Section 2

I might add, That Nature hath made the hind-mofi parts of
our body (which we fit upon ) moft_/ky&y,as providing for our
eafe, making us a Natural Cujhion, as well as for Infiruments
of Motion for our Thighs and Legs', (he hath made the hinder
part of the Hf^ more ftrong, as being otherwife unfenced
againft falls and other cafuakuv. She hath made the Back?
bsn? of feveral Vertebr i , as being more fit to bend, more
tough, and lefs in danger of breaking then if they were all
oncintire bone, without thofe griftly Junctures. She hath
ftrengthened our fingers and toe s with Nailes , whereas fhe
might have fent out that fubftance at the end of the firft and
fecond Joints , which had not been fo handfom and ufeftil,
nay, rather fomewhattroublefome and hurtful. And laftly,
She hath made all bones devoid ofyWi?, becaufe they were to
bear the weight of themfclves, and of the whole body \ and
therefore if they had had fenfe,our life had been painful con-
tinually, and dolorous.

And

6 Kofie CrucUn P H Y S I C K.

And now I have confidered the fitnefs of tne parts of mans
bodie for the good of the whole , let me but confider briefly
his fences and .his nature, and then I intend more folidiy to
demonftrace the caufe of all Difeafes,and with that the C ure,
becaufe I intend a Method of Ro fie Cruet** Phjfic^. pro mi-
fed in mj way to Blij[c By our feveral Organs, we have fe-
veral Conceptions of feveral qualities in the objects for by
fight we have a conception or image compofed of colour and
figure, which is all the notice and knowledge the object im-
parteth to us of its nature, by the excellency of the eye. By
Bearing we have a conception called Sound, which is all the
knowledge we have of the quality of the object from the
Ear: And fo the reft of the Sences are alfo conceptions of
feveral qualities or natures of their objects.

Becaufe the Image in vifion confifting of colour and fhape,
is the knowledge we have of the qualities of the ob;ect of
that Sence, it is no hard matter for a man to fall into this o-
pinion, That the fame colour & fhape are the very qualities
themfelves^and for the fame caufe that found & noife are the
qualities of a niece of Canon or Culvering charged with
fulphurous Powder, fired, or of the Air : And this opinion
hath been fo long received, that the contrary muft need-s ap-
pear a great Paradox, The fame qualities are eafier in a bell}
and yet the introduction of fpecies vifible and intelligible,
( which is necefTary for the maintenance of that opinion)
pafu*ng to and fro from the object , is worfe then any Para-
dox, as being a plain impofsibility. I (hall therefore endea-
vor to m3ke plain thefe points.

That the fubject wherein colour and image are inherent,
is not the object or thing feen.

That there is nothing (really) which we call an Image or
Colour.

Tha: the faid Image, or Colour, is but an apparation unto
us of the motion, agitation, or alteration, which the object
workech in the brain, or fpirits, or fome internal fubftance
of the Head.

That as in vifion,fo alfo in conceptions that arife from the
other fenfes, the fubjed of their inherence is not the objed,
but the continent. That

Rofte Crucian P H Y S I C K. 7

That conceptions and apparitions are nothing really, but
motion in fome internal fubllance of the Head , which mo-
tion not flopping there, of nccefftty mult there either help,
or hinder the motion which is called Vital * when it hclpeth
it is called Delight, Contentment or Pleafure , which is no-
thing really but motion about the heart, as conception is nothing
but motion in the head; and the objects tha: caufe i t are called
Pleafant, or Delightful; and the fame Delight, with reference
to the object, is called Lwe-J&vt when fuch motion weakneth
or hindreth the vital motion.then it is called Paint and in re-
lation to that which caufeth it, Hatred.

There are two forts of pleafures , whereof one feemeth
to affed the corporeal Organ of the fence , and that I call
fenfual, the greateft part whereof is that by which we are
invited to give continuance to our fpecies; and the next by
which a man is invited to meat, for prefervationof his indi-
vidual perfon. The other fort of Delight is not particular-
ly any part of the body, and is called The Delight of the mind,
& is that which we call Joy. Likewife of pains, fome affect the
body , and are therefore called The pains of the body-, and
fome not, and thofc are called grief.

