Examen de ingenios, or, The tryal of wits discovering the great difference of wits among men, and what sort of learning suits best with each genius / published originally in Spanish by Doctor Juan Huartes ; and made English from the most correct edition by Mr. Bellamy.

CHAP. XIV. That the Theory of Physic belongs part to the Memory, and part to the Under∣standing; and the Practice, to the Ima∣gination.

AT the time that Arabian Physic flou∣rished, there was a Physician high∣ly Celebrated, as well for his Reading, as Writing, Arguing, Distinguishing, Answer∣ing, and Concluding; of whom it was thought, in respect of his great Skill, that he was able to Raise the Dead, and Cure all kinds of Dis∣eases. And yet the contrary came to pass, for he never took the Cure of any in Hand, but they Miscarried; at which being vexed and ashamed, he turned Friar, complaining of his ill Fortune, without being able to under∣stand the true Spring and Cause of it. And because the freshest Examples stronglier prove, and make most Impression on the Senses, it is the Opinion of many Grave Phy∣sicians, that John Argentier, a Modern Phy∣sician of our Time, has much excelled Galen in reducing the Art of Physic to a better Me∣thod; and yet notwithstanding 'tis reported of him, that he was so unsuccessful in his Pra∣ctice, that not one Patient of all his Country, or Acquaintance, durst venture to take Phy∣sic

from him, so much they apprehended his ill-Success. Hereat the People have reason to be surprized, being taught by Experience, not only in those whom we have just men∣tioned, but in many others also, which they see every day, that every Physician, that is a great Clerk, is not the ablest Practitioner. Aristotle attemped to give the Reason of it, but in my Opinion he has failed. He thought the Reason that Physicians of his time, were not so Successful in their Practice, sprung from their General Notice of Man in com∣mon, and their Ignorance of the Nature of each Particular Constitution; contrary to the Emperics, whose Care and Study was to know the Idiosyncracies of particular Men, passing over the General Knowledge: But he was without Reason; for both the one and the other exercised themselves in Parti∣cular Cures, and laboured what they could to find out the Nature of each Constitution in Particular. The Difficulty then is to un∣derstand, why the most Learned Doctors, though they employ all their Lives in the Working of Cures, never become Excellent in the Practice; whereas others who are but Ignoramus's, with three or four Rules of Physic, learnt in the Schools, can do greater Cures in less time.

The true Answer to this Doubt is not so easy to be found, seeing that Aristotle failed in it, though he spoke in a manner something

to it: But we, keeping to the Principles of our Doctrin, shall deliver the same more fully.

You are to know then, that the Perfection of a Physician consists in two things,* 1.1 which are as necessary to carry him on to the end of his Art, as two Legs to go without Halt∣ing. The first is to know from a right Method the Precepts and Rules of Curing Man in common, without descending to Particulars. The second is, to be long Exer∣cised in the Practice of Physic, and to have Visited a great Number of Patients; for neither do Men differ so far from one ano∣ther, but that in many things they agree, nor are they so like neither, but there are in them certain Idiosyncracies, of such a Nature, that they cannot be told, nor writ, nor taught, nor gathered, so as to be reduced to Art; but to know them is only granted to him that hath often seen and had them in hand∣ling. Which may be easily conceived, con∣sidering that Man's Face being composed of so small a number of Parts, as are two Eyes, a Nose, two Cheeks, a Mouth, and a Fore∣head, which yet Nature hath diversified in so many Compositions and Combinations, that were a Hundred thousand Men assem∣bled together, each one has a Countenance, so peculiar and proper to him, that it is a great Wonder, if there appear two that whol∣ly Resemble.

It fares the same with the Four Elements, and the four First Qualities, Hot, Cold, Moist, and Dry, from the Harmony of which springs the Life and Health of Man, and of so small a Number of Parts, Nature makes so many disagreeing Proportions, that if a Hundred thousand Persons were begot, each would have his State of Health so proper and peculiar, that if God miraculously should on a sudden change the Proportion of these four First Qualities, they would all remain Sick, except it may be two or three, who by great Chance would have the same Harmony of Temperament. From whence two Conse∣quences may be necessarily inferred; the first, that every Man who shall fall Sick, is to be Cured conformably to his particular Propor∣tion; so that if the Physician restore him not to his first Proportion of Humours and Qua∣lities, he shall never be well Cured. The other is, to perform this as it ought, there is need that the Physician should have seen and dealt with the Patient several times in his Health, by feeling his Pulse, inspecting his Urine, the Colour of his Visage, and Complexion, to the end that when he falls Sick, he may judge how far he is off from Health, and to what Point he is to restore him by his Remedies.

