Mother, and Kindred against whom, although we certainly know them guilty of a Crime, we are not oblig'd to declare it; provided, nevertheless, that it be with the Refpect due to the Magiftrate, and that we beware of speaking Lyes whilst we intend only to decline Difcovery of the Truth. 'Tis the Opinion of the Civilians, and amongst others, of Paulus, in l. 9.ff. de Teft. that a. Father cannot be conftrain'd to bear Witnefs against his Son, nor a Son against his Father, except in the Cafe of High Treason. amongft idle Words. But ke who lies for his Profit, as many Tradef men do, fins proportionably to the Deceit which he thereby causes; but he is most culpable who lyes to the Magiftrate. One may tell or speak a Lye without lying, namely, when one fpeaks a talfe Thing conceiving it to be true. To do or fpeak a Lye, is to lead a Life contrary to one's Profeffion; as he who preaches well and lives ill. Whence we conclude, that many Precautions are requifite to lye without committing an Offence; that a Lye is to be fpoken as little as poffible, and never to be done or acted at all. Thefe three Things must not be confounded, to lye, to fpeak or tell a Lye, and to do or act one. To lye is to go againft our own Meaning; as when I know a Thing, and not only conceal it, but fpeak the contrary. This Action, according to fome, is always evil, infomuch (fay they) as 'tis never lawful to do Evil that Good may come of it. According to others, 'tis qualified according to the Diverfity of its End. For he who tells a Lye to fave a Traveller's Life who is purfu'd by Thieves, feems to do better than if he expos'd him to their Cruelty by his Discovery. The Phyfi cian who diffembles to his Patient the Danger of his Difeafe, and thinks it enough to acquaint his Domefticks therewith, does better than if he caft him into Despair by a downright difmal Prognoflication; and when be chears him up in fitting Time and Place by fome pleafant made Story, what he fpeaks can fcarce be reckon'd Queft. Pray Gentlemen, favour your humble Servant with your Opinion of Climacterical Years? Anfw. Man's Life is a Comedy, whereof the Theatre or Stage is the World, Men the Actors, and God the Moderator, who ends the Play, and draws the Curtain when it feems good to him. When 'tis play'd to the End, it hath five Acts, Infancy, Childhood, Adolefcence; Virility or Manhood, confifting of middle Age; and old Age; each of 14 Years, which multiply'd by make 70 Years, the Term affign'd to humane Life by the Royal Prophet. Thefe Acts are divided into two Scenes, of as many Septenaries, in each of which confiderable Alterations both in Body, Goods and Mind also, are obferv'd to come to pass. For feeing many Perfons incur great Accidents at one certain Number of Years rather than ano ther; ther; and if they efcape Death, fall again into other Dangers at certain Times, and fo from one Degree to another, till they be come to the laft Step of the Ladder, which is call'd Climax by the Greeks; hence the Name Climacterical comes to be given to the Years at which thefe Changes are obferv'd. The moft general Opinion refers them to that Number of Seven; tho' fome have attributed them to the ninth, others to every fecond Year; but efpecially to the Product of the one multiply'd by the other, which is Sixty three, compos'd of nine Times feven, or feven Times nine; and therefore the moft dangerous. For feven and nine, as Fermicus Matermus faith, being very pernicious of themselves, their Malignity is conjoyn'd in that Number of Sixty three call'd upon this Account the grand Climacterical, as 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 42, 49. (very confiderable amongst them for being the Square of feven) and 56 are call'd lefs Climactericals; but 126 the greatest Climacterical of all, because it contains the grand one twice, being compos'd of eighteen Septenaries. Now all thefe Climactericals are call'd Hebdomaticks, because they go upon feven, as thofe which are counted by nine are call'd Enneaticks, amongst which the lefs are 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, and 54: the grand one is again 63, made alfo of nine multiply'd by feven; the reft are 72, 81, (very notable too, for being the Square of nine) 90, 99, and fo to the greateft Climacteri cal 126, made of twice nine Septenaries. Among all which Years 'tis further obferv'd, that thofe are the most dangerous which afcend either by