WHAThas been said in theSeven preceeding Chaptersparticularly, concerningMonths,Weeks, &c. leads me directly to descant uponTHESEin general: WhichTopick, tho’ I could willingly resign it to the moreJudiciousto enter upon, and recommend to the moreLearnedto discuss; yet lest I may be thought to evade or omit any materialPointwhich I have undertaken, I shall endeavour (according to the Best of my weakCapacity) to explain,en passant, and to unfold thisMystery, by declaring the most plausibleOrthodox ReasonswhyONE Number of Days, Weeks and Months, is more Auspicious to the BIRTH, and affords moreVitalityto theChildthanANOTHER.
INhandling of whichSubject-Matter, as I propose to be veryBrief, so I shall only observe in short, that suchReasonsare chiefly founded upon adouble Principle; That is, of dailyExperience, and naturalKnowledge.
I.UPONdailyExperience; in that it is notoriously well known thatChildrenborn indifferent Months, are not equallyVitalorLively; and in that it is evidently manifest, that the7th,9th, and10th, and perhaps the11th Monthalso, are endued with some certainVirtues, and prevalentQualitysbefore allOthersin this Case.
II.UPONNaturalKnowledge; insomuch that it is the Opinion of all JudiciousNaturalists(eitherPhilosophersorPhysicians) that thisinferiour Worldis moved and govern’d bysuperiour Bodys, and that allTerrestrial VicissitudesandChangesdepend uponCælestials, and those chiefly upon theSunandMoon: which both possess greatinfluential Virtues, and exercise great directingPowersover allInferiour Bodys. From hence theAntientsalways maintain’d, that thePeriodical AccessionsandCirculationsof manyDistempersdepended entirely on their noxiousInfluences; especially upon that of theMoon, because of herProximity.
NAY, someAuthorshave advanced so far, as to ascribe the onlyCauseof them to thePowersof theStarsandPlanets. But tho’ I am no ways to countenanceThese Notionsto this ridiculous Length, nor in the least to defend the vainFictions, or foolishOstentationsof the vulgarASTROLOGERS; yet I shall make no scruple to assert that both theStarsandPlanetsare concurring or co-operating, tho not soleefficient Causes, in theseCases: And This, I hope, I may rationally be allow’d to do, supposing I had not the directAuthorityof such a Great Man, as the most Learned and Excellent Dr.Mead[134], over and above to back me; who says, “It is moreover to be consider’d, that the rest of theStarsandPlanetshave each their Power and Influence, which tho’ they be not Equal to that of theSunandMoon;yet notwithstanding they conspire to augment or diminish their Powers on human Bodys; and this Concourse is of so great Consequence(says this Eminent Author)that we must refer to it the sudden and hidden Power of most Distempers in all Countries, &c.”
BUTthePowersof the two great and gloriousLuminarys, we are moresensibleof, as they are more manifestlyconspicuous; andThesewe may in many otherCases, (as well as inBIRTHS) hold forefficient Causes.
FORwho knows not that the Influence of theSunfructifies all sorts ofGrain, and ripensFruit,Corn, &c? Who knows not that by itsForceorInfluxonly, diversAnimals,Insects, &c. engender and spring out of theDustand theEarth? Or, who knows not that itsPowerprompts all Creatures toCoition, and excites them to propagate their respectiveSpecies, each one its ownKind, &c.
NEITHERis theInfluenceof theMoonless evident: For does it not change theConstitutionof theWeather, raise theAir, heighten theWinds, swell and exagitate theSurfaceof theSea, and finally, augment and increase the veryTidesof theOcean? Do not allAnimals, as well as theMenstruousandPregnant Womansensibly feel thePowerof theLunarInfluence? Yes verily, as my last quotedAuthorjustly[135]observes,unless their REGIMEN be perverted, by which means the Body may be disqualify’d or rendred unapt to receive the Impression.
NOWthisdoes not only happen toFour-footed Beasts, and all that possess the dryLAND; but also more especially to theInhabitantsof theSEA: And how remarkable is it, that the veryShell-Fish, (how closely soever shut up, and how low soever buried, as it were, in the veryABYSSof theDeeps) cannot be exempted from the sensible Impression of thisLunarPower? To this Point and Purpose (I think)Lucilius[136], that Learned Poet, manifestly alludes, saying,
“Luna alit Ostrea, & implet Echinos, Muribus“Fibras & Pecui addit.
