Chapter VII: Book IV: Of Animals in general (2)

[ii] Among all the other Security the Eye hath, we may reckon the Reparation of the _aqueous Humour_; by which Means the Eye when wounded, and that in all Appearance very dangerously too, doth often recover its Sight: Of which _Bern. Verzascha_ gives divers Examples ancient and modern. One is from _Galen_, of a Boy so wounded, that the _Cornea_ fell, and became flaccid, but yet recovered his Sight. Other such like Instances also he gives from _Realdus Columbus_, _Rhodius_, and _Tulpius_; and one that he cured himself in these Words, _Ego in Nobilissimi viri filiolâ similem casum observavi: hæc dum levibus de causis cum fratre altercaret, iste iracundiâ percitus cultellum Scriptorium apprehendit, & sororis oculo vulnus infligit, inde humor aqueus effluxit. Vocatus præsentem Chirurgum jussi sequens collyrium anodynum & exsiccans tepidè sæpiùs admovere. ~℞~ aq. Plantag. ~℥iv.~ Rosar. Sanicul. Euphras. ~ana~ Trochisc. alb. Rhaf. cum Opio ~℈ii.~ Tutiæ pp. ~℈i.~ Croci orient. ~℈ss. M.~ Hoc Collyrium inflammationem compescuit, vulnus siccavit & sanavit. Hinc post aliquot menses Humor aqueus succrevit. Nam visus, sed dibilior, cum summo parentum gaudio redivit._ B. Verzaschæ Observ. Medicæ. Obs. 14.

Another Cure of this kind, was experimented by Dr. _Daniel Major_, upon a Goose, Ann. 1670, the _aqueous Humour_ of both whose Eyes they let out, so that the Eyes fell, and the _Goose_ became quite blind: But without the Use of any Medicine, in about two Days Time, Nature repaired the watery Humour again, the Eyes returned to their Former Turgency, and the _Goose_ was in a Week after produced seeing before twenty eight or thirty Spectators. _Ephem. Germ._ T. 1. Add. ad. Obs. 117.

From the same Cause, I doubt not, it was that the Eye of a Gentleman’s Daughter, and those of a Cock, when wounded, so that the _Cornea_ sunk, were restored by a _Lithuanian_ Chymist, that passed for a Conjurer, by the Use of a Liquor found in _May_, in the Vesiculæ of _Elm_. Of which see Mr. _Ray’s Catal. Cantab._ in _Ulmus_ from _Henr. ab Heers_.

[kk] _Palpebræ, quæ sunt tegumenta Oculorum, mollissimæ tactu, nè lederent aciem, aptissimæ factæ, & ad claudendas Pupillas, nè quid incideret, & ad aperiendas; idque providit, ut identidem fieri posset cum maximâ celeritate. Munitæque sunt Palpebræ tanquàm vallo pilorum: quibus & apertis Oculis, si quid incideret, repelleretur, & somno conniventibus, cùm Oculis ad cernendum non egerimus, ut qui, tanquàm involuti, quièscerent. Latent prætereà utiliter, & excelsis undique partibus sepiuntur. Primùm enim superiora Superciliis obducta sudorem à capitæ, & fronte destuentem repellunt. Genæ deinde ab inferiore parte tutantur subjectæ, leviterque eminentes._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. L. 2. c. 57.

_Tully_, in the Person of a _Stoick_, having so well accounted for the Use of the _Eye-Lids_, I shall for a further Manifestation of the Creator’s Contrivance and Structure of them, take notice of two or three Things: 1. They consist of a thin and flexible, but strong Skin, by which means they the better wipe, clean, and guard the _Cornea_. 2. Their Edges are fortified with a soft _Cartilage_, by which means they are not only enabled the better to do their Office, but also to close and shut the better. 3. Out of these Cartilages grow a Pallisade of stiff Hairs, of great Use to warn the Eye of the Invasion of Dangers, to keep off Motes, and to shut out too excessive Light, _&c._ and at the same time to admit of (through their Intervals) a sufficient Passage for Objects to approach the Eye. And it is remarkable, that these Hairs grow but to a certain, commodious Length, and need no cutting, as many other Hairs of the Body do: Also, that their Points stand out of the way, and in the upper-lid bend upwards, as they do downwards in the lower lid, whereby they are well adapted to their Use. From which last Observables, we may learn how critical and nice the great Author of Nature hath been, in even the least and most trivial Conveniencies belonging to Animal Bodies; for which Reason I have added it to _Tully_’s Remarks. And more might have been added too, as particularly concerning the curious Structure and Lodgment of the _Right Muscle_, which opens the Eye-Lids; and the _Orbicularis_, or _Circular_ one, that shuts them; the nice _Apparatus_ of Glands that keep the Eye moist, and serve for _Tears_; together with the Reason why Man alone, who is a social Animal, doth exhibit his social Affections by such outward Tokens as _Tears_; the _Nerves_ also, and other Organs acting in this Ministry. I might also speak of the Passages for discharging the superfluous Moisture of the Eyes through the Nostrils, and much more of the like kind. But it would take up too much Room in these Notes; and therefore it shall suffice to give only such Hints as may create a Suspicion of a noble Œconomy and Contrivance in this (I had almost said) least considerable part of the Eye. But for Particulars I shall refer to the Anatomists; and for some of these Things, particularly to Dr. _Willis_’s _Cereb. Anat._ and _de Anim. Brut._ and Mr. _Cowper_’s Elegant Cuts in the 11ᵗʰ _Tab._ of his _Anatomy_.

To the Eye-Lids we may add another Guard afforded the Eyes of most Quadrupeds, Birds, and Fishes, by the _nictitating Membrane_, which Dr. _Willis_ gives this Account of, _Plurimis ~[Animalibus]~ quibus Musculus suspensorius adest_ (which Limitation he needed not to have added) _etiam alter Membranosus conceditur, qui juxta interiorem oculi canthum situs, quando elevatur, Oculi globum ferè totum obtegit. Hujus usus esse videtur, ut cùm Bestiæ inter gramina, ~&c.~ capita sua propter victum capessendum demergunt, hic Musculus Oculi Pupillam, nè à stipularum incursu seriatur, oculit, munitque._ De Anim. Brut. p. 1. c. 15.

