1 1 8 ESSAYS AND OBSERVATIONS 



cauft of coKefion. But if the finger be 

 applied fo as to communicate an equal 

 motion to all the parts of the body, and 

 without oppofiiig its gravity, there will 

 be no occafion for imagining, that the bo- 

 dy really readls, or a<5lively bears againfl; 

 the finger. The effecl indeed upon the 

 finger is the fame, as if the body actually 

 prefTed upon it ; but that effect can eafily 

 be accounted for, without having recourfe 

 to fuch a fuppofition. The furface of a 

 fof t body, like that of the finger prefTed 

 againft a hard body, muft undergo a 

 change of figure, and receive the fame Im- 

 preflion, as if the hard body was prelled 

 againfl it ; becaufe, when the parts that 

 .come firfl into contacfl with the body 

 have their morion retarded, the other 

 parts will advance farther forwards. 



If there was any contradi<5lion or ab" 

 iurdity in the common opinion of the 

 communication of motion, this would be 

 a fufficient reafon for reje(fling it, though 

 it were ever fo agreeable to the natural ap- 

 pearances of things. But fhall we main- 

 tain, that every particular body can only 



be 



