NOVUM ORGANUM 263 



cold, another to magnetic action, and so on with regard 

 to the other actions. 



Let the sixteenth be that which we term the royal or 

 political motion, by which the predominant and governing 

 parts of any body check, subdue, reduce, and regulate the 

 others, and force them to unite, separate, stand still, move, 

 or assume a certain position, not from any inclination of 

 their own, but according to a certain order, and as best 

 suits the convenience of the governing part, so that there 

 is a sort of dominion and civil government exercised by 

 the ruling part over its subjects. The motion is very con 

 spicuous in the spirits of animals, where, as long as it is in 

 force, it tempers all the motions of the other parts. It is 

 found in a less degree in other bodies, as we have observed 

 in blood and urine, which are not decomposed until the 

 spirit, which mixed and retained their parts, has been 

 emitted or extinguished. Nor is this motion peculiar to 

 spirits only, although in most bodies the spirit predomi 

 nates, owing to its rapid motion and penetration; for the 

 grosser parts predominate in denser bodies, which are not 

 filled with a quick and active spirit (such as exists in 

 quicksilver or vitriol), so that unless this check or yoke be 

 thrown off by some contrivance, there is no hope of any 

 transformation of such bodies. And let not any one sup 

 pose that we have forgotten our subject, because we speak 

 of predominance in this classification of motions, which is 

 made entirely with the view of assisting the investigation 

 of wrestling instances, or instances of predominance. For 

 we do not now treat of the general predominance of motions 

 or powers, but of that of parts in whole bodies, which con 

 stitutes the particular species here considered. 



Let the seventeenth motion be the spontaneous motion 



