Chap, 6. A TrtAtife ^/BODIES. J 



is by little and little converted into it; _) and withaJl reflefting 

 upon the nature and motion of fire, ( which is, to dilate it felt" 

 extremely, and to fly all about from the center to the circumfe- 

 rence; Jyou cannot choofe but conceive,that the pure fire ftrug- 

 gling to break away from the oyly fewell ( which is ftill turn- 

 ing into new fire ) doth at length fiee his wings from that bird- 

 lime, and then flyeth abroad with extreme fwiftnefle,andfwel- 

 leth & dilateth it felf to a huge bulk,now that it hath gotten li- 

 berty ; and Co filleth a vaft room ; but rcmaineth ftill fire till it 

 die : which it no fooner doth, but it is ftill flipplycd with new 

 dreams ofit,that are continually ftrained> & as it were fquecf- 

 ed.out of the thick flame,which did imprifbn ir,and kept it with- 

 in it;till growing fuller offire then it could contain(by rcafbn of 

 the continual! attenuating thcoyly parts of it, and converting 

 them into firejitgiveth liberty unto thofe parts offire, that arc 

 next the fuperficies,to fly whither their nature will carry them. 



And thus, difcourfe would inform a blind man ( after he 

 hath vrell reflected on the nature of fire ) how it muft needs 

 fill a mighty extent of place ; though it have but a narrow be- 

 ginning at the fpringhead of it : and that there., by reafbn of 

 the condenfation of it, and mixture with a groflerbody, it muft 

 needs burn other bodies ; but that when it is freed from fuch 

 mixture, and fufTereth an extreme cxpanfion, it cannot have 

 force to burn, but may have means to exprdTe it (elf to be there 

 prefent by fome operation of it upon (bme body that is refined 

 and fubtilized enough to perceive it, Arid this operation a fee- 

 ing man will tell you is done upon his eyes, ( who fe ficnefTc 

 to receive impreffton from fo fubtiie an Agent>Anatomiftes will 

 teach you.) And I remember, how a blind fchoolmafter that I 

 fccpt in my houfe to teach my children, fwho had extreme fub- 

 tiie fpirits, and a great tenderaeflc through his whole body; 

 and met with few diftra&ions, to hinder him from obferv ing 

 any imprcflion, never fb nicely made upon him ) ufed often to 

 tell me, that he felt it very preceptibly in fcverall parts of his 

 body ; but efpecially in his brain. j t 



But to fettle us more firmly in the perfwafion of light his be- The fifth * 

 ing a body(and consequently fire;) let usconfider that the pro- SpropSJfes' 

 perties of a body, are perpetually incident to light ; look what belong to light 

 rules a ball will keep in its rebounds ; the fame, doch light in 



D 4 its 



