An Account of Some Books

haec corporis molem habeat, illud non habeat: Quoniam quoad altitudinem (secundum quam comparantur) Homogenea sunt, ut et alias Heterogenea. Dum vero ille, ad Aequalitatem aut Inaequalitatem requiri docet, ut juxta corporis molem comparentur; tu mecum juxta judicabis, credo, hoc minus sanum esse. (Sufficit utique ut juxta Longitudinem, Latitudinem, Altitudinem, angulum Inclinationis, Curvedinem, Durationem, Numerum, Vim, Pondus, Celeritatem, aut aliud quodcunque demum fuit quantitatis genus comparentur, quod utrique comparatorum commune sit; non minus quam juxta molem corporis.) Vides itaque quo tendunt ipsius nova principia, huncque nondum tradita, quorum hoc unum est. An Account of some Books. 1. OLAI BORRICHII, Medici Regii, & in Acad. Hafn. Prof. publ. De ORTU & PROGRESSU CHEMIAE Dissertatio, in small 4° Hafniæ, 1668. This Author makes it not his main business in this Book to shew the progress of the Performance and Effects of Chymistry, and to what pitch men are arrived thereby, to evince its great usefulness both in Physick and the Discovery of Nature (though he toucheth something of both;) but he chiefly informes the Curious of its first Original, and Progress from place to place, how it sprung up and flourished in Ægypt; passed thence, into Greece, Italy, Arabia, China, Spain, France, and all Europe. And because Conringius and Ursinus do mainly interpose in this Progress, he endeavours to remove the rubbs, which they cast in the way. Here and there he inserts some Observations, which would be considerable enough, if they might be relied on. E.g. About Metallick Germinations; where he relateth one of them, very admirable, seen by one San-Simon, to whom he giveth the Character of a man of great veracity, and of no credulity; who living about 25 years agoe at Brussells, was visited by a stranger, who having prefaced to him, what some had told him of his curiosity and ingenuity, as well as of his incredulity concerning the the celebrated great things perform'd by Chemistry, said, that, to convince him, all was not vain what this Art professed, he did herewith trust him with a small powder, scarce of the weight of a Barly-corne, on condition, that after the process, he was to make with it, in 6 hours time, he should return it to him. This process was, That he should take 3 or 4 l. of Fountain or River-water in a Glass, and cast this powder into it, and by frequently shaking the Glass, make something of the powder incorporate with the water. Then, after some hours, he should decant the liquor into another Vessel, and dry the powder. All which the said San-Simon performed. The stranger being return'd at night, taketh his powder again, and bids San-Simon to put some ounces of common Mercury into the impregnated Water, and to look for a beneficial germination, when he was gone. Eight ounces being put in, after a little while there were seen to rise by little and little out of the Mercury a thousand small Silver-like branches or threds, spreading themselves every where through the whole Liquor, and shooting up even above the surface of the Water, on which appear'd here and there an oleosity, that was taken off, as being some matter of a grosse excrementitious nature, and heterogeneous to the substance itself of the Mercury, hindring the coagulation of the Mercury, but being remov'd, the Mercury runs and sticks close together, and becomes a firm Metall. San-Simon having powred out the liquor into another Glass, gather'd the branches, and found them by the best Goldsmiths of that place esteem'd very excellent pure Silver, after the severest examinations by Fire. After this, San-Simon pours new Mercury to the remainder, and sees a new Wood arise like the former, very pure Silver likewise; repeating it to the sixth time, alwayes with good success, yet so, that by degrees the liquor grew languid, and at last was quite deprived of its force: many persons flocking in, and beholding the wonder. Another Observation is of a Ductil Salt, said to have been made by himself of Sal Armoniack, often dissolved in a large Glass, and frequently and slowly Chrystallised, whence at length proceeded Chrystalts as long as the Vessel was large; some of them being at times 6 inches long, flexible, and apt to to be restored again into a straight line; This he illustrates by that substance, call'd Cornu Lune, which is nothing else, but Silver, whose texture is changed by the particles of acid Spirits, which is fusible at a Candle, and sequacious, and may be reduced into small leaves, transparent, and somewhat obedient to the Hammer. Farther, having taken notice that Glass is a very brittle body, because the surfaces, according to which its particles touch one another, are exceeding small; he excites Mens curiosity, to labour after a way, whereby the parts of Glass may be comminuted into such small parts, as to touch one another in many points, and that then malleable Glass will not be hard to make: All which he concludeth with examining Dr. Merrets Arguments, produced by him in his Ars Vitraria Englished; desiring that it may be made out, how the different figures of the Salts and Sands can remain unchanged by the violence of the Fire. Besides, he relateth to have reduced Venice-glass into an Alcohol, and upon