NUMBER; from whence _Cicero_ calls it _NODUS OMNIUM_, or the _Knot of
all Things_. As the Wise _Pythagoreans_ justly term it otherwise the
_Vehicle of Man’s Life_: Not only because that, according to the
_Violence_ of any DISEASE, and the _Strength_ of the PATIENT, a _CRISIS_
happens either in the _Seventh_, or the _multiply’d Seventh Day_; but
also because, as CONCEPTION is certain upon _Seven-Hours Retention_; and
the Work of _Coagulation_ perfected in _Seven Days_, so may That of full
_Maturity_ be in _Seven Months_, and accordingly this _MONTH_ may very
reasonably produce _vital Children_. But by the way,
HOWEVER fictitious such things as savour of _Astrology_, may be reckon’d
by _Some_, yet who knows not that the _Seventh Hour_, and _Seventh Day_
after its _BIRTH_, determines the CHILD either to _Life_ or _Death_? Who
does not well know, That in the _Seventh Month_, its TEETH begin to
break out and appear? That in the _Seventh Year_ (according to
_Plutarch_) it changes its TEETH? Who does not find, That[115] the _Age
of Man_ depends upon _SEPTENARY Mutations_? That the _First Seven Years_
conclude his INFANCY; as the _Second_ finish his PUERITIA, or
_Childhood_; and the _Third_ compleat his ADOLESCENTIA, or _Youthful
Growing Age_? To which his JUVENTUS, or more vigorous _Youthfulness_,
succeeds; which is absolv’d in _twice Seven Years_ more: For in _This
Juvenile_ Age, the _Body_ attains to its full STATURE; as the _Bones_,
_Membranes_, and _Fibres_ arrive to their due Solidity.
THIS again is succeeded by the _Fifth_, call’d VIRILITAS, the _Virile_
or _Manly Age_; consisting of _twice Seven Years_ more, being in all
_Seven times Seven Years_: In which MANHOOD, the _Facultys_ of the MIND,
as well as the _Strength_ of the BODY, are most resplendent and perfect;
tho’ in almost All _Women_, the _Generative Power_ begins to cease at
this AGE, as their TERMS commonly do, however, not without a great
_Disorder_ of the Motion of the BLOOD.
THE _Sixth Age_ of Man, or the SENECTUS, is compos’d of _twice Seven
Years_ more, and extends itself to _Sixty Three_: In _This Old Age_ the
_Natural VIGOUR_ very much declines, the _BODY_ waxes both _dry_ and
_lean_, the _MEMORY_ begins to fail, and the _PERSON_ grows more
_Anxious_, _Careful_ and _Covetous_. As in the _Seventh_ and _Last Age_,
(or DOTAGE, as it were) he becomes _Feeble_ and _Decrepit_; which
generally consists of _Seven Years_ more. So that, in fine, according to
this very rational and plausible _Computation_, of the Learned and most
Ingenious Dr. _Sprengell_, the AGE and LIFE of MAN is commonly reckon’d
to amount to _Seven times Ten Years_.
IT is also farther observable, that as the SOUL of Man has _seven_
different _Appellations_, according to its seven principal _Offices_,
(as amply appears by _Sect._ I. _Chap._ 4.) so there are _SEVEN Degrees_
in the BODY, to compleat its _Dimensions_; viz. _Marrow_, _Bone_,
_Nerve_, _Vein_, _Artery_, _Flesh_, and _Skin_: As there are also
_SEVEN_ in Number, which (according to _Macrobius_) the _Greeks_ call
_BLACK MEMBERS_; viz. the _Tongue_, _Heart_, _Lungs_, _Liver_, _Spleen_,
and _Two Kidneys_, to consummate the _Compositum_. Yea,
_Hippocrates_[116] himself confirms the _Efficacy_ and _Præstancy_,
_Fulness_ and _Perfection_ of this Number.
