Chapter VIII: Book IV: Of Animals in general (3)

With these _Bellowing Trumpets_, I shall join some _Bellowing-Caves_ for the Reader’s Diversion. _Ol. Magnus_ describes a Cave in _Finland_, near _Viburg_, called _Smellen_, into which, if a Dog, or other Living Creature be cast, it sends forth so dreadful a Sound, that knocks down every one near it. For which Reason they have guarded the Cave with high Walls, to prevent the Mischiefs of its Noise. _Vid._ _Ol. Magn. Histor._ l. 11. c. 4. Such another _Peter Martyr_ saith is in _Hispaniola_, which, with a small Weight cast into it, endangers Deafness at five Miles Distance. And in _Switzerland_, _Kircher_ saith, in the _Cucumer-Mountain_ is a Pit that sends out both a dreadful Noise and a great Wind therewith; and that there is a Well in his Country 3000 Palms deep, whose Sound is equal to that of a great Gun. _Vid._ _Kirch. Phonurg._

_Ol. Magnus_ speaking of the vast high Mountains of a Northern Province, call’d _Angermannia_ saith, _Ubi bases eorum in profundissimo gurgite stantes, casu aliquo, vel proposito Nautæ accesserint, tantum horrorem ex altâ fluctuum collisione percipiunt, ut nisi præcipiti remigio, aut valido vento evaserint, solo pavore ferè exanimes fiant, multoque dierum curriculo, ob capitis turbationem, pristinæ mentis, & sanitatis compotes vix evadant. Habent bases illorum montium in fluctuum ingressu & regressu tortuosas rimas, sive scissuras, satis stupendo naturæ opificio fabricatas, in quibus longâ varagine formidabilis ille Sonitus quasi subterraneum tonitru generatur._ Ol. Magn. l. 2. c. 4. See also _Chap. 12._

Neither doth this succeed only in forced Rarefactions and Condensations of the Air, but in such also as are natural; as is evident from _David Frœdlichius_ in _Varenius_, upon the highest Eminencies of _Carpathus_, near _Kesmarckt_ in _Hungary_. The Story of _Frœdlichius_ is this, _Ego Mense Junii 1615. tum adolescens, sublimitatem horum montium, cum duobus comitibus Scholaribus, experiri volens, ubi, cùm in primæ rupis vertice, magno labore, me summum terminum assecutum esse putarem, demum sese obtulit alia multo altior cautes, ubi pervasta eaque vacillantia saxa (quorum unum, si loco à viatore dimovetur——aliquot centena——rapit, & quidem tanto cum fragore, ut illi metuendum sit nè totus Mons corruat, eumque obruat) enixus essem, iterum alia sublimior prodiit, ~&c.~ donec summo vitæ periculo ad supremum cacumen penetraverim. Ex declivioribus montibus cùm in subjectas valles,——nil nisi obscuram noctem, aut cœruleum quid, instar profundi aeris, quod vulgò sudum cœlum appellatur, observare potui, mihique videbar, si de monte caderem, non in terram, sed recte in solum me prolapsurum. Nimiá enim declivitate, species visibiles extenuatæ & hebetatæ fuerunt. Cum verò altiorem montem peterem, quasi intra nebulas densissimas hærebam——Et cùm non procul à summo vertice essem de sublimi quiescens prospexi & animadverti iis in locis, ubi mihi antea videbar intra nebulas hæsisse, compactas atque albas sese movere nubes, supra quas, per aliquot milliaria, & ultra terminos Sepusi commodus mihi prospectus patuit. Alias tamen etiam nubes altiores, alias item humiliores, necnon quasdam æqualiter à terrâ distantes vidi. Atque hinc tria intellexi, 1. Me tum transivisse principium media Aeris regionis. 2. Distantiam nubium à terrâ, non esse æqualem.——3. Distantiam nubium——non 72 Mill. Ger. ut quidam——sed tantum dimidiatum Mill. Ger. In summum montis verticem cùm pervenissem, adeò tranquillum & subtilem aërem ibi offendi, ut nè pili quidem motum sentirem, cùm tamen in depressioribus ventum vehementem expertus sim: unde collegi summum cacumen istius montis Carpathici ad Mill. Germ. à radicibus suis imis exsurgere, & ad supremam usque aëris regionem, ad quam Venti non ascendunt, pertingere. Explosi in eâ summitate Sclopetum: quod non majorem sonitum primò præ se tulit, quàm si ligillum vel bacillum confregissem; post intervallum autem temporis murmur prolixum invaluit, inferioresque montis partes, convalles & sylvas opplevit. Descendendo per nives annosas intra convalles, cùm iterum Sclopetum exonerarem, major & horribilior fragor, quàm ex tormento capacissimo inde exoriebatur: hinc verebar nè totus mons concussus mecum corrueret: duravitque hic sonus per semiquadrantem horæ usque dum abstrusissmas cavernas penetrâsset, ad quas aër undiq; multiplicatus resiliit.——In his celsis montibus, plerumq; ningit grandinatve mediâ astate, quoties nempe in subjectâ & vicinâ planitie pluit, utì hoc ipsum expertus sum. Nives diversorum annorum ex colore & cortice duriore dignosci possunt._ Varen. Georg. Gen. l. 1. c. 19. Prop. ult.

The Story being diverting, and containing divers Things remarkable, I have chosen to note the whole of it (altho’ somewhat long) rather than single out the Passages only which relate to the diminishing the Sound of his Pistol, by the Rarity of the Air at that great Ascent into the Atmosphere; and the magnifying the Sound by the Polyphonisms or Repercussions of the Rocks, Caverns, and other Phonocamptick Objects below in the Mount.

But ’tis not the Air alone that is capable of the Impressions of Sound, but the Water also, as is manifest by striking a Bell under Water, the Sound of which may plainly enough be heard, but it is much duller, and not so loud; and it is also a fourth deeper, by the Ear of some great Judges in Musical Notes, who gave me their Judgments in the matter. But _Mersenne_ saith, a Sound made under Water, is of the same Tone or Note, if heard under Water; as are also Sounds made in the Air, when heard under Water. _Vid._ _Mersen. Hydraul._

Having mentioned the hearing of Sounds under Water, there is another Curiosity worth mentioning, that also farther proves Water to be susceptible of the Impressions of Sound, _viz._ _Divers_ at the bottom of the Sea, can hear the Noises made above, only confusedly. But, on the contrary, those above cannot hear the Divers below. Of which an Experiment was made, that had like to have been fatal: One of the Divers blew an Horn in his Diving-Bell, at the bottom of the Sea; the Sound whereof (in that compressed Air) was so very loud and irksome, that stunned the Diver, and made him so giddy, that he had like to have dropt out of his Bell, and to have been drowned. _Vid._ _Sturmii Colleg. Cur. Vol. 2. Tentam. 1._

