Erōtomania or A treatise discoursing of the essence, causes, symptomes, prognosticks, and cure of love, or erotique melancholy. Written by Iames Ferrand Dr. of Physick

CAP. IX. Whether in Love-Melancholy, the Heart, be the seat of the Dis∣ease, or the Braine.

IF you aske those that are in Love, what part they are most afflicted in, they wil ••••l answer uno ore, their Heart: so that we may conclude with Aristotle, that the * 1.1 Heart is the true seat of Passionate Love. Which we may also confirme by the Au∣thority of Hippocrates, in his book de Virg. Morb. where he saies that young Wen∣••hes are oppressed with Feare, Sadnesse, Griefe, and Dotage, because that the su∣perfluity of Blood, that ought to be excer∣••ed by certaine channels and convaiances ••ppointed by nature for that purpose; but ••annot, by reason of the obstructions of ••he same, and is therefore retained in the wombe; where increasing, for want of its

due course of evacuation, it returnes ba•• upon the Heart and Diaphragme: a•• from hence is called Feare, Sadnesse, an•• oftentimes Madnesse: which are Symp¦tomes as necessarily attending Melancho¦ly, as the Shadow doth the Body. Besides it is most certaine, that Feare & Sadnesse without any Evident or Apparent cause are the certaine Symptomes of Melan¦choly. Now these two Passions are in like manner the true signes of a cold Heart: a•• it may easily be proved, both out of Ga¦len, and Aristotle: And therefore those persons that are of a Fearefull nature, an•• * 1.2 commonly called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Excordes, Hear•• lesse. And every man may out of his own particular experience finde, that the Hea•• as it were contracts it selfe, during the time of Feare, and Sadnesse: but in Ioy, •• Hope, it seemes to dilate and enlarge •••• selfe. This also seemes to be the opinion of Avicen, who affirmes, Fen. lib. 3. tract 4. cap. 18. that in Melancholy constituti¦ons, the Heart communicates its tempe¦rature to the Braine, by the Vapours and Humours that it sendeth up unto it, a•••• by the Sympathy of the Organs.

Marfilius Ficinus, and Franciscus Val∣leriola in the books before cited, make two kinds of Dotage, the first of which ••••ey call Desipiscentia, in Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and the other, Folly: the one of these ••ising from the defect of the Braine, and ••••e other of the Heart. The Braine is the ••••use of Folly, when it is surcharged ei∣ther with Adust Choler, Blood, or Melan∣choly: But when these Humours are re∣mained in the Heart, they then cause ••riefe, and Distraction, but not Folly: un∣••••sse the Braine also doe chance to suffer ••ith the Heart by Sympathy. And these ••earned Authors are of opinion, that Pas∣••onate Lovers are possest with Folly, which is caused by the defect of the ••eart; & this Ʋalleriola labours to prove ••y many reasons.

On the other side, Guido Cavalcanti in ••e of his Canzonets, commented on by Oine Corbo, an Italian Physitian, proves, ••••at the Braine is the seat of Love, as well ••s of Memory; for that in it resideth the ••mpression of the Object Loved: whence also it is that Lovers, above all things, de∣••ire to have the person they Love alwaies ••n Memory.

But our Physitians conclude more rightly, first, that Feare is the Perturbati∣on or distemperature of the Minde, caused by the Apprehension of some evill, either Reall, or Apparant only: as Aristotle al∣so affirmes, Rhetor. lib. 2. cap. 2. Secondly, that Sadnesse is nothing else but a long continued Inveterate Feare, as Galen is o•• opinion. Thirdly, that Feare, and Sadnesse are the Pathognomicall signes of all kinds * 1.3 of Melancholy, necessarily attending this disease we now treat of, as we have alrea∣dy demonstrated. And lastly, that seeing that Feare and Sadnesse are the Effects of an Imagination that is depraved, and the Characters of Love Melancholy; we may safely conclude, that it is caused, and hath its seat in the Braine, as well as the Ima∣gination.

But I shall rather hold with Mercuri∣alis in this point, whose opinion is, that * 1.4 the Part Affected is sometimes taken for the seat of the Disease it selfe; and some¦times also for the seat of the Cause of the Disease. In the first Acception we main¦taine, that in Love Melancholy the Braine is the part Affected: and the Heart, the

seat of the Cause only of the Disease; as in ••ove, both the Liver, and the Genitals are ••ynt causes of it: as Gordonius in his ••hapter de Amore maintaines.

And now to answer those Objections before alleadged out of Hippocrates, and Galen, we say, first, that it is questionable, ••hether that book which is intituled, ••e his quae ad Ʋirgin spect. be his, or no: ••••d secondly, that if this be granted, that ••ext only proves that the Heart may bee ••e seat of the Cause only of Feare, Sad∣nesse, and Dotage. And lastly wee answer Galen, that there are two kindes of ••eare; Naturall, and Accidentall: the first •• these accompanies a Man from his ••irth, and is caused by the ill temperature of the Heart: and of this kinde of Feare is Galen to be understood in that place. The ••ther kind, which is not Naturall, ariseth ••••om the Defect of the Braine, when as ••••e Imagination is depraved; as we may ••ainly collect out of Hippocrates, in his ••ook de morbo sacro, where hee confutes ••he opinion of those men that think that the Heart is the seat of Wisdome, Care, and Sadnesse: Notwithstanding that the

Braine shares indeed in this Malady, b•• Communicatiō, not only from the Heart but also from the Stomacke, especially i•• * 1.5 young persons: as Nemesius proves in h•• book, de natura Hominis, cap. 20.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Lib. 3. de Part. anim. c. 4.
• * 1.2

  L. de plac. cap. 4. &c. 30. art. med Lib. 2. de part. anim. c. 4.
• * 1.3

  Lib. 4. de caus. puls.
• * 1.4

  Lib. 1. met. c. 10.
• * 1.5

  Gal. l. de de m. 3. & l. de plac. c. 8.