Chap. 24. *ATn*i{e 0/BODIES. 269 



change in every one of them; at the length an animal is made of 

 fuch juyce as afterwards ferveth to nourifli him. 



But to bring chis to paflfc a fhorter way, and with greater fa- 4. 

 cilityjfbme have been of opinion, that all fimilar things of what- Their opinion 

 fccvcr fubftnnce,are imdifcernably mixed in every thing that is: ^oiTtha^cverj 

 and that to the :r.nkihg of any body out of any thin? , there is th [ n contain. 



, / i i erh formally 



no more required but to gather together thole parts which are 

 of that kind,and to feparate, and caft away from them, all thofe 

 which are of a nature differing from them. 



But this fpeculation will appear a very aiery & needleffe one, 

 if we confider into how many fcverall fubftanccj the fame fpe- 

 cies of a thing may be immediately changed; or rather how 

 many fcverall fubftanccs may be e.ncreafcd immediately from 

 feverall equal! individuals of the fame thing; and then take an 

 account how much of each individuall is gone into each fub- 

 ftancc which it hath fb increafed. For if we fumme up the 

 quantities that in the feverall fubftancesare thereby cncreafcd; 

 we fhall find that they do very much exceed the whole quanti- 

 ty of any one of the individuals : which fliould not be if the 

 fuppofition were true; for every individuall fhould be but one 

 totall made up of the feverall different fimilar parts , which en- 

 creafe the feverall fubftances,that extract out of them what is of 

 their own nature. 



This will be better underftood by an example: fuppofethata 

 man, a horfe, a cow, a fliecp, and 500. more icverall fpecies of 

 Jiving creatures, fhould make a meal of letuce: to avoid all per- 

 plexity in conceiving the argument, let us allow that every one 

 did eat a pound; and let us conceive another pound of this herb 

 to be burned; as much to be putrified under a cabngc root; and 

 the like under 500 plants more of diverfe fpecies. Then cnft how 

 much of every pound of lecuce is turned into (he fubftances that 

 arc made of them, or that areencreafed by them; a&, how much 

 afhes one pound hath made;how much water hath been diftilJed 

 out of another pound; how much a man hath been exicreafcd by 

 a third; how much a horfe by a fourth; how much card) by the 

 putrefaction of a fifth pound;how much a cabnge hath been cn- 

 creafcd by a fixth: and fo go over all the pounds that have been 

 turned into fubftanccs of different fpecicfes ('which may be mul- 

 tiplied as much as you pleafe.) And when you have dimmed up 



all 



