Page:The Sceptical Chymist.djvu/105

Rh an universal, but an adaequate and sufficient Instrument to analyze mixt Bodies with. For as to their Practice of Extracting the fix’d Salt out of Ashes by the Affusion of Water, ’tis obvious to alleadge, that the Water does only assemble together the Salt the Fire had before divided from the Earth: as a Sieve does not further break the Corn, but only bring together into two distinct heaps the Flour and the Bran, whose Corpuscles before lay promiscuously blended together in the Meal. This I say I might alledge, and thereby exempt my self from the need of taking any farther notice of the propos’d Objection. But not to lose the Rise it may afford me of Illustrating the matter under Consideration, I am content briefly to consider it, as far forth as my present Disquisition may be concern’d in it.

Not to repeat then what has been already answer’d, I say farther, that though I am so civil an Adversary, that I will allow the Chymists, after the Fire has done all its work, the use of fair Water to make their Extractions with, in such cases wherein the Water does not cooperate with the Fire to make the