Opticks (1721, 3rd Edition) — part 17 of 18

Salt, like Butter of Antimony, doth not this fliew that Arlhick, which is a Siiblbnce totally volatile, is compounded of fix'd and volatile Parts, itrongly cohering by a mutual Attraftion, fo that the volatile will not afcend without car- rying up the fixed? And fo, when an equal weight of Spirit of Wine and Oil of Vitriol are digelled together, and in Diflillation yield two fragrant and volatile Spirits which will not° mix with one another, and a fix'd black Earth remains behind ; doth not this flicw that Oil of Vitriol is compofed of volatile and fix'd Parts Itrongly united by Attrat^lion, fo as to afcend together in form of a volatile, acid, fluid Salt, until the Spirit of Wine attrafts and feparates the volatile Parts from the fixed?" And there- fore, fince Oil of Sulphur per cmnfanam is of .the fame Nature with Oil of Vitriol, may it not be inferred, that Sulphur is alfo a mixture of volatile and fix'd Parts fo Itrongly cohering by Attraction, as to" afcend together in Sublima- tion. By diirolving Flou^ers of Sulphur in Oil of Turpentine, and dillilling the Solution, it is found that Sulphur is compofed of an inflama- ble thick Oil or fat Bitumen, an acid Salt, a ve- ry fix'd Earth, and a little Metal The three hr(t were found not much unequal to one another, the fourth in fo fmall a quantity as fcarce to be worth confidering. The ncid Salt difiblved in Water, is the fame with Oil of Sul- phur/'er f/7w^/2/?/2?«, and abounding much in the Bowels of the Earth, and particularly in Markafites, unites it fdf to the other Ingredi- ents of the Markafite, which are, Bitumen, I-

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ron, Copper and Earth, and with them com- pounds Alume, Vitriol and Sulphur. With the Earth alone it compounds Alume ; with the Metal alone, or Metal and Earth together, it compounds Vitriol; and with the Bitumen and Earth it compounds Sulphur. Whence it comes to pafs th^t Markafites abound with thole three Minerals. And is ic not from the mutual At- traftion of the Ingredients that they ilick toge- ther for compounding thefe Minerals, and that the Bitumen carries up the other Ingredients of the Sulphur, which without it would not fub- lime ? And the fame Queilion may be put con^ cerning all, or almofl all the grofs Bodies in Nature. For all the Parts of Animals and Ve- getables are compofed of Subitances volatile and fix'd, fluid and folid, as appears by their Analyfis ; and fo are Salts and Minerals, fo far as Chymifts hat^e been hitherto able to e^^amine their Compofition.

When Mercury fublimate is refublimed with frefh Mercury, and becomes Mercurtus dtilcis^ which is a white taiUefs Earth fcarce diffolva- ble in Water, and Mercurms dulcts refublimed with Spirit of Salt returns into Mercury fubU- mate ; and when Metals corroded with a little acid turn into Rufl, which is an Earth talllefs and indiiTolvable in W^ater, and this Earth im- bibed with more Acid becomes a metallick Salt ; and when fome Stones, as Spar of Lead, dilTolved in proper Menftruums become Salts; do not thefe things iliew that Salts are dry Earth and watry Acid united by Attraction, and that the Earth will not become a Salt without fo

much

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much Acid as makes it diflblvable in Water? Do not the fliarp and pungent Talles of Acids arife from the Itrong Attradion whereby the acid Particles rufii upon and agitate the Parti- cles of the Tongue? And when Metals are dif- folved in acid Menftruums^ and the Acids in conjunction with the Metal ad afters different manner, fo that the compound has a different talte much milder than before, and fometimes a fweet one; is. it not becaufe the Acids ad- here to the metallick Particles, and thereby lofe much of their Adtivity ? And if the Acid be irr too fmall a Proportion to make the Compound dilTolvable in Water, will it not by adhering Ibongly to the Metal becom.e unadive and lofe its talte, and the Compound be a taftlefs Earth? For fuch things as are not dilTolvable by the. Moiflure of the Tongue, ad not upon the Taile.

