The Philosophy of Earthquakes; By the Rev. William Stukeley, M. D. F. R. S. &c. in a Letter to Martin Folkes, Esq; LL.D. and President of the Royal Society, &c.

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t 7Z 1 3

as with a Spring, and drop'd again. Many People

felt it there in various Shapes. At Cajlor, a Mile

and Half ftill farther Weft-, one Mr. Serjeant fays,
that, looking out of a Window a confiderable Height,
he found the Houfe reel more than once, and then

come into its Place again with a Jolt. Many very

odd Inftances we have of it. Some heard the Nolle,
and felt not the Shock; others felt ir, and did not
hear the Noife. I am informed it was felt at Boflon,
which lies about 30 Miles near North of us; and it
was felt a few Miles to the South : So that its Extent
here, from NW. to SE. or thereabouts, feenis to

be about 40 Miles. Upon the Whole, I rind, the

higher'one was, as farther from the Centre, the more
the Shock was felt; that it was local ; the Sound of
the Explofion was heard as well abroad as in the
Houfes, tho' People differently fltuated judged dif-
ferently what the Sound was ; that not any Smoke,
Vapour, or Flame, appeared on the Surface, as I

have heard. I am

lour moft obedient Servant,

W m . Smith.

LVII.

The Philofophy of Earthquakes ; by the Rev.
William Stukeley, ID. R R.S. &c. in
a Letter to Martin Folkes, Efq\ LL. D.
and Preiident of the Royal Society, &*c.

<w_Dec.6,QiNCE I had the Honour to lay be-

S/> ° k3 f° rc tnc Society, in the Spring, my

Thoughts upon Earthquakes, we have had " many

5 A 2 Oppor-

[ 73 2 ]

Opportunities of reflecting on that raoft awful, and
hitherto unufual, Appearance. The Year 1750. may
rather be calkd the Year of Earthquakes, thin of Ju-
bilee. For, fincc they began with us at London, as far
as I can learn, they have appeared in many Parts of Eu-
rope, Afia, Africa, and America, and have likewife
revifitcd many Counties in our Ifland : At length,
on 50th of iaft September, taken their Leave ( as
we hope) with much the mod cxtcnfivc Shock we
have fcen in our Days.

It may well be expected, that thefe frequent Vifits,
in thcmfelvcs fo very extraordinary, to us fo rare,
and that in one Year, fhould keep up our Attention ;
and, as to my own Part, induce one to reflect on
what I before offered concerning them, and be a faf-
ficicnt Apology for the prefent Paper.

V/c have been acquainted, by thofe that remem-
ber it, that in the Earthquake of November 1703.
which happened in Lincoln/hire, the Weather was
calm, cloie, gloomy, warm, and dry, in a Degree
highly unufual at that Scafon : And thus ir has been
with us all the Year : And from the numerous Ac-
counts we have received at the Royal Society, in the
beginning and End of the Year, where any Mention
is made of the Weather, they agree in the like Par-
ticular : Which is confentaneous to what I remarked
as the conftiint Forerunner of Earthquakes, and what
prepares the Earth's Surface to receive the elc&ricai
Stroke .

In my laft we had a Paper read at the Royal So-
ciety, concerning the firft Earthquake felt by us at
London on 8th February. A Shepherd belonging to
Mr. Secretary Fox at Kenfington,. the Sky being per-
fectly

[ 733 ]

fcctly ferene and clear, was much furprifed with a very
extraordinary Noife in the Air, rolling over his
Head, as of Cannon clofe by : He likcwife thought
that it came from the North-weft, and went to the
South-eaft ; a Motion quite contrary to what muft
have been the Cafe, if it were really of Cannon.
This Noife pafs'd rulhing by him ; and inftantiy he
faw the Ground, a dry and folid Spot, wave under
him, like the Face of the River. The tall Trees
of the Avenue, where he was, nodded their Tops
very fenfibly, and quavcr'd. The Flock of Sheep
immediately took Fright, and ran away all together,
as if the Dogs had purfucd them. A great Rookery
in the Place were equally alarmed; and, after an
univerfal Clangor, flew away, as if chafed by
Hawks.

