Many and severallseveral sorts of birds there are, which as they are indefinite in number, soeso
are they unknowneunknown to us by names: Story tells us of a very great bird appearing at a -
certainecertain time of the year in a small Isle of the Sea called Ruc, because it can lift
up an Elephant with it into the aireair. India and America doedo yeildyield ParrottsParrots of va=
rious colourcolor, Crows, and the like: but it is not the PhilosophicallPhilosophical intention to in=
quire after the eggs of these birds: The ÆgyptiansEgyptians doedo yearly infest, and as it -
were with a publickepublic warrewar denounced prosecute the Eggs of Crocodiles with -
weapons of iron; the Philosophers doedo burneburn their eggeegg with fire, not to mortify -
and destroy it, but that it may receive life and growth; for when a chicken is -
from thence produced animated and living, it cannot be saydsaid to be the corruption
but generation of it: it ceasethceases indeed to be an eggeegg by the privation of the ovalloval
formeform, and begins to be an animallanimal with two feet and volatile by the introduction
of a more noble formeform: In an eggeegg are the seeds of both male and female -
joynedjoined together under one cover or shell: The yolkeyolk constitutes the chicken, -
and the radicallradical parts and bowellsbowels thereof, the seed of the male being the -
former, and internallinternal efficient: The white yeildsyields matter, or thread and incre=
ment to the rudiment as it were to the warp of the chicken: ExternallExternal heat
is the first mover, which dothdoes by a certainecertain circulation of the Elements, toge=
ther with instinct and guidance of nature introduce a new formeform by -
changing one thing into another: for water turnes into aireair, aireair into fire, and
fire into earth, upon the conjunction of which, a specifickespecific formeform being trans=
mitted by the StarrsStars, an individuallindividual is made of a certainecertain kind of bird, namely
of that, whose eggeegg it was, and seed infused in it. Is it indeed saydsaid to be smitten
with a fiery sword, whilst Vulcan officiating the duty of a midwife gives pas=
sage or egresseegress to the chicken by his axe, as to Pallas out of the brainebrain of Ju=
piter: This is that which BasillBasil Valentine affirms, that Mercury was impri=
soned by Vulcan at the coḿandcommand of Mars, and not released, before heehe was -
wholywholly putrefydputrified and dead: but this death is to him the beginingbeginning of a new life, -
as the corruption or death of an eggeegg brings new generation and life to the -
chicken, soeso an Embryo being freed from that humanehuman vegetable life (which
alone heehe enjoyed in his mothers wombewomb, another more perfect is obtained by
coming into the light of this world, as by nativity: yea allsoalso weewe being de=
prived of this present life, which weewe lead, another most perfect and æter=
nalleternal is at hand:

Thus Lully dothdoes in many places call this fiery sword a -
Sharp Spear; because fire dothdoes as a Sharp Spear or sword perforate bodyesbodies, -
and make them porous and pervious, that water can penetrate to dissolve
and reduce them from hardnessehardness to softnessesoftness and tractability. In the
StomackeStomach of a Cormorant, which is of all birds most voracious, are found
long and round wormesworms alive, which are to it as the instrument of heat,
they forthwith invading, and as most sharp needles perforating, (as weewe
have sometimes observed) and soeso in a very short time consuming -
the EelesEels and other fish taken by it, with a wonderfullwonderful operation of na=
ture: as therefore heat prickethpricks, soeso a thing pricking sometimes supplyssupplies the
place of heat: upon which consideration that, wherewith the Philosophers eggeegg -
ought to be pierced and smitten, may not undeservedly be called a fiery sword:
but the Philosophers had rather have it understood of a temperate heat, where=
by the eggeegg is kept warmewarm, as Morforleus in Turba declares, saying, wise men
ought to burneburn away moisture first with a slow fire, as is ShewedShowed to us by an
example in the generation of a chicken, and where the fire is augmented, -
the vessellvessel must be stopdstopped on all sides, that the body of the brassebrass, and the
fugitive Spirit thereof may not exhale. But what birds was the eggeegg? Mos=
cus in the same place; now I Say, saythsays heehe, that noeno instruments are -
made, except of our white, starry, splendid powder, and of the white -
stone, of which powder are made fittfit instruments for the eggeegg; yet they
have not named the eggeegg, nor what birds the eggeegg was . . . . .