion hath taught us a noble example3 ,for all the valiant acts of ,curtius1 ,scevola1 or ,codrus1 do not parallel or match that one of ,job2 and sure there is no torture to the rack of a disease1 nor any ,ponyards in death it self like those in the way or prologue to it4 ,emori nolo1 sed me esse mortuum nihil curo2 ,i would not die1 but care not to be dead4 ,were ,i of ,csar's ,religion1 ,i should be of his desires1 and wish rather to go off at one blow1 then to be sawed in pieces by the grating torture of a disease4 ,men that look no farther than their outsides1 think health an appurtenance unto life1 and quarrel with their constitutions for being sick2 but ,i1 that have examined the parts of man1 and know upon what tender filaments that ,fabrick hangs1 do wonder that we are not always so2 and considering the thousand doors that lead to death1 do thank my ,god that we can die but once4 ',tis not onely the mischief of diseases1 and villany of poysons1 that make an end of us2 we vainly accuse the fury of ,guns1 and the new inventions of death2 it is in the power of every hand to destroy us1 and we are beholding unto every one we meet1 he doth not kill us4 ,there is therefore but one comfort left1 that1 though it be in the power of the weakest arm to take away life1 it is not in the strongest to deprive us of death3 ,god would not exempt himself from that1 the misery of immortality in the flesh2 he undertook not that was immortal4 ,certainly there is no happiness within this circle of flesh1 nor is it in the ,opticks of these eyes to behold felicity2 the first day of our ,jubilee is ,death2 the ,devil hath therefore failed of his desires2 we are happier with death than we should have been without it3 there is no misery but in himself1 where there is no end of misery2 and so indeed in his own sense the ,stoick is in the right4 ,he forgets that he can dye who complains of misery2 we are in the power of no calamity while death is in our own4 ,,sect4 #de4 ,now besides the literal and positive kind of death1 there are others whereof ,divines make mention1 and those ,i think1 not meerly ,metaphorical1 as mortification1 dying unto sin and the ,world2 therefore1 ,i say1 every man hath a double ,horoscope1 one of his humanity1 his birth2 another of his ,christianity1 his baptism1 and from this do ,i compute or calculate my ,nativity2 not reckoning those ,hor combust and odd days1 or esteeming my self any thing1 before ,i was my ,saviours1 and inrolled in the ,register of ,christ3 ,whosoever enjoys not this life1 ,i count him but an apparition1 though he wear about him the sensible affections of flesh4 ,in these moral acceptions1 the way to be immortal is to dye daily2 nor can ,i think ,i have the true ,theory of death1 when ,i contemplate a skull1 or behold a ,skeleton with those vulgar imaginations it casts upon us2 ,i have therefore enlarged that common ,memento mori1 into a more ,christian memorandum1 ,memento quatuor ,novissima1 those four inevitable points of us all1 ,death1 ,judgement1 ,heaven1 and ,hell4 ,neither did the contemplations of the ,heathens rest in their graves1 without further thought of ,rhadamanth or some judicial proceeding after death1 though in another way1 and upon suggestion of their natural reasons4 ,i cannot but marvail from what ,sibyl or ,oracle they stole the ,prophesie of the worlds destruction by fire1 or whence ,lucan learned to say1 ,communis mundo superest rogus1 assibus astra ,misturus4 ,there yet remains to th' ,world one common ,fire1 ,wherein our bones with stars shall make one ,pyre4 ,i believe the ,world grows near its end1 yet is neither old nor decayed1 nor shall ever perish upon the ruines of its own ,principles4 ,as the work of ,creation was above nature1 so its adversary annihilation2 without which the ,world hath not its end1 but its mutation4 ,now what force should be able to consume it thus far1 without the breath of ,god1 which is the truest consuming flame1 my ,philosophy cannot inform me4 ,some believe there went not a minute to the ,worlds creation1 nor shall there go to its destruction2 those six days1 so punctually described1 make not to them one moment1 but rather seem to manifest the method and ,idea of the great work of the intellect of ,god1 than the manner how he proceeded in its operation4 ,i cannot dream that there should be at the last day any such ,judicial proceeding1 or calling to the ,bar1 as indeed the ,scripture seems to imply1 and the literal ,commentators do conceive3 for unspeakable mysteries in the ,scriptures are often delivered in a vulgar and illustrative way2 and being written unto man1 are delivered1 not as they truely are1 but as they may be understood2 wherein notwithstanding the different interpretations according to different capacities may stand firm with our devotion1 nor be any way prejudicial to each single edification4 ,,sect4 #df ,sidenote3 ,in those days there shall come lyars and false prophets4 ,now to determine the day and year of this inevitable time1 is not onely convincible and statute-madness1 but also manifest impiety3 ,how shall we interpret ,elias #fjjj years1 or imagine the secret communicated to a ,rabbi1 which ,god hath denyed unto his ,angels8 ,it had been an excellent ,qure to have posed the ,devil of ,delphos1 and must needs have forced him to some strange amphibology2 it hath not onely mocked the predictions of sundry ,astrologers in ,ages past1 but the prophesies of many melancholy heads in these present1 who neither understanding reasonably things past or present1 pretend a knowledge of things to come2 heads ordained onely to manifest the incredible effects of melancholy1 and to fulfil old prophecies rather than be the authors of new4 ,in those days there shall come ,wars and rumours of ,wars1 to me seems no prophecy1 but a constant truth1 in all times verified since it was pronounced3 ,there shall be signs in the ,moon and ,stars2 how comes he then like a ,thief in the night1 when he gives an item of his coming8 ,that common sign drawn from the revelation of ,antichrist1 is as obscure as any3 in our common compute he hath been come these many years2 but for my own part to speak freely1 ,i am half of opinion that ,antichrist is the ,philosophers stone in ,divinity2 for the discovery and invention thereof1 though there be prescribed rules and probable inductions1 yet hath hardly any man attained the perfect discovery thereof4 ,that general opinion that the ,world grows neer its end1 hath possessed all ages past as neerly as ours2 ,i am afraid that the ,souls that now depart1 cannot escape that lingring expostulation of the ,saints under the ,altar1 ,quousque1 ,domine8 ,how long1 ,o ,lord8 and groan in the expectation of that great ,jubilee4 ,,sect4 #dg ,this is the day that must make good that great attribute of ,god1 his ,justice2 that must reconcile those unanswerable doubts that torment the wisest understandings1 and reduce those seeming inequalities1 and respective distributions in this world1 to an equality and recompensive ,justice in the next4 ,this is that one day1 that shall include and comprehend all that went before it2 wherein1 as in the last scene1 all the ,actors must enter1 to compleat and make up the ,catastrophe of this great piece4 ,this is the day whose memory hath onely power to make us honest in the dark1 and to be vertuous without a witness4 ,ipsa sui pretium virtus sibi1 that ,vertue is her own reward1 is but a cold principle1 and not able to maintain our variable resolutions in a constant and setled way of goodness4 ,i have practised that honest artifice of ,seneca1 and in my retired and solitary imaginations1 to detain me from the foulness of vice1 have fancied to my self the presence of my dear and worthiest friends1 before whom ,i should lose my head1 rather than be vitious3 yet herein ,i found that there was nought but moral honesty1 and this was not to be vertuous for his sake who must reward us at the last4 ,i have tryed if ,i could reach that great resolution of his1 to be honest without a thought of ,heaven or ,hell2 and indeed ,i found1 upon a natural inclination1 and inbred loyalty unto virtue1 that ,i could serve her without a livery2 yet not in that resolved and venerable way1 but that the frailty of my nature1 upon,a easie temptation1 might be induced to forget her4 ,the life therefore and spirit of all our actions1 is the resurrection1 and a stable apprehension that our ashes shall enjoy the fruit of our pious endeavours3 without this1 all ,religion is a fallacy1 and those impieties of ,lucian1 ,euripides1 and ,julian1 are no blasphemies1 but subtle verities1 and ,atheists have been the onely ,philosophers4 ,a ,insert any1 #afgb4 ,,sect4 #dh ,how shall the dead arise1 is no question of my ,faith2 to believe only possibilities1 is not ,faith1 but meer ,philosophy4 ,many things are true in ,divinity1 which are neither inducible by reason1 nor confirmable by sense2 and many things in ,philosophy confirmable by sense1 yet not inducible by reason4 ,thus it is impossible by any solid or demonstrative reasons to perswade a man to believe the conversion of the ,needle to the ,north2 though this be possible and true1 and easily credible1 upon a single experiment unto the sense4 ,i believe that our estranged and divided ashes shall unite again2 that our separated dust after so many ,pilgrimages and transformations into the parts of ,minerals1 ,plants1 ,animals1 ,elements1 shall at the ,voice of ,god return into their primitive shapes1 and joyn again to make up their primary and predestinate forms4 ,as at the ,creation there was a separation of that confused mass into its pieces2 so at the destruction thereof there shall be a separation into its distinct individuals4 ,as at the ,creation of the ,world1 all the distinct species that we behold lay involved in one mass1 till the fruitful ,voice of ,god separated this united multitude into its several species3 so at the last day1 when those corrupted reliques shall be scattered in the ,wilderness of forms1 and seem to have forgot their proper habits1 ,god by a powerful ,voice shall command them back into their proper shapes1 and call them out by their single individuals3 ,then shall appear the fertility of ,adam1 and the magick of that sperm that hath dilated into so many millions4 ,i have often beheld as a miracle1 that artificial resurrection and revivification of ,mercury1 how being mortified into a thousand shapes1 it assumes again its own1 and returns into its numerical self4 ,let us speak naturally1 and like ,philosophers1 the forms of alterable bodies in these sensible corruptions perish not2 nor as we imagine1 wholly quit their mansions1 but retire and contract themselves into their secret and inaccessible parts1 where they may best protect themselves from the action of their ,antagonist4 ,a plant or vegetable consumed to ashes1 by a contemplative and school-,philosopher seems utterly destroyed1 and the form to have taken his leave for ever3 ,but to a sensible ,artist the forms are not perished1 but withdrawn into their incombustible part1 where they lie secure from the action of that devouring element4 ,this is made good by experience1 which can from the ,ashes of a ,plant revive the plant1 and from its cinders recal it into its stalk and leaves again4 ,what the ,art of man can do in these inferiour pieces1 what blasphemy is it to affirm the finger of ,god cannot do in these more perfect and sensible structures8 ,this is that mystical ,philosophy1 from whence no true ,scholar becomes an ,atheist1 but from the visible effects of nature grows up a real ,divine1 and beholds not in a dream1 as ,ezekiel1 but in an ocular and visible object the types of his resurrection4 ,,sect4 #di ,now1 the necessary ,mansions of our restored selves1 are those two contrary and incompatible places we call ,heaven and ,hell2 to define them1 or strictly to determine what and where these are1 surpasseth my ,divinity4 ,that elegant ,apostle which seemed to have a glimpse of ,heaven1 hath left but a negative description thereof2 which neither eye hath seen1 nor ear hath heard1 nor can enter into the heart of man3 he was translated out of himself to behold it2 but being returned into himself1 could not express it4 ,st4 ,john's description by ,emerals1 ,chrysolites1 and precious ,stones1 is too weak to express the material ,heaven we behold4 ,briefly therefore1 where the ,soul hath the full measure and complement of happiness2 where the boundless appetite of that spirit remains compleatly satisfied1 that it can neither desire addition nor alteration2 that ,i think is truly ,heaven3 and this can onely be in the injoynient of that essence1 whose infinite goodness is able to terminate the desires of it self1 and the unsatiable wishes of ours2 wherever ,god will thus manifest himself1 there is ,heaven though within the circle of this sensible world4 ,thus the ,soul of man may be in ,heaven any where1 even within the limits of his own proper body2 and when it ceaseth to live in the body1 it may remain in its own soul1 that is1 its ,creator3 and thus we may say that ,st4 ,paul1 whether in the body1 or out of the body1 was yet in ,heaven4 ,to place it in the ,empyreal1 or beyond the tenth sphear1 is to forget the world's destruction2 for when this sensible world shall be destroyed1 all shall then be here as it is now there1 an ,empyreal ,heaven1 a quasi vacuity2 when to ask where ,heaven is1 is to demand where the ,presence of ,god is1 or where we have the glory of that happy vision4 ,moses that was bred up in all the learning of the ,egyptians1 committed a gross absurdity in ,philosophy1 when with these eyes of flesh he desired to see ,god1 and petitioned his ,maker1 that is1 truth it self1 to a contradiction4 ,those that imagine ,heaven and ,hell neighbours1 and conceive a vicinity between those two extreams1 upon consequence of the ,parable1 where ,dives discoursed with ,lazarus in ,abraham's bosome1 do too grosly conceive of those glorified creatures1 whose eyes shall easily out-see the ,sun1 and behold without a perspective the extreamest distances3 for if there shall be in our glorified eyes1 the faculty of sight and reception of objects1 ,i could think the visible species there to be in as unlimitable a way as now the intellectual4 ,i grant that two bodies placed beyond the tenth sphear1 or in a vacuity1 according to ,aristotle's ,philosophy1 could not behold each other1 because there wants a body or ,medium to hand and transport the visible rays of the object unto the sense2 but when there shall be a general defect of either ,medium to convey1 or light to prepare and dispose that ,medium1 and yet a perfect vision1 we must suspend the rules of our ,philosophy1 and make all good by a more absolute piece of opticks4 ,,sect4 #ej ,i cannot tell how to say that fire is the essence of ,hell3 ,i know not what to make of ,purgatory1 or conceive a flame that can either prey upon1 or purifie the substance of a ,soul3 those flames of sulphur mention'd in the ,scriptures1 ,i take not to be understood of this present ,hell1 but of that to come1 where fire shall make up the complement of our tortures1 and have a body or subject wherein to manifest its tyranny4 ,some who have had the honour to be textuary in ,divinity1 are of opinion it shall be the same specifical fire with ours4 ,this is hard to conceive1 yet can ,i make good how even that may prey upon our bodies1 and yet not consume us3 for in this material ,world there are bodies that persist invincible in the powerfullest flames2 and though by the action of fire they fall into ignition and liquation1 yet will they never suffer a destruction4 ,i would gladly know how ,moses with an actual fire calcin'd1 or burnt the ,golden ,calf into powder3 for that mystical metal of ,gold1 whose solary and celestial nature ,i admire1 exposed unto the violence of fire1 grows onely hot1 and liquifies1 but consumeth not2 so when the consumable and volatile pieces of our bodies shall be refined into a more impregnable and fixed temper1 like ,gold1 though they suffer from the action of flames1 they shall never perish1 but lye immortal in the arms of fire4 ,and surely if this frame must suffer onely by the action of this element1 there will many bodies escape1 and not onely ,heaven1 but ,earth will not be at an end1 but rather a beginning4 ,for at present it is not earth1 but a composition of fire1 water1 earth1 and air2 but at that time1 spoiled of these ingredients1 it shall appear in a substance more like it self1 its ashes4 ,philosophers that opinioned the worlds destruction by fire1 did never dream of annihilation1 which is beyond the power of sublunary causes2 for the last,b action of that element is but vitrification1 or a reduction of a body into glass2 and therefore some of our ,chymicks facetiously affirm1 that at the last fire all shall be christallized and reverberated into glass1 which is the utmost action of that element4 ,nor need we fear this term annihilation1 or wonder that ,god will destroy the works of his ,creation3 for man subsisting1 who is1 and will then truely appear1 a ,microcosm1 the world cannot be said to be destroyed4 ,for the eyes of ,god1 and perhaps also of our glorified selves1 shall as really behold and contemplate the ,world in its ,epitome or contracted essence1 as now it doth at large and in its dilated substance4 ,in the seed of a ,plant to the eyes of ,god1 and to the understanding of man1 there exists1 though in an invisible way1 the perfect leaves1 flowers1 and fruit thereof3 7for things that are in posse to the sense1 are actually existent to the understanding74 ,thus ,god beholds all things1 who contemplates as fully his works in their ,epitome1 as in their full volume2 and beheld as amply the whole world in that little compendium of the sixth day1 as in the scattered and dilated pieces of those five before4 ,b ,last and proper1 #afgb4 ,,sect4 #ea ,men commonly set forth the torments of ,hell by fire1 and the extremity of corporal afflictions1 and describe ,hell in the same method that ,mahomet doth ,heaven4 ,this indeed makes a noise1 and drums in popular ears2 but if this be the terrible piece thereof1 it is not worthy to stand in diameter with ,heaven1 whose happiness consists in that part that is best able to comprehend it1 that immortal essence1 that translated divinity and colony of ,god1 the ,soul4 ,surely though we place ,hell under ,earth1 the ,devil's walk and purlue is about it3 men speak too popularly who place it in those flaming mountains1 which to grosser apprehensions represent ,hell4 ,the heart of man is the place the ,devils dwell in2 ,i feel sometimes a ,hell within my self2 ,lucifer keeps his ,court in my breast2 ,legion is revived in me4 ,there are as many ,hells1 as ,anaxagoras conceited worlds2 there was more than one ,hell in ,magdalene1 when there were seven ,devils2 for every ,devil is an ,hell unto himself2 he holds enough of torture in his own ubi1 and needs not the misery of circumference to afflict him4 ,and thus a distracted ,conscience here1 is a shadow or introduction unto ,hell hereafter4 ,who can but pity the merciful intention of those hands that do destroy themselves8 the ,devil1 were it in his power1 would do the like2 which being impossible1 his miseries are endless1 and he suffers most in that attribute wherein he is impassible1 his immortality4 ,,sect4 #eb ,i thank ,god that with joy ,i mention it1 ,i was never afraid of ,hell1 nor never grew pale at the description of that place2 ,i have so fixed my contemplations on ,heaven1 that ,i have almost forgot the ,idea of ,hell1 and am afraid rather to lose the ,joys of the one1 than endure the misery of the other3 to be deprived of them is a perfect ,hell1 and needs methinks no addition to compleat our afflictions2 that terrible term hath never detained me from sin1 nor do ,i owe any good action to the name thereof2 ,i fear ,god1 yet am not afraid of him2 his mercies make me ashamed of my sins1 before his ,judgements afraid thereof3 these are the forced and secondary method of his wisdom1 which he useth but as the last remedy1 and upon provocation2 a course rather to deter the wicked1 than incite the virtuous to his worship4 ,i can hardly think there was ever any scared into ,heaven2 they go the fairest way to ,heaven that would serve ,god without a ,hell2 other ,mercenaries1 that crouch into him in fear of ,hell1 though they term themselves the servants1 are indeed but the slaves of the ,almighty4 ,,sect4 #ec ,and to be true1 and speak my soul1 when ,i survey the occurrences of my life1 and call into account the ,finger of ,god1 ,i can perceive nothing but an abyss and mass of mercies1 either in general to mankind1 or in particular to my self3 and whether out of the prejudice of my affection1 or an inverting and partial conceit of his mercies1 ,i know not2 but those which others term crosses1 afflictions1 judgements1 misfortunes1 to me who inquire farther into them then their visible effects1 they both appear1 and in event have ever proved1 the secret and dissembled favours of his affection4 ,it is a singular piece of ,wisdom to apprehend truly1 and without passion1 the ,works of ,god1 and so well to distinguish his ,justice from his ,mercy1 as not miscall those noble ,attributes3 yet it is likewise an honest piece of ,logick1 so to dispute and argue the proceedings of ,god1 as to distinguish even his judgments into mercies4 ,for ,god is merciful unto all1 because better to the worst1 than the best deserve2 and to say he punisheth none in this world1 though it be a ,paradox1 is no absurdity4 ,to one that hath committed ,murther1 if the ,judge should only ordain a ,fine1 it were a madness to call this a punishment1 and to repine at the sentence1 rather than admire the clemency of the ,judge4 ,thus our offences being mortal1 and deserving not onely ,death1 but ,damnation2 if the goodness of ,god be content to traverse and pass them over with a loss1 misfortune1 or disease2 what frensie were it to term this a punishment1 rather than an extremity of mercy2 and to groan under the rod of his ,judgements1 rather than admire the ,scepter of his ,mercies8 ,therefore to adore1 honour1 and admire him1 is a debt of gratitude due from the obligation of our nature1 states1 and conditions2 and with these thoughts1 he that knows them best1 will not deny that ,i adore him4 ,that ,i obtain ,heaven1 and the bliss thereof1 is accidental1 and not the intended work of my devotion2 it being a felicity ,i can neither think to deserve1 nor scarce in modesty to expect4 ,for these two ends of us all1 either as rewards or punishments1 are mercifully ordained and disproportionably disposed unto our actions2 the one being so far beyond our deserts1 the other so infinitely below our demerits4 ,,sect4 #ed ,there is no ,salvation to those that believe not in ,christ1 that is1 say some1 since his ,nativity1 and as ,divinity affirmeth1 before also2 which makes me much apprehend the ends of those honest ,worthies and ,philosophers which dyed before his ,incarnation4 ,it is hard to place those ,souls in ,hell1 whose worthy lives do teach us ,virtue on ,earth3 methinks amongst those many subdivisions of ,hell1 there might have been one ,limbo left for these4 ,what a strange vision will it be to see their ,poetical fictions converted into ,verities1 and their imagined and fancied ,furies into real ,devils8 how strange to them will sound the ,history of ,adam1 when they shall suffer for him they never heard of8 when they who derive their genealogy from the ,gods1 shall know they are the unhappy issue of sinful man8 ,it is an insolent part of reason1 to controvert the ,works of ,god1 or question the ,justice of his proceedings4 ,could ,humility teach others1 as it hath instructed me1 to contemplate the infinite and incomprehensible distance betwixt the ,creator and the ,creature2 or did we seriously perpend that one simile of ,st4 ,paul1 ,shall the ,vessel say to the ,potter1 ,why hast thou made me thus8 it would prevent these arrogant disputes of reason1 nor would we argue the definitive sentence of ,god1 either to ,heaven or ,hell4 ,men that live according to the right rule and law of reason1 live but in their own kind1 as beasts do in theirs2 who justly obey the prescript of their natures1 and therefore cannot reasonably demand a reward of their actions1 as onely obeying the natural dictates of their reason4 ,it will therefore1 and must at last appear1 that all salvation is through ,christ2 which verity ,i fear these great examples of virtue must confirm1 and make it good1 how the perfectest actions of earth have no title or claim unto ,heaven4 ,,sect4 #ee ,nor truely do ,i think the lives of these or of any other1 were ever correspondent1 or in all points conformable unto their doctrines4 ,it is evident that ,aristotle transgressed the rule of his own ,ethicks2 the ,stoicks that condemn passion1 and command a man to laugh in ,phalaris his ,bull1 could not endure without a groan a fit of the ,stone or ,colick4 ,the ,scepticks that affirmed they knew nothing1 even in that opinion confute themselves1 and thought they knew more than all the ,world beside4 ,diogenes ,i hold to be the most vain-glorious man of his time1 and more ambitious in refusing all ,honours1 than ,alexander in rejecting none4 ,vice and the ,devil put a ,fallacy upon our ,reasons1 and provoking us too hastily to run from it1 entangle and profound us deeper in it4 ,the ,duke of ,venice1 that weds himself unto the ,sea by a ,ring of ,gold1 ,i will not argue of prodigality1 because it is a solemnity of good use and consequence in the ,state3 but the ,philosopher that threw his money into the ,sea to avoid ,avarice1 was a notorious prodigal4 ,there is no road or ready way to virtue2 it is not an easie point of art to disentangle our selves from this riddle1 or web of ,sin3 ,to perfect virtue1 as to ,religion1 there is required a ,panoplia1 or compleat armour2 that whilst we lye at close ward against one ,vice1 we lye not open to the venny of another4 ,and indeed wiser discretions that have the thred of reason to conduct them1 offend without pardon2 whereas1 under-heads may stumble without dishonour4 ,there go so many circumstances to piece up one good action1 that it is a lesson to be good1 and we are forced to be virtuous by the book4 ,again1 the ,practice of men holds not an equal pace1 yea1 and often runs counter to their ,theory2 we naturally know what is good1 but naturally pursue what is evil3 the ,rhetorick wherewith ,i perswade another1 cannot perswade my self3 there is a depraved appetite in us1 that will with patience hear the learned instructions of ,reason1 but yet perform no farther than agrees to its own irregular humour4 ,in brief1 we all are monsters1 that is1 a composition of ,man and ,beast2 wherein we must endeavour to be as the ,poets fancy that wise man ,chiron1 that is1 to have the region of ,man above that of ,beast1 and ,sense to sit but at the feet of ,reason4 ,lastly1 ,i do desire with ,god that all1 but yet affirm with men1 that few shall know ,salvation2 that the bridge is narrow1 the passage strait unto life3 yet those who do confine the ,church of ,god1 either to particular ,nations1 ,churches or ,families1 have made it far narrower then our ,saviour ever meant it4 ,,sect4 #ef ,the vulgarity of those judgements that wrap the ,church of ,god in ,strabo's cloak1 and restrain it unto ,europe1 seem to me as bad ,geographers as ,alexander1 who thought he had ,conquer'd all the ,world1 when he had not subdued the half of any part thereof4 ,for we cannot deny the ,church of ,god both in ,asia and ,africa1 if we do not forget the ,peregrinations of the ,apostles1 the deaths of the ,martyrs1 the ,sessions of many1 and1 even in our reformed judgement1 lawful ,councils1 held in those parts in the minority and nonage of ours4 ,nor must a few differences1 more remarkable in the eyes of man than perhaps in the judgement of ,god1 excommunicate from ,heaven one another1 much less those ,christians who are in a manner all ,martyrs1 maintaining their ,faith1 in the noble way of persecution1 and serving ,god in the ,fire1 whereas we honour him in the ,sunshine4 ',tis true1 we all hold there is a number of ,elect1 and many to be saved2 yet take our ,opinions together1 and from the confusion thereof there will be no such thing as salvation1 nor shall any one be saved4 ,for first1 the ,church of ,rome condemneth us1 we likewise them2 the ,sub-reformists and ,sectaries sentence the ,doctrine of our ,church as damnable2 the ,atomist1 or ,familist1 reprobates all these2 and all these1 them again4 ,thus whilst the ,mercies of ,god do promise us ,heaven1 our conceits and opinions exclude us from that place4 ,there must be1 therefore1 more than one ,st4 ,peter3 particular ,churches and ,sects usurp the gates of ,heaven1 and turn the key against each other3 and thus we go to ,heaven against each others wills1 conceits and opinions2 and with as much uncharity as ignorance1 do err ,i fear in points not only of our own1 but one an others salvation4 ,,sect4 #eg ,i believe many are saved1 who to man seem reprobated2 and many are reprobated1 who in the opinion and sentence of man1 stand elected3 there will appear at the ,last day1 strange and unexpected examples both of his ,justice and his ,mercy2 and therefore to define either1 is folly in man1 and insolency even in the ,devils3 those acute and subtil spirits in all their sagacity1 can hardly divine who shall be saved2 which if they could ,prognostick1 their labour were at an end2 nor need they compass the earth seeking whom they may devour4 ,those who upon a rigid application of the ,law1 sentence ,solomon unto damnation1 condemn not onely him1 but themselves1 and the whole ,world3 for by the ,letter and written ,word of ,god1 we are without exception in the state of ,death2 but there is a prerogative of ,god1 and an arbitrary pleasure above the ,letter of his own ,law1 by which alone we can pretend unto ,salvation1 and through which ,solomon might be as easily saved as those who condemn him4 ,,sect4 #eh ,the number of those who pretend unto ,salvation1 and those infinite swarms who think to pass through the eye of this ,needle1 have much amazed me4 ,that name and compellation of little ,flock1 doth not comfort1 but deject my ,devotion2 especially when ,i reflect upon mine own unworthiness1 wherein1 according to my humble apprehensions1 ,i am below them all4 ,i believe there shall never be an ,anarchy in ,heaven1 but as there are ,hierarchies amongst the ,angels1 so shall there be degrees of priority amongst the ,saints4 ,yet is it 7,i protest7 beyond my ambition to aspire unto the first ranks2 my desires onely are1 and ,i shall be happy therein1 to be but the last man1 and bring up the ,rere in ,heaven4 ,,sect4 #ei ,again1 ,i am confident and fully perswaded1 yet dare not take my oath1 of my ,salvation3 ,i am as it were sure1 and do believe without all doubt1 that there is such a ,city as ,constantinople2 yet for me to take my ,oath thereon were a kind of ,perjury1 because ,i hold no infallible warrant from my own sense to confirm me in the certainty thereof3 ,and truly1 though many pretend an absolute certainty of their ,salvation1 yet when an humble ,soul shall contemplate our own unworthiness1 she shall meet with many doubts1 and suddenly find how little we stand in need of the ,precept of ,st4 ,paul1 ,work out your salvation with fear and trembling4 ,that which is the cause of my ,election1 ,i hold to be the cause of my ,salvation1 which was the mercy and beneplacit of ,god1 before ,i was1 or the foundation of the ,world4 ,before ,abraham was1 ,i am1 is the saying of ,christ2 yet is it true in some sense1 if ,i say it of myself2 for ,i was not onely before myself1 but ,adam1 that is1 in the ,idea of ,god1 and the decree of that ,synod held from all ,eternity4 ,and in this sense1 ,i say1 the ,world was before the ,creation1 and at an end before it had a beginning2 and thus was ,i dead before ,i was alive3 though my grave be ,england1 my dying place was ,paradise3 and ,eve miscarried of me1 before she conceived of ,cain4 ,,sect4 #fj ,insolent zeals that do decry good ,works1 and rely onely upon ,faith1 take not away merit3 for depending upon the efficacy of their ,faith1 they enforce the condition of ,god1 and in a more sophistical way do seem to challenge ,heaven4 ,it was decreed by ,god1 that only those that lapt in the water like ,dogs1 should have the honour to destroy the ,midianites2 yet could none of those justly challenge1 or imagine he deserved that honour thereupon4 ,i do not deny1 but that true ,faith1 and such as ,god requires1 is not onely a mark or token1 but also a means of our ,salvation2 but where to find this1 is as obscure to me1 as my last end4 ,and if our ,saviour could object unto his own ,disciples and ,favourites1 a ,faith1 that1 to the quantity of a grain of ,mustard-seed1 is able to remove ,mountains2 surely that which we boast of1 is not any thing1 or at the most1 but a remove from nothing4 ,this is the ,tenor of my belief2 wherein1 though there be many things singular1 and to the humour of my irregular self2 yet if they square not with maturer ,judgements ,i disclaim them1 and do no further favour them1 than the learned and best judgements shall authorize them4 ,,the ,,second ,,part ,,sect4 #a ,now for that other ,virtue of ,charity1 without which ,faith is a meer notion1 and of no existence1 ,i have ever endeavoured to nourish the merciful disposition and humane inclination ,i borrowed from my ,parents1 and regulate it to the written and prescribed ,laws of ,charity2 and if ,i hold the true ,anatomy of my self1 ,i am delineated and naturally framed to such a piece of virtue4 ,for ,i am of a constitution so general1 that it comforts and sympathizeth with all things2 ,i have no antipathy1 or rather ,idio-syncrasie1 in dyet1 humour1 air1 any thing3 ,i wonder not at the ,french for their dishes of ,frogs1 ,snails1 and ,toadstools1 nor at the ,jews for ,locusts and ,grasshoppers2 but being amongst them1 make them my common ,viands1 and ,i find they agree with my ,stomach as well as theirs4 ,i could digest a ,sallad gathered in a ,churchyard1 as well as in a ,garden4 ,i cannot start at the presence of a ,serpent1 ,scorpion1 ,lizard1 or ,salamander3 at the sight of a ,toad or ,viper1 ,i find in me no desire to take up a stone to destroy them4 ,i feel not in my self those common ,antipathies that ,i can discover in others3 ,those ,national repugnances do not touch me1 nor do ,i behold with prejudice the ,french1 ,italian1 ,spaniard1 or ,dutch2 but where ,i find their actions in balance with my ,country-men's1 ,i honour1 love1 and embrace them in the same degree4 ,i was born in the eighth ,climate1 but seem for to be framed and constellated unto all3 ,i am no ,plant that will not prosper out of a ,garden3 ,all places1 all airs make unto me one ,countrey2 ,i am in ,england1 every where1 and under any ,meridian4 ,i have been shipwrackt1 yet am not enemy with the ,sea or ,winds2 ,i can study1 play1 or sleep in a ,tempest4 ,in brief1 ,i am averse from nothing2 my ,conscience would give me the lye if ,i should absolutely detest or hate any essence but the ,devil2 or so at least abhor any thing1 but that we might come to composition4 ,if there be any among those common objects of hatred ,i do contemn and laugh at1 it is that great enemy of ,reason1 ,virtue and ,religion1 the ,multitude2 that numerous piece of monstrosity1 which taken asunder seem men1 and the reasonable creatures of ,god2 but confused together1 make but one great beast1 and a monstrosity more prodigious than ,hydra3 it is no breach of ,charity to call these ,fools2 it is the style all holy ,writers have afforded them1 set down by ,solomon in ,canonical ,scripture1 and a point of our ,faith to believe so4 ,neither in the name of ,multitude do ,i onely include the base and minor sort of people2 there is a rabble even amongst the ,gentry1 a sort of ,plebeian heads1 whose fancy moves with the same wheel as these2 men in the same ,level with ,mechanicks1 though their fortunes do somewhat guild their infirmities1 and their purses compound for their follies4 ,but as in casting account1 three or four men together come short in account of one man placed by himself below them3 ,so neither are a troop of these ignorant ,doradoes1 of that true esteem and value1 as many a forlorn person1 whose condition doth place him below their feet4 ,let us speak like ,politicians1 there is a ,nobility without ,heraldry1 a natural dignity1 whereby one man is ranked with another2 another filed before him1 according to the quality of his ,desert1 and preheminence of his good parts3 ,though the corruption of these times1 and the byas of present practice wheel another way4 ,thus it was in the first and primitive ,commonwealths1 and is yet in the integrity and ,cradle of well-order'd ,polities1 till corruption getteth ground1 ruder desires labouring after that which wiser considerations contemn2 every one having a liberty to amass and heap up riches1 and they a licence or faculty to do or purchase any thing4 ,,sect4 #b ,this general and indifferent temper of mine doth more neerly dispose me to this noble virtue4 ,it is a happiness to be born and framed unto virtue1 and to grow up from the seeds of nature1 rather than the inoculation and forced grafts of education3 yet if we are directed only by our particular ,natures1 and regulate our inclinations by no higher rule than that of our reasons1 we are but ,moralists2 ,divinity will still call us ,heathens4 ,therefore this great work of charity must have other motives1 ends1 and impulsions3 ,i give no alms only to satisfie the hunger of my ,brother1 but to fulfil and accomplish the ,will and ,command of my ,god3 ,i draw not my purse for his sake that demands it1 but his that enjoyned it2 ,i relieve no man upon the ,rhetorick of his miseries1 nor to content mine own commiserating disposition3 for this is still but moral charity1 and an act that oweth more to passion than reason4 ,he that relieves another upon the bare suggestion and bowels of pity1 doth not this so much for his sake1 as for his own3 for by compassion we make others misery our own1 and so by relieving them1 we relieve our selves also4 ,it is as erroneous a conceit to redress other ,mens misfortunes upon the common considerations of merciful natures1 that it may be one day our own case2 for this is a sinister and politick kind of charity1 whereby we seem to bespeak the pities of men in the like occasions3 and truly ,i have observed that those professed ,eleemosynaries1 though in a croud or multitude1 do yet direct and place their petitions on a few and selected persons3 there is surely a ,physiognomy1 which those experienced and ,master ,mendicants observe2 whereby they instantly discover a merciful aspect1 and will single out a face1 wherein they spy the signatures and marks of ,mercy3 for there are mystically in our faces certain ,characters which carry in them the motto of our ,souls1 wherein he that can read ,a4 ,b4 ,c4 may read our natures4 ,i hold moreover that there is a ,phytognomy1 or ,physiognomy1 not only of ,men but of ,plants and ,vegetables2 and in every one of them1 some outward figures which hang as signs or bushes of their inward forms4 ,the ,finger of ,god hath left an ,inscription upon all his works1 not graphical1 or composed of ,letters1 but of their several forms1 constitutions1 parts1 and operations2 which aptly joyned together do make one word that doth express their natures4 ,by these ,letters ,god calls the ,stars by their names2 and by this ,alphabet ,adam assigned to every creature a name peculiar to its nature4 ,now there are1 besides these ,characters in our ,faces1 certain mystical figures in our ,hands1 which ,i dare not call meer dashes1 strokes a la volee1 or at random1 because delineated by a ,pencil that never works in vain2 and hereof ,i take more particular notice1 because ,i carry that in mine own hand1 which ,i could never read of1 nor discover in another4 ,aristotle ,i confess1 in his acute and singular ,book of ,physiognomy1 hath made no mention of ,chiromancy2 yet ,i believe the ,egyptians1 who were neerer addicted to those abstruse and mystical sciences1 had a knowledge therein2 to which those vagabond and counterfeit ,egyptians did after pretend1 and perhaps retained a few corrupted principles1 which sometimes might verifie their prognosticks4 ,it is the common wonder of all men1 how among so many millions of faces1 there should be none alike3 ,now contrary1 ,i wonder as much how there should be any4 ,he that shall consider how many thousand several words have been carelesly and without study composed out of #bd ,letters2 withal1 how many hundred lines there are to be drawn in the ,fabrick of one ,man2 shall easily find that this variety is necessary3 ,and it will be very hard that they shall so concur1 as to make one portract like another4 ,let a ,painter carelesly limb out a million of ,faces1 and you shall find them all different2 yea let him have his ,copy before him1 yet after all his art there will remain a sensible distinction2 for the pattern or example of every thing is the perfectest in that kind1 whereof we still come short1 though we transcend or go beyond it1 because herein it is wide1 and agrees not in all points unto the ,copy4 ,nor doth the similitude of ,creatures disparage the variety of ,nature1 nor any way confound the ,works of ,god4 ,for even in things alike there is diversity2 and those that do seem to accord1 do manifestly disagree4 ,and thus is man like ,god2 for in the same things that we resemble him1 we are utterly different from him4 ,there was never any thing so like another1 as in all points to concur2 there will ever some reserved difference slip in1 to prevent the identity1 without which1 two several things would not be alike1 but the same1 which is impossible4 ,,sect4 #c ,but to return from ,philosophy to ,charity3 ,i hold not so narrow a conceit of this virtue1 as to conceive that to give ,alms is onely to be ,charitable1 or think a piece of ,liberality can comprehend the ,total of ,charity4 ,divinity hath wisely divided the act thereof into many branches1 and hath taught us in this narrow way1 many paths unto goodness3 as many ways as we may do good1 so many ways we may be charitable3 there are infirmities1 not onely of ,body1 but of ,soul1 and ,fortunes1 which do require the merciful hand of our abilities4 ,i cannot contemn a man for ignorance1 but behold him with as much pity as ,i do ,lazarus4 ,it is no greater ,charity to cloath his body1 than apparel the nakedness of his ,soul4 ,it is an honourable object to see the reasons of other men wear our ,liveries1 and their borrowed understandings do homage to the bounty of ours3 ,it is the cheapest way of beneficence1 and like the natural charity of the ,sun1 illuminates another without obscuring it self4 ,to be reserved and caitiff in this part of goodness1 is the sordidest piece of covetousness1 and more contemptible than pecuniary ,avarice4 ,to this 7as calling my self a ,scholar7 ,i am obliged by the duty of my condition3 ,i make not therefore my head a grave1 but a treasure of knowledge2 ,i intend no ,monopoly1 but a community in learning2 ,i study not for my own sake only1 but for theirs that study not for themselves4 ,i envy no man that knows more than my self1 but pity them that know less4 ,i instruct no man as an exercise of my knowledge1 or with an intent rather to nourish and keep it alive in mine own head1 then beget and propagate it in his2 and in the midst of all my endeavours1 there is but one thought that dejects me1 that my acquired parts must perish with my self1 nor can be ,legacied among my honoured ,friends4 ,i cannot fall out1 or contemn a man for an errour1 or conceive why a difference in ,opinion should divide an affection3 ,for ,controversies1 ,disputes1 and ,argumentations1 both in ,philosophy and in ,divinity1 if they meet with discreet and peaceable natures1 do not infringe the ,laws of ,charity3 in all disputes1 so much as there is of passion1 so much there is of nothing to the purpose2 for then ,reason1 like a bad ,hound1 spends upon a false ,scent1 and forsakes the question first started4 ,and this is one reason why ,controversies are never determined2 for though they be amply proposed1 they are scarce at all handled1 they do so swell with unnecessary ,digressions2 and the ,parenthesis on the party1 is often as large as the main discourse upon the subject4 ,the ,foundations of ,religion are already established1 and the ,principles of ,salvation subscribed unto by all3 there remains not many controversies worth a ,passion1 and yet never any disputed without1 not only in ,divinity1 but inferiour ,arts3 ,what a ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,beta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha and hot skirmish is betwixt ,s4 and ,t4 in ,lucian3 ,how do ,grammarians hack and slash for the ,genitive case in ,jupiter8 ,how do they break their own pates to salve that of ,priscian6 ,si foret in terris1 rideret ,democritus4 ,yea1 even amongst wiser militants1 how many wounds have been given1 and credits slain1 for the poor victory of an opinion1 or beggerly conquest of a distinction8 ,scholars are men of ,peace1 they bear no ,arms1 but their tongues are sharper than ,actus his razor2 their ,pens carry farther1 and give a lowder report than ,thunder3 ,i had rather stand the shock of a ,basilisco1 than the fury of a merciless ,pen4 ,it is not meer ,zeal to ,learning1 or ,devotion to the ,muses1 that wiser ,princes ,patron the ,arts1 and carry an indulgent aspect unto ,scholars2 but a desire to have their names eternized by the memory of their writings1 and a fear of the revengeful ,pen of succeeding ages3 for these are the men1 that when they have played their parts1 and had their exits1 must step out and give the moral of their ,scenes1 and deliver unto ,posterity an ,inventory of their ,virtues and ,vices4 ,and surely there goes a great deal of ,conscience to the compiling of an ,history3 there is no reproach to the scandal of a ,story2 it is such an authentick kind of falshood1 that with authority belies our good names to all ,nations and ,posterity4 ,,sect4 #d ,there is another offence unto ,charity1 which no ,author hath ever written of1 and few take notice of2 and that's the reproach1 not of whole professions1 mysteries and conditions1 but of whole ,nations2 wherein by opprobrious ,epithets we miscal each other1 and by an uncharitable ,logick1 from a disposition in a few1 conclude a habit in all4 ,le mutin ,anglois1 le bravache ,escossois2 ,le bougre ,italian1 le fol ,franois2 ,le poultron ,romain1 le larron de ,gascongne1 ,l',espagnol superbe1 l',aleman yurongne4 ,st4 ,paul1 that calls the ,cretians lyars1 doth it but indirectly1 and upon quotation of their own ,poet4 ,it is as bloody a thought in one way1 as ,nero's was in another4 ,for by a word we wound a thousand1 and at one blow assassine the honour of a ,nation4 ,it is as compleat a piece of madness to miscal and rave against the times1 or think to recal men to reason1 by a fit of passion3 ,democritus1 that thought to laugh the times into goodness1 seems to me as deeply ,hypochondriack1 as ,heraclitus that bewailed them4 ,it moves not my spleen to behold the multitude in their proper humours1 that is1 in their fits of folly and madness1 as well understanding that wisdom is not prophan'd unto the ,world1 and 'tis the priviledge of a few to be ,vertuous4 ,they that endeavour to abolish ,vice1 destroy also ,virtue2 for contraries1 though they destroy one another1 are yet in life of one another4 ,thus ,virtue 7abolish vice7 is an ,idea2 again1 the community of sin doth not disparage goodness2 for when ,vice gains upon the major part1 ,virtue1 in whom it remains1 becomes more excellent2 and being lost in some1 multiplies its goodness in others1 which remain untouched1 and persist intire in the general inundation4 ,i can therefore behold ,vice without a ,satyr1 content only with an admonition1 or instructive reprehension1 for ,noble ,natures1 and such as are capable of goodness1 are railed into vice1 that might as easily be admonished into virtue2 and we should be all so far the ,orators of goodness1 as to protract her from the power of ,vice1 and maintain the cause of injured truth4 ,no man can justly censure or condemn another1 because indeed no man truly knows another4 ,this ,i perceive in my self2 for ,i am in the dark to all the world1 and my nearest friends behold me but in a cloud3 those that know me but superficially1 think less of me than ,i do of my self2 those of my neer acquaintance think more2 ,god1 who truly knows me1 knows that ,i am nothing2 for he only beholds me and all the world2 who looks not on us through a derived ray1 or a trajection of a sensible species1 but beholds the substance without the helps of accidents1 and the forms of things1 as we their operations4 ,further1 no man can judge another1 because no man knows himself2 for we censure others but as they disagree from that humour which we fancy laudible in our selves1 and commend others but for that wherein they seem to quadrate and consent with us4 ,so that in conclusion1 all is but that we all condemn1 ,self-love4 ',tis the general complaint of these times1 and perhaps of those past1 that charity grows cold2 which ,i perceive most verified in those which most do manifest the fires and flames of zeal2 for it is a virtue that best agrees with coldest natures1 and such as are complexioned for humility4 ,but how shall we expect ,charity towards others1 when we are uncharitable to our selves8 ,charity begins at home1 is the voice of the ,world2 yet is every man his greatest enemy1 and as it were1 his own ,executioner4 ,non occides1 is the ,commandment of ,god1 yet scarce observed by any man2 for ,i perceive every man is his own ,atropos1 and lends a hand to cut the thred of his own days4 ,cain was not therefore the first ,murtherer1 but ,adam1 who brought in death2 whereof he beheld the practice and example in his own son ,abel1 and saw that verified in the experience of another1 which faith could not perswade him in the ,theory of himself4 ,,sect4 #e ,there is1 ,i think1 no man that apprehends his own miseries less than my self1 and no man that so neerly apprehends anothers4 ,i could lose an arm without a tear1 and with few groans1 methinks1 be quartered into pieces2 yet can ,i weep most seriously at a ,play1 and receive with true passion1 the counterfeit grief of those known and professed ,impostures4 ,it is a barbarous part of inhumanity to add unto any afflicted parties misery1 or indeavour to multiply in any man1 a passion1 whose single nature is already above his patience3 this was the greatest affliction of ,job2 and those oblique expostulations of his ,friends1 a deeper injury than the down-right blows of the ,devil4 ,it is not the tears of our own eyes only1 but of our friends also1 that do exhaust the current of our sorrows2 which falling into many streams1 runs more peaceably1 and is contented with a narrower channel4 ,it is an act within the power of charity1 to translate a passion out of one brest into another1 and to divide a sorrow almost out of it self2 for an affliction1 like a dimension1 may be so divided1 as if not indivisible1 at least to become insensible4 ,now with my friend ,i desire not to share or participate1 but to engross1 his sorrows2 that by making them mine own1 ,i may more easily discuss them2 for in mine own reason1 and within my self1 ,i can command that1 which ,i cannot intreat without my self1 and within the circle of another4 ,i have often thought those noble pairs and examples of friendship not so truly ,histories of what had been1 as fictions of what should be2 but ,i now perceive nothing in them but possibilities1 nor any thing in the ,heroick examples of ,damon and ,pythias1 ,achilles and ,patroclus1 which methinks upon some grounds ,i could not perform within the narrow compass of my self4 ,that a man should lay down his life for his ,friend1 seems strange to vulgar affections1 and such as confine themselves within that ,worldly principle1 ,charity begins at home4 ,for mine own part ,i could never remember the relations that ,i held unto my self1 nor the respect that ,i owe unto my own nature1 in the cause of ,god1 my ,country1 and my ,friends4 ,next to these three ,i do embrace my self3 ,i confess ,i do not observe that order that the ,schools ordain our affections1 to love our ,parents1 ,wives1 ,children1 and then our ,friends2 for excepting the injunctions of ,religion1 ,i do not find in my self such a necessary and indissoluble ,sympathy to all those of my blood4 ,i hope ,i do not break the fifth ,commandment1 if ,i conceive ,i may love my friend before the nearest of my blood1 even those to whom ,i owe the principles of life3 ,i never yet cast a true affection on a woman1 but ,i have loved my friend as ,i do virtue1 my soul1 my ,god4 ,from hence me thinks ,i do conceive how ,god loves man1 what happiness there is in the love of ,god4 ,omitting all other1 there are three most mystical unions1 two natures in one person2 three persons in one nature2 one soul in two bodies4 ,for though indeed they be really divided1 yet are they so united1 as they seem but one1 and make rather a duality than two distinct souls4 ,,sect4 #f ,there are wonders in true affection2 it is a body of ,enigma's1 mysteries1 and riddles2 wherein two so become one1 as they both become two3 ,i love my friend before my self1 and yet methinks ,i do not love him enough3 some few months hence1 my multiplied affection will make me believe ,i have not loved him at all3 when ,i am from him1 ,i am dead till ,i be with him2 when ,i am with him1 ,i am not satisfied1 but would still be nearer him4 ,united souls are not satisfied with imbraces1 but desire to be truly each other2 which being impossible1 their desires are infinite1 and must proceed without a possibility of satisfaction4 ,another misery there is in affection1 that whom we truly love like our own1 we forget their looks1 nor can our memory retain the ,idea of their faces2 and it is no wonder1 for they are ourselves1 and our affection makes their looks our own4 ,this noble affection falls not on vulgar and common constitutions1 but on such as are mark'd for virtue3 he that can love his friend with this noble ardour1 will in a competent degree affect all4 ,now if we can bring our affections to look beyond the body1 and cast an eye upon the soul1 we have found out the true object1 not only of friendship1 but ,charity2 and the greatest happiness that we can bequeath the soul1 is that wherein we all do place our last felicity1 ,salvation2 which though it be not in our power to bestow1 it is in our charity and pious invocations to desire1 if not procure and further4 ,i cannot contentedly frame a prayer for my self in particular1 without a catalogue for my friends2 nor request a happiness wherein my sociable disposition doth not desire the fellowship of my neighbour4 ,i never hear the ,toll of a passing ,bell1 though in my mirth1 without my prayers and best wishes for the departing spirit3 ,i cannot go to cure the body of my patient1 but ,i forget my profession1 and call unto ,god for his soul3 ,i cannot see one say his prayers1 but in stead of imitating him1 ,i fall into a supplication for him1 who perhaps is no more to me than a common nature3 and if ,god hath vouchsafed an ear to my supplications1 there are surely many happy that never saw me1 and enjoy the blessing of mine unknown devotions4 ,to pray for ,enemies1 that is1 for their salvation1 is no harsh precept1 but the practice of our daily and ordinary devotions4 ,i cannot believe the story of the ,italian3 our bad wishes and uncharitable desires proceed no further than this life2 it is the ,devil1 and the uncharitable votes of ,hell1 that desire our misery in the ,world to come4 ,,sect4 #g ,to do no injury1 nor take none1 was a principle1 which to my former years1 and impatient affections1 seemed to contain enough of ,morality2 but my more setled years1 and ,christian constitution1 have fallen upon severer resolutions4 ,i can hold there is no such thing as injury2 that if there be1 there is no such injury as revenge1 and no such revenge as the contempt of an injury3 that to hate another1 is to malign himself2 that the truest way to love another1 is to despise our selves4 ,i were unjust unto mine own ,conscience1 if ,i should say ,i am at variance with any thing like my self4 ,i find there are many pieces in this one fabrick of man2 this frame is raised upon a mass of ,antipathies3 ,i am one methinks1 but as the ,world2 wherein notwithstanding there are a swarm of distinct essences1 and in them another ,world of contrarieties2 we carry private and domestick enemies within1 publick and more hostile adversaries without4 ,the ,devil1 that did but buffet ,st4 ,paul1 plays methinks at sharp with me4 ,let me be nothing1 if within the compass of my self ,i do not find the battail of ,lepanto1 ,passion against ,reason1 ,reason against ,faith1 ,faith against the ,devil1 and my ,conscience against all4 ,there is another man within me1 that's angry with me1 rebukes1 commands1 and dastards me4 ,i have no ,conscience of ,marble1 to resist the hammer of more heavy offences2 nor yet too soft and waxen1 as to take the impression of each single peccadillo or scape of infirmity3 ,i am of a strange belief1 that it is as easie to be forgiven some sins1 as to commit some others4 ,for my ,original sin1 ,i hold it to be washed away in my ,baptism1 for my actual transgressions1 ,i compute and reckon with ,god1 but from my last repentance1 ,sacrament1 or general absolution2 and therefore am not terrified with the sins or madness of my youth4 ,i thank the goodness of ,god1 ,i have no sins that want a name2 ,i am not singular in offences2 my transgressions are ,epidemical1 and from the common breath of our corruption4 ,for there are certain tempers of body1 which matcht with an humorous depravity of mind1 do hatch and produce vitiosities1 whose newness and monstrosity of nature admits no name2 this was the temper of that ,lecher that fell in love with a ,statua1 and constitution of ,nero in his ,spintrian recreations4 ,for the ,heavens are not only fruitful in new and unheard-of stars1 the ,earth in plants and animals2 but mens minds also in villany and vices3 now the dulness of my reason1 and the vulgarity of my disposition1 never prompted my invention1 nor sollicited my affection unto any of those2 yet even those common and quotidian infirmities that so necessarily attend me1 and do seem to be my very nature1 have so dejected me1 so broken the estimation that ,i should have otherwise of my self1 that ,i repute my self the most abjectest piece of mortality4 ,divines prescribe a fit of sorrow to repentance2 there goes indignation1 anger1 sorrow1 hatred1 into mine2 passions of a contrary nature1 which neither seem to sute with this action1 nor my proper constitution4 ,it is no breach of charity to our selves1 to be at variance with our ,vices2 nor to abhor that part of us1 which is an enemy to the ground of charity1 our ,god2 wherein we do but imitate our great selves the world1 whose divided ,antipathies and contrary faces do yet carry a charitable regard unto the whole by their particular discords1 preserving the common harmony1 and keeping in fetters those powers1 whose rebellions once ,masters1 might be the ruine of all4 ,,sect4 #h ,i thank ,god1 amongst those millions of ,vices ,i do inherit and hold from ,adam1 ,i have escaped one1 and that a mortal enemy to ,charity1 the first and father-sin,c1 not onely of man1 but of the devil1 ,pride2 a vice whose name is comprehended in a ,monosyllable1 but in its nature not circumscribed with a ,world4 ,i have escaped it in a condition that can hardly avoid it4 ,those petty acquisitions and reputed perfections that advance and elevate the conceits of other men1 add no feathers unto mine4 ,i have seen a ,grammarian towr and plume himself over a single line in ,horace1 and shew more pride in the construction of one ,ode1 than the ,author in the composure of the whole book4 ,for my own part1 besides the ,jargon and ,patois of several ,provinces1 ,i understand no less than six ,languages2 yet ,i protest ,i have no higher conceit of my self1 than had our ,fathers before the confusion of ,babel1 when there was but one ,language in the ,world1 and none to boast himself either ,linguist or ,critick4 ,i have not onely seen several ,countries1 beheld the nature of their ,climes1 the ,chorography of their ,provinces1 ,topography of their ,cities1 but understood their several ,laws1 ,customs1 and ,policies2 yet cannot all this perswade the dulness of my spirit unto such an opinion of my self1 as ,i behold in nimbler and conceited heads1 that never looked a degree beyond their ,nests4 ,i know the names1 and somewhat more1 of all the constellations in my ,horizon2 yet ,i have seen a prating ,mariner1 that could onely name the pointers and the ,north ,star1 out-talk me1 and conceit himself a whole ,sphere above me4 ,i know most of the ,plants of my ,countrey1 and of those about me2 yet methinks ,i do not know so many as when ,i did but know a hundred1 and had scarcely ever ,simpled further than ,cheap-side4 ,for indeed1 heads of capacity1 and such as are not full with a handful1 or easie measure of knowledge1 think they know nothing1 till they know all2 which being impossible1 they fall upon the opinion of ,socrates1 and only know they know not any thing4 ,i cannot think that ,homer pin'd away upon the riddle of the fishermen2 or that ,aristotle1 who understood the uncertainty of knowledge1 and confessed so often the reason of man too weak for the works of nature1 did ever drown himself upon the flux and reflux of ,euripus4 ,we do but learn to-day1 what our better advanced judgements will unteach to-morrow2 and ,aristotle doth but instruct us1 as ,plato did him2 that is1 to confute himself4 ,i have run through all sorts1 yet find no rest in any3 though our first studies and junior endeavours may style us ,peripateticks1 ,stoicks1 or ,academicks1 yet ,i perceive the wisest heads prove1 at last1 almost all ,scepticks1 and stand like ,janus in the field of knowledge4 ,i have therefore one common and authentick ,philosophy ,i learned in the ,schools1 whereby ,i discourse and satisfie the reason of other men2 another more reserved1 and drawn from experience1 whereby ,i content mine own4 ,solomon1 that complained of ignorance in the height of knowledge1 hath not only humbled my conceits1 but discouraged my endeavours4 ,there is yet another conceit that hath sometimes made me shut my books1 which tells me it is a vanity to waste our days in the blind pursuit of knowledge2 it is but attending a little longer1 and we shall enjoy that by instinct and infusion1 which we endeavour at here by labour and inquisition4 ,it is better to sit down in a modest ignorance1 and rest contented with the natural blessing of our own reasons1 than buy the uncertain knowledge of this life1 with sweat and vexation1 which ,death gives every fool gratis1 and is an accessary of our glorification4 ,c ,farther-sin1 #afhb4 ,,sect4 #i ,i was never yet once1 and commend their resolutions who never marry twice3 not that ,i disallow of second marriage2 as neither in