1000000030

E N

( 671

G E N

rriociple re(¡Jes io

m~lcs.

Wllco they are afl,ed, to

wll.t pnrpofe ferves futb ao immenfe profl,fion 01 hu·

m~n

anima,"ules

they .ofwer,

th~t

it is atrecable to

the orJinary eourfe of oature, both io the animal ¡od

vegétable

p~rt

of the creation. Tbey likewife nreogth.

eo their ¡'yllem, by alletlgiog the maoy

e.~amples

I'dve of fim,Jar traosformations io the infea·clafs of a·

ninuls, whieh, from caterpillars aod fmall worms, be·

come wioged animal. of the buttedly 6r

kiods.

tlllS fyllem, fays Mr Bufl'oo, the firn \\'oman

cannot be faid to haye eontained the whole raee of

mankind,

being a11, accordiog to it, the true pone.

rity of the (¡rll mao, aod in their animaleule nate

cootaioed ooly in him.

.this principie, he proeeeds

ioyalidm the fynem of

~eneration

[rom aoimaleules :

fur ruppofing the fize of aman to be

theo willlhat of

"~e

of the fpermatie animlcules be

'0'0600000;

and

a otan is to ao animalcule o( the 6rll geoeration in

the farne ratio that this aaimaleule is tOan animaleule

the fecono geomtion, it fO'lows, that this lan wi11

te expreKd by

thc

fntlion

nnoóboboóboóóboob'

Jo t!Jis maoner be computes the fize of the animaleole,

of feyml generatioos, all fuppofed to be liviog aoi·

m.ls,

aotwithnandiog that their mioutenefs exetCds

tbe power of

imagio~tioo

tOcooeeive; aod then le11s

us, tha! che fynem of geoeratioe from eggs is liable tO

the

f.me

objeélions, whereof the detail may be feen

io bis Hin. Natur. tomo 11. p. 15'7,

fiq.

As to Bufl'oo's own fyllem, he thinks that eoery

part, both of.animall and vegetables, cootains an infi·

nile number of orgao:c molaeoles ; tha! !hefe moleeules

a{fume fueediively different foms, aad Rre put into

diff/lent m'lIions, aeeording tO 'Ihe circumnaoccs they

Rre io ; bUI Ihat they are mueh more numerous in Ihe

femioalliquors of both fexe!, and the feed, of plants,

rhao io other parts; that thefe organie molcules make

the matter of nutrition ; that this maner is always

~tliye,

and tends to organizatloo, forming it(elf into different

Ibapes, according to Ihe mOlllds it mem wilh. \Vhen

the quaatilY of this organie maner is but fmall,

mao, and mon large animals, generation ooly takes

place at the age of maturity, and even lhen theoumber

of animal, produccd i, bUI fmall.

'f.he

cafe is jun

the reoerfe in a"im.!s which abound with thi, mat·

ter, as in fifhes, ' and mon birrls.

Wilh refpea to the geoeratioo of maokiod, the fame

author Ihinks it a terlain faa, that the male·fecd is

reeeived iota the u'omb of Ihe woman ; and thar, for

this purpofe, it is highly probable the intcrnal orifice

opens doring the 'ild of eoitioo. The female·reed alfo

makc! in way iOlo Ihe womb, where, being mixed

with that of the male, they bOlh togelher cootribute

to the formation of the fClltus; which is eilher male or

female, aecording as Ihe feed of the mao or wcman

abounrl. mon l'Iilh orgaoic moleeulesj and Ihe infaot

r. f.mbles either fdlher or mOlher, accordiog

the

dilfcrenl combioalions of Ihefe moleeules. llolh Ih&

feminal liquors he thioks equally aélive in the for–

matioo of Ihe fZIU', and thal they

(,~

,nd eOllnler·

bAlance eaeh other; Ihe moleeul.s of eaeh parenr be·

¡r.¡;

thcreby detcm:ined tO for!D fiUlilar patl!

