WITH NOTES. 483 



&quot; Century,&quot; and we must bear in mind that its language 

 was not arranged to inform the public in respect to 

 construction, but, as its author explicitly states, the 

 several inventions are &quot; set down in such a way as 

 may sufficiently instruct me to put any of them in prac 

 tice.&quot; Now there is good ground for believing that the 

 Marquis had a special meaning for the word u force,&quot; 

 as here applied, a word then used indifferently in its 

 ordinary and in a technical sense, in the same sentence. 

 This is particularly worth illustrating ; firstly, because it 

 shows a probability that the Marquis had, before 1655, 

 designed some kind of safety-valve ; and secondly, to 

 remove the common supposition of the foregoing inven 

 tion being utterly paradoxical. 



It has already been stated, that there is sufficient 

 evidence to prove, that John Bate s u Mysteries of 

 Nature and Art,&quot; had attracted the especial notice 

 of the Marquis. He would be about 33 years of 

 age on its first publication, and he wrote his Century 

 about 20 years after its appearance, we may, therefore, 

 readily see how likely it would be for him to adopt even 

 its very style and language. John Bate says, at page 

 11:- 



u A forcer is a plug of wood exactly 

 turned and leathered about 5 the end that 

 goeth into the barrel, is semicircularly concave; p. 57. 

 Forces may be made to move either horizontally or 

 perpendicularly, according unto the convenience of the 

 work, or the invention of the artist and engineer ; p. 59. 

 (Describing the water mill or engine near the north 

 end of London Bridge. ) These two barrels must be 

 bound fast unto two posts of the frame, with two strong 

 iron bands, as T T ; unto each of these must be fitted a 

 force well leathered, and in the tops of the forces must 

 be set two pieces of wood.&quot; 



