Margaret Cavendish:
Philosophical and Physical Opinions
(1663 edition)
A digital edition

Chapter Index

Frontmatter

Title Page  
Dedications and Epistles I
Preface XXVI

Part I.

Chapter 1: Of Only Matter. 1
Chapter 2: Of the several Degrees of Only matter 2
Chapter 3: Of the Degrees of that Part of Matter as is Animate 3
Chapter 4: Of the Intermixing of every Degree of Infinite and Only matter 4
Chapter 5: Of Motion ibid.
Chapter 6: Of Vacuum 5
Chapter 7: Infinite matter cannot have an Exact Figure or Form ibid.
Chapter 8: Of the Degrees, Changes, Parts, Divisions and Compositions in Infinite matter 6
Chapter 9: Of the Grounds or Principles of Only Matter 7
Chapter 10: Of Varieties 9
Chapter 11: Of Equality of several Degrees and Changes of Infinite matter and motion ibid.
Chapter 12: Motion causeth Disturbance, but the Nature of Only matter keeps Peace 10
Chapter 13: Of the Knowledge and Power of Infinite matter 11
Chapter 14: There’s no Judge in Infinite matter 12
Chapter 15: Of Life, Knowledge, and Matter ibid.
Chapter 16: Of Life and Knowledge 13
Chapter 17: Of the Sensitive and Rational Animate matter 15
Chapter 18: Of Creations 17
Chapter 19: Of Productions 20
Chapter 20: Of the Producer and the Produced 21
Chapter 21: The Produced partakes of the Producer 22
Chapter 22: of the several Creating motions and matter 23
Chapter 23: The Sensitive Animate matter causes the Inanimate matter to help in Creations 24
Chapter 24: Of the Motion of Animate matter 25

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Part II.

Chapter 1: Of Creation or Production 28
Chapter 2: Of the Quantity of Animate matter, and Inanimate matter, in Creations of Men or Animal Kind 31
Chapter 3: Of Infancy, Youth, and Full Growth 33
Chapter 4: Of Decay and Age 36
Chapter 5: Of Death 37
Chapter 6: Of Local Motions and Shapes, as also of several Shapes amongst Animals 38
Chapter 7: Of the External Animal motions 40
Chapter 8: Of Man’s particular Shape 41
Chapter 9: Of the Mind 42
Chapter 10: Of the Mind and Body of Man 45
Chapter 11: Of the Communication or Information between the Mind and Body, as between the Sense and Reason 47
Chapter 12: The Imitations between the Sensitive motions of the Body, and the Rational motions in the Mind 51
Chapter 13: Of the Various motions in the several Parts of a Man 52
Chapter 14: Of the Coherence of several Motions in several Parts of a Man’s Body 54
Chapter 15: Of the Ebbing and Flowing of Animate matter 55
Chapter 16: Of Motions in the Head, and other Parts of a Man’s Body 57
Chapter 17: The Rational Figures, as Thoughts, made in the Head ibid.
Chapter 18: Of the Rational motions in the Heart, or such Lower Parts 59
Chapter 19: The Desire of Fame 61

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Part III.

Chapter 1: Of Imagination or Conception 62
Chapter 2: Of Conjectures and Probabilities, Inventions, Arts, and Sciences 63
Chapter 3: What makes Arguing and Disputing, both with a Man’s Self, or Others, or with the Sense and Reason 65
Chapter 4: The different Degrees of Man’s Knowledge 67
Chapter 5: Of Rational Knowledge in Parts 68
Chapter 6: Of Unities or Equalities 69
Chapter 7: Of Influence 70
Chapter 8: Of Operation ibid.
Chapter 9: Of the Procreation of Thoughts, and of Faith 71
Chapter 10: Of Fortune 72
Chapter 11: Of Chance 73
Chapter 12: The Restlesness of Creatures 74
Chapter 13: Of Time and Nature ibid.
Chapter 14: A Sympathetical Agreement and Indeavour between the Rational and Sensitive motions in one Creature, for Safety and Defense 75
Chapter 15: Of the Increase and Decay of Knowledge 76
Chapter 16: Objections against some Opinions of Incorporality 78
Chapter 17: Object. Sense doth not Judge 79
Chapter 18: Of one Object working Different Effects upon the several Senses 81
Chapter 19: All Thoughts and Senses and Objects are Substances 86
Chapter 20: Of Divisible or Dividings 87
Chapter 21: Of Notions 88
Chapter 22: Of the Notions or Thoughts, of Deafness, Dumbness, Blindness, Lameness, Baldness, Absence, Death and Sin 90

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Part IV.