This Membrane Man hath not, he having little Occasion to thrust his Head into such Places of Annoyance, as Beasts and other Animals; or if he hath, he can defend his Eyes with his Hands. But Birds (who frequent Trees and Bushes) and Quadrupeds, (Hedges and long Grass) and who have no part ready, like the Hand, to fence off Annoyances; these, I say, have this incomparable Provision made for the Safety of their Eyes. And for Fishes, as they are destitute of Eye-Lids, because in the Waters there is no occasion for a Defensative against Dust and Motes, offensive to the Eyes of Land Animals, nor to moisten and wipe the Eyes, as the Eye-Lids do, so the _Nictitating-Membrane_ is an abundant Provision for all their Occasions, without the Addition of the Eye-Lids.

And now, if we reflect, are these the Works of any Thing but a wise and indulgent Agent?

[ll] Although the Hardness and Firmness of the _Adnata_, or _Sclerotica_ in Birds, is a good Guard to their Eyes, yet I do not think it is made thus, so much for a Defence, as to minister to the lengthning and shortning the Eye, mentioned before in _Note (cc)._

[mm] _Cochleis oculorum vicem Cornicula bina pratentu implent._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37. See more of the Eyes of _Snails_ before in _Note (k)_; and in _Note (l)_, I said that I suspected _Moles_ also might thrust out, or withdraw their Eyes more or less within the Hair or Skin.

[nn] The diligent _Sturmius_ was fully persuaded there could not be any speculative Atheism in any one that should well survey the Eye. _Nobis_, saith he, _fuit persuasissimum. Atheismum, quem vocant speculativum, h. e. obsirmatam de Deitate in Universo nullâ persuasionem, habere locum aut inveniri non posse in eo homine, qui vel unius corporis organici, & speciatim Oculi fabricam attento animo aspexerit._ Sturm. Exerc. Acad. 9. De Vis. Organ. & Rat. in Epilogo.

[oo] The glorious Landskips, and other Objects that present themselves to the Eye, are manifestly painted on the _Retina_, and that not erect, but inverted as the Laws of Opticks require; and is manifest to the Eye from _Monsieur Cartes_’s Experiment, of laying bare the vitreous Humour on the back part of the Eye, and clapping over it a Bit of white Paper, or the Skin of an Egg; and then placing the fore-part of the Eye to the Hole of the Window of a darkned Room. By which means we have a pretty Landskip of the Objects abroad invertedly painted on the Paper, on the back of the Eye. But now the Question is, How in this Case the Eye comes to see the Objects erect? _Monsieur Cartes_’s Answer is, _Notitia illius ex nullâ imagine pendet, nec ex ullâ actione ab objectis veniente, sed ex solo situ exiguarum partium cerebri, è quibus Nervi expullulant.——E.g. cogitandum in Oculo——situm capillamenti nervi optici——respondere ad alium quendam partis cerebri——qui facit ut Anima singula loca cognoscat, quæ jacent in rectâ, aut quasi rectâ lineæ; ut ita mirari non debeamus corpora in naturali situ videri, quamvis imago in oculo delineata contrarium habeat._ Dioptr. c. 6. But our most ingenious Mr. _Molyneux_ answereth thus, _The Eye is only the Organ or Instrument, ’tis the Soul that sees by means of the Eye. To enquire then how the Soul perceives the Object erect, by an inverted Image, is to enquire into the Soul’s Faculties——But erect and inverted are only Terms of Relation to up and down; or farther from, or nigher to the Center of the Earth, in Parts of the same Thing.——But the Eye, or visive Faculty takes no notice of the internal Posture of its own Parts, but useth them as an Instrument only, contrived by Nature for the Exercise of such a Faculty.——Let us imagine, that the Eye ~(on its lower Part)~ receives an Impulse ~[by a Ray from the upper part of the Object]~ must not the visive Faculty be necessarily directed hereby to consider this Stroke, as coming from the top rather than the bottom ~[of the Object]~ and consequently be directed to conclude it the Representation of the top? Hereof we may be satisfied, by supposing a Man standing on his Head. For here, though the upper Parts of Objects are painted on the upper Parts of the Eye, yet the Objects are judged to be erect. What is said of Erect and Reverse, may be understood of Sinister and Dexter._ Molyneux’s Dioptr. Nov. Part I. Prop. 28.

CHAP. III.

_Of the Sense of Hearing._

Concerning the Sense of _Hearing_, I shall take notice of two Things, the Organ, the _Ear_; and its Object, _Sound_.

I. For the Organ, the _Ear_; I shall pass by its convenient Number of being double, which (as in the last Sense) serves for the commodious Hearing every way round us; as also a wise Provision for the utter Loss or Injury[a] of one of the Ears. But I shall a little insist upon its Situation, and its admirable Fabrick and Parts.

1. It is situated in the most convenient Part of the Body, (like as I said the Eye is) in a Part near the common Sensory in the Brain, to give the more speedy Information; in a Part where it can be best guarded, and where it is most free from Annoyances and Harms it self, and where it gives the least Annoyance and Hindrance to the Exercises of any other Part; in a Part appropriated to the peculiar Use of the principal Senses, in the most lofty, eminent Part of the Body, where it can perceive the most Objects, and receive the greatest Information: And lastly, in a Part in the Neighbourhood of its Sister Sense the Eye, with whom it hath peculiar and admirable Communication by its Nerves, as I intend to shew in its proper Place. In respect then of its Situation and Place in the Body, this Sense is well designed and contrived, and may so far be accounted the Work of some admirable Artist. But,

2. If we survey its Fabrick and Parts, it will appear to be an admirable Piece of the Divine Wisdom, Art, and Power. For the Manifestation of which, let us distinctly survey the outward and the inward Part of its curious Organ.

1. For the _outward Ear_: If we observe its Structure in all Kinds of Animals, it must needs be acknowledged to be admirably Artificial, it being so nicely prepared, and adjusted to the peculiar Occasions of each respective Animal. In Man[b], it is of a Form proper for the erect Posture of his Body. In Birds, of a Form proper for Flight; not protuberant, because that would obstruct their Progress, but close and covered, to afford the easier Passage through the Air. In Quadrupeds, its Form is agreeable to the Posture, and slower Motion of their Bodies; and in these too, various, according to their various Occasions. In some large, erect, and open, to hear the least Approaches of Dangers[c], in others covered, to keep out noxious Bodies. In the Subterraneous Quadrupeds, who are forced to mine, and dig for their Food and Habitation, as a protuberant Ear, like that of other Quadrupeds, would obstruct their Labours, and be apt to be torn and injured; so they have the contrary[d], their Ears short, lodged deep and backward in their Head, and passing to the under Part thereof, and all sufficiently fenced and guarded. And as for Insects, Reptiles, and the Inhabitants of the Waters, if they enjoy this Sense, (as there is great Reason to think they do,) it may probably be lodged commodiously under the same Security and Guard, as the Smelling, or some other Sense is.

