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VI. They ferve for the Harbour, Entertainment, and Maintenance of various Animals, Birds, Beafts, and Infects, that breed, feed, and frequent there. For the highest Tops and Pikes of the Alps themselves, are not destitute of their Inhabitants, the Ibex, or Stein-buck, the Rupicapra, or Chamois, among Quadru peds, the Lagopus among Birds; and I my felf have obferved beautiful Papilio's, and store of other Infects, upon the tops of fome of the Alpine Mountains. Nay, the highest Ridges of many of those Mountains, ferve for the maintenance of Cattle for the Service of the Inhabitants of the Valleys: The Men there, leaving their Wives and younger Children below, do, not without fome difficulty, clam ber up the Acclivities, dragging their Kine with them, where they feed them, and milk them, and make Butter and Cheese, and do all the Daiery-work, in fuch forry Hovels and Sheds as they build there to inhabit in during the Summer Months. This I my felf have feen and obferved in Mount Fura, not far from Geneva, which is high enough to retain Snow all the Winter.

The fame they do alfo in the Grifons Country, which is one of the highest parts of the Alps, travelling through which I did not fet foot off Snow for four days Journey, at the latter end of March.

VII. Thofè

VII, Thofe long Ridges and Chains of lofty and topping Mountains, which run thro' the whole Continents Eaft and Weft, (as I have elsewhere observed) ferve to ftop the evagation of the Vapours to the North and South in hot Countries, condenfing them like Alembick heads into Water, and fo by a kind of external diftillation giving Original to Springs and Rivers; and likewife by amaffing, cooling, and conftipating of them, turn them into Rain by those means rendring the fervid Regions of the Torrid Zone habitable.

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This Difcourfe concerning the ufe of Moun* The Diffoluti. tains, I have made ufe of in anoon of the World. ther Treatife; but because it is proper to this place, I have with fome Alterations and Enlargements here repeated it. X

164

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I had almoft forgotten that ufe they are of to Mankind in ferving for Boundaries and Defences to the Territories of Kingdoms and Common-wealths.

A Second Particular I have made choice of, more exactly to furvey and confider, is the Body of Man: Wherein I fhall endeavour to difcover fomething of the Wisdom and Goodnefs of God, Firft, By making fome general Obfervations concerning the Body. Secondly, by running over and difcourfing upon its principal Parts and Members.

1. Then

1. Then in general I fay, the Wisdom and Goodness of God appears in the erect Pofture of the Body of Man, which is a Priviledge and Advantage given to Man, above other Animals. But though this be fo, yet I would not have you think, that all the Particulars I fhall mention are proper only to the Body of Man, divers of them agreeing to many other Creatures. It is not my Business to confider only the Prerogatives of Man above other Animals, but the Endowments and Perfections which Nature hath conferred on his Body, though common to them with him. Of this Erection of the Body of Man, the Ancients have taken Notice as a particular Gift and Favour of God. id elitesys

wosig aids co requ

wwmagrela bas Ovid. Metam. r.

Pronaq; cùm fpectent Animalia catera terram, Os homini fublime dedit, celumq; tueris Juffit, & erectos ad Sydera tollere vultus. LAT

And before him, Tully in his Second Book De Nat. Deorum. brook A Ad hanc providentiam natura tam diligentem tamq; folertem adjungi multa poffunt, è quibus intelligatur quanta res hominibus à Deo, quàmq; eximia tributa funt, qui primum eos humo excitatos, celfos & erectos conftituit, ut Deorum cognitionem cœlum intuentes capere poffent. Sunt enim è terra homines, non ut incole atq; babi

tatores,

tatores, fed quafi fpectatores fuperarum rerum atq; cœleftium, quarum fpectaculum ad nullum aliud genus animantium pertinet.

Man being the only Creature in this fublunary World, made to contemplate Heaven, it was convenient that he fhould have such a Figure or Situs of the parts of his Body, that he might conveniently look upwards. But to fay the Truth in this refpect of contemplating the Heavens or looking upwards, I do not fee what advantage a Man hath by this Erection above other Animals, the Faces of moft of them being more fupine than ours, which are only perpendicular to the Horizon, whereas fome of theirs ftand reclining. But yet two or three other Advantages we have of this Erection, which I fhall here mention.

Firft, It is more commodious for the fuftaining of the Head, which being full of Brains and very heavy (the Brain in Man being far larger in proportion to the Bulk of his Body, than in any other Animal) would have been very painful and wearifom to carry, if the Neck had lain parallel or inclining to the Ho

rizon.

Secondly, This Figure is moft convenient for Profpect and looking about one. A Man may fee further before him, which is no finall advantage for avoiding Dangers, and discovering whatever he searches after.

Thirdly

Thirdly, The conveniency of this Site of our Bodies will more clearly appear, if we confider what a pitiful condition we had been in, if we had been conftantly neceffitated to ftand and walk upon all Four; Man being by the make of his Body, of all Quadrupeds (for now I must compare him with them) the moft unfit for that kind of Inceffas, as I fall fhew anon. And befides' that we fhould have wanted, at least in a great measure, the use of our Hand, that unvaluable Inftrument, without which we had wanted moft of thofe advantages we enjoy as reafonable Creatures, as I fhall more particularly demonftrate, after

wards.

But it inay be perchance objected by fome that Nature did not intend this Erection of the Body, but that it is fuperinduced and artificial for that Children at firft creep on all ; Four, according to that of the Poet,

Mox Quadrupes, rituque tulit fua membra ferarum, Ovid.

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To which I answer, that there is fo great an inequality in the length of our Legs and Arms, as would make it extremely inconvenient, if not impoffible, for us to walk upon all Four, and fet us almoft upon our Heads; and therefore we see that Children do not creep upon their Hands and Feet, but upon their

Hands

1

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