As to the first Point, which is to under∣stand and know the Theory and Composi∣tion of the Art, Galen says, it is necessary to

have a great Understanding, and good Me∣mory; because Physic partly consists of Rea∣son, and partly of Experience, and History; for one he must have Understanding; and for the other, Memory; and because it is very difficult to join these two Powers in a Predominant Degree, of Necessity the Phy∣sician must be defective in the Theory; ac∣cordingly we see a great many Physicians very learned in Greek and Latin, great Ana∣tomists, and Botanists (which are Works of the Memory) that being put to Argue, Dis∣pute, and Search out the Reason, and Cause of each Effect (all which belong to the Un∣derstanding) cannot Skill thereof. The con∣trary happeneth in others, who shew abun∣dance of Wit and Capacity in the Logic and Philosophy of this Art, and if they be put to Latin and Greek, to Plants, and Anatomy, never come off with Credit; because they are destitute of a good Memory. For this reason * 1.2 Galen says, That it is no matter of Wonder, that in so great a number of Men that Study Physic, there are so few good Phy∣sicians; and giving the Reason of it, he says, That a Wit requisite to this Science is hardly to be found, neither a Master that can teach it in Perfection, nor a Scholar that Studies it with sufficient Care and Exactness. But with all these Reasons, Galen goes groping, because he did not punctually know wherein it lay, that no Man is Master of Physic in Perfection.

Yet in saying that hardly is found among Men the Wit this Science requires, he said true; but he has not specified wherein the Difficulty lies, as we will do; namely, be∣cause it is so difficult to unite a great Under∣standing with a good Memory, no Man is consummate in the Theory of Physic. And because there is a Repugnance between the Understanding and Imagination (to which, as we shall prove, the Practice and Skill of Curing with Certainty belong) rarely is found a Physician that is an able Theorist, and a great Practitioner, at once; nor on the contrary, one that is an able Practiser, and expert in the Theory. But that the Imagi∣nation, and not Understanding, is the Power of which the Physician makes use, in the Knowledge of the Cause and Cure of parti∣cular Diseases, is very easy to prove, suppo∣sing the Doctrin of Aristotle; who says, That the Understanding cannot know Indivi∣duals, nor distinguish one from the other, nor discern the Time and Place, nor other Parti∣cularities, which make Men disagree amongst themselves, and that each one is to be Cured after a different manner, and the reason of it is, (according to what Vulgar Philosophers deliver) that the Understanding is a Spiri∣tual Faculty, which cannot be affected by Singulars, as being material. For this cause Aristotle said, That the Sense is of Particu∣lars, and the Understanding of Universals.

If then Cures are of Particular Persons, and not of Universals (which are both Ingene∣rable and Incorruptible) the Understanding will appear to be a Power very impertinent in working of Cures.

The Difficulty lies in discerning, why Men of great Understanding cannot have good outward Senses for Particulars, these two Powers being so contrary one to the other; and the Reason is very clear, which is this, that the Exterior Senses cannot act well, if not assisted by a good Imagination. Which we may prove from the Opinion of * 1.3 Aristotle, who being to declare what the Imagination is, says it is an Impression struck from the Exterior Sense; in the same Na∣ture as Colour (multiplying with the thing colour'd) affects the Eye: For so it fares that the same Colour which is in the Christallin Humour tinctures the Imagination, and there impresses the same Figure that was in the Eye: And if you demand, of which of these two kinds the Notice of Particulars is made? All Philosophers answer, and very well, that it is the second Figure which affects the Ima∣gination, and by both the Notice is made, according to the common Saying, From the Objects and the Sensory arise the Notice. But from the first, which is in the Christallin Humour, and the Visive Faculty, springs no Notice, if the Imagination be not intent. Which the Physicians prove plainly, saying,

That whenever the Flesh of a Sick Man be Lanced, or Cauterized, and he apprehends no pain, it is a sign, that the Imagination is engaged in some deep Speculation: We see the same by Experience in those that are found, for if they are deep plunged in some Speculation, they see nothing before them, nor hear, though they are call'd, nor taste Meat savory, or unsavory, though in their mouths. Wherefore it is certain, that the Imagination forms the Judgment, and No∣tice of Particulars, and not the Understand∣ing, or outward Senses. Then it follows well, that the Physician, who is very expert in the Theory, because he has a great Under∣standing, or a good Memory; of necessity will prove an ill Practitioner, inasmuch as his Imagination will be lame. As on the contrary, he that shall be a very able Practi∣tioner, undoubtedly will be but a mean The∣orist; for a great Imagination cannot be uni∣ted with a good Understanding and Memo∣ry. And this is the reason why none are so consummate in Physic, as never to fail in their Cures; for not to fail in their Perfor∣mances, there is need to know the whole Art, and to have a good Imagination to re∣duce the same to Practice; but these two things, as we have proved, are Incompa∣tible.

The Physician never attempts the Cause and Cure of any Disease, but that he secret∣ly

frames to himself a Syllogism in Darii, un∣less he be but an Emperic: And the Proof of the first Position of his Premises belongs to the Understanding, and the second to the Imagination. For which reason, the ap∣proved Theorists, ordinarily Err in the Mi∣nor, and the expert Practitioners in the Ma∣jor; as if we should speak in this manner; All Fevers that depend on cold and moist Humours are to be Cured with Medicines, hot and dry (in taking the Indications from the Cause.) But the Fever which affects this Man, depends on cold and moist Humours, therefore it must be Cured with Medicines hot and dry. The Truth of the Major is pro∣ved by the Understanding, because it is an Universal Proposition, affirming, that Cold and Moisture require Heat and Driness to moderate them; for that every Quality is abated by its Contrary: But when we come to the Proof of the Minor, the Understand∣ing avails not, because it is Particular, and so is out of its Jurisdiction, and its Cogni∣zance pertains to the Imagination, which draws from the Five Exterior Senses, the proper and particular Symptoms of the Dis∣ease.

