Experimental notes of the mechanical origine or production of fixtness.

CHAP. IV. (Book 4)

I Further observe, that the Chymists Explications do not reach deep and far enough. For first, most of them are not sufficiently distinct and full, so as to come home to the parti∣cular Phaenomena, nor often times so much as to all the grand ones, that belong to the History of the Quali∣ties they pretend to explicate▪ You will readily believe, that a Chymist will not easily make out by his Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury, why a Load∣stone capp'd with steel may be made to take up a great deal more Iron, sometimes more than eight or ten times as much, than if it be immediat∣ly applied to the iron; or why, if one end of the Magnetic Needle is di∣spos'd to be attracted by the North∣pole, for instance, of the Load-stone, the other Pole of the Load-stone will not attract it but drive it away: or, why a bar or rod of iron, being heated red-hot and cooled perpendi∣cularly,

will with its lower end drive away the flower de Luce, or the North-end of a Marriners Needle, which the upper end of the same barr or rod will not repell but draw to it. In short, of above threescore Pro∣perties or notable Phaenomena of Magnetic Bodies, that some Writers have reckon'd up, I do not remember that any three have been by Chymists so much as attempted to be solved by their three Principles. And even in those Qualities, in whose explicati∣ons these Principles may more pro∣bably than elsewhere pretend to have a place, the Spagyrists accounts are wont to fall so short of being distinct and particular enough, that they use to leave divers considerable Phaeno∣mena untouch'd, and do but very lamely or slightly explicate the more obvious or familiar. And I have so good an opinion of divers of the em∣bracers of the Spagyrical Theory of Qualities (among whom I have met with very Learned and worthy men) that I think, that if a Quality being

pos'd to them, they were at the same time presented with a good Cata∣logue of the Phaenomena, that they may take, in the History of it, as it were with one view, they would plainly perceive that there are more particulars to be accounted for, than at first they were aware of; and di∣vers of them such, as may quite dis∣courage considering men from taking upon them to explain them all by the Tria prima, and oblige them to have recourse to more Catholic and com∣prehensive Principles. I know not, whether I may not add on this occasi∣on, that, methinks, a Chymist, who by the help of his Tria Prima, takes upon him to interpret that Book of Nature of which the Qualities of bo∣dies make a great part, acts at but a little better rate than he, that seeing a great book written in a Cypher, whereof he were acquainted but with three Letters, should undertake to decypher the whole piece. For though 'tis like, he would in many words find one of the Letters of his

short key, and in divers words two of them, and perhaps in some all three; yet, besides that in most of the words wherein the known Let∣ter or Letters may be met with, they may be so blended with other un∣known Letters as to keep him from decyphering a good part of those ve∣ry words, 'tis more than probable, that a great part of the book would consist of words wherein none of his three Letters were to be found.