Article I.

TO give a solid beginning to this Enquiry, we must observe, that there are three orders of Situation, in which all the parts of Animals, except­ing the Heart, are found to be placed, Above, Below, the Right and Left side, Before and Behinde: But they are equal neither originally, nor in dignity, and there is a diversity of perfection, not onely amongst them, but even also in those terms and differences whereof they are composed: For the Fore and Hinder-part are more Noble then the Right or the Left side, and they then the Upper or Lower; but yet the Fore­part [Page 19]is more Noble then the Hinder, the Right then the Left, and the Upper then Lower.

The Reason of this diversity first comes from that their three orders of Position answer to those three dimensi­ons which are to be found in all natural bodies, length, breadth and depth, as they answer to the three Species of quantity which are in all Mathematical bodies, the Line, the Surface, and the Solid. For the Line designs the Length, the Length produceth Highand Low; from the Surface comes the Breadth, and from that Right and Left; and the Solid produceth depth, as from the depth comes the Fore and Hinder-parts. Now the Line is by nature first, and more simple then the Surface, and this then the Solid; Length also naturally pre­cedes Breadth, and this is before the Depth; and in pursuit, this order of Situation of high and low is more sim­ple, and before that of Right and Left, as that is in respect of Before and Be­hinde; [Page 20]So that Nature making always its progress from things which are less perfect to those which are more so, it follows, not onely that the Line and Length are less perfect then the Solid and the Depth; But also that the same diversity is to be found in the order of Situation, which answers every one of them; and that consequently, the Fore and the Hinder-part are more noble; that of the Right and Left is so after it, and that of Upper-most and Lower­most is less, so as the first and most sim­ple of all.

In effect, we see that all things have been distributed to bodies according to the excellency which they ought to have: For those which live first grow in length, and perfecting themselves, they acquire largeness and profundity. Plants indeed have Hight and Low­ness, but are deprived of Right and Left, of Before and Behinde. Ani­mals onely possess these differences, al­though some have them not all, it be­ing [Page 21]onely reserved for those whose parts are better distinguished, and whose mo­tion is more regular.

Yet this signifies not, but that all these kindes of Situation may be in bodies purely natural, but they are un­certain, and strangers having no inter­nal principle which fixeth and deter­mines them, and its onely in relation to things animated, that they are to be ob­served therein; for what is the upper or fore-part of a pillar, may be the Basis and hinder-part, and that which is on the right, without ever changing place, may be placed on the left. But it is not so with living and animate things, in which all the differences of situation which their parts have are invariable, being fixed and determinate by the ver­tues and operations of the Soul: And thus much concerning the kindes of situation compared amongst them­selves.

But he that should consider the terms and differences of which they are all [Page 22]composed, will alwayes finde, that there is one which is more noble then the rest; because its the Principle, and the Princi­ple is more excellent then what depends on it; for the Upper is principle of the Lower, the Right of the Left, as the Fore is of the Hinder-part. In effect, the beginning is a kinde of principle, and the beginnings of the three principal operations of the Soul are made in these three different situations; for Nu­trition begins from Above, Motion from the Right, and Sense from be­fore. And of a truth, the Mouth which is the first door of those ali­ments, whence they are afterwards di­stributed through the whole body, is the Upper-part of all creatures, as the Root is that of Plants, whence it is that the Latin Tongue calls those Roots which are deep, high; And it hath been said, that Man was a Tree reversed, not because his hairs are upmost, which have some resemblance with Moss, and [...] downwards.

But because that his Mouth is direct­ly opposite to that of Trees; for it is without doubt, that the Root is the Mouth of Plants, since they thereby take their nourishment, and that from thence its carried to all its other parts. Sence also begins Before; for besides the Sence of touching, whose right it is to be dispersed over all the parts of an Animal, all the rest of the Sences are placed Before; because the Sences are to conduct and regulate Motion, which is ever made forward, and which com­menceth on the right side, as we shall shew hereafter; whence it follows, the Upper, Right and Fore-side are the Principles of the rest, and consequent­ly more noble then they.

Article II.

NOw Nature alwayes holds this Maxime, that it placeth the most excellent things in those places which are most noble, as may be seen in that [Page 24]order wherein she hath disposed all the principal parts of the Universe; & there­fore it must needs be, that in Man, who is the Epitomy and Abridgement of the World, the parts must also have a rank conformable to their dignity; And we may say, not onely that the most excel­lent have the most noble situation, but also that those which have the most noble situation, are the most excellent. For from thence it follows, that the Hands, which are the highest, are more excellent then the Feet, which are the lowest; and that Hand which is on the right side, then that on the left. But as the excellency of the parts is drawn from the profit which they afford the Creature, we must enquire according to the Design which we have under­taken, to what use the hands are, where­in they are of more use then the Feet, and what use there is made of the right more then of left.

Article III.

FIrst, its certain that all Creatures which are composed of blood, and which for that reason are called perfect, have been provided with some organs to remove themselves from place to place, which answer those four first differences of situation which we observed, to wit, upwards and downwards to the right and left; For these were no instruments which answer the two latter, to wit, Before and Behinde, there being no beast which naturally moves backward, and the rest of the Organs are sufficient to satisfie that motion which is made forwards, as experience witnesseth. This truth appears in all kinds of per­fect Animals, since most part of those which are Terrestial are four-footed; Birds have two, with two wings; Fishes have four to smim withal, and Serpents make four several plights as they crawle. And all these parts are so necessary unto [Page 26]them for that progressive motion which is natural unto them, that if they want­ed any one of them they could not per­form it without pain; for Birds can­not well flye when their legs are broken, nor Fishes smim when they have lost a fin, nor Serpents creep, if you cut off those parts of their bodies which make the last plights of their motions. Whence we must conclude, that the Hands which are in the rank of those four instruments, which are destined for progressive moti­on, serve to that of Man, and were he deprived of them, he could never per­form this motion with so much facility. Indeed a Man cannot run without a great deal of trouble when his Hands are tied; we shut and clinch our fists when we would jump, and in our ordinary walk, the arm alwayes retires back when the foot of the same side advan­ceth; whereto may be added, that in Infancy they serve the feet, that when we fall we cannot rise up our selves without them, or if we must rise or defend diffi­cult [Page 27]places, they are no less usefull then our feet; which are evident signs that these parts contribute to the progressive motion of Man.