all cases1 of ,polygamy1 which considering some times1 and the unequal number of both sexes1 may be also necessary4 ,the whole ,world was made for man1 but the twelfth part of man for woman3 ,man is the whole ,world1 and the ,breath of ,god2 ,woman the ,rib and crooked piece of man4 ,i could be content that we might procreate like trees1 without conjunction1 or that there were any way to perpetuate the ,world without this trivial and vulgar way of coition2 it is the foolishest act a wise man commits in all his life2 nor is there any thing that will more deject his cool'd imagination1 when he shall consider what an odd and unworthy piece of folly he hath committed4 ,i speak not in prejudice1 nor am averse from that sweet ,sex1 but naturally amorous of all that is beautiful2 ,i can look a whole day with delight upon a handsome ,picture1 though it be but of an ,horse4 ,it is my temper1 and ,i like it the better1 to affect all harmony2 and sure there is musick even in the beauty1 and the silent note which ,cupid strikes1 far sweeter than the sound of an instrument4 ,for there is a musick where ever there is a harmony1 order or proportion2 and thus far we may maintain the musick of the ,sphears3 for those well-ordered motions1 and regular paces1 though they give no sound unto the ear1 yet to the understanding they strike a note most full of harmony4 ,whosoever is harmonically composed1 delights in harmony2 which makes me much distrust the symmetry of those heads which declaim against all ,church-,musick4 ,for my self1 not only from my obedience1 but my particular ,genius1 ,i do embrace it3 for even that vulgar and ,tavern-,musick1 which makes one man merry1 another mad1 strikes in me a deep fit of devotion1 and a profound contemplation of the first ,composer4 ,there is something in it of ,divinity more than the ear discovers3 it is an ,hieroglyphical and shadowed lesson of the whole ,world1 and creatures of ,god2 such a melody to the ear1 as the whole ,world well understood1 would afford the understanding4 ,in brief1 it is a sensible fit of that harmony1 which intellectually sounds in the ears of ,god4 ,i will not say with ,plato1 the soul is an harmony1 but harmonical1 and hath its nearest sympathy unto ,musick3 thus some whose temper of body agrees1 and humours the constitution of their souls1 are born ,poets1 though indeed all are naturally inclined unto ,rhythme4 #af,this made ,tacitus in the very first line of his ,story1 fall upon a verse1 and ,cicero the worst of ,poets1 but #ag;declaiming for a ,poet1 falls in the very first sentence upon a perfect #ah;,hexameter4 ,i feel not in me those sordid and unchristian desires of my profession2 ,i do not secretly implore and wish for ,plagues1 rejoyce at ,famines1 revolve ,ephemerides and ,almanacks1 in expectation of malignant ,aspects1 fatal ,conjunctions1 and ,eclipses3 ,i rejoyce not at unwholesome ,springs1 nor unseasonable ,winters2 my ,prayer goes with the ,husbandman's2 ,i desire every thing in its proper season1 that neither men nor the times be put out of temper4 ,let me be sick my self1 if sometimes the malady of my patient be not a disease unto me2 ,i desire rather to cure his infirmities than my own necessities3 where ,i do him no good1 methinks it is scarce honest gain2 though ,i confess 'tis but the worthy salary of our well-intended endeavours4 ,i am not only ashamed1 but heartily sorry1 that besides death1 there are diseases incurable2 yet not for my own sake1 or that they be beyond my ,art1 but for the general cause and sake of humanity1 whose common cause ,i apprehend as mine own4 ,and to speak more generally1 those three ,noble ,professions which all civil ,commonwealths do honour1 are raised upon the fall of ,adam1 and are not exempt from their infirmities2 there are not only diseases incurable in ,physick1 but cases indissolvable in ,laws1 ,vices incorrigible in ,divinity3 if general ,councils may err1 ,i do not see why particular ,courts should be infallible2 their perfectest rules are raised upon the erroneous reasons of ,man2 and the ,laws of one1 do but condemn the rules of another2 as ,aristotle oft-times the opinions of his ,predecessours1 because1 though agreeable to reason1 yet were not consonant to his own rules1 and ,logick of his proper ,principles4 ,again1 to speak nothing of the ,sin against the ,holy ,ghost1 whose cure not onely1 but whose nature is unknown2 ,i can cure the ,gout or ,stone in some1 sooner than ,divinity ,pride or ,avarice in others4 ,i can cure ,vices by ,physick1 when they remain incurable by ,divinity2 and shall obey my ,pills1 when they contemn their precepts4 ,i boast nothing1 but plainly say1 we all labour against our own cure2 for death is the cure of all diseases4 ,there is no ,catholicon or universal remedy ,i know but this1 which1 though nauseous to queasie stomachs1 yet to prepared appetites is ,nectar1 and a pleasant potion of immortality4 #af ,urbem ,roman in principio ,reges habuere4 #ag ,pro ,archi ,pot4 #ah ,in qua me non inficior mediocriter esse4 ,,sect4 #aj ,for my ,conversation1 it is like the ,sun's with all men1 and with a friendly aspect to good and bad4 ,methinks there is no man bad1 and the worst1 best2 that is1 while they are kept within the circle of those qualities1 wherein they are good2 there is no man's mind of such discordant and jarring a temper1 to which a tunable disposition may not strike a harmony4 ,magn virtutes1 nee minora vitia2 it is the posie of the best natures1 and may be inverted on the worst2 there are in the most depraved and venemous dispositions1 certain pieces that remain untoucht1 which by an ,antiperistasis become more excellent1 or by the excellency of their antipathies are able to preserve themselves from the contagion of their enemy vices1 and persist intire beyond the general corruption4 ,for it is also thus in nature4 ,the greatest ,balsomes do lie enveloped in the bodies of most powerful ,corrosives2 ,i say moreover1 and ,i ground upon experience1 that poisons contain within themselves their own ,antidote1 and that which preserves them from the venome of themselves1 without which they were not deleterious to others onely1 but to themselves also4 ,but it is the corruption that ,i fear within me1 not the contagion of commerce without me4 ',tis that unruly regiment within me1 that will destroy me2 'tis ,i that do infect my self2 the man without a ,navel yet lives in me2 ,i feel that original canker corrode and devour me2 and therefore ,defenda me ,dios de me1 ,lord deliver me from my self1 is a part of my ,letany1 and the first voice of my retired imaginations4 ,there is no man alone1 because every man is a ,microcosm1 and carries the whole ,world about him2 ,nunquam minus solus qum cum solus1 though it be the ,apothegme of a wise man1 is yet true in the mouth of a fool2 indeed1 though in a ,wilderness1 a man is never alone1 not only because he is with himself and his own thoughts1 but because he is with the ,devil1 who ever consorts with our solitude1 and is that unruly rebel that musters up those disordered motions which accompany our sequestred imaginations4 ,and to speak more narrowly1 there is no such thing as solitude1 nor any thing that can be said to be alone and by itself1 but ,god1 who is his own circle1 and can subsist by himself2 all others1 besides their dissimilary and ,heterogeneous parts1 which in a manner multiply their natures1 cannot subsist without the concourse of ,god1 and the society of that hand which doth uphold their natures4 ,in brief1 there can be nothing truly alone and by it self1 which is not truly one2 and such is only ,god3 ,all others do transcend an unity1 and so by consequence are many4 ,,sect4 #aa ,now for my life1 it is a miracle of thirty years1 which to relate1 were not a ,history1 but a piece of ,poetry1 and would sound to common ears like a ,fable2 for the ,world1 ,i count it not an ,inn1 but an ,hospital2 and a place not to live1 but to dye in4 ,the world that ,i regard is my self2 it is the ,microcosm of my own frame that ,i cast mine eye on2 for the other1 ,i use it but like my ,globe1 and turn it round sometimes for my recreation4 ,men that look upon my outside1 perusing only my condition and ,fortunes1 do err in my ,altitude1 for ,i am above ,atlas his shoulders4 ,the earth is a point not only in respect of the ,heavens above us1 but of that heavenly and celestial part within us3 that mass of ,flesh that circumscribes me1 limits not my mind3 that surface that tells the ,heavens it hath an end1 cannot persuade me ,i have any3 ,i take my circle to be above three hundred and sixty2 though the number of the ,ark do measure my body1 it comprehendeth not my mind3 whilst ,i study to find how ,i am a ,microcosm1 or little ,world1 ,i find my self something more than the great4 ,there is surely a piece of ,divinity in us1 something that was before the ,elements1 and owes no homage unto the ,sun4 ,nature tells me ,i am the ,image of ,god1 as well as ,scripture3 he that understands not thus much1 hath not his introduction or first lesson1 and is yet to begin the ,alphabet of man4 ,let me not injure the felicity of others1 if ,i say ,i am as happy as any3 ,ruat coelum1 ,fiat voluntas tua1 salveth all2 so that whatsoever happens1 it is but what our daily prayers desire4 ,in brief1 ,i am content1 and what should providence add more8 ,surely this is it we call ,happiness1 and this do ,i enjoy2 with this ,i am happy in a dream1 and as content to enjoy a happiness in a fancy1 as others in a more apparent truth and realty4 ,there is surely a neerer apprehension of any thing that delights us in our dreams1 than in our waked senses2 without this ,i were unhappy3 for my awaked judgment discontents me1 ever whispering unto me1 that ,i am from my friend2 but my friendly dreams in night requite me1 and make me think ,i am within his arms4 ,i thank ,god for my happy dreams1 as ,i do for my good rest1 for there is a satisfaction in them unto reasonable desires1 and such as can be content with a fit of happiness4 ,and surely it is not a melancholy conceit to think we are all asleep in this ,world1 and that the conceits of this life are as meer dreams to those of the next1 as the ,phantasms of the night1 to the conceits of the day4 ,there is an equal delusion in both1 and the one doth but seem to be the embleme or picture of the other2 we are somewhat more than our selves in our sleeps1 and the slumber of the body seems to be but the waking of the soul4 ,it is the ligation of sense1 but the liberty of reason1 and our waking conceptions do not match the ,fancies of our sleeps4 ,at my ,nativity1 my ,ascendant was the watery sign of ,scorpius2 ,i was born in the ,planetary hour of ,saturn1 and ,i think ,i have a piece of that ,leaden ,planet in me4 ,i am no way facetious1 nor disposed for the mirth and galliardize of company2 yet in one dream ,i can compose a whole ,comedy1 behold the action1 apprehend the jests1 and laugh my self awake at the conceits thereof3 were my memory as faithful as my reason is then fruitful1 ,i would never study but in my dreams2 and this time also would ,i chuse for my devotions3 but our grosser memories have then so little hold of our abstracted understandings1 that they forget the story1 and can only relate to our awaked souls1 a confused and broken tale of that that hath passed4 ,aristotle1 who hath written a singular ,tract of ,sleep1 hath not methinks throughly defined it2 nor yet ,galen1 though he seem to have corrected it2 for those ,noctambuloes and night-walkers1 though in their sleep1 do yet injoy the action of their senses3 we must therefore say that there is something in us that is not in the jurisdiction of ,morpheus2 and that those abstracted and ecstatick souls do walk about in their own corps1 as spirits with the bodies they assume2 wherein they seem to hear1 and feel1 though indeed the ,organs are destitute of sense1 and their natures of those faculties that should inform them4 ,thus it is observed1 that men sometimes upon the hour of their departure1 do speak and reason above themselves2 for then the soul beginning to be freed from the ligaments of the body1 begins to reason like her self1 and to discourse in a strain above mortality4 ,,sect4 #ab ,we term sleep a death1 and yet it is waking that kills us1 and destroys those spirits that are the house of life4 ',tis indeed a part of life that best expresseth death2 for every man truely lives1 so long as he acts his nature1 or some way makes good the faculties of himself3 ,themistocles therefore that slew his ,soldier in his sleep1 was a merciful ,executioner3 'tis a kind of punishment the mildness of no laws hath invented2 ,i wonder the fancy of ,lucan and ,seneca did not discover it4 ,it is that death by which we may be literally said to dye daily2 a death which ,adam dyed before his mortality2 a death whereby we live a middle and moderating point between life and death2 in fine1 so like death1 ,i dare not trust it without my prayers1 and an half adieu unto the ,world1 and take my farewell in a ,colloquy with ,god4 ,the night is come1 like to the day2 ,depart not thou great ,god away4 ,let not my sins1 black as the night1 ,eclipse the lustre of thy light4 ,keep still in my ,horizon2 for to me ,the ,sun makes not the day1 but thee4 ,thou whose nature cannot sleep1 ,on my temples centry keep2 ,guard me 'gainst those watchful foes1 ,whose eyes are open while mine close4 ,let no dreams my head infest1 ,but such as ,jacob's temples blest4 ,while ,i do rest1 my ,soul advance2 ,make my sleep a holy trance4 ,that ,i may1 my rest being wrought1 ,awake into some holy thought2 ,and with as active vigour run ,my course1 as doth the nimble ,sun4 ,sleep is a death2 ,o make me try1 ,by sleeping1 what it is to die2 ,and as gently lay my head ,on my grave1 as now my bed4 ,howere ,i rest1 great ,god1 let me ,awake again at last with thee4 ,and this assur'd1 behold ,i lie ,securely1 or to awake or die4 ,these are my drowsie days2 in vain ,i do now wake to sleep again3 ,o come that hour1 when ,i shall never ,sleep again1 but wake for ever4 ,this is the ,dormative ,i take to bedward2 ,i need no other ,laudanum than this to make me sleep2 after which1 ,i close mine eyes in security1 content to take my leave of the ,sun1 and sleep unto the resurrection4 ,,sect4 #ac ,the method ,i should use in distributive ,justice1 ,i often observe in commutative2 and keep a ,geometrical proportion in both2 whereby becoming equable to others1 ,i become unjust to my self1 and supererogate in that common principle1 ,do unto others as thou wouldst be done unto thy self4 ,i was not born unto riches1 neither is it ,i think my ,star to be wealthy2 or if it were1 the freedom of my mind1 and frankness of my disposition1 were able to contradict and cross my fates4 ,for to me avarice seems not so much a vice1 as a deplorable piece of madness2 to conceive ourselves ,urinals1 or be perswaded that we are dead1 is not so ridiculous1 nor so many degrees beyond the power of ,hellebore1 as this4 ,the opinion of ,theory1 and positions of men1 are not so void of reason as their practised conclusions3 some have held that ,snow is black1 that the earth moves1 that the ,soul is air1 fire1 water2 but all this is ,philosophy1 and there is no delirium1 if we do but speculate the folly and indisputable dotage of avarice1 to that subterraneous ,idol1 and ,god of the ,earth4 ,i do confess ,i am an ,atheist2 ,i cannot perswade myself to honour that the ,world adores2 whatsoever virtue its prepared substance may have within my body1 it hath no influence nor operation without3 ,i would not entertain a base design1 or an action that should call me villain1 for the ,indies2 and for this only do ,i love and honour my own soul1 and have methinks two arms too few to embrace myself4 ,aristotle is too severe1 that will not allow us to be truely liberal without wealth1 and the bountiful hand of ,fortune2 if this be true1 ,i must confess ,i am charitable only in my liberal intentions1 and bountiful well-wishes4 ,but if the example of the ,mite be not only an act of wonder1 but an example of the noblest ,charity1 surely poor men may also build ,hospitals1 and the rich alone have not erected ,cathedrals4 ,i have a private method which others observe not2 ,i take the opportunity of my self to do good2 ,i borrow occasion of ,charity from mine own necessities1 and supply the wants of others1 when ,i am in most need my self2 for it is an honest stratagem to make advantage of our selves1 and so to husband the acts of vertue1 that where they were defective in one circumstance1 they may repay their want1 and multiply their goodness in another4 ,i have not ,peru in my desires1 but a competence1 and ability to perform those good works to which he hath inclined my nature4 ,he is rich1 who hath enough to be charitable2 and it is hard to be so poor1 that a noble mind may not find a way to this piece of goodness4 ,he that giveth to the poor1 lendeth to the ,lord2 there is more ,rhetorick in that one sentence1 than in a ,library of ,sermons2 and indeed if those ,sentences were understood by the ,reader1 with the same ,emphasis as they are delivered by the ,author1 we needed not those ,volumes of instructions1 but might be honest by an ,epitome4 ,upon this motive only ,i cannot behold a ,beggar without relieving his ,necessities with my ,purse1 or his ,soul with my ,prayers2 these scenical and accidental differences between us1 cannot make me forget that common and untoucht part of us both2 there is under these ,cantoes and miserable outsides1 these mutilate and semi-bodies1 a soul of the same alloy with our own1 whose ,genealogy is ,god as well as ours1 and in as fair a way to ,salvation as our selves4 ,statists that labour to contrive a ,common-wealth without our poverty1 take away the object of charity1 not understanding only the ,common-wealth of a ,christian1 but forgetting the prophecie of ,christ4 ,,sect4 #ad ,now there is another part of charity1 which is the ,basis and ,pillar of this1 and that is the love of ,god1 for whom we love our neighbour2 for this ,i think charity1 to love ,god for himself1 and our neighbour for ,god4 ,all that is truly amiable is ,god1 or as it were a divided piece of him1 that retains a reflex or shadow of himself4 ,nor is it strange that we should place affection on that which is invisible2 all that we truly love is thus2 what we adore under affection of our senses1 deserves not the honour of so pure a title4 ,thus we adore virtue1 though to the eyes of sense she be invisible3 thus that part of our noble friends that we love1 is not that part that we imbrace1 but that insensible part that our arms cannot embrace4 ,god being all goodness1 can love nothing but himself1 and the traduction of his holy ,spirit4 ,let us call to assize the loves of our parents1 the affection of our wives and children1 and they are all dumb shows and dreams1 without reality1 truth or constancy3 for first1 there is a strong bond of affection between us and our ,parents2 yet how easily dissolved8 ,we betake our selves to a woman1 forget our mother in a wife1 and the womb that bare us1 in that that shall bear our ,image3 this woman blessing us with children1 our affection leaves the level it held before1 and sinks from our bed unto our issue and picture of ,posterity1 where affection holds no steady mansion4 ,they1 growing up in years1 desire our ends2 or applying themselves to a woman1 take a lawful way to love another better than our selves4 ,thus ,i perceive a man may be buried alive1 and behold his grave in his own issue4 ,,sect4 #ae ,i conclude therefore and say1 there is no happiness under 7or as ,copernicus will have it1 above7 the ,sun1 nor any ,crambe in that repeated verity and burthen of all the wisdom of ,solomon1 ,all is vanity and vexation of ,spirit4 ,there is no felicity in that the ,world adores3 ,aristotle whilst he labours to refute the ,idea's of ,plato1 falls upon one himself3 for his summum bonum is a ,chimra1 and there is no such thing as his ,felicity4 ,that wherein ,god himself is happy1 the holy ,angels are happy1 in whose defect the ,devils are unhappy2 that dare ,i call happiness3 whatsoever conduceth unto this1 may with an easy ,metaphor deserve that name3 whatsoever else the ,world terms ,happiness1 is to me a story out of ,pliny1 a tale of ,boccace or ,malizspini2 an apparition or neat delusion1 wherein there is no more of ,happiness1 than the name4 ,bless me in this life with but peace of my ,conscience1 command of my affections1 the love of thy self and my dearest friends1 and ,i shall be happy enough to pity ,csar4 ,these are1 ,o ,lord1 the humble desires of my most reasonable ambition1 and all ,i dare call happiness on earth2 wherein ,i set no rule or limit to thy ,hand or ,providence2 dispose of me according to the wisdom of thy pleasure4 ,thy will be done1 though in my own undoing4 ,,finis ,,pseudodoxia ,,epidemica ,,or ,,enquiries ,,into ,,very ,,many ,,received ,,tenents ,,and ,,commonly ,,presumed ,,truths ,,to ,,the ,,reader ,would ,truth dispense1 we could be content1 with ,plato1 that knowledge were but remembrance2 that intellectual acquisition were but reminiscential evocation1 and new ,impressions but the colouring of old stamps which stood pale in the soul before4 ,for what is worse1 knowledge is made by oblivion1 and to purchase a clear and warrantable body of ,truth1 we must forget and part with much we know4 ,our tender ,enquiries taking up ,learning at large1 and together with true and assured notions1 receiving many1 wherein our reviewing judgments do find no satisfaction4 ,and therefore in this ,encyclopdie and round of ,knowledge1 like the great and exemplary ,wheels of ,heaven1 we must observe two ,circles3 that while we are daily carried about1 and whirled on by the swing and rapt of the one1 we may maintain a natural and proper course1 in the slow and sober wheel of the other4 ,and this we shall more readily perform1 if we timely survey our knowledge2 impartially singling out those encroachments1 which junior compliance and popular credulity hath admitted4 ,whereof at present we have endeavoured a long and serious ,adviso2 proposing not only a large and copious ,list1 but from experience and reason attempting their decisions4 ,and first we crave exceeding pardon in the audacity of the ,attempt1 humbly acknowledging a work of such concernment unto truth1 and difficulty in it self1 did well deserve the conjunction of many heads4 ,and surely more advantageous had it been unto ,truth1 to have fallen into the endeavors of some co-operating advancers1 that might have performed it to the life1 and added authority thereto2 which the privacy of our condition1 and unequal abilities cannot expect4 ,whereby notwithstanding we have not been diverted2 nor have our solitary attempts been so discouraged1 as to dispair the favourable look of ,learning upon our single and unsupported endeavours4 ,nor have we let fall our ,pen1 upon discouragement of ,contradiction1 ,unbelief and ,difficulty of disswasion from radicated beliefs1 and points of high prescription1 although we are very sensible1 how hardly teaching years do learn1 what roots old age contracteth unto errors1 and how such as are but acorns in our younger brows1 grow ,oaks in our elder heads1 and become inflexible unto the powerfullest arm of reason4 ,although we have also beheld1 what cold requitals others have found in their several redemptions of ,truth2 and how their ingenuous ,enquiries have been dismissed with censure1 and obloquie of singularities4 ,sidenote3 ,inspection of ,urines4 ,some consideration we hope from the course of our ,profession1 which though it leadeth us into many truths that pass undiscerned by others1 yet doth it disturb their ,communications1 and much interrupt the office of our ,pens in their well intended ,transmissions4 ,and therefore surely in this work attempts will exceed performances2 it being composed by snatches of time1 as medical vacations1 and the fruitless importunity of ,uroscopy would permit us4 ,and therefore also1 perhaps it hath not found that regular and constant stile1 those infallible experiments and those assured determinations1 which the subject sometime requireth1 and might be expected from others1 whose quiet doors and unmolested hours afford no such distractions4 ,although whoever shall indifferently perpend the exceeding difficulty1 which either the obscurity of the subject1 or unavoidable paradoxology must often put upon the ,attemptor1 he will easily discern1 a work of this nature is not to be performed upon one legg2 and should smel of oyl1 if duly and deservedly handled4 ,our first intentions considering the common interest of ,truth1 resolved to propose it unto the ,latine republique and equal ,judges of ,europe1 but owing in the first place this service unto our ,country1 and therein especially unto its ingenuous ,gentry1 we have declared our self in a language best conceived4 ,although ,i confess the quality of the ,subject will sometimes carry us into expressions beyond meer ,english apprehensions4 ,and indeed1 if elegancy still proceedeth1 and ,english ,pens maintain that stream1 we have of late observed to flow from many2 we shall within few years be fain to learn ,latine to understand ,english1 and a work will prove of equal facility in either4 ,nor have we addressed our ,pen or ,stile unto the people 7whom ,books do not redress1 and are this way incapable of reduction71 but unto the knowing and leading part of ,learning4 ,as well understanding 7at least probably hoping7 except they be watered from higher regions1 and fructifying meteors of ,knowledge1 these weeds must lose their alimental sap1 and wither of themselves4 ,whose conserving influence1 could our endeavours prevent2 we should trust the rest unto the sythe of ,time1 and hopefull dominion of ,truth4 ,sidenote3 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,varia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,psi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu1 ,atheni1 lib4 #g4 ,we hope it will not be unconsidered1 that we find no open tract1 or constant manuduction in this ,labyrinth2 but are oft-times fain to wander in the ,america and untravelled parts of ,truth4 ,for though not many years past1 ,dr4 ,primrose hath made a learned ,discourse of vulgar ,errors in ,physick1 yet have we discussed but two or three thereof4 ,scipio ,mercurii hath also left an excellent tract in ,italian1 concerning popular ,errors2 but confining himself only unto those in ,physick1 he hath little conduced unto the generality of our doctrine4 ,laurentius ,ioubertus1 by the same ,title led our expectation into thoughts of great relief2 whereby notwithstanding we reaped no advantage2 it answering scarce at all the promise of the inscription4 ,nor perhaps 7if it were yet extant7 should we find any farther ,assistance from that ancient piece of ,andreas1 pretending the same ,title4 ,and therefore we are often constrained to stand alone against the strength of opinion1 and to meet the ,goliah and ,giant of ,authority1 with contemptible pibbles1 and feeble arguments1 drawn from the scrip and slender stock of our selves4 ,nor have we indeed scarce named any ,author whose name we do not honour2 and if detraction could invite us1 discretion surely would contain us from any derogatory intention1 where highest ,pens and friendliest eloquence must fail in commendation4 ,and therefore also we cannot but hope the equitable considerations1 and candour of reasonable minds4 ,we cannot expect the frown of ,theology herein2 nor can they which behold the present state of things1 and controversie of points so long received in ,divinity1 condemn our sober ,enquiries in the doubtfull appertinancies of ,arts1 and ,receptaries of ,philosophy4 ,surely ,philologers and ,critical ,discoursers1 who look beyond the shell and obvious exteriours of things1 will not be angry with our narrower explorations4 ,and we cannot doubt1 our ,brothers in ,physick 7whose knowledge in ,naturals will lead them into a nearer apprehension of many things delivered7 will friendly accept1 if not countenance our endeavours4 ,nor can we conceive it may be unwelcome unto those honoured ,worthies1 who endeavour the advancement of ,learning3 as being likely to find a clearer progression1 when so many rubs are levelled1 and many untruths taken off1 which passing as principles with common beliefs1 disturb the tranquility of ,axioms1 which otherwise might be raised4 ,and wise men cannot but know1 that arts and learning want this expurgation3 and if the course of truth be permitted unto its self1 like that of time and uncorrected computations1 it cannot escape many errors1 which duration still enlargeth4 ,lastly1 we are not ,magisterial in opinions1 nor have we ,dictator-like obtruded our conceptions2 but in the humility of ,enquiries or disquisitions1 have only proposed them unto more ocular discerners4 ,and therefore opinions are free1 and open it is for any to think or declare the contrary4 ,and we shall so far encourage contradiction1 as to promise no disturbance1 or re-oppose any ,pen1 that shall fallaciously or captiously refute us2 that shall only lay hold of our lapses1 single out ,digressions1 ,corollaries1 or ,ornamental conceptions1 to evidence his own in as indifferent truths4 ,and shall only take notice of such1 whose experimental and judicious knowledge shall solemnly look upon it2 not only to destroy of ours1 but to establish of his own2 not to traduce or extenuate1 but to explain and dilucidate1 to add and ampliate1 according to the laudable custom of the ,ancients in their sober promotions of ,learning4 ,unto whom notwithstanding1 we shall not contentiously rejoin1 or only to justifie our own1 but to applaud or confirm his maturer assertions2 and shall confer what is in us unto his name and honour2 ,ready to be swallowed in any worthy enlarger3 as having acquired our end1 if any way1 or under any name we may obtain a work1 so much desired1 and yet desiderated of ,truth4 ,,thomas ,,brown4 ,,the ,,postscript ,readers1 ,to enform you of the ,advantages of the present ,impression1 and disabuse your expectations of any future ,enlargements2 these are to advertise thee1 that this ,edition comes forth with very many ,explanations1 ,additions1 and ,alterations throughout1 besides that of one entire ,chapter3 ,but that now this ,work is compleat and perfect1 expect no further ,additions4 ,,the ,,first ,,book ,,or ,,general ,,part ,,chapter ,i ,of the ,causes of ,common ,errors4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,introduction4 ,the ,first and ,father-cause of common ,error1 is1 ,the common infirmity of ,human ,nature2 of whose deceptible condition1 although perhaps there should not need any other eviction1 than the frequent ,errors we shall our selves commit1 even in the express declarement hereof3 yet shall we illustrate the same from more infallible constitutions1 and persons presumed as far from us in condition1 as time1 that is1 our first and ingenerated forefathers4 ,from whom as we derive our ,being1 and the several wounds of constitution2 so1 may we in some manner excuse our infirmities in the depravity of those parts1 whose ,traductions were pure in them1 and their ,originals but once removed from ,god4 ,who notwithstanding 7if posterity may take leave to judge of the fact1 as they are assured to suffer in the punishment7 were grossly deceived1 in their perfection2 and so weakly deluded in the clarity of their understanding1 that it hath left no small obscurity in ours1 ,how error should gain upon them4 ,sidenote3 ,matter of great dispute1 how our first parents could be so deceived4 ,for first1 ,they were deceived by ,satan2 and that not in an invisible insinuation2 but an open and discoverable apparition1 that is1 in the form of a ,serpent2 whereby although there were many occasions of suspition1 and such as could not easily escape a weaker circumspection1 yet did the unwary apprehension of ,eve take no advantage thereof4 ,it hath therefore seemed strange unto some1 she should be deluded by a ,serpent1 or subject her reason to a beast1 which ,god had subjected unto hers4 ,it hath empuzzled the enquiries of others to apprehend1 and enforced them unto strange conceptions1 to make out1 how without fear or doubt she could discourse with such a creature1 or hear a ,serpent speak1 without suspition of ,imposture4 ,the wits of others have been so bold1 as to accuse her simplicity1 in receiving his ,temptation so coldly2 and when such specious effects of the ,fruit were ,promised1 as to make them like ,god2 not to desire1 at least not to wonder he pursued not that benefit himself4 ,and had it been their own case1 would perhaps have replied1 ,if the tast of this ,fruit maketh the eaters like ,gods1 why remainest thou a ,beast8 ,if it maketh us but like ,gods1 we are so already4 ,if thereby our eyes shall be opened hereafter1 they are at present quick enough1 to discover thy deceit2 and we desire them no opener1 to behold our own shame4 ,if to know good and evil be our advantage1 although we have ,free-will unto both1 we desire to perform but one2 ,we know 'tis good to obey the commandement of ,god1 but evil if we transgress it4 ,sidenote3 ,adam supposed by some to have been the wisest man that ever was4 ,they were deceived by one another1 and in the greatest disadvantage of ,delusion1 that is1 the stronger by the weaker3 ,for ,eve presented the ,fruit1 and ,adam received it from her4 ,thus the ,serpent was cunning enough1 to begin the deceit in the weaker1 and the weaker of strength1 sufficient to consummate the fraud in the stronger4 ,art and fallacy was used unto her2 a naked offer proved sufficient unto him3 ,so his superstruction was his ,ruine1 and the fertility of his ,sleep an issue of ,death unto him4 ,and although the condition of ,sex1 and posteriority of ,creation1 might somewhat extenuate the ,error of the ,woman3 ,yet was it very strange and inexcusable in the ,man2 especially1 if as some affirm1 he was the wisest of all men since2 or if1 as others have conceived1 he was not ignorant of the ,fall of the ,angels1 and had thereby ,example and punishment to deterr him4 ,sidenote3 ,adam and ,eve how they fell4 ,they were deceived from themselves1 and their own apprehensions2 for ,eve either mistook1 or traduced the commandment of ,god4 ,of every ,tree of the ,garden thou mayest freely eat1 but of the ,tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat3 for in the day thou eatest thereof1 thou shall surely die4 ,now ,eve upon the question of the ,serpent1 returned the ,precept in different terms3 ,you shall not eat of it1 neither shall you touch it1 less perhaps you die4 ,in which delivery1 there were no less than two mistakes1 or rather additional mendacities2 for the ,commandment forbad not the touch of the ,fruit2 and positively said1 ,ye shall surely die3 but she extenuating1 replied1 ne fort moriamini1 lest perhaps ye die4 ,for so in the vulgar translation it runneth1 and so it is expressed in the ,thargum or ,paraphrase of ,jonathan4 ,and therefore although it be said1 and that very truely1 that the ,devil was a lyer from the beginning1 yet was the ,woman herein the first express beginner3 and falsified twice1 before the reply of ,satan4 ,and therefore also1 to speak strictly1 the sin of the ,fruit was not the first ,offence3 ,they first transgressed the ,rule of their own ,reason2 and after the ,commandment of ,god4 ,they were deceived through the ,conduct of their ,senses1 and by ,temptations from the ,object it self2 whereby although their intellectuals had not failed in the ,theory of truth1 yet did the inservient and brutal ,faculties controll the suggestion of ,reason3 ,pleasure and ,profit already overswaying the instructions of ,honesty1 and ,sensuality perturbing the reasonable commands of ,vertue4 ,for so it is delivered in the ,text3 ,that when the ,woman saw1 that the ,tree was good for food1 and that it was pleasant unto the eye1 and a ,tree to be desired to make one wise1 she took of the fruit thereof and did eat4 ,now hereby it appeareth1 that ,eve1 before the ,fall1 was by the same and beaten away of allurements inveigled1 whereby her posterity hath been deluded ever since2 that is1 those three delivered by ,st4 ,john1 ,the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eye1 and the pride of life3 ,where indeed they seemed as weakly to fail1 as their debilitated posterity1 ever after4 ,whereof notwithstanding1 some in their imperfection1 have resisted more powerful temptations2 and in many moralities condemned the facility of their seductions4 ,sidenote3 ,adam whence 7probably7 induced to eat4 ,sidenote3 ,whether ,cain intended to kill ,abel4 ,again1 they might1 for ought we know1 be still deceived in the unbelief of their ,mortality1 even after they had eat of the ,fruit3 ,for1 ,eve observing no immediate execution of the ,curse1 she delivered the ,fruit unto ,adam3 who1 after the tast thereof1 perceiving himself still to live1 might yet remain in doubt1 whether he had incurred ,death2 which perhaps he did not indubitably believe1 until he was after convicted in the visible example of ,abel4 ,for he that would not believe the ,menace of ,god at first1 it may be doubted whether1 before an ocular example1 he believed the ,curse at last4 ,and therefore they are not without all reason1 who have disputed the ,fact of ,cain3 that is1 although he purposed to do mischief1 whether he intended to kill his ,brother2 or designed that1 whereof he had not beheld an example in his own kind4 ,there might be somewhat in it1 that he would not have done1 or desired undone1 when he brake forth as desperately1 as before he had done uncivilly1 ,my iniquity is greater than can be forgiven me4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,thalmudist's ,allegories upon the ,history of ,adam and ,eve's ,fall4 ,some nicities ,i confess there are which extenuate1 but many more that aggravate this ,delusion2 which exceeding the bounds of this ,discourse1 and perhaps our ,satisfaction1 we shall at present pass over4 ,and therefore whether the ,sin of our ,first ,parents were the greatest of any since2 whether the transgression of ,eve seducing1 did not exceed that of ,adam seduced2 or whether the resistibility of his ,reason1 did not equivalence the facility of her ,seduction2 we shall refer it to the ,schoolman2 ,whether there was not in ,eve as great injustice in deceiving her husband1 as imprudence in being deceived her self2 especially1 if foretasting the ,fruit1 her eyes were opened before his1 and she knew the effect of it1 before he tasted of it2 we leave it unto the ,moralist4 ,whether the whole relation be not ,allegorical1 that is1 whether the temptation of the ,man by the ,woman1 be not the seduction of the rational and higher parts by the inferiour and feminine faculties2 or whether the ,tree in the midst of the ,garden1 were not that part in the ,center of the body1 in which was afterward the appointment of ,circumcision in ,males1 we leave it unto the ,thalmudist4 ,whether there were any ,policy in the ,devil to tempt them before the ,conjunction1 or whether the ,issue before tentation1 might in justice have suffered with those after1 we leave it unto the ,lawyer4 ,whether ,adam foreknew the advent of ,christ1 or the reparation of his ,error by his ,saviour2 how the execution of the ,curse should have been ordered1 if1 after ,eve had eaten1 ,adam had yet refused4 ,whether if they had tasted the ,tree of life1 before that of ,good and ,evil1 they had yet suffered the curse of ,mortality3 or whether the efficacy of the one had not over-powred the penalty of the other1 we leave it unto ,,god4 ,for he alone can truly determine these1 and all things else2 ,who as he hath proposed the ,world unto our disputation1 so hath he reserved many things unto his own resolution2 whose determination we cannot hope from flesh1 but must with reverence suspend unto that great ,day1 whose justice shall either condemn our curiosities1 or resolve our disquisitions4 ,lastly1 ,man was not only deceivable in his ,integrity1 but the ,angels of light in all their ,clarity4 ,he that said1 ,he would be like the highest did erre1 if in some way he conceived himself so already3 but in attempting so high an effect from himself1 he mis-understood the nature of ,god1 and held a false apprehension of his own2 whereby vainly attempting not only insolencies1 but impossibilities1 he deceived himself as low as ,hell4 ,in brief1 there is nothing infallible but ,,god1 who cannot possibly erre4 ,for things are really true as they correspond unto his conception2 and have so much verity as they hold of conformity unto that ,intellect1 in whose ,idea they had their first determinations4 ,and therefore being the ,rule1 he cannot be ,irregular2 nor1 being ,truth it self1 conceaveably admit the impossible society of ,error4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,a further ,illustration of the same4 ,being thus deluded before the ,fall1 it is no wonder if their conceptions were deceitful1 and could scarce speak without an ,error after4 ,for1 what is very remarkable 7and no man that ,i know hath yet observed7 in the relations of ,scripture before the ,flood1 there is but one speech delivered by ,man1 wherein there is not an erroneous conception2 and1 strictly examined1 most hainously injurious unto truth4 ,the pen of ,moses is brief in the account before the ,flood1 and the speeches recorded are but six4 ,the first is that of ,adam1 when upon the expostulation of ,god1 he replied2 ,i heard thy voice in the ,garden1 and because ,i was naked ,i hid my self4 ,in which reply1 there was included a very gross ,mistake1 and1 if with pertinacity maintained1 a high and capital ,error4 ,for thinking by this retirement to obscure himself from ,god1 he infringed the omnisciency and essential ,ubiquity of his ,maker1 ,who as he created all things1 so is he beyond and in them all1 not only in power1 as under his subjection1 or in his presence1 as being in his cognition2 but in his very ,essence1 as being the soul of their causalities1 and the essential cause of their existencies4 ,certainly1 his posterity at this distance and after so perpetuated an impairment1 cannot but condemn the poverty of his conception1 that thought to obscure himself from his ,creator in the shade of the ,garden1 who had beheld him before in the darkness of his ,chaos1 and the great obscurity of ,nothing2 that thought to fly from ,god1 which could not fly himself2 or imagined that one tree should conceal his nakedness from ,gods eye1 as another had revealed it unto his own4 ,those tormented ,spirits that wish the mountains to cover them1 have fallen upon desires of minor absurdity1 and chosen ways of less improbable concealment4 ,though this be also as ridiculous unto reason1 as fruitless unto their desires2 for he that laid the foundations of the ,earth1 cannot be excluded the secrecy of the ,mountains2 nor can there any thing escape the perspicacity of those eyes which were before light1 and in whose opticks there is no opacity4 ,this is the consolation of all good men1 unto whom his ,ubiquity affordeth continual comfort and security3 ,and this is the affliction of ,hell1 unto whom it affordeth despair1 and remediless calamity4 ,for those restless ,spirits that fly the face of the ,almighty1 being deprived the fruition of his eye1 would also avoid the extent of his hand2 which being impossible1 their sufferings are desperate1 and their afflictions without evasion2 until they can get out of ,trismegistus his ,circle1 that is1 to extend their wings above the ,universe1 and pitch beyond ,ubiquity4 ,the ,second is that ,speech of ,adam unto ,god2 ,the woman whom thou gavest me to be with me1 she gave me of the ,tree1 and ,i did eat4 ,this indeed was an unsatisfactory reply1 and therein was involved a very impious ,error1 as implying ,god the ,author of sin1 and accusing his ,maker of his transgression4 ,as if he had said1 ,if thou hadst not given me a woman1 ,i had not been deceived3 ,thou promisedst to make her a help1 but she hath proved destruction unto me3 ,had ,i remained alone1 ,i had not sinned2 but thou gavest me a ,consort1 and so ,i became seduced4 ,this was a bold and open accusation of ,god1 making the fountain of good1 the contriver of evil1 and the forbidder of the crime an abettor of the fact prohibited4 ,surely1 his mercy was great that did not revenge the impeachment of his justice2 ,and his goodness to be admired1 that it refuted not his argument in the punishment of his excusation1 and only pursued the first transgression without a penalty of this the second4 ,the third was that of ,eve2 ,the ,serpent beguiled me1 and ,i did eat4 ,in which reply1 there was not only a very feeble excuse1 but an erroneous translating her own offence upon another2 ,extenuating her sin from that which was an aggravation1 that is1 to excuse the ,fact at all1 much more upon the suggestion of a beast1 which was before in the strictest terms prohibited by her ,god4 ,for although we now do hope the mercies of ,god will consider our degenerated integrities unto some minoration of our offences2 yet had not the sincerity of our first parents so colourable expectations1 unto whom the commandment was but single1 and their integrities best able to resist the motions of its transgression4 ,and therefore so heinous conceptions have risen hereof1 that some have seemed more angry therewith1 than ,god himself3 ,being so exasperated with the offence1 as to call in question their salvation1 and to dispute the eternal punishment of their ,maker4 ,assuredly with better reason may posterity accuse them than they the ,serpent or one another2 and the displeasure of the ,pelagians must needs be irreconcilable1 who peremptorily maintaining they can fulfil the whole ,law1 will insatisfactorily condemn the non-observation of one4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,devill knew not our ,saviour to be ,god when he tempted him4 ,the fourth1 was that speech of ,cain upon the demand of ,god1 ,where is thy brother8 and he said1 ,i know not4 ,in which ,negation1 beside the open impudence1 there was implied a notable ,error2 for returning a lie unto his ,maker1 and presuming in this manner to put off the ,searcher of hearts1 he denied the omnisciency of ,god1 whereunto there is nothing concealable4 ,the answer of ,satan in the case of ,job1 had more of truth1 wisdom1 and ,reverence1 this2 ,whence comest thou ,satan8 and he said1 ,from compassing of the ,earth4 ,for though an enemy of ,god1 and hater of all ,truth1 his wisdom will hardly permit him to falsifie with the ,all-mighty4 ,for well understanding the ,omniscience of his nature1 he is not so ready to deceive himself1 as to falsifie unto him whose cognition is no way deludable4 ,and therefore when in the tentation of ,christ he played upon the fallacy1 and thought to deceive the ,author of ,truth1 the ,method of this proceeding arose from the uncertainty of his ,divinity2 whereof had he remained assured1 he had continued silent2 nor would his discretion attempt so unsucceedable a temptation4 ,and so again at the last day1 when our offences shall be drawn into accompt1 the subtilty of that ,inquisitor shall not present unto ,god a bundle of calumnies or confutable accusations1 but will discreetly offer up unto his ,omnisciency1 a true and undeniable list of our transgressions4 ,the fifth is another reply of ,cain upon the denouncement of his curse1 ,my iniquity is greater then can be forgiven3 ,for so it is expressed in some ,translations4 ,the assertion was not only desperate1 but the conceit erroneous1 overthrowing that glorious ,attribute of ,god1 his ,mercy1 and conceiving the sin of murder unpardonable4 ,which how great soever1 is not above the repentance of man2 but far below the mercies of ,god1 and was 7as some conceive7 expiated in that punishment he suffered temporally for it4 ,there are but two examples of this error in holy ,scripture1 and they both for ,murder1 and both as it were of the same person2 for ,christ was mystically slain in ,abel1 and therefore ,cain had some influence on his death as well as ,judas2 but the sin had a different effect on ,cain1 from that it had on ,judas2 and most that since have fallen into it4 ,for they like ,judas desire death1 and not unfrequently pursue it3 ,cain on the contrary grew afraid thereof1 and obtained a securement from it4 ,assuredly1 if his despair continued1 there was punishment enough in life1 and ,justice sufficient in the mercy of his protection4 ,for the life of the desperate equalls the anxieties of death2 who in uncessant inquietudes but act the life of the damned1 and anticipate the desolations of ,hell4 ',tis indeed a sin in man1 but a punishment only in ,devils1 who offend not ,god but afflict themselves1 in the appointed despair of his mercies4 ,and as to be without hope is the affliction of the damned1 so is it the happiness of the blessed2 who having all their expectations present1 are not distracted with futurities3 ,so is it also their felicity to have no ,faith2 for enjoying the beatifical vision1 there is nothing unto them inevident2 and in the fruition of the object of ,faith1 they have received the full evacuation of it4 ,sidenote3 ,cain1 as the ,rabbins think1 was the man slain by ,lamech1 ,gen4 #d1 #bc4 ,the last speech was that of ,lamech1 ,i have slain a man to my wound1 and a young man in my hurt3 ,if ,cain be avenged seven fold1 truly ,lamech seventy and seven fold4 ,now herein there seems to be a very erroneous ,illation3 from the ,indulgence of ,god unto ,cain1 concluding an immunity unto himself2 that is1 a regular protection from a single example1 and an exemption from punishment in a fact that naturally deserved it4 ,the ,error of this offender was contrary to that of ,cain1 whom the ,rabbins conceive that ,lamech at this time killed4 ,he despaired in ,gods mercy in the same ,fact1 where this presumed of it2 he by a decollation of all hope annihilated his mercy1 this by an immoderancy thereof destroyed his ,justice4 ,though the sin were less1 the ,error was as great2 ,for as it is untrue1 that his mercy will not forgive offenders1 or his benignity co-operate to their conversions2 ,so is it also of no less falsity to affirm ,his justice will not exact account of sinners1 or punish such as continue in their transgressions4 ,thus may we perceive1 how weakly our fathers did ,erre before the ,floud1 how continually and upon common discourse they fell upon ,errors after2 it is therefore no wonder we have been erroneous ever since4 ,and being now at greatest distance from the beginning of ,error1 are almost lost in its dissemination1 whose waies are boundless1 and confess no circumscription4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,of the second cause of ,popular ,errors2 the erroneous disposition of the ,people4 ,having thus declared the infallible nature of ,man even from his first production1 we have beheld the general cause of ,error4 ,but as for popular ,errors1 they are more neerly founded upon an erroneous inclination of the people2 as being the most deceptable part of ,mankind and ready with open armes to receive the encroachments of ,error4 ,which condition of theirs although deducible from many ,grounds1 yet shall we evidence it but from a few1 and such as most neerly and undeniably declare their natures4 ,how unequal discerners of truth they are1 and openly exposed unto ,error1 will first appear from their unqualified intellectuals1 unable to umpire the difficulty of its dissensions4 ,for ,error1 to speak largely1 is a false judgment of things1 or1 an assent unto falsity4 ,now whether the object whereunto they deliver up their assent be true or false1 they are incompetent judges4 ,for the assured truth of things is derived from the principles of knowledge1 and causes which determine their verities4 ,whereof their uncultivated understandings1 scarce holding any theory1 they are but bad discerners of verity2 and in the numerous track of ,error1 but casually do hit the point and unity of truth4 ,sidenote3 ,arguments of sensitive quality most prevailing upon vulgar capacities4 ,their understanding is so feeble in the discernment of falsities1 and averting the ,errors of reason1 that it submitteth unto the fallacies of sense1 and is unable to rectifie the ,error of its sensations4 ,thus the greater part of ,mankind having but one eye of ,sense and ,reason1 conceive the ,earth far bigger than the ,sun1 the fixed ,stars lesser than the ,moon1 their figures plain1 and their spaces from ,earth equidistant4 ,for thus their ,sense informeth them1 and herein their reason cannot ,rectifie them2 and therefore hopelesly continuing in mistakes1 they live and die in their absurdities2 passing their days in perverted apprehensions1 and conceptions of the ,world1 derogatory unto ,god1 and the wisdom of the ,creation4 ,again1 being so illiterate in the point of intellect1 and their sense so incorrected1 they are farther indisposed ever to attain unto truth2 as commonly proceeding in those wayes1 which have most reference unto sense1 and wherein there lyeth most notable and popular delusion4 ,for being unable to wield the intellectuall arms of reason1 they are fain to betake themselves unto wasters1 and the blunter weapons of truth3 affecting the gross and sensible ways of ,doctrine1 and such as will not consist with strict and subtile ,reason4 ,,sn3 ,fable4 ,thus unto them a piece of ,rhetorick is a sufficient argument of ,logick2 an ,apologue of ,esop1 beyond a ,syllogysm in ,barbara2 parables than propositions1 and proverbs more powerful than demonstrations4 ,and therefore are they led rather by ,example1 than ,precept2 receiving perswasions from visible inducements1 before electual instructions4 ,and therefore also they judge of human actions by the event2 for being uncapable of operable circumstances1 or rightly to judge the prudentiality of affairs1 they only gaze upon the visible success1 and therefore condemn or cry up the whole progression4 ,and so from this ground in the ,lecture of holy ,scripture1 their apprehensions are commonly confined unto the literal sense of the ,text1 from whence have ensued the gross and duller sort of ,heresies4 ,for not attaining the deuteroscopy1 and second intention of the words1 they are fain to omit the ,superconsequencies1 ,coherencies1 ,figures1 or ,tropologies2 and are not sometime perswaded by fire beyond their literalities4 ,and therefore also things invisible1 but into intellectual discernments1 to humour the grossness of their comprehensions1 have been degraded from their proper forms1 and ,god ,himself dishonoured into manual expressions4 ,and so likewise being unprovided1 or unsufficient for higher speculations1 they will alwayes betake themselves unto sensible representations1 and can hardly be restrained the dulness of ,idolatry3 ,a sin or folly not only derogatory unto ,god but men2 overthrowing their ,reason1 as well as his ,divinity4 ,in brief1 a reciprocation1 or rather1 an inversion of the ,creation1 making ,god one way1 as he made us another2 that is1 after our ,image1 as he made us after ,his own4 ,moreover1 their understanding thus weak in it self1 and perverted by sensible delusions1 is yet farther impaired by the dominion of their appetite2 that is1 the irrational and brutal part of the soul1 which lording it over the soveraign faculty1 interrupts the actions of that noble part1 and choaks those tender sparks1 which ,adam hath left them of reason4 ,and therefore they do not only swarm with ,errors1 but vices depending thereon4 ,thus they commonly affect no man any further than he deserts his reason1 or complies with their aberrancies4 ,hence they imbrace not vertue for it self1 but its reward2 and the argument from pleasure or ,utility is far more powerful1 than that from vertuous ,honesty3 which ,mahomet and his contrivers well understood1 when he set out the felicity of his ,heaven1 by the contentments of flesh1 and the delights of sense1 slightly passing over the accomplishment of the ,soul1 and the beatitude of that part which ,earth and visibilities too weakly affect4 ,but the wisdom of our ,saviour1 and the simplicity of his truth proceeded another way2 defying the popular provisions of happiness from sensible expectations2 placing his felicity in things removed from sense1 and the intellectual enjoyment of ,god4 ,and therefore the doctrine of the one was never afraid of ,universities1 or endeavoured the banishment of learning1 like the other4 ,and though ,galen doth sometimes nibble at ,moses1 and1 beside the ,apostate ,christian1 ,,sn3 ,julian4 some ,heathens have questioned his ,philosophical part1 or treaty of the ,creation3 ,yet is there surely no reasonable ,pagan1 that will not admire the rational and well grounded precepts of ,christ2 whose life1 as it was conformable unto his ,doctrine1 so was that unto the highest rules of ,reason2 and must therefore flourish in the advancement of learning1 and the perfection of parts best able to comprehend it4 ,sidenote3 ,non sani esse hominis1 non sanus juret ,orestes4 ,again1 ,their individual imperfections being great1 they are moreover enlarged by their aggregation2 and being erroneous in their single numbers1 once hudled together1 they will be ,error it self4 ,for being a confusion of knaves and fools1 and a farraginous concurrence of all conditions1 tempers1 sexes1 and ages2 it is but natural if their determinations be monstrous1 and many wayes inconsistent with ,truth4 ,and therefore wise men have alwaies applauded their own judgment1 in the contradiction of that of the people2 and their soberest adversaries1 have ever afforded them the stile of fools and mad men2 and1 to speak impartially1 their actions have made good these ,epithets4 ,had ,orestes been ,judge1 he would not have acquitted that ,lystrian rabble of madness1 who1 upon a visible miracle1 falling into so high a conceit of ,paul and ,barnabas1 that they termed the one ,jupiter1 the other ,mercurius2 that they brought ,oxen and ,garlands1 and were hardly restrained from sacrificing unto them2 did notwithstanding suddenly after fall upon ,paul1 and having stoned him drew him for dead out of the ,city4 ,it might have hazarded the sides of ,democritus1 had he been present at that tumult of ,demetrius2 when the people flocking together in great numbers1 some crying one thing1 and some another1 and the assembly was confused1 and the most part knew not wherefore they were come together2 notwithstanding1 all with one voice for the space of two hours cried out1 ,great is ,diana of the ,ephesians4 ,it had overcome the patience of ,job1 as it did the meekness of ,moses1 and would surely have mastered any1 but the longanimity1 and lasting sufferance of ,god2 had they beheld the ,mutiny in the wilderness1 when1 after ten great ,miracles in ,egypt1 and some in the same place1 they melted down their stoln ear-rings into a ,calf1 and monstrously cryed out2 ,these are thy ,gods1 ,o ,israel1 that brought thee out of the land of ,egypt4 ,it much accuseth the impatience of ,peter1 who could not endure the staves of the multitude1 and is the greatest example of lenity in our ,saviour1 when he desired of ,god forgiveness unto those1 who having one day brought him into the ,city in triumph1 did presently after1 act all dishonour upon him1 and nothing could be heard but1 ,crucifige1 in their ,courts4 ,certainly he that considereth these things in ,god's peculiar people will easily discern how little of truth there is in the wayes of the ,multitude2 and though sometimes they are flattered with that ,aphorism1 will hardly believe1 ,the voice of the people to be the voice of ,god4 ,lastly1 being thus divided from truth in themselves1 they are yet farther removed by advenient deception4 ,for true it is 7and ,i hope ,i shall not offend their vulgarities17 if ,i say1 they are daily mocked into ,error by subtler devisors1 and have been expressly deluded by all professions and ages4 ,thus the ,priests of ,elder time1 have put upon them many incredible conceits1 not only deluding their apprehensions with ,ariolation1 ,south-saying1 and such oblique ,idolatries1 but winning their credulities unto the literal and down right adorement of ,cats1 ,lizzards1 and ,beetles4 ,and thus also in some ,christian ,churches1 wherein is presumed an irreprovable truth1 if all be true that is suspected1 or half what is related2 there have not wanted many strange deceptions1 and some thereof are still confessed by the name of ,pious ,frauds4 ,thus ,theudas an ,impostor was able to lead away ,four thousand into the ,wilderness4 and the delusions of ,mahomet almost the fourth part of ,mankind4 ,thus all ,heresies1 how gross soever1 have found a welcome with the people4 ,for thus1 many of the ,jews were wrought into belief that ,herod was the ,messias2 and ,david ,george of ,leyden and ,arden1 were not without a party amongst the people1 who maintained the same opinion of themselves almost in our days4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,author's ,censure upon ,judgment by ,urine4 ,physitians 7many at least that make profession thereof7 beside divers less discoverable wayes of fraud1 have made them believe1 there is the book of fate1 or the power of ,aarons breast-plate1 in ,urins4 ,and therefore hereunto they have recourse1 as unto the ,oracle of life1 the great determinator of ,virginity1 ,conception1 ,fertility1 and the ,inscrutable infirmities of the whole ,body4 ,for as though there were a seminality in ,urine1 or that1 like the ,seed1 it carried with it the ,idea of every part1 they foolishly conceive1 we visibly behold therein the ,anatomy of every particle1 and can thereby indigitate their ,diseases3 ,and running into any demands1 expect from us a sudden resolution in things1 whereon the ,devil of ,delphos would demurr2 and we know hath taken respite of some dayes to answer easier questions4 ,sidenote3 ,places in ,venice and ,paris1 where ,mountebanks play their pranks4 ,saltimbancoes1 ,quacksalvers1 and ,charlatans1 deceive them in lower degrees4 ,were ,esop alive1 the ,piazza and ,pont-,neuf could not but speak their fallacies2 mean while there are too many1 whose cries cannot conceal their mischief4 ,for their ,impostures are full of cruelty1 and worse than any other2 deluding not only unto pecuniary defraudations1 but the irreparable deceit of death4 ,astrologers1 which pretend to be of ,cabala with the ,starrs 7such ,i mean as abuse that worthy ,enquiry7 have not been wanting in their deceptions2 who having won their belief unto principles whereof they make great doubt themselves1 have made them believe that arbitrary events below1 have necessary causes1 above2 whereupon their credulities assent unto any ,prognosticks2 and daily swallow the ,predictions of men1 which1 considering the independency of their causes1 and contigency in their ,events1 are only in the prescience of ,god4 ,fortune-tellers1 ,juglers1 ,geomancers1 and the like incantory ,impostors1 though commonly men of ,inferiour rank1 and from whom without ,illumination they can expect no more than from themselves1 do daily and professedly delude them4 ,unto whom 7what is deplorable in ,men and ,christians7 too many applying themselves1 betwixt jest and earnest1 betray the cause of ,truth1 and sensibly make up the legionary body of ,error4 ,sidenote3 ,the people of ,rome1 why never suffered to know the right name of their ,city4 ,statists and ,politicians1 unto whom ,ragione di ,stato1 is the first ,considerable1 as though it were their business to deceive the people1 as a ,maxim1 do hold1 that truth is to be concealed from them2 unto whom although they reveal the visible design1 yet do they commonly conceal the capital intention4 ,and therefore have they ever been the instruments of great designes1 yet seldom understood the true intention of any1 accomplishing the drifts of wiser heads1 as inanimate and ignorant ,agents1 the general design of the ,world2 who though in some ,latitude of sense1 and in a natural cognition perform their proper actions1 yet do they unknowingly concurr unto higher ends1 and blindly advance the great intention of ,nature4 ,now how far they may be kept in ignorance a greater example there is in the people of ,rome2 who never knew the true and proper name of their own ,city4 ,for1 beside that common appellation received by the ,citizens1 it had a proper and secret name concealed from them3 ,cujus alterum nomen discere secretis ,ceremoniarum nefas habetur1 saith ,plinie2 lest the name thereof being discovered unto their enemies1 their ,penates and ,patronal ,god might be called forth by charms and incantations4 ,for according unto the tradition of ,magitians1 the tutelary ,spirits will not remove at common appellations1 but at the proper names of things whereunto they are ,protectors4 ,thus having been deceived by themselves1 and continually deluded by others1 they must needs be stuffed with ,errors1 and even over-run with these inferiour falsities2 whereunto whosoever shall resign their reasons1 either from the ,root of deceit in themselves1 or inability to resist such trivial deceptions from others1 although their condition and fortunes may place them many ,spheres above the multitude2 yet are they still within the line of ,vulgarity1 and ,democratical enemies of truth4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,of the nearer and more ,immediate ,causes of popular ,errors1 both in the wiser and common sort1 ,misapprehension1 ,fallacy1 or false ,deduction1 ,credulity1 ,supinity1 ,adherence unto ,antiquity1 ,tradition and ,authority4 ,sidenote3 ,the belief of ,centaures whence occasioned4 ,the first is a mistake1 or a misconception of things1 either in their first apprehensions1 or secondary relations4 ,so ,eve mistook the ,commandment1 either from the immediate injunction of ,god1 or from the secondary narration of her ,husband4 ,so might the ,disciples mistake our ,saviour1 in his answer unto ,peter concerning the death of ,john1 as is delivered1 ,john #ba4 ,peter seeing ,john1 said unto ,jesus1 ,lord1 and what shall this man do8 ,jesus saith1 ,if ,i will1 that he tarry till ,i come1 what is that unto thee8 ,then went this saying abroad among the brethren1 that that ,disciple should not die4 ,thus began the conceit and opinion of the ,centaures3 that is1 in the mistake of the first beholders1 as is declared by ,servius2 when some young ,thessalians on horseback were beheld afar off1 while their horses watered1 that is1 while their heads were depressed1 they were conceived by the first ,spectators1 to be but one animal2 and answerable hereunto have their pictures been drawn ever since4 ,sidenote3 ,equivocation and ,amphibologie1 how they differ4 ,sidenote3 ,pythagoras1 his ,allegorical precepts moralized4 ,and1 as simple mistakes commonly beget fallacies1 so men rest not in false apprehensions1 without absurd and inconsequent deductions2 from fallacious foundations1 and misapprehended mediums1 erecting conclusions no way inferrible from their premises4 ,now the fallacies whereby men deceive others1 and are deceived themselves1 the ,ancients have divided into ,verbal and ,real4 ,of the ,verbal1 and such as conclude from mistakes of the ,word1 although there be no less than six1 yet are there but two thereof worthy our notation1 and unto which the rest may be referred2 that is the fallacy of ,equivocation and ,amphibology which conclude from the ambiguity of some one word1 or the ambiguous ,syntaxis of many put together4 ,from this fallacy arose that calamitous ,error of the ,jews1 misapprehending the ,prophesies of their ,messias1 and expounding them alwayes unto literal and temporal expectations4 ,by this way many ,errors crept in and perverted the ,doctrine of ,pythagoras1 whilst men received his ,precepts in a different sense from his intention2 converting ,metaphors into proprieties1 and receiving as literal expressions1 obscure and involved truths4 ,thus when he enjoyned his ,disciples1 an abstinence from ,beans1 many conceived they were with severity debarred the use of that pulse2 which notwithstanding could not be his meaning2 for as ,aristoxenus1 who wrote his life averreth1 he delighted much in that kind of food himself4 ,but herein1 as ,plutarch observeth1 he had no other intention than to dissuade men from ,magistracy1 or undertaking the publick offices of state2 for by beans was the ,magistrate elected in some parts of ,greece2 and1 after his daies1 we read in ,thucydides1 of the ,councel of the bean in ,athens4 ,,sn3 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili ,,and ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,psili ,,and ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon4 ,the same word also in ,greek doth signifie a ,testicle1 and hath been thought by some an injunction only of ,continency1 as ,aul4 ,gellius hath expounded1 and as ,empedocles may also be interpreted3 that is1 ,testiculis miseri dextras subducite2 and might be the original intention of ,pythagoras2 as having a notable hint hereof in ,beans1 from the natural signature of the venereal organs of both ,sexes4 ,again1 his injunction is1 not to harbour ,swallows in our ,houses3 ,whose advice notwithstanding we do not contemn1 who daily admit and cherish them3 ,for herein a caution is only implied1 not to entertain ungrateful and thankless persons1 which like the ,swallow are no way commodious unto us2 but having made use of our habitations1 and served their own turns1 forsake us4 ,so he commands to deface the ,print of a ,cauldron in the ashes1 after it hath boiled4 ,which strictly to observe were condemnable superstition3 ,but hereby he covertly adviseth us not to persevere in anger2 but after our choler hath boiled1 to retain no impression thereof4 ,in the like sense are to be received1 when he adviseth his ,disciples to give the right hand but to few1 to put no viands in a ,chamber-pot1 not to pass over a ,balance1 not to rake up fire with a ,sword1 or piss against the ,sun4 ,which nigmatical deliveries comprehend useful verities1 but being mistaken by literal ,expositors at the first1 they have been mis-understood by most since1 and may be occasion of ,error to ,verbal capacities for ever4 ,this fallacy in the first delusion ,satan put upon ,eve1 and his whole tentation might be the same continued2 so when he said1 ,ye shall not die1 that was1 in his equivocation1 ye shall not incurr a present death1 or a destruction immediately ensuing your transgression4 ,your eyes shall be opened2 that is1 not to the enlargement of your knowledge1 but discovery of your shame and proper confusion2 ,you shall know good and evil2 that is1 you shall have knowledge of good by its privation1 but cognisance of evil by sense and visible experience4 ,and the same fallacy or way of deceit1 so well succeeding in ,paradise1 he continued in his ,oracles through all the ,world4 ,which had not men more warily understood1 they might have performed many acts inconsistent with his intention4 ,brutus might have made haste with ,tarquine to have kissed his own ,mother4 ,the ,athenians might have built them wooden ,walls1 or doubled the ,altar at ,delphos4 ,the circle of this fallacy is very large2 and herein may be comprised all ,ironical mistakes1 for intended expressions receiving inverted significations2 all deductions from ,metaphors1 ,parables1 ,allegories1 unto real and rigid interpretations4 ,,sn3 ,de hresibus4 ,whereby have risen not only popular ,errors in ,philosophy1 but vulgar and senseless ,heresies in ,divinity2 as will be evident unto any that shall examine their foundations1 as they stand related by ,epiphanius1 ,austin1 or ,prateolus4 ,other wayes there are of deceit2 which consist not in false apprehension of ,words1 that is1 ,verbal expressions or sentential significations1 but fraudulent deductions1 or inconsequent illations1 from a false conception of things4 ,of these extradictionary and real fallacies1 ,aristotle and ,logicians make in number six1 but we observe that men are most commonly deceived by four thereof3 those are1 ,petitio principii1 ,a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter1 ,a non causa pro causa2 ,and1 fallacia consequentis4 ,the first is1 ,petitio principii4 ,which fallacy is committed1 when a question is made a medium1 or we assume a medium as granted1 whereof we remain as unsatisfied as of the question4 ,briefly1 where that is assumed as a ,principle to prove another thing1 which is not conceded as true it self4 ,by this fallacy was ,eve deceived1 when she took for granted1 a false assertion of the ,devil2 ,ye shall not surely die2 for ,god doth know that in the day ye shall eat thereof1 your eyes shall be opened1 and you shall be as ,gods4 ,which was but a bare affirmation of ,satan1 without proof or probable inducement1 contrary unto the command of ,god1 and former belief of her self4 ,and this was the ,logick of the ,jews when they accused our ,saviour unto ,pilate2 who demanding a reasonable impeachment1 or the allegation of some crime worthy of ,condemnation2 they only replied1 ,if he had not been worthy of ,death1 we would not have brought ,him before thee4 ,wherein there was neither accusation of the person1 nor satisfaction of the ,judge2 who well understood1 a bare accusation was not presumption of guilt1 and the clamours of the people no accusation at all4 ,the same ,fallacy is sometime used in the dispute1 between ,job and his friends2 they often taking that for granted which afterward he disproveth4 ,the second is1 ,a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter1 when from that which is but true in a qualified sense1 an inconditional and absolute verity is inferred2 transferring the special consideration of things unto their general acceptions1 or concluding from their strict acception1 unto that without all limitation4 ,this fallacy men commit when they argue from a particular to a general2 as when we conclude the vices or qualities of a few1 upon a whole ,nation4 ,or from a part unto the whole4 ,thus the ,devil argues with our ,saviour3 and by this1 he would perswade ,him he might be secure1 if he cast himself from the ,pinnacle3 ,for1 said he1 it is written1 ,he shall give his ,angels charge concerning thee1 and in their hands they shall bear thee up1 lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone4 ,,sn3 ,psal4 #ia4 ,but this illation was fallacious1 leaving one part of the ,text1 ,he shall keep thee in all thy wayes2 that is1 in the wayes of righteousness1 and not of rash attempts3 so he urged a part for the whole1 and inferred more in the conclusion1 than was contained in the premises4 ,by the same fallacy we proceed1 when we conclude from the sign unto the thing signified4 ,by this incroachment1 ,idolatry first crept in1 men converting the symbolical use of ,idols into their proper ,worship1 and receiving the representation of things as the substance and thing it self4 ,so the ,statue of ,belus at first erected in his memory1 was in after-times adored as a ,divinity4 ,,sn3 ,the ,original of ,idolatry4 ,and so also in the ,sacrament of the ,eucharist1 the ,bread and ,wine which were but the signals or visible signs1 were made the things signified1 and worshipped as the ,body of ,christ4 ,and hereby generally men are deceived that take things spoken in some ,latitude without any at all4 ,hereby the ,jews were deceived concerning the commandment of the ,sabbath1 accusing our ,saviour for healing the sick1 and his ,disciples for plucking the ears of ,corn upon that day4 ,and by this deplorable mistake they were deceived unto destruction1 upon the assault of ,pompey the great1 made upon that day2 by whose superstitious observation they could not defend themselves1 or perform any labour whatever4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,alcoran endures neither ,wine nor ,universities4 ,the third is1 ,a non causa pro causa1 when that is pretended for a cause which is not1 or not in that sense which is inferred4 ,upon this consequence the law of ,mahomet forbids the use of ,wine2 and his ,successors abolished ,universities4 ,by this also many ,christians have condemned literature1 misunderstanding the counsel of ,saint ,paul1 who adviseth no further than to beware of ,philosophy4 ,on this ,foundation were built the conclusions of ,southsayers in their ,augurial1 and ,tripudiary divinations2 collecting presages from voice or food of ,birds1 and conjoyning ,events unto causes of no connection4 ,hereupon also are grounded the gross mistakes1 in the cure of many diseases3 not only from the last medicine1 and sympathetical ,receipts1 but ,amulets1 ,charms1 and all incantatory applications2 deriving effects not only from inconcurring causes1 but things devoid of all efficiency whatever4 ,the fourth is1 the ,fallacy of the ,consequent2 which if strictly taken1 may be a fallacious illation in reference unto antecedency1 or consequency2 as to conclude from the position of the antecedent to the position of the consequent1 or from the remotion of the consequent to the remotion of the antecedent4 ,this is usually committed1 when in connexed ,propositions the ,terms adhere contingently4 ,this is frequent in ,oratory illations2 and thus the ,pharisees1 because ,he conversed with ,publicans and ,sinners1 accused the holiness of ,christ4 ,but if this ,fallacy be largely taken1 it is committed in any vicious illation1 offending the rules of good consequence2 and so it may be very large1 and comprehend all false illations against the settled ,laws of ,logick3 ,but the most usual inconsequencies are from particulars1 from negatives1 and from affirmative conclusions in the second figure1 wherein indeed offences are most frequent1 and their discoveries not difficult4 ,,chapter ,v ,of ,credulity and ,supinity4 ,a third cause of common ,errors is the ,credulity of men1 that is1 an easie assent to what is obtruded1 or a believing at first ear1 what is delivered by others4 ,this is a weakness in the understanding1 without examination assenting unto things1 which from their ,natures and ,causes do carry no perswasion2 whereby men often swallow falsities for truths1 dubiosities for certainties1 feasibilities for possibilities1 and things impossible as possibilities themselves4 ,which1 though the weakness of the ,intellect1 and most discoverable in vulgar heads2 yet hath it sometime fallen upon wiser brains1 and greater advancers of ,truth4 ,thus many wise ,athenians so far forgot their ,philosophy1 and the nature of humane production1 that they descended unto belief1 that the original of their ,nation was from the ,earth1 and had no other beginning than the seminality and womb of their great ,mother4 ,thus is it not without wonder1 how those learned ,arabicks so tamely delivered up their belief unto the absurdities of the ,alcoran4 ,how the noble ,geber1 ,avicenna1 and ,almanzor1 should rest satisfied in the nature and causes of ,earthquakes1 delivered from the doctrine of their ,prophet2 that is1 from the motion of a great ,bull1 upon whose horns all the earth is poised4 ,how their faiths could decline so low1 as to concede their generations in ,heaven1 to be made by the smell of a ,citron1 or that the felicity of their ,paradise should consist in a ,jubile of copulation1 that is1 a coition of one act prolonged unto fifty years4 ,thus is it almost beyond wonder1 how the belief of reasonable creatures1 should ever submit unto ,idolatry3 and the credulity of those men scarce credible 7without presumption of a second ,fall7 who could believe a ,deity in the work of their own hands4 ,for although in that ancient and diffused adoration of ,idols1 unto the ,priests and subtiler heads1 the worship perhaps might be symbolical1 and as those ,images some way related unto their ,deities2 yet was the ,idolatry direct and down-right in the ,people2 whose credulity is illimitable1 who may be made believe that any thing is ,god2 and may be made believe there is no ,god at all4 ,sidenote3 ,obstinate and irrational ,scepticism1 justly censured4 ,and as ,credulity is the cause of ,error1 so ,incredulity oftentimes of not enjoying truth2 and that not only an obstinate incredulity1 whereby we will not acknowledge assent unto what is reasonably inferred1 but any ,academical reservation in matters of easie truth1 or rather sceptical infidelity against the evidence of reason and sense4 ,for these are conceptions befalling wise men1 as absurd as the apprehensions of fools1 and the credulity of the people which promiscuously swallow any thing4 ,for this is not only derogatory unto the wisdom of ,god1 who hath proposed the ,world unto our knowledge1 and thereby the notion of ,himself2 but also detractory unto the intellect1 and sense of man expressly disposed for that inquisition4 ,and therefore1 hoc tantum scio1 quod nihil scio1 is not to be received in an absolute sense1 but is comparatively expressed unto the number of things whereof our knowledge is ignorant4 ,nor will it acquit the insatisfaction of those which quarrel with all things1 or dispute of matters1 concerning whose verities we have conviction from reason1 or decision from the inerrable and requisite conditions of sense4 ,and therefore if any affirm1 the earth doth move1 and will not believe with us1 it standeth still2 because he hath probable reasons for it1 and ,i no infallible sense1 nor reason against it1 ,i will not quarrel with his assertion4 ,but if1 like ,zeno1 he shall walk about1 and yet deny there is any motion in ,nature1 surely that man was constituted for ,anticera1 and were a fit companion for those1 who having a conceit they are dead1 cannot be convicted into the society of the living4 ,the fourth is a ,supinity1 or neglect of ,enquiry1 even of matters whereof we doubt2 rather believing1 than going to see2 or doubting with ease and gratis1 than believing with difficulty or purchase4 ,whereby1 either from a temperamental inactivity1 we are unready to put in execution the suggestions or dictates of reason2 or by a content and acquiescence in every species of truth1 we embrace the shadow thereof1 or so much as may palliate its just and substantial acquirements4 ,had our fore-,fathers sat down in these resolutions1 or had their curiosities been sedentary1 who pursued the knowledge of things through all the corners of nature1 the face of truth had been obscure unto us1 whose lustre in some part their industries have revealed4 ,certainly the sweat of their labours was not salt unto them1 and they took delight in the dust of their endeavours4 ,for questionless1 in ,knowledge there is no slender difficulty2 and ,truth1 which wise men say doth lye in a ,well1 is not recoverable by exantlation4 ,it were some extenuation of the ,curse1 if in sudore vultus tui were confinable unto corporal exercitations1 and there still remained a ,paradise1 or unthorny place of knowledge4 ,but now our understandings being eclipsed1 as well as our tempers infirmed1 we must betake our selves to wayes of reparation1 and depend upon the illumination of our endeavours4 ,for1 thus we may in some measure repair our primary ruines1 and build our selves ,men again4 ,and though the attempts of some have been precipitous1 and their ,enquiries so audacious1 as to come within command of the flaming swords1 and lost themselves in attempts above humanity2 yet have the ,enquiries of most defected by the way1 and tired within the sober circumference of ,knowledge4 ,and this is the reason1 why some have transcribed any thing2 and although they cannot but doubt thereof1 yet neither make ,experiment by sense1 or ,enquiry by reason2 but live in doubts of things1 whose satisfaction is in their own power2 which is indeed the inexcusable part of our ignorance1 and may perhaps fill up the charge of the last day4 ,for1 not obeying the dictates of ,reason1 and neglecting the cries of ,truth1 we fail not only in the trust of our undertakings1 but in the intention of man it self4 ,which although more venial in ordinary constitutions1 and such as are not framed beyond the capacity of beaten notions1 yet will inexcusably condemn some men1 who having received excellent endowments1 have yet sate down by the way1 and frustrated the intention of their liabilities4 ,for certainly1 as some men have sinned in the principles of humanity1 and must answer1 for not being men1 so others offend1 if they be not more4 ,magis extra vitia1 quam cum virtutibus1 would commend those3 ,these are not excusable without an ,excellency4 ,for1 great constitutions1 and such as are constellated unto knowledge1 do nothing till they out-do all2 they come short of themselves1 if they go not beyond others2 and must not sit down under the degree of ,worthies4 ,god expects no lustre from the minor ,stars2 but if the ,sun should not illuminate all1 it were a sin in ,nature4 ,ultimus bonoram1 will not excuse every man1 nor is it sufficient for all to hold the common level3 ,mens names should not only distinguish them3 ,a man should be something1 that men are not1 and individual in somewhat beside his proper ,name4 ,thus while it exceeds not the bounds of reason and modesty1 we cannot condemn singularity1 ,nos numerus sumus1 is the ,motto of the multitude1 and for that reason are they ,fools4 ,for things as they recede from unity1 the more they approach to imperfection1 and ,deformity2 for they hold their perfection in their ,simplicities1 and as they nearest approach unto ,god4 ,sidenote3 ,universities why many times full of ,scholars1 and empty of ,learning4 ,sidenote3 ,the natural genius or inclination1 have much to be regarded in the choice of a ,profession4 ,now as there are many great ,wits to be condemned1 who have neglected the increment of ,arts1 and the sedulous pursuit of knowledge2 so are there not a few very much to be pitied1 whose industry being not attended with natural parts1 they have sweat to little purpose1 and rolled the stone in vain4 ,which chiefly proceedeth from natural incapacity1 and genial indisposition1 at least1 to those particulars whereunto they apply their endeavours4 ,and this is one reason why1 though ,universities be full of men1 they are oftentimes empty of learning3 ,why1 as there are some men do much without learning1 so others but little with it1 and few that attain to any measure of it4 ,for many heads that undertake it1 were never squared1 nor timber'd for it4 ,there are not only particular men1 but whole ,nations indisposed for learning2 whereunto is required1 not only education1 but a pregnant ,minerva1 and teeming ,constitution4 ,for the ,wisdom of ,god hath divided the ,genius of men according to the different affairs of the ,world3 and varied their inclination according to the variety of ,actions to be performed therein4 ,which they who consider not1 rudely rushing upon professions and ways of life1 unequal to their natures2 dishonour1 not only themselves and their ,functions1 but pervert the harmony of the whole ,world4 ,for1 if the ,world went on as ,god hath ordained it1 and were every one imployed in points concordant to their ,natures1 ,professions2 ,arts and ,commonwealths would rise up of themselves2 nor needed we a ,lanthorn to find a man in ,athens4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,of adherence unto ,antiquity4 ,sidenote3 ,immoderate respect unto ,antiquity1 a general cause of ,error4 ,but the mortallest enemy unto ,knowledge1 and that which hath done the greatest execution upon truth1 hath been a peremptory adhesion unto ,authority1 and more especially1 the establishing of our belief upon the dictates of ,antiquity4 ,for 7as every capacity may observe7 most men of ,ages present1 so superstitiously do look on ,ages past1 that the ,authorities of the one1 exceed the reasons of the other3 ,whose persons indeed being far removed from our times1 their works1 which seldom with us pass uncontrouled1 either by contemporaries1 or immediate successors1 are now become out of the distance of ,envies3 and the farther removed from present times1 are conceived to approach the nearer unto truth it self4 ,now hereby methinks we manifestly delude our selves1 and widely walk out of the track of ,truth4 ,for first1 ,men hereby impose a ,thraldom on their ,times1 which the ingenuity of no ,age should endure1 or indeed1 the presumption of any did ever yet enjoyn4 ,thus ,hippocrates about #bjjj years ago1 conceived it no injustice1 either to examine or refute the ,doctrines of his ,predecessors3 ,galen the like1 and ,aristotle the most of any4 ,yet did not any of these conceive themselves infallible1 or set down their dictates as verities irrefragable1 but when they deliver their own ,inventions1 or reject other mens ,opinions1 they proceed with ,judgment and ,ingenuity2 establishing their assertion1 not only with great solidity1 but submitting them also unto the correction of future discovery4 ,secondly1 ,men that adore times past1 consider not that those times were once present2 that is1 as our own are at this instant1 and we our selves unto those to come1 as they unto us at present1 as we relye on them1 even so will those on us1 and magnifie us hereafter1 who at present condemn our selves4 ,which very absurdity is daily committed amongst us1 even in the esteem and censure of our own times4 ,and to speak impartially1 old ,men1 from whom we should expect the greatest example of ,wisdom1 do most exceed in this point of folly2 commending the days of their youth1 which they scarce remember1 at least well understood not2 extolling those times their younger years have heard their ,fathers condemn1 and condemning those times the gray heads of their posterity shall commend4 ,and thus is it the humour of many heads1 to extol the days of their ,fore-fathers1 and declaim against the wickedness of times present4 ,which notwithstanding they cannot handsomly do1 without the borrowed help and ,satyrs of times past2 condemning the vices of their own times1 by the expressions of vices in times which they commend2 which cannot but argue the community of vice in both4 ,horace therefore1 ,juvenal1 and ,persius were no ,prophets1 although their lines did seem to indigitate and point at our times4 ,there is a certain list of vices committed in all ,ages1 and declaimed against by all ,authors1 which will last as long as humane nature2 which digested into common places1 may serve for any ,theme1 and never be out of date until ,dooms-day4 ,thirdly1 ,the ,testimonies of ,antiquity and such as pass oraculously amongst us1 were not1 if we consider them1 always so exact1 as to examine the doctrine they delivered4 ,for some1 and those the acutest of them1 have left unto us many things of falsity2 controlable1 not only by critical and collective reason1 but common and ,country observation4 ,hereof there want not many examples in ,aristotle1 through all his ,book of ,animals2 we shall instance onely in three of his ,problems1 and all contained under one ,section4 ,the first enquireth1 why a ,man doth cough1 but not an ,oxe or ,cow2 whereas1 notwithstanding the contrary is often observed by ,husbandmen1 and stands confirmed by those who have expressly treated ,de ,re ,rustica1 and have also delivered divers remedies for it4 ,why ,juments1 as ,horses1 ,oxen1 and ,asses1 have no eructation or belching1 whereas indeed the contrary is often observed1 and also delivered by ,columella4 ,and thirdly1 ,why ,man alone hath gray hairs8 whereas it cannot escape the eyes1 and ordinary observation of all men1 as ,horses1 ,dogs1 and ,foxes1 wax gray with age in our ,countries2 and in the colder ,regions1 many other ,animals without it4 ,and though favourable constructions may somewhat extenuate the rigour of these concessions1 yet will scarce any palliate that in the fourth of his ,meteors1 that ,salt is easiest dissolvable in cold water3 ,nor that of ,diascorides1 that ,quicksilver is best preserved in ,vessels of ,tin and ,lead4 ,other ,authors write often dubiously even in matters wherein is expected a strict and definite truth2 extenuating their affirmations1 with aiunt1 ferunt1 fortasse3 as ,diascorides1 ,galen1 ,aristotle1 and many more4 ,others by hear-say2 taking upon trust most they have delivered1 whose ,volumes are nicer ,collections1 drawn from the mouths or leaves of other ,authors2 as may be observed in ,plinie1 ,elian1 ,athenus1 and many more4 ,not a few transcriptively1 subscribing their ,names unto other mens endeavours1 and meerly transcribing almost all they have written4 ,the ,latines transcribing the ,greeks1 the ,greeks and ,latines1 each other4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,antiquity1 and some notable instances of ,plagiarism1 that is1 of transcribing or filching ,authors4 ,thus hath ,justine borrowed all from ,trogus ,pompeius1 and ,julius ,solinus1 in a manner transcribed ,plinie4 ,thus have ,lucian and ,apuleius served ,lucius ,pratensis3 men both living in the same time1 and both transcribing the same ,author1 in those famous ,books1 entituled ,lucius by the one1 and ,aureus ,asinus by the other4 ,in the same measure hath ,simocrates in his ,tract ,de ,nilo1 dealt with ,diodorus ,siculus1 as may be observed in that work annexed unto ,herodotus1 and translated by ,jungermannus4 ,thus ,eratosthenes wholly translated ,timotheus de ,insulis1 not reserving the very ,preface4 ,the same doth ,strabo report of ,eudorus1 and ,ariston1 in a ,treatise entituled ,de ,nilo4 ,clemens ,alexandrinus hath observed many examples hereof among the ,greeks2 and ,pliny speaketh very plainly in his ,preface1 that conferring his ,authors1 and comparing their works together1 he generally found those that went before verbatim transcribed1 by those that followed after1 and their ,originals never so much as mentioned4 ,to omit how much the wittiest piece of ,ovid ,,sn3 ,his ,metamorphosis4 is beholden unto ,parthenius ,chius2 even the magnified ,virgil hath borrowed1 almost in all his ,works2 his ,eclogues from ,theocritus1 his ,georgicks from ,hesiod and ,aratus1 his neads from ,homer1 the second ,book whereof containing the exploit of ,sinon and the ,trojan ,horse 7as ,macrobius observeth7 he hath verbatim derived from ,pisander4 ,our own ,profession is not excusable herein4 ,thus ,oribasius1 tius1 and gineta1 have in a manner transcribed ,galen4 ,but ,marcellus ,empericus1 who hath left a famous ,work ,de ,medicamentis1 hath word for word transcribed all ,scribonius ,largus1 ,de ,compositione ,medicamentorum1 and not left out his very ,peroration4 ,thus may we perceive the ,ancients were but men1 even like our selves4 ,the practice of transcription in our days1 was no ,monster in theirs3 ,plagiarie had not its ,nativity with ,printing1 but began in times when thefts were difficult1 and the paucity of ,books scarce wanted that ,invention4 ,nor did they only make large use of other ,authors1 but often without mention of their names4 ,aristotle1 who seems to have borrowed many things from ,hippocrates1 in the most favourable construction1 makes mention but once of him1 and that by the by1 and without reference unto his present ,doctrine4 ,,sn3 ,in his ,politicks4 ,virgil1 so much beholding unto ,homer1 hath not his name in all his ,works3 and ,plinie1 who seems to borrow many ,authors out of ,dioscorides1 hath taken no notice of him4 ,i wish men were not still content to plume themselves with others ,feathers4 ,fear of discovery1 not single ingenuity affords ,quotations rather than ,transcriptions2 wherein notwithstanding the ,plagiarisme of many makes little consideration1 whereof though great ,authors may complain1 small ones cannot but take notice4 ,sidenote3 ,an ancient ,author who writ ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,varia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu1 sive de incredibilibus1 whereof some part is yet extant4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,fable of ,orpheus his ,harp1 etc4 whence occasioned4 ,fourthly1 ,while we so eagerly adhere unto ,antiquity1 and the accounts of elder times1 we are to consider the fabulous condition thereof4 ,and that we shall not deny1 if we call to mind the ,mendacity of ,greece1 from whom we have received most relations1 and that a considerable part of ancient ,times1 was by the ,greeks themselves termed ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu1 that is1 made up or stuffed out with ,fables4 ,and surely the fabulous inclination of those days1 was greater then any since2 which swarmed so with ,fables1 and from such slender grounds1 took hints for fictions1 poysoning the ,world ever after2 wherein how far they exceeded1 may be exemplified from ,palephatus1 in his ,book of ,fabulous ,narrations4 ,that ,fable of ,orpheus who by the melody of his ,musick1 made ,woods and ,trees to follow him1 was raised upon a slender foundation2 for there were a crew of mad women1 retired unto a ,mountain from whence being pacified by his ,musick1 they descended with boughs in their hands1 which unto the fabulosity of those times proved a sufficient ground to celebrate unto all posterity the ,magick of ,orpheus ,harp1 and its power to attract the senseless ,trees about it4 ,that ,medea the famous ,sorceress could renew youth1 and make old men young again1 was nothing else1 but that from the knowledge of ,simples she had a ,receit to make white hair black1 and reduce old heads1 into the tincture of youth again4 ,the ,fable of ,gerion and ,cerberus with three heads1 was this3 ,gerion was of the ,city ,tricarinia1 that is1 of three heads1 and ,cerberus of the same place was one of his ,dogs1 which running into a ,cave upon pursuit of his ,masters ,oxen1 ,hercules perforce drew him out of that place1 from whence the conceits of those days affirmed no less1 then that ,hercules descended into ,hell1 and brought up ,cerberus into the habitation of the living4 ,upon the like grounds was raised the figment of ,briareus1 who dwelling in a ,city called ,hecatonchiria1 the fansies of those times assigned him an hundred hands4 ',twas ground enough to fansie wings unto ,ddalus1 in that he stole out of a ,window from ,minos1 and sailed away with his son ,icarus3 who steering his course wisely1 escaped2 but his son carrying too high a sail was drowned4 ,that ,niobe weeping over her children1 was turned into a ,stone1 was nothing else1 but that during her life she erected over their ,sepultures a ,marble ,tomb of her own4 ,when ,acteon had undone himself with ,dogs1 and the prodigal attendants of hunting1 they made a solemn story how he was devoured by his ,hounds4 ,and upon the like grounds was raised the ,anthropophagie of ,diomedes his horses4 ,,sn3 ,eating of ,mans flesh4 ,upon as slender foundation was built the ,fable of the ,minotaure2 for one ,taurus a servant of ,minos gat his ,mistris ,pasiphae with child1 from whence the ,infant was named ,minotaurus4 ,now this unto the fabulosity of those times was thought sufficient to accuse ,pasiphae of ,beastiality1 or admitting conjunction with a ,bull2 and in succeeding ages gave a hint of depravity unto ,domitian to act the ,fable into reality4 ,in like manner1 as ,diodorus plainly delivereth1 the famous ,fable of ,charon had its ,nativity2 who being no other but the common ,ferry-man of ,egypt1 that wafted over the dead bodies from ,memphis1 was made by the ,greeks to be the ,ferry-man of ,hell1 and solemn stories raised after of him4 ,lastly1 we shall not need to enlarge1 if that be true which grounded the generation of ,castor and ,helen out of an ,egg1 because they were born and brought up in an upper room1 according unto the ,word ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,with ,,psili ,,and ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu1 which with the ,lacoedemonians had also that signification4 ,fifthly1 ,we applaud many things delivered by the ,ancients1 which are in themselves but ordinary1 and come short of our own ,conceptions4 ,thus we usually extol1 and our ,orations cannot escape the sayings of the wise men of ,greece4 ,nosce teipsum1 of ,thales3 ,nosce tempus1 of ,pittacus3 ,nihil nimis1 of ,cleobulus2 which notwithstanding to speak indifferently1 are but vulgar precepts in ,morality1 carrying with them nothing above the line1 or beyond the extemporary sententiosity of common conceits with us4 ,thus we magnifie the ,apothegms or reputed replies of ,wisdom1 whereof many are to be seen in ,laertius1 more in ,lycosthenes1 not a few in the second ,book of ,macrobius1 in the salts of ,cicero1 ,augustus1 and the ,comical wits of those times3 in most whereof there is not much to admire1 and are methinks exceeded1 not only in the replies of wise men1 but the passages of society1 and urbanities of our times4 ,and thus we extol their ,adages1 or ,proverbs2 and ,erasmus hath taken great pains to make collections of them1 whereof notwithstanding1 the greater part will1 ,i believe1 unto indifferent ,judges be esteemd no extraordinaries3 and may be parallel'd1 if not exceeded1 by those of more unlearned ,nations1 and many of our own4 ,sidenote3 ,a pedantical vanity to quote ,authors in matters of common sense or of familiar acknowledgement4 ,sixthly1 ,we urge ,authorities in points that need not1 and introduce the testimony of ancient ,writers1 to confirm things evidently believed1 and whereto no reasonable hearer but would assent without them2 such as are1 ,nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit4 ,virtute nil prastantius1 nil pulchrius4 ,omnia vincit amor4 ,proeclarum quiddam veritas4 ,all which1 although things known and vulgar1 are frequently urged by many men1 and though trivial verities in our mouths1 yet1 noted from ,plato1 ,ovid1 or ,cicero1 they become reputed elegancies4 ,for many hundred to instance but in one we meet with while we are writing4 ,antonius ,guevara that elegant ,spaniard1 in his ,book entituled1 ,the ,dial of ,princes1 beginneth his ,epistle thus4 ,apolonius ,thyancus1 disputing with the ,scholars of ,hiarchas1 said1 that among all the affections of nature1 nothing was more natural1 then the desire all have to preserve life4 ,which being a confessed ,truth1 and a verity acknowledged by all1 it was a superfluous affectation to derive its ,authority from ,apolonius1 or seek a confirmation thereof as far as ,india1 and the learned ,scholars of ,hiarchas4 ,which whether it be not all one to strengthen common ,dignities and ,principles known by themselves1 with the ,authority of ,mathematicians2 or think a man should believe1 the whole is greater then its parts1 rather upon the ,authority of ,euclide1 then if it were propounded alone2 ,i leave unto the second and wiser cogitations of all men4 ',tis sure a ,practice that savours much of ,pedantry2 a reserve of ,puerility we have not shaken off from ,school2 where being seasoned with ,minor sentences1 by a neglect of higher ,enquiries1 they prescribe upon our riper ears1 and are never worn out but with our ,memories4 ,sidenote3 ,some remarkable mistakes among the ,ancients4 ,lastly1 ,while we so devoutly adhere unto ,antiquity in some things1 we do not consider we have deserted them in several others4 ,for they indeed have not onely been imperfect1 in the conceit of some things1 but either ignorant or erroneous in many more4 ,they understood not the motion of the eighth sphear from ,west to ,east1 and so conceived the longitude of the ,stars invariable4 ,they conceived the torrid ,zone unhabitable1 and so made frustrate the goodliest part of the ,earth4 ,but we now know 'tis very well empeopled1 and the habitation thereof esteemed so happy1 that some have made it the proper seat of ,paradise2 and been so far from judging it unhabitable1 that they have made it the first habitation of all4 ,many of the ,ancients denied the ,antipodes1 and some unto the penalty of contrary affirmations2 but the experience of our enlarged navigations1 can now assert them beyond all dubitation4 ,having thus totally relinquisht them in some things1 it may not be presumptuous1 to examine them in others2 but surely most unreasonable to adhere to them in all1 as though they were infallible1 or could not err in any way4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,of ,authority4 ,nor is onely a resolved prostration unto ,antiquity a powerful enemy unto knowledge1 but any confident adherence unto ,authority1 or resignation of our judgements upon the testimony of ,age or ,author whatsoever4 ,sidenote3 ,authority 7simply7 but a mean argument especially4 ,for first1 to speak generally an argument from ,authority to wiser examinations1 is but a weaker kind of proof2 it being but a topical probation1 and as we term it1 an inartificial argument1 depending upon a naked asseveration3 wherein neither declaring the causes1 affections or adjuncts of what we believe1 it carrieth not with it the reasonable inducements of knowledge4 ,and therefore1 ,contra negantem principia1 ,ipse dixit1 or ,oportet discentem credere1 although ,postulates very accommodable unto ,junior indoctrinations2 yet are their ,authorities but temporary1 and not to be imbraced beyond the minority of our intellectuals4 ,for our advanced beliefs are not to be built upon dictates1 but having received the probable inducements of truth1 we become emancipated from testimonial engagements1 and are to erect upon the surer base of reason4 ,secondly1 ,unto reasonable perpensions it hath no place in some ,sciences1 small in others1 and suffereth many restrictions1 even where it is most admitted4 ,,sn3 ,in the ,mathematicks4 ,it is of no validity in the ,mathematicks1 especially the mother part thereof1 ,arithmetick and ,geometry4 ,for these ,sciences concluding from dignities and principles known by themselves3 receive not satisfaction from probable reasons1 much less from bare and peremptory asseverations4 ,and therefore if all ,athens should decree1 that in every ,triangle1 two sides1 which soever be taken1 are greater then the side remaining1 or that in rectangle triangles the square which is made of the side that subtendeth the right angle1 is equal to the squares which are made of the sides containing the right angle3 although there be a certain truth therein1 ,geometricians notwithstanding would not receive satisfaction without demonstration thereof4 ',tis true1 by the vulgarity of ,philosophers1 there are many points believed without probation2 nor if a man affirm from ,ptolomy1 that the ,sun is bigger then the ,earth1 shall he probably meet with any contradiction3 whereunto notwithstanding ,astronomers will not assent without some convincing argument or demonstrative proof thereof4 ,and therefore certainly of all men a ,philosopher should be no swearer2 for an oath which is the end of controversies in ,law1 cannot determine any here2 nor are the deepest ,sacraments or desperate imprecations of any force to perswade1 where reason only1 and necessary mediums must induce4 ,sidenote3 ,and ,physick4 ,in ,natural ,philosophy more generally pursued amongst us1 it carrieth but slender consideration2 for that also proceeding from setled ,principles1 therein is expected a satisfaction from scientifical progressions1 and such as beget a sure rational belief4 ,for if ,authority might have made out the assertions of ,philosophy1 we might have held that ,snow was black1 that the ,sea was but the sweat of the ,earth1 and many of the like absurdities4 ,then was ,aristotle injurious to fall upon ,melissus1 to reject the assertions of ,anaxagoras1 ,anaximander1 and ,empedocles2 then were we also ungrateful unto himself2 from whom our ,junior endeavours embracing many things on his authority1 our mature and secondary enquiries1 are forced to quit those receptions1 and to adhere unto the nearer account of ,reason4 ,and although it be not unusual1 even in ,philosophical ,tractates to make enumeration of ,authors1 yet are there reasons usually introduced1 and to ingenious ,readers do carry the stroke in the perswasion4 ,and surely if we account it reasonable among our selves1 and not injurious unto rational ,authors1 no farther to abet their ,opinions then as they are supported by solid ,reasons3 certainly with more excusable reservation may we shrink at their bare testimonies2 whose argument is but precarious1 and subsists upon the charity of our assentments4 ,in ,morality1 ,rhetorick1 ,law and ,history1 there is ,i confess a frequent and allowable use of testimony2 and yet herein ,i perceive1 it is not unlimitable1 but admitteth many restrictions4 ,thus in ,law both ,civil and ,divine3 that is onely esteemed a legal testimony1 which receives comprobation from the mouths of at least two witnesses2 and that not only for prevention of calumny1 but assurance against mistake2 whereas notwithstanding the solid reason of one man1 is as sufficient as the clamor of a whole ,nation2 and with imprejudicate apprehensions begets as firm a belief as the authority or aggregated testimony of many hundreds4 ,for reason being the very root of our natures1 and the principles thereof common unto all1 what is against the ,laws of true reason1 or the unerring understanding of any one1 if rightly apprehended2 must be disclaimed by all ,nations1 and rejected even by mankind4 ,again1 ,a testimony is of small validity if deduced from men out of their own profession2 so if ,lactantius affirm the ,figure of the ,earth is plain1 or ,austin deny there are ,antipodes2 though venerable ,fathers of the ,church1 and ever to be honoured1 yet will not their ,authorities prove sufficient to ground a belief thereon4 ,whereas notwithstanding the solid reason or confirmed experience of any man1 is very approvable in what profession soever4 ,so ,raymund ,sebund a ,physitian of ,tholouze1 besides his learned ,dialogues ,de ,natura ,humana1 hath written a natural ,theologie2 demonstrating therein the ,attributes of ,god1 and attempting the like in most points of ,religion4 ,so ,hugo ,grotius a ,civilian1 did write an excellent ,tract of the verity of ,christian ,religion4 ,wherein most rationally delivering themselves1 their works will be embraced by most that understand them1 and their reasons enforce belief even from prejudicate ,readers4 ,neither indeed have the ,authorities of men been ever so awful2 but that by some they have been rejected1 even in their own professions4 ,thus ,aristotle affirming the birth of the ,infant or time of its gestation1 extendeth sometimes unto the eleventh ,month1 but ,hippocrates1 averring that it exceedeth not the tenth3 ,adrian the ,emperour in a solemn process1 determined for ,aristotle2 but ,justinian many years after1 took in with ,hippocrates and reversed the ,decree of the other4 ,thus have ,councils1 not only condemned private men1 but the ,decrees and ,acts of one another4 ,so ,galen after all his veneration of ,hippocrates1 in some things hath fallen from him4 ,avicen in many from ,galen2 and others succeeding from him4 ,and although the singularity of ,paracelsus be intolerable1 who sparing onely ,hippocrates1 hath reviled not onely the ,authors1 but almost all the learning that went before him2 yet is it not much less injurious unto knowledge obstinately and inconvincibly to side with any one4 ,which humour unhappily possessing many1 they have by prejudice withdrawn themselves into parties1 and contemning the soveraignty of truth1 seditiously abetted the private divisions of error4 ,moreover a testimony in points ,historical1 and where it is of unavoidable use1 is of no illation in the negative1 nor is it of consequence that ,herodotus writing nothing of ,rome1 there was therefore no such ,city in his time2 or because ,dioscorides hath made no mention of ,unicorns horn1 there is therefore no such thing in ,nature4 ,indeed1 intending an accurate enumeration of ,medical materials1 the omission hereof affords some probability1 it was not used by the ,ancients1 but will not conclude the non-existence thereof4 ,for so may we annihilate many ,simples unknown to his enquiries1 as ,senna1 ,rhubarb1 ,bezoar1 ,ambregris1 and divers others4 ,whereas indeed the reason of man hath not such restraint2 concluding not onely affirmatively but negatively2 not onely affirming there is no magnitude beyond the last heavens1 but also denying there is any vacuity within them4 ,although it be confessed1 the affirmative hath the prerogative illation1 and ,barbara engrosseth the powerful demonstration4 ,lastly1 ,the strange relations made by ,authors1 may sufficiently discourage our adherence unto ,authority2 and which if we believe we must be apt to swallow any thing4 ,thus ,basil will tell us1 the ,serpent went erect like ,man1 and that that ,beast could speak before the ,fall4 ,tostatus would make us believe that ,nilus encreaseth every new ,moon4 ,leonardo ,fioravanti an ,italian ,physitian1 beside many other secrets1 assumeth unto himself the discovery of one concerning ,pellitory of the ,wall2 that is1 that it never groweth in the sight of the ,north star4 ,doue si possa vedere la stella ,tramontana1 wherein how wide he is from truth1 is easily discoverable unto every one1 who hath but ,astronomy enough to know that ,star4 ,franciscus ,sanctius in a laudable ,comment upon ,alciats ,emblems1 affirmeth1 and that from experience1 a ,nightingale hath no tongue4 ,avem ,philomelam lingua carere pro certo affirmare possum1 nisi me oculi fallunt4 ,which if any man for a while shall believe upon his experience1 he may at his leisure refute it by his own4 ,what fool almost would believe1 at least1 what wise man would relie upon that ,antidote delivered by ,pierius in his ,hieroglyphicks against the sting of a ,scorpion8 that is1 to sit upon an ,ass with ones face toward his tail2 for so the pain leaveth the ,man1 and passeth into the ,beast4 ,it were methinks but an uncomfortable receit for a ,quartane ,ague 7and yet as good perhaps as many others used7 to have recourse unto the ,recipe of ,sammonicus2 that is1 to lay the fourth ,book of ,homers ,iliads under ones head1 according to the precept of that ,physitian and ,poet1 ,moni ,iliados quartum suppone trementi4 ,,sn3 ,an eye medicine4 ,there are surely few that have belief to swallow1 or hope enough to experiment the ,collyrium of ,albertus2 which promiseth a strange effect1 and such as ,thieves would count inestimable1 that is1 to make one see in the dark3 yet thus much1 according unto his receit1 will the right eye of an ,hedge-hog boiled in oyl1 and preserved in a brazen vessel effect4 ,as strange it is1 and unto vicious inclinations were worth a nights lodging with ,lais1 what is delivered in ,kiranides2 that the left stone of a ,weesel1 wrapt up in the skin of a she ,mule1 is able to secure incontinency from conception4 ,,sn3 ,ten thousand drachms4 ,these with swarms of others have men delivered in their ,writings1 whose verities are onely supported by their authorities3 ,but being neither consonant unto reason1 nor correspondent unto experiment1 their affirmations are unto us no axioms3 ,we esteem thereof as things unsaid1 and account them but in the list of nothing4 ,i wish herein the ,chymists had been more sparing3 who over-magnifying their preparations1 inveigle the curiosity of many1 and delude the security of most4 ,for if experiments would answer their encomiums1 the ,stone and ,quartane ,agues were not opprobrious unto ,physitians3 we might contemn that first and most uncomfortable ,aphorism of ,hippocrates1 ,,sn3 ,ars longa vita brevis4 for surely that ,art were soon attained1 that hath so general remedies2 and life could not be short1 were there such to prolong it4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,a brief enumeration of ,authors4 ,now for as much as we have discoursed of ,authority1 and there is scarce any tradition or popular error but stands also delivered by some good ,author2 we shall endeavour a short discovery of such1 as for the major part have given authority hereto3 who though excellent and useful ,authors1 yet being either transcriptive1 or following common relations1 their accounts are not to be swallowed at large1 or entertained without all circumspection4 ,in whom the ipse dixit1 although it be no powerful argument in any1 is yet less authentick then in many other1 because they deliver not their own experiences1 but others affirmations1 and write from others1 as later pens from them4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,authors judgement1 or a character given of some eminent ,authors4 #a4 ,the first in order1 as also in time shall be ,herodotus of ,halicarnassus1 an excellent and very elegant ,historian2 whose ,books of ,history were so well received in his own days1 and at their rehearsal in the ,olympick games1 they obtained the names of the nine ,muses2 and continued in such esteem unto descending ,ages1 that ,cicero termed him1 ,historiarum parens4 ,and ,dionysius his ,countryman1 in an ,epistle to ,pompey1 after an express comparison1 affords him the better of ,thucydides2 all which notwithstanding1 he hath received from some1 the stile of ,mendaciorum pater4 ,his ,authority was much infringed by ,plutarch1 who being offended with him1 as ,polybius had been with ,philarcus for speaking too coldly of his ,countrymen1 hath left a particular ,tract1 ,de malignitate ,herodoti4 ,but in this latter ,century1 ,camerarius and ,stephanus have stepped in1 and by their witty ,apologies1 effectually endeavoured to frustrate the ,arguments of ,plutarch1 or any other4 ,now in this ,author1 as may be observed in our ensuing discourse1 and is better discernable in the perusal of himself1 there are many things fabulously delivered1 and not to be accepted as truths3 whereby nevertheless if any man be deceived1 the ,author is not so culpable as the ,believer4 ,for he indeed imitating the ,father ,poet1 whose life he hath also written1 and as ,thucydides observeth1 as well intending the delight as benefit of his ,reader1 hath besprinkled his work with many fabulosities2 whereby if any man be led into error1 he mistaketh the intention of the ,author1 who plainly confesseth he writeth many things by hear-say1 and forgetteth a very considerable caution of his2 that is1 ,ego qu fando cognovi1 exponere narratione mea debeo omnia3 credere autem esse vera omnia1 non debeo4 #b4 ,in the second place is ,ctesias3 the ,cnidian1 ,physitian unto ,artaxerxes ,king of ,persia1 his ,books are often recited by ancient ,writers1 and by the industry of ,stephanus and ,rhodomanus1 there are extant some fragments thereof in our days2 he wrote the ,history of ,persia1 and many narrations of ,india4 ,in the first1 as having a fair opportunity to know the truth1 and as ,diodorus affirmeth the perusal of ,persian ,records1 his testimony is acceptable4 ,in his ,indian ,relations1 wherein are contained strange and incredible accounts1 he is surely to be read with suspension4 ,these were they which weakned his authority with former ages2 for as we may observe1 he is seldom mentioned1 without a derogatory ,parenthesis in any ,author4 ,aristotle besides the frequent undervaluing of his authority1 in his ,books of ,animals gives him the lie no less then twice1 concerning the seed of ,elephants4 ,strabo in his eleventh ,book hath left a harder censure of him4 ,equidem facilius ,hesiodo ,homero1 aliquis fidem adhibuerit1 itmque ,tragicis ,poetis1 quam ,ctesi1 ,herodoto1 ,hellanico eorum similibus4 ,but ,lucian hath spoken more plainer then any4 ,scripsit ,ctesias de ,indorum regione1 deque iis qu apud illos sunt1 ea qu nec ipse vidit1 neque ex ullius sermone audivit4 ,yet were his relations taken up by some succeeding ,writers1 and many thereof revived by our ,countryman1 ,sir ,john ,mandevil1 ,knight1 and ,doctor in ,physick2 who after thirty years peregrination died at ,liege1 and was there honourably interred4 ,he left a ,book of his ,travels1 which hath been honoured with the translation of many ,languages1 and now continued above three hundred years2 herein he often attesteth the fabulous relations of ,ctesias1 and seems to confirm the refuted accounts of ,antiquity4 ,all which may still be received in some acceptions of morality1 and to a pregnant invention1 may afford commendable mythologie2 but in a natural and proper exposition1 it containeth impossibilities1 and things inconsistent with truth4 #c4 ,there is a ,book ,de mirandis auditionibus1 ascribed unto ,aristotle2 another ,de mirabilibus narrationibus1 written long after by ,antigonus1 another also of the same title by ,plegon ,trallianus1 translated by ,xilander1 and with the ,annotations of ,meursius1 all whereof make good the promise of their titles1 and may be read with caution4 ,which if any man shall likewise observe in the ,lecture of ,philostratus1 concerning the life of ,apollonius1 and even in some passages of the sober and learned ,plutarchus2 or not only in ancient ,writers1 but shall carry a wary eye on ,paulus ,venetus1 ,jovius1 ,olaus ,magnus1 ,nierembergius1 and many other3 ,i think his circumspection is laudable1 and he may thereby decline occasion of ,error4 ,sidenote3 ,a like opinion there is now of ,elder4 #d4 ,dioscorides ,anazarbeus1 he wrote many ,books in ,physick1 but six thereof ,de ,materia ,medica1 have found the greatest esteem3 he is an ,author of good antiquity and use1 preferred by ,galen before ,cratevas1 ,pamphilus1 and all that attempted the like description before him2 yet all he delivereth therein is not to be conceived ,oraculous4 ,for beside that1 following the wars under ,anthony1 the course of his life would not permit a punctual ,examen in all2 there are many things concerning the nature of ,simples1 traditionally delivered1 and to which ,i believe he gave no assent himself4 ,it had been an excellent ,receit1 and in his time when ,saddles were scarce in fashion of very great use1 if that were true which he delivers1 that ,vitex1 or ,agnus ,castus held only in the hand1 preserveth the rider from galling4 ,it were a strange effect1 and ,whores would forsake the experiment of ,savine1 if that were a truth which he delivereth of ,brake or female ,fearn1 that onely treading over it1 it causeth a sudden abortion4 ,it were to be wished true1 and women would idolize him1 could that be made out which he recordeth of ,phyllon1 ,mercury1 and other vegetables1 that the juice of the male ,plant drunk1 or the leaves but applied unto the genitals1 determines their conceptions unto males4 ,in these relations although he be more sparing1 his predecessors were very numerous2 and ,galen hereof most sharply accuseth ,pamphilus4 ,many of the like nature we meet sometimes in ,oribasius1 tius1 ,trallianus1 ,serapion1 ,evax1 and ,marcellus1 whereof some containing no colour of verity1 we may at first sight reject them2 others which seem to carry some face of truth1 we may reduce unto experiment4 ,and herein we shall rather perform good offices unto truth1 then any disservice unto their relators1 who have well deserved of succeeding ,ages2 from whom having received the conceptions of former ,times1 we have the readier hint of their conformity with ours1 and may accordingly explore and sift their verities4 ,sidenote3 ,plinius ,natural ,history collected out of #bjjj several ,authors4 #e4 ,plinius ,secundus of ,verona2 a man of great ,eloquence1 and industry indefatigable1 as may appear by his writings1 especially those now extant1 and which are never like to perish1 but even with learning it self2 that is1 his ,natural ,history4 ,he was the greatest ,collector or ,rhapsodist of the ,latines1 and as ,suetonius observeth1 he collected this piece out of two thousand ,latine and ,greek ,authors4 ,now what is very strange1 there is scarce a popular error passant in our days1 which is not either directly expressed1 or diductively contained in this ,work2 which being in the hands of most men1 hath proved a powerful occasion of their propagation4 ,wherein notwithstanding the credulity of the ,reader1 is more condemnable than the curiosity of the ,author3 for commonly he nameth the ,authors from whom he received those accounts1 and writes but as he reads1 as in his ,preface to ,vespasian he acknowledgeth4 #f4 ,claudius lianus1 who flourished not long after in the reign of ,trajan1 unto whom he dedicated his ,tacticks2 an elegant and miscellaneous ,author1 he hath left two ,books which are in the hands of every one1 his ,history of ,animals1 and his ,varia ,historia4 ,wherein are contained many things suspicious1 not a few false1 some impossible2 he is much beholding unto ,ctesias1 and in many uncertainties writes more confidently then ,pliny4 #g4 ,julius ,solinus1 who lived also about his time3 ,he left a ,work entituled ,polyhistor1 containing great variety of matter1 and is with most in good request at this day4 ,but to speak freely what cannot be concealed1 it is but ,pliny varied1 or a transcription of his ,natural ,history3 nor is it without all wonder it hath continued so long1 but is now likely1 and deserves indeed to live for ever2 not onely for the elegancy of the ,text1 but the excellency of the ,comment1 lately performed by ,salmasius1 under the name of ,plinian ,exercitations4 #h4 ,athens1 a delectable ,author1 very various1 and justly stiled by ,casaubon1 ,grcorum ,plinius4 ,there is extant of his1 a famous ,piece1 under the name of ,deipnosophista1 or ,coena ,sapientum1 containing the ,discourse of many learned men1 at a ,feast provided by ,laurentius4 ,it is a laborious ,collection out of many ,authors1 and some whereof are mentioned no where else4 ,it containeth strange and singular relations1 not without some spice or sprinkling of all ,learning4 ,the ,author was probably a better ,grammarian then ,philosopher1 dealing but hardly with ,aristotle and ,plato1 and betrayeth himself much in his ,chapter ,de ,curiositate ,aristotelis4 ,in brief1 he is an ,author of excellent use1 and may with discretion be read unto great advantage3 and hath therefore well deserved the ,comments of ,casaubon and ,dalecampius4 ,but being miscellaneous in many things1 he is to be received with suspition2 for such as amass all relations1 must erre in some1 and may without offence be unbelieved in many4 ,sidenote3 ,that write ,hexameters1 or long verses4 #i4 ,we will not omit the works of ,nicander1 a ,poet of good antiquity3 that is1 his ,theriaca1 and ,alexipharmaca1 ,translated and ,commented by ,gorrus3 for therein are contained several ,traditions1 and popular ,conceits of venemous ,beasts2 which only deducted1 the ,work is to be embraced1 as containing the first description of poysons and their antidotes1 whereof ,dioscorides1 ,pliny1 and ,galen1 have made especial use in elder times2 and ,ardoynus1 ,grevinus1 and others1 in times more near our own4 ,we might perhaps let pass ,oppianus1 that famous ,cilician ,poet4 ,there are extant of his in ,greek1 four ,books of ,cynegeticks or ,venation1 five of ,halieuticks or ,piscation1 commented and published by ,ritterhusius2 wherein describing ,beasts of venery and ,fishes1 he hath indeed but sparingly inserted the vulgar conceptions thereof4 ,so that abating the annual mutation of ,sexes in the ,hyna1 the single ,sex of the ,rhinoceros1 the ,antipathy between two ,drums1 of a ,lamb and a ,wolfes skin1 the informity of ,cubs1 the venation of ,centaures1 the copulation of the ,murena and the ,viper1 with some few others1 he may be read with great delight and profit4 ,it is not without some wonder his ,elegant ,lines are so neglected4 ,surely hereby we reject one of the best ,epick ,poets1 and much condemn the ,judgement of ,antoninus1 whose apprehensions so honoured his ,poems1 that as some report1 for every verse1 he assigned him a ,stater of ,gold4 #aj4 ,more warily are we to receive the relations of ,philes1 who in ,greek ,iambicks delivered the proprieties of ,animals1 for herein he hath amassed the vulgar accounts recorded by the ,ancients1 and hath therein especially followed lian4 ,and likewise ,johannes ,tzetzes1 a ,grammarian1 who besides a ,comment upon ,hesiod and ,homer1 hath left us ,chiliads de ,varia ,historia2 wherein delivering the accounts of ,ctesias1 ,herodotus1 and most of the ,ancients1 he is to be embraced with caution1 and as a transcriptive ,relator4 #aa4 ,we cannot without partiality omit all caution even of holy ,writers1 and such whose names are venerable unto all posterity3 not to meddle at all with miraculous ,authors1 or any ,legendary relators1 we are not without circumspection to receive some ,books even of authentick and renowned ,fathers4 ,so are we to read the leaves of ,basil and ,ambrose1 in their ,books entituled ,hexameron1 or ,the ,description of the ,creation2 ,wherein delivering particular accounts of all the ,creatures1 they have left us relations sutable to those of lian1 ,plinie1 and other ,natural ,writers2 whose authorities herein they followed1 and from whom most probably they desumed their ,narrations4 ,and the like hath been committed by ,epiphanius1 in his ,physiologie3 that is1 a ,book he hath left concerning the ,nature of ,animals4 ,with no less caution must we look on ,isidor ,bishop of ,sevil2 who having left in twenty ,books1 an accurate work ,de ,originibus1 hath to the ,etymologie of ,words1 super-added their received ,natures2 wherein most generally he consents with common ,opinions and ,authors which have delivered them4 #ab4 ,albertus ,bishop of ,ratisbone1 for his great ,learning and latitude of ,knowledge1 sirnamed ,magnus4 ,besides ,divinity1 he hath written many ,tracts in ,philosophy2 what we are chiefly to receive with caution1 are his ,natural ,tractates1 more especially those of ,minerals1 ,vegetables1 and ,animals1 which are indeed chiefly ,collections out of ,aristotle1 lian1 and ,pliny1 and respectively contain many of our popular ,errors4 ,a man who hath much advanced these ,opinions by the authority of his ,name1 and delivered most ,conceits1 with strict ,enquiry into few4 ,in the same ,classis may well be placed ,vincentius ,belluacensis1 or rather he from whom he collected his ,speculum naturale1 that is1 ,guilielmus de ,conchis2 and also ,hortus ,sanitatis1 and ,bartholomeus ,glanvil1 sirnamed ,anglicus1 who writ ,de proprietatibus ,rerum4 ,hither also may be referred ,kiranides1 which is a ,collection out of ,harpocration the ,greek1 and sundry ,arabick ,writers2 delivering not onely the ,natural but ,magical propriety of things2 a ,work as full of ,vanity as ,variety2 containing many relations1 whose ,invention is as difficult as their ,beliefs1 and their ,experiments sometime as hard as either4 #ac4 ,we had almost forgot ,jeronimus ,cardanus that famous ,physician of ,milan1 a great ,enquirer of ,truth1 but too greedy a ,receiver of it4 ,he hath left many excellent ,discourses1 ,medical1 ,natural1 and ,astrological2 the most suspicious are those two he wrote by admonition in a dream1 that is ,de ,subtilitate ,varietate ,rerum4 ,assuredly this learned man hath taken many things upon trust1 and although examined some1 hath let slip many others4 ,he is of singular use unto a prudent ,reader2 but unto him that onely desireth ,hoties1 or to replenish his head with varieties2 like many others before related1 either in the ,original or confirmation1 he may become no small occasion of ,error4 #ad4 ,lastly1 ,authors are also suspicious1 not greedily to be swallowed1 who pretend to write of ,secrets1 to deliver ,antipathies1 ,sympathies1 and the occult abstrusities of things2 in the list whereof may be accounted1 ,alexis ,pedimontanus1 ,antonius ,mizaldus1 ,trinum ,magicum1 and many others4 ,not omitting that famous ,philosopher of ,naples1 ,baptista ,porta2 in whose ,works1 although there be contained many excellent things1 and verified upon his own ,experience2 yet are there many also receptary1 and such as will not endure the test4 ,who although he hath delivered many strange ,relations in his ,phytognomia1 and his ,villa2 yet hath he more remarkably expressed himself in his ,natural ,magick1 and the miraculous effects of ,nature4 ,which containing various and delectable subjects1 withall promising wondrous and easie effects1 they are entertained by ,readers at all hands2 whereof the major part sit down in his authority1 and thereby omit not onely the certainty of ,truth1 but the pleasure of its ,experiment4 ,thus have we made a brief enumeration of these ,learned ,men2 not willing any to decline their ,works 7without which it is not easie to attain any measure of general ,knowledge17 but to apply themselves with caution thereunto4 ,and seeing the lapses of these worthy ,pens1 to cast a wary eye on those diminutive1 and pamphlet ,treaties daily published amongst us4 ,pieces maintaining rather ,typography than ,verity1 ,authors presumably writing by ,common ,places1 wherein for many years promiscuously amassing all that makes for their subject1 they break forth at last in trite and fruitless ,rhapsodies2 doing thereby not only open injury unto ,learning1 but committing a secret treachery upon truth4 ,for their relations falling upon credulous ,readers1 they meet with prepared beliefs2 whose supinities had rather assent unto all1 then adventure the trial of any4 ,thus1 ,i say1 must these ,authors be read1 and thus must we be read our selves2 for discoursing of matters dubious1 and many convertible truths2 we cannot without arrogancy entreat a credulity1 or implore any farther assent1 then the probability of our ,reasons1 and verity of experiments induce4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,of the ,same4 ,there are beside these ,authors and such as have positively promoted errors1 divers other which are in some way accessory2 whose verities although they do not directly assert1 yet do they obliquely concur unto their beliefs4 ,in which account are many holy ,writers1 ,preachers1 ,moralists1 ,rhetoricians1 ,orators and ,poets2 for they depending upon ,invention1 deduce their mediums from all things whatsoever2 and playing much upon the simile1 or illustrative argumentation3 to induce their ,enthymemes unto the people1 they took up popular conceits1 and from traditions unjustifiable or really false1 illustrate matters of undeniable truth4 ,wherein although their intention be sincere1 and that course not much condemnable2 yet doth it notoriously strengthen common ,errors1 and authorise ,opinions injurious unto truth4 ,sidenote3 ,expressions of holy ,scripture fitted many times rather to popular and common apprehension1 then to the exact ,nature of things4 ,thus have some ,divines drawn into argument the ,fable of the ,phoenix1 made use of that of the ,salamander1 ,pelican1 ,basilisk1 and divers relations of ,plinie2 deducing from thence most worthy morals1 and even upon our ,saviour4 ,now although this be not prejudicial unto wiser ,judgments1 who are but weakly moved with such arguments1 yet it is oft times occasion of ,error unto vulgar heads1 who expect in the ,fable as equal a truth as in the ,moral1 and conceive that infallible ,philosophy1 which is in any sense delivered by ,divinity4 ,but wiser discerners do well understand1 that every ,art hath its own circle2 that the effects of things are best examined1 by sciences wherein are delivered their causes2 that strict and definitive expressions1 are alway required in ,philosophy1 but a loose and popular delivery will serve oftentimes in ,divinity4 ,as may be observed even in holy ,scripture1 which often omitteth the exact account of things2 describing them rather to our apprehensions1 then leaving doubts in vulgar minds1 upon their unknown and ,philosophical descriptions4 ,thus it termeth the ,sun and the ,moon the two great lights of ,heaven4 ,now if any shall from hence conclude1 the ,moon is second in magnitude unto the ,sun1 he must excuse my belief2 and it cannot be strange1 if herein ,i rather adhere unto the demonstration of ,ptolomy1 then the popular description of ,moses4 ,thus is it said1 ,chron4 #b4 #d4 ,that ,solomon made a molten ,sea of ten ,cubits from brim to brim round in compass1 and five ,cubits the height thereof1 and a line of thirty ,cubits did compass it round about4 ,now in this description1 the circumference is made just treble unto the ,diameter3 that is1 as #aj4 to #cj4 or #g4 to #ba4 ,but ,archimedes ,,sn3 ,in his ,cyclometria4 demonstrates1 that the proportion of the ,diameter unto the circumference1 is as #g4 unto almost #bb4 which will occasion a sensible difference1 that is almost a ,cubit4 ,now if herein ,i adhere unto ,archimedes who speaketh exactly1 rather then the sacred ,text which speaketh largely2 ,i hope ,i shall not offend ,divinity3 ,i am sure ,i shall have reason and experience of every circle to support me4 ,thus ,moral ,writers1 ,rhetoricians and ,orators make use of several relations which will not consist with verity4 ,aristotle in his ,ethicks takes up the conceit of the ,bever1 and the divulsion of his ,testicles4 ,the tradition of the ,bear1 the ,viper1 and divers others are frequent amongst ,orators4 ,all which although unto the illiterate and undiscerning hearers may seem a confirmation of their realities2 yet is this no reasonable establishment unto others1 who will not depend hereon otherwise then common ,apologues3 which being of impossible falsities1 do notwithstanding include wholsome moralities1 and such as expiate the trespass of their absurdities4 ,the ,hieroglyphical doctrine of the gyptians 7which in their four hundred years cohabitation some conjecture they learned from the ,hebrews7 hath much advanced many popular conceits4 ,for using an ,alphabet of things1 and not of words1 through the image and pictures thereof1 they endeavoured to speak their hidden conceits in the letters and language of ,nature4 ,in pursuit whereof1 although in many things1 they exceeded not their true and real apprehensions2 yet in some other they either framing the story1 or taking up the tradition1 conducible unto their intentions1 obliquely confirmed many falsities2 which as authentick and conceded truths did after pass unto the ,greeks1 from them unto other ,nations1 and are still retained by symbolical ,writers1 ,emblematists1 ,heralds1 and others4 ,whereof some are strictly maintained for truths1 as naturally making good their artificial representations2 others symbolically intended1 are literally received1 and swallowed in the first sense1 without all gust of the second4 ,whereby we pervert the profound and mysterious knowledge of gypt2 containing the ,arcana's of ,greek ,antiquities1 the ,key of many obscurities and ancient learning extant4 ,famous herein in former ,ages were ,heraiscus1 ,cheremon1 ,epius1 especially ,orus ,apollo ,niliacus3 who lived in the reign of ,theodosius1 and in gyptian language left two ,books of ,hieroglyphicks1 translated into ,greek by ,philippus1 and a large collection of all made after by ,pierius4 ,but no man is likely to profound the ,ocean of that ,doctrine1 beyond that eminent example of industrious ,learning1 ,kircherus4 ,painters who are the visible representers of things1 and such as by the learned sense of the eye endeavour to inform the understanding1 are not inculpable herein1 who either describing ,naturals as they are1 or actions as they have been1 have oftentimes erred in their delineations4 ,which being the ,books that all can read1 are fruitful advancers of these conceptions1 especially in common and popular apprehensions3 who being unable for farther enquiry1 must rest in the draught and letter of their descriptions4 ,lastly1 ,poets and ,poetical ,writers have in this point exceeded others1 trimly advancing the gyptian notions of ,harpies1 ,phoenix1 ,gryphins and many more4 ,now however to make use of ,fictions1 ,apologues1 and ,fables1 be not unwarrantable1 and the intent of these inventions might point at laudable ends2 yet do they afford our junior capacities a frequent occasion of error1 setling impressions in our tender memories1 which our advanced judgments generally neglect to expunge4 ,this way the vain and idle fictions of the ,gentiles did first insinuate into the heads of ,christians2 and thus are they continued even unto our days4 ,our first and literary apprehensions being commonly instructed in ,authors which handle nothing else2 wherewith our memories being stuffed1 our inventions become pedantick1 and cannot avoid their allusions2 driving at these as at the highest elegancies1 which are but the frigidities of wit1 and become not the genius of manly ingenuities4 ,it were therefore no loss like that of ,galens ,library1 if these had found the same fate2 and would in some way requite the neglect of solid ,authors1 if they were less pursued4 ,for were a pregnant wit educated in ignorance hereof1 receiving only impressions from realities2 upon such solid foundations1 it must surely raise more substantial superstructions1 and fall upon very many excellent strains1 which have been jusled off by their intrusions4 ,,chapter ,x ,of the last and common ,promoter of false ,opinions1 the endeavours of ,satan4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,devils method of propagating ,error in the ,world4 ,but beside the infirmities of humane ,nature1 the seed of ,error within our selves1 and the several ways of delusion from each other1 there is an invisible ,agent1 and secret promoter without us1 whose activity is undiscerned1 and plays in the dark upon us2 and that is the first contriver of ,error1 and professed opposer of ,truth1 the ,devil4 ,for though permitted unto his proper principles1 ,adam perhaps would have sinned without the suggestion of ,satan3 and from the transgressive infirmities of himself might have erred alone1 as well as the ,angels before him3 ,and although also there were no ,devil at all1 yet there is now in our ,natures a confessed sufficiency unto corruption1 and the frailty of our own ,oeconomie1 were able to betray us out of ,truth1 yet wants there not another ,agent1 who taking advantage hereof proceedeth to obscure the diviner part1 and efface all tract of its traduction4 ,to attempt a particular of all his wiles1 is too bold an ,arithmetick for man3 what most considerably concerneth his popular and practised ways of delusion1 he first deceiveth mankind in five main points concerning ,god and himself4 ,and first his endeavours have ever been1 and they cease not yet to instill a belief in the mind of ,man1 there is no ,god at all4 ,and this he principally endeavours to establish in a direct and literal apprehension2 that is1 that there is no such reality existent1 that the necessity of his entity dependeth upon ours1 and is but a ,political ,chymera2 that the natural truth of ,god is an artificial erection of ,man1 and the ,creator himself but a subtile invention of the ,creature4 ,where he succeeds not thus high1 he labours to introduce a secondary and deductive ,atheism2 that although men concede there is a ,god1 yet should they deny his providence4 ,and therefore assertions have flown about1 that he intendeth only the care of the species or common natures1 but letteth loose the guard of individuals1 and single existencies therein3 that he looks not below the ,moon1 but hath designed the regiment of sublunary affairs unto inferiour deputations4 ,to promote which apprehensions1 or empuzzel their due conceptions1 he casteth in the notions of fate1 destiny1 fortune1 chance1 and necessity2 terms commonly misconceived by vulgar heads1 and their propriety sometime perverted by the wisest4 ,whereby extinguishing in minds the compensation of vertue and vice1 the hope and fear of ,heaven or ,hell2 they comply in their actions unto the drift of his delusions1 and live like creatures without the capacity of either4 ,now hereby he not onely undermineth the ,base of ,religion1 and destroyeth the principle preambulous unto all belief2 but puts upon us the remotest ,error from ,truth4 ,for ,atheism is the greatest falsity1 and to affirm there is no ,god1 the highest lie in ,nature4 ,and therefore strictly taken1 some men will say his labour is in vain2 ,for many there are1 who cannot conceive there was ever any absolute ,atheist2 or such as could determine there was no ,god1 without all check from himself1 or contradiction from his other opinions4 ,and therefore those few so called by elder times1 might be the best of ,pagans2 suffering that name rather in relation to the gods of the ,gentiles1 then the true ,creator of all4 ,a conceit that cannot befal his greatest enemy1 or him that would induce the same in us2 who hath a sensible apprehension hereof1 for he believeth with trembling4 ,to speak yet more strictly and conformably unto some ,opinions1 no creature can wish thus much2 nor can the ,will which hath a power to run into velleities1 and wishes of impossibilities1 have any utinam of this4 ,for to desire there were no ,god1 were plainly to unwish their own being2 which must needs be annihilated in the substraction of that essence which substantially supporteth them1 and restrains them from regression into nothing4 ,and if as some contend1 no creature can desire his own annihilation1 that ,nothing is not appetible1 and not to be at all1 is worse then to be in the miserablest condition of something2 the ,devil himself could not embrace that motion1 nor would the enemy of ,god be freed by such a ,redemption4 ,but coldly thriving in this design1 as being repulsed by the principles of humanity1 and the dictates of that production1 which cannot deny its original1 he fetcheth a wider circle2 and when he cannot make men conceive there is no ,god at all1 he endeavours to make them believe there is not one1 but many3 wherein he hath been so successful with common heads1 that he hath led their belief thorow the ,works of ,nature4 ,sidenote3 ,areopagus the severe ,court of ,athens4 ,now in this latter attempt1 the subtilty of his circumvention1 hath indirectly obtained the former4 ,for although to opinion there be many gods1 may seem an excess in ,religion1 and such as cannot at all consist with ,atheism1 yet doth it deductively and upon inference include the same1 for ,unity is the inseparable and essential attribute of ,deity2 and if there be more then one ,god1 it is no ,atheism to say there is no ,god at all4 ,and herein though ,socrates only suffered1 yet were ,plato and ,aristotle guilty of the same ,truth2 who demonstratively understanding the simplicity of perfection1 and the indivisible condition of the first causator1 it was not in the power of ,earth1 or ,areopagy of ,hell ,,sn3 ,areopagus the severe ,court of ,athens4 to work them from it4 ,for holding an #ai;,apodictical knowledge1 and assured science of its verity1 to perswade their apprehensions unto a plurality of gods in the world1 were to make ,euclide believe there were more than one ,center in a ,circle1 or one right ,angle in a ,triangle2 which were indeed a fruitless attempt1 and inferreth absurdities beyond the evasion of ,hell4 ,for though ,mechanick and vulgar heads ascend not unto such comprehensions1 who live not commonly unto half the advantage of their principles2 yet did they not escape the eye of wiser ,minerva's1 and such as made good the genealogie of ,jupiters brains2 who although they had divers stiles for ,god1 yet under many appellations acknowledged one divinity3 rather conceiving thereby the evidence or acts of his power in several ways and places1 then a multiplication of ,essence1 or real distraction of unity in any one4 #ai ,demonstrative4 ,again1 ,to render our errors more monstrous 7and what unto miracle sets forth the patience of ,god17 he hath endeavoured to make the world believe1 that he was ,god himself2 and failing of his first attempt to be but like the highest in ,heaven1 he hath obtained with men to be the same on ,earth4 ,and hath accordingly assumed the annexes of ,divinity1 and the prerogatives of the ,creator1 drawing into practice the operation of miracles1 and the prescience of things to come4 ,thus hath he in a specious way wrought cures upon the sick3 played over the wondrous acts of ,prophets1 and counterfeited many miracles of ,christ and his ,apostles4 ,thus hath he openly contended with ,god1 and to this effect his insolency was not ashamed to play a solemn prize with ,moses2 wherein although his performance were very specious1 and beyond the common apprehension of any power below a ,deity2 yet was it not such as could make good his ,omnipotency4 ,for he was wholly confounded in the conversion of dust into lice4 ,an act ,philosophy can scarce deny to be above the power of ,nature1 nor upon a requisite predisposition beyond the efficacy of the ,sun4 ,wherein notwithstanding the head of the old ,serpent was confessedly too weak for ,moses hand1 and the arm of his ,magicians too short for the finger of ,god4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,authors opinion1 touching ,necromancy and apparitions of the spirits of men departed4 ,thus hath he also made men believe that he can raise the dead1 that he hath the key of life and death1 and a prerogative above that principle which makes no regression from privations4 ,the ,stoicks that opinioned the souls of wise men dwelt about the ,moon1 and those of fools wandered about the ,earth1 advantaged the conceit of this effect2 wherein the ,epicureans1 who held that death was nothing1 nor nothing after death1 must contradict their principles to be deceived4 ,nor could the ,pythagoreans or such as maintained the transmigration of souls give easie admittance hereto3 for holding that separated souls successively supplied other bodies1 they could hardly allow the raising of souls from other worlds1 which at the same time1 they conceived conjoyned unto bodies in this4 ,more inconsistent with these ,opinions1 is the ,error of ,christians1 who holding the dead do rest in the ,lord1 do yet believe they are at the lure of the ,devil2 that he who is in bonds himself commandeth the fetters of the dead1 and dwelling in the bottomless lake1 the blessed from ,abrahams bosome1 that can believe the real resurrection of ,samuel3 or that there is any thing but delusion in the practice of #bj,necromancy and popular raising of ,ghosts4 #bj ,divination by the dead4 ,sidenote3 ,how the ,devil works his pretended revelations or predictions4 ,he hath moreover endeavoured the opinion of ,deity1 by the delusion of ,dreams1 and the discovery of things to come in sleep1 above the prescience of our waked senses4 ,in this expectation he perswaded the credulity of elder times to take up their lodging before his temple1 in skins of their own sacrifices3 till his reservedness had contrived answers1 whose accomplishments were in his power1 or not beyond his presagement4 ,which way1 although it had pleased ,almighty ,god1 sometimes to reveal himself1 yet was the proceeding very different4 ,for the revelations of ,heaven are conveyed by new impressions1 and the immediate illumination of the soul1 whereas the deceiving spirit1 by concitation of humours1 produceth his conceited phantasms1 or by compounding the species already residing1 doth make up words which mentally speak his intentions4 ,but above all he most advanced his ,deity in the solemn practice of ,oracles1 wherein in several parts of the ,world1 he publikely professed his ,divinity2 but how short they flew of that spirit1 whose omniscience1 they would resemble1 their weakness sufficiently declared4 ,what jugling there was therein1 the ,orator ,,sn3 ,demosthenes4 plainly confessed1 who being good at the same game himself1 could say that ,pythia ,philippised4 ,who can but laugh at the carriage of ,ammon unto ,alexander1 who addressing unto him as a god1 was made to believe1 he was a god himself8 ,how openly did he betray his ,indivinity unto ,croesus1 who being ruined by his ,amphibology1 and expostulating with him for so ungrateful a deceit1 received no higher answer then the excuse of his impotency upon the contradiction of fate1 and the setled law of powers beyond his power to controle6 ,what more then sublunary directions1 or such as might proceed from the ,oracle of humane ,reason1 was in his advice unto the ,spartans in the time of a great ,plague2 when for the cessation thereof1 he wisht them to have recourse unto a ,fawn1 that is in open terms1 unto one ,nebrus1 a good ,physitian of those days8 ,,sn3 ,nebros1 in ,greek1 a ,fawn4 ,from no diviner a spirit came his reply unto ,caracalla1 who requiring a remedy for his ,gout1 received no other counsel then to refrain cold drink2 which was but a dietetical caution1 and such as without a journey unto sculapius1 culinary prescription and kitchin ,aphorisms might have afforded at home4 ,nor surely if any truth there were therein1 of more then natural activity was his counsel unto ,democritus2 when for the ,falling sickness he commended the ,maggot in a ,goats head4 ,for many things secret are true2 sympathies and antipathies are safely authentick unto us1 who ignorant of their causes may yet acknowledge their effects4 ,beside1 being a natural ,magician he may perform many acts in ways above our knowledge1 though not transcending our natural power1 when our knowledge shall direct it4 ,part hereof hath been discovered by himself1 and some by humane indagation3 which though magnified as fresh inventions unto us1 are stale unto his cognition4 ,i hardly believe he hath from elder times unknown the verticity of the ,loadstone2 surely his perspicacity discerned it to respect the ,north1 when ours beheld it indeterminately4 ,many secrets there are in ,nature of difficult discovery unto man1 of easie knowledge unto ,satan2 whereof some his vain glory cannot conceal1 others his envy will not discover4 ,again1 ,such is the mysterie of his delusion1 that although he labour to make us believe that he is ,god1 and supremest nature whatsoever1 yet would he also perswade our beliefs1 that he is less then ,angels or men2 and his condition not onely subjected unto rational powers1 but the actions of things which have no efficacy on our selves4 ,thus hath he inveigled no small part of the world into a credulity of artificial ,magick3 ,that there is an ,art1 which without compact commandeth the powers of ,hell2 whence some have delivered the polity of spirits1 and left an account even to their ,provincial ,dominions3 that they stand in awe of ,charms1 ,spels1 and ,conjurations2 that he is afraid of letters and characters1 of notes and dashes1 which set together do signifie nothing1 not only in the dictionary of man1 but the subtiler vocabulary of ,satan4 ,that there is any power in ,bitumen1 ,pitch1 or ,brimstone1 to purifie the air from his uncleanness2 that any vertue there is in ,hipericon ,,sn3 ,st4 ,johns ,wort1 so called by ,magicians4 to make good the name of fuga ,dmonis1 any such ,magick as is ascribed unto the ,root ,baaras by ,josephus1 or ,cynospastus by lianus1 it is not easie to believe2 nor is it naturally made out what is delivered of ,tobias1 that by the fume of a ,fishes liver1 he put to flight ,asmodeus4 ,that they are afraid of the pentangle of ,solomon1 though so set forth with the body of man1 as to touch and point out the five places wherein our ,saviour was wounded1 ,i know not how to assent4 ,,sn3 #c triangles intersected and made of five lines4 ,if perhaps he hath fled from holy ,water1 if he cares not to hear the sound of ,tetragrammaton ,,sn3 ,implying ,jehovah1 which in ,hebrew consisteth of four letters41 if his eye delight not in the sign of the ,cross2 and that sometimes he will seem to be charmed with words of holy ,scripture1 and to flie from the letter and dead verbality1 who must onely start at the life and animated interiors thereof3 ,it may be feared they are but ,parthian flights1 ,ambuscado retreats1 and elusory tergiversations3 ,whereby to confirm our credulities1 he will comply with the opinion of such powers1 which in themselves have no activities4 ,whereof having once begot in our minds an assured dependence1 he makes us relie on powers which he but precariously obeys2 and to desert those true and only charms which ,hell cannot withstand4 ,lastly1 ,to lead us farther into darkness1 and quite to lose us in this maze of ,error1 he would make men believe there is no such creature as himself3 and that he is not onely subject unto inferiour creatures1 but in the rank of nothing4 ,insinuating into mens minds there is no ,devil at all1 and contriveth accordingly1 many ways to conceal or indubitate his existency4 ,wherein beside that he annihilates the blessed ,angels and ,spirits in the rank of his ,creation2 he begets a security of himself1 and a careless eye unto the last remunerations4 ,and therefore hereto he inveigleth1 not only ,sadduces and such as retain unto the ,church of ,god3 but is also content that ,epicurus1 ,democritus1 or any ,heathen should hold the same4 ,and to this effect he maketh men believe that apparitions1 and such as confirm his existence are either deceptions of sight1 or melancholly depravements of phansie4 ,thus when he had not onely appeared but spake unto ,brutus2 ,cassius the ,epicurian was ready at hand to perswade him1 it was but a mistake in his weary imagination1 and that indeed there were no such realities in nature4 ,thus he endeavours to propagate the unbelief of ,witches1 whose concession infers his co-existency2 by this means also he advanceth the opinion of total death1 and staggereth the immortality of the soul2 for1 such as deny there are spirits subsistent without bodies1 will with more difficulty affirm the separated existence of their own4 ,now to induce and bring about these falsities1 he hath laboured to destroy the evidence of ,truth1 that is the revealed verity and written ,word of ,god4 ,to which intent he hath obtained with some to repudiate the ,books of ,moses1 others those of the ,prophets1 and some both3 to deny the ,gospel and authentick ,histories of ,christ2 to reject that of ,john1 and to receive that of ,judas2 to disallow all1 and erect another of ,thomas4 ,and when neither their corruption by ,valentinus and ,arrius1 their mutilation by ,marcion1 ,manes1 and ,ebion could satisfie his design1 he attempted the ruine and total destruction thereof2 as he sedulously endeavoured1 by the power and subtilty of ,julian1 ,maximinus1 and ,dioclesian4 ,but the longevity of that piece1 which hath so long escaped the common fate1 and the providence of that ,spirit which ever waketh over it1 may at last discourage such attempts2 and if not make doubtful its ,mortality1 at least indubitably declare2 this is a stone too big for ,saturns mouth1 and a bit indeed ,oblivion cannot swallow4 ,and thus how strangely he possesseth us with ,errors may clearly be observed1 deluding us into contradictory and inconsistent falsities2 whilest he would make us believe1 ,that there is no ,god4 ,that there are many4 ,that he himself is ,god4 ,that he is less then ,angels or ,men4 ,that he is nothing at all4 ,nor hath he onely by these wiles depraved the conception of the ,creator1 but with such ,riddles hath also entangled the ,nature of our ,redeemer4 ,some denying his ,humanity1 and that he was one of the ,angels1 as ,ebion2 that the ,father and ,son were but one person1 as ,sabellius4 ,that his body was phantastical1 as ,manes1 ,basilides1 ,priscillian1 ,jovinianus2 that he only passed through ,mary1 as ,utyches and ,valentinus4 ,some denying his ,divinity2 that he was begotten of humane principles1 and the seminal ,son of ,joseph2 as ,carpocras1 ,symmachus1 ,photinus3 that he was ,seth the ,son of ,adam1 as the ,sethians3 that he was less then ,angels1 as ,cherinthus3 that he was inferiour unto ,melchisedec1 as ,theodotus3 that he was not ,god1 but ,god dwelt in him1 as ,nicholaus3 and some embroyled them both4 ,so did they which converted the ,trinity into a ,quaternity1 and affirmed two persons in ,christ1 as ,paulus ,samosatenus3 that held he was ,man without a ,soul1 and that the ,word performed that office in him1 as ,apollinaris3 that he was both ,son and ,father1 as ,montanus3 that ,jesus suffered1 but ,christ remained impatible1 as ,cherinthus4 ,thus he endeavours to entangle ,truths3 ,and when he cannot possibly destroy its substance1 he cunningly confounds its apprehensions2 that from the inconsistent and contrary determinations thereof1 consectary impieties1 and hopeful conclusions may arise1 there's no such thing at all4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,a further ,illustration4 ,now although these ways of delusions most ,christians have escaped1 yet are there many other whereunto we are daily betrayed1 and these we meet with in obvious occurrents of the world1 wherein he induceth us1 to ascribe effects unto causes of no cognation2 and distorting the order and theory of causes perpendicular to their effects1 he draws them aside unto things whereto they run parallel1 and in their proper motions would never meet together4 ,thus doth he sometime delude us in the conceits of ,stars and ,meteors1 beside their allowable actions ascribing effects thereunto of independent causations4 ,thus hath he also made the ignorant sort believe that natural effects immediately and commonly proceed from supernatural powers3 and these he usually drives from ,heaven1 his own principality the ,air1 and ,meteors therein2 which being of themselves the effects of natural and created causes1 and such as upon a due conjunction of actives and passives1 without a miracle must arise unto what they appear2 are always looked on by ignorant spectators as supernatural spectacles1 and made the causes or signs of most succeeding contingencies4 ,to behold a ,rainbow in the night1 is no prodigy unto a ,philosopher4 ,then ,eclipses of ,sun or ,moon1 nothing is more natural4 ,yet with what superstition they have been beheld since the ,tragedy of ,nicias and his ,army1 many examples declare4 ,true it is1 and we will not deny1 that although these being natural productions from second and setled causes1 we need not alway look upon them as the immediate hand of ,god1 or of his ministring ,spirits2 yet do they sometimes admit a respect therein2 and even in their naturals1 the indifferency of their existencies contemporised unto our actions1 admits a further consideration4 ,that two or three ,suns or ,moons appear in any mans life or reign1 it is not worth the wonder4 ,but that the same should fall out at a remarkable time1 or point of some decisive action2 that the contingency of the appearance should be confirmed unto that time2 that those two should make but one line in the ,book of ,fate1 and stand together in the great ,ephemerides of ,god2 beside the ,philosophical assignment of the cause1 it may admit a ,christian apprehension in the signality4 ,but above all he deceiveth us1 when we ascribe the effects of things unto evident and seeming causalities1 which arise from the secret and undiscerned action of himself4 ,thus hath he deluded many ,nations in his ,augurial and ,extispicious inventions1 from casual and uncontrived contingencies divining events succeeding4 ,which ,tuscan superstition seizing upon ,rome1 hath since possessed all ,europe4 ,when ,augustus found two galls in his sacrifice1 the credulity of the ,city concluded a hope of peace with ,anthony2 and the conjunction of persons in choler with each other4 ,because ,brutus and ,cassius met a ,blackmore1 and ,pompey had on a dark or sad coloured garment at ,pharsalia2 these were presages of their overthrow4 ,which notwithstanding are scarce ,rhetorical sequels2 concluding ,metaphors from realities1 and from conceptions metaphorical inferring realities again4 ,now these divinations concerning events1 being in his power to force1 contrive1 prevent1 or further1 they must generally fall out conformably unto his predictions4 ,when ,graccus was slain1 the same day the ,chickens refused to come out of the ,coop3 and ,claudius ,pulcher underwent the like success1 when he contemned the ,tripudiary ,augurations3 ,they died not because the ,pullets would not feed3 but because the ,devil foresaw their death1 he contrived that abstinence in them4 ,so was there no natural dependence of the event4 ,an unexpected way of delusion1 and whereby he more easily led away the incircumspection of their belief4 ,which fallacy he might excellently have acted before the death of ,saul2 for that being within his power to foretell1 was not beyond his ability to foreshew3 and might have contrived signs thereof through all the creatures1 which visibly confirmed by the event1 had proved authentick unto those times1 and advanced the ,art ever after4 ,sidenote3 ,the danger and delusion that is in cures by ,charms1 ,amulets1 ,ligatures1 ,characters1 etc4 ,he deludeth us also by ,philters1 ,ligatures1 ,charms1 ungrounded ,amulets1 ,characters1 and many superstitious ways in the cure of common diseases3 seconding herein the expectation of men with events of his own contriving4 ,which while some unwilling to fall directly upon ,magick1 impute unto the power of imagination1 or the efficacy of hidden causes1 he obtains a bloody advantage3 for thereby he begets not only a false opinion1 but such as leadeth the open way of destruction4 ,in maladies admitting natural reliefs1 making men rely on remedies1 neither of real operation in themselves1 nor more then seeming efficacy in his concurrence4 ,which whensoever he pleaseth to withdraw1 they stand naked unto the mischief of their diseases3 and revenge the contempt of the medicines of the ,earth which ,god hath created for them4 ,and therefore when neither miracle is expected1 nor connection of cause unto effect from natural grounds concluded2 however it be sometime successful1 it cannot be safe to rely on such practises1 and desert the known and authentick provisions of ,god4 ,in which rank of remedies1 if nothing in our knowledge or their proper power be able to relieve us1 we must with patience submit unto that restraint1 and expect the will of the ,restrainer4 ,now in these effects although he seems oft-times to imitate1 yet doth he concur unto their productions in a different way from that spirit which sometime in natural means produceth effects above ,nature4 ,for whether he worketh by causes which have relation or none unto the effect1 he maketh it out by secret and undiscerned ways of ,nature4 ,so when ,caius the blind1 in the reign of ,antoninus1 was commanded to pass from the right side of the ,altar unto the left1 to lay five fingers of one hand thereon1 and five of the other upon his eys2 although the cure succeeded and all the people wondered1 there was not any thing in the action which did produce it1 nor any thing in his power that could enable it thereunto4 ,so for the same infirmity1 when ,aper was counselled by him to make a ,collyrium or ocular medicine with the blood of a white ,cock and ,honey1 and apply it to his eyes for three days3 ,when ,julian for his spitting of blood1 was cured by ,honey and ,pine nuts taken from his ,altar3 ,when ,lucius for the pain in his side1 applied thereto the ashes from his ,altar with wine2 although the remedies were somewhat rational1 and not without a natural vertue unto such intentions1 yet need we not believe that by their proper faculties they produced these effects4 ,but the effects of powers ,divine flow from another operation2 who either proceeding by visible means or not1 unto visible effects1 is able to conjoin them by his co-operation4 ,and therefore those sensible ways which seem of indifferent natures1 are not idle ceremonies1 but may be causes by his command1 and arise unto productions beyond their regular activities4 ,if ,nahaman the ,syrian had washed in ,jordan without the command of the ,prophet1 ,i believe he had been cleansed by them no more then by the waters of ,damascus4 ,i doubt if any beside ,elisha had cast in ,salt1 the waters of ,jericho had not been made wholsome4 ,i know that a decoction of wild gourd or ,colocynthis 7though somewhat qualified7 will not from every hand be dulcified unto aliment by an addition of flower or meal4 ,there was some natural vertue in the ,plaister of figs applied unto ,ezechias2 we find that gall is very mundificative1 and was a proper medicine to clear the eyes of ,tobit3 which carrying in themselves some action of their own1 they were additionally promoted by that power1 which can extend their natures unto the production of effects beyond their created efficiencies4 ,and thus may he operate also from causes of no power unto their visible effects2 for he that hath determined their actions unto certain effects1 hath not so emptied his own1 but that he can make them effectual unto any other4 ,again1 ,although his delusions run highest in points of practice1 whose errors draw on offensive or penal enormities1 yet doth he also deal in points of speculation1 and things whose knowledge terminates in themselves4 ,whose cognition although it seems indifferent1 and therefore its aberration directly to condemn no man2 yet doth he hereby preparatively dispose us unto errors1 and deductively deject us into destructive conclusions4 ,that the ,sun1 ,moon1 and ,stars are living creatures1 endued with soul and life1 seems an innocent ,error1 and an harmless digression from truth2 yet hereby he confirmed their ,idolatry1 and made it more plausibly embraced4 ,for wisely mistrusting that reasonable spirits would never firmly be lost in the adorement of things inanimate1 and in the lowest form of ,nature2 he begat an opinion that they were living creatures1 and could not decay for ever4 ,that spirits are corporeal1 seems at first view a conceit derogative unto himself1 and such as he should rather labour to overthrow2 yet hereby he establisheth the ,doctrine of ,lustrations1 ,amulets and ,charms1 as we have declared before4 ,that there are two principles of all things1 one good1 and another evil2 from the one proceeding vertue1 love1 light1 and unity2 from the other1 division1 discord1 darkness1 and deformity1 was the speculation of ,pythagoras1 ,empedocles1 and many ancient ,philosophers1 and was no more then ,oromasdes and ,arimanius of ,zoroaster4 ,yet hereby he obtained the advantage of ,adoration1 and as the terrible principle became more dreadful then his ,maker2 and therefore not willing to let it fall1 he furthered the conceit in succeeding ,ages1 and raised the faction of ,manes to maintain it4 ,that the feminine sex have no generative emission1 affording no seminal ,principles of conception2 was ,aristotles ,opinion of old1 maintained still by some1 and will be countenanced by him forever4 ,for hereby he disparageth the fruit of the ,virgin1 frustrateth the fundamental ,prophesie1 nor can the seed of the ,woman then break the head of the ,serpent4 ,nor doth he only sport in speculative ,errors1 which are of consequent impieties2 but the unquietness of his malice hunts after simple lapses1 and such whose falsities do only condemn our understandings4 ,thus if ,xenophanes will say there is another world in the ,moon2 ,if ,heraclitus with his adherents will hold the ,sun is no bigger then it appeareth2 ,if ,anaxagoras affirm that ,snow is black2 ,if any other opinion there are no ,antipodes1 or that ,stars do fall1 he shall not want herein the applause or advocacy of ,satan4 ,for maligning the tranquility of truth1 he delighteth to trouble its streams2 and being a professed enemy unto ,god 7who is truth it self7 he promoteth any ,error as derogatory to his nature2 and revengeth himself in every deformity from truth4 ,if therefore at any time he speak or practise truth1 it is upon design1 and a subtile inversion of the precept of ,god1 to do good that evil may come of it4 ,and therefore sometime we meet with wholsome doctrines from ,hell2 ,nosce teipsum1 the ,motto of ,delphos1 was a good precept in morality3 ,that a just man is beloved of the gods1 an uncontrolable verity4 ',twas a good deed1 though not well done1 which he wrought by ,vespasian1 when by the touch of his foot he restored a lame man1 and by the stroak of his hand another that was blind1 but the intention hereof drived at his own advantage2 for hereby he not only confirmed the opinion of his power with the people1 but his integrity with ,princes2 in whose power he knew it lay to overthrow his ,oracles1 and silence the practice of his delusions4 ,sidenote3 ,how spirits understand one another4 ,but of such a diffused nature1 and so large is the ,empire of ,truth1 that it hath place within the walls of ,hell1 and the ,devils themselves are daily forced to practise it2 not onely as being true themselves in a ,metaphysical verity1 that is1 as having their essence conformable unto the ,intellect of their ,maker1 but making use of ,moral and ,logical verities2 that is1 whether in the conformity of words unto things1 or things unto their own conceptions1 they practise truth in common among themselves4 ,for although without speech they intuitively conceive each other1 yet do their apprehensions proceed through realities2 and they conceive each other by species1 which carry the true and proper notions of things conceived4 ,and so also in ,moral verities1 although they deceive us1 they lie unto each other2 as well understanding that all community is continued by ,truth1 and that of ,hell cannot consist without it4 ,to come yet nearer the point1 and draw into a sharper angle2 ,they do not only speak and practise truth1 but may be said well-wishers hereunto1 and in some sense do really desire its enlargement4 ,for many things which in themselves are false1 they do desire were true2 ,he cannot but wish he were as he professeth1 that he had the knowledge of future events2 were it in his power1 the ,jews should be in the right1 and the ,messias yet to come4 ,could his desires effect it1 the opinion of ,aristotle should be true1 the world should have no end1 but be as immortal as himself4 ,for thereby he might evade the accomplishment of those afflictions1 he now but gradually endureth2 for comparatively unto those flames1 he is but yet in ,balneo1 then begins his ,ignis ,rot1 and terrible fire1 which will determine his disputed subtilty1 and even hazard his immortality4 ,sidenote3 ,how the ,devils fell4 ,but to speak strictly1 he is in these wishes no promoter of verity1 but if considered some ways injurious unto truth2 for 7besides that if things were true1 which now are false1 it were but an exchange of their natures1 and things must then be false1 which now are true7 the setled and determined order of the world would be perverted1 and that course of things disturbed1 which seemed best unto the immutable contriver4 ,for whilest they murmur against the present disposure of things1 regulating determined realities unto their private optations1 they rest not in their established natures2 but unwishing their unalterable verities1 do tacitely desire in them a deformity from the primitive ,rule1 and the ,idea of that mind that formed all things best4 ,and thus he offended truth even in his first attempt2 ,for not content with his created nature1 and thinking it too low1 to be the highest creature of ,god1 he offended the ,ordainer1 not only in the attempt1 but in the wish and simple volition thereof4 ,,the ,,second ,,book ,of sundry popular ,tenets concerning ,mineral1 and vegetable bodies1 generally held for truth2 which examined1 prove either false1 or dubious4 ,,chapter ,i ,of ,crystal4 ,hereof the common ,opinion hath been1 and still remaineth amongst us1 that ,crystal is nothing else but ,ice or ,snow concreted1 and by duration of time1 congealed beyond liquation4 ,of which assertion1 if prescription of time1 and numerosity of ,assertors1 were a sufficient demonstration1 we might sit down herein1 as an unquestionable truth2 nor should there need ulterior disquisition4 ,for few ,opinions there are which have found so many friends1 or been so popularly received1 through all ,professions and ,ages4 ,pliny is positive in this ,opinion3 ,crystallus sit gelu vehementius concreto3 the same is followed by ,seneca1 elegantly described by ,claudian1 not denied by ,scaliger1 some way affirmed by ,albertus1 ,brasavolus1 and directly by many others4 ,the venerable ,fathers of the ,church have also assented hereto2 ,as ,basil in his ,hexameron1 ,isidore in his ,etymologies1 and not only ,austin a ,latine ,father1 but ,gregory the ,great1 and ,jerome upon occasion of that term expressed in the first of ,ezekiel4 ,sidenote3 ,that ,crystal is not ,ice or ,snow congealed4 ,all which notwithstanding1 upon a strict enquiry1 we find the matter controvertible1 and with much more reason denied then is as yet affirmed4 ,for though many have passed it over with easie affirmatives1 yet are there also many ,authors that deny it1 and the exactest ,mineralogists have rejected it4 ,diodorus in his eleventh ,book denieth it1 7if ,crystal be there taken in its proper acception1 as ,rhodiginus hath used it1 and not for a ,diamond1 as ,salmatius hath expounded it7 for in that place he affirmeth2 ,crystallum esse lapidem ex aqua pura concretum1 non tamen frigore sed divini caloris vi4 ,solinus who transcribed ,pliny1 and therefore in almost all subscribed unto him1 hath in this point dissented from him4 ,putant quidam glaciem coire1 et in ,crystallum corporari1 sed frustra4 ,mathiolus in his ,comment upon ,dioscorides1 hath with confidence rejected it4 ,the same hath been performed by ,agricola de natura fossilium2 by ,cardan1 ,boetius de ,boot1 ,csius ,bernardus1 ,sennertus1 and many more4 ,now besides ,authority against it1 there may be many reasons deduced from their several differences which seem to overthrow it4 ,and first1 a difference is probable in their concretion4 ,for if ,crystal be a stone 7as in the number thereof it is confessedly received17 it is not immediately concreted by the efficacy of cold1 but rather by a ,mineral spirit1 and lapidifical principles of its own1 and therefore while it lay in solutis principiis1 and remained in a fluid ,body1 it was a subject very unapt for proper conglaciation2 for ,mineral spirits do generally resist and scarce submit thereto4 ,so we observe that many waters and springs will never freeze1 and many parts in ,rivers and ,lakes1 where there are ,mineral eruptions1 will still persist without congelations1 as we also observe in ,aqua fortis1 or any ,mineral solution1 either of ,vitriol1 ,alum1 ,salt-petre1 ,ammoniac1 or ,tartar1 which although to some degree exhaled1 and placed in cold ,conservatories1 will ,crystallize and shoot into white and glacious bodies2 yet is not this a congelation primarily effected by cold1 but an intrinsecal induration from themselves2 and a retreat into their proper solidities1 which were absorbed by the liquor1 and lost in a full imbibition thereof before4 ,and so also when wood and many other bodies do putrifie1 either by the ,sea1 other waters1 or earths abounding in such spirits2 we do not usually ascribe their induration to cold1 but rather unto salinous spirits1 concretive juices1 and causes circumjacent1 which do assimilate all bodies not indisposed for their impressions4 ,but ,ice is water congealed by the frigidity of the air1 whereby it acquireth no new form1 but rather a consistence or determination of its diffluency1 and amitteth not its essence1 but condition of fluidity4 ,neither doth there any thing properly conglaciate but water1 or watery humidity2 for the determination of quick-silver is properly fixation1 that of milk coagulation1 and that of oyl and unctious bodies1 only incrassation2 ,and therefore ,aristotle makes a trial of the fertility of humane seed1 from the experiment of congelation2 for that 7saith he7 which is not watery and improlifical will not conglaciate2 which perhaps must not be taken strictly1 but in the germ and spirited particles3 ,for ,eggs ,i observe will freeze1 in the albuginous part thereof4 ,and upon this ground ,paracelsus in his ,archidoxis1 extracteth the magistery of wine2 after four moneths digestion in horse-dung1 exposing it unto the extremity of cold2 whereby the aqueous parts will freeze1 but the ,spirit retire and be found congealed in the ,center4 ,sidenote3 ,how to make ,ice at any time of the year4 ,but whether this congelation be simply made by cold1 or also by co-operation of any nitrous coagulum1 or spirit of ,salt the principle of concretion2 whereby we observe that ice may be made with ,salt and ,snow by the fire side2 as is also observable from ,ice made by ,saltpetre and water1 duly mixed and strongly agitated at any time of the year1 were a very considerable enquiry4 ,for thereby we might clear the generation of ,snow1 ,hail1 and hoary ,frosts1 the piercing qualities of some winds1 the coldness of ,caverns1 and some ,cells4 ,we might more sensibly conceive how ,salt-petre fixeth the flying spirits of ,minerals in ,chymical ,preparations1 and how by this congealing quality it becomes an useful medicine in ,fevers4 ,again1 ,the difference of their concretion is collectible from their dissolution2 which being many ways performable in ,ice1 is few ways effected in ,crystal4 ,now the causes of liquation are contrary to those of concretion2 and as the ,atoms and indivisible parcels are united1 so are they in an opposite way disjoyned4 ,that which is concreted by exsiccation or expression of humidity1 will be resolved by humectation1 as ,earth1 ,dirt1 and ,clay2 that which is coagulated by a fiery siccity1 will suffer colliquation from an aqueous humidity1 as ,salt and ,sugar1 which are easily dissoluble in water1 but not without difficulty in oyl1 and well rectified spirits of ,wine4 ,that which is concreted by cold1 will dissolve by a moist heat1 if it consist of watery parts1 as ,gums1 ,arabick1 ,tragacanth1 ,ammoniac and others2 in an airy heat or oyl1 as all resinous bodies1 ,turpentine1 ,pitch1 and ,frankincense2 in both1 as gummy resinous bodies1 ,mastick1 ,camphire and ,storax2 in neither1 as neutrals and bodies anomalous hereto1 as ,bdellium1 ,myrrhe1 and others4 ,some by a violent dry heat1 as ,metals2 which although corrodible by waters1 yet will they not suffer a liquation from the powerfullest heat1 communicable unto that element4 ,some will dissolve by this heat although their ingredients be earthy1 as ,glass1 whose materials are fine ,sand1 and the ashes of ,chali or ,fearn2 ,,sn3 ,the original ingredients of ,glass4 and so will ,salt run with fire1 although it be concreted by heat4 ,and this way may be effected a liquation in ,crystal1 but not without some difficulty2 that is1 calcination or reducing it by ,art into a subtle powder2 by which way and a vitreous commixture1 ,glasses are sometime made hereof1 and it becomes the chiefest ground for artificial and factitious gemms4 ,but the same way of solution is common also unto many ,stones2 and not onely ,beryls and ,cornelians1 but ,flints and ,pebbles1 are subject unto fusion1 and will run like ,glass in fire4 ,but ,ice will dissolve in any way of heat1 for it will dissolve with fire1 it will colliquate in water1 or warm oyl2 nor doth it only submit unto an actual heat1 but not endure the potential calidity of many waters4 ,for it will presently dissolve in cold ,aqua fortis1 sp4 of ,vitriol1 ,salt1 or ,tartar1 nor will it long continue its fixation in spirits of ,wine1 as may be observed in ,ice injected therein4 ,again1 ,the concretion of ,ice will not endure a dry attrition without liquation2 for if it be rubbed long with a cloth1 it melteth4 ,but ,crystal will calefie unto electricity1 that is1 a power to attract straws or light bodies1 and convert the needle freely placed4 ,which is a declarement of very different parts1 wherein we shall not inlarge1 as having discoursed concerning such bodies in the ,chap4 of ,electricks4 ,they are differenced by supernatation or floating upon water2 for ,crystal will sink in water1 as carrying in its own bulk a greater ponderosity then the space in any water it doth occupy2 and will therefore only swim in molten ,metal and ,quicksilver4 ,but ,ice will swim in water of what thinness soever2 and though it sink in oyl1 will float in spirits of ,wine or ,aqua vit4 ,and therefore it may swim in water1 not only as being water it self1 and in its proper place1 but perhaps as weighing somewhat less then the water it possesseth4 ,and therefore as it will not sink unto the bottom1 so will it neither float above like lighter bodies1 but being near in weight1 lie superficially or almost horizontally unto it4 ,and therefore also an ,ice or congelation of ,salt or ,sugar1 although it descend not unto the bottom1 yet will it abate1 and decline below the surface in thin water1 but very sensibly in spirits of ,wine4 ,for ,ice although it seemeth as transparent and compact as ,crystal1 yet is it short in either2 for its atoms are not concreted into continuity1 which doth diminish its translucency2 it is also full of spumes and bubbles1 which may abate its gravity4 ,and therefore waters frozen in ,pans1 and open ,glasses1 after their dissolution do commonly leave a froth and spume upon them1 which are caused by the airy parts diffused in the congealable mixture which uniting themselves and finding no passage at the surface1 do elevate the mass1 and make the liquor take up a greater place then before3 as may be observed in ,glasses filled with water1 which being frozen1 will seem to swell above the brim4 ,so that if in this condensation any one affirmeth there is also some rarefaction1 experience may assert it4 ,they are distinguished in substance of parts and the accidents thereof1 that is1 in colour and figure2 for ,ice is a similary body1 and homogeneous concretion1 whose material is properly water1 and but accidentally exceeding the simplicity of that element4 ,but the body of ,crystal is mixed2 its ingredients many1 and sensibly containeth those principles into which mixt bodies are reduced4 ,for beside the spirit and mercurial principle it containeth a sulphur or inflamable part1 and that in no small quantity2 for besides its ,electrick attraction1 which is made by a sulphureous effluvium1 it will strike fire upon percussion like many other stones1 and upon collision with ,steel actively send forth its sparks1 not much inferiourly unto a flint4 ,now such bodies as strike fire have sulphureous or ignitible parts within them1 and those strike best1 which abound most in them4 ,for these scintillations are not the accension of the air1 upon the collision of two hard bodies1 but rather the inflamable effluencies or vitrified sparks discharged from the bodies collided4 ,for ,diamonds1 ,marbles1 ,heliotropes and ,agaths1 though hard bodies1 will not readily strike fire with a steel1 much less with one another3 ,nor a ,flint so readily with a ,steel1 if they both be very wet1 for then the sparks are sometimes quenched in their eruption4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,physical causes of liquation or melting of ,mettals1 etc4 ,it containeth also a salt1 and that in some plenty1 which may occasion its fragility1 as is also observable in ,coral4 ,this by the ,art of ,chymistry is separable1 unto the operations whereof it is liable1 with other concretions1 as calcination1 reverberation1 sublimation1 distillation3 ,and in the preparation of ,crystal1 ,paracelsus ,,sn3 de ,prparationibus4 hath made a rule for that of ,gemms4 ,briefly1 it consisteth of parts so far from an ,icie dissolution1 that powerful menstruums are made for its emollition2 whereby it may receive the tincture of ,minerals1 and so resemble ,gemms1 as ,boetius hath declared in the distillation of ,urine2 spirits of ,wine and ,turpentine2 and is not only triturable1 and reducible into powder1 by contrition1 but will subsist in a violent fire1 and endure a vitrification4 ,whereby are testified its earthly and fixed parts4 ,for vitrification is the last work of fire1 and a fusion of the ,salt and ,earth1 which are the fixed elements of the composition1 wherein the fusible ,salt draws the ,earth and infusible part into one continuum1 and therefore ashes will not run from whence the ,salt is drawn1 as bone ashes prepared for the ,test of ,metals4 ,common fusion in ,metals is also made by a violent heat1 acting upon the volatile and fixed1 the dry and humid parts of those bodies2 which notwithstanding are so united1 that upon attenuation from heat1 the humid parts will not fly away1 but draw the fixed ones into fluor with them4 ,ordinary liquation in wax and oily bodies is made by a gentler heat1 where the oyl and salt1 the fixed and fluid principles will not easily separate4 ,all which1 whether by vitrification1 fusion or liquation1 being forced into fluent consistencies1 do naturally regress into their former solidities4 ,whereas the melting of ,ice is a simple resolution1 or return from solid to fluid parts1 wherein it naturally resteth4 ,as for colour1 although ,crystal in his pellucid body seems to have none at all1 yet in its reduction into powder1 it hath a vail and shadow of blew2 and in its courser pieces1 is of a sadder hue then the powder of ,venice glass2 and this complexion it will maintain although it long endure the fire4 ,which notwithstanding needs not move us unto wonder2 for vitrified and pellucid bodies1 are of a clearer complexion in their continuities1 then in their powders and ,atomical divisions4 ,so ,stibium or glass of ,antimony1 appears somewhat red in glass1 but in its powder yellow2 so painted glass of a sanguine red will not ascend in powder above a murrey4 ,sidenote3 ,in ,stone-pits and chalk-mines4 ,which seemeth to be ,echinites decima ,aldrovandi4 ,musi ,metallici1 lib4 #d4 ,rather ,echinometrites1 as best resembling the ,echinometra found commonly on our ,sea-shore4 ,as for the figure of ,crystal 7which is very strange1 and forced ,pliny to despair of resolution7 it is for the most part hexagonal or six cornered2 being built upon a confused matter1 from whence as it were from a root angular figures arise1 even as in the ,amethyst and ,basaltes4 ,which regular figuration hath made some opinion1 it hath not its determination from circumscription1 or as conforming unto contiguities1 but rather from a seminal root1 and formative principle of its own1 even as we observe in several other concretions4 ,so the stones which are sometime found in the gall of a man1 are most triangular and pyramidal1 although the figure of that part seems not to co-operate thereto4 ,so the ,asteria or lapis stellaris2 hath on it the figure of a ,star1 so ,lapis ,judaicus hath circular lines in length all down its body1 and equidistant1 as though they had been turned by ,art4 ,so that we call a ,fayrie stone1 and is