冬冬粉 84 I BOOK IV. Of Animals in general. N the laft Boo K, having furvey'd the Earth it felf in Particular, I fhall next take a View of the Inhabitants thereof; or the feveral Kinds of Creatures (a), that have their Habitation, Growth, or Subfiftence thereon. Thefe Creatures are either Senfitive, or Infenfitive Creatures. In fpeaking of thofe endow'd with Senfe, I fhall confider: I. Some Things common to them all. II. Things peculiar to their Tribes. I. The Things in common, which I intend to take Notice of, are thefe Ten: 1. The five Senfes, and their Organs. 2. The great Inftrument of Vitality, Refpiration. 3. The Motion, or Loco-motive Faculty of Animals. (a) Principio cœlum, ac terras, campofque liquentes, Seminibus. Virgil, Æneid. L. 6. Carm. 724. 4. The Place, in which they live and act. 5. The Balance of their Numbers. 6. Their Food. 7. Their Cloathing. 8. Their Houses, Nefts or Habitations. 9. Their Methods of Self-Prefervation. 10. Their Generation, and Confervation of their Species by that Means. THE CHA P. I. Of the five Senfes in general. HE firft Thing to be confider'd, in common to all the Senfitive Creatures, is, their Faculty of Seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Tafting and Feeling; and the Organs miniftring to thefe five Senfes, together with the exact Accommodation of thofe Senles, and their Organs, to the State and Make of every Tribe of Animals (a). The Confideration of which Particulars alone, were there no other Demonftrations of God, is abundantly fufficient to evince the infinite Wisdom, Power and Goodnefs, of the great Creator. For, Who can but ftand amaz'd at the Glories of thefe Works! At the admirable Artifice of them! And at their noble Ufe and Performances! For fuppofe an Animal, as fuch, had Breath and Life, and could move it felf hither and thither; yet how could it know whither to go, what it was about, where to find its Food, how to avoid thou (a) Ex fenfibus ante catera Homini Taftus, deinde Guftatus: reliquis fuperatur à multis. Aquila clariùs cernunt: Vultures fagacius ordorantur, liquidiùs audiunt Talpa obruta terrâ, tam denfo atque furdo natura elemento. Plin. Nac, Hift. I. 1o. c. 69. fands of Dangers (b), without Sight! How could Man, particularly, view the Glories of the Heavens, furvey the Beauties of the Fields, and enjoy the Pleasure of beholding the noble Variety of diverting objects, that do, above us in the Heavens, and here in this lower World, present themselves to our View every where; how enjoy this, I fay, without that admirable Senfe of Sight (c)! How could alfo the Animal, without Smell and Tafte, diftinguish its Food, and difcern between wholfome and unwholfome; befides the Pleasures of delightful Odours, and relishing Gufto's! How, without that other Senfe of Hearing, could it difcern many Dangers that are at a Diftance, understand the Mind of others, perceive the harmonious Sounds of Mufick, and be delighted with the Melodies of the winged Choir, and all the reft of the Harmonies the Creator hath provided for the Delight and Pleafure of his Creatures! And lastly, How could Man, or any other Creature diftinguish Pleasure from Pain, Health from Sickness, and confequently be able to keep their Body found and entire, without the Senfe of Feeling! Here, therefore, we have a glorious OEconomy in every Animal, that commandeth Admiration, and deferveth our Contemplation: As will better appear by coming to Particulars, and diftinctly confidering the Provifion which the Creator hath made for each of these Senfes. (b) Subjacent Oculi, pars corporis pretiofiffima, & qui lucis ufu vitam diftinguant à morte. Plin. Nat. Hift. 1. II. c. 37. (c) Fœmina aliqua Megarenfes folis oculis difcernere valebant inter Ova que ex Gallina nigra, & qua ex albâ nata funt, is what is affirmed (how truly I know not) by Grimald, de Lumin. Color. Pr. 43. §. 