Translation of Rey's Essai/s. 59 



ness and weight, this difference must continually be increasing 

 from the beginning to the end, by the increase of the number of 

 drops arising from the distillation. From this it appears, that, 

 as in heterogeneous bodies, fire separates the parts that are of 

 different natures, so in homogeneous bodies, it disjoins the parts 

 which differ in tenuity, and then weight assumes the office of 

 giving them rank, and of assigning to each its place, espe- 

 cially in fluids, the heaviest portions of which, always gain 

 the bottom, making their way through those that are less so, 

 and necessarily falling down in them. So that if all the 

 water that could distil from the above-mentioned pipe, fell 

 in order into a tube of sufficient length, and of the size of 

 a quill, it is credible, that the second drop would sink 

 in the first, and the third in these two, and so consecu- 

 tively to the last, which being the heaviest, would pass 

 through all that preceded it, occupying the lowest place ; 

 so that the drop which sought the first, would, at the end, 

 find itself in the highest place. Now, although this con- 

 tinual traversing occasions some degree of mixture to the parts, 

 yet would it not be such, but that the distinction in weight 

 of the high and low portions would always be very discernible. 

 But as we cannot see this sinking of the drops by the eye, if 

 any one call it in question, let him apply and dexterously join 

 the mouth of one phial full of water to the mouth of a similar 

 phial full of claret wine, and he will behold a similar thing ; for 

 the water being the heavier, will descend into the lower phial 

 through the wine, manifestly forcing it to mount into the upper. 

 Does not the wine itself arrange its more subtle parts at the 

 upper part of the barrel, and its grosser at the bottom, by means 

 of the greater weight of one than of the other? 



The common people think also, and not without reason, that 

 the first glass we pour out of the gallon is more subtle and 

 vaporous than the following. This difference observed in so 

 small a vessel might lead some to imagine, that if we were to 

 make a tube only an inch wide, and several toises in length, fill 

 it with wine and leave it for some time at rest, the upper por- 

 tion, if not absolute brandy, would come very near it in tenuity 



