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and a Tone of Severity, You confefs then that about three Years ago, you was guilty of Incontinency !—Yes, Sir, replied the, to be fure it would be a Folly to deny it to a Man of your Learning-to be fure I must confefs that about three Years ago-to be fure, Sir, I was not quite fo good, Sir, as I fbould have been, Sir.-My laft Mafter, Sir, who was a Parfon, Sir,-God forgive him and me too, -I am fure I bave repented it a hundred Times, and I hope be bas done the fame.-The courteous Reader, I hope, will pardon my defcending to fuch low Particulars, which, I confefs, are beneath the Dignity of a Philofopher; but as it very much concerns me, in an Affair of fuch Moment and Importance to the World, to fhew how regularly and cautiously I proceeded, it was neceffary to defcribe the Girl's Simplicity as a Proof of her Honefty. Authors who write only for the Amufement of Mankind, may choofe and omit Circum

fall out, &c.---In short, the Fatus was at length extracted Piece-meal at feveral difficult Operations. Now comparing all thefe Circumftances together, it feems reafonable to believe that this Fruit never was in the Cavity of the Womb, but that the impregnated Ovum was ftopt in its Pallage through one of the Falopian Tubes, where it grew and was detained fo many Years. Nothing therefore can be concluded from hence against the Caufe I have affigned of iny Maid's Pregnancy (as a certain learned Gentleman of the Royal Society, who communicafed this Story to me, feemed to imagine) for the Cafes are very different; and the uncommon Delay of this Finland Woman's Delivery was owing to the præternatural Situation of the Foetus.

stances

stances at their own Pleasure, according to the Rule of Horace,

Que

Defperes tractata nitescere poffe, relinquas.

But we who are unfortunately tied down to Truth, muft write, as it were, in Fetters, and are obliged to keep on in the direct Road, without the Privilege of turning aside to entertain ourselves with Profpects. Be it fufficient, however, to fay, that at the nine Months End, the Girl was delivered of a chopping Boy, whom I have ever fince educated as my own, in spite of all the Calumny of the Neighbourhood; and I cannot doubt, but, in Time, he will rife to be a Judge or an Alderman.

Thus, Gentlemen of the Royal Society, I hope I have proved, in the most incontestable manner, that a Woman may conceive without any Commerce with Man; that the World has been in an Error for fix thousand Years, and, probably, would have continued in it fix thoufand more, if I had not been born on purpose to break through filly Prejudices of Education, and undeceive Mani kind in fo material a Point. Material I must call it; for how different is this from all the Difcoveries of Ifaac Newton the Star-gazer! His, all of them, end in Speculation, but mine extend to Practice; his are only calculated for the Perufal of a few College-Pedants, but mine offer themfelves to the World in general: And I shall shortly publish a large Volume to fhew that this is the moft natural Way of being born; grounding my

Demon

Demonstration on the following infallible Argu ment, which I have drawn up fyllogiftically, to prove my wonderful Talents in Logic.

[c] Nature (fay certain Authors of great Erudition) is a very frugal old Lady, and a prodigious good Oeconomift: She is obferved to give herself as little Trouble as she can, and to do every thing at the cheapest hand. But Animalcula may be hatched as completely in a Female Womb, as when they take the more tedious Progrefs through the Loins of the Males alfo.

Ergo, That is the right Road into Life, which is the shortest Road.

And now what fhall I fay next? As it often happens that the Ufe and Practice of a Thing are known, before the Theory of it is discovered, (for Inftance, Men of War could batter down Towns with Bombs, long before it was proved that Projectiles defcribe a parabolic Curve; and little Boys had amufed themfelves with the Shadows of a magie Lanthorn many a Day ere fome great Philofophers undertook to explain the Mysteries of that wonderful Machine) fo has it fallen out in the Subje&t now under our Confideration: Hiftory has here and there furnished an Example, and fome Physicians of Antiquity have accidentally glanced upon the Subject; but ftill I think I may challenge to myfelf the Merit of an original In

[c] This is a Method much practifed by the learned Mr. W→rb-n, I fuppofe for the fame Reafon, to fhew his Skill in chopping Logic.

vention;

vention; and it would be very hard if a few Hints loosely dropt in old unfashionable Authors, which too I never faw till after I had established my Theory, should prevail fo far as to fix upon me the odious Scandal of Plagiarifm. There are, I know, a Sort of malevolent Readers, who take an infinite Pleasure in telling you that all Authors have stolen their Works fince the Days of one Orpheus; and how lucky is it for that old French Poet, that we know not the Names of any of his Predeceffors! but more efpecially they have recourse to this Device, whenever they find it not quite fo eafy to answer the Doctrine of a Book, and yet are determined to cry down its Reputation: Then we are sure to hear, Lord, Sir! the Fellow ftole it all; there is not a Page, nor a Line, nor a Word, nor a Syllable, nor a Letter, nor a Comma of it bis own; I can turn to the very Book and Place from whence be pilfered it all. Now that I may anticipate this heavy Cenfure, and fave certain ingenious Critics the Trouble of turning back to the good old Writer (Peace unto his Manes, whoever he be) from whom I tranfcribed this little Treatife, I have determined to produce of my own accord what few Paffages I have accidentally met with upon this Subject, and afterwards I shall leave the World to decide, whether in fpite of fuch occafional Hints, I may not ftill be allowed to be the fole Proprietor of this wonderful Hypothefis.

Galen, in his celebrated Treatife upon the Meafles, wherein he endeavours to account for the Origin of that Diftemper, delivers it as a common

Opinion,

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Opinion, that it was brought into the World by a Woman, born without the Affiftance of a Father; but he feems to treat this as a vulgar Fable, and calls it a Notion of the Multitude.

"Hippocrates informs us, that his Mother ufed frequently to tell him, the had no carnal Intercourse with his Father for near two Years before his Birth, but that the found herself strangely influenced one Evening, as she was walking in a Garden. His Father obtained a Divorce on this Oc cafion, and the good Woman fell under the Reproach of all her Acquaintance: But I hope this Treatife will vindicate her Memory from the Infamy, which has ever fince attended it through all fucceeding Times.

If we look back to the fabulous Ages of the World, when every thing was aggrandized by poetic Ornament, we read of many ancient Ladies, got with Child by such impoffible Methods, - that I believe they must have owed their Pregnan cy to what I have been defcribing, and I hope all Commentators and Mythologifts will, for the future, fall in with my Explication. For what elfe are we to think of Juno's growing big-bellied only with eating a Piece of Cabbage [4], which Flora gathered for her in the Olenian Fields ? 'Tis plain the must have swallowed fome Animalcula at the fame time, and thus became with Child of Mars. How elfe are we to account for [d] Quod petis, Oleniis, inquam, mihi miffus ab arvis Elos dabit; eft hortis unicus ille meis. Protius hærentem decerpfi pollice florem," Fitque potens voti, Marique creatus erat.

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Ovid. Faft. v.

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