T Of the primary and fecondary planets ibid. Distance of the planets from the fun, and their diameters in Englith miles 565 Of the moon and the other fatellites, with A prologue on comick poetry ibid. 541-549 The JOURNAL of a learned and political SPEECH of L. Bebius Dives, by way of reply, in favour of the bill for re- ftraining the making insurances on fo- reign fhips, bound to and from the Reftraints upon trade, in fome cafes, juf- That the Eaft India trade cannot be car- SPEECH of T. Sicinius, against the bill Excellency of chriftianity, and unreafon- Of chastity, and the matrimonial state 551 555 of China's gardens at Pekin 553-556 Hippocrates's letter concerning Demo- critus, being a fevere fatire on man 556, Democritus to Hippocrates, after his de- The Arfwers to the arithmetical and geometrical Questions in June, fhall be in our Appendix; as also the picus and charitable Legacies of the late Bijpop of Gloucester, &c. RECEIPTS for colleging the LAND TAX and WINDOW LIGHTS, are given Gratis N APPENDIX to the LONDON MAGAZINE for 1752, with Compleat INDEXES, and feveral other Things, neceffary to be bound up with THE LONDON MAGAZINE. DECEMBER, 1752. The CAUSE of ELECTRICITY and As the Nature, Cause, and Effects of Ele&tri- A ༤༩༧༤༢༩༡ Na Treatife of his upon the causes of electricity, he proves, that the ckctrical fi e and force does not arife from any part of the apparatus itself; becaufenothing we know B of can send out of it a quantity of matter, but there must be less of that matter remaining, after it has been fo discharged; whereas, it cannot be fhewn, but that the ball of glass, after ever fo many times ufing, remains as fit for the fame ufe as at firft. Therefore he supposes, they are produced from the air C they are moved in; which is the more probable, as the most ancient and ableft philofophers have looked upon the animal and vegetable world as actuated by fire; and that they are nourished by water, and what it contains. If this be allowed, then the air feems to be univerfally impregnated with this fire, but fo difperfed, as not to hurt the animals in respiration; and from the nature of it, he fuppofes it to be as fimilar in its parts, and that thefe parts have as great a propensity to adhere to one another, as we find the different parts in all natural bodies have. If then these fiery particles be forced into a clofer contact than they are, when uniformly difperfed thro' all nature, they E become lightning, or a fire of more or lefs force, as more or lefs parts of this elementary fire are got together. This principle being laid down, he confirms it by many effects that fall daily under our obfervation, and by experiDecember, 1752. D ments that may be eafily made; and concludes, that the air, which is violently rubbed betwixt your hands and a glais tube, or betwixt a glafs ball whirled brifkly, and a piece of leather, as they are used in electrical experiments, leaves behind it that quantity of agitated fire that caufes electricity. After having thus explained the cause, he then shows, First, Why in ele&ricity, fire proceeds from an electrical body, fo as to light into a flame many different compofitions. Secondly, Why a tube of glafs, when rubbed fo as to be made electrical, will not only attract to it, but repel from it alternately any light body, as leaf-gold, feathers, and the like: And alfo, why it will feem to fend from it a quantity of wind, with a finging fmall noife, if you hold it near your ear. Thirdly, Why when any unelectrified body touches any thing electrified, the electricity breaks off with a smart crack, and a spark of fire, Fourthly, Why any number of men, who are joined together by holling a metallick body betwixt them, if one of them touch a piece of iron electrified, thall feel a violent concuffion, in proportion to the largenefs of the body electrified. And after having explained and accounted for these phænomena in electricity, he obferves, that what the ancients called anima mandi, now feems to be this elementary fire, with which every thing in nature as well as the air is more or lefs impregnated, from which confideration, fays he, I will venture to give a reafon for that which has hitherto puzzled every body that has thought about it; which is, why the fentitive plant fhrinks, and, from a turgid and vivid appearance, immediately becomes languid, and hangs its leaves, on the touch of any other body or thing. Now, from this my conjecture on elec tricity, if you will fuppofe with me, the Yyy z 535 The Caufe of ELECTRICITY and VITALITY. Dec. as all things, which fand in the common nature of this lower world, have this fire equally difperfed, and have more or less of it only as they are in this or that place, where more or lefs of it is offered to be received by them, or as they are in their own natures capable of receiving more of it than others are (as I think has been A fhewn by the electrical experiments before mentioned) and then likewife fuppofe the nature of the fenfitive plant is to have more of this fire in it than there is in any other plant or thing; then it muft, by the nature of it, when any of them touches it, inipart a great deal of its fire into that thing by which it is touched; because that had lefs of it than was in the fenfitive plant. Therefore, till the fenfitive plant has had time to recover its vigour, by receiving from the air more of this fire, its leaves and branches hang in a languid flate, from the great lots of its fpirit and fire. B To illustrate this, if you fet any small tree in a pot upon a cake of refin, and C then electrify the tree, even tho' it were a willow, it would grow extremely turgid, fo as to erect its leaves, to the great wonder of the beholder; and the moment you touch even but one of its leaves, the whole tree becomes as languid as the fenfitive plant would be, if touched by any body or thing.