The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher | Page 8

her power. But if it happen that any of the original parts are out of tune,
its whole work is confused, as appears in idiots and mad men; though,
in some of them, the soul, by a vigorous exertion of its power, recovers
its innate strength and they become right after a long despondency in
mind, but in others it is not recovered again in this life. For, as fire
under ashes, or the sun obscured from our sight by thick clouds, afford
not their native lustre, so the soul, overwhelmed in moist or morbid
matter, is darkened and reason thereby overclouded; and though reason
shines less in children than it does in such as are arrived at maturity, yet
no man must imagine that the soul of an infant grows up with the child,
for then would it again decay; but it suits itself to nature's weakness,
and the imbecility of the body wherein it is placed, that it may operate
the better. And as the body is more capable of recovering its influence,
so the soul does more and more exert its faculties, having force and
endowment at the time it enters the form of a child in the womb; for its
substance can receive nothing less. And thus much to prove that the
soul does not come from the parents, but is infused by God. I shall next
prove its immortality and demonstrate the certainty of our resurrection.

OF THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL
That the soul of man is a Divine ray, infused by the Sovereign Creator,
I have already proved, and now come to show that whatever
immediately proceeds from Him, and participates of His nature, must
be as immortal as its original; for, though all other creatures are
endowed with life and motion, they yet lack a reasonable soul, and
from thence it is concluded that their life is in their blood, and that
being corruptible they perish and are no more; but man being endowed
with a reasonable soul and stamped with a Divine image, is of a
different nature, and though his body is corruptible, yet his soul being

of an immortal nature cannot perish; but at the dissolution of the body
returns to God who gave it, either to receive reward or punishment.
Now, that the body can sin of itself is impossible, because wanting the
soul, which is the principle of life, it cannot act nor proceed to anything
either good or evil; for could it do so, it might even sin in the grave.
But it is plain that after death there is a cessation; for as death leaves us
so judgment will find us.
Now, reason having evidently demonstrated the soul's immortality, the
Holy Scriptures do abundantly give testimony of the truth of the
resurrection, as the reader may see by perusing the 14th and 19th
chapters of Job and 5th of John. I shall, therefore, leave the further
discussion of this matter to divines, whose province it is, and return to
treat of the works of nature.
* * * * *
CHAPTER V
Of Monsters and Monstrous Births; and the several reasons thereof,
according to the opinions of the Ancients. Also, whether the Monsters
are endowed with reasonable Souls; and whether the Devils can
engender; is here briefly discussed.
By the ancients, monsters are ascribed to depraved conceptions, and are
designated as being excursions of nature, which are vicious in one of
these four ways: either in figure, magnitude, situation, or number.
In figure, when a man bears the character of a beast, as did the beast in
Saxony. In magnitude, when one part does not equalise with another; as
when one part is too big or too little for the other parts of the body. But
this is so common among us that I need not produce a testimony.
[Illustration: There was a Monster at Ravenna in Italy of this kind, in
the year 1512.]
I now proceed to explain the cause of their generation, which is either
divine or natural. The divine cause proceeds from God's permissive

will, suffering parents to bring forth abominations for their filthy and
corrupt affections, which are let loose unto wickedness like brute beasts
which have no understanding. Wherefore it was enacted among the
ancient Romans that those who were in any way deformed, should not
be admitted into religious houses. And St. Jerome was grieved in his
time to see the lame and the deformed offering up spiritual sacrifices to
God in religious houses. And Keckerman, by way of inference,
excludes all that are ill-shapen from this presbyterian function in the
church. And that which is of more force than all, God himself
commanded Moses not to receive such to offer sacrifice among his
people; and he also renders