360 NATURAL HISTORY. 



the parts of beasts putrified, as castoreum and musk, 

 which have extreme subtile parts, are to be placed 

 amongst them. We see also, that putrefactions of 

 plants, as agaric and Jews-ear, are of greatest virtue. 

 The cause is, for that putrefaction is the subtilist of 

 all motions in the parts of bodies ; and since we can 

 not take down the lives of living creatures, which 

 some of the Paracelsians say, if they could be taken 

 down, would make us immortal ; the next is for sub- 

 tilty of operation, to take bodies putrified, such as 

 may be safely taken. 



Experiments in consort touching Venus. 



693. It hath been observed by the ancients, that 

 much use of Venus doth dim the sight ; and yet 

 eunuchs which are unable to generate, are neverthe 

 less also dim-sighted. The cause of dimness of sight 

 in the former, is the expence of spirits ; in the latter, 

 the over-moisture of the brain : for the over-moisture 

 of the brain doth thicken the spirits visual, and ob- 

 structeth their passages, as we see by the decay in 

 the sight in age, where also the diminution of the 

 spirits concurreth as another cause : we see also 

 that blindness cometh by rheums and cataracts. 

 Now in eunuchs, there are all the notes of moisture, 

 as the swelling of their thighs, the looseness of their 

 belly, the smoothness of their skin, &c. 



694. The pleasure in the act of Venus is the 

 greatest of the pleasures of the senses : the matching 

 of it with itch is improper, though that also be pleas 

 ing to the touch. But the causes are profound. First, 



