Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

The Cafe of Salt, with its feveral Combinations.

Thus vitriols, allum, borax, and, in fhort, all other falts, that are naturally found in the earth, may, upon the fame principle, be eafily explicated. For, according as acid liquors meet with different moulds, matrices, or absorbent earths, they confequently produce different falts, and which vary too in figure, or fhape, according to the earthy particles joined to. So Sir Ifaac calls common falt an acid furrounding a particle of earth, in the centre the fymbol of our globe, confifting of earth and fea; whence we are pretty fure of this piece of philofophy, and may very rationally advance the fame, that the aereal acid is the fame with the original of all other acid fpirits, and that all falts differ from one another, but as they are differently mixed with terrene, fulphureous, or metallic particles; for all falts, but the volatile, aereal, vague one, contains a little fhare of earth to fix and retain this faid univerfal volatile acid with.

To the idea of this aereal acid fubftance, we are at a lofs to give a proper name, otherways than by its effects. It feems to come neareit the nature of spirits of fulphur per campanum; and is discovered in all fulphur, in all vitriol, in all allum, in all nitre, in all foffile coal, &c. This fame acid is that pernicious principle in the noxious fumes and damps of mines and cellars, that fo foon fuffocate animal bodies. The fume is in that fmoak which flies from bituminous turf, and yet is the chief medicinal principle in chalybeate fpaw

waters. See Dr. Linden.

To conclude, this faid faline acid, or elementary falt, as faid before, is

63

a vague indeterminate principle, dif tributed to every part of the globe, both with in and without; and as fuch, is the very bafis of all foffile falts, created at firft for that purpose.

It is this acid that diffolves iron and copper in hot baths; it is this, that, meeting with foffile, or rock oil, coagulates and cements it into fulphur: This, that being received into the earthy part of allum, or lapis calcarius, cements it into allu m: This, in fine, that infinuating into the subftance of iron, produces green vitriol; or into that of copper, blew vitriol, &c.

Foffile falts, left to fhoot or chryftallize, affume certain figures, usually attributed to them as their proper figures, though fometimes fuppofed to be the figures of the acid of those fame falts. The figures are in feafalt, cubes; in fal gems, parallelepipeds; in fal petre, a fort of needle form; in allum, triangles with points blunted; in borax, flatted ovals; in fal ammoniac, branchy needles, like rays of ftars, &c. Yet upon examining the configuration of thefe falts it will appear, that fuch figures do no ways belong either to the falts, or the acids procurable from them; but rather to the alkalies, whereby they are diffolved, and which ferve them as bafes. Hence the fame acid affumes different figures, according to the different alkalies it is faturated withal, ere it chryftallize. Thus fpirit of nitre, after diffolving copper, fhoots into hexagons; after iron, into irregular fquares; after filver, into triangular dented plates, &c. Yours,

JOHN COOK.

[merged small][ocr errors]

A very remarkable Fallacy in Vifion explained.

T has been often obferved by

I perfons

time

the great northern road, near Stilton in Huntingdonshire, that when they came within a mile or two of that village, the church and inns appear to be near a mile afunder; but on their arrival in the place, they are convinced of their mittake, the real distance not being more than 200 yards. The fallacy of vifion is caufed by the fituation of the village, and of the fields that furround it.

The open field, through which the road paffes on the fouth fide of Stilton, is almost level for a raile or two; and from this diftance there appears to be a gentle rifing of the fields on each fide of the town, for about half a pace, or a mile; and the village itself appears in the horizon, nothing being feen beyond it, though fomewhat lower and remoter than the parts of the horizon adjoining to each fide of it. And this feems to be the cause of the deception. For when any object, or interval between two objects, is judged to be farther off, than according to our common conceptions, we judge it alfo to be larger than we fhould do, if we conceived it to be

nearer.

At the distance of half a mile from the north fide of the village, the

road begins to afcend northwards;

the faid interval between the inns and the church appears to be very large: the tops of the inns and of the fteeple being feen in the horizon beyond a long ridge of corn lands, rifing gently from the right hand of the road. And from this lower ftation the faid interval appears much greater than from the top of the afcent about it, though but very little farther from the place. Because from this higher station, those intermediate ridges do not intercept the view of the little field between them and the town; which field, from the lower ftation, feems larger than it really is; and also because the village does not now appear in the horizon; the fields beyond it being plainly visible.

This kind of deception is not peculiar to the place abovementioned, it is common to feveral others. The abbey church of St. Alban's, for inflance, appears to be much nearer in fome parts of the road, where a hill, on the left, intercepts every intervening object from the fight, than in others, when you are in reality nearer to the church, but where the fields and other intermediate objects are vifible.