I have also remarkably observ’d, that the Number _Seven_ is most
powerful and signally predominant in _Cœlestials_; as the _Seven
Circles_ in the HEAVENS, according to the _Longitude of the Axle-Tree_:
The _Seven Stars_ about the _Artick-Pole_, called CHARLES’S-WAIN: The
_Seven Stars_ also call’d PLEIADES: The _Seven Planets_, giving Names to
the _Seven Days of the_ WEEK: The _Periodical Revolution_ of the MOON
every _Seventh Day_, running round the Compass of the whole ZODIACK in
_Four Times Seven Days_; that is, considering her _Phases_ as obverted
to the SUN. And _Linus_, a most ancient celebrated Poet, sings thus:
_“Septima cùm venit Lux, cuncta absolvere cœpit
“Omnipotens Pater, atque bonis, & Septima, & ipsa,
“Est etiam rerum cunctarum Septima Origo;
“Septima prima eadem perfecta, & Septima Septem,
“Unde etiam Cœlum stellis errantibus aptum
“Volvitur, & Circ’lis totidem circum undique fertur._
THIS _Number_ seems likewise to be of the greatest Esteem in _Religion_;
and from hence among the _Hebrews_, to swear, is call’d
_SEPTENARE_[117], (that is, to _protest_ by _Seven_:) So _Abraham_
making the COVENANT with _Abimelech_, appointed _Seven Ewe-Lambs_ for a
Testimony: The _Seventh Day_ the Great _CREATOR_ rested from his Work:
_Jacob_ served _Seven Years_: _Seven Days_ the People bewail’d the Death
of _Jacob_: _Elisha_ (the Prophet) said unto _Naaman_ (the _Syrian_
Captain) Go and wash thy self _Seven Times_ in _Jordan_, and thou shalt
be made whole, and thy Flesh become clean: And, in fine, _David_ said,
_Seven Times_ a day do I praise _THEE_, because of thy righteous
Judgments.
THESE, and innumerable such like _Sentences_ are not only couch’d in the
_Books_ of _Moses_, and the whole _Volume_ of the _Old Testament_; but
also expresly contain’d in the GOSPEL, and interspers’d through the
whole _Bulk_ of the _New_: As the _Seven Beatitudes_, the _Seven
Virtues_, the _Seven Vices_, the _Seven Petitions_ of the _LORD’s
PRAYER_, the _Seven Words_ of our _SAVIOUR_ upon the _Cross_, &c. But
besides, in the _Apocalypse_ or _Revelation_ of St. _JOHN_, this
mysterious _NUMBER_ is most frequently mention’d, to denote its
_Efficacy_ and _Excellency_ of representing some _Ænigmatical_ Truth or
Emblem.
MOREOVER, the _Divine Apostle_ signifies and sets forth there, the
_Persecution_ of the _CHURCH_ (under the Tyrants, _Domitian_, _Trajan_,
&c. which began in the _Primitive CHURCH_ in his own Days, and continued
for three hundred Years, even to the Reign of _Constantine_ the Great)
by the _Allegory_ of[118]_SEVEN SEALS_. He figures out the _Heresys_ of
the _ARIANS_, &c. (from the Time of _Constantine_ to the Reign of
_Theodosius_, being three hundred Years more) by that of[119]_SEVEN
TRUMPETS_. And, in fine, he mystically alludes to the future _Plagues_
of _ANTI-CHRIST_ (from the Time of _Pope Bonifacius_, to these our
present Days) by[120]_SEVEN VIALS_, according to the Interpretation of
that most Learned Divine, _Peter Palladius_ Bishop of _Rochel_.
I say, with Submission to wiser Heads, that _These_ and the whole Train
of those Sacred _Allegorical Allusions_ used in this _Book_, might have
been as pertinently express’d by any _other Number_, as the _SEPTENARY_;
were it not that, this _Number_ better implies a certain _FULNESS_ of
_Sacred Mysterys_: As I think that _Number_ likewise (in all rational
probability) may properly portend here, _PERFECTION_ in _Maturity_, and
_COMPLETION_ in _Vitality_ to every _Full Seven-Months_ CHILD.
[Illustration]
CHAP. XXXIV.
_Of an Eight-Months BIRTH._
AS to this Point, the _Case_ indeed differs much in my Judgment from the
_Former_: For tho’ I have heard some loquacious _Women_ strenuously aver
the _contrary_, because of their own rash _Mistakes_; yet I cannot help
being of the same Opinion still, that this MONTH seldom or never
produces a _living_, or _lively_ CHILD: And that because, if the INFANT
hath _Strength_ enough, it must needs appear about the _Close_ of the
_Seventh Month_; but if not, the _Attempts_ are the same, according to
its greater or less _Abilitys_; (as most MOTHERS may very sensibly
observe in their own Conditions, by its extraordinary _Motions_ and
Struggles at that _Time_) whereby it is so _weaken’d_ and _debilitated_,
that it requires the _Eighth full Month_, and Part of the _Ninth_, to
recover itself, and recollect its _exhausted Strength_ and _Vigour_.
