Fracastorius accounts it a thing worthy of inquisition, why they should entertain such false conceipts, as that they have horns, great noses, that they are birds, beasts, &c. why they should think themselves kings, lords, cardinals. For the first, Fracastorius gives two reasons: One is the disposition of the body: the other, the occasion of the phantasy, as if their eyes be purblind, their ears sing, by reason of some cold & rheume, &c. To the second, Laurentius answers, the imagination inwardly or outwardly moved, represents to the understanding, not incitements only; to favor the passion, or dislike, but a very intensive pleasure follows the passion, or displeasure, & the will & reason are captivated by delighting in it.

Why students and lovers are so often melancholy & mad, the Philosopher of Conimbra assigns this reason, because by a vehement and continuall meditation of that, wherewith they are affected, they fetch up the spirits into the brain, and with the heat brought with them, they incend it beyond measure: and the cells of the inner senses dissolve their temperature, which being dissolved, they cannot perform their offices as they ought.

Why melancholy men are witty, which Aristotle hath long since maintained in his problems: and that all learned men, famous Philosophers, and Law-givers, ad unum ferè omnes Melancholici, have still been melancholy is a probleme much controverted. Jason Pratensis will have it understood of naturall melancholy, which opinion Melancthon inclines to, in his book de Anima, and Marcilius Ficinus de san. tuend. lib. 1. cap. 5. but not of the simple, for that makes men stupid, heavy, dull, being cold and dry, fearfull, fools, and solitary, but mixt with the other humors, flegme only excepted: and they not adust, but so mixt, as that blood be half, with little or no adustion, that they be neither too hot nor too cold.

Aponensis cited by Melancthon, thinks it proceeds from melancholy adust, excluding all naturall melancholy as too cold. Laurentius condemnes his Tenent, because adustion of humours makes men mad, as lime burns when water is cast on it. It must be mixt with blood, & somewhat adust, and so that old Aphorisme of Aristotle may be verified, Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixturâ dementiæ, no excellent wit without a mixture of madnes.

Fracastorius shal decide the controversy, Phlegmatick are dull: Sanguine lively, pleasant, acceptable and merry, but not witty: Cholerick are too swift in motion, & furious, impatient of contemplation, deceitfull wits: Melancholy men have the most excellent wits, but not all, this humour may be hot or cold, thick or thin; if too hot, they are furious and mad: if too cold, dull, stupid, timorous and sad: if temperate, excellent, rather inclining to that extreme of heat, then cold.

This sentence of his will agree with that of Heraclitus, a dry light makes a wise mind, temperate heat & drines, are the chief causes of a good wit; therefore saith Ælian, an Elephant is the wisest of all bruit beasts, because his brain is driest, & ob atræ bilis copiam: this reason Cardan approves subtil. l. 12. Io. Baptista Silvaticus, a physician of Milan, in his first controversy, hath copiously handled this question: Rulandus in his problems, Cælius Rhodiginus lib. 17. Valleriola 6ᵗᵒ narrat. med. Herc. de Saxonia. Tract. posth. de mel. cap. 3. Lodovicus Mercatus de inter. morb. cur. lib. cap. 17. Baptista Porta Physiog. lib. 1. c. 13. and many others.

Weeping, sighing, laughing, itching, trembling, sweating, blushing, hearing & seeing strange noyses, visions, wind, crudity, are motions of the body, depending upon these precedent motions of the mind: Neither are tears, affections, but actions (as Scaliger holds) the voice of such as are afraid, trembles, because the heart is shaken (Conimb. prob. 6. sec. 3. de som.) why they stut or faulter in their speech, Mercurialis and Montaltus cap. 17. give like reasons out of Hippocrates, drines, which makes the nerves of the tongue torpid. Fast speaking, (which is a symptome of some few) Ætius will have caused from abundance of wind, and swiftness of imagination: baldness comes from excess of drines, hirsuteness from a dry temperature.

The cause of much waking in a dry brain, continuall meditation, discontent, fears & cares, that suffer not the mind to be at rest, incontinency is from wind, and an hot liver, Montanus cons. 26. Rumbling in the guts, is caused from wind, and wind from ill concoction, weakness of naturall heat, or a distempered heat and cold; Palpitation of the heart from vapours, heaviness and aking from the same cause. That the belly is hard, wind is a cause, and of that leaping in many parts. Rednes of the face, & itching, as if they were flea-bitten, or stung with pis-mires, from a sharp subtile wind. Cold sweat from vapours arising from the Hypocondries, which pitch upon the skin; leanness for want of good nourishment.

Why their appetite is so great, Ætius answers: Os ventris frigescit, cold in those inner parts, cold belly, & hot liver, causeth crudity, and intention proceeds from perturbations, our soul for want of spirits cannot attend exactly to so many intentive operations, being exhaust, & oversway’d by passion, she cannot consider the reasons which may disswade her from such affections.

Bashfulness and blushing, is a passion proper to men alone, and is not only caused for some shame and ignominy, or that they are guilty unto themselves of some fowle fact committed, but as Fracastorius will determines, ob defectum proprium, & timorem, from fear, and a conceit of our defects; The face labours and is troubled at his presence that sees our defects, and nature willing to help, sends thither heat, heat draws the subtilest bloud, and so we blush. They that are bold, arrogant, & careless, seldome or never blush, but such as are fearfull.