[cc] As to the Distance to which Sound may be sent, having some doubt, whether there was any Difference between the Northern and Southern Parts, by the Favour of my learned and illustrious Friend Sir _Henry Newton_, her Majesty’s late Envoy at _Florence_: I procured some Experiments to be made for me in _Italy_. His most Serene Highness the _Great Duke_, was pleased to order great Guns to be fir’d for this purpose at _Florence_, and Persons were appointed on purpose to observe them at _Leghorne_, which they compute is no less than 55 Miles in a strait Line. But notwithstanding the Country between being somewhat hilly and woody, and the Wind also was not favouring, only very calm and still, yet the Sound was plainly enough heard. And they tell me, that the _Leghorne_ Guns are often heard 66 Miles off, at _Porto Ferraio_; that when the _French_ bombarded _Genoa_, they heard it near _Leghorne_, 90 Miles distant: and in the _Messina Insurrection_, the Guns were heard from thence as far as _Augusta_ and _Syracuse_, about 100 _Italian_ Miles. These Distances being so considerable, give me Reason to suspect, that Sounds fly as far, or nearly as far in the Southern, as in the Northern Parts of the World, notwithstanding we have a few Instances of Sounds reaching farther Distances. As Dr. _Hearn_ tells us of Guns fired at _Stockholm_ in 1685, that were heard 180 _English_ Miles. And in the _Dutch_ War, 1672, the Guns were heard above 200 Miles. _Vid._ _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 113. Also there is this farther Reason of Suspicion, that the _Mercury_ in the _Barometer_ riseth higher without than within the Tropicks, and the more Northerly, still the higher, which may encrease the Strength of Sounds, by _Note (bb)._

[dd] As to the Velocity of Sounds, by Reason the most celebrated Authors differ about it, I made divers nice Experiments my self, with good Instruments; by which I found, 1. That there is some, although a small Difference in the Velocity of Sounds, with or against the Wind: which also is, 2. Augmented or diminished by the Strength or Weakness of the Wind. But that nothing else doth accelerate or retard it, not the Differences of Day or Night, Heat or Cold, Summer or Winter, Cloudy or Clear, Barometer high or low, _&c._ 3. That all kinds of Sounds have the same Motion, whether they be loud or languid, of Bells, Guns, great or small, or any other sonorous Body. 4. That they fly equal Spaces in equal Times. Fifthly and Lastly, That the Mean of their Flight is at the Rate of a Mile in 9¼ half Seconds, or 1142 Feet in one Second of Time. _Vid._ _Phil. Trans. Ibid._

[ee] _Timothy_ a Musician could excite _Alexander the Great_ to Arms with the _Phrygian_ Sound, and allay his Fury with another Tone, and excite him to Merriment. So _Ericus_ King of _Denmark_, by a certain Musician, could be driven to such a Fury, as to kill some of his best and most trusty Servants. More of this Power of Musick over the Affections, may be seen in _Ath. Kirch. Phonurg. L. 2. §. 1._ Also in _Is. Vossius de Poematum cantu, & Rythmi viribus_.

And not only upon the Affections, but also on the Parts of the Body. Musick is able to exert its Force, as appears from the _Gascoigne_ Knight, _Cui Phormingis sono audito Vesica statim ad Urinam reddendam vellicabatur_. Such another we have in Aᵒ. 1. _Ephem. Nat. Curios. Observ. 134_. Also _Morhoff de Scyph. vitr. per cert. human. vocis sonum fracto_: where there is not only the Account of the _Dutchman_ at _Amsterdam_, one _Nich. Peter_, that brake Romer-Glasses with the Sound of his Voice; but also divers other Instances of the Powers and Effects of Sound. But to the Story of the _Gascoigne_ Knight, Mr. _Boyl_, from _Scaliger_, adds a pleasant Passage, That one he had disobliged, to be even with him, caused at a Feast, a Bag-pipe to be played, when he was hemmed in with the Company; which made the Knight bepiss himself, to the great Diversion of the Company, as well as Confusion of himself. _Boyl_’s _Essay of the Effect of Lang. Motion._ In the same Book are other Matters that may be noted here. One whose Arm was cut off, was exceedingly tormented with the discharge of the great Guns at Sea, although he was at a great Distance on Land. And a great Ship-Commander observed his wounded Men, with broken Limbs, suffered in like manner at the Enemies Discharges. An ingenious Domestick of his own would have his Gums bleed at the tearing of Brown-Paper. And an ingenious Gentleman of Mr. _Boyl_’s Acquaintance confessed to him, that he was inclined to the _Knight of Gascoigne_’s Distemper, upon hearing the Noise of a Tap running. The dancing to certain Tunes, of Persons bit with the _Tarantula_, he was assured of by an ingenious Acquaintance at _Tarentum_, who saw several, among the rest a Physician, affected with that Distemper. And many other Accounts of this kind, seemingly credible, are related in _Morhoff_, _Kircher_, and many others; although Dr. _Cornelio_ questions the Matters of Fact relating to the cure of the _Tarantula_-bite, in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 83. Mr. _Boyl_ also saith, a sober Musician told him, he could make a certain Woman weep, by playing one Tune, which others would be little affected at. And he saith, that he himself had a kind of shivering at the repeating two Verses in _Lucan_. And I add, that I very well know one to have a sort of chill about his _Præcordia_ and Head, upon reading or hearing the 53ᵈ Chapter of _Isaiah_; as also _David_’s Lamentations for _Saul_ and _Jonathan_, 1 Sam. i.

Neither are our own Minds and Bodies only affected with Sounds, but inanimate Bodies are so also. Of which many Stories may be met with in _Kircher_, particularly a large Stone that would tremble at the Sound of one particular Organ-Pipe; in _Morhoff_ also, who among many other Relations hath this, _Memini cùm ipsi [clarif. Willisio] de experimento Vitri per vocem fracti narrarem, ex eo audivisse, quod in adibus Musicis sibi vicinis aliquoties collapsum pavimentum fuerit; quod ipse sonis continuis adscribere non dubitavit._ Morhoff. cap. 12. _Mersenne_ also, among many Relations in his _Harmon._ and other Books, tells a far more probable Story, of a particular Part of a Pavement, that would shake, as if the Earth would open, when the Organs played, than what he relates about _Antipathy_, in his _Quæst. Comment. in Genes._ viz. That the Sound of a Drum made of a Wolf’s Skin, will break another made of Sheep’s Skin: That Hens will fly at the Sound of an Harp strung with Fox-Gut-Strings, and more to the same purpose. Mr. _Boyl_ also, in his last cited Book tells us, Seats will tremble at the Sound of Organs; and that he hath felt his Hat do so too under his hand, at certain Notes both of Organs, and in Discourse, that he tried an Arch that would answer to C fa-ut, and had done so an 100 Years; and that an experienced Builder told him any well-built Vault will answer some determinate Note. And at _Eastbury-House_ near _Barking_, I my self discovered the Porch, (having firm Brick-Walls,) not only to sound when struck on the Bottom, but also to give almost as loud a Sound, when I sounded the same Note with my Voice.

