tion, who, in fcorn, devoured large influences of their god, without refunding the smallest blast by eructation. The other was a huge terrible monfter, called Moulinavent, who, with four strong arms, waged eternal battle with all their divinities, dextroufly turning to avoid their blows, and repay them with intereft.

Thus furnished, and fet out with gods, as well as devils, was, the renowned fect of Æolifts; which makes at this day fo illuftrious a figure in the world, and whereof that polite nation of Laplanders, are, beyond all doubt, a most authentic branch: Of whom I therefore cannot, without injustice, here omit to make honourable mention; fince they appear to be fo closely allied, in point of intereft, as well as inclinations, with their brother Æolifts among us, as not only to buy their winds by wholefale from the fame merchants, but alfo to retail them after the fame rate and method, and to customers much alike.

Now, whether the fyftem here delivered was wholly compiled by Jack; or, as fome writers believe, rather copied from the original at Delphos, with certain additions and emendations fuited to the times and circumftances; I fhall not abfolutely determine. This I may affirm, that Jack gave it at least a new turn, and formed it into the fame drefs and model as it lies deduced by me.

I have long fought after this opportunity of doing justice to a fociety of men, for whom I

have a peculiar honour; and whose opinions, as well as practices, have been extremely mifreprefented and traduced by the malice or ignorance of their adverfaries. For I think it one of the greatest and beft of human actions, to remove prejudices, and place things in their trueft and faireft light; which I therefore boldly undertake, without any regards of my own, befide the confcience, the honour, and the thanks.

A Digreffion concerning the original, the use, and improvement of Madness in a commonwealth.

NOR

OR fhall it any wife detract from the just reputation of this famous fect, that its rife and inftitution are owing to fuch an author as I have defcribed Jack to be; a perfon whofe intellectuals were overturned, and his brain fhaken out of its natural pofition; which we commonly fuppofe to be a diftemper, and call by the name of madness, or phrenzy. For, if we take a furvey of the greatest actions that have been performed in the world under the influence of fingle men; which are, the establishment of new empires by conqueft; the advance and progress of new schemes in philofophy; and the contriving, as well as the propagating of new religions; we shall find the authors

of them all to have been perfons whofe natural reafon had admitted great revolutions from their diet, their education, the prevalency of fome certain temper, together with the particular influence of air and climate. Befides, there is fome thing individual in human minds, that easily kindles at the accidental approach and collifion of certain circumstances, which, though of paultry and mean appearance, do often flame out into the greatest emergencies of life. For great turns are not always given by ftrong hands, but by lucky adaption, and at proper feafons. And it is of no import where the fire was kindled, if the vapour has once got up into the brain. For the upper region of man is furnished like the middle region of the air; the materials are formed from caufes of the wideft difference, yet produce at laft the fame fubftance and effect. Mifts arife from the earth, fteams from dunghills, exhalations from the fea, and fmoke from fire; yet all clouds are the fame in compofition, as well confequences; and the fumes iffuing from a jakes, will furnish as comely and useful a vapour, as incenfe from an altar. Thus far, I fuppofe, will eafily be granted me; and then it will follow, that as the face of nature never produces rain, but when it is overcaft and difturbed; fo human understanding, feated in the brain, must be troubled and overfpread by vapours, afcending from the lower faculties, to water the invention, and render it fruitful. Now, although these vapours

(as

(as it hath been already faid) are of as various original, as thofe of the fkies, yet the crops they produce, differ both in kind and degree, merely according to the foil. I will produce two inftances, to prove and explain what I am now advancing.

A certain great prince raised a mighty army, filled his coffers with infinite treasures, provided an invincible fleet; and all this, without giving the least part of his 'defign to his greatest minifters, or his nearest favourites *. Immediately the whole world was alarmed; the neighbouring crowns in trembling expectations, towards what point the ftorm would burft; the fmall politicians every where forming profound conjectures. Some believed, he had laid a scheme for univerfal monarchy; others, after much infight, determined the matter to be a project for pulling down the Pope, and fetting up the reformed religion, which had once been his own. Some again, of a deeper fagacity, fent him into Afia, to fubdue the Turk, and recover Palestine. In the midst of all these projects and preparations, a certain fate-furgeon †, gathering the nature of the disease by these symptoms, attempted the cure; at one blow performed the operation, broke the bag, and out flew the vapour. Nor did any thing want to render it a complete remedy, only that the prince unfortunately hapFf3 pened

* This was Harry the Great of France.

Ravillac, who stabbed Henry the Great in his coach.

pened to die in the performance. Now, is the reader exceeding curious to learn, from whence this vapour took its rife, which had fo long fet the nations at a gaze? what fecret wheel, what hidden fpring, could put into motion fo wonderful an engine? It was afterwards difcovered, that the movement of this whole machine had been directed by an abfent female, whofe eyes had raised a protuberancy, and, before emiffion, fhe was removed into an enemy's country. What should an unhappy prince do in fuch ticklish circumftances as thefe? He tried in vain the poet's never-failing receipt of corpora quæque: For,

Idque petit corpus mens, unde eft faucia amore;
Unde feritur, eo tendit, gefitque coire.
Lucr.

Having to no purpose used all peaceable endeavours, the collected part of the semen, raised and inflamed, became aduft, converted to choler, turned head upon the spinal duct, and afcended to the brain. The very fame principle that influences a bully to break the windows of a whore who has jilted him, naturally ftirs up a great prince to raise mighty armies, and dream of nothing but fieges, battles, and victories.

-Teterrimi belli

Caufa

The other inftance is, what I have read fomewhere in a very ancient author, of a mighty king*, who, for the space of above thirty years, amufed

* This is meant of the prefent French King, Lewis XIV.