three Weeks, or Novenaries of Years, as, 21, 42, 63, in the Hebdomaticks; and 27, 54, 81, in the Enneaticks. As the Septenary is confiderable, fo is that of Nine, for the Number of the Hierarchies and Celestial Spheres, together with the common Number of Months of a Woman's Pregnancy; the Time between the Conception and the Birth, having a great Likeness with the Remainder of Man's. Life. Likewife the Ternary, proper to the Deity, being multiplied by it felf, muft contain whatever Wonder and Efficacies there can be found in Numbers, fince it belongs to innumerable Things; and nothing can be confider'd but with its three Dimensions, and its three Parts, Beginning, Middle, and End; paft, prefent, and future. Hence was the affigning of three Faces to Janus, three Names and three Powers to the Moon, according to its own, that of Diana, and that of Hecate; together with the Fiction of three Graces. In brief, as the three greatest Changes came to pafs in each of the three Times of the World, before the Law, under the Law, and after the Law, so it seems juft that this ternary Number divide the Actions of the lefs World, as it hath done of the great. There have been fome of Opinion, that it is more reasonable to make this Divifion by Dd 3 the the quaternary Number, comprehended in the ineffable Name of four Letters, the Elements and Humours; to the Contract or Amity of which we owe our Health, our Difeafes, Death, and all the Accidents of our Lives. And the flowest Motion of the dulleft and moft malignant of thefe Humours is made in four Days. the Reduplication whereof hath given ground to the Error which attributes the Crifes and Indications of Diseases to other Numbers. The fourth Day is acknowledg'd the firft of Nature's Motion, and ferves for a Measure and Foundation of all others. The Crifes of Difeafes are unanimoufly attributed to the Moon, which had but four Quarters, diftinguish'd by as many Faces, which being denominated from the Quaternary, argue its Power over that Planet; and confequently, over every thing that depends upon it. And as there are four noble Parts in Man, (comprehending, with Galen, thofe which preferve the Species) fo there are four in the World, Eaft, Weft, North, and South; four Parts of the Earth, Europe, Afia, Africa, and A merica; and four Monarchies. But the Confiderableness of this Number appears, in that our Lord having been ask'd five Questions, namely, of the Time of his Death, his Afcenfion, the Calling of the Gentiles, and the Destruction of ferufalem, they were accomplish'd in the Number of four Times ten. For he continu'd dead 40 Hours, he afcended into Heaven at the end of 40 Days, the Vocation of the Gentiles typified by the Vifion of unclean Beafts, offer'd by the Angel to Saint Peter to eat, was at the End of 40 Months, which are about 3 Years and a half, (fo long alfo as Antichrift is to continue) and the Destruction of Jerufalem came to pass at the End of 40 Years. Moreover, the Quaternary is not only a fquare Number, but caufing all others to be denominated fuch; the Caufe of the Change which happens in this Number, is, for that a Cube cannot be vary'd and mov'd but with Difficulty; fo that great Causes are requifite to produce thofe Changes, which producing great Effects, become more fenfible and remarkable than the ordinary ones, which more eafily cause Variation in other Numbers remote from the Cubick Figure. Others again faid, that the Prince of Phyficians having affirm'd the Septenary to be the Difpenfer of Life, and Author of all its Changes, feven must be the true Climacterical, For in feven Hours the Geniture receives its first Disposition to Conception; in feven Days it is coagulated; in feven Weeks it is diftinguifh'd into Members. The Infant cannot come forth alive fooner then the feventh Month, and anciently it was not nam'd till after feven Days; being not accounted fully to have Life till it had attain'd that periodical Day. The Teeth spring out at the feventh Month, they fhed and are renew'd in the feventh Year, at which Time the Child begins to speak articulately, and to be capable of Difcipline. At twice feven Years it is pubes. At twenty one the Beard fprouts forth. At twenty eight growing ceases. At thirty five a Man is fit for Marriage and the Wars. At forty two he is wife, or never. At forty nine he is in his Apogee, or higheft Pitch; after which he grows old, and changes always by