pouring hot distilled water upon it, drawn a small quantity of Salt out of it, (not a hundred part of the body of the Glass) of an unlike Figure to the Salt, which entered into the composition. He examins also, whether common Salt may be changed into Vitriol, Alum, Niter. Some (among whom is Kircher) esteeming that the common Salt, according as 'tis variously tinged by Minerals, is sometimes converted into Niter, sometimes into Alum, sometimes into Vitriol, and yet may be reduced into common Salt again. But our Author finds not this in Laboratory's, but that Niter by a flaming fire degenerateth into an acid liquor; being burnt by coals, into a Lixiviat Salt highly different from the nature of Common Salt; if heated with Sulphur by an intense Fire, blown with Bellows in a close Vessel, into Stone; but hitherto by no art into common Salt. He thinks, Kircher has been deceived by this, that the Spirit of Niter being poured on Salt, maketh Crystals again in the appearance of recover'd Niter: But he faith, that this esculent Salt seems to be Niter, but is not. For, saith he, that any Niter results thence, is not to be assign'd to the Salt, but the Spirit of Niter, i.e. to the attenuated particles of Sfff Niter, Niter, conjoining themselves again by means of the Salt, to resume their pristine form. Nor will Niter (adds he) or Alum, or Vitriol, if well purged, ever return into common esculent Salt. Yet this he grants to Kircher, that common Salt will turn into Niter, Alum, and Vitriol, when it hath changed its particles by the motion of subterraneous Fires, and so being comminuted into small particles hath converted its former Salt-taste into a present acid one, yet so as that for the composition of Niter there must be mixt some ramenta of Luxiviat Salt; for that of Alum, some ramenta of Lead; for that of Vitriol or Copperas, some of Iron or Copper. Yet however this be, he denies, that there should lye concealed in the Center of common or Nitrous Salt any thing; that is unchangeable, coagulating and fixing all things; because an Artist can without any great difficulty bring both these Salts wholly over the Helme, and reduce them into a volatile spirit, with but a very little sediment left behind; and can also reduce them both into an insipid Earth destitute of all vertue or operation, but only that, which is a little (but very little) adstringent; as may be seen by Blasius Vigenere, in his Tract de igne & Sale, but by his own Experiment affirmed to have been often and easily made; so as that the most purified salt, having its pungency obtunded by a fit and often repeated fire (whereby it may be often freed, dissolved, coagulated) will affect the tongue no more than common Potters Earth. Here he censureth, what Kircher affirms in his Mund. Subterr. viz. That in salt, how much soever depurated, there will be found a true Earth, which though seemingly destitute of all salt, yet being for some dayes exposed to a clear sky and the Sun, will be again impregnated with new salt. To which he declares, that if Kircher had continued his method of purging salt to the utmost, he would have found, that the whole body of salt would have been at last thus changed into a saltless Earth, altogether inefficacious, save a little adstringency; directing withall, that he should have farther burnt the Earth, which he thought destitute of all salt, thoroughly, and and boiled it in water, till it had altogether put off its salin taste, and that then he would have found, it would not have imbibed salt anew, any more than any other body calcin'd. 'Tis true, saith he, seeing the Air is full of salin steames, it cannot be otherwise, but that that cadaver of salt, having admitted the impression of the corpuscles flying in the Air, will taste saltish upon the Tongue, as all other bodies, that have past the fire, will do the like. He relateth further, that two yeares agoe, when he was at Rome, in Clivo Scauri, there was digg'd out a whole house, which for above 10 Ages had been buried, from under the roots of herbes in a Garden of a Citizen, a House of a very handsome structure, of Corinthian-work; and that there he met himself, among the rudera, very many vasa lacrymalia of Glafs, which by length of time were become laminated into divers leaves, beautifyed with pavonaceous colous: the places like o Muscovy-Glafs, fiffil into leaves. He maketh also mention of a vegetable seed, very common in the Fields of Denmark, which having been once heated red-hot, and then taken out and put in a cool place, would remaine hot and burning for fifty Houres together. He describes also the method, which a certain Abbot, call'd Boncaudius, used to obtain a perpetual Heat; which was, that he thrust into the Earth a Pike of about 20 foot long, and having thereby made a deep hole, (which was to be secured from the falling in of other matter) he poured into it ten pounds of Mercury, which by its ponderosity and the yielding of the subjacent soft Earth (for if that were hard and stony, or had springs of water, the effect was not like to follow) would continually sink lower and lower, and in some Moneths time insinuate it self into the lowermost parts of the Earth, and there meet with the Chambers of the subterraneous Heat; which issuing forth through that hole unceffantly, would