and^Courfenefs, by theMoiilure and Drinefs, by the Facility and Difficulty of the yielding of the Fibres of the Brain; and laftly, by the Relation the Animal Spirits may poffibly have with thefe Fibres. And it would be very expedient for every one, forthwith to try to Imagine to himfclf all the different Combinations of thefe things, and to apply himfelf ferioufly td the Confideration of all the Differences we have obferv'd between the Minds of Men. Becaufe it is ever more Ufeful, and alfo more Pleafant for a Man to employ his own Mind, and to accuftom it to the finding out Truth by its own Induftry, than to fuffer it to gather Ruft by a carelefs La- zinefs, in applying it only to things wholly digefted, and explain'd to his hands. Befides that, there are fbme things fo delicately nice and fine, in the different Character of Minds, that a Man mayeafily fometimes difcover them, and be fenfible of them himfelf, but is unable to reprefent them, or make them fenfible to others.
But that we may explain, as far as poffibly we can, all the Differences that are found in diffe- rent Minds, and that every Man may more eafily obferve in his own, the ciauf^ of all the Chan- ges, he fenlibly perceives in it at different times; it feems convenient to make a general En- quiry into the Caufes of the Changes, which happen in the Animal Spirits, and in the Fibres of the Brain: Since this will make way for the Difcovery of all thofe, which happen in the Imagination.
Man never continues long like himfelf; all Mankind have fufficient Internal Convidions-of their own Inconftancy. A Man judges one while in one manner, and another while in another, concerning the fame Subject. In a word, the Life of a Man confifts only in the Circulation of the Blood, and in another Circulation of Thoughts and Defines. And I am of Opinion, a Man can't em- ploy his Time much better, than in Searching for the Caufes of thefe Changes we are fubject to, and entring into the Knowledge of our Selves.
47 CHAP. II.
I. Of the Animal Spirits^ and the Changes they are fibjetl to in general II. That the Chyle entering the Hearty occajions a Change in the Spirits.
III. That Wine does the fame thing.
»T~ ""^ I S confefs'd by all the World, that the Animal Spirits are nothing, but the more fub-. *• til and agitated parts of the Blood; which Subtilty and Agitation is principally owing Jj^j}11^-. m ' to the Fermentation it receives in the Heart; and the violent Motion of the Mufcles, rhs^ndthn which conftitute that part: That thefe Spirits, together with the reft of the Blood, are condu- changes fted through the Arteries to the Brain: And that there they are feparated from it, by fome parts £% are appropriated to that purpofe; but which they are, it has not been yet agreed upon. fubjefc to From whence we ought to conclude, that in cafe the Blood be very fubtil, it will have abun- n&eKera ' dance of Animal Spirits; but if itbegrofs, the Animal Spirits will be few: That if the Blood be compos'd of parts eafie to be inflam'd in the Heart, or very fit for Motion, the Spirits in the Brain will be extreamly heated and agitated: And, on the contrary, if the Blood admits little Fermentation in the Heart, the Animal Spirits will be languid, ' unaclive, and without force 5 And laftly, according to the Solidity, which is found in the parts of the Blood, the Animal-Spi- rits will have more or lefs lolidity, and confequently greater or lefTer force in their Motion. But thefe things ought to be explain'd more at large, and the Truth of them made more fenfibly ap- parent, by Examples and uncontroverted Experiments that prove them.
The Authority of the Ancients has not only blinded fome Mens Underftandings, but we may jj fay, has feal'd up their Eyes. For there are ftill a fort of Men that pay fo fubmiffive a deference to ihat the Ancient Opinions, or poffibly are fo ftiff and obftinate, that they will not fee thofe things which ckjie en- they could not contradict, would they but pleafeto open once their Eyes. We daily fee Men, tr™£ *"* in good Reputation and Efteem for their Study, Write and Difpute publickly againft the Vilibie egrms "^ and Senfible Experiments of the Circulation of the Blood, againft that of the Gravitation and change in Elaftick force of the Air, and others of the like Nature. The Difcovery Mr. Packet has made thespms, in our Time, and which we have here occafion for, is of the number of thofe that are mif-for- tunate, meerlyfor want of being Born Old ■, and, as a Man may fay, with a Venerable Beard. I fliall not, however, omit to make ufe of it, and am under no Apprehenfion of being blam'd by Judicious Men for doing fo.