But as Nature is a great House-wife of those things which she makes, and that she gets all the services she can from them, she contents her self not with this employment which she gives the Hands; she hath also destined them to so many other purposes, that its almost impossible to reckon or remark them; so that we have been constrained to bring them in parallel with the under­standing, and to say, that as that was the form of forms, having them all in its power; the Hands also were the in­strument of instruments, having alone the vertues of all the rest; for its by them that man takes and keeps those things which are necessary and pleasant; its by them that he defends himself, and overcomes those which are hurtfull or mischievous;

To conclude, they are the principle [Page 28]workers of all Arts, and the general instruments which the minde useth to bring forth its fashion, and most profita­ble inventions; and without doubt, they give Man so great an advantage above all other Creatures, that if we cannot say as that ancient Philosopher did, that he is wise, because he hath hands, yet may we assure it, that he appears wise, because he hath hands: And now we need not wonder that they have been placed in the highest place, as being the most honorable place; and that Na­ture hath brought them as neer as she could to the seat of Reason and of the Sences, with which they have so much commerce, and so great a tye.

Article IV.

BUt although she hath placed them in the same rank, in that respect, yet are they not therefore of the same consideration. She treats the Right as the elder, and the first in dignity: [Page 29]For if the most active are the most ex­cellent, and most considerable things, the Right Hand being stronger, and more agile then the Left, must also be more excellent: Now it hath more strength and agility, because it hath more heat, which is the Source of those qualities; and it hath more heat, [ Ari­stotle 3. de part.] not onely because it is of the same side with the right Ven­tricle of the heart where the blood is hottest and most boiling, not onely be­cause the Liver, which is the Source of blood, is neerer unto it, not onely be­cause the veins of all the right parts are more full according to Hippocrates, but also because it is placed on the Right side, where Motion ought alwayes to begin.

For as the Spirits are the principal Organs of all the Actions of the body, and that Nature send them more abun­dantly, where they ought to be strongest, and most painfull; we need not doubt but motion being to begin on the right [Page 30]side, and all those preparatives which are necessary for it, and the principal effect it requires, being to be done in that place; there must needs be a grea­ter quantity of spirits flowing thither, which heat and fortifie it by the heat it carrieth along with it, and by those se­cret influences of those principles of life which she communicates unto it; whence it comes that the parts them­selves which serve nothing at all to mo­tion, and are on that side, resent that force and that vigor which was destined for that onely action; for the right eye is stronger, and more exact then the left; and the rectitude of the sight which is made by both together, de­pends absolutely from it; all those Or­gans which serve for generation, and are on that side, form males, and those on the left females; and speaking generally, sickness most commonly as­saults the left parts, as those which have least heat, and consequently are weakest.

Article V.

NOw that Motion naturally begins on the right side, is a truth which connot be contested, if we consider what is done in all Animals; for the four-footed begin to go with the right foot forwards; others which have but two alwayes lift up the right first; a man can better bear a burthen on his left then on the right shoulder, because the principle of motion must be free and undisturbed: And Painters never for­get in the posture they place their Fi­gures in, to make them keep their left foot foremost, as commonly we do when we stand upright; forasmuch as it is that posture which brings the body to a condition to move when it would march. There are even Creature to be found, who by reason of their figure, could not have those differences of Right and Left, as Purple-shel fish, and all the rest whose shels are in form of a [Page 32]Snails, yet are they not deprived of Right, because when they ought to move, they must necessarily have the principle of motion.

All these truths being thus therefore established, to wit, that there are places and parts in the body, which are more and less noble; that the most noble are destined there to place the most excel­lent parts; that the excellency of the parts is deduced from the profit they afford, and that consequently the hands, who for several services which they ren­der, are placed on high, as in the most noble place, ought to be more excellent then the Feet:

It remains now that we should shew that they receive a most considerable assistance from the principles of life; and that all the noble parts communi­cate unto them some greater vertue then to any other whatsoever.

Article VI.

TO which purpose we must first ob­serve, that Nature hath more care of those parts which are the most excel­lent; that she commonly forms them first, and that she useth more art in making them, and more foresight in preserving them, then she doth in the rest. This appears in the order she keeps at their first conformation. For after the Heart and the Brain, which she first rudely forms, the eyes which without doubt are the most delicate and the most noble Organs, appear before all the rest of the parts, even before there is any sign of the Liver, Spleen or Reins. The Mouth in all Creatures is also one of the first formed after the eyes; the Organs of the progressive Motion are afterwards seen, and then we observe the Liver, the Spleen, and the rest of the bowels, as the last and most exact observations on Anatomy witness; Be­sides, [Page 34]we see that the higher parts are sooner finished, and that in Children they are greater and stronger then the lower; whence it is that they have all the same proportion which is in the sta­ture of Dwarfs, and that they cannot go, by reason their legs are too short and too weak.

Now its certain, that all the care which Nature takes, either in forming them first, or in advancing their per­fection, depends from the natural heat which she communicates in greater a­bundance; for it is the general instrument of all her actions, and the true subject wherein all her faculties recide; So that if there are parts which are first formed, it must needs be that the first portion of this heat which is alwayes most pure, and of most efficacy in its Scource, must have been dispenced unto them; and if they perfect themselves before the rest, it must be by a particular application of this quality, which acts therein more strongly then in any other part, and [Page 35]which for that cause is continually sup­plyed by the influence of the Spirits which augment and fortifie it: whence it follows, that the hands, which are formed before so many parts, and which are sooner found perfect and compleat then the feet, have also had a more ad­vantageous share of natural heat, and a more ample distribution of the Spirits then they have had.

Article VII.

BUt if we will consider these parts in a more perfect condition, and in a time when they are able to perform the principal functions which they are de­stined unto; its certain, that the Heart, the Liver, and the Brain do communi­cate them some greater vertue then they do to the rest of the parts; for besides, the actions of a natural and sensitive life which they have in common with them, progressive motion is particular­ly reserved unto them. So that to per­form [Page 36]this action, wherein is more pains, and whereto more strength is requi­red, they need have a greater help, and a stronger influence from those principal Members, then is necessary for the rest of the actions of life. So they must have more blood, more heat, and more spirits; more blood to render their con­sistence more firm, more natural heat to inspire more strength in them, and more animal spirits to give them beyond Sence the motive faculty: for without those conditions, those Organs were useless, and no motions could be made. In a word, since the instruments are no instruments but by the vertue which they draw from the cause which imploys them; it must needs be that those parts which are instruments of motion, must re­ceive also from the principles of motion that vertue which make them act, & con­sequently, they must have this vertue more then the rest; they have more spirits to afford in them, they have therefore also more communication with those [Page 37]noble parts, which are the Sources of the spirits and of this vertue.

This reason is indeed common to the hands and feet in respect of the other parts; but if we add hereunto the ad­vantage which the higher situation hath above the lower, the excellency of the parts there placed, and those particular cares which Nature takes of them, as we have shown, it will make it apparent, that in this distribution of spirits and of vertue, the hands have had the greater share, and consequently, that they have more communication with the noble parts then the feet, or any other member whatsoever.

Article VIII.

BUt besides this communication which they have with them, by means of the veins, arteries, and nerves, there are others more secret, which have more obscure wayes and passages, and yet more clearly discover the truth which we seek; for if it be true [Page 38]that the lines in the hand observe the length and the shortness of life, accor­ding as they are long and short, as Ari­stotle and experience teach us; There must not onely be a greater relation, and a stronger tye of the principles of life with it, then there is with all the rest of the parts, where these marks are not to be found; but its also neces­sary, that the noble parts, which are the Sources wherein these principles of life are shut up, should communicate un­to it some secret influence, which can have no relation to those common and manifest vertues, which it receives from them; since the blood nor the spirits, the heat nor motion which they distri­bute unto it, serves not at all to render those lines long or short, or to mark the length or shortness of life.

Article IX.

THat secret Sympathy which is be­twixt the hand and the noble parts being then presupposed, until we can [Page 39]more fully prove it by more just and particular observations, we must esta­blish it for a certain principle, that Na­ture never confounds the vertues, prin­cipally those which are formal and speci­fick, which have never so little opposi­tion amongst themselves, and that she ever as much as she can separates them: for without producing the maximes of Astrology, which hath divided Heaven into so many Planets and Stars, into so many Signs and Houses different in ver­tue, there is no order of things in the Universe wherein this truth is not ac­knowledged. Amongst perfect Ani­mals, the qualities which are necessary to generation have been divided into two Sexes; in every of them the facul­ties which govern life have every one their particular seat; and all the Sences have their proper Organs, and their functions separated. Examine Plants, Minerals and Stones, and you shall finde the same distinction, and without trou­bling our selves to sever them, as we [Page 40]might: It will be sufficient to observe in the Load-stone, where it is so sensi­ble, that without blindness of stupidity we need not doubt of it; for in a Ho­mogene body whose composition is every way equal, and wherein it seems that all the parts ought to have the same power; yet its certain, that there are some which have been partakers of magnetick qualities, and that there are two Poles where they have been sepa­rately placed: and if what hath been lately pretended to have been observed, is true, that there is a first Meridian in this stone, all the rest must be so too, and consequently, they must every one have a different inclination. So true it is, that Nature loves to separate Vertues, as it is that she hates Confusion and Mix­ture: In effect, did she not exactly ob­serve this order, things would often be done contrary to design, one quality would destroy another, and effects would not answer their causes, nor the end they are destined unto.

Article X.

IF this be so, and if there are particular Vertues which the noble parts com­municate to the Hand, they must not confound themselves together; they must not be placed in the same part; and there­fore there must be a place destined for that of the Liver, another for that of the Heart, and so for all the rest.

But the greatest difficulty is, in what parts and particular places these influ­ences are received; for although Chi­romancy assures us, that the fore-finger hath a sympathy with the Liver, the se­cond with the Spleen, the third with the heart &c. Yet it produceth no con­vincing proof of this truth; and what experiences so ever it produceth to maintain it, they still leave those in doubt, who will not be satisfied with their reasons, and they seem often to be fancies and grocesios in the Minde, forged only by humane curiosity; and of a truth, who ever could well have [Page 42]established this sympathy by other ob­servations, then those which are fetched from the stock of Chiromancy; and had Medicine or some other part of Physick furnished them, he might have boasted to have discovered the Mistery of this Science, and to have found the onely foundation whereon the truth of all the rest was grounded: for my part, I pretend not to produce all those which are necessary to make a full proof thereof; yet I beleeve I have some which may commence it, and which having demonstrated one part, will leave an invincible presumption for all the rest, with hopes that a man might after a diligent observation of what happens to that admirable Organ, perfect the same.

Article XI.

THe first which we therefore ought to propose, is to shew the consent and sympathy which the Liver hath with [Page 43]the fore-finger, called the Index, and this is drawn from Physick, which teacheth us that Leprosie hath its Source and principal Seat in the Liver; and that one of the first signes whereby it is first made known appears on that finger: for when all the Muscles of the hand, and even all the body are sull and juycy, those which serve for the motion of that finger are dried and withered; princi­pally that which is in the Thenar, that is to say, in the space which is betwixt that finger and the thumb, wherein all what is fleshy wasts it self, and nothing remains but the skin and fibres which lie flatted to the bones.

Now this cannot thus happen but that there must be some Analogy, and some secret commerce betwixt the Li­ver and that part, since it is one of the first which resents the alteration which is made in its substance, it being truly said, that there is no disease which so much corrups the nature of the Liver, and destroys not onely its vertue, but [Page 44]even its substance as this, which for that cause is called the universal Can­cer of the Liver, and of all the mass of blood; Galen was without doubt igno­rant of this sympathy, which ratioci­nation alone could never have discover­ed, whereas to have been instructed therein, it must have been revealed to him in a dream; for he reports, that having been assaulted by a violent grief, which caused him to fear an impostune in the Liver, he was in his sleep advi­sed to cause that Artery to be opened, which runs all along that finger; and that this remedy in an instant appeas­ed the grief which he had resented for a long time before; which evi­dently witnesseth, that there is some particular communication betwixt those two parts, and some secret friendship which binds them together.

Article XII.

THe second Observation is to shew that also which the Heart hath with the third, which is called the Ring-finger, because we there usually wear Rings; for it is a wonderfull thing, when the Gout falls on the hands, it is the last finger it assaults, and Levinus re­ports, that in all those whom he hath seen labor of that disease, their third finger of the left hand was alwayes free, whilst all the rest were cruelly tormented with grief and inflamation.

Now as the parts resist sickness more or less, according as they have more or less strength, and that strength depends from the more or less of natural heat which they have; this finger must needs have more of it then the rest, since it resists ill more then they can. And be­cause its share of natural heat comes either from the first conformation of the parts, or from the influence which the [Page 46]principle of heat communicates unto them; and that there is no likelihood but that this finger which hath the same structure, and the same composition as the rest have, must have more of that first and original heat which is given unto it at the birth; it follows, that that which it hath comes from the influ­ence which the principle of the heat sends unto it more abundantly then unto the rest: And consequently, it hath more communication, more depen­dance, and more connexion with the heart, which without dispute is the prin­ciple of heat, then all the rest of the fingers together have.

