Chafe evil Spirits away by dint Of Cickle, Horfe-fboe, Hollow-flint ; Spit Fire out of a Walnut-shell, Which made the Roman Slaves rebel; "that they can Rhime either Man or Beast to death, and that the "Weft-Indians and Muscovites do the like." And where the Toothach might be removed in this Manner, there was no Occafion for Ben Johnson's Tooth-Drawer, " Who," he obferves, (Shepherd's Holiday, Works, vol. 1. p. 120.) "commanded any Man's Teeth "out of his Head upon the Point of his Ponyard, or tickled them "forth with his Riding-rod : Drew Teeth on Horfe-back in full "Speed; was Yeoman of the Mouth to the whole Brotherhood "of Fencers; and was charg'd to fee their Gums kept clean, "and their Breath sweet at a Minute's Warning." John Taylor, the Water-Poet, banters fuch Pretenders (Figure-Flinger, p. 23.) He can releafe, or else increase all Harms, About the Neck or Wrift by tying Charms. He has a Trick to kill the Ague's Force, And make the Patient better, or much worse. To the great Toe three Letters he can tie, Shall make the Gout to tarry, or else fly: With two Words, and three Leaves of four leav'd Grafs, -- . 291, 292. Chafe evil Spirits away by dint Of Cickle, Horfe fhoe, &c.] Mr. Gayton obferves (fee Notes upon Don Quixote, book 3. chap. 4. p. 104.) upon Sancho's tying both Rofinante's Legs with his Afs's Halter, "That the Don prefently fmells out "the Business, an Incantation upon the Horfe, for Want of nailing his old Shoes at the Door of his House, when he came forth. And Mr. Scot (Discovery of Witchcraft, book 12. ch. 18. p. 266.) "That to prevent or cure all Mischiefs wrought by Charms "or Witchcrafts, according to the opinion of M. Mal. and others, one principal Way is to nail a Horse-fhoe at the Infide of the "outmost Threshold of your House, and fo you shall be fure no "Witch fhall have Power to enter thereinto: And if you mark "it, you fhall find that Rule observed in many a Country-house." The wild Irish, by way of Prefervative, practifed fomething like it. Camden's Britannia, edit. 1695. 1044. *. 293, 294. Spit Fire out of a Walnut fell,- Which made the Roman Slaves rebel;] Alluding to the Servile War, headed by Spartacus, and occafioned by the following Incident, which I shall give in the Words of my Author: Syrus quidam nomine Eunus (magnitudo cladium facit ut meminerimus) fanatico furore fimulato, dum Syria Dea comas jactat; ad libertatem, & arma fervos, quafi numinum imperio concitavit: idque ut divinitus fieri probaret, in ore abdita nuce, quam ful- phure 295 And fire a Mine in China here, With fympathetic Gun-powder. He knew whatf'ever's to be known, But much more than he knew, would own. 300 Could make a Man with, as he tells us ; phure & igne ftipaverat, leniter infpirans, Flammam inter verba fundebat: Hoc miraculum primum duo millia ex obviis; mox jure belli refractis ergaftulis, fexaginta amplius millium fecit exercitum, regiifque, ne quid mali deeffet, decoratus infignibus, caftella, oppida, vicos miferabili direptione vastavit. (Vide Bell. Servil. Lucii Flori, lib. 3. cap. 19. p. 329. Edit. Varior. 1660. Livii Hiftor. lib. 56. cap. 30, 31, &c. tom. vi. p. 354. Edit. J. Clerici.) . 