ASto this Point, it is not only True inPart; to wit,during the First Ten Daysof the10th Month, asSomewould have it, but rather (in my Opinion)Altogether, and at any time of it, asLegitimateas the9th Month; according toPlautusthe ComickPoet;Tunc illa quam compresserat, decimo post exacto Mense hanc peperit Filiam.
FORaltho’Womencommonly reckon theirBirthsmore frequent in theNinth Month; yet manyLearned Menhave left it (as a doubtful Controversy) undecided whetherThatorThisbe the most proper natural Time: WhereasSomeof thefirstRank[126]have morepositively determined aLegitimate BIRTHto happen in theTenth MonthOnly, according also toVirgil’s excellent Poetical Computation—
“Matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia Menses.”
“Matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia Menses.”
“Matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia Menses.”
“Matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia Menses.”
MOREOVER, for a farther Proof of this Argument, I need only refer toSolomon, the wisest ofKings; who being the greatestMaster of all ARTS, cannot be supposed to have been ignorant of ThisTruth: And whose express Decision of this Doubt, we have set down in the Beginning of the 7thChapterof hisBookofWISDOM; saying, “I myself also am a mortal Man, and the Offspring of him that was first made of the Earth,and in my Mother’s Womb was fashioned to be Flesh in the time of TEN MONTHS, &c.”
BUTfarther yet, as to theNatureof thisMonth,MARSis presumed to succeed in it, who indulges theInfantby hisamicable Qualities, orbenign Influences: ForHeis deemed a Friend toLIFE, as he affordsVitalityto theBIRTHShappening in it.
ANDagain, thisNumberTenis reckoned aCompleatandUniversalNumberin allSciences; because we cannot account beyond it, but byReplication, aRe-assumptionof theUnit, orRepetitionof theNine Figures, to perfect the Progression. But farther still, to denote the Excellency and Perfection of thisMonth, there areTenSingersofPsalmsmentioned in Holy Scripture; namely,ADAM,ABRAHAM,MELCHISEDECH,MOSES,ASAPH,DAVID,SOLOMON, and thethree Sons of CHORAH:TenMusical Instruments:TenStringsin thePsaltery:TenCurtainsin theTemple:TenCommandmentsinstituted and given directly byGodhimself:And, in fine, theTenthDay afterAscensiontheHOLY GHOSTcame down,&c.
THEREare besides alsoTenParts, of whichManhimself consists intrinsically;viz.theSpirit,Brain,Lungs,Heart,Liver,Gall,Spleen,Kidneys,Testicles, andMatrix: And likewiseTenSimple IntegralPartsconstituting theMan, to wit,Bone,Cartilage,Nerve,Fibre,Ligament,Artery,Vein,Membrane,Flesh, andSkin. In short just so, after this manner, there areTenMonthsrequired to form and maturate theMAN, in the substantialCompletionofTheseto Perfection.
BUT, after All, lest I should be thought, by this way of Reasoning on theNumbersof theMONTHS, to vend some fictitiousNotionsfor mechanicalCauses, or vainFictionsfor theLaws of Nature, I shall in this Place, to avoid that Censure or Reproach, make a smallDigression, and that uponNUMBERSin general.
FIRSTthen, I think it appears very Plain from theThree preceding Chapters, thatNUMBERSare of a certain wonderful Efficacy and Virtue even inSupernaturals.
SECONDLY, InNatural Thingsalso the Virtues ofNUMBERS(somysticallyconstituted andmysteriouslyintended) are conspicuously manifest: As is evident in theHerb, call’dPentaphyllon, which is said to resistPoisonsby Virtue ofNumber FIVE; asone Leafof it takentwicea day inWine, cures theQuotidian;three, theTertian; and four, theQuartanFever. So likewise in theHerbHeliotropium Tricoccon[127],three Grainswhereof cures theTertian: andfour, theQuartanAgue. In like manner, as aSerpent, if struckOncewith aSpear,dies; but ifTwice, is said to recoverStrength. So much for the Curious.
HOWEVER, These and many other Things might be mentioned, both inNatural, andSupernatural Beings, upon the wonderfulPowerandEfficacyofNUMBERS: Which plausibleDoctrinenot only the most EminentPhilosophers, but also the most LearnedCatholick DOCTORS, namely, St.Jerom,Austin,Origen,Ambrose,Athanasius, &c. All unanimously teach; as well as the most famous Dr.Rabanus(Archbishop ofMentz)who in his Time compos’d an excellentBookto this purpose chiefly upon theVirtuesof Numbers.
BUTnotwithstanding all This, I am far from believing that there is any peculiarVirtueinNUMBERS, consideredabstractedly: Only, I would hereby demonstrate, that as theOmniscient CREATORhas appointed every thing acertain TIMEfor itsProduction,Augmentation,Perfection,Declension, andDuration; so in all probability, the sameDecreeor Good-Will ofDivine Providencemay have orderedNUMBERS, andSett-DaysorTimesto concur with the apparent Necessity ofCorporeal,Natural, andMechanicalCauses. For in Truth, at last, I cannot think that, unless there had been some great and distinctMysterysofGODandNaturecomprehended inNUMBERS, the GreatDivine[128]would otherwise have recommended ThatSearchto the World of Understanding to count theNUMBERof theBeast: saying,It is the Number of a Man. But to proceed: