that the more we magnify the object, the more excellencies
and mysteries do appear; And the more we discover the imperfections of our
senses; and the Omnipotency and Infinite perfections of the great Creatour.
I shall therefore onely add one or two Observations more _artificial_
things, and then come to the Treaty concerning such matters as are the
Productions of a more curious Workman. One of these, shall be that of a
piece of water'd Silk, represented in the second Figure of the third
_Scheme_,[6] as it appear'd through the least magnifying Glass. _AB_
signifying the long way of the Stuff, and _CD_ the broad way. This Stuff,
if the right side of it be looked upon, appears to the naked eye, all over
so waved, undulated, or grain'd, with a curious, though irregular variety
of brighter and darker parts, that it adds no small gracefulness to the
Gloss of it. It is so known a propriety, that it needs but little
explication, but it is observable, which perhaps everyone has not
considered, that those parts which appear the darker part of the wave, in
one position to the light, in another appears the lighter, and the
contrary; and by this means the undulations become transient, and in a
continual change, according as the position of the parts in respect of the
incident beams of light is varied. The reason of which odd _phaenomena_, to
one that has but diligently examin'd it even with his naked eye, will be
obvious enough. But he that observes it with a _Microscope_, may more
easily perceive what this _Proteus_ is, and how it comes to change its
shape. He may very easily perceive, that it proceeds onely from the variety
of the _Reflections_ of light, which is caus'd by the various _shape of the
Particles_, or little protuberant parts of the thread that compose the
surface; and that those parts of the waves that appear the brighter, throw
towards the eye a multitude of small reflections of light, whereas the
darker scarce afford any. The reason of which reflection, the _Microscope_
plainly discovers, as appears by the Figure. In which you may perceive,
that the brighter parts of the surface consist of an abundance of large and
strong reflections, denoted by a, a, a, a, a, &c. for the surfaces of those
threads that run the _long way_, are by the Mechanical process of watering,
_creas'd_ or _angled_ in another kind of posture then they were by the
weaving: for by the weaving they are onely _bent round_ the warping
threads; but by t