[ff] _Willis_, ubi supra.

[gg] _Ille Deus est——qui non calamo tantùm cantare, & agreste, atque inconditum carmen ad aliquam tantùm oblectationem modulari docuit, sed tot artes, tot vocum varietates, tot sonos, alios spiritu nostro, alios externo cantu edituros commentus est._ Senec. de Benef. l. 4. cap. 6.

CHAP. IV.

_Of the Sense of Smelling._

This Sense I shall dispatch in less Compass than the two last, because its Apparatus (although sufficiently grand and admirable, yet) is not so multiplicious as of the Eye and Ear; it being sufficient in this Sense, that the odoriferous Effluvia of Bodies[a] can have an easy, free Passage to the olfactory Nerves, without the Formalities of Refractions, and other Preparations necessary to the Perfection of the two former Senses. Accordingly the all-wise Creator hath made sufficient Provision for the Reception of Smells, by the Apertures of the Nostrils[b]; made not of Flesh, or Bone, but cartilaginous, the better to be kept open, and withal, to be dilated or contracted, as there is occasion: For which Service it hath several proper and curious Muscles[c].

And forasmuch as it is by Breathing[d], that the odorant Particles are drawn in, and convey’d to the Sensory; therefore there is a very wise Provision made in the _Laminæ_, with which the upper Part of the Nose is barricaded, which serve to two excellent Uses: Partly, to fence out any noxious Substances from entering the breathing Passages in our Sleep, or when we cannot be aware[e]; and partly, to receive the Divarications of the _olfactory Nerves_, which are here thick spread, and which do by these Means meet the Smells entring with the Breath, and striking upon them.

And accordingly, the more accurate this Sense is in any Animal, the longer we may observe those _Laminæ_ are; and more of them in number folded up, and crouded together, to contain the more nervous Filaments, and to detain and fetter the odoriferous Particles in their Windings and Turnings.

And an admirable Provision this is, which the great Creator hath made for the good of brute Creatures[f]; the chief Acts of many of whose Lives, are perform’d by the Ministry of this Sense. In insects, and many other Creatures, it is of great Use in the Propagation of their Kind; as particularly in helping them to safe and convenient Places for the Incubation of their Eggs, and breeding up their Young. Others are by the Accuracy of this Sense, of Use to Mankind, which would be otherwise of little or no Use[g]. And most of the irrational Animals, Birds, Beasts, and creeping Things, do, by their Smell, find out their Food; some at great Distances, and some at Hand. With what Sagacity do some discover their Food in the Midst of Mud and Dirt[h]? With what Curiosity do the herbaceous Kind pick and chuse such Plants as afford them wholsome Food, or sometimes such as are Medicinal[i], and refute such as would hurt and destroy them? And all by the Help principally, if not only, of the Smell, assisted by its near Ally the Taste. Of which I shall in the next Place speak very briefly.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] Piece of _Ambergrease_ suspended in a Pair of Scales, that would turn with a very small Part of a Grain, lost nothing of its Weight in 3½ Days; neither did _Assa fœtida_ in 5½ Days; but an Ounce of _Nutmegs_ lost 5½ Grains in 6 Days; and _Cloves_ 7⅘ Grains. _Boyl’s Subtil. of Effluv._ c. 5.

[b] _Nares, eò quòd omnis Odor ad superiora fertur, rectè sursum sunt: Et quòd Cibi & Potionis judicium magnum earum est, non sine causâ vicinitatem Oris secutæ sunt._ Cicero de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 56.

[c] Had not the Contriver of Animal Bodies been minded that his Work should have all the Signatures of Accuracy, this Sense might have been performed with a bare Aperture of the Nose; but that nothing might go imperfect out of his Hand, he hath made a part of the Nose easily moveable, and given a Set of Muscles to lift up, and open and shut the Nostrils; and so adjust it to every Occasion of this Sense.

[d] _Odorem non aliud, quàm infectum Aera, intelligi posse._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 7.

[e] For a further Guard against the Ingress of noxious Things, the _Vibrissi_, or Hairs placed at the Entrance of the Nostrils serve, which, in some measure, stop the Entrance of Things improper, or however give Warning of them, but at the same Time allow an easy Passage to the Breath and Odours.

[f] _Multò præclarius emicat [Olfactus] in brutis animalibus, quàm in homine: ista namque hoc solo indice, herbarum, aliorumque corporum priùs ignotorum virtutes certissimè dignoscunt, quin & victum suum absentem, vel in abstruso positum, Odoratu venantur, ac facillimè investigant. Quòd autem minùs sagaces sunt hominum nares, illud non facultatis hujus abusui (prout nonnulli volunt) ascribi debet, verùm in causâ est ipsius Organi defectus: hoc enim circa victûs humani criteria (ubi ratio, & intellectus adsunt) non ita accuratum requiritur: Proptereà enim inferiores potentiæ in homine, à naturâ minùs perfectæ existunt, ut superiorum cultui & exercitio relinqueretur locus._ Willis de Anim. Brut. _cap. 13._

[g] Thus the chief Use of Hounds is to hunt; and other Dogs, to be a Watch and Guard to our Houses by Night. For which Services (particularly in Hounds) their _Olfactory Nerves_ are not only remarkably large, (like as they are in other Brutes,) but their Branches and Filaments are, in the _Laminæ_ of the Nostrils, both more and larger than I have seen in any other Creature whatsoever. Also there are more Convulsions of the _Laminæ_ than I ever remember to have found in any other Animal.

The Sagacity of Hounds is prodigious, of which see an Instance in _Book IV. Chap. 11. Note (hhh)._

[h] See _Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (e)._

[i] _Vid._ _Plin. Hist. Nat._ l. 8. cap. 27. _Quæ animalia quas herbas ostenderunt._

CHAP. V.

_Of the Taste[a]._

In this, as in the last Sense, we have an _Apparatus_ abundantly sufficient to the Sense; Nerves curiously divaricated about the Tongue[b], and Mouth, to receive the Impressions of every Gusto; and these Nerves guarded with a firm and proper Tegument to defend them from Harms; but withal, so perforated in the papillary Eminences, as to give a free Admission to Tastes.

