Arcana microcosmi, or, The hid secrets of man's body discovered in an anatomical duel between Aristotle and Galen concerning the parts thereof : as also, by a discovery of the strange and marveilous diseases, symptomes & accidents of man's body : with a refutation of Doctor Brown's Vulgar errors, the Lord Bacon's natural history, and Doctor Harvy's book, De generatione, Comenius, and others : whereto is annexed a letter from Doctor Pr. to the author, and his answer thereto, touching Doctor Harvy's book De Generatione / by A.R.

CHAP. XVI.

1. The Lungs how moved; the air is not the spirits nutriment. 2. Respiration not absolutely necessary. 3. The Lungs hot and moist. 4. Respiration a mixed motion, as that of the bladder and intestins. 5. No portion of our drink passeth into the Lungs.

ARistotle differs from the Galenists about the motion of the Lungs; he will have them moved by the heart, whose heat listeth up the Lungs, upon which motion the air enters for avoiding vacuity; which being entred, the Lungs fall. The Galenists will have their motion to depend on the motion of the breast, but both are in the right: For the motion of the Lungs is partly voluntary, and so it depends on the moving of the muscles of the breast; and partly natural, and so it is mo∣ved by the heart. 2. When Aristotle denies that the air is the nutriment of the spirits, which the Galenists affirm; his mea∣ning is, that the air doth not properly nourish the spirits, as meat doth our bodies; for there is no assimilation or conversion of the substance of the air into our spirits, which are proper∣ly nourished by blood, but only a commixtion of the air and spirits for refrigeration: And indeed if the spirits were properly fed by the air, there would not come out the same air that went in: For the spirits would not part from their food; the air then nourisheth the spirits, as it doth the fire, by refrigerati∣on, and preserving it from suffocation.

II. Respiration is not so necessary for preservation of life,

as the motion of the heart: for histerical women can live without that, but they cannot live without this: Neither is the motion of the arteries of absolute necessity; for the mem∣ber is not deprived of life, though the arterie be stopped or tied, and deprived of its motion. 2. The motion of respira∣tion is more noble then the motion of the heart, because this is meerly natural, that is also animal and voluntary; yet as the motion of the Lungs is subservient to the motion of the heart, that is more noble then this: for the end excels the means.

III. The Lungs are hot and moist: hot, that they migh•• temper and alter the cold air, therefore the substance is fleshy, light and spongy, and fed with hot and spirituous blood from the right ventricle of the heart. It is also moist, as appears by its soft and loose substance: It is also moist accidentally by receiving the flegme and rhumes that fall from the brain. 2. The Lungs refrigerate the heart, not because their substance is cold, but because the air is cold which they attract.

IV. Respiration is a motion partly voluntary, as it is per∣formed by the muscles, nerves, and diaphragma, which are the organs of voluntary motion, and as it is in our power to breath or not to breath; to hasten or retard it: And it is partly natu∣ral, as it is performed by the Lungs, which are organs of natu∣ral motion, as it is not subject to fatigation, as it is performed in our sleep, when we have no command over our selves, and the sensitive faculties then cease; as it is not performed by e∣lection, or apprehension of the object, as voluntary motions are: And lastly, as in Apoplexies, when the senses fail, the brains and nerves are hurt, yet respiration continues; it is then a mixt action, as the expulsive actions of the bladder and in∣testines are. So is the motion of coughing; for as it is per∣formed by the muscles, it is animall, but as it is stirred by the expulsive faculty, it is naturall; and as it proceeds from some morbifick cause, it is preternatural. So deglutition or swallow∣ing is an animal action as it is performed by the muscles, and is some times hindred by imagination; for we swallow with much adoe, those things of which we have no good conceit. It is also natural, as it is performed by the attraction of the fibres which are in the external tunicle of Oesophagus. Now attra∣ction is subservient to the nutritive faculty, which is naturall.

V. That no portion of our drink can pass into the lungs, is plain; because we cough if the least drop of rhume fall from the head upon the lungs: besides, our breath and voice should be present∣ly stopped, the light and spongie substance also of the lungs,

would be hurt and corroded when we drink any sharp or soure liquors, or medicamen••s: Therefore in swallowing, the Epiglottis, or little tongue of the wind-pipe covers the La••i•••• or top of the Aspera arteria, that nothing may fall into it; yet the si••es of Aspera arteria are moistned by syrrups, which some∣what ease our coughing.