primary Qualities residing in them by the conjunction of the Elements and so under the Mask of Qualities which they could not tell what to make of couch all ignorance of Bodies their Causes if not Effects Democritus and his People impute nothing to Qualities but all to Figure and Motion called the Atomical Physiology For my part I think neither Opinion right yet a middle between both may be true I shall consider both Opinions and then give my Reasons against both and for the middle one As for the Pyrrhonian Doctrine of Qualities 't is too trifling to merit an Answer I might introduce this Question with a great deal of pomp and shew that it hath been a Controversie in the world for above Two Thousand Years that it hath exercised the greatest Men and that it is not yet determined But I shall think my self happy enough if I can put an end to this Debate without any other consideration The Method I propose to take I think differs from those that have gone before me for I intend to speak of the Creation of the First Matter and Universal Form and shew how from the various Union of these Two various Qualities arise But it would be too Magisterial to reject Opinions without shewing their Mistakes I shall therefore endeavour to shew the Error of these two Parties and then substitute what I conceive more true As to the Aristotelian that of Occult Qualities 't is Ignotum per Ignotius a thing is hot or cold bitter or sweet because of some Quality in it and what is that Quality 'T is Occult that is in plain English 't is so because it is so But the most that can be made of this Notion of Qualities may amount to this That there is a Form or Vital Principle latent or occult in all Bodies that not only retains and keeps the Parts together be the Genus or Species what it will and so distributes it self to all the Members performing the Office of Life but is the Specifick Formal Cause of all those Qualities with which Bodies abound be they those of Sweet Bitter Sharp c. or Hot and Cold in their several degrees Which Form being a Vital Principle is invisible and therefore occult as Lucretius holds Ex insensilibus ne credas sensile gigni Nimirum Lapides Ligna c. ' Of things unseen things visible are made ' As Stones and Wood and all things that do fade But this I conceive cannot be for though Galtruchius tells us in justification of this Doctrine That there is an actual Modification and Determination of the Form to the Matter I would fain know what particular Quality can a Form have that enters passive Matter Where can it receive before it enters Matter such a Specification For notwithstanding what Pliny saith of the Planet Venus that she scatters a Prolifick Dew which is but general and what the Astrologers say of the particular Influences of each Planet I desire to know who can distinguish the Influences of Saturn from Jupiter Mars from Venus and so of the rest except that of Sol The Sun indeed melts Wax but hardens Clay but this diversity of effect proceeds from the difference of the Object not of the Agent for the Agent is always one and the same tho' varied according to the passive Matter that receives it 'T is not therefore the Form alone that gives or is the Quality in the Body for as the Body was scatter'd Atoms loose and insipid till its parts being collected constituted by virtue of the Form a mixt Body so was its Form simple and undetermin'd till bound down and tied to the Body Now for the Atomical Physiology of Leucippus Democritus and Epicurus which is now called the New by what Figure I know not How can meer Matter which in it self loose and scattered is insipid i. e. in its parts hath no Taste for what Taste have the uncompounded Bodies of Atoms void of Qualities when put together by the clinging of its Atoms the emanation of its Particles or imagine what other way you please acquire a particular Taste or give a particular Odor Nil dat quod non habet may hold well enough here That which it had not in its Parts it can never have in the whole I speak of the same undetermin'd Matter for I know that Bodies of different Natures when conjoyn'd obtain Qualities by Fermentation which neither had a part besides if Atoms by their Position and Figure or by the manner of the flowing forth of their Particles do give a Taste and Smell c. these Atoms are so very small that the Body though separated into many Parts yet must retain notwithstanding the Figure of the Atoms the Atoms being too minute to have their Angles and Points cut off by a small division of the Body and consequently the Parts of the Body must have the same Taste and Odor when divided as before if the Qualities that are perceived by the Organs of Taste and Smelling be wholly owing to Matter i. e. to the figuration of the Atoms But this daily Experience evinces the contrary for Bodies divided or but a little opened as Plants and Fruit c. lose in a little time both their Taste and Smell and yet no one can say