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the medium hindereth them not; but they pass through all mediums, yet at determinate distances. And of these we shall speak, as they are incident to several titles.

908. THE fifth is the emissions of spirits; and this is the principal in our intention to handle now in this place; namely, the operation of the spirits of the mind of man upon other spirits: and this is of a double nature; the operations of the affections, if they he vehement; and the operation of the imagination, if it be strong. But these two are so coupled, as we shall handle them together; for when an envious or amorous aspect doth infect the spirits of another, there is joined both affection and imagination.

909. THE sixth is, the influxes of the heavenly bodies, besides those two manifest ones, of heat and light. But these we will handle where we handle the celestial bodies and motions.

910. THE seventh is the operations of sympathy, which the writers of natural magic have brought into an art or precept: and it is this; that if you desire to super-induce any virtue or disposition upon a person, you should take the living creature, in which that virtue is most eminent, and in perfection; of that creature you must take the parts wherein that virtue chiefly is collocate: again, you must take those parts in the time and act when that virtue is most in exercise; and then you must apply it to that part of man wherein that virtue chiefly consisteth. As if you would super-induce courage and fortitude, take a lion or a cock; and take the heart, tooth, or paw of the lion; or the heart or spur of the cock: take those parts immediately after the lion or the cock have been in fight; and let them be worn upon a man's heart or wrist. Of these and such like sympathies, we shall speak under this present title.

911. THE eighth and last is, an emission of immateriate virtues; such as we are a little doubtful to propound; it is so prodigious: but that it is so constantly avouched by many: and we have set it down as a law to ourselves, to examine things to the bottom; and

not to receive upon credit, or reject upon improbabilities, until there hath passed a due examination. This is the sympathy of individuals; for as there is a sympathy of species, so it may be there is a sympathy of individuals: that is, that in things, or the parts of things that have been once contiguous or entire, there should remain a transmission of virtue from the one to the other: as between the weapon and the wound. Whereupon is blazed abroad the operation of unguentum teli: and so of a piece of lard, or stick of elder, etc. that if part of it be consumed or putrefied, it will work upon the other part severed. Now we will pursue the instances themselves.

Experiments in consort touching emission of spirits in vapour or exhalation, odour-like.

912. THE plague is many times taken without manifest sense, as hath been said. And they report, that where it is found, it hath a scent of the smell of a mellow apple; and, as some say, of May-flowers: and it is also received, that smells of flowers that are mellow and luscious, are ill for the plague; as white lilies, cowslips, and hyacinths.

913. THE plague is not easily received by such as continually are about them that have the plague; as keepers of the sick, and physicians; nor again by such as take antidotes, either inward, as mithridate, juniperberries, rue, leaf and seed, etc. or outward, as angelica, zedoary, and the like, in the mouth; tar, galbanum, and the like, in perfume; nor again by old people, and such as are of a dry and cold complexion. On the other side, the plague taketh soonest hold of those that come out of a fresh air, and of those that are fasting, and of children; and it is likewise noted to go in a blood, more than to a stranger.

914. THE most pernicious infection, next the plague, is the smell of the jail, when prisoners have been long, and close, and nastily kept; whereof we have had in our time experience twice or thrice; when both the judges that sat upon the jail, and numbers of those that attended the business or were pre

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sent, sickened upon it, and died. Therefore it were good wisdom, that in such cases the jail were aired before they be brought forth..

915. OUT of question, if such foul smells be made by art, and by the hand, they consist chiefly of man's flesh or sweat putrified; for they are not those stinks which the nostrils straight abhor and expel, that are most pernicious; but such airs as have some similitude with man's body; and so insinuate themselves, and betray the spirits. There may be great danger in using such compositions, in great meetings of people within houses; as in churches, at arraignments, at plays and solemnities, and the like: for poisoning of air is no less dangerous than poisoning of water, which hath been used by the Turks in the wars, and was used by Emmanuel Comnenus towards the Christians, when they passed through his country to the Holy Land. And these impoisonments of air are the more dangerous in meetings of people, because the much breath of people doth further the reception of the infection; and therefore, where any such thing is feared, it were good those public places were perfumed, before the assemblies.

