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.

Article I. By what Marks the Degrees of Heat and Dryness are to be discover∣ed in each Man.

MAN hath not his Temperament so li∣mited as Woman: For he may be hot and dry, (which Temperament Aristotle and Galen are of Opinion is that which best agrees with his Sex) as also hot and moist, and temperate; but cold and moist, and cold and dry, will not be admitted, so long as the Man is in Health, and not some way amiss, so that for the same reason, as there is no Woman hot and dry, nor hot and moist,

nor temperate; even so, there is no Man cold and moist, nor cold and dry, in com∣parison of Women, unless in a Case as I shall presently shew. A Man hot and dry, or hot and moist, or temperate, has as many Degrees in his Temperament, as a Woman has of Cold and Moist; insomuch that we have need of Tokens to discern what Man is, in what Degree, to assign him a Wife an∣swerable to him in Proportion. You are to know then, that from the Principles from which we have collected the Woman's Tem∣perament, and her Degrees of Cold and Moist, the same we shall make use of to know which Man is Hot and Dry, and in what Degree: And because we said that from the Wit and Manners of a Man the Tempe∣rament of the Testicles may be conjectured, we must take notice of an observable Point, mentioned by * 1.1 Galen, namely, to make us understand the great Virtue in the Testicles of Man, to give Solidity and Temperament to all the Parts of the Body, he affirms, that they are of more Importance than the Heart, for which he renders this Reason, that the Heart is the Principle of Life and no more; but the Genitals are the Principles of living well, and without Infirmities.

What damage it is to Man to be deprived of those Parts though small, there need not many Reasons to prove, seeing we see by Ex∣perience, that forthwith the Hair and the

Beard fall off, that his gross and strong Voice grows shril, and with these he loses his Vi∣gor and Natural Heat, and remains in a far worse and more miserable Condition, than if he had been a Woman. But what is most observable is, that if a Man before castrating had much Wit and Ability, from the time he loses his Testicles, he loses it all, even as if he had received in the Brain some consider∣able Hurt.* 1.2 Which evidently shews, that the Genitals both give and take away Tempera∣ment from all parts of the Body. If it be otherwise, let us consider, (as I have often done) that of a thousand Eunuchs that ap∣ply themselves to Learning, not one succeeds in it; and even in Music, which is their or∣dinary Profession, we see plainly how block∣ish they are, and the reason of it is, that Mu∣sic is a work of the Imagination, which power requires much Heat, whereas they are cold and moist.

It is certain then, that from the Wit and Ability we may conjecture the Temperament of the Testicles. For which cause the Man that appears towardly in the works of the Imagination, will be hot and dry in the third Degree. And if a Man be not very Deep, it is a Sign that Heat is joyned with much Moisture; which ever destroys the Rational part; and this is the more confirmed, if the Man have a great Memory.

The ordinary Conditions of Men Hot and Dry in the third Degree, are Courage, Pride, Liberality, Audacity, Chearfulness and Plea∣santness: and in what relates to Women they observe no rule or moderation. The Men who are hot and moist are Pleasant, Merry, fond of Diversions, fair Conditioned, Affable, Modest, and not much given to Women.

* 1.3 The Voice and Speech discovers much the Temperament of the Testicles. That which is strong and somewhat harsh, shews the Man hot and dry in the third Degree; but that which is soft, amorous, and very delicate, is a Sign of little Heat, and much Moisture, as appears in Eunuchs. The Man in whom Heat is joyned with Moisture, will have a strong Voice, yet tunable and loud.

He that is hot and dry in the third De∣gree has little Flesh, and the same is hard and rough, full of Sinews and Arteries, and has big Veins; on the contrary, to abound with Flesh, very soft, and smooth, is an In∣dication of much Moisture; by means where∣of, the Natural Heat is dilated and extended throughout.

The Colour of the Skin likewise if it be Brown, Tawny, Olive-coloured, and Dark, is a Mark that the Man is hot and dry in the third Degree; and if the Flesh be clear, and well-coloured, it is a Sign of little Heat and more Moisture.

The Hair and Beard are Signs to be regard∣ed; for these two approach very near to the Temperament of the Testicles. If the Hair be much, very black and large, especially from the Hanches to the Navel, 'tis an in∣fallible Token that the Genitals partake much of Hot and Dry. Which is yet more con∣firmed if there grow Hair upon the Shoulders. But when the Hair, the Beard, and the Down are Chesnut coloured, soft, delicate, and thin, 'tis a sign the Testicles are not so hot nor dry.

Men very hot and dry are rarely very Handsom, but rather hard-favoured, and ill shaped, because Heat and Dryness (as * 1.4 Aristotle said of the Ethiophians) wryth the proportions of the Face, and so they become disfigured. Quite contrary, to be well shaped and comely, shews a moderate Heat and Hu∣midity, which renders the Matter supple and pliant to what Nature designed; whence it is manifest, that great Beauty in a Man is no Sign of much Heat.

Touching the Signs of a Temperate Man we have discoursed at large in the foregoing Chapter, so that there is no need of Repeti∣tion.

It suffices only to note that as the Physiti∣ans place in each Degree of Heat, three De∣grees of Intention, so also in a Temperate Man are to be allowed the extent and lati∣tude of three others. For he that stands in

the third Degree next to cold and moist, is to be reputed cold and moist: For when a Degree has exceeded the Mean, it resembles the Degree it approaches, And that this is true, appears clearly in that the Signs given by * 1.5 Galen to know a Man cold and moist, are the same with those of a Temperate Man, only a little more remiss, so he is Wise, good-Conditioned, and Virtuous, has his Voice clear and sweet, is fair and of good Flesh, smooth and without Hair, and if he have any, the same is little, and yellow. Such are rud∣dy, and of beautiful Faces, but their Seed, as Galen says, is waterish and unfit for Genera∣tion. These are no great Friends to Women; nor Women to them.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Lib. i. de Sem. c. xv.
• * 1.2

  Gal. lib. i. de Sem. c. xvi.
• * 1.3

  Hipp. lib. ii. Epid. p. i. & Aris. xi. Sect. pro. xliii.
• * 1.4

  xiv. Sect. Prob. iv.
• * 1.5

  Lib. art. med.