II. Living Creatures themselves are likewife beholden to Water, if not altogether, yet in a great Meafure, for the Subftance of which they confift. This is plain, bécause they are nourifhed by Plants and Water; and the Distillation of all folid and fluid Parts of their Bodies, even of the very hardest, such as their Bones, Horns, and Teeth (as has been faid before) experimentally fhews, that Water is a great Ingredient thereof.

1

III. That befides Plants and Animals, even Minerals and Metals proceed from Water. Thus we fee in the aforemention'd Experiments, that Earth proceeds from it; which is likewife reckon'd among Minerals: And particularly by the Experiments related in the Hiftory of the Royal Academy of Sciences in France, for the Year 170 that from the Afhes of Plants (which have been fhewn above to grow out of Water) Iron can always be extracted by the Loadstone. How all these things come to pafs, has not yet been rightly proved by any one that I know of; but this plainly follows from thence, that our Knowledge of the real Effence of Things does not extend itfelf very far; and that the most haughty and ftrongest Mind must be forced to acknowledge here, that there does daily appear in Nature a Manner in which Plants and Animals are what they are, and according to which, Water does likewife operate, which is impoffible to be deduced from any of their Hypothefes or Principles.

I beseech them therefore once again to confider with themselves, whether they have any caufe to lean fo much upon their own Understanding, which has not hitherto been able to teach them how a Plant grows, and of what it confifts, and what Ufes fo common a Matter as Water, which has been examined and enquired into after

infinitely

infinitely different Ways, has in the World; and therefore, whether they can think that they judge wifely, that this their Understanding does not only inftru&t them of the Nature and Difpofition of that Universe, containing all these particular Matters that are unknown to them, but moreover, that it is capable to determine whether the faid Universe were Eternal, and how it fubfifted from all Eternity, or whether it had a Beginning; in which they act juft as wifely, as he that pretends perfectly to understand the whole Structure of a Watch, and yet is forced to confefs, that he is ignorant how the leaft Wheel thereof is made. However, the Labour that is beftowed in the Contemplation of WATER (as much of it as there remains ftill unknown) will be abundantly compensated, if it only ferves to convince Philofophers of the weaknefs of their Understanding; whofe great Prefumption is oftentimes the only Stumbling-Block over which fo many have fallen.

SECT. X. The Afcent of the Water into the Air.

BUT to go on to fomething else:

Could any Body, that had never feen it, believe that this Water, which, on account of its greater Weight than the Air, is feen to defcend in Rain, Dew, Snow, and other Forms, can be made to afcend into the Air, and there to form the Clouds? Tis true, that as in many other Matters, fo likewife in this, the Custom of feeing a thing frequently happen, makes it seem to be the lefs ftrange or wonderful; but it muft however be confeffed, that this is justly reckon'd among the Wonders of the Almighty in many Parts of the Sacred Writings; as in Pfal. cxxxv. 7. Jer. x. 13. and li. 16. He cauSeth the Vapours to afcend from the Ends of the Earth; he maketh Lightnings for the Rain: He bringeth the

2

Winds

r

ve

ter

in,

το

he

rs,

re

1ge hat

the

gs;

au

th;

the

inds

Winds out of bis Treafures. If ever he took the trouble to confider the various Opinions of the greateft Naturalifts thereupon, we need only read what Mr. Mariotte, Mouvement des Eaux, Part 2. Difcourfe 3. and Dr. Halley. Philofoph. Tranfactions, Numb. 183. have faid upon this Subject, to convince us, that the Caufe of this Afcent of Vapours is not fo eafie to be difcover'd as fome have imagined.

SECT. XI. How fuch an Afcent happens.

