Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/556

 QUA (p35)

thofe of the Key, they now each obtain'd a new Capacity; and it became a principal part of the Notion and Definition of a Lock, that it was capable of being made to open or fhut, by that other piece of Iron call'd a Key; and it was look'd on as a peculiar Faculty and Power in the Key to be

fit to open and fliut the Loci And yet by thefe new

Atmbutes there was not added any real or phyfical Entity either to the Lock ot the Key; each of them remaining the fame piece of Iron, jult fo ftiaped, as it was before. And again, when the Smith made other Keys of different Sizes! or with differing Wards; tho' the firft Lock could not be open d with any of tho fe Keys, yet, that Indifpofition was nothing new in the Lock, or diftinct from the Figure it had before thofe Keys were made.

QUA

According to Ariflotle and the peripatetics, the p ritnar y, or Elementary Vitalities are thofe '

-. the four Elements via. Heat, Cold, Moifture, and Drynefs. See

Why, then, may we not conceive, that fenfible Qualities, tho, by virtue of a certain congruity or incongruity in point of Figure, Texture, or other mechanical Properties the Portions of Matter they modify are enabled to produce va- rious Effects, on account whereof the Bodies are faid to be endowed with Qiialities; yet, that they are not in the Bodies endowed with them, any real ordiftinfl Entities, or differing from the Matter itfelf, of fuch a determinate Big- nefs, Shape, or other mechanical Modifications?

Thus, tho' the modern Goldfmiths and Refiners reckon it among the moll drftinguiiliirjg Qualities of Gold, that it isdiffolublem;%»*.R ( ^; whiht Aqua Fortis will not work upon it; yet thefe Attributes are nor in the Gold any thing diftinct from its peculiar Texture; nor is the Gold we have now of any other nature than it was in 'PSny's time, when Aqua Fortis and AquaRegia were unknown.

If another Menjlruum, of which Mr. Boyle fuggells he was poflefs'd, mould be invented to diffolve pure Gold

themfelves}

Element.

the reft, which arc Cumoinat.ons or AffeiSBtae of the former Elementary ones; as Colour, Odour, Tali l*c

Togiveanldeaof^orfc's Method of 'accounting 'for thefe Cccondzry Qiialities from hi, primary ones, weffial inftanceinh.s account ol Colour All Colours, th"n fays

£l,T,S**n ° f a ^ iX[U ' e ° f the f ™ Elementary Qiialities: White, e.gr. is produced when the Humidity furmounts the Heat, as in old Men, who grow orey ■ Black

cZiTti "fevb Humidit?  ** *•*•

Uiiterns, t£c. Red, &c.

Among the School-Philofophers we meet wi.h other Di-

Active Qualiti es, were fuch by Virtue whereof Effects and Operations were : actually produced on other Bodies duly

difpofed with refpecl thereto- Such were the Heat of

i ire, the Moifture of Water, E?c.

fofvj Qua." ties were thofe whereby Bodies were

difpofed- to receive the Aflion of others .Such are Inflam-

mability in Oil, &c.

.Rea/ Qualities are thofe which remain in the Subject 5

and only aft on things adjacent thereto As Fire in a

piece of Iron not ignited, igc.

Intentional Qualities are thofe which iffue from the

Subject, and operate at a diiiance Such is the Light

emitted from the Sun, &c.

in par, and change it into a differ metai^B^ttere reafo^lS Z^f ** *»>****»** would then arife another new Property.whereby to diftinguilh ' this from other Metals; yet the nature of Gold is not at all different now from what it was before the difcovery of this laft Menjlruum.

There are Bodies neither Cathartic nor Sudorific, with fome of which Gold being joined, acquires a purgative

Virtue, and with others a Power to procure Sweat

Nature herfelf fometimes produces things, that have no relations to others : And Art, efpecially if affifted by Chy- miftry, may caufe fo many new Produflions, that no Man can tell, but the moil familiar Bodies may have multitudes of Qualities he dreams not of, which will hardly be imagi- ned real phyfical Entities.

We all know that the Sun hath a Power to harden Clay foften Wax, melt Butter, thaw Ice, turn Water into Va- pour, make Air expand itfelf in Weather-Glaffes, contri- bute to blanch Lmnen, render the white Skin of the Face fwarthy, and mowed Grafs yellow, ripen Fruit hatch the Eggs of Silk- Worms, Caterpillers, iSc. and perform many other things, fome of which feem contrary to others; yet there are not difiinfl Powers or Faculties in the Sun, but only the Produflions of its Heat, diverfify'd by the different Textures of the Body it chances to work on, and the condition of the other Subftances concern'a in the Opera- tion — And, therefore,whether or no the Sun, in ibme Cafes, has any influence at all diftinct from its Light and Heat, we fee that all the Phainomena mentioned, are producible by the Heat of common Fire, duly apply'd and regulated. Boyle of Forms and Qualities.