But I shall say no more of this Sense; only a Word or two of its Consent with the Smell, and the Situation of them both: Their Situation is in the most convenient Place imaginable, for the Discharge of their Offices; at the first Entrance[c], in the Way to the grand Receptacle of our Food and Nourishment; to survey what is to be admitted therein; to judge between what is wholsome, and fit for Nourishment, and what is unsavoury and pernicious. And for this End, the all-wise Creator seems to have establish’d a great Consent between the Eye, the Nose, and Tongue, by ordering the Branches of the same Nerves[d], to each of those three Parts; as also indeed to divers other Parts of the Body, which I may have occasion to mention in a more proper Place[e]. By which Means, there is all the Guard that can be, against pernicious Food; forasmuch as before it is taken into the Stomach, it is to undergo the Trial of three of the Senses; the Scrutiny of the Eye, the strict Surveyor of its outward Appearance; and the Probation of the Smell and Taste, the two severest Judges of its natural Constitution and Composition.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] τὰ δὲ εἴδη τῶν χυλῶν, &c. _Saporum genera,——dulcis, pinguis, austerus, acerbus, acris, salsus, amarus, acidus._ Theophr. de Caus. Plant. l. 6. c. 1. What may the Cause of the difference of Tastes, he saith is hard to assign, πότερον γὰρ τοῖς πάθεσι, &c. _Utrum affectionibus Sensuum——an figuris, quibus singuli constant, ut Democritus censet._ id. ib. Δημόκριτος δὲ, &c. _Democritus——dulcem esse saporem qui rotundus: acerbum qui figurâ magnâ; asperum qui multis angulis, ~&c.~_ id. ib. &c. But of the Diversities and Causes of Tastes, see Dr. _Grew_, _Lect._ 6. and Dr. _Willis de Anim. Brut._ c. 12.

[b] _Intellectus Saporum est cæteris in primâ linguâ: Homini, & in palato._ Plin. l. 11. c. 37.

The Opinions of Anatomists concerning the Organ of _Taste_, are various. _Bauhin_, _T. Bartholin_, _Bartholette_, _Vestinge_, _Deusinge_, &c. place it in the laxer, fleshy Parts of the Tongue. Our famous _Wharton_, in the Gland at the Root of the Tongue: _Laurentius_ in the thin Tunick covering the Tongue; but the Learned _Malpighi_ with great Probability concludes, because the outward Cover of the Tongue is perforated, under which lie papillary Parts, (of which Mr. _Cowper_, hath very good Cuts in his _Anat. Tab. 13._) that in these the Taste lieth. _Malpighi_’s Words are, _Quare cùm dictis meatibus insignibus occurrant papillaria corpora, probabilius est in his ultimo, ex subintranti sapido humore titillationem, & mordicationem quandam fieri, quæ Gustum efficiat._ Malpig. Op. Tom. 2. De Linguâ, pag. 18.

_Præcipuum ac ferè solum Gustatûs organon est Lingua; cui aliquatenus subobscure tamen Palatum, & superior Gulæ pars consentiunt: in omnibus verò fibræ nervosæ immediata sensionis instrumenta sunt. Quare observare est, Linguam præ aliâ quâvis parte insigniter fibrosam esse, etiam texturâ valdè porosâ constare, in eum nempe finem, ut particulæ rei sapidæ copiosiùs ac penitiùs intra Sensorii meatus admittantur——Nervi autem qui fibris Linguæ densissimè intertextis famulantur, ac saporum impressiones τῷ πρώτῳ αἰσθητηρίῳ communicant, sunt——Nervi è paribus tum quinto, tum nono; & ubique cum densâ propaginum serie per totam ejus compagem distributi._ Willis ibid.

[c] _Gustatus, qui sentire eorum quibus vescimur genera debet, habitat in eâ parte Oris, quâ esculentis & poculentis iter natura patefecit._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 56. _Vid._ _quoque supr._ _Note (b), Chap. 4._

[d] _Multa hujus ~[quinti paris]~ Nervi propagines Masticationis operi destinantur; ideoque quoniam alimenta ingerenda non modo Gustus, ast etiam Olfactûs & Visûs examen subire debent, ab eodem Nervo, cujus rami ad Palatum & Fauces missi, Manducationis negotium peragunt, propagines aliæ, velut exploratrites, ad Nares & Oculos feruntur, nempe ut isthæc aliorum sensuum organa, etiam ad objecta Gustûs melius dignoscenda probationum auxiliis quibusdam instruantur._ Willis Nerv. Descrip. & Usus. _cap. 22._

[e] See _Book V. chap. 8._

CHAP. VI.

_Of the Sense of Feeling[a]._

Having spent so much Time upon the other Senses, and therein given such ample Proofs of the infinite Creator’s Wisdom; I shall but briefly take Notice of two Things relating to this last Sense.

One is its Organ, the Nerves. For as all Sensation is performed by the Nerves[b], and indeed the other Senses (performed by Nerves) are a kind of Feeling; so is this Sense of _Feeling_ performed by Nerves likewise, spread in the most incomparable, curious Manner throughout the whole Body. But to describe their Origine in the Brain, and Spinal-Marrow, their Ramifications to all the Parts; their Inosculations with one another; and other Matters; whereby not only the Sense of _Feeling_ is perform’d, but also animal Motion, and an admirable Consent and Harmony of all the Parts of the Body is effected: (To describe, I say, these Things) would take up too much Time, and I have already, and shall, as I go along, give some Hints thereof.

The other Thing I shall take Notice of, is, the Dispersion of this Sense throughout the Body, both without, and within. The other Senses, I have observ’d, are seated in the very best Place for the Relief and Comfort, the Guard and Benefit of the Animal. And forasmuch as it is necessary to the Being, and well-being of the Body, that every Part should be sensible of Things safe, or Things prejudicial to it self; therefore it is an admirable Contrivance of the great Creator, to disperse this Sense of _Feeling_ throughout every Part[c]; to distinguish between Pleasure and Pain; Things salutary, and Things hurtful to the Body.

Thus in the five Senses of Animals, we have an Œconomy worthy of the Creator, and manifestly demonstrating his Power, Wisdom and Indulgence. For whether we consider the Mechanism of the Organs, or the great Use and Convenience of each Sense, we find it noble and grand, curious and artificial; and every way worthy of its infinite Maker, and beyond the Wit and Power of any Thing but a GOD: And therefore we must even deny our Senses, by denying them to be God’s handy-work.

And now from those chief Machines of animal Performances and Enjoyments, the five Senses; let us pass to another Thing in common to all the Sensitive Creatures, which is Respiration.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Malpighi_ is of this Opinion, that as _Taste_ is performed by the _Papillæ_ in the Tongue, so is _Feeling_ by such like _Papillæ_ under the Skin. From several Dissections, and other Observations, he thus concludes, _Ex his & similibus videbatur animus abundè certior redditus, earundem Papillarum pyramidalium copiam, quas aliàs in Linguâ descripsi, in locis præcipuè acquisitiori Tactui dicatis reperiri, eodem progigni nervoso & cuticulari corpore, simulque circumvolvi reticulari involucro, & extimam cuticulam, veluti ultimum terminum attingere.——Microscopio quilibet in manûs dorso pro sudore orificia quædam miro ordine dispersa intueri potest, circa quæ frequentia quædam capitula assurgunt; hæc verò sunt Papillarum fines, dum à cute assurgentes interpositum superant rete, simulque extimam cuticulam. Hæc repetitis sectionibus deprehendi; ex quibus non improbabiliter deducam, sicuti ex elatioribus——papillis——in Linguâ, Gustûs Organon elicitur,——ita ex copiosâ harum Papillarum congerie——in organis, ubi maximè animalia Tactûs motione afficiuntur,——adæquatum Tactûs organum sufficientèr haberi._ Malpig. de extern. Tact. Org. _p. 26._ _Consul. quoque ejusd. Vit._ p. 28.

