Volume 2

Two discourses concerning the soul of brutes which is that of the vital and sensitive of man : the first is physiological shewing the nature, parts, powers, and affections of the same the other is pathological, which unfolds the diseases which affect it and its primary seat; to wit, the brain and nervous stock, and treats of their cures with copper cuts / By Thomas Willis ; Englished by S. Pordage.

  • Thomas Willis
Date:
1683
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Two discourses concerning the soul of brutes which is that of the vital and sensitive of man : the first is physiological shewing the nature, parts, powers, and affections of the same the other is pathological, which unfolds the diseases which affect it and its primary seat; to wit, the brain and nervous stock, and treats of their cures with copper cuts / By Thomas Willis ; Englished by S. Pordage. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    m—-- • ' - . , ■ -- --- • De Nat. Horn, the natures of Vegitables,and fome of Plants,and Animals, • cfepttpjfr (faith he>er*C«W, Cap. i. &c. which is. The Common Architect pafling from irrational Creatures to that rational Animal Man, hath not effected this fuddenly, but firft has referred certain natural Know¬ ledges, and Artifices, and Subtilties to other Animals, fo that they appear near to ra¬ tional Creatures. Phyf. Sc#. 3. Peter Gaffendus, a moft Skilful and Caufe-Expreffing Man, in his late Experimental Lib's cap* PMofophy, when he had enumerated very many Inftances, by which the Cunning and F‘4* Wonderful Sagacity of brute Animals were declared; and alfo the Epithets, whereby thefe kind of Animals are noted by Philofophers, to wit, -that fome are called Excelling in Knowledgy others Artificial, thefe Dexterous and Compleat, or Crafty and Wife, at length the Author adds, that, Thefe things could not deservedly he attributed to them, ttnleft they granted them a certain kind of Reafon. However it be, we may feem at leatt to be able to diftinguijh,by a ready way, that as Commonly a two-fold Memory, To wit, a Senfitive and In¬ tellective, it diftinguijhed, fo nothing forbids to Call Reafon Senfitive and Intellectual. And truly, as we mderjtand by the Name of Reafon, the faculty or beginning of Ratiocination, and that to‘Reafon is nothing elfe, than to underfiand one thing by the Knowledg of another thing, there is nothing moreEafily to be obferved, than that Brutes do Collett one thing out of another, or what is the fame thing, do reckon or recount, and therefore are indued with Reafon. From thefe we may eafily underftand, what dignity, and beyond the powers of any Machine, caufing its Efficacy, he affirms to be in the Souls of Bealls. But i^ the mean time, if it be marqu’d, what Hypoftafis,or formal Idea, he hath affigned them y it doth not fo Eafily m re , aPPear> how that fuch Choyce Priviledges, do agree with thofe Souls, fo flenderly gifted. Soul to tea as t0 their Subftances« For when from the Opinion of Epicurus fie had ihewn thefe to be little flame, or Corporeal, and their Bodies to be made up of moft light and round Atoms, out of which a Certain fire, fort fire and heat is Created y at length he Concludes y The Soul therefore to be a Certain Blame, or a Species of moft thin fire, which as long as it lives, or remains inkindled, fo Iona the Animal lives y when it no longer lives or is Extinguifhed, the Animal dyes. But indeed, con¬ cerning his Hypothefis, he ought to have unfolded, by what means this Fire Intelligent and Artificial (to fpeaklike the Stoicks) could bey or how a flame within certain bounds and Organs of the Body, however framed with the moft excellent artificie,being inkindled and dilated, can be able to produce the ACts of the animal Faculty y This I fay, moft dif¬ ficult Problem, this moft Learned Man came to, and pafs’d over its Knot as it were pur- pofely in that place. f •WY— 9 ' < ; ■->: iff ■TT» j- t-’f1 --- ----—H '] J . .;>.>!! ...j';.vim 01 GHAP. II.! • ' * , » The Opinion of the Author Concerning the Soul in General, * -' » 1 • ' t* f r . • , r . > ' * Zt That the Soul of the Brute is Corporeal and Fiery. A Fte* having thus recited the chief Opinions of others. It now remains that we pro- pofe our own Opinion, or rather Conjecture, in fo hard a matter. Where in the firft place, I am not eafily led to believe, That the Soul of the Beall is ap my thejoul Incorporeal Subitanee, or Form : For as to what relates to that PUtonic^PiCiion, con- feemstettlbe cenJinS the Soul of the World, that, and alfo the Herefie of the HManicheet, hath al- an incorporeal, ready been refuted and clearly exploded, both by the Ancient and Modern both Philofo- and immortal Pbers and Theologifts, that there remains no further difpute about it. Further, neither fubftance. can I Confent to thofe Origenifts, who have affirmed the Souls of all Living Creatures to be immaterial, and alfo to fubfift before and after their Bodies. For, tho I fliould be little folicitous, for the almoft infinite multitude of the more’perfect Bealls, which have liv’d, and do live, yet where do fo many Myriads of Souls, even innumerable, of InfeCts and Fifties, which are dayly produced, fubfift, and what do they ? The Bodies of very many of thefe ferve only for Food to other Creatures. And for that the Souls to thefe Bodies, ferve chiefly topreferve them only for a little time, and as it were pickle them to keep them from putrefaction, there is no need that thefe Ihould be therefore immaterial and immortal. Befides, when of old, Egypt was infefted by Divine Punilhment, with Swarms of Fleas, Flyes, and other Various Kinds of innumerable InfeCts, and that the fame alfo abounded every where, it is not eafily to -be Conceived, from whence fo many Souls were fo fudd(enly Called, and into what places, the fame b^ing by and by fepara- ted, could be placed. Moreover, as Heaven, the Kingly Palace of the Great God, chal¬ lenges for it felf Angels, Gen. 2. and pure Souls, free from all fpot, to be its Inhabitants: but