“Luna alit Ostrea, & implet Echinos, Muribus“Fibras & Pecui addit.
“Luna alit Ostrea, & implet Echinos, Muribus“Fibras & Pecui addit.
“Luna alit Ostrea, & implet Echinos, Muribus
“Fibras & Pecui addit.
And afterHim,Manilius[137], that greatAstronomer, writesà proposupon thisTopick, when he says,
“Sic submersa fretis Concharum & Carcere clausa“Ad Lunæ motum variant Animalia Corpus.
“Sic submersa fretis Concharum & Carcere clausa“Ad Lunæ motum variant Animalia Corpus.
“Sic submersa fretis Concharum & Carcere clausa“Ad Lunæ motum variant Animalia Corpus.
“Sic submersa fretis Concharum & Carcere clausa
“Ad Lunæ motum variant Animalia Corpus.
THESEThings then being evidently so, and it being a most certain and undeniableTruth, that theSunandMoonhave each their respectiveInfluenceupon allInferiour Bodys: (as has also been already shewn inSect.I.Chap.8.) I come now to observe that suchMutationsas areQuickandBrief, or suchChangesas are accomplished in aFew Days, may be entirely ascribed to thePowerof theMoon: As in theReverseof theseCases, which cannot be determin’d under aLong Time; theCourseof theSunis more chiefly to be consider’d and principally regarded.
SOAcute Fevers(becauseSHORT) are generally assuaged and dissolved in14 Days: WhereasQuartans(becauseLONG) on the contrary are only determin’d insix Months. It’s true indeed, theAntientsascribed theseLawsofNature, toPythagorean Numbers, and distinguish’d theTimesofFeversaccording to theirCritical Days, which they strictly animadverted, as they laid greatStressupon that Ceremonious Observation.
HOWEVER,Galenmade a far stricterDisquisitionin this Matter, and conceiv’d (as theTruthindeed is) that theAccessionsandCrisesofFevershad noConnexionwith anyNUMBERSorodd Days, but tookOriginonly from theEfficacyof theMoon: (as is more fully explain’d inChap.28. of thisSection.) According to whichMAXIM[138],Acute Distempershave theirCirculationsinSeven Days, and take theirAccessesandDeclinationsfrom theCourseof theMoon; which everySeventh Day, whenNew,Half-Full, orFull, has her greatestInfluence.
HEfarther observes that theQuarter-Dayof theMoonmay fall upon the6thor8thDay of theDistemper, and consequentlyeitherofthese Daysmay determine it as well as theSEVENTH. For (according to Dr.Mead’s excellent Judgment) theDissolutionof aFeversometimes happensTo-day, which according to the ordinaryCourseof theDistemperought to happenTo-morrow; or, on the contrary, thesamemay be procrastinated tillTo-morrow, which might be expectedTo-day: AndThatfor the variousReasons[139]most ingeniously by him alledg’d and irrefragably established.
INfine, suchMutationsandCirculationsof Things as are perfected and perform’d in afew Days, are directed by thePropertyof theMoon: whereas suchChangesandAlterationsas require the Dissolution and Determination ofMonths, refer only to theGovernmentof theSun. Which I would have thus candidly understood,viz.
ASfrom the beginning of theMonthto theFull-Moonare almost14 Days, which accomplish half theLunar Circuit, and comprehend twoQuarter-Changes; so from the Beginning ofSpringto the End ofSummerare sixMonths, which comprehendtwo Seasonsor half of the Year: And so thatMedietyorHalf of the Month, fromFULL-MOON, to the Time ofOccultationorNEW-MOON, answers to the othersix Months, from the beginning ofAutumnto the last ofWinter, which conclude the other Half of the Year.
