The Preface. 



of them. The Load ft one an A Electric All bodies Are 

 formirACuloM, and not under ft andable things And in which, 

 it muft be acknowledged, that they wo/ k by hidden qualities, 

 that mans wit cannot reAchunto. And afcending to living 

 bodies^ they give it for A Uaxime : that life is the aftion of 

 the fame Entity upon it felfe : thatfenfe is likewife A worke of 

 an intrinfecatl power 5 in the fart we (All Senfe, ufon it felfi. 

 Which ,our predecefjors held the greateft abfurdities that could 

 betoken in Pkylofophie. Even feme phyfitiansjhAt take upon 

 them to teach the curing of our bodies . doe often pay ut with 

 fuchtermfs -, among them, you have long dijcourfes of a re- 

 tentive, of an expulfive, of A Purging^ of a conldUdating fa- 

 culty : andfo of every thing that either pa^eth in our bedy^or 

 is Apply ed for remedy . And the meaner fort of Phyfitians knew 

 ns more^ but that fuch faculties are - though indeed they that 

 are truly Phyfit'tAns, know alfoin what they confifi , without 

 which know ledge it if much tobefeArect^ Phyfitiws wi&dot-j 

 more hwme then good. 



But tt rcturne t$ ourfub\etf : this com 'fe efdotfrine in tht 

 Schools ^ hath forced me to a great dcale ofpAinesirtfeeking 

 to dtfcover the nature of a// fuch actions (or of the mainepan 

 of them ) as were famed for incomprehenfible : for what hope 

 could lhave t out of the actions of the joule to convince the 

 nature of it to bi incorporeal! -, if I could give no other account 

 of bodies operations , then that they were performed by quali* 

 ties occult, fyecificall^ or incomprehenfible ? Would not my ad- 

 verfary prcfentlyarif\ver^ that Any operation >out of 'which I 

 fhould prefte the foules being fl>ir tua/l, was performed by 4 

 ccrporeall occult quality ': And that AS he muft acknowledge it 

 to It incomprehensible, Jo muft I likewifc acknowledge other 

 qualitie's of bodies jo be as incomprehen}ible:& t her! ore could 

 not with reafon preffe hin*^ to fbew how a body was able to dee 

 fitch An operation: & Ifhouldwferremuft ofneceftty proceed 



from 