295, 300. What Med' cine'twas that Paracelfus-Could make a Man with, as he tells us:] Paracelfus's Words are as follow: Non parva dubitatio & quæftio inter aliquos ex antiquis philofophis fuerit, an Naturæ & arti poffibile effet hominem gigni extra corpus muliebre, & matricem naturalem? Ad hoc refpondeo, quod id arti Spagyrica (i. e. Chemia) & naturæ nullo modo repugnat, imo bene poffibile fit. Ut autem id fiat, hoc modo procedendum eft: Sperma Viri per fe in cucurbitâ figillatâ putrefiat fumma putrefactione ventris equini (i. e. ftercoris equini) per quadraginta dies, aut tamdiu, donec incipiat vivere, moveri, ac agitare, quod facile videri poteft. Poft hoc tempus aliquo modo Homini fimile erit, at tamen pellucidum & fine corpore. Si jam pofthac quotidie arcano fanguinis humani caute & prudenter nutriatur, & pafcatur, & per quadraginta feptimanas in perpetuo & æquabili calore ventris equini confervetur, fit inde verus & vivus infans, habens omnia membra infantis, qui ex muliere natus est, fed longe minor. Hunc nos Homunculum vocamus, & is poftea eo modo quo alius infans fummâ diligentiâ & ftudio educandus eft, donec adolefcat, & fapere & intelligere incipiat. Hoc jam eft unum ex maximis fecretis, quæ Deus mortali, & peccatis obnoxio homini, patefecit. Eft enim miraculum & magnale Dei, & arcanum fuper omnia arcana, & merito in fecretis fervari debet ufque ad extrema tempora, quando nihil erit reconditi, fed omnia manifeftabuntur, & quanquam hoc hactenus hominibus notum non fuerit, fuit tamen Sylveftribus & Nymphis (Anglice Sylphs) & gigantibus ante multa tempora cognitum, qui inde etiam orti funt. Quoniam ex talibus Homunculis, cum ad ætatem virilem perveniunt, fiant Gigantes, Pygmæi, & alii homines magni miraculofi, qui inftrumenta funt magnarum rerum, qui magnas victorias contra fuos hoftes obtinent, & omnia fecreta & abfcondita noverunt quoniam arte acquirunt quam vitam, arte acquirunt corpus, carnem, offa, & fanguinem, arte nafcuntur; quare etiam ars ipfis incorporatur, & connafcitur What figur'd Slates are beft to make Quickest when he's in Wrath, or Love; Of his own Length, from Head to Rump; connafcitur, & a nullo opus eft ipfis difcere, quoniam ab arte orti funt, & exiftunt. Paracelf. de Generat. Rerum Natural. lib. 1. (Dr. H.) See Bulwer's Artificial Changeling, chap. 24. p. 49. Parker de Deo, Londini, 1665. P. 73. Annotations on Browne's Religia Medici, 1672. p. 112. Van Helmont, a Brother Chemift, pretended to make Mice from Wheat (vide Op. par. 1. p. 71. edit. Lugduni, 1667.) Both which carry with them the fame degree of Credibility, with the Story of Pantagruel's begetting three and fifty thoufand little Men, or Dwarfs, with one F t; and with his Figs or Fizzles, the fame Number of little Women. Rabelais's Works. vol. 2. b 2. chap. 27. p. 199. edit. 1735. 301, 302. What figur'd Slates are beft to make On watry Surface Duck or Drake;] "Neither Cross, nor Pile, nor Ducks "and Drakes, are quite fo ancient as Handy-dandy, though Ma"crobius and St. Auftin take notice of the first, and Minutius "Felix describes the latter. Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus, book 1. chap. 5. P. 32. *, 307, 308. If Syftole or Diastole move-Quickest when he's in Wrath or Love ;] See Siftole and Diuftole of a Loufe, Dr. Hook's Micrographia obferv. 54. Of a Louse. p. 212. . 310. Whether they gallop, trot or pace:] See John Taylor's Works, p. 99. Ray's English Proverbs, p. 280. *. 