Opticks 1717 - Up

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denfeit P&lttcr may always endcavour to apyroach
the Center of the Particle: So that a
Particle of’ Salt may be compared to a Chaos ;
being denfe, hard, dry, and earthy in the GUIter
;’ and rare, ibft, moift, and watry in. the
Circumference. And hence it feeems to be that
Salts arc of a Ming nature, being fcarce def’~:ro~r’d
5 ~nlef~ by drawing a\Vay their Wacry
Parts by violence, or by letting theill fo& into
the Pores of the central Earth by a gcnrle E-&WI
in Putrcfa&on, until theEarth be dillblved b17
the Water, and i‘eparzated into t&Her Pn~ticlcs,
which by r&on of their fmallnefs make the
.rotten Compound appear of a black Colour:
Hence nlfo it may be that the Parts of Atlinlals
and Vegetables preferve their feveral For~ns,
,and afl-Slate their Nourifllment ; the fof’e and
moiit Nourifhmen t e&p changi !;g its Text cn-e
by a gentle Heat and IiJlotion, till it becomes
like the denie, hard, drv, and durable Earth
in the Center of each Pal~ticle. Rut when the.
Nourifllmcnt grows unfit to be alGmilat4, or
the central Earth grows too feeble to aff imilate
it, the Motion ends in Confuiion; Puerefi&ion
and Death.
If a vesy fmall quantity of any Salt or Vitriol
:be diffolved in a great quantity of Water 3 the
.Particles of the Salt or Vitriol will not filik to
,the bottom, though they be heavier in Specie
‘than the Water, but will evenly diffufe them-
.Ifelves into all the Water, fo as to make it as faline
at the top as at the bottom. And does n&t
.this imply that the Parts of the Salt or Vitriol
recede from one another> and endeavour to expand