As Gravity makes, the Sea ^om round the denfer and weightier Parts' of the Globe of the Earth, fo tho. Attradion may make the watry Acid flow round the denfer and compadei^ Particles of Earth for corapofing the Particles of Salt. For otherwife the Acid would not do the office of a Medium between the Earth and common Water, for making Salts dilfolvable in the Water ; nor would Salt of Tartar readily draw off the Acid from diirolved Metals, nor Metals the Acid from Mercury. Now as in the great Globe of the Earth and Sea, the denfelt Bodies by their Gravity fmk down in Water, and always endeavour to go towards the Cen- ter of the Globe ; fo in Particles of Salt, the

s denfeft

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denfefl Matter may always endeavour to ap- proach the Center of the Particle : So that a Particle of Salt may be compared to a Chaos ; being denfe, hard, dry, and earthy, in the Cen- ter ; and rare , foft , moill , and watry in the Circumference. And hence it feems to be that Salts are of a lafting nature, being fcarce de- {Iroy'd, unlefs by drawing away their watry Parts by violence, or by letting them foak into the Pores of the central Earth. by a gentle Heat in Putrefaftion, until the Earth be diirolved by 'the Water, and feparated into fmaller Particles, which by reafon of their fmallnefs make the rotten Compound appear of a black Colour. Hence alfo it may be that the Parts of Animals and Vegetables preferve their feveral Forms, and affimilate their. Nourifliment; the foft and moid Nourilhment eafily changing its Texture by a gentle Heat and Motion, till it becomes like the deilCe, hard, dry, and durable Earrh in the Center of each Particle. But when the. Nourifhment grows unfit to be aflfmilared, or the central Earth grows too feeble to adimilate it, the Motion ends, in Confufion, Putrefadion and Death.

If a very fmall quantity of any Salt or Vitriol be dilFolved in a great quantity of Water, the particles of the Salt or Vitriol will not link, to the bottom, though they be heavier in Specie than the Water, but will evenly difiufe them- felves into all -the W^ater, fo as to make it as fa- line at the top as at the bottom. And does not this imply that the Parts of the Salt or Vitriol recede from one another, and endeavour to ex- pand

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pand themfelves, and get as far afunder as th6 quantity of Water in which they -float, will al- low ? And does not this Endeavour imply that they have a repulfive Force by which they fly from one another, or at lead, that they attrad: the Water more Itrongly than they do one ano^ ther ? For as all things afcend in Water which arelefs attraded than Water, by the gravitating Power of the Earth ; fo all the Particles of Salt which float in Water, and are lefs attra6led than Water by any one Particle of Salt, mud recede from that Particle , and give way to the more attraded Water.

When any faline Liquor is evaporated to a Cuticle and let cool, the Salt concretes in re- gular Figures; which argues, that the Particles of the Salt before they concreted, floated in the Liquor at tqual diflances in rank and file, and by confequence that they a(5Led upon one another by fome Power which at ecjual diflances is equal, at unequal diflances nucqual. For by ■fuch a Power they will range themfelves uni- formly, and without it they will float irregular- ly, and come together as irregularly. And fince the Particles of Ifland Cryftal n^t all the fame way upon the Rays of Light for cauflng the un- ufuai Refradion, may it not be fuppofed that in the Formation of this Cryftal, the Particles not only ranged themfelves in rank and file for concreting in regular Figures, but alfo by fome kind of polar Virtue turned their homogeneal Sides the fame way ?

The Parts of all homogeneal hard Bodies which fully touch one another, flick together

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very ftrongly. And for explaining how this may be, fome have invented hooked Atoms, which is begging the Queition ; and others tell us that Bodies are glued together by reft, that is, by an occult Quality, or rather by nothing ; and others, that they ftick together by confpi- ring Motions, that is, by relative reft amongft themfelves. I had rather infer from their Co- hefion, that their Particles attrad one another by fome force, which in immediate Contact is exceeding ftrong, at fmall diftances performs the chymical Operations above mention'd, and reaches not far from the Particles with any fen- fible Effea.

