370 ESSAYS and OBSERVATIONS 



Qeneral Scholium. 



We can have no other idea of a folid 

 pr confiftent body in general, as diftin-' 

 guifhed from a fluid, than that the parts 

 of a folid cohere together by Ibine power 

 which retains the particles in their fitu-r 

 ations with refpecfl to one another, and 

 iifiakes them to refift their feparation or 

 divifion, till that power is overcome by a 

 fuperior force. 



When w:e obferve that a certairi 

 fluid, as water, poured upon a hard fo- 

 lid body, as a lump of falt-petre, in fome 

 hours, makes fuch a change upon the 

 lump, that, it wholly difappears, if the 

 glafs is fliaken a little ; that is, the fait i^ 

 divided into particles, fo fmall, that they 

 efcape our fight, and are equally diftri- 

 buted through the liquor, and {ufpended 

 in it: When we obferve this, I fay, we 

 cannot but conclude, that the particles of 

 water are endued with a power capable 



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