The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. — Volume 04: Swift's Writings on Religion and the Church — Volume 2Swift, Jonathan
Religion
The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. — Volume 04: Swift's Writings on Religion and the Church — Volume 2
Swift, Jonathan
Church of England -- Sermons; England and Wales. Test Act 1673; Sermons, English
It is well known, that Torricellius,[2] the inventor of the common
weather-glass, made the experiment of a long tube which held thirty-two
foot of water; and that a more modern virtuoso finding such a machine
altogether unwieldly and useless, and considering that thirty-two inches
of quicksilver weighed as much as so many foot of water in a tube of the
same circumference, invented that sizeable instrument which is now in
use. After this manner, that I might adapt the thermometer I am now
speaking of to the present constitution of our Church, as divided into
High and Low, I have made some necessary variations both in the tube and
the fluid it contains. In the first place I ordered a tube to be cast in
a planetary hour, and took care to seal it hermetically, when the sun
was in conjunction with Saturn. I then took the proper precautions about
the fluid, which is a compound of two different liquors; one of them a
spirit drawn out of a strong heady wine; the other a particular sort of
rock-water, colder than ice, and clearer than crystal. The spirit is of
a red, fiery colour, and so very apt to ferment, that, unless it be
mingled with a proportion of the water, or pent up very close, it will
burst the vessel that holds it, and fly up in a fume and smoke. The
water, on the contrary, is of such a subtile, piercing cold, that,
unless it be mingled with a proportion of the spirits, it will sink
almost through every thing it is put into, and seems to be of the same
nature as the water mentioned by Quintus Curtius, which says the
historian, could be contained in nothing but in the hoof, or (as the
Oxford Manuscript has it) the skull of an ass. The thermometer is marked
according to the following figure, which I set down at length, not only
to give my reader a clear idea of it, but also to fill up my paper.
[Footnote 2: Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647) was assistant to
Galileo, and is famous as the discoverer of the phenomena on which he
made the barometer. In 1644 he published "Opera Geometrica." [T.S.]]
Ignorance.
Persecution.
Wrath.
Zeal.
CHURCH.
Moderation.
Lukewarmness.
Infidelity.
Ignorance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account