According to that Difcovery; it ismanifeft that the Chyle does not immediately pafs from the Vtfcera to the Liver, through the Mefaraick Feins, as was believ'd by the Ancients; but that it pafles out of the Bowels into the Lacteal Veins, and from thence into feveral Receptacles, where thefe Veins coterminate: That from thence it afcends through the Ductus Thoracic us along the Vertebra of the Back, and proceeds to mix with the Blood in the Axillary Vein, which enters into the Superiour Trunck of Vena. Cava; and thus being mingled with the Blood, it difcharges it felf into the Heart.
It ought to be concluded from this Experiment, that the Blood thus mingled with the Chyle, "being very different from that which has already circulated feveral times through the Heart, the Animal 4-8 F. Malebunche Concerning Book II, Animal Spirits, that are only the more fine and fubtil parts of it, ought to be very different in Perfons that are raftings and others after they have eaten. Again, becaufe in the Meats and Drinks that are us'd, there is an infinite Variety, and likewife thofe that Ufe them, have Bodies diverfly difpos'd: Two Perfons after Dinner, though rifing from the.fame Table^ muft fenfibly perceive in their Faculty of Imagining, fo great a Variety of Alterations, as is impoflible to be defcrib'd.
I confefs thofe who are in a perfect: ftate of Health, perform Digeftion fb eafily, that the Chyle flowing into the Heart, neither augments nor diminifhes the Heat of it, and is fcarce any Ob- ftruct ion to the Blood's fermenting in the very fame manner, as if it enter'd all alone: So that their Animal Spirits, and confequently their Imaginative Faculty admit hardly any Change there- by. But as for Old arid Infirm People, they find in themfelves very fenfible Alterations after a Repaft: They generally grow dull and fleepy^ at leaft, their Imagination flags and languifhes, and has no longer any Brisknefs or Alacrity. They can conceive nothing diftin&ly, and are unable to apply themfelves to any thing. In a word, they are quite different and other fort of People from what they were before. in. But that thofe of a more found and robuft Completion, may likewife have fenfible proofs of effJn Wl'"h Wfiat I nave ^d '■> rhey need °nly make reflection on what happens to them in Drinking Wine fame thine, fomewhat more freely than ordinary; or on what would fall out upon their drinking Wine at one Meal, and Water at another. For it is certain, that unlefs they be extreamly ftupid, or that their Body be of a make very extraordinary, they will fuddainly feel in themfelves fbme Brisknefs, or little Droufinefs, or fome fuch other accidental thing.
Wine isfo fpirituous,that it is Animal Spirits almoft ready made: But Spirits a little too libertine and unruly,that not eafily fubmit to the orders of the Will,by reafbn of their Solidity and exceffive Agitation. Thus it produces even in Men that are of a moft ftrong and vigorous Conftitiition Vinum hi- greater Changes in the Imagination, and in all the parts of the Body, than Meats, and other Liftator do- quors. It gives a Man a Foil, in Plantus's Expreffion •■, and produces many Effafts in the Mind, lefi lofus eft. advantagious than thofe defcrib'd by Horace in thefe Lines, Quid non Ebrietas defignat i open a recludit: Spes jubet ejfe ratas: in pr&lia trudit inermem: Sollicitis animis onus eximit: addocet artes. Fcecundi calices quern non fecere difertum? Contrdtla quern non in paupertate joint um?
It would be no hard matter to give a Reafon for all the Principal Effects produc'd in the Ani- mal Spirits, and thereupon in the Brain, and in the Soul it felf, by this Commixture of the Chyle and Blood; as to explain how Wine exhilarates, and gives a Man a certain Sprightlinefs of Mind, . when taken with Moderation; why it Brutifies a Man in procefs of time, by being drunk to excefs j why a Man is droufie after a good Meal, and a great many others of like Nature, for which very ridiculous Accounts are ufually given. But befides that I am not writing a Tract of Fhyficks, I muft have been neceffitated to have given fome Idea of the Anatomy of the Brain, or have made fome Suppofition, as Monfieur Des-Cartes has done before me in his Treatife concerning Mant without which it were impoflible to explain ones felf. But finally, if a Man fhall read with At- tention that Difcourfe of Monfieur Des-Cartes, he will poffibly be fatisfy'd as to all thefe particu- lar Inquiries •, becaufe that Author explains all thefe things \ at leaft, he furnifhes us with fufficient Knowledge of them, to be able of our felves to difcover them by Meditation, provided we are any whit acquainted with his Principles.
CHAP. III.
CHAP. III.
