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to their pores. It is alfo obferved, that urine produceth no phosphorus, unless it be long expofed to the folar light. From all which it may be concluded, that bodies attract and fix the light; whence it fhould feem, as fome have obferved, that fire without burning is an ingredient in many things, as water without wetting.

194. Of this there cannot be a better proof, than the experiment of Monfieur Homberg, who made gold of mercury, by introducing light into its pores, but at fuch trouble and expence, that I fuppofe no body will try the experiment for profit. By this junction of light and mercury, both bodies became fixed, and produced a third different from either, to wit, real gold. For the truth of which fact, I refer to the memoirs of the French academy of Sciences. From the foregoing experiment it appears, that gold is only a mafs of mercury penetrated and cemented by the fubftance of light, the particles of those bodies attracting and fixing each other. This feems to have been not altogether unknown to former philofophers; Marfilius Ficinus the Platonift, in his commentary on the firft book of the fecond Ennead of Plotinus, and others likewife before him, regarding mercury as the mother, and fulphur as the father of metals; and Plato himself in his Timæus defcribing gold, to be a denfe fluid with a fhining yellow light, which well fuits a compofition of light and mercury.

195. Fire or light mixeth with all bodies (a), even with water; witness the flashing lights in the fea, whose waves feem frequently all on fire. Its operations are various according to its kind, quantity, and degree of vehemence. One

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degree keeps water fluid, another turns it into elaftic air (a). And air itself feems to be nothing elfe but vapours and exhalations, rendered elastic by fire. Nothing flames but oil and fulphur with water, falt, and earth compofe oil; which fulphur is fire: therefore fire enclosed attracts fire, and caufeth the bodies whofe compofition it enters to burn and blaze.

196. Fire collected in the focus of a glass operates in vacuo, and therefore is thought not to need air to fupport it. Calx of lead hath gone off with an explosion in vacuo, which Niewenty't and others take for a proof that fire can burn without air. But Mr. Hales attributes this effect to air enclosed in the red lead, and perhaps too in the receiver, which cannot be perfectly exhaufted. When common lead is put into the fire in order to make red-lead, a greater weight of this comes out than was put in of common lead. Therefore the red-lead fhould feem impregnated with fire. Mr. Hales thinks it is with air. The vaft expansion of compound aqua fortis, Mr. Niewenty't will have to proceed from fire alone. Mr. Hales contends that air muft neceffarily cooperate. Though by Niewenty't's experiment it fhould feem, the phofphorus burns equally, with and without air.

197. Perhaps they who hold the oppofite fides in this queftion, may be reconciled by obferving that air is in reality nothing more than particles of wet and dry bodies volatilised, and rendered elaftic by fire (b). Whatever therefore is done by air must be afcribed to fire, which fire is a fubtile invifible thing, whofe operation is not to be difcerned but by means of fome groffer body,

(a) 149.

(b) 147, 150, 151.
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which ferves not for a pabulum to nourish the fire, but for a vehicle to arrest and bring it into view. Which feems the fole ufe of oil, air, or any other thing, that vulgarly paffeth for a pabulum or food of that element.

198. To explain this matter more clearly, it is to be observed, that fire, in order to become fenfible, must have fome fubject to act upon. This being penetrated and agitated by fire affects us with light, heat, or fome other fenfible alteration. And this fubject fo wrought upon may be called culinary fire. In the focus of a burning glass exposed to the fun, there is real actual fire, though not difcerned by the fenfe, till it hath fomewhat to work on, and can fhew it felf in it's effects, heating, flaming, melting, and the like. Every ignited body is, in the foregoing fenfe, culinary fire. But it will not therefore follow, that it is convertible into pure elementary fire. This, for ought that appears, may be ingenerable and incorruptible by the courfe of nature. It may be fixed and imprifoned in a compound (a), and yet retain it's nature, though loft to fenfe, and though it return into the invifible elementary mafs, upon the analysis of the compounded body as is manifeft in the folution of ftone lime by water.

199. It fhould feem, therefore, that what is faid of air's being the pabulum of fire, or being converted into fire, ought to be understood only in this fenfe; to wit, that air being lefs grofs than other bodies, is of a middle nature, and therefore more fit to receive the impreffions of a fine ætherial fire (b), and impart them to other things. According to the antients, foul ferveth for a vehicle to

(a). 169, 192, 193. (E) 163.

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intellect (a), and light or fire for a vehicle to the foul; and, in like manner, air may be fuppofed a vehicle to fire, fixing it in fome degree, and communicating it's effects to other bodies.

200. The pure invifible fire or æther doth permeate all bodies, even the hardest and most folid, as the diamond. This alone, therefore, cannot, as some learned men have supposed, be the cause of muscular motion, by a mere impulfe of the nerves communicated from the brain to the membranes of the muscles, and thereby to the enclosed æther, whofe expanfive motion, being by that means increased, is thought to fwell the muscles and cause a contraction of the fleshy fibres. This, it fhou'd feem, the pure æther cannot do immediately, and of itself, becaufe, fuppofing it's expanfive motion to be increafed, it must ftill pafs through the membranes, and confequently not fwell them, inafmuch as æther is fuppofed freely to pervade the most folid bodies. It fhould feem therefore that this effect must be owing, not to pure æther, but to æther in fome part fixed and arrested by the particles of air.

201. Although this æther be extremely elaftic, yet, as it is fometimes found by experience to be attracted, imprisoned and detained in grofs bodies (b), fo we may fuppofe it to be attracted, and its expanfive force diminished, though it should not be quite fixed, by the loofe particles of air, which combining and cohering therewith may bring it down, and qualify it for intercourfe with groffer things. Pure fire may be faid to animate air, and air other things. Pure fire is invifible; therefore flame is not pure fire. Air is neceffary both to life and flame. And it is found by experi (a) 178.

(b) 169.

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ment, that air lofeth in the lungs rhe power of feeding flame. Hence it is concluded, that the fame thing in air contributes both to life and flame. Vital flame furvives culinary flame in vacuo: therefore it requires lefs of that thing to fuftain it.

202. What this may be, whether some certain proportion, or fome peculiar parts of æther, is not eafy to fay. But thus much feems plain, that whatever is afcribed to acid may be also ascribed to fire or æther. The particles of æther fly a funder with the greatest force: therefore, agreeably to fir Ifaac Newton's doctrine, when united they must attract each other with the greateft force. Therefore they conftitute the acid. For whatfoever ftrongly attracts and is attracted, may be called an acid, as fir Ifaac Newton informs us in his tract De acido. Hence it should feem, that the fulphur of Homberg and the acid of fir Ifaac are at bottom one and the fame thing, to wit, pure fire or æther.

203. The vital flame or æthereal fpirit, being attracted and imprisoned in groffer bodies, feemeth to be fet free and carried off, by the fuperior attraction of a subtil and pure flame. Hence, perhaps it is, that lightening kills animals, and turns fpirituous liquors vapid in an inftant.

204. Hippocrates in his book concerning the Heart obferveth, that the foul of man is not nourifhed by meats and drinks from the lower belly, but by a pure and luminous fubftance darting its rays, and diftributing a non-natural nourishment, as he terms it, in like manner as that from the intestines is diftributed to all parts of the body. This luminous non-natural nourishment, though it be fecreted from the blood, is exprefly faid not to come from the lower belly. It is plain, therefore,

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