Aristotle's compleat master-piece

152 Pages·2015·16.64 MB·English

Ariftotles
Compleat Mafler•‘Piece.
31n pans.
Difplaying the
Secrets of N A T U R E
I N
%\m<smcm(oit of Soan.
Regularly digefted intoChapters and Sec-
tions, rendring it far more Ui’eful and Eafy
thanany yet Extant.
To which is added.
A Tfeafure of Health;
OR, THE
Family Phyfician
Being choice and approved Remedies For
all thefsveralDijftempers incidenttoHuman
Bodies
}t Coition.
Printed, and Sold by the Bookicilers.
MDCCXXVIII.

5
T O T H
READER-
TO telltheethat Ariflotle(tbs learnedAuthor
ofthis Book) toasgenerallyreported tobe tbs
motiknowing Pbilojopherin the World, is no
more than what every intelligent Perfenal-
ready knows Nor can any think otherwife, who will
:
give themfives tbsLeifurs to confider, thathewas tbs
ticbold/ ofPlato, (who was in his Tims theonlyreputed
I'hilofopher forWifdom) andunderwhom Ariftotlepro-
fiied-fo much-, that he was chofen by King Philip of
Alacedon, as the mcjl worthy and,properPerfon in bis
Dominions, tobe Tutor to hts Sen Alexander by vobofs
‘totfe Precepts andInjhudions,Alexanderbeca,me Majier
cffogreatWifdom, Judgement, Prowefs, andMagnanT
7,1ity, thathe jujily'obtainedthe Title of the Great. And
Alexander himlelfwas fofenfibleof theAdvantage he
received by tbs Infiruttionsof tbs greatStagvrite, (for
f°Aridotle wa call'dfrom the Country of Stagyra,
fherehe wasborn) thathe affirm'dthat hewasmore be-
bo'ding to hisTutor Arillotle, for tbs Cultivaticnofbis
than toPhilip kis Father, for the Kingd.m of
I’iacedon
A/iry ffjgAriftotle apply'd bimjelf unlverfully to the
i'nvfiioation ojall theSecrets of Nature, and for that
°ftatn'danuniverfalFameyet thatwhichhewaspleas'd
*na moreefpecial andpeculiar Manner, tobring into a,
tceller and more trueLight, was theUnfolding of the Se~
fetsofNature, with Refpefl to tbsGenerationofMani
jhithefil'd£z'SMASTER“PIECE; and in this
be has mads fo thorough a. Search, that he hai (as it
tocre) turn'dNature Jnfdeoutwards.
6 To the Reader.
Nor Jetany think thefe Things to be beJoro theStudy
offogreataFbihfopher, fince theDivineRecords ajfure
us, thatithasbeen the Study ofdivers Hluftricus Per-
fans, equallyrenownedfor WifdomandGocdnefs among
;
whom, Ituny wellreckon Job,thegreatejiManefalltbs
Baft, who, thatbe was well acquainted with the Se-
crets of Natu/e,has madeitfufficiently evident, by that.
excellentPhilofophical Account hegives of the Genera-
tion ofMan in the tenth Chapter of that Book which
bears his Na,me, where be fays, Thine Hands have
jtnademe, and falhion’d me together round about;
Thou haltpoured meoutas Milk, and curdled me
likeCbeeleThou haftcloathed me with Skin and
.Tlefh, and haftfenced me withBonesand Sinews. A-
notberInflame if Hluftricus Perfens that have Jludied
theSecrets ofNaturein the Generation of Man, isthat
of one ofthegreateji, as wellas befl Kings'of Hrael, /
meanKing David, fogreat a Prince, that he may be
foldto have net only laid the Foundation but alfo to
,
have'fettled the HebrewMonarchy andbis Piety was
;
Superior to hisPower, beingpeculiarlyfilled, AMan al-
ter God’sown Heart. Let ushear whatthisMan fays
ofthe Secrets of Nature inbis DivineSoliloquies to his
Creator, Pfal cxxxix. 14, CSV. Thou haft C vered
mein myMother’s Womb; I will praife thee, for I
amfearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are
thyWorks, and that m Soul knowethright well. My
Suhftance was not hid from thee, when 1 was m.ade
inSecret, and cu ioufly wrought in the loweft Parts
oftheEarth. Thine Eyes didfee my Suhftance, yet
being unperfeft. and in thy Book all my Members
were written, which, in Centinuancswere falhioned*
whenasyet there wasnone ofthem.
Now let thefre-quoted Words ofholy Job, and thefe
JaflifKing David, be put t gether, and 1will make no
Scrupletoaffirm, That they makeup the moft accurate
SiPern cf PhHofphy, refptfling the Generationof Man,
that has everyet been written
And why floodd not the My.flenes of Nature in tbs
Generation <f Man, be without Blame inquir'd intoy