FORas we divide theCourseof theMOONby4 Weeks, according to its 4 quarterChanges; so we distribute theCourseof theSUNinto4 Stations, according to thefour Seasonsof the Year: Hence it is that allTimesof theYearanswer in proportion to the differentWeeksof theMonth, and allStationsof theSUN(in like manner) to the differentChangesof theMOON. Wherefore as the7th Day, which is the 4th Part of theLunar Month, determinesacute Distempers; so theChangeof theSeasonof the Year dissolvesDiuturnal Diseases. TheSPRINGcommonly shakes off anyMaladygenerated inWINTER, as theSUMMERdoes what is begun in theSPRING; and theAUTUMNdiscusseth anyAffectionexcited inSUMMER, as theWINTERdoes what happen’d inAUTUMN.
THESEThings being thus cleared-up by the way, we have now only to consider, that the Time ofGESTATIONis noAcute, but aDiuturnal Effect; and thatBirthis nothing else but theCrisisof the sameAffection, according to[140]Hippocrates’s Sense. Which, if so, it is evidently manifest that, in defining theTimeofBirth, we ought chiefly to regard theCourseof theSUN, and strictly observe theNumberofMONTHS; However so, as not to neglect theMotionsof theMOON, and consequently, we ought also to consider duly the neatNumberofDAYS: Wherefore (I say) inBirthwe are to have a just Regard to, and take a strict Observation of, not only theChangesof theMOON, but also of theMutationsof theSUN; because both theOneand theOtheract very powerfully inBIRTH. Which I thus beg leave to illustrate as follows,viz.
ASthefirst seven Dayshave the greatest Power of determiningAcute Diseases, so thefirst three MonthsofGESTATION(which answer to those Days) determine theCONCEPTION: And as ofthosethe7th Dayis the most powerful, so ofthesethethird Monthis the most prevalent. From hence it is that theFoetussuffers such manifestAlterationsandChangesof Nature in thisMonth: For it is now metamorphos’d or chang’d from anInanimateinto anAnimate Being: It now becomes aLivingandMoving Body, subsisting henceforward by its own proper vivaciousFaculties; yet not so however, thatthisMonthcan be presum’d to produce avital Birth: No, because as every perfect and plausibleCRISISof the7th Day, requires theConcurrenceof the digestedHumour, together with theAbilityandStrengthof thePATIENT; so inBirth, theDispositionof theINFANTmust necessarily concur with allThese, which it can never be suppos’d to do in the short Space ofThree Months.
MOREOVERagain, as theDaysof the Interval from the7thto the14th, have but smallPowerin dissolvingacute Diseases; so neither have the4thor5th Months(which assimilatethese Days) anyEfficacytending toBirth. Wherefore if an unluckyEjectionof theFoetushappens inthese Months, it can be no otherwise judged of, than as whenSymptomatical(notCritical)Excretionsfall out onDaysnotDecretory: Hence we (of consequence) may collect, that the veryFirst Time, in which alegitimate Termcan be suppos’d to concur effectually, together with theDispositionandStrengthof theINFANT, in case ofBirth, will be (asHippocrateshas well observed[141]) about the182d Day, or at thehalf Year’s End: Which (however) he calls aSeptimestrianBirth, because theAncientsreckon’d their Year byLunar Months, as they did theirMonthsby the Course of theMoon; whereof 13 with someDaysof the14th Monthconstitute theSolar Year: Not that I mean they in the Interim were at all ignorant of theSolar Periods. And however, tho’ thisNumber of 182 Daysmake but upsix Solar Months; yet, as it comprehendsseven Lunar Months, and almost constitutes threeDecadesofLunar Weeks, there can be noRepugnancyin thatWise Man’s Meaning, whatever some literalInterpretersmay imagine to the contrary.
NOWthissixth Monthbeing thesecond Solar Mutation, in it theWombbegins to be more severely oppress’d with theWeightandBulkof its Burthen; for now theINFANThas assum’dPerfection, and (perhaps) gotStrengthsufficient to undergo itsFatigueinLabour, andPowerenough to supportLife, after itsBirth; especially if procreated of the more vivid, valid, or excellentSeed; whose powerfulFacultyand vigorousQualitymay perhaps have perform’d the Work ofFormationin 30, which otherwise would require 35, ormore Days: In thisCase(of consequence) theBirthwill succeed at the above-mentionedhappy Time; as appears more amply from what has been already set forth inSect.1.Chap.9.