This Sympathy was not unknown to Antiquity, and History teacheth us, that of old Phisitians did believe that this fin­ger had some cordial vertue, being used privatively from all the rest, to those Medicaments which they put into their potions and Antidotes; whence it is they have called it the Medical finger, which the Latine retains; and that its [Page 47]one of the reasons for which it ever wore rings; and that divers apply re­medies for the weakness of the heart, as Levinus says he hath often experi­enced, and for the cure of intermitting fevers, as some still do with good suc­cess; its also long since that men have been troubled to finde the cause of that Intelligence, and of the relation which is betwixt those two parts. For some, as Appian in Aulus Gellius, say, that there is a nerve that proceeds from the heart, and ends in that finger; others have affirmed, that it was an artery which made this colliation, and that its manifestly felt beat in women that lie in, in those which are tired with labour, and in all those diseases wherein the heart labours.

But although this latter opinion be the more probable, yet it clears not quite the difficulty, because all the other fingers have an artery as well as that, which comes from the same branch, and from the same Source as that, adding [Page 48]also that it is not necessary that there should be manifest conduits to carry these vertues: Nature, as Hippocrates says, making wayes and secret paths, not onely to give a passage to its faculties, but even to the humors themselves which she would drive out.

Article XIII.

I Could add for a third Observation The Sympathy betwixt the Spleen and the middle-finger, the wonderfull effects which the opening of the Salva­rella produceth in the diseases of the Speen: For this vein commonly be­twixt the middle and the third finger, as Hippocrates saith, or betwixt this and the little one, sending up some branches to the Medium, we may very probably beleeve, that the vertue of the Spleen is through that vein carried to that fin­ger, and that the third being occupied by the influence of the Heart, it cannot [Page 49]receive that of the Spleen, if it be true that the vertues confound not themselves, as we have demonstrated. In effect, what ever our new Practitioners say, Experi­ence joyned with the authority of the first Masters of the Art is stronger then all those reasons which they can produce; for besides that it is dangerous to sub­mit all the Rules of Physick to ratioci­nation, which is often weak and deceit­full, and to forsake the opinion of the Ancients, who have been more just ob­servers of things then those which came after them; I may say of a truth, that having more then threescore times made overture of that vein in quartain Agues, it never failed, after due pre­parations, either to cause the Fever to cease, or to make the fits the lighter. Let them not go about to reason on the distribution or greatness of the vessels; as the same stock may have several branches which have not the same vertue, and that some of them bear flowers or fruits, and others which [Page 50]have none; So although all the veins of the Arm and of the hand come from the same stock, yet have they not the same employments, and are but Channels whereby several faculties may flow; so that that which the Spleen sends may wholly pass to the Salvarella, without imparting it self to the rest; even as the parts discharge themselves onely on those which are particularly affected with them, although they have con­nexion with others by their vessels, and by their situation, whence those seve­ral transports of humors, and those changes which sickness makes from one place to another, happens, as hereafter we shall more amply declare.

As for the largeness of the veins which render the evacuation the more profitable then are those of the small ones, its a true thing when its necessa­ry to diminish the universal fulness of the body; but to discharge a small part the least often, so as they are near un­to, and that they have some secret so­ciety [Page 51]with it, perform it with more safe­ty, and with more efficacy then the greater: In fine, since it is a received opinion from all times, that the opening of that vein is profitable to the diseases of the Spleen, as may be seen in the writings of Hippocrates, of Gaien, and of all the Arabians; its not probable it should have been approved by such great men, and should have out-lived so many ages, and have come to us, with­out having been maintained by experi­ence, since reason could give us no foun­dation for such a belief; and if by this means this remedy hath been made known, we ought not strictly to ex­amine the reasons no more then the pur­gative faculties, or any other specifick vertues which Physick abounds with­all.

To return again to the first proof which we have left; we said, that this observation might be made use of, to establish the sympathy of the Spleen with the second finger; we might also [Page 52]add the History which Hippocrates re­ports in the fourth of the Popular Di­seases, of the woman whose Hypocon­dryes were so streightned, and her re­spiration so hindred, to whom there happened on the eleaventh day a fluxion and inflammation on that same finger, whereby for a time she found her self eased, although afterwards the violence of the fever and impostume which was formed in her bowels, brought her to her death. Whence we may conjecture, that a portion of that humour which was in the Spleen, discharged it self on the finger, as on a part which had connexi­on and consent with it, and that this lit­tle discharge afforded her some ease; but because all the cause of the ill could not be contained in so small a room, the rest of it caused the imposthumation whereof she died; yet to speak freely, these are but conjectures which we bring in parallel with the foregoing observati­ons, which seem demonstrations of the Truth which we seek.

Article XIV.

ANd it were to be wished that we had the like, to shew distinctly the rest of those sympathies which the other interiour parts have with other parts of the Hand: But from the negligence men have had to finde them, we are ob­liged still to speak truth, that since those of the Heart and Liver are not to be doubted, the rest must needs be so, although they appear not so manifestly unto us; and that not onely the Brain and other parts which have a publick and principal function, as well as the Heart and Liver, but also the Spleen, the Stomach, the Lungs, the Kidneys, and perhaps others also have every one in the Hand their proper and affected place, with which they have consent and communication.

Article XV.

SO that we may affirm, and for a proof of this secret intelligence which the parts have one with another, and for the honour of that whereof we discourse, that the Hand and the Face contain an abridgement of all the parts of the Body; for this is an Epitomy of all the outward Members, having no part which hath not its particular and manifest relation with some one of them, as that also hath of all the interior parts, having no place which hath not its colligation and sympathy with some one of them: And with­out doubt, its one of the principal rea­sons for which they have both had a constitution of hides altogether particu­lar, and that the skin which is every­where else separate from the Muscles, is so united to that, that its impossible to be separated: Nature which hath desti­ned those parts to be as it were Look­ing-glasses wherein all the rest ought to be represented, would in them have the [Page 55]flesh joyn to the hide, that the impressi­on which it receives of the neves, veins and arteries which are shed abroad in them, might the more easily commu­nicate it self, and appear the more rea­dily outwards. That which is also to be found in the Soles of the Feet, which in some manner participate the same ad­vantages which the hands have, & where­on Podomancy hath been established, which promiseth the same things that Chiromancy doth, but with less success, for those reasons which we shall deduce; Howsoever it be, its an admirable thing, and in my opinion, not enough conside­red, that there is none of the marks on the Face, which we commonly call Moles, but another is to be found in some part of the Body certain and de­termined, which particularly answers thereunto; for if any be on the fore­head, there will be another on the brest, and according as that is in the middle, high or low, on this or that side, this will have the same difference in its situati­on; [Page 56]for one on the cheeks, you shall have another on the thighs; if on the brows, another will be on the shoul­ders; if on the ears, another on the arms, and so for the rest. Now we can­not say that this correspondence is sim­ply in those marks, since all of them are formed of the same matter, and that consequently they cannot have more re­lation one with another, but they must be in the very same parts; and that the so­ciety which they have together must be the cause that the one cannot be mark­ed, but its correspondent must at the same time suffer the same impression; we see likewise, that besides the secret consent which they may have together, a sensible and manifest relation in the situation, and in the structure which they have; for the breast, which is that part of the body which is below the head the most flat & bony, answers directly to the fore-head, which hath the same quali­ties; the thighs which are on the sides, and are very fleshy, relate to the cheeks [Page 57]which are even so; the brows to the shoulders, by reason of the eminency which both of them have; the ears to the arms; being both advanced, and as it were without the work; and so of the rest.