I was likewife informed, that, in the fame Earth-
quake, a great Parcel of Hens and Chickens, kept
at that time in Grafs-Inn Lane, upon the Shock,
rati to the Rooft affrighted : And the like was ob-
served of Pigeons. And in our Account of the Lift
Earthquake from Northampton, it is remarked, that
the Birds in Cages put their Heads under their Wings,
as to hide themfeives.

J tine 21. at the Royal Society, Mr. jack/on,
Potter at Lambith, gave an Account of fome Boats
and Loiters, in the River at that time; the People
in them feemed to feel as if a Poipoife, or fome
great Fifth, had heav'd and thump'd at the Bottom
of the Loiters. This is ibmcrimes the Cafe of Ships
at Sea; which fcems evidently owing to an elcftri-
cal Impreflion on the Water.

In

[ 734 ]

In the Evening Toft, June ly. we had a Para-
graph from Venice, that a rcrribie Earthquake had
lately been felt in the Jilc of Cerigo; a little rocky
Ifle. It threw down a great Number of Houfes,
and above 2000 Inhabitants were buried in the
Ruins.

Another Earthquake about that time happen'd in
Switzerland, which fplit a vaft rocky Mountain,
and an old Caftle-WalJ, of an immenfe Thicknefs.

But, fince then, thefe wonderful Movements have
(talked round the Globe j and again been lately felt
in our own Ifland, to the Terror only of many thou-
fand People ; befides thofe that appeared in the
Wcftcrn Party, in the more early Time of the Year.

I received a Letter from my Friend Maurice
John/on E(q> the Founder and Secretary of the Li-
terary Society of Spalding, which has now fubfirtcd
thefe 40 Years. He acquaints me, that, on Thurf-
day the 23d of duguft laft, an Earthquake was very
fenfibly feit there, about 7 o' Clock in the Morning,
throughout the whole Town and Neighbourhood,
and many Miles round j but chiefly fprcad North-
ward and Southward. He fays, that, for a Fort-
night before, the Weather had been fcrcne, mild,
and calm; and one Evening there was a dcep-rtd
Aurora aujlralis, covering the Cope of Heaven,
very terrible to behold. This fame Shock was felt
at Grantham, Stamford, and Milton by Teterbo-
rough; and generally at all the intermediate Places.

Since then, I had a Letter from Mr. Alderman
Taylor, of Stamford, giving an Account of another
Earthquake, that happen'd there on Sunday, Sept.
30 at 36 Minutes after 120' Clock at Noon. He

defcribes

C 735 3

dcfcribes it thus : ' They were fuddenly furprifed

* with an uncommon Noife in the Air, like the

* rolling of large Carriages in the Street, for about
' 20 Seconds. At the fame Inftant they felt a

* great Shake, or Snap (as he calls it) ; infomuch
' that it fenfibly fhook a Punch-bowl, which was
' in his Parlour, and made it ring. He fays, it was
' perceived of moft of the People of Stdmford,
' who generally ran out of their Houfes. At Oke-

* ham, the chief Town in Rutland, the Congrega-
' tion ran out of the Church. All the Towns
' round Stamford were fenfible of it, and at Te-

* terborough, down to Wisbich.'

Thus far the Alderman. But we have had many
Advices from all Hands, at the firft and fecond Meet-
ings of the Royal Society^ for the Winter-Seafon j
with further Particulars relating to this great Con-
cuffion: That it was felt at the fame time at.
Rugby in Warwickfiire, and reach'd to Warwick ; at
Lutterworth in Leicefierpnre ; at Leicejier, and
round about. They defcribe it, that the Houfes
totter'cl, and fcem'd to heave up and down, tho'
it lafted but a few Seconds. It was attended with
a rufhing Noife, as if the Houfes were falling ; and
People were univcrfally fo affrighted as to run out ;
imagining that their own, or Neighbours Houfes,
were tumbling on their Heads. In the Villages
around, the People, being at divine Service, were
much alarm'd, both with the Noife, which ex-
ceeded all the Thunder they had ever he-ird, be-
yond Compare; and with the great Shock accom-
panying, which was like fomewhat that rufti'd againft
the Church-Walls and Roof; fome thinking the

Pillars

[ 736 ]

Pillars crack'd -, many, that the Beams of the Roof
were disjointed; and all, that the Whole was fall-
ing ; and happy were they that could get out firft.
A few Slates, Tiles, and Parts of Chimnies, fell
from fome Houfcs } Pewter, Glafles, and Brafs, fell
from Shelves; a Clock-Bell ibmctimesfttuck; Win-
dows univcrfally rattled j and the like Circumftanccs
of Tremor.

