A mechanical and critical enquiry into the nature of hermaphrodites

A Mechanical and Critical ENQUIRY INTO THE NATURE OF HERMAPHRODITES
BY JAMES PARSONS, M.D. Fellow of the Royal Society.
LONDON : Printed for J. Walthoe, over-against the Royal-Exchange in Cornhill . M DCC XLI.
To the Honourable Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. PRESIDENT, And to the Council and Fellows OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON ; THIS Mechanical and Critical ENQUIRY Into the NATURE of Hermaphrodites, Is Humbly Dedicated, By their most Obedient Humble Servant , James Parsons.

At first I only designed myself the Honour of laying a few Thoughts before the Royal Society , concerning the Nature of such as are generally called Hermaphrodites ; with a Description of a female Fœtus that came to my Hands, which is hereafter mentioned; but upon communicating my Design to some Gentlemen of Learning, they were of Opinion, that it was quite necessary to examine what Authors had said on that Head; which, indeed, opened a larger Field than I could have imagined, and lead me on to swell this Essay to it’s present Size.
Some, perhaps, may ask what I have said in this Treatise, that they did not already know? or may pretend, they did not believe there were Hermaphrodites in the World; to this I answer, that tho’ there are some who will give their Reason leave to interfere when a mysterious Matter comes before them, yet of those few who may be called the learned among Men, how many are there that follow the Path of vulgar Errors, rather than take the Trouble of thinking seriously about such a Subject? and, consequently, how few must they be, that ever had a Notion of what appears, in the following Introduction, to have been transacted concerning Hermaphrodites in all Ages and Nations, by the wisest and most learned among them? so far therefore this Undertaking cannot be quite useless.
The Quotations through the whole are genuine and faithful, taken for the most Part from the Authors themselves, very few excepted, which, for want of the Originals, I was obliged to others for, who had cited them on different Occasions, but, however, were Authors of good Credit; and which are made English here, for the Benefit of such Readers as have not had a due Instruction in the Languages of the several Authors from whom they are taken.