But if the Indication be to be taken from the Fever, or its Cause, it is that which the Understanding cannot reach, only it teaches to take the Indication from that we appre∣hend most danger: But which of the Indi∣cations

is greatest, the Imagination only can comprehend in weighing the Evils the Fever does, with those that proceed from the Sym∣ptoms or Cause, the little forces, or great strength. To learn this Notice the Imagi∣nation has certain ineffable Proprieties, by means of which it reaches some things, which it can neither tell, nor comprehend, and for which no Arts are of use. Insomuch that we see a Physician coming to Visit the Sick, who by the Sight, Hearing, Smell, and Touch, arrives at the Knowledge of what seemed Impossible; so that should we ask him by himself, how he was able to arrive at such nice Notions, he could not tell, because it is a Gift that proceeds from a Fruitfulness of Imagination, which may be otherwise called Sagacity, and which by some common Signs, incertain Conjectures, and where there is but slender footing, in the twinkling of an Eye, learns a Thousand different things, wherein the Virtue of Curing and Prognosticating with assurance consists.

Of this sort of Sagacity the Men of great Understanding are unprovided, because it makes a Part of the Imagination: Insomuch, that having before their Eyes the same Signs that discover to others the Secret of the Dis∣ease; yet they make no Impression upon their Senses, because these very Men are un∣provided of Imagination. A Physician took me aside, to ask me, whence it was, that

having studied with very great Curiosity all the Rules and Observations of the Semejo∣tics of the Art of Physic, and being very well versed in them, yet he could never hit the Truth, so much as from any one Prognostic? To which I remember I answered, That the Art of Physic was learn'd by one Power, and put in Practice by another. He had an Excellent Understanding, but a very bad Imagination.

But a great Doubt arises in this Doctrin, which is to know how the Physicians fur∣nished with a great Imagination, learn the Art of Physic, since they are defective in Un∣derstanding? For if it be true that these cure the Sick better than the most Learned Phy∣sicians, to what end do these lose time to Stu∣dy in the Schools? To this the Answer is, That it is a matter of great Importance first to know the Art of Physic, for in two or three Years a Man may learn all that the An∣cients were gathering in Two thousand: And if a Man should acquire it by Experience, he ought to live at least Three thousand Years; and in Experimenting Medicines, he would kill an infinite number of People before he understood all their Virtues, from which he is freed by Reading the Books of Rational and Experimental Physicians, who advise us in their Writings of what they have found out in the whole Course of their Lives, to the end that the Doctors that come after

them may boldly make use of those that are safe, and forbear those that are Poisonous. Besides which, we are to know, that the Common and Vulgar things in all Arts are obvious and easy to learn, and yet the most Important in the Work; and that on the contrary, the most Curious and Subtile are the most obscure and least necessary in Curing. And so it is that the Men of great Imagina∣tion are not wholly destitute of Understand∣ing and Memory, so that in the remiss de∣gree in which they possess these two Powers, they may be able to learn the most necessary Points of Physic, for that they are plainest, and with the good Imagination they have, they may better know the Disease and its Cause, than the most Rational in the Science, since it is the Imagination that finds occa∣sion of the Remedy they ought to apply; in this Grace consists almost the whole Pra∣ctice. Therefore * 1.4 Galen said, That the true Name of a Physician was to be the Inventor of the Occasion, but to learn to know Time, Place, and Occasion, without doubt are Works of the Imagination, because that car∣ries with it Figure and Correspondence.

The Difficulty is now to know to which of so many differences of Imagination the Practice of Physic belongs; for it is cettain, that all these Differences agree not in the same particular Reason; which Speculation has more employed my Thoughts than all

the rest: And nevertheless I have not been able yet to give it the Name it ought to have, unless it springs from a degree of less Heat than that difference of Imagination, with which Verses and Songs are made. But this I determine not positively, because all the Reason upon which I build, is, that all those that I have known to have practised Physic well, are little Dablers in Poetry: But neither are their Thoughts very elevate, nor their Verse very excellent: Which may also come to pass, because the Heat in a point exceeds that required by Poetry, and if it be so, it must be because the Heat is so great, that it somewhat dries the Substance of the Brain, without resolving much of the Natural Heat; though if it proceed further, it makes no ill Difference of Wit for Physic; inasmuch as by Adustion it unites the Un∣derstanding with the Imagination. But this sort of Imagination is not so good for Curing, as that I look for, and which disposes a Man to be a Wizard, Superstitious, a Magician, Enchanter, Chiromancer, addicted to Judi∣ciary Astrology, and to Divine; because in effect the Diseases of Men are so occult, and have their Motions so secret, that there is almost daily Occasion to Divine what is in them.

This Difference of Imagination is hard to be found in Spain; for as we have already proved, the Inhabitants of that Country

want Memory and Imagination, but are provided with a good Understanding. Nei∣ther is the Imagination of those that live in the Northern Parts more available in Phy∣sic, because it is very slow, and remiss, it is good only to make Clocks, Paintings, Bod∣kins, and other Toys, impertinent to the use of Man.

* 1.5Egypt alone is the Country that produces in its Inhabitants this Difference of Imagination, and of this all the Historians are full, how the Egyptians are great Wi∣zards, and how ready to supply all Wants, and to find out, and minister Re∣medies for all Necessities.

