62 NATURAL HISTORY. 



the other, than the dense or tangible parts; and 

 they are in all tangible bodies whatsoever, more or 

 less ; and they are never almost at rest ; and from 

 them, and their motions, principally proceed arefac- 

 tion, colliquation, concoction, maturation, putrefac 

 tion, vivification, and most of the effects of nature : 

 for, as we have figured them in our &quot; Sapientia 

 Veterum,&quot; in the fable of Proserpina, you shall in the 

 infernal regiment hear little doings of Pluto, but 

 most of Proserpina : for tangible parts in bodies, are 

 stupid things ; and the spirits do in effect all. As 

 for the differences of tangible parts in bodies, the in 

 dustry of the chemists hath given some light, in dis 

 cerning by their separations the oily, crude, pure, 

 impure, fine, gross parts of bodies, and the like. 

 And the physicians are content to acknowledge, that 

 herbs and drugs have divers parts ; as that opium 

 hath a stupefactive part, and a heating part ; the 

 one moving sleep, the other a sweat following ; and 

 that rhubarb hath purging parts, and astringent 

 parts, &c. But this whole inquisition is weakly and 

 negligently handled. And for the more subtle dif 

 ferences of the minute parts, and the posture of 

 them in the body, which also hath great effects, they 

 are not at all touched : as for the motions of the 

 minute parts of bodies, which do so great effects, 

 they have not been observed at all ; because they 

 are invisible, and incur not to the eye ; but yet they 

 are to be deprehended by experience : as Democri- 

 tus said well, when they charged him to hold, that 

 the world was made of such little motes, as were 



