A TREATISE 



there are at iiand witncifes enough to confirm ; but none more 

 pregnant then the young Lady her felfe, upon whom themarke 

 is yet remaining. Among other creatures, it is laid that a hen 

 haic'ied a chicken with a Kites bill, becaufe face was frighted 

 with a Kite, whiles the Cocke was treading her. The ftory of 

 JUc<?jfheepeisknowne to all : andibme doe write, that the 

 painting of beautiiull coloured pigeons in a dove-houfe, will 

 make the following race become like them ' and in Authors 

 rtore of fuch examples may be found. 



To pive a reafonable and fully fatisfy ing caufe of this great 

 effect, I confelfe is very difficult ; feeing that for the moft part, 

 the parents feed is made long time before the accoupling of the 

 male and female : and though it were not, we mould be mainly 

 to (eeke for a rational! ground ro ducourfe in particu ar upon it. 

 Yet not to leave our Reader without a Kmte which way to drive 

 hisinqui/ition we will note thus much, that Anftotle and o- 

 ther natural! Pniiofbphers and Phyfitians doe aflirme, thac in 

 fome perions the pafsion is fo great in the time of their accou- 

 pling . that for the pre/ant it quite bereaveth them of the ule of 

 reafonjand that they are for the whiie,in a kind of fhort fit of an 

 epilepfie. By which it is manifeft, that abcundance of animall 

 fpirits doe then part from the head, and defcend into thole parts 

 which are the inftruments of generation. Wherefore, if there 

 be aboundance of Ipecieles of any one kind of ob/eci then ftrong 

 in the imagination, it mufl of necelsity be carryed dovvne toge- 

 ther with the ipirits into the feed: and by confequence, when 

 the feed infected with this nature begirneth to feparate and di- 

 flribute it felfe, to the forming -of the leverall parts of the Em- 

 bryon, the fpirits which doe reibrt into the braine of the childe 

 (as to their proper Element) and from thence doe finifh all the 

 outward ca.il of its body (in fuch -fort as wee have above defcri- 

 bed ) doe Ibmetimes. happen to fill certaine p'aces of the 

 childes body , with the infedion and tincture of this object ; 

 and that according to the imprefsion with which they were in 

 the mother? fantafie : for fo wee have faid, that things which 

 come together into the fantalie , doe naturally fiicke toge- 

 ther in. the animall fpirits. The hairinefle therefore will he 

 occasioned in thofe parts, where the Mother fan/ied it to 



be: 