ISHALL not here enquire, whether this Opinion of Mr. Marriotte in this Matter be the most probable, namely, that there are little higher Cavities or Holes in the Air, thro' which the fmalleft Particles of Water being raifed upwards, perhaps by the Preffure of the lateral Air, may país, but at which the biggest are ftopt: Nor, whether we may more rightly fuppofe with Dr. Halley that a little Particle of Water may be fo far rarified and blown up as a Bladder, by a warm Matter, that its Diameter, in Breadth, Length, and Thickness, may be ten times as large as it was before; in which Cafe this Particle may fill a Space a thoufand times bigger than the former; retaining neverthelefs the Weight only of one Particle of Water, which had been found to be but eight hundred or nine hundred times as heavy as juft fo much Air in Magnitude; and therefore, according to the Laws of Hydroftaticks, as long as it remained thus rarified, it would continue, afcending in the Air, exactly after the fame manner as a folid piece of Glafs, which in fuch a Condition would fink down into the Water, may be blown up into a round Bubble, and thereby with the fame Weight, Occupying more place in the Water, would afcend and float upon it.

I leave the Arguments of thefe great Men to their own Weight; but forafmuch as the Authors of them acknowledge, that they believe, that there may be other ways, by which the Afcent of Water, which is heavier, into the Air which is lighter, may be explain'd; the following (which I therefore take the liberty to propofe here) seems likewife to be one of thofe; the rather, because it is not fo much founded upon an Hypothefis, as upon Experience.

SECT. XII. Experiments fhew that Air does likewife

adhere to other Matters.

To fhew the fame, it is known:

I. That Fire is lighter than Air: This wants no farther Proof, forafmuch as we fee with how great Velocity áll Flames afcend into the Air.

II. That lighter Matters can stick and faften themfelves to heavier: This appears in moft Liquids, which adhere and hang upon other Matters heavier than themselves.

Accordingly we fee, that the Air (which, tho' fluid, yet very moist) does cleave to many other Subftances. To prove this, we need only throw a few rufty Nails into a Glass of clear Water; and you view them fidewife, you will see many little Air-Bubbles cleaving to them."

if

And to the end, that it may not be thought that this adhering Air proceeds from the Water itself, I find by my Notes of the 21ft January 1696, that fome little pieces of Rufty Iron and Brafs were thrown into Lye, in which there is no Air, and prefently fome Bubbles appeared upon them; and upon exhaufting the external Air, which gravitated upon them, the faid Bubbles became larger, and by their Expanfion, fhewed themselves to be Air, and this appear'd the plainer, because if one

rubbed

rubbed off with the Finger, those Air Bubbles that remained upon the Iron whilft it was under the Lye; one faw, that how much so ever the incumbent Air was drawn off with the Pump, there did not appear one new Bubble; fo that it is plain from hence, that the Air will cleave to folid Bodies, and even to Metals themselves, which per haps may also be the cause of Rufting.

Now that Air does likewife adhere and mix it felf with Water, is fufficiently known to thofe that have ever feen what a Quantity of Air-Bubbles appear when the Preffure of the Air is removed by the Pump from off the Water.

SECT. XIII. Experiments to fhew that Fire will cleave to folid Bodies:

III. Now as Air, fo likewife can Fire cleave! to heavier and folid Bodies. This appears from Flint-ftones, and other Bodies, not easily reducible to Fluidity when they are made red hot. For that the Heat thereof is to be attributed to the adhering Fire-Particles, and not, as fome Philofophers think, to the fwift Motion of the small and fine Parts, whereof thefe and other Bodies are compofed, appears from hence, that in cafe the Parts of the Flint itfelf fhould be put in fuch a violent Motion, it would lofe its Solidity and be diffolved.

But for a farther Certainty of the Matter, one need only read what Mr. Boyle fays in his Book de Ponderabil. part. Flamme,upon feveral Experiments there recited, where he fhews, that even Copper, Tin, Steel, Silver, Pewter, burnt Hartfhorn, Chalk and Coral, become heavier by the Particles of Fire that cleave to them. And to know that this encrease of the Weight, did not fo much proceed from the Parts of other grofs Bodies mingled with the Fire, VOL. II.

Ff

as