The fame extended itfelf to Coventry, Darby,
Nottingham, Newark s then came Eaft ward to Har-
borough, Towcejier, Northampton, Rowell, Ket-
tering, Wellingborough, Oundle in Northampton-
Jhire, Uppingham, Okeham in Rutland, Stamford,
Bourn, Grantham, Spalding, Bofton, and to Lincoln,
in Lincolnshire; Holbech, and all Holland, in that
County ; ^Peterborough, Wishech in the Kle of Ely,
together with all the intermediate and adjacent Places.
Then it palled over the whole Breadth of Ely-Fen,
and reached to Bury in Suffolk, and the Country
thereabouts; of which wc had Notice from Lady
Cornwallis : An Extent from Warwick to Bury of
about 100 Miles in Length ; and, generally fpeak-
ing, 40 Miles in Breadth. And this vaft Space was
pervaded by this amazing Motion, as far as we can
get any Satisfaction, in the fame Inftant of Time.

In regard to Circumftanccs, they were pretty fimi-
lar throughout. At Northampton, a Gentlewoman,
fitting in her Chair, relates, that fhe and her Chair
were twice fenfibly lifted up, and fetdown again. A
Stack of Chimnies were thrown down in Colkge-
lane -, a Place retaining the Memory of a fort of Uni-
verfity once beginning at Northampton. The Win-
dows of Houfcs rattled throughout the whole Town ;

but

[ 737 3

tout no Mifchicf done : In general, frightful, and in-
nocuous.

They fanficd there the Motion of it, as they cx-
prefs it, to be Eaftward. In Streets that run North
and South, tiic Houfcs on the Eaft Side of the Way
were moft affected : And Dr. Stonehou/e's Dwelling,
theftrongeft in the Town, was moft fenfibiy fhaken.
So it was likewife obferved, that Churches were
moft fubject to its Violence. They thought too that
the Motion fcem'd rather horizontal, or lateral, than
upward. Some counted the Pulfcs diftinctly, to the
Number of four : That the fecond and third Pull'c
were ftrongcr than the firft and fourth.

From a'.l thefc various Accounts, there was no
fulphureous Smell, or Eruption ; no Fiflurcs in the
Ground pcrceiv'd : Yet fevcral People were fick up-
on it; infinite Numbers terribly affrighted; and as
foon forgot the Impreflion of it, or taik'd of it in
a merry Strain, as commonly with us at London.
So little are the Vulgar affected, without fomcthing
very fcnfible, and fo foon is the Scnfc of it worn
out!

It was more evidently percciv'd by People ftand-
ing i moft, by thofe that were fitting; lcaft, by fuch
as were walking ; and in upper Stories of Houfcs
more than in lower, or in Cellars. Some, coming
down ftairs, were in Danger of being thrown for-
wards: Several fitting in Chairs, and hearing the
hollow thundering Noife, and thinking it was a
Coach palling by, when they attempted to get up,
to fee what it was, they were thrown back again
into their Chair. Some heard the Wain fcot crackle.
A Lady, fitting by the Fire, with her Chair leaning

f B forwards,

[ 73« ]

forwards, was thrown down on her Hands and
Knees.

It was particularly remarked (as before obferved),
that Birds in Cages were fenfibly affrighted, thruft-
ing their Heads under their Wings. Mrs, Alli-
cock, of Loddington, a Lady in Childbed, was fo
affected, that it caufed her Death. Some People
felt fuch afudden Shortnefs of Breath, that they v/crc
forced to go out into the open Air, it fo affc&ed
the pulmonary Nerves. Many were taken with
Hcadachs.