CHAP. III. t

Of the nature of the Soul of Man, tvhether Jhe be a meer Modi-
fication of the body, or a Sub fiance really difiintt; and then whe.
ther corporeal , or incorporeal, and of the temper of the
bodif.

HEre I am forced to fpeak what I have in my Familiar
Spirit, and it is not impertinent to my purpofe^ there-
fore if we fay that the foul is a meer modification of the body,
the foul then is but one univerfal faculty of the body, or a many
faculties put together^and thofc operations which are ufually
attributed unto the foul, mult of neceffity be attributed un-
to the body : I demand therefore, To what in the body will
you attribute fpontaneow rmtion} I underftand thereby a pow-

ec

(•J

cr in oar felves of wagging, or holding flill moft of the parts
of our body, as our AWfuppofe, or little finger : If you will
fay that it is nothing but the immiffion of the ffirits into fuch
and fuch Mnfcles , I would gladly know whaz does immit
thefe /)>«>/>/, and di reft them fo curioufly-, is it themfelves?
or the brains ? or that particular piece of the brain they call
the Vine-Kernel} What ever it be , that which doth
thus immit them , and dired them ( muft have Animad-
verjion-^ and the fame that hath Animadverfton^hzth Memory
and Reafon alfo: Now I would know whether the ffirits them-
felves be capable of Animadverfion, Memory, and Reafon-, for
it indeed feems altogether impofiible; for thefe animal //>/>*>*
are nothing elfe but matter very thin and liquid , whofe na-
ture confifts in this, that all the particles of it be in motion,
and being loofe from one another, friggeand play up and
down according to the meafurc and manner of agitation in
them.

I therefore demand which of thefe particles in thefe fo ma-
ny loofiy moving one from another , hath Animadverfun in
it? if you fay that they all put together have-, I appeal to
him that thus anfwers, how unlikely it is that thatftiould
have Animadverfun that is fo utterly uncapable of Memory t
andconfe^uently,of Reafon-y for it is impofsible to conceive
memory competible to fuch afubje:ts asitis how to write
Char -abler s in the Water , or in the Wind.

If you fay the Brain immits and directs thefe fpirits- how
can that fo freely and fpontaneoufly move it fell , or another,
that hath no Mufcles} Befides Doit or Culpepper tells you that
though the Brain be the inftrument of fence, yet it hath no
fenfe at all of it felf^ how then can that that hath no fence di-
rect thus fpontanecti fly and arbitranoufly,the animal fpirits in
to any part of the body ? an Act that plainly requires deter-
minate fenfe and perception : But let the Phrfcians and Anatc-
mifis conclude what they will, I (hall, I think, little leffe then
demonftrate that the brains have no fense-, for the fame in us
thathath/?»r?, hath \\kcw\(e animadier (ion -, and that which
hath animadverfon in m, hath alfo a faculty of free and arbi-
trarious Fancy and Rtafon.

