A Tre<st;fe cf B O D I E S. Chap". 6. 



greater then the refinance of the rare body, it will force the 

 fire to divide the rare body. But if it be denle ; as, feme atomc 

 of earth -, then, though at the firft it cannot divide it ; yet by 

 length of time and by contintiall beating upon it, it may come 

 to wear off feme part of it, the force of the impellent by little 

 and little bending the atomeof the earth, by driving a conti- 

 nuall llrcam of a letter part of fire, cgainft fome detcrmate part 

 of the atome.By which word j4tox?e y no body will imagine we 

 intend to exprefie a perfect indivifiblc, but onely, the leaft fore 

 of nattirall bodies. 



CHAP. VI. 

 Of Light : iv hat it is. 



f r T Aving {a d thus much of fire; the near relation that is be- 

 fenfe "JLcv een itand light, invketh us in the next place to bend 



1 



"a our C 7 CS co tnat V^'0 u ^ c ^ co d***U theirs who look unwari- 

 lyupon it. Certainly, as among all the fenfjble qualities, it is 

 the principal!; fo among all corporeall things.it (eemcth to 

 aim rightert at a fpirituall nature^ and to come nearefl unto it. 

 And by fbmc hath been judged to be ipiriwall ; if our eyes be 

 capable to fee fpirits. No meaner man then Ariftotle leadeth 

 the dance to hold light a quality, and mainly to deny it any 

 bodily fubfiftence. And there hath followed him no fewer, then 

 almcft all the world ever fince. And the queftion importeth no 

 leffe, then the whole doftrine of qualities ; for admit light to 

 be a body, and hardly any man will hold up his hand in de- 

 fence of any other quality: but if it be a quality; then all 

 others come in by parity and for company. 



But before we go any further, i: will not be amifle to ex- 

 preffe what we mean- when we reject qualities ; and how, in 

 fome fenfc, we are content to admit them. According to that 

 de/cription that Philofbphers ordinarily do make of them , 

 ( and efpecially the modern ) we can by no means give way 

 unto them. I confeflc ingcnuoufly , I underftand not w'hac 

 they mean by them ; and I confident , that neither do they. 

 For the very notion , that their firft words feem to expreffc 

 of them, they contradict again , before they make an end of 

 defcribing what they arc. They will have them to be real! 



Entities 