Thcfe a e, in general, the Obfcrvations made at
the time of thefe Earthquakes ; when wc recollected
ourfelvcs, after the Suddenncfs and Affright. Give
me Leave to make the following Remarks.

i. As far as we can poffibly learn, where no one
can be prcpar'd at different Places, by Timekeepers,
this mighty Concuffion was felt prccifely at the
fame Inftant of Time, being about half an Hour
after 12 at Noon. This, I prcfume, cannot be ac-
counted for by any natural Power, but that of an
ele&rical Vibration} which, we know, acts inftan-
taneoufly.

2. Let us reflect on the vaft Extent of this Trem-
bling, 100 Miles in Length, 40 in Breadth, which
amounts to 4000 fquare Miles in Surface. That this
fhould be put into fuch an Agitation in one Mo-
ment, is fuch a Prodigy, as wc fhould never be-
lieve, or conceive, did we not know it to be Fact,
from our own Scnfcs. But, if we fcek for a Solu-
tion of it, we cannot think any natural Power is
equal to it, but that of Elcdricity } which acknow-
ledges no fcnfiblc Tranfirion of Time, no Bounds.

3. We

C 739 ]
3. We obfcrvc, the vulgar Solution of fubterra-

rveous Eruptions receives no Countenance from all
that was feen or felt during thefe Earthquakes : It
would be very hard to imagine how any fuch thing
could fo fuddenly and inftantaneoufly operate thro'
this vaft Space, and that in fo fimilar and tender a
manner, over the Whole, thro' fo great a Variety
as well as Extent of Country, as to do no Mifchicf.

A philofophical Inquirer in Northampton/hire,
who had his Eye particularly on this Point, takes
notice there were not any Futures in the Ground,
any fulphureous Smells, or Eruptions, any- where per-
ceiv'd, fo as to favour internal Convulfions of the
Earth } yet we learn, from a Letter, at Uppingham
in Rutland, that a Planter Floor became crack'd
thereby. Thefe kind of Floors are frequent in this
Country i what we call Stucco in London ; and it
gives us a good Notion of the undulatory Vibration
produe'd by an Earthquake j which fome have com-
pared to that of a mufical String ; others, to that
of a Dog, or a Horfe, Ihaking themfclves when they
come out of the Water.

4. The former Earthquake, that happened at
Grantham, Spalding, Stamford (which Towns lie in
a Triangle) took up a Space which may in grols
be accounted a Circle of 20 Miles in Diameter j
the Centre of which is that great Morals called 1)eep~
ing-Fen. This comprehends 14 Miles of that 20 in
Diameter ; and where, probably, the electrical Imprcf-
fion was firft made. Much the major Part of Deep-
ing Fen is under Water in the Winter; underneath
is a perfect Bog : Now it is very obvious how little
favourable fuch Ground is for fubtcrraneous Fires.
In the fecond Earthquake, not only this Coun-

jB 2 try

[ 740 ]

try was affected again, but likcwifc a much larger
Space of the fame fort of fenny Ground, rather
worfc than the former : All Tionington-Fen, 'Deep-
ing- Fen, Cray land Fen, Thorney-Fen, Whitlefea-
1 en, Bedford-Level, and the whole Extent of Ely-
Fen, under various Denominations. This Country,
under the Turf, abounds with fubtcrrancous Tim-
ber of all kinds j Fir, Oak, and Brufh-wood;
Stags Horns : Now-and-thcn they find a Quantity
of Hazel-nuts, crouded together on a Heap: I have
fome of them. This is a Matter common to all
bosfty Ground over the whole Globe. Thcv are
the I^uins of the antediluvian World, wafh'd down
from the high Country, where they grew, here
lodg'd, and by time overgrown with the prefent
Turf. They that fcek for any other Solution of
this Affair, than the univerial Ncacbian- Deluge,
want to account for a general Effect by a partial
Caufcj and fhut their Eyes, both to the plain Hiflory
of this Matter, and to the infinite notorious De-
monitrations of it from foflil Appearances.

f. All this Country,, tho' underneath it is a watry
Botr, yet, through this whole Summer, and au-
tumnal Scafon (as they can have no natural Springs
in fuch a Level) the Drought has been fo great on
the Superficies, that the Inhabitants were obliged
every Day to drive their Cattle fevcral Miles, for wa-
tering. This fhews how fit the dry Surface was for
an electrical Vibration ; and we learn from hence
this important Particular, that it reaches but very
little below the Earth's Surface.