ANOTHER Natural _Reason_ besides may be given for _This_; because that
this MONTH is peculiar to the _Planet_ SATURN, which is an Enemy to all
_Creatures_ that breath LIFE: For he now returns not with the same
_Meekness_ and _Lenity_ of Influence that he used in the _First Month_
of the _CONCEPTION_, but with a far greater _Severity_ of Tyranny and
Enmity; as by his _Frigidity_, lessening and extinguishing the _Native
Heat_ of the _INFANT_, rendering it Unactive and Slow to _Motion_; so by
his _Siccity_, constringing the _Passages_ and _Orifice_ of the WOMB:
which, if so, must (of necessity) very much endanger both the _MOTHER_
and the _INFANT_.
BE this as it will, yet it is most certain, that the CHILD born in this
MONTH is always very _Weak_ and _Sickly_; However if, by chance, it
survives the _14th_, it may live till about the _40th Day_, when it most
commonly _breathes its Last_: Yet if it also survives this _Time_, the
greatest _Danger_ being then over, it may, by the means of tender CARE
and ART, be brought up as _others_ are usually reared: But how
_long-liv’d_ soever, or well-governed its _Health_ may be, it will still
continue of a _weakly_ and _tender Constitution_ of Body, if not also
half-witted[121] in Mind.
UPON this _Head_ some _Egyptian Writers_ mention, that because
_Dionysius_, who was born in the _EIGHTH MONTH_, lived in the _Island_
of _NAXOS_; therefore both this _Number_ and the _Island_ were dedicated
to his everlasting _Memory_; Whereupon, they say, he obtained the
_Prerogative_ and _Privilege_ from the _GODS_, that the _Women_ of
_NAXOS_ only, in this _MONTH_, should bring forth in _Safety_, and their
_CHILDREN_ only enjoy _Vitality_.
WHICH _Fable_ may however serve to satisfy us, that they have had no
better Opinion of an _Eight-Months BIRTH_, in those _Antient Days_, than
the Generality of _Learned Men_ yet have in these _Modern_ Times:
signifying in the main, by this comical _Allusion_ to that _little
Island_ in the _Ægean Sea_, that if, peradventure, an _Octimestrian
BIRTH_, by its more propitious _Destiny_, should be determined to
_Life_; _that_ ought to be looked upon as something _Extraordinary_, and
not laid down for any general _Hypothesis_: especially for this manifest
Reason, because in all _other Nations_, such _CHILDREN_ are commonly
observed to be but short-liv’d; as the _Women_, labouring with _CHILD_
at that critical[122] or fatal _TIME_, are absolutely exposed to the
severest of _excruciating PAINS_, and the greatest of _imminent
DANGERS_.
MOREOVER, _Hippocrates_ himself testifies, that the very
_Gestation_[123] of the _eighth Month_ is the most _onerous_ and
_difficult_ of all the Time, as well on account of the _Indisposition_
of the _Womb_, as by reason of the _Mother’s_ being affected by the
_disturbing Motions_ of the _Infant_: Wherefore if the _Birth_ then
draws on, it receives a double Damage, and suffers as well because of
these _Affections_ of the _Mother_ and _Womb_, as by its own proper
_Motions_ in precipitating itself.
FROM what is said, we may easily comprehend what _HIPPOCRATES_ means by
that obscure[124] _Ænigma_, which some have formerly reckoned more
inextricable than any _Herculean Knot_, viz. _An Octimestrian Birth is
and is not_; signifying thereby nothing else than that the _Child born_
in the _eighth Month_ (in some respect) may be supposed in _Being_, but
really and indeed _is not_, because it soon vanishes and _dies_.
[Illustration]
CHAP. XXXV.
_Of a Nine-Months BIRTH._
THE Generality of _Modern Writers_ have too strictly confined a
_Legitimate_ BIRTH, and tied it down to this very MONTH only; and _some_
even restrain it to the narrow _Limits_ of its _Latter Half_: Both
equally affirming _That_ TIME to produce the most vigorous and lively
_Children_, and strenuously alledging it to be the _only_ appointed TIME
of _Nature_; because (as they say) _it happens most frequently_.
BUT unless they could produce some better _natural Reasons_ than THIS,
or any _others_ indeed that I have yet heard of, they shall scarce
_influence_ me to agree with their popular _Notions_ or vulgar Errors:
For their fond Opinion seems not to be so much supported by any
_Arguments_ of _Natural Reason_, as by an _imaginary Experience_,
founded upon _Hearsay_, or the _general Misconstruction_ of WOMEN.