That the Air imployd in Refpration caufes fome Change in the Animal Sprits.
THE fecond general Caufe of the Changes which happen in the Animal Spirits, is the Air we breath, For though it does not forthwith make fuch fenfible Impreffions as the Chyle, yet it caufes at long run, what the Juices of Meats do in a much fhorter time. This Air paffes out of the Branches of the Trachea into thofe of the Arteria Vcnofa: Hence it mingles, and ferments with the reft of the Blood in the Heart; and, according to its own par- ticular Difpofition^ and that of the Blood, it produces very great Changes in the Animal Spirits, and confequently in the Imaginative Faculty.
I know there are fome Perfons, who will not be perfuaded that the Air mixes with the Blood in the Lungs and Heart} becaufe they cannot difcover with their Eyes, the Paffagesin the Bran- ches of the Trachea, and in thofe of the Arteria Venofa, through which the Air is communicated. But the Action of the Jntellett ought not to ftop, when that of the Senfes can go no farther. It can penetrate that which to them is impenetrable, and lay hold on things which have no handle for Chap. IV. The Search after Truth. 49 for the Senfes. 'Tis not to be queftion'd, but fome parts of the Blood continually pafs through the Branches of the Vena Arteriofa, into thofe of the Trachea. The Smell and Moifture of the Breath, fufficiently prove it; and yet the Paflages of that Communication are imperce- ptible. Why then may not the fubtil parts of Air be allow'd to pafs through the Branches of the Trachea, into the Aneria Venofa though the PafTages of this Communication be undifcerni- ble? In fine, a much greater quantity of Humours tranfpire through the imperceptible Pores of the Arteries and the Skin, than efcape through the other Avenues of the Body; and even the Pores of the moll folid Metalsr are not fo clofe, but there are found Bodies in Nature little enough to find a free pafTage through them; fince otherwife thefe Pores would quickly be en- tirely ftopt.
It is true that the conrfe and ragged parts of the Air cannot penetrate through the ordinary Pores of Bodies; and that Waterit felf, though extreamly grofs,can glide through thofe crannies, which will not give admittance to them. But we fpeak not here of the courfe or branch'd and raaged Parts of Air •, they feem to be of little ufe to Fermentation: We only fpeak of the lit- tle^ ftiffand pungent Parts, and fuch as have none or very few Branches to impede their pafTage, becaufe thefe are the fitteft for the Fermentation of the Blood.
I might notwitfiftanding affirm upon the Teftimony of Silvias, that even the courfeft Air pafTes from the Trachea to the Heart, who teftifies he has feen it pafs thither by the Art and Ingenuity of Mr. de Swammerdam. For 'tis more reafonable to believe a Man who fays he has feen it, than ' a thoufand others who talk at random. It is certain then that the moft refin'd and fubtil Parts of Air which we breath, enter into the Heart-, and there, together with the Blood and Chyle, keep up the Fire which gives Life and Motion to our Body.; and that according to their different Qualities, they introduce great Changes in the Fermentation of the Blood, and in the Animal Spirits.
Spirits.
We daily difcover the Truth of this by the various Humours, and the different Characters of the Minds of Men of different Countries: The Gafcons, for inftance, have a more brisk and lively Imagination, than the Normans: Thofe of Rkoan, and Dieppe, and Picardie, differ all from one another: And yet farther from the Low-Normans, though at no great diflance from each other. But if we confider Men that live in Countries more remote, we fhall find much ftranger Numqnid Differences between them: For inftance, an Italian, a Flemming, and a Dutch-Man. To con- n°n ult.ra elude, there are places celebrated in all Ages for the Wifdomof their Inhabitants, as Themant. ^-fn" and Athens, and others, as notorious for their Stupidity,, as Thebes and Abdera, and fome others. man?^er.
Athenls tenue caelum, ex quo acutiores etiam putantur Attici, crajfum Thebis. GiC de Fato.
Ahderitan& peilora plebis habes. Mart. JS&otum in craffb jurares a'ere natum. Hor.
CHAP. IV.
I. Of the Change of the Spirits caused by the Nerves, which go to the Heart and Lungs. II. Of that which h caused by the Nerves, which go to the Liver, to the Spleen ^cTVifcera. IIL That all that, is performed without the concurrence of our Will, but yet it cannot be done without a Providence.
