85 4 7'wtiji ^/BODIES. Chap. 9, 



Dialog- 1. of or fliarpnetfc which concurre aSivcly to diyifion. We have told 

 you alfo how Galileus hath demon ft rated that a greater quan- 

 tity of the ia.me figure and denfity, hath a priviledge ofdefccnd- 

 ing fa^ei then aleffcr. And that priviledge confifteth in this, 

 that the proportion of the fuperficies to the body it limiteth 

 ( which proportion the greater it is, the more it rctardcth ) is 

 Icfie in a greater bulk then in a fmaller. 



We have therefore three conditions concurring to make the 

 motion more efHcaciousmamely, the dcnlity,the fharpnefle, and 

 the b'-ilk of the moveablc. And more then thefe three, we can- 

 not expcft to find in a moved body:for quantity hath but three 

 determinations :-one,by denary and rarity ; of which^denfity is 

 one of the three conditions: another, by its parts; as by a foot, a 

 fpan,&c. and in this way we have found that the greater exccl- 

 leth theleffer : the third and laft,is by its figure- and in this we 

 find that fubtile or edged quantities do prevail over blunt ones. 

 Seeing therefore, that thefe three determinations be all that are 

 in quantity;there can be no jinore conditions in the body mo- 

 yedf which of neceffity is a finis^quantity) but the three named. 

 And as for the medium which is to be divided, there is onely 

 rarity and denfity (the one, to help;the other,to hinder,) that 

 require confederation on its fide. For neither figure, nor little- 

 nefle and greatneflc, do make any variation in it. And a* for 

 the Agent, it is not as yet time, before we have looked further 

 into the nature of motion, to determine his qualities, 

 g. Now then let us reftafl how thefe three conditions do all a- 



NO body hath grce in this circumflance,thatthey help no:hing todivifion.un* 

 StrtSl lelfe the body in which they are, 'be moved and pretTed againft 

 it fcif cowards the body that is to be divided, fo that we fee no principle to 

 e paof the pcrfwadc us, that any body can move it felf towards any dctcr- 

 univcrfe. minatc part or place of the univcrfe, of its owne intrinfccall in- 



clination. For betides that the learned Author of the Dialogues 

 de Mundo (in his third Dialoguc^and the fecond knot) hath de- 

 monft rated that a body cannot move unlcfle it be moved by 

 fome cxtrinfccall Agent ; we may eafily frame unto our fclvcs a 

 conceit, of how abfurd it is to think that a body by a quality in 

 iccan work upon itfelfras if we fhould fay, that rarity(which is 

 but more quantity) could work upon quantity; or that figure 

 ( which is but that the body rcachcth no further ) could work 



upon 