311, 312. How many Scores a Flea will jump,-Of bis own Length, from Head to Rump ;] Dr. Giles Fletcher informs us (fee Purchase's Pilgrims, part 3. book 3. p. 431.) that Bazilovitz the Great Duke (or rather Tyrant) of Muscovy, fent to the City of Mofcow, to provide for him a Measure full of live Fleas, for a Medicine They answered, the thing was impoffible; and "if they could get them, they could not meafure them, because 86 " of Which Socrates, and Charephon In vain, affay'd so long agon; 315 Whether his Snout a perfect Nofe is, And not an Elephant's Probofcis ; "of their leaping out. Upon which he fet a Mul&t upon them, " of feven thousand Rubles." And yet as difficult as this was, fomething of this kind was undertaken by the Friend of a jealous Hufband, (fee Eftrange's Fables, vol. 1. fab. 212.) to whofe Care he had committed his Wife for fome time; but he defired to be released. "If (fays he) it were to turn a Bag of Fleas into a "Meadow every Morning, and fetch them home again at Night, "I durft be anfwerable with my Life for the doing of it to a Flea ; "" but t'other is a Commiffion I dare meddle no farther in." * . 313, 314. Which Socrates, and Charephon-In vain assay'd fo long agon ;] Ariftophanes, in his Comedy of the Clouds, brings in Socrates and Cherephon measuring the Leap of a Flea, from the one's Beard to the other's. Upon which Moufet obferves (Infector. Theatr. lib. 2. cap. 28. p. 276.) Horum dum aucupes menfurare faltum curiofule dant operam (ut Ariftophanes loquitur) Añpor Angeσs. See 7. Coryat's Preface upon Travel, prefix'd to his Crudities. No lefs humorous than this, is the Custom mentioned by Huetius, of their chufing at Hardenberg the chief Magiftrate by a Loufe: Venimus Hardenburgam· Minime vero lectori injucundum' fore puto cognofcere, quo ritu Conful illic creari folet, uti quidem ab Oppidanis accepimus. Hinc Hardenburgam ferâ fub nocte venimus, Hifpidaque apponunt attenti, menta Quirites: Huetii Comment. de rebus ad fe pertinentibus, 1718. p. 76. Hera And not . 315, 316. Whether his Snout a perfect Nose is, an Elephant's Probofcis ;] Probofcidis mucro paulo eft rigidior, ut cutem facilus penetret. Moufeti Infector. Theatr. lib. 2. cap. 28: See a farther Account of a Flea's Probofcis, Dr. Hook's Micrograph. obferv. 53 P. 210. Some Microscopical Obfervations on the Structure of the Spleen and Probofcis of Fleas, by Mr. Anthony Van Leuenboeck How many diff'rent Speciefes Of Maggots breed in rotten Cheese ; A paultry Wretch he had, half-starv'd, Leuenboeck F. R. S. Philofophical Transactions, vol. 25. numb. 307. p. 2311, 2312. .317, 318. How many diffrent Speciefes Of Maggots breed in rotten Cheefe ;] Species's in Editions 1664, 1674, 1684, alter'd to Species, 1689. Others aver, than Mites in Cheese And by a ftrange peculiar Art, Can bear them fneeze, difcourfe and f-t. (Pindarick Poem, to the Society of Beaux Efperits, p. 15.) . 322. That live in Vinegar-] See Dr. Hook's Account of Vi negar Worms, Micrographia, obferv. 57. p. 216. .324. In place of Zany] A Buffoon, or Jack-Pudding. In France he is called Jean-Potages, in Italy Macaronies, in Holland Pickle-Herring. Spectator, numb. 47. 66 Mr. Theobald, in a Note upon Shakespear's Play, intitled, All's well that ends well, act. 3. vol. 2. p. 401. obferves, "That it was a Foolery practifed at City Entertainments, whilft the Fefter or Zany was in vogue, for him to jump into a large deep Cuf"tard, fet on Purpose, to set on a Quantity of barren Spectators to "laugh; as our Poet fays in his Hamlet. I do not advance this without fome Authority, and a Quotation from Ben Johnson will very well explain it : He ne'er will be admitted there where Vennor comes; He may, perchance, in tayl of a Sheriff's Dinner Skip with a Rhime o' th' Table with new nothing, Devil's an Afs, act. 1. fc. 1. This might occafion as much Mirth as the Cook's ferving up the Dwarf in a Pie. (See Mr. Cleveland's Works, Ed. 1677. p. 103. VOL. II. C *. 325. |