Some of the Antients, and particularly tht'Perifiatetics, diftinguilh'd Qualities into fenfible and occult.

Senfible, or Manifefi Qualities, are thofe arifing from certain Modifications of the Matter, and which become im- mediately Objeas of our Senfes Such are all thofe

above mentioned.

Tho', in flrictnefs, thofe only are faid to he fenfible Va- lines which affect fome one Senfe alone; as Colour does the Eye, Sound the Ear, £<?r.

Thefe are fometimes, alfo, call'd 7a£lile, or Tangible Qualities, by reafon they only produce their Effect, i. e. excite their Ideas in us when contiguous, or in contact with the Organ.

Occult Qualities, are certain latent Powers arifing from the fpecific Forms of things, whereof no rational So- lution can be given on any Principles of Phyfics. See Occult.

Senfible Qualities are ufually divided into Primary and Secondary.

'Primary, or general Qualities are fuch as arc found in all Bodies; or which agree to all Matter, confider'd as Matter, and therefore to the Elements themfelves — Such are Extenfion, Figure, Motion, Reft, Solidity, Impenetrability, and Number. See Body, F'igure, Solidity, iSc.

Secondary, or 'Particular Qualities are fuch as refult from a Compofition or Mixture of Elements, and do not

agree to Body as Body, but as a Mixt- Such are Light

Heat Cold, Colour, Sound, Tafte, Smell, Hardnefs, Softnefs, Fluidity, Firmnefs, Roughnefs, Sraoothnefs, Opacity, Tranfparency, £fc.

So that the aiuliiction is impertinent.

However ignorant we may be of the Nature of Quali- ties, or the Manner of their Operation; vet we know the Laws of their Intention and Remiffion ^Dr. Keil demon- strates that every Quality which is propagated in Orbem. luch as Light, Heat, Cold, Odour, tgc has its Efficacy in- creased or abated in a duplicate Ratio of the Diitanees from the Centre of Radiation, or Exertion of the Quality.

Thus, let A (Tab. Geometry, Fig. So.) be a Centre from whence any Quality exerts itfelf round about, according to the right Lines Ae, A/, iSc. The Efficacy of the Qliality, be it Heat, Cold, Odour, (yc. will be (at equal dittauces from A) as the Spiflitude or Thicknefs of the Rays A b, A e, hf. But the Rays within the inner Circle, or rather fpherical Superficies, bcdU, when they come to be extended to the other fpherical Surface, efg K, will be much lefs clofe than before, and that in the reciprocal Proportion of the Spaces they take up; that is, if the outer Surface be double of the inner, the Rays there will be but half as thick - But fince fpherical Superficies are as the Squares of the* Radii, therefore the Efficacy of the Qllalm in the inner Surface will be to that of the outer, as A e Sou re to A b Square. Q.E.2). *- .'.,.,.*

Sir Jfaac Newton lays it down as one of the Rules of Phi- losophizing, that thofe Qiialities of Bodies which are inca- pable of being intended and remitted, and which are found to obtain mail Bodies wherein the Experiment could ever be tried, are to be efleem'd univerfal Qualities of all Bo- dies. See Philosophizing.

Chj/inical Qualities One may diftinguilh phyfical

Qiialities, with Mr. Boyle, into the firft, fecond, aid third; to the two laft of which may be refer'd feveral Qualities not treated of by the Writers of Phyfical Syllems; and thefe, for diflinSion fake, may, fome of them, be ftyled the Chymical Qiialities of Things; becaufe Arifiotle and the Schoolmen, being unacquainted wiih them, they have been principally introduced by means of Chymical Opera- tions and Experiments : As Fumigation, Amalg Cupellation, Volatilization, Precipitation, cifr.

By thefe Operations, among other Means, corporeal things come to appear volatile or fixed, folu'ie or infallible iniome Menftrua, amalgamable or unamal%amable. Sic. which as well deferve the Name of Quality, as feveral other Attributes, to which it is allow'd.

To thefe chymical Qualities Tome others might be added, which, becaufe of the Ule that Phyficians principally make of them, may be call'd Medical Qiialities, whereby fome Subftances received into the human Body, ate refolving, difcufltng, fuppurating, abllerfive, &c. For tho' fome Fa- culties of Medicines, as thofe of heating, cooling, drying, attenuating, purging, ti?c. may be conveniently referr'd to the firft, fecond, or third Qualities, mention'd by Natura- lifts, whilft others are reckon'd occult; yet as feveral of them ought not to be referr'd to the Qualities whereto they ate often afcribed; fothe handling of them may be look'd upon as a 2)cfideratum, and deferves a diftinct Place in Na- tural Philofophy. See Medicine; fee alfo Purgative gfft

J 1 E Cof-

tlgiimation,