M.i.JohnJbn, in another Letter which he wrote to
mc concerning the fecond Earthquake, obferved at
Spalding, fays, upon this Occsiion, he was obliged

to

[ 74i ]
to fcour his Canal, and deepen it,* that they came
to a white Quickfand, which afforded to ail the
Neighbourhood excellent Water in Plenty.

In the gravelly Soil of London, and where the
two Shocks were felt by us, in the Beginning of
tiie Year, we know there is not an Houfc in the
whole Extent of this vaft City, and all around it, but
a Spring of Water is ready, upon digging a Well:
Whence we have much lleafon to believe, that the
internal Parts of the Earth are like a Sponge foak'd in
Water ; fo that the only dry Part of it is the Superficies ;
which is the Objeft, and the Subjcd, of that electric
Vibration, wherein (according to my Sentiments)
an Earthquake confifts.

This thews the Miftakc of the Anticnts; who,
fancying that Earthquakes proceeded from fubtcrra-
neous Eruptions, built their prodigious Temple of
'Diana cf Ephefus upon a boggy Ground, to pre-
vent fuch a Difjftcr,

6. Earthquakes arc truly niofl: violent in a rocky
Country - y becauie the Shock is proportionate to the
Solidity of the Matter clcftrify'd: So that Rocks',
old Caiile-Walls, and ftrbng Buildings, arc moft ob-
noxious to the Concuflion. The IQeof Cerieo was
more liable, and more rudely handled by the late
Earthquake} both becaufe it was an Iflc, and- be-
caufe it was rocky. So we muft fay of the lafe
Earthquake in Switzerland, that fplit the Moun-
tain and the old Cattle- Wall. Whence Mr. Tfofin.
fon, in his fecond Letter, fays, ir crack'd a very
llrong brick Houfe in Gosper ton by Spalding. Dr.
Doddridge obferves, from Northampton, that Dr;
Stonehou(e'% Dwelling, being a very ftrong one^

was

[ 742 ]

was molt fenfibly fhakcn. And, throughout the
whole Extent of this great Earthquake, we tind both
the Noifc, the Shock, and the Terror, was grcatcft
at the Churches, whofe Walls and Bulk made more
Refinance than Houfes: And, generally fpcaking,
the Churches throughout this whole Extent have
very fair and large Towers, and very many remarks
able Spires of good Stone.

This fame Vibration, imprefs'd on the Water,
meeting with the Solid of the Bottom of Ships and
Loiters, gives that Thump felt thereon. Yet, of the
Millions of ordinary Houfes, over which it palled,
not one fell : A Confidcration which fuffieientiy
points out to Us what fort of a Motion this was not ;
what fort of a Motion it was; and whence deriv'd :
Not a Convulfion of the Bowels of the Earth, but
an uniform Vibration of its Surface, aptly thought
like that of a mufical String; or what we put a
Drinking-glafs into, by rubbing one's Finger over
the Edge; which yet, brought to a certain Pitch,
breaks the Glafsi undoubtedly an ele&ric Repulfion
of Parts.

7. We find, from all Accounts antient and mo-
dern, that the Weather preceding thefe Shocks was
mild, warm, dry, fcrene, clear, frofty : What no-
toriously favours all our electrical Experiments. We
very well know, that, generally, all laft Winter,
Spring, Summer, and Autumn, have been remark-
ably of rh's kind of Weather ; more fo than has
been obferved in our Memory ; and have bad ail
thofe Rcquiiites, Appearances, and Preparations,
that notorioufly caufe Electricity, that promote it,
or that arc the Effcfts of it.

8. We

[ 743 ]

8. We find the blood red aujlralis Aurora pre-
ceding at Spalding-, as with us at London. This
Year has been more remarkable than any tor Fire-
balls, Thunder, Lightning, and Comfcations, al-
moft throughout all England. Fire-balls more than
one were feen in Rutland and Lincolnjhire, and
particularly obferved. All thefe kinds of Meteors
are rightly judged to proceed from a State of Elec-
tricity in the Earth and Atmofphere.