And moreover, as the Form of this Organ is various in various Animals, so in each of them its Structure is very curious and observable, being in all admirably contrived to collect the wandering, circumambient Impressions, and Undulations of Sound, and to convey them to the Sensory within. If I should run over the several _Genera_ of Animals, we might find a notable Prospect of the handy-work of God[e], even in this so inconsiderable Part of Animals. But I shall only carry my Survey to that of Man. And here the first Thing that offereth it self to our View, is the _Helix_, with its tortuous Cavities, made to stop, and collect the sonorous Undulations, to give them a gentle Circulation and Refraction, and so convey them to the _Concha_, or larger and more capacious round Cell at the Entrance of the Ear. And to bridle the Evagation of the Sound, when arrived so far, but withal not to make a Confusion thereof, by any disagreeable Repercussions, we may take notice of a very curious Provision in those little Protuberances, called the _Tragus_, and _Antitragus_ of the outward Ear, of a commodious Form and Texture[f], and conveniently lodged for this Use. The great Convenience and Benefit of this Form and Contrivance of the outward Ear, is sufficiently manifest by the want thereof, which causeth a _Confusion in the Hearing, with a certain Murmur, or Swooing like the Fall of Waters_[g].

Another wise Provision of the Creator, is in the Substance of the outward Ear, which is cartilaginous, the fittest for this Place. For (as an ingenious Anatomist[h] observes) “If it had been Bone, it would have been troublesome, and might by many Accidents have been broken off: If Flesh, it would have been subject to Contusion”. But indeed a worse Consequence than this would have ensu’d such a Softness as that of Flesh, and that is, it would neither have remain’d expanded, neither would it so kindly receive and circulate the Sounds, but absorb, retard, or blunt their Progress into the inward Organ. But being hard, and curiously smooth and tortuous, Sounds find an easie Passage, with a regular Volutation and Refraction: As in a well-built Arch, Grotto, or musical Instrument, which magnify and meliorate Sounds; and some of which convey even a Whisper to a large Distance[i]: But from the outward, let us carry our Survey,

2. To the inward Part of this admirable Organ. And here we find the most curious and artful Provision for every Emergency and Occasion. The _auditory Passage_, in the first Place, curiously tunnelled, and artfully turned, to give Sounds an easie Passage, as well as a gentle Circulation and Refraction; but withal, so as to prevent their too furious rushing in, and assaulting the more tender Parts within.

And forasmuch as it is necessary that this Passage should be always open, to be upon the Watch[k]; therefore to prevent the Invasion of noxious Insects, or other Animals, (who are apt to make their retreat in every little Hole), Nature hath secured this Passage[l], with a bitter nauseous Excrement[m], afforded from the Glands[n] appointed for that Purpose.

From hence let us approach the most inward Parts, in which we shall see Strokes of the most exquisite Art. To pass over the _innate Air_, that most Authors talk of[o], (because there is no such) the passage to the Palate[p], and their Uses, with divers other curious Things that might be named; let us stop a little at the Part containing the rest, namely, the Bone[q]. The particular Texture and Hardness of which, above other Bones of the Body, is very remarkable; whereby it serves not only as a substantial Guard to the Sensory, but also to oppose the Impulses of the ætherial Matter, that there may be no loss, nor Confusion in the Sound; but that it may be conveyed regularly, and intirely to the auditory Nerves.

The next Part I shall take Notice of, may be that fine Membrane, called the _Tympanum_, or _Membrana Tympani_[r], with its inner Membrane[s]; together with the four little appendent Bones[t], and the three inner Muscles to move them, and adjust the whole _Compages_ to the several Purposes of Hearing, to hear all Manner of Sounds, loud or languid, harsh or grateful[u].

From this Region of the _Tympanum_, I might pass to that of the _Labyrinth_[w], and therein survey the curious and admirable Structure of the _Vestibulum_, the _Semicircular Canals_[x], and _Cochlea_; particularly the artificial Gyrations, and other singular Curiosities observable in the two latter.

But I shall not expatiate on these recluse Parts; only there is one special Contrivance of the Nerves, ministring to this Sense of Hearing, which must not be passed by; and that is, the Branches of one of the _auditory Nerves_[y], spread partly to the Muscles of the Ear, partly to the Eye, partly to the Tongue and Instruments of Speech, and inosculated with the Nerves to go to the Heart and Breast. By which Means there is an admirable, and useful Content between these Parts of the Body; it being natural for most Animals, upon the Hearing any uncouth Sound, to erect their Ears, and prepare them to catch every Sound; to open their Eyes (those constant faithful Sentinels) to stand upon their Watch; and to be ready with the Mouth to call out, or utter what the present Occasion shall dictate. And accordingly it is very usual for most Animals, when surpriz’d, and terrify’d with any Noise, presently to shriek and cry out.

But there is besides this, in Man, another great Use of this nervous Commerce between the Ear and Mouth: And that is, (as one of the best Authors on this Subject expresseth it)[z], “That the Voice may correspond with the Hearing, and be a kind of Echo thereof, that what is _heard_ with _one_ of the two Nerves, may be readily expressed with the Voice, by the help of the _other_.”

Thus much shall suffice to have spoken concerning the Organ. Let us,

II. Take Notice of the _Object_ of this admirable Sense, namely, _Sound_; and so conclude this Chapter. I shall not here enquire into the Nature and Properties of _Sound_, which is in a great Measure intricate, and hath puzzelled the best Naturalists: Neither shall I shew how this admirable Effect of the divine Contrivance, may be improv’d to divers Uses[aa] and Purposes in humane Life; but my Business will be to shew that this Thing, of so admirable Use in the animal World, is the Work of God. And this will appear, let the subject Matter of Sounds be what it will; either the Atmosphere[bb] in Gross, or the ætherial Part thereof, or soniferous Particles of Bodies, as some fancy, or whatever else the Philosopher may think it. For who but an intelligent Being, what less than an omnipotent and infinitely wise God could contrive, and make such a fine Body, such a Medium, so susceptible of every Impression, that the Sense of Hearing hath occasion for, to empower all Animals to express their Sense and Meaning to others; to make known their Fears, their Wants, their Pains and Sorrows in melancholick Tones; their Joys and Pleasures in more harmonious Notes; to send their Minds at great Distances[cc], in a short Time[dd], in loud Boations; or to express their Thoughts near at hand with a gentle Voice, or in secret Whispers! And to say no more, who less than the same most wise and indulgent Creator, could form such an Oeconomy, as that of Melody and Musick is! That the _Medium_ should (as I said) so readily receive every Impression of Sound, and convey the melodious Vibration of every musical String, the harmonious Pulses of every animal Voice, and of every musical Pipe; and the Ear be as well adapted, and ready to receive all these Impressions, as the _Medium_ to convey them: And lastly, that by Means of the curious Lodgment, and Inosculations of the _auditory Nerves_ before-mentioned, the Orgasms of the Spirits should be allay’d, and Perturbations of the Mind, in a great Measure quieted and stilled[ee]: Or to express it in the Words of the last-cited famous Author[ff], “That Musick should not only affect the Fancy with Delight; but also give Relief to the Grief and Sadness of the Heart; yea, appease all those turbulent Passions, which are excited in the Breast by an immoderate Ferment, and Fluctuation of the Blood”.