Let

Refie Crucian P H Y S I C K. 9

Let us now confider the nature of the foaitt tznd fee how com-
petible thofe alterations are to fuch a fubjeft-, verily if we take
a right view of this Laxepithor marrow in mans head^nehhet our
fence nor underftanding can difcover any thing more in this fub-
ftance that can pretend to fuch noble operations, as free imagi-
nation and fagacious collections of Reafon, then we can difcern
in a lump of fat, or a pt of honey-, for this loofc pulpe that is thus
wrapped up within our Cranium, is but a fpongie and porous bo-
dy, and pervious,, not onely to the animal fpir its, hut alfo to more
Juice and Liquor;, elfe it could not well be nourifhed, atlcaftit
could not be fo foft and moiftned by drunkennefs and cxeefs , as
to make the underftanding inept and fottifhin its operations.
Wherefore I now demand , in this foft fubftance which we call
the brain , whofe foftnefs implies that it is in fomc meafure li-
quid, and liquidity implies a feveral motion of loofened parts;
in what part or parcel thereof does Fancy, Reafon, ay.d Animad-
verfion\ie> Inthislaxe confidence that lies like a Net , all oh
heafs in the water-, I demand , Jnwhat Knot, Loope, or Interval
thereof, dees this faculty of free Fancy, and aft ivt Reafon refde ? I
believe not a Dotlor in England, nay, not Dr. Culpepper himfelf,
were he alive, nor his men, Doctor Freeman, and the reft, can at
fign me any-, and if any will fay , in all together; they muft; fay
that the whole brain is figured into this or that representation,
which would cancel memory , and take away all capacity of there
being any diftind: notes and places for the feveral fpecies of
things there prefented. But if they will fay there is in every
part of the brain this power of Animadverfion and JFrf»^,they arc
to remember that the brain is in fome meafure a liquid body, and
we muft enquire how thefe loofe parts underftand one anothers
feveral Animadverfons and notions^ and if they could ( which
is yet very unconceivable ) yet if they could from hence do any
thing toward the immijfton and direction of the animal fpirits in-
to this or that part of the body, they muft do it by knowing one
anothers minds, and by aioint contention of ftrength, as when
many men at once, the word being given when they weigh An-
chor, put their ftrength together tor the moving «f that Aiaffic
body, that the (ingle ftrength of one could not deal with ; but
this is to make the feveral particles of the brain fo many indivi-

C dual

IO Rofie Crucian PHYSICK.

dual perfonji a fitter objcd for laughter, then the leaft meafare
of belief.

Befides,how come thefe many Animadverfiont to feem but one
tous, our mind being thefe, as is fuppofed t Or why if the fi-
guration of one pare of the brain be communicated to all the
reft, does not the fame object feem fituated both behind us,
andbeforeus, above, and beneath, on the righchand and on
the left} and every way, as» the imprefs of the objed is reflected
againft all the parts of the brains} but there appearing to us
but one animadverfion, and one fight of things, it is a fuflkienc
Argument that there is but one^ or if there be many, that they
are not mutually communicated from the parts one to another,
and therefore there can be ho fuch joint endeavor towards one
defignj whence it is manifeft, that the brains cannot imm'xt or di-
rect thefe animal fpirits into what part of the body they
pleafc.

CHAP. IV.
OfSpntaneoHS Motion-^ ft he External Phsnomena^ofthe nature of
the £ fence of the Soul her J elf 9 what it ist and. whether it be cor-
foreal, or incorporeal.

NOW I muft tell you, that the brain hath no fence, & there-
fore cannot imprefs fpontaneeujly any motion on the ani-
malfpirits; it is no flight Argument that fome being difleded,
have been found without brains -, and this I faw, a Captain in
Chrifleyyin Arabia, that was accidentally kill'd by an Alcade^nd
an Arabian, the ftory is pleafant, but not pertinent to our pur-
fofe- but this man had nothing but a limpid water in his head
inftead of brains, and the brains generally are eafily diflblvable
into a watery confidence, which agrees with what I intimated
before. Now I appeal to any free Judge, how likely thefe liquid
particles are to approve themfelves of that nature and power,
as to be able by erecting and knitting themfelves together for a
moment of time, to bear themfelves fo, as with one joint con-
tention of ftrength y to caufc an arbitrarious obligation of

the

Refie Crucian P H Y S I C K.

the/pints into this or that determinate part of the bcdj,but. the
abfurdity of this I have fufficiently infinuated already >