--This, I think, feems to me, to give as great a proof of the truth of my conjecture of the fenfitive plant, as the nature of the thing can admit of. Then with regard to animal life, we may obferve univerfally, that youth abounds with infinitely more fpirits than age doth, as well in the human species as in the brute creation; as it is clearly feen in children, compared to adults; as alfo in lambs, in colts, in kittens, and almoft all other young, they being much more vigorous than their dams are generally feen to be. Now the reflection I would make on this, is, that if life in them, and in all nature, be owing to the fame fire as caufes electricity, then, from thence may proceed the danger of lodging old people with young children; who, by long experience, have been found to draw from young children their natural strength; the old people having in them a lefs proportion of this fire than young ones feem to have. And he concludes this Treatife with fome obfervations on the caufe of blants in mankind, and blights on trees. Together with the foregoing Treatife, there was lately published, by the fame author, another, on the Nature and Property of Fire, wherein, after thewing that Sir Ifaac Newton, Dr. Boerhaave, and the D E F bishop of Cloyne, have confidered fire as This caufe he takes the fun to be, and That as the rays of light proceeding from the fun, by collecting them either with a concave or convex burning-glafs, produce the ftrongest fire on the earth; fo one of thefe confequences must follow: Either that the strongest power of any thing in the univerfe may derive its force and efficacy from the weaker, which every thing in nature fhews to be falfe; or elfe, if you grant it me, that the power given by the fun is ftronger than any that can be produced by the operations of man, the thing I contend for is proved. And to prove, that the heat of the fun is more intenfe, than from any other materials, he quotes Dr. Boerhaave, who fays, "That fire is every where equally difperfed; and that the greatest effect that any fire can perform, is, in a moment's time, to turn a flint into glafs; which effect (fays he) is peculiar to Mr. Villette's mirrour." And, "That a lime- ftone, which would endure the utmost efforts of the hottest furnace for many months, being exposed to the mirrour, inftantly paies with a little his into glafs." Our author next proves, that fire is an element not capable of any alteration, increafe, or diminution; after which he fays, we may obferve throughout all nature, that a continued motion and agitation are neceffary to every being in the univerfe, in order to refresh it, and repair its decay as by giving refpiration to all animals they receive fresh air, which plainly leaves its fire behind to be conveyed over the whole body, in order to give it the warmth and comfort it enjoys; for nothing in nature can have any warmth but what proceeds from fire only. Then to prove that the fame fire, which is univerfal in nature, is demonstrably G the fame which gives life to all creatures on this earth; fuppofe, fays he, any creature: And as a cat is fuppofed to be endued with as ftrong a proportion of life as any other animal, fuppofe a cat was placed with a lighted candle, or any other portion 1752. The Nature and Property of FIRE. portion of fire, in a certain space of common air, and you will find that the life of the candle, and that of the cat, equally depended on the existence of the fire in the air univerfally difperfed. This experiment may be tried, by putting the candle, or fome fire, with the animal, into a cold oven, the door of A which may be shut up and luted fo clofe, that no more air can be admitted than was there at firft; and if a glass was fixed with fome putty into it, the obferver may perceive, that each fubfifted by the fire before-mentioned, appertaining to the air in the oven, which before was in common with that in the room to which the oven belonged. B Now if it be found, that as foon as the candle or fire is extinct, the cat that inftant dies; what man, let him be ever fo much prejudiced, can deny, that they were fubfifted by the fame element? And it is a known fa&, that if, instead of the animal, you add another candle, they will remain lighted just as long, and no C longer, as when the candle and cat were there together. To prove a propensity to cohere in all fimilar parts of matter, our author brings the two following examples: I will fuppofe, fays he, two drops of water lying near each other on a woollen cloth; to prove how tenacious water is, you may fee them each taking the fhape of a globe, hugging themfelves as cloufe as tho' they had no tendency to any thing in nature but their own clafs, and you will find this verified; for if, by chance, they come to the least contact, the smallest drop is abforbed into the biggeft with as great a rapidity as light paffes from the fun. 537 from the foregoing reafon given for the And to prove that fire ever fubfifts in Now if the caufe before given for melting any metal be the true one, then it will follow, that tho' the lump of iron, when taken out of the forge, has not fire enough in it to feparate the cohesion of its parts; yet it plainly from hence appears, that the air abounds, at all times, with fo much fire, as, when blown into this lump of iron, to leave fo much more fire behind, as, being joined with the larger quantity of fire which it received from the forge, becomes powerful