Josephus therefore to exaggerate the Wis∣dom of Solomon, hath these Words, The Skill and Cunning which Solomon received from God was so great, that he surpass'd all his Pre∣decessors, and even the Egyptians, who were esteemed the Wisest of all. Plato said also, That the Egyptians excelled all Men in the World in the Skill how to get their Living, which is a Craft that belongs to the Imagi∣nation.

And that this is true, appears plainly in that all the Sciences which pertain to the Ima∣gination, were found out in Egypt, such as are the Mathematics, Judicial-Astrology, Arith∣metic, Perspective, and the like.

But the most powerful Argument in my Opinion to this Purpose, is, that when Fran∣cis de Valois King of France was seized with a very tedious Sickness, and that the Physi∣cians of his House and Court could give him no Ease, he said every time the Fever return∣ed, that it was not possible for any Christi∣an Physician to Cure him, and that he ex∣pected from them no Relief. Insomuch that one time being Impatient to find himself every day worse with his Fever, he ordered a Courrier to be dispatch'd to Spain, to de∣sire the Emperor Charles the Fifth, to send him a Jew Doctor, the best of all his Court, from whom he hoped to receive a Remedy for his Distemper, if there were any in the Art. There was no little Laughing in Spain at this Request, and all concluded that it was no other than the Conceit of a Man in a Fever. But for all this the Emperor was not wanting to give Order that such a Physician as was required, should be sought after, if he were to be found, though he were out of the Kingdom, and when none could be met withal, they sent him a Phy∣sician newly turned Christian, hoping there∣by to comply with the King's Curiosity. But the Physician being arrived in France, and brought to the King's Presence, there past between them a most agreeable Dia∣logue, wherein was discover'd, that the Phy∣sician

was a Christian, and therefore the King would take no Physic at his Hands. The King from the Opinion he had conceived of the Physician's being a Jew, asked him by way of passing the time, if he was not as yet weary of expecting the Messiah promi∣sed in the Law? The Physician answered, Sir, I expect not the Messiah promised in the Judaic-Law. You are the wiser for that replied the King, for the Signs set down in the Scripture to know his Coming are al∣ready accomplished a great while ago. The number of days (rejoined the Physician) we Christians keep well the Account of, for there are now a Thousand five hundred fourty and two Years determined since he came; he abode in the World Thirty three Years, at the end of which, he died on the Cross, and rose again the third Day, after which he ascended into Heaven, where he now Reigns. Why, saith the King, you are a Christian! Yes, Sir, by the Grace of God, answered the Physician. Then, said the King, be gone to your own Country in good time, for I have Christian Physicians enough in my own Court and House, I took you to be a Jew, who in my Opinion are those that have a Natural Ability for Cures. And so he took leave of him without allow∣ing him to feel his Pulse, or examine his Urine, or mingle the least word concerning

his Distemper. And forthwith sent to Con∣stantinople for a Jew, who recovered him on∣ly with Asses-Milk.

This Conceit of King Francis, as I take it, was most reasonable, and I conceive it so to be, because I have already proved, that in the great distempered Heats of the Brain, the Imagination makes such Discoveries, as no Man knows any thing of in Health. And because it may not seem that I have spoken in Jest, and without any ground in Nature; you are to know, that the Variety of Men, as well in Make of Body, as in Wit, and o∣ther Conditions of the Soul, arise from their inhabiting Countries of different Tempera∣ments, from drinking divers Waters, and not making use of one kind of Diet. And there∣fore * 1.6 Plato said, That Men differ from others in Make and Manners, from the Changes of Winds, and Heats, or the Diversity of Waters, or Fruits, of the Earth, all which tend to pro∣duce great difference, as well in the Dispositi∣ons, as Bodies of Men. If I prove then that the People of Israel after living many Years in Egypt, at their going from thence, eat and drank such Fruits and Waters, as are proper to make this difference of Imagi∣nation, I shall confirm and justify the Con∣ceit of the King of France, and by the by discover, what Wits we are to chuse in Spain, to make Physicians of.

As to the first point, you are to know, that * 1.7 Abraham demanding some Signs to know whether he or his Children should pos∣sess the Land of Promise; the Text says, that as he slept, God answered him in this manner, Of a surety know that thy Seed shall be a Stranger in the Land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them Four hundred Years; and also that Nation whom they serve I will Judge; and afterwards shall they come out with great Substance.

Which Prophecy was fulfilled, though God for certain respects added Thirty Years more, as Sacred Writ declares, † 1.8 Now the sojourning of the Children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was Four hundred and thirty Years; and it came to pass at the end of the Four hun∣dred and thirty Years, even the same day it came to pass, that all the Host of the Lord went out from the Land of Egypt. But though the Text says manifestly, that the Children of Israel were in Egypt Four hundred and thirty Years, there is a Gloss which makes it appear, that this number of Years was the whole time that the Children of Israel were in Pilgrimage, till they came to their own Country, but in Egypt their stay was but Two hundred and ten Years; which Gloss agrees not well with St. Stephen the Proto-Martyr, in the Dis∣course he had with the Jews, that the Chil∣dren of Israel abode Four hundred and thirty Years in the Egyptian Bondage.