And now, who can reflect upon all this curious Apparatus of the _Sense of Hearing_, and not give the great Creator his due Praise! Who can survey all this admirable Work, and not as readily own it to be the Work of an omnipotent, and infinitely wise and good _GOD_[gg], as the most artful Melodies we hear, are the Voice or Performances of a living Creature!

FOOTNOTES:

[a] I presume it will not be ungrateful to take notice here of the admirable, as well as useful Sagacity of some deaf Persons, that have learnt to supply their want of _Hearing_ by understanding what is said by the Motion of the Lips. My very ingenious Friend Mr. _Waller_, _R. S. Secr._ gives this Account, _There live now and have from their Birth, in our Town, a Man and his Sister, each about fifty Years old, neither of which have the least Sense of Hearing,——yet both of these know, by the Motion of the Lips only, whatever is said to them, and will answer pertinently to the Question proposed to them——The Mother told me they could hear very well, and speak when they were Children, but both lost that Sense afterwards, which makes them retain their Speech; though that, to Persons not used to them, is a little uncouth and odd, but intelligible enough._ Phil. Trans. No. 312.

Such another Instance is that of Mr. _Goddy_, Minister of St. _Gervais_ in _Geneva_, his Daughter. _She is now about sixteen Years old. Her Nurse had an extraordinary Thickness of Hearing; at a Year old, the Child spake all those little Words that Children begin to speak at that Age.——At two Years old, they perceived she had lost her Hearing, and was so Deaf, that ever since, though she hears great Noises, yet she hears nothing that one can speak to her.——But by observing the Motions of the Mouth and Lips of others, she hath acquired so many Words, that out of these she hath formed a sort of Jargon, in which she can hold Conversation whole Days with those that can speak her own Language. I could understand some of her Words, but could not comprehend a Period, for it seemed to be but a confused Noise. She knows nothing that is said to her, unless she seeth the Motion of their Mouths that speak to her; so that in the Night, when it is necessary to speak to her, they must light a Candle. Only one thing appeared the strangest part of the whole Narration: She hath a Sister, with whom she hath practised her Language more than with any other: And in the Night, by laying her Hand on her Sister’s Mouth, she can perceive by that what she saith, and so can discourse with her in the Night._ Bishop _Burnet_’s Let. 4. p. 248.

[b] I cannot but admire that our most eminent modern Anatomists should not agree, whether there be any Muscles in the outward Ear of Man or not. Dr. _Keil_ saith there are two; Dr. _Drake_ the same Number; and Dr. _Gibson_ makes them to be four. So also doth _Monsieur Dionis_, and so did the ancient Anatomists: But Dr. _Schelhammer_ expressly denies there are any, and saith, _Seduxit autem reliquos Brutorum Anatome, in quorum plerisque tales Musculi plures inveniuntur; putârunt autem fortassis ignominiosum Homini, si non & his instructus esset, & minùs inde perfectum animal fore._ Schel. de Auditu p. 1. c. 1. §. 7. But _Valsalva_, who wrote very lately, and is very accurate in his Survey of the Ear, saith, _Musculi auriculæ posteriores quandoque quatuor, quandoque duo; sed ut plurimùm tres adnotantur; & quando solùm duo se manifestant, tunc unus ex illis duplicato tendine versùs Concham deferri solet. Horum musculorum in numero varietatem non solùm in diversis; verùm etiam in eodem subjecto quandoque vidi——Ex quibus differentiis subortæ sunt Auctorum discrepantiæ in horum Musculorum numero, & positu:——quod non evenisset, si pluries in diversis Corporibus iidem Musculi quæsiti essent._ Ant. Mar. _Valsalva de Aur. Human._ c. 1. §. 6. But Dr. _Drake_ thinks some of _Valsalva_’s Muscles the Product of Fancy. Mr. _Cowper_ makes them to be three, one _Attollent_, and two _Retrabent Muscles_. See _Anat._ Tab. 12.

[c] _Inter cætera ~[animalia aurita]~ maximè admirabilis est auris leporinæ fabrica, quod cùm timidissimum animal sit, & prorsus inerme, natura id tum auditu acurissimo, tanquam hostium exploratore ad perfentienda pericula, tum pedibus ceu armis ad currendum aptis munisse videtur._ A. Kircher’s _Phonurg._ l. 1. §. 7. Technas. 2.

[d] _Moles_ have no protuberant Ear, but only a round Hole between the Neck and Shoulder; which Situation of it, together with the thick, short Fur that covers it, is a sufficient Defensative against external Annoyances. The _Meatus Auditorius_ is long, round and cartilaginous, reaching to the under part of the Skull. Round the inside runs a little Ridge, resembling two Threads of a Skrew; at the Bottom whereof is a pretty Inlet, leading to the Drum, made, on one side with the aforesaid cochleous Ridge, and on the other, with a small Cartilage. I observed there was _Cerumen_ in the _Meatus_.

As to the _inner Ear_, it is somewhat singular, and different from that of the other Quadrupeds, and much more from Birds, although I have met with some Authors that make it agreeing with that of Birds. There are three small Bones only (all hollow) by which the _Drum_ (to use the old Appellation) or the _Membrana Tympani_ (as others call it) acteth upon the _Auditory Nerve_. The first is the _Malleus_, which hath two Processes nearly of equal Length; the longer of which is braced to the _Membrana Tympani_, the shorter to the side of the _Drum_ or _Os Petrosum_; the back part of it resembles the Head and Stalk of a small _Mushroom_, such as are pickled. On the back of the _Malleus_ lies the next small Bone, which may be called the _Incus_, long, and without any Process, having somewhat the Form of the short Scoop wherewith Water-men throw the Water out of their Wherries. To the end of this the third and last small Bone is tacked by a very tender Brace. This little Bone bears the Office of the _Stapes_, but is only forked without any Base. One of these Forks is at one _Fenestra_, or _Foramen_, the other at another; in which _Fenestra_ I apprehend the Forks are tacked to the Auditory Nerve. These _Fenestra_ (equivalent to the _Fenestra Ovalis_, and _Rotunda_ in others) are the Inlets into the _Cochlea_ and _Canales Semicirculares_, in which the _Auditory Nerve_ lieth. The _Semicircular Canales_ lie at a distance from the _Drum_, and are not lodged (as in other Animals) in a strong, thick Body of Bone, but are thrust out, within the Skull, making an _Antrum_, with an handsome _Arch_ leading into it, into which a part of the Brain enters.

