248 Mayow 



nitre, as far as its saline and acid part is concerned, is 

 in any way opposed to the sulphureous particles of 

 the wine. 



For, no doubt, just as the nitro-aerial spirit meeting 

 with terrestrial sulphur excites that fermentation in 

 which the motion and the life of vegetables consist, 

 so also according as the same spirit, brought by means 

 of respiration into the mass of the blood and there 

 effervescing with the saline-sulphureous particles of 

 the blood, produces the vital heat and motion, as I 

 have elsewhere striven to show, it is probable that 

 animal life and the motive function are brought about 

 by the same particles more exalted and put in a 

 condition of the highest vigour. For indeed I think 

 that the nitro-aerial particles springing forth from the 

 brain into the motor parts effervesce there with 

 the saline-sulphureous particles meeting them, and 

 muscular contraction is caused by their mutual agita- 

 tion in the way to be stated below. And hence it is 

 that for keeping up animal motion it is essentially 

 necessary that there should never be a deficiency in 

 the mass of the blood of saline-sulphureous pabulum or 

 of nitro-aerial particles ; and by how much more 

 intensely the muscular contraction takes place, as in 

 the harder kinds of work, so much greater is the outlay 

 of nitro-aerial and of sulphureous particles, for the 

 repair of which not only is the respiration increased, 

 but besides there must be taken in greater quantity 

 food filled with saline-sulphureous particles. Hence 

 those articles of food which contain abundance of 

 volatile salt and sulphur are specially fitted for restor- 

 ing the powers worn by long-continued labour. 



From what has been said, we may seek the reason 

 why so intense a heat is excited in the motor parts by 

 violent exercise. That heating is commonly attri- 