And though the Abode of Two hundred and ten Years were sufficient to tincture the Children of Israel with the Qualities of E∣gypt, yet the time they lived Abroad was not lost, in what related to their Wit, inasmuch as those that live under the Yoke of Servi∣tude, in Pressures, in Afflictions, and in a strange Land, contract a great deal of Adust Choler, in being barred Liberty of Speech, and of Revenging their Injuries, and the same Humour being Adust, is the Instru∣ment of Craft, of Cunning, and of Malice. As we see by Experience, that there are no Manners or Conditions worse than those of Slaves, whose Imagination is ever busied in contriving to do some Damage to their Ma∣ster, and free themselves from Slavery.

Moreover, the Country through which the Israelites marched, was not not much alienated, nor far remote from Egypt, no more than from its Qualities; for, with re∣gard to its Misery and Barrenness, God pro∣mised Abraham, that he would give him an∣other, more Rich and Fruitful. Now it is a thing verified as well in good Natural Phi∣losophy, as Experience; that barren and poor Countries, which bear neither Grain, nor Fruit in abundance, produce Men of very sharp Wit; and on the contrary, Fat and Fertile Lands, produce Men that are big Limb'd, Stout and Robust of Body, but slow of Wit.

Touching Greece, Historians never make an end of telling us, That it is a Country proper to produce Men of great Abilities, and * 1.9 Galen particularly says, That it was a Wonder to see a Blockhead born at Athens, (and note, that this was the poorest and bar∣rennest Land of all Greece.) So that from thence may be gathered, that at least some Qualities of Egypt, and the other Provinces, through which the Children of Israel past, gave them a very sharp Wit: But you are to know how the Temperament of Egypt produced this Difference of Imagination: Which is very clear, considering that in this Country the Sun is very burning, for which Reason, the Inhabitants Brains are boiling, and have much Adust Choler, which is the Instrument of Craft and Cunning: This made Aristotle enquire, Whence comes it, that the Negroes of Aethiopia, and the Native E∣gyptians, are splay Footed, curl Pated, and flat Nosed? To which Problem he Answers, That the extream Heat of the Country burns the Substance of these Parts, and shrievels them like Leather before the Fire; from the same Reason their Hair curls in Rings, and frizels. Now that such as inhabit hot Coun∣tries are Wiser than those that dwell in cold, we have already proved from the Opinion of † 1.10 Aristotle, who ask'd, Why Men born in Hot Countries are Wiser than those Born in Cold? But neither did he know well how to

Answer this Problem, nor to distinguish of Wisdom; for as we have elsewhere proved, there are two kinds of Wisdom in Man, one of which Plato speaks, That Knowledge which is Void of Honesty, ought rather to be called Craft than Wisdom; another, that is attend∣ed with Honesty and Simplicity, without Double-dealing, or Tricks, and this more properly is to be called Wisdom, because it goes always on the side of Justice, and Ho∣nesty. Those that inhabit very hot Coun∣tries are Wise in the first kind of Wisdom, and such are the Egyptians.

Now let us see, when the Children of Is∣rael came out of Egypt, and were in the De∣sart, what kind of Water they drank, and of what Temperament the Air was where they Travelled, that we may know, whe∣ther, on this Occasion, the Wit that issued with them out of Bondage, was impaired, or more confirmed in them. Fourty Years (says the Text) God sustained his People with Manna, a Meat as delicate and savory as ever Men eat in the World; to such a degree, as Moses seeing the delicacy and good∣ness thereof, charged his Brother Aaron to fill a Pot with it, and lay it up in the Ark of the Covenant, to the end the Children of this People (being setled in the Land of Promise) should see the Bread with which God had fed their Fathers in their passing through the Desart, and how ill Returns they made for

such a Regale. And that we who never saw this Meat, may know what it was, it will not be amiss to give a Description of the Na∣tural Manna, that by making allowance for the greater Delicacy, we may entirely com∣prehend what was the goodness of the Mira∣culous Manna.

The material Cause then of which Manna is made, is a very delicate Vapor, raised by the force of the Sun's Heat from the Earth, which being in the height of the Region of the Air is digested and brought to Perfection, and by the Cold of the approaching Night condenses, and being congealed, falls upon Trees and Stones, from whence it is gather∣ed, and preserved in certain Vessels to eat. 'Tis called Dewy and Airy Honey, because of the semblance it has with Dew, and its being formed of Air; its Colour is white, its Taste sweet as Honey, and its Form like that of Coriander; which are the Marks which Sacred Writ gave also of the Manna eat by the Children of Israel; so that there wants not Reason to suspect that they both held the same Nature. And if that which God made was of a more delicate Substance, so much the better we shall confirm our Opi∣nion: But I was ever of Opinion, that God accommodated himself to Natural Means, when he would work with them what he meant, and where Nature was wanting, his Omnipotence supplied. This I say, because

in giving the People Manna to eat in the De∣sart, (besides what God would signifie by it) to my thinking, was founded in the Dis∣position of the Earth, which to this very day produces the best Manna in the World; therefore Galen said, That in Mount-Libanus (which is not far distant from this Place) it is produced in a great quantity, and of the greatest Excellence, even to that degree, that the Country Labourers are wont to sing in their Pastimes, that Jupiter rained down Honey upon their Land. And though it be true, that God miraculously created that Manna in the Wilderness, in such a Quan∣tity, at such an Hour, and such set Days, it might nevertheless partake of the same Na∣ture with our Manna; in like manner as the Water which Moses made spring out of the Rock, and the Fire that Eliah made come down from Heaven, at his Word, were natural Things, though Miraculously derived.

