Reflections upon ancient and modern learning by William Wotton ...

CHAP. XX. Of Ancient and Modern Natural Hi∣stories of Elementary Bodies and Minerals.

HAving now finished my Compari∣son of Ancient and Modern Anato∣my, with as much Exactness as my little Insight into these Things would give me Leave, I am sensible that most Men will think that I have been too tedious. But, besides that I had not any where found it carefully done to my Hands, (though it is probable that it has in Books which have escaped my Notice) I thought that it would be a very effectual Instance, how little the Ancients may have been presu∣med to have perfected any one Part of Natural Knowledge, when their own Bodies, which they carried about with them, and which, of any Thing, they were the nearliest concerned to know,

were, comparatively speaking, so very imperfectly traced. However, in the re∣maining Parts of my Parallel, I shall be much shorter; which, I hope, may be some Amends for my too great Length in this.

From those Instruments, or Mechanical Arts, whether Ancient or Modern, by which Knowledge has been advanced, I am now to go to the Knowledge it self. Ac∣cording to the Method already proposed, I am to begin with Natural History in its usual Acceptation, as it takes in the Knowledge of the several Kinds of Ele∣mentary Bodies, Minerals, Insects, Plants, Beasts, Birds and Fishes. The Useful∣ness, and the Pleasure of this Part of Learning is too well known to need any Proof. And besides, it is a Study, about which the greatest Men of all Ages have employed themselves. Of the very few lost Books that are mentioned in the Old Testament, one was an History of Plants, written by the wisest of Men, and he a King. So that there is Reason to be∣lieve, that it was cultivated with Abun∣dance of Care by all those who did not place the Perfection of Knowledge in the Art of Wrangling about Questions, which were either useless, or which could not easily be decided.

Before I enter into Particulars, it is ne∣cessary to enquire what are the greatest Excellencies of a compleat History of any one sort of Natural Bodies. This may soon be determined. That History of any Body is certainly the best, which, by a full and clear Description, lays down all the Characteristical Marks of the Body then to be described; so as that its Speci∣fical Idea may be perfectly formed, and it self certainly and easily distinguished from any other Body, though, at first View, it be never so like it; which enu∣merates all its known Qualities; which shews whether there are any more besides those already observed; and, last of all, which enquires into the several Ways whereby that Body may be beneficial or hurtful to Man, or any other Body; by giving a particular Account of the several Phaenomena which appear upon its Ap∣plication to, or Combination with other Bodies, of like, or unlike Natures. All this is plainly necessary, if a Man would write a full History of any single Species of Animals, Plants, Insects, or Minerals, whatsoever. Or, if he would draw up a General History of any one of these U∣niversal Sorts, then he ought to examine wherein every Species of this Universal Sort agrees each with other; or wherein

they are discriminated from any other Universal Sort of Things: Thus, by de∣grees, descend to Particulars, and range every Species, not manifestly Anomalus, under its own Family, or Tribe; there∣by to help the Memory of Learners, and assist the Contemplations of those who, with Satisfaction to themselves and others, would Philosophize upon this amazing Variety of Things.

By this Test the Comparison may be made. I shall begin with the simplest Bodies first; which, as they are the com∣monest, so, one would think, should have been long ago examined with the strictest Care. By these I mean, Air, Water, Earth, Fire; commonly called Elements. The Three first are certainly distinct and real Bodies, endued with proper and peculiar Qualities; and so come under the present Question.