S>, Mr. John/bn, in both his Letters to me on
the fiift and fecond Earthquakes at Spalding, re-
marks particularly of their Effe&s being moftly
lpread to the North and South, and efpecially felt
on the Sea-coaft. Wc may obferve that fuch is the
Direction of Spalding River, which both conducts
and ftrengthens the electric Vibration; conveying
it along the Sea-fhore, thence up Bojlon Chanel, and
fo up Bojlon River to Lincoln; as we difcern, by
cafting our Eye upon a Map.

We obferve further, that the main of this fecond
Earthquake difplay'd its Effc&s along and between
the two Rivers Welland and Avon; and that from
their very Origins down to their Fall into the Sea. Ic
Jikewife reached the River Wit ham, which directed
the electric Stream that Way too to Lincoln : For
which Reafon, as there meeting the lame coming
from Bojlon, the Shock was moft fenfibly felt. It
reached like wife to the Trent at Nottingham, which
convey 'd it to Newark.

The firft electrical Stroke feems to have been
made on the high Ground above Daventry in North*
amptonjbire, where the Roman Camps arc, made
by 5P. OJlorius the Propraetor. From thence it de-

fcended

[ 744 ]
fccndcd chiefly Esftward, and along the River Wei-
land, from Harborough to Stamford, Spalding-, and
the Sea 5 and along the River Avon-, or Nen, to
Northampton Peterborough, and IVisbech to the
Sea. It ipread itfclf ail over the vaft Level of the
Iflc of Ely, furthcr'd by very many Canals and
Rivers, natural and artificial, made for Drainage.
It was ftill conducted Eaflward, up MildenkallKivct
in Suffolk, to Bury, and the Parts adjacent. All this
Affair, duly confidcr'd, is a Confirmation or the Doc-
trine I advanced on this Subject.

10. I apprehend it was not the Noife in the
Air, as of many Cannon let off at once, pre-
ceding the Earthquake, that fo much affrighted
People, or affccled the Sheep, the Rookery at Ken-
fington, the Hen and Chickens in Gray 's-Inn- Lane,
and rhe Pigeons : It could not be barely the fuperficial
Movement of the Earth that difturbed them all at
once: I judge it to be the Effect of Electricity,
fomewhat like what caufes Sca-Sickncfs ,• luch a
fort of Motion as we are not accuftomed to. So
the Earthquake affects all thofe of weak Nerves, or
that have nervous Complaints, obnoxious to Hyftcrics,
Colics, rheumatic Pains in their Joints. Several
Women were fciz'd with violent Hcad-achs, before
both the Shocks wc felt in London. It was this that
affected the People with a Shortncfs of Breath. This
made the Dog uin whining about the Room, feck-
ing to get out : This made the Fifhcs leap up in the
Pond at Southiuark-, like as the Experiment of elec-
trifying the Fifhes ; it makes them fick : And this
caufes the Birds in Cages to hide their Heads under
their Wings, becaufc they cannot fly away: Which

is

[ 745 ]

is commonly obferved of them in Italy y and Coun-
tries where Earthquakes are more frequent.

1 1 . I obferve, the Shepherd of Kenfington thought
the Motion of the Earthquake, and the Sound, were
from North-weft to South-caft. On the contrary,
Mr. Byfi.. Id, the Scarlet-dyer in Southwark, thought
the Node cime from the River below-bridge, and
went toward Wejtminjter 5 where it rattled fo, that
he i id not doubt but that the Abbey-Church was
beaten i ( own.

Dr. Tarfons took Piins to find out the Way of the
Motu n ot the Earthqu ke, from the different Pofi-
tion of the Beds ; but, from the contradictory Anfwers
given, he could obtain no Satisfaction, as to that
Poirr. All this, and what was obferv'dfrom North-
ampton, ot the Mo ion being thought by fome to
be upwind and downward, by others, rather hori-
zontal or lateral, the counting the Pulfes, and the
like, only points out to us the prodigious Celerity,
and the vibratory Species of the Motion of an Earth-
quake ; but far, very far, is this from being owing to
the tumultuous Ebullition, the irregular Hurry of
fubtcrraneous Explofions.

12. How the Atmofphcre and Earth are put into
that ele&ric and vibratory State, which prepares
them to give or receive the Snap, and the Shock,
which we call an Earthquake, what it is that im-
mediately produces it, we cannot fayj any more
than we can define what is the Caufe of Magnet-
ifm, or of Gravitation, or how mnfcular Motion is
performed, or a thoufand other Secrets in Nature.

