NOVUM ORGANUM 243 



XLVII. In the twenty-third rank of prerogative in 

 stances we will place instances of quantity, which we are 

 also wont to call the doses of nature (borrowing a word 

 from medicine). They are such as measure the powers by 

 the quantity of bodies, and point out the effect of the quan 

 tity in the degree of power. And in the first place, some 

 powers only subsist in the universal quantity, or such as 

 bears a relation to the confirmation and fabric of the uni 

 verse. Thus the earth is fixed, its parts fall. The waters 

 in the sea flow and ebb, but not in the rivers, except by the 

 admission of the sea. Then, again, almost all particular 

 powers act according to the greater or less quantity of the 

 body. Large masses of water are not easily rendered foul, 

 small are. New wine and beer become ripe and drinkable 

 in small skins much more readily than in large casks. If a 

 herb be placed in a considerable quantity of liquid, infusion 

 takes place rather than impregnation; if in less, the reverse. 

 A bath, therefore, and a light sprinkling, produce different 

 effects on the human body. Light dew, again, never falls, 

 but is dissipated and incorporated with the air; thus we see 

 that in breathing on gems, the slight quantity of moisture, 

 like a small cloud in the air, is immediately dissolved. 

 Again, a piece of the same magnet does not attract so much 

 iron as the whole magnet did. There are some powers 

 where the smallness of the quantity is of more avail; as in 

 boring, a sharp point pierces more readily than a blunt one; 

 /the diamond, when pointed, makes an impression on glass, 

 and the like. 



Here, too, we must not rest contented with a vague 

 result, but inquire into the exact proportion of quantity 

 requisite for a particular exertion of power; for one would 



be apt to suppose that the power bears an exact proportion 



SCIENCE Vol. 2211 



