Account of Books

viz. quod fetus non formatur ex semine masculino in uterum ejecto, sed tota massa Sanguinis (quasi per contagium) vim plasticum à Semine virili accipiens ovis uterinis communicat, unde sunt fertilia, & eo magis cum illo sentio, quo- niám scio hanc feminam Infantulum vehementur appetiisse, unde procul dubio eo majori desiderio cum virorem habuit, & maxime probabile videtur quod inflatis mulieribus instante coitus Spiritus eo tunc temporis affatim affluentes effluvia aliquot a semine virili attraxerunt, Sanguinisq; massa & deinceps ovis Uterinis Fecunditatem communica- runt. Nota quod non obstante hac clausura frequenter per menses purgata erat antequam utero concepit. VII. Account of Books. 1. Numismata, a Discourse of Medals, Ancient and Modern; together with some Account of Heads and Effigies of illustrious and famous Persons, in Sculps, &c. To which is added, a Digression concerning Physiognomy. By J. Evelin, Esq; S. R. S. Printed for Benj. Took, &c. 1697. in Fol. THE Ingenious Author of this Treatise, who has so often obliged the World with many useful Pieces, cultivating and advancing as well Natural Philosophy as other Parts of Learning and Arts, has in this Discourse given a Learned Account of Ancient and Modern Medals, informing the Reader, in his Epistle, That having begun this Work about Five Years since, he desisted from prosecuting it, upon the Publishing of Mr. Wal- ker's Treatise upon the same Subject; but finding some Particularities that admitted of a further Improvement, he went on again with his Design; and, after a short Introduction, bewailing the Failure of Marbles, Statues, Trophies, &c. in perpetuating memorable Actions, he begins his First Chapter with the Use of Medals, either made for Money, or to preserve the Memory of Worthy Actions, observing its very early use in the World, and that the First Roman Money was Brass, without any Mark at all; then shews the Original of Stamping, which was for a Testimonial of its being of such a Weight. The First Silver stamped at Rome was a little before the First Punic War, and Gold not till about Sixty Two Years after, at which time the Worth of Gold to Silver was as $12\frac{1}{2}$ to One, though in the earliest times it bore but a decuple Value, among the Romans and Greeks. Next, coming to speak more particularly of Medals, he is of Opinion, That they did not, when first made, pass for Money, but were stampt in Memory of particular famous Actions or Persons. But upon the Inundation of the Goths, the Lustre of Medals ended, with all the more Polite Arts. Next he treats of the Materials used for Money, whether Leather, Paper, Earth, Porcelane, Coral, Shells, Linnen, or the like. He in the next Place speaks of the time when the several Metals came first in use, and is inclined to think Iron and Copper were the First, of which he gives several Instances. Then he proceeds to consider the Impressions and Sizes, of which latter there were Three. The Second Chapter treats of the Medals of several Nations, as Hebraic, Punic, Barbarous; those of the Goths, Huns, Lombards, &c. with the British Coins, where he says, he has seen a Series of all our Coins from Edward the Confessor, to our present Times, except Richard chard the Third. Then returning to speak of Medals, he mentions the Saturnalian made in Buffoonry, and touches upon some of the Customs used at that Feast; and observes, except those, no Medals were made but upon grave and serious Occasions. Speaking of the Heads and Reverses, he says, Medals without any Reverse, are never Antique; but may, without Head be good. Our Author next, makes several Remarks touching the Heads, as whether naked or crowned, bearded or shaven, &c. as likewise of the Figures express at length on the Reverses: He proceeds to the Greek Medals, with their several Ornaments and Reverses, thence to the Barbarous, Parthian, Armenian, &c. and so to our Saxon; of all which he describes the particular Ornaments on their Heads, &c. then he comes to Medals made of remarkable Persons, touches upon Papal and French Medals; after which he mentions the curious Collection of Pyrrhus Ligorius, being twenty six Volumes of Draughts of Medals, Inscriptions, Relievos, &c. Greek and Roman; of the Duke of Savoy's, Duke Albert's of Bavaria, now in the Custody of the Royal Society, containing the Images of Roman Kings, Consuls, Dictators, Knights, Tribunes, &c. from the Foundation of Rome to Julius Caesar; after which he Remarks the Niceness of the Ancients, in having their Resemblances taken by none but exquisite Masters, whence we may well believe their Medals to be very like them; he concludes this Chapter, with a Proposal of designing in dead life by a very good Hand, what Medals of undoubted Truth can be procured; and these to be as well and exactly Engraven on Copper Plates. The Third Chapter treats of Ancient and Modern Reverses, as they relate to History, Chronology, and other parts of Learning, the use and benefit whereof he shews in several particulars, informing us not only in History and Chronology, but also giving the true Form of several Habits, Instruments, Engines, Machines, Inventions, Achievements, Customs, &c. of the Ancients, but imperfectly otherwise described, together with the Figure under which they represented their Gods and Genii; particular Countries, &c. with the several Rewards as Crowns, &c. for virtuous and noble Actions: then deploring the want of Medals to illustrate our own History he