The passions of the soule in three books the first, treating of the passions in generall, and occasionally of the whole nature of man. The second, of the number, and order of the passions, and the explication of the six primitive ones. The third, of particular passions. By R. des Cartes. And translated out of French into English.

The 34th Article. How the Soul and the Body act one against another.

LEt us then conceive that the Soul holds her principall seat in that little kernell in the midst of the brain, from whence she diffu∣seth her becames into all the rest of the body by intercourse of the spirits, nerves, yea and the very blood, which participating the Impressions of the spirits, may convey them through the arte∣ries into all the members; and remembring what was formerly said concerning this machine our body, to wit, that the little strings of our nerves are so distributed into all parts of it that upon occasion of severall motions excited therein by sensible objects; they variously open the pores of the braine, which causeth the animall spirits con∣tained in the cavities thereof, to enter divers wayes into the muscles, by whose means they can move the members all the severall wayes they are apt tomove, and also that all the other causes which can differently move the spirits, are enough to convey them into severall muscles: let

us here adde, that the little kernell which is the chief feat of the soul hangs so between the cavi∣ties which contain these spirits, that it may be mo∣ved by them as many severall fashions as there are sensible diversities in objects; but withall, that it may be moved severall wayes by the soul too, which is of such a nature, that she receives as many various impressions (that is; hath as many severall apprehensions) as there come se∣verall motions into this kernell. As also on the other side, the machine of the body is so compo∣sed, that this kernel being only divers wayes mo∣ved by the soul, or by any other cause whatsoe∣ver, it drives the Spirits that environ it towards the pores of the brain, which convey them by the nerves into the muscles, by which means it causeth them to move the members.