388 THE ORIGINAL or OUR IDEAS. of the body.* 'Now this is evidently the brain, or, some spe- cial pert Of the:brain, which appears from these three things eminently. Ist. Because, allthe nerves, whose extremities are wrought into the several organs ,of sense, via. the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue and palate, have their spring or origin in the brain; and the nerves which subserve the general sense of feeling, and which are spread through all the body, have their origin there also : And thus when the outward extremity, or other end of those nerves, is moved or affected any way, the motion is corn municated immedintelyto the inwardorigin of them in the brain, to give-notice-of all - things that affect the outward or any distinct parts of the body, whether they be shapes, motions, colours, sounds, tastes, smells, heats, colds, &c. And it is by means of these nerves also, Which have their'origin in -the brain, that every extreme part of the body is-put into motion at the will orcom- mand of the soul. It seems proper therefore to suppose the soul to have its more immediate government and operations near the origin of the nerves, which are so much the instruments of its perceptions and operations. Now, to confirm this by experiment, 3 add, 2dly, If any of the limbs are tut or bruised, .while there is a ligamenttied so hard round .the limb, that there canbe no com- munication of that motion by the nerves to the brain, the soul feels it not, the man hatlino perception or sensation of it. And if the nerves which go from the brain to any limb are cut, the will cannot make that limb move. idly, When we set ourselves to think or study, we feel and are conscious that we employ some operative power or powers within the scull, and perhaps generally a-little within the fore- head : And.the reason why we feel itthere is, because the cor- poreal motions and traces are there farmed, and .preserved, and renewed, which serve to raise or awaken ideas in the mind, and whichareardained to minister to the soul in its intellectual or sen- sitive operations while it is in.this united state. VII. The perceptions which a spirit has by means of its union with the body in this present state, .are chiefly of these three kinds. 1. Such as have no external objects for,their exemplar, nor ,dothey so much as seem to .want any ; for tltey,are not.represen. tations of objects, but mere sensations of the soul : Such are Unger, thirst, pleasure, ease, pain, awl in general our appetites and passions. Though some of these, viz. ease, pain, 4c. may * Des Cartes and hisfollowers supposed thiscommon sensory was the P:neal- Gland, which is situated almost in the middle of the brain; and some of their reasons for it are not contemptible, though 1 can by no means confine the sensory to such narrow limas.
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