These Observations of _Malpighi_, our late curious and diligent Mr. _Cowper_ hath confirmed, and given us very elegant Cuts both of the Skin, and the _Papillæ_, and the Nerves, Glands, _&c._ under it, from Microscopical Observations. _Vid._ _Cowper’s Anat._ Introd. and Tab. 4.

[b] Although the Eye be the usual Judge of Colours, yet some have been able to distinguish them by their Feeling. _Quidam fuit qui venit ad M. Duc. ~Hetruriæ~ aulam qui colores per Tactum cognoscebat. Pro experimento velum sericum, uniformiter textum, & pluribus coloribus tinctum, offerebatur, & veracitèr de colore to singulis partibus judicabat._ Grimald. de Lum. & Col. prop. 43. §. 59.

[c] _Tactus autem toto corpore æquabilitèr fusus est, ut omnes ictus, omnesque nimios & frigoris, & caloris appulsus sentire possimus._ Cicer. _ubi supr._

_Tactus sensus omnibus est, etiam quibus nullus alius; nam & Ostreis, & terrestribus Vermibus quoque. Existimaverim omnibus sensum & Gustatûs esse. Cur enim alios alia sapores appetunt? in quo vel præcipua Naturæ architectio._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 71.

CHAP. VII.

_Of Respiration._

Of all the Acts of Animal Life, this is one of the chief, and most necessary. For whatsoever hath Animal Life, hath also the Faculty of Respiration, or somewhat equivalent thereto[a]. Indeed so congenial is this with Life, that _Breath_ and _Life_ are in Scripture Phrase and Common Speech taken as synonymous Things, or at least necessary Concomitants of one another. _Moses_[b] expresseth animal Life, by [_The Breath of Life_]. Saith he, _Gen._ vii. 21, 22. _All Flesh that moved on the Earth, Fowl, Cattle, Beast, creeping Things, and Man; all in whose Nostrils was the Breath of Life in the dry Land died._ So the Psalmist, _Psal._ civ. 29. _Thou takest away their Breath, they die._ So grand an Act therefore in common to all Animals, may justly deserve a Place in this Survey of the Works of God in the animal Kingdom.

And here I might launch out into an ample Description of all the Parts ministering to this necessary Act, and shew the curious Contrivance and artificial Structure of them; but a transient View shall suffice. I might begin with the outward Guards, the Nose and Mouth; but these have been already touched upon. But the exquisite Mechanism of the _Larynx_, its Variety of Muscles, its Cartilages, all so exquisitely made for the Purpose of Respiration, and forming the Voice[c], are very admirable: And no less so is the Tongue[d], which ministers to that, and many other Uses too.

Next, the Fabrick of the[e] _Trachea_ deserves especial Remark. Its Valve, the _Epiglottis_ on the Top, to fence against all Annoyances; its cartilaginous Rings[f] nearly environing it, with its membranous Part next the Gullet, to give the freer Passage to the Descent of the Food. And Lastly, Its inner Tegument of exquisite Sense to be readily affected with, and to make Efforts against every Thing that is hurtful or offensive; these, I say, do all justly deserve our Admiration.

And no less prodigious are the Parts farther within; the _Bronchi_, the _Vesiculæ_[g], with their muscular Fibres[h], as some assert they have, together with the Arteries and Veins, which every where accompany the airy Passages, for the Blood to receive there its Impregnations from the Air.

From hence I might proceed to the commodious Form of the Ribs[i], the curious Mechanism of the Intercostal-Muscles[k], the Diaphragm, and all the other Muscles[l] ministring both to the ordinary, and extraordinary Offices of Respiration. But passing them by, I shall stop at one prodigious Work of Nature, and manifest Contrivance of the Almighty Creator, which although taken notice of by others[m], yet cannot be easily passed by in the Subject I am upon; and that is the Circulation of the Blood in the _Fœtus in the Womb_, so different from the Method thereof after it is Born. In the Womb, whilst it is as one Body with the Mother, and there is no Occasion, nor Place for Respiration, there are two Passages[n] on purpose for the Transmission of the Blood without passing it through the Lungs. But as soon as the _Fœtus_ is Born, and become thereby a perfectly distinct Being, and breathes for it self, then these two Passages are shut up: one nearly obliterated, the other becomes only a Ligament, except in some Creatures that are Amphibious, or are forced to lie long under Water, in whom these Passages probably remain open[o].

And now what Action of any rational Creature, what is there in a Man’s Life, that doth more plainly shew Design, Reason, and Contrivance, than this very Act of Nature doth the Contrivance and Design of the great GOD of Nature? What is Thought and Contrivance, if this be not? Namely, That there should be a temporary Part in the Body, made just for the present Exigence; to continue whilst there is occasion for it, and to cease when there is none; in some Creatures to remain always, by Reason of their amphibious Way of Living, and in Land-animals (purely such) to cease?

Another excellent Contrivance, a-kin to the last, is, for the Preservation of such Creatures whose occasions frequently necessitate them to live without, or with but little Respiration: Fishes might be named here, whose Habitation is always in the Waters; but these belong to an Element which I cannot at present engage in. But there are many Animals of our own Element, or partly so, whose Organs of Respiration, whose Blood, whose Heart, and other Instruments of Life, are admirably accommodated to their Method of Living: Thus many amphibious Creatures[p], who live in Water as well as Air; many quadrupeds, Birds, Insects, and other Animals, who can live some Hours, Days, yea, whole Winters, with little or no Respiration, in a Torpitude, or sort of Sleep, or middle State between Life and Death: The Provision made for these peculiar Occasions of Life, in the Fabrick of the Lungs, the Heart, and other Parts of such Creatures[q], is manifestly the Work of him, who as St. _Paul_ saith[r], _giveth to all Breath, and Life, and all Things_.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] The Uses assign’d to _Respiration_ by all the Anatomists before _Malpighi_’s Discoveries of the Structure of the Lungs, are so various, and many of them so improbable, that it would be frivolous to recount them. But the more eminent modern Anatomists assign these Uses. _Willis_ thus sums up his Opinion, _Præcipua Pulmonum functio, & usus sunt, sanguinem & aerem per totas partium compages, intimosque recessus, atq; ductus quosque minutissimos traducere, & ubique invicem committere; in cum nempe finem, ut sanguis venosus à circuitu redux, & chymo recenti dilutus,——tum perfectiùs misceatur & velut subigatur, tum potissimùm ut secundùm omnes suas partes ab aëre nitroso de novo accendatur._ Pharmaceut. p. 2. S. 1. c. 2. §. 2. _Mayow_ saith rightly, that one grand Use of _Expiration_ is, _Ut cum aëre expulso, etiam vapores è sanguine exhalantes, simul exsufflentur._ And as for _Inspiration_, that it coveyeth a nitro-aerial ferment to the Blood, to which the Animal-Spirits are owing, and all Muscular-Motion. _Mayow de Respir._ p. 22. _&c._ _meâ Edit_.

