Page:The Works of William Harvey (part 1 of 2).djvu/290

190 changed in disposition. In like manner women occasionally be- come insane through ungratified desire, and to such a height does the malady reach in some, that they are believed to be poisoned, or moon-struck, or possessed by a devil. And this would certainly occur more frequently than it does, without the influence of good nurture, respect for character, and the modesty that is innate in the sex, which all tend to tranquillize the inordinate passions of the mind.

The passage from the external uterine orifice to the internal parts and uterus itself, where the egg is perfected, is by that part which in other animals is called the vagina or vulva. In the fowl, however, this passage is so intricate, and its internal membrane is so loose and wrinkled, that although there is a ready passage from within outwards, and a large egg makes its way through all without much difficulty, still it scarcely seems likely that the penis of the male could penetrate or the spermatic fluid make its way through it; for I have found it impossible to introduce either a probe or a bristle; neither could Fabricius pass anything of the sort, and he says that he could not even inflate the uterus with air. Whence he was led I fancy to give an account of the uterus, proceeding from more internal to more external parts. Considering this structure of the uterus also, he denies that the spermatic fluid of the male can reach the cavity of the uterus, or go to constitute any part of the egg. To this statement I most willingly subscribe; for, indeed, there is nothing in the fruitful egg which is not also in the barren one; there is nothing in the way of addition or change which indicates that the seminal fluid of the male has either made its way into the uterus, or come into contact with the egg. Moreover, although without the access of the cock all eggs laid are winded and barren, still through his influence, and long after inter-