often found in gravel pits amongst us1 being of an hemispherical figure1 hath five double lines rising from the center of its basis1 which if no accretion distract them1 do commonly concur1 and meet in the pole thereof4 ,the figures are regular in many other stones1 as in the ,belemnites1 ,lapis ,anguinus1 ,cornu ,ammonis1 and many more2 as by those which have not the experience hereof may be observed in their figures expressed by ,mineralogists4 ,but ,ice receiveth its figure according unto the surface wherein it concreteth1 or the circumambiency which conformeth it4 ,so it is plain upon the surface of water1 but round in ,hayl 7which is also a glaciation17 and figured in its guttulous descent from the air1 and so growing greater or lesser according unto the accretion or pluvious aggelation about the mother and fundamental ,atomes thereof2 which seems to be some feathery particle of ,snow2 although ,snow it self be sexangular1 or at least of a starry and many-pointed figure4 ,they are also differenced in the places of their generation2 for though ,crystal be found in cold countries1 and where ,ice remaineth long1 and the air exceedeth in cold1 yet is it also found in regions1 where ,ice is seldom seen or soon dissolved2 as ,pliny and ,agricola relate of ,cyprus1 ,caramania and an ,island in the ,red sea2 ,it hath been also found in the veins of ,minerals1 sometimes agglutinated unto lead1 sometimes in ,rocks1 opacous stones1 and the marble face of ,octavius ,duke of ,parma4 ,,sn3 ,wherein the ,sculptor found a piece of pure ,crystal4 ,it hath also constant veins2 as beside others1 that of mount ,salvino about the ,territory of ,bergamo2 from whence if part be taken1 in no long tract of time out of the same place1 as from its mineral matrix1 others are observed to arise4 ,which made the learned ,cerautus to conclude1 ,videant hi an sit glacies1 an vero corpus fossile4 ,,sn3 ,mus4 ,calceolar4 ,it is also found in the veins of ,minerals1 in rocks1 and sometime in common earth4 ,but as for ,ice1 it will not readily concrete but in the approachment of the air1 as we have made trial in glasses of water1 covered an inch with oyl1 which will not easily freeze in hard frosts of our climate4 ,for water commonly concreteth first in its surface1 and so conglaciates downward2 and so will it do although it be exposed in the coldest metal of lead1 which well accordeth with that expression of ,job1 ,the waters are hid as with a stone1 and the face of the deep is frozen4 ,,sn3 ,chap4 #ch4 ,but whether water which hath been boiled or heated1 doth sooner receive this congelation1 as commonly is delivered1 we rest in the experiment of ,cabeus1 who hath rejected the same in his excellent discourse of ,meteors4 ,they have contrary qualities elemental1 and uses medicinal2 for ,ice is cold and moist1 of the quality of water2 but ,crystal is cold and dry1 according to the condition of earth4 ,the use of ,ice is condemned by most ,physicians1 that of ,crystal commended by many4 ,for although ,dioscorides and ,galen have left no mention thereof1 yet hath ,mathiolus1 ,agricola1 and many commended it in dysenteries and fluxes2 all for the increase of milk1 most ,chymists for the ,stone1 and some1 as ,brassavolus and ,boetius1 as an antidote against poyson4 ,which occult and specifical operations are not expectable from ,ice2 for being but water congealed1 it can never make good such qualities2 nor will it reasonably admit of secret proprieties1 which are the affections of forms1 and compositions at distance from their elements4 ,sidenote3 ,what ,crystal is4 ,having thus declared what ,crystal is not1 it may afford some satisfaction to manifest what it is4 ,to deliver therefore what with the judgement of approved ,authors1 and best reason consisteth1 ,it is a ,mineral body in the difference of stones1 and reduced by some unto that subdivision1 which comprehendeth gemms1 transparent and resembling ,glass or ,ice1 made of a lentous percolation of earth1 drawn from the most pure and limpid juice thereof1 owing unto the coldness of the earth some concurrence or coadjuvancy1 but not immediate determination and efficiency1 which are wrought by the hand of its concretive spirit1 the seeds of petrification and ,gorgon of it self4 ,as sensible ,philosophers conceive of the generation of ,diamonds1 ,iris1 ,berils4 ,not making them of frozen icecles1 or from meer aqueous and glaciable substances1 condensing them by frosts into solidities1 vainly to be expected even from ,polary congelations3 but from thin and finest earths1 so well contempered and resolved1 that transparency is not hindred2 and containing lapidifical spirits1 able to make good their solidities against the opposition and activity of outward contraries1 and so leave a sensible difference between the bonds of glaciation1 which in the mountains of ,ice about the ,northern ,seas1 are easily dissolved by ordinary heat of the ,sun1 and between the finer ligatures of petrification1 whereby not only the harder concretions of ,diamonds and ,saphirs1 but the softer veins of ,crystal remain indissolvable in scorching ,territories1 and the ,negro land of ,congor4 ,and therefore ,i fear we commonly consider subterranities1 not in contemplations sufficiently respective unto the ,creation4 ,for though ,moses have left no mention of ,minerals1 nor made any other description then sutes unto the apparent and visible ,creation1 yet is there unquestionably1 a very large ,classis of ,creatures in the ,earth1 far above the condition of elementarity4 ,and although not in a distinct and indisputable way of vivency1 or answering in all points the properties or affections of ,plants1 yet in inferiour and descending constitutions1 they do like these contain specifical distinctions1 and are determined by seminalities1 that is1 created and defined seeds committed unto the ,earth from the beginning4 ,wherein although they attain not the indubitable requisites of ,animation1 yet have they a near affinity thereto4 ,and though we want a proper name and expressive appellation1 yet are they not to be closed up in the general name of concretions2 or lightly passed over as only ,elementary and ,subterraneous mixtions4 ,sidenote3 ,exact continuity of parts a cause of transparency in things1 and why4 ,the principle and most gemmary affection is its ,tralucency3 as for irradiancy or sparkling which is found in many gemms1 it is not discoverable in this1 for it cometh short of their compactness and durity3 and therefore requireth not the ,emery1 as the ,saphir1 ,granate1 and ,topaz1 but will receive impression from ,steel1 in a manner like the ,turchois4 ,as for its diaphanity or perspicuity1 it enjoyeth that most eminently2 and the reason thereof is its continuity2 as having its earthy and salinous parts so exactly resolved1 that its body is left imporous and not discreted by atomical terminations4 ,for1 that continuity of parts is the cause of perspicuity1 it is made perspicuous by two ways of experiment4 ,that is1 either in effecting transparency in those bodies which were not so before1 or at least far short of the additional degree3 ,so ,snow becomes transparent upon liquation1 so ,horns and ,bodies resolvable into continued parts or gelly4 ,the like is observable in oyled paper1 wherein the interstitial divisions being continuated by the accession of oyl1 it becometh more transparent1 and admits the visible rayes with less umbrosity4 ,or else the same is effected by rendring those bodies opacous1 which were before pellucid and perspicuous4 ,so ,glass which was before diaphanous1 being by powder reduced into multiplicity of superficies1 becomes an opacous body1 and will not transmit the light4 ,so it is in ,crystal powdered1 and so it is also before2 for if it be made hot in a crucible1 and presently projected upon water1 it will grow dim1 and abate its diaphanity2 for the water entering the body1 begets a division of parts1 and a termination of ,atoms united before unto continuity4 ,the ground of this ,opinion might be1 first the conclusions of some men from experience2 for as much as ,crystal is found sometimes in rocks1 and in some places not much unlike the stirious or stillicidious dependencies of ,ice4 ,which notwithstanding may happen either in places which have been forsaken or left bare by the earth1 or may be petrifications1 or ,mineral indurations1 like other gemms1 proceeding from percolations of the earth disposed unto such concretions4 ,the second and most common ground is from the name ,crystallus1 whereby in ,greek both ,ice and ,crystal are expressed2 which many not duly considering1 have from their community of name1 conceived a community of nature2 and what was ascribed unto the one1 not unfitly appliable unto the other4 ,but this is a fallacy of quivocation1 from a society in name inferring an ,identity in nature4 ,by this fallacy was he deceived that drank ,aqua fortis for strong water4 ,by this are they deluded1 who conceive sperma ,coeti which is found about the head1 to be the spawn of the ,whale3 ,or take sanguis draconis 7which is the gumme of a tree17 to be the blood of a ,dragon4 ,by the same ,logick we may infer1 the ,crystalline humour of the eye1 or rather the ,crystalline heaven above1 to be of the substance of ,crystal here below2 ,or that ,god sendeth down ,crystal1 because it is delivered in the vulgar translation1 ,psal4 #dg4 ,mittit ,crystallum suum sicut ,buccellas4 ,,sn3 ,agreement in name4 ,which translation although it literally express the ,septuagint2 yet is there no more meant thereby1 than what our translation in plain ,english expresseth2 that is1 he casteth forth his ,ice like morsels1 or what ,tremellius and ,junius as clearly deliver1 ,deficit gelu suum sicut frusta1 coram frigore ejus quis consistet8 which proper and latine expressions1 had they been observed in ancient translations1 elder ,expositors had not been misguided by the ,synonomy2 nor had they afforded occasion unto ,austin1 the ,gloss1 ,lyranus1 and many others1 to have taken up the common conceit1 and spoke of this ,text conformably unto the opinion rejected4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,concerning the ,loadstone4 ,of things particularly spoken thereof1 evidently or probably true4 ,of things generally believed1 or particularly delivered1 manifestly or probably false4 ,in the first of the ,magnetical vertue of the ,earth1 of the four motions of the stone1 that is1 its ,verticity or ,direction1 its ,attraction or ,coition1 its ,declination1 its ,variation1 and also of its ,antiquity4 ,in the second a rejection of sundry opinions and relations thereof1 ,natural1 ,medical1 ,historical1 ,magical4 ,sidenote3 ,how the earth is a ,magnetical body4 ,and first we conceive the earth to be a ,magnetical body4 ,a ,magnetical body1 we term not onely that which hath a power attractive1 but that which seated in a convenient medium1 naturally disposeth it self to one invariable and fixed situation4 ,and such a ,magnetical vertue we conceive to be in the ,globe of the ,earth1 whereby as unto its natural points and proper terms1 it disposeth it self unto the poles2 being so framed1 constituted1 and ordered unto these points1 that those parts which are now at the poles1 would not naturally abide under the quator1 nor ,greenland remain in the place of ,magellanica4 ,and if the whole earth were violently removed1 yet would it not foregoe its primitive points1 nor pitch in the ,east or ,west1 but return unto its polary position again4 ,for though by compactness or gravity it may acquire the lowest place1 and become the center of the universe1 yet that it makes good that point1 not varying at all by the accession of bodies upon1 or secession thereof from its surface1 perturbing the equilibration of either ,hemisphere 7whereby the altitude of the stars might vary7 or that it strictly maintains the ,north and ,southern points2 that neither upon the motions of the heavens1 air1 and winds without1 large eruptions and division of parts within1 its polary parts should never incline or veer unto the ,equator 7whereby the latitude of places should also vary7 it cannot so well be salved from gravity as a ,magnetical verticity4 ,,sn3 ,the foundation of the ,earths stability4 ,this is probably1 that foundation the wisdom of the ,creator hath laid unto the earth2 in this sense we may more nearly apprehend1 and sensibly make out the expressions of holy ,scripture ,,sn3 ,psal4 #ic41 as ,firmavit orbem terr qui non commovebitur1 he hath made the round world so sure that it cannot be moved3 as when it is said by ,job1 ,extendit ,aquilonem super vacuo1 c4 ,,sn3 ,job #ch4 ,he stretcheth forth the ,north upon the empty place1 and hangeth the earth upon nothing4 ,and this is the most probable answer unto that great question4 ,whereupon are the foundations of the ,earth fastened1 or who laid the corner stone thereof8 ,had they been acquainted with this principle1 ,anaxagoras1 ,socrates1 and ,democritus1 had better made out the ground of this stability2 ,xenophanes had not been fain to say the ,earth had no bottom2 and ,thales ,milesius to make it swim in water4 ,sidenote3 ,the magnetical vertue of the ,earth diffused extra se and communicated to bodies adjacent4 ,nor is the vigour of this great body included only in its self1 or circumferenced by its surface1 but diffused at indeterminate distances through the air1 water1 and all bodies circumjacent4 ,exciting and impregnating ,magnetical bodies within its surface or without it1 and performing in a secret and invisible way what we evidently behold effected by the ,loadstone4 ,for these effluxions penetrate all bodies1 and like the species of visible objects are ever ready in the medium1 and lay hold on all bodies proportionate or capable of their action1 those bodies likewise being of a congenerous nature1 do readily receive the impressions of their motor2 and if not fettered by their gravity1 conform themselves to situations1 wherein they best unite unto their ,animator4 ,and this will sufficiently appear from the observations that are to follow1 which can no better way be made out then by this we speak of1 the ,magnetical vigour of the ,earth4 ,now whether these effluviums do flye by striated ,atoms and winding particles as ,renatus des ,cartes conceiveth2 or glide by streams attracted from either ,pole and ,hemisphere of the ,earth unto the ,equator1 as ,sir ,kenelm ,digby excellently declareth1 it takes not away this vertue of the ,earth1 but more distinctly sets down the gests and progress thereof1 and are conceits of eminent use to salve ,magnetical ,phenomena's4 ,,sn3 ,apparencies observations4 ,and as in ,astronomy those hypotheses though never so strange are best esteemed which best do salve apparencies2 so surely in ,philosophy those principles 7though seeming monstrous7 may with advantage be embraced1 which best confirm experiment1 and afford the readiest reason of observation4,,sn3 ,the doctrine of effluxions acknowledged by the ,author4 ,and truly the doctrine of effluxions1 their penetrating natures1 their invisible paths1 and insuspected effects1 are very considerable2 for besides this ,magnetical one of the ,earth1 several effusions there may be from divers other bodies1 which invisibly act their parts at any time1 and perhaps through any medium2 a part of ,philosophy but yet in discovery1 and will1 ,i fear1 prove the last leaf to be turned over in the ,book of ,nature4 ,sidenote3 ,point to the ,north4 ,sidenote3 ,point to the ,south4 ,first1 ,therefore it is true1 and confirmable by every experiment1 that ,steel and good ,iron never excited by the ,loadstone1 discover in themselves a verticity2 that is1 a directive or polary faculty1 whereby1 conveniently placed1 they do ,septentrionate at one extream1 and ,australize at another4 ,this is manifestable in long and thin plates of ,steel perforated in the middle and equilibrated2 or by an easier way in long wires equiponderate with untwisted ,silk and soft ,wax2 for in this manner pendulous1 they will conform themselves ,meridionally1 directing one extream unto the ,north1 another to the ,south4 ,the same is also manifest in ,steel wires thrust through little sphears or globes of ,cork and floated on the water1 or in naked ,needles gently let fall thereon2 for so disposed they will not rest1 until they have found out the ,meridian1 and as near as they can lye parallel unto the ,axis of the ,earth3 ,sometimes the eye1 sometimes the point ,northward in divers ,needles1 but the same point always in most3 ,conforming themselves unto the whole ,earth1 in the same manner as they do unto every ,loadstone4 ,for if a ,needle untoucht he hanged above a ,loadstone1 it will convert into a parallel position thereto2 for in this situation it can best receive its verticity and be excited proportionably at both extreams4 ,now this direction proceeds not primitively from themselves1 but is derivative and contracted from the ,magnetical effluxions of the ,earth2 which they have winded in their hammering and formation2 or else by long continuance in one position1 as we shall declare hereafter4 ,it is likewise true what is delivered of ,irons heated in the fire1 that they contract a verticity in their refrigeration2 for heated red hot and cooled in the ,meridian from ,north to ,south1 they presently contract a polary power1 and being poised in air or water1 convert that part unto the ,north which respected that point in its refrigeration1 so that if they had no sensible verticity before1 it may be acquired by this way2 or if they had any1 it might be exchanged by contrary position in the cooling4 ,for by the fire they omit not onely many drossie and scorious parts1 but whatsoever they had received either from the ,earth or ,loadstone2 and so being naked and despoiled of all verticity1 the ,magnetical ,atomes invade their bodies with more effect and agility4 ,neither is it only true what ,gilbertus first observed1 that ,irons refrigerated ,north and ,south acquire a ,directive faculty2 but if they be cooled upright and perpendicularly1 they will also obtain the same4 ,that part which is cooled toward the ,north on this side the ,equator1 converting it self unto the ,north1 and attracting the ,south point of the ,needle3 the other and highest extream respecting the ,south1 and attracting the ,northern1 according unto ,laws ,magnetical3 ,for 7what must be observed7 contrary ,poles or faces attract each other1 as the ,north the ,south2 and the like decline each other1 as the ,north the ,north4 ,now on this side of the ,equator1 that extream which is next the ,earth is animated unto the ,north1 and the contrary unto the ,south2 so that in coition it applies it self quite oppositely1 the coition or attraction being contrary to the ,verticity or ,direction4 ,contrary1 ,if we speak according unto common use1 yet alike1 if we conceive the vertue of the ,north ,pole to diffuse it self and open at the ,south1 and the ,south at the ,north again4 ,sidenote3 ,some conceive that the figure of the ,tree or ,spread-eagle in the root of ,brake or ,fern stands ,north and ,south1 but not truly4 ,this polarity from refrigeration upon extremity and in defect of a ,loadstone might serve to invigorate and touch a ,needle any where2 and this1 allowing variation1 is also the readiest way at any season to discover the ,north or ,south2 and surely far more certain then what is affirmed of the grains and circles in trees1 or the figure in the root of ,fern4 ,for if we erect a red hot wire until it cool1 then hang it up with wax and untwisted ,silk1 where the lower end and that which cooled next the earth doth rest1 that is the ,northern point2 and this we affirm will still be true whether it be cooled in the air or extinguished in water1 oyl of ,vitriol1 ,aqua fortis1 or ,quicksilver4 ,and this is also evidenced in culinary utensils and ,irons that often feel the force of fire1 as ,tongs1 ,fire-shovels1 ,prongs1 and ,andirons2 all which acquire a ,magnetical and polary condition1 and being suspended1 convert their lower extreams unto the ,north2 with the same attracting the ,southern point of the ,needle4 ,for easier experiment1 if we place a ,needle touched at the foot of ,tongs or ,andirons1 it will obvert or turn aside its lillie or ,north point1 and conform its cuspis or ,south extream unto the ,andiron4 ,the like verticity though more obscurely is also contracted by ,bricks and ,tiles1 as we have made trial in some taken out of the backs of chimneys4 ,now to contract this ,direction1 there needs not a total ignition1 nor is it necessary the ,irons should be red hot all over4 ,for if a wire be heated only at one end1 according as that end is cooled upward or downward1 it respectively acquires a verticity1 as we have declared in wires totally candent4 ,nor is it absolutely requisite they should be cooled perpendicularly1 or strictly lie in the ,meridian2 for whether they be refrigerated inclinatorily or somewhat quinoxially1 that is toward the ,eastern or ,western points2 though in a lesser degree1 they discover some verticity4 ,nor is this onely true in ,irons1 but in the ,loadstone it self4 ,for if a ,loadstone be made red hot1 it loseth the magnetical vigour it had before in it self1 and acquires another from the ,earth in its refrigeration2 for that part which cooleth toward the ,earth will acquire the respect of the ,north1 and attract the ,southern point or cuspis of the ,needle4 ,the experiment hereof we made in a ,loadstone of a parallelogram or long square figure2 wherein onely inverting the extreams1 as it came out of the fire1 we altered the poles or faces thereof at pleasure4 ,it is also true what is delivered of the ,direction and coition of ,irons1 that they contract a verticity by long and continued position3 that is1 not onely being placed from ,north to ,south1 and lying in the ,meridian1 but respecting the ,zenith and perpendicular unto the ,center of the ,earth2 as is manifest in bars of windows1 casements1 hinges and the like4 ,for if we present the ,needle unto their lower extreams1 it wheels about and turns its ,southern point unto them4 ,the same condition in long time do ,bricks contract which are placed in walls1 and therefore it may be a fallible way to find out the ,meridian by placing the ,needle on a wall2 for some ,bricks therein by a long and continued position1 are often magnetically enabled to distract the polarity of the ,needle4 ,and therefore those ,irons which are said to have been converted into ,loadstones2 whether they were real conversions1 or onely attractive augmentations1 might be much promoted by this position3 as the ,iron cross of an hundred weight upon the ,church of ,st4 ,john in ,ariminum1 or that ,loadston'd ,iron of ,csar ,moderatus1 set down by ,aldrovandus4 ,,sn3 ,de miner4 l4 #a4 ,lastly1 ,irons do manifest a verticity not only upon refrigeration and constant situation1 but 7what is wonderful and advanceth the magnetical ,hypothesis7 they evidence the same by meer position according as they are inverted1 and their extreams disposed respectively unto the ,earth4 ,for if an ,iron or ,steel not firmly excited1 be held perpendicularly or inclinatorily unto the ,needle1 the lower end thereof will attract the cuspis or ,southern point2 but if the same extream be inverted and held under the ,needle1 it will then attract the lilly or ,northern point2 for by inversion it changeth its direction acquired before1 and receiveth a new and ,southern polarity from the ,earth1 as being the upper extream4 ,now if an ,iron be touched before1 it varieth not in this manner2 for then it admits not this magnetical impression1 as being already informed by the ,loadstone1 and polarily determined by its preaction4 ,and from these grounds may we best determine why the ,northern ,pole of the ,loadstone attracteth a greater weight than the ,southern on this side the quator2 why the stone is best preserved in a natural and polary situation2 and why as ,gilbertus observeth1 it respecteth that ,pole out of the ,earth1 which it regarded in its ,mineral bed and subterraneous position4 ,it is likewise true and wonderful what is delivered of the ,inclination or ,declination of the ,loadstone2 that is1 the descent of the ,needle below the plain of the ,horizon4 ,for long ,needles which stood before upon their axis1 parallel unto the ,horizon1 being vigorously excited1 incline and bend downward1 depressing the ,north extream below the ,horizon4 ,that is the ,north on this1 the ,south on the other side of the ,equator2 and at the very ,line or middle circle stand without deflexion4 ,and this is evidenced not onely from observations of the ,needle in several parts of the earth1 but sundry experiments in any part thereof1 as in a long ,steel wire1 equilibrated or evenly ballanced in the air2 for excited by a vigorous ,loadstone it will somewhat depress its animated extream1 and intersect the horizontal circumference4 ,it is also manifest in a ,needle pierced through a ,globe of ,cork so cut away and pared by degrees1 that it will swim under water1 yet sink not unto the bottom1 which may be well effected2 for if the ,cork be a thought too light to sink under the surface1 the body of the water may be attenuated with spirits of wine2 if too heavy1 it may be incrassated with salt2 and if by chance too much be added1 it may again be thinned by a proportionable addition of fresh water4 ,if then the ,needle be taken out1 actively touched and put in again1 it will depress and bow down its ,northern head toward the bottom1 and advance its ,southern extremity toward the brim4 ,this way invented by ,gilbertus may seem of difficulty2 the same with less labour may be observed in a needled sphere of ,cork equally contiguous unto the surface of the water2 for if the ,needle be not exactly equiponderant1 that end which is a thought too light1 if touched becometh even2 that ,needle also which will but just swim under the water1 if forcibly touched will sink deeper1 and sometime unto the bottom4 ,if likewise that inclinatory vertue be destroyed by a touch from the contrary ,pole1 that end which before was elevated will then decline1 and this perhaps might be observed in some scales exactly ballanced1 and in such ,needles which for their bulk can hardly be supported by the water4 ,for if they be powerfully excited and equally let fall1 they commonly sink down and break the water at that extream whereat they were septentrionally excited3 and by this way it is conceived there may be some fraud in the weighing of precious commodities1 and such as carry a value in quarter-grains2 by placing a powerful ,loadstone above or below1 according as we intend to depress or elevate one extream4 ,now if these ,magnetical emissions be onely qualities1 and the gravity of bodies incline them onely unto the earth2 surely that which alone moveth other bodies to descent1 carrieth not the stroak in this1 but rather the ,magnetical alliciency of the ,earth2 unto which with alacrity it applieth it self1 and in the very same way unto the whole ,earth1 as it doth unto a single ,loadstone4 ,for if an untouched ,needle be at a distance suspended over a ,loadstone1 it will not hang parallel1 but decline at the ,north extream1 and at that part will first salute its ,director4 ,again1 what is also wonderful1 this inclination is not invariable2 for just under the line the ,needle lieth parallel with the ,horizon1 but sailing ,north or ,south it beginneth to incline1 and encreaseth according as it approacheth unto either ,pole2 and would at last endeavour to erect it self4 ,and this is no more then what it doth upon the ,loadstone1 and that more plainly upon the ,terrella or spherical magnet ,cosmographically set out with circles of the ,globe4 ,for at the ,equator thereof1 the ,needle will stand rectangularly2 but approaching ,northward toward the ,tropick it will regard the stone obliquely1 and when it attaineth the ,pole1 directly2 and if its bulk be no impediment1 erect it self and stand perpendicularly thereon4 ,and therefore upon strict observation of this inclination in several latitudes and due records preserved1 instruments are made whereby without the help of ,sun or ,star1 the latitude of the place may be discovered2 and yet it appears the observations of men have not as yet been so just and equal as is desirable2 for of those ,tables of declination which ,i have perused1 there are not any two that punctually agree2 though some have been thought exactly calculated1 especially that which ,ridley received from ,mr4 ,brigs1 in our time ,geometry ,professor in ,oxford4 ,sidenote3 ,what the variation of the ,compass is4 ,it is also probable what is delivered concerning the variation of the ,compass that is the cause and ground thereof1 for the manner as being confirmed by observation we shall not at all dispute4 ,the variation of the ,compass is an ,arch of the ,horizon intercepted between the true and ,magnetical ,meridian2 or more plainly1 a deflexion and siding ,east and ,west from the true ,meridian4 ,the true ,meridian is a major ,circle passing through the ,poles of the ,world1 and the ,zenith or ,vertex of any place1 exactly dividing the ,east from the ,west4 ,now on this line the ,needle exactly lieth not1 but diverts and varieth its point1 that is1 the ,north point on this side the ,equator1 the ,south on the other2 sometimes on the ,east1 sometime toward the ,west1 and in some few places varieth not at all4 ,first1 therefore it is observed that betwixt the ,shore of ,ireland1 ,france1 ,spain1 ,guiny1 and the ,azores1 the ,north point varieth toward the ,east1 and that in some variety2 at ,london it varieth eleven degrees1 at ,antwerp nine1 at ,rome but five3 at some parts of the ,azores it deflecteth not1 but lieth in the true ,meridian2 on the other side of the ,azores1 and this side of the ,equator1 the ,north point of the ,needle wheeleth to the ,west2 so that in the latitude of #cf near the shore1 the variation is about eleven degrees2 but on the other side the ,equator1 it is quite otherwise3 for about ,capio ,frio in ,brasilia1 the ,south point varieth twelve degrees unto the ,west1 and about the mouth of the ,straits of ,magellan five or six2 but elongating from the coast of ,brasilia toward the shore of ,africa it varieth ,eastward1 and arriving at ,capo de las ,agullas1 it resteth in the ,meridian1 and looketh neither way4 ,sidenote3 ,the cause of the variation of the ,compass4 ,now the cause of this variation was thought by ,gilbertus to be the inequality of the ,earth1 variously disposed1 and indifferently intermixed with the ,sea3 withal the different disposure of its ,magnetical vigor in the eminencies and stronger parts thereof4 ,for the ,needle naturally endeavours to conform unto the ,meridian1 but being distracted1 driveth that way where the greater and powerfuller part of the ,earth is placed4 ,which may be illustrated from what hath been delivered and may be conceived by any that understands the generalities of ,geography4 ,for whereas on this side the ,meridian1 or the ,isles of ,azores1 where the first ,meridian is placed1 the ,needle varieth ,eastward2 it may be occasioned by that vast ,tract of ,earth1 that is1 of ,europe1 ,asia1 and ,africa1 seated toward the ,east1 and disposing the ,needle that way4 ,for arriving at some part of the ,azores1 or ,islands of ,saint ,michael1 which have a middle situation between these ,continents1 and that vast and almost answerable ,tract of ,america1 it seemeth equally distracted by both2 and diverting unto neither1 doth parallel and place it self upon the true ,meridian4 ,but sailing farther1 it veers its ,lilly to the ,west1 and regardeth that quarter wherein the ,land is nearer or greater2 and in the same latitude as it approacheth the shore augmenteth its variation4 ,and therefore as some observe1 if ,columbus or whosoever first discovered ,america1 had apprehended the cause of this variation1 having passed more then half the way1 he might have been confirmed in the discovery1 and assuredly foretold there lay a vast and mighty continent toward the ,west4 ,the reason ,i confess and inference is good1 but the instance perhaps not so4 ,for ,columbus knew not the variation of the compass1 whereof ,sebastian ,cabot first took notice1 who after made discovery in the ,northern part of that continent4 ,and it happened indeed that part of ,america was first discovered1 which was on this side farthest distant1 that is1 ,jamaica1 ,cuba1 and the ,isles in the ,bay of ,mexico4 ,and from this variation do some new discoverers deduce a probability in the attempts of the ,northern passage toward the ,indies4 ,now because where the greater continents are joyned1 the action and effluence is also greater2 therefore those ,needles do suffer the greatest variation which are in ,countries which most do feel that action4 ,and therefore hath ,rome far less variation then ,london2 for on the ,west side of ,rome are seated the great continents of ,france1 ,spain1 ,germany1 which take off the exuperance1 and in some way ballance the vigor of the ,eastern parts4 ,but unto ,england there is almost no ,earth ,west1 but the whole extent of ,europe and ,asia lieth ,eastward2 and therefore at ,london it varieth eleven degrees1 that is almost one ,rhomb4 ,thus also by reason of the great continent of ,brasilia1 ,peru1 and ,chili1 the ,needle deflecteth toward the ,land twelve degrees2 but at the straits of ,magellan where the ,land is narrowed1 and the ,sea on the other side1 it varieth but five or six4 ,and so likewise1 because the ,cape de las ,agullas hath ,sea on both sides near it1 and other ,land remote1 and as it were quidistant from it1 therefore at that point the ,needle conforms unto the true ,meridian1 and is not distracted by the vicinity of ,adjacencies4 ,this is the general and great cause of variation4 ,but if in certain ,creeks and ,vallies the ,needle prove irregular1 and vary beyond expectation1 it may be imputed unto some vigorous part of the ,earth1 or ,magnetical eminence not far distant4 ,and this was the invention of ,d4 ,gilbert1 not many years past1 a ,physician in ,london4 ,and therefore although some assume the invention of its direction1 and other have had the glory of the ,card2 yet in the experiments1 grounds1 and causes thereof1 ,england produced the ,father ,philosopher1 and discovered more in it then ,columbus or ,americus did ever by it4 ,unto this in great part true the reason of ,kircherus may be added3 ,that this variation proceedeth not only from terrestrious eminencies1 and magnetical veins of the ,earth1 laterally respecting the ,needle1 but the different coagmentation of the ,earth disposed unto the ,poles1 lying under the ,sea and ,waters1 which affect the ,needle with great or lesser variation1 according to the vigour or imbecility of these subterraneous lines1 or the entire or broken compagination of the magnetical fabrick under it4 ,as is observable from several ,loadstones placed at the bottom of any water1 for a ,loadstone or ,needle upon the surface1 will variously conform it self1 according to the vigour or faintness of the ,loadstones under it4 ,thus also a reason may be alledged for the variation of the variation1 and why1 according to observation1 the variation of the ,needle hath after some years been found to vary in some places4 ,for this may proceed from mutations of the earth1 by subterraneous fires1 fumes1 mineral spirits1 or otherwise2 which altering the constitution of the magnetical parts1 in process of time1 doth vary the variation over the place4 ,it is also probable what is conceived of its ,antiquity1 that the knowledge of its polary power and direction unto the ,north was unknown unto the ,ancients2 and though ,levinus ,lemnius1 and ,clius ,colcagninus1 are of another belief1 is justly placed with new inventions by ,pancirollus4 ,for their ,achilles and strongest argument is an expression in ,plautus1 a very ,ancient author1 and contemporary unto ,ennius4 ,hic ventus jam secundus est1 cape modo versoriam4 ,now this versoriam they construe to be the compass1 which notwithstanding according unto ,pineda1 who hath discussed the point1 ,turnebus1 ,cabeus1 and divers others1 is better interpreted the rope that helps to turn the ,ship1 or as we say1 doth make it tack about2 the ,compass declaring rather the ,ship is turned1 then conferring unto its conversion4 ,as for the long expeditions and sundry voyages of elder times1 which might confirm the ,antiquity of this invention1 it is not improbable they were performed by the help of ,stars2 and so might the ,phoenicean navigators1 and also ,ulisses sail about the ,mediterranean1 by the flight of ,birds1 or keeping near the shore2 and so might ,hanno coast about ,africa2 or by the help of ,oars1 as is expressed in the voyage of ,jonah4 ,and whereas it is contended that this verticity was not unknown unto ,solomon1 in whom is presumed an universality of knowledge2 it will as forcibly follow1 he knew the ,art of ,typography1 ,powder and ,guns1 or had the ,philosophers ,stone1 yet sent unto ,ophir for ,gold4 ,it is not to be denied1 that beside his ,political wisdom1 his knowledge in ,philosophy was very large2 and perhaps from his works therein1 the ancient ,philosophers1 especially ,aristotle1 who had the assistance of ,alexanders acquirements1 collected great observables4 ,yet if he knew the use of the ,compass1 his ,ships were surely very slow1 that made a three years voyage from ,eziongeber in the red ,sea unto ,ophir2 which is supposed to be ,taprobana or ,malaca in the ,indies1 not many moneths sail2 and since in the same or lesser time1 ,drake and ,candish performed their voyage about the ,earth4 ,and as the knowledge of its verticity is not so old as some conceive1 so it is more ancient then most believe2 nor had its discovery with ,guns1 ,printing1 or as many think1 some years before the discovery of ,america4 ,for it was not unknown unto ,petrus ,peregrinus a ,frenchman1 who two hundred years since left a ,tract of the ,magnet1 and a perpetual motion to be made thereby1 preserved by ,gasserus4 ,paulus ,venetus1 and about five hundred years past ,albertus ,magnus make mention hereof1 and quote for it a ,book of ,aristotle1 ,de ,lapide2 which ,book although we find in the ,catalogue of ,laertius1 yet with ,cabeus we may rather judge it to be the work of some ,arabick ,writer1 not many years before the days of ,albertus4 ,lastly1 ,it is likewise true what some have delivered of ,crocus ,martis1 that is1 ,steel corroded with ,vinegar1 ,sulphur1 or otherwise1 and after reverberated by fire4 ,for the ,loadstone will not at all attract it1 nor will it adhere1 but lye therein like ,sand4 ,this to be understood of ,crocus ,martis well reverberated1 and into a violet colour3 for common chalybs prparatus1 or corroded and powdered ,steel1 the ,loadstone attracts like ordinary filings of ,iron2 and many times most of that which passeth for ,crocus ,martis4 ,so that this way may serve as a test of its preparation2 after which it becometh a very good medicine in fluxes4 ,the like may be affirmed of flakes of ,iron that are rusty and begin to tend unto ,earth2 for their cognation then expireth1 and the ,loadstone will not regard them4 ,and therefore this may serve as a trial of good ,steel4 ,the ,loadstone taking up a greater mass of that which is most pure1 it may also decide the conversion of ,wood into ,iron1 as is pretended from some ,waters3 and the common conversion of ,iron into ,copper by the mediation of blew ,coperose1 for the ,loadstone will not attract it4 ,although it may be questioned1 whether in this operation1 the ,iron or ,coperose be transmuted1 as may be doubted from the cognation of ,coperose with ,copper2 and the quantity of ,iron remaining after the conversion4 ,and the same may be useful to some discovery concerning ,vitriol or ,coperose of ,mars1 by some called ,salt of ,steel1 made by the spirits of ,vitriol or ,sulphur4 ,for the corroded powder of ,steel will after ablution be actively attracted by the ,loadstone1 and also remaineth in little diminished quantity4 ,and therefore whether those shooting ,salts partake but little of ,steel1 and be not rather the vitriolous spirits fixed into ,salt by the effluvium or odor of ,steel1 is not without good question4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,concerning the ,loadstone1 therein of sundry common ,opinions1 and received several relations3 ,natural1 ,historical1 ,medical1 ,magical4 ,and first not only a simple ,heterodox1 but a very hard ,paradox1 it will seem1 and of great absurdity unto obstinate ears1 if we say1 attraction is unjustly appropriated unto the ,loadstone1 and that perhaps we speak not properly1 when we say vulgarly and appropriately the ,loadstone draweth ,iron2 and yet herein we should not want experiment and great authority4 ,the words of ,renatus des ,cartes in his ,principles of ,philosophy are very plain4 ,prterea magnes trahet ferrum1 sive potius magnes ferrum ad invicem accedunt1 neque enim ulla ibi tractio est4 ,the same is solemnly determined by ,cabeus4 ,nec magnes trahit proprie ferrum1 nec ferrum ad se magnetem provocat1 sed ambo pari conatu ad invicem confluunt4 ,concordant hereto is the assertion of ,doctor ,ridley1 ,physitian unto the ,emperour of ,russia1 in his ,tract of ,magnetical ,bodies1 defining ,magnetical attraction to be a natural incitation and disposition conforming unto contiguity1 an union of one ,magnetical ,body with another1 and no violent haling of the weak unto the stronger4 ,and this is also the doctrine of ,gilbertus1 by whom this motion is termed ,coition1 and that not made by any faculty attractive of one1 but a ,syndrome and concourse of each2 a ,coition alway of their vigours1 and also of their bodies1 if bulk or impediment prevent not4 ,and therefore those contrary actions which flow from opposite ,poles or ,faces1 are not so properly expulsion and attraction1 as ,sequela and ,fuga1 a mutual flight and following4 ,consonant whereto are also the determination of ,helmontius1 ,kircherus1 and ,licetus4 ,sidenote3 ,attraction reciprocal betwixt the ,loadstone and ,iron4 ,the same is also confirmed by experiment2 for if a piece of ,iron be fastened in the side of a bowl or bason water1 a ,loadstone swimming freely in a ,boot of ,cork1 will presently make unto it4 ,so if a ,steel or ,knife untouched1 be offered toward the ,needle that is touched1 the ,needle nimbly moveth toward it1 and conformeth unto union with the ,steel that moveth not4 ,again1 ,if a ,loadstone be finely filed1 the ,atoms or dust thereof will adhere unto ,iron that was never touched1 even as the powder of ,iron doth also unto the ,loadstone4 ,and lastly1 if in two ,skiffs of ,cork1 a ,loadstone and ,steel be placed within the ,orb of their activities1 the one doth not move the other standing still1 but both hoise sail and steer unto each other4 ,so that if the ,loadstone attract1 the ,steel hath also its attraction2 for in this action the ,alliciency is reciprocal1 which joyntly felt1 they mutually approach and run into each others arms4 ,and therefore surely more moderate expressions become this action1 then what the ,ancients have used1 which some have delivered in the most violent terms of their language2 so ,austin calls it1 ,mirabilem ferri raptorem3 ,hippocrates ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,varia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,dasia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,zeta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota1 ,lapis qui ferrum rapit4 ,galen disputing against ,epicurus useth the term ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,dasia ,,and ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu1 but this also is too violent3 among the ,ancients ,aristotle spake most warily1 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,dasia ,,and ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,varia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,perispomeni1 ,lapis qui ferrum movet3 and in some tolerable acception do run the expressions of ,aquinas1 ,scaliger and ,cusanus4 ,many relations are made1 and great expectations are raised from the ,magnes ,carneus1 or a ,loadstone1 that hath a faculty to attract not only iron but flesh2 but this upon enquiry1 and as ,cabeus also observed1 is nothing else but a weak and inanimate kind of ,loadstone1 veined here and there with a few magnetical and ferreous lines2 but consisting of a bolary and clammy substance1 whereby it adheres like ,hmatites1 or ,terra ,lemnia1 unto the ,lips4 ,and this is that stone which is to be understood1 when ,physitians joyn it with tites1 or the ,eagle stone1 and promise therein a vertue against abortion4 ,there is sometime a mistake concerning the variation of the ,compass1 and therein one point is taken for another4 ,for beyond that ,equator some men account its variation by the diversion of the ,northern point1 whereas beyond that ,circle the ,southern point is ,soveraign1 and the ,north submits his preheminency4 ,for in the ,southern coast either of ,america or ,africa1 the ,southern point deflects and varieth toward the ,land1 as being disposed and spirited that way by the ,meridional and proper ,hemisphere4 ,and therefore on that side of the ,earth the varying point is best accounted by the ,south4 ,and therefore also the writings of some1 and ,maps of others1 are to be enquired1 that make the ,needle decline unto the ,east twelve degrees at ,capo ,frio1 and six at the straits of ,magellan2 accounting hereby one point for another1 and preferring the ,north in the ,liberties and ,province of the ,south4 ,sidenote3 ,that ,garlick hinders not the attraction of the ,loadstone4 ,but certainly false it is what is commonly affirmed and believed1 that ,garlick doth hinder the attraction of the ,loadstone1 which is notwithstanding delivered by grave and worthy ,writers1 by ,pliny1 ,solinus1 ,ptolemy1 ,plutarch1 ,albertus1 ,mathiolus1 ,rueus1 ,langius1 and many more4 ,an effect as strange as that of ,homers ,moly1 and the ,garlick that ,mercury bestowed upon ,ulysses4 ,but that it is evidently false1 many experiments declare4 ,for an ,iron wire heated red hot and quenched in the juice of ,garlick1 doth notwithstanding contract a verticity from the ,earth1 and attracteth the ,southern point of the ,needle4 ,if also the tooth of a ,loadstone be covered or stuck in ,garlick1 it will notwithstanding attract2 and ,needles excited and fixed in ,garlick until they begin to rust1 do yet retain their attractive and polary respects4 ,sidenote3 ,nor yet the ,adamant or ,diamond4 ,of the same stamp is that which is obtruded upon us by ,authors ancient and modern1 that an ,adamant or ,diamond prevents or suspends the attraction of the ,loadstone3 as is in open terms delivered by ,pliny4 ,adamas dissidet cum ,magnete lapide1 ut juxta positus ferrum non patiatur abstrahi1 aut si admotus magnes1 apprehenderit1 rapiat atque auferat4 ,for if a ,diamond be placed between a ,needle and a ,loadstone1 there will nevertheless ensue a ,coition even over the body of the ,diamond4 ,and an easie matter it is to touch or excite a ,needle through a ,diamond1 by placing it at the tooth of a ,loadstone2 and therefore the relation is false1 or our estimation of these gemms untrue2 nor are they ,diamonds which carry that name amongst us4 ,sidenote3 ,de generatione rerum4 ,it is not suddenly to be received what ,paracelsus affirmeth1 that if a ,loadstone be anointed with ,mercurial oyl1 or onely put into ,quicksilver1 it omitteth its attraction for ever4 ,for we have found that ,loadstones and touched ,needles which have laid long time in ,quicksilver have not amitted their attraction4 ,and we also find that red hot ,needles or wires extinguished in ,quicksilver1 do yet acquire a verticity according to the ,laws of position in extinction4 ,of greater repugnancy unto reason is that which he delivers concerning its graduation1 that heated in fire and often extinguished in oyl of ,mars or ,iron1 it acquires an ability to extract or draw forth a nail fastened in a wall2 for1 as we have declared before1 the vigor of the ,loadstone is destroyed by fire1 nor will it be re-impregnated by any other ,magnete then the ,earth4 ,nor is it to be made out what seemeth very plausible1 and formerly hath deceived us1 that a ,loadstone will not attract an ,iron or ,steel red hot4 ,the falsity hereof discovered first by ,kircherus1 we can confirm by iterated experiment2 very sensibly in armed ,loadstones1 and obscurely in any other4 ,true it is1 that besides fire some other wayes there are of its destruction1 as ,age1 ,rust2 and what is least dreamt on1 an unnatural or contrary situation4 ,for being impolarily adjoyned unto a more vigorous ,loadstone1 it will in a short time enchange its ,poles2 or being kept in undue position1 that is1 not lying on the ,meridian1 or else with its poles inverted1 it receives in longer time impair in activity1 exchange of ,faces2 and is more powerfully preserved by position then by the dust of ,steel4 ,but the sudden and surest way is fire2 that is1 fire not onely actual but potential2 the one surely and suddenly1 the other slowly and imperfectly2 the one changing1 the other destroying the figure4 ,for if distilled ,vinegar or ,aqua fortis be poured upon the powder of ,loadstone1 the subsiding powder dryed1 retains some ,magnetical vertue1 and will be attracted by the ,loadstone3 but if the menstruum or dissolvent be evaporated to a consistence1 and afterward doth shoot into ,icycles or ,crystals1 the ,loadstone hath no power upon them2 and if in a full dissolution of ,steel a separation of parts be made by precipitation or exhalation1 the exsiccated powder hath lost its wings and ascends not unto the ,loadstone4 ,and though a ,loadstone fired doth presently omit its proper vertue1 and according to the position in cooling contracts a new verticity from the ,earth2 yet if the same be laid awhile in aqua fortis or other corrosive water1 and taken out before a considerable corrosion1 it still reserves its attraction1 and will convert the ,needle according to former polarity4 ,and that duly preserved from violent corrosion1 or the natural disease of rust1 it may long conserve its vertue1 beside the ,magnetical vertue of the ,earth1 which hath lasted since the ,creation1 a great example we have from the observation of our learned friend ,mr4 ,graves1 ,,sn3 ,in his learned ,pyramidographia4 in an gyptian ,idol cut out of ,loadstone1 and found among the ,mummies2 which still retains its attraction1 though probably taken out of the ,mine about two thousand years ago4 ,it is improbable what ,pliny affirmeth concerning the object of its attraction1 that it attracts not only ferreous bodies1 but also liquorem vitri2 for in the body of ,glass there is no ferreous or magnetical nature which might occasion attraction4 ,for of the ,glass we use1 the purest is made of the finest sand and the ashes of ,chali or ,glaswort1 and the courser or green sort of the ashes of ,brake or other plants4 ,true it is that in the making of ,glass1 it hath been an ancient practice to cast in pieces of magnet1 or perhaps manganes3 conceiving it carried away all ferreous and earthy parts1 from the pure and running portion of ,glass1 which the ,loadstone would not respect2 and therefore if that attraction were not rather ,electrical then ,magnetical1 it was a wondrous effect what ,helmont delivereth concerning a ,glass wherein the ,magistery of ,loadstone was prepared1 which after retained an attractive quality4 ,but whether the ,magnet attracteth more then common ,iron1 may be tried in other bodies4 ,it seems to attract the ,smyris or ,emery in powder2 ,it draweth the shining or glassie powder brought from the ,indies1 and usually implied in writing-dust4 ,there is also in ,smiths ,cinders by some adhesion of ,iron whereby they appear as it were glazed1 sometime to be found a magnetical operation2 for some thereof applied have power to move the ,needle4 ,but whether the ashes of vegetables which grow over ,iron ,mines contract a magnetical quality1 as containing some mineral particles1 which by sublimation ascend unto their ,roots1 and are attracted together with their nourishment2 according as some affirm from the like observations upon the ,mines of ,silver1 ,quick silver1 and ,gold1 we must refer unto further experiment4 ,it is also improbable and something singular what some conceive1 and ,eusebius ,nierembergius1 a learned ,jesuit of ,spain delivers1 that the body of man is magnetical1 and being placed in a ,boat1 the ,vessel will never rest untill the head respecteth the ,north4 ,if this be true1 the bodies of ,christians do lye unnaturally in their ,graves4 ,king ,cheops in his ,tomb1 and the ,jews in their beds have fallen upon the natural position3 who reverentially declining the situation of their ,temple1 nor willing to lye as that stood1 do place their ,beds from ,north to ,south1 and delight to sleep ,meridionally4 ,this ,opinion confirmed would much advance the ,microcosmical conceit1 and commend the ,geography of ,paracelsus1 who according to the ,cardinal points of the ,world divideth the body of man3 and therefore working upon humane ordure1 and by long preparation rendring it odoriferous1 he terms it ,zibeta ,occidentalis1 ,western ,civet2 making the face the ,east1 but the posteriours the ,america or ,western part of his ,microcosm4 ,the verity hereof might easily be tried in ,wales1 where there are portable ,boats1 and made of ,leather1 which would convert upon the impulsion of any verticity2 and seem to be the same whereof in his description of ,britain ,csar hath left some mention4 ,sidenote3 ,anagrammatically4 ,another kind of verticity1 is that which ,angelus doce mihi jus1 alias1 ,michael ,sundevogis1 in a ,tract ,de ,sulphure1 discovereth in ,vegetables1 from sticks let fall or depressed under water2 which equally framed and permitted unto themselves1 will ascend at the upper end1 or that which was vertical in their vegetation2 wherein notwithstanding1 as yet1 we have not found satisfaction4 ,although perhaps too greedy of ,magnalities1 we are apt to make but favourable experiments concerning welcome ,truths1 and such desired verities4 ,it is also wondrous strange what ,llius ,bisciola reporteth1 that if unto ten ounces of ,loadstone one of ,iron be added1 it encreaseth not unto eleven1 but weighs ten ounces still4 ,,sn3 ,hor subseciv4 ,a relation inexcusable in a work of leisurable hours3 the examination being as ready as the relation1 and the falsity tried as easily as delivered4 ,nor is it to be omitted what is taken up by the ,coesius ,bernardus a late ,mineralogist1 and originally confirmed by ,porta1 that ,needles touched with a ,diamond contract a verticity1 even as they do with a ,loadstone1 which will not consist with experiment4 ,and therefore1 as ,gilbertus observeth1 he might be deceived1 in touching such ,needles with ,diamonds1 which had a verticity before1 as we have declared most ,needles to have2 and so had he touched them with ,gold or ,silver1 he might have concluded a magnetical vertue therein4 ,in the same form may we place ,fracastorius his attraction of silver4 ,philostratus his ,pantarbes1 ,apollodorus and ,beda his relation of the ,loadstone that attracted onely in the night4 ,but most inexcusable is ,franciscus ,rueus1 a man of our own profession2 who in his discourse of ,gemms mentioned in the ,apocalyps1 undertakes a ,chapter of the ,loadstone4 ,wherein substantially and upon experiment he scarce delivereth any thing3 making long enumeration of its traditional qualities1 whereof he seemeth to believe many1 and some above convicted by experience1 he is fain to salve as impostures of the ,devil4 ,but ,boetius de ,boot ,physitian unto ,rodulphus the second1 hath recompenced this defect2 and in his ,tract ,de ,lapidibus ,gemmis1 speaks very materially hereof2 and his ,discourse is consonant unto ,experience and ,reason4 ,as for ,relations ,historical1 though many there be of less account1 yet two alone deserve consideration3 ,the first concerneth magnetical ,rocks1 and attractive ,mountains in several parts of the ,earth4 ,the other the ,tomb of ,mahomet and bodies suspended in the air4 ,of ,rocks magnetical there are likewise two relations2 for some are delivered to be in the ,indies1 and some in the extremity of the ,north1 and about the very ,pole4 ,the ,northern account is commonly ascribed unto ,olaus ,magnus ,archbishop of ,upsale1 who out of his ,predecessor ,joannes1 ,saxo1 and others1 compiled a ,history of some ,northern ,nations2 but this assertion we have not discovered in that ,work of his which commonly passeth amongst us1 and should believe his ,geography herein no more then that in the first line of his ,book2 when he affirmeth that ,biarmia 7which is not seventy degrees in latitude7 hath the ,pole for its ,zenith1 and ,equinoctial for the ,horizon4 ,now upon this foundation1 how uncertain soever men have erected mighty illations1 ascribing thereto the cause of the ,needles direction1 and conceiving the effluctions from these ,mountains and ,rocks invite the ,lilly toward the ,north4 ,which conceit though countenanced by learned men1 is not made out either by experience or reason1 for no man hath yet attained or given a sensible account of the ,pole by some degrees4 ,it is also observed the ,needle doth very much vary as it approacheth the ,pole2 whereas were there such direction from the ,rocks1 upon a nearer approachment it would more directly respect them4 ,beside1 were there such magnetical ,rocks under the ,pole1 yet being so far removed they would produce no such effect4 ,for they that sail by the ,isle of ,ilua now called ,elba in the ,thuscan ,sea which abounds in veins of ,loadstone1 observe no variation or inclination of the ,needle2 much less may they expect a direction from ,rocks at the end of the ,earth4 ,and lastly1 men that ascribe thus much unto ,rocks of the ,north1 must presume or discover the like magneticals at the ,south3 ,for in the ,southern ,seas and far beyond the ,equator1 variations are large1 and declinations as constant as in the ,northern ,ocean4 ,sidenote3 7,probably7 there be no magnetical ,rocks4 ,the other relation of ,loadstone ,mines and ,rocks1 in the shore of ,india is delivered of old by ,pliny2 wherein1 saith he1 they are so placed both in abundance and vigour1 that it proves an adventure of hazard to pass those ,coasts in a ,ship with ,iron nails4 ,serapion the ,moor1 an ,author of good esteem and reasonable ,antiquity1 confirmeth the same1 whose expression in the word magnes is this4 ,the ,mine of this ,stone is in the ,sea-coast of ,india1 whereto when ,ships approach1 there is no ,iron in them which flies not like a ,bird unto those ,mountains2 and therefore their ships are fastened not with ,iron but ,wood1 for otherwise they would be torn to pieces4 ,but this assertion1 how positive soever1 is contradicted by all ,navigators that pass that way2 which are now many1 and of our own ,nation1 and might surely have been controled by ,nearchus the ,admiral of ,alexander2 who not knowing the ,compass1 was fain to coast that shore4 ,sidenote3 ,mahomet's tomb of stone1 and built upon the ground4 ,for the relation concerning ,mahomet1 it is generally believed his ,tomb at ,medina ,talnabi1 in ,arabia1 without any visible supporters hangeth in the air between two ,loadstones artificially contrived both above and below2 which conceit is fabulous and evidently false from the testimony of ,ocular ,testators1 who affirm his ,tomb is made of ,stone1 and lyeth upon the ground2 as beside others the learned ,vossius observeth from ,gabriel ,sionita1 and ,joannes ,hesronita1 two ,maronites in their relations hereof4 ,of such intentions and attempt by ,mahometans we read in some ,relators1 and that might be the occasion of the ,fable1 which by tradition of time and distance of place enlarged into the ,story of being accomplished4 ,and this hath been promoted by attempts of the like nature2 for we read in ,pliny that one ,dinocrates began to ,arch the ,temple of ,arsinoe in ,alexandria with ,loadstone1 that so her ,statue might be suspended in the air to the amazement of the beholders4 ,and to lead on our crudelity herein1 confirmation may be drawn from ,history and ,writers of good authority4 ,so it is reported by ,ruffinus1 that in the ,temple of ,serapis there was an ,iron ,chariot suspended by ,loadstones in the air2 which stones removed1 the ,chariot fell and dashed into pieces4 ,the like doth ,beda report of ,bellerophons ,horse1 which framed of ,iron1 was placed between two ,loadstones1 with wings expansed1 pendulous in the air4 ,the verity of these ,stories we shall not further dispute1 their possibility we may in some way determine2 if we conceive what no man will deny1 that bodies suspended in the air have this suspension from one or many ,loadstones placed both above and below it2 or else by one or many placed only above it4 ,likewise the body to be suspended in respect of the ,loadstone above1 is either placed first at a pendulous distance in the medium1 or else attracted unto that site by the vigor of the ,loadstone4 ,and so we first affirm1 that possible it is1 a body may be suspended between two ,loadstones2 that is1 it being so equally attracted unto both1 that it determineth it self unto neither4 ,but surely this position will be of no duration2 for if the air be agitated or the body waved either way1 it omits the equilibration1 and disposeth it self unto the nearest attractor4 ,again1 ,it is not impossible 7though hardly feasible7 by a single ,loadstone to suspend an ,iron in the air1 the ,iron being artificially placed and at a distance guided toward the stone1 until it find the neutral point1 wherein its gravity just equals the magnetical quality1 the one exactly extolling as much as the other depresseth4 ,and lastly1 ,impossible it is that if an ,iron rest upon the ground1 and a ,loadstone be placed over it1 it should ever so arise as to hang in the way or medium2 for that vigor which at a distance is able to overcome the resistance of its gravity and to lift it up from the ,earth1 will as it approacheth nearer be still more able to attract it2 never remaining in the middle that could not abide in the extreams4 ,now the way of ,baptista ,porta that by a thred fastneth a ,needle to a ,table1 and then so guides and orders the same1 that by the attraction of the ,loadstone it abideth in the air1 infringeth not this reason2 for this is a violent retention1 and if the thred be loosened1 the ,needle ascends and adheres unto the ,attractor4 ,sidenote3 ,powder of ,loadstones1 of what operation4 ,the third consideration concerneth ,medical relations2 wherein what ever effects are delivered1 they are either derived from its mineral and ferreous condition1 or else magnetical operation4 ,unto the ferreous and mineral quality pertaineth what ,dioscorides an ancient ,writer and ,souldier under ,anthony and ,cleopatra affirmeth1 that half a dram of ,loadstone given with ,honey and ,water1 proves a purgative medicine1 and evacuateth gross humours4 ,but this is a quality of great incertainty2 for omitting the vehicle of ,water and ,honey1 which is of a laxative power it self1 the powder of some ,loadstones in this dose doth rather constipate and binde1 then purge and loosen the belly4 ,and if sometimes it cause any