But wanted Power to fave his ruin'd State.
Two Sons be bad, Youths of Angelic Birth,
That promis'd fair, to re-inform the Earth,
Wisdom and Learning, Twins of blooming Hope,
That fink bis Fear, and all kis Comforts prop.
Of all bis numerous Progeny, theje alone
Remain the Hopes of bis declining Throne ;
The reft oppofing bis approaching Fate,
Sunk in the Ruins of their Father's State:
But thefe the Darlings of the Parents Age,
He timely refeued from the Tyrant's Rage;
For thefe be car'd; for thefe to Heaven be pray'd,
To Latium one, and one to Greece convey'd,
Infpir'd by Infting, with a mutual Rage,
Eternal Wars with Ignorance they wage;
From Athens one, and one from Rome inspire
The gladfome world with their own Genial Fire;
So Form did Chaos, Light the Dark expel,
As Athens Rome, and Rome the World excel:
The Ufurping Troops, by their own Guilt fubdu'd,
Fled from th approaching dawn, while none purfu'd.
The enlighin'd World new Altars gladly raile,
And form new Triumphs to the Victor's Praife,
Wisdom and Learning, aged with Renown,
Enjoy unenvy'd an Eternal Crown;
Their Empire to the World's Extreams extend,
And Viceroys to remoter Kingdoms fend;
Their faithful Agents through the World difperfe,
And thefe we fing in our immortal Verse;
Thefe now we fing, and willing Trophies raife,
To their juft Value, and their Mafter's Praife.

D. F

TO

W

Athenian SOCIETY.

Hen the Myfterious Nothing first was hurld
Into a Chaos, thence into a World,

By that great Fiat (greater much by far
Than the ftrait Bounds of anciens Maxims were,
Which faid, From Nothing, Nothing can appear.
Methinks in that great Work, that mighty Change,
If the Immaterial Beings range,
And crowd wowards the Sight, as Mortals gaze
A fome unknown prodigious Comet's blaze;
But when shey saw the sweet, the lovely Face,
And curious Harmony the Wonder grace,
Their Admiration loft it self in Praise

Thus meaner We, whose low and Humble Birth
Derives its Half at leaft from Native Earth,
When first the spreading Fame, the Rumour run,
The Athens bad another World begun,

And clear'd the gloomy fhades of Ignorance,
And form'd new Sparkling Orbs.

--

This foon employ'd each Tongue; all Ears and Eyes
Were full of Athens, and the Enterprize.
But when the fearching Age began to find
The greater Aim, the. Good that was defign'd,
Chang'd into Alt, and cultivate Mankind;
The deep Amazement pall'd, and in its room
Delery'd Encoramiums crowd, and bring their off'rings Home.

D. T.

TO

Athenian SOCIETY.

Oon as our fetter'd Souls from Time are free,

All things in Heaven, juft as they are we fee:
No dark Conjecture, no obscure Suppose,
Confounds the Knowledge of each hidden Cause;
But eafie Nature's beautious Form appears
Difrob'd to the thick Veil, which here she wears,
The Chain of Causes, and their Order shine,
And clearly fnew they're fram'd by Hands Divine.
re Great Unknown, this You have aim'd at Now.
And tho coy Nature flies our searching View,
Whilft clouded Reafon's coop'd within this Cage,
Yet you have thus far blefs'd this happy Age,
Whate'er the fearching Study of the Wife
In things Divine and Natural, yet have found;
Whate'er from your own Obfervations rife,
From your fublime Retreat, you fcatter all round.
The MANY, who long dead in Ign'rance lay,
Now Speak, and Think, reviv'd by your bright Day.
Before, they had a meer Promethean Frame,
Till you inform'd their Souls with the Cœleftial Flame.
Go on Learning, and folid Truth advance,
They're Noble Subjects, for fuch Noble Pens:
Let your Oppofers Trifling Jefts pursue,
They write for MINUTES, but for AGES You..

Charles Richardfon

THE

I

THE

Athenian ORACLE

G

Vol. II.

