Anonymous

Select Essays from the Encyclopedy

London

Printed for Samuel Leacroft

1772

"No inference can give a juster idea of Des Cartes's doctrine of automata, than Mr. Regis's comparison of some hydraulic machines, to be seen in certain grottos and fountains, that serve as ornaments to the splendid mansions of the great; where water exerts itself by the disposition of the pipes, and some exterior pressure, by which means the machinery is put into motion."

No inference can give a juster idea of Des Cartes's doctrine of automata, than Mr. Regis's comparison of some hydraulic machines, to be seen in certain grottos and fountains, that serve as ornaments to the splendid mansions of the great; where water exerts itself by the disposition of the pipes, and some exterior pressure, by which means the machinery is put into motion. He compares the pipes of these fountains to the nerves, and the tendons, muscles, &c. to the other springs of motion that belongs to the machinery; as, for instance, the animal spirits to the water, that communicates the first impulse of motion; the heart, to its source; and the cavities of the brain, to its reservoirs. The exterior objects, that by their presence act upon the organ of sense in animals, he compares to the [end page 153] strangers entering into a grotto, and who, according to the different prepared parts of the flooring, put certain figures, that have a correspondence therewith, into action: if they move towards Diana, she runs away, and plunges into a fountain; but if they proceed farther, Neptune advances with a menacing look, and a trident in his hand.
(pp. 153-4)

Machine::Hydraulic Machine Liquid::Fountain

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Select Essays from the Encyclopedy, Being the Most Curious, Entertaining, and Instructive Parts of That Very Extensive Work, Written by Mallet, Diderot, D'alembert, and Others. (London: Printed for Samuel Leacroft, 1772).

09/10/2008