Chapter 1: Of Matter, Motion and Figure 93
Chapter 2: Of Causes and Effects 94
Chapter 3: Whether Motion be a Thing or Nothing, or can be Annihilated 95
Chapter 4: Of Motions 97
Chapter 5: Many Motions go to the Producing of one Thing, or to one End 98
Chapter 6: Of the Six Principal Motions 100
Chapter 7: Of Double motions at one and the same Time on the same Matter 103
Chapter 8: Of several Strengths ibid.
Chapter 9: Of the Agility of Animate matter 104
Chapter 10: Of Repeatingone and the same Work, and of Varieties 106
Chapter 11: Of Creation and Dissolving of Nature 108
Chapter 12: Of Sympathy and Antipathy, which is to Agree or Disagree, to Joyn or to Cross 110
Chapter 13: There’s no Supreme Knowledge 111
Chapter 14: Of Different Knowledge in Different Figures 113
Chapter 15: The Advantages of some Figures, and some Degrees of Matter and Motion over others 116
Chapter 16: Of Figures in Figures 118
Chapter 17: Of the Gloomy Figures, and Figures of Parts, and one Piece 121
Chapter 18: Of Round and Square Figures, and their Motions 123
Chapter 19: Of Heavy and Light Bodies 124
Chapter 20: Of Bodies, that are apt to Ascend or Descend 125
Chapter 21: Why Heavy bodes Descend more easily and freely than Light bodies Ascend 127
Chapter 22: The Observations of Human sense and reason 129
Chapter 23: Of Change 132
Chapter 24: Of the Variety of one and the same Sort of Shapes and Motions 133
Chapter 25: The Different Degrees of one and the same Kind or Sort of Degrees of Matter, and Changes of Motions 134
Chapter 26: Of Transmutation 136
Chapter 27: Of Metamorphosing of Animals and Vegetables 137
Chapter 28: The Metamorphosing of the Exterior Form of some Figures 140
Chapter 29: Of Fixed and Loose Elements 141
Chapter 30: Of Loose Humors and Elements 142
Chapter 31: The Change of Motions 144
Chapter 32: Of Lines ibid.
Chapter 33: Of Circles 146
Chapter 34: Of the Extension and Contraction of Circle-Figures or Circle-Lines 147

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Part V.