Yet all this signifies not that this re­semblance is the true Source of this sym­pathy; its neither just nor exact enough to produce such like effects; and its ne­cessary there should be some secret bond which binds these parts one with another, and which must be the principal cause of this wonderful har mony which is amongst them, whereof these natural Characters are unreproachable witnesses.

Article XVI.

BUt it is not onely betwixt the ex­terior and manifest parts that this society is to be found; there is yet ano­ther which is more general, which was known by Hippocrates, and serves for the ground-work of that ingenious di­vision of the veins which he hath made in his Book of Bones; for that admira­ble [Page 58]person, having considered the several transports of humors, and change of diseases, which so often happens of some certain parts to others, hath observed those veins whereby it might be effect­ed, and which were to be opened for their cure; and to observe a method which might avoid confusion, he esta­blished several Heads, and as it were divers Articles, in which he began the distribution of those vessels; for he placed the first at the Heart, the second at the Reins, the third at the Liver, the fourth at the eyes, the fifth at the Head, whence he makes four pair of veins to issue, which afterwards spread themselves into several places.

Article XVII.

NOt that he did beleeve that those were the first Sources whence the veins draw their origine, as Aristotle, Galen, and almost all their Sectators have imposed it on him, since he knew [Page 59]that they were all rooted in the Liver, whence they distribute themselves to all the parts of the body, to convey nou­rishment unto them; as in pursuit he makes it appear in the distribution which he makes of the Hepatick vein, & what he hath also reported in his second Book of Popular Diseases; but it was to remark the consent which there was be­twixt those five parts with the rest, and those sicknesses and symptomes which they mutually communicated to one another.

So when he says that the left eye re­ceives a vein from the right eye, and this one from the left; this must not be litterally taken, as if they truly took their origine from those parts; but its to shew that the diseases of one eye are communicable to the other, as if they had veins which carried them directly thither. Its truely by the means of veins that this communication is made, and these veins part even from a common branch; but its so far off from the eyes, [Page 60]that we cannot precisely say, that they send veins to one another, unless it be in consideration of the sympathy which is betwixt them. And this is so true, that often even he considers not the continuity of the veins in the distributi­on which he makes, since he shews that the Head and the Lungs have a consent with the Spleen, although the veins of the Spleen are not united nor continued with those of these parts: because its sufficient for the consent he speaks of, that these veins should have communication together by some means or other, as shall be said here­after.

But the more particularly to make the secret and profit of this admirable distribution appear, we shall examine some of the Articles: for when he teacheth us, that of these four pair of veins which issue from the Head, there is one which hath two branches which passes from the Temples, and descends into the Lungs, whence the one passeth [Page 61]from the right side to the left, and goes into the Spleen, and into the left Rein, and the other parts from the left side, and goes to the Liver and right Rein, and then they end both in the Hemorroid veins. Doth he not thereby demon­strate, not onely why the opening of the Hemorroids serves to the Nephri­ticks, and to those who have the Plu­risie and Peripneunomy, but why also their suppression causeth the Dropsie and the Ptisick? for although there are other places wherein it seems that the reflux of the blood which they con­tain, might be made; yet the consent they have with the Liver and the Lungs, is the cause that it is not elsewhere effected: And without doubt, those branches which descending go from the right to the left, and from the left to the right, observe the cause which we have so unprofitably sought, why those imposthumes which are made from above downwards, are not alwayes found on the same side where the Source [Page 62]of the Disease is, but sometimes on the right, and sometimes on the left; al­though those which are made from be­low upwards keep still the rectitude of the part wherein the seat of the malady is; for without this distribution of veins its impossible to give a reason of all their accidents.

Without which we should not yet know why the Breast and Genitals have so great a correspondence betwixt them; that the Cough ceaseth when they are tumified; that the swelling dissipates when the Cough comes, and that even the swelling of the veins, which hap­pens unto them, corrects those defects which render the voice wheazing and shrill.

To conclude, its the onely secret whereby Natures wayes are discovered in the transport of the humors which she makes from one part to another, and to discern those veins which are to be opened in every sickness. For although they have all one root, although many [Page 63]of them have common branches which equally ought to distribute unto them the blood and humours which they contain; yet the correspondence and friendship which is betwixt the parts, obligeth Nature to drive them rather through one vein then another, and choosing that which is most fit for it, she leaves the rest which are neer unto it, and have the same origine.

This evidently appears in the sympa­thy which we have before urged with such conducing examples; for very probably its through the veins and arteries that this secret vertue runs which the Heart and Liver communi­cates to some of the fingers, whilst the rest of those which are of the Hand are not therein employed; and although they issue out of the same branch, yet there is but one which bears this vertue from the heart, and another that of the Liver; otherwise there would be no determinate place to receive their influence, and all the [Page 64]fingers of the hand which have veins and arteries, would equally receive it, which is contrary to experience.

To speak the truth also, all these Vessels are but Channels and Conduits, which cannot, more then those of Fountains, give any motion to the hu­mours, but its the spirits onely which carry and draw them to those places whereto they are ordered; and as the consent which the Members have one with another is entertained by means of those spirits, we cannot doubt but the blood wherewith they are mixt goes not as they do from one part to another, and but that in pursuit it makes that admi­rable Harmony of the veins which Hip­pocrates hath observed.

For without doubt, this is the Foun­dation whereon he and the ancient Ma­sters in Physick have observed in one and the same Member, veins which had correspondence with several parts; as in the arm, the Cephalick, the He­patick, and the Splenetick, which they [Page 65]have alwayes opened of course in the particular diseases of those parts, not sticking at those weak reasons which the inspection of bodies and love of novel­ty hath since authorized.

Article XVIII.