One Leg of the _Malleus_ being fastned to the _Membrana Tympani_, and the _Incus_ to the back of the _Malleus_, and the top of that to the top of the _Stapes_, and the Forks or Branches of the _Stapes_ to the _Auditory Nerve_, I observed that whenever I moved the Membrane, all the little Bones were at the same time moved, and consequently the _Auditory Nerve_ thereby affected also.

I hope the Reader will excuse me for being so particular in this Organ only of the _Mole_, a despised Creature, but as notable an Example of _God_’s Work, as its Life is different from that of other Quadrupeds; for which Reason it partly is that I have enlarged on this part differing from that of others, and which no Body that I know of, hath taken much notice of, and which is not discoverable without great Patience and Application; and partly because by comparing these Observations with _Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (d)_, we may judge how the Sense of Hearing is performed.

[e] _Among many Varieties, both in the inner and outer Ear, those which appear in the Passage into the Rock-Bone, are remarkable. For in an ~Owl~, that perches on a Tree or Beam, and hearkens after the Prey beneath her, it is produced farther out above than it is below, for the better Reception of the least Sound. But in a Fox, that scouteth underneath the Prey at Roost; it is for the same Reason, produced farther out below. In a ~Pole-Cat~, which hearkens strait forward, it is produced behind, for the taking of a forward Sound. Whereas in a ~Hare~, which is very quick of Hearing, and thinks of nothing but being pursued, it is supplied with a bony Tube, which as a natural Otocoustick, is so directed backward, as to receive the smallest and most distant Sound that comes behind her._ Grew’s Cosmolog. Sacr. _lib. 1. c. 5. §. 6_.

[f] The Texture of the _Tragus_ and _Antitragus_, is softer than that of the _Helix_, which serveth gently to blunt, not forcibly to repel the Sound in the _Concha_.

[g] Dr. _Gibson_’s Anatomy, _Chap. 22. Book III_.

_Those whose Ears are cut off, have but a confused way of Hearing, and are obliged either to form a Cavity round the Ear with their own Hands, or else to make use of a Horn, and apply the end of it to the inner Cavity of the Ear, on order to receive the agitated Air. ’Tis likewise observed, that those whose Ears jut out, hear better than flat-eared Persons_. Monsieur Dionis’s _Anat. Demonstr. 8_.

[h] _Gibs._ Ibid.

[i] It would nauseate the Reader to reckon up the Places famed for the Conveyance of Whispers, such as the Prison of _Dionysius_ at _Syracuse_, which is said to encrease a Whisper to a Noise; the clapping ones Hands to the Sound of a Cannon, &c. Nor the _Aquaducts_ of _Claudius_, which carry a Voice sixteen Miles, and many others both Ancient and Modern. If the Reader hath a mind to be entertained in this way, he may find enough in _Kircher_’s _Phonurgia_. But it may not be irksome to mention one or two of our own in _England_. Among which, one of the most famed is the _Whispering-Place_ in _Gloucester Cathedral_, which is no other than a Gallery above the East-end of the Choir, leading from one side thereof to the other. It consisteth, (if I mistake not) of five Angles, and six Sides, the middle-most of which is a naked, uncovered Window, looking into a Chapel behind it. I guess the two Whisperers stand at about twenty five Yards Distance from one another. But the _Dome_ of St. _Paul_’s, _London_, is a more considerable _Whispering-Place_, where the ticking of a Watch (when no Noise is in the Streets) may be heard from Side to Side; yea, a Whisper may be sent all round the _Dome_. And not only in the Gallery below, but above, upon the Scaffold, I tried, and found that a Whisper would be carried over one’s Head round the top of the Arch, notwithstanding there is a large Opening in the middle of it into the upper part of the _Dome_.

[k] _Auditus autem semper patet: ejus enim sensu etiam dormientes egemus: A quo cùm sonus est acceptus, etiam è somno excitamur. Flexuosum iter habet, nè quid intrare possit, si simplex, & directum pateret; provisum etiam, ut siqua minima bestiola conaretur irrumpere, in sordibus aurium, tanquàm in visco, inhæresceret._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 57.

It deserves a particular Remark here, that in Infants in the Womb, and newly born, the _Meatus Auditorius_ is shut up very closely, partly by the Constriction of the Passage, and partly by a glutinous Substance, whereby the _Tympanum_ is guarded against the Water in the _Secundine_, and against the Injuries of the Air as soon as the Infant is born.

[l] It is remarkable, that in most, if not all Animals, whose Ears are tunnelled, or where the _Meatus Auditorius_ is long enough to afford Harbour to _Ear-wigs_, or other Insects; that, I say, in the Ears of such, _Ear-wax_ is constantly to be found. But in Birds, whose Ears are covered with Feathers, and where the _Tympanum_ lies but a little way within the Skull, no _Ear-wax_ is found, because none is necessary to the Ears so well guarded, and so little tunnelled.

[m] The _Ear-wax_ was thought by the old Anatomists to be an Excrement of the Brain: _Humor biliosus à cerebro expugnatus_, the _Bartholines_ say of it, l. 3. _c. 9._ But as _Schelhammer_ well observes, _Nil absurdius, quàm cerebri excrementum hoc statuere. Nam & ratio nulla suadet, ut in cerebro fieri excrementum tale credamus:——neque viæ patent per quas ab eo seclusum in meatum auditorium possit inde penetrare._ As to its Taste, _Casserius_ gives Instances of its being sweet in some Creatures. But _Schelhammer_ says, _Ego verò semper, cum amaritie aliquid dulcedinis in illo deprehendi_. Vid. Schel. de Audit. _p. 1. c. 2. §. 10_. But I could never distinguish any Sweetness in it; but think it insipid mixed with a Bitterness.

