any); as, whether the birth took place in the 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th month, whether by night

or by day, and in what month of the year. 8. Inquire into the length and shortness of men's lives according to their food, diet, manner of living, exercise, and the like. With regard to the air in which they live and dwell, I consider that ought to be inquired under the former article concerning their places of abode. 9. Inquire into the length and shortness of men's lives according to their studies, kinds of life, affections of the mind, and various accidents. 10. Inquire separately into the medicines which are supposed to prolong life.

11. Inquire into the signs and prognostics of a long

and short life; not into those which betoken that death is close at hand (for they belong to the history of medicine); but into those which appear and are observed even in health, whether taken from physiognomy or otherwise.

So far the inquiry touching the length and shortness of life is instituted in an unscientific and confused manner; but I have thought it right to add a systematic inquiry, bearing on practice by means of Intentions; which are of three kinds. Their more particular distributions I will set forth when I come to the inquiry itself. The three general intentions are; the prevention of consumption; the perfection of repair, and the renovation of that which is old.

12. Inquire into the things which preserve and exempt the body of man from arefaction and con

sumption, or at least which check and retard the tendency thereto.

13. Inquire into the things which belong to the general process of alimentation (whereby the body

of man is repaired), that it may be good and with as little loss as possible.

14. Inquire into the things which clear away the old

matter and supply new; and likewise those which soften and moisten the parts that have become hard and dry.

But since it will be difficult to know the ways to death, unless the seat and house (or rather cave) of death be first examined and discovered; of this too should inquiry be made; not however of every kind of death, but of such only as are caused, not by violence, but by privation and want. For these alone relate to the decay of the body from age.

15. Inquire into the point of death and the porches which on all sides lead to it; provided it be caused by want and not by violence.

Lastly, since it is convenient to know the character and form of old age; which will be done best by making a careful collection of all the differences in the state and functions of the body between youth and old age, that by them you may see what it is that branches out into so many effects; do not omit this inquiry.

16. Inquire carefully into the differences of the state and faculties of the body in youth and old age; and see whether there be anything that remains unimpaired in old age.

With reference

to the first

NATURE DURABLE.

The History.

1. Metals last so long that men cannot

Article of In- observe the period of their duration. And quiry. even when they do dissolve from age, they dissolve into rust, not through perspiration. however is affected neither way.

Gold

2. Quicksilver, though a moist and fluid body and easily made volatile by fire, yet (as far as we know) neither decays nor collects rust by age alone without fire.

3. Stones, especially the harder kinds, and many other fossils are exceedingly durable, even when exposed to the air; and much more so when buried in the earth. But yet they collect a kind of nitre which acts as rust upon them. Precious stones and crystals last even longer than metals, but after a length of time they lose somewhat of their brilliancy.

4. It is observed that stones facing the north decay sooner than those which face the south, as may be seen in obelisks, churches, and other buildings. But iron on the contrary rusts sooner on the south than on the north side, as is shewn on the iron bars or grating of windows. And there is nothing strange in this, seeing that in all putrefactions (and rust is one) moisture accelerates dissolution, as dryness does in simple arefaction.

5. Vegetables when cut down and no longer growing, as the stems or trunks of the harder trees and the timber manufactured from them, last for some ages. But there is a great difference in the parts of the trunk. Some, like the elder, are fistulous, with a soft

pith in the middle, and a harder exterior; but in solid trees like the oak, the interior part (which is called the heart of the tree) is more durable.

6. The leaves, flowers, and even the stalks of plants. are of short duration, and unless they putrefy, turn into dust and ashes; but the roots are more durable.

7. The bones of animals last long, as may be seen in charnel-houses where they are stored. Horns also and teeth are very durable, as is seen in ivory, and the teeth of the sea-horse.

8. Skins and hides are very durable, as appears from old parchment books. Paper likewise lasts for many ages, though less durable than parchment.

9. Things which have passed through the fire, like glass or bricks, become very durable. Flesh and fruit also last longer in a cooked than in a raw state. And this is not only because the preparation in the fire prevents putrefaction; but also because, when the watery humour is discharged, the oily humour can support itself longer.

10. Of all liquids, water evaporates the quickest, oil the slowest; as may be seen, not only in the liquids themselves, but also in their compounds. For if paper be moistened with water so as to acquire some transparency, yet it will soon lose it again and turn white, by reason of the evaporation of the water. On the other hand if the paper be dipped in oil, the transparency lasts for a long time, because of the slow evaporation of the oil. And this is the reason why forgers lay oiled paper on an autograph, by means of which they attempt to draw the lines.

11. All gums last a very long time; as do wax and honey.

12. But the equality or inequality of the accidental conditions of bodies contributes as much as the things themselves to their duration and dissolution. Thus timber, stones, and other bodies last longer, if always in the air or always in the water, than if they be sometimes wet and sometimes dry. Stones dug out of the earth and placed in buildings last longer, if they lie in the same direction and point to the same quarter of the heaven as they did in the quarry. This happens likewise in the removal and transplantation of plants.

Major Observations.

1. Let it be assumed, as is most certain, that all tangible bodies contain a spirit or pneumatic body concealed and enveloped in the tangible parts; that by this spirit all dissolution and consumption is commenced; it follows that the antidote against them is the detention of this spirit.

2. This spirit is detained in two ways; either by a close confinement, as in a prison, or by a kind of voluntary detention. This continuance is likewise invited in two ways; namely, if the spirit itself be not very impetuous or pungent, and if moreover it be not much excited by the external air to come forth. Therefore there are two durable substances; namely, the Hard and the Oily; whereof the former binds down the spirit, the latter partly soothes it, and partly is of that nature that it is less acted upon by the air; for air is of the same substance as water, and flame as oil. So much therefore touching nature durable and non-durable in inanimate subjects.