Chapter 1: Of the Four Worlds, of Fire, Air, Water and Earth 150
Chapter 2: Of different Motions and Creatures 151
Chapter 3: Of Moist cold and Moist heats, of Dry colds and Dry heats, and of Hot and Cold motions in general 153
Chapter 4: Of the Motions of Cold and Hot, Drought and Moisture 154
Chapter 5: Of Earth 156
Chapter 6: Of Water 157
Chapter 7: Of the Wetness of Water, and other Sorts of Liquors 158
Chapter 8: Of the Interior Figure and Motions of Bright-shining Hot-burning Fire 160
Chapter 9: Of the Interior and Exterior motions of Bright-shining Hot-burning Fire 164
Chapter 10: Of the Exterior motions of several Sorts of Fire 166
Chapter 11: Of that Sort of Fire that is named a Dead fire, and the Difference betwixt that, and Bright fire 168
Chapter 12: Fire Produced by Exterior motions 170
Chapter 13: Of Hot and Burning motions and of Burning figures 171
Chapter 14: Of the Nature, Motions, and Figure of Oyl 172
Chapter 15: Of the Division of several Liquors 174
Chapter 16: Of the Interior Figures and Motions of Metal 176
Chapter 17: Of the Exterior motions of Heat and Fire 178
Chapter 18: Of the Power of Water on Fire, as the Quenching out Fire 180
Chapter 19: Of the Dissolving of Water ibid.
Chapter 20: Of the Motions that make Natural Air and Natural Light 182
Chapter 21: Of the Motions that make Darkness 185
Chapter 22: Of Shadows ibid.
Chapter 23: Of Shadows and Aery Figures 186
Chapter 24: Of Stone 187
Chapter 25: Of Transparent Stones 188
Chapter 26: Of the Load-stone ibid.
Chapter 27: Of the Needle 192
Chapter 28: Of the Different Motions and Figures in the Tides, as Flowing and Ebbing of the Waters 195
Chapter 29: Describing of Tides 200
Chapter 30: Of Double Tides 201
Chapter 31: Of Spring-tides 202
Chapter 32: Of Tides and Streams Flowing against each other ibid.
Chapter 33: Whether the Sea run thorow the Veins of the Earth 203
Chapter 34: Of Nilus 205
Chapter 35: Of the Divided parts of Water, and several External motions 206
Chapter 36: Of Rain 207
Chapter 37: Of External Figures and Internal Forms 208
Chapter 38: Of Metamorphosed Elements 209
Chapter 39: Of those Motions or Figures that turn Water to Snow, Hail, Ice and Frost 212
Chapter 40: Why Snow is Rougher and Lighter than Ice or Hail 213
Chapter 41: Of Colours 215
Chapter 42: Of Aery Figures 218
Chapter 43: Of several Sorts of Vapors 219
Chapter 44: Of the Agreement and Disagreement of Fire and Wind 221
Chapter 45: The Difference of Cold and Hot Winds and Vapors 222
Chapter 46: Of Wind 224
Chapter 47: Of the Noise of Tempests and Storms ibid.
Chapter 48: Of Thunder and Lightening 227
Chapter 49: The Difference of Salt and Fresh water 229
Chapter 50: Of the Alteration of Motions 230
Chapter 51: Of the Local motions of Water, Air, and Fire ibid.
Chapter 52: Of the Motions of the Sun and Planets 235
Chapter 53: All Heat is not only Inherent in the Sun 236
Chapter 54: Of the Sun 237
Chapter 55: Of the Moon 239
Chapter 56: Of the Planets 241
Chapter 57: All Creatures are Intermixed or Joyned or Have Commerce with each other 242
Chapter 58: Of the Temper of the four Seasons of the Year, as Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter 243
Chapter 59: Motion doth not Work in all Creatures exactly 247

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Part VI.

Chapter 1: Of the Motion of the Body 252
Chapter 2: Of the Frame of Man’s Body 254
Chapter 3: Of Natural Self-tyranny ibid.
Chapter 4: Of the Understanding, Sense, and Reason 256
Chapter 5: The two Ground motions in the Rational Animate matter ibid.
Chapter 6: The two Chief parts belonging to Man, are the Head and the Heart, wherein Reside the Rational Spirits 257
Chapter 7: Whether the Passions are made in the Head or Heart 258
Chapter 8: Of Different Passions in one and the same Part 260
Chapter 9: The Affinity betwixt Imaginations and Passions 262
Chapter 10: Of the Brain 263
Chapter 11: Of the Multitude of Figures in the Rational matter, in the Brain, and Heart 264
Chapter 12: Of Thoughts 266
Chapter 13: Of Thinking or Thoughts 268
Chapter 14: The Cause why a Man hath not his usual Knowledge, Sense, and Reason, in a Swoon or Trance 270
Chapter 15: Of Sense and Knowledge in Dead and Living men 274
Chapter 16: Of the Motions of the Rational and Sensitive matter 275
Chapter 17: The Power of the Rational motions over the Sensitive 276
Chapter 18: Of the Regular and Irregular motions of the Rational and Sensitive Animate matter ibid.
Chapter 19: Of Sleep 279
Chapter 20: Of the Disturbance of some Parts, causing a Disturbance in the Whole, as to hinder from Repose or Sleep 280
Chapter 21: The Difference betwixt Sleeping and Waking 282
Chapter 22: Of Sleep and Dreams 284
Chapter 23: Dreaming of Living and Dead Figures 287
Chapter 24: Of Local Dreams 290
Chapter 25: The Rational and Sensitive motions do not at all times take a general Notice or Knowledge of their own Body and Mind 292
Chapter 26: Of Figures presented to the Senses 294
Chapter 27: Of the several Senses ibid.
Chapter 28: Of Hearing, Seeing, and the other Senses 299

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Part VII.

