Flegm is made of meat not perfectly digested; it fortifies the virtue expulsive, makes the body slippery, fit for ejection; it fortifies the brain by its consimilitude with it; yet it spoils apprehension by its antipathy to it: It qualifies choler, cools and moistens the heart, thereby sustaining it, and the whole body, from the fiery effects, which continual motion would produce. Its receptacle is the lungs, and is governed by Venus, some say by the Moon, perhaps it may be governed by them both, it is cold and moist in quality.
Melancholy is the sediment of blood, cold and dry in quality, fortifying the retentive faculty, and memory; makes men sober, solid, and staid, fit for study; stays the unbridled toys of lustful blood, stays the wandering thoughts, and reduces them home to the centre: its receptacle is in the spleen, and it is governed by Saturn.
Of all these humours blood is the chief, all the rest are superfluities of blood; yet are they necessary superfluities, for without any of them, man cannot live.
Namely; Choler is the fiery superfluities; Flegm, the Watery; Melancholy, the Earthly.
Animal.] The third principal virtue remains, which is Animal; its residence is in the brain, and Mercury is the general significator of it. Ptolomy held the Moon signified the Animal virtue; and I am of opinion, both Mercury and the Moon dispose it; and my reason is, 1, Because both of them in nativities, either fortify, or impedite it. 2, Ill directions to either, or from either, afflict it, as good ones help it. Indeed the Moon rules the bulk of it, as also the sensitive part of it: Mercury the rational part: and that’s the reason, if in a nativity the Moon be stronger than Mercury, sense many times over-powers reason; but if Mercury be strong, and the Moon weak, reason will be master ordinarily in despite of sense.
It is divided into Intellective, and Sensitive.
1. Intellective.] The Intellectual resides in the brain, within the Pia mater, is governed generally by Mercury.
It is divided into Imagination, Judgment, and Memory.
Imagination is seated in the forepart of the brain; it is hot and dry in quality, quick, active, always working; it receives vapours from the heart, and coins them into thoughts: it never sleeps, but always is working, both when the man is sleeping and waking; only when Judgment is awake it regulates the Imagination, which runs at random when Judgment is asleep, and forms any thought according to the nature of the vapour sent up to it. Mercury is out of question the disposer of it.
A man may easily perceive his Judgment asleep before himself many times, and then he shall perceive his thoughts run at random.