We leem to know, that the Author of Nature
has difieminated ethereal Fire thro' all Matter j by

5 C which

[ 746 ]

which thelc great Operations arc brought about.
This is the fubtil Fluid of Sir Ifaac Newton, per-
vading all things ; the occult Fire diffufed thro' the
Univerfe, according to Marfilius Ficinus, the 'Pla-
tonic Philofophcr, in the Titnaus of his Matter.
And the Tlatonifts infift on an occult Fire palling
thro* and agitating all Subftance by its vigorous and
expanfive Motion.

Before them, Hippocrates writes in the fame
Senfe, I. de vi£fus ratione, that this Fire moves all
in all. This ethereal Fire is one of the four E'e-
mentsof the Ancients : It lies latent, and difperfed
thro* all the other three, and quiefcent; till col-
lected in a Quantity, that overbalances the circum-
jacent; like the Air crouded into a Temped; or
til! it is excited by any proper Motion.

This Fire gives Elallicity, and Elafticiry, or Vi-
bration, is the Mother of Ele&ricity. This Fire is in
Water, and betrays itfelf to our Senfes in fait Wa-
ter. Many a time, when I have palled the Lincoln-
(hire WaCbes, in the Night-time, the Horfe has fcem'd
to tread in liquid Flames. The fame Appearance oft
at the Keel of a Ship.

The Opetstion of the ethereal Fire is various,
nny infinite, according to its Quantity, and De-
gree of Incitement, Progrefs, Hindrance, or Fur-
therance. One Degree keeps Water fluid, fays the
learned Bi'hop of Clorne : Another turns ir into
elaltic Air : And At itfelf fecms nothing elfe but
Vapours and Exhalations rendcr'd claliic, by this
Fire.

This fame F re permeates and dwells in. all Bo-
dies, even Diamond, Flint, and Steel. Irs Particles

attract

[ 747 J

drtraft with the greateft Force, when approximated.
Again, when united, they fly afunder with the
greateft Celerity. All this according to the Laws
prefcribed by the Sovereign Architect. This is
the Life and Soul of Action, and Reaction, in the
Univerfc. Thus has the Great Author provided
againft the native Sluggirtincfs of Matter! Light, or
Fire, in Animals, is what we call the animal Spirits;
and is the Author of Life and Motion. But we know
not the immediate Mode of mufcular Motion, any
more than how, in inanimate Matter, it caules the
Vibrations of an Earthquake.

Of this Fire the excellent Manilius thus writes,
who lived in the Time of Auguftus, Ajironom. I,

Sunt autem cunffis permifti partibus ignes,
Qui gravidas habitant fabricantes fulmina nubesr,
Et penetrant terras, <i/£tnamque imitantur

OiympOy
Et calidas reddunt ipfis in fontibus mdas,
Ac filice in duro, liridique in cortice, fedem
Inveniunt ; cum filva fibi collifa cremafur.
Ignibus ufque adeo natura eft omnis abundans I

Which may thus be cnglifhed :

Fire, univerfal Nature traverfes;

It makes the Thunderbolt in tumid Clouds j

In dire Volcano's penetrates the Earth j

And fends the boiling Water from its Springs :

In hardeft Flint, and fofteft Wood, it dwells ;

Which, by Collifion, (hews itfelf in Flame.

With Fire fo pregnant is all Nature found !

fC2 13.

t74» ]

1 3. The great Queftion then with us, is, how the
Surface of the Earth is "put into that vibratory and
electric State by Heat and Drincfs? Wc muft needs
acquit the Internal of the Earth from the Charge
of thefe fupcrflcial Concuffions. How is the ethereal
Fire crouded together, or excited, fo as to caufe
themj feeing, in our ordinary electrical Experiments,
we make ulc of Friction?

But that Friction alone does not excite Electricity,
we know, from the obvious Experiment of Flint
and Steel ; where the Suddennefs of the Stroke, and
Hardncfs of the Matter docs it. Another Method
of exciting it, is the letting off a Number of greac
Guns i which fo crouds the ethereal Fire together,
as to electrify glafs Windows} obferved by my
Friend the Reverend Dr. Stephen Hales. The Au-
rora borealis, atiftralis, all kind of Corufcation, Me-
teors, Lightning, Thunder, Fireballs, are the Ef-
fects, and may reciprocally be the Caufe, of Electri-
city i but how, in particular, we know nor.