THE third caufe of the Changes, which happen to the Animal Spirits, is the moft ordi- nary, and moft a&ive of them all, becaufe it is this which produces, maintains and corroborates all the Paffions. For our better underftanding this, we muft know that the Nerves of the fifth, fixth, and eighth Conjugation fhoot out the greateft part of their Bran- ches into the Breaft and Belly, where they are moft advantagioufly imploy'd for the Prefer- vationof the Body, but moft dangeroufly in regard to the Soul: Becaufe thefe Nerves in their Action depend not on the Will of Men, as do thefe us'd in moving the Legs and Arms, and other External Parts of the Body: And they have a greater influence upon the Soul, than the Soul has upon them.
We muft know then, that many of the Branches of the Nerves of the eighth Conjugation, fall J- in among the Fibres of the Principal of all the Mufcles, the Heart; that they encircle its Orifi-,°f fe r ces, its Auricles and its Arteries. That they expatiate alfo into the Subftance of the Lungs, and the" spirits thus by their different Motions produce very confiderable Changes in the Blood. For the Nerves caus'd by which are difpers'd among the Fibres of the Heart, caufing it to Dilate and Contrail it felf in too the Nerves hafty and violent a manner, throw, with an unufual force, abundance of Blood towards the ^t^J0 10 Head, and all other External Parts of the Body. Though fometimes thefe fame Nerves have a Jy /^ . quite contrary Effect. As for the Nerves which furround the Orifices of the Heart, its Auricles and Arteries, their ufe is much the fame with that of the Regifters, wherewith the Chymifts mode- O rate 5° Pi Malebranche Concerning feook If J rate the Heat of their Furnaces; of of Cocks which are inflrumental in Fountains, to regulate the Courfe of their Waters. For the ufe of thefe Nerves is to contrail and dilate diverfly the Orifices of the Heart, and by that manner to haften, and i-etard the Entrance and the Exit of the Blood, and fo to augment and diminijh the Heat of it. Laftly, The Nerves which are difpers'd over the Lungs, have the fame employment: For the Lungs being made up only of the Branches of the Tra- chea, of the Vena Arteriofa, and the Aneria Venofa, interwoven one among another, it is plain that the Nerves which are difpers'd through their Subftance, by their Contraction, muft obftrudt- the Air from paffing fo freely out of the Branches of the Trachea, and the Blood out of thofe of the Vend Arteriofa, into the Arteria Venofa, to difcharge it felf into the Heart. Thus thefe Nerves according to their different agitation, augment and diminifh ftill the Heat and Motion of the Blood.
All the Paffions furnifh us with very fenfible Experiments of thefe different Degrees of Heat of our Heart; we. manifeftly feel its Diminution and Augmentation fometimes on a fudden: And as we falfly judge our Senfations to be in the Parts of our Body, and by occafion of them to be Excited in our Soul, as has been explain'd in the foregoing Book; So the generality of Philo- fophers imagine the Heart to be the Principal Seat of the Paffions of the Soul, and 'tis even at this day the moft common and receiv'd Opinion. » Now becaufe the Imaginative Faculty receives confiderable Changes by the Changes which hap- pen in the Animal Spirits; and becaufe the Animal Spirits are very different, * according to the different Fermentation of the Blood, perform'd in the Heart; it is eafie to difcoverthe Reafon of Paffionate People's imagining things quite otherwife, than thofe who confider'd the fame fe- dately, and in cold Blood.
The other Caufe which exceedingly contributes to the Diminution and Augmentation of thefe Extraordinary Fermentations of the Blood, in the Heart, confifts in the Action of many other Branches of the Nerves, whereof we have been fpeaking.
y- Thefe Branches are difpers'd throughout the Liver, which contains the more fubtil part of the Chinee of Blood, or that which is commonly calFd the Bile; through the Spleen, which contains the groffer the spirit, Part) °r the Melancholy; through the Pancreas, which contains an acid Juice, moft proper for cans' A by Fermentation; through the Stomach, thecTm, and the other parts, which contain the Chyle. Fithe Nerves nally, They are difpers'd and fpread about all the parts, that can any ways contribute to the 7heLive°r u> vai7*nS tne Fermentation of the Blood in the Heart. There is moreover nothing even to the the spleen, Arteries and Veins, which has not a Connection with thefe Nerves; as Dr. Willis has difcover'd And other of the Inferiour Trunck of the Great Artery, which is connected to them near the Heart; of the .Vifcera. Axillary Artery on the right fide-, of the Emulgent Vein, and feveral others.
