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nidiffejenity increafe the Quantity of every Secretion. Mercury would as conftantly purge as falivate, and Nitre promote PcHpiration, as well as Urine ; bur this is repug- nant to Experience. If they have a power to difiblve certain Coheiions, and not others ; this is bur fetting cer- tain Particles at liberty to pais thro' their proper Glands, which were not fo before; and is a preparing the Hu- mours, in order to increafe the Quantity of Secretion. Evacuating Medicines mult therefore have a power to af- fect fome Particles and not others ; that is, to repel fome, and attract, retain, and alter others : and this is what may be aftirm'd to be in all Medicines, and is what a thoufand Chymical Experiments demon!! rate. The feveral Humours then being form'd, by the different Cohefion of the Par- ticles of Blood, rhe Quantity of Humour fecerned by any Gland, mult be in a Proportion compounded of the Pro- portion, that the Number of the Particles, cohering in iuch a manner as is proper to conilitute the Humour which paffes thro' the Gland, bears to the Mafs of Blood ; and of the Proportion of the Quantity of Blood, that ar- rives at the Gland. And hence it follows, that where there is a determinate Quantity of a certain Humour to be feparated, the Number of Particles, that are proper to compofe the fecerned Liquor, muft be reciprocally pro- portional to the Quantity of the Blood that arrives at the Gland: and therefore, if the Quantity of the Secretion is to be increas'd, the Number of Particles is to be in- creas'd ; if the Secretion is to be IetTen'd, the Number of Particles, proper for fuch a Secretion, is to be lelTen'd in the fame Proportion. Medic'tnes > therefore, which can alter the Cohefions, and Combinations of the Particles, can cither increafe or diminiih the Quantify of any Secretion. Thus, fuppofe the Humour, which partes thro' the Glands of the Inteftines, to be compofed of three or four feveral forts of Particles ; that Medicine, which will eafily cohere to thofe Particles, and cohering, increafe their mutual At- tractions, fo as they unite in greater Numbers at, or be- fore they arrive at the Inteftines, than they would have done* if the Medicine had not been given, muft neceffarily increafe the Quantity of Hutnour, which paffes thro* the Glands of the Inteitines, if the Quantity of Blood which arrives at the Glands, is not diminiih 'd in the fame Pro- portion, as the Number of Particles is increas'd. After the fame manner do Diuretics, Sudorifics, and Medicines, which promote all other Secretions, operate.
Why increafing the Quantity of fome Secretions, /hould dimini/hthatof others, is not eafy to explain on any other foot: for if the Blood be equally mix'd in every part of the Body, with all the Humours which are feparated from it; that is, if the Mixture of the Blood is every where alike, fo that every Humour bears the fame Proportion to the reft of the Arterial Blood, in one part of the Body, that it does in another ; and if every Humour has its own proper Gland, thro' which it is feparated : then what is leparated by one Gland, is not fubftracled from ano- ther ; and confequenrly doth not diminifti the Quantity of Humour, which flows to this other, but doth indeed rather increafe the Quantity of this other Secretion : for the more any one Humour is carry'd off, the greater Proportion any other remaining in the Blood, bears to the remaining Blood : And therefore the more any one Secretion is increafed, the more all the reft /hould be increafed likewife. But if all the Humours are compofed by a Combination of a few different forts of Particles, then the more apt thefe Par- ticles are to run into any one fort of Combination, the lefs all other Combinations muft be : and confequently the in- creasing any one Secretion, muft neceffarily diminifh the Quantity of all others; but mofl efpecially of that, which has the moft of the fame fort of Particles. See Secre- tion, Humour, &c.
MEDICINAL Hoars, are thofe proper to take Medi- cines in : Of which there are four in the Day, viz. in the Morning fafting, about an Hour before Dinner, about four Hours after Dinner, and going to Bed ; but in acute Cafes, the Times are to be govern'd by the Symptoms and Ag- gravation of the Diltcmper.
Mehicinai, Waters. See Water.
MEDIETAS Lingua, an Inqueft impannel'd, whereof the one half confifls of Natives or Denizens, the other Strangers. It is ufed in Pleas, wherein the one Party is a Stranger, and the other a Denizen. Solomon de Stanford, a jezy, in the Time of Edward I. had a Caufe tried before the Sheriff of Norwich, by a Jury of fex prolws £f? legates Homines, $~> fex legates Judteos de Chitate Norvici. See Jury.