laxity1 it is probably in the same way with ,iron and ,steel unprepared1 which will disturb some bodies1 and work by ,purge and ,vomit4 ,and therefore1 whereas it is delivered in a ,book ascribed unto ,galen1 that it is a good medicine in dropsies1 and evacuates the waters of persons so affected3 ,it may ,i confess by siccity and astriction afford a confirmation unto parts relaxed1 and such as be hydropically disposed2 and by these qualities it may be useful in ,hernias or ,ruptures1 and for these it is commended by tius1 gineta1 and ,oribatius2 who only affirm that it contains the vertue of ,hmatites1 and being burnt was sometimes vended for it4 ,wherein notwithstanding there is an higher vertue2 and in the same prepared1 or in rich veins thereof1 though crude1 we have observed the effects of ,chalybeat ,medicines2 and the benefits of ,iron and ,steel in strong obstructions4 ,and therefore that was probably a different vein of ,loadstone1 or infected with other mineral mixture1 which the ,ancients commended for a purgative medicine1 and ranked the same with the violentest kinds thereof3 with ,hippophae1 ,cneoron1 and ,thymela1 as we find it in ,hippocrates ,,sn3 ,de morbis internis42 and might be somewhat doubtful1 whether by the magnesian stone1 he understood the ,loadstone2 did not ,achilles ,statius define the same1 the ,stone that loveth ,iron4 ,to this mineral condition belongeth what is delivered by some1 that wounds which are made with weapons excited by the ,loadstone1 contract a malignity1 and become of more difficult cure2 which nevertheless is not to be found in the incision of ,chyrurgions with knives and lances touched2 which leave no such effect behind them4 ,hither we also refer that affirmative1 which sayes the ,loadstone is poison2 and therefore in the lists of poisons we find it in many ,authors4 ,but this our experience cannot confirm1 and the practice of the ,king of ,zeilan clearly contradicteth2 who as ,garcias ab ,horto1 ,physitian unto the ,spanish ,viceroy delivereth1 hath all his meat served up in dishes of ,loadstone1 and conceives thereby he preserveth the vigour of youth4 ,but surely from a magnetical activity must be made out what is let fall by tius1 that a ,loadstone held in the hand of one that is podagrical1 doth either cure or give great ease in the ,gout4 ,or what ,marcellus ,empericus affirmeth1 that as an amulet1 it also cureth the headach2 which are but additions unto its proper nature1 and hopeful enlargements of its allowed attraction4 ,for perceiving its secret power to draw magnetical bodies1 men have invented a new attraction1 to draw out the dolour and pain of any part4 ,and from such grounds it surely became a philter1 and was conceived a medicine of some venereal attraction2 and therefore upon this stone they graved the ,image of ,venus1 according unto that of ,claudian1 ,venerem magnetica gemma figurat4 ,hither must we also ruler what is delivered concerning its power to draw out of the body bullets and heads of arrows1 and for the like intention is mixed up in plaisters4 ,which course1 although as vain and ineffectual it be rejected by many good ,authors1 yet is it not methinks so readily to be denied1 nor the ,practice of many ,physicians which have thus compounded plaisters1 thus suddenly to be condemned1 as may be observed in the ,emplastrum divinum ,nicolai1 the ,emplastrum nigrum of ,augspurg1 the ,opodeldoch and ,attractivum of ,paracelsus1 with several more in the ,dispensatory of ,wecker1 and practice of ,sennertus4 ,the cure also of ,hernias1 or ,ruptures in ,pareus3 and the method also of curation lately delivered by ,daniel ,beckherus1,d and approved by the ,professors of ,leyden1 that is1 of a young man of ,spruceland that casually swallowed a knife about ten inches long1 which was cut out of his stomach1 and the wound healed up4 ,in which cure to attract the knife to a convenient situation1 there was applied a plaister made up with the powder of ,loadstone4 ,now this kind of practice ,libavius1 ,gilbertus1 and lately ,swickardus ,,sn3 ,in his ,ars ,magnetica4 condemn1 as vain1 and altogether unuseful2 because a ,loadstone in powder hath no attractive power2 for in that form it omits his polarly respects1 and loseth those parts which are the rule of attraction4 ,d ,de cultrivoro ,prussiaco1 #afcf4 ,the cure of the ,prussian ,knife4 ,wherein to speak compendiously1 if experiment hath not deceived us1 we first affirm that a ,loadstone in powder omits not all attraction4 ,for if the powder of a rich vein be in a reasonable quantity presented toward the ,needle freely placed1 it will not appear to be void of all activity1 but will be able to stir it4 ,nor hath it only a power to move the ,needle in powder and by it self1 but this will it also do1 if incorporated and mixed with plaisters2 as we have made trial in the ,emplastrum de ,minia1 with half an ounce of the mass1 mixing a dram of ,loadstone4 ,for applying the magdaleon or roal unto the ,needle1 it would both stir and attract it2 not equally in all parts1 but more vigorously in some1 according unto the ,mine of the ,stone1 more plentifully dispersed in the mass4 ,and lastly1 ,in the ,loadstone powdered1 the polary respects are not wholly destroyed4 ,for those diminutive particles are not atomical or meerly indivisible1 but consist of dimensions sufficient for their operations1 though in obscurer effects4 ,thus if unto the powder of ,loadstone or ,iron we admove the ,north ,pole of the ,loadstone1 the ,powders or small divisions will erect and conform themselves thereto3 but if the ,south ,pole approach1 they will subside1 and inverting their bodies1 respect the ,loadstone with the other extream4 ,and this will happen not only in a body of powder together1 but in any particle or dust divided from it4 ,now though we disavow not these plaisters1 yet shall we not omit two cautions in their use1 that therein the ,stone be not too subtilly powdered1 for it will better manifest its attraction in a more sensible dimension4 ,that where is desired a speedy effect1 it may be considered whether it were not better to relinquish the powdered plaisters1 and to apply an entire ,loadstone unto the part3 ,and though the other be not wholly ineffectual1 whether this way be not more powerful1 and so might have been in the cure of the young man delivered by ,beckerus4 ,the last consideration concerneth ,magical relations2 in which account we comprehend effects derived and fathered upon hidden qualities1 specifical forms1 ,antipathies and ,sympathies1 whereof from received grounds of ,art1 no reasons are derived4 ,herein relations are strange and numerous2 men being apt in all ,ages to multiply wonders1 and ,philosophers dealing with admirable bodies1 as ,historians have done with excellent men1 upon the strength of their great atcheivements1 ascribing acts unto them not only false but impossible2 and exceeding truth as much in their relations1 as they have others in their actions4 ,hereof we shall briefly mention some delivered by ,authors of good esteem3 whereby we may discover the fabulous inventions of some1 the credulous supinity of others1 and the great disservice unto truth by both3 multiplying obscurities in ,nature1 and authorising hidden qualities that are false2 whereas wise men are ashamed there are so many true4 ,and first1 ,dioscorides puts a shrewd quality upon it1 and such as men are apt enough to experiment1 who therewith discovers the incontinency of a wife1 by placing the ,loadstone under her pillow1 whereupon she will not be able to remain in bed with her husband4 ,the same he also makes a help unto thievery4 ,for ,thieves saith he1 having a design upon a house1 do make a fire at the four corners thereof1 and cast therein the fragments of ,loadstone3 whence ariseth a fume that so disturbeth the inhabitants1 that they forsake the house and leave it to the spoil of the ,robbers4 ,this relation1 how ridiculous soever1 hath ,albertus taken up above a thousand years after1 and ,marbodeus the ,frenchman hath continued the same in ,latine ,verse1 which with the ,notes of ,pictorius is currant unto our dayes4 ,as strange must be the ,lithomancy or divination from this ,stone1 whereby as ,tzetzes delivers1 ,helenus the ,prophet foretold the destruction of ,troy3 and the ,magick thereof not safely to be believed1 which was delivered by ,orpheus1 that sprinkled with water it will upon a question emit a voice not much unlike an ,infant4 ,but surely the ,loadstone of ,laurentius ,guascus the ,physitian1 is never to be matched2 wherewith1 as ,cardan delivereth1 whatsoever ,needles or ,bodies were touched1 the wounds and punctures made thereby1 were never felt at all4 ,and yet as strange is that which is delivered by some1 that a ,loadstone preserved in the salt of a ,remora1 acquires a power to attract gold out of the deepest ,wells4 ,certainly a studied absurdity1 not casually cast out1 but plotted for perpetuity3 for the strangeness of the effect ever to be admired1 and the difficulty of the trial never to be convicted4 ,these conceits are of that monstrosity that they refute themselves in their recitements4 ,there is another of better notice1 and whispered thorow the ,world with some attention2 credulous and vulgar auditors readily believing it1 and more judicious and distinctive heads1 not altogether rejecting it4 ,the conceit is excellent1 and if the effect would follow1 somewhat divine2 whereby we might communicate like spirits1 and confer on earth with ,menippus in the ,moon4 ,and this is pretended from the sympathy of two ,needles touched with the same ,loadstone1 and placed in the center of two ,abecedary circles or rings1 with letters described round about them1 one friend keeping one1 and another the other1 and agreeing upon an hour wherein they will communicate4 ,for then1 saith ,tradition1 at what distance of place soever1 when one ,needle shall be removed unto any letter1 the other by a wonderful sympathy will move unto the same4 ,but herein ,i confess my experience can find no truth2 for having expressly framed two circles of ,wood1 and according to the number of the ,latine letters divided each into twenty three parts1 placing therein two stiles or ,needles composed of the same steel1 touched with the same ,loadstone1 and at the same point3 of these two1 whensoever ,i removed the one1 although but at the distance of half a span1 the other would stand like ,hercules pillars1 and if the ,earth stand still1 have surely no motion at all4 ,now as it is not possible that any body should have no boundaries1 or ,sphear of its activity1 so it is improbable it should effect that at distance1 which nearer hand it cannot at all perform4 ,again1 ,the conceit is ill contrived1 and one effect inferred1 whereas the contrary will ensue4 ,for if the removing of one of the ,needles from ,a to ,b1 should have any action or influence on the other1 it would not intice it from ,a to ,b1 but repell it from ,a to ,z3 for ,needles excited by the same point of the stone1 do not attract1 but avoid each other1 even as these also do1 when their invigorated extreams approach unto one other4 ,lastly1 ,were this conceit assuredly true1 yet were it not a conclusion at every distance to be tried by every head3 it being no ordinary or ,almanack business1 but a ,problem ,mathematical1 to finde out the difference of hours in different places2 nor do the wisest exactly satisfie themselves in all4 ,for the hours of several places anticipate each other1 according unto their ,longitudes1 which are not exactly discovered of every place2 and therefore the trial hereof at a considerable interval1 is best performed at the distance of the ,antoeci2 that is1 such habitations as have the same ,meridian and equal parallel1 on different sides of the quator2 or more plainly the same ,longitude and the same ,latitude unto the ,south1 which we have in the ,north4 ,for unto such situations it is noon and midnight at the very same time4 ,and therefore the ,sympathy of these ,needles is much of the same mould with that intelligence which is pretended from the flesh of one body transmuted by incision into another4 ,,sn3 ,de curtorum ,chyrurgia4 ,for if by the ,art of ,taliacotius1 a permutation of flesh1 or transmutation be made from one mans body into another1 as if a piece of flesh be exchanged from the bicipital muscle of either parties arm1 and about them both an ,alphabet circumscribed2 upon a time appointed as some conceptions affirm1 they may communicate at what distance soever4 ,for if the one shall prick himself in ,a1 the other at the same time will have a sense thereof in the same part3 and upon inspection of his arm perceive what letters the other points out in his4 ,which is a way of intelligence very strange3 and would requite the lost ,art of ,pythagoras1 who could read a reverse in the ,moon4 ,now this magnetical conceit how strange soever1 might have some original in ,reason2 for men observing no solid body1 whatsoever did interrupt its action1 might be induced to believe no distance would terminate the same2 and most conceiving it pointed unto the ,pole of ,heaven1 might also opinion that nothing between could restrain it4 ,whosoever was the ,author1 the olus that blew it about was ,famianus ,strada1 that ,elegant ,jesuit1 in his ,rhetorical prolusions1 who chose out this subject to express the stile of ,lucretius4 ,but neither ,baptista ,porta1 de ,furtivis ,literarum notis2 ,trithemius in his ,steganography1 ,selenus in his ,cryptography1 ,,sn3 ,nunc4 inanim4 by ,d4 ,godwin ,bishop of ,hereford4 or ,nuncius inanimatus make any consideration hereof1 although they deliver many ways to communicate thoughts at distance4 ,and this we will not deny may in some manner be effected by the ,loadstone2 that is1 from one room into another2 by placing a table in the wall common unto both1 and writing thereon the same letters one against another3 for upon the approach of a vigorous ,loadstone unto a letter on this side1 the ,needle will move unto the same on the other4 ,but this is a very different way from ours at present2 and hereof there are many ways delivered1 and more may be discovered which contradict not the rule of its operations4 ,as for ,unguentum ,armarium1 called also ,magneticum1 it belongs not to this discourse1 it neither having the ,loadstone for its ingredient1 nor any one of its actions3 but supposeth other principles1 as common and universal spirits1 which convey the action of the remedy unto the part1 and conjoins the vertue of bodies far disjoyned4 ,but perhaps the cures it doth1 are not worth so mighty principles2 it commonly healing but simple wounds1 and such as mundified and kept clean1 do need no other hand then that of ,nature1 and the ,balsam of the proper part4 ,unto which effect there being fields of ,medicines1 it may be a hazardous curiosity to rely on this2 and because men say the effect doth generally follow1 it might be worth the experiment to try1 whether the same will not ensue1 upon the same ,method of cure1 by ordinary ,balsams1 or common vulnerary plaisters4 ,many other ,magnetisms may be pretended1 and the like attractions through all the creatures of ,nature4 ,whether the same be verified in the action of the ,sun upon inferiour bodies1 whether there be olian ,magnets1 whether the flux and reflux of the ,sea be caused by any ,magnetism from the ,moon2 whether the like be really made out1 or rather ,metaphorically verified in the sympathies of ,plants and ,animals1 might afford a large dispute2 and ,kircherus in his ,catena ,magnetica hath excellently discussed the same2 which work came late unto our hand1 but might have much advantaged this ,discourse4 ,other ,discourses there might be made of the ,loadstone3 as ,moral1 ,mystical1 ,theological2 and some have handsomely done them2 as ,ambrose1 ,austine1 ,gulielmus ,parisiensis1 and many more1 but these fall under no ,rule1 and are as boundless as mens inventions4 ,and though honest minds do glorifie ,god hereby2 yet do they most powerfully magnifie him1 and are to be looked on with another eye1 who demonstratively set forth its ,magnalities2 who not from postulated or precarious inferences1 entreat a courteous assent2 but from experiments and undeniable effects1 enforce the wonder of its ,maker4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,of ,bodies ,electrical4 ,sidenote3 ,bodies ,electrical1 what8 ,having thus spoken of the ,loadstone and ,bodies ,magnetical1 ,i shall in the next place deliver somewhat of ,electrical1 and such as may seem to have attraction like the other4 ,hereof we shall also deliver what particularly spoken or not generally known is manifestly or probably true1 what generally believed is also false or dubious4 ,now by ,electrical bodies1 ,i understand not such as are ,metallical1 mentioned by ,pliny1 and the ,ancients2 for their ,electrum was a mixture made of ,gold1 with the ,addition of a fifth part of ,silver2 a substance now as unknown as true ,aurichalcum1 or ,corinthian ,brass1 and set down among things lost by ,pancirollus4 ,nor by ,electrick ,bodies do ,i conceive such only as take up shavings1 straws1 and light bodies1 in which number the ,ancients only placed ,jet and ,amber2 but such as conveniently placed unto their objects attract all bodies palpable whatsoever4 ,i say conveniently placed1 that is1 in regard of the object1 that it be not too ponderous1 or any way affixed2 in regard of the ,agent1 that it be not foul or sullied1 but wiped1 rubbed1 and excitated2 in regard of both1 that they be conveniently distant1 and no impediment interposed4 ,i say1 all bodies palpable1 thereby excluding fire1 which indeed it will not attract1 nor yet draw through it2 for fire consumes its effluxions by which it should attract4 ,now although in this rank but two were commonly mentioned by the ,ancients1 ,gilbertus discovereth many more2 as ,diamonds1 ,saphyrs1 ,carbuncles1 ,iris1 ,opalls1 ,amethysts1 ,beril1 ,crystal1 ,bristol-stones1 ,sulphur1 ,mastick1 hard ,wax1 hard ,rosin1 ,arsenic1 ,sal-gemm1 ,roch-,allum1 common ,glass1 ,stibium1 or ,glass of ,antimony4 ,unto these ,cabeus addeth white ,wax1 ,gum ,elemi1 ,gum ,guaici1 ,pix ,hispanica1 and ,gipsum4 ,and unto these we add ,gum ,anime1 ,benjamin1 ,talcum1 ,china-dishes1 ,sandaraca1 ,turpentine1 ,styrax ,liquida1 and ,caranna dried into a hard consistence4 ,and the same attraction we find1 not onely in simple bodies1 but such as are much compounded2 as in the ,oxycroceum plaister1 and obscurely that ad ,herniam1 and ,gratia ,dei2 all which smooth and rightly prepared1 will discover a sufficient power to stir the ,needle1 setled freely upon a well-pointed pin2 and so as the ,electrick may be applied unto it without all disadvantage4 ,but the attraction of these ,electricks we observe to be very different4 ,resinous or unctuous bodies1 and such as will flame1 attract most vigorously1 and most thereof without frication2 as ,anime1 ,benjamin1 and most powerfully good hard ,wax1 which will convert the ,needle almost as actively as the ,loadstone4 ,and we believe that all or most of this substance if reduced to hardness1 tralucency or clearness1 would have some attractive quality4 ,but juices concrete1 or ,gums easily dissolving in water1 draw not at all3 as ,aloe1 ,opium1 ,sanguis ,draconis1 ,lacca1 ,calbanum1 ,sagapenum4 ,many stones also both precious and vulgar1 although terse and smooth1 have not this power attractive3 as ,emeralds1 ,pearl1 ,jaspis1 ,corneleans1 ,agathe1 ,heliotropes1 ,marble1 ,alablaster1 ,touchstone1 ,flint1 and ,bezoar4 ,glass attracts but weakly1 though clear2 some slick stones and thick ,glasses indifferently3 ,arsenic but weakly1 so likewise ,glass of ,antimony1 but ,crocus ,metallorum not at all4 ,salts generally but weakly1 as ,sal ,gemma1 ,allum1 and also ,talke2 nor very discoverably by any frication1 but if gently warmed at the fire1 and wiped with a dry cloth1 they will better discover their ,electricities4 ,no ,metal attracts1 nor ,animal concretion we know1 although polite and smooth2 as we have made trial in ,elks ,hoofs1 ,hawks-,talons1 the ,sword of a ,sword-fish1 ,tortois-shells1 ,sea-horse1 and ,elephants ,teeth1 in ,bones1 in ,harts-horn1 and what is usually conceived ,unicorns-horn4 ,no ,wood though never so hard and polished1 although out of some thereof ,electrick bodies proceed2 as ,ebony1 ,box1 ,lignum vit1 ,cedar1 etc4 ,and although ,jet and ,amber be reckoned among ,bitumens1 yet neither do we find ,asphaltus1 that is1 ,bitumens of ,judea1 nor ,sea-cole1 nor ,camphire1 nor ,mummia to attract1 although we have tried in large and polished pieces4 ,now this attraction have we tried in straws and paleous bodies1 in ,needles of ,iron1 equilibrated1 ,powders of ,wood and ,iron1 in ,gold and ,silver foliate4 ,and not only in solid but fluent and liquid bodies1 as oyls made both by expression and distillation2 in ,water1 in spirits of ,wine1 ,vitriol and ,aquafortis4 ,but how this attraction is made1 is not so easily determined2 that 'tis performed by effluviums is plain1 and granted by most2 for ,electricks will not commonly attract1 except they grow hot or become perspirable4 ,for if they be foul and obnubilated1 it hinders their effluxion2 nor if they be covered1 though but with ,linen or ,sarsenet1 or if a body be interposed1 for that intercepts the effluvium4 ,if also a powerful and broad ,electrick of ,wax or ,anime be held over fine powder1 the ,atoms or small particles will ascend most numerously unto it2 and if the ,electrick be held unto the light1 it may be observed that many thereof will fly1 and be as it were discharged from the ,electrick to the distance sometime of two or three inches4 ,which motion is performed by the breath of the effluvium issuing with agility2 for as the ,electrick cooleth1 the projection of the ,atoms ceaseth4 ,sidenote3 ,cabeus his way for attraction in bodies ,electrick4 ,the manner hereof ,cabeus wittily attempteth1 affirming that this effluvium attenuateth and impelleth the neighbor air1 which returning home in a gyration1 carrieth with it the obvious bodies unto the ,electrick4 ,and this he labours to confirm by experiments2 for if the straws be raised by a vigorous ,electrick1 they do appear to wave and turn in their ascents4 ,if likewise the ,electrick be broad1 and the straws light and chaffy1 and held at a reasonable distance1 they will not arise unto the middle1 but rather adhere toward the ,verge or ,borders thereof4 ,and lastly1 if many straws be laid together1 and a nimble ,electrick approach1 they will not all arise unto it1 but some will commonly start aside1 and be whirled a reasonable distance from it4 ,now that the air impelled returns unto its place in a gyration or whirling1 is evident from the ,atoms or ,motes in the ,sun4 ,for when the ,sun so enters a hole or window1 that by its illumination the ,atoms or ,motes become perceptible1 if then by our breath the air be gently impelled1 it may be perceived1 that they will circularly return and in a gyration unto their places again4 ,sidenote3 ,the way of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby4 ,another way of their attraction is also delivered2 that is1 by a tenuous emanation or continued effluvium1 which after some distance retracteth into it self2 as is observable in drops of ,syrups1 ,oyl1 and seminal ,viscosities1 which spun at length1 retire into their former dimensions4 ,now these effluviums advancing from the body of the ,electrick1 in their return do carry back the bodies whereon they have laid hold within the ,sphere or ,circle of their continuities2 and these they do not onely attract1 but with their viscous arms hold fast a good while after4 ,and if any shall wonder why these effluviums issuing forth impel and protrude not the straw before they can bring it back1 it is because the effluvium passing out in a smaller thred and more enlengthened filament1 it stirreth not the bodies interposed1 but returning unto its original1 falls into a closer substance1 and carrieth them back unto it self4 ,and this way of attraction is best received1 embraced by ,sir ,kenelm ,digby in his excellent ,treaty of bodies1 allowed by ,des ,cartes in his principles of ,philosophy1 as far and concerneth fat and resinous bodies1 and with exception of ,glass1 whose attraction he also deriveth from the recess of its effluction4 ,and this in some manner the words of ,gilbertus will bear3 ,effluvia illa tenuiora concipiunt amplectuntur corpora1 quibus uniuntur1 electris tanquam extensis brachiis1 ad fontem propinquitate invalescentibus effluviis1 deducuntur4 ,and if the ground were true1 that the ,earth were an ,electrick body1 and the air but the effluvium thereof1 we might have more reason to believe that from this attraction1 and by this effluction1 bodies tended to the ,earth1 and could not remain above it4 ,our other discourse of ,electricks concerneth a general opinion touching ,jet and ,amber1 that they attract all light bodies1 except ,ocymum or ,basil1 and such as be dipped in oyl or oyled2 and this is urged as high as ,theophrastus3 but ,scaliger acquitteth him2 ,and had this been his assertion1 ,pliny would probably have taken it up1 who herein stands out1 and delivereth no more but what is vulgarly known4 ,but ,plutarch speaks positively in his ,symposiacks1 that ,amber attracteth all bodies1 excepting ,basil and oyled substances4 ,with ,plutarch consent many ,authors both ,ancient and ,modern2 but the most inexcusable are ,lemnius and ,rueus1 whereof the one delivering the nature of ,minerals mentioned in ,scripture1 the infallible fountain of ,truth1 confirmeth their vertues with erroneous traditions2 the other undertaking the occult and hidden ,miracles of ,nature1 accepteth this for one2 and endeavoureth to alledge a reason of that which is more then occult1 that is1 not existent4 ,now herein1 omitting the authority of others1 as the ,doctrine of experiment hath informed us1 we first affirm1 ,that ,amber attracts not ,basil1 is wholly repugnant unto truth4 ,for if the leaves thereof or dried stalks be stripped into small straws1 they arise unto ,amber1 ,wax1 and other ,electries1 no otherwise then those of ,wheat and ,rye3 nor is there any peculiar fatness or singular viscosity in that plant that might cause adhesion1 and so prevent its ascension4 ,but that ,jet and ,amber attract not straws oyled1 is in part true and false4 ,for if the straws be much wet or drenched in oyl1 true it is that ,amber draweth them not2 for then the oyl makes the straws to adhere unto the part whereon they are placed1 so that they cannot rise unto the ,attractor2 and this is true1 not onely if they be soaked in ,oyl1 but spirits of ,wine or ,water4 ,but if we speak of ,straws or festucous divisions lightly drawn over with oyl1 and so that it causeth no adhesion2 or if we conceive an ,antipathy between ,oyl and ,amber1 the ,doctrine is not true4 ,for ,amber will attract straws thus oyled1 it will convert the ,needles of ,dials made either of ,brass or ,iron1 although they be much oyled2 for in these ,needles consisting free upon their ,center1 there can be no adhesion4 ,it will likewise attract ,oyl it self1 and if it approacheth unto a drop thereof1 it becometh conical1 and ariseth up unto it1 for ,oyl taketh not away his attraction1 although it be rubbed over it4 ,for if you touch a piece of ,wax already excitated with common ,oyl1 it will notwithstanding attract1 though not so vigorously as before4 ,but if you moisten the same with any ,chymical ,oyl1 ,water1 or spirits of ,wine1 or only breath upon it1 it quite omits its attraction1 for either its influencies cannot get through1 or will not mingle with those substances4 ,it is likewise probable the ,ancients were mistaken concerning its substance and generation2 they conceiving it a vegetable concretion made of the gums of ,trees1 especially ,pine and ,poplar falling into the water1 and after indurated or hardened1 whereunto accordeth the ,fable of ,phaetons sisters3 but surely the concretion is ,mineral1 according as is delivered by ,boetius4 ,for either it is found in ,mountains and mediterraneous parts2 and so it is a fat and unctuous sublimation in the ,earth1 concreted and fixed by salt and nitrous spirits wherewith it meeteth4 ,or else1 which is most usual1 it is collected upon the ,sea-shore2 and so it is a fat and bituminous juice coagulated by the saltness of the ,sea4 ,now that salt spirits have a power to congeal and coagulate unctuous bodies1 is evident in ,chymical operations2 in the distillations of ,arsenick1 sublimate and ,antimony2 in the mixture of oyl of ,juniper1 with the salt and acide spirit of ,sulphur1 for thereupon ensueth a concretion unto the consistence of ,birdlime2 as also in spirits of salt1 or ,aqua fortis poured upon oyl of ,olive1 or more plainly in the ,manufacture of ,soap4 ,and many bodies will coagulate upon commixture1 whose separated natures promise no concretion4 ,thus upon a solution of ,tin by ,aqua fortis1 there will ensue a coagulation1 like that of whites of ,eggs4 ,,sn3 ,how the stone is bred in the ,kidney or ,bladder4 ,thus the volatile salt of ,urine will coagulate ,aqua vit1 or spirits of ,wine2 and thus perhaps 7as ,helmont excellently declareth7 the stones or calculous concretions in ,kidney or ,bladder may be produced3 the spirits or volatile salt of ,urine conjoyning with the ,aqua vit potentially lying therein2 as he illustrateth from the distillation of fermented ,urine4 ,from whence ariseth an ,aqua vit or spirit1 which the volatile salt of the same ,urine will congeal2 and finding an earthy concurrence1 strike into a lapideous substance4 ,sidenote3 ,of a ,bee and a ,viper involved in ,amber4 ,mart4 l4 #d4 ,lastly1 ,we will not omit what ,bellabonus upon his own experiment writ from ,dantzich unto ,mellichius1 as he hath left recorded in his ,chapter1 ,de succino1 that the bodies of ,flies1 ,pismires1 and the like1 which are said oft-times to be included in ,amber1 are not real but representative1 as he discovered in several pieces broke for that purpose4 ,if so1 the two famous ,epigrams hereof in ,martial are but ,poetical1 the ,pismire of ,brassavolus imaginary1 and ,cardans ,mousoleum for a ,flie1 a meer phansie4 ,but hereunto we know not how to assent1 as having met with some whose reals made good their representments4 ,,chapter ,v ,compendiously of sundry other common ,tenents1 concerning ,mineral and ,terreous ,bodies1 which examined1 prove either false or dubious4 #a4 ,and first we hear it in every mouth1 and in many good ,authors read it1 ,that a ,diamond1 which is the hardest of stones1 not yielding unto ,steel1 ,emery1 or any thing but its own powder1 is yet made soft1 or broke by the blood of a ,goat4 ,thus much is affirmed by ,pliny1 ,solinus1 ,albertus1 ,cyprian1 ,austin1 ,isidore1 and many ,christian ,writers1 alluding herein unto the heart of man and the precious bloud of our ,saviour1 who was typified by the ,goat that was slain1 and the scape-,goat in the ,wilderness2 and at the effusion of whose bloud1 not only the hard hearts of his enemies relented1 but the stony rocks and vail of the ,temple were shattered4 ,but this ,i perceive is easier affirmed then proved4 ,for ,lapidaries1 and such as profess the art of cutting this stone1 do generally deny it2 and they that seem to countenance it1 have in their deliveries so qualified it1 that little from thence of moment can be inferred for it4 ,for first1 the holy ,fathers1 without a further enquiry did take it for granted1 and rested upon the authority of the first deliverers4 ,as for ,albertus1 he promiseth this effect1 but conditionally1 not except the ,goat drink wine1 and be fed with ,siler montanum1 petroselinum1 and such herbs as are conceived of power to break the stone in the bladder4 ,but the words of ,pliny1 from whom most likely the rest at first derived it1 if strictly considered1 do rather overthrow1 then any way advantage this effect4 ,his words are these3 ,hircino rumpitur sanguine1 nec aliter quam recenti1 calidoque macerata1 sic quoque multis ictibus1 tunc etiam prterquam eximias incudes malleosque ferreos frangens4 ,that is1 it is broken with ,goats blood1 but not except it be fresh and warm1 and that not without many blows1 and then also it will break the best ,anvils and ,hammers of ,iron4 ,and answerable hereto1 is the assertion of ,isidore and ,solinus4 ,by which account1 a ,diamond steeped in ,goats bloud1 rather increaseth in hardness1 then acquireth any softness by the infusion2 for the best we have are comminuible without it2 and are so far from breaking hammers1 that they submit unto pistillation1 and resist not an ordinary pestle4 ,sidenote3 ,pulvis ,lithontripticus4 ,upon this conceit arose perhaps the discovery of another2 that the bloud of a ,goat was soveraign for the ,stone1 as it stands commended by many good ,writers1 and brings up the composition in the powder of ,nicolaus1 and the ,electuary of the ,queen of ,colein4 ,or rather because it was found an excellent medicine for the ,stone1 and its ability commended by some to dissolve the hardest thereof2 it might be conceived by amplifying apprehensions1 to be able to break a ,diamond2 and so it came to be ordered that the ,goat should be fed with saxifragous herbs1 and such as are conceived of power to break the stone4 ,however it were1 as the effect is false in the one1 so is it surely very doubtful in the other4 ,for although inwardly received it may be very diuretick1 and expulse the stone in the ,kidneys1 yet how it should dissolve or break that in the bladder1 will require a further dispute2 and perhaps would be more reasonably tried by a warm injection thereof1 then as it is commonly used4 ,wherein notwithstanding1 we should rather rely upon the urine in a castlings bladder1 a resolution of ,crabs eyes1 or the second distillation of ,urine1 as ,helmont hath commended2 or rather 7if any such might be found7 a ,chylifactory menstruum or digestive preparation drawn from species or individuals1 whose stomacks peculiarly dissolve lapideous bodies4 #b4 ,that ,glass is poison1 according unto common conceit1 ,i know not how to grant4 ,not onely from the innocency of its ingredients1 that is1 fine ,sand1 and the ashes of ,glass-wort of ,fearn1 which in themselves are harmless and useful3 or because ,i find it by many commended for the ,stone1 but also from experience1 as having given unto ,dogs above a dram thereof1 subtilly powdered in ,butter and ,paste1 without any visible disturbance4 ,sidenote3 ,why ,glass is commonly held to be poysonous4 ,the conceit is surely grounded upon the visible mischief of ,glass grosly or coursly powdered1 for that indeed is mortally noxious1 and effectually used by some to destroy ,mice and ,rats2 for by reason of its acuteness and angularity1 it commonly excoriates the parts through which it passeth1 and solicits them unto a continual expulsion4 ,whereupon there ensues fearful symptomes1 not much unlike those which attend the action of poison4 ,from whence notwithstanding1 we cannot with propriety impose upon it that name1 either by occult or elementary quality1 which he that concedeth will much enlarge the ,catalogue or ,lists of ,poisons4 ,for many things1 neither deleterious by substance or quality1 are yet destructive by figure1 or some occasional activity4 ,so are ,leeches destructive1 and by some accounted poison2 not properly1 that is by temperamental contrariety1 occult form1 or so much as elemental repugnancy2 but because being inwardly taken they fasten upon the veins1 and occasion an effusion of bloud1 which cannot be easily stanched4 ,so a ,sponge is mischievous1 not in it self1 for in its powder it is harmless3 but because being received into the stomach it swelleth1 and occasioning a continual distension1 induceth a strangulation4 ,so ,pins1 ,needles1 ears of ,rye or ,barley may be poison4 ,so ,daniel destroyed the ,dragon by a composition of three things1 whereof neither was poison alone1 nor properly all together1 that is1 ,pitch1 ,fat1 and ,hair1 according as is expressed in the ,history4 ,then ,daniel took ,pitch1 and ,fat1 and ,hair1 and did seeth them together1 and made lumps thereof1 these he put in the ,dragons mouth1 and so he burst asunder4 ,that is1 the ,fat and ,pitch being cleaving bodies1 and the ,hair continually extimulating the parts3 by the action of the one1 ,nature was provoked to expell1 but by the tenacity of the other forced to retain3 so that there being left no passage in or out1 the ,dragon brake in pieces4 ,it must therefore be taken of grosly-powdered ,glass1 what is delivered by ,grevinus3 and from the same must that mortal dysentery proceed which is related by ,sanctorius4 ,and in the same sense shall we only allow a ,diamond to be poison2 and whereby as some relate ,paracelsus himself was poisoned4 ,so even the precious fragments and cordial gems which are of frequent use in ,physick1 and in themselves confessed of useful faculties1 received in gross and angular ,powders1 may so offend the bowels1 as to procure desperate languors1 or cause most dangerous fluxes4 ,that ,glass may be rendred malleable and pliable unto the hammer1 many conceive1 and some make little doubt1 when they read in ,dio1 ,pliny1 and ,petronius1 that one unhappily effected it for ,tiberius4 ,which notwithstanding must needs seem strange unto such as consider1 that bodies are ductile from a tenacious humidity1 which so holdeth the parts together2 that though they dilate or extend1 they part not from each others4 ,that bodies run into ,glass1 when the volatile parts are exhaled1 and the continuating humour separated3 the ,salt and ,earth1 that is1 the fixed parts remaining4 ,and therefore vitrification maketh bodies brittle1 as destroying the viscous humours which hinder the disruption of parts4 ,which may be verified even in the bodies of ,metals4 ,for ,glass of ,lead or ,tin is fragile1 when that glutinous ,sulphur hath been fired out1 which made their bodies ductile4 ,he that would most probably attempt it1 must experiment upon ,gold4 ,whose fixed and flying parts are so conjoined1 whose ,sulphur and continuating principle is so united unto the ,salt1 that some may be hoped to remain to hinder fragility after vitrification4 ,but how to proceed1 though after frequent corrosion1 as that upon the agency of fire1 it should not revive into its proper body before it comes to vitrifie1 will prove no easie discovery4 #c4 ,that ,gold inwardly taken1 either in substance1 infusion1 decoction or extinction1 is a cordial of great efficacy1 in sundry ,medical uses1 although a practice much used1 is also much questioned1 and by no man determined beyond dispute4 ,there are hereof ,i perceive two extream opinions2 some excessively magnifying it1 and probably beyond its deserts2 others extreamly vilifying it1 and perhaps below its demerits4 ,some affirming it a powerful ,medicine in many diseases1 others averring that so used1 it is effectual in none3 and in this number are very eminent ,physicians1 ,erastus1 ,duretus1 ,rondeletius1 ,brassavolus and many other1 who beside the strigments and sudorous adhesions from mens hands1 acknowledge that nothing proceedeth from ,gold in the usual decoction thereof4 ,now the capital reason that led men unto this opinion1 was their observation of the inseparable nature of ,gold2 it being excluded in the same quantity as it was received1 without alteration of parts1 or diminution of its gravity4 ,now herein to deliver somewhat which in a middle way may be entertained2 we first affirm1 that the substance of ,gold is invincible by the powerfullest action of natural heat2 and that not only alimentally in a substantial mutation1 but also medicamentally in any corporeal conversion4 ,as is very evident1 not only in the swallowing of golden bullets1 but in the lesser and foliate divisions thereof3 passing the stomach and guts even as it doth the throat1 that is1 without abatement of weight or consistence4 ,so that it entereth not the veins with those electuaries1 wherein it is mixed3 but taketh leave of the permeant parts1 at the mouths of the ,meseraicks1 or ,lacteal ,vessels1 and accompanieth the inconvertible portion unto the siege4 ,nor is its substantial conversion expectible in any composition or aliment wherein it is taken4 ,and therefore that was truly a starving absurdity1 which befel the wishes of ,midas4 ,and little credit there is to be given to the golden ,hen1 related by ,wendlerus4 ,so in the extinction of ,gold1 we must not conceive it parteth with any of its salt or dissoluble principle thereby1 as we may affirm of ,iron2 for the parts thereof are fixed beyond division1 nor will they separate upon the strongest test of fire4 ,this we affirm of pure ,gold3 for that which is currant and passeth in stamp amongst us1 by reason of its allay1 which is a proportion of ,silver or ,copper mixed therewith1 is actually dequantitated by fire1 and possibly by frequent extinction4 ,secondly1 ,although the substance of ,gold be not immuted or its gravity sensibly decreased1 yet that from thence some vertue may proceed either in substantial reception or infusion we cannot safely deny4 ,for possible it is that bodies may emit vertue and operation without abatement of weight2 as is evident in the ,loadstone1 whose effluencies are continual1 and communicable without a minoration of gravity4 ,and the like is observable in ,bodies electrical1 whose emissions are less subtile4 ,so will a ,diamond or ,saphire emit an effluvium sufficient to move the ,needle or a ,straw1 without diminution of weight4 ,nor will polished ,amber although it send forth a gross and corporal exhalement1 be found a long time defective upon the exactest scales4 ,which is more easily conceivable in a continued and tenacious effluvium1 whereof a great part retreats into its body4 ,thirdly1 ,if amulets do work by emanations from their bodies1 upon those parts whereunto they are appended1 and are not yet observed to abate their weight2 if they produce visible and real effects by imponderous and invisible emissions1 it may be unjust to deny the possible efficacy of ,gold1 in the non-omission of weight1 or deperdition of any ponderous particles4 ,lastly1 ,since ,stibium or ,glass of ,antimony1 since also its ,regulus will manifestly communicate unto ,water or ,wine1 a purging and vomitory operation2 and yet the body it self1 though after iterated infusions1 cannot be found to abate either vertue or weight3 we shall not deny but ,gold may do the like1 that is1 impart some effluences unto the infusion1 which carry with them the separable subtilties thereof4 ,that therefore this ,metal thus received1 hath any undeniable effect1 we shall not imperiously determine1 although beside the former experiments1 many more may induce us to believe it4 ,but since the point is dubious and not yet authentically decided1 it will be no discretion to depend on disputable remedies2 but rather in cases of known danger1 to have recourse unto medicines of known and approved activity4 ,for1 beside the benefit accruing unto the sick1 hereby may be avoided a gross and frequent errour1 commonly committed in the use of doubtful remedies1 conjointly with those which are of approved vertues2 that is to impute the cure unto the conceited remedy1 or place it on that whereon they place their opinion4 ,whose operation although it be nothing1 or its concurrence not considerable1 yet doth it obtain the name of the whole cure3 and carrieth often the honour of the capital energie1 which had no finger in it4 ,herein exact and critical trial should be made by publick enjoinment1 whereby determination might be setled beyond debate3 for since thereby not only the bodies of men1 but great ,treasures might be preserved1 it is not only an errour of ,physick1 but folly of ,state1 to doubt thereof any longer4 #d4 ,that a pot full of ashes1 will still contain as much water as it would without them1 although by ,aristotle in his ,problems taken for granted1 and so received by most1 is not effectable upon the strictest experiment ,i could ever make4 ,for when the airy intersticies are filled1 and as much of the salt of the ashes as the water will imbibe is dissolved1 there remains a gross and terreous portion at the bottom1 which will possess a space by it self1 according whereto there will remain a quantity of ,water not receivable2 so will it come to pass in a pot of salt1 although decrepitated2 and so also in a pot of ,snow4 ,for so much it will want in reception1 as its solution taketh up1 according unto the bulk whereof1 there will remain a portion of ,water not to be admitted4 ,so a ,glass stuffed with pieces of ,sponge will want about a sixth part of what it would receive without it4 ,so ,sugar will not dissolve beyond the capacity of the ,water1 nor a ,metal in aqua fortis be corroded beyond its reception4 ,and so a pint of salt of ,tartar exposed unto a moist air until it dissolve1 will make far more liquor1 or as some term it oyl1 then the former measure will contain4 ,nor is it only the exclusion of air by water1 or repletion of cavities possessed thereby1 which causeth a pot of ashes to admit so great a quantity of ,water1 but also the solution of the salt of the ashes into the body of the dissolvent4 ,so a pot of ashes will receive somewhat more of hot ,water then of cold1 for the warm water imbibeth more of the ,salt2 and a vessel of ashes more then one of pin-dust or filings of ,iron2 and a ,glass full of ,water will yet drink in a proportion of ,salt or ,sugar without overflowing4 ,nevertheless to make the experiment with most advantage1 and in which sense it approacheth nearest the truth1 it must be made in ashes throughly burnt and well reverberated by fire1 after the salt thereof hath been drawn out by iterated decoctions4 ,for then the body being reduced nearer unto ,earth1 and emptied of all other principles1 which had former ingression unto it1 becometh more porous1 and greedily drinketh in water4 ,he that hath beheld what quantity of ,lead the test of saltless ashes will imbibe1 upon the refining of ,silver1 hath encouragement to think it will do very much more in water4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,ingredients of ,gunpowder4 #e4 ,of white powder and such as is discharged without report1 there is no small noise in the ,world3 but how far agreeable unto truth1 few ,i perceive are able to determine4 ,herein therefore to satisfie the doubts of some1 and amuse the credulity of others1 ,we first declare1 that ,gunpowder consisteth of three ingredients1 ,salt-petre1 ,small-coal1 and ,brimstone4 ,salt-petre although it be also natural and found in several places1 yet is that of common use an artificial ,salt1 drawn from the infusion of salt ,earth1 as that of ,stales1 ,stables1 ,dove-houses1 ,cellers1 and other covered places1 where the rain can neither dissolve1 nor the ,sun approach to resolve it4 ,brimstone is a ,mineral body of fat and inflamable parts1 and this is either used crude1 and called ,sulphur ,vive1 and is of a sadder colour2 or after depuration1 such as we have in magdeleons or rolls1 of a lighter yellow4 ,small-coal is known unto all1 and for this use is made of ,sallow1 ,willow1 ,alder1 ,hazel1 and the like2 which three proportionably mixed1 tempered1 and formed into granulary bodies1 do make up that ,powder which is in use for ,guns4 ,now all these1 although they bear a share in the discharge1 yet have they distinct intentions1 and different offices in the composition4 ,from ,brimstone proceedeth the piercing and powerful firing2 for ,small-coal and ,petre together will onely spit1 nor vigorously continue the ignition4 ,from ,small-coal ensueth the black colour and quick accension2 for neither ,brimstone nor ,petre1 although in ,powder1 will take fire like ,small-coal1 nor will they easily kindle upon the sparks of a ,flint2 as neither will ,camphire1 a body very inflamable3 but ,small-coal is equivalent to ,tinder1 and serveth to light the ,sulphur4 ,it may also serve to diffuse the ignition through every part of the mixture2 and being of more gross and fixed parts1 may seem to moderate the activity of ,salt-petre1 and prevent too hasty rarefaction4 ,from ,salt-petre proceedeth the force and the report2 for ,sulphur and ,small-coal mixed will not take fire with noise1 or exilition1 and ,powder which is made of impure and greasie ,petre hath but a weak emission1 and giveth a faint report4 ,and therefore in the three sorts of ,powder the strongest containeth most ,salt-petre1 and the proportion thereof is about ten parts of ,petre unto one of ,coal and ,sulphur4 ,but the immediate cause of the ,report is the vehement commotion of the air upon the sudden and violent eruption of the ,powder2 for that being suddenly fired1 and almost altogether1 upon this high rarefaction1 requireth by many degrees a greater space then before its body occupied2 but finding resistance1 it actively forceth his way1 and by concusion of the air occasioneth the ,report4 ,now with what violence it forceth upon the air1 may easily be conceived1 if we admit what ,cardan affirmeth1 that the ,powder fired doth occupy an hundred times a greater space then its own bulk2 or rather what ,snellius more exactly accounteth2 that it exceedeth its former space no less then #abjjj and #ejj times4 ,,sn3 ,the cause of ,thunder4 ,and this is the reason not only of this fulminating report of ,guns1 but may resolve the cause of those terrible cracks1 and affrighting noises of ,heaven2 that is1 the nitrous and sulphureous exhalations1 set on fire in the ,clouds2 whereupon requiring a larger place1 they force out their way1 not only with the breaking of the cloud1 but the laceration of the air about it4 ,,sn3 ,the greatest distance of the ,clouds4 ,when if the matter be spirituous1 and the cloud compact1 the noise is great and terrible3 ,if the cloud be thin1 and the ,materials weak1 the eruption is languid1 ending in coruscations and flashes without noise1 although but at the distance of two miles2 which is esteemed the remotest distance of clouds4 ,and therefore such lightnings do seldom any harm4 ,and therefore also it is prodigious to have thunder in a clear sky1 as is observably recorded in some ,histories4 ,sidenote3 ,the cause of ,earthquakes4 ,from the like cause may also proceed subterraneous ,thunders and ,earthquakes1 when sulphureous and nitreous veins being fired1 upon rarefaction do force their way through bodies that resist them4 ,where if the kindled matter be plentiful1 and the ,mine close and firm about it1 subversion of ,hills and ,towns doth sometimes follow3 ,if scanty1 weak1 and the ,earth hollow or porous1 there only ensueth some faint concussion or tremulous and quaking ,motion4 ,surely1 a main reason why the ,ancients were so imperfect in the doctrine of ,meteors1 was their ignorance of ,gunpowder and ,fire-works1 which best discover the causes of many thereof4 ,now therefore he that would destroy the report of ,powder1 must work upon the ,petre2 he that would exchange the colour1 must think how to alter the ,small-coal4 ,for the one1 that is1 to make white ,powder1 it is surely many ways feasible3 ,the best ,i know is by the powder of rotten ,willows1 ,spunk1 or ,touch-wood prepared1 might perhaps make it ,russet3 and some1 as ,beringuccio ,,sn3 ,in his ,pyrotechnia4 affirmeth1 have promised to make it ,red4 ,all which notwithstanding doth little concern the ,report1 for that1 as we have shewed1 depends on another ,ingredient4 ,and therefore also under the colour of black1 this principle is very variable2 for it is made not onely by ,willow1 ,alder1 ,hazel1 etc4 ,but some above all commend the coals of ,flax and ,rushes1 and some also contend the same may be effected with ,tinder4 ,as for the other1 that is1 to destroy the ,report1 it is reasonably attempted but two ways2 either by quite leaving out1 or else by silencing the ,salt-petre4 ,how to abate the vigour thereof1 or silence its bombulation1 a way is promised by ,porta1 not only in general terms by some fat bodies1 but in particular by ,borax and butter mixed in a due proportion2 which saith he1 will so go off as scarce to be heard by the discharger2 and indeed plentifully mixed1 it will almost take off the ,report1 and also the force of the charge4 ,that it may be thus made without ,salt-petre1 ,i have met with but one example1 that is1 of ,alphonsus ,duke of ,ferrara ,,sn3 ,de examine ,salium41 who in the relation of ,brassavolus and ,cardan1 invented such a ,powder as would discharge a bullet without ,report4 ,that therefore white ,powder there may be1 there is no absurdity2 that also such a one as may give no report1 we will not deny a possibility4 ,but this however1 contrived either with or without ,salt-petre1 will surely be of little force1 and the effects thereof no way to be feared3 ,for as it omits of ,report so will it of effectual exclusion1 and so the charge be of little force which is excluded4 ,for thus much is reported of that famous ,powder of ,alphonsus1 which was not of force enough to kill a ,chicken1 according to the delivery of ,brassavolus4 ,jamque pulvis inventus est qui glandem sine bombo projicit1 nec tamen vehementer ut vel pullum interficere possit4 ,it is not to be denied1 there are ways to discharge a bullet1 not only with ,powder that makes no noise1 but without any ,powder at all2 as is done by ,water and ,wind-guns1 but these afford no fulminating ,report1 and depend on single principles4 ,and even in ordinary ,powder there are pretended other ways to alter the noise and strength of the discharge2 and the best1 if not only way1 consists in the quality of the ,nitre3 for as for other ways which make either additions or alterations in the ,powder1 or charge1 ,i find therein no effect3 ,that unto every pound of ,sulphur1 an adjection of one ounce of ,quick-silver1 or unto every pound of ,petre1 one ounce of ,sal ,armoniac will much intend the force1 and consequently the ,report1 as ,beringuccio hath delivered1 ,i find no success therein4 ,that a piece of ,opium will dead the force and blow1 as some have promised1 ,i find herein no such peculiarity1 no more then in any ,gum or viscose body3 and as much effect there is to be found from ,scammony4 ,that a bullet dipped in oyl by preventing the transpiration of air1 will carry farther1 and pierce deeper1 as ,porta affirmeth1 my experience cannot discern4 ,that ,quick-silver is more destructive then shot1 is surely not to be made out2 for it will scarce make any penetration1 and discharged from a ,pistol1 will hardly pierce through a ,parchment4 ,that ,vinegar1 spirits of ,wine1 or the distilled water of ,orange-pills1 wherewith the ,powder is tempered1 are more effectual unto the ,report than common ,water1 as some do promise1 ,i shall not affirm2 but may assuredly more conduce unto the preservation and durance of the ,powder1 as ,cataneo hath well observed4 ,,sn3 ,cat4 avertimenti intorne a un ,bombardiero4 ,that the heads of arrows and bullets have been discharged with that force1 as to melt or grow red hot in their flight1 though commonly received1 and taken up by ,aristotle in his ,meteors1 is not so easily allowable by any1 who shall consider1 that a ,bullet of ,wax will mischief without melting2 that an ,arrow or ,bullet discharged against ,linen or ,paper do not set them on fire2 and hardly apprehend how an ,iron should grow red hot1 since the swiftest motion at hand will not keep one red that hath been made red by fire2 as may be observed in swinging a red hot ,iron about1 or fastning it into a ,wheel2 which under that motion will sooner grow cold then without it4 ,that a ,bullet also mounts upward upon the horizontall or point-blank discharge1 many ,artists do not allow3 who contend that it describeth a parabolical and bowing line1 by reason of its natural gravity inclining it always downward4 ,but1 ,beside the prevalence from ,salt-petre1 as ,master-ingredient in the mixture2 ,sulphur may hold a greater use in the composition and further activity in the exclusion1 then is by most conceived4 ,for ,sulphur vive makes better ,powder then common ,sulphur1 which nevertheless is of a quick accension4 ,for ,small-coal1 ,salt-petre1 and ,camphire made into ,powder will be of little force1 wherein notwithstanding there wants not the accending ingredient4 ,and ,camphire though it flame well1 yet will not flush so lively1 or defecate ,salt-petre1 if you inject it thereon1 like ,sulphur2 as in the preparation of ,sal prunell4 ,and lastly1 though many ways may be found to light this ,powder1 yet is there none ,i know to make a strong and vigorous ,powder of ,salt-petre1 without the admixtion of ,sulphur4 ,arsenic red and yellow1 that is ,orpement and ,sandarach may perhaps do something1 as being inflamable and containing ,sulphur in them2 but containing also a salt1 and mercurial mixtion1 they will be of little effect2 and white or crystalline ,arsenic of less1 for that being artificial1 and sublimed with salt1 will not endure flammation4 ,this ,antipathy or contention between ,salt-petre and ,sulphur upon an actual fire1 in their compleat and distinct bodies1 is also manifested in their preparations1 and bodies which invisibly contain them4 ,thus in the preparation of ,crocus ,metallorum1 the matter kindleth and flusheth like ,gunpowder1 wherein notwithstanding1 there is nothing but ,antimony and ,salt-petre4 ,but this may proceed from the ,sulphur of ,antimony1 not enduring the society of ,salt-petre2 for after three or four accensions1 through a fresh addition of ,petre1 the ,powder will flush no more1 for the sulphur of the ,antimony is quite exhaled4 ,thus ,iron in ,aqua fortis will fall into ebullition1 with noise and emication1 as also a crass and fumid exhalation1 which are caused from this combat of the sulphur of ,iron with the acid and nitrous spirits of ,aqua fortis4 ,so is it also in ,aurum fulminans1 or ,powder of ,gold dissolved in ,aqua ,regis1 and precipitated with oyl of ,tartar1 which will kindle without an actual fire1 and afford a report like ,gun-powder2 that is not as ,crollius affirmeth from any ,antipathy between ,sal ,armoniac ,,sn3 ,de consensu ,chymicorum1 etc4and ,tartar1 but rather between the nitrous spirits of ,aqua ,regis1 commixed per minima with the sulphur of ,gold1 as ,sennertus hath observed4 ,sidenote3 ,how ,coral of a ,plant becomes a ,stone4 #f4 ,that ,coral 7which is a ,lithophyton or stone-plant1 and groweth at the bottom of the ,sea7 is soft under ,water1 but waxeth hard in the air1 although the assertion of ,dioscorides1 ,pliny1 and consequently ,solinus1 ,isidore1 ,rueus1 and many others1 and stands believed by most1 we have some reason to doubt1 especially if we conceive with common ,believers1 a total softness at the bottom1 and this induration to be singly made by the air1 not only from so sudden a petrifaction and strange induration1 not easily made out from the qualities of air1 but because we find it rejected by experimental enquiries4 ,johannes ,beguinus ,,sn3 ,in the ,french ,copy4 in his ,chapter of the tincture of ,coral undertakes to clear the ,world of this ,error1 from the express experiment of ,john ,baptista de ,nicole1 who was ,overseer of the gathering of ,coral upon the ,kingdom of ,thunis4 ,this ,gentleman1 saith he1 desirous to find the nature of ,coral1 and to be resolved how it groweth at the bottom of the ,sea1 caused a man to go down no less then a hundred fathom1 with express to take notice whether it were hard or soft in the place where it groweth4 ,who returning1 brought in each hand a branch of ,coral1 affirming it was as hard at the bottom1 as in the air where he delivered it4 ,the same was also confirmed by a trial of his own1 handling it a fathom under water before it felt the air4 ,boetius in his ,tract ,de ,gemmis1 is of the same opinion1 not ascribing its concretion unto the air1 but the coagulating spirits of ,salt1 and lapidifical juice of the ,sea1 which entring the parts of that ,plant1 overcomes its vegetability1 and converts it into a lapideous substance4 ,and this1 saith he1 doth happen when the ,plant is ready to decay2 for all ,coral is not hard1 and in many concreted ,plants some parts remain unpetrified1 that is the quick and livelier parts remain as ,wood1 and were never yet converted4 ,now that ,plants and ligneous bodies may indurate under ,water without approachment of air1 we have experiment in ,coralline1 with many ,coralloidal concretions2 and that little stony ,plant which ,mr4 ,johnson nameth1 ,hippuris coralloides1 and ,gesner1 foliis mansu ,arenosis1 we have found in fresh water1 which is the less concretive portion of that ,element4 ,we have also with us the visible petrification of ,wood in many waters1 whereof so much as is covered with water converteth into stone2 as much as is above it and in the air1 retaineth the form of ,wood1 and continueth as before4 ,sidenote3 ,gans ,histor4 ,coral4 ,now though in a middle way we may concede1 that some are soft and others hard2 yet whether all ,coral were first a woody substance1 and afterward converted2 or rather some thereof were never such1 but from the sprouting spirit of ,salt1 were able even in their stony natures to ramifie and send forth branches2 as is observable in some stones1 in silver and metallick bodies1 is not without some question4 ,and such at least might some of those be1 which ,fiaroumti observed to grow upon ,bricks at the bottom of the ,sea1 upon the coast of ,barbaric4 ,sidenote3 ,of what matter the ,china dishes be made4 #g4 ,we are not throughly resolved concerning ,porcellane or ,china dishes1 that according to common belief they are made of ,earth1 which lieth in preparation about an hundred years under ground2 for the relations thereof are not onely divers1 but contrary1 and ,authors agree not herein4 ,guido ,pancirollus will have them made of ,egg-shells1 ,lobster-shells1 and ,gypsum laid up in the ,earth the space of #hj years3 of the same affirmation is ,scaliger1 and the common opinion of most4 ,ramuzius in his ,navigations is of a contrary assertion1 that they are made out of ,earth1 not laid under ground1 but hardned in the ,sun and ,wind1 the space of forty years4 ,but ,gonzales de ,mendoza1 a man imployed into ,china from ,philip the second ,king of ,spain1 upon enquiry and ocular experience1 delivered a way different from all these4 ,for inquiring into the artifice thereof1 he found they were made of a ,chalky ,earth2 which beaten and steeped in water1 affordeth a cream or fatness on the top1 and a gross subsidence at the bottom2 out of the cream or superfluitance1 the finest dishes1 saith he1 are made1 out of the residence thereof the courser2 which being formed1 they gild or paint1 and not after an hundred years1 but presently commit unto the furnace4 ,this1 saith he1 is known by experience1 and more probable then what ,odoardus ,barbosa hath delivered1 that they are made of shells1 and buried under earth an hundred years4 ,and answerable in all points hereto1 is the relation of ,linschotten1 a diligent enquirer1 in his ,oriental ,navigations4 ,later confirmation may be had from ,alvarez the ,jesuit1 who lived long in those parts1 in his relations of ,china4 ,that ,porcellane ,vessels were made but in one ,town of the ,province of ,chiamsi3 ,that the earth was brought out of other ,provinces1 but for the advantage of water1 which makes them more polite and perspicuous1 they were only made in this4 ,that they were wrought and fashioned like those