All Bodies feem to be compofed of hard Par- ticles : For otherwife Fluids would not congeal ; as Water, Oils, Vinegar , and Spirit or Oil of Vitriol do by freezing ; Mercury by Fumes of Lead ; Spirit of Nitre and Mercury, by diilbl- ving the Mercury and evaporating the Flegm ; Spirit of Wine and Spirit of Urine, by deflegm- ing and mixing them; and Spirit of Urine and Spirit of Salt, by fubliming them together to make Sal-armoniac. Even the Rays of Light feem to be hard Bodies ; for otherwife they would not retain different Properties in their different Sides. And therefore Hardnefs may be reckoned the Property of all uncompounded Matter. At leaft, this feems to be as evident as the univerfal Impenetrability of Matter. For all Bodies, fo far as Experience reaches, are ei- ther hard , or may be harden'd ; and we have no other Evidence of univerfal Impenetrability, befides a large Experience without an experi- mental

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mental Exception. Now if compound Bodies are fo ve'ry^ hard as we find fome of them to be, and yet are very porous, and confift of Parts which are only laid together ; the fimple Par- ticles which are void of Pores, and were never yet divided, mult be much harder. For fuch hard Particles being heaped up together, car* fcarce touch one another in more than a few Points, and therefore muil be feparable by much lefs Force than is requifite to break a fo- lid Particle, whofe Parts touch in all the Space between them, without any Pores or Interflices to weaken their Cohefion. And how fuch ve- ry hard Particles which are only laid together and touch only in a few Points, can flick toge- ther, and that fo firmly as they do, without the affiitance of fomething which caufes them to be attraded or prefs'd towards one another, is very difficult to conceive.

The fame thing I infer alfo from the cohe- ring of two polifli'd Marbles m vacuo, and from the ftanding of Quick-filver in the Barometer at the height of 50, 60 or 70 Inches, or above, when ever it is well purged of Air and care- fully poured in, fo that its Parts be every .where contiguous both to one another and to the Glafs. The Atmofphere by its weight prefFes the Quick-filver into the Glafs, to the height of ^9 or 30 Inches. And fome other Agent raifes it higher, not by preffing it into the Glafs, but by making its Parts flick to the Glafs, and to one another. For upon any diicontinuation of Pa^-ts, made either by Bubbles or by fhaking the

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Glafs, the whole Mercury falls down to the height of 29 or 30 Inches.

And of the fame kind with thefe Experi- ments are thofe that follow.. If two plane po- iiih'd Plates of Glafs (fuppofe two pieces of a polifli'd Looking glafs) be laid together, fo that <heir fides be parallel and at a very fmall di- flance from one another, and then their lower edges be dipped into Water, the Water will rife up between them. And .the lefs the di- Itance of the GlafTes is, the greater will be the height to which the .Water will rife. If the dittance be about the hundredth part of an Inch*, the Water will rife to the height oF about an ° Inch ; and if the diftance be greater or lefs in any Proportion, the height will be reciprocally proportional to the diftance very nearly. For the attractive Force of the GlafTes is the fame, whether the diftance between them be greater or lefs ; and the weight of the Water drawn up is the fame, if the height of it be recipro- o^fj^ cally proportional to the height of the Glalfes. And in like manner. Water afcends between two Marbles polifh'd plane, when their poHfh- ed fides are parallel, and at a very little diftance from one another. And if {lender Pipes of Glafs be dipped at one end into ftagnating Wa- ter, the Water will rife up within the Pipe, and the heigth to which it arifes will be reciprocally proportional to the Diameter of the Cavity of the Pipe, and will equal the height to which it rifes between two Planes of Glafs, if the Semi- diameter of the Cavity of the Pipe be equal to the diftance between the Planes, or thereabouts.

And

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And thefe Experiments fucceed after the fame manner in vacuo as in the open Air, (as hath been tried before the Royal Society,) and there- fore are not influenced by the Weight or Pref- fm-e of the Atmofphere,

And if a large Pipe of Glafs be filled with fifted Afhes well preiTed together in the Glafs, and one end of the Pipe be dipped into ftag- nating Water, the Water will rife up flowly in the Alhes,' fo as in the fpace of a Week or Fort- night to reach up within the Glafs, to the height of 30 or 40 Inches above the llagnating Water. And the Water rifes up to this height by the Adion oAly of thofe Particles of the Alhes which are upon the Surface of the elevatecj Water ; the Particles which are within the Water, at- trading or repelling it as much downwards as upwards. And therefore the Adion of the Particles is very ftrong. But the Particles of the Afhes being not lo denfe and clofe toge- ther as thofe of Glafs, their ■ Adion is not fo ftrong as that of Glafs, which keeps Quick-fil- ver fufpended to the height of 60 or yo Inches, and therefore ads with a Force which would keep Water fufpended to the height of above 60 Feet.

