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. XXII.

1. The use of the common sense: It is but one sense: The different judgement of this sense, and of the soul. How different from other senses. Its in the brain and heart. 2. Imagination or fan∣tasie, what: disturbed compoundeth. The Estimative. Its work and seat. 3. Memory, how a sense. It is twofold. Remini∣scence, what? Old men and childrens memories.

AS there be three actions of the soul, to wit, dijudication, composition, and retention, so there are three internal senses; to wit, the common sense, the fantasie and the memo∣ry. The common sense apprehends and judgeth the objects of the outward senses, in which, as in the Center all these objects do meet; the eye cannot put difference between colours and smels, but the common sense doth; and though the eye see, yet it doth not know it self to see, that is the work of the common sense; therefore mad men in whom this sense is hurt, see, but perceive it not, nor doe they difference the objects which they fee, but either confound them, or mistake the one for the other. So when the sensitive spirits are imployed by the fantasie, though we see oftentimes the object, yet we per∣ceive it not. 2. Though the common sense apprehends diver∣sity of objects, yet it is but one sense, because its actions in judging or differencing these objects is but one: So the eye hath but one action, though it seeth many objects. 3. The act of judging in the common sense, is not that of the soul, which extendeth it self to things also spiritual and universal, and be∣longs only to man, not to the beasts, as the judging of the common sense doth. 4. The external senses apprehend their objects onely present, but the internal senses apprehend them being absent. 5. The common sense is in the brain subjective∣ly, for there are the animal spirits and nerves, so saith Galen; but in the heart originally, and in its cause; for from thence are the vital spirits, which are the matter of the animal, and so is Aristotle to be understood.

II. The second internal sense is the imagination, so called from the images or species, which it both receiveth from the common sense, and frameth to it self: If the brain be sound and undisturbed, it receiveth species from the common sense only, and judgeth more distinctly of them then the common sense doth; it compoundeth also and uniteth, and in beasts it serves

in stead of reason to direct them to their operations; in man it is subservient to the intellect in ministring species to it, ther∣fore it is called phantasie, from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, to shine, or shew; For as the eye discerns its objects by the light, so doth the intel∣lect whilest it is in the body, work and speculate by the phan∣tasie. 2. In disturbed brains by phrensies, fevers, or inordi∣nate sleep, the phantasie makes other objects to its self then were represented to it by the common sense. 3. The phanta∣sie compoundeth that which the common sense apprehendeth in a divided way; as I see a horse and a man, and the com∣mon sense apprehendeth the species of both apart; but to con∣ceive them united in a Centaure, is the work of the phantasie. 4. The estimative is not a sense distinct from the phantasie, but the very same, whose office is to esteem what is good or hurt∣ful to the creature, and so to follow or avoid it, therefore this sense stirreth up the appetite. 5. The common sense doth not work but when the outward senses are working; but the fan∣tasie worketh without them, to wit, in sleep. 6. The fore part of the brain, in which is the common sense, is humid, as being fittest for reception, which is the common senses work; the hinder part is dry, as fit••est for retention, which is the work of the memory: but the middle part is temperately humid and dry, as fittest for reception and retention, both which are per∣formed by the phantasie. 7. For a right and orderly phanta∣sie, or imagination, there are required clear spirits from vapors, a temperate organ, straight nerves and passages, and a mode∣rate heat from the heart; if any of these bee deficient, the phantasie is disordered.

III. The third internal sense is the memory; not so much to be called a sense, as it retaineth the species; (for in this the nature of sensation consisteth not,) but as it receiveth them, for sensation is properly in reception. 2. This sense is the trea∣sury, in which are laid up that species of things past, which have been apprehended by the external senses. For as these consider things present, and hope things future; so doth the memory, things past: it is the wax receiving and retaining the stamp of the seal, and it is a faculty of the sensitive, not of the intellective soul; for beasts and birds have memories. As for the intellective memory, it is all one with the passive in∣tellect, which is the keeper of the intelligible species; for it belongs to the same faculty to understand and to remember. 3. Though in brutes there is memory, yet recorda••ion or re∣miniscence is onely in man, because it is joined with discourse

and deliberation, which are operations of the intellect; for memory is the retention of the species, but reminiscence is a recollecting by discourse and comparing of circumstances, the species which he had forgot; therefore a nimble wit and remi∣niscence which consisteth in discourse, go together common∣ly, but seldome a good wit and a good memory: this requi∣ring a dry organ, the other that which is temperately moist. 4. Children have bad retentive memories, because their brains are moist, and old men have had receptive memories, because their brains are too dry: therefore there is required for me∣mory a brain temperately moist to receive, and temperately dry to retain the species.