Life of the Duke 1 37 



One proof more Tie add to confirm his natural 

 understanding and judgment, which was upon some 

 discourse I held with him one time, concerning that 

 famous chymist Van Helmont, who in his writings is 

 very invective against the school-men, and amongst 

 the rest, accuses them for taking the radical moisture 

 for the fat of animal bodies. Whereupon My Lord 

 answered, that surely the school-men were too wise 

 to commit such an error; for, said he, the radical 

 moisture is not the fat or tallow of an animal, but an 

 oily and balsamous substance ; for the fat and tallow, 

 as also the watery parts, are cold; whereas the oily 

 and balsamous parts, have at all times a lively heat ; 

 which makes that those creatures which have much 

 of that oyle or balsom, are long-lived, and appear 

 young; and not onely animals, but also vegetables, 

 which have much of that oyle or balsom, as ivy, bayes, 

 laurel, holly, and the like, live long, and appear fresh 

 and green, not onely in winter, but when they are 

 old. Then I asked My Lord's opinion concerning the 

 radical heat : to which he answered, that the radical 

 heat lived in the radical moisture ; and when the one 

 decayed, the other decayed also; and then was 

 produced either an unnatural heat, which caused 

 an unnatural dryness; or an unnatural moisture, 

 which caused dropsies, and these, an unnatural 

 coldness. 



Lastly; his natural wit appears by his delight in 

 poetry; for I may justly call him the best lyrick and 

 dramatick poet of this age: his comedies do suffi- 

 ciently shew his great observation and judgment, for 

 they are composed of these three ingredients, viz. 

 wit, humour and satyre ; and his chief design in them, 

 is to divulge and laugh at the follies of mankind; to 

 persecute vice, and to encourage virtue. 



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