By the fame Principle, a Sponge fucks in Water, and the Glands in the Bodies of Ani- mals, according to their feveral Natures and Difpofitions, fuck in various Juices from the Blood.

If two plane polifli'd Plates of Glafs three or four Inches broad, and twenty or twenty live long, be laid, one of them parallel to the "Ho- rizon,

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rizon, the other upon the firft, fo as at one of their ends to touch one another, and contain an Angle of about lo or 15- Minutes, and the fame be firft moiften'd on their inward fides with a clean Cloth dipp'd into Oil of Oranges or Spirit of Turpentine, and a Drop or two of the Oil or Spirit be let fall upon the lower Glafs at the other end ; fo foon as the upper Glafs is laid down upon the lower fo as to touch it at one end as above, and to touch the Drop at the other end, making with the lower Glafs an Angle of about 10 or ly Minutes; the Drop will begin to move towards the Cpncourfe of the GlalTes, and will continue to move with an accelerated Motion, till it arrives at that Concourfe of the GlalFes. For the two GlalTes attrad the Drop, and make 'it run that way to- wards which the Attractions incline. And if when the Drop is in motion you lift up that end of the GlalTes where they meet, and towards which the Drop moves, the Drop will afcend between the GlalTes, and therefore is attracted. And as you lift up the GlalTes more and more, the Drop will afcend flower and flower, and at length reft, being then carried downward by its Weight, as much as upwards by the Attra- ftion. And by this means you may know the Force by which the Drop is attraded at all di- ftances from the Concourfe of the Glalles.

Now by fome Experiments of this kind, (made by Mr. HawksbyJ it has been found that the Attraftion is almoit reciprocally in a dupli- cate. Proportion of the diftance of the middle of the Drop from the Concourfe of the GlalTes,

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viz. reciprocally in a fimple Proportion, by reafon ot" the fpreading of the Drop, and itsf touching each Glafs in a larger Surface; and again reciprocally in a fimple Proportion, by reafon of the Attradions growing llronger within the fame quantity of attrading Sur- face. The Attraction therefore within the fame quantity of attrading Surface, is. reci- procally as the diftance between the Glailes. And therefore where the diilance is exceed- ing fmall, the Attradion mull be exceeding, great. By the Table in the fecond Part of, the fecond Book, wherein the thicknelTes of colour'd Plates of Water between two GlaiTes are fet down, the thicknefs of the Plate where it appears very black, is three eighths of the ten hundred thoufandth part of an Inch. And where the Oil of Oranges between the GlafTes is of this thicknefs, the Attraction collected by the foregoing Rule, feems to be fo Itrong, asf within a Circle of an Inch in diameter, to fuf- iice to hold up a Weight equal to that of a Cy- linder of Water of an Inch in diameter, and two or three Furlongs in length. And where it is of a lefs thicknefs the Attraction may be proportionally greater, and continue to increafe, untj^the thicknefs do not exceed that of a Tin- gle Particle of the Oil. There are therefore Agents in Nature able to make the Particles of Bodies Hick together by very itrong Attradions, And it is the Bufmefs of experimental Philofo- phy to find them out.

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Now the fmalleft Particles of Matter may co- here by the ftrongeft Attradions, and compofe bigger Particles of weaker Virtue ; and many of thefe may cohere and compofe bigger Par- ticles whofe Virtue is Itill weaker, and lb on for divers Succeffions, until the ProgrelTion end in the biggefl Particles on which the Operations inChymiftry, and the Colours of natural Bodies depend, and which by cohering compofe Bo- dies of a fenfible Magnitude. If the Body is compaft , and bends or yields inward to Pref-. fion without any Hiding of its Parts, it is hard and elaftick, returning to its Figure with a Force rifing from the mutual Attradion of its Parts. If the Parts Aide upon one another, the Body is malleable or foft. If they flip eafily, and are of a fit fize to be agitated by Heat, and the Heat is big enough to keep them in Agitation, the Body is fluid; and if it be apt to Hick to things, it is humid ; and the Drops of every fluid af- feft a round Figure by the mutual Attradion of their Parts, as the Globe of the Earth and Sea affe^ls a round Figure by the mutual Attraction of its Parts by Gravity.