The Manna described to us in Scripture, was like a Dew, * 1.11 It was like Coriander-seed, white, and the Taste of it like Wafers made with Honey; all which Properties meet in Natural Manna.

The Temperament thereof, as Physicians say, † 1.12 is Hot, and consisting of subtile and very delicate Parts, as also was the Manna eat by the Israelites: Accordingly they mur∣mured at its Deliciousness, Our Soul (said

they) loaths this light Food; and the Philoso∣phy of this was, That they had strong Sto∣machs, that were inured to Garlic, Leaks, and Onions, and when they fed upon Meat of so slight Resistance, it turned all into Cho∣ler. Therefore * 1.13 Galen forbid those that a∣bound in Natural Heat, to eat Honey, or any other such slight Food, lest it should corrupt, and instead of Digesting, broil in the Stomach like Fat. Even so it befel the Israelites with the Manna; for it converted all into Choler Adust: So that they became wholly Dry, and Withered, because this Meat was not substantial enough to stuff them. ‖ 1.14 Our Soul is dried away, and there is nothing at all besides this Manna before our Eyes.

The Water they drank after this Meat was such as they desired, and if they had not found it as they wished, God shewed * 1.15 Mo∣ses a piece of Wood, which had so Divine a Virtue, that being cast into Gross and Salt Water, it made them become delicate and savory, and when they had no Water, † 1.16 Mo∣ses took the Rod, with which he opened a dozen Ways in the Red-Sea, and striking therewith the Rock, there issued Springs of Water, as delicate and savory as their Taste could wish. Which gave Occasion to St. * 1.17 Paul to say, That the Rock followed them. That is to say, that the Water streamed out of the Rock according to their Wishes, deli∣cate,

sweet, and savory. And they had their Stomachs suited to the drinking of Gross and Briny Waters; for in Egypt, says * 1.18 Galen, they boiled them to prepare them for Drink, being putrid, and corrupt, so that drinking such delicate Waters, they could not avoid their turning to Choler, because of their small resistance. The same Qualities, says † 1.19 Galen, Water requires to digest well in our Sto∣mach, and not Corrupt as the solid Meats we eat. If the Stomach be strong, it ought to have strong Aliments, to correspond with it, in proportion; but if the same be weak, and delicate, such the Meat ought also to be: The same is to be observed in Water; for we see by Experience, if a Man be accusto∣med to drink Gross Waters, he never quen∣ches his Thirst with the Purer, nor feels them hardly in his Stomach; nay, he shall be more Thirsty after them, inasmuch as the Extream Heat of the Stomach burns, and resolves them as soon as they are down, because they can make no Resistance.

The Air they breathed in the Desart was, as we may say, subtil and delicate; for tra∣velling over Mountains, and through vast Solitudes, it Fanned them every moment fresh and clear, and without the least Corru∣ption, because they made no long stay in any Place. It was also ever very Temperate, for by Day a Cloud was drawn before the Sun,* 1.20 that restrained it from scorching; and by

Night arose a Pillar of Fire that moderated it; and qualified it for such an Air as* 1.21 Ari∣stotle affirms, much sharpens the Wit.

Let us now consider how delicate and well digested the Seed of the Males of this He∣brew People might be, being nourished by such Food as Manna, drinking the Waters we have spoke of, and breathing an Air so pure and delicate, and withal how delicate, and fine the Flowers of their Women might be; and let us call to mind what † 1.22 Aristotle said, That the Flowers being subtile and de∣licate, the Child bred of them shall be a Man of great Capacity.

How much it imports, that the Father should eat delicate Meats, to beget very able Children, we shall prove at large in the last Chapter of this Book. And whereas all the Jews eat of the same delicate, and spirituous Meat, and drank of the same Water; all their Children and Posterity proved sharp and of great Wit for the Matters of this World.

From the Time the Children of Israel were arrived at, and setled in the Land of Promise with a sharp Wit, as we have said, they had so many Travels, Dearths, Sieges of Ene∣mies, Subjections, and Bondages, and other ill Usages, that if they had not brought from Egypt, and the Wilderness, the Hot, Dry, and Adust Temperament (before mention∣ed) they would have Contracted the same

from their uncomfortable Course of Life. For continual Sadness and Toil unite the Vi∣tal Spirits and Arterial Blood in the Brain, Liver, and Heart, where sticking one about the other, they come to heat and burn. And so very often they raise a Fever, but ordina∣rily produce Choler adust (of which most of that Nation partake even to this day) as * 1.23 Hippocrates said, That Fear and Sorrow which hold long are signs of Melancholy. We have already affirmed, That this Burnt Choler was the Instrument of Craft, Cunning, In∣triguing, and Malice; and that Humour is accommodated to the Conjectures in Physic, and by the same the Notice of the Cause and Cure of Diseases is attained. So King Fran∣cis admirably hit upon it, and what he said was not a Delirium, much less a Suggestion of the Devil; but it ought rather to be thought, that by the means of a high Fever, of so long Continuance, and through the In∣dignation he was in to see himself Sick with∣out Relief, his Brain was fired, and his Ima∣gination raised to that degree, of which we have proved before, that (if it reaches the Temperament it ought) forthwith it makes a Man speak what he never learn'd.

