The Sceptical Chymist: or Chymico-Physical Doubts & Paradoxes, Touching the Spagyrist's Principles Commonly call'd Hypostatical; As they are wont to be Propos'd and Defended by the Generality of Alchymists. Whereunto is præmis'd Part of another Discourse relating to the same Subject.Boyle, Robert
Philosophy
The Sceptical Chymist: or Chymico-Physical Doubts & Paradoxes, Touching the Spagyrist's Principles Commonly call'd Hypostatical; As they are wont to be Propos'd and Defended by the Generality of Alchymists. Whereunto is præmis'd Part of another Discourse relating to the same Subject.
Boyle, Robert
Chemistry -- Early works to 1800
I consider then (resumes _Carneades_) that, not to mention those
improper Kinds of mistion, wherein _Homogeneous_ Bodies are Joyn'd, as
when Water is mingl'd with water, or two Vessels full of the same kind
of Wine with one another, the mistion I am now to Discourse of seems,
Generally speaking, to be but an Union _per Minima_ of any two or more
Bodies of differing Denominations; as when Ashes and Sand are
Colliquated into Glass or Antimony, and Iron into _Regulus Martis_, or
Wine and Water are mingl'd, and Sugar is dissolv'd in the Mixture. Now
in this general notion of Mistion it does not appear clearly
comprehended, that the _Miscibilia_ or Ingredients do in their small
Parts so retain their Nature and remain distinct in the Compound, that
they may thence by the Fire be again taken asunder: For though I deny
not that in some Mistions of certain permanent Bodies this Recovery of
the same Ingredients may be made, yet I am not convinc'd that it will
hold in all or even in most, or that it is necessarily deducible from
Chymicall Experiments, and the true Notion of Mistion. To explain
this a little, I assume, that Bodies may be mingl'd, and that very
durably, that are not Elementary or resolv'd [Errata: nor have been
resolved] into Elements or Principles that they may be mingl'd; as is
evident in the _Regulus_ of Colliquated Antimony, and Iron newly
mention'd; and in Gold Coyne, which lasts so many ages; wherein
generally the Gold is alloy'd by the mixture of a quantity, greater or
lesser, (in our Mints they use about a 12th. part) of either silver,
or Copper, or both. Next, I consider, that there being but one
Universal matter of things, as 'tis known that the _Aristotelians_
themselves acknowledge, who call it _Materia Prima_ (about which
nevertheless I like not all their Opinions,) the Portions of this
matter seem to differ from One Another, but in certain Qualities or
Accidents, fewer or more; upon whose Account the Corporeal Substance
they belong to receives its Denomination, and is referr'd to this or
that particular sort of Bodies; so that if it come to lose, or be
depriv'd of those Qualities, though it ceases not to be a body, yet it
ceases from being that kind of Body as a Plant, or Animal; or Red,
Green, Sweet, Sowre, or the like. I consider that it very often
happens that the small parts of Bodies cohere together but by
immediate Contact and Rest; and that however, there are few Bodies
whose minute Parts stick so close together, to what cause soever their
Combination be ascrib'd, but that it is possible to meet with some
other Body, whose small Parts may get between them, and so dis-joyn
them; or may be fitted to cohere more strongly with some of them, then
those some do with the rest; or at least may be combin'd so closely
with them, as that neither the Fire, nor the other usual Instruments
of Chymical Anatomies will separate them. These things being promis'd,
I will not peremptorily deny, but that there may be some Clusters of
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