on the Ekclrophorus. 1033 
a body negatively eledtrified, or having loft a part of its 
natural ihare of electricity, rufties towards that body, 
and tends to diffufe itfelf through it, and thus to difpofe 
itfelf into an equilibrium. 
5. The reafon why the eledtric fluid, exifting every 
where, feems to remain inadtive in the common ftate of 
nature is, becaufe all other bodies having their ordinary 
fliare of this fluid, an equal preflure exifts on all ftdes. 
Thus, if all the bodies upon the earth were to acquire 
more or lefs of eledtric fluid at the fame time, in equal 
proportions, no eledtrical phenomena would be the con- 
fequence of fuch a ftate ; becaufe the preflure being every 
where equal, the repulfive force of the eledtrical partis 
cles would be every where balanced. Thus two bodies, 
both negatively or both pofitively eledtrified, will not 
give afpark to one another: they only recede more from 
one another, becaufe the other furrounding bodies are 
not in the fame fituation with them. This aflertion 
feems to be illuftrated by Father beccaria’s eledtrical 
well (puteus eleBirtcus ), which is nothing but a metal 
veflel eledtrified, in which two cork balls are fufpended 
by filk threads ; the balls do not fliow figns of eledtricity 
within the cavity of the veflel, becaufe the eledtric fluitj 
prefles equally on every fide. 
yon, LX VIII. 6 N 6. All 