that the points or angles of the Atoms were disfigured or the Emanation of their Particles obstructed since great Proportions were left untouched But Galtruchius affirms Matter to be previously disposed to such a Form by a Temperament of Qualities But how can this be Are not Qualities the Effect of Life in every Body what needs there then a Form where there is Life before The Qualities therefore of Odor and Taste cannot proceed from the configuration of the Atoms Now if neither the Form gives the Quality of it self for the Form as I have shewn before is simple a vital Air undetermin'd nor the passive Matter though Atomical as I have shewn here and yet all Bodies have Qualities they must proceed from the Union of both and not from any distinct Cause in either So the Spirit of Nitre and Salt Armoniack apart have no Qualities or Power to dissolve or rather corrode Gold but united do it effectually 4. This brings me to the Fourth and last Thing I intend to speak to and that is How the Earth comes to be filled with variety of Bodies abounding with different qualities Since I propose here to treat of the Original of Qualities I must of necessity speak of the First Matter and its Formation and that leads me naturally to consider the first Creation which I shall do as briefly as possibly I can I shall not cite the various Opinions of the several Sects of Philosophers that treat of the World's beginning tho' some thought it had none this would look more like Shew than Use which I have no Temptation to do since I write for Pleasure not for Bread Besides for Philosophy's sake I shall omit it for there is
Plant and infuse it into the Body of another And thus Van Suchten and the acuter sort of Chymists tell us may be done with Metals But what need we fly to Laborious Art for the proof of this Does not sagacious Nature afford Instances enough of this sort in divers Places witness the petrefying Baths at Buda Glashitten and Eisenbach in Hungary that turn Wood and Iron into Stone and the Venereal Mine at Hern-grunat near Neusol where by leaving Iron in the Vitriolate Water for Fourteen Days it is transmuted into excellent Copper better and more ductil than the Natural But enough of this I have done with Pythagoras and shall touch now on Four Things 1. I shall speak somewhat to the duration of Bodies 2. Examine some Principles and Elements generally received 3. Compare some Aristotelian Hypotheses with those of Democritus 4. Having already shewn how variety of Plants and Metals are now generated in the Earth from the Diversity of Salts c. I will endeavour to shew how the Earth comes to be filled with such variety of Bodies abounding with different Qualities First As to the Duration of Bodies Bodies after the sensitive Spirit has left them and before their resolution into Dust have a sort of Vegetable Life remaining in them as appears by the growth of Hair and Nails that may be perceived in dead Bodies and a weak Animal one that lurks in the Moisture whence in Putrefaction Worms and divers sorts of Insects may be generated who dying others of another sort arise If therefore Bodies obtain this sort of Immortality not to speak of the Resurrction of the Body in a Philosophical Discourse why should it be denied to the Spirit which hath a much greater Right to it by the pure and incorrupt lasting Nature of its Essence But I shall advance the Nature of Bodies to a much more unmixt and pure Immortality For the Radical Moisture of Bodies that lies in the Bones may justly challenge a Right as things now are to an eternal duration For not to mention Bones that are found entire after a Thousand Years Burial nor the Bodies of Egyptian Mummies preserved whole for several Thousand Years there is in the Bones a Radical Moisture that is fix'd and permanent and is so far from giving way or suffering loss by that Element that is the Destroyer of mix'd Bodies that it is the Vessel made use of to purge the fix'd Metals in the Fire and remains unhurt when the volatil Metals fly away so that none of the Elements can destroy it no not the most torrid Vulcan Now for mix'd Bodies Fire indeed may separate the Parts of a mix'd Body change the Figure and so alter its Appearance as to puzzle the best Mechanick to reduce it to its primitive state yet this is no Annihilation but Division The burning of Wood or any Fuel is a Destruction of it I confess as to the Proprietor but not with respect to the Universe no more than there is less Money in the World by the Profuseness of a Prodigal as the one doth but change Hands so the other alters only the situation of its Parts The Watery or Mercurial Part of the Wood passeth away in Smoak the Oily or Sulphurous in Flame and the Body of Salt rests in the Ashes The Air preserves the two former and the Earth retains the latter each part returns to its native Country What then can destroy this Body except the First Cause I am yet to learn For though Bone-Ashes by reason