Somewhat of the Opinion of these two last cited, if I mistake not (it being long since I read their Tracts, and have them not now at hand,) were _Ent_, _Sylvius_, _Swammerdam_, _Diemerbroek_, and my Friend Mr. _Ray_ in an unpublished Tract of his, and in his Letters now in my Hands.

But our Dr. _Thurston_, for good Reasons, rejects these from being principal Uses of Respiration, and thinks, with great Reason, the principal Uses to be to move, or pass the Blood from the right to the left Ventricle of the Heart. Upon which account Persons hanged, drowned, or strangled by Catarrhs, so suddenly die, namely, because the Circulation of their Blood is stopped. For the same Reason also it is, that Animals die so soon in the Air-Pump. Among other Proofs he instanceth in an Experiment of Dr. _Croon_, _Profess. Gresh._ which he made before our _R. S._ by strangling a Pullet, so that not the least Sign of Life appear’d; but by blowing Wind into the Lungs through the _Trachea_, and so setting the Lungs a playing, he brought the Bird to Life again. Another Experiment was once tried by Dr. _Walter Needham_, before Mr. _Boyl_, and others at _Oxford_, by hanging a Dog, so that the Heart ceased moving. But hastily opening the Dog, and blowing Wind into the _Ductus Pecquetianus_, he put the Blood in Motion, and by that means the Heart, and so recovered the Dog to Life again. _V._ _Thurston de Respir. Us._ p. 60, and 63. _meâ Edit_.

Such an Experiment as Dr. _Croon_’s my Friend, the late justly renowned Dr. _Hook_ shewed also our _R. S._ He cut away the _Ribs_, _Diaphragm_, and _Pericardium_, of a Dog; also the top of the Wind-Pipe, that he might tie it on to the Nose of a Pair of Bellows; and by blowing into the Lungs, he restored the Dog to Life; and then ceasing blowing, the Dog would soon fall into dying Fits; but by blowing again, he recovered; and so alternately would die, and recover, for a considerable Time, as long, and often as they pleased. _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 28.

For the farther Confirmation of Dr. _Thurston_’s Opinion, the ingenious Dr. _Musgrave_ cut off, and close stopped up the Wind-Pipe of a Dog with a Cork, and then threw open the _Thorax_; where he found the Blood stagnating in the _Lungs_, the _Arteria Pulmonaris_ the _right Ventricle_ and _Auricle_ of the _Heart_, and the two great Trunks of the _Cava_, distended with Blood to an immense Degree; but at the same Time, the _Vena Pulmonaris_, the _left Ventricle_ and _Auricle_ of the _Heart_ in a manner empty, hardly a spoonful of Blood therein. _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 240. Or both the Experiments may be together met with in _Lowth. Abridg. Vol. 3. p. 66, 67._

This Opinion of our learned _Thurston_, the late learned _Etmullerus_ espoused, who being particular in reckoning up the Uses of Respiration, I shall therefore the more largely cite him. Respiration, saith he, serves, _1. Ad Olfactum. 2. Ad Screatum & Sputationem. 3. Ad Oscitationem, Tussim, Sternutationem, Emunctionemque. 4. Ad liquidorum Sorbitionem, Suctionemve. 5. Ad Loquelam, Cantum, Clamorem, Risum, Fletum, Flatum, ~&c.~ 6. Ad facum Alvi, Urinæ, Fœtûs Molæve, necnon Secundinarum expulsionem. 7. Ad promovendi Ventriculi, Intestinorum, Lacteorumque vasorum, ~&c.~ contenta. 8. Ad halitus aqueos Sanguinis è pulmonibus, aëris ope, exportandos. 9. Ad Diapnoën. 10. Ad exactiorem Chyli, Lymphaque, necnon Sanguinis——miscelam. 11. Ad conciliandum sanguini——coccineam rubedinem, ~&c.~ 12. Nec merosè negabimus, aërem——pulmones, & sanguinem illos transcurrentem, minùs calida reddere, ~&c.~ 13. Quod denique aër sanguini singulis Respirationibus aliquantillâ sui parte, admixtus, paucissimas quasdam in spiritum animalium elaboratione particulas simul contribuat._ All these Uses, although of great Consequence, yet he thinks rather conduce to the _Well-Being_, than the Being of the Animal; because without any of them, the Animal would not so speedily die, as it doth by Strangling, or in the Air-Pump. He therefore assigns a 14ᵗʰ, and the principal Use of Respiration to be, _For the passing of the Blood through the Lungs, that is thrown into them by the Heart._ Etmull. Dissert. 2. c. 10. §. 1. & 16.

But the late Dr. _Drake_, with great Ingenuity and Address, (like a Person so considerable for his Years, as he was in his Time,) not only establish’d this Notion of Respiration, but also carries it farther, making it the true Cause of the _Diastole_ of the Heart; which neither _Borelli_, _Lower_, or _Cowper_, much less any before those great Men, have well accounted for. That the Heart is a Muscle, is made evident beyond all doubt by Dr. _Lower_. And that the Motion of all Muscles consists in Constriction, is not to be doubted also. By which means the _Systole_ is easily accounted for. But forasmuch as the Heart hath no _Antagonist-Muscle_, the _Diastole_ hath puzzled the greatest Wits. But Dr. _Drake_ with great Judgment, and much Probability of Reason, maketh the Weight of the Incumbent Atmosphere to be the true _Antagonist_ to all the Muscles which serve both for ordinary Inspiration and the Constriction of the Heart. The Particulars of his Opinion may be seen in his _Anatomy_, l. 2. c. 7. And in _Philos. Trans. 281._

And I remember when I was at the University, my most ingenious and learned Tutor Dr. _Wills_, when he read Anatomy to us, was of Opinion, that the Lungs were blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air, and represented the manner of Respiration in this manner, _viz._ He put a Bladder into a Pair of Bellows, turning back the Neck of the Bladder, and tying it fast, so that no Air might enter in between the Bladder and Bellows. This being done, when the Bellows were opened, the Bladder would be blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air; and when shut, the Air would be thereby pressed forcibly out of the Bladder, so as to blow the Fire. This Experiment I take Notice of here; because (besides the Illustration it gives to Respiration) that great _Genius_ seems to have had a truer Notion of this _Phænomenon_, than was very common then, _viz._ about the Year 1677 or 78; as also, because I have in some Authors met with the same Experiment, without mention of Dr. _Wills_, whose I take it to have been.