Entlemen,What think you of ftanding the Blood hath free pafthe Opinion of Des Cartes, fage thro' the Cavity of the pipe, concerning the Pulfe of the Arteries, yet will not the Artery beat below that they are caufed by the Pulfation the ligature, but take off the li of the Heart,driving the Blood through gature, 'twill beat immediately. 'emin manner of a Wane? And left it fhould be Objected to this Experiment, That the Reafon, why, when bound, it did not beat, might be, because the Current of the Blood being ftraitned by the Pipe, when beneath the pipe it came to have more Liberty, it was not fufficient to

A. We think it not to be the Caufe; for the Arteries are found to confift of a Quadruple Coat, the third of which is made up of Annular or Orbicular carneous Fibres to a good thickness, and is of a Mufcular Nature; which after every Pulfe of the Heart, doftretch the Coat of the Artery, contract the Veffel fucceffively with and fo caufe a pulle, but might incredible Celerity, and fo by a when the ligature was taken off, kind of Peristaltick Motion im- flow between the enclosed Tube, pelling the Blood onwards to the and the Coat of the Artery; Capillary Extremities, and thro' therefore he adds another, which the Mufcles with great force and clearly evinces it. fwiftnefs. For the proot of our Affertion

2. He ftraitned the Artery till he made the fides almoft meet, thereby leffening the paffage for the blood, the Veffel will continue ftill to beat below the compreffi on.

1. He inftanceth the Experiment of a Lovain Physician, which will make it not to be a bare conjecture: He fit the Artery, and thruft into it a Pipe fo big as to The firft of these Experiments fill the Cavity of it, and caft a was tryed by Gallen, who was of ftrait ligature upon that part of the Opinion we here Affert; The the Artery, which contain'd the first who obferv'd the third Coar Pipe: Now when the Artery is of an Artery to be a Muscular Bo dufe bound to the Pipe, notwithdy composed of Annular Fibres,

B

was

1

was Dr. Willis, much more might for let us imagine the end of a
be faid for it.
Syringe to be placed in the Water,
Q. Pray what is the Reafon of let the Sucker be drawn up, there
the Difficulty of determining the height is then a fpace in the bottom of
of the Atmosphere, fince at firt fight the Cavity devoid of Air: Now
it appears fo very eafie, a Pillar of all the Water without the Sucker
Air, equal to the height of the Atis prefs'd upon by the weight of
mofphere, being equipondrant to 30 the Atmosphere, except that space
Inches of Quicksilver, and the propor-which is directly under the end
tion of Air to Quickfilver being known
by Mr. Boyle's Experiments to be as
1 to 14000 very near?

of the Syringe; the Water being
thus prefs'd, does endeavour to
free it felf, which it does by ri-
A. In Answer to which you fing up in the Syringe, it finding
muft take Notice, that the pro- there the leaft refiftance. That
portion above mention'd is of the it is the preffure of the Atmos-
weight of our Air near the Earth,phere, is evident from hence,that
which is in a very comprefs'd ftate. all the Suction in the World will
Had the Experiment been made not raife Water higher than 34 or
upon the top of a Mountain, three 35 Feet, which is equal to the
or four miles high, there would weight of a Tube of Mercury of
have been a far lefs proportion the fame Diameter of about 29
between the Air and Quickfilver. or 30 Inches, which is exactly e-
Now if a Cubical foot of Air near quipondrant to a Pillar of Air e-
the Earth, and a Cubical foot qual to the height of the Atmof-
near the top of the Atmosphere phere.
had been of the fame weight, the
the height of the Atmosphere
I would be eafily determined by
multiplying 14000 by 30, and
it gives you the heighth of it in
Inches, which reduced into miles,
is 61 miles: But because the

Q. I have heard it often affirm'dthat a fquare inch of Air is able by it's fpring to perform the fame Effects that the weight of the Atmosphere doth, which feeming a Paradox to me, I defire if you think it true, to illuftrate it to me by fome exAir, when deftitute of its pref-converfant in things of that Naperiment; you being, without doubt, fure, has by Mr. Boyle's Experi-ture?

1760

ments dilated it felf fo as to take A. We will illuftrate this two
up above 150 times its former ways: 1. From the Nature of
fpace; therefore 'tis plain, that the thing it felf. 2. Experiment.
as the Air comes to have its pref 1. Granting the Air to be a
fure leffen'd, as it does, the more fpringy body, which your Questi-
remote it is from the Earth,there-on doth not defire us to prove,let
fore it expands it felf proportious confider a fquare inch of Air
nably, which is the Reafon of the in its compreft ftate near our
difficulty of determining its true Earth, that which preffeth againft
height.
it of all fides is the ambient Air:
Now 'tis evident, that the spring
of the Square inch of Air preffeth
as much againft the ambient, as
the ambient against it; if it doth

Q. Pray Gentlemen, what is the
Caufe of Suction ?

A. We Anfwer, the Caufe of
the rifing of Water by Suction, is
the preffure of the Atmosphere;

not