Since Metals difTolved in Acids attraft but a fmall quantity of the Acid, their attradive Force can reach but to a fmall diftance from them. And as in Algebra, where afiirmative Quanti- ties vaniili and ceafe, there negative ones be- gin; fo in Mechanicks, where Attraction cea- fes, there a repulfive Virtue ought to fucceed. And that there is fuch a Virtue, feems to fol- low from the Reflexions and Inflexions of the

Rays

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Rays of Light. For the Rays are repelled by Bodies in both thele Cafes, without the itnme- diate Contadl of the refleding or inflefting Bo- dy. It feems alfo to follow trom the Emiflion of Light ; the Ray Co foon as it is fliaken off from a fhining Body by the vibrating Motion of the Parts of the Body, and gets beyond the reach of Attraction, being driven away with ex- ceeding great Velocity. For that Force which is fufhcient to turn it back in Reflexion, may be fufficient to emit it. It feems alfo to fol- low from the Produdion of Air and Vapour.^ The Particles when they are ihaken off from Bodies by Heat or Fermentation, fo foon as they are beyond the reach of the Attradion of the Body, receding from it, and alfo from one another with great Strength, and keeping at a diflance, fo as fometimes to take up above a million of times more fpace than they did be- fore in the form of adenfe Body. Which vaft Contraction and Expanfion feems unintelligible, by feigning the Particles of Air to be fpringy and ramous, or rolled up like Hoops, or by a- ny other means than a repulfive Power. The Particles of Fluids which do not cohere too Ihongly, and are of fuch a fmallnefs as renders them moft fufceptible of thofe Agitations which keep Liquors in a Fluor, are molt eafily fepa- rated and rarified into Vapour, and in the Lan- guage of the Chymifts, they are volatile, rari- fying with an eafy Heat, and condenfmg with Cold. But thofe which are grofler, and fo lefs fufceptible of Agitation, or cohere by a ilrong-.

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er Attraftion, are not feparated without a Itvonger Heat, or perhaps not without Fermen- tation. And thele lalt are the Bodies which* Chymills call hx'd, and being rarified by Fer- mentation, become true permanent Air: thofe Particles receding from one another with the greateft Force, and being moil diliicultly brought together, which upon Contaft cohere molt itrongly And becaufe the Particles of perma- nent Air are groirer, and arife from denfer Sub- llances than thofe of Vapours, thence it is that true Air is more ponderous than Vapour, and that a moiit Atmofphere is lighter than a dry one, quantity for quantity. From the fame re- pelling Power it feems to be that Flies walk upon the Water without wetting their Feet ; and that the Objed-glalles of long Telefcopes lie upon one another without touching; and that dry Powders are difficultly made to touch one another fo as to Itick together, unlefs by melting them, or wetting them with Water, which by exhaling may bring them together ; and that two polifli'd Marbles, which by immediate Contaft Hick together, are difficultly brought fo clofe together as to Hick.

And thus Nature will be very conformable to her felf and very fimple, performing all the great Motions of the heavenly Bodies by the Attradion of Gravity which intercedes thofe Bodies, and almoll all the Imall ones of their Particles by fome other attradive and repelling Powers which intercede the Particles. The Vis inertia; is a paliive Principle by which Bo-

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dies peiTiit in their Motion or Refl, receive Motion in proportion to the Force imprefling it, and refiit as much as they are refilted. By thia Principle alone there never could, have been any Motion in the World. Some other Prin- ciple was necefTary for putting Bodies into Mo- tion ; and now they are in Motion, fome other Principle is neceilary for conferving the Mo- tion. For from the various Compofition of two Motions, 'tis very certain that there is not al- ways the fame quantity of Motion in the World. For if two Globes joined by a (lender Rod, re- volve . about their common Center of Gravity with an uniform Motion, while that Center moves on uniformly in a right Line drawn in the Plane of their circular Motion ; the Sum of the Motions of the two Globes, as often as the Globes are in the right Line defcribed by their common Center of Gravity, will be bigger than the Sum of their Motions, when they are. in a Line perpendicular to that right Line. By this Initance it appears that Motion may be got or loft. But by reafon of the Tenacity of Fluids, and Attrition of their Parts, "and the Weaknefs of Elailicity in Solids, Motion is much more apt to be loll than got, and is always upon the Decay. For Bodies which are either abfolute- ly hard, or fo foft as to be void of Elailicity, will not rebound from one another. Impene- trability makes them only (top. If two equal Bodies meet diredly in vacuo, they will by the Laws of Motion Itop where they meet, and Jpfe 3(11 their Motion, and remain in relt, unleis