Thus the ufe of the Nerves being to agitate the parts (to which they are faftenedj diverfe ways, it is eafie "to conceive how, for inftance, the Nerve which furi-ounds the Liver may, by conftringing it, drive a great quantity of Bile into the Feins, and the Canalvs Cyfyicus, which mingling with the Blood in the Veins, and with the Chyle, through the Canalis Cyfticus, enters the Heart, and produces a Heat therein much more fervent than ordinary. Thus when a Man is mov'd with fome kind of Paffions, the Blood boyls in the Arteries and in the Veins, and the Heat is diffus'd throughout the Body, the Fire flies up into the Head, which is prefently fill'd with fuch a prodigious quantity of over-brisk and rapid Animal Spirits, as by their impetuous Current, hinder the Imagination from reprefenting other things, than thofe, whofe Images they form in the Brain; that is, from thinking on other Objects than thofe of the Predominant Pajfion.
'Tis fo again with the little Nerves which run into the Spleen, or into other parts which contain a Matter more grofs, and courfe, and lefs capable of Heat and Motion; they render the Imagination wholly Languid, Droufy and llnactive, by pouring into the Chanels of the Blood a Matter that is grofs and difficult to be put in Motion; As for thofe Nerves which environ the Arteries and Veins, their Ufe is to put a flop to the cur- rent of the Blood, and, by their Preffure and Conftri&ion of the Veins and Arteries, oblige it to flow into thofe places, where it meets with a paffage more free and open. Thus that part of the great Artery, which furnifhes all the parts of the Body, below the Fleart, with Blood, being bound and ftraitned by thefe Nerves, the Blood muft neceffarily enter the Head in. greater quan- tities, and fo produce a Change in the Animal Spirits, and confequently in the Imagination. III. But it ought to be well obferv'd, that all this is perform'd by mere Mechanifm; I mean, that all That thefe the different Movements of thefe Nerves in all the different Paffions, are not affected by the Corn- things are mandoi the Will; but on the contrary,are perform'd without its orders, and even in contradiction K h^rd r to t*lem: Inf°much t^at a Body without a Soul difpos'd like that of a found Man,would be capable of Frovi-r °f au* the Movements which accompany our Paffions: And thus Beafts themfelves might have dencefnith- fuch as nearly refembled them, though they were only pure Machines.
out the con- This is the thing for which we ought to admire the Incomprehenfible Wifdom of Him, who mrTtw$ ^as *° regularly rang'd and contriv'd all thefe Natural Wheels, and Movements, as to make it our Will. fuft}cient- for an object, to move the Optick Nerve in fuch and fuch a manner, to produce fo ma- ny diverfe Motions in the Heart, in the other inward parts of the Body, and on the Face it felf. For it has lately been difcover'd, that the fame Nerve which fhoots fome of its Branches into the Heart, and into other Internal parts, communicates alfo fome of its Branches into the Eye, " the Mouth, and other parts of the Face; fo that no Paffioir can rife or mutiny within, but it muft betray prefently it felf without, becaufe there can be no Motion in the Branches extended to the Heart, but there muft another happen in thofe, which are fpread o'er the Face.
The Chap. Vo The Search after Truth.
TheCorrefpondence and Sympathy, which is found between the Nerves of the Face, and fome others, anfvvering to other places of the Body, not to be nam'd, is ftill much more Remarkable j and that which occasions this great Sympathy, is as in the other Paffions, becaufe thefe little Nerves which climb into the Face, are only Branches of that which defcends lower.
When a Man is overtaken with fome violent Paffion, if he is careful to make a Reflection upon. what he feels in his Entrails, and in other parts of his Body, where the Nerves infinuate themfelves, as alfo upon the Changes of Countenance, which accompany it; and if he confiders that all thefe divers Agitations of the Nerves, are altogether involuntary, and that they happen in fpite of all the Refiftance that our Will can make to them, he will find it no hard matter to fuller himfelf to embrace this fimple Expofition, that hath been given of all thefe Relations and Correfponden- cies betwixt the Nerves.
