64 NATURAL HISTORY. 



iron ; or flame fireth naphtha of Babylon, a great 

 distance off . 1 It is therefore a subject of a very 

 noble inquiry, to inquire of the more subtile per 

 ceptions ; for it is anotlier key to open nature, as 

 well as the sense ; and sometimes better. And 

 besides, it is a principal means of natural divina 

 tion ; for that which in these perceptions appeareth 

 early, in the great effects cometh long after. It is 

 true also that it serveth to discover that which is 

 hid, as well as to foretell that which is to come ; 

 as it is in many subtile trials ; as to try whether 

 seeds be old or new, the sense cannot inform ; hut 

 if you boil them in water, the new seeds will sprout 

 sooner : and so of water, the taste will not discover 

 the best water; but the speedy consuming of it. 

 and many other means whicb we have heretofore 

 set down, will discover it. So in all physiognomy, 

 the lineaments of the body will discover those nat 

 ural inclinations of the mind, which dissimulation 

 will conceal, or discipline will suppress. We shall 

 therefore now handle only those two perceptions, 

 which pertain to natural divination and discovery ; 

 leaving the handling of perception in other things 

 to be disposed elsewhere. Now it is true that 

 divination is attained by other means ; as if you 

 know the causes, if yon know the concomitants, 

 you may judge of the effect to follow : and the 

 like may be said of discovery ; but we tie our- 



i Pliny, ii. 109. 