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they be elaftick, and receive new Motion from their Spring. If they have fo much Elafticity as fuffices to make them rebound with a quar- ter, or half, or three quarters of the Force with which they come together, they will lofe three quarters, or half, or a quarter of their Motion. And this may be tried, by letting two equal Pendulums fall againll one another from equal heights. If the Pendulums be of Lead or loft Clay, they will lofe all or almofl all their Mo- tions : If of elafticlr Bodies t;hey will lofe all but , what they recover from their Elafticity. If it ! be faid, that they can lofe no Motion but what they communicate to other Bodies, the confe- quence is, that /;/ vacuo they can lofe no Mo- tion, but when they meet they mult go on and penetrate one anothers Dimenfions. If three equal round VefTels be filled, the one with Wa- ter, the other with Oil, the third with molten Pitch, and the Liquors be llirred about alike to give them a vortical Motion ; the Pitch by its Tenacity will lofe its Motion quickly, the Oil being lefs tenacious will keep it longer, and the Water being lefs tenacious will keep it long- eft, but yet will lofe it in a fhort time. Whence it is eafy to underftand, that if many contiguous Vortices of molten Pitch were each of them as large as thofe which fome fuppofe to revolve about the Sun and fix'd Stars, yet thefe and all their Parts would, by their tenacity and ftiffnefs, , communicate their Motion to one another tiiy they all refted among themfelves. Vortices of| Oil or Water , or fome fluider Matter , might '

continue

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continue longer in Motion ; but unlefs the Mat- ter were void , of all Tenacity and Attrition of Parts, and Communication of Motion, (which is not to be fuppofed) the Motion would con- ftantly decay. Seeing therefore the variety of Motion which we find in the World is always decreafing, there is a necefJity of conferving and recruiting it by adive Principles, fuch as are the caufe of Gravity, by which Planets and Comets keep their Motions in their Orbs, and Bodies acquire great Motion in falling; and the caufe of Fermentation, by which the Heart and Blood of Animals are kept in perpetual Motion and Heat ; the inward Parts of the Earth are conllantly warm'd , and in fome places grow very hot ; Bodies burn and fhine, Mountains take Fire, the Caverns of the Earth are blown up, and the Sun continues violently hot and lucid, and warms all things by his Light. For we meet with very little Motion in the World, befides what is owing to thefe aftive Principles. And if it were not for thefe Principles the Bo- dies of the Earth, Planets, Comets, Sun, and all things in them would grow cold and freeze, and become inactive MaiTes; and all Putrefa- dion, Generation , Vegetation and Life would ceafe, and the Planets and Cpmets would not remain in their Orbs.

All thefe things being confider'd, it feems pro- bable to me, that God in the Beginning form'd Matter in foUd, malTy,hard, impenetrable, move- able Particles, of fuch Sizes andrigures, and with fuch other Properties, and in fuch Proportion

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£0 Space, as moil conduced to the End for xvhich he form'd them; and that thefe primi- tive Particles being Solids, are incomparably harder than any porous Bodies compounded of them ; even fo very hard, as never to wear or break in pieces : No ordinary Power being able to divide what God himfelf made one in the firfl Creation. While the Particles continue entire, they may compoie Bodies of one and the fame Nature and Texture in all Ages: But ftiould they wear away, or break in pieces, the Nature of Things depending on them , would be chan- ged. Water and Earth compofed of old worn Particles and Fragments of Particles, would not be of the fame Nature and Texture now, with Water and Earth compofed of entire Particles, in the Beginning. And therefore that Nature may be laiting, the Changes of corporeal Things are i:o be placed only in the various Separations and new AlFociations and Motions of thefe per- manent Particles; compound Bodies being apt to break, not in the midlt of folid Particles, but where ihofe Particles are laid together, and on- ly touch in a few Points.

