Introduction to True Physics

From this arise such great diversities of Doctrines; such great Sects, and so many wavering principles of Physics original: "Phyſices." In this period, Physics referred to the broad study of nature and matter, often called Natural Philosophy..

One acknowledges five Elements, such as Heaven, Fire, Air, Water, and Earth; another, embracing the latter four, rejects the first; a third swears by Air, Water, and Earth; not a few among the moderns also rest their theories upon Water or Fire. The created Agent and Patient original: "Agens Patienſque." These are Scholastic terms referring to the active force that causes change and the passive matter that receives it. are favored; the husband and wife original: "maritus & uxor." Common alchemical metaphors for two substances that react or "marry" to form a new compound. are present; innate heat along with radical moisture original: "innatum calidum cum humido radicali." These were traditional medical concepts used to explain life, vitality, and aging; the "radical moisture" was thought to be the fuel for the "innate heat" of the body. is touched with—as they say—"eyes in the hands" original: "oculatis manibus." A Latin idiom meaning that seeing is believing, or that the evidence is as tangible as something held in the hand.. Sulfur and Mercury suffice for a certain crowd; and many, by binding salt to them, create a perfect trio original: "trigam." This refers to the "Tria Prima" (Three Primes) of the physician Paracelsus, who argued that all matter was composed of Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury.. Acid and Alkali as well—the principles of the most modern thinkers—have so positioned their followers toward the end that, with ears and eyes almost deafened and blinded by the force of effervescence and sharpness, they are able to perceive nothing except their own views.