Come we to the animal World, we muft needs
alTert, that all Motion, voluntary and invo.untary,
Generation, even Life itfeif, all the Operations of
the vegetable Kingdom, and an Infinity more of Na-
ture's Works, are owing to the Activity of this elec-
tric Fire; the very Soul of the material World.
And, in my Opinion, it is this alone that folvesthe
famous Queftion, fo much agitated with the Writers
in Medicine, about the Heat of the Blood. How
thefe, how Earthquakes, are begun and propagated,
we are yet to feek.

Wc may readily enough prefume, that the Con-
tact between the Electric and the Non-electric,

which

[ 749 ]

which. gives the Soap, and the Shock* muff com,e
from -without-,, from the Atmofphcre-j, perhaps by
fomc- Meteor, that cTonits the ethereal Fire.toiifther,
caufes an Accenfion. in the Air, in the Point of "Con-
rad, on the Earth's Surface } perhaps another time
by a Shower cf Rain. We may as readily conclude,
that, tho' the original Stroke comes from the At-
mofphcre, yet the Atmofpherc has no further Con-
cern in it : No acrcal Power, or Change therein,
can propagate itfelffo inftantaneoufly over (b vaft a
Surface as 4000 Miles fquatc: Therefore the impe-
tuous ruffling Noife in the Air, accompanying the
Shock, is the EffccT:, not the Caufc.

But furely there is not a Heart of Flcfhthat is not
arfeclied with fo (lupendous a Concuflion. Let a Man
cftimatc his own Power with that which caufes an
Earthquake, and he will be perfuaded that fomc-
what more than ordinary is intended by fo rare and
wonderful a Motion.

That grent Genius Hippocrates makes the Whole
of the Animal Occonomy ro be adminiftrcd by what
we call Nature ; and N -ture alone, fays he, fbffices
for all things to Animals: She knows hcrfelf, and
what is neceflary for them.

Can wc deny then that he here means a confeious
and iniclligcnt Nature, that prclidcs over, and direcls
all things; moves the ethereal Spirit, or Fin, that
moves all things; a divine NeceiTity, but a volun-
tary Agent, who gives the commanding Nod to
what wc commonly call Nature; the chief Inftru-
ment in the moft important Operations of the vaft
Machine, as well as in the ordinary ones? And this
leads us,

14.

L75°]

14. Laftiy, in regard to the f pi ritual Ufcwc ought
to make of thtfc extraordinary •Phanomt-na, or of
our Inquiries about them; I (hail firfl obferve, tha:
\vc find abroad, fcvcral of rhefc Earrhqunkcs this
Year have been very fata!. In the 1,-ft we read of
at c Phil}ppo!t\\\ Thrace, the whole City was deftroy'd,
and above 4000 Inhabitants kill'd. At home, where
above half a Score feparate Concuflions have been
felt, there has not been one Houfc thrown down,
one Life loft. This ought to infpirc us with a very
ferioas Reflection about them. 2. Wc may obferve,
that if wc did but read the Works of Hippocrates,
'Plato, and his Followers, of Tally, Galen, and the
like ethic Writers of Antiquity, vvhillt weftudyand
try the AfFi&ions of Matter, we fhould improve in
Philofophy, properly fpcaking; wc fhould lift up
our Minds from thefc earthly Wonders, and difcern
the celcftial Monitions they prefent to us.

The original Meaning of the Word Philofophy
was rightly applied to moral Wifdom : Wc, who
have improv'd both, fhould join them both togc-
gcthcr. By this means we gather the Truth of the
higheft and moft excellent Philofophy, to be found
in thofe Volumes of lull Antiquity, which wc call
facred j and wc fhould adore that divine Light which
they hold forth to us; cfpccially in a Country where
the Principles of true Religion arc open and undif-
guifedj where the eftablihYd Profcilion of it is ra-
tional, noble, and lovely 5 worthy of the moral Go-
vernor of the World.

W. Stukely.