ANd certainly had we not had recourse to this direction of the Spirits, we should never have been able to have gi­ven a reason for the rectitude which Na­ture observes in her motions when she is absolute Mistress thereof, and whom Physick imitates in the evacuations which it ordains; for when by the in­flammations of the Liver the right ear grows red; that ulcers happen on the right hand or foot; that we bleed out of the right nostril, or that there is an imposthume in the right ear; and that on the contrary, all the same accidents happen on the left side, from the in­flammations of the Spleen; when I say Physick commands us to let blood on [Page 66]the same side the malady is, and teach­eth us, that all the evacuations which are made on the contrary side are dange­rous, if made of themselves, or useless if done by Art. What other reason is there of this regularity which can satis­fie the minde more then this which we have produced? for what is said of the right fibres which enter into the com­position of the vessels, whereby some will have the humors to be drawn, its altogether impertinent; since they are unable to make this attraction, as we have elsewhere demonstrated. That they are equally on all the sides of the vessels, and consequently cannot de­termine the motion of the humors to the one sooner then to another; that there are not alwayes fibres to fa­vour this rectitude, since from the Spleen to the left nostril there can be none, the veins of the nose proceeding from the vena cava, with which the Spleen hath no connexion: and that in fine, the humors which we finde out of [Page 67]the vessels, those simple vapours and qualities communicate themselves, from one part to another, after the same manner, without need of any fibres to agitate the business, and which if there were any, would be useless for the trans­porting of vapours and qualities.

To say also that this is done by secret conduits which are to be found in the flesh, and which move from below up­wards, whereof those which are on the one side have no communication with those on the other: Its a pure imagina­tion which hath no probability, since these evacuations are most commonly made by the veins; and that the hu­mors which run by those secret Con­duits must enter into the veins, where notwithstanding there are no passages, there must also Conduits be found which must go cross, since the humors somtimes go from the right side to the left, some­times from the fore to the hinder parts, and most commonly from the center to the circumference. Beyond all, in either [Page 68]of these opinions we cannot see what the danger would be, were not this recti­tude observed in the evacuation of humors.

But supposing that its done by the direction of the spirits, its easie to judge that Nature must be very highly op­prest when she observes not that order which was prescribed unto her; and when she wanders from her ordinary road, to fly from the Enemy which pres­seth her; for its the reason for which those motions which she makes in sharp Fevers in equal dayes are very dangerous; be­cause its a sign of the violence which she suffers, and of the disorder wherein the greatness of the ill hath cast her, which makes her forget the odd dayes in which she ought to assault cho­ler, which is the cause of those di­seases.

However it be, the rectitude we men­tioned, infallibly comes from the spirits, which lead the humors within the com­pass of one half of the body, without car­rying [Page 69]them to one another, unless there be some great impediment; for Nature takes so much care for the preservation of living and animal things, that she hath divided them all into two halfs; that if it happened the one should suffer any alteration, the other might save it self therefrom, and so preserve in that the Nature of the whole: Now this division is real and manifest in some subjects, as in grains and seeds of Plants, which all are composed of two portions, which may be separated, and in all the Members of Animals which have them double; in others it is obscure, and ap­pears not in an actual separation of the parts, but onely in the operations, which shew that they have every one of them their distinct jurisdiction, and their dif­ferent interests, as that is whereof we speak, which distinguisheth the body into two halfs, the one of which is right, the other left; such also is that which is to be found in those members which are but One, as the Brain, the Tongue, [Page 70]the Nose, &c. where we often see the one half assaulted by an ill, and the other exempt from it, although in themselves there is not any separa­tion.

If it therefore be true, that Nature to preserve the one half of the body, chargeth the other with all the disorder which happens unto it, and hinders those humors which afflict it from issu­ing out of their bounds, to cast it self on the other; we cannot doubt but the Spirits which are the first and principal Organs will serve her in this underta­king, and but that it is they which carry the humors from one place to another in the compass prescribed unto them by her.

So that if it should happen that to make this transport it were necessary to make use of the veins which are on the other side, they for that forget not Na­tures design, nor those orders which they have received, and do but onely pass, if we may so speak, into the neigh­bours [Page 71]limits, to arrive at that place whereto they ought to come. Thus when to discharge the Spleen from those hu­mors which incommodate it, a bleeding of the Nose happens to the left nostril; they must of necessity pass from the veins of the Spleen into the vena cava, which is on the right side; but the spi­rits know how so to direct them, that they at last return to the same line, and into that half of the body wherein the Spleen resides: But its to enter too far into the secrets of Physick; its suffici­ent to say that the communication which the veins have one with another in that ingenious distribution which Hippocrates hath made, proceeds from the Spirits which carry the humors from one to another, according to the relation and consent which the parts have together, or according to that re­ctitude which they keep amongst them­selves.

Article XIX.

TO return to the sympathy which the inward members have with the parts of the hand, I conceive that the reasons which we have deduced to maintain it, if they do not altogether convince the most opinionated, yet will they at least leave in their mindes great suspition of the truth thereof: And I doubt not but Chiromancy ought to rest satisfied, since they establish what til now was unknown unto it, the princi­pal of its foundations; and that it will af­terwards be easie for it to uphold it with the maximes of Astrology, which is to furnish it with the most part of its rules, and be security for the greatest of its promises.

In effect, if it be true that the in­ward parts are governed by the Planets, and that they receive from the Stars some particular influence, as Astrology teacheth; it must needs be, that with [Page 73]the vertue which those parts send to the hand, that which the Planets communi­cate unto them, must also be carried unto them. And at the same finger where the heart for an example causeth an influence of its vettue; that Planet which hath the direction of the heart must also dispence his: It being not probable that this should stop at the heart, whilst that dispenceth to the hands what is proper and natural unto it. Since supposing the truth of celestial influences we must say, that of these two vertues, there is but one contracted, which is the onely essential disposition and specifick property of every part. Now so it is, that in a conclusion in Astrology proved by its principles and observations, that the Liver is govern­ed by Jupiter, the Spleen by Saturne, the heart by the Sun, and so for the rest. The first finger must therefore be be governed by Jupiter, the second by Saturne, the third by the Sun, &c. since these principal parts have a sympa­thy, [Page 74]and consent with those fingers and communicate with them the vertue which they have; neither need we won­der, that Chiromancy hath changed the order of the Planets in the hand, nor ask why it hath rather placed Jupi­ter on the fore-finger, and the Sun on the third, then in any other place, be­cause the nature of the Heart and Liver, and the sympathy which they have with those fingers, hath remarked those places, as the particular houses which these Planets have in the Hand, as they have in Heaven those which are affected unto them.

All the difficulty reduceth it self to this point, to know whether these stars do onely govern the principal parts of the body, and whether they communi­cate any secret vertue unto them, which causeth the good or ill disposition which they have.

