CLIMATE of RUSSIA. ' 241 



You muft excufe me, Sir, if I enter into another difcuflion 

 which the fame paflage of yours has likewife given rife to. I 

 mean, the opinions which feveral of the learned have thrown 

 out of late years relative to two forts of electricity. 



It was I, Sir, as you know, who firft gave rife to that idea, 

 many years ago. I had proved, in my Tenta??ien Theor. Electric, 

 et Magn. that the portions of matter belonging to every body 

 in nature, repel one another. This proportion appeared bold to 

 fome of the learned, as indeed it would have done to myfelf, 

 before I had well examined, digefted and compared it with the 

 analogy of nature. 



The Philofophers you cite imagine they could remove this 

 difficulty, by fuppofing the exiftence of two diftinCt electric 

 fluids, one of which is pofitive and the other negative. I mail 

 confine myfelf at prefent to a few-remarks upon that fubjecl. 



imo, Those who would pafs that idea for a new theory of 

 electricity different from mine, (and there are thofe who attempt 

 it) have not confidered matters in their true point of view ; for 

 it is evident that a theory, founded on the fuppofition of two 

 fluids, will coincide perfectly and eflentially with mine ', nay, the 

 explanation of the phenomena, the reafoning, and even the ana- 

 lytic formula which they draw from their pretended theory, is 

 exactly the fame as mine. But fuppofing their hypothefes could 

 be proved, there would refult from it nothing new, except that 

 it might furnifh an explanation of one of the fundamental facts 

 on which I founded my theory, and which I did not follow, nor 

 think important enough to invefligate the origin of, but was 

 contented to admit it as an eflablifhed fact. 



2do, My theory, in confining itfelf to fimple well attefted facts, 

 neither aflifts nor denies the exiftence of two, or even feveral 

 fluids, which nature might poflibly employ to effect the funda- 

 mental laws on which I have eflablifhed my theory ; for when I 

 make ufe of the expreflion matter proper to bodies, it is evident, 

 that it means what remains in a body after we have drawn off 

 the electric fluid. 



Vol. II. h h ^tio, 