Septenaries till he has accomplish'd the Years of his Life; which Hippocrates for this Reason, diftributes into seven Ages. The Virtue of this Number appears likewife in Divine Things; God having fanctified the feventh Day by his own Rett and ours, and all Nations measuring their Time by Weeks. But 'tis not without Myftery, that Enoch the feventh after Adam, was tranflated into Heaven; that Jefus Chrift is the feventy feventh in a direct Line from the first Man; that he spoke feven Times upon the Crofs, on which he was feven Hours; that he appear'd feven Times; and after seven Times feven Days fent the Holy Ghoft. That in the Lord's Prayer there are feven Petitions, contain'd in seven Times seven Words. The Apoftles chofe feven Deacons. All the Mysteries of the Apocalypfe are within this Number; mention being there made of feven Seals of the Book, of feven Horns of the Lamb, and feven Eyes which are the feven Spirits of God fent throughout all the Earth, of the feven Heads, and leven Queftions of the Dragon; of the feven Heads Daughter of the Ruler of the That the barren had brought forth feven. Solomon spent feven Years in building God's Temple. The Wall of Jericho fell down at the Sound of Joshua's feven Trumpets, after the Ifraelites had gone seven Times about it on the feventh Day. There were feven Years of Plenty, and as many of Famine, in Egypt, There were feven Lamps in the Tabernacle, typifying feven Gifts of the Spirit. The Jews eat unleavened Bread feven Days; and as many celebrated the Feaft of Tabernacles. They let their Land reft every seventh Year, and after feven Times feven had their Jubilee. And this Number is by fome juftly esteem'd Dd4 the the Knot, or principal Band of all Things, and the Symbol of Nature. It was not without Caufe, as is obferv'd by Hiftorians, that Auguftus was fo extremely fearful of the Climactericals, that when he had pafs'd his Sixty third Year, he writ in great Joy to all his Friends; but he died in the fecond Climacterick after, his Seventy feventh Year confifting of eleven Septenaries, which was alfo fatal to Tiberius, Severins, T. Livius, Empedocles, S. Auguftin, Beffarion; as the Sixty third was to AriRotle, Cicero (who alfo was banith'd in his Climacterick of Forty nine) Demofthenes, Trajan, Adrian, Conftantine, and Imany others. And the next Climacterick of Seventy to Three of the Sages of Greece, to Marius, Vefpafian, Antoninus, Golienus, David, who was alfo driven from his Kingdom by his Son, at his Sixty third Year, and committed his Adultery and Homicide at his Forty ninth; both Climactericals. And as much might be obferv'd of the Fates and Actions of other Men, were Regard had of them. Our first Father died at the Age of 931 Years, which was Climacterical to him, because it contains in it feif feven Times 133. Lamech died at 797 Years, Climacterical likewife, as Abraham died at 175, which contains Twenty five Times feven. Jacob at 147, confifting of 21 Times feven; Judas at 119, made of feventeen Times feven: the Power of which Cli mactericals many make to ex tend to the Duration of States, which Plato conceiv'd not to be much above Seventy Weeks of Years. Regular Changes proceeding neceffarily from a regular Caufe, and no Motion being exactly regular in all Nature but that of the Heavens; fuppofing there be Climacterical Years, and not fo many Deaths and remarkable Accidents in all the other Numbers of Days, Months and Years, (had they been all as carefully obferv'd as fome of them have been) their Power of Alteration cannot but be afcrib'd to the celeftial Bodies. That which befalls us every feventh Year arifes hence; as every Planet rules its Hour, fo it makes every Day, Month, and Year Septenary; beginning by Saturn, and ending at the Moon, which governs the Seventh, and therein causes all Mutations, which acquire Malignity by the Approach of Saturn prefiding again over the Eighth; which is the Cause why Births in the Eighth Month are feldom vital. Queft. What is your Opinion of the Paffion of Shame? Anfw. The Paffions confider Evil and Good not only abfolutely, but also under certain Differences. Defire hath Regard to abfent Good, not in general, but in particular; fometimes under the Respect of Riches, and then 'tis call'd Covetouínefs; fometimes of Honour, and then 'tis call'd Ambition; fometimes of Beauties, and then 'tis an amorous Inclination. So Grief looks upon prefent Evil; if it bę |