moderately warm and cherish whatever should be placed over it; and so furnish us with a perpetual spring of warmth. Which device seems to our Author to be countenanced by what Acosta relateth Hist. Ind. l. 3. c.19. viz. That in Guancavelica in Peru, Peru, whence is extracted store of Quicksilver, there is a perpetual spring of Hot Water; and that not only it is a common complaint there, that the cataracts and fences of the Millers (whereby the water, necessary to drive the Mills, is kept in, that it may be sufficient for the work) are pierc'd through by Mercury, at times thrown in by malicious persons, to the great detriment of the Water and Mills; but also that 'tis notorious, that in some places there are deep under-ground Stoves and Pitts, which, when all others are frozen, steam out of their midst a tepid fume; the inward Bowels of the Earth thus constantly furnishing matter for calefaction, &c. II. An IDEA of the perfection of PAINTING: originally written in French by Roland Freart Sieur de Cambray, and rendered English by J. Evelyn Esquire, Fellow of the R. Society. This excellent Idea, very lately come out of the London Press, in thin 8°, is drawn in that manner, as that 'tis demonstrated from the Principles of Art, and by Examples conformable to the Observations, which Pliny and Quintilian have made upon the most celebrated Pieces of the Antient PAINTERS; parallel'd with some works of the most famous Modern Painters, LEONARDO da VINCI, RAPHAEL URBINO, JULIO ROMANO, and NPOUSSIN. Those Principles of Art, constantly observ'd by the Antients in their Works, are here enumerated to be five: 1. Invention, or the History. 2. Proportion, or Symmetry. 3. Colour, (wherein is also contain'd the just dispensation of the Lights and Shades.) 4. Motion, in which are express'd the Actions and Passions. 5. The regular Position of the Figures of the whole Work. Of which the Invention and Expression are more Spiritual and refined; the Proportion, Colouring, and Perspective the more Mechanical part of this Art. The Works, made use of among those of our most eminent Painters, for applying those Principles unto, are 1. the Judgment of Paris. 2. The Massacre of the Innocents. 3. Our Lords descent from the Cross, all three by Raphael. 4. The last Judgement of Michael Angelo. 5. The Representation sentation of a Vast CYCLOP in a narrow Table by Timanthes: 6. Imitation of the same kind by Julio Romano. 7. The Gymnasium or Academy of the Athenian Philosophers, by Raphael. 8. The seven Sacraments by Ponssin, the real Parallel of that famous Master-piece of Timanthes upon the sacrifice of Iphigenia. All this is now represented in English with so much perspicuity, and rendered so weighty by every Period of the Excellent Interpreters addition, that it justly deserves high recommends, and will doubtless animate many among us to acquire a perfection in Pictures, Draughts and Chalcography, equal to our growth in all sorts of Optical Aydes, and to the fulness of our modern Discoveries. Painting and sculpture are the politest and noblest of Antient Arts, true, ingenuous, and claiming the Resemblance of Life, the Emulation of all Beauties, the fairest Records of all Appearances whether Celestial or Sublunary, whether Angelical, Divine or Humane. And what Art can be more helpful or more pleasing to a Philosophical Traveller, an Architect and every ingenious Mechanician? All which must be lame without it. III. STEREOMETRICAL PROPOSITIONS, variously applicable, but particularly intended for GAGING, by ROB. ANDERSON: Printed in small 8°, 1668. LONDON. What the Poet once said of a Gardner, *Saepe etiam est Olitor valde opportuna locutus.* May congruously, in consideration of the Author of this Book, be thus altered without marring the Verse; *Quandoque est Textor *valde opportuna locutus.* And as 'tis observable, that sometimes among Tradesmen and others de plebe, are found very intelligent and sagacious persons, excelling others, that have consum'd their whole life in publick places of Learning, so should they awaken all, that profess the study of Arts and Sciences, not to dwell for ever ever in useless Notions and insignificant Generals, but to search after the Knowledge of those things which really enoble and enrich the Mind, and are beneficial to the Life of man. But, this by the by: The Book itself contains 25 considerable Propositions; to touch some of which, we shall take notice, that The 1st is to find the solidity of Pyramids and Cones, or frustum Pyramids and Cones, applicable to the Measuring of all Solids or Vessels of that form; whether whole or in part, or gradually, i.e., foot by foot, or inch by inch. The 2nd and 3rd may be apply'd to the measuring of irregular Solids, and useful for the exact measuring of all sorts of Stone and Timber; also of all sorts of Elliptick, Parabolick and Hyperbolick irregular Solids, or Vessels made of that Form; seeing that such Solids may be cut into Parallelepipedons, Prismes and Pyramids, and then reduced to their own nature by the proportion of the parallelogram, adscribed about those Figures, to the Figures themselves. The 4th shews the measuring of frustum Pyramides, when their Bases are not parallel. The 5th is about the relation of the Sphere and Spheroide, to the Cylinders of their bases