But to urge this question as far as it might go, and to examine all the conse­quences and circumstances with that se­verity [Page 75]which Philosophy hath used in these matters: besides that, it were to put to Arbitration those truths which Astrology placeth in the rank of things already judged, which its most opiniona­ted Enemies are for the most part forced to confess:

This would require a Discouse which would pass the bounds of our de­signe, and offend the very method wherewith all Sciences should be trea­ted; for it will not give us leave to doubt or convert those things which we meet with in it, and particularly defends us to censure the Principles whereupon they are established, and make those pass for currant which are taken from the conclusions of superior Sciences, how doubtfull soever they are, with the same priviledge as the Maximes and common Notions of the Mathematicks prevail. Its sufficient for Chiroman­cy that Physick maintains its first foundation; all what it receives after­wards from Astrology may be allowed [Page 76]it, or at least brought to a pause, un­til we examine the grounds of Astrolo­gy it self.

Article XX.

YEt that we may not leave a suspiti­on that those conclusions which are drawn from thence for its principles, are altogether imaginary, and contrary to the truth; we shall make it appear by some observations which cannot be dis­puted, that there are parts of the body under the particular direction of some of the Planets; and this will be nothing difficult for some of them; and al­though rejecting those experiences wherewith Astrology might furnish us on this occasion, we have not enough of others to make an absolute proof of this Truth, yet the first may seem to pre­judge the rest, and will leave a well founded conjecture for us to beleeve, that every member is governed by one of those Stars, and that that Principle [Page 77]which Astrology hath made for Chiro­mancy is not ill established.

Article XXI.

LEts therefore begin with the Brain. No man will contest, but that the Moon hath a secret Empire over it, and but that she makes it more manifestly sensible of her power, then any of the rest; for it swells and falls, encreaseth and diminisheth according as that Star is in the full or wain: for which cause, Physick which is not ignorant of these changes, takes care that the trepanning which she appoints, be made with the greatest precaution at the full of the Moon, because it then knows the Brain is also full, and so drawing these membranes which environ nearer to the bone, it brings them in danger of being the more easily touched by the Instrument. But the diseases of that part which have their accesses and fits according to the course of the Moon, evidently shew [Page 78]the Ligature and Sympathy which is betwixt them. For there are some which follow her motions so regularly, that they might be the Ephemerides thereof; and although she be under the Horizon, although the sick person en­deavour by all means to shelter himself from her influences, yet all this hinders her not from the overflowing of a Flux, which at a set time happens at the change of her quarters, which he is sensible of without observing them in the Heavens, or in the Almanack. The assaults of the Epilepsy, do they not commonly follow the motions of that Planet? Are there not species of folly which we call Lunaticks? and have not Horses diseases in the head which bear that name, because both the one and the other of them follow the motions of the Moon? In fine, do we not know that the rayes of that Star cause opini­onated Fluxions, and makes persons to love their complexions, if their faces are long exposed, principally in their [Page 79]sleep. Now all these effects can relate to nothing but its influences, because they often happen when she is hidden under the Earth, and in that condition, neither her light, nor the magnetick vertue which is attributed to her, cannot works on us; neither do we doubt the truth of these secret qualities, after those many observations which have been made of an infinite many effects which they have produced. And a­mongst other, the flowing of the Sea, which without dispute follows the mo­tion of the Moon, beginning ever when she riseth in our Horizon, or on that of the Antipodes, and having its greatest force when she hath attained their or our Meridian: For if we can demonstrate, as it were easie to do, would this place admit the length of the Discourse we should make; if we can I say demon­strate, that the Flood can proceed neither from the motion of the Earth, nor from the light of the Stars, nor from any mag­netick vertue, nor by the impulsion of [Page 80]the Moon, nor by the rarefaction which heat causeth on the water, there can no­thing but these influences remain which can be the cause of this admirable Moti­on; and which without doubt is so also of all those accidents which we have now observed.

Article XXII.

IF it be acknowledged in that Star, and if it be from them that we have the direction of one of the principal parts of the body, we cannot doubt but that the Sun who is King, and as it were the father of all therest of the Planets, must also have some which are more powerfull; and but that he who concurs to the generation of all things, hath re­served to himself the first and most no­ble parts of Animals, to have the con­duct thereof, and communicates his vertues thereunto. Its not to be doubt­ed but that he hath chosen the heart for [Page 81]his throne, and for the place of his ex­altation; he resides there as he is in Heaven in the midst of all the Stars, I would say of all the members of the bo­dy which are governed by the Planets. From thence it gives the influence of its vertue to all the parts of the little world, and if in its course it happen to suffer any malignant aspect, that mem­ber is sensible of it, and suffers with the disorders of its Soveraign. It hath been indeed observed that those who are sick suffer an extraordinary weakness during the Eclipses of the Sun, and that even those who are of a delicate com­plexion sensibly resent in themselves the effect of this constellation: more­over, the vital faculty becomes so languishing in the Solstices and Equi­noctials, and when malignant Stars rise with him, that Hippocrates hath forbid­den us at such times to make use of any remedy till after ten dayes. But we must not here forget an observation which that incomparable man hath written in [Page 82]his Book of Dreams, which will not onely shew the Sympathy which is be­twixt the Heart and the Sun, but also that which the Moon and the Stars have with the rest of the parts; for after having supposed that the Sun hath rela­tion with the middle of the body, the Moon with those ranges which are in it, and the Stars with the inward parts; he saith, that if these Stars appear in a dream with that purity and regularity of motion, which is natural unto them, its a sign of perfect health, and that there is nothing in the body, which follows not that order and rule which Nature requires: But if we see any one which obscures it self, which disappears, or which is stopt in its course, its a sign of a sickness which is come to those parts, which answer every one of them; for if these disorders happen to the Stars, the sicknesses will be contracted into the habit of the body; if in the Moon, in the cavities of the body; but if it be in the Sun, it will be the stron­ger [Page 83]and harder to be cured, as that which assaults the principle of life. The middle he speaks of, is to be under­stood onely of the vital parts which comprehend the Heart and those parts which environ it.

Now if this be true, as reason and experience have so often since confirm­ed it, we must thence conclude, that since the imagination forms in its dreams all these images of the Sun to represent the good or ill disposition of the Heart; Its necessary that it should have some foundation to joyn together two things, which are so different in themselves, and that in this part it finde solar qualities, which may serve as a mo­del to those figures and pictures which it makes of that Star: In a word, the parti­cular influences which the Heart receives from the Sun, are the originals on which the Soul sleeping takes all those ad­miral copies; otherwise, why should it not do so for some other member? and why in an inflamation of the Liver for [Page 84]example, where heat is at that time greater then in the rest of the body, should it not represent to it self that Star which is the Source of all the heat in the world, as well as it doth in the lesser alterations of the Heart? Certainly, in this part there are vertues so strange and hidden, that its impossible to relate them to the Elements; For that it often resists flame without being able to be consu­med; that it will not grow soft in boil­ing, unless you take off its ears; that some fish can never be crooked, if it be left in their body; these are effects which are so particular unto it, and of which its so hard to render a reason by manifect qualities, and that it gives way for us to presume that those it hath, are of a higher order, and have relation, as Aristotle says, to the Element of the Stars.

