694866 Illustration of the workings of the ducts from the pineal gland on the human nervous system in relation to a reaction to fire, from \'Tractatis de Homine\', published in Amsterdam by Elsevier, 1677 (woodcut) by French School, (17th century); Bibliotheque de la Faculte de Medecine, 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\'\';).