[n] _Cerumina amara Arteriolis exudantia._ Willis de Anim. Brut. _par. 1. c. 14_. _In the Skin——are little Glands, which furnish a yellow and bitter Humour._ Monsieur Dionis’s Dem. 18. An handsome Cut of those _Glandulæ ceruminosæ_ is in Dr. _Drake_, from _Valsalva_.

_Pliny_ attributes a great Virtue to the _Ear-wax_; _Morsus hominis inter asperrimos numeratur: medentur sordes ex auribus: ac ne quis miretur, etiam Scorpionum ictibus Serpentiumque statim impositæ._ Plin. Nat. Hist. _l. 28. c. 4_. And that it hath an healing Quality, and may be accounted a good Balsam, I my self have experienced.

[o] That there is such a Thing as the _innate Air_, (talked of much by most Authors on this Subject) _Schelhammer_ very justly, I think, denies, by Reason there is a Passage into the inner Ear from the Throat, through which the _innate Air_ may pass out, and the outward Air enter in. _V._ _Par. Alt._ p. 2. c. 1. §. 10. When by stopping our Breath, and Straining, we force the external Air into the Ear, it may be heard rushing in; and if much be forced in, it may be felt also to beat against the _Tympanum_. When the Passage to the Throat is by any Means stopp’d, as by a Cold in the Head, &c. the Hearing thereby becomes dull and blunt; by Reason the Communication between the outward and inward Air are obstructed: But when by strong Swallowing, or such-like Motion of the Throat, the Passage is opened, we perceive it by a sudden Smack or Crack, and we immediately hear very clearly; the load of feculent Air being at that Time discharged from the inner Ear.

It is a wise Provision, that the Passage for the Air into the Ear, is from the Throat; _Ut non statim quivis aer externus irrumpere queat_ (as _Schelhammer_ saith, _Par. Ult. c. 4. §. 8._) _sed nonnihil immutatus, ac temperatus, calore ex medio ventre exspirante; imò fortassis non facilè alius, nisi ex pulmonibus._

[p] _Valsalva_ hath given us a more accurate Description of the _Tuba Eustachiana_, or _Passage to the Palate_, than any other Author, to whom I therefore refer, _De Aur. Human._ c. 2. §. 16, _&c._

The chief Use hereof, he thinks, is to give way to the inner Air, upon every Motion of the _Membrana Tympani_, the _Malleus_, _Incus_ and _Stapes_. This Passage, if it be shut up, Deafness ensues: Of which he gives two Instances: One a Gentleman, who lost his Hearing by a Polypus in the Nose reaching to the _Uvula_; the other a Yeoman, labouring with an Ulcer above the left Side of the _Uvula_; which when he stopt with a Tent dipped in Medicine, he lost his Hearing in the left Ear, and recovered it, as soon as the Tent was out. _Ibid. c. 5. §. 10._

[q] Os [petrosum] _ex quo interiores ~[Labyrinthi]~ cavitatum parietes conflati sunt, album, durissimum, necnon maximè compactum. Id autem à Naturâ ita comparatum esse videtur, ut materia ætherea Sonorum objectorum impressionibus onusta, dum prædictis impingitur Parietibus, nihil aut saltem ferè nihil motûs sui amittat, atque adeò illum qualem ab Objectis sonoris accepit, talem communicet spiritui animali contento intra expansiones rami mollioris Nervorum auris._ Dr. _Raym. Vieussens_ of _Montpellier_, in Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 258.

[r] The _Tympanum_ of the Ear, or as _Valsalva_ and the Moderns, the _Membrana Tympani_ was taken notice of as early as _Hippocrates_’s Time. In Birds, it is strained towards the outward Parts; in other Animals towards the Brain, or inner Parts. Monsieur _Dionis_ saith, _It is not equally fastened to the whole Circumference of the bony Circle, in which it is inchased; for on the upper Side it hath a free disengaged Part, by which some can give vent to the Smoak in their Mouth._ Demonstr. 8. That there is some Passage I doubt not, but I question whether Monsieur _Dionis_ ever saw the disengaged Part he mentions. I have my self carefully searched divers Subjects, and do not remember to have seen any such Passage; and I perceive it escaped the diligent _Schelhammer_’s Eye. _Valsalva_ also by injecting in through the _Tuba Eustachiana_, could not force any Liquor into the _Meatus Auditorius_; but yet he imagines he found the Passage out in another Place of the Drum, in some morbid, and one sound Head. _Valsalv. de Aur. Hum._ c. 2. §. 8. Mr. _Cowper_ also affirms there is a Passage by the upper Part of the Membrane. _Anat. Ap._ Fig. 8.

[s] Dr. _Vieussens_, before-named, discovered a Membrane, _tenuissimæ raræque admodùm texturæ intra cavitatem Tympani_; as he describes it. Whose use he saith is, _1. Occludens Labyrinthi januam impedit nè naturalis purissimus ac subtilissimus Aer intra cavitates——communicationem——habeat cum aere crasso. 2. Labyrinthi basin calefacit, ~&c.~ ubi supra._ Probably this double Membrane may be such, or after the same Manner as it is in the _Tympanum_ of Birds: Of which see my Observations in _Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (d)._

[t] The four little Bones being treated of by all that have concerned themselves about this Sense of Hearing, since their Discovery, I shall take Notice of only two Things concerning them. 1. The Discovery of them is owing wholly to the Diligence and Sagacity of the latter Ages; of which _Schelhammer_ gives this Account from _Fallopius_, _Hæc Officula antiquis Anatomicis——ignota fuere; primusque qui in lucem produxit ~[Malleum & Incum]~ fuit Jac. Carpensis; primus quoque procul omni dubio Anatomicæ artis, quam Vesalius posteà perfecit, restaurator. Tertium ~[Stapedem]~ invenit ac promulgavit primus Joh. Phil. ab Ingrassia, Siculus, Philosophus ac Medicus doctissimus. Quartum, Thomâ Bartholin. teste, viro longè celeberrimo, Fran. Sylvio debetur_ Schel. _ubi supr._ c. 3. §. 9. 2. Their Difference in Animals: In _Man_, and _Quadrupeds_, they are four, curiously inarticulated with one another; with an external and internal Muscle to draw, or work them, in extending, or relaxing the _Drum_; but in _Fowls_ the Case is very different: _His unum Ossiculum solùm largita est Natura, quod Collumellam fortè appellaveris: teres enim est & subtilissimum, basi innitens latiori, rotundæ. Huic adnexa est cartilago valde mobilis, quæ in Tympanum videtur terminari._ Id. Ib. §. 8. _In the Ears of all the Fowl that I could examine, I never found any more than one Bone, and a Cartilage, making a Joynt with it, that was easily moveable. The Cartilage had generally an Epiphyse, or two, one on each Side.——The Bone was very hard and small, having at the end of it a broad Plate, of the same Substance, very thin, upon which it rested, as on its Basis._ Dr. _Al. Moulen_ in Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 100.