HOWEVER, in Condescension and Good-Manners to _Female Authority_ (to
which I owe all imaginable _Deference_) I shall not launch out into any
immodest or disagreeable _Contradictions_; but, on the contrary, I shall
endeavour to make it evidently appear from the _Nature_ of the MONTH
itself, that it indisputably induceth both _Perfection_ and _Vitality_
to the CHILD, whether it be _born_ at this _Time_ or not: For I must
frankly own this _Truth_ indeed, that many _Auspicious_ BIRTHS happen in
this very same MONTH, for several good Reasons.
I. BECAUSE _then_, if we will believe _Astrologers_, JUPITER now returns
with his _Serene Aspect_, by his pure healing _Heat_ and _Humidity_,
cherishing and renovating the _Life_ of the INFANT (which consists of
those two _vital Qualities_) and quite effacing the former _Mischiefs_
and _Injuries_ of noxious SATURN: whereby he renders _This ninth Month_
not only most conducive to the BIRTH, but also to the future _Welfare_
and _Prosperity_ of the INFANT.
II. BECAUSE this auspicious _Number_ NINE is dedicated to the MUSES,
according to the Order of the Celestial SPHERES: Hence as we have _nine
moveable Spheres_, _viz._ the _Primum Mobile_, the _Starry Heaven_, and
the _Spheres_ of _SATURN_, _JUPITER_, _MARS_, _SOL_, _VENUS_, _MERCURY_,
and _LUNA_; so there are _Nine_ MUSES appropriated to them, to
accomplish their _Harmony_ or _Consort_.
III. BECAUSE to denote the _Sufficiency_ of this NUMBER, there are also
_nine_ ORDERS and CHOIRS of blessed ANGELS; namely, _Seraphims_,
_Cherubims_, _Thrones_, _Dominations_, _Powers_, _Virtues_,
_Principalities_, _Archangels_, and _Angels_: Which the _Prophet
EZEKIEL_[125] emblematically figures out by Nine STONES; as the
_Saphire_, _Emerald_, _Carbuncle_, _Beril_, _Onyx_, _Chrysolite_,
_Jasper_, _Topaz_, and the _Sardis_.
BUT besides the _Nine_ internal and external SENSES, mentioned in
_Sect._ I. _Chap._ 5. more plainly and familiarly denote the
_Perfection_ of this NUMBER: As, in like manner, the most learned
_Authors_ of all Ages take great Notice of it in the AGE of _Man_,
calling _this Ninth_, together with the _Seventh_, CLIMACTERICAL
_Years_.
NOT to mention the _Ninth Hour_, in which our Blessed SAVIOUR breathed
out his Holy Spirit; the _Ninth Day_ the _Antients_ buried their DEAD,
and many such remarkable Instances. Yet however, in most _Natural_ and
_Philosophical Cases_, this NUMBER implies still some _Imperfection_;
because it comes short of the _Complement_ of the Great _Number_ TEN
(being deficient by ONE) as St. _Austin_ interprets it of the TEN
LEPERS. Wherefore not to go too far in these MYSTICAL _Matters_, I
proceed to
[Illustration]
CHAP. XXXVI.
_Of a Ten-Months BIRTH._
AS to this Point, it is not only True in _Part_; to wit, _during the
First Ten Days_ of the _10th Month_, as SOME would have it, but rather
(in my Opinion) _Altogether_, and at any time of it, as LEGITIMATE as
the _9th Month_; according to _Plautus_ the Comick _Poet_; _Tunc illa
quam compresserat, decimo post exacto Mense hanc peperit Filiam_.
FOR altho’ _Women_ commonly reckon their BIRTHS more frequent in the
_Ninth Month_; yet many _Learned Men_ have left it (as a doubtful
Controversy) undecided whether THAT or THIS be the most proper natural
Time: Whereas _Some_ of the _first_ RANK[126] have more positively
determined a _Legitimate BIRTH_ to happen in the _Tenth Month_ ONLY,
according also to _Virgil_’s excellent Poetical Computation—
“_Matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia Menses._”
MOREOVER, for a farther Proof of this Argument, I need only refer to
_Solomon_, the wisest of _Kings_; who being the greatest _Master of all
ARTS_, cannot be supposed to have been ignorant of This _Truth_: And
whose express Decision of this Doubt, we have set down in the Beginning
of the 7th _Chapter_ of his _Book_ of _WISDOM_; 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.”