MEDITATION, an Action by which we conllder any thing clofely, or wherein the Soul is employ 'd in the Search of any Truth. In Religion it is ufed to fignrfy a Confederation of the Myfteries and grand Truths of Faith. 1 he Myfi'tcs make a great difference between Me- ditation and Contemplation. Meditation confifls in difcur- iive Acts of the Soul, confidering methodically, and with
attention, the Myfteries of Faith, and the Precepts or Morality : And is pcrform'd by RefMions and Reafon- ings, which leave behind them manifeft ImpreiTions in the Brain. The pure Contemplative have no need of Medita- tion, as feeing all things in God at a Glance, and without any Reflection. When a Man therefore has once quitted Meditation, and is arrived at Contemplation, he returns no more; and, according -to Alvarez., never refumes the Oar of Meditation, except when the Wind of Content-' plation is too weak to fill his Sails. See Contempla- tion .
MEDITERRANEAN, fomething inclofed within Land. The Word is particularly ufed" to fignify that large Sea, which flows within the Lands of Europe and Africa, by the Streights of Gibraltar-, and reaches into Afia, as far as the Etixine Sea, and the Talus Meotis. It was antiently call'd the Grecian iStea,- and the Great Sea. It is now can- ton'd out into feveral Divisions, which bear feveral Names; To the Weft of Italy it is call'd the L'tguftic, or Tufcan Sea ; near Venice, the Adriatic ; towards Greece^ Ionic and JEgean I between the Hetiefpont and the Bofphorus, the White Sea, as being very fafe ; and beyond, the Black Sea t its Navigation being dangerous. The Arabs call the Medi- termneanSea, the Chamber-Tot, by reafon, they fay, of its Figure.
MEDITULLIUM, is that fpotigy Subftance between the two Plates of the Cranium, and in the Interftices of all laminated Bodies. See Cranium.
MEDIUM, a Latin Term, fignifying Middle or Mean. See Mean.
Medium, in Logic, or Medium of a Syllogifm, call'd alfo the mean or middle Term, and by the Italians, mezzo termino ; is an Argument* Reafon, or Confideration, for which we affirm, or deny any thing : Or it is that Caufe, why the greater Extreme is attributed to* or deny'd of the lefs, in the Conclusion. Thus, in the Syllogifm, ' E- c very good thing is to be defired; but all "Virtue is ( good ; therefore all Virtue is to be defired :' The Term Good is the Medium ; Virtue the lefs Extreme, and to be defir'd the greater. See Syllogism, Extreme, •<S^ ;
'Tis call'd Medium, as being a kind of Mediator between the Subject and Predicate; or, by reafon, the Extremes are difpofed to affirm, or deny by means hereof. Some call it Argumentum tertium, a third Argument, and others fimply Argumentum, as being the Caufe why we alTent to' the Conclufion. See Argument.
Mediums, or Media, are the Things principally fought for, in difcourimg ; fo that the Invention of Mediums makes the moft effential Part of Logic. But the Rules commonly given by Logicians for that purpofe, are mere lmpertinencies. In effect, no fuch Rules can be given : Nor have we any way of coming at fuch Mediums or Reafons, but by a clofe Attention to clear Ideas; See Discourse, Invention, £•><;.
Medium, in Arithmetic, or an Arithmetical Medium or Meani call'd in the Schools Medium Rei, is that which is equally diftant from each Extreme; or, which exceeds the leffer Extreme, as much as it is exceeded by the greater; in refpefr of Quantity, not of Proportion. Thus, Nine is a Medium between Six and Twelve. See Arithmetical Pro- portion.
Geometrical Medium or Mean, call'd in the Schools Medium JPerfon*, is that where the fame Ratio is preferv'd between the firft and fecond, and the fecond and third Terms; or that which exceeds in the fame Ratio, or Quota of itfelf, as it is exceeded. Thus Six is a geome- trical Medium between Four and Nine. See Geometrical Proportion.
This is the Medium which Virtue is fuppos'd to obferve 3 whence fome call it Medium quoad nos, as havin<* a Vie\* to Circumftances, Times, Places, Perfons, &c. ■« Distribu- tive Juftice obferves a Geometrical Alodium ; Commutative Janice, an Arithmetical one. See Justice.
The Schoolmen diftinguifh divers other Kinds of Me- D 1 u m s ; as
Medium Tarticipauonis, in the Schools, is that fa id to be compounded of the two Extremes : Thus, Man, who is partly Body, partly Mind, is a. Medium by Participa- tion, of the two Extremes; fo, is Warmth the Medium of Heat and Cold, &c.
Medixtm Negatioms or Kemotionis, is that, whereof both Extremes ate deiiv'd; or, it is a Subject., capable of re- ceiving both Extremes, and yet not neceffarily poffefs'd of either. Injwhich latter fenfe, the Will is a Mean with refpecl to Virtue and Vice ; and the Underftanding, with refpeft to Knowledge and Ignorance.
Medium quod, or Medium Suppofui, is fomewhat be- tween the Agent and Patient, which receives the Action of the one, e'er it arrive at the other. In this fenfe, Air is a Medium between the Fire, and the Hand heated
therein. Medium <juo, is the Form, or Faculty,
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