Institutes of natural philosophy, theoretical and experimental / By William Enfield.

  • Enfield, William, 1741-1797.
Date:
1785
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Institutes of natural philosophy, theoretical and experimental / By William Enfield. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/398 (page 1)
    Definition L XVjLATTER is an extended and folid fubftance* Scholium. Extenfion and folidity are difcovered to be properties of matter by the fenfes. Both by the fight and touch we perceive material fubrtances to have length, breadth and thicknefs, that is, to be extended : and from the refinance which they make to the touch, wre acquire the idea, and infer the property, of folidity. It is unneceflary here to inquire whether folidity neceffarily fuppofes impenetrability. Natural Philofophy, being employed in invefligating the laws of nature by experiment and obfervation, and in explaining the phenomena of nature by thefe laws, has no concern with metaphyfica! fpeculations, which are generally little more than unfuccefsful efforts, to extend the boundaries of human knowledge beyond the reach of the human faculties. t Def. IL A body is any portion of matter. Corollary. All bodies have fome figure; for, being portions of matter, they are finite, and therefore bounded by lines either flraight or curved. B p r a