69, СНАР, FOR CHA P. II. Of the Eye. OR our clearer Proceeding in the Confideration of this noble Part (a), and understanding its OEconomy, I fhall confider: 1. The Form of the Eye. 2. Its Situation in the Body. 3. Its Motions. 4. Its Size. 5. Its Number. 6. Its Parts. 7. The Guard and Security Nature hath provided for this fo useful a Part. As this eminent Part hath not been pretermitted by Authors, that have made it their particular Defign and Bufinefs to speak of the Works of God; fo divers of the aforefaid Particulars have been touched upon by them. And therefore I fhall take in as little as poffible of what they have faid, and as near as I can, mention chiefly what they have omitted. And, (a) In Diffectionibus anatomicis vix aliquid admirabilius, aut artificiofius ftructurâ Oculi humani, meo quidem judicio, occurrit ut meritò, per excellentiam, Creatoris appelletur Miracu lum. Gul. Fabr. Hildan. Cent. 2. Obferv. 1. : So likewife that accurate Surveyor of the Eye, Dr. Briggs, whofe Ophthalmography I have met with fince my penning this part of my Survey. His Character of this curious piece of God's Work is, Inter pracipuas corporis animati partes, que magni Conditoris noftri fapientiam oftendunt, nulla fanè reperitur, qua majori pompa elucet quàm ipfe Oculus, aut que elegantiori formá concinnatur. Deum enim alia partes vei minori fatellitio ftipantur, vel in tantam venuftatem haud affurgunt; Ocelli peculiarem honorem & decus à fupremo Numine efflatum referunt, nunquam non ftupenda fua Potentia characteres repræfentant. Nulla fanè pars tam divino artificio ordine, &c. Cap. 1. §. 1. GA 1. For 1. For the Form of the Eye; which is for the most part Globous, or fomewhat of the fphæroidal Form: Which is far the most commodious optical Form, as being fitteft to contain the Humours within, and to receive the Images of Objects from without (b). Was it a Cube, or of any multangular Form, fome of its Parts would lie too far off (c), and fome too nigh thofe lenticular Humours, which by their Refractions caufe Vifion. But by Means of the Form before-mentioned, the Humours of the Eye are commodioufly laid together, to perform their Office of Refraction; and the Retina, and every other Part of that little darkned Cell, is neatly adapted regularly to receive the Images from without, and to convey them accordingly to the common Sensory in the Brain. (b) It is a good Reafon Frier Bacon affigns for the Sphæricity of the Eye: Nam fi effet plane figura, fpecies rei majoris oculo non poffet cadere perpendiculariter fuper eum Cùm ergo Oculus videt magna corpora, ut ferè quartam cœli uno afpectu, manifeftum eft, quòd non potest esse plana figura, nec alicujus nifi fpharica, quoniam fuper fpharam parvam poffunt cadere perpendiculares infinita, qua à magno corpore veniunt, & tendunt in centrum Sphara: Et fic magnum corpus poteft ab oculo For the Demonftration of which he hath given parvo videri. us a Figure. Rog. Bacon. Perspect. Diftinct. 4. Cap. 4. Dr. Briggs faith, Pars antica, (five Cornea,) convexior eft poftica: hac enim ratione radi meliùs in pupillam detorquentur, & Oculi fundus ex alterâ parte in majorem (propter imagines rerum ibidem delineandos) expanditur. Ibid. §. 2. (c) Suppofe the Eye had the Retina, or back part flat for the Reception of the Images, as in Fig. 1. ABA: it is manifeft, that if the Extremes of the Image AA were at a due focal distance, the middle B would be too nigh the Crystalline, and confequently appear confufed and dim; but all Parts of the Retina lying at a due focal diftance from the Crystalline, as at ACA, therefore the Image painted thereon is feen diftinct and clear. Thus in a dark Room, with a Lens at a Hole in the Window, (which Sturmius calls his Artificial Eye, in his Exercit. Acad. one of which he had made for his Pupils, to run any where on Wheels). In this Room, I say, if the Paper that receives the Images be too nigh, or too far off the Lens, the Image will be confufed and dim; but in the Focus of the Glafs, diftinct, clear, and a pleasant Sight. Το |