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On the Nature of Man
Nemesius of Emesa, tr. Wither, 1636
I. Of the Body, and of the mediate and immediate composition thereof.
Sect. 1
Rightly may we affirme that every corporeall Essence is a composition proceeding from the foure Elements, and made up of them. The bodies of living-creatures having blood in them, are cōpacted immediatly of the four humors, Blood, flegm, Choller, & Melancholy: But the Bodies of such as are without blood, are made of the other three humours, and of somewhat in them answering proportionably unto blood
We call that immediately, when any thing is made of the selfe-same things without any other thing comming between them: As the foure humours are made of the foure Elements; and those things are compounded of the foure humours, which consist of like parts, and are parts also of the body (that is, things having such parts, every part of which parts, may bee called by the same name which is given unto the whole; as when every part of the flesh, is called flesh.)
Melancholy, is likned to Earth, Flegme to water; Blood to Ayre; Choller to Fire; and, every thing which is compounded of the Elements, is either a Masse, or Moisture, or Spirits.
Aristotle thought that the bodies of living-creatures were made immediately of Blood onely; because the seed is ingendred of blood, and all the parts of a living-creature nourished thereby.
But, because it seemed somewhat absurd to imagine that both hardest bones, and the tenderest flesh and fatnesse, should proceed all of one thing; It pleased Hippocrates to affirme that the bodies of living-creatures, were immediately compacted of the foure Elements; the thicke and sollid parts of the more earthly Elements, and the soft parts, of such Elements as are softest.
Oftentimes, all the foure humours are found in the blood; whereof wee have experience in Phlebotomy: For, sometime a certaine flegme like whey doth abound in it; otherwhile Melancholy, and sometime, againe, Choller. Whereupon, it commeth to passe that all men seem in some sort, to agree with one another.
Now, of the parts of living-creatures; IIsome parts there be, every portion of which parts hath the same name which is given unto the whole part: Othersome there are, which cannot bee called by the same name whereby the whole is called. As for example; Every part of the Braine is called Braine; In like maner of the sinewes, of the marrow, of the bones, of the teeth, of the grissells, of the nayles, of the thin muscles that binde the Ioynts together, of all the skins (throughout the body) of the strings (which are in the bloody flesh) of the haires, of the flesh, of the veines, of the arteries, of the pores, of the fat, and of those foure which are in maner of Elemēts, yeelding matter out of which the things aforesaid are immediately made, pure Blood, Flegme, Melancholy, and Choller. Except from these, the Muscle, which is compounded of those thinner Muscles which knit our joynts together, and of the strings which are of the nature of sinewes.
The parts of the body, consisting of portions, whereof every one taketh not the name of the whole; are these that follow; viz. the head, the breast, the hands, the feet, and such other members of Mans body. For, if you divide the head into severall parts, every part of it is not called a Head: but if you divide a sinew into severall portions, every portion of it shall have the denomination of a sinew; and so shall it be likewise, if you divide (or subdivide) a veine or flesh.
Every whole thing, whose severall parts have not the same name with the whole, is made of such things as impart the name of the whole to the parts, when they are compounded together; as the head is made of sinewes, and flesh, and bone, and such like, which are called the instrumentall parts.
The definition therefore of such things as the Greeks call 〈…〉, that is, things which consist of like parts, is thus made; They are things whose parts are like both to the whole, and to each other; (as flesh, braine, &c.) and by the word like, in this place, we meane the same with the whole; for a piece of a mans flesh, is as truly flesh as the whole masse.
IIINow, every living-creature, hath not all the parts of a body; but, some of them are defective in one part, and some in others; for, some lack feet, as fishes, and Serpents; Some have no head, as Crabs and Lobsters, and certaine other water-creatures; and because they want a head, the seat of their sense is in the breast.
Some living-creatures have no Lungs; namely, all such as breath no Ayre; some are without a bladder, as birds, and all such as void not urine. And creatures which have thick shells, are destitute of so many members, that some of them, have but few appearances of being living-creatures.
There bee also some living-creatures, which although they have such things as are in our bodies, yet seeme to want them. As the Stag which seemes to have no choller, because hee hath it not in one place, but so dispersed abroad in his entrailes, that it is no where apparant.
But, MAN hath all the parts of a living-creature; every part also, perfect; and all in so goodly order, that it could not possibly have beene better composed.
Beside their want of some parts, there is likewise among other living-creatures, much difference in the scituation of the parts. For, some have their dugs in the breast; some, on their bellies; and some under their thighes: Some againe, have two dugs; some foure; and some have more. Nature hath so provided (for the most part) that the number of dugges is answerable to the number of young-ones which every creature brings forth at a time. But let him that would bee more exactly informed of these things, reade the hystory which Aristotle hath written of living-creatures.
For, it pertaineth not unto the discourse which I now purpose, to treate at large of such things; but, only to point at them, or, to speak briefly of them.