Of the History of Air the Ancients seemed to know little more than just what might be collected from the Obser∣vation of its most obvious Qualities. Its Necessity for the immediate Subsistence of Life, and the unspeakable Force of Rapid Winds, or Air forcibly driven all one Way, made it be sufficiently observ∣ed by all the World; whilst its Internal Texture, and very few of its remoter

Qualities, were scarce so much as dreamt of by all the Philosophers of Antiquity. Its Weight only was known to Aristo∣tle y, (or the Author of the Book de Coelo) who observed, that a full Blad∣der out-weighed an empty one. Yet this was carried no further by any of the An∣cients, that we know of; dis-believed by his own School, who seemed not to have attended to his Word; opposed and ridiculed when again revived, and de∣monstrably proved, by the Philosophers of the present Age. All which are Evi∣dences, that anciently it was little exa∣mined into, since they wanted Proofs to evince that, which Ignorance only made disputable. But this has been spoken to already; I shall therefore only add, that, besides what Mr. Boyle has written con∣cerning the Air, one may consult Otto Guerick's Magdebourg-Experiments, the Experiments of the Academy del Cimento, Sturmius's Collegium Curiosum, Mr. Hal∣ley's Discourses concerning Gravity, and the Phaenomena of the Baroscope in the Philosophical Transactions z. From all which one may find, not only how little of the Nature of the Air was anciently known; but also, that there is scarce any one Body, whose Theory is now so near being compleated, as is that of the Air.

The Natural History of Earth and Wa∣ter come under that of Minerals: Fire, as it appears to our Senses, seems to be a Quality, rather than a Substance; and to consist in its own Nature, in a Rapid Agitation of Bodies, put into a quick Motion; and divided by this Motion, into very small Parts. After this had been once asserted by the Corpuscularian Philosophers, it was exceedingly strength∣ned by many Experimental Writers, who have taken abundance of Pains to state the whole Doctrine of Qualities clearly, and intelligibly; that so Men might know the difference between the Exi∣stence or Essential Nature of a Body, and its being represented to our Senses under such or such an Idea. This is the Natural Consequence of proceeding upon clear and intelligible Principles; and re∣solving to admit nothing as conclusive, which cannot be manifestly conceived, and evidently distinguished from every Thing else. Here, if in any Thing, the old Philosophers were egregiously defe∣ctive: What has been done since, will appear by consulting, among others, the Discourses which Mr. Boyle has written upon most of the considerable Qualities of Bodies, which come under our No∣tice; such as his Histories of Fluidity and

Firmness, of Colours, of Cold, his Origin of Forms and Qualities, Experiments a∣bout the Mechanical Production of divers particular Qualities, and several others, which come under this Head; because they are not Notions framed only in a Closet, by the help of a lively Fancy; but Genuine Histories of the Phaenomena of Natural Bodies; which appeared in vast Numbers, after such Trials were made upon them, as were proper to dis∣cover their several Natures.

And therefore, that it may not be thought that I mistake every plausible Notion of a witty Philosopher for a new Discovery of Nature, I must desire that my former Distinction between Hypothe∣ses and Theories may be remembred. I do not here reckon the several Hypotheses of Des Cartes, Gassendi, or Hobbes, as Acquisitions to real Knowledge, since they may only be Chimaera's and amu∣sing Notions, fit to entertain working Heads. I only alledge such Doctrines as are raised upon faithful Experiments, and nice Observations; and such Consequen∣ces as are the immediate Results of, and manifest Corollaries drawn from, these Experiments and Observations: Which is what is commonly meant by Theories. But of this more hereafter.

That the Natural History of Minerals was anciently very imperfect, is evident from what has been said of Chymistry al∣ready; to which, all the Advances that have ever been made in that Art, unless when Experiments have been tried upon Vegetable or Animal Substances, are pro∣perly to be referred. I take Minerals here in the largest Sence; for all sorts of Earths, Sulphurs, Salts, Stones, Metals, and Mi∣nerals properly so called. For Chymi∣stry is not only circumstantially useful, but essentially necessary here; since a great many Minerals of very differing Natures would never have been known to have belonged to several Families, if they had not been examined in the Fur∣naces of the Chymists. But I think this is so clear, that I should lose Time if I should say any Thing more about it; and therefore I shall rather mention some other Things, wherein Discoveries have been made in and by Mineral Bodies, without the help of Chymistry. The greatest of which is, of a Stone which the Ancients admired a, without ever examining to what Uses it might be ap∣plied; and that is, the Mag∣net: The noblest Properties whereof Sir William Temple acknow∣ledges