These are the most material Things I find observed by others, concerning the Ears of Fowls, and some of them hardly, I believe, observed before. To which I shall subjoyn some other Things I have my self discovered, that I presume escaped the Eyes of those most curious and inquisitive Anatomists. Of which the last cited _Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (d)._

[u] _Videtur quòd Tympanum Auditionis instrumentum præliminare, & quasi præparatorium fuerit, quad Soni impressionem, sive species sensibiles primo suscipiens, eas in debitâ proportione, & aptâ conformitate, versùs Sensorium, quod adhuc interiùs situm est, dirigat: simili officio fungitur respectu Auditûs, ac tunicæ Oculi Pupillam constituentes, respectu Visûs; utræque Membranæ Species sensibiles refringunt & quasi emolliunt, easque Sensorio non nisi proportionatas tradunt, cui nudo si adveniant, teneriorem ejus crasin facilè lædant, aut obruant. Reverà Tympanum non audit, sed meliori tutiorique Auditioni confert. Si hæc pars destruatur, Sensio adhuc aliquamdiu, rudi licèt modo, peragi possit; quippe experimento olim in Cane facto, ~&c.~——Janitoris officio ut Tympanum rectè defungi possit, expansum ejus pro datâ occasione stringi, aut relaxari debet, veluti nimirùm Oculi Pupilla——Quapropter huic Auris Tympano, non secus ac bellico, machinæ sive tæniæ quædam apponuntur, quæ superficiem ejus modò tensiorem, modò laxiorem reddant: hoc enim efficiunt tria Ossicula, cum Musculo, ~&c.~_ _Willis_’s de Anim. Brut. c. 14.

For this Opinion of Dr. _Willis_, Dr. _Schelhammer_ is very severe upon him, deriding the Refractions he speaks of; and therefore seriously proves that they are the Humours, not Tunicks of the Eye, that refract the Rays of Light; and then jeeringly demandeth, Whether the sonorous Rays are refracted by passing through a different Medium? Whether the Convexity or Concavity of the Drum collects those Rays into a focal Point, or scatters them? _&c._ And then saith, _Ob has rationes à clariss. Viri, ac de re Medicâ præclarè meriti, sententiâ non possumus non esse alieniores; in quo uti ingenium admiror, quoties medicamentorum vires, aut morborum causas explicat, sic ubi forum suum egressus, Philosophum agit, ac vel Partium usum, vel Chymicarum rerum naturam scrutetur, ejus haud semel non modò judicium desidero, verùm aliquando etiam fidem._ This is so severe and unjust a Censure of our truly famous Countryman, (a Man of known Probity) that might deserve a better Answer; but I have only Time to say, that although Dr. _Schelhammer_ hath out-done all that wrote before him, in his Book _de Auditu_, and shewed himself a Man of Learning and Industry; yet as our Countryman wrote more than he, (though perhaps not free from Errors too) so he hath manifested himself to have been as curious and sagacious an Anatomist, as great a Philosopher, and as learned and skilful a Physician, as any of his Censurers, and his Reputation for Veracity and Integrity, was no less than any of theirs too. But after all this terrible Clamour, Dr. _Schelhammer_ prejudicately mistaketh Dr. _Willis_’s Meaning, to say no worse. For by _utræque Membranæ refringunt_, Dr. _Willis_ plainly enough, I think, means no more than a Restriction of the Ingress of too many Rays; as his following explicatory Words manifest, _viz. refringunt, & quasi emolliunt, easque Sensorio non nisi proportionatas tradunt_. But indeed Dr. _Schelhammer_ hath shewn himself a too rigid Censor, by making Dr. _Willis_ say, the _Ear-Drum_ hath such like Braces as the _War-Drum_, viz. _Quod porrò de machinis seu tæniis Tympani bellici adducit, dicitque idem in Tympano auditorio conspici, id prorsus falsissimum est._ I wonder Dr. _Schelhammer_ did not also charge Dr. _Willis_ with making it a Porter, since he saith in the same Paragraph, _Janitoris officio, ~&c.~_ But Dr. _Willis_’s Meaning is plain enough, that the little Bones and Muscles of the _Ear-Drum_ do the same Office in straining and relaxing it, as the Braces of the _War-Drum_ do in that. And considering how curious and solemn an Apparatus there is of Bones, Muscles, and Joynts, all adapted to a ready Motion; I am clearly of Dr. _Willis_’s Opinion, that one great Use of the _Ear-Drum_ is for the proportioning Sounds, and that by its Extension and Retraction, it corresponds to all Sounds, loud or languid, as the Pupil of the Eye doth to several Degrees of Light: And that they are no other than secondary uses assigned by Dr. _Schelhammer_, as the principal or sole Uses of keeping out the external colder Air, Dust, and other Annoyances; but especially that, _ob solius aerís interni potissimùm irrumpentis vim, hunc motum Tympani ac Mallei esse conditum, ut cedere primùm, deinde sibi restitui queat_; as his Words are, _P. ult._ c. 6. §. 13.

It was no improbable thought of _Rohault, nos attentos præbere, nil aliud est, nisi ~Tympanum~, ubi ita opus est facto, contendere aut laxare, & operam dare ut illud in eâ positione intentum stet, in quâ tremulum aeris externi motum commodissimè excipere possit._ Roh. Phys. p. 1. c. 26. §. 48.

The Hearing of deaf Persons more easily by Means of loud Noises, is another Argument of the Use of the Straining or Relaxation of the _Tympanum_ in Hearing. Thus Dr. _Willis_ (ubi supra) _Accepi olim à viro fide digno, se mulierem novisse, quæ licèt surda fuerit, quousque tamen intra conclave Tympanum pulsaretur, verba quævis clarè audiebat: quare Maritus ejus Tympanistam pro servo domestico conducebat, ut illius ope, colloquia interdum cum Uxore suâ haberet. Etiam de alio Surdastro mihi narratum est, qui prope Campanile degens, quoties unà plures Campanæ resonarent, vocem, quamvis facilè audire, & non aliàs, potuit._

_Abscisso Musculo ~[Processus majoris Mallei]~ in recenti aure, relaxatur ~[Tympani Membrana]~._ _Valsalv. de Aur. Hum._ c. 2. §. 5.

