Telescope, &c. were first knoion hi England. 247 



beames to fire powder, or any other combusiible materj 

 which Archimedes is recorded to have doone at Svracusa in 

 Sicihe, when the Roman nauie approached that towne. 

 Some haue fondly surmised he did it with a portion of a 

 section parabolicall artiticiallye made to reflect and unite the 

 sunne beames a great distance oft", and for the construction 

 of this glasse, take great peines with high curiositie to 

 write large and many intricate demonstrations, but it is a 

 meere fantasie and utterly impossible, with any one glasse 

 whatsoeuer it be to fire any thing, onely one thousand pace 

 off, no though it were a 100 foote ouer, marry true it is, the 

 parabola for his small distance, most perfectly doth unite 

 beames, and most uehemently burneth of all other reflect- 

 ing glasses. But how by application of mo glasses to ex- 

 tend this unitie or concourse of beames in his full force, yea 

 to augment and multiplie the same, that the farder it is 

 caried the more violently it shall pearse and burne. Hoc 

 opus hie labor est, wherein God sparing life and the time 

 with opportunitie seruing, I minde to imparte with my 

 countricmcn some such secrets, as hath I suppose in this 

 our age beene rcucakd to very few, no lesse seruing for the 

 secuntie and defence of our natural! countrey than surely to 

 be maruailed at of strangers." 



5. No writer on optics whom I have had an opportunity 

 of consulting, gives us any thing satisfactory on these cu- 

 rious passages. In one of our latest and best scientific dic- 

 tionaries, a part of our first quotation (§3.) is given without 

 any comment, and the able writer of the article Telescope in 

 another late excellent General Dictionary, contents. himself 

 with mentioning the name of Digges in respectful terms. 

 Dr. S. does not mention the Diggeses at all ; and Mr. R. 

 in his remarks on that learned gentleman's system of op- 

 tics, does little more than cite a small part of our second 

 quotation (§4), I have not looked into any foreign authors 

 on this occasion; thinking it very unlikely that I should find 

 in them any satisfactory account of two old English books, 

 which have been so sparingly noticed by our own writers. 

 Modesty as well as prudence, recommends caution in a case 

 where men of deserved celebrity have been so very circum- 

 spect. Yet I shall offer a few remarks with that freedom 

 which becomes the cause of truth, trusting to your intelli- 

 gent readers for a candid construction of what I shall ad- 

 vance. 



6. And first I would ask, with all possible respect, whether 

 (to say nothing of theory) the able men I have alluded to, 

 might not bcpartly discouraged from hazarding any remarks 



Q 4 oil 