enough to melt it. And a little further he fays, If I can prove, that at all times, and in all places, on the highest mountains, and in the loweft vallies, in garrets and cellars of all houfes, fo much fire can be collected as D It is juft the fame with falts, and all E other things, which univerfally float in the common air, as fire does: They both fhew the propenfity before fpoken of, to adhere to fuch parts of the fame kind as they fhall meet: For instance, you may obferve, that if nitre once affects a picture, a wall, or the like, the air depofits its falts of that kind where it is invited by the first fimilar parts, and not from the vulgar miftaken notion, that fuch a thing produces another thing; which would be no lefs than making one thing a creator of another. F Now the confequence of what I have will fire gun-powder, which I aver is true I will leave the world to judge, if there be need of any greater proof of its refiding in the air. And he concludes with bringing several examples for proving, that all things in nature are created with a great attraction of this fire in the air, fo that, fays he, if any part of the animal body has lefs of it, in proportion, than there is in the air, it muft, according to the common laws of nature, be endued with it, whether the animal will or not: But when we come to examine the ufe and contrivance of the organs of refpiration, we may foon be fatisfied with a wonderful proof, that all animals are, in fact, a fire-engine: For, as foon as the lungs have received an infpiration from the common air, that fire, which is ever found in all air, will be inftantly difperfed through the pulmonary veffels into the blood; and as that blood is ever nourishing and refreshing some parts with fome of it, and imparting its fire through the nerves, from the various motions of the whole, inftead of a nonfenfical nervous fluid, which never has, nor can be demonftrated (the nerves not being pervious,) the confequence must follow, that the lungs hereby becoming deprived of their ufual quantity, and defirous of that 538 REFLECTIONS on VANITY, &c. Dec. that which every ftone, and log of wood defires and receives through the univerfe with the utmoft greediness; why, fay, may not the lungs become as active to reach and expand themselves for more, as often as the lungs are robbed of it, as the leaf-gold is fhewn to be the receiver of fire from any thing which abounds, and gives A it to any thing that has lefs of it! This will lead me to ask a question, which has hitherto never been folved: It is this: Whence proceeds that heat, which is ever the concomitant of life in all creatures? Allow me but my conjecture, and a power fufficient for muscular motion is established; which is capable of pervading the folidity of the nerves with B as rapid motion, and furely with as great probability, as electrical fire paffes an ironwire, to any given length, as swift as light. To which he a little further adds thus: From hence I conclude, as all men know, that the air which has once been breathed through the lungs is no more fit for re- C fpiration; as is found by attempting to ufe it after having breathed it under the bed-cloaths; and, if you grant what I am contending for, I think I have fully proved, that the air, which is received into the lungs, as often as it is fo, leaves its fire in the blood. D Now, if any creature has this fire REFLECTIONS on VANITY. By the F G A little vanity may be allowed in a man's train, but it must not fit down at table with him. Without fome fhare of it, mens talents would be buried like ore, in a mine unwrought. Men would be lefs eager to gain knowledge, if they did not hope to set themfelves out by it. It fheweth the narrownefs of our nature, that a man that intendeth any one thing extreamly, hath not thought enough left for any thing else. Our pride maketh us over-value our flock of thought, fo as to trade much beyond what it is able to make good. Many afpire to learn what they can never comprehend, as others pretend to teach what they themfelves do not know, The vanity of teaching often tempteth a man to forget he is a blockhead. Self-conceit driveth away the fufpecting, how fcurvily others think of us. Vanity cannot be a friend to truth, because it is restrained by it; and vanity is fo impatiently defirous of fhewing itself, that it cannot bear the being croffed. An Account and Defcription of WALTON HE bridge over the Thames at Wal Tton, was erected in purfuance of powers granted to Samuel Dicker, Efq; of that place, by an act of parliament paffed in the year 1747; and the bridge was finished in August, 1750. It being forefeen that an oppofition would be made to this act, by the barge owners, and others concerned in the navigation, a plan was printed, and given to the members, exhibiting the adjacent country, and spot of ground where it was to ftand, and the dimensions of the principal arches, which being contrived to make more room for the current of water than there was before, all the objections of that kind were answered. But it will not be improper to give the fubftance of the printed reafons for the bill, in anfwer to thofe and all other objections urged against it. Thofe reafons were as follows. 1. The utility of bridges in general. 2. That the distance between the two next on that river, viz. Kingston and Chertley bridges, was greater than between any two from Reading to Kingfton, which is above 55 miles by water. 3. That ferries are fometimes dilatory, dangerous, and uncertain; and the ferrymen often abufive, and in the night exacting. 4. That paffengers are obliged to go three miles about to a place but one mile diftant. |