Upon considering the great Difference in Authors Opinions, about the Use of the Parts, and Manner how Hearing is performed, as also what a curious Provision there is made in the Ear, by the four little Bones, the Muscles, Membrane, _&c._ I was minded (since I penned this Note) to make enquiry my self into this Part, and not to rely upon Authority. And after a diligent search of various Subjects, I find we may give as rational and easie an Account of Hearing, as of Seeing, or any other Sense; as I have shewn in my last cited _Note (d) Book VII. Chap. 2._ with relation to Birds. And as to Man and Beasts, the Case is the same, but the Apparatus more complex and magnificent. For whereas in Birds, the _auditory Nerve_ is affected by the Impressions made on the _Membrane_, by only the Intermediacy of the _Collumella_; in Man, it is done by the Intervention of the four little Bones, with the Muscles acting upon them; his Hearing being to be adjusted to all kinds of Sounds, or Impressions made upon the _Membrana Tympani_. Which Impressions are imparted to the _auditory Nerve_, in this Manner, _viz._ First they act upon the _Membrane_ and _Malleus_, the _Malleus_ upon the _Incus_, and the _Incus_ upon the _Os Orbiculare_ and _Stapes_; and the _Stapes_ upon the _auditory Nerve_: For the Base of the _Stapes_ (the same as the _Operculum_ in Birds) not only covers the _Fenestra Ovalis_, within which the _auditory Nerve_ lieth, but hath a Part of the _auditory Nerve_ spread upon it too. It is manifest that this is the true Process of Hearing; because, if the _Membrane_ be mov’d, you may see all the Bones move at the same Time, and work the Base of the _Stapes_ up and down in the _Fenestra Ovalis_, as I shewed in this Chapter, _Note (d)_ concerning the _Mole_; and as it may be seen in other Ears carefully opened, if the Parts remain _in situ_.

[w] I do not confine the _Labyrinth_ to the _Canales Semicirculares_, or any other Part, as the elder Anatomists seem to have done, who by their erroneous and blind Descriptions seem not well to have understood there Parts; but with those much more curious and accurate Anatomists, _Monsieur de Vernay_, and Dr. _Valsalva_; under the _Labyrinth_, I comprehend the _Canales Semicirculares_, and the _Cochlea_, together with the intermediate Cavity, called by them the _Vestibulum_.

[x] In the _semicircular Canals_, two Things deserve to be noted. 1. That the three Canals are of three different Sizes, _Major_, _Minor_, and _Minimus_. 2. Although in different Subjects, they are frequently different; yet in the same Subject they are constantly the same. The Reason of all which, together with their Uses, _Valsalva_ ingeniously thinks is, that as a Part of the tender _auditory Nerve_ is lodged in these Canals, so they are of three Sizes, the better to suit all the Variety of Tones; some of the Canals suiting some, and others, other Tones. And although there be some Difference as to the Length and Size of these Canals, in different Persons; yet, lest there should be any discord in the auditory Organs of one and the same Man, those Canals are always in exact Conformity to one another in one and the same Man. _V._ _Valsal._ _ubi supr._ c. 3. §. 7. and c. 6. §. 4. 9.

[y] _Hic posterior Nervus extra cranium delatus, in tres ramos dividitur, qui omnes motibus patheticis——inserviunt. Primus——musculis Auris impenditur. Proculdubio hujus actione efficitur, ut animalia quævis, à subito soni impulsu, aurs, quasi sonum nimis citò transeuntem captaturas erigant. Ramus alter——versus utrumque oculi angulum surculos emittit: qui musculis palpebrarum attollentibus inseruntur; quorum certè munus est ad subitum soni appulsum oculos confestim aperire, eosque velut ad Excubias vocare.——Tertius——ramus versus Linguæ radicem descendens, musculis ejus & ossis Hyoeideos distribuitur, adeóque organa quædam vocis edendæ actuat, ~&c.~_ _Willis_’s Cereb. Anat. c. 17.

[z] _Hujusmodi Nervorum conformatio in Homine usum alium insigniorem præstas, nempe ut Vox, ~&c.~_ _Willis Ibid._

[aa] Among the Uses to which the Wit of Man hath employ’d Sounds, we may reckon the Instruments useful in convocating Assemblies, managing Armies, and many other Occasions, wherein Bells, Trumpets, Drums, Horns, and other sounding Instruments are used; the Particularities of which it would be tedious to recount: As that the biggest _Bell_ in _Europe_ is reckoned to be at _Erfurt_ in _Germany_, which they say may be heard twenty four Miles; with much more to the same Purpose. I shall therefore only for a Sample take notice of the _Speaking-Trumpet_; the Invention of which is commonly ascribed to our eminent Sir _Samuel Morland_; but was more probably _Ath. Kircher_’s; at least he had contrived such an Instrument, before Sir _Samuel_ hit upon his. _Kircher_ in his _Phonurg._ saith, the _Tromba_ published last Year in _England_, he had invented twenty four Years before, and published in his _Misurgia_; that _Jac. Albanus Ghibbesius_, and _Fr. Eschinardus_ ascribe it to him; and that _G. Schottus_ testifieth he had such an Instrument in his Chamber in the _Roman College_, with which he could call to, and receive Answers from the Porter. And considering how famed _Alexander_ the _Great_’s Tube was, which is said might be heard 100 _Stadia_, it is somewhat strange that no Body sooner hit upon the Invention. Of this _Stentorophonick Horn_ of _Alexander_, there is a Figure preserved in the _Vatican_, which for Curiosity sake, I have from _Kircher_ represented in _Fig. 3._ He saith its Diameter was five Cubits, and that it was suspended on a Supporter.

For the Make of the _Speaking-Trumpet_, and the Reason why it magnifies Sounds, I shall refer to _Kircher_; especially to Sir _Samuel Morland_’s _Tuba Stentorophonica_, Published in 1672.

[bb] That the Air is the Subject, or _Medium_ of Sound, is manifest from the Experiments in rarefied and condensed Air. In an unexhausted Receiver, a small Bell may be heard at the Distance of some Paces; but when exhausted, it can scarce be heard at the nearest Distance: And if the Air be compressed, the Sound will be louder, proportionably to the Compression or Quantity of Air crouded in, as I have often tried my self, and may be seen in Mr. _Hawksbee_’s curious Experiments, p. 97. Also his Experiments in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 321.

_Kircher_ saith, he took one of these Trumpets of fifteen Palms length, along with him to the _Mons Eustachianus_, where he convocated 2200 Persons to Prayers, by means of the unusual Sound, at two, three, four, and five _Italian_ Miles Distance.