yet notwithstanding it hath, in a more especial manner, relation to that grand symptom, that doth most certainly attend this condition; which is called, tremor artuum, the continual and unavoidable trembling of the hands and arms. Now, forasmuch as the last age of man is eminently above all others he paffeth, the cold and the dry; it muft needs incline him, and at last moft certainly caft him into this distemper.

For thefe two qualities, and, for aught I understand, thefe alone, are the natural fathers of this trembling child. If we remember how going abroad in a bitter cold morning, how drinking a great deal of cold water, or fwimming in the water; if we know how the ufe of poppies, henbane, opium, the cold fit of an ague, and other cold things, will easily set us a fhaking; if we confider that long fastings, great evacuations, especially venereal, which do moft dry the nerves, violent heat in fevers, fluxing by the ufe of quickfilver, immoderate sweatings in hot houses, or elfehow, do cause the same diftemper; we shall be induced chiefly to attribute this terrible symptom, to these two deadly enemies of a well tempered conftitution, coldnefs and drinefs; which are fo contrary to the inftruments of voluntary motion, whofe life and vigour confifts in radical heat and moisture; that they take off their strength, and render them un

able

able to perform their duties, making them fo weak, that even the weight of the member they are to move, is now their equal antagonist; for they going about to move the member as they usually had done, are refifted with equal force by the weight of that member, which caufeth as it were a continual combat between the strength of the mover, and the weight of the moved, so that the limb is always drawn one way by that, and another way by this, which causeth a perpetual trembling of the keepers of the houfe; which is reckoned here as the firft, and indeed is one of the moft remarkable symptoms upon the body of man in this decrepit state.

The frong men fhall bow themselves.

Having before treated of the infirmities of the fuperior limbs, he comes now to thofe of the inferior; the keepers of the house being the hands, the ftrong men can be no other than the feet; now as the hand was divided before, fo alfo is the anatomical foot, containing not only tarfum, metatarfum, and phalanges digitorum, but also femur, tibiam, and extremum pedem; and as before I fhewed, the beginning of the hand was to be accounted from the fcapula, fo here I must alfo tell you, that the beginning of the foot is from the os ilium. And those muscles which are inferted into the thigh, and have their ufe for the motion there

of; notwiehstanding their origination may be either from the back, (inwardly as the chief flector the psoas, or outwardly as the first extendor, gloutaus major) or from the os ilium (as most others movers of the thigh have) ought all to be accounted into the number of the strong men. And if we well confider the true nature of progreffive motion, and firm station on the ground, we fhall foon conclude, that the inftruments of them both (which are none other than those we are treating of) are the best demonstrators of human strength, and may more aptly than any other parts of the body be called the ftrong men. And this we may also have confirmed in the holy writings of God; the ftrength of the legs, as the inftruments of motion, feem to be expreffed by the prophet, when he faith, He delighteth not in the ftrength of the horse, he taketh not plear fure in the legs of a man, Pfal. cxlvii. 10. their ftrength, as they are the inftruments of firm station, is excellently expressed by the spouse, when the faith concerning her beloved; his legs are as pillars of marble, Cant. v. 15. And as they are the infiruments of both, you have them notified in the ftory of Peter's curing the lame man, Acts iii. wherein (as if the use of legs (both for standing and walking) and frength were convertible terms, fignifying the fame thing;) we have his cure once expreffed by thefe words; immediately his feet and his ancle bones received ftrength, and he leaping up, stood

and

and walked, ver. 7, 8. and presently after only by the word strength; his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, ver. 16. I fhall give but once inftance more, and that most remarkable, having in it the great wifdom of God to exprefs this thing; and that is the touch of the hollow of Jacob's thigh, Gen. xxxi. 25. when God would intimate to Jacob, his own weakness, and his inability to wrestle, and to prevail with God and man by his own strength; he fmites him in the thigh. Thus he dealt alfo with Paul, 2 Cor. xii. 3. who left he should be puffed up with his vifions and revelations of the Lord, (having been taken up to the third heaven, and so much spiritualized, that it was hard to fay, whether he was in the body or out of the body) he had such a direct contrary infirmity laid upon him, that it might fufficiently take off all other men from acmiring him, and himself from being lifted up beyond what he ought to be; Left any man should think of me above what he feeth me to be, and that he heareth of me, and left I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelation, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of fatan to buffet me, left I should be exalted above measure, ver. 6, 7. all occafion of glorying in his fpirituality was abundantly taken away, when he had continual memento of his carnal weakness, a thorn in the flesh. And thus alfo may Jacob, and all Jacob's children, for

ever, be taken off from boafting in their own ftrength from his prevailing with God and man; fince ever after he bare that most certain symptom of human weakness, halting on his thigh, for when this part is once rendered unferviceable, there can be no more ftrength to contend.

And the perfect conqueft that Sampson got over the Philistines, whereby they were unable any more to refift, is expreffed, He fmote them hip and thigh, Judg. xv. 8. Befide, the counfel which is given to Jofbuah is worth our obferving to this purpose, whereby he is taught to make the horfes of the many kings he fhould fuddenly fubdue, for evermore unserviceable, and yet to fave their lives; Thou fhalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire, Jofh. xi. 6. Whereby we may understand, that if the back finew of an horfe's hind leg (wherein the great ftrength of these parts lieth) be cut in funder, he is made altogether as unfit for fervice in the war, as the chariots that are burnt. I might further yet confirm this truth by an anatomical enarration of the feveral compounding parts of thefe limbs; but forafmuch as I did that before, in the treating of the superior artus, I may the better omit it here; because there is a very great fimilitude between these parts and those fpoken of before; and what was there faid of them, as unto the parts, and alfo unto the