But against all that we have said, a very great Difficulty arises, which is, that if the Sons or Grandchildren of those that were in Egypt, and had tasted Manna, the Waters, and delicate Air of the Desart, had been de∣signed

for Physicians, it might seem that the Opinion of King Francis was somewhat pro∣bable, for the Reasons recounted: But that their Posterity should retain even to this day the Dispositions of the Manna, the Water, the Air, the Afflictions and the Toils their Ancestors endured in the Egyptian Captivity, is a thing not easy to conceive: For if in Four Hundred and thirty Years, which the Children of Israel spent in Egypt, and the Fourty in the Desart, their Seed could ac∣quire those Dispositions of Ability, they might better, and with more probability lose it again, in the Two thousand Years since they came out of the Desart, more es∣pecially for those that setled in Spain, a Coun∣try so contrary to Egypt, and where they have fed on such contrary Meats, and drank Waters not of so good a Temperament, nor Substance, as in that Land. For such is the Nature of Man, (and so of any Plant, or A∣nimal, whatever) that he partakes of the Conditions of the Country he is transplant∣ed into, and loses those he brought from other Places. And in any Instance to be alledged, the like will befal it, in a few days without Contradiction.

A certain Race of Men, as * 1.24 Hippocrates notes, to distinguish themselves from the Vulgar, chose as a Mark of their Nobility, to have their Heads like a Sugar-Loaf, and to Shape this Figure by Art, the Midwives

had a Charge to roll up their Heads with certain Bands and Fillets, till they took that Shape. This Artifice really gained such Power, that it grew into Nature; for in tract of time all the Noble Children that were Born, were Born with Pointed Heads; so that the Art and Diligence of the Mid∣wives was at an end: But when they left Na∣ture at liberty, without restraint any longer by Art, by little and little she received the same Figure she had before.

The same might have befallen the Chil∣dren of Israel, for say that the Land of Egypt, the Manna, the delicate Waters, and their Affliction, stamped in their Seed those Dis∣positions of Wit, yet these Reasons once cea∣sing, and others quite contrary taking Place, it is certain, that the Qualities of the Manna would wear out by degrees, and would ac∣quire others very different, and more con∣formable to the Country they inhabited, to the Meats they fed on, to the Waters they drank, and to the Air they breathed. This Doubt in Natural Philosophy holds little difficulty; for there are some Accidents to be found that are introduced in a moment, and afterward indure for ever in the subject, without possibility of Corrupting. Others there are that are as long wearing out as they take in Engendring, sometimes more, sometimes less, in proportion to the Activity

of the Agent, and the Disposition of the Pa∣tient. For Instance of the First, you are to know, that from a great Fear a certain Man was possessed with, he remained so disfigu∣red and pale, that he had all the Appearances of one Dead; nor was this all, his Paleness did not only stick to him all his Life long, but was transmitted also to the Children he had, without any Means found to remove it.

Conformably to this, it might well be, that in the Four hundred and thirty Years the Israelites were in Egypt, and the Fourty in the Desart, and the Sixty in the Babylo∣nish Captity, there needed more than Three thousand Years, for the Seed of Abraham to lose utterly the Dispositions for Wit, which the Manna had imprinted; since that to re∣move an evil Colour, which a Fright raised in a moment, more than a Hundred Years were requisite. But to pierce to the Root of the Truth of this Doctrin, I must resolve two Doubts incident to the purpose, and as yet not cleared.

The first is, Whence it comes that Meats how much the more delicate and savory they are (as Hens and Partridges) so much the sooner the Stomach does Nauseate and Ab∣hor them? And that on the contrary, we see a Man eat Beef, all the Year round, with∣out the least Distast; whereas if he eat Hens

three or four days together, on the fifth, he can hardly endure the Smell of them, with∣out his Stomach rising against them.

The second Doubt, is, Why Wheaten Bread and Mutton not being of Substance so good nor savory, as Hen, or Partridge, yet the Stomach never loaths them, though we eat them all our Life long. But wanting Bread, we cannot eat other Meats, or if we do, they lose their Relish.

He that Skills how to resolve these two Doubts, will easily comprehend why the Descendents of the Israelites have not yet lost the Dispositions, nor the Qualities, introdu∣ced by the Manna, into their Seed, and why the Subtilty and Sharpness of Wit, of which they were possessed, cannot be so soon Ex∣tinguished. Two very certain and true Prin∣ciples there are in Natural Philosophy, on which the Answer and Resolution of these Doubts depends. The first, is, That all the governing Powers in Man are naked, dive∣sted of the Conditions and Qualities that are vested in their Objects, to the end they may know and judge of all their Differences. The Eyes hold this Property, which being to receive all Figures and Colours, have need to be totally divested thereof, for if they were Yellow, as in such as have the Jaun∣dice, all things they see would appear to them of that Colour. So the Tongue (which is

the Instrument of Taste) ought to be void of all Savour; and if the same be Sweet or Bitter, we see by Experience, that all we Eat, or Drink, has the same Taste: It is the very same in Hearing, Smelling and Touching.

