ever unpleasant to the eye: mixture of discordant sounds is unpleasant to the ear: mixture, or hotchpotch of many tastes, is unpleasant to the taste : harshness and ruggedness of bodies is unpleasant to the touch: now it is certain, that all putrefaction, being a dissolution of the first form, is a mere confusion and unformed mixture of the part. Nevertheless it is strange, and seemeth to cross the former observation, that some putrefactions and excrements do yield excellent odours, as civet and musk; and, as some think, ambergrease for divers take it, though improbably, to come from the sperm of a fish: and the moss we spake of from apple-trees, is little better than an excretion. The reason may be, for that there passeth in the excrements, and remaineth in the putrefactions, some good spirits; especially where they proceed from creatures that are very not. But it may be also joined with a further cause, which is more subtile; and it is, that the senses love not to be over-pleased, but to have a commixture of somewhat that is in itself ingrate. Certainly, we see how discords in music, falling upon concords, make the sweetest strains and we see again, what strange tastes delight the taste; as red herrings, caviary, parmesan, etc. And it may be the same holdeth in smells: for those kind of smells that we have mentioned, are all strong, and do pull and vellicate the sense. And we find also, that places where men urine, commonly have some smell of violets and urine, if one hath eaten nutmeg, hath so too. THE slothful, general, and indefinite contemplations, and notions, of the elements and their conjugations; of the influences of heaven; of heat, cold, moisture, drought, qualities active, passive, and the like; have swallowed up the true passages, and processes, and affects, and consistences of matter and natural bodies. Therefore they are to be set aside, being but notional and ill limited; and definite axioms are to be drawn out of measured instances: and so assent to be made to the more general axioms by scale. And of these kinds of processes of natures and characters of matter, we will now set down some in stances. Experiment solitary touching the causes of 836. ALL putrefactions come chiefly from the inward spirits of the body; and partly also from the ambient body, be it air, liquor, or whatsoever else. And this last, by two means: either by ingress of the substance of the ambient body into the body putrefied; or by excitation and solicitation of the body putrefied; and the parts thereof, by the body ambient. As for the received opinion, that putrefaction is caused, either by cold, or peregrine and preternatural heat, it is but nugation: for cold in things inanimate, is the greatest enemy that is to putrefaction; though it extinguisheth vivification, which ever consisteth in spirits attenuate, which the cold doth congeal and coagulate. And as for the peregrine heat, it is thus far true, that if the proportion of the adventive heat be greatly predominant to the natural heat and spirits of the body, it tendeth to dissolution, or notable alteration. But this is wrought by emission, or suppression, or suffocation, of the native spirits; and also by the disordination and discomposure of the tangible parts, and other passages of nature, and not by a conflict of heats. Experiment solitary touching bodies unperfectly mixed. 837. In versions, or main alterations of bodies, there is a medium between the body, as it is at first, and the body resulting; which medium is corpus imperfecte mistum, and is transitory, and not durable; as mists, smokes, vapours, chylus in the stomach, living creatures in the first vivification: and the middle action, which produceth such imperfect bodies, is fitly called, by some of the ancients, inquination, or inconcoction, which is a kind of putrefaction: for the parts are in confusion, till they settle one way or other. Experiment solitary touching concoction and crudity. 838. THE word concoction, or digestion, is chiefly taken into use from living creatures and their organs; and from thence extended to liquors and fruits, etc. Therefore they speak of meat concocted; urine and excrements concocted; and the four digestions, in the stomach, in the liver, in the arteries and nerves, and in the several parts of the body, are likewise called concoctions: and they are all made to be the works of heat; all which notions are but ignorant catches of a few things, which are most obvious to men's observations. The constantest notion of concoction is, that it should signify the degrees of alteration, of one body into another, from crudity to perfect concoction; which is the ultimity of that action or process; and while the body to be converted and altered is too strong for the efficient that should convert or alter it, whereby it resisteth and holdeth fast in some degree the first form or consistence, it is all that while crude and inconcoct; and the process is to be called crudity and