The Nerves , I mean the Marrow of them, which is of the
fame fubfiance with the brain, have no fence, as is demonftrated
from a Catalepfe, or Catechus-, but I will not accumulate Argu-
ments in a matter fo palpable. As for that little fprunt piece of
the brain which they call the Ccnacicn , that this (hould be
the very fubfiance,whofc natural faculty it is to moveitfelf,and
by its motion and nods to determine the courfeof the fpirits into
this or that part of the body, fecms to me no lefsfoolifti and
fabulous then the Storie of this entituled Doctor Freeman, fo
much commended by ignorantly innocent people: If you heard
but the magnificent fiorie that is told of the little lurking
Mufkrcme, how it does not onely hear and fee, but imagines, rea-
fens, ctmmands the whole fa bricks of the body more dcxteroufly
then an Indian Boy does an Elephant-, what an acute Logician,
fubtile Geometrician* prudent Statefman, skilful ' Phyfician, and pro-
found Vhile (op her he is / and then afterwards by direction you
difcover this worker of miracles to be nothing but a poor filly
contemptible K nob, or Vrotuberancy , confifting of a thin Memr
brane, containing a little pulpous matter, much of the fame na-
ture with the reft of the Brain,

Spectatum admifsi rifum teneatisamici?

Would you not fooner laugh at it, then go about to confute
it? and truly I may the better laugh it now, having already con-
futed it in what I have afore merrily argued concerning the reft
of the Brain.

I (hall therefore make bold to conclude, That the imprefs of
Spontaneous Motion is neither from the animal fpirits , nor from
the Brain, &c. therefore that thofe operations that are ufually
attributed unto the foul, are really incompetibleto any part of
the body ; and therefore , as in the lafi Chapter I hinted, I fay,
That the foul is not a meer modification of the body, but a fub-
fiance difti net therefrom.

Now we are to enquire, Whether this J 'ul fi ancedif'inct from
what we ordinarily call the body , be alfo it fclf a Corporeal Sub-
fiance, or whether it be incorporeal} If you fay that it is a cor-
poreal fubfiance, you can underfiand no other then matter

Qz more

ir Rifie Crucian PHYSICK.

more fubtile and tenuious then the animal fpirits themfelves,
mingled with them.anddifpsrfed through the vefols and porofi-
tiesof the body-, for there can be no penetration of dimenfi-
ons : But I need no new arguments to con;ute this fond conceit-,
for what I faidof zhzam vat fpirits before, is applicable with all
eafeandHtnefsto this prefentcafc' and let it 6c fufficient that I
advertife you fo much, andfo beexcufed from the repeating of
the fame things over again

It remains therefore that we conclude, That that which im-
preflfes Spontaneous Mmon upon the body or more immediate-
ly upon the animal fpirits : That which imagines, remembers,
andreafons.is an immaterial fubflance,dilVmct from the body,
which ufes the animal fpirit t and the brain for Inftmm.'nts in fuch
and fueh operations. And thus wehavefounda/pnVina pro-
per notion and lignitication, that hath apparently thefe facul-
ties in it , it can both underitand and move corporeal mat-
ter.

And now this prize that we have won will prove for our de-
figninthis new Method of Phylickand Philofophy of very great
confequence^foritis obvious hereto obfervechat the foul of
man is as it were 4^v«*<3^ a cimpendkus ftatue of the Deity-,
her fubltance is a (olid E fgies of God; and therefore as with eafc
weconfider thefubftance and motion of the vaft Heaven* on a
litt'.e Sphereyor llohe, fo we may with like facility contemplate
the nature of the Almighty in this little 4odel of GoJt the foul of
Mant enlarging to Infinity what we obferve in our felves when
we transfer it unto Godv as we do imagine thefe Circles which
we view on the Globe , to be vaftly bigger while we fancy them
as defcribed in the heavens.

Wherefore we being allured of this, That there is afpiritutl
fubftance in our felves, in which both thefe properties do refide,
viz,, of the undemanding, and of moving the corporeal matter^
let us but enlarge our minds lo as to conceive as well as we can
of a fpiritual fubllance that is able to move & actuate all matter
whatfoever,never fo far extended, and after whatway &manner
foever it pleafe, and that it hath not onely the knowledge ofthif
or that particular thing, but a ditinct and plenary cognizance
•f all things^ and we have iadecd a very competent apprchen-

Rofie Crucian P H Y S I C K. j 3