But if a Man examines the Reafbns and, the End of all thefe things, fo much Order and Wifdom will be found in them, that a little Sobernefs of Thought and Attention will be able to convince the moft devoted Admirers of Epicurus and Lucretius, that there is a Providence that governs the World. When I fee a Watch, I have reafon to conclude, that there is fome Intelligent Being, fince it is Impofli ble for Chance and Hap-hazard to produce, tp range and pofture all its Wheels. How then could it be poffible, that Chance, and a conf us'd Jumble of Atoms, fhould be ca- pable of ranging in all Men and Animals, fuch abundance of different fecret Springs and Engines, with that Exafltnefs and Proportion, I have juft Explain'd: and that Men and Animals fhould thereby procreate others exactly like themfelves. So ridiculous it is to think or to fay with Lu- cretuu, That all the parts which go to the Compofition of Man, were pack't together by Chance 5 that his Eyes were not made with any defign of Seeing, but that he afterwards thought of See- ing becaufe he found he had Eyes; And thus with the other parts of the Body. Thefe are his Words.
Lamina ne facias oculorum clara creatai Pr officer e ut pojfimus: &, ut proferre vidL Vroceros pajfus, ideo fafiigia pojfe Surarum, ac fmmirmm pedibus fundata plicari: Brachia turn poro vaiidis ex apt a lacertis EJJ'e, manufque datas utraque a parte minifiras, IJt facer e advitam pojfimus, qu&foret ufus.
C&tera de genere hoc inter qu&cunque pretantur: Omnia perverfa prapofiera funt ratione.
Nil adeo quoniam natum '_/? in corpore, ut uti Tojfemtis: fed quod natum 7ft idprocreat ufumi ■ Muft not he needs have a ftrange Averfion to a Providence, who would thus voluntarily put out his Eyes for fear of feeing it, and endeavour to render himfelf infenfible to Arguments fo ftrong and convincing, as thofe Nature furnifhes us withal? Iconfefs, when once Menaffe&to be thought bold, or rather Atheiftical Wits, as did the Epicureans, they prefently find themfelves benighted in darknefs, and fee only falfe glimmerings for the future; they peremptorily deny the moft clear and Self-evident Truths, and as haughtily and Magifterially affirm the falfeft and ob- fcureft Things in the World.
The Poet I have juft cited, may ferve as a Proof of that Blindnefs of thefe venturous Wits, he confidently pronounces, and againft all appearance of Truth, about the moft difficult and ob- fcureft Queftions: when at the fame time it may well be thought, he has no Preception of Idea's, that are moft clear and evident. If I fhould ftand to tranfcribe paffages of that Author tp jufti- fie what I fay, I fhould make too long and tedious a Digreffion; for though it may be permitted me to make fome Reflections, which ftay and faften the Mind for a Moment upon effential Truths, yet I fhould never attone for making Digreffions, which throw off the Mind a conliderable time, from its Attention to its principal Subject, to apply it to things of little or no Importance.
I. Of the Memory. II. Of the Habits.
WE have been explaining the general Caufes, as well External as Internal, which effect a Change in the Animal Spirits, anil confequently in the Imaginative Faculty. We have fhewn that the External are the Meats we feed upon, and the Air we take in, for Refpiration. And that the Internal confift in the Involuntary Agitation of certain Nerves. We know no other general Caufes, and we are confident there are none. In fo much that the Fa- culty of Imagining, as to the Body, depends only on two things, namely, the Animal Spirits, and the Difpofition of the Brain, whereon they aft. There nothing more remains at prefent to to give us a perfecT: Knowledge of the Imagination, than the manifeftation of the different Chan- ges, that may happen in the Subftance of the Brain.
They 5^ i.
Of the Mexvcrj.
II.
Of the Habits.
plain elfe- where wherein this Power confifts.
F. Malebranche Concerning Book II.
T hey fhall be examined by us, as foonas we have given forae Idea of the Memory and Habits, that is to fay, of that facility we have of thinking upon things which we have already thought upon* and doing the fame things we have already done: The Methodical Order of our Difcourfe will have it fo.
In oTder to give an Explication of the! Memory, itfhould becall'dto Mind, what has been fe- veral times already inculcated \ that all our different Preceptions are affix'd to the Changes which happen to the Fibres of the Principal part of the Brain, wherein the Soul more particularly refides.
This one Supposition being laid down, the Nature of the Memory is Explain'd: for as the Branches of a Tree, which have continued for fome time bent after a particular manner; prelerve a readinefs and facility of being bent afrefh in the fame manner \ fo the Fibres of the Brain, ha- ving once receiv'd certain Impreffions from the current of the Animal Spirits, and from the. Adionof Objeds upon them, retain for a considerable time, fome Facility of receiving the fame Difpofitions. Now the Memory confifts only in that Promptnefs or Facility; fince a Man thinks upon the fame things, whenever the Brain receives the fame Impreffions.