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Of the Properties of Bodies.

Gravity or Weight of Bodies (VII).

REPULSION seems to be a Propertybelonging to the small Particles of Matteruniversally; for they do not more evidentlyattra£l in some Circumstances than they repeleach other in others, as will be evident by Ex-periments, hereafter to be exhibited (VIII.)

These

(VII) This Power, or Virtue, was originally com-municated to all Matter by the Omnipotence of theDeity, and is no ways necessary to its Existence ; there-fore I apprehend when Sir Isaac fays, he is ignorant ofthe Cause of Gravity, he can only mean the particularManner in which it is exerted from one Body, and inwhich it acts upon another, and not that he was igno-rant of the Source or Principle of Power whence it couldbe derived. But as the Manner in which it is exerted,so the Means by which it is propagated from one Body toanother, is as yet unknown. To account for the Pro-pagation of this Virtue, as of Light, ifc. ’tis supposedthat there is an exceeding fine imperceptible Mediumcr ethereal Spirit, diffused thro’ all the System, and per-vading the Pores of all Bodies ; that this Medium is ex-tremely clastic, and that by its Tremours and Undula-tions, which are almost instantaneous, the Emanationsof the attracting Virtue, Light, 07. are propagated withan immense Velocity, much after the fame Manner asSounds are conveyed by the undulatory Motion of theAir. By Means of this most subtle Spirit, ’tis supposed,likewise, that electric Bodies exert their Power of at-tracting and repelling light Bodies at greater Distances ;that Light is emitted, reflected, refracted, inflected, andheats Bodies; that all Sensation is excited, and animalMotion performed at Will; namely, by the Vibrations ofthis Spirit mutually propagated along the solid Filamentsof the Nerves from the outward Organs of Sense to theBrain, and from the Brain to the Muscles.

(VIII) Attrafiion and Repulsion differ in no other Re-spects