Chapter 1: Of Natural Warrs in Animal Figures 307
Chapter 2: Of the Motion of the Blood 309
Chapter 3: Of the several Ways of Bleeding Physically 311
Chapter 4: Of Diseases caused by Conceit or Imagination 312
Chapter 5: Of the four Natural Humors of the Body 313
Chapter 6: The four Natural Maladies in the Body, and two Unnatural 315
Chapter 7: Of the Motions that make Sickness 317
Chapter 8: Of the Motions which cause Pain 319
Chapter 9: Of Swimmering or Dissiness in the Head 321
Chapter 10: Of Weakness 322
Chapter 11: Of Numb and Dead Palsies 323
Chapter 12: Of that we call a Sleepy Numbness 325
Chapter 13: The Manner of Motion, or Disorder in Madness 326
Chapter 14: Of Madness in the Body and Mind 329
Chapter 15: Madness is not always in the Head 331
Chapter 16: Musick may Cure those that are Mad in Mind 332
Chapter 17: Of Natural Fools or Idiots, also of Deaf and Dumb men 333
Chapter 18: Of Fundamental Diseases 336
Chapter 19: Of the Spotted Feaver, especially the Spotted Plague 338
Chapter 20: Of the Small Pox and Measles 341
Chapter 21: Of Expelling the Malignity to the outward Parts of the Body 344
Chapter 22: Of Hectick Feavers 346
Chapter 23: Of ordinary Feavers 348
Chapter 24: Of Feavers in the Blood 350
Chapter 25: Of Agues 352
Chapter 26: Of Consumptions 355
Chapter 27: Of Coughs 359
Chapter 28: Of Dropsies 363
Chapter 29: Of Sweating Diseases 367
Chapter 30: Of Gangrenes 369
Chapter 31: Of Cancres and Fistulaes 370
Chapter 32: Of the Gout 371
Chapter 33: Of hard white Swellings 373
Chapter 34: Of the Stone 374
Chapter 35: Of Apoplexies 375
Chapter 36: Of Epilepsies 378
Chapter 37: Of Lethargy 380
Chapter 38: Of Shaking Palsies 381
Chapter 39: Of Convulsions and Cramps ibid.
Chapter 40: Of Colicks 385
Chapter 41: Of Surfeits 386
Chapter 42: Of Unnatural Purgings and Fluxes 388
Chapter 43: Several causes of the Flux, of Purging or Vomiting 389
Chapter 44: Of Diseases in the Head, and Vapors to the Head 392
Chapter 45: Whether the Brain turn Round in the Head 394
Chapter 46: Of the Sound or Noise in the Head 395
Chapter 47: Of the Head feeling Numb 396
Chapter 48: Of the Winter, and the Diseases therein 397
Chapter 49: Of the Season of the Spring, and the Diseases most Frequent therein 401
Chapter 50: Of the Season, and the Diseases of the Summer 402
Chapter 51: Of the Autumn, and the Diseases most Frequent therein 405
Chapter 52: Of the Infections of Animals, Vegetables, and Elements 406
Chapter 53: Of the Superfluity of the Humors, as Phlegm, Choler, Melancholy and Blood 407
Chapter 54: Of those Parts of the Veins which draw Nourishment into the Body 409
Chapter 55: Of the several Motions in an Animal Body 410
Chapter 56: Of the Animal or Radical and Vital Spirits in Animal Bodies 412
Chapter 57: Of Cordials and Opium 413
Chapter 58: Of Pleasure and Pain 414
Chapter 59: The nature of Purging Medicines 415
Chapter 60: The Motion of Medicines 422
Chapter 61: Of Purging 426
Chapter 62: The reason why one and the same Quantity of Physick shall Purge some Bodies to Death, and not Move other Bodies, or at least not to that Degree 427
Chapter 63: The Agreeing and Disagreeing of Food, as also Physick and Cordials 429
Chapter 64: The Agreeing and Disagreeing of Humors, Senses, and Passions 431
Chapter 65: Of Outward objects Disagreeing with the Natural Motions and Humors in the Body 433
Chapter 66: Of the Inward and Outward Senses and Parts of the Body 437
Chapter 67: The Sympathies and Antipathies of Sound to the Mind and Actions 438
Chapter 68: The Knowledge of Diseases 443
Chapter 69: Of Diseases in General 448
Chapter 70: The reason why Animals are Hot whilst they Live, and Cold when Dead 450
Chapter 71: A Conclusion of this Part, of Diseases 452
Chapter 72: The Deitical Centre. ibid.

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Backmatter

To My Just Readers 456
Newcastle: Ground of Natural Philosophy 459
Footnotes  

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