to be anciently unknown b; which is more, indeed, than what some do c, who, at the same Time, make our Fore-fathers to have been extreamly stupid, that could suffer such a Disco∣very to be ever lost. So that all that can be said of the Ad∣vances which, by the Uses of the Load-stone, have been made in several Parts of Learn∣ing, do not in the least affect Sir William Temple. However, I shall mention some of the greatest, because he charges the Moderns with not making all the Uses of so noble an Invention; which he supposes the An∣cient Greeks and Romans would have made, had it fallen into their Hands: Which makes him assert, that the Disco∣veries hereby made in remote Countries have been rather pursued to accumulate Wealth d, than to increase Knowledge. Now, if both these can be done at once, there is no Harm done: And since there is no Dispute of the one, I think it will be an easie Matter to prove the other. I shall name but a few Particulars, most of them rather belonging to another Head.

Geography therefore was anciently a very imperfect Study, for want of this

Knowledge of the Properties of the Load∣stone. The Figure of the Earth could formerly only be guessed at; which Sir William Temple's admired Epicurus e did, for that Reason, deny to be round; wherein he seems to have been more rea∣sonable, than in many other of his Asser∣tions; because he thought it an Affront to the Understanding of Man, to be de∣termined by bare Conjectures, in a Mat∣ter which could no other Way be deci∣ded. Whereas now, most Parts of the Ocean being made easily accessible, the Latitudes, and respective Bearings of e∣very Place are commonly known: The Nature and Appearances of Winds and Tides are become familiar, and have been nicely examined by Intelligent Men in all Parts of the World: The Influence of the Moon, joyned with the Motion of the Earth, have been taken in upon al∣most infallible Grounds, to found Theo∣ries of the Sea's Motion upon. And there are great Numbers of other noble, pleasant and useful Propositions in Geo∣graphy, Astronomy and Navigation, which ultimately owe their Original to the Dis∣covery of that single Quality of this won∣derful Stone, that it always points towards the North. If these Sciences have brought to us the Wealth of the Indies, if they

have enlarged the Commerce and Inter∣course of Mankind, it is so far from be∣ing a Disparagement to the Industry of the Moderns, who have cultivated them to such useful Purposes, that it is the highest Character that could be given of those Men, that they pursued their In∣ventions to such noble Ends. Knowledge not reduced to Practice, when that is possible, is so far imperfect, that it loses its principal Use. And it is not for ac∣quiring Wealth, but for mis-employing it when he has acquired it, that a Man ought to be blamed.

Now, to compleat what I have to say of Geography all at once, I shall take no∣tice, that as the Improvements by Navi∣gation have made all the Sea-Coasts of the Universe accessible, so the Art of En∣graving upon Copper-Plates has made it easie for Men to draw such Draughts of every particular Coast, as will imprint lasting and just Idea's of all the Parts of the known World. For want of this, the Ancient Descriptions even of those Countries which they knew, were rude, and imperfect: Their Maps were neither exact, nor beautiful: The Longitudes and Latitudes of Places, were very little, if at all, considered; the latter of which can now be exactly determined, and the

former may be very nearly adjusted, since the Application of Telescopes to Astro∣nomical Uses has enabled Men to make much nicer Observations of the Moon's Eclipses than could formerly be made; besides those of Jupiter's Satellites, to which the Ancients were entirely Stran∣gers. This makes our Maps wonderful∣ly exact; which are not only the Diver∣tisements of the Curious, but of unspeak∣able Use in Civil Life, at Sea especially; where, by the help of Sea-Charts, Sailers know where they are, what Rocks lie near them, what Sands they must avoid; and can as perfectly tell which Way they must steer to any Port of the Universe, as a Traveller can, upon Salisbury-Plain, or New-Market-Heath, which Way he must ride to a great Town, which he knows before-hand is not far from the Edge of the Plain, or of the Heath. Vel∣serus has printed some ancient Maps f, that were made for the Direction of the Roman Quarter-Masters; and if a Man will compare them with Sanson's, or Bla∣eu's, he will see the difference; which in future Ages will certainly be vastly great∣er, if those Countries which are now bar∣barous, or undiscovered, should ever come into the Hands of a Civilized or Learned People. But I have not yet done with the Load-stone.

