"As the soul of man is of all sublunary formes the most noble, so his Body, the house of the soul, doth so far excel, as it may well be called [μετρσ], the measure and rule of all other bodies."
— Crooke, Helkiah (1576-1648)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by William Iaggard
Date
1615
Metaphor
"As the soul of man is of all sublunary formes the most noble, so his Body, the house of the soul, doth so far excel, as it may well be called [μετρσ], the measure and rule of all other bodies."
Metaphor in Context
As the soule of man is of all sublunary formes the most noble, so his Body, the house of the soule, doth so farre excell, as it may well be called [GREEK, μετρσ], the measure and rule of all other bodies. There be many things which set foorth the excellency of it, but these especially among others. The frame and composition which is vpright and mounting toward heauen, the moderate temper, the equal and iust proportion of the parts; and lastly, their wonderfull consent & mutuall concord as long as they are in subiection to the Law & rule of Nature: for so long in them we may behold the liuely Image of all this whole Vniuerse, which wee see with our eyes (as it were) shadowed in a Glasse, or desciphered in a Table. And first for the Figure. Man onely is of an vpright frame and proportion, whereupon hee is called of some [GREEK], vsually [GREEK], as it were [GREEK] looking vpwards; althogh Plato in Cratylo is of opinion, that man is called [GREEK], as it were [undefined span non-Latin alphabet], that is, contemplating those things which hee seeth. The reason of this forme or Figure, is meerely Philosophicall, as depending vpon the efficient, materiall, and finall causes. The efficient is two-folde, Primary and Secondary: The primary, is the soule, which comming from without, and being infused into the body from heauen, whilst she is building of her selfe a mansion fit for such functions and offices as shee hath to performe, as mindfull of her owne Originall, lifteth her building vp on high. The Secondary efficient of mans bodie is heate, wherewith man aboue other creatures aboundeth, especially the parts about his heart.
(I.ii, pp. 4-5)
(I.ii, pp. 4-5)
Categories
Provenance
Reading in EEBO
Citation
Helkiah Crooke, ΜΙΚΡΟΚΟΣΜΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ: A Description of the Body of Man (London: Printed by William Iaggard, 1615). <Link to EEBO>
Date of Entry
09/27/2011