BUT farther yet, as to the _Nature_ of this _Month_, _MARS_ is presumed
to succeed in it, who indulges the INFANT by his _amicable Qualities_,
or _benign Influences_: For _He_ is deemed a Friend to _LIFE_, as he
affords _Vitality_ to the _BIRTHS_ happening in it.
AND again, this _Number_ TEN is reckoned a _Compleat_ and _Universal_
NUMBER in all _Sciences_; because we cannot account beyond it, but by
_Replication_, a _Re-assumption_ of the UNIT, or _Repetition_ of the
_Nine Figures_, to perfect the Progression. But farther still, to denote
the Excellency and Perfection of this MONTH, there are TEN _Singers_ of
_Psalms_ mentioned in Holy Scripture; namely, _ADAM_, _ABRAHAM_,
_MELCHISEDECH_, _MOSES_, _ASAPH_, _DAVID_, _SOLOMON_, and the _three
Sons of CHORAH_: TEN _Musical Instruments_: TEN _Strings_ in the
_Psaltery_: TEN _Curtains_ in the _Temple_: TEN _Commandments_
instituted and given directly by GOD himself: AND, in fine, the TENTH
Day after _Ascension_ the _HOLY GHOST_ came down, _&c._
THERE are besides also TEN _Parts_, of which MAN himself consists
intrinsically; _viz._ the _Spirit_, _Brain_, _Lungs_, _Heart_, _Liver_,
_Gall_, _Spleen_, _Kidneys_, _Testicles_, and _Matrix_: And likewise TEN
_Simple Integral Parts_ constituting the MAN, to wit, _Bone_,
_Cartilage_, _Nerve_, _Fibre_, _Ligament_, _Artery_, _Vein_, _Membrane_,
_Flesh_, and _Skin_. In short just so, after this manner, there are TEN
_Months_ required to form and maturate the _MAN_, in the substantial
_Completion_ of THESE to Perfection.
BUT, after All, lest I should be thought, by this way of Reasoning on
the _Numbers_ of the _MONTHS_, to vend some fictitious _Notions_ for
mechanical _Causes_, or vain _Fictions_ for the _Laws of Nature_, I
shall in this Place, to avoid that Censure or Reproach, make a small
_Digression_, and that upon _NUMBERS_ in general.
FIRST then, I think it appears very Plain from the _Three preceding
Chapters_, that _NUMBERS_ are of a certain wonderful Efficacy and Virtue
even in SUPERNATURALS.
SECONDLY, In _Natural Things_ also the Virtues of _NUMBERS_ (so
_mystically_ constituted and _mysteriously_ intended) are conspicuously
manifest: As is evident in the _Herb_, call’d PENTAPHYLLON, which is
said to resist _Poisons_ by Virtue of _Number FIVE_; as _one Leaf_ of it
taken _twice_ a day in _Wine_, cures the QUOTIDIAN; _three_, the
TERTIAN; and four, the QUARTAN _Fever_. So likewise in the _Herb_
HELIOTROPIUM TRICOCCON[127], _three Grains_ whereof cures the TERTIAN:
and _four_, the QUARTAN _Ague_. In like manner, as a _Serpent_, if
struck ONCE with a _Spear_, _dies_; but if TWICE, is said to recover
_Strength_. So much for the Curious.
HOWEVER, These and many other Things might be mentioned, both in
_Natural_, and _Supernatural Beings_, upon the wonderful _Power_ and
_Efficacy_ of _NUMBERS_: Which plausible _Doctrine_ not only the most
Eminent _Philosophers_, but also the most Learned _Catholick DOCTORS_,
namely, St. _Jerom_, _Austin_, _Origen_, _Ambrose_, _Athanasius_, &c.
All unanimously teach; as well as the most famous Dr. _Rabanus_
(Archbishop of _Mentz_) who in his Time compos’d an excellent _Book_ to
this purpose chiefly upon the _Virtues_ of Numbers.