Besides these occasional Uses of the Magnet, its Nature, abstractedly taken, has been nicely enquired into, thereby to discover both its own Qualities, and its Re∣lation to other Bodies that are round about it. And here indeed one may justly won∣der, that when Flavio Amal∣phi g had discovered that Iron touched with a Magnet, always points towards the North, that all the Philoso∣phers of that Age did not im∣mediately try all Manner of Experiments upon that strange Stone, which was found to be so exceedingly useful in Matters of common Life: The Portuguezes, who first made daring Voyages by the Help of the Compass into the Sou∣thern and South-Eastern Seas, better knew the Value of that rich Discovery; but Philosophy was in those darker Ages divided between the School-men and the Chymists; the former presently salved the Business with their Substantial Forms, and what they could not comprehend came very pro∣perly under the Notion of an Occult Qua∣lity: The latter found nothing extraor∣dinary in their Crucibles when they

analyzed the Magnet; and so they seem soon to have given it over: Besides, in those Days few Men studied Chymistry with any other Design than that of finding out the Philosopher's Stone, to which the Load-stone could do them no fur∣ther Service than that of supplying them with another hard Name to cant with h. For these Reasons therefore, it lay in a good Measure neglected by Men of Letters, till our famous Country∣man Dr. Gilbert of Colchester, by a vast Number of Experiments, found that the Earth was but a larger Magnet, and he in∣deed, was the first Author of all these magnetical Speculations which have been made since that have had the good For∣tune to be generally approved. This great Man, whom Galileo and Kepler express a great Veneration for in their Writings, deserves here to be mentioned upon ano∣ther Account, because He, my Lord Ba∣con, and Mr. Harriot, all English-men, are the Three Men to whom Monsieur Des Cartes was so very much obliged for the first Hints of the greatest things, which he has given us in his Philosophi∣cal and Mathematical Discourses. For nothing does more convincingly put these things out of Doubt, than to trace them up to their first Originals, which can be

done but in a very few. But it is time to proceed.

Notes

• y

  De Coelo, l. 4. c. 4.
• z

  Num. 179, & 181.
• a

  Their Opinions are collected by Gassendi, in his Animadversions up∣on Laërtius's Life of E∣picurus, p. 362, 363.
• b

  Pag. 48.
• c

  This they have col∣lected from a Passage in Plautus, Merc. Act. 5. Sc. 2. Huc Secundus Ventus nunc est, cape modo vorsoriam; where by vorsoria they under∣stand the Compass, be∣cause the Needle always points towards the North: Whereas vorsoria is no∣thing but that Rope with which the Mariners turn∣ed their Sails.
• d

  Pag. 49.
• e

  Vide Gassendi's Animad∣versions upon Laër∣tius's Epi∣curus, pag. 672.
• f

  Com∣monly cal∣led the Peu∣tingerian Tables.
• g

  To him this Disco∣very is attributed by Sal∣muth upon Pancirollus; others call him John Goia of Amalphi; but Gassen∣di, Animad. Pag. 364. says, it was found out by a French-man, about the Year MCC. since it is mentioned by one Guyotus Provineus, a French Po∣et of that Time, who calls the Compass Marineta; to which Gassendi also adds, That it was most probably a French Inven∣tion, because the North-Point is by all Nations marked in their Compasses by a Flower-de-Luce, the Arms of France.
• h

  Mag∣nesia Ni∣gra, used by Eyrenaeus Philale∣thes, and ridiculed by Surly in Ben John∣son's Al∣chemist.