NOWfrom what has been said, I hope it appears highly reasonable to compute thelegitimate TimeofBirth, not only byMonthsandMoons, but also byWeeksandDays: Which however yet, I look not upon to be any very full, exact, or sufficient satisfactoryCalculation; because (I think) we have also just Reason to compute thisTimeeven byHoursandMinutes. Therefore how just soeverAristotle’s Observation (mentioned byPliny[142]) may be,that no Animal expires but in the Reflux or Ebb of the Sea; I am yet positive, that MonsieurPaschal’s Notion (mentioned by DoctorMead[143])that all Births as well as Deaths fall out in the Reflux, and that no Animal is born or dies in the Flux, may be rationally controverted: For I must needs assert that, without any regard to hisSenarian FluxesandRefluxes,Birthshappen at everyHourof theDayorNight: and perhaps more naturally too in theFlux, than in theRefluxof theSea. And this, I think, may appear evident, even from the self-same Reasons by which he endeavours to make out the Contrary[144]; namely, that intermittingFevershave their greatestParoxismsin the Time of theFlux, whereas they cease in theRefluxbysweating: collecting from hence, that the Motion, Vigour, and Force ofDistempersare chiefly advanc’d in theSenaryof theFlux; and on the contrary, that they are dissolved in theSenaryof theReflux. Which Observation, with respect toFevers, this most excellentDoctorhas found experimentally[145]True, as a great many others have also done.
BUTin theCaseof a Woman inLabour, as (with Submission) I judge theParoxismsto differ from the Nature of those in aFever, so I humbly conceive thattheEffectmust prove theReverse. For theParoxismsinBirth, are nothing else than thePainsorPangsofLabour; and who knows not that (in Case of anatural Situationof theINFANTand theWOMB) the greaterTheseare, the moreSuccessandExpeditionattends theBirth? And who again knows not, that in this Case, the more vigorousMotiontheINFANTmakes, and the moreForceandStrengththat attends thePains, the sooner theDeliveryis perfected? Which, of consequence, according to his own Opinion, will fall out in theSenaryof theFlux? In fine, again I farther observe, that, as theRefluxmay be the appointed Time of Nature destinated toDeath, so may theFluxbe allotted toBirth; which (in my Mind) is as opposite toDeath, as theFluxis to theRefluxof theTideof the Sea.
WHEREFOREI am obliged to repeat it again here, that we ought to calculate theLegitimate TimeofBirth, not only byMonths,Weeks, andDays, but perhaps also byHoursandMinutes; andthatbecause, according to the GreatGalen’s Observation[146], as theYear,Month, orWeekdoes not consist of entireDays, so neither does theDayof entireHours: For as theYearconsists of 365Days, sixHours, and a fewMinutes; and theMonthof thirtyDays, ten and a halfHours; and theWeekof sevenDays, twoHours, and twenty-sevenMinutes; so theDay(in proportion) consists of 24Hoursand 21Minutes: From whence I conclude (with that wiseMan) that we can make no very niceComputationin this Affair, byfull Days, withoutFractions.
WHEREFOREit is that the most Learned and InquisitiveBoethogynists, orFemale Physiciansmaintain, that they have always observed theirWomento bring forth the self-sameHourof theNightorDay, in which they conceived: AndThisalso daily Experience seems to confirm forTruth; because it is certain, that mostBirthshappen in theNight-Time, orDawning ofthe Day; at whichTimes, we may very probably suppose the Generality ofParentsto be most employ’d that way: Whereupon, if This be True, Mr.Paschal’s Position will fall of course; and then thatAssertionof aLegitimate BIRTH’s requiring, not only a certain and prefinite Number ofDays, but also ofHoursandMinutes, will more rationally be establish’d in its Room: Notwithstanding that Saying ofHippocrates[147]himself, after having distinguished upon theTimesofBIRTH,That these Things fall out in a few Days more or less.
HOWEVER, in fine, from what has been said, (I hope) theReasonsI have given here, whyone NumberofMonths,Weeks, andDaysis more auspicious to theBIRTH, and more fortunate to theChild, thananother, are by this Time made manifestly clear and self-evident. Now these Things being thus briefly accounted for, I must proceed in the next place (with theReader’s good Leave) to provide for and prepare thePregnant Woman, against theExpirationof theseMonths,Weeks, andDays.