The marrow of physicke, or, A learned discourse of the severall parts of mans body being a medicamentary, teaching the manner and way of making and compounding all such oyles, unguents ... &c. as shall be usefull and necessary in any private house ... : and also an addition of divers experimented medicines which may serve against any disease that shall happen to the body : together with some rare receipts for beauties ... / collected and experimented by the industry of T.B.

CHAP. V. Of Faculties.

What a fa∣culty is. A Faculty is a certaine power, and efficient cause proceeding from the tempera∣ment of the part, and the cause where∣of proceed the actions and powers of the body.

The animall faculty. Of these are three kindes in every perfect body; that is, the Animall, Vitall, and Naturall, which have a certaine simpathy one with another; for if one be hurt all the rest suffer with it. The Animall is that which proceeds from the proper temperament of the braine, and yields knowledge, sense, and voluntary motion; and this is of three kindes: 1. Moving, which remaines in the Muscles and Nerves, as the fit instru∣ments of voluntary motion. 2. Sensative, which con∣sists in the five externall senses, Sight, Hearing, Taste, Smell, and Touch. 3. and principall, which compre∣hends the reasonable faculty, the memory, and fantasie. The Animall faculty being thus seated in the braine, sends from thence sence and motion by the nerves or certaine chanels into the whole body: Vitall facul∣ty. But the Vitall faculty is that which sendeth life to every member of the whole body, and maintaines the essence of the spi∣rits; and this hath his seat in the heart, from whence he sends heat through the arteries to every part of the body, and is much hindred by diseases in the breast.

Naturall fa∣culty. The naturall faculty is that which carries the nourish∣ment

into all the members of the body, and this claimes his place in the liver; it is by Avicen and most of the ancient Philosophers concluded, that this naturall facul∣ty is divided into two parts, whereof one is the preser∣ving of life and health unseparable, and to nourish the body as comming from the fountaine and mint of nou∣rishment; the other is the preserving and maintaining the forme and species made in generation: First, by drawing the seminall matter from the humours of the body, and converting it into the humour called inomi∣nata humiditas. Secondly, by forming this seminall mat∣ter in the vessels and testicles. Thirdly, by reducing the seminall matter into simple members. Fourthly, by forming it (at the command of the Creator) into his Image and likenesse: but I will only shwe you what fa∣culties attend on these before named; and for the rest I shall referre the desirous to Galen in libro de Hippocrat. & Platonicis dogmat. li. 9. de curan. morb. cap. 10. & lib. de potent. natural. It being more then my brevity will per∣mit me to speake of.

Those faculties therefore that attend the forenamed three, are in number foure, viz. Attractive, Retentive, Digestive, and Expulsive: The Attractive drawes that juice which is most fit to nourish the body by heate, and as it were a kinde of violence, and is made three man∣ner of waies; 1. by heat, 2. likenesse of substance, 3. and to fill up vacant places; it is said to be by heat, as when frictions and rubbings are applied to any part of the body, hot emplasters or vesicatories, by which the native heate is encreased, and nourishment is drawne to the part, after which manner all the other parts draw: The likenesse of substance is a certaine inexplicable pro∣priety

following the same forme, and similitude, as you may perceive in the loadstone, amber, and purgations, which draw nourishment from the part, not confusedly, and indifferently, but definitly and with a desire even as a familiar friend; a part therefore drawes nourishment by heat, but by the similitude of substance it drawes this or that nourishment such as is most fit for it, as the braine drawes phlegmaticke blood, the lunges chole∣ricke blood; after this manner the liver drawes the Chyle, the reines, the urine, for every one drawes that it may get thereby, as the bladder of the gall drawes the gall, and delights in it because of the similitude of the substance and the propriety of the matter received to the place receiving. Now the attraction to fill up vacant places is made by the desire the naturall parts have to shunne the fault of vacancy, so that the light are carried downewards, and the heavy are raised upwards, by the ordination of nature; to that end, and in this manner doe the heart, arteries, and lunges attract aire to temper, and qualifie the native heat.

But because the parts cannot enjoy their nourish∣ment that they have acquired, unlesse the attracted be somewhile staied, for every action hath his time, therefore nature like a good and skilfull workeman hath given every part a faculty of holding and retaining the nourishment, untill it be made perfect by concoction into the forme of Chyle, it is helped by coldnesse and drynesse.

Digestive faculty. The digeive faculty, is that which turnes the nourish∣ment (brought in by the attractive faculty and retained by the retentive faculty) into a fit substance, for that part whose faculty it is, as from the stomacke the nou∣rishment

is turned into Chyle, from Chyle the dige∣stive faculty in the meseraicke▪ veines, turnes it into blood, which by a third kinde is brought to the mem∣bers, and assimulated to them and converted into the same substance, as may be perceived in the paps of wo∣men, and testicles of men.

Expulsive faculty. And because from aboundance of excrements pro∣ceed many dangerous diseases, and that no nourishment whatsoever but hath his faeces, therefore hath nature placed the expulsive faculty, which is only appointed to exp••ll those superfluities, which by no action of heat can obtaine the forme of the part; and thus the wombe at the appointed time doth send forth the infant by a most vehement expulsive faculty. Now if any of these faculties be wanting in a body, the health must needs decay for want of nourishment; but if these faculties doe rightly performe their duties, then the nourish∣ment is changed into the proper substance of the part, and truly assimulated to it.