178 



such ease, as to receive no reeeptible resistance. If 

 any one doubt, whether it pass through the ?ub*tance, or 

 only along the surface of bodies, a strong shock taken 

 through* his owu body, will prevent his doubting any 

 longer. It differs from ail other matter in this, that the 

 particles of it repel, not attract each other. And hence 

 is the manifest divergency in a si ream of electrical 

 effluvia. But though the particles of it. repel each other, 

 yet are hey attracted by all other matter. And from 

 these three, the extreme subtlety of this fire, the mutual 

 repulsion of itspaits, and the strong attraction of them 

 by other matter, uriaes this effect, that if any quantity of 

 eisctric tire be applied to a mass of common matter of 

 any bigness^pr length, (\\liich has not already got its 

 quantity) it is ittituediatcty doTufced through the whole* 



It seems this globe of earth and water, with its plants, 

 animals, buildings, have diffused through their whole 

 substance, just as much of this fire as they will contain. 

 And this we may term their 'natural quantity. This is 

 not the same in all kinds 0f matter : neither in the same 

 kind of matter, in all circumstances. A solid foot of one 

 kind of matter (as glass) contains more of it than a soiid 

 foot of another kind. And a pound weight of the same 

 kind of matter, when rarefied, contains more than it did 

 before. 



We. know that this fire is in common matter, because 

 we can pump it eut by the globe : we know that common 

 matter has near as much of it as it ran contain, because 

 if we add a little more to any portion of it, the additional 

 .itiiY does not enter, but forms a kind of atmosphere 

 xound it. On the other hand we know, that common 

 matter has not more of it than it can contain. Other- 

 wise ail loose portions of it would repel each other; a* 

 they constantly do, when they have such atmospheres. 

 Bud the eauli, for instance, as much electric lire in 

 proportion, as we can give to a globe o iron or wood, 

 the particles of dust and other light matter, would not 

 only repel each other, but he continually repelled from 

 Hence, the hir, b.eiiig constantly loaded 



