Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/477

 POW

(8*4)

POW

POTJRVEYAKCE, the providing of Corn, Victuals, Fuel, and other NecefTaries, for the King's Houfe.

By a Stat. 1 2 Car. 2. no Perfon under colour of Fourvey- ance /hall take any Timber, Cattle, Corn, or other Mat- ter from any Subject, without his free Confent. SeePoim-

VEYOR.

POURVE"YOR, an Officer of the Hou/hold, who pro- vides Corn and other Victuals, £&?. for the King's Houfe 5 tnention'd in Magna Charta, and feveral Statutes.

The Name of Pourveyor became fo odious in times part, that by Stat. $6 Edw. 3. the heinous Name Pourveyor was chang'd into that of 'Buyer. The Office itfelf was much reftrain'd by the Stat. 12 Car.i. See Pourveyance and Achat.

POCZZOL, or Pozzolane, a reddifti Earth, ufed in Jtaly for Sand. See Sand-

The beft. is found about Fouzzoli, 3ay<e, and Qmt<£, in the Kingdom of Naples*

Mix'd with Lime, it makes the beft Mortar in the World. See Mortar.

It hardens and petrifies in Water : It penetrates black Flints, and whitens them. It is of particular fervice in making Moles, and other Buildings, in Maritime Places. Jlgficola takes it to be of an aluminous and fulphurous na- ture. Sec Vitruvius, Pliny, de Lorm. &c. who fet a great Value on it.

POWER, Fotcntia, in Phyfics, a natural Faculty of do- ing or fuffering any thing. See Potentia.

^Mr.Zocke explains the Origin of our Idea of Power to the following effect : The Mind being daily inform'd by the Senfes, of the Alteration of the fimple Ideas of things without j and reflect ing on what paffes within itfelf; and obferving a conftant Change of its Ideas, fometimes by the Imprcffions of outward Objects, upon the Senfes j and fometimes by the Determinations of its own Choice : and concluding from what it has fo conftantly obferv'd to have been, that the like Changes will for the future be made in the fame Things, by the fame Agents, and by the like Ways; confiders, in one Thing, the poflibility of having a- ny of its fimple Ideas chang'd ; arid in another, the poffi- bility of making that Change : and fo comes by that Idea, which we call Power.

Thus we fay, Fire has a Power to melt Gold, and make it fluid ; and Gold a Power to be melted.

Toiver thus confidei'd, is two-fold, viz. as able to make, or able to receive any Change : the one may be call'd ac- tive, the other fajjive Power.

Of faffive Power, all fenfible Things abundantly furnifli us with Ideas ; nor have we of aBive Power fewer Instan- ces : fince whatever Change is obferv'd, the Mind muft fuppofe a Power fomewhere able to make that Change.

But yet if we attentively confider it, Bodies, by our Senfes, do not afford us fo clear and diftinct an Idea of active Power, as we have from Reflection on the Opera- tions of our Minds. For all Power relating to Action 5 and there being but two forts of Action, visa. Thinking and Motion ; it may be confider'd whence we have the cleareft Ideas of the Towers, which produce thefe Actions.

Of Thinking, Body affords us no Ideas at all j it is only from Reflection that we have that : neither have we from Body any Idea of the beginning of Motion. A Body, at reft, affords us 1:0 Idea of any active Tower to move j and when it is fet in motion itfelf, that Motion is rather a Paf- fion, than an Aftion in it. The Idea of the beginning of Motion, we have only by Reflection on what paffe.5 in our- felves 5 where we find by Experience, that barely by wil- ling it, we can move the pares of our Bodies, which before were at reft.

We find in ourfelves a Tower to begin or forbear, conti- nue or end, feveral Actions of our Minds, and Motions of our Bodies, barely by a Thought or Preference of the Mind : This Power, which the Mind has, thus to order the Confederation of any Idea, or the forbearing to confider it ; or to prefer the Motion of any part of the Body to its Reft, and vice verfa, in any particular Inftance, is what we call the Will. The actual Exercife of that Tower, is that which we call Folition, or Willing- See Will.

The Forbearance or Performance of that Action, confe- quent to fuch Order or Command of the Mind, is called Voluntary '-5 and whatfoever Aclion is perform 'd without fuch a Thought of the Mind, is call Involuntary. See Vo-

LUNTAKY, &C.

The Power of Perception, is what we call the Under- standing. See Understanding.

Perception, which we make the Act of the Underftand- ing, is of three forts j firft, the Perception of Ideas in our Minds j the Perception of the Signification of Signs; and the Perception of the Agreement or Difagreement of any diftinct Ideas. See Perception.

