St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.

That our first Parents, had they liued without sinne, should haue had their members of generation as subiect vnto their wills, as any of the rest. CHAP. 24

MAn therefore should haue sowne the seede, and woman haue receiued it, as neede required, without all lust, and as their wills desired: for as now wee are, our articulate members doe not onely obey our will, our hands, or feete, or so, but euen those also that we mooue, but by small sinewes, and Tendones, we con∣tract and turne them as wee list: as you see in the voluntary motions of the mouth and face. And the (a) lungs, the softest of all the intrailes but for the

marrow, and therefore placed in the arches of the breast far more safely to take in and giue out the breath, and to proportionate the voice, doe serue a mans will entirely, like a paire of Smiths, or Organs bellowes: to breath, to speake, to cry, or to sing. I omit that it is naturall in some creatures if they feele any thing bite them, to mooue the skin there where it bites, and no where else: shaking off not * 1.1 onely flies, but euen dartes or shaftes by this motion of the skinne. Man cannot doe this: what then? could not God giue it vnto what creatures hee listed? E∣uen so might man haue had the obedience of his lower parts, which his owne dis∣obedience debarred. For GOD could easily haue made him withall his mem∣bers subiected to his will, euen that which now is not mooued but by lust: for we see some mens natures farre different from other some: acting those things strangely in their bodies, which others can neither do nor hardly will beleeue. (c) There are that can mooue their eares, one or both, as they please: there are that can mooue all their haire towards their fore-head, and back againe, and neuer mooue their heads. There are that can swallow yee twenty things whole, and contracting but their guts a little, giue you euery thing vp as whole as if they had but put it into a bagge. (d) There are that can counterfeite the voices of birds & other men, so cunningly, that vnlesse you see them you cannot discerne them for your hearts. (e) There are that can breake winde back-ward so artificially, that you would thinke they sung. (f) I haue seene one sweat when hee listed, and it is sure that (g) some can weepe when they list, and shed teares, plentifully. But it is wonderfull that diuers of the brethren (h) tried of late in a Priest called Resti∣t•…•…tus, of the (i) village of (k) Calamon, who when he pleased (and they requested * 1.2 him to shew them this rare experiment) (l) at the fayning of a lamentable sound 〈◊〉〈◊〉 himselfe into such an extasie, that hee lay as dead, sencles of all punishing, •…•…cking, nay euen of burning, but that he felt it sore after his awaking. And this 〈◊〉〈◊〉 was found to be true, and (m) not counterfeite in him, in that he lay still without any breathing: yet hee sa•…•…d afterward, that if one spake aloude, hee thought he heard him, as if hee were a sarre off. Seeing therefore that in this 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of ours, the body serueth the will in such extraordinary affects; why should we not beleeue that before his disobedience, the first man might haue had his meanes and members of generation without lust? But hee taking delight in himselfe, was left by God vnto himselfe, and therefore could not obey himselfe, because hee would not obey GOD. And this prooues his misery the plainer, in that he cannot liue as he would: for if he would doe so, he might thinke himselfe •…•…ppy: (n) yet liuing, in obscenity, he should not be so indeed.

L. VIVES.

TH•…•… (a) lungs] The marrowe is not vsually taken for any part of the intrailes. It is obserued that Tully, and the most learned Latinists, vse Pulmo continually in the plurall number: I 〈◊〉〈◊〉 it is because it is parted into two fillets or lappets: but Celsus, Persius and Lactantius * 1.3 〈◊〉〈◊〉 it in the singular. (b) To take in] For there goeth a pipe from the lungs into the mouth, cal∣•…•… As•…•…ra arteria by Celsus, and Gurgulio by Lactantius [the weasand-pipe] and through this 〈◊〉〈◊〉 breath goeth in and out: for that is the proper function thereof. Arist. Histor. animall. lib. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 (c) There are] Aristotle saith that man only of all creatures cannot moue his eares, that is, he 〈◊〉〈◊〉 moue thē voluntarily, as horses, &c. do. (d) There are that] Plutarch talks of one Parme∣•…•… •…•…t could imitate the voices of all creatures rarely, whēce the prouerb, Nihil ad Parmenonis 〈◊〉〈◊〉, 〈◊〉〈◊〉. (e) There are that can break] There was such an one, a Germane, about Maximilians 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •…•…d his son Phillips, that would haue rehearsed any verse whatsoeuer with his taile. (f) 〈◊〉〈◊〉]

And when I was sicke of a Tertian, at Bruges, as often as the Phisitian told me that it was goo•…•… to sweate, I would but hold my breath a little and couer my selfe ouer head in the 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and I sweat presently. They that saw it, wondred at my strange constitution, but they would ha•…•…e wondred more had they seene Augustines sweater, that sweat as easily as I can spit. (g) Some] The hired mourners in Italy, and almost all women-kinde. (h) Tried of late] Such like hath Pliny of one Hermotimus of Clazomene, whose soule would leaue his bodie and goe into same * 1.4 countries, and then come backe and tell what hee had seene. (i) Uillage] 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, is a neigh∣bor-hood, a dwelling togither. They that dwell in diuers hemispheres vnder one paralell, are called Paraeci. But Parochia, is an other matter, and vsed now for a parish. Augustine meant of the other. (l) Calaman] Calamisus, was a towne in Italy: Calamo was in Phaenicia, and that I thinke Augustine meant of: vnlesse there were some village in Africa called so: as being bu•…•… by the Phenicians, who once possessed almost al Africa. (l) At the feigned] Some feigned mour∣ning, wherevpon his phantasie tooke the conceite, and produced the rapture, or he fained such a sound himselfe, and so put of his externall sences thereby. (m) Not counterfeite] Hee did not oppose himselfe wittingly to those punishings and burnings, but was senselesse of them in∣deed. (n) Yet liuing] Felicity is not in opinion, but really solid: not in shade, or imagination, but in esse, and truth. Nor was that noble Argiue happy, who as Horace saith, thought he had seene fiue tragedies acted.

In vacuo solus sessor, plausor{que}, Theatro. Aplauding loud when none were on the stage.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Extraordi∣n•…•…ies po∣wers of motion in some per∣ons.
• * 1.2

  Restitus his ex∣tasie.
• * 1.3

  The lungs.
• * 1.4

  Hermoti∣mus, of Cla∣zomene.