thore

of Ihe iodi,iJual that furniflled them, as tbe ¡lcad,

tronk, arms, kg!, (;

He Ihinks tbe moleclIlel pro.

ceediog from the genit.u paTls 6x tbemfefyes firn ; and

Ihat the olher moleculcs amoge Ihem

(el.es

Cucce/lively

round thefe, io the fame order whieh they before oc–

tupied in lhe pareot. Whcn a great qulOtily of Ihe

leminalliquors of bOlh fexes is reetÍved iOlo the ",omb,

Ihere are formed differenl fpheres of ,maaion, indiCo

fereot parts of Ihefe liquors; Ihe cooCequence of whieh

is, that feveral fClltufe! are formed at tbe (ame time.

Nearlya kin to Mr Bulfoo's fyllem is Ihat of Mr

Maupenui!, which he has explained in bis Veous

Phyfique. He obferYe-i, that all the variety obfer–

.able among mankiod, may have beeo aceideotal atJir!!;

but beiog ooce eflahlifhed in the coonilutioo of lhe

parent!, they become

natura1.to

their pollerity.·

illunrate this, he givcs an infiance 01 a fexdigilary

family al Berlio, who had fix fiogen, or fix toes, and

frequenrly both; and Ihat this peeuliarity was traof.

miued equdlly by the falber and mOlher, but was Ion

by ,lIiaom with thofe who had but the ufual nHmhcr

of fingers or toes .

!:le. farrber obCerves, that mon animal!, cxceptin;::

m.nbnd, hare./lated.feafoos for proereatioo; aod that

the females go with youog fome a longer, others a

Iborter time. Mares go from eleven to twclvemonths ;

rows aod hiods go nine mooths, as do alfo women ;

foxe. and wolves, 60e monlhs; ¡nd bi!ebes go ooly

feveo weeks;

Cal!

oine weeksj aod rabbits but thirty–

one day',

~on

birds are hatclied in tweoty·one days

the canary blrds, and fome othen, are hatehed io thir.

teen or fourteeo d;¡,y'.

appears, thercfore, that

there is

al>

endlefs variety in the time and maoner of

tbe generatioo of animal!.

Whoever reads this Ibort llcetch of the difl'ereo!

theories of generatioo lnal have hitherro beeo in·

.enled, u·ill p¡obably require no other argumenu to

convinee him, Ihat phyfieians aod philofophm are lIilJ

as ignoraot of the naturrofthis myfierious.operalioo al

they were iR the

d~ys

of Noah .

ParlJ

GE NE RATION

See ANATOMY, p. '70.

GENERATION

Plan".

See BOTANY, p. 643 .

CENESIS, among malhcmatieiM', Genilies the forma·

tion or produélion óf fome figure or quaolily.

GENES IS, among divines, a "nooieal book of the Old

Tenamenr. aou Ihe fi dl of the peomeoeh or five

books of Mo(es. The He¡'rews eall it Berefchith, or,

lo the beginning, lhcfe being Ihe firll .words in the

bo"". The Creeks gave it Ihe oame of

Cenefi~,

from

its beginniog wilh Ihe hinory of the ereation of the

world. See BrUI.E.

CENET, CENNET, or jENNET,in Ihe meoafe, denotes

fm~lI· fized

well.proporllooed Spanifl\ horfe.

To ride

ola .

~rm/l'.

is to ride afler Ihe Spaoifh f.fhi·

on fo fhort, thu the fpu rs bear upoo the horfe

'sR.ok.

CENEVA, a cily oear Ihe coofines of Franee and Swit–

urJand,

the riw.r Rhnoe, ahout fixly.miles oortb·

wefl of Lyons: E. I"og 6°, N, lat. 46'

20'.

Ceneva is • forrificd

10WO,

abonl two miles io cir–

cnm(crcocc, filumd at Ihe well eod of a lake fixly

m¡les loog, and twe1ve broad, cdllcd the IJke of Ce·

Dev.).