Thefe Powers of the Mind, viz. of perceiving, and pre- ferring, are ufually call'd by another Name 5 and the or-

dinary way of fpeaking is, that the Understanding and Will are two Faculties or Powers of the Mind. A Word proper enough, if ufed fo, as not to breed any Confufion in Mens Thoughts, by being fuppos'd (as there is room to fufpect it has been) for fome real Beings in the Soul, that perform thofe Actions of Undcrftanding and Volition. See £4.

CTJLTY.

From the Confideration of the Extent of the Power of the Mind over the Actions of the Man, which every one finds in himfelf, arife the Ideas of Liberty and Nectfllry.

So far as a Man has a Power to think, or not to think ; to move or not to move, according to the Preference or Direction of his own Mind 5 fo far is a Man free. Sec Liberty.

Wherever any Performance or Forbearance are not e- qually in a Man's Power ; wherever doing or not doing will not equally follow upon the preference of his Mind j there he is not Free, tho' perhaps the Action may be Voluntary. See Necessity.

So that the Idea of Liberty, is the Idea of a Power in any Agent, to do or forbear any Action according to theDetermi- nation or Thought of the Mind whereby either of them is preferred to the other ; where either of them is not in the Power of the Agent to be produced by him according to his Volition, there he is not at Liberty 5 that Agent is un- der Neceffity. So that Liberty cannot be where there is no Thought, no Volition, no Will : But there may be Thought, there may be Will, there may be Volition, where there is no Liberty. Thus aTennis-Ball, whether in motion by the Stroke of a Racket, or lyingftill at reft, is not by any one taken to be a free Agent 5 becaufe we conceive not a Tennis- Ball to think, and confequently not to have any Volition, or Preference of Motion to Reft, or vice verfa. So a Man ftriking himfelf or his Friend by a convulfive Motion of his Arm, which is not in his Pawner by Volition, or the Direction of his Mind, to flop or for- bear ; no body thinks, he- has Liberty in this ; every one pities him, as acting by Neceffity and Conftraint. Again, fuppofe a Man be carry'd, whilft fait afleep, into a Room, where there is aPerfon he longs to fee, and be there lock'd faft in, beyond his Tower to get out ; he awakes, ant! is glad to fee himfelf in fo defirable Company, which he ftays willingly in ; that is, he prefers his flaying to go- ing away : Is not this Stay voluntary ? No body will doubt it j and yet being lock'd faft in, he is not at liberty to flay, he has not freedom to be gone.

Liberty, therefore, is not an Idea belonging to Volition, or Preferring ; but to the Perfon having the Power of do- ing, or forbearing to do, according as the Mind fhall chufe or direct.

As it is in the Motions of the Body, fo it is in tho Thoughts of our Minds: Where any one is fuch, that we have Power to take it up, or lay it by, according to the Preference of the Mind, there we are at liberty.

A waking Man is not at liberty to think, or not to think, no more than he is at liberty, whether his Body /halt touch any other or no : but whether he will remove his Contemplation from one Idea to another, is many times in his choice ■■, and then he is, in refpect of his Ideas, as much at liberty, as he is in refpect of Bodies he refts on. He can at pleafure remove himfelf from one to another.

Yet, fome Ideas to the Mind, like fome Motions to the Body, are fuch, as in certain Circumftances it cannot avoid nor obtain their abfence, by the utmoft effort it can ufe : Thus a Man on the Rack is not at liberty to lay by the Idea of Pain, and entertain other Contemplations.

Wherever Thought is wholly wanting, cr the Power to ait or forbear according to the Direction of Thought, there Neceffity takes place : This, in an Agent capable of Vo- lition, when the Beginning or Continuation of any Action is contrary to the Preterence of his Mind, is call'd Comful- fion'-, when, the hindering or flopping any Action is con- trary to his Volition, it is call'd Refiraint. Agents that have no Thought, no Volition at all, are in every thing neceflary Agents.

Power, in Mechanics, a Force, which being apply'd to a Machine, tends to produce Motion ; whether it actually produce it or not. See Machine.

In the former Cafe, it is call'd a moving Tower', in the latter, afuJiainingTower.

If the Tower be a Man, or a Brute, it is call'd an anU mate Power $ if the Air, Water, Fire, Gravity, or Elaili- city, and inanimate Power. See Mechanics.

Power is alfo ufed in Mechanics, for one of the fix fimple Machines ; viz. the Lever, Balance, Screw, Axis in Peritrochio, Wedge, and Fully 5 which are particularly call'd the Mechanic Powers. See Mechanic Power.

See alfo each Power under its proper Article, Lever* Balance, &c.

Powers, in Pharmacy, the Refult of a Combination or Union of the eflential Oils with the Spirit of a Plant 5

where-