gives an Account of all or the most that have been stamped here from Edward the third, through the several Reigns, to the late Revolution, referring the Reader for those made since that time to the late Publish'd Histoire Metallique de Guillaume III. by N. Chevalier, in fol. Amsterdam, 1692. The Fourth Chapter treats of Persons and Things deserving the Honour of Medals, tho' most of them never obtained it, and in this finds our Nation too deficient, and names several ingenious Worthies now living. The Fifth Chapter is of Inscriptions upon Medals, and their several Forms and Differences, chiefly relating to Roman and Greek Medals: here he gives us the Notes and Abbreviations of words to be met with in Roman Medals. In the Sixth Chapter he gives Instructions for the procuring Antique and rare Medals, with Directions to distinguish the True from Counterfeits, presenting a Catalogue of some Alphabetically; and in this place shews the several tricks used in making the Cheats and False ones, and sets down some ways to take off Medals by a sort of Glew, and the like. In the Seventh Chapter our Author Discourses of Mints and the most skilful Artists, with directions to Collect collect and dispose Medals for the Cabinet, and adds some Reflexions on the Modern Clipping and Diminution of Coyn. Here he observes the great number of Mints in one Kingdom formerly, and the excellency of the Method now used in Minting, far beyond the old way of Hammering; and in this place gives his Opinion and Reasons against either debasing the Coyn, or enhancing the Value, and then enumerates the most eminent Masters in this Art: Amongst them he mentions Trecia of Milan, who Cut the King of Spain's Arms on a Table Diamond; next he gives a Catalogue of Authors treating of this Subject, with some curious Collectors of our own, and other Nations; and then concludes this Chapter with a Catalogue of those Medals that succeeded Jovianus, where Mr. Walker's Catalogue ends. The Eighth Chapter gives an Account of Heads and Effigies in Taille douce, with particular Directions for such a Collection; presenting us with a Catalogue of Persons meriting a Place therein, as well Women as Men. The Ninth Chapter, which concludes the Work, contains a Digression Concerning Phisiognomy, where the Author beginning with the Head, goes through all the Features of the Face, and Proportions of the Body and Limbs, giving his Opinions and Conjectures of the Natural Dispositions, Wit, and Qualifications to be gathered from the Observation of each Part and Member particularly; for which, as likewise many other Remarkable pieces of Learning and ingenious Remarks, we refer to the Elaborate Treatise itself. II. Caspari Bartholini Thom. F. Specimen Philosophiae Naturalis. Accedit de Fontium, Fluviorumque Origine Dissertatio Physica Amstelodam. 1697: 12mo. The Design of this Piece is to Instruct the Youth of Copenhagen in the Rudiments of Natural Philosophy, therefore the Author delivers his Elements in a short compendious Method; in which he treats of Hypotheses, of the Understanding in General, then proceeds to Principles, as Matter, Form, Motion, Extension, Divisibility, Space, Time, &c. Afterwards he handles particular Qualities, as Heat, Cold, Fluidity, Solidity, Rarity, Density, Light, Colours, Sound, Taste, Smell, Gravity, Magnetism, &c. He Examines the several Elements and Systems of the World, the Earth with all its strata, Inequalities, and Fossils; the Air and Heavens with the Meteors and Celestial Bodies. After which he descends to the Functions of Animal, and Vegetable Bodies, as Sensation in general, and all the Senses in particular; Digestion, Nutrition, Secretion, Excretion, Respiration, Generation, Muscular Motion, Vegetation, &c. To these the Dutch Bookseller has annex'd a Dissertation of the Authors, published in 4to. about Nine or Ten Years ago, which Discourses upon the Rise of Springs and Rivers, wherein he first describes the internal and external Face of the Earth, with its several Beds, Layers and Crusts, (which he derives from the Sediments of the General Flood, as well as of particular Inundations, dations, the strata being of different Textures, compounds, Simples, repeated over and over, which Steno first most accurately distinguish'd, Prodrom. English Edit., p. 39, 40, 41.) The great Inequalities on the Surface, he attributes to the disruptions and changed Situations of the Strata, which gave Birth to the Hills and Fountains. Amongst the many Opinions concerning the Origine of Springs, our Author only examines three or four, tho' Monsieur Perault, in his Origine des Fontaines, reckons up above Twenty two; and Dr. Plot is very copious in his Tentam. Philosoph. The Hypotheses refuted by Bartholine, are 1st, those, which attribute the Cause of Springs to the Condensation of Vapours on the Mountains, or in Caverns. Secondly, They who will needs draw them from the Evaporations of subterraneous Waters, either lodg'd about the Centre of the Earth, or nearer the Surface, as Becher and Des Cartes. The Third Conjecture, which our Author undertakes to oppose, is that of bringing Springs from the Sea, by Filtration or Canals. Lastly, He delivers his own Opinion, which makes Rain-Water, stop'd by the Strata of the Earth, to be sufficient for the feeding of Fountains; and this may be Calculated from the Observations of M. Perault, and Mariotte, to which Mr. Ray adds many Illustrations in his Three Physico-Theological Discourses, 2d Edit. 1693. ERRATA