this Earth imbibed with more acid becomes a metallick Salt; and when
some Stones, as Spar of Lead, dissolved in proper _Menstruums_ become
Salts; do not these things shew that Salts are dry Earth and watry Acid
united by Attraction, and that the Earth will not become a Salt without
so much acid as makes it dissolvable in Water? Do not the sharp and
pungent Tastes of Acids arise from the strong Attraction whereby the
acid Particles rush upon and agitate the Particles of the Tongue? And
when Metals are dissolved in acid _Menstruums_, and the Acids in
conjunction with the Metal act after a different manner, so that the
Compound has a different Taste much milder than before, and sometimes a
sweet one; is it not because the Acids adhere to the metallick
Particles, and thereby lose much of their Activity? And if the Acid be
in too small a Proportion to make the Compound dissolvable in Water,
will it not by adhering strongly to the Metal become unactive and lose
its Taste, and the Compound be a tasteless Earth? For such things as are
not dissolvable by the Moisture of the Tongue, act not upon the Taste.
As Gravity makes the Sea flow round the denser and weightier Parts of
the Globe of the Earth, so the Attraction may make the watry Acid flow
round the denser and compacter Particles of Earth for composing the
Particles of Salt. For otherwise the Acid would not do the Office of a
Medium between the Earth and common Water, for making Salts dissolvable
in the Water; nor would Salt of Tartar readily draw off the Acid from
dissolved Metals, nor Metals the Acid from Mercury. Now, as in the great
Globe of the Earth and Sea, the densest Bodies by their Gravity sink
down in Water, and always endeavour to go towards the Center of the
Globe; so in Particles of Salt, the densest Matter may always endeavour
to approach the Center of the Particle: So that a Particle of Salt may
be compared to a Chaos; being dense, hard, dry, and earthy in the
Center; and rare, soft, moist, and watry in the Circumference. And
hence it seems to be that Salts are of a lasting Nature, being scarce
destroy'd, unless by drawing away their watry Parts by violence, or by
letting them soak into the Pores of the central Earth by a gentle Heat
in Putrefaction, until the Earth be dissolved by the Water, and
separated into smaller Particles, which by reason of their Smallness
make the rotten Compound appear of a black Colour. Hence also it may be,
that the Parts of Animals and Vegetables preserve their several Forms,
and assimilate their Nourishment; the soft and moist Nourishment easily
changing its Texture by a gentle Heat and Motion, till it becomes like
the dense, hard, dry, and durable Earth in the Center of each Particle.
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