Another Use of great Consideration, the already commended Dr. _Cheyne_ assigns; namely, to form the elastick Globules of which the Blood principally consists, without which there would be a general Obstruction in all the capillary Arteries. _Cheyne_’s _Phil. Prin. of Nat. Rel._ or _Harris_’s _Lex. Tech. in Lungs._

[b] _Gen._ ii. 7. vi. 17. _and_ vii. 15.

[c] Because it would be endless to specify the curious Mechanism of all the Parts, concurring to the Formation of the Voice; I shall therefore for a Sample note only two Things, 1. There are thirteen Muscles provided for the Motion of the five Cartilages of the _Larynx_, _Gibs. Anat. l. 2. c. 14_, a Sign of the careful and elaborate Provision that is made for the Voice. 2. It is a prodigious Faculty of the _Glottis_, in contracting and dilating itself with such Exquisiteness, as to form all Notes. For (as the ingenious Dr. _Keil_ saith) _supposing the greatest Distance of the two Sides of the ~Glottis~, to be one tenth Part of an Inch in sounding 12 Notes, (to which the Voice easily reaches;) this Line must be divided into 12 Parts, each of which gives the Aperture requisite for such a Note, with a certain Strength. But if we consider the Sub-division of Notes, into which the Voice can run, the Motion of the Sides of the ~Glottis~ is still vastly nicer. For if two Chords sounding exactly Unisons, one be shortened, ⅟₂₀₀₀ Part of its Length, a just Ear will perceive the Disagreement, and a good Voice will sound the Difference, which is ⅟₁₉₆ Part of a Note. But suppose the Voice can divide a Note into 100 Parts, it follows that the different Apertures of the ~Glottis~ actually divide the tenth Part of an Inch into 1200 Parts, the Effect of each of which produces a sensible Alteration upon a good Ear. But because each Side of the ~Glottis~ moves just equally, therefore the Divisions are just double, or the Sides of the ~Glottis~, by their Motion do actually divide one tenth Part of an Inch into 2400 Parts._ _Keil_’s Anat. c. 3. Sect. 7.

[d] Among the Instruments of Speech, the Tongue is a necessary one; and so necessary, that it is generally thought no Speech can be without it. But in the third Tome of the _Ephem. Germ._ is published, _Jac. Rolandi Aglossostomographia, sive Descriptio Oris sine Linguâ, quod perfecte loquitur, & reliquas suas functiones naturalitèr exercet._ The Person described is one _Pet. Durand_, a _French_ Boy of eight or nine Years old, who at five or six lost his Tongue by a _Gangrene_, occasioned the Small-Pox. Notwithstanding which, he could (as the Title saith) speak perfectly, as also taste, spit, swallow, and chew his Food; but this latter he could do only on that Side he put it into, not being able to turn it to the other Side his Mouth.

In the same Tract, _Chap. 6._ is this Observation of _ventriloquous_ Persons, _Memini me à quodam sat celebri Anatomico audivisse, dum de duplicaturâ Mediastini ageret, si Membrana ista duplex naturalitèr unita in duas partes dividatur, loquelam quasi ex pectore procedere, ut circumstantes credant Dæmoniacum hunc, aut Sternomythum._

[e] _The Variation of the Wind-pipe is observable in every Creature, according as it is necessary for that of the Voice. In an ~Urchin~, which hath a very small Voice, ’tis hardly more than membranous. And in a ~Pigeon~, which hath a low and soft Note, ’tis partly cartilaginous, and partly membranous. In an ~Owl~, which hath a good audible Note, ’tis more cartilaginous; but that of a ~Jay~, hath hard Bones instead of Cartilages; and so of a ~Linnet~: Whereby they have both of them a louder and stronger Note, ~&c.~_

_The Rings of the Wind-pipe are fitted for the Modulation of the Voice: For in ~Dogs~ and ~Cats~, which in the Expression of divers Passions use a great many Notes, (as Men do,) they are open and flexible, as in Man. Whereby all, or any of them are dilated, or contracted, more or less, as is convenient for a higher or deeper Note, ~&c.~ whereas in some other Animals, as in the ~Japan-Peacock~, which useth hardly more than one single Note, they are entire, ~&c.~_ _Grew_’s Cosmolog. Sacr. _Book I. Chap. 5. §. 9, 10._

[f] It is a farther manifest Indication of singular Design in the cartilaginous Rings of the _aspera Arteria_, that all the Way where they are contiguous to the _Oesophagus_, they are membranous, to afford an easie Passage to the Food; but after that, in the _Bronchi_; they are, some compleatly annular, some triangular, _&c._ And another observable is, the lower Parts of the superior Cartilages, receive the upper Parts of the inferior, in the _Bronchi_; whereas in the _aspera Arteria_, the Cartilages run and remain parallel to one another; which is a noble Difference or Mechanism in this (in a Manner) one and the same Part, enabling the Lungs and _Bronchi_ to contract themselves in Expiration, and to extend and dilate themselves in Inspiration.

[g] I shall not here intrench so much upon the Anatomist’s Province, to give a Description of the _Lungs_, although it be a curious Piece of God’s Workmanship; but refer to Seignior _Malpighi_, the first Discoverer of their _Vesiculæ_ in 1660, in his two Letters to _Borelli de Pulmon_. Also to Dr. _Willis_’s _Pharm. Rat._ p. 2. S. 1. c. 1. _de Respir. Orig. & Us._ who as he wrote after _Malpighi_, so hath more accurately described those parts; and to Mr. _Cowper_’s _Anat._ Tab. 24, 25. And if the Reader hath a Mind to see what Opposition Seignior _Malpighi_’s Discoveries met with at Home and Abroad, and what Controversies he had on that Account, as also his Censures of Dr. _Willis_’s Descriptions and Figures, he may consult _Malpighi_’s Life written by himself, _pag. 4 to 21_.

That the _Lungs_ consist of _Vesiculæ_, or _Lobuli_ of _Vesiculæ_ admitting of Air from the _Bronchi_, is visible, because they may be blown up, cleansed of Blood, and so dried. But Mr. _Cowper_ saith, he could never part the _Lobuli_, (so as to make Dr. _Willis_’s _Fig. 1. Tab. 3. & 4._) so that probably the _Vesiculæ_ are contiguous to one another throughout each Lobe of the Lungs. And not only Air; but _Diemerbroeck_ proves, that the _Vesiculæ_ admit of Dust also, from two asthmatick Persons he opened; one a Stonecutter’s Man, the _Vesiculæ_ of whose Lungs were so stuffed with Dust, that in cutting, his Knife went as if through an Heap of Sand; the other was a Feather-driver, who had these Bladders filled with the fine Dust or Down of Feathers.