916. THE impoisonment of particular persons by odours, hath been reported to be in perfumed gloves, or the like and it is like, they mingle the poison that is deadly, with some smells that are sweet, which also maketh it the sooner received. Plagues also have been raised by anointings of the chinks of doors, and the like; not so much by the touch, as for that it is common for men, when they find any thing wet upon their fingers, to put them to their nose; which men therefore should take heed how they do. The best is, that these compositions of infectious airs cannot be made without danger of death to them that make them. But then again, they may have some antidotes to save themselves; so that men ought not to be secure of it.

917. THERE have been in divers countries great plagues, by the putrefaction of great swarms of grasshoppers and locusts, when they have been dead and cast upon heaps.

918. IT happeneth often in mines, that there are damps which kill, either by suffocation, or by the poisonous nature of the mineral: and those that deal much in refining, or other works about metals and minerals, have their brains hurt and stupified by the metalline vapours. Amongst which it is noted, that the spirits of quicksilver either fly to the skull, teeth, or bones; insomuch as gilders use to have a piece of gold in their mouth, to draw the spirits of the quicksilver; which gold afterwards they find to be whitened. There are also certain lakes and pits, such as that of Avernus, that poison birds, as is said, which fly over them, or men that stay too long about them.

919. THE vapour of charcoal, or sea-coal, in a close room, hath killed many; and it is the more dangerous, because it cometh without any ill smell, but stealeth on by little and little, inducing only a faintness, without any manifest strangling. When the Dutchmen wintered at Nova Zembla, and that they could gather no more sticks, they fell to make fire of some sea-coal they had, wherewith, at first, they were much refreshed; but a little after they had sat about the fire, there grew a general silence and lothness to speak amongst them; and immediately after, one of the weakest of the company fell down in a swoon; whereupon they doubting what it was, opened their door to let in air, and so saved themselves. The effect, no doubt, is wrought by the inspissation of the air; and so of the breath and spirits. The like ensueth in rooms newly plaistered, if a fire be made in them; whereof no less man than the emperor Jovinianus died.

920. VIDE the experiment 803, touching the infectious nature of the air, upon the first showers, after a long drought.

921. IT hath come to pass, that some apothecaries, upon stamping of colloquintida, have been put into a great scouring by the vapour only.

922. IT hath been a practice to burn a pepper they call Guiney-pepper, which hath such a strong spirit, that it provoketh a continual sneezing in those that are in the room.

923. It is an ancient tradition, that blear-eyes infect sound eyes; and that a menstruous woman, looking upon a glass, doth rust it: nay, they have an opinion which seemeth fabulous; that menstruous women going over a field or garden, do corn and herbs good by killing the worms.

924. THE tradition is no less ancient, that the basilisk killeth by aspect; and that the wolf, if he see a man first, by aspect striketh a man hoarse.

925. PERFUMES convenient do dry and strengthen the brain, and stay rheums and defluxions, as we find in fume of rosemary dried, and lignum aloës; and calamus taken at the mouth and nostrils and ng doubt there be other perfumes that do moisten and refresh, and are fit to be used in burning agues, consumptions, and too much wakefulness; such as are rose-water, vinegar, lemon-peels, violets, the leaves of vines sprinkled with a little rose-water, etc.

926. THEY do use in sudden faintings and swoonings to put a handkerchief with rose-water or a little vinegar to the nose; which gathereth together again the spirits, which are upon point to resolve and fall away.

927. TOBACCO comforteth the spirits, and dischargeth weariness, which it worketh partly by opening, but chiefly by the opiate virtue, which condenseth the spirits. It were good therefore to try the taking of fumes by pipes, as they do in tobacco, of other things; as well to dry and comfort, as for other intentions. I wish trial be made of the drying fume of rosemary, and lignum aloës, before-mentioned, in pipe; and so of nutmeg, and folium indum, etc.

928. THE following of the plough hath been approved for refreshing the spirits and procuring appetite; but to do it in the ploughing for wheat or rye, is not so good, because the earth has spent her sweet breath in vegetables put forth in summer. It is better therefore to do it when you sow barley. But because ploughing is tied to seasons, it is best to take the air of the earth new turned up, by digging with the spade, or standing by him that diggeth. Gentle

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