Philosophical Letters: or, modest Reflections upon some Opinions in Natural Philosophy — John Shaqi
Philosophical Letters: or, modest Reflections upon some Opinions in Natural PhilosophyNewcastle, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of
Philosophy
Philosophical Letters: or, modest Reflections upon some Opinions in Natural Philosophy
Newcastle, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of
Newcastle, William Cavendish, Duke of, 1592-1676; Philosophy
Thus, _Madam_, whosoever will study Nature, must consider the Figures
of every Creature, as well as their Motions, and must not make
abstractions of Motion and Figure from Matter, nor of Matter from
Motion and Figure, for they are inseparable, as being but one thing,
_viz._ Corporeal Figurative Motions; and whosoever conceives any of
them as abstract, will, in my opinion, very much erre; but men are apt
to make more difficulties and enforcements in nature then nature ever
knew. But to return to Light: There is no better argument to prove
that all objects of sight are figured in the Eye, by the sensitive,
voluntary or self-motions, without the pressure of objects, but that
not onely the pressure of light would hurt the tender Eye, but that
the eye doth not see all objects according to their Magnitude, but
sometimes bigger, sometimes less: as for example, when the eye looks
through a small passage, as a Perspective-glass, by reason of the
difficulty of seeing a body through a small hole, and the double
figure of the glass being convex and concave, the corporeal motions
use more force, by which the object is enlarged, like as a spark of
fire by force is dilated into a great fire, and a drop of water by
blowing into a bubble; so the corporeal motions do double and treble
their strength, making the Image of the object exceeding large in the
eye; for though the eye be contracted, yet the Image in the eye is
enlarged to a great extension; for the sensitive and rational matter is
extremely subtil, by reason it is extreamly pure, by which it hath more
means and ways of magnifying then the Perspective-glass. But I intend
to write more of this subject in my next, and so I break off here,
resting,
Madam,
_Your Faithful Friend_
_and Servant._
[1] _Ch._ 27.
XX.
_MADAM,_
Some perhaps will question the truth or probability of my saying, that
Light is a Body, objecting that if light were a body, when the Sun is
absent or retires under our Horizon, its light would leave an empty
place, or if there were no empty place but all full, the light of the
Sun at its return would not have room to display it self, especially in
so great a compass as it doth, for two bodies cannot be in one place at
one time. I _answer_, all bodies carry their places along with them,
for body and place go together and are inseparable, and when the light
of the Sun is gone, darkness succeeds, and when darkness is gone, light
succeeds, so that it is with light and darkness as with all Creatures
else; For you cannot believe, that if the whole World were removed,
there would be a place of the world left, for there cannot be an empty
nothing, no more then there can be an empty something; but if the world
were annihilated, the place would be annihilated too, place and body
being one and the same thing; and therefore in my opinion, there be no
more places then there are bodies, nor no more bodies then there are
places.
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