of Moisture may flow and become Glass the ultimate end and use of them yet so glorious a lightsome body as that of Glass is rather an exaltation of its Essence than diminution of its Excellency nor does it give any termination to its Being but only a change to its Figure If Culinary Fire destroys the Parts of the Universe in time it may the whole But this is inconsistent with the Wisdom of its Maker to create Principles destructive of one another The Light of Nature as well as Experience taught Plato that the World was not destroyable by any other Cause but by the same God who composed it which the Eternal can easily do by Fire according as Things now appear without the Light of Holy Writ Which makes me wonder that Aristotle Zenophanes and other Great Men did not see this but thought the World of necessity as Eternal as God for though the Heat of the Sun is now tolerable between the Tropicks yet he that considers its being a little multiplied by a concave Glass even in our Meridian though its Rays pass through a vast Region of Water rarefied if reflected on a Man for some time it will scorch and destroy him when the volatil Waters that allay his Heat become fixed which the People think now are and a Philosopher knows may easily be then the Sun having no Cloud to obstruct his Light nor any Water to cool the scorching Heat of his Rays will necessarily burn up and calcine the Earth Thus the very Elements would destroy us did not the Eternal by his Providence defend us from the Heat by the interposition of the Waters and from the Chilness of the Waters by impregnating them with a Solar Heat whose invisible congealed Spirit saith one of the Learned Magi is more valuable than the whole Earth Clementissimo itaque infinitae sint Laudes Secondly As to Principles and Elements being to speak of these it will not be amiss to enquire how and when these came into the World The Study of Natural Philosophy was as early in the world as Men came to call upon God For whatever Appearances God made to the Antediluvian Patriarchs and by that means communicated his Divine Will and Nature to them yet we cannot suppose that the World in general had any other Light of the Divine Glory and Majesty than what came to them by Tradition and the Contemplation of the several Parts of the Universe for God is known by his Works they are the Witnesses of his Wisdom Power and Goodness The Knowledge of these Works comes not to Mankind at least generally by Inspiration but by exerting our Faculties And as for Tradition that is apt to make but a weak impression on thinking Men unless it is back'd with Reason But besides though the Creation of the World was a Tradition and the manner out of Chaos yet to give an account of the Phaenomena of Things and the manner now of Nature's Productions could not be a Tradition This was left to Man as the proper exercise of his Rational Powers that by improving and advancing his Thoughts he might come to have a clearer Light and Knowledge of God and consequently love him the more intensely for it is almost impossible to have a true knowledge of God and not to be inflamed with Love of him such is the Purity and Perfection of the Divine Nature When Men therefore began to contemplate the works of God they found all
as Plutarch will have it and then 't will be disputing only about Words But we 'll consider this Elements seem to be but modern in respect of the Ancients Moses speaks only of the Spirit and the Abyss and so for what I perceive it continued even to the Time of Thales who flourished in the 35th Olympiad Principles and Elements being not then distinguished by him for which Plutarch finds fault with him The same Author makes Empedocles to hold Four Elements who 't is said was a Disciple of Pythagoras who was contemporary with Thales Here I will suppose Elements to begin the Reason this They that held four Elements perceiving that besides the moist Vapour and heavenly Influence or Fire and Water in the modern Language there were Earth and Air that Air is the Food and as it were the Companion of Fire and Water of Earth and that things generated in the Earth could not but partake of its Nature as the Foetus in the Womb. That two of these were active and two passive two heavy and two light must of necessity be those Parts of Matter that constitute the Harmony of each Being To speak clearly to this Matter I shall take each Element apart and by that you will see whether these four or two only are self-subsisting Beings Pure Simple Primitive and Unmixt which is the Notion of an Element I will begin with the Air. That the Air we walk in is pure and unmixt no one will pretend for the Sulphurous Steams that are sublimed into the Air and the abundant Moisture fluctuating in this Region shew the contrary The Truth is what we call Air is nothing but Water rarefied attracted by the Heat of the Sun or sublim'd by the Archeus of the Earth and this may be made manifest