inconcoction. It is true, that concoction is in great part the work of heat, but not the work of heat alone: for all things that further the conversion, or alteration, as rest, mixture of a body already concocted, etc. are also means to concoction. And there are of concoction two periods; the one assimilation, or absolute conversion and subaction; the other maturation: whereof the former is most conspicuous in the bodies of living creatures; in which there is an absolute conversion and assimilation of the nourishment into the body: and likewise in the bodies of plants: and again in metals, where there is a full transmutation. The other, which is maturation, is seen in liquors and fruits; wherein there is not desired, nor pretended, an utter conversion, but only an alteration to that form which is most sought for man's use; as in clarifying of drinks, ripening of fruits, etc. But note, that there be two kinds of absolute conversions; the one is, when a body is converted into another body, which was before; as when nourishment is turned into flesh; that is it which we call assimilation. The other is, when the conversion is into a body merely new, and which was not before; so if silver should be turned to gold, or iron to copper: and this conversion is better called, for distinction sake, transmutation. Experiment solitary touching alterations, which may be called majors. 839. THERE are also divers other great alterations of matter and bodies, besides those that tend to concoction and maturation; for whatsoever doth so alter a body, as it returneth not again to that it was, may be called alteratio major; as when meat is boiled, or roasted, or fried, etc. or when bread and meat are baked; or when cheese is made of curds, or butter of cream, or coals of wood, or bricks of earth; and a number of others. But to apply notions philosophical to plebeian terms; or to say, where the notions cannot fitly be reconciled, that there wanteth a term or nomenclature for it, as the ancients used, they be but shifts of ignorance; for knowledge will be ever a wandering and indigested thing, if it be but a commixture of a few notions that are at hand and occur, and not excited from sufficient number of instances, and those well collated. THE Consistences of bodies are very diverse: dense, rare; tangible, pneumatical; volatile, fixed; determinate, not determinate; hard, soft; cleaving, not cleaving; congelable, not congelable; liquefiable, not liquefiable; fragile, tough; flexible, inflexible; tractile, or to be drawn forth in length, intractile; porous, solid; equal and smooth, unequal; venous and fibrous, and with grains, entire; and divers others; all which to refer to heat, and cold, and moisture, and drought, is a compendious and inutile speculation. But of these see principally our Abecedarium naturæ; and otherwise sparsim in this our Sylva Sylvarum: nevertheless, in some good part, we shall handle divers of them now presently. Experiment solitary touching bodies liquefiable, 840. LIQUEFIABLE, and not liquefiable, proceed from these causes: liquefaction is ever caused by the detention of the spirits, which play within the body and open it. Therefore such bodies as are more turgid of spirit; or that have their spirits more straitly imprisoned; or, again, that hold them better pleased and content, are liquefiable: for these three dispositions of bodies do arrest the emission of the spirits. An example of the first two properties is in metals ; and of the last in grease, pitch, sulphur, butter, wax, etc. The disposition not to liquefy proceedeth from the easy emission of the spirits, whereby the grosser parts contract; and therefore bodies jejune of spirits, or which part with their spirits more willingly, are not liquefiable; as wood, clay, free-stone, etc. But yet even many of those bodies that will not melt, or will hardly melt, will notwithstanding soften; as iron in the forge; and a stick bathed in hot ashes, which thereby becometh more flexible. Moreover, there are some bodies which do liquefy or dissolve by fire: as metals, wax, etc. and other bodies which dissolve in water; as salt, sugar, etc. The cause of the former proceedeth from the dilatation of the spirits by heat : the cause of the latter proceedeth from the opening of the tangible parts, which desire to receive the liquor. Again, there are some bodies that dissolve with both; as gum, etc. And those be such bodies, as on the one side have good store of spirit; and on the other side, have the tangible parts indigent of moisture; for the former helpeth to the dilating of the spirits by the fire; and the latter stimulateth the parts to receive the liquor. Experiment solitary touching bodies fragile and tough. 841. Or bodies, some are fragile; and some are tough, and not fragile; and in the breaking, some fragile bodies break but where the force is; some shatter and fly in many places. Of fragility, the cause is an impotency to be extended; and therefore stone |