It feems to me farther, that thefe Particles have nor only a Vis inertia, accompanied with luch patrive Laws of Motion as naturally refult from that Force, but alfo that they are moved by certain adive Principles, fuch as is that of Gravity, and that which caufes Fermentation, and the Cohefion of Bodies. Thefe Principles I confider not as occult Qualities, fuppofed to yefuk from the fpecifick Forms of Things, but

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as general Laws of Nature, by which the Things themfelves are form'd : their Truth appearing . to us by Phaenomena, though their Caufes be not yet difcover'd. For thele are manifeit Qua- lities , and their Caufes only are occult And the Ariftoiel'tans gave the Name of occult Qua- lities not to manifeit Qualities, but to luch Qualities only as they fuppofed to lie hid in Bodies, and to be the unknown Caufes of ma- nifeft Efte(fts : Such as would be the Caufes of Gravity, and of magnetick and eleftrick At- tradions, and- of Fermentations, if we lliould fuppofe that thefe Forces or Adions arofe from Qualities unknown to us, and uncapable of be- ing difcovered and made manifeit. Such oc- cult Qualities put a itop to the Improvement of natural Philofophy , and therefore of late Years have been rejected , To tell us that every Species of Things is° endow'd with an oc- cult fpecifick Quality by which it a6ts arid pro- duces manifeit Effeds, is to tell us nothing: But to derive two or three general Principles of Motion from Phaenomena, and afterwards to tell us how the Properties and Adions of all corporeal Things follow from thofe manifeit Principles, would be a very great ftep in Phi- lofophy, though the Caufes of thofe Principles were not yet difcover'd : And therefore I fcru- ple not to propofe the Principles of Motion a- bove mention'd, they being of very general Ex- tent, and leave their Caufes to be found out.

Now by the help of thefe Principles,' all ma- terial Things feem to have been compofed of ' ' * * the

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the hard and folid Particles abovementiond , varioufly afTociated in the firft Creation by the Counfel of an intelligent Agent. For it became him who created them to fet them in order. And if he did lb, it's unphilofophical to feek for any other Origin of the World, or to pre- tend that it might arife out of a Chaos by the mere Laws of Nature ; though being once form'd, it may continue by thofe Laws for ma- ny Ages. For while Comets move in very ex- centrick Orbs in all manner of Pofitions, blind Fate could never make all the -Planets move one and the fame way in Orbs concentrick, fome inconfiderable Irregularities excepted which may have rifen from the mutual Actions of Comets and Planets upon one another, and whii:h will be apt to increafe , till this Syitem wants a Reformation. Such a wonderful Uni- formity in the Planetary Syftem muft be allow- ed the Effeft of Choice. And fo mull: the Uniformity in the Bodies of Animals, they ha- ving generally a right and a left fide fhaped a- like, and on either fide of their Bodies two Legs behind, and either two Arms, or two Legs, or two Wings before upon their Shoul- ders, and between their Shoulders a Neck run- ning down into a Back- bone, and a Head up- on it ; and in the Head two Ears, two Eyes, a Nofe, a Mouth, and a Tongue, alike fituated. Alfo the firft Contrivance of thofe very artifi- cial Parts of Animals, the Eyes, Ears, Brain, Mufcles, Heart, Lungs, Midriff, Glands, La- rynx, Hands, Wings, Swimming Bladders, na- tural

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tural Spedacles, and other Organs of Senfe and Motion ; and the Inllind of Brutes and In ■ eels, can be the effedt of nothing elfe than the \Vif» dom and Sldll of a powerful ever living Agent, who being in all Places, is more able by his Will to move the Bodies within his bound- lefs uniform Senforium, and thereby to form and reform the Parts of the Univerfe, tUan we are by our Will to move the Parts of our own Bodies. And yet we are not to confider the World as the Body of God, or the feveral Parts thereof, as the Parts of God. He is an uni- form Being, void of Organs, Members or Parts, and they are his Creatures fubordinate to him, and fubfervient to his Will ; and he is no more the Soul of them, than the Soul of a Man is the Soul of the Species of Things carried through the Organs of Senfe into the place of its Sen- fation, where it perceives them by means of its immediate Prefence, without the Intervention of any third thing. The Organs of Senfe are not for enabling the Soul to perceive the Spe- cies of Things in its Senforium, but only for conveying them thither ; and God has no need of fuch Organs, he being every where prefenc to the Things themfelves. And fmce Space is divifible in infinitum^ and Matter is not necef- farily in all places, it may be alfo allow'd that God is able to create Particles of Matter of fe- veral Sizes and Figures, and in feveral Propor- tions to Space, and perhaps of different Denfi- ties and Forces, and thereby to vary the Laws gf Nature, and make Worlds of feveral forts in

feveral

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feveral Parts of the Univerfe. At leaft, I fee nothing of Contradidion in all this.