To the EDITORS of the OXFORD MAGAZINE. GENTLEMEN,

HAVE always thought that the many inftances and tokens of reason and design often obferved in the actions and behaviour of brutes, were abundantly fufficient to refute the Cartefian opinion of their being mere machines. And I was, many years ago, confirmed in my oppofition to that hypothefs, by obferving the odd humour of an old horse that

then worked in one of the royal dock yards. This creature would labour very diligently til he heard the twelveo'-clock bell ring; but, after that, nothing could prevail upon him to proceed: he feemed to be convinced that he had faithfully performed his talk, and was reioived not to be impofed upon.

For

On the Senfibility of Brutes.

For my own part, when I confider this, and a thousand other fimiliar actions of brutes, I cannot but attribute them to fome degree of knowledge and reafon. A learned friend of mine is of opinion, that brutes are men in difguife, like the companions of Ulyffes, enchanted by Circe; that their fouls were originally and intrinfically as perfect and excellent as ours; and that all the difference between us and them, arifes merely from the difadvantageous organization of their bodies, which are not fo well difpofed as ours are, to affift the intellectual operations of their fouls. So that, according to him, if the foul of Socrates had been lodged in a hog, inftead of a human body, it would never have arrived to any higher attainments than thofe common to its fellow-animals. This was alfo the opinion of the antient Pythagoreans and Metempfychofifts. But this notion exalts the nature of brutes as much too high, as that of Des Cartes depreffes it too low: both extremes are equally unjuft; and the truth, as in most cafes it does, lies in the

mean.

I am, therefore, for taking a middle courfe, and afcribing to them faculties, and a fhining fubftance, naturally inferior to the human: this feems to me moft agreeable to reafon. It must, however, be acknowledged, that very little can be offered on this head, but what is difputable and uncertain. We are too ignorant of their inward natures and effences to determine almost any thing concerning them with certainty.

In the mean time, the darknefs that furrounds this fubject fhould convince us of our own ignorance; for furely that being has no great reafon to boast of wisdom, who is unable to comprehend the nature of the vileft infect, and to difcover the fource from whence its vital motions

65

and actions proceed. All things are full of impenetrable myfteries! all nature is but one grand ænigma, which the whole force of human intellect can never explain! The most obvious things, when clofely confidered, are found to prefent us with infuperable difficulties. The leaft of all the beings that furround us, is capable of baffling the utmost force of the moft capacious understanding.

Nor are we better acquainted with ourselves than with foreign objects. We are no where more ignorant than at home. The mechanism of our own bodies is of too intricate a nature for our narrow faculties to com prehend. Perhaps no other mind than that of its almighty author, can understand its whole anatomy, and organical structure. Phyficians every day difpute about the moft confiderable questions relating to the œconomy of the human body. They are not yet agreed how digeftion is performed; nor can they difcover the caufe of the dilatation and contractions of the heart. So imperfect is our knowledge of this exterior part of ourselves!

But are we better acquainted with our better part, that confcious being we call the foul? The body is not really the man; the foul is his proper and individual being. Of this, therefore, it may furely be expected

we should have a more intimate knowledge. But alas! there is nothing, on the contrary, with which we are lefs acquainted. We are, indeed, confcious of its operations. But the nature and fubftance of that being, from whence they flow, we are almoft entirely ignorant. Nor can we even conceive how these two beings, fo very different in their nature, are joined together. Nothing appears to us more myfterious than that union. We know, by repeated experience, that when we will that

our

our arm fhould move, it is accordingly moved, and in the manner we defire. But why that effect should follow the act of our will, we are unable to conceive. We know, likewife, that if any found part of our body be pricked with a needle, we fhall immediately feel pain. But we cannot conceive what connection, what relation there can fubfift be

tween the prick of a needle, in the body, and the fenfation of pain in the foul. What wonder then, that, ignorant as we are of ourselves and our own natures, we cannot difcover the concealed conftitution of other animals, and the true nature of other external objects. If we do not know ourfelves, we have furely little reafon for being furprized at our being ignorant of the effences of other beings.

Our great Maker has been pleafed to afford us, in this ftate of exiftence, only a tafte as it were, of knowledge, to excite and quicken our endeavours to fearch for it with affiduity and perfeverance. In the next world we hope to be fully fatisfied with that food of angels, to know clearly ourselves and other beings, particularly that eternal fountain of being, the felf-exiflent incomprehenfible Creator.