of other ,countries1 whereof some were tincted blew1 some red1 others yellow1 of which colour only they presented unto the ,king4 ,the latest account hereof may be found in the voyage of the ,dutch ,embassadors sent from ,batavia unto the ,emperour of ,china1 printed in ,french #affe1 which plainly informeth1 that the ,earth whereof ,porcellane dishes are made1 is brought from the ,mountains of ,hoang1 and being formed into square loaves1 is brought by water1 and marked with the ,emperours ,seal3 that the ,earth it self is very lean1 fine1 and shining like ,sand3 and that it is prepared and fashioned after the same manner which the ,italians observe in the fine ,earthen ,vessels of ,faventia or ,fuenca3 that they are so reserved concerning that ,artifice1 that 'tis only revealed from ,father unto ,son3 that they are painted with ,indico baked in a fire for fifteen days together1 and with very dry and not smoaking ,wood3 which when the ,author had seen he could hardly contain from laughter at the common opinion above rejected by us4 ,now if any enquire1 why being so commonly made1 and in so short a time1 they are become so scarce1 or not at all to be had8 ,the ,answer is given by these last ,relators1 that under great penalties it is forbidden to carry the first sort out of the ,country4 ,and of those surely the properties must be verified1 which by ,scaliger and others are ascribed unto ,china-dishes3 ,that they admit no poison1 that they strike fire1 that they will grow hot no higher then the liquor in them ariseth4 ,for such as pass amongst us1 and under the name of the finest1 will only strike fire1 but not discover ,aconite1 ,mercury1 or ,arsenic2 but may be useful in dysenteries and fluxes beyond the other4 #h4 ,whether a ,carbuncle 7which is esteemed the best and biggest of ,rubies7 doth flame in the dark1 or shine like a coal in the night1 though generally agreed on by common ,believers1 is very much questioned by many4 ,by ,milius1 who accounts it a ,vulgar ,error3 ,by the learned ,boetius1 who could not find it verified in that famous one of ,rodulphus1 which was as big as an ,egg1 and esteemed the best in ,europe4 ,wherefore although we dispute not the possibility1 and the like is said to have been observed in some ,diamonds1 yet whether herein there be not too high an apprehension1 and above its natural radiancy1 is not without just doubt3 however it be granted a very splendid ,gem1 and whose sparks may somewhat resemble the glances of fire1 and ,metaphorically deserve that name4 ,and therefore when it is conceived by some1 that this ,stone in the ,brest-plate of ,aaron respected the ,tribe of ,dan1 who burnt the ,city of ,laish2 and ,sampson of the same ,tribe1 who fired the ,corn of the ,philistims2 in some sense it may be admitted1 and is no intollerable conception4 ,as for that ,indian ,stone that shined so brightly in the ,night1 and pretended to have been shewn to many in the ,court of ,france1 as ,andreus ,chioccus hath declared out of ,thuanus1 it proved but an imposture1 as that eminent ,philosopher ,licetus ,,sn3 ,licet de qusit4 per ,epistolas4 hath discovered1 and therefore in the revised ,editions of ,thuanus1 it is not to be found4 ,,sn3 ,licet de lapide ,bononiensi4 ,as for the ,phosphorus or ,bononian ,stone1 which exposed unto the ,sun1 and then closely shut up1 will afterward afford a light in the dark2 it is of unlike consideration1 for that requireth calcination or reduction into a dry powder by fire1 whereby it imbibeth the light in the vaporous humidity of the air about it1 and therefore maintaineth its light not long1 but goes out when the vaporous vehicle is consumed4 #i4 ,whether the tites or ,eagle-stone hath that eminent property to promote delivery or restrain abortion1 respectively applied to lower or upward parts of the body1 we shall not discourage common practice by our question3 but whether they answer the account thereof1 as to be taken out of ,eagles nests1 co-operating in ,women unto such effects1 as they are conceived toward the young ,eagles3 or whether the single signature of one stone included in the matrix and belly of another1 were not sufficient at first1 to derive this vertue of the pregnant ,stone1 upon others in impregnation1 may yet be farther considered4 ,many sorts there are of this ratling ,stone1 beside the ,geodes1 containing a softer substance in it4 ,divers are found in ,england1 and one we met with on the ,sea-shore1 but because many of eminent use are pretended to be brought from ,iseland1 wherein are divers airies of ,eagles1 we cannot omit to deliver what we received from a learned person in that ,country1 ,,sn3 ,theodorus ,ionas ,hitterdal ,pastor4 tites an in nidis ,aquilarum aliquando fuerit repertus1 nescio4 ,nostra cert memoria1 etiam inquirentibus non contigit invenisse1 quare in fabulis habendum4 #aj4 ,terrible apprehensions and answerable unto their names1 are raised of ,fayrie stones1 and ,elves spurs1 found commonly with us in ,stone1 ,chalk1 and ,marl-pits1 which notwithstanding are no more than ,echinometrites and ,belemnites1 the ,sea-,hedge-,hog1 and the ,dart-stone1 arising from some siliceous ,roots1 and softer then that of ,flint1 the ,master-stone1 lying more regularly in courses1 and arising from the primary and strongest spirit of the ,mine4 ,of the ,echinites1 such as are found in ,chalk-pits are white1 glassie1 and built upon a ,chalky inside2 some of an hard and flinty substance1 are found in ,stone-pits and elsewhere4 ,common opinion commendeth them for the ,stone1 but are most practically used against ,films in ,horses eyes4 #aa4 ,lastly1 ,he must have more heads than ,rome had ,hills1 that makes out half of those vertues ascribed unto stones1 and their not only ,medical1 but ,magical proprieties1 which are to be found in ,authors of great ,name4 ,in ,psellus1 ,serapion1 ,evax1 ,albertus1 ,aleazar1 ,marbodeus2 in ,maiolus1 ,rueus1 ,mylius1 and many more4 ,that ,lapis ,lasuli hath in it a purgative faculty we know2 ,,sn3 ,against poison4 that ,bezoar is ,antidotal1 ,,sn3 ,provoking ,urine4 ,lapis ,judaicus diuretical1 ,,sn3 ,against the ,falling sickness4 ,coral ,antepileptical1 we will not deny4 ,that ,cornelians1 ,jaspis1 ,heliotropes1 and ,blood-stones1 may be of vertue to those intentions they are implied1 experience and visible effects will make us grant4 ,but that an ,amethyst prevents inebriation1 that an ,emerald will break if worn in copulation4 ,that a ,diamond laid under the pillow1 will betray the incontinency of a wife4 ,that a ,saphire is preservative against inchantments2 that the fume of an ,agath will avert a tempest1 or the wearing of a ,crysoprase make one out love with ,gold2 as some have delivered1 we are yet1 ,i confess1 to believe1 and in that infidelity are likely to end our days4 ,and therefore1 they which in the explication of the two ,beryls upon the ,ephod1 or the twelve stones in the ,rational or ,brest-plate of ,aaron1 or those twelve which garnished the wall of the holy ,city in the ,apocalyps1 have drawn their significations from such as these2 or declared their symbolical verities from such traditional falsities1 have surely corrupted the sincerity of their ,analogies1 or misunderstood the mystery of their intentions4 ,most men conceive that the twelve stones in ,aarons brestplate made a ,jewel surpassing any1 and not to be parallel'd2 which notwithstanding will hardly be made out from the description of the ,text1 for the names of the ,tribes were engraven thereon1 which must notably abate their lustre4 ,beside1 it is not clear made out that the best of ,gemms1 a ,diamond was amongst them2 nor is to be found in the list thereof1 set down by the ,jerusalem ,thargum1 wherein we find the darker stones of ,sardius1 ,sardonix1 and ,jasper2 and if we receive them under those names wherein they are usually described1 it is not hard to contrive a more illustrious and splendent ,jewel4 ,but being not ordained for meer lustre by diaphanous and pure tralucencies1 their mysterious significations became more considerable then their ,gemmary substances2 and those no doubt did nobly answer the intention of the ,institutor4 ,beside some may doubt whether there be twelve distinct species of noble tralucent ,gemms in nature1 at least yet known unto us1 and such as may not be referred unto some of those in high esteem among us1 which come short of the number of twelve2 which to make up we must find out some others to match and join with the ,diamond1 ,beryl1 ,saphyr1 ,emerald1 ,amethyst1 ,topaz1 ,crysolit1 ,jacynth1 ,ruby1 and if we may admit it in this number1 the ,oriental ,gianat4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,of sundry ,tenets concerning ,vegetables or ,plants1 which examined1 prove either false or dubious4 #a4 ,many ,mola's and false conceptions there are of ,mandrakes1 the first from great ,antiquity1 conceiveth the ,root thereof resembleth the shape of ,man2 which is a conceit not to be made out by ordinary inspection1 or any other eyes1 then such as regarding the ,clouds1 behold them in shapes conformable to pre-apprehensions4 ,now whatever encouraged the first invention1 there have not been wanting many ways of its promotion4 ,the first a ,catachrestical and far derived similitude it holds with ,man2 that is1 in a bifurcation or division of the ,root into two parts1 which some are content to call ,thighs2 whereas notwithstanding they are oft-times three1 and when but two1 commonly so complicated and crossed1 that men for this deceit are fain to effect their design in other plants2 ,and as fair a resemblance is often found in ,carrots1 ,parsnips1 ,briony1 and many others4 ,there are1 ,i confess1 divers ,plants which carry about them not only the shape of parts1 but also of whole ,animals1 but surely not all thereof1 unto whom this conformity is imputed4 ,whoever shall peruse the signatures of ,crollius1 or rather the ,phytognomy of ,porta1 and strictly observe how vegetable ,realities are commonly forced into ,animal ,representations1 may easily perceive in very many1 the semblance is but postulatory1 and must have a more assimilating phansie then mine to make good many thereof4 ,illiterate heads have been led on by the name ,,sn3 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha1 ,spelunca41 which in the first syllable expresseth its ,representation2 but others have better observed the ,laws of ,etymology1 and deduced it from a word of the same language1 because it delighteth to grow in obscure and shady places2 which derivation1 although we shall not stand to maintain1 yet the other seemeth answerable unto the ,etymologies of many ,authors1 who often confound such nominal ,notations4 ,not to enquire beyond our own profession1 the ,latine ,physitians which most adhered unto the ,arabick way1 have often failed herein2 particularly ,valescus de ,tarranta1 ,,sn3 ,in the old ,edition4 a received ,physitian1 in whose ,philonium or ,medical practice these may be observed3 ,diarhea1 saith he1 ,quia pluries venit in die4 ,herisepela1 quasi hrens pilis1 ,emorrohis1 ab emach sanguis morrohis quod est cadere4 ,lithargia ,litos quod est oblivio ,targus morbus1 ,scotomia ,scotus quod est videre1 mias musca4 ,opthalmia ab opus ,grce quod est succus1 ,talmon quod est occulus4 ,paralisis1 quasi lsio partis4 ,fistula fos sonus stolon quod est emissio1 quasi emissio soni vel vocis4 ,which are derivations as strange indeed as the other1 and hardly to be parallel'd elsewhere2 confirming not only the words of one language with another1 but creating such as were never yet in any4 ,the received distinction and common ,notation by ,sexes1 hath also promoted the conceit2 for true it is1 that ,herbalists from ancient times have thus distinguished them1 naming that the ,male1 whose leaves are lighter1 and ,fruit and ,apples rounder2 but this is properly no generative division1 but rather some note of distinction in colour1 figure or operation4 ,for though ,empedocles affirm1 there is a mixt1 and undivided ,sex in ,vegetables2 and ,scaliger upon ,aristotle ,,sn3 ,de ,plantis41 doth favourably explain that opinion2 yet will it not consist with the common and ordinary acception1 nor yet with ,aristotles definition4 ,for if that be ,male which generates in another1 that ,female which procreates in it self2 if it be understood of ,sexes conjoined1 all ,plants are ,female2 and if of disjoined and congressive generation1 there is no ,male or ,female in them at all4 ,sidenote3 ,the impostures touching the ,root of ,mandrake4 ,but the ,atlas or main ,axis which supported this opinion1 was dayly experience1 and the visible testimony of sense4 ,for many there are in several parts of ,europe1 who carry about ,roots and sell them unto ignorant people1 which handsomely make out the shape of ,man or ,woman4 ,but these are not productions of ,nature1 but contrivances of ,art1 as divers have noted1 and ,mathiolus plainly detected1 who learned this way of ,trumpery from a vagabond cheater lying under his cure for the ,french disease4 ,his words were these1 and may determine the point1 ,sed profecto vanum fabulosum1 etc4 ,but this is vain and fabulous1 which ignorant people1 and simple women believe2 for the roots which are carried about by impostors to deceive unfruitful women1 are made of the roots of ,canes1 ,briony and other plants3 for in these yet fresh and virent1 they carve out the figures of men and women1 first sticking therein the grains of ,barley or ,millet1 where they intend the hair should grow2 then bury them in sand until the grains shoot forth their roots1 which at the longest will happen in twenty days2 they afterward clip and trim those tender strings in the fashion of beards and other hairy tegument4 ,all which like other impostures once discovered is easily effected1 and in the root of white ,briony may be practised every spring4 ,what is therefore delivered in favour thereof1 by ,authors ancient or modern1 must have its root in tradition1 imposture1 far derived similitude1 or casual and rare contingency4 ,so may we admit of the ,epithet of ,pythagoras1 who calls it ,anthropomorphus,,sn3 ,orchis ,anthropomorphus cujus ,icon in ,kircheri ,magia parastatica42 and that of ,columella1 who terms it ,semihomo2 more appliable unto the ,man-,orchis1 whose flower represents a ,man4 ,thus is ,albertus to be received when he affirmeth1 that ,mandrakes represent man-kind with the distinction of either ,sex4 ,,sn3 ,de mandragora4 ,under these restrictions may those ,authors be admitted1 which for this opinion are introduced by ,drusius2 nor shall we need to question the monstrous root of ,briony described in ,aldrovandus ,,sn3 ,de monstris44 ,sidenote3 ,generations equivocal1 are yet commonly regular and of a determinate form or species4 ,the second assertion concerneth its production4 ,that it naturally groweth under ,gallowses and places of execution1 arising from fat or urine that drops from the body of the dead2 a story somewhat agreeable unto the fable of the ,serpents teeth sowed in the earth by ,cadmus2 or rather the birth of ,orion from the urine of ,jupiter1 ,mercury1 and ,neptune4 ,now this opinion seems grounded on the former1 that is1 a conceived similitude it hath with man2 and therefore from him in some way they would make out its production3 ,which conceit is not only erroneous in the foundation1 but injurious unto ,philosophy in the superstruction4 ,making putrifactive generations1 correspondent unto seminal productions1 and conceiving in equivocal effects and univocal conformity unto the efficient4 ,which is so far from being verified of animals in their corruptive mutations into ,plants1 that they maintain not this similitude in their nearer translation into animals4 ,so when the ,oxe corrupteth into ,bees1 or the ,horse into ,hornets1 they come not forth in the image of their originals4 ,so the corrupt and excrementous humours in man are animated into ,lice2 and we may observe1 that ,hogs1 ,sheep1 ,goats1 ,hawks1 ,hens1 and others1 have one peculiar and proper kind of vermine2 not resembling themselves according to seminal conditions1 yet carrying a setled and confined habitude unto their corruptive originals4 ,and therefore come not forth in generations erratical1 or different from each other2 but seem specifically and in regular shapes to attend the corruption of their bodies1 as do more perfect conceptions1 the rule of seminal productions4 ,the third affirmeth the roots of ,mandrakes do make a noise1 or give a shriek upon eradication2 which is indeed ridiculous1 and false below confute3 arising perhaps from a small and stridulous noise1 which being firmly rooted1 it maketh upon divulsion of parts4 ,a slender foundation for such a vast conception3 for such a noise we sometime observe in other ,plants1 in ,parsenips1 ,liquorish1 ,eringium1 ,flags1 and others4 ,the last concerneth the danger ensuing1 ,that there follows an hazard of life to them that pull it up1 that some evil fate pursues them1 and they live not very long after4 ,therefore the attempt hereof among the ,ancients1 was not in ordinary way2 but as ,pliny informeth1 when they intended to take up the root of this ,plant1 they took the wind thereof1 and with a sword describing three circles about it1 they digged it up1 looking toward the ,west4 ,a conceit not only injurious unto truth1 and confutable by daily experience1 but somewhat derogatory unto the providence of ,god2 that is1 not only to impose so destructive a quality on any ,plant1 but to conceive a ,vegetable1 whose parts are useful unto many1 should in the only taking up prove mortal unto any4 ,to think he suffereth the poison of ,nubia ,,sn3 ,granum ,nubi4 to be gathered1 ,napellus1 ,aconite1 and ,thora1 to be eradicated1 yet this not to be moved4 ,that he permitteth ,arsenick and mineral poisons to be forced from the bowels of the ,earth1 yet not this from the surface thereof4 ,this were to introduce a second forbidden fruit1 and inhance the first malediction1 making it not only mortal for ,adam to taste the one1 but capital unto his posterity to eradicate or dig up the other4 ,now what begot1 at least promoted so strange conceptions1 might be the magical opinion hereof2 this being conceived the ,plant so much in use with ,circe1 and therefore named ,circea1 as ,dioscorides and ,theophrastus have delivered1 which being the eminent ,sorcerers of elder story1 and by the magick of simples believed to have wrought many wonders3 some men were apt to invent1 others to believe any tradition or magical promise thereof4 ,analogous relations concerning other plants1 and such as are of near affinity unto this1 have made its currant smooth1 and pass more easily among us4 ,for the same effect is also delivered by ,josephus1 concerning the root ,baaras2 by lian of ,cynospastus2 and we read in ,homer the very same opinion concerning ,moly1 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,oxia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,ano ,,teleia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,varia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,oxia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau' ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,ano ,,teleia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,varia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,oxia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,pi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota4 ,the ,gods it ,moly call1 whose ,root to dig away1 ,is dangerous unto ,man2 but ,gods1 they all things may4 ,now parallels or like relations alternately relieve each other1 when neither will pass asunder1 yet are they plausible together2 their mutual concurrences supporting their solitary instabilities4 ,signaturists have somewhat advanced it2 who seldom omitting what ,ancients delivered2 drawing into inference received distinction of sex1 not willing to examine its humane resemblance2 and placing it in the form of strange and magical simples1 have made men suspect there was more therein1 then ordinary practice allowed2 and so became apt to embrace whatever they heard or read conformable unto such conceptions4 ,lastly1 ,the conceit promoteth it self3 for concerning an effect whose trial must cost so dear1 it fortifies it self in that invention2 and few there are whose experiment it need to fear4 ,for 7what is most contemptible7 although not only the reason of any head1 but experience of every hand may well convict it1 yet will it not by divers be rejected2 for prepossessed heads will ever doubt it1 and timorous beliefs will never dare to trie it4 ,so these ,traditions how low and ridiculous soever1 will find suspition in some1 doubt in others1 and serve as tests or trials of ,melancholy and superstitious tempers for ever4 ,sidenote3 ,that ,cinamon1 ,ginger1 ,clove1 etc41 are not of the same tree4 #b4 ,that ,cinamon1 ,ginger1 ,clove1 ,mace1 and ,nutmeg1 are but the several parts and fruits of the same tree1 is the common belief of those which daily use them4 ,whereof to speak distinctly1 ,ginger is the root of neither ,tree nor ,shrub1 but of an herbaceous ,plant1 resembling the ,water ,flower-,de-luce1 as ,garcias first described2 or rather the common ,reed1 as ,lobelius since affirmed4 ,very common in many parts of ,india1 growing either from ,root or ,seed1 which in ,december and ,january they take up1 and gently dried1 roll it up in earth1 whereby occluding the pores1 they conserve the natural humidity1 and so prevent corruption4 ,cinamon is the inward bark of a ,cinamon ,tree1 whereof the best is brought from ,zeilan2 this freed from the outward bark1 and exposed unto the ,sun1 contracts into those folds wherein we commonly receive it4 ,if it have not a sufficient isolation it looketh pale1 and attains not its laudable colour2 if it be sunned too long1 it suffereth a torrefaction1 and descendeth somewhat below it4 ,clove seems to be either the rudiment of a fruit1 or the fruit it self growing upon the ,clove tree1 to be found but in few ,countries4 ,the most commendable is that of the ,isles of ,molucca2 it is first white1 afterward green1 which beaten down1 and dried in the ,sun1 becometh black1 and in the complexion we receive it4 ,nutmeg is the fruit of a ,tree differing from all these1 and as ,garcias describeth it1 somewhat like a ,peach2 growing in divers places1 but fructifying in the ,isle of ,banda1 ,the fruit hereof consisteth of four parts2 the first or outward part is a thick and carnous covering like that of a ,wal-nut4 ,the second a dry and flosculous coat1 commonly called ,mace4 ,the third a harder tegument or shell1 which lieth under the ,mace4 ,the fourth a ,kernel included in the shell1 which is the same we call ,nutmeg4 ,all which both in their parts and order of disposure1 are easily discerned in those fruits1 which are brought in preserves unto us4 ,now if because ,mace and ,nutmegs proceed from one ,tree1 the rest must bear them company2 or because they are all from the ,east ,indies1 they are all from one ,plant3 the ,inference is precipitous1 nor will there such a ,plant be found in the ,herbal of ,nature4 ,sidenote3 ,what the ,misseltoe in some ,trees is4 #c4 ,that ,viscus ,arboreus or ,misseltoe is bred upon ,trees1 from seeds which ,birds1 especially ,thrushes and ,ring-doves let fall thereon1 was the ,creed of the ,ancients1 and is still believed among us1 is the account of its production1 set down by ,pliny1 delivered by ,virgil1 and subscribed by many more4 ,if so1 some reason must be assigned1 why it groweth onely upon certain ,trees1 and not upon many whereon these ,birds do light4 ,for as ,exotick observers deliver1 it groweth upon ,almond-trees1 ,chesnut1 ,apples1 ,oaks1 and ,pine-trees4 ,as we observe in ,england very commonly upon ,apple1 ,crabs1 and ,white-thorn2 sometimes upon ,sallow1 ,hazel1 and ,oak3 rarely upon ,ash1 ,lime-tree1 and ,maple2 never1 that ,i could observe1 upon ,holly1 ,elm1 and many more4 ,why it groweth not in all ,countries and places where these ,birds are found2 for so ,brassavolus affirmeth1 it is not to be found in the ,territory of ,ferrara1 and was fain to supply himself from other parts of ,italy4 ,why if it ariseth from a seed1 if sown it will not grow again1 as ,pliny affirmeth1 and as by setting the ,berries thereof1 we have in vain attempted its production2 why if it cometh from seed that falleth upon the tree1 it groweth often downwards1 and puts forth under the bough1 where seed can neither fall nor yet remain4 ,hereof beside some others1 the ,lord ,verulam hath taken notice4 ,and they surely speak probably who make it an arboreous excrescence1 or rather superplant1 bred of a viscous and superfluous sap which the tree it self cannot assimilate4 ,and therefore sprouteth not forth in boughs and surcles of the same shape1 and similary unto the ,tree that beareth it2 but in a different form1 and secondary unto its specified intention1 wherein once failing1 another form succeedeth3 and in the first place that of ,misseltoe1 in ,plants and ,trees disposed to its production4 ,and therefore also where ever it groweth1 it is of constant shape1 and maintains a regular figure2 like other supercrescences1 and such as living upon the stock of others1 are termed parasitical ,plants1 as ,polypody1 ,moss1 the smaller ,capillaries1 and many more3 ,so that several regions produce several ,misseltoes2 ,india one1 ,america another1 according to the law and rule of their degenerations4 ,now what begot this conceit1 might be the enlargement of some part of truth contained in its story4 ,for certain it is1 that some ,birds do feed upon the berries of this ,vegetable1 and we meet in ,aristotle with one kind of ,trush called the ,missel ,trush ,,sn3 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,xi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,beta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma41 or feeder upon ,misseltoe4 ,but that which hath most promoted it1 is a received proverb1 ,turdus sibi malum cacat2 appliable unto such men as are authors of their own misfortunes4 ,for according unto ancient tradition and ,plinies relation1 the ,bird not able to digest the fruit whereon she feedeth2 from her inconverted muting ariseth this ,plant1 of the ,berries whereof ,birdlime is made1 wherewith she is after entangled4 ,but although ,proverbs be popular principles1 yet is not all true that is proverbial2 and in many thereof1 there being one thing delivered1 and another intended2 though the verbal expression be false1 the ,proverb is true enough in the verity of its intention4 ,sidenote3 ,paganish superstition about the ,misseltoe of the ,oak4 ,as for the ,magical vertues in this ,plant1 and conceived efficacy unto veneficial intentions1 it seemeth a ,pagan relique derived from the ancient ,druides1 the great admirers of the ,oak1 especially the ,misseltoe that grew thereon2 which according unto the particular of ,pliny1 they gathered with great solemnity4 ,for after sacrifice the ,priest in a white garment ascended the tree1 cut down the ,misseltoe with a golden hook1 and received it in a white coat2 the vertue whereof was to resist all poisons1 and make fruitful any that used it4 ,vertues not expected from ,classical practice2 and did they fully answer their promise which are so commended1 in ,epileptical intentions1 we would abate these qualities4 ,country practice hath added another1 to provoke the after-birth1 and in that case the decoction is given unto ,cows4 ,that the ,berries are poison as some conceive1 we are so far from averring1 that we have safely given them inwardly2 and can confirm the experiment of ,brassavolus1 that they have some purgative quality4 #d4 ,the ,rose of ,jericho1 that flourishes every year just about ,christmas ,eve1 is famous in ,christian reports2 which notwithstanding we have some reason to doubt1 and are plainly informed by ,bellonius1 it is but a ,monastical imposture1 as he hath delivered in his observations1 concerning the ,plants in ,jericho4 ,that which promoted the conceit1 or perhaps begot its continuance1 was a propriety in this ,plant4 ,for though it be dry1 yet will it upon imbibition of moisture dilate its leaves1 and explicate its flowers contracted1 and seemingly dried up4 ,and this is to be effected not only in the ,plant yet growing1 but in some manner also in that which is brought exuccous and dry unto us4 ,which quality being observed1 the subtilty of contrivers did commonly play this shew upon the ,eve of our ,saviours ,nativity1 when by drying the ,plant again1 it closed the next day1 and so pretended a double mystery3 referring unto the opening and closing of the womb of ,mary4 ,there wanted not a specious confirmation from a text in ,ecclesiasticus ,,sn3 ,cap4 #bd41 ,quasi palma exultata sum in ,cades1 quasi plantatio ,ros in ,jericho3 ,i was exalted like a ,palm-tree in ,engaddi1 and as a ,rose in ,jericho4 ,the sound whereof in common ears1 begat an extraordinary opinion of the ,rose of that denomination4 ,but herein there seemeth a mistake3 for by the ,rose in the ,text1 is implied the true and proper ,rose1 as first the ,greek ,,sn3 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,phi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,perispomeni ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho ,,with ,,dasia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon41 and ours accordingly rendreth it4 ,but that which passeth under this name1 and by us is commonly called the ,rose of ,jericho1 is properly no ,rose1 but a small thorny shrub or kind of ,heath1 bearing little white flowers1 far differing from the ,rose2 whereof ,bellonius a very inquisitive ,herbalist1 could not find any in his travels thorow ,jericho4 ,a ,plant so unlike a ,rose1 it hath been mistaken by some good ,simplist for ,amomum2 which truly understood is so unlike a ,rose1 that as ,dioscorides delivers1 the flowers thereof are like the white ,violet1 and its leaves resemble ,briony4 ,suitable unto this relation almost in all points is that of the ,thorn at ,glassenbury1 and perhaps the daughter hereof2 herein our endeavours as yet have not attained satisfaction1 and cannot therefore enlarge4 ,thus much in general we may observe1 that strange effects are naturally taken for miracles by weaker heads1 and artificially improved to that apprehension by wiser4 ,certainly many precocious ,trees1 and such as spring in the ,winter1 may be found in most parts of ,europe1 and divers also in ,england4 ,,sn3 ,such a ,thorn there is in ,parham ,park in ,suffolk1 and elsewhere4 ,for most ,trees do begin to sprout in the ,fall of the leaf or ,autumn1 and if not kept back by cold and outward causes1 would leaf about the ,solstice4 ,now if it happen that any be so strongly constituted1 as to make this good against the power of ,winter1 they may produce their leaves or blossoms in that season4 ,and perform that in some singles1 which is observable in whole kinds2 as in ,ivy1 which blossoms and bears at least twice a year1 and once in the ,winter2 as also in ,furz1 which flowereth in that season4 #e4 ,that ferrum ,equinum1 or ,sferra ,cavallo hath a vertue attractive of ,iron1 a power to break locks1 and draw off the shoes of a ,horse that passeth over it2 whether you take it for one kind of ,securidaca1 or will also take in ,lunaria1 we know it to be false3 and cannot but wonder at ,mathiolus1 who upon a parallel in ,pliny was staggered into suspension4 ,who notwithstanding in the imputed vertue to open things1 close and shut up1 could laugh himself at that promise from the herb thiopis or thiopian mullen2 and condemn the judgment of ,scipio1 who having such a picklock1 would spend so many years in battering the ,gates of ,carthage4 ,which strange and ,magical conceit1 seems to have no deeper root in reason1 then the figure of its seed2 for therein indeed it somewhat resembles a ,horse-shoe2 which notwithstanding ,baptista ,porta hath thought too low a signification1 and raised the same unto a ,lunary representation4 ,sidenote3 ,how ,beer and ,wine come to be spoiled by ,lightning4 #f4 ,that ,bayes will protect from the mischief of ,lightning and ,thunder1 is a quality ascribed thereto1 common with the ,fig-tree1 ,eagle1 and skin of a ,seal4 ,against so famous a quality1 ,vicomercatus produceth experiment of a ,bay-tree blasted in ,italy4 ,and therefore although ,tiberius for this intent1 did wear a ,lawrel upon his ,temples1 yet did ,augustus take a more probable course1 who fled under arches and hollow vaults for protection4 ,and though ,porta conceive1 because in a streperous eruption1 it riseth against fire1 it doth therefore resist lightning1 yet is that no emboldning ,illation4 ,and if we consider the threefold effect of ,jupiters ,trisulk1 to burn1 discuss1 and terebrate2 and if that be true which is commonly delivered1 that it will melt the blade1 yet pass the scabbard2 kill the child1 yet spare the mother2 dry up the wine1 yet leave the hogshead entire3 though it favour the amulet1 it may not spare us2 it will be unsure to rely on any preservative1 'tis no security to be dipped in ,styx1 or clad in the armour of ,ceneus4 ,now that ,beer1 ,wine1 and other liquors1 are spoiled with lightning and thunder1 we conceive it proceeds not onely from noise and concussion of the air1 but also noxious spirits1 which mingle therewith1 and draw them to corruption2 whereby they become not only dead themselves1 but sometime deadly unto others1 as that which ,seneca mentioneth2 whereof whosoever drank1 either lost his life1 or else his wits upon it4 ,sidenote3 ,how drinks intoxicate or overcome men4 #g4 ,it hath much deceived the hope of good fellows1 what is commonly expected of bitter ,almonds1 and though in ,plutarch confirmed from the practice of ,claudius his ,physitian1 that ,antidote against ebriety hath commonly failed4 ,surely men much versed in the practice do err in the theory of inebriation2 conceiving in that disturbance the brain doth only suffer from exhalations and vaporous ascensions from the stomack1 which fat and oyly substances may suppress4 ,whereas the prevalent intoxication is from the spirits of drink dispersed into the veins and arteries1 from whence by common conveyances they creep into the brain1 insinuate into its ventricles1 and beget those vertigoes accompanying that perversion4 ,and therefore the same effect may be produced by a ,glister1 the ,head may be intoxicated by a medicine at the ,heel4 ,so the poisonous bites of ,serpents1 although on parts at distance from the head1 yet having entered the veins1 disturb the animal faculties1 and produce the effects of drink1 or poison swallowed4 ,and so as the ,head may be disturbed by the skin1 it may the same way be relieved2 as is observable in balneations1 washings1 and fomentations1 either of the whole body1 or of that part alone4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,of some ,insects1 and the properties of several ,plants4 #a4 ,few ears have escaped the noise of the ,dead-watch1 that is1 the little clickling sound heard often in many rooms1 somewhat resembling that of a ,watch2 and this is conceived to be of an evil omen or prediction of some persons death3 wherein notwithstanding there is nothing of rational presage or just cause of terrour unto melancholy and meticulous heads4 ,for this noise is made by a little sheath-winged gray ,insect found often in ,wainscot1 ,benches1 and ,wood-work1 in the ,summer4 ,we have taken many thereof1 and kept them in thin boxes1 wherein ,i have heard and seen them work and knack with a little proboscis or trunk against the side of the box1 like ,apicus ,martius1 or ,woodpecker against a tree4 ,it worketh best in warm weather1 and for the most part giveth not over under nine or eleven stroaks at a time4 ,he that could extinguish the terrifying apprehensions hereof1 might prevent the passions of the heart1 and many cold sweats in ,grandmothers and ,nurses1 who in the sickness of children1 are so startled with these noises4 #b4 ,the presage of the year succeeding1 which is commonly made from ,insects or little ,animals in ,oak apples1 according to the kinds thereof1 either ,maggot1 ,fly1 or ,spider2 that is1 of ,famine1 ,war1 or ,pestilence2 whether we mean that woody excrescence1 which shooteth from the branch about ,may1 or that round and ,apple-like accretion which groweth under the leaf about the latter end of ,summer1 is ,i doubt too distinct1 nor verifiable from event4 ,for ,flies and ,maggots are found every year1 very seldom ,spiders3 ,and ,helmont affirmeth he could never find the ,spider and the ,fly upon the same ,trees1 that is the signs of ,war and ,pestilence1 which often go together3 ,beside1 that the ,flies found were at first ,maggots1 experience hath informed us2 for keeping these excrescencies1 we have observed their conversions1 beholding in ,magnifying ,glasses the daily progression thereof4 ,as may be also observed in other ,vegetable excretions1 whose ,maggots do terminate in ,flies of constant shapes2 as in the ,nutgalls of the ,out-landish ,oak1 and the ,mossie tuft of the wild ,briar2 which having gathered in ,november we have found the little ,maggots which lodged in wooden ,cells all ,winter1 to turn into ,flies in ,june4 ,sidenote3 ,abundance of ,flies1 ,maggots1 etc41 what may they naturally signifie4 ,we confess the opinion may hold some verity in the ,analogy1 or ,emblematical phansie4 ,for ,pestilence is properly signified by the ,spider1 whereof some kinds are of a very venemous ,nature4 ,famine by ,maggots1 which destroy the fruits of the ,earth4 ,and ,war not improperly by the ,fly2 if we rest in the phansie of ,homer1 who compares the valiant ,grecian unto a ,fly4 ,some verity it may also have in it self1 as truly declaring the corruptive constitution in the present sap and nutrimental juice of the ,tree2 and may consequently discover the disposition of that year1 according to the plenty or kinds of these productions4 ,for if the putrifying juices of bodies bring forth plenty of ,flies and ,maggots1 they give forth testimony of common corruption1 and declare that the ,elements are full of the seeds of putrifaction1 as the great number of ,caterpillars1 ,gnats1 and ordinary ,insects do also declare4 ,if they run into ,spiders1 they give signs of higher putrifaction1 as plenty of ,vipers and ,scorpions are confessed to do2 the putrifying ,materials producing ,animals of higher mischiefs1 according to the advance and higher strain of corruption4 #c4 ,whether all ,plants have seed1 were more easily determinable1 if we could conclude concerning ,harts-tongue1 ,fern1 the ,caterpillaries1 ,lunaria1 and some others4 ,but whether those little dusty particles1 upon the lower side of the leaves1 be seeds and seminal parts2 or rather1 as it is commonly conceived1 excremental separations1 we have not as yet been able to determine by any germination or univocal production from them when they have been sowed on purpose3 but having set the roots of ,harts tongue in a garden1 a year or two after there came up three or four of the same ,plants1 about two yards distance from the first4 ,thus much we observe1 that they seem to renew yearly1 and come not fully out till the ,plant be in his vigour3 and by the help of ,magnifying ,glasses we find these dusty ,atoms to be round at first1 and fully representing seeds1 out of which at last proceed little ,mites almost invisible2 so that such as are old stand open1 as being emptied of some bodies formerly included2 which though discernable in ,harts-tongue1 is more notoriously discoverable in some differencies of ,brake or ,fern4 ,but exquisite ,microscopes and ,magnifying ,glasses have at last cleared this doubt1 whereby also long ago the noble ,fredericus ,csius beheld the dusts of ,polypody as bigg as ,pepper corns2 and as ,johannes ,faber testifieth1 made draughts on ,paper of such kind of seeds1 as bigg as his ,glasses represented them3 and set down such ,plants under the ,classis of ,herb ,tergift1 as may be observed in his notable ,botanical ,tables4 #d4 ,whether the sap of ,trees runs down to the roots in ,winter1 whereby they become naked and grow not2 or whether they do not cease to draw any more1 and reserve so much as sufficeth for conservation1 is not a point indubitable4 ,for we observe1 that most ,trees1 as though they would be perpetually green1 do bud at the ,fall of the leaf1 although they sprout not much forward untill the ,spring1 and warmer weather approacheth2 and many ,trees maintain their leaves all ,winter1 although they seem to receive very small advantage in their growth4 ,but that the sap doth powerfully rise in the ,spring1 to repair that moisture whereby they barely subsisted in the ,winter1 and also to put the ,plant in a capacity of fructification3 he that hath beheld how many gallons of water may in a small time be drawn from a ,birch-tree in the ,spring1 hath slender reason to doubt4 #e4 ,that ,camphire ,eunuchates1 or begets in ,men an impotency unto ,venery1 observation will hardly confirm2 and we have found it to fail in ,cocks and ,hens1 though given for many days2 which was a more favourable trial then that of ,scaliger1 when he gave it unto a ,bitch that was proud4 ,for the instant turgescence is not to be taken off1 but by ,medicines of higher ,natures2 and with any certainty but one way that we know1 which notwithstanding1 by suppressing that natural evacuation1 may encline unto ,madness1 if taken in the ,summer4 #f4 ,in the ,history of ,prodigies we meet with many showrs of ,wheat2 how true or probable1 we have not room to debate4 ,only thus much we shall not omit to inform1 ,that what was this year found in many places1 and almost preached for ,wheat rained from the clouds1 was but the seed of ,ivy-berries1 which somewhat represent it2 and though it were found in ,steeples and high places1 might be conveyed thither1 or muted out by ,birds3 for many feed thereon1 and in the crops of some we have found no less then three ounces4 #g4 ,that every plant might receive a ,name according unto the disease it cureth1 was the wish of ,paracelsus4 ,a way more likely to multiply ,empiricks then ,herbalists2 yet what is practised by many is advantagious unto neither2 that is1 relinquishing their proper appellations to re-baptize them by the name of ,saints1 ,apostles1 ,patriarchs1 and ,martyrs1 to call this the herb of ,john1 that of ,peter1 this of ,james1 or ,joseph1 that of ,mary or ,barbara4 ,for hereby apprehensions are made additional unto their proper ,natures2 whereon superstitious practices ensue1 and stories are framed accordingly to make good their foundations4 #h4 ,we cannot omit to declare the gross mistake of many in the ,nominal apprehension of ,plants2 to instance but in few4 ,an herb there is commonly called ,betonica ,pauli1 or ,pauls ,betony2 hereof the ,people have some conceit in reference to ,st4 ,paul2 whereas indeed that name is derived from ,paulus gineta1 an ancient ,physitian of gina1 and is no more then ,speed-well1 or ,fluellen4 ,the like expectations are raised from ,herba ,trinitatis2 which notwithstanding obtaineth that name from the figure of its leaves1 and is one kind of ,liverwort1 or ,hepatica4 ,in ,milium ,solis1 the ,epithete of the ,sun hath enlarged its opinion2 which hath indeed no reference thereunto1 it being no more then ,lithospermon1 or ,grummel1 or rather ,milium ,soler2 which as ,serapion from ,aben ,juliel hath taught us1 because it grew plentifully in the ,mountains of ,soler1 received that appellation4 ,,sn3 ,why the ,jews ear is used for sore ,throats4 ,in ,jews-ears something is conceived extraordinary from the ,name1 which is in propriety but ,fungus sambucinus1 or an excrescence about the ,roots of ,elder1 and concerneth not the ,nation of the ,jews1 but ,judas ,iscariot1 upon a conceit1 he hanged on this ,tree2 and is become a famous ,medicine in ,quinsies1 sore ,throats1 and strangulations ever since4 ,and so are they deceived in the name of ,horse-,raddish1 ,horse-,mint1 ,bull-rush1 and many more3 conceiving therein some prenominal consideration1 whereas indeed that expression is but a ,grecism1 by the prefix of ,hippos and ,bous1 that is1 ,horse and ,bull1 intending no more then ,great4 ,according whereto the great ,dock is called ,hippolapathum2 and he that calls the ,horse of ,alexander1 ,great-head1 expresseth the same which the ,greeks do in ,bucephalus4 #i4 ,lastly1 ,many things are delivered and believed of other ,plants1 wherein at least we cannot but suspend4 ,that there is a property in ,basil to propagate ,scorpions1 and that by the smell thereof they are bred in the brains of men1 is much advanced by ,hollerius1 who found this ,insect in the brains of a man that delighted much in this smell4 ,wherein beside that we find no way to conjoin the effect unto the cause assigned2 herein the ,moderns speak but timorously1 and some of the ,ancients quite contrarily4 ,for1 according unto ,oribasius1 ,physitian unto ,julian1 ,the ,affricans1 ,men best experienced in poisons1 affirm1 whosoever hath eaten ,basil1 although he be stung with a ,scorpion1 shall feel no pain thereby3 which is a very different effect1 and rather antidotally destroying1 then seminally promoting its production4 ,that the leaves of ,catapucia or ,spurge1 being plucked upward or downward1 respectively perform their operations by ,purge or ,vomit1 as some have written1 and old wives still do preach1 is a strange conceit1 ascribing unto ,plants positional operations1 and after the manner of the ,loadstone2 upon the ,pole whereof if a ,knife be drawn from the handle unto the point1 it will take up a ,needle2 but if drawn again from the point to the handle1 it will attract it no more4 ,that ,cucumbers are no commendable fruits1 that being very waterish1 they fill the veins with crude and windy serosities2 that containing little ,salt or spirit1 they may also debilitate the vital acidity1 and fermental faculty of the ,stomach1 we readily concede4 ,but that they should be so cold1 as be almost poison by that quality1 it will be hard to allow1 without the contradiction of ,galen ,,sn3 ,in his ,anatomia ,sambuci43 who accounteth them cold but in the second degree1 and in that ,classis have most ,physitians placed them4 ,that ,elder ,berries are poison1 as we are taught by tradition1 experience will unteach us4 ,and beside the promises of ,blochwitius1 the healthful effects thereof daily observed will convict us4 ,that an ,ivy ,cup will separate ,wine from ,water1 if filled with both1 the ,wine soaking through1 but the ,water still remaining1 as after ,pliny many have averred1 we know not how to affirm2 who making trial thereof1 found both the liquors to soak indistinctly through the bowl4 ,that ,sheep do often get the ,rot1 by feeding in boggy grounds where ,ros-solis groweth1 seems beyond dispute4 ,that this herb is the cause thereof1 ,shepherds affirm and deny2 whether it hath a cordial vertue by sudden refection1 sensible experiment doth hardly confirm1 but that it may have a ,balsamical and resumptive ,vertue1 whereby it becomes a good ,medicine in ,catarrhes and ,consumptive dispositions1 ,practice and ,reason conclude4 ,that the lentous drops upon it are not extraneous1 and rather an exudation from it self1 then a rorid concretion from without1 beside other grounds1 we have reason to conceive2 for having kept the ,roots moist and earthed in close chambers1 they have1 though in lesser plenty1 sent out these drops as before4 ,that ,flos ,affricanus is poison1 and destroyeth ,dogs1 in two experiments we have not found4 ,that ,yew and the ,berries thereof are harmless1 we know4 ,that a ,snake will not endure the shade of an ,ash1 we can deny4 ,nor is it inconsiderable what is affirmed by ,bellonius ,,sn3 ,lib4 #a observat42 for if his ,assertion be true1 our apprehension is oftentimes wide in ordinary simples1 and in common use we mistake one for another4 ,we know not the true ,thyme2 the ,savourie in our ,gardens is not that commended of old2 and that kind of ,hysop the ,ancients used1 is unknown unto us1 who make great use of another4 ,we omit to recite the many ,vertues1 and endless faculties ascribed unto ,plants1 which sometime occur in grave and serious ,authors2 and we shall make a bad transaction for truth to concede a verity in half4 ,to reckon up all1 it were employment for ,archimedes1 who undertook to write the number of the ,sands4 ,swarms of others there are1 some whereof our future endeavours may discover2 common reason ,i hope will save us a labour in many3 ,whose absurdities stand naked unto every eye2 ,errours not able to deceive the ,embleme of ,justice1 and need no ,argus to descry them4 ,herein there surely wants expurgatory animadversions1 whereby we might strike out great numbers of hidden qualities2 and having once a serious and conceded list1 we might with more encouragement and safety attempt their ,reasons4 ,,the ,,third ,,book ,of divers popular and received ,tenets concerning ,animals1 which examined1 prove either false or dubious4 ,,chapter ,i ,of the ,elephant4 ,the first shall be of the ,elephant1 whereof there generally passeth an opinion it hath no joints2 and this absurdity is seconded with another1 that being unable to lie down1 it sleepeth against a ,tree2 which the ,hunters observing1 do saw it almost asunder2 whereon the ,beast relying1 by the fall of the ,tree1 falls also down it self1 and is able to rise no more4 ,which conceit is not the daughter of later times1 but an old and gray-headed error1 even in the days of ,aristotle1 as he delivereth in his ,book1 ,de incessu ,animalium1 and stands successively related by several other authors3 by ,diodorus ,siculus1 ,strabo1 ,ambrose1 ,cassiodore1 ,solinus1 and many more4 ,now herein methinks men much forget themselves1 not well considering the absurdity of such assertions4 ,sidenote3 ,how progression is made in animals4 ,for first1 they affirm it hath no joints1 and yet concede it walks and moves about2 whereby they conceive there may be a progression or advancement made in ,motion without inflexion of parts4 ,now all progression or ,animals locomotion being 7as ,aristotle teacheth7 performed tractu et pulsu2 that is1 by drawing on1 or impelling forward some part which was before in station1 or at quiet2 where there are no joints or flexures1 neither can there be these actions4 ,and this is true1 not onely in ,quadrupedes1 ,volatils1 and ,fishes1 which have distinct and prominent ,organs of ,motion1 ,legs1 ,wings1 and ,fins2 but in such also as perform their progression by the ,trunk1 as ,serpents1 ,worms1 and ,leeches4 ,,sn3 ,joint-like parts4 ,whereof though some want bones1 and all extended articulations1 yet have they arthritical ,analogies1 and by the motion of fibrous and musculous parts1 are able to make progression4 ,which to conceive in bodies inflexible1 and without all protrusion of parts1 were to expect a ,race from ,hercules his pillars2 or hope to behold the effects of ,orpheus his ,harp1 when trees found joints1 and danced after his ,musick4 ,again1 ,while men conceive they never lie down1 and enjoy not the position of rest1 ordained unto all pedestrious ,animals1 hereby they imagine 7what reason cannot conceive7 that an ,animal of the vastest dimension and longest duration1 should live in a continual motion1 without that alternity and vicissitude of rest whereby all others continue2 and yet must thus much come to pass1 if we opinion they lye not down and enjoy no decumbence at all4 ,,sn3 ,extensive or ,tonical ,motion1 what8 ,for station is properly no rest1 but one kind of motion1 relating unto that which ,physitians 7from ,galen7 do name extensive or tonical2 that is1 an extension of the muscles and organs of motion maintaining the body at length or in its proper figure4 ,wherein although it seem to be unmoved1 it is not without all ,motion2 for in this position the muscles are sensibly extended1 and labour to support the body2 which permitted unto its proper gravity1 would suddenly subside and fall unto the earth2 as it happeneth in sleep1 diseases1 and death4 ,from which occult action and invisible motion of the muscles in station 7as ,galen declareth7 proceed more offensive lassitudes then from ambulation4 ,and therefore the ,tyranny of some have tormented men with long and enforced station1 and though ,ixion and ,sisiphus which always moved1 do seem to have the hardest measure2 yet was not ,titius favoured1 that lay extended upon ,caucasus2 and ,tantalus suffered somewhat more then thirst1 that stood perpetually in ,hell4 ,thus ,mercurialis in his ,gymnasticks justly makes standing one kind of exercise2 and ,galen when we lie down1 commends unto us middle figures1 that is1 not to lye directly1 or at length1 but somewhat inflected1 that the muscles may be at rest2 for such as he termeth ,hypobolemaioi or figures1 of excess1 either shrinking up or stretching out1 are wearisome positions1 and such as perturb the quiet of those parts4 ,now various parts do variously discover these indolent and quiet positions1 some in right lines1 as the wrists3 some at right angles1 as the cubit3 others at oblique angles1 as the fingers and the knees3 all resting satisfied in postures of moderation1 and none enduring the extremity of flexure or extension4 ,moreover men herein do strangely forget the obvious relations of history1 affirming they have no joints1 whereas they dayly read of several actions which are not performable without them4 ,they forget what is delivered by ,xiphilinus1 and also by ,suetonius in the lives of ,nero and ,galba1 that ,elephants have been instructed to walk on ropes1 in publick shews before the people4 ,which is not easily performed by man1 and requireth not only a broad foot1 but a pliable flexure of joints1 and commandible disposure of all parts of progression4 ,they pass by that memorable place in ,curtius1 concerning the ,elephant of ,king ,porus1 ,indus qui ,elephantem regebat1 descendere eum ratus1 more solito procumbere jussit in genua cteri quoque 7ita enim instituti erant7 demisere corpora in terram4 ,,sn3 ,de rebus gestis ,emanuelis4 ,they remember not the expression of ,osorius1 when he speaks of the ,elephant presented to ,leo the tenth1 ,pontificem ter genibus flexis1 et demisso corporis habitu venerabundus salutavit4 ,but above all1 they call not to mind that memorable shew of ,germanicus1 wherein twelve ,elephants danced unto the sound of ,musick1 and after laid them down in the ,tricliniums1 or places of festival ,recumbency4 ,they forget the ,etymologie of the ,knee1 approved by some ,grammarians4 ,,sn3 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon from ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha4 ,they disturb the position of the young ones in the womb3 which upon extension of legs is not easily conceivable2 and contrary unto the general contrivance of ,nature4 ,nor do they consider the impossible exclusion thereof1 upon extension and rigour of the legs4 ,lastly1 they forget or consult not experience1 whereof not many years past1 we have had the advantage in ,england1 by an ,elephant shewn in many parts thereof1 not only in the posture of standing1 but kneeling and lying down4 ,whereby although the opinion at present be well suppressed1 yet from some strings of tradition1 and fruitful recurrence of errour1 it is not improbable it may revive in the next generation again4 ,this being not the first that hath been seen in ,england2 for 7besides some others7 as ,polydore ,virgil relateth1 ,lewis the ,french ,king sent one to ,henry the third1 and ,emanuel of ,portugal another to ,leo the tenth into ,italy1 where notwithstanding the errour is still alive and epidemical1 as with us4 ,sidenote3 ,round1 ,pillar-like4 ,the hint and ground of this opinion might be the gross and somewhat ,cylindrical composure of the legs1 the equality and less perceptible disposure of the joints1 especially in the former legs of this ,animal2 they appearing when he standeth1 like ,pillars of flesh1 without any evidence of articulation4 ,the different flexure and order of the joints might also countenance the same1 being not disposed in the ,elephant1 as they are in other quadrupedes1 but carry a nearer conformity unto those of ,man2 that is1 the bought of the fore-legs1 not directly backward1 but laterally and somewhat inward2 but the hough or suffraginous flexure behind rather outward4 ,somewhat different unto many other quadrupedes1 as ,horses1 ,camels1 ,deer1 ,sheep1 and ,dogs2 for their fore-legs bend like our legs1 and their hinder legs like our arms1 when we move them to our shoulders4 ,but quadrupedes oviparous1 as ,frogs1 ,lizards1 ,crocodiles1 have their joints and motive flexures more analogously framed unto ours2 and some among viviparous1 that is1 such thereof as can bring their fore-feet and meat therein unto their mouths1 as most can do that have the clavicles or coller-bones3 whereby their brests are broader1 and their shoulders more asunder1 as the ,ape1 the ,monkey1 the ,squirrel and some others4 ,if therefore any shall affirm the joints of ,elephants are differently framed from most of other quadrupedes1 and more obscurely and grosly almost then any1 he doth herein no injury unto truth4 ,but if dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter1 he affirmeth also they have no articulations at all1 he incurs the controulment of reason1 and cannot avoide the contradiction also of sense4 ,as for the manner of their venation1 if we consult historical experience1 we shall find it to be otherwise then as is commonly presumed1 by sawing away of ,trees4 ,the accounts whereof are to be seen at large in ,johannes1 ,hugo1 ,edwardus ,lopez1 ,garcias ab horto1 ,cadamustus1 and many more4 ,other concernments there are of the ,elephant1 which might admit of discourse2 and if we should question the teeth of ,elephants1 that is1 whether they be properly so termed1 or might not rather be called horns3 it were no new enquiry of mine1 but a ,paradox as old as ,oppianus ,,sn3 ,cyneget4 lib4 #b44 ,whether as ,pliny and divers since affirm it1 that ,elephants are terrified1 and make away upon the grunting of ,swine1 ,garcias ab horto may decide1 who affirmeth upon experience1 they enter their stalls1 and live promiscuously in the ,woods of ,malavar4 ,that the situation of the genitals is averse1 and their copulation like that which some believe of ,camels1 as ,pliny hath also delivered1 is not to be received2 for we have beheld that part in a different position2 and their coition is made by supersaliency1 like that of horses1 as we are informed by some who have beheld them in that act4 ,that some ,elephants have not only written whole sentences1 as lian ocularly testifieth1 but have also spoken1 as ,oppianus delivereth1 and ,christophorus ,costa particularly relateth2 although it sound like that of ,achilles ,horse in ,homer1 we do not conceive impossible4 ,,sn3 ,some ,brutes tolerably well organized for speech and approaching to reason4 ,nor beside the affinity of reason in this ,animal any such intollerable incapacity in the organs of divers quadrupedes1 whereby they might not be taught to speak1 or become imitators of speech like ,birds4 ,strange it is how the curiosity of men that have been active in the instruction of ,beasts1 have never fallen upon this artifice2 and among those1 many paradoxical and unheard of imitations1 should not attempt to make one speak4 ,the ,serpent that spake unto ,eve1 the ,dogs and ,cats that usually speak unto ,witches1 might afford some encouragement4 ,and since broad and thick chops are required in ,birds that speak1 since lips and teeth are also organs of speech2 from these there is also an advantage in quadrupedes1 and a proximity of reason in ,elephants and ,apes above them all4 ,since also an ,echo will speak without any mouth at all1 articulately returning the voice of man1 by only ordering the vocal spirit in concave and hollow places2 whether the musculous and motive parts about the hollow mouths of ,beasts1 may not dispose the passing spirit into some articulate notes1 seems a query of no great doubt4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,of the ,horse4 ,the second ,assertion1 that an ,horse hath no gall1 is very general1 nor only swallowed by the people1 and common ,farriers1 but also received by good ,veterinarians1 ,,sn3 ,veterinarians or ,farriers4 and some who have laudably discoursed upon ,horses4 ,it seemeth also very ancient2 for it is plainly set down by ,aristotle1 an ,horse and all solid ungulous or whole hoofed animals have no gall2 and the same is also delivered by ,pliny1 which notwithstanding we find repugnant unto experience and reason4 ,for first1 it calls in question the providence or wise provision of ,nature2 who not abounding in superfluities1 is neither deficient in necessities4 ,wherein nevertheless there would be a main defect1 and her improvision justly accusable1 if such a feeding ,animal1 and so subject unto diseases from bilious causes1 should want a proper conveyance for choler2 or have no other receptacle for that humour then the ,veins1 and general mass of bloud4 ,it is again controllable by experience1 for we have made some search and enquiry herein2 encouraged by ,absyrtus a ,greek ,author1 in the time of ,constantine1 who in his ,hippiatricks ,,sn3 ,medicina equaria41 obscurely assigneth the gall a place in the liver2 but more especially by ,carlo ,ruini the ,bononian1 who in his ,anatomia del ,cavallo1 hath more plainly described it1 and in a manner as ,i found it4 ,for in the particular enquiry into that part1 in the concave or simous part of the ,liver1 whereabout the ,gall is usually seated in quadrupedes1 ,i discover an hollow1 long and membranous substance1 of a pale colour without1 and lined with ,choler and ,gall within2 which part is by branches diffused into the lobes and several parcels of the ,liver2 from whence receiving the fiery superfluity1 or cholerick remainder1 by a manifest and open passage1 it conveyeth it into the duodenum or upper gut1 thence into the lower bowels2 which is the manner of its derivation in ,man and other ,animals4 ,and therefore although there be no eminent and circular follicle1 no round bag or vesicle which long containeth this humour3 yet is there a manifest receptacle and passage of choler from the ,liver into the ,guts3 which being not so shut up1 or at least not so long detained1 as it is in other ,animals3 procures that frequent excretion1 and occasions the ,horse to dung more often then many other1 which considering the plentiful feeding1 the largeness of the guts1 and their various circumvolution1 was prudently contrived by providence in this ,animal4 ,,sn3 ,choler the natural glister4 ,for choler is the natural ,glister1 or one excretion whereby ,nature excludeth another2 which descending daily into the bowels1 extimulates those parts1 and excites them unto expulsion4 ,and therefore when this humour aboundeth or corrupteth1 there succeeds oft-times a cholerica passio1 that is1 a sudden and vehement ,purgation upward and downward3 and when the passage of gall becomes obstructed1 the body grows costive1 and the excrements of the belly white2 as it happeneth in the ,jaundice4 ,if any therefore affirm an ,horse hath no gall1 that is1 no receptacle1 or part ordained for the separation of ,choler1 or not that humour at all2 he hath both sense and reason to oppose him4 ,but if he saith it hath no bladder of ,gall1 and such as is observed in many