The other Principle is, that all Created Be∣ings in the World are naturally Adapted to their own Preservation, labouring to Endure for ever; and that that, Being which they have received from God, and Nature, may never have end; though afterwards they are to possess a better Nature. By this Principle all Natural Things which are provided with Knowledge and Sense, abhor whatever changes and corrupts their Natural Com∣position.

The Stomach is naked, and divested of the Substance and Qualities of all the Meats in the World, as the Eye of Colours and Fi∣gures; and when we Eat oft, though the Stomach overcome it, yet the Meat turns a∣gainst the Stomach, because the same is of a contrary Principle, and alters and corrupts its Temperament and Substance; for there is no Agent so powerful, that suffers not in Act∣ing. Meats very delicate and savory, ex∣ceedingly alter the Stomach; First, because it receives and dissolves them with so great Greediness and Relish. Secondly, as being of so subtile Parts, and without Excrements,

they pierce into the Substance of the Sto∣mach, from which they cannot part again. The Stomach feeling that this Meat alters its Nature, and takes away that Correspon∣dence it has with other Meats, begins to loath it,* 1.25 and if it be forced to feed on it, several Sawses and Season∣ings are prepared to Cheat it. All this the Manna had from the be∣ginning; for though it was a Meat so delicate and savory, in the end the Children of Israel nauseated it; wherefore they said, Our Soul loaths that slight Meat. A Complaint unworthy a People so highly fa∣voured by God, who had provided a Reme∣dy for this, in making the Manna have those Tastes and Relishes, which best agreed with them, that it might go down the better; Thou gavest them Bread from Heaven, which had in it all sorts of Pleasantness. For which cause many among them fed thereon with a good Appetite, for they had Bones, Nerves, and Flesh, so Assimilated with the Manna, and its Qualities, that by reason of the great Resemblance, they longed for nothing else. 'Tis the same in Wheaten Bread, and Mut∣ton, of which we ordinarily eat. Gross Meats, and of good Substance, as Beef, are full of Excrements, and the Stomach receives them not with such desire as those that are delicate and savory, and so they take more

time to be Assimilated. Hence it follows, That to Corrupt the Alteration which the Manna made in a day, there will be need of a whole month of contrary Meats; and after this Account to extinguish the Qualities that Manna had introduced in the Seed in the space of Fourty Years, there needs Four thou∣sand Years, and more. But if you think not, let us suppose that as God call'd out of Egypt the Twelve Tribes of Israel, he had drawn Twelve Blacks, and as many She-Negroes, from the farthest part of Ethiopia, and had brought them into Spain; how many Years would it have taken to have made these Moors, and their Descendents, lose their black Colour, not mixing at all with the Whites? To me it seems it would have taken a great number of Years, since it is now more than Two hundred Years since the first Gypsies came from Egypt into Spain, and yet their Children have degenerated but a little from the nimble Wit and Cunning which their Ancestors brought out of Egypt, no more than from their Tawney-Colour; such is the force of Human Seed, when it has received any well-rooted Quality. And in like man∣ner, as the Moors in Spain transmit their Co∣lour to their Descendents, by means of their Seed, though they be out of Ethiopia, so likewise the Jews in Spain may communicate to their Descendents their Sharpness of Wit:

Without being in Egypt, or eating Manna: For to be Knowing, or Ignorant, are as well Accidents in Men, as to be White or Black. True it is, that they are not now so quick and sharp, as they were a Thousand Years ago; for from the time they left off to eat Manna, their Descendents came by degrees to degenerate from the use of Contrary Meats, and from inhabiting a different Coun∣try from Egypt, and drinking no such deli∣cate Waters as in the Desart, and also be∣cause they have mingled with Women of the Gentile Race, who wanted this Diffe∣rence of Wit: But this is not to be denied them, that as yet they have not utterly lost it.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Gal. lib. IX. Meth. cap. IX.
• * 1.2

  De Ord. lib. suo∣rum.
• * 1.3

  Lib. III. de anima.
• * 1.4

  Epid pa. V. com. I.
• * 1.5

  All the Egyptians are Physicians, and to make them all agree, it is or∣dered among them, that none shall pretend to Cure more than one Disease.
• * 1.6

  Dial. de Natura.
• * 1.7

  Gen. xv.
• † 1.8

  Exod xii.
• * 1.9

  In Orat. Suasor.
• † 1.10

  XIV Sect. Prob. XV.
• * 1.11

  Exod. xvi.
• † 1.12

  Mesue lib. II. c. XVI.
• * 1.13

  Lib. I. de aliment. facul. c. I.
• ‖ 1.14

  Num. xi.
• * 1.15

  Exod. xv.
• † 1.16

  Ib. c. xvi.
• * 1.17

  I Cor. x.
• * 1.18

  VI. Epid com. X.
• † 1.19

  V. Aph. XXVIII.
• * 1.20

  Exod. XIII
• * 1.21

  XIV. Sect. Prob. c. I.
• † 1.22

  Lib. II. de Part. Animal.
• * 1.23

  VI. Aph. XXIII.
• * 1.24

  Lib. de ••ere, locis & aquis.
• * 1.25

  Those who are used to eat Hens, and Partridge, never loath them, because their Stomach is turned into their Substance.