and altitudes, as well of the parts as the whole. The 6th hath the measuring of the middle Zone of a Sphere and Spheroide: And in regard that the middle Zone of a Spheroide hath been generally taken for the Figure representing a Cask, the one being measured, the other will be so also. To pass, with the Author (in the Application of his Book) to the 12th Propos. there is the measuring of a portion of a Sphere, which is applicable to the measuring of the inverted Crown of Brewers Coppers, or several other uses. The 13th gives the measuring of Parabolick Conoides, which may be taken for a Brewers Copper, the Crown inverted. The 14th measureth the Hyperbolick Conoid, which may be taken for a Brewers Copper. The 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th give the measuring of a Sphere, Spheroid, Parabolick Conoid and Hyperbolick Conoid, as well the whole as their parts. The 20th measureth Circular and Elliptick Spindles. The 21st measureth the 2nd Section in a Sphere and Spheroid, which may be of use to measure the middle Zone of a Spheroid, cut by a Plane parallel to the axis; i.e., when the superfice of the liquor cuts the head of the Cask. The 24th measureth right Cylindrick Hoofs, viz. Circular, Elliptick, Parabolick and Hyperbolick, and may be used for the measuring of Brewers leaning Vessels. To these is added a Table of Squares and Cubes, very useful in finding the portions of a Sphere, Spheroid, Parabolick and Hyperbolick Conoide. IV. ELAPHOGRAPHIA sive Cervi Descriptio Physico-Medico-Chymica, Auth. Joh. ANDREA GRABA, Med. Doct. Erfurtensi, & Collegii Natura Curiosorum Socii. Jenæ in 8°. A.1668. In this small Tract is delivered out of the best Writers of this Subject, and the Author his own practice and observations, the Nature, Qualities, and Uses of the Stagg. In it is particularly considered the Longevity of this Animal, and its cause conjectured at, viz. the plenty of a Balsamick preservative Salt, with which 'tis said Nature hath stored this above many other Animals: Then the successive growth and annual casting off of its horns, together with the causes thereof, is examined, viz. its superabundance of Salin Juice protruded, and then condensed by the Air (witness the great plenty of volatile Salt, that may be obtained out of those Horns, as well as out of the blood and urine of the Stagg;) which matter being continually furnished from the body of the Animal, and passing incessantly to the head, forceth away the old horns, and yearly substitutes new in their room. But the Author chiefly and largely insists on the several uses of the parts of a Stagg, which he finds to be very many, and of divers kinds, viz. Ornamental, Mechanical, Culinary and Medicinal. Among the Culinary, he commends the young downy horns for a very delicious dish, used by the Grandees. And, as to the Medicinal, he enumerateth a vast number of them, especially of the volatile Salt, spirit, Oyle, Magistery, made of the several parts of the Stagg; where he inserts the particular uses of the Stagg's Stag's tears, blood, urine, dung; taking from the two latter occasion to commend the Medical usefulness of the Excrements of all sorts of Animals, as that of Swallows for the Colick; of Peacocks, for the falling sickness; of Dogs, (which they call Album Graecum for a disguise) against the Angina; of Hogs and Asses against Hemorrhagies; of Cows, against the stings of Bees and Wasps, and other Inflammations; of Horses, against the Colick, Plurisie, Suffocation of the Matrix, expulsion of Fetus, and the secundines; and that of Men, against the Plague, &c. But the Principal uses in Physick, for which he commends the volatile salt and spirit made of the horns and blood of Stags, is, its piercing, opening, attenuating, abstersive, discissing vertue. He intersperseth here and there, as he hath occasion, many Philosophical and Spagirical remarques: e.g. How all Acids change the nature of volatile Salts: How nature produceth the volatile Salt out of Acids or fixed Salts: How plants, and divers parts of Animals may by their volatile Salts be Chymically represented: by what method the volatile Salt of Harts-horn may be freed from its ungrateful smell, without much impairing its virtue: why Harts-horns taken off from the beast between the middle of August, and that of September, yield more and stronger spirits: whether Harts-horn be better and more efficacious, when calcined, or crude, or prepared by a steamy heat? &c. And among the many Medical prescripts, set down here, the Author gives us the Podagrick unguent of the so much famed Franciscus Jos. Borbhi, made up of almost all the parts of a stag: which how far it deserves commendations, must be learn'd from experience. V. A Discourse of SPEECH, originally written in French by MONSIEUR CORDEMOY, now Englished in 12°. This Discourse, written conformably to the Cartesian Principles, hath been formerly given an account of viz. Numb. 37.p.236. and is only mention'd again here, because of its being now rendred English, or the use of those that are not skill'd in the French. Errat. p.756.l.3. idl fo.p. 776. l.4. r.a.Ha. ib. l.24. r.quin.p.778.l.1.r.anter. In the SAVOY, Printed by T.N. for John Martyn, Printer to the Royal Society, and are to be sold at the Bell a little without Temple-Bar, 1669.