BUT notwithstanding all This, I am far from believing that there is any
peculiar _Virtue_ in _NUMBERS_, considered _abstractedly_: Only, I would
hereby demonstrate, that as the _Omniscient CREATOR_ has appointed every
thing a _certain TIME_ for its _Production_, _Augmentation_,
_Perfection_, _Declension_, and _Duration_; so in all probability, the
same _Decree_ or Good-Will of _Divine Providence_ may have ordered
_NUMBERS_, and _Sett-Days_ or _Times_ to concur with the apparent
Necessity of _Corporeal_, _Natural_, and _Mechanical_ CAUSES. For in
Truth, at last, I cannot think that, unless there had been some great
and distinct _Mysterys_ of _GOD_ and _Nature_ comprehended in _NUMBERS_,
the Great DIVINE[128] would otherwise have recommended That _Search_ to
the World of Understanding to count the _NUMBER_ of the _Beast_: saying,
_It is the Number of a Man_. But to proceed:
[Illustration]
CHAP. XXXVII.
_Of an Eleven-Months, and all posteriour BIRTHS._
As to this MONTH, many _Authors_[129] agree to legitimate its _BIRTH_;
because of several repeated _Instances_ that really happen’d in their
Days: To which I can add _ONE_ of my own proper _Experience_, during my
itinerant _Practice_ in the City of _Prague_. Where, as I came
recommended to the Acquaintance of some Eminent _Physicians_ of the
Place, I happen’d once to be call’d (by _one_ of them) to a _Lady_ in
LABOUR; whom I had the good Fortune to deliver immediately, of a fine,
lusty, and lively _Girl_. After which, I had the Honour to attend her in
_Child-Bed_; I mean, to visit and prescribe for her, by the concurring
Advice of my Honoured _Friend_ (the most Learned and Ingenious Dr. _Von
Overberg_, who was her near Relation) in order to prevent some
_Disasters_ under which she had formerly suffer’d on the like Occasion.
Upon This, she was pleas’d to tell me out of her own Mouth, that, before
the _Day_ of her DELIVERY, her _Husband_, (who was a _Colonel_ in the
Imperial Service) had been gone to the _Army_, then in _Sicily_, TEN
MONTHS and _two Days_; so that this _Proculean_ CHILD was born (at
soonest) the _Third Day_ of the _Eleventh Month_. And in this _Case_, I
dare say, I was no ways mistaken, or impos’d upon; that _Lady_ being
endued with no less true _Honour_ and strict _Virtue_, than she was
otherways deservedly esteem’d, of a singular good _Character_, and great
_Distinction_ in that Place.
UPON which happy Occasion, I was the first Time fully satisfy’d, and
convinc’d, as to the due Proportion and Distinction of the _Four
controverted Terms_; _viz._ that, by how much the _latter Part_ of the
TENTH MONTH is preferable to the _Beginning_ of the NINTH; by so much is
the _Beginning_ of the ELEVENTH, preferable to any _BIRTH_[130]
happening in the _latter Part_ of the SEVENTH MONTH: So that, upon the
whole Matter, I can find no plausible Reason why All _Those_ may not be
accounted _Legitimate terms_ of Time in _Child-Bearing_, as well as the
_latter Part_ of the NINTH, and _Beginning_ of the TENTH MONTH.
WHICH probable Opinion we may the more readily agree to, and acquiesce
in; especially because (if what has been said of the rest of the
PLANETS, in the respective _Chapters_ of _This_ and the _First SECTION_,
be true) the SUN in this ELEVENTH MONTH returns to take care of the
INFANT (yet unborn;) by virtue of whose vivacious _Influence_ and
beneficent _Quality_, _BIRTHS_ of this MONTH are accounted no less
_vital_ and _successful_, than any _others_ differently time’d.
THERE are also many _Authors_, over and above, who make mention of
_BIRTHS_, in the _Twelfth_, _Thirteenth_, _Fourteenth_, and _Fifteenth_
MONTH. Yes verily, and there is _one remarkable Instance_, of the
Physical _College_ at _Montpelier_, where a grand _Consultation_ was
held about the Year 1590, in _Favour_ of a certain MARCHIONESS; who
(after some fair _Legitimate BIRTHS_) had _Two_[131] running
successively, the _one_ in the _Eighteenth_, the _other_ in the
_Twentieth_ MONTH: upon which, divers curious _Reasonings_ happened, and
various _Sentiments_ were deliver’d. However, because such _Precedents_
are so very few and uncommon, I shall take up no more _Time_ about them.
Only
AS to what is said in this, and the preceding Chapters, touching the
_Months_, I desire to be understood, as meaning _Solar_, not _Lunar_
Months: By _Solar_ Months, I mean that Space of Time, which the _Sun_
continues in either, or every, _Sign_ of the _Zodiack_, comprehending
thirty Days.