Now if the influence which the Heart receives from the Sun is a cause that these dreams represent themselves by [Page 85]the images of this Planet, the several dispositions the heart is in, must needs cause the same from the Moon, and from other Stars, in relation to the cavi­ties of the body and exteriour parts; and thence it is, that without doubt Astrology hath placed under the dire­ction of the Moon, the Brain, the Sto­mack, the Intestines, the Bladder and the Matrix, which are the most conside­rable cavities of the body; but also that it hath distributed all the outward parts, to all the signs of the Zodiack, having first founded it on this doctrine of Hippocra­tes, whereto it hath since added its own experiences.

Article XXIII.

AFter all these reasons, we need not doubt but that the other Planets also have their particular influences, and that they govern but as they do, some particular parts of the body; But Phi­losophy hath taken so little care to take [Page 86]observations thereof, that besides those which Astrology furnisheth us withal we have none which do observe the di­rection which Jupiter hath on the Li­ver, that which Saturn hath on the Spleen, &c. unless you will place in this rank those scars and moles which are to be found naturally imprinted on those parts. For its assured, that he at whose birth Saturne rules hath commonly one of these marks on the region of the Spleen; if it be Jupiter, on that of the Liver; if Venus, on the secret parts, and there is another betwixt the brows; for which cause Dares Phrygius in the Picture which he made of the fair Hellen, said that she had one betwixt her brows, which Cornelius Nepos hath expressed in these two fair Verses;

But I esteem not these observations just enough, nor sufficiently confirmed by [Page 87]experience to draw a certain proof of what we pretend; it shall suffice us to say, that until there be a more exact in­quiry made, the Sun and the Moon, who without difficulty command the Heart and the Brain, shall serve out of a prejudgment to make us beleeve that the rest of the Planets have an empire over those Members which Astrology hath submitted them unto; and conse­quently we may conclude, that that Principle which it hath assigned Chi­romancy is not without foundation, and that it may maintain a great many of the promises which it hath made.

Article XXIV.

THese are the reasons on which I did beleeve the establishment might be made, which might also serve to regulate many things which are not yet agreed on in the practice of this Art, to observe the causes of divers effects which are to be found therein; and if I [Page 88]do not deceive my self, they will pre­pare the minde to beleeve, that Meto­poscopy wants no more then this foun­dation to makes it an Art, and to main­tain the truth of its maximes: for if the noble parts have so great a connexion with the hand, they in all probability ought to have a greater with the face, which is the abridgement of all the bo­dy, the seat of the Sences, and the Souls mirror; and if vertues do not confound themselves, as hath been shown, every one may have, as in the Hand, its proper and affected place; that of the Heart will be admitted into one place, that of the Liver into another, and so for the rest; and consequently the same Planets which command those parts will govern the same places, and will there leave the marks of the good or ill influences which they have shed abroad through the principal members of the Body. But so curious a matter, and so carelessly examined, requires a particular Discourse as well as this, and [Page 89]with this had need of new observations to confirm the truth thereof: Perhaps I shall have one day time to communi­cate these unto you, which I have obser­ved, and to shew you, that the whole man appears in the face; we may say that Man hath not been well known, since we have not known those wonders which are in his face. Resuming there­fore our former discourse, I said, that those reasons which we had deduced, re­gulate many things which are doubtfull in the practice of this Art; for there are some which hold, that we must not stop at the inspection of the Hands; and that that of the Feet is also necessa­ry; that the left Hand ought to be con­sidered in women, and of those who are born in the night; and the right in men, and of those who are born by day: But the advantages which the Hands have above the Feet clearly show that the in­spection of these is altogether useless, and that there is to be seen in the Hands all what can be expected from this kinde [Page 90]of knowledge. Moreover, the right Hand being more noble then the left, in what sense soever it be, and at what time soever we are born, ought to be more considered then this; principally for what concerns the Heart, the Liver, and the Brain, which have most communi­cation with it; but the left carries it be­yond the other in respect of the Spleen and the other parts which are on the same side, by reason of that power which rectitude hath in those encoun­ters. Finally, what we have said of the length, breadth and depth, affords causes for that diversity which is to be found in the lines; for those which are simple shew that the vertue is weak, the length being the first essay it makes; those which are crossed witness that its stronger, being extended in breadth; and that it hath performed its last en­deavour in those which are deep. But I am not awares, that I insensibly enter into the particularities of those things which I intended to avoid; I fear even least [Page 91]I have too much explicated my self on the generals, and lest I should make some beleeve by the certainty I which find in them, that I give the same credit to particulars; yet am I very far from that thought. I do indeed lay the foundati­on of a Science which seems to me suf­ficiently solid, but I do not finde mate­rials to finish the building: for the greatest part of these Rules and Preceps whereof the structure is to be made are not well established, the experiences which maintain them are not sufficiently verified, and we had need of a new pro­vision of observations, which ought to be made with all necessary exactness and certainty, to give it such a form and so­lidity as Art and Science require. But whence should this be expected, since that those who could do it, would not em­ploy themselves therein? and when should we hope for it, since there is so much to be done, and so much difficul­ty in the well doing thereof?

Yet were there any who would em­ploy [Page 92]themselves therein, and who might not despair, but that they were able suf­ficiently to provide for the expence of so great an edifice; they will in my opi­nion be obliged to you for having enga­ged me in maintaining their work, and designing for them the foundation which they were to build upon; and even I dare tell you, you are also obli­ged to me. For if you consider my em­ployments, and my ordinary studies, you may easily perceive how far I have swerved from them to follow your in­clinations, and that I could not render you a more assured proof of the friend­ship I have for you, then by exposing my self to censure, to satisfie your cu­riosity; I ought not apprehend yours, because I know it will be favourable to­wards me; but I fear that of the Publick, from whom we must never expect fa­vour, and whose judgements are always most severe, and sometimes unjust: make me not therefore appear before that rude Tribunal, unless you are very well [Page 93]assured that I shall avoid the punishment of timorous writers, and hazard not without a great precaution that little esteem which good fortune hath acqui­red for me, and for the preservation whereof, in my opinion, you ought to interest your self, since you know that I am,