Hail, facred folitude and filence, propitious powers to thought and contemptation! When the night is calm and ftill, and the fky difplays its cryftal azure, what multitudes of ftars exhibit their various fplendors, uniting to adorn the firmas ent! We may well excufe the night for veiling from our view, in dim confufion, the beauties of the neighbouring fields and meads, while it thus opens to our ravished eyes, fo lovely, fo glorious a fcene, invifible by day. O bright and magnificent theatre of nature! O glorious work of the almighty architect! fair copy

of the divine ideas, and image of the Deity!

Every one of thofe fparkling orbs is probably, like our fun, the center of a distinct fyftem of planets, that dance their airy rounds about it.

How vast a system then is the univerfe! Profufe beneficence! Luxuriant bounty!

Great, excellent, and worthy of their author, are all thy works, O thou adorable Creator of all things! Who can define the bounds of thy creation! who can circumfcribe thy goodness? Innumerable worlds continually depend upon thy providence! Thy arm fuftains the universal frame of nature! Shouldst thou withdraw thy all-fupporting power, yon glittering ftars would be extinguished, and night once more regain the infinite expanfe.

From thee thefe glowing spangles of the fky derive their luftre; not half fo beautiful as thou, great archetype of all things lovely! the fplendor of thefe material lights is but a faint fhadow of thy effential and immaterial glory, of the brightnefs of thy infinite wifdom, and all penetrating intellect!

Thou formedft, and ftill governeft, this multitude of worlds! Thy everwakeful and ever-active providence inviolably maintains the conftant courfe of nature, and executes her wife and wholefome laws, through all the wide creation. "Tis thy almighty arm that whirls around the orbs in their eternal motions; true foul of nature, and vital principle of all things! unmoved and unchangeable thyfelf, by a filert and fecret, but unrefiftible force, thou produceft all the motions and viciffitudes of nature, guided by rules and measures, flowing from the dictates of thine own unerring wifdom. This earth of ours, which now fo infinitely rolls, would ftop in the career, and

leave

Articles and Neceffaries of Life taxed and excifed.

leave this hemifphere involved in endless night, fhouldeft thou for a moment withdraw thy hand, to which it owes its motion! Without thee this goodly frame of the universe would be only a lifeless mass of mat

67

ter, without a foul. Thy ever-active and omnipotent power infpires the whole; infufes life and motion into all its parts!

Your's, &c.

To the EDITORS of the OXFORD MAGAZINE.
GENTLEMEN,

B.

BE pleased to propose to your learned correfpondents (belonging to the
Oxford Magazine) the following questions, and you will oblige, Gentle-
men, your's,
L. M.

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

commonly called Providential, do not happen by Chance, or by fome established laws, or rules, implanted in the nature of things at the creation?

If fome do, and fome do not, happen by chance, or by some established laws or rules, by what criterion is a providential thing to be known from one that is not fo?

I fhall take it as a favour if fome of your learned correfpondents will refolve me these questions.

Articles and Neceffaries of Life taxed and excifed.

[ocr errors]

IT is a fact that our land, our houfes, our windows, the chair I fit in, the table I write on, the bed I lie in, our bread, our ale, wines brandy, rum, gin, annifeed, fhrub, cyder, perry, mums, fweets, metheglin, mead, malt, hops, nay, our very fmall beer, water, porridge, and water-gruel, coals, feveral forts of licenfes, our candles, foap, falt, paper, paftboard, cards, millboard, fcaleboard, printed, painted, and ftained paper, printed, painted, ftained and dyed filks, calicoes, linens, and ftuffs, glafs, hats, wigs, powder, fhirts, coats, waistcoats, breeches, ftockings, fhoes, gloves, ftarch, hides, and fkins, pieces of hides and fkins, vellum, parchment, checquered and ftriped linen, painted, ftained, and dyed linen, imported filks, calicoes, linen and ftuffs, painted, printed, ftained, and dyed chocolate, coffee, tea, cocoa nuts, fugar, plumbs, coaches,

berlins, landaus, chariots, calashes, chaise marines, chaifes, chairs, and caravans, pewter, filver plate, figures for chairs and coaches, pedlars, hawkers, advertisements, almanacks, ftamps on paper, ftamps on parchment, ftamps on news-papers, ftamps on policies, nay, ftamps on poor infolvent writs, with many other things too numerous to mention, are all now taxed or excifed, and many of them feveral times over: I therefore challenge all the enemies of the Stuarts to tell me, if any one of the above, or how many of them, or what neceffary of life was taxed in good king Charles the Fir's time; and affo to tell me how the people could be cppreffed when. almoft totally free from taxes, and how the people are now free, when it would puzzle a divine to name one thing untaxed.

I am, Sir, yours, &c.
AN ENGLISHMAN

« ZurückWeiter »