by many several Experiments as the evaporating of Water into Smoak which is a gross Air or calcin'd Tartar that will attract it and dissolve it into Water The Earth can never be said to be pure simple or unmix'd for it is the common Shop of Nature wherein bodies of all sorts and qualities do reside It is in truth nothing more than the grosser parts of the Waters which condensing into a body became the Settlement of the Waters which God afterwards caused to become dry by the removal of the Waters from it and the Spirit of Light shining on it Though it is said In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth yet this is by a Figure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 usual as the Learned say amongst the Hebrews for the Darkness was upon the Face of the Deep and the Spirit moved upon the Face of the Waters The Chaos therefore or first Matter was plainly an Abyss of Waters and so our Latin Translators and Commentators render it Aquarum Terrae supernatantium say Junius and Tremellius Water I conceive is in its own Nature pure simple and unmix'd without any quality though susceptible of all A Primitive in Nature a middle Substance whose one Extream constituted Earth and its other Air or Heaven This may well be called a Principle for she is the first Matter of all things into which all things may be reduced Fire in its Original is an emanation of a Solar Spirit its Rays darting downwards impregnate and enkindle Passive Matter into Motion and Vegetation It is the Life or Spirit of the World as Water is the Matter To doubt this a Principle or Element for I think it no Blunder under Plutarch's Favour to make them Synonyma's were a mortal Sin in Philosophy Having said this 't is easie to infer That Water is the passive Principle and the Solar Influence the Formal of all created Beings and that properly speaking these two are the only Principles according to the Ancients and the other two only Derivatives But does not the excellent a Learned Magus tell us That the Four Elements by their never ceasing Motion cast forth a Sperm or subtil Portion of Matter into the Earth where meeting and uniting it is digested and brought to perfection according to the purity or impurity of the place The Authority of this Person and the Reverence and Admiration I have for him as it makes me conceal his Name so it does almost make me blush to lift up my Pen against him Sed magis Amica Veritas If Four Elements go to the Constitution of each Being these Elements must be intimately united Now that cannot be unless the purest part of one Element enter per minima the purest part of the other But Earth cannot enter Water per minima unless it be reduced to the Form and Tenuity of Water and then what need is there of Earth if Earth must be first resolved into Water ere it can unite with it Again Water must be rarefied to the dignity of Air or else it cannot unite intimately with Air if so what need is there of Water since Water must become Air before it can assist in the Constitution of a Body It to me therefore seems most plain that all created Beings here below are a Concrete of Water the purest part whereof being rarefied and impregnated with a celestial Heat which is all the Element of Fire I know of is digested into the various works of Nature diversified now according to what Nature has wrought in the Matrix before the Form enters for the Form is as capable of divers effects as the Water is susceptible of qualities Thus much for the Second Viz. Principles and Elements Thirdly I shall compare some Aristotelian Hypotheses with those of Democritus Aristotle and Heraclitus too held the Elements to be contrary to each other as Fire to Water Earth to Air two active and two passive Principles but Democritus denies it alledging that the Agent and Patient must be in some measure alike otherwise they cannot act upon one another Wherein Democritus is certainly in the right for Fire and Water differ not in a remiss but intense degree witness the quiet resting of Iron in which the Fire of Nature dwells plentifully in Water and witness the Generation of Animals in water which cannot be done without heat and witness the Seeds of all Beings whose germinating Virtue is the Fire of Nature involved in Moisture There is in truth no more difference between these two than between Water and Plants of which the one is so far from being repugnant to the other that the Plant is nourished by the water yet when the water is raised to an Acid and the Plant reduced to an Alkali by the union of these two a violent ebullition is caused a controversie even unto Death As for the Cause of the variety of Bodies the difference between Aristotle and his Followers and Leucippus Democritus and Epicurus and their Followers is no less and 't is no wonder that they who differ in the Nature of their Principles should fall out in the effects they produce The Aristotelians impute the effects of Bodies to secret