[h] There is a considerable Difference between Dr. _Willis_, and _Etmuller_, _viz._ Whether the _Vesiculæ_ of the Lungs have any muscular Fibres or not? _Etmuller_ expressly saith, _Nullas Fibras musculosas, multo minùs rubicundam Musculorum compagem (sunt enim Vesiculæ albidæ & fere diaphanæ) in ipsis reperiri._ ubi supr. c. 6. §. 2. And afterwards, §. 3. _Pulmones esse molles flexilesque musculosis fibris ceu propriæ explicationis organis destitutos._ But Dr. _Willis_ as expressly alerts they have musculous Fibres, and assigns an excellent Use of them; _Cellulæ istæ vesiculares, ut nixus pro expiratione contractivos edant, etiam fibras, utì per Microscopium planè conspicere est, musculares obtinent_, ubi supr. §. 16. And in the next §, _Ut pro datâ occasione majorem aëris copiam exsufflent, aut materiam extussiendam ejiciant, fibris muscularibus donatæ, sese arctiùs contrahunt, contentaque sua penitùs exterminant. Et enim ordinariæ pectoris Systolæ, quas musculorum relaxationes ex parte efficiunt, aërem forsan totum à Tracheâ & Bronchiis, haud tamen à Vesiculis, quâque vice ejiciunt: propter has (quoties opus erit) inaniendas, & totius Pectoris cavitas plurimùm angustatur, & cellulæ ipsæ vesiculures à propriis fibris constrictis coarctantur._

[i] _Circa hos motus [Scil. Pectoris dilatationem, &c.] divini Conditoris mechanicen, ad regulas Mathematicas planè adaptaram, satis admirari non possumus; siquidem nullâ aliâ in re manifestùs Ὁ Θεὸς γεωμετρεῖν videtur. Quippe cùm pectoris, tum ampliato, tum coarctatio à quibusdam Musculis (quorum munus unicum est contrahere) perfici debeat; res ita instituitur, ut Costæ quæ thoracis, volut parallelogrammi oblongi versus cylindrum incurvati, latera efformant, in figuram modò quadratam, cum angulis rectis, pro pectoris ampliatione; modò in rhomboeidem, cum angulis acutis pro ejusdem contractione, ducantur, ~&c.~_ Willis, _ubi supr._ §. 28.

_Galen_ having spoken of the Parts ministring to Respiration, concludeth, _Nihil usquam à Naturâ ullo pacto per incuriam, fuisse præteritum, qua cùm omnia præsentiret & provideret, quæ sunt necessaria illa, quæ causa alicujus extiterunt, confecutura, omnibus instaurationes parare occupavit, cujus apparatus copiosa facultas admirabilem Sapientiam testantur._ De us. part. l. 5. c. 15. See also _l. 6. c. 1._

[k] For the Structure of the _Intercostals_, _Midriff_, &c. I shall refer to Dr. _Willis_, and other Anatomists. Bur Dr. _Drake_ taxeth Dr. _Willis_ with an Error in fancying there is an Opposition in the Office of the _Intercostals_, by reason that the Fibres of the _external_ and _internal Intercostals_ decussate; that therefore the _external_ serve to raise the Ribs, the _internal_ to draw them down. But Dr. _Drake_ is of _Steno_’s, and Dr. _Mayow_’s Opinion, that notwithstanding the Decussation of their Fibres, the Power they exert upon, and the Motion they effect in the Ribs, is one and the same. _Drake_’s _Anat._ l. 2. c. 7. and l. 4. c. 5. _Mayow de Respir._ c. 7.

[l] Although Dr. _Drake_ and some others deny the _Intercostals_ being Antagonist-Muscles, as in the preceding Note, yet they, and most other Anatomists that I have met with, attribute a considerable Power to them in the act of Respiration, as they do also to the _Subclavian_ and _Triangular Muscles_: but the learned _Etmuller_ denies it for these three Reasons, _1. Quia respirando nullam in illis contractionem sentio. 2. Quia——sibi invicem non adducuntur, ~&c.~ 3. Quia Costæ omnes ab aliis modò enarratis musculis moventur, idque simul, ~&c.~ Intercostales itaque, necnon Subclavios Musculos Costis, parietum instar, ad complenda interstitia intercostalia, pectusque integrandum, ac Costas connectendas, intertectos esse, probabiliter concludo; quo munere triangulares etiam——fungi, rationi consentaneum est._ Etmul. Dissert. 2. cap. 4. §. 6.

But as to the Use of the _Triangular Muscle_ in Respiration, we may judge of it, from its remarkable Size, and Use in a Dog; of which Dr. _Willis_ gives this Account from _Fallopius_: _In Homine parvus adeò & subtilis iste ~[Musculus]~ est, ut vix pro Musculo accipi queat: in Cane per totum os pectoris protenditur, & cartilagines omnes, etiam verarum Costarum sterno inosculatas, occupat: Cujus discriminis ratio divinam circa Animalium fabricas Providentiam planè indigitat. Quippe cùm hoc animal, ad cursus velocissimos & diu continuandos natum, quo sanguis, dum intensiùs agitatur, ritè accendatur eventileturque, aërem celerrimè & fortiter uti inspirare, ita etiam exspirare debet——idcirco propter hunc actum firmiùs obeundum (cujus in Homine haud magnus est usus) musculus caninas molem ingentem & tanto operi parem fortitur._ Willis _ubi supr._ §. 32.

[m] _Ray_’s Wisdom of God in the Creation, p. 343.

[n] Mr. _Cheselden_, an ingenious and most accurate Anatomist, having somewhat particular in his Observations about the Circulation of the Blood through the Heart of the _Fœtus_, I shall present the Reader with some of his Observations, which he favoured me with the Sight of. _The Blood_ (saith he) _which is brought to the Heart by the ascending Cava, passes out of the right Auricle into the left, through a Passage called ~Foramen Ovale~, in the ~Septum~ ~[common to them both]~ without passing through the right Ventricle (as after the Birth) while the Blood from the descending Cava passeth through the right Auricle and Ventricle into the pulmonary Artery, and thence into the ~Aorta~ through the Duct, betwixt that and the pulmonary Artery, called ~Ductus Arteriosus~, whilst a small Portion of the Blood, thrown into the pulmonary Artery passeth through the Lungs, no more than is sufficient to keep open the pulmonary Vessels. Thus both Ventricles are employed in driving the Blood through the ~Aorta~ to all Parts of the ~Fœtus~, and to the Mother too. But after the Birth, the Blood being to be driven from the ~Aorta~ through the ~Fœtus~ alone, and not the Mother too, one Ventricle becomes sufficient, whilst the other is employed in driving the Blood through the Lungs, the ~Ductus Arteriosus~ being shut up by means of the Alteration of its Position, which happens to it from the raising the ~Aorta~ by the Lungs when they become inflated. After that the Blood is thus driven into the Lungs, in its return it shuts the ~Valve~ of the ~Foramen Ovale~ against the ~Foramen~ it self, to whose Sides it soon adheres, and so stops up the Passage. The ~Ductus Arteriosus~, or ~Ductus Arteriosus in Ligamentum versus~, is seldom to be discerned in adult Bodies, but the Figure of the Foramen ~Ovale~ is never obliterated._