694865 Illustration of the workings and effect of the pineal gland on the human nervous system in relation to a reaction to fire, from \'Tractatus de Homine\', published in Amsterdam by Elsevier, 1677 (woodcut) by Dutch School, (17th century); Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France; (add.info.: This treatise by Ren矇 Descartes (1596-1650) was one of the earliest Western attempts to offer an explanation of human physiology; one of the main explanations of the workings of the body centered on the pineal gland, which was held to control human nervous functions and to be the "seat of the soul\'\';); 穢 Archives Charmet.