other ,animals1 we shall oppose our sense1 if we gain-say him4 ,thus must ,aristotle be made out when he denieth this part1 by this distinction we may relieve ,pliny of a contradiction1 who in one place affirming an ,horse hath no gall1 delivereth yet in another1 that the gall of an ,horse was accounted poison2 and therefore at the sacrifices of ,horses in ,rome1 it was unlawful for the ,flamen ,,sn3 ,priest4 to touch it4 ,but with more difficulty1 or hardly at all is that reconcileable which is delivered by our ,countryman1 and received ,veterinarian2 whose words in his ,master-piece1 and ,chapter of diseases from the ,gall1 are somewhat too strict1 and scarce admit a ,reconciliation4 ,the fallacie therefore of this conceit is not unlike the former2 ,a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter4 ,because they have not a bladder of gall1 like those we usually observe in others1 they have no gall at all4 ,which is a ,paralogism not admittible2 a fallacy that dwels not in a cloud1 and needs not the ,sun to scatter it4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,of the ,dove4 ,the third assertion is somewhat like the second1 that a ,dove or ,pigeon hath no gall2 which is affirmed from very great antiquity2 for as ,pierius observeth1 from this consideration the ,egyptians did make it the ,hieroglyphick of ,meekness4 ,it hath been averred by many holy ,writers1 commonly delivered by ,postillers and ,commentators1 who from the frequent mention of the ,dove in the ,canticles1 the precept of our ,saviour1 to be wise as ,serpents1 and innocent as ,doves3 and especially the appearance of the ,holy ,ghost in the similitude of this ,animal1 have taken occasion to set down many affections of the ,dove1 and what doth most commend it1 is1 that it hath no gall4 ,and hereof have made use not only ,minor ,divines1 but ,cyprian1 ,austin1 ,isidore1 ,beda1 ,rupertus1 ,jansenius1 and many more4 ,whereto notwithstanding we know not how to assent1 it being repugnant unto the ,authority and positive determination of ancient ,philosophy4 ,the affirmative of ,aristotle in his ,history of ,animals is very plain1 ,fel aliis ventri1 aliis intestino jungitur3 ,some have the gall adjoined to the guts1 as the ,crow1 the ,swallow1 ,sparrow1 and the ,dove2 the same is also attested by ,pliny1 and not without some passion by ,galen1 who in his ,book ,de ,atra bile1 accounts him ridiculous that denies it4 ,it is not agreeable to the constitution of this ,animal1 nor can we so reasonably conceive there wants a ,gall3 that is1 the hot and fiery humour in a body so hot of temper1 which ,phlegm or ,melancholy could not effect4 ,,sn3 ,salubrium1 #ca ,now of what complexion it is1 ,julius ,alexandrinus declareth1 when he affirmeth that some upon the use thereof1 have fallen into ,feavers and ,quinsies4 ,the temper of their ,dung and intestinal ,excretions do also confirm the same2 which ,topically applied become a ,phnigmus or ,rubifying ,medicine1 and are of such fiery parts1 that as we read in ,galen1 they have of themselves conceived fire1 and burnt a house about them4 ,and therefore when in the famine of ,samaria 7wherein the fourth part of a ,cab of ,pigeons dung was sold for five pieces of silver17 it is delivered by ,josephus1 that men made use hereof in stead of common ,salt3 although the exposition seem strange1 it is more probable then many other4 ,for that it containeth very much ,salt1 as beside the effects before expressed1 is discernable by taste1 and the earth of ,columbaries or ,dove-houses1 so much desired in the artifice of ,salt-petre4 ,and to speak generally1 the ,excrement of ,birds hath more of ,salt and acrimony1 then that of other pissing animals4 ,now if because the ,dove is of a mild and gentle nature1 we cannot conceive it should be of an hot temper2 our apprehensions are not distinct in the measure of constitutions1 and the several parts which evidence such conditions4 ,,sn3 ,whence the irascible1 whence the concupiscible ,passions do most arise4 ,for the ,irascible passions do follow the temper of the heart1 but the concupiscible distractions the crasis of the liver4 ,now many have hot livers1 which have but cool and temperate hearts2 and this was probably the temper of ,paris1 a contrary constitution to that of ,ajax1 and both but short of ,medea1 who seemed to exceed in either4 ,lastly1 it is repugnant to experience1 for ,anatomical enquiry discovereth in them a gall3 and that according to the determination of ,aristotle1 not annexed unto the liver1 but adhering unto the guts3 nor is the humour contained in smaller veins1 or obscurer capillations1 but in a vescicle1 or little bladder1 though some affirm it hath no bag at all4 ,and therefore the ,hieroglyphick of the gyptians1 though allowable in the sense1 is weak in the foundation3 who expressing meekness and lenity by the portract of a ,dove with a tail erected1 affirmed it had no gall in the inward parts1 but only in the rump1 and as it were out of the body4 ,and therefore also if they conceived their gods were pleased with the sacrifice of this ,animal1 as being without gall1 the ancient ,heathens were surely mistaken in the reason1 and in the very oblation4 ,whereas in the holocaust or burnt offering of ,moses1 the gall was cast away3 for as ,ben ,maimon instructeth ,,sn3 ,levit4 #a41 the inwards whereto the gall adhereth were taken out with the crop1 according unto the ,law3 which the ,priest did not burn1 but cast unto the ,east1 that is1 behind his back1 and readiest place to be carried out of the ,sanctuary4 ,,sn3 ,doves1 the ,birds of ,venus1 why8 ,and if they also conceived that for this reason they were the ,birds of ,venus1 and wanting the furious and discording part1 were more acceptable unto the ,deity of ,love1 they surely added unto the conceit1 which was at first venereal3 and in this ,animal may be sufficiently made out from that conception4 ,the ground of this conceit is partly like the former1 the obscure situation of the gall1 and out of the liver1 wherein it is commonly enquired4 ,but this is a very injust illation1 not well considering with what variety this part is seated in ,birds4 ,in some both at the stomach and the liver1 as in the ,capriceps2 in some at the liver only1 as in ,cocks1 ,turkeys1 and ,pheasants2 in others at the guts and liver1 as in ,hawks and ,kites1 in some at the guts alone1 as ,crows1 ,doves1 and many more4 ,and these perhaps may take up all the ways of situation1 not only in ,birds1 but also other ,animals2 for what is said of the ,anchovie1 that answerable unto its name1 ,,sn3 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,chi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma it carrieth the gall in the head1 is farther to be enquired4 ,and though the discoloured particles in the skin of an ,heron be commonly termed ,galls1 yet is not this ,animal deficient in that part1 but containeth it in the ,liver4 ,and thus when it is conceived that the eyes of ,tobias were cured by the gall of the fish ,callyonimus1 or ,scorpius marinus1 commended to that effect by ,dioscorides1 although that part were not in the liver1 yet there were no reason to doubt that probability4 ,and whatsoever ,animal it was1 it may be received without exception1 when it's delivered1 the married couple as a testimony of future concord1 did cast the gall of the sacrifice behind the ,altar4 ,a strict and literal acception of a loose and tropical expression was a second ground hereof4 ,for while some affirmed it had no gall1 intending only thereby no evidence of anger or fury2 others have construed it anatomically1 and denied that part at all4 ,by which illation we may infer1 and that from sacred ,text1 a ,pigeon hath no heart2 according to that expression1 ,,sn3 ,hosea #g4 ,factus est ,ephraim sicut ,columba seducta non habens ,cor4 ,and so from the letter of the ,scripture we may conclude it is no mild1 but a fiery and furious animal1 according to that of ,jeremy1 ,,sn3 ,cap4 #be4 ,facta est terra in desolationem facie ir ,columb3 and again1 ,revertamur ad terram nativitatis nostr facie gladii ,columb4 ,,sn3 ,cap4 #df4 ,where notwithstanding the ,dove is not literally intended2 but thereby may be implied the ,babylonians1 whose ,queen ,semiramis was called by that name1 and whose successors did bear the ,dove in their ,standard4 ,so is it proverbially said1 ,formic sua bilis inest1 habet et musca splenem2 whereas we know ,philosophy doubteth these parts1 nor hath ,anatomy so clearly discovered them in those insects4 ,if therefore any affirm a ,pigeon hath no gall1 implying no more thereby then the lenity of this ,animal1 we shall not controvert his affirmation4 ,thus may we make out the assertions of ,ancient ,writers1 and safely receive the expressions of ,divines and worthy ,fathers4 ,but if by a transition from ,rhetorick to ,logick1 he shall contend1 it hath no such part or humour1 he committeth an open fallacy1 and such as was probably first committed concerning ,spanish ,mares1 whose swiftness tropically expressed from their generation by the wind2 might after be grosly taken1 and a real truth conceived in that conception4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,of the ,bever4 ,that a ,bever to escape the ,hunter1 bites off his testicles or stones1 is a ,tenet very ancient2 and hath had thereby advantage of propagation4 ,,sn3 sops ,apologues1 of what antiquity4 ,for the same we find in the ,hieroglyphicks of the ,egyptians in the ,apologue of sop1 an ,author of great ,antiquity1 who lived in the beginning of the ,persian ,monarchy1 and in the time of ,cyrus3 the same is touched by ,aristotle in his ,ethicks1 but seriously delivered by lian1 ,pliny1 and ,solinus3 the same we meet with in ,juvenal1 who by an handsome and ,metrical expression more welcomly engrafts it in our junior ,memories3 ----imitatus ,castora1 qui se ,eunuchum ipse facit1 cupiens evadere damno ,testiculorum1 adeo medicatum intelligit inguen4 ,it hath been propagated by ,emblems3 and some have been so bad ,grammarians as to be deceived by the ,name1 deriving ,castor castrando1 whereas the proper ,latine word is ,fiber1 and ,castor but borrowed from the ,greek1 so called quasi ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho1 that is1 ,animal ventricosum1 from his swaggy and prominent belly4 ,herein therefore to speak compendiously1 we first presume to affirm that from strict enquiry1 we cannot maintain the evulsion or biting off any parts1 and this is declarable from the best and most professed ,writers3 for though some have made use hereof in a ,moral or ,tropical way1 yet have the professed ,discoursers by silence deserted1 or by experience rejected this assertion4 ,thus was it in ancient times discovered1 and experimentally refuted by one ,sestius a ,physitian1 as it stands related by ,pliny2 by ,dioscorides1 who plainly affirms that this tradition is false2 by the discoveries of ,modern ,authors1 who have expressly discoursed hereon1 as ,aldrovandus1 ,mathiolus1 ,gesnerus1 ,bellonius2 by ,olaus ,magnus1 ,peter ,martyr1 and others1 who have described the manner of their ,venations in ,america2 they generally omitting this way of their escape1 and have delivered several other1 by which they are daily taken4 ,the original of the conceit was probably ,hieroglyphical1 which after became ,mythological unto the ,greeks1 and so set down by sop2 and by process of tradition1 stole into a total verity1 which was but partially true1 that is in its covert sense and ,morality4 ,now why they placed this invention upon the ,bever 7beside the ,medicable and ,merchantable commodity of ,castoreum1 or parts conceived to be bitten away7 might be the sagacity and wisdom of that ,animal1 which from the works it performs1 and especially its ,artifice in building1 is very strange1 and surely not to be matched by any other4 ,omitted by ,plutarch1 ,de solertia ,animalium1 but might have much advantaged the drift of that ,discourse4 ,if therefore any affirm a wise man should demean himself like the ,bever1 who to escape with his life1 contemneth the loss of his genitals1 that is in case of extremity1 not strictly to endeavour the preservation of all1 but to sit down in the enjoyment of the greater good1 though with the detriment and hazard of the lesser2 we may hereby apprehend a real and useful ,truth4 ,in this latitude of belief1 we are content to receive the ,fable of ,hippomanes1 who redeemed his life with the loss of a ,golden ,ball2 and whether true or false1 we reject not the ,tragoedy of ,absyrtus1 and the dispersion of his ,members by ,medea1 to perplex the pursuit of her ,father4 ,but if any shall positively affirm this act1 and cannot believe the ,moral1 unless he also credit the ,fable2 he is surely greedy of delusion1 and will hardly avoid deception in theories of this ,nature4 ,the ,error therefore and ,alogy in this opinion1 is worse then in the last2 that is1 not to receive ,figures for ,realities1 but expect a verity in ,apologues2 and believe1 as serious affirmations1 confessed and studied ,fables4 ,again1 ,if this were true1 and that the ,bever in chase makes some divulsion of parts1 as that which we call ,castoreum2 yet are not the same to be termed ,testicles or ,stones2 for these ,cods or ,follicles are found in both ,sexes1 though somewhat more protuberant in the ,male4 ,there is hereto no derivation of the seminal parts1 nor any passage from hence1 unto the ,vessels of ,ejaculation3 some perforations onely in the part it self1 through which the humour included doth exudate3 as may be observed in such as are fresh1 and not much dried with age4 ,and lastly1 ,the ,testicles properly so called1 are of a lesser magnitude1 and seated inwardly upon the loins3 and therefore it were not only a fruitless attempt1 but impossible act1 to ,eunuchate or castrate themselves3 and might be an hazardous practice of ,art1 if at all attempted by others4 ,now all this is confirmed from the experimental ,testimony of five very memorable ,authors3 ,bellonius1 ,gesnerus1 ,amatus1 ,rondeletius1 and ,mathiolus3 who receiving the hint hereof from ,rondeletius in the ,anatomy of two ,bevers1 did find all true that had been delivered by him1 whose words are these in his learned ,book ,de ,piscibus3 ,fibri in inguinibus geminos tumores habent1 utrinque vnicum1 ovi ,auscrini magnitudine1 inter hos est mentula in maribus1 in fminis pudendum1 hi tumores testes non sunt1 sed folliculi membrana contecti1 in quorum medio sunguli sunt meatus quibus exudat liquor pinguis et cerosus1 quem ipse ,castor spe admoto ore lambit et exugit1 postea veluti oleo1 corporis partes oblinit3 ,hos tumores testes non esse hinc maxime colligitur1 quod ab illus nulla est ad mentulam via neque ductus quo humor in mentul meatum derivitur1 et foras emittatur2 prterea quod testes intus reperiuntur1 eosdem tumores ,moscho animali inesse puto1 quibus odoratum illud plus emanat4 ,then which words there can be no plainer1 nor more evidently discovering the impropriety of this appellation4 ,that which is included in the cod or visible bag about the groin1 being not the ,testicle1 or any spermatical part2 but rather a collection of some superfluous matter deflowing from the body1 especially the parts of nutrition as unto their proper emunctories2 and as it doth in ,musk and ,civet ,cats1 though in a different and offensive odour2 proceeding partly from its food1 that being especially ,fish2 whereof this humour may be a garous excretion and olidous separation4 ,most therefore of the ,moderns before ,rondeletius1 and all the ,ancients excepting ,sestius1 have misunderstood this part1 conceiving ,castoreum the ,testicles of the ,bever2 as ,dioscorides1 ,galen1 gineta1 tius1 and others have pleased to name it4 ,the ,egyptians also failed in the ground of their ,hieroglyphick1 when they expressed the punishment of ,adultery by the ,bever depriving himself of his testicles1 which was amongst them the penalty of such incontinency4 ,nor is tius perhaps1 too strictly to be observed1 when he prescribeth the stones of the ,otter1 or ,river-dog1 as succedaneous unto ,castoreum4 ,but most inexcusable of all is ,pliny1 who having before him in one place the experiment of ,sestius against it1 sets down in another1 that the ,bevers of ,pontus bite off their testicles3 and in the same place affirmeth the like of the ,hyena4 ,which was indeed well joined with the ,bever1 as having also a bag in those parts2 if thereby we understand the ,hyena odorata1 or ,civet ,cat1 as is delivered and graphically described by ,castellus4 ,,sn3 ,castellus de ,hyena odorifera4 ,now the ground of this mistake might be the resemblance and situation of these tumours about those parts1 wherein we observe the testicles in other animals4 ,which notwithstanding is no well founded illation1 for the testicles are defined by their office1 and not determined by place or situation2 they having one office in all1 but different seats in many4 ,for beside that1 no ,serpent1 or ,fishes oviparous1 that neither biped nor quadruped oviparous have testicles exteriourly1 or prominent in the groin2 some also that are viviparous contain these parts within1 as beside this ,animal1 the ,elephant and the ,hedg-hog4 ,if any therefore shall term these testicles1 intending metaphorically1 and in no strict acception2 his language is tolerable1 and offends our ears no more then the ,tropical names of ,plants3 when we read in ,herbals1 of ,dogs1 ,fox1 and ,goat-stones4 ,but if he insisteth thereon1 and maintaineth a propriety in this language3 our discourse hath overthrown his assertion1 nor will ,logic permit his illation2 that is1 from things alike1 to conclude a thing the same2 and from an accidental convenience1 that is a similitude in place or figure1 to infer a specifical congruity or substantial concurrence in ,nature4 ,,chapter ,v ,of the ,badger4 ,that a ,brock or ,badger hath the legs on one side shorter then of the other1 though an opinion perhaps not very ancient1 is yet very general2 received not only by ,theorists and unexperienced believers1 but assented unto by most who have the opportunity to behold and hunt them daily4 ,which notwithstanding upon enquiry ,i find repugnant unto the three ,determinators of ,truth1 ,authority1 ,sense1 and ,reason4 ,for first1 ,albertus ,magnus speaks dubiously1 confessing he could not confirm the verity hereof2 but ,aldrovandus plainly affirmeth1 there can be no such inequality observed4 ,and for my own part1 upon indifferent enquiry1 ,i cannot discover this difference1 although the regardable side be defined1 and the brevity by most imputed unto the left4 ,again1 ,it seems no easie affront unto ,reason1 and generally repugnant unto the course of ,nature2 for if we survey the total set of ,animals1 we may in their legs1 or ,organs of progression1 observe an equality of length1 and parity of ,numeration2 that is1 not any to have an odd legg1 or the supporters and movers of one side not exactly answered by the other4 ,although the hinder may be unequal unto the fore and middle legs1 as in ,frogs1 ,locusts1 and ,grasshoppers2 or both unto the middle1 as in some ,beetles and ,spiders1 as is determined by ,aristotle1 ,de incessu ,animalium4 ,,sn3 ,de incessu ,animalium4 ,perfect and viviparous quadrupeds1 so standing in their position of proneness1 that the opposite joints of ,neighbour-legs consist in the same plane2 and a line descending from their ,navel intersects at right angles the axis of the ,earth4 ,it happeneth often ,i confess that a ,lobster hath the ,chely or great claw of one side longer then the other2 but this is not properly their leg1 but a part of apprehension1 and whereby they hold or seiz upon their prey2 for the legs and proper parts of progression are inverted backward1 and stand in a position opposite unto these4 ,lastly1 ,the ,monstrosity is ill contrived1 and with some disadvantage2 the shortness being affixed unto the legs of one side1 which might have been more tolerably placed upon the thwart or ,diagonial ,movers4 ,,sn3 ,diagonion1 a line drawn from the cross angles4 ,for the progression of quadrupeds being performed per ,diametrum1 that is the cross legs moving or resting together1 so that two are always in motion1 and two in station at the same time2 the brevity had been more tolerable in the cross legs4 ,for then the ,motion and station had been performed by equal legs2 whereas herein they are both performed by unequal ,organs1 and the imperfection becomes discoverable at every hand4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,of the ,bear4 ,that a ,bear brings forth her young informous and unshapen1 which she fashioneth after by licking them over1 is an opinion not only vulgar1 and common with us at present3 but hath been of old delivered by ancient ,writers4 ,upon this foundation it was an ,hieroglyphick with the ,egyptians3 ,aristotle seems to countenance it2 ,solinus1 ,pliny1 and lian directly affirm it1 and ,ovid smoothly delivereth it3 ,nec catulus partu quem reddidit ursa recenti ,sed male viva caro est1 lambendo mater in artus ,ducit1 et in formam qualem cupit ipsa reducit4 ,which notwithstanding is not only repugnant unto the sense of every one that shall enquire into it1 but the exact and deliberate experiment of three ,authentick ,philosophers4 ,the first of ,mathiolus in his ,comment on ,dioscorides1 whose words are to this effect4 ,in the ,valley of ,anania about ,trent1 in a ,bear which the ,hunters eventerated or opened1 ,i beheld the young ones with all their parts distinct3 and not without shape1 as many conceive2 giving more credit unto ,aristotle and ,pliny1 then experience and their proper senses4 ,of the same assurance was ,julius ,scaliger in his ,exercitations1 ,ursam foetus informes potius ejicere1 quam parere1 si vera dicunt1 quos postea linctu effingat3 ,quid hujusce fabul authoribus fidei habendum ex hac historia cognosces2 ,in nostris ,alpibus venatores ftum ,ursam cepere1 dissecta ea ftus plane formatus intus inventus est4 ,and lastly1 ,aldrovandus who from the testimony of his own eyes affirmeth1 that in the ,cabinet of the ,senate of ,bononia1 there was preserved in a ,glass a ,cub taken out of a ,bear perfectly formed1 and compleat in every part4 ,it is moreover injurious unto ,reason1 and much impugneth the course and providence of ,nature1 to conceive a birth should be ordained before there is a formation4 ,for the conformation of parts is necessarily required1 not onely unto the pre-requisites and previous conditions of birth1 as ,motion and ,animation3 but also unto the parturition or very birth it self3 ,wherein not only the ,dam1 but the younglings play their parts2 and the cause and act of exclusion proceedeth from them both4 ,for the exclusion of ,animals is not meerly passive like that of ,eggs1 nor the total action of delivery to be imputed unto the ,mother3 but the first attempt beginneth from the ,infant3 which at the accomplished period attempteth to change his ,mansion3 and strugling to come forth1 dilacerates and breaks those parts which restrained him before4 ,beside 7what few take notice of7 ,men hereby do in an high measure vilifie the works of ,god1 imputing that unto the tongue of a ,beast1 which is the strangest ,artifice in all the acts of ,nature2 that is the formation of the infant in the ,womb1 not only in ,mankind1 but all viviparous ,animals4 ,,sn3 ,formation in the ,matrix1 the admirable work of ,nature4 ,wherein the plastick or formative faculty1 from matter appearing ,homogeneous1 and of a similary substance1 erecteth ,bones1 ,membranes1 ,veins1 and ,arteries3 and out of these contriveth every part in number1 place1 and figure1 according to the law of its species4 ,which is so far from being fashioned by any outward agent1 that once omitted or perverted by a slip of the inward ,phidias1 it is not reducible by any other whatsoever4 ,and therefore ,mir me plasmaverunt manus tu1 though it originally respected the generation of ,man1 yet is it appliable unto that of other ,animals2 who entring the ,womb in bare and simple ,materials1 return with distinction of parts1 and the perfect breath of life4 ,he that shall consider these alterations without1 must needs conceive there have been strange operations within2 which to behold1 it were a spectacle almost worth ones beeing1 a sight beyond all2 except that ,man had been created first1 and might have seen the shew of five dayes after4 ,now as the opinion is repugnant both unto sense and ,reason1 so hath it probably been occasioned from some slight ground in either4 ,thus in regard the ,cub comes forth involved in the ,chorion1 a thick and tough ,membrane obscuring the formation1 and which the ,dam doth after bite and tear asunder2 the beholder at first sight conceives it a rude and informous lump of flesh1 and imputes the ensuing shape unto the ,mouthing of the ,dam2 which addeth nothing thereunto1 but only draws the curtain1 and takes away the vail which concealed the ,piece before4 ,and thus have some endeavoured to enforce the same from ,reason2 that is1 the small and slender time of the ,bears gestation1 or going with her young2 which lasting but few days 7a ,month some say7 the exclusion becomes precipitous1 and the young ones consequently informous2 according to that of ,solinus1 ,trigesimus dies uterum liberat urs2 unde evenit ut prcipitata fcunditas informes creet partus4 ,but this will overthrow the general ,method of ,nature in the works of generation4 ,for therein the conformation is not only antecedent1 but proportional unto the exclusion2 and if the period of the birth be short1 the term of conformation will be as sudden also4 ,there may ,i confess from this narrow time of gestation ensue a ,minority or smalness in the exclusion2 but this however inferreth no informity1 and it still receiveth the ,name of a natural and legitimate birth2 whereas if we affirm a total informity1 it cannot admit so forward a term as an ,abortment1 for that supposeth conformation4 ,so we must call this constant and intended act of ,nature1 a slip or effluxion ,,sn3 ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,psili ,,and ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,sigma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma41 that is an exclusion before conformation3 before the birth can bear the name of the ,parent1 or be so much as properly called an ,embryon4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,of the ,basilisk ,many ,opinions are passant concerning the ,basilisk or little ,king of ,serpents1 commonly called the ,cockatrice3 some affirming1 others denying1 most doubting the relations made hereof4 ,what therefore in these incertainties we may more safely determine3 that such an ,animal there is1 if we evade not the testimony of ,scripture and humane ,writers1 we cannot safely deny4 ,so it is said ,psalm #ia4 ,super ,aspidem et ,basiliscum ambulabis1 wherein the ,vulgar ,translation retaineth the ,word of the ,septuagint1 using in other places the ,latine expression ,regulus1 as ,proverbs #bc4 ,mordebit ut coluber1 et sicut ,regulus venena diffundet3 and ,jeremy #h4 ,ecce ego mittam vobis serpentes ,regulos1 etc4 ,that is1 as ours translate it1 ,behold ,i will send ,serpents1 ,cockatrices among you which will not be charmed1 and they shall bite you4 ,and as for humane ,authors1 or such as have discoursed of ,animals1 or ,poisons1 it is to be found almost in all3 in ,dioscorides1 ,galen1 ,pliny1 ,solinus1 lian1 tius1 ,avicen1 ,ardoynus1 ,grevinus1 and many more4 ,in ,aristotle ,i confess we find no mention thereof1 but ,scaliger in his ,comment and enumeration of ,serpents1 hath made supply2 and in his ,exercitations delivereth that a ,basilisk was found in ,rome1 in the days of ,leo the fourth4 ,the like is reported by ,sigonius2 and some are so far from denying one1 that they have made several kinds thereof3 for such is the ,catoblepas of ,pliny conceived to be by some1 and the ,dryinus of tius by others4 ,but although we deny not the existence of the ,basilisk1 yet whether we do not commonly mistake in the conception hereof1 and call that a ,basilisk which is none at all1 is surely to be questioned4 ,for certainly that which from the conceit of its generation we vulgarly call a ,cockatrice1 and wherein 7but under a different name7 we intend a formal ,identity and adequate conception with the ,basilisk2 is not the ,basilisk of the ,ancients1 whereof such wonders are delivered4 ,for this of ours is generally described with legs1 wings1 a ,serpentine and winding tail1 and a crist or comb somewhat like a ,cock4 ,but the ,basilisk of elder times was a proper kind of ,serpent1 not above three palms long1 as some account2 and differenced from other ,serpents by advancing his head1 and some white marks or coronary spots upon the crown1 as all authentick ,writers have delivered4 ,nor is this ,cockatrice only unlike the ,basilisk1 but of no real shape in ,nature2 and rather an ,hieroglyphical fansie1 to express different intentions1 set forth in different fashions4 ,sometimes with the head of a ,man1 sometime with the head of an ,hawk1 as ,pierius hath delivered2 and as with addition of legs the ,heralds and ,painters still describe it4 ,nor was it only of old a symbolical and allowable invention1 but is now become a manual contrivance of ,art1 and artificial imposure2 whereof besides others1 ,scaliger hath taken notice3 ,basilici formam mentiti sunt vulgo ,gallinacco similem1 et pedibus binis2 neque enim absimiles sunt cteris serpentibus1 nisi macula quasi in vertice candida1 unde illi nomen ,regium2 that is1 men commonly counterfeit the form of a ,basilisk with another like a ,cock1 and with two feet2 whereas they differ not from other serpents1 but in a white speck upon their ,crown4 ,now although in some manner it might be counterfeited in ,indian ,cocks1 and flying ,serpents1 yet is it commonly contrived out of the skins of ,thornbacks1 ,scaits1 or ,maids1 as ,aldrovand hath observed1 ,,sn3 ,by way of figure4 and also graphically described in his excellent ,book of ,fishes2 and for satisfaction of my own curiosity ,i have caused some to be thus contrived out of the same ,fishes4 ,nor is onely the existency of this animal considerable1 but many things delivered thereof1 particularly its poison and its generation4 ,concerning the first1 according to the doctrine of the ,ancients1 men still affirm1 that it killeth at a distance1 that it poisoneth by the eye1 and by priority of vision4 ,,sn3 ,destructive4 ,now that deleterious it may be at some distance1 and destructive without corporal contaction1 what uncertainty soever there be in the effect1 there is no high improbability in the relation4 ,for if ,plagues or pestilential ,atoms have been conveyed in the ,air from different ,regions1 if men at a distance have infected each other1 if the shadows of some trees be noxious1 if ,torpedoes deliver their opium at a distance1 and stupifie beyond themselves2 we cannot reasonably deny1 that 7beside our gross and restrained poisons requiring contiguity unto their actions7 there may proceed from subtiller seeds1 more agile emanations1 which contemn those ,laws1 and invade at distance unexpected4 ,that this venenation shooteth from the eye1 and that this way a ,basilisk may empoison1 although thus much be not agreed upon by ,authors1 some imputing it unto the breath1 others unto the bite1 it is not a thing impossible4 ,for eyes receive offensive impressions from their objects1 and may have influences destructive to each other4 ,,sn3 ,effluxion of corporeal species4 ,for the visible species of things strike not our senses immaterially1 but streaming in corporal raies1 do carry with them the qualities of the object from whence they flow1 and the medium through which they pass4 ,,sn3 ,how the ,basilisk kills at distance4 ,thus through a green or red ,glass all things we behold appear of the same colours2 thus sore eyes affect those which are sound1 and themselves also by reflection1 as will happen to an inflamed eye that beholds it self long in a ,glass2 thus is fascination made out1 and thus also it is not impossible1 what is affirmed of this animal1 the visible rayes of their eyes carrying forth the subtilest portion of their poison1 which received by the eye of man or beast1 infecteth first the brain1 and is from thence communicated unto the heart4 ,but lastly1 ,that this destruction should be the effect of the first beholder1 or depend upon priority of aspection1 is a point not easily to be granted1 and very hardly to be made out upon the principles of ,aristotle1 ,alhazen1 ,vitello1 and others1 who hold that sight is made by ,reception1 and not by extramission2 by receiving the raies of the object into the eye1 and not by sending any out4 ,for hereby although he behold a man first1 the ,basilisk should rather be destroyed1 in regard he first receiveth the rayes of his ,antipathy1 and venomous emissions which objectively move his sense2 but how powerful soever his own poison be1 it invadeth not the sense of man1 in regard he beholdeth him not4 ,and therefore this conceit was probably begot by such as held the opinion of sight by extramission2 as did ,pythagoras1 ,plato1 ,empedocles1 ,hipparrchus1 ,galen1 ,macrobius1 ,proclus1 ,simplicius1 with most of the ,ancients1 and is the postulate of ,euclide in his ,opticks1 but now sufficiently convicted from observations of the ,dark ,chamber4 ,sidenote3 ,the generation of the ,cocks egg4 ,as for the generation of the ,basilisk1 that it proceedeth from a ,cocks egg hatched under a ,toad or ,serpent1 it is a conceit as monstrous as the brood it self4 ,for if we should grant that ,cocks growing old1 and unable for emission1 amass within themselves some seminal matter1 which may after conglobate into the form of an egg1 yet will this substance be unfruitful4 ,as wanting one principle of generation1 and a commixture of both sexes1 which is required unto production1 as may be observed in the eggs of ,hens not trodden2 and as we have made trial in some which are termed ,cocks eggs4 ,,sn3 ,ovum ,centeninum1 or the last egg which is a very little one4 ,it is not indeed impossible that from the sperm of a ,cock1 ,hen1 or other ,animal1 being once in putrescence1 either from incubation or otherwise1 some generation may ensue1 not univocal and of the same species1 but some imperfect or monstrous production1 even as in the body of man from putrid humours1 and peculiar ways of corruption1 there have succeeded strange and unseconded shapes of worms2 whereof we have beheld some our selves1 and read of others in medical observations4 ,and so may strange and venomous ,serpents be several ways engendered2 but that this generation should be regular1 and alway produce a ,basilisk1 is beyond our affirmation1 and we have good reason to doubt4 ,again1 ,it is unreasonable to ascribe the equivocacy of this form unto the hatching of a ,toad1 or imagine that diversifies the production4 ,for ,incubation alters not the species1 nor if we observe it1 so much as concurs either to the sex or colour3 as appears in the eggs of ,ducks or ,partridges hatched under a ,hen1 there being required unto their exclusion only a gentle and continued heat3 and that not particular or confined unto the species or parent4 ,so have ,i known the seed of ,silk-worms hatched on the bodies of women3 and ,pliny reports that ,livia the wife of ,augustus hatched an egg in her bosome4 ,nor is only an animal heat required hereto1 but an elemental and artificial warmth will suffice3 for as ,diodorus delivereth1 the gyptians were wont to hatch their eggs in ,ovens1 and many eye-witnesses confirm that practice unto this day4 ,and therefore this generation of the ,basilisk1 seems like that of ,castor and ,helena2 he that can credit the one1 may easily believe the other3 that is1 that these two were hatched out of the egg which ,jupiter in the form of a ,swan1 begat on his ,mistress ,leda4 ,the occasion of this conceit might be an gyptian tradition concerning the ,bird ,ibis3 which after became transferred unto ,cocks4 ,for an opinion it was of that ,nation1 that the ,ibis feeding upon ,serpents1 that venomous food so inquinated their oval conceptions1 or eggs within their bodies1 that they sometimes came forth in ,serpentine shapes1 and therefore they always brake their eggs1 nor would they endure the ,bird to sit upon them4 ,but how causeless their fear was herein1 the daily incubation of ,ducks1 ,pea-hens1 and many other testifie1 and the ,stork might have informed them2 which ,bird they honoured and cherished1 to destroy their ,serpents4 ,that which much promoted it1 was a misapprehension of holy ,scripture upon the ,latine translation in ,esa4 #ea1 ,ova aspidum ruperunt et telas ,arenearum texuerunt1 qui comedent de ovis corum morietur1 et quod confotum est1 erumpet in ,regulum4 ,from whence notwithstanding1 beside the generation of ,serpents from eggs1 there can be nothing concluded2 and what kind of ,serpents are meant1 not easie to be determined1 for ,translations are here very different3 ,tremellius rendering the ,asp ,hmorrhous1 and the ,regulus or ,basilisk a ,viper1 and our translation for the ,asp sets down a ,cockatrice in the ,text1 and an ,adder in the margin4 ,another place of ,esay doth also seem to countenance it1 ,chap4 #ad4 ,ne lteris ,philista quoniam diminuta est virga percussoris tui1 de radice enim colubri egredietur ,regulus1 et semen ejus absorbens volucrem1 which ours somewhat favourably rendereth3 ,out of the ,serpents ,root shall come forth a ,cockatrice1 and his fruit shall be a fiery flying ,serpent4 ,but ,tremellius1 radice ,serpentis prodit ,hmorrhous1 et fructus illius prster volans2 wherein the words are different1 but the sense is still the same2 for therein are figuratively intended ,uzziah and ,ezechias2 for though the ,philistines had escaped the minor ,serpent ,uzziah1 yet from his stock a fiercer ,snake should arise1 that would more terribly sting them1 and that was ,ezeckias4 ,but the greatest promotion it hath received from a misunderstanding of the ,hieroglyphical intention4 ,for being conceived to be the ,lord and ,king of ,serpents1 to aw all others1 nor to be destroyed by any2 the gyptians hereby implied ,eternity1 and the awful power of the supreme ,deitie3 and therefore described a crowned ,asp or ,basilisk upon the heads of their gods4 ,as may be observed in the ,bembine ,table1 and other gyptian ,monuments4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,of the ,wolf4 ,such a ,story as the ,basilisk is that of the ,wolf concerning priority of vision1 that a man becomes hoarse or dumb1 if a ,wolf have the advantage first to eye him4 ,and this is a plain language affirmed by ,plyny3 ,in ,italia ut creditur1 ,luporum visus est noxius1 vocemque homini1 quem prius contemplatur adimere2 so is it made out what is delivered by ,theocritus1 and after him by ,virgil3 ----,vox quoque ,moerim ,jam fugit ipsa1 ,lupi ,moerim videre priores4 ,thus is the ,proverb to be understood1 when during the discourse1 if the party or subject interveneth1 and there ensueth a sudden silence1 it is usually said1 ,lupus est in fabula4 ,which conceit being already convicted1 not only by ,scaliger1 ,riolanus1 and others2 but daily confutable almost every where out of ,england1 we shall not further refute4 ,the ground or occasional original hereof1 was probably the amazement and sudden silence the unexpected appearance of ,wolves do often put upon ,travellers2 not by a supposed vapour1 or venomous emanation1 but a vehement fear which naturally produceth obmutescence2 and sometimes irrecoverable silence4 ,thus ,birds are silent in presence of an ,hawk1 and ,pliny saith that ,dogs are mute in the shadow of an ,hina4 ,but thus could not the mouths of worthy ,martyrs be silenced1 who being exposed not onely unto the eyes1 but the merciless teeth of ,wolves1 gave loud expressions of their faith1 and their holy clamours were heard as high as ,heaven4 ,that which much promoted it beside the common ,proverb1 was an expression in ,theocritus1 a very ancient ,poet1 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,oxia ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,phi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,theta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,gamma,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,xi,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,lamda,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,iota ,,with ,,psili ,,and ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,delta,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma ,edere non poteris vocem1 ,lycus est tibi visus2 which ,lycus was ,rival unto another1 and suddenly appearing stopped the mouth of his ,corrival3 now ,lycus signifying also a ,wolf1 occasioned this apprehension2 men taking that appellatively1 which was to be understood properly1 and translating the genuine acception4 ,which is a fallacy of quivocation1 and in some opinions begat the like conceit concerning ,romulus and ,remus1 that they were fostered by a ,wolf1 the name of the ,nurse being ,lupa2 and founded the fable of ,europa1 and her carriage over ,sea by a ,bull1 because the ,ship or ,pilots name was ,taurus4 ,and thus have some been startled at the ,proverb1 ,bos in lingua1 confusedly apprehending how a man should be said to have an ,oxe in his tongue1 that would not speak his mind2 which was no more then that a piece of money had silenced him3 for by the ,oxe was onely implied a piece of coin stamped with that figure1 first currant with the ,athenians1 and after among the ,romans4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,of the ,deer4 ,the common ,opinion concerning the long life of ,animals1 is very ancient1 especially of ,crows1 ,choughs and ,deer2 in moderate accounts exceeding the age of man1 in some the days of ,nestor1 and in others surmounting the years of ,artephius or ,methuselah4 ,from whence ,antiquity hath raised proverbial expressions1 and the real conception of their duration1 hath been the ,hyperbolical expression of many others4 ,from all the rest we shall single out the ,deer1 upon concession a long-lived ,animal1 and in longvity by many conceived to attain unto hundreds2 wherein permitting every man his own belief1 we shall our selves crave liberty to doubt1 and our reasons are these ensuing4 ,the first is that of ,aristotle1 drawn from the increment and gestation of this ,animal1 that is1 its sudden arrivance unto growth and maturity1 and the small time of its remainder in the ,womb4 ,his words in the translation of ,scaliger are these1 ,de ejus vit longitudine fabulantur2 neque enim aut gestatio aut incrementum hinnulorum ejusmodi sunt ut prstent argumentum longvi animalis2 that is1 ,fables are raised concerning the vivacity of ,deer2 for neither are their gestation or increment1 such as may afford an argument of long life4 ,and these1 saith ,scaliger1 are good ,mediums conjunctively taken1 that is1 not one without the other4 ,for of ,animals viviparous such as live long1 go long with young1 and attain but slowly to their maturity and stature4 ,so the ,horse that liveth above thirty1 arriveth unto his stature about six years1 and remaineth above ten moneths in the womb3 so the ,camel that liveth unto fifty1 goeth with young no less then ten moneths1 and ceaseth not to grow before seven2 and so the ,elephant that liveth an hundred1 beareth its young above a year1 and arriveth unto perfection at twenty4 ,on the contrary1 the ,sheep and ,goat1 which live but eight or ten years1 go but five moneths1 and attain to their perfection at two years2 and the like proportion is observable in ,cats1 ,hares1 and ,conies4 ,and so the ,deer that endureth the womb but eight moneths1 and is compleat at six years1 from the course of ,nature1 we cannot expect to live an hundred2 nor in any proportional allowance much more then thirty4 ,as having already passed two general motions observable in all animations1 that is1 its beginning and encrease2 and having but two more to run thorow1 that is1 its state and declination2 which are proportionally set out by ,nature in every kind3 and naturally proceeding admit of inference from each other4 ,the other ground that brings its long life into question1 is the immoderate salacity1 and almost unparallel'd excess of venery1 which every ,september may be observed in this ,animal3 and is supposed to shorten the lives of ,cocks1 ,partridges1 and ,sparrows4 ,certainly a confessed and undeniable enemy unto longvity1 and that not only as a sign in the complexional desire and impetuosity1 but also as a cause in the frequent act1 or iterated performance thereof4 ,for though we consent not with that ,philosopher1 who thinks a spermatical emission unto the weight of one drachm1 is quivalent unto the effusion of sixty ounces of bloud2 yet considering the exolution and languor ensuing that act in some1 the extenuation and marcour in others1 and the visible acceleration it maketh of age in most3 we cannot but think it much abridgeth our days4 ,although we also concede that this exclusion is natural1 that ,nature it self will find a way hereto without either act or object3 ,and although it be placed among the six ,non-naturals1 that is1 such as neither naturally constitutive1 nor meerly destructive1 do preserve or destroy according unto circumstance3 yet do we sensibly observe an impotency or total privation thereof1 prolongeth life3 and they live longest in every kind that exercise it not at all4 ,,sn3 ,eunuchs and gelded creatures generally longer lived4 ,and this is true not only in ,eunuchs by ,nature1 but ,spadoes by ,art3 for castrated ,animals in every species are longer lived then they which retain their virilities4 ,for the generation of bodies is not meerly effected as some conceive1 of souls1 that is1 by ,irradiation1 or answerably unto the propagation of light1 without its proper diminution3 but therein a transmission is made materially from some parts1 with the ,idea of every one3 and the propagation of one1 is in a strict acception1 some minoration of another4 ,,sn3 ,from the parts of generation4 ,and therefore also that axiom in ,philosophy1 that the generation of one thing1 is the corruption of another3 although it be substantially true concerning the form and matter1 is also dispositively verified in the efficient or producer4 ,as for more sensible arguments1 and such as relate unto experiment3 from these we have also reason to doubt its age1 and presumed vivacity3 for where long life is natural1 the marks of age are late3 and when they appear1 the journey unto death cannot be long4 ,now the age of ,deer 7as ,aristotle not long ago observed7 is best conjectured1 by view of the horns and teeth4 ,from the horns there is a particular and annual account unto six years3 they arising first plain1 and so successively branching3 after which the judgment of their years by particular marks becomes uncertain4 ,but when they grow old1 they grow less branched1 and first do lose their ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,mu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,upsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,eta ,,with ,,perispomeni,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma or propugnacula2 that is1 their brow-antlers1 or lowest furcations next the head1 which ,aristotle saith the young ones use in fight3 and the old as needless1 have them not at all4 ,the same may be also collected from the loss of their ,teeth1 whereof in old age they have few or none before in either jaw4 ,now these are infallible marks of age1 and when they appear1 we must confess a declination3 which notwithstanding 7as men inform us in ,england1 where observations may well be made71 will happen between twenty and thirty4 ,as for the bone1 or rather induration of the ,roots of the arterial vein and great artery1 which is thought to be found only in the heart of an old ,deer1 and therefore becomes more precious in its ,rarity2 it is often found in ,deer much under thirty1 and we have known some affirm they have found it in one of half that age4 ,and therefore in that account of ,pliny1 of a ,deer with a ,collar about his neck1 put on by ,alexander the ,great1 and taken alive an hundred years after1 with other relations of this nature1 we much suspect imposture or mistake4 ,and if we grant their verity1 they are but single relations1 and very rare contingencies in individuals1 not affording a regular deduction upon the species4 ,for though ,ulysses his ,dog lived unto twenty1 and the ,athenian ,mule unto fourscore1 yet do we not measure their days by those years1 or usually say1 they live thus long4 ,nor can the three hundred years of ,john of times ,,sn3 ,psalm #ij41 or ,nestor1 overthrow the assertion of ,moses1 or afford a reasonable encouragement beyond his septuagenary determination4 ,the ground and authority of this conceit was first ,hierogliphical1 the gyptians expressing longvity by this ,animal2 but upon what uncertainties1 and also convincible falsities they often erected such ,emblems1 we have elsewhere delivered4 ,and if that were true which ,aristotle delivers of his time ,,sn3 ,histor4 animal4 lib4 #h41 and ,pliny was not afraid to take up long after1 the gyptians could make but weak observations herein2 for though it be said that neas feasted his followers with ,venison1 yet ,aristotle affirms that neither ,deer nor ,boar were to be found in ,africa4 ,and how far they miscounted the lives and duration of ,animals1 is evident from their conceit of the ,crow1 which they presume to live five hundred years2 and from the lives of ,hawks1 which 7as lian delivereth7 the gyptians do reckon no less then at seven hundred4 ,the second which led the conceit unto the ,grecians1 and probably descended from the ,egyptians was ,poetical2 and that was a passage of ,hesiod1 thus rendered by ,ausonius4 ,ter binos deciesque novem super exit in annos1 ,justa senescentum quos implet vita virorum4 ,hos novies superat vivendo gorrula cornix1 ,et quater egreditur cornicis scula cervus1 ,alipidem cervum ter vincit corvus4---- ,to ninety six the life of man ascendeth1 ,nine times as long that of the ,chough extendeth1 ,four times beyond the life of ,deer doth go1 ,and thrice is that surpassed by the ,crow4 ,so that according to this account1 allowing ninety six for the age of ,man1 the life of a ,deer amounts unto three thousand four hundred fifty six4 ,a conceit so hard to be made out1 that many have deserted the common and literal construction4 ,so ,theon in ,aratus would have the number of nine not taken strictly1 but for many years4 ,in other opinions the compute so far exceedeth the truth1 that they have thought it more probable to take the word ,genea1 that is1 a generation consisting of many years1 but for one year1 or a single revolution of the ,sun2 which is the remarkable measure of time1 and within the compass whereof we receive our perfection in the womb4 ,so that by this construction1 the years of a ,deer should be but thirty six1 as is discoursed at large in that ,tract of ,plutarch1 concerning the cessation of ,oracles2 and whereto in his discourse of the ,crow1 ,aldrovandus also inclineth4 ,others not able to make it out1 have rejected the whole account1 as may be observed from the words of ,pliny1 ,hesiodus qui primus aliquid de longvitate vit prodidit1 fabulose 7reor7 multa de hominum vo referens1 cornici novem nostras attribuit tates1 quadruplum ejus cervis1 id triplicatum corvis1 et reliqua fabulosius de ,phoenice et nymphis4 ,and this how slender soever1 was probably the strongest ground ,antiquity had for this longvity of ,animals2 that made ,theophrastus expostulate with ,nature concerning the long life of ,crows2 that begat that ,epithete of ,deer ,,sn3 ,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,epsilon,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,tau,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,alpha,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,kappa,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron ,,with ,,oxia,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,rho,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omega,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,nu,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,omicron,,greek ,,small ,,letter ,,final ,,sigma4 in ,oppianus1 and that expression of ,juvenal1 ----,longa et cervina senectus4 ,the third ground was ,philosophical1 and founded upon a probable ,reason in ,nature1 that is1 the defect of a ,gall1 which part 7in the opinion of ,aristotle and ,pliny7 this ,animal wanted1 and was conceived a cause and reason of their long life3 according 7say they7 as it happeneth unto some few men1 who have not this part at all4 ,but this assertion is first defective in the verity concerning the ,animal alledged3 for though it be true1 a ,deer hath no ,gall in the ,liver like many other ,animals1 yet hath it that part in the ,guts1 as is discoverable by taste and colour3 and therefore ,pliny doth well correct himself1 when having affirmed before it had no ,gall1 he after saith1 some hold it to be in the guts2 and that for their bitterness1 dogs will refuse to eat them4 ,the assertion is also deficient in the verity of the ,induction or connumeration of other ,animals conjoined herewith1 as having also no ,gall2 that is1 as ,pliny accounteth1 ,equi1 ,muli1 etc4 ,horses1 ,mules1 ,asses1 ,deer1 ,goats1 ,boars1 ,camels1 ,dolphins1 have no ,gall4 ,in ,dolphins and ,porpoces ,i confess ,i could find no ,gall4 ,but concerning ,horses1 what truth there is herein we have declared before2 as for ,goats we find not them without it2 what ,gall the ,camel hath1 ,aristotle declareth3 that ,hogs also have it1 we can affirm2 and that not in any obscure place1 but in the ,liver1 even as it is seated in man4 ,that therefore the ,deer is no short-lived ,animal1 we will acknowledge3 that comparatively1 and in some sense long-lived we will concede2 and thus much we shall grant if we commonly account its days by thirty six or forty3 for thereby it will exceed all other cornigerous ,animals4 ,but that it attaineth unto hundreds1 or the years delivered by ,authors1 since we have no authentick experience for it1 since we have reason and common experience against it1 since the grounds are false and fabulous which do establish it3 we know no ground to assent4 ,concerning ,deer there also passeth another opinion1 that the ,males thereof do yearly lose their pizzel4 ,for men observing the decidence of their horns1 do fall upon the like conceit of this part1 that it annually rotteth away1 and successively reneweth again4 ,now the ground hereof was surely the observation of this ,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,dasia,,greek ,,capital ,,letter ,,alpha ,,with ,,psili part in ,deer after immoderate venery1 and about the end of their ,rut1 which sometimes becomes so relaxed and pendulous1 it cannot be quite retracted3 and being often beset with flies1 it is conceived to rot1 and at last to fall from the body4 ,but herein experience will contradict us3 for ,deer which either die or are killed at that time1 or any other1 are always found to have that part entire4 ,and reason will also correct us3 for spermatical parts1 or such as are framed from the seminal principles of parents1 although homogeneous or similary1 will not admit a ,regeneration1 much less will they receive an integral restauration1 which being organical and instrumental members1 consist of many of those4 ,now this part1 or ,animal of ,plato1 containeth not only sanguineous and reparable particles3 but is made up of veins1 nerves1 arteries1 and in some ,animals1 of bones3 whose reparation is beyond its own fertility1 and a fruit not to be expected from the fructifying part it self4 ,which faculty were it communicated unto ,animals1 whose originals are double1 as well as unto ,plants1 whose seed is within themselves3 we might abate the ,art of ,taliacotius1 and the new in-arching of ,noses4 ,and therefore the fancies of ,poets have been so modest1 as not to set down such renovations1 even from the powers of their deities3 for the mutilated shoulder of ,pelops was pieced out with ,ivory1 and that the limbs of ,hippolitus were set together1 not regenerated by sculapius1 is the utmost assertion of ,poetry4 ,,chapter ,x ,of the ,king-fisher4 ,that a ,king-fisher hanged by the bill1 sheweth in what quarter the wind is by an occult and secret propriety1 converting the breast to that point of the ,horizon from whence the wind doth blow1 is a received opinion1 and very strange2 introducing natural ,weather-cocks1 and extending ,magnetical positions as far as ,animal ,natures4 ,a conceit supported chiefly by present practice1 yet not made out by ,reason or ,experience4 ,sidenote3 ,whence it is1 that some creatures presage the weather4 ,unto ,reason it seemeth very repugnant1 that a carcass or body disanimated1 should be so affected with every wind1 as to carry a conformable respect and constant habitude thereto4 ,for although in sundry ,animals we deny not a kind of natural ,meteorology or innate presention both of wind and weather1 yet that proceeding from sense receiving impressions from the first mutation of the air1 they cannot in reason retain that apprehension after death1 as being affections which depend on life1 and depart upon disanimation4 ,and therefore with more favourable ,reason may we draw the same effect or sympathie upon the ,hedg-hog1 whose presention of winds is so exact1 that it stoppeth the ,north or ,southern hole of its nest1 according to the prenotion of these winds ensuing3 which some men observing1 have been able to make predictions which way the wind would turn1 and been esteemed hereby wise men in point of weather4 ,now this proceeding from sense in the creature alive1 it were not reasonable to hang up an ,hedg-hogs head1 and to expect a conformable motion unto its living conversion4 ,and though in sundry ,plants their vertues do live after death1 and we know that ,scammony1 ,rhubarb and ,senna will purge without any vital assistance2 yet in ,animals and sensible creatures1 many actions are mixt1 and depend upon their living form1 as well as that of mistion2 and though they wholly seem to retain unto the body1 depart upon disunion4 ,thus ,glow-worms alive1 project a lustre in the dark1 which fulgour notwithstanding ceaseth after death2 and thus the ,torpedo which being alive stupifies at a distance1 applied after death1 produceth no such effect2 which had they retained in places where they abound1 they might have supplied ,opium1 and served as frontals in ,phrensies4 ,as for experiment1 we cannot make it out by any we have attempted2 for if a single ,king-fisher be hanged up with untwisted silk in an open room1 and where the air is free1 it observes not a constant respect unto the mouth of the wind1 but variously converting1 doth seldom breast it right4 ,if two be suspended in the same room1 they will not regularly conform their breasts1 but oft-times respect the opposite points of ,heaven4 ,and if we conceive that for exact exploration1 they should be suspended where the air is quiet and unmoved1 that clear of impediments1 they may more freely convert upon their natural verticity2 we have also made this way of inquisition1 suspending them in large and capacious glasses closely stopped2 wherein nevertheless we observed a casual station1 and that they rested irregularly upon conversion4 ,wheresoever they rested1 remaining inconverted1 and possessing one point of the ,compass1 whilst the wind perhaps had passed the two and thirty4 ,sidenote3 ,commonly mistaken for the true ,halcion1 ours being rather the ,ispida4 ,the ground of this popular practice might be the common opinion concerning the vertue prognostick of these ,birds2 as also the natural regard they have unto the winds1 and they unto them again2 more especially remarkable in the time of their nidulation1 and bringing forth their young4 ,for at that time1 which happeneth about the brumal ,solstice1 it hath been observed even unto a proverb1 that the ,sea is calm1 and the winds do cease1 till the young ones are excluded2 and forsake their nest which floateth upon the ,sea1 and by the roughness of winds might otherwise be overwhelmed4 ,but how far hereby to magnifie their prediction we have no certain rule2 for whether out of any particular prenotion they chuse to sit at this time1 or whether it be thus contrived by concurrence of causes and providence of ,nature1 securing every species in their production1 is not yet determined4 ,surely many things fall out by the design of the general motor1 and undreamt of contrivance of ,nature1 which are not imputable unto the intention or knowledge of the particular ,actor4 ,so though the seminality of ,ivy be almost in every earth1 yet that it ariseth and groweth not1 but where it may be supported2 we cannot ascribe the same unto the distinction of the seed1 or conceive any science therein which suspends and conditionates its eruption4 ,so if1 as ,pliny and ,plutarch report1 the ,crocodiles of gypt so aptly lay their ,eggs1 that the ,natives thereby are able to know how high the floud will attain2 it will be hard to make out1 how they should divine the extent of the inundation depending on causes so many miles remote2 that is1 the measure of showers in thiopia2 and whereof1 as ,athanasius in the life of ,anthony delivers1 the ,devil himself upon demand could make no clear prediction4 ,so are there likewise many things in ,nature1 which are the fore runners or signs of future effects1 whereto they neither concur in causality or prenotion1 but are secretly ordered by the providence of causes1 and concurrence of actions collateral to their signations4 ,it was also a custome of old to keep these ,birds in chests1 upon opinion that they prevented ,moths2 whether it were not first hanged up in ,rooms to such effects1 is not beyond all doubt4 ,or whether we mistake not the posture of suspension1 hanging it by the bill1 whereas we should do it by the back2 that by the bill it might point out the quarters of the wind2 for so hath ,kircherus described the ,orbis and the ,sea ,swallow4 ,but the eldest custome of hanging up these birds was founded upon a tradition that they would renew their feathers every year as though they were alive3 ,in expectation whereof four hundred years ago ,albertus ,magnus was deceived4 99 99 99 99 99 ,printed by ,t4 and ,a4 ,,constable1 ,printers to ,his ,majesty at the ,edinburgh ,university ,press ,transcriber's ,end ,notes ,spelling has been left as it stands in the printed original from which this text was prepared4 ,archaicisms are therefore retained1 including any variant spellings4 ,the word 'then'1 for instance1 is frequently used in lieu of the modern 'than'4 ,in the ,latin citations in the ,annotator's notes1 the semicolon is used as an abbreviation for 'que'1 as ingeniumq24 ,though the semicolon is printed closer to the preceding letter than in normal usage1 no attempt is made here to render it differently4 ,on occasion1 the modern 'itself' and 'myself' are broken across a line end without hyphenation 7e4g41 it _/ self on p4 #cce74 ,obvious printing errors1 including missing characters1 that have been corrected1 are noted here3 ,errors corrected3 p4 xxii 444